Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: The Queen 

Two days passed. 

“Ugh… I’m so tired.” 

“Snore… Snore…” 

“Munya… Master!” 

“I… ca… Fi….lo?” 

When I finally got my eyes opened I realized that I was in a giant bed with Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty. 

“What the hell?! Get off me!” 

I threw them all off the bed and proceeded to berate them. The three of them stood there, strangely smiling. 

I’d been carried off in the medical cart and was being treated in a town near the castle. 

The Blood Sacrifice curse was very powerful, and they’d taken me to a specialized treatment facility—but not even they had been able to completely get rid of it. 

I asked what I could do to heal it, but apparently it was the sort of curse that couldn’t be removed with medicines or magic. I had to treat it like a wound, and it would slowly heal over time… or so they said. 

The actual wounds and burns had been healed. I had the majority of my strength back, but they said that I would probably continue to feel sluggish for a while. 

I checked my status magic, and all of my stats aside from defense had fallen by about thirty percent. 

Apparently the Blood Sacrifice curse would lower my stats until it was completely healed. 

It had been effective enough to warrant its use, but I had to admit that it came with a heavy price tag. 

“How long will it take to heal?” 

“Our best guess is that it will take about a month.” 

A month… That was a pretty long time. That would mean I’d be back on my feet just in time for the next wave. 

“And how are you feeling?” 

The whole world was in the middle of an absurd crisis, but the queen came to speak with me before my treatment. 

She seemed to be expressing concern for my well-being. 

“…” 

I still didn’t know if I could trust her. Besides, she’d given the medics orders the whole time I’d been unconscious. 

The queen turned to a doctor, and they discussed my condition. 

“Really? Then he’ll be able to accompany us? 

“Where are you going? 

“Back to the castle, of course.” 

She covered her mouth with her folding fan, but a vein was popping out from her forehead. She had a strange, oppressive sense of authority about her. 

“Mother is very angry…” 

Melty was shaking and hiding behind me. 

She did seem to be a little on edge, but I guess that’s what her anger looked like. 

“I hope you’re not planning on executing me or something like that.” 

“I would never do something so foolish. But I would very much like you to be there when... my plans are enacted, Mr. Iwatani.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“You’ll just have to wait until we arrive at the castle. And I have so many questions I’d like to ask you. We’ll have the opportunity to talk soon.” 

The damn queen was making it impossible for me to refuse. Would she say anything to get me to the castle? 

Sure, I suppose I could refuse—but that wouldn’t help me. My highest priority was to prove my innocence, and I was going to need her to make that happen. 

Melty had said so before. 

The queen was apparently furious with Trash and Bitch. She said that the queen had been ripping up their portraits, that she’d been setting them on fire. 

It made me wonder what she was thinking… Could it be? 

Regardless, I didn’t have a good reason to refuse her. 

Although, in time, I could imagine that the fact that she was Trash’s wife and Bitch’s mother might drive a wedge of sorts between us. 

“Hm…” 

Melty was still standing behind me. 

“Oh come on… I guess I have to take you with us?” 

“Mr. Naofumi?” 

Raphtalia sounded very worried. 

“I don’t think I can refuse, so what choice do I have but to go? They’ve been taking care of me this whole time, so I doubt that we have anything to worry about.” 

“Yes, indeed, I would like it if you would come as well.” 

I could see what she was getting at. She was waiting to see how closely our interests aligned. 

I didn’t know what her plan was. But no matter—if she were going to hand me off to the enemy, then I would just have to use the Shield of Wrath again. 

“We’re taking care of the bird god’s carriage too. Let’s return it along with its luggage.” 

“Really?” 

Filo jumped forward when the queen mentioned the carriage. 

“Yes. It’s parked in front of the hospital. You can go see it yourselves.” 

“Okay! Yay! Mel, let’s go!” 

“Okay!” 

Filo and Melty went running out of the room. 

That girl really liked carriages. After they left, I turned back to the queen. 

“Something bothers me.” 

I didn’t know what she wanted, but I got the impression that there was something else she wasn’t telling me, something behind her supposed good intentions. 

If there was a good reason for her to not only defy the Church but treat the shield demon nicely, then I wanted to know what it was. 

And I wouldn’t accept any pretentious explanations like, “for the good of the world,” either. In trying to figure out her true intentions, I began to look at her face carefully. When I did, her hand started shaking. The fan was swaying in her hand. What was happening? 

“Aultcray… Malty… This isn’t the end…” 

There was no doubt about it… She was furious. 

Suddenly, a shadow appeared. He was holding portraits of Trash and Bitch, and he quickly pasted them up on the wall. 

In a flash, the queen summoned magical icicles. She threw them at the portraits, pinning them to the wall before summoning flames to burn them to ash. 

“That’s not enough… not enough. I want to see their faces twisted in fear.” 

I wished she would find somewhere else to have a private freak out. She looked a little unstable. She must have really been harboring some intense emotions about them—her own husband and daughter. 

I knew how she felt. Yup, I’d believe her—for now. 

“I’ll do what you say.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Iwatani.” 

The queen smiled. As the corners of her mouth turned up, I could sense her willpower. 

“Well, well! If it isn’t Malty and Melty! I’m so glad you were able to defeat the Shield and return to me safely. But why is Malty tied up? And is that a gag in her mouth?” 

On our way to the castle, the queen ordered that Bitch and Melty lead the line, and the rest of us would follow well behind. 

The other heroes were with us in the back. I didn’t like that I’d been ordered to be at the front of the heroes. The queen was insistent though, saying that I had done all the work and suffered the most. So I relented. 

By the way, after all this was over, the remaining disciples from the Church filled me in on some of the stuff that was going on. 

Word of the high priest’s death hadn’t yet reached the general population, and so the Church was still acting as though nothing had happened. Or at least that’s what it looked like. The truth was that members of the Church that had been complicit in the conspiracy had been arrested. 

“Because she doesn’t know how to shut her mouth, that’s why.” 

The queen’s footsteps echoed off the stone walls as she walked forward and approached the throne. Trash noticed that I was following her into the room also, and his face contorted in anger. 

“What is HE doing here? Seize him! He must be put to death!” 

“I will not allow it!” 

The knights ignored the king’s orders—probably because the queen technically had more power than Trash. They still seemed a little confused though. The knights around the queen were glaring at me. 

“She’s… That’s not the real queen! Arrest her!” 

“You… you would mistake ME? I cannot tolerate this behavior any longer!” 

“I am the queen and the source of all power….” 

“That spell… Can it be?!” 

“Hear the truth and heed it. Restrain him with a cage of ice!” 

“Drifa Icicle Prison!” 

A cage of ice appeared around Trash. 

It seemed like Trash was shouting from inside it, but his voice didn’t make it out of the cage. 

“I cannot believe how low you have sunk.” 

The queen snapped her folding fan shut, and the cage vanished at the same time. 

“Such powerful magic! Indeed, you are truly my wife! What has happened to you?!” 

Trash was looking at her up and down like he couldn’t believe his own eyes. 

“…And with the Shield!” 

Seriously, any time something happened he didn’t like, he blamed it on me. 

He needed to calm down. He was making it very clear why I never wanted to visit the castle again. 

“You’re wrong. I swear. Do you really believe that the Shield Hero has the sort of powers you ascribed to him?” 

She walked up to the throne and slapped him hard across the face. 

Trash was knocked speechless. He was shaking as he stared at me. 

“None of this is Mr. Iwatani’s fault! Have you been listening to me?!” 

“Ugh!” 

She slapped him again. 

Trash opened his mouth to speak, but before he was able to get a word out she slapped him again. 

“I told you that you were to have authority over Melromarc while I was in other lands. I told you, time and time again, not to treat the Heroes poorly. But you ignored me! Are you TRYING to start a war?” 

“But I…” 

“I don’t want to hear your excuses! The very world is threatened by the waves. And now… during this time when we all must band together… you… you!” 

The queen continued to berate him, and he never got a word in. 

Watching the scene unfold, I couldn’t ignore the distinct sense I got that she was doing all this so that the other heroes would understand that she was the one in charge. 

“Now, with that out of the way, allow me to re-introduce myself. I am the ruling queen of this land, Mirellia Q. Melromarc. Aultcray may seem to carry authority, but he does not—not any longer. Do not believe what he says.” 

“Um… Uh…” 

“Pleased to… meet you?” 

“Whoa…” 

The other heroes all expressed their emotions in turn. They all had trouble finding the right words. 

“Heroes, I would very much like a little of your time today.” 

“What’s happening?” 

“Let’s discuss it during the feast.” 

“Um… Myne?” 

Motoyasu seemed to be a little concerned for Bitch, since she was still gagged and couldn’t speak. 

“She has no reason to speak, so I’ve silenced her for now. Understand?” 

“Yes, but… Isn’t this a little much?” 

“No, it isn’t. But if you’d like to hear her protests then I suppose I have no choice…” 

The queen snapped her fingers and the ropes restraining Bitch loosened. Bitch immediately moved to pull the gag from her mouth. 

“Sniffle…” 

She must have been embarrassed to be seen so powerless. Trash seemed to sympathize. He looked on with sad eyes. 

“What’s this ‘sniffle’ supposed to mean? We’re not done talking!” 

“It’s not my fault! All of this is the Shield’s fault!” 

“Yeah! He’s right!” 

Bitch chimed in. 

“Mama! This wretched demon tried to rape me!” 

“And…?” 

“What do you mean? Mama… I’ve never… What are you saying?!” 

“It’s not like you were a virgin, were you? Did you think I didn’t know? I knew…” 

“What?!” 

Motoyasu shouted like he couldn’t believe his own ears. 

“No… Mother… My first was Mr. Motoyasu!” 

“How presumptuous of you. You really thought I didn’t know? Now, if you really did have relations with the Shield Hero then there might have been a way to save you…” 

The queen glanced at me. 

ME? With Bitch? 

“Don’t make me throw up!” 

“Well, that’s the end of you. I suppose I’ll just have to hold out hope for Melty. It will be hard, but I’m sure there are plenty of reasons to remain hopeful.” 

The queen was now making important pronouncements as if they were nothing. 

“What are you saying? Melty is just a little girl!” 

“Silence!” 

I certainly never thought that I’d be on the same side of an argument with Trash, but why did I have to have a relationship with Melty? 

Huh? What was that? Ren and Itsuki were both looking at me with strange expressions on their faces. 

I didn’t need this. I didn’t have a Lolita complex. I wasn’t so perverted that a little girl turned me on! 

“Yeah! What are you saying?!” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Nothing you need to worry about, Filo!” 

I’d have to let this one go. 

“I’m sorry! But it’s only natural that Melty should marry Mr. Iwatani.” 

“What?!” 

“Don’t you understand? There is no better way to defeat our old enemy.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Yeah… We’re getting curious too.” 

Trash was clearly upset, and Ren and Itsuki followed his questions with their own. 

“Well…” 

I understood though. The queen began to explain, and confirmed my suspicions. 

Siltvelt worshiped the Shield Hero. And Siltvelt was also Melromarc’s enemy. If the royal family of Melromarc adopted me into their lineage, that would make Melromarc into a holy nation from the perspective of Siltvelt. I wasn’t able to read much more into her plans, but at the very least the common people of Siltvelt would think more positively about Melromarc. It was a plan that would flatter the Shield Hero, and if they ended up giving birth, that would cement everything. 

Then they would just have to maintain a friendly relationship. If they pulled that off, they’d be true allies. 

“Have you no shame? You would use your own daughter that way?” 

Itsuki stepped forward and shouted with rage. 

“Use her? Very well… Are you saying that in your own world there are no politically arranged marriages?” 

“I’ve heard that they used to happen, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t problematic.” 

“There’s no problem. I see that Melty and Mr. Iwatani are already on good terms. Melty, do what you can to get along with Mr. Iwatani.” 

“N…No!” 

Melty’s face was bright red. She seemed to really hate the idea. 

Which was only fair. Who would want to be used for political purposes, especially at that age? 

And, of course, I didn’t feel like doing anything that would benefit Melromarc. 

“Is that so? The shadows led me to believe that there was still hope for you.” 

“Bummer.” 

“What’s that? Are you saying I’m not attractive?! Wa…” 

“What’s the problem? Are you saying I shouldn’t look at you as a child?!” 

She was at that obnoxious age. 

“Very well. If that’s all there is to it, then I suppose I cannot interfere.” 

For some reason, Itsuki was satisfied and stepped back into line. 

“Bow Hero! Why are you giving up?!” 

“I see that she has a point, and that there is hope for you. What are you supposed to do? You’re going to be the queen.” 

“I don’t plan on laying my bones to rest in this shitty world.” 

“That won’t be necessary. As long as Melty becomes pregnant with your child.” 

I didn’t like where this was going. 

Basically, she meant that if I married into the Melromarc royal family and gave Melty a child, then I would be free to go back to my own world. 

I guess it did make a little sense. I’d heard that the queen was an experienced diplomat—and she sure wasn’t pulling any punches. 

Where did these ideas come from? Was she reading too much manga? 

“All of this is because my foolish husband and daughter destroyed our other opportunities. Everything was fine when you left to be in Iwatani’s party. You could have brought more people into the party and domesticated him—kept him for yourself. Had you done so, the throne would be as good as yours.” 

“Who would do that with someone as ugly as him? He tried to rape me!” 

Ugh… there goes Bitch again. 

I couldn’t let that one slide… I’d have to help her understand her position… 

“He’s not ugly!” 

Raphtalia, Filo, and for some reason Melty all shouted out in unison. 

What’s that all about? Especially Melty. 

“What’s the problem? I’m just telling the truth. If you get upset about it, that proves that you agree!” 

“It does prove something. It proves that you no longer have even a drop of purity left in you.” 

“What proof are you talking about? Ask Mr. Motoyasu. I was a virgin!” 

“Malty, if you’re going to lie, you’d better be prepared to lie all the way until the end. You might be able to fool the Spear Hero, but you cannot fool me. I’ve known you for a long time, and you’ve always had the nasty habit of taking joy in the misery of others. Furthermore…” 

The queen was really shouting at Bitch now. It was clear to everyone that Bitch wasn’t listening anymore though. She’d tuned out and was just waiting for her mother’s speech to end. 

I wondered how many times she’d been lectured by her mother up until now. 

“You heard that your sister had been swept up in the conspiracy, but instead of trying to protect her, you took advantage of the situation, going too far as to turn her over to the Church yourself!” 

Huh? So Bitch had just taken advantage of the situation with the Church? I’d thought that she was working with them. 

Could it be that the two of them were just really stupid? 

“You probably thought that you’d be the next person to sit on the throne.” 

“I… I did not!” 

I thought back on all we had been through. How many times had she referred to herself as “the future queen?” We’d all heard it come from her lips, time and time again. If she hadn’t thought that she really was going to be the future queen, she wouldn’t have said things like that—would she? Besides, she had stuttered when the queen pointed it out. 

“Yeah! Myne’s not like that!” 

Motoyasu shouted out in support, but the queen wasn’t listening. 

“You’re lying!” 

“No, it’s true!” 

“If it’s true, then you’ll show us proof.” 

The queen snapped her fingers, and knights clapped their hands down on Bitch’s shoulders. Some wizards appeared, carrying an item I was familiar with. It was the ink pot used in slave registration magic. 

“What are you doing?!” 

Motoyasu noticed that something was up, and he started to shout. 

Soldiers came to control Motoyasu and Bitch. The wizards turned to Bitch and began a ceremony. 

The queen produced a needle, pricked her own finger, and dropped a little of her blood into the ink pot. 

I… I knew what she was doing. 

“N… No! Release me!” 

“I will release you once I’ve verified your innocence. I hope the Heroes understand.” 

No, they wouldn’t. Or so I thought. Itsuki and Ren were watching on in silence. 

Even dumb Bitch had figured out what was going on. She tried to wrestle herself free from the soldiers, but they wouldn’t let her escape. I was more concerned with how Motoyasu would react. Perhaps seeing that there was no way out, he readied his spear. 

“Stop that!!” 

I wouldn’t let him interfere. 

“Shield Prison!” 

I turned my shield into the Shield of Wrath and, repressing my anger— or should I say controlling it, I shut him inside a Shield Prison. 

Ren and Itsuki nearly stepped in to stop me, but noticing the crowd of soldiers in the room, they held back. 

“N…No! Stay back! Who do you think I am?!” 

“The older princess. That is… if you can prove your innocence.” 

The queen dropped a hand and gave an order. 

They poured ink from the pot onto Bitch’s chest. The slave seal appeared there, burning into her. 

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!” 

Bitch screamed like that for a minute or so, but once she calmed down the seal disappeared as if nothing had happened. 

It was different than what Raphtalia had gone through. Raphtalia’s seal remained like a tattoo, but Bitch’s disappeared completely. 

“This is a powerful slave seal. It is normally invisible, but when certain conditions are met, it will return, punishing the subject.” 

In that regard, it was more like Filo’s control magic. 

“The condition is that you must not attack Mr. Iwatani. Do not raise your hand against him!” 

Bitch glared at the queen. There were tears in her eyes. 

“Now then, Malty. Here is the question: were you raped by Mr. Iwatani?” 

It was a good plan to wring a confession out of her. I’d done the same thing to Raphtalia once. 

Because she couldn’t lie if the slave seal was on her. 

If she tried to lie, the seal would activate and punish her. 

Of course it would only work if the queen and the seal were real. 

“Yes!” 

Bitch arched her eyebrows and nodded. 

At nearly the same time, the slave seal came burning back into view and exerted a powerful pressure on her chest. 

“OUCH! It hurts!” 

Bitch couldn’t handle the pain, and she fell to the floor. 

“M…Myne!” 

Motoyasu ran to her and helped her sit up, but the effects of the slave seal didn’t go away. 

“The effects won’t go away until you tell the truth.” 

“Fine… Fine! The Shield Hero didn’t rape me. It was all a lie!” 

The second Bitch admitted her lie, the seal vanished. 

“See? Everyone have a look. It was a lie.” 

“How can you say that when YOU forced her to say it!?” 

Motoyasu was furious with the queen. I could see where he was coming from. From his perspective, she was most definitely an enemy. 

“I don’t know what kind of magic that was, but you forced her to lie!” 

“If you think so, Spear Hero, then why not temporarily register Malty as your slave as well? If you do, then you’ll quickly understand how the slave seal works.” 

“Yeah! Fine! I’ll prove her innocence!” 

Just as the queen had done, Motoyasu let a drop of his blood fall into the ink pot. They spilled the ink over Bitch again, and she was registered as his slave. 

“Now you can see for yourself how the slave magic works. Look at your status screens to see.” 

Motoyasu’s eyes moved as though he were reading something. Then he nodded and turned to Bitch. 

“Myne… You were almost raped by Naofumi, weren’t you?” 

“Ye… Ouch! OW!” 

She was about to lie again when the slave seal activated. She fell to the floor again. 

“B…But…” 

All the color left Motoyasu’s face. 

“There’s more though, isn’t there? You stole all of Mr. Iwatani’s possessions, didn’t you?” 

“I did NOT! OW! OOOOWWWW!” 

The woman really couldn’t lie… 

A little speechless, I stood there and watched Bitch roll around on the ground in pain. “And you were the one who set fire to the forest while you were chasing Mr. Iwatani, weren’t you?!” 

She knew. Of course she knew. If she knew what kind of person Bitch was, it was an easy assumption to make. 

“I didn’t, I… AAAAHHHHH!” 

Her screams were growing panicked. If she didn’t start telling the truth, she’d die. 

She must have known that, and yet she went on lying… What a woman. 

“YOU set those fires?!” 

Motoyasu was shaking. 

“It can’t be true! Myne would never do something like that!” 

“Mr. Kitamura, you must understand this. This girl has always been a liar. She always hid in the shadows and tried to get others in trouble. She’s been this way from childhood.” 

“No, she isn’t like that! It’s HIM. It’s HIS fault.” 

Motoyasu was thrusting his finger at me. 

He didn’t understand the difference between belief and blind faith. Eventually that would knock him off of his feet. 

“All of this is because of my daughter Malty. She pulled the strings and tricked my husband, Aultcray, into persecuting Mr. Iwatani.” 

Motoyasu was still furiously jabbing his finger at me, but Ren and Itsuki were nodding. They seemed to understand. 

“You know…” 

“Is there no other proof?” 

“There is plenty of proof. If you want to know something, just ask.” 

“Are you so confident? It is true that some of Myne’s behavior during the last incident cause me to wonder. We were supposed to protect Melty, but she attacked her. What was her intention there?” 

“Melty is the first in line to inherit the throne of Melromarc. Therefore, if Melty were to disappear, Malty would become first in line.” 

“Now I understand.” 

Ren was nodding too. He’d been paying attention for a while now. 

Even Itsuki, who liked to pretend he was a shining knight of justice, was nodding. 

“Should we support Naofumi?” 

“Yes. Even back when Motoyasu was dueling him, Naofumi had been hit from behind by magic. What was that? It’s very strange to think back on it, even now.” 

“Yeah, and the next day when we were supposed to receive our funds for the next month, she had his funding taken away. It’s very hard to not harbor doubts in a situation like that.” 

It had taken a long time, but her true colors were finally plain for everyone to see. 

It felt like the winds of fate were finally blowing in my direction. I could assume that I’d proved my innocence now. 

“Aultcray is next.” 

The queen cast her gaze at Trash, and he seemed to flinch on the throne. 

“What were you doing? You made no attempt to discover the truth. We were supposed to be taking special care of the Shield Hero, but you threw him out into the world naked. I don’t even know what to say. In the past, no matter what my private feelings about you may have been I’d been able to keep you domesticated, but…” 

“It’s all the Shield’s fault!” 

“Malty was not raped. Her lies have been shown for what they are. What do you have to say about it?” 

“Urg… It’s the Shield! He’s to blame!” 

Was that all he could say? Just how much did he think he could pin on me?! Trash… 

He was just adding fuel to the fire at that point. 

“I swear… You would have been smarter about this in the past. You used to be smarter than this!” 

The queen held a palm to her forehead—clearly she couldn’t handle much more of it all. 

“It seems like you are not going to be able to defend yourself.” 

Like a breeze had blown through, both Bitch and Trash turned their eyes to the floor. 

Still, I didn’t get the feeling that they were going to apologize to me. That didn’t seem possible. 

They were so irritating. Why did the queen force me to stand there before them? Ideally, I wanted to spend as little of my time with them as I could. 

It’s not like I could expect them to revaluate their behavior in any sort of meaningful way. 

I wondered why she didn’t make Trash into a slave. Was there some kind of reason behind it? 

Well… I guess he wasn’t lying the way that Bitch was. 

“I thought, for a long time, of ways to get around having to say this— but I now believe there is no other way.” 

The queen was absentmindedly opening and closing her fan as she spoke, but now she authoritatively clapped it shut and pointed it at them. 

“I officially disown you both. From this time until eternity, neither of you will be considered part of the royal family.” 

“What?!” 

“Mama?!” 

Bitch and Trash both shouted in shock and protest. They weren’t able to accept the severity of their transgressions. 

It wasn’t so bad. I was starting to enjoy it! I hoped she’d come up with more things to show me. 

“Mr. Naofumi, what are you smiling about?” 

“Come on… You know.” 

“I know where you are coming from, but…” 

“Mother… She’s serious.” 

“Huh?” 

Filo turned her head to the side. She didn’t seem to understand what was happening. 

She could be pretty stupid when she wanted to be. All she understood was food, carriages, and Melty. 

Wait. Why was I thinking about Filo? There was so much other exciting stuff going on! 

“Why?!” 

“Both of you have behaved in unforgivable ways. Had you been truly repentant, I could have found some way to petition Mr. Iwatani for forgiveness. And yet…” 

“You think I’d forgive them?” 

“I thought of various ways to earn your trust after these two admitted their crimes and apologized…” 

Trust… apologies, ha! I’d rather just watch to see how this all played out. 

“What will happen to Melromarc if you remove me from the royal lineage?!” 

“Nothing bad. To be honest, you’re garbage—the scum of this country.” 

“Wah…” 

“How can you speak to your own child that way?!” 

Motoyasu was screaming in anger. 

“Don’t you understand? You reap what you sow. And it is now more than clear that Melty is the only one here capable of running the county. Malty, you’ve lost.” 

She was right—the country would be in much better hands with Melty. 

She could be a little hysterical, but she’d grown up a lot with all we’d 

been through. Besides, she only really ran her mouth off at me. “If you remove me from the throne, there are many people and 

organizations that will be upset.” “I’ve already silenced them. Did you think I was just sitting back and 

watching in silence for these last three months? If so, you’re mistaken.” “Bu…” Trash was so shocked he couldn’t speak. He just kept flapping his lips 

without saying anything. “Besides, why did you summon the Heroes on your own! We needed to 

discuss this.” “What do you mean?” “Certainly the Heroes found it odd that they would be summoned to this 

world without the approval or appearance of this nation’s highest authority?” “Naturally.” Like she said, she really didn’t seem like the kind of person that would 

leave such important matters up to her subordinates. 

Besides, if they had summoned us and been a bit more diplomatic, if they had really made the effort to win us over to their side, then they could have put us to better use. 

I didn’t want to admit it, but that went double for myself—considering how little I’d known about the world when they summoned me. 

They could have gotten me to fall in love and arranged any political marriage that was convenient. 

“Before we take this any further, we need to get one thing very clear. Our country was supposed to be the fourth country to summon the Heroes. This was decided at an international diplomatic meeting.” 

“Wait just a second!” 

Now she was blurting out some serious stuff. 

Different countries could summon the heroes? There was an agreed-upon order? 

What was Melromarc up to? 

“Explain.” 

“All right.” 

The queen began to explain things. 

The waves had come, and many different countries had suffered heavy losses. To discuss their options, the kings and queens of various nations all agreed to a meeting. 

Certainly, there were different interests expressed, and some of the countries were natural enemies (like Melromarc and Siltvelt), but no one could avoid the truth: the world was sliding closer to complete destruction. If any of the countries had squabbles, they agreed to put them aside until the relative safety of the world was secured. 

At that meeting, it was agreed that Melromarc would be the fourth nation to summon the heroes. 

It also sounded like the typical procedure was to summon one hero at a time. Most of the time when they attempted to summon heroes, no one showed up. 

Also, and this was supposed to go without saying, the heroes were expected to travel around to all the different countries. 

“So why did this country summon them?” 

“The Heroes are normally summoned using pieces of ancient holy relics. The ceremony can only be performed at a specified time, but…” 

It meant that they had summoned all the heroes while the queen was out of the country. 

“The Church of the Three Heroes had been around for a long time, and its roots run deep in these lands. As far as I know, they are a very conservative organization. Still, it appears they had unexpected ambitious plans.” 

“That sounds like a big problem to me.” 

The heroes were supposed to save the whole world, but we’d all been summoned to the same spot. 

“Yes, that is why we have been so heavily criticized.” 

“Why would you leave the country in the hands of a war hawk like this?” 

That was a big problem. She gave him way too much authority. 

Ren and Itsuki seemed to agree. They nodded. Their party members looked like they had something to say though. 

I’d heard a little about it from Melty. She had said that some really nice members of the nobility, the ones who had been in charge of Raphtalia’s village, had been killed in the wave. 

“What are you saying?!” 

“Shut up!” 

The queen shouted for silence. 

“Myne’s father isn’t that bad!” 

Motoyasu still had wisdom to contribute, apparently. 

“Motoyasu, you only feel that way because of the special treatment you received. This all makes sense to us.” 

“Yeah. I felt like things were unfair this whole time.” 

“That’s the precise problem. The first wave came while I was away on diplomacy. I had appointed someone I trust, my right hand, to take care of the kingdom in my absences… but…” 

“…But?” 

“They died in the wave… And they had spent so much time earning the trust of the demi-humans…” 

“May I ask a question?” 

“What is it, Mr. Amaki?” 

“Why did this human-supremacist country harbor nobility that wanted to work with the demi-humans?” 

The queen opened her fan and hid her mouth when she answered Ren’s question. 

“We wanted to avoid war with Siltvelt, and so it was part of our strategy to fix our relations with demi-humans. Siltvelt was aware of this, and they were doing the same thing for humans in their country.” 

I was starting to understand. The nobility had been kind to the demi¬humans as a sign of good faith to avoid war with Siltvelt. 

“It’s odd how open you are being about this.” 

Itsuki said this to the queen, expressing his suspicions. 

“After we forcibly summoned your here, take it as a sign of my sincerity that I, the highest authority in these lands, would speak honestly with you like this. If I don’t go out of my way to earn your trust, how could I ask for your cooperation?” 

Ren and Itsuki looked at each other then nodded. 

“However… Aultcray has already shown a great deal of preferential treatment for the Spear Hero. The Bow and Sword Heroes have also demonstrated their loyalty. But, from this point on, if it seems like I am showing the Shield Hero preferential treatment, please understand that I am simply trying to balance and correct the past misdeeds here.” 

“All right.” 

“You’re right. If Naofumi really was innocent of everything, then the scales must be balanced. I understand.” 

“Back to the topic at hand… It seems that Aultcray’s incompetence has led to the destruction of our demi-human protected district.” 

The queen reared back and stomped on Trash’s foot with all her might. 

“Owwww.” 

“And I found this out at the exact same time that I discovered your secretive summoning ceremony!” 

The queen slapped Trash time and time again. 

“Ugh…” 

“This is what I get for allowing a fool like this to rule in my stead! A never-ending series of ridiculous events in my absence! Even if the true enemy WAS the Church…” 

“Ugh!” 

“And the very next day after the Heroes begin their quest, you call in the Shield and deem him a criminal!” 

“UGH!” 

“Then you continue to discriminate against him! Do you have any idea how close you brought us to war?!” 

“UGH!” 

“And then, immediately following the second wave, you tried to steal his slave from him? What were you thinking?!” 

She was really worked up… 

“Because of your foolish behavior, Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden are infuriated. They could attack at any time!” 

I was starting to sympathize with the queen’s position. 

Everyone she’d entrusted the kingdom to had died or disappeared, and she had to keep the world from war all by herself. 

I was impressed. She must have been a very skilled diplomat. 

Even if she just looked like a hysterical woman in her twenties exploding at her husband. 

And she was Melty and Bitch’s mother? She certainly looked young for her age. 

“Then, on top of everything, you write to say that you want to see 

Melty? How selfish can you be?!” 

“Ugh!” 

“And the people that would use you and your red face to accomplish their own goals… They were right there before you, and you didn’t notice? All of this is your fault!” 

She was fuming with anger. She went on. 

“I hereby declare the Church of the Three Heroes heretical! Melromarc will follow the Church of the Four Holy Warriors from now on!” 

“W…What?! You would abandon the very traditions that gave rise to our kingdom?!” 

“There is no reason to maintain a tradition that causes nothing but trouble!” 

The Church of the Four Holy Warriors? 

“What’s that?” 

“A religion that worships the four Holy Heroes equally.” 

Melty explained. 

I guess that was only natural. If there were four people that saved the world, you’d expect a religion to crop up about them sooner or later. 

“The Church of the Three Heroes originally branched off from the Church of the Four Holy Warriors. But to explain why, we’d have to go all the way back to the founding of Melromarc.” 

“Huh…” 

If Siltvelt worshiped the Shield Hero, then it was only logical to assume that other countries worshiped the heroes in different ways. It was easy enough to imagine the reason. If Melromarc and Siltvelt were not on good terms, and Siltvelt worshiped the Shield Hero… 

It was only natural that they’d come up with a way to say that the other country’s religion was false, that their god was a demon, etc. That would explain the start of the Church of the Three Heroes. 

“Sigh…” 

The queen finished scolding Trash. Refreshed from slapping him so many times, she opened her fan, hid her mouth, and turned to me. Too bad I hadn’t gotten the chance to slap Trash. 

“There is much more to discuss, Mr. Iwatani. But it will have to wait until later.” 

“I’d rather not hear about all that.” 

“Myne and the king are not bad people! This is all a misunderstanding!” 

Motoyasu had been standing in silence for a little while, but he finally stepped forward and stated screaming again. 

What did he want? 

“But everything makes sense, doesn’t it? We were nearly killed, and the facts behind all these events have come to light and been proven.” 

“Yeah. We looked into all sorts of things. I got suspicious. It really does seem like Naofumi has been discriminated against. It’s actually very impressive that he was able to earn the trust of anyone at all. None of that was due to anything like a Brain Washing Shield. It is all because of Naofumi and his friends. They earned people’s trust.” 

Itsuki and Ren both spoke up on my behalf. 

“When I accidentally unleashed an epidemic on that village in the mountains, it was Naofumi that cleaned it up. That is plenty of reason to trust him.” 

“Yes, and if you saw the weapon that the high priest was using against us, it’s clear enough who was behind all of this.” 

“Ugh….” 

Motoyasu’s fingers were curled into a shaking fist. He was still glaring at me. 

“Mr. Kitamura, if you wish to protest further, you will have to do so after you are able to provide some proof of your assertions.” 

“Fine. I’ll be right back with proof. Myne! Let’s go. 

“Unfortunately, I haven’t finished speaking with Malty. You will have to wait until we are finished here.” 

When the queen finished speaking, a large number of castle knights appeared behind the throne and began walking towards him. 

“Bu…But! But Myne!” 

“Spear Hero, please step outside.” 

They were very polite as they motioned for him to leave the throne room. 

I hoped he wasn't so stupid as to cause a ruckus in the throne room. 

“Stop changing the subject.” 

“I’m very sorry.” 

“It’s really Motoyasu’s fault, so I wouldn’t worry about it.” 

Itsuki seemed to have some suspicions that Motoyasu was receiving preferential treatment. I didn’t see a reason to correct him. 

“Anyway… There are still many punishments I need to heap upon my husband and daughter.” 

Bitch and Trash were both pale. It was time to pay the piper. 

“Are you disappointed?” 

“Of course!” 

“Yes! Mama! I’m not bad!” 

“I believe I already disowned you, so please stop calling me mother. As for what to do with you… Ah, yes, perhaps I’ll have you pay off some of the country’s debts. Here you are.” 

The queen paused for a beat. 

She handed Bitch of sheet of paper with a number written on it. Bitch’s face went even paler. 

Bitch was true to her nature. Apparently she’d been loose with the country’s purse strings too. I can’t say I’m surprised though. 

“How am I supposed to pay this?!” 

“That is the amount of money you asked the guild for. You cannot just take what you want from the treasury and not be expected to return it. I also took the liberty of adding the funds that were necessary to put out the forest fires you started. Just as that paper says, you will now work like a slave to pay off your debts to the Crown.” 

“But that’s impossible!” 

“If you don’t like it, then work with the Heroes to save the world. If you actually contribute, then I’ll think about it.” 

Bitch finally shut up, so the queen turned to Trash. 

“And look at you, feeling so safe that your daughter is the only one in trouble! All this goes for you too, Aultcray.” 

Trash was so shocked he stumbled forward. The damn fool couldn’t even raise his head to the queen. 

Couldn’t he behave a little more kingly? 

“You will either fight for the future of our country on the frontlines against the waves, or abandon your responsibilities and become a normal adventurer. Make your choice.” 

“Ugh… My wife… My QUEEN. I was deceived. That is all. Please have mercy.” 

And who deceived him? The Church? Or me? Was he about to throw Bitch under the bus? 

“Yes, Mama, forgive me…” 

“I’m all out of mercy and forgiveness… Ah, I have an idea.” 

The queen beckoned for me. I quickly stepped forward. 

“Mr. Iwatani. How should we punish these two? I give you the right to decide.” 

“Death! Put them to death!”