I am not the shield hero

I am." Dante said to the emissaries from Siltvelt. He was a little surprised to run into them here, but he supposed if there was anywhere to gather information on the Shield Hero's whereabouts, a demi-human bar was a good place to start.

The three cloaked individuals bowed deeply at the hip to him.

"It is an honor to meet you." The man said as he raised himself up. "We are emissaries from…by the Shield…"

The tiger man was staring at Dante's left side. He looked down and saw his cloak had shifted slightly, revealing his missing limb.

"Lord Shield!" The tiger man yelled. "What has happened?! Who did this to you?!"

"Hey!" Dante yelled back before stepping forward. He lowered his voice. "Don't cause a scene here."

The man's eyes were narrowed in righteous anger, but he nodded all the same. Dante turned back to Sadeena.

"Take the kids upstairs and then come back down." He said.

"Of course~." Sadeena spun about and ushered the kids on. They protested, wanting to know what was going on, but Sadeena kept on going. Dante had the emissaries follow him back to the corner table they used. They sat down, waiting for Sadeena to return.

"Please, Lord Shield." The tiger man said. "What happened since your arrival here?"

"I ran into a bit of…unexpected trouble." Dante shrugged. "It was difficult, but we managed. Sadeena there actually saved my life."

It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't really a lie either. More like, true from a certain point of view.

"I see." The tiger man said.

"Would you elaborate, Lord Shield?" The dog demi-human woman next to him asked.

"I was in a fight I couldn't win. Sadeena found me and killed the person responsible for my injury. We've been traveling together ever since." That was even more of a lie than before. "As I understand it, there are ways to regrow limbs in this world, so I'm not terribly concerned. I must simply be patient."

No one actually verified that, but they didn't say it was impossible either. If nothing else, there was that Yggdrasil Elixir. Dante was pretty sure that would do the trick, though it was probably ridiculously expensive. Actually, he could probably get some from some Siltvelt nobles.

Nah, better not. Besides the numerous reasons not to go to Siltvelt at the moment, I'd be greatly indebted to whoever provided it to me.

"I see." The dog woman said. "But, could you provide us with any more details? For instance, who was it that injured you?"

"I never caught his name." That was completely a lie. Even if he didn't know Idol's name before, the pompous lord gave his name to Dante. However, it was better not to give that information to these people. If they knew a powerful Melromarc lord injured Dante, there would likely be war. Sure, it was in self-defense, but he was torturing and killing slaves for who knows how long. Either way, no good would come from revealing it.

"But, please," Dante followed up before the demi-humans could, "let's move past this. We can talk about whatever you want after my companion returns. Ah, speaking of which…"

Sadeena just appeared from the stairs.

"Sorry it took so long~." She said, grazing her hand over Dante's shoulder before sitting to his right.

"No problem." He gestured to the emissaries. "Now then, you had something to discuss with us?"

They looked between themselves for a moment. There seemed to be a silent agreement, possibly to do with his missing arm, though he couldn't say for sure.

"Please allow us to introduce ourselves, Lord Shield." The tiger man said. "I am Tahrin. This is Daila and Nero." He gestured to the dog and cat demi-human women. "We've come to invite you to Siltvelt."

"Siltvelt, eh?" Dante relaxed in his chair. "I'm not too familiar with this world. What kind of place is it?"

He didn't want to clue them in to how much he knew. It was already rumored that he didn't know much about this world, assuming that had actually spread around from the castle. Plus, there might still be more differences from what he knew.

"Siltvelt is a country that worships the Shield Hero." Tahrin said. "There, you would be revered as you should be, not ridiculed and framed like you have here."

"Ah. I see you've heard of my arrest." Dante said.

Tahrin shook his head. "All lies, nothing more. Any convictions made by the Queendom of Melromarc against the Shield Hero hold no sway in Siltvelt."

"Well, that's good to know." Dante nodded. He knew that, of course, but he had to play his part. "But why should I go to Siltvelt and not one of the other countries?"

Daila spoke up next. "Our main religion is the Shield Faith. Like Tahrin said, you would be worshiped as a god there."

"So you say." Dante eyed her. "But I don't know any of you. How can I verify what you're saying?"

"Actually," Sadeena leaned in, "what they say is true. Although, Siltvelt can be a bit…extreme in their religion." She said it loud enough for the emissaries to hear. They seemed to give her a soft glare.

Nero had something to say about that. "I wouldn't expect a human to view our faith positively."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "I think it has more to do with me being an outworlder than me being human."

Nero's eyes immediately widened. "No—Apologies, Lord Shield! I was speaking about your companion."

Dante cast a glance at Sadeena. While he realized the average Melromarc human wouldn't recognize what she was, he was surprised these emissaries didn't. Then again, she still had her cloak on. It wasn't covering her face, but still.

"Sadeena is a demi-human." He said. She pulled back her cloak and revealed her arms to them.

"Ah…" Nero grew quiet.

"Please forgive our rudeness." Tahrin lowered his head slightly. "We noticed some of the children in your company were slaves, so we assumed your companion was human. We didn't see the seal on her chest."

"That said," Daila continued, "why do you have demi-human slaves?"

"It's not as if I could get the people of Melromarc to help me, given the circumstances." Dante answered. He hadn't tried, of course. There was no need when he had Sadeena.

"But what about demi-human adventurers?" Daila asked. "Surely, you could have found some willing to aid you."

"Possibly." Dante nodded. "However, I'd already met Sadeena." The woman in question wrapped her arms around Dante's. Shadows, or someone else not wanting to be seen, were nearby. "From there, we went to a slave trader and acquired a slave seal for her. Apparently, demi-human slaves have more protection under the law here than free demi-humans."

It wasn't a foreign concept to Dante. Free demi-humans were second class citizens at best, targets for slavers at worst. Slaves were property, so stealing or damaging them held consequences.

"After that, we picked out a few demi-human children to train and level up. I hear demi-humans grow with their level, so they'll be adults soon enough."

Despite his plans, that was something he wasn't happy about, but would do all the same. He knew it probably wasn't shortening their lives, but it was still taking away their childhoods. Though, considering what they've all gone through, it was hardly the worst thing to do. Certainly, it had more pros than cons.

"…Lord Shield, would it be possible to continue this conversation in private?" Tahrin asked. He was giving Sadeena an appraising look.

"Something you don't want to say in front of Sadeena?" Dante asked. "She was the first companion who didn't betray me, and she saved my life. I'll trust her more than three strangers."

The three emissaries looked between each other. Sighing, Tahrin continued. "Very well. Forgive me, Lord Shield, but I believe you are being deceived by this woman."

"That's quite the accusation." Dante glared at the tiger man. "Would you care to explain yourself?"

Incidentally, he wasn't wrong. Sadeena had admitted as much. Still, he needed to put on a show for them and whoever was watching.

"Of course, Lord Shield. Please, tell me, who's idea was it to use slaves?"

"Sadeena's." Dante could already tell where the man was trying to lead him. Well, Dante was accidentally leading Tahrin to lead him, so of course he knew.

"And when you went to purchase these slaves, did she suggest which ones to use?"

"Yes, she did."

Tahrin nodded, a frown on his face. "It seems to me that she was looking for specific individuals."

"I see." Dante looked towards Sadeena neutrally, who was still attached to his arm. "Do you have anything to say about that?"

He would let Sadeena decide how to proceed. She did know a thing or two about Siltvelt, if their talks earlier in the week were any indication. She would know best how to interact with these people. Additionally, they both knew who was likely watching them right now. He trusted her judgement on how the Three Heroes Church would react to any information she handed out.

"Well, what's there to say~?" Sadeena cozied up to Dante more. "I already told little Dante about my plan to find my fellow villagers."

Dante gave her a smile. "That you did." He turned back to the emissaries. "I assume you heard where Melromarc's first wave struck?"

"Yes, Lord Shield." Nero said with a confused nod. "It was the demi-human district of the Seaetto territory."

"And do you know what happened to the surviving villagers?" Dante asked.

The eyes of all three emissaries widened. Tahrin found his voice. "You don't mean…"

"Yeah." Dante confirmed. This would work well. They would know he wasn't being tricked, so that made up for his poor phrasing earlier. Additionally, the spy—or spies—wouldn't get any important information. It's not as if slavers raiding Lurolona wasn't going to be found out, so there was no real harm there. If anything, he just sped up the time they figured it out, nothing more.

"I understand." Tahrin said. He gave a slight bow to Sadeena. "My condolences for your loss, and please forgive my earlier accusation."

"It's fine~." She waved him off.

"Hearing all this, I hope you can understand why I can't leave at the moment." Dante concluded. "I owe her too much to not assist her."

Tahrin sighed. "We understand, Lord Shield. However, we would like to keep in contact with you, should you change your mind. Is that acceptable?"

Dante hummed in thought. The real question was what the church would do with that information. The emissaries shouldn't be in too much danger, assuming they check in with their leaders every so often. Their lack of response would mean trouble, and the church wasn't stupid enough to pick a fight this early. Probably.

The real problem was about the former villagers. If the church saw Dante gathering them up, it would be a visible clock to him leaving. Worse, they might intervene. Then again, if Beloukas was any indication, finding the villagers wasn't an easy task. If it was, he'd have found more than just Keel by now.

"Sounds fine to me." Dante said. "How often were you thinking?"

"We would check in with you every day. That way, the moment you are finished here, we—"

"I think that would be a bit much, yeah?" Dante said with a slight laugh. "How does once a week sound?"

"…Yes, that's reasonable, Lord Shield." The tiger man seemed so deflated from that. Well, if his black and white striped ears were any indication, he was a Hakuko. Weren't they supposed to be fervent supporters of the Shield Hero?

"Excellent." Dante gave him a bright smile. "By the way, how did you get here so quickly? From what I saw from my map, Siltvelt seemed weeks away."

"We were present in a nearby country." Nero answered. "We received a message through a crystal ball to meet with you."

Ah. That would explain it.

Dante couldn't exactly remember how long range communication was done. He knew crystal balls could record things, so them transmitting messages wasn't too out there.

"I see." Dante nodded. "Now then, was there anything else you wanted to discuss with us?" Tahrin shook his head, as did his two companions. "Then I believe we'll be turning in for the night." Dante rose from the table with Sadeena. "We'll see you here in a week."

"One last thing." Daila held up a hand to Dante. "Please, get some rest, Lord Shield."

"Okay?" Dante tilted his head.

"Forgive me, Lord Shield, but you look exhausted. I understand you wish to help the people of Lurolona, but please don't run yourself ragged."

"Ah, of course." Dante said to the dog woman. The emissaries bid them goodnight and left the inn. Dante turned to Sadeena after they left. "Do I really look that tired?"

She gave him a slightly strained smile. "It does look like you haven't slept in a few days." She said.

"Really? I've been sleeping like a baby." Though, this did lead him to his earlier thoughts about his more restful sleep, his mind going full circle and all. Maybe he was so stressed that he didn't feel stressed. He didn't recall ever hearing that too much stress made it easier to sleep. Then again, he was able to sleep through the night, so he really didn't care. If he looked like a zombie, so what?

Oh. Maybe that's why Raphtalia was concerned. She saw my haggard look and thought I was in pain. Such a sweet kid.

With the meeting done with, Dante and Sadeena turned in for the night. They would have, that is, if they hadn't found the kids spying on their conversation from the stairs.

"Weren't you all supposed to be in bed?" Dante asked playfully.

Dio and JoJo grabbed onto his pant legs. "You aren't going to leave us, are you?" Dio asked.

"…Never." Dante replied, petting her head. "I'm staying with you all. Don't ever forget that." He looked at each of the demi-human kids, meeting their eyes.

"Mhmm." Dio nodded her head into his leg.

"If you go, you have to take us too." JoJo said.

"Of course." Dante moved his hand to his head next. "That goes without saying."

"Even me~?" Sadeena leaned on his shoulder, one arm around him.

"I doubt I could get rid of you if I tried." Dante remarked.

"Oh, you~." Sadeena gave him a quick peck before stepping away. "Alright, now, it's time for bed. We have a busy day ahead of us." She ushered the kids up the stairs once again.

Dante laughed at the sight. She very much acts like the big sister of the village. It wouldn't be that far off to say she acts like a mother—

Dante paused at the thought. If she was the mother, then that would make him…

His pause turned into a blush. He had to push those thoughts aside. Sure, they were both clearly interested in each other, as if their kissing wasn't an indication. They both decided getting much more physical wouldn't be a good idea at the moment. Aside from the fact that they had a bunch of kids around them, Sadeena getting pregnant while fighting the waves was a recipe for disaster. And if she were to have a child…

I'd be a father…

That thought made his face blush excessively hard, if the burning sensation in his cheeks and ears were anything to go by.

A father…I'd become a father. I'd have a child of my own. With Sadeena.

"Dante." Sadeena called from atop the stairs. "Is everything okay?"

Dispelling the thoughts in his mind, Dante climbed the stairs. "Y-Yeah."

Sadeena's wide smile greeted him when he reached the top. "Oh~. What were you thinking about~?" She followed him down the hall, hands behind her back.

"I…spicy food." He deflected. "Very spicy food."

"Oh, you like spicy food~?" Sadeena slid her arms around his waist before he could open the door to his room. She set her chin on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "I think I have some spicy food in my room, if you—"

"Goodnight, Sadeena!" He broke from her embrace and slammed the door shut after running into his room.

"Goodnight, little Dante~." She called from beyond the door.

Dante held his back to the door, his hand covering his face. Damn that woman. Does she always have to zero in on me like that? Despite what he was thinking, he had a pleasant smile on his face. I'm so glad I met her.

"Master, is something wrong?" JoJo asked. "Your face is all red."

"Ah, no, I'm fine." Dante moved more into the room. "I just…" He paused when he saw the beds. They had been pushed together. Keel was off to the side, seeming embarrassed.

"Is there a reason you moved the beds?" Dante asked. He didn't even hear the beds being moved around. Did they do that before coming down to spy on the meeting? Or, did they do that when they came up a second time? How lost in thought was he?

"We wanted to sleep together." Dio said, stating the obvious to her.

"But…okay, but what about Keel?" He tried a different approach.

"Huh?" Dio cocked her head to the side. "He can sleep with us too."

That got a small laugh from Dante. "Alright, and how does Keel feel about this?"

Keel kept looking at the ground. "I'll just use a bedroll." He said.

"Really?" Dante prodded. "We've all slept together in Dio and JoJo's feathers before. What's the problem?"

"They were…you know." Keel pointed at the bird children. "And now they're…you know."

"They're still the same people they were before." Dante reasoned, a smile on his face. He was being a complete hypocrite, he knew, but it was fun to tease.

"Come on, big bro!" JoJo said, grabbing onto Keel's shirt. "It'll be just like when we were outside."

"Big bro…" Keel repeated, his eyes star struck. He noticed Dante smiling at him and cleared his throat. "I guess it can't be helped."

Dante held back a laugh and pulled off his chainmail. "That's the spirit." They climbed onto the beds, Dio snuggling next to Dante and JoJo lying next to Keel.

Dante turned off the lamp and drifted off into sleep.

~The Wrong Hero~

Dante had yet another peaceful night's sleep. That was, until he heard a scream during the night. He shot up in his bed, throwing Dio to the ground. Sometime during the night, she must have climbed onto his chest.

"Mmr…Master, that's too rough." She said, rubbing her eyes.

Dante ignored her comment and rushed for the door. Before he could pull it open, he heard another voice.

"Shhh, it's okay, Raphtalia. It's okay."

Sadeena was comforting her. A night terror, Dante realized. He'd nearly forgotten about that.

Strange. I don't remember waking up to Raphtalia at all while we traveled. What changed?

The crying quieted down to Raphtalia softly calling for her parents. Dante opened his door and stepped out. He found the innkeeper at the top of the stairs, assuring him one of his companions was only having a nightmare. He slowly nodded and went back downstairs.

Dante went to the girls' room and gave it a light knock. "It's me." He said.

Rifana opened the door shortly after. "Sorry if we woke you." She said.

"Don't worry about it." Dante pat her on the head as he entered. When he looked around, he was slightly amused. It appeared that the girls had the same idea as Dio and JoJo. The two beds in the room were pushed together. Dante saw Sadeena holding Raphtalia to her chest, rocking her sobbing form.

"What happened?" He asked.

Sadeena shook her head. "I don't know. She just woke up screaming. This didn't happen before."

Dante sat next to her, placing his hand on the tanuki girl's head. "What was different?"

"Nothing." Sadeena said. "I held her like I did the first night we found her. She didn't cry out then."

"Master…" Dio walked into the room, yawning. "Is Raphy okay?"

Dante looked at the filolial girl. When he turned back to Sadeena, he knew she understood.

"Dio, would you transform and sleep in here tonight?" He asked.

"Huh?" Dio woke up a bit at that. "But, I want to sleep with you."

"I know, but this is important." Dante pointed at Raphtalia. "She's having a bad dream and needs your help."

Dio stood in the doorway, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"It'll be like when we were traveling. Just pretend I'm keeping watch right now. After tonight, I think we'll be sleeping like we were, okay?"

"Okay…" Dio didn't sound too enthused, but she transformed anyway. Sadeena stood from the bed and placed Raphtalia in Dio's feathers. As she slowly sank into the filolial, her cries became whimpers, then completely vanished.

"Amazing." Sadeena looked at the spot Raphtalia disappeared.

"Filolial feathers are really comfy." Dante pointed out. "Let's get back to sleep." He made his way back to the door.

"Master…" Dio let out.

Dante sighed and looked over his shoulder. "I'll grab JoJo and Keel, then we'll all sleep in here tonight." It'd be a little cramp, but they'd fit.

"Okay!" Dio chirped.

When Dante went back to the boys' room, a smile formed on his face. He saw them both still asleep, Keel lying on his back with JoJo spread across him, both snoring loudly.

I wish I had a camera.

He grabbed his chainmail and closed the door, locking it behind him and sliding the key under the door. He returned to the other room and slept in Dio's feathers with the others.

~The Wrong Hero~

When morning came, Dante woke up refreshed. The others seemed well rested too, though Raphtalia was slightly panicked to find herself surrounded by feathers. She apologized for waking everyone, but no one really minded. Well, Dio did, but she got thrown off of Dante, so she had a good reason.

Keel seemed a little embarrassed when he stepped out of his room, but JoJo seemed fine. In fact, he seemed to follow Keel at his heels like a baby duck. Dante's soft laughter didn't make Keel feel any better.

After breakfast, they went straight to the tailor's place. The store was open when they arrived, so they went right in.

"Welcome back!" The tailor called out. She had massive bags under her eyes, yet she still sounded chipper. Dante almost felt bad for having her make the outfits so quickly, but she probably enjoyed it.

"Good morning." Dante greeted her. "Do you have the clothes ready?"

"Of course!" She waved over the filolial kids. "Come on, come on. The clothes are waiting in the changing room. I want to see my creations at work!"

With a bit more encouragement than before, Dante had the two kids follow the tailor. After a few minutes of waiting, Dio and JoJo stepped out of the changing area to show everyone their outfits.

Upon seeing JoJo, something immediately clicked for Dante. He looked over at Keel, who had his head turned away slightly and a smile adorning his face. JoJo wore a pair of loose fitting shorts, coming down just below his knees. They were the same deep blue as his hair. His shirt, on the other hand, was white. It had a very wide collar and it left exposed more than half a foot of midriff. The back was open enough to let his wings through. Honestly, it was almost like looking at a smaller version of Keel.

Dio, on the other hand, had something like black unitard shorts as the base for her outfit. It went down just above her knees and up to and around her neck, covering part of her shoulders. She wore a small, golden-orange vest that went less than halfway down her torso and definitely wouldn't close. Her wings went through the unitard and just under the vest. Around her hips looked to be a cross between some sort of short-shorts and a long loincloth, also a golden-orange color. It seemed strange at first, until Dante turned to look at the other demi-human the filolials spent more time with. Sadeena hid it well, but there was a definite dusting of pink on her cheeks as she looked at Dio.

Was I just blind? When did they start looking up to those two so much?

"What do you think?" The tailor asked, beaming.

Dante stepped forward, smile on his face. "If my companions' reactions are any indication, you did fantastic."

"Do we look good, master?" Dio asked, bouncing up to him.

"You two look great." He said, patting her on the head before moving to JoJo. "And I believe those two think you look great as well." He pointed over towards Keel and Sadeena.

The two filolials went over to their obvious sources of inspiration.

"Keel, Keel, look!" JoJo said, grabbing one of Keel's hands. "We match!"

"Haha, yeah, we do…" Keel rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed, and clearly very happy.

"Sadie!" Dio jumped up at Sadeena, prompting the woman to hold Dio to her chest. "Don't I look cute?"

"Ah, yes, you look wonderful." Sadeena let out, her cheeks rosy.

Oh my god, she's actually flustered! And not in that flirty way of hers!

Sadeena noticed Dante staring at her with a huge grin on his face. She tried to cool her features as she set Dio down.

"This woman is clearly very good at her craft." Sadeena said. It was a bit too stiff and didn't sound like something she would normally say, but Dante let her have it.

"Yeah, you did good." Dante told the tailor. "You should probably get some sleep, though. You look exhausted."

"Art knows no sleep!" The tailor shouted. "You don't look so well, yourself."

"So I've heard." Dante sighed. "We should be off then—wait, crap, no." Dante caught himself and pointed at the tailor. "Name. What's your name?" He wasn't going to forget again.

"My name? Ann." The tailor said.

"Ann. Got it." He held out his hand. "Dante."

She shook his hand with a tired smile.

"If we need any more clothes made, we'll be coming to you first." Dante said.

"I'm glad to have more loyal customers." Ann said happily.

"Alright, let's get going." Dante told his party, moving out of the shop. "Ann, get some sleep!"

Finally done with their preparations, supplies gathered and equipment ready, they collected their carriage and set out of the capital.

Everyone had their own thing they did while on the road to Lurolona. Dio was pulling the carriage with a cloaked Sadeena holding the reins, Raphtalia sitting next to her. She had the beginner book open and was practicing reading with Sadeena's help. Dante was in the carriage with Rifana, doing something similar. He had gotten decent at sounding out the words and was working more on their meaning. Rifana would trace words out on the carriage floor and Dante would say the words, occasionally referring to his notebook. Surprisingly, they didn't need to stop at all for motion sickness, though Raphtalia and Rifana weren't feeling 100%.

Keel and JoJo, on the other hand, were out earning XP. They travelled through the nearby woods and fields, killing any monsters they found and carrying back the remains for Dante. Every so often, Dante would cast Faust Guard on JoJo or Keel, or both if they found a tougher monster. They were careful not to fight anything too dangerous, though they did lure back a couple monsters that Sadeena or Dante had to help with. They were either too agile and needed containment, or too hardy and needed a magical strike. One dropped a nice looking longsword for later.

Dante realized that they never had to worry about Keel getting motion sickness. After all, he did set those fires in Idol's forests. Dante figured Keel helped out on boats a lot, so he was used to the motions.

By the way, while in their filolial forms, Dio's clothes transformed into a pair of orange and black bands around her neck, while JoJo's became a blue collar. When they were out a ways, Dante checked with Sadeena if there were any shadows present. With none nearby, he asked Dio and JoJo why they chose the outfits they did.

"Keel looked so cool when he was riding me and burning down those trees!"

"Sadie protected Master from the fat man when I couldn't. She's the best!"

That was about what Dante expected, which was why he asked away from prying eyes. He reminded them not to mention Idol's name or description unless he said it was okay.

When they reached the village remains after a little under five hours of travel, the kids' expressions were grim. Dante could see why. The buildings were burned down, broken foundations were all that remained. The docks were smashed and the few boats that were ashore were burned as well. The building that looked to be a church had parts of its walls broken in and the doors missing.

It was something out of a medieval fantasy story, but so much more real.

Before they started their leveling, they came up a cliff. There, a small stone monument stood. The ground underneath was undisturbed, meaning no bodies were likely buried there.

Dante understood what that was. He stood to the side with Dio and JoJo, making sure they stayed quiet while letting the others visit the marker. In all honesty, with what attacked this village, there probably weren't too many intact bodies. If Dante had to guess, the remains were either all buried together or burned together. That stone was probably the closest they had to a grave.

They each stood before the marker, saying something to the dead.

"Hey mom, dad. You don't have to worry about me, or any of us. We got Sadeena, and the Shield Hero."

"We'll find all the others and rebuild here. With Mister Shield Hero, we can do it."

"Thank you for saving me. I'm sorry I couldn't keep smiling, but I'll do my best from now on."

Once the kids were finished, Sadeena stepped forward. "Mother, father, I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm sorry I failed to protect the village, to protect Raphtalia. I won't fail you again." She knelt down in front of the marker and prayed.

She very much is the big sister of the village. I figured she viewed Raphtalia's parents as her own.

After a short while, Sadeena stood. She looked over to Dante with a smile.

"Do you want to say anything?" She asked.

"Me?" Dante looked at the other demi-humans. Their eyes seemed to want him to. He walked up to the monument, looking down at it.

"I, uh, I'm Dante, the Shield Hero." He began. "I was summoned here to fight the waves, so this sort of thing doesn't happen again."

He really didn't know what he was supposed to say. His faith had been a subject of scrutiny for a few years now, and the past few weeks had shaken that much further. Now he was a religious figure, and a god to at least one faith. He had to say something.

What would Eddy say at a time like this?

That thought…didn't bring him any answers.

"Fuck. Look, I'm sorry you're dead." He said plainly. "You didn't deserve what happened to you. Either time. But I'm here now, and I can do something about it. We'll find the other villagers. I'll make them strong, so no tragedy like this will ever happen again. And I'll make sure those responsible are punished, be certain of that."

It probably wasn't the comforting words the kids were expecting, but it was what Dante had. He wasn't just talking to the dead villagers, either.

If I'd held a funeral for them before, I probably would have said something similar. Instead, I did what I did.

He turned around and rejoined the others. "Sorry if that wasn't what you wanted me to say." He said.

"It seemed like a 'you' thing to say." Sadeena said.

"Yeah." He looked over the village from the cliff. This was a place Naofumi had rebuilt. Dante had changed a number of things already, but he hoped he'd still be able to do that.

Author's Notes:

I'm great at math, but man do I suck at measuring. Case in point, this used more words than I thought. I originally didn't have the first half of the meeting, but then I couldn't see a good place for the missing arm topic.

I also thought I'd be further in than just arriving at the village, but again, measuring and stuff.

It turns out that a fluffy bird friend is the best medicine for nightmares.

With all the preamble done, Dante will see just how strong he can make his party.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think