"I wonder if Eula doesn't mind me teleporting to where she is currently. Then again she and her fellow knights have probably already left their resting spot so I'll wait until the afternoon to surprise her with a sudden mission."
Naofumi mutters to himself as he checks his shield inventory as he is currently walking towards the gate entrance to meet up with merchants from other nations. Right now he is meeting two merchants, one from Liyue and one from Fontaine.
The Liyue merchant should have received a letter for him from Yanfei for her response to his girlfriend's letter. Six days after it was delivered, today is the day when he should get a letter. As for the Fontaine merchant, well ever since he first read the news from the Streambird, he decided to get his subscription to get daily news to see what is happening around Teyvat.
But he could also see what the other merchants have in case he needs to unlock more shields. He did gain so many shields thanks to the materials from the other nations but you can never be sure if you truly got everything.
Soon he approaches a man he is too familiar with during his month and a half, which is what he notes the day is.
"Monsieur Iwatani! Here is today's copy of the Streambird news?"
Naofumi was in front of a Fontaine merchant as he said he was indeed here to get the latest news about Fontaine or anything that the paper wrote in Teyvat. He was then given the newspaper by the man he met every time he went to get a newspaper.
"Good morning to you too and thank you, sir. Could I also buy two bags of coffee beans while I'm here?"
"Of course Monsieur Iwatani. That will be 200 Mora. Would you also like to buy a few of our Fonta, buy one for 160 Mora?"
The moment Naofumi heard Fonta, he immediately thought about how that name sounded very similar to the drink Fanta back in his homeworld. He even saw the bottle of it and guessed it was the orange flavor. Now Naofumi was feeling like buying and drinking a similar beverage to see if it truly is Teyvat's version of Fanta.
He can also share it with Eula.
"I'll take three bottles."
The man smiled as Naofumi gave him the payment of 580 Mora. Naofumi thanked him as he looked at the front cover of the newspaper and was immediately alerted by the headline.
[ANOTHER ONE MISSING! IT HAS HAPPENED ONCE AGAIN, ANOTHER DISAPPEARANCE OF A YOUNG WOMAN! NOTABLY THE ## MISSING WOMAN THAT WENT MISSING IN FONTAINE!]
The paper explained the disappearance of a woman who was the lead actress of a play that was scheduled to perform in a week as the director of the play was in a hurry to find a replacement actress. This became a shock to Naofumi, but even more so because of the number that displays how many women including the recent one went missing.
It even mentions that this year it is the 18th year since a young woman suddenly went missing which started a chain of more women going missing. Nearly two decades and yet it kept on happening.
Naofumi had heard of that nation, Fontaine, the Nation of Justice, where the Hydro Archon resides, and it is known for having a unique device used on trial to declare anyone innocent or guilty. The Oratrice Mécanique d'Analyse Cardinale. For some odd reason, Naofumi could only get the name correct in his mind while imagining some kind of white dragon dancing in the background.
Still, he looks back at the merchant as he asks about this, the moment Naofumi asks his question the merchant lets out a frustrated sigh.
"To think Monsieur Iwatani would also react to this terrible news. But sadly yes, this is sadly the recent missing women in our beautiful nation. The fact that this keeps happening is very concerning, especially as the Maison Gardiennage is doubling its efforts to find the culprit behind these disappearances. But like the previous cases, no body was ever found, small clues that lead to dead ends, it is like whoever is truly behind this is truly avoiding the very foundation of our nation."
Naofumi took this information seriously, while also thinking about how such a case couldn't be solved. And by the sound, it seems Fontaine's own version of the police force hadn't even found the very clue that could lead to the person responsible for the missing women.
"This accursed case is even making our Hydro Archon and our Chief Justice ponder who could be the culprit of this heinous crime. We could only hope that whoever is behind this will be caught sooner rather than later. I'm worried about my daughter back home, who knows one day she'll be the next woman going missing. I cannot bear to imagine if she someday goes missing."
Naofumi didn't say much as he exchanged a few more words with the merchant about Fontaine, once he got what he needed to know, he said his thanks and went ahead to the Adventurer's Guild. He thought about what he learned about Fontaine.
"To think something that heinous is occurring in the very nation where justice is supposed to prevail."
"Naofumi? Are you okay?"
Bennett was walking from a different direction when he noticed Naofumi. His eyes sparkled when he spotted his older brother figure, but he noticed his current behavior. Naofumi snapped out of his thinking as he greeted Bennett.
"Oh hey, Bennett! Were you looking to do commissions?"
"No, not today. In fact, I wish to hang out with you Naofumi. I noticed we hadn't interacted for a few days."
This made Naofumi realize what his little bro meant. Ever since he began to secretly date Eula, he has been using his Portal Shield skill to spend time with her while she is on another scouting routine. And because it is a secret relationship even Eula had to sometimes make excuses with her fellow knights to either check on something or anything to find a spot and wait for Naofumi to suddenly appear.
Sure it does sound like it is a long-distance relationship but because Eula is on a mission and Naofumi is just waiting for her response letter from Yanfei. It makes sense for the two of them to be meeting in secret as they wish to keep their relationship as secret as they can until the point where they need to reveal it to the entire nation.
Which was why Naofumi wasn't in the city as much as anyone could have expected him to be. But because the citizens of Mondstadt had figured he was out doing commissions they hadn't thought much of it. Which is an excuse that Naofumi is willing to take just to reassure Eula that nobody will get suspicious of him.
But that is also the same for Eula as she too has to ensure her fellow knights can never know about her new relationship. Sure, she knows that the knights can trust her, but who can say they'll keep it a secret if they were drinking at Angel's Share for everyone else to hear.
So at least until Eula returns to Mondstadt after her routine, this is what they had to accept to do for now. But that didn't stop them from trying to do, while being inexperienced, what they believe couples do in relationships.
"Sorry Bennett, I should have been with you in these past few days to at least help you with your commissions, especially with your bad luck and all."
"Ah, no need to worry about it Naofumi. Fischl joined me in doing my commissions. We were gaining lots of experience with the system but we made sure we didn't level up as you said. If we need to get those stat bonuses we need to be in your party. We're almost at level 8."
This reminds Naofumi that he is still on level 12. Not because he hadn't been fighting the native creatures, but there were one or two of each species that were found either on the road or in places where they are normally found. But that didn't reduce the number of Treasure Hoarders. Human stealers that ambushed Naofumi one day thinking he would be an easy target as he is known to have a shield.
But thanks to the shield bonuses it provided him they barely stood a chance with him, even if he didn't physically harm them with his own hands, but his skills did all the work.
"But you've also been… You know."
He smiled as if he was in on a big secret. In fact he and Amber are in on the big secret, both of them are fully aware of Naofumi and Eula interacting, though it wasn't much as it was even rare of the both of them to see them next to each other. But the expression they either showed or hid was just so obvious to Bennett and Amber that, well, they just thought that both of them finally became a couple.
And after secretly asking Naofumi and seeing his reaction, both Bennett and Amber said their congratulations to him and Eula on becoming a couple. Amber even said she wished she had asked Eula just to get a reaction out of her before she left early for scouting with her team.
"I don't mind seeing my big bro with the woman he loves. Plus you've been happier these past few days."
"So I noticed myself. Hey, Bennett, are you perhaps free for a few days?"
Bennett looks at Naofumi in confusion. Before he could ask, he was told by Naofumi to follow him as he did so. Soon they reach the Liyue merchant who looks excited to see Naofumi as she gives him the letter that Eula had given her six days ago.
Once Naofumi got the letter, as well as seeing if there was anything he could buy, which was just more ore material, as he opened the letter and read.
[Hello Naofumi Iwatani, my name is Yanfei. I've heard so much about you from my dear friend Eula. I can't believe that you're the guy who managed to melt her frozen heart. But after hearing how much she meant to you, I can imagine how great a guy you are. And to think that you're the very Shield Hero that Granny told me stories about. Your predecessor truly helped in the past by not just aiding the Adeptus but also the Yaksha. Granny even said the Geo Archon views the Shield Hero as an honorary comrade and friend. Oh, I just realized I'm going off topic. The reason why you had Eula send me a letter. It seems you manage to sense the Hunting Hero in Liyue.]
"Hunting Hero? Guess this legendary hero must be a specialist in hunting."
Bennett mutters as Naofumi could only nod. It seems that what he felt was true and there is indeed another hero in Teyvat.
[That's right, you manage to feel another legendary hero in Teyvat, I'm honestly amazed that you manage to even sense her, oh, her name is Kizuna Kazayama. But what is more shocking is that there's another legendary hero that nobody had heard of, Granny mentioned that she'd only seen the Shield Hero, she hadn't even heard of the Hunting Hero or the legendary hunting tool. But it didn't bother her, in fact, she seems to be focused on training Kizuna to learn a certain technique that was similar to a technique from the previous Shield Hero. Or so she said to me. I think you and Kizuna can get along well. I think she'll be even happier on meeting another legendary hero that she hadn't heard of. I'm not sure if you are already prepared to head to Liyue but if you are then we will be expecting you in three days. Once you arrive at the bridge that leads to the city just head on inside, because there'll be someone who will be waiting for you. He is an employee of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, and he even requested that he meet you once you arrive here. Until then, we will await your arrival. Sincerely Yanfei.]
This surprised Naofumi. Someone else knows about the legendary shield and the title Shield Hero. Someone who knows about the previous one. He wasn't sure if Yanfei's granny was talking about Mamoru but at least there's someone who can tell him about what the Shield Hero did in the past.
Now feeling more determined, Naofumi thought about setting off to Liyue immediately. But then he suddenly thought about Bennett. Bennett wishes to spend time with his big bro and right now he could tell that he will go right away. So after thinking for a quick second, Naofumi made a decision.
"You already know that I'm going to Liyue to meet the Hunting Hero. But if you don't mind, would you mind accompanying me to Liyue? I still need someone to fight alongside me in battles. My attack stats are still weak."
Bennett's eyes lit up. Seemed excited by what Naofumi asked him.
"Really!? You don't mind me going with you?"
"Not at all. Plus, you did mention that you wished to go exploring other places than Mondstadt someday but couldn't because of your bad luck, before you met me. But now, with me by your side, you can travel anywhere without having to worry about your bad luck affecting this opportunity."
Naofumi can see the stars around Bennett, as if he truly has a real big brother who would always make him smile. It made Naofumi chuckle a bit.
"You can ask your dads for permission, I think they'll be okay with you going with me considering who I am. But it is safe to be sure that they'll know that I'm taking you with me. I'm going to see if we can get a ride to Liyue or get a horse or two to travel. Perhaps I can ask Kaeya."
"Got it! I'll ask my dads for permission! Oh! Is it just us or…?"
"Hmm… I guess we can invite Fischl as well. But ask her if she wants to come with us."
With an excited nod Bennett ran with a huge smile on his face, Naofumi sighed with a smile as he turned in a direction and headed off to Angel's Share. The most obvious location for him to find Kaeya.
"Kizuna Kazayama… I wonder if all legendary heroes are summoned from Japan."
—
"Your highness, we came back with the report you requested."
A familiar figure suddenly appeared behind the Queen of Melromarc, she turned to face the figure with a stern look as if she hadn't gained any rest within a month.
After hearing what happened within her nation, she did all she could to prevent all the powerful nations from invading Melromarc, declaring war, and anything that could lead to utter disasters. But that didn't stop the most powerful people from being angry with her husband's foolish decision.
She too is angry but she had to do what she could to prevent anything that could harm her family and the nation she ruled. Thankfully she managed to get the king of the most powerful nation Faubrey to aid her in facing the wrath of all the nations' leaders.
She also uses her wits and such to persuade the other leaders to try and get in contact with their supposed heroes by having envoys meet with them and see if they wished to go with them to their respective nations, the nations where they were supposed to be summoned.
Unfortunately, the Sword, Bow, and Spear Heroes declined to go with the envoys as it didn't ease the leaders' anger, not one bit. Especially Siltvelt, because the leader of the rivaling nation informed her that they couldn't get in contact with the Shield Hero at all and demanded to know what she did with the Shield Hero.
The reason why she was facing all the anger was that Faubrey was supposed to summon one of the three heroes there but the summoning did not work. After seeing what was wrong they learned that Melromarc summoned all four heroes; they even have a special device that contains the statues of the four legendary heroes. And it confirmed that all four heroes were indeed summoned.
But the Queen knew exactly what happened to the Shield Hero, and she didn't wish to have Siltvelt invade Melromarc so she lied to Siltvelt's leader and said that the Shield Hero was working on stopping the corruption that was happening in her nation.
One of those involves searching for the missing residence of the demi-human village that was destroyed in the first wave. But in hindsight, it was her shadows searching to look like the Shield Hero was doing the work. It pleased the leader of her enemy nation but she didn't know how long it would last until he found out something was off.
She even has her shadows to either destroy or prevent the Three Heroes Church from doing any more damage than they had already caused. They are the reason why she is in this mess to begin with, she long tolerated that damned church, and what they did with the summoning was the last straw.
The moment she gets the chance to return she will use her full power to ensure changes and such to ensure this does not happen again in the future. She sent her youngest daughter back to Melromarc to ensure the corporations of the three heroes. Right now, they were all Melromarc needed to ensure the nation's safety.
She could only hope her eldest daughter hadn't caused much trouble in that month, but she truly doubted that it would happen.
"Please tell me you have good news."
What she will hear will not be good news to her.
"Your highness, the second wave of Melromarc has been subdued by the three heroes. But it sadly came at the cost of a nearby village being destroyed. While the three heroes kill the boss to end the wave, the monster's army is ignored by the heroes, who ravage the nearby village. Lives were lost, yet the town celebrated with the second wave being stopped. Nobody cared what happened to the village that was destroyed, not even the three heroes."
The Queen was silent for a moment, and the shadow began to feel the room's temperature drop below 0 ͦc. The fan in her hands looked like it was about to snap in half at any moment.
"Send shadows there to provide aid, ensure the remaining survivors will not endure being homeless and hungry."
The shadow nodded, but awaited the Queen to speak further.
"What are the heroes doing after the first wave?"
"Currently traveling, the Bow Hero is investigating a corrupt governor that we learned was the reason why the Ivyred family not only lost their remaining resources to defend themselves from but also their daughter. We managed to rescue her and brought her back to her family, but we had to bring the family back to Melromarc to prevent the governor from trying to do the same trick that he used to abduct her."
"Hmm, then you and the others did an excellent job, keep a watch on the Bow Hero to see what his actions would do to that governor's territory."
The shadow nodded as they continued.
"The Sword Hero is currently on his way to Misro Village after he accepted a commission from the village to slay a dragon, the very dragon that has been keeping order in the mountains."
"Gaelion! The Dragon Emperor!? Why would that village need to slay the dragon that fought the waves here in the past?"
The Queen was shocked to hear this, the Dragon Emperor had truly aided Melromarc in the past with the waves, how a village wanted to slay the very dragon that had been helping them made no sense to her at all.
"We learned that the villagers are either afraid of the Dragon Emperor or wish to gain the treasure that Gaelion has been keeping hidden. Perhaps even wish to have his corpse be used to gain attraction to the village, that is my third guess as to why they wish to have him slain."
"...Did you manage to prevent the Sword Hero from making his way to the village where Gaelion resides?"
"We did, thankfully, we had to reveal that we're on her highness' side and how important Gaelion is to Melromarc. Even his party members spoke stories that they heard about Gaelion which convinced him not to continue his quest to slay the dragon. But he still wishes to meet with the Dragon Emperor to either gain something from there or see the dragon himself."
The Queen sighs in relief, her expression then turned serious.
"Ensure that those villagers know exactly who they wish to kill and steal his treasures As well as to make sure neither the Bow nor Spear Hero receives commission from the same village."
The shadow bowed once again as they let out a frustrated sigh, as if the last hero was the most difficult they had ever seen.
"Lastly, the Spear Hero, if I may be honest, his nativity towards women is the only reason why your eldest daughter has him wrapped around her finger. He seems to follow whatever she says, even to the point that she suggested him in trying to rule the destroyed village to the point of raising taxes for entry fees. But we stopped her from doing such a thing. But that didn't stop her from trying."
"Malty… I'll write her a letter with my signature to put a stop to what she is planning for that village."
"A wise decision, she will return there one day so she'll be informed once we receive your letter. For now, she along with the Spear Hero are heading towards Lerno Village to deliver food to prevent the villagers there from going hungry."
The Queen nodded as she changed the topic.
"How is the search for the missing Lurolona villagers?"
"We're slowly finding more of the missing villagers. Some needed critical treatment, and a lot of children were being kept prisoners in Idol Rabier's dungeon. We fear that the surviving adults have all long been killed. A few children from the village were apparently sold off to Zeltoble. We can only hope that we'll find them before anyone purchases them."
The Queen bit her lips in frustration, to think the first wave could have done all of this.
"Anything else?"
"Yes, one of the children had suddenly disappeared. Vanished without a trace, a tanuki demi-human. We tried to find traces or anything that could have led to her disappearance but it looks like she just disappeared from the face of the world. Even the caretaker who looked after the demi-human children didn't notice anything unusual with her or anyone."
"That is deeply concerning."
"But her disappearance might be related to something similar that we took note of. Something truly disturbing. The Seven Star Claw, Projectile, Axe, Hammer, and Gauntlet have been reported missing, nobody knows what has happened to them, or the wielder who possessed them, even the Gauntlet that hadn't chosen a wielder mysteriously vanished. The only known Seven Star Hero is the Whip Hero, Takt Faubrey. He is currently in Shieldfreeden."
"As if the world didn't get enough with its missing Shield Hero, now five of the Seven Star Weapons are missing as well!"
The fact that only the Whip Hero is the only Seven Star Hero available to fight in the waves while the other remaining Seven Star Weapon, the Staff, and the wielder happens to be her husband. And there is a reason why he was chosen by the Staff itself. A war happened between Melromarc and Siltvelt, a war that came to its conclusion thanks to the Wisest King of Wisdom.
War tactics, pure intelligence, and powerful spells thanks to the Seven Star Staff, made the king of Melromarc the reason why they had won the war. The reason why she fell in love with him was his heroic and smart tactics. But now, she only sees the shell of his former self, so much so that the Staff vanished from his side but was still the wielder of it.
The Queen thought that the Staff had not given up on him, yet is hoping that he'll return to the man that it chose to be wielded by.
As for the Whip Hero, she heard stories of him, even knowing the relationship he and her eldest daughter were involved in. But Takt Faubrey was born in the royal family of the most powerful country in the world. Someone whose power can be praised and awed by many.
Achievements were made by him beginning when he was three years old, even to his recent achievement by winning the Seven Star Whip in a martial arts tournament in Shieldfreeden. If the queen were being truly honest at this very moment, she wonders if the world will truly be saved with only three legendary heroes and one Seven Star Hero.
"We suspected that one of the Seven Star Weapons had chosen the child, but vanishing without a trace doesn't seem to connect. But we don't have anything else that could lead to both the girl and the weapons vanishing."
"This is truly troubling. Had the other nations' leaders taken notice of this?"
"Some have noticed their missing Seven Star Heroes, but they'd decided to keep it a secret to prevent chaos and worry among the people. They even sent out their own scouts to see what had happened to their missing heroes."
"Keep an eye out for that missing child, while it is uncertain that she is involved with the missing Seven Star Weapons, we need to learn why they have vanished. The world is becoming more complicated than we could have ever imagined. Continue to eradicate the corruption in my country while I'll try to return as soon as I can."
With a final nod, the shadow vanishes, as if they were never there to begin with. The Queen put her hand on her forehead as a frustrated sigh escaped her mouth.
"It is in no way a coincidence that it all started with the exile of the Shield Hero. Perhaps I need to check the exact ritual that the damn church had used."
Her gaze locks onto some ancient relics and scrolls that her shadow had presented her when she ordered to get what was used for the summoning of the Shield Hero. It was no easy task to get the very thing that caused this whole mess. But she needs to know how dangerous this ritual was to send a cardinal hero away from the world they were supposed to be summoned to.
She knows she has little time to study it as she has to clean up the messes her husband made but once she has time, she'll look into it. She can only hope that good fortune will be on her side for what's to come.