Chapter 52 - A Dire Situation

—Cole POV—

Finding Naofumi and company already on the road, we joined them to see what jobs they took from the Job Board. Showing me a few postings for Goblin Exterminations, I was glad this wasn't Goblin Slayer…or they might find many sorry souls in the Goblin Nest. Putting that thought aside, I inquired why they only picked Goblin Quests.

"Senko thought it be better to start off with less intelligent monsters, the other extermination quests were for wolves and kobolds.", Naofumi said glancing over at Senko.

"Given the fact that Naofumi and Raphtaila have no combat experience, I felt it was safer to fight feral Goblin over organized wolves and kobolds.", Senko told me, "Also, if you had other engagements I can handle their training today."

Staring her in the eyes, I looked to see if she had any hidden intentions. Skimming her mind I saw she had the full intention of trying to get in Naofumi's good graces. Like many of her kin, she was eager to get her stake in his bed. It was her hope that showing him how reliable she was would get her into his future harem. Cracking a smile, I felt bad for her as I wasn't sure how well that would work out for her.

"Naofumi, you cool with her teaching you today?", I inquired.

"Yeah that's fine, where are you heading off to?", he replied curious about my plans.

"Probably going to search around the forest of Siltvelt for ruins. We are looking for anything pertaining to a Dragon God or Ancient Gods.", I informed him knowing he'd know nothing about it.

Seeing Senko perk up at the mention of Gods, she asked me what I was looking for in particular. Stating that we were looking for potential Ancient Holy Places, I explained we were looking for relics and information on them. Telling me there were ruins on the southwestern edge of Siltvelt that I may find useful, she drew up a rough map for where I could find them.

Heading off after marking it down on a map for us, I promised to meet up with them for dinner this evening. Transporting my group away in a bolt of lightning, Naofumi and his party headed off toward their quest locations to begin working.

—3rd Person POV—

Taking Kessler's words seriously, Malty was in full panic mode as her life started to flash before her. Malty understood there were going to be some repercussions for summoning the Four Legendary Heroes, but she never dreamed her mother would sell her off as compensation to the King of Faubrey. Having gone to school there a few years ago, she knew exactly what type of man he was and she would end up in a casket a few weeks after marrying him.

'All I wanted was fame, prestige, and glory damn it! Why do I have to help carry the burden of this!? Father should be the one to shoulder it as he is the King!', she thought as she glanced over at the three Legendary Heroes next to her, 'These morons won't be in any shape to help me before mother returns. I have already burned the bridge with the Shield Hero, the only semi-competent one, though that isn't saying much when compared to these three. There has to be some way to weasel out of this, I refuse to be killed by that pig!'

Having noticed Malty's distant gaze since their meeting with the S-Rank Adventurer this morning, Motoyasu was concerned for her well-being. He had asked the rest of the party about the King of Faubrey, and all he got was disgusted looks from them at the mention of him. Thinking there was something very wrong about the man, Motoyasu decided to just ask Malty directly about it.

"Malty, is there something wrong?", Motoyasu asked with a concerned look, "You've been pretty quiet since that guy talked to you this morning. Is there something wrong about the King of Faubrey?"

"You have no idea how bad that man is!", Malty replied keeping herself from verbally exploding on him, "What the Adventurer said this morning about being his ten thousandth wife…he wasn't joking. The King of Faubrey goes through women like tissues, I don't want to be on the list of women associated with him!"

"Wow, so he is a player then…being King must have gone to his head. If you want I can try talking him out of the marriage if that makes you feel any better.", Motoyasu suggested not understanding what she was implying.

Remembering that she was talking to an idiot, Malty knew staying with Motoyasu was going to get her nowhere now. Since the Legendary Heroes weren't going to be enough, she needed to find someone else of nearly equal status that could help her. Excusing herself from the party for the day, the princess retreated to the castle to consult with her father. Pulling him out of a meeting, she sat him down and told him exactly what Kessler told her.

'She'd never give our children away without a fight…the situation must be incredibly dire.', he thought as the weight of what they did sank in, "You know I won't be able to stop her once she returns, Malty I am sorry but there isn't anything I can do."

"If I go there, I will come back here in a casket!", Malty pleaded acting like a terrified child, "There has to be some way I can avoid being pawned off!"

Taking time to examine his options, the King concluded there was only one thing to do…she had to be married off before his wife returned. Remembering that she was currently partied up with the Spear Hero, he immediately suggested marrying him to void any potential marriage arrangements.

"Father, if I do that many nations may think I married him to further our standing with the Legendary Heroes. It may make things worse for us if I do that!", Maly said not wanting to marry Motoyasu now, "Is there anyone other than the Heroes I could marry?"

Mentally reviewing the lineup of upcoming Knights in their country, he realized that none of them were suitable for Malty. Many of them were already wed, and those that weren't were constantly in the Red Light District when not on duty. Turning to the nobles of their country, he remembered that none of the young noblemen saw Malty in a favorable light. There was a stubborn rumor going around that she was a floozy, but he knew that couldn't be true.

"As much as it pains me to say it…what about that boy Taka?", the King suggested holding back his disgust, "You thought highly of him, and he is an upcoming powerhouse in the Adventurer's Guild."

"That…", she said trying to remember him, "I don't know where he is to even call for him. Mother will be back in a few weeks so I will need a marriage partner before the official announcement is made!"

Acknowledging what she was saying, the King was going to see if an allied nation had any noblemen her age when another idea came to mind.

"What about that Adventurer Kessler?", he stated, "There are less than five S-Ranked Adventurers in the Adventurers Guild, and all of them are easily the strongest people in our world aside from the Heroes. Surely marrying him would be sufficient enough to make the King of Faubrey reconsider his stance. A single S-Rank Adventurer is more than enough to fight off a Wave alone, a military strike against one would cost him thousands of men to succeed."

Looking at her options, Malty realized that she had no choice but to throw herself at his feet for safety. She recognized that he was a powerful individual so hopefully, he would be enough to save her from this fate.

'That is easier said than done though…he hated my guts the moment I met him. If I am careless, he will kill me before I even realize it.', Malty thought, 'I will need to appease him with something. From what I heard at the Church he is looking into the Ancient Gods…maybe we have something in the treasury that I can use to buy his hand. Even if it is a loveless, spiteful marriage…it's better than being dead.'

Telling her father she wanted to marry Kessler, Malty said she'd start looking into him so she could persuade him. Leaving the throne room in a hurry, the Princess snuck into the treasury to see what items she could find to sway Kessler.

—Cole POV—

Arriving in Siltvelt, I almost started a forest fire on accident as my lightning struck the ground. Using Earth Flow to put it out before it could spread, my wives started laughing at me for the stupid move on my part. Telling them to cut me some slack, I said the alternative was moving as smoke for over an hour to get here.

"Couldn't you have teleported bit by bit till we got here?", Leona pointed out.

"Too much of a hassle when I can just shoot into the sky and jet through the atmosphere.", I chuckled turning my attention to the wall of dense jungle, "Well…finding the exact location is going to be a pain in the ass."

"Don't you have some sort of Echo Location thingy to find it?", Purlin inquired, "You have a lot of powers so one of them must do it."

"...echo location won't work in dense forest, especially on the forest floor.", I stated playfully smacking her butt, "No, we will need to explore on foot for the ruins. Be careful where you step though, this jungle is probably full of poisonous insects and snakes."

Heeding my warning, Purlin turned into a cat and jumped onto my back. Wrapping herself around the back of my neck, she got comfortable and kept an eye out for anything of use.

"Grr!!", Silva growled, "Damn you cat!"

Changing into their wolf forms, Silva and Repune ran off ahead of us to search for the ruins while the rest of us started moving into the jungle. Using Earth Flow and Overhaul to clear a smooth path for us, Leona asked me what I thought of Senko.

"She wants in his pants.", I chuckled, "As I said before, Siltvelt has a large population of people that worship the Shield Hero like a God. For her, this is a chance to join his harem and be something more than she ever has been…as far as she thinks."

"What do you mean by that?", Alpha asked.

"Be honest, is being in my harem exactly the way you thought it be?", I questioned as I surveyed the area, "Most of your parents thought everything would be peaches and roses, but…"

"It's been far from it!", the three laughed in unison.

Having a harem is the dream of many men, but it wasn't always good times. Women don't become sisters overnight, and they certainly don't do it when they are from opposing races. For example, because I chose to be with Shera and Venom, I never got close to any other females. Arachne are usually very stubborn when it comes to sharing their mates, they are hardly ever in harems because they don't play well with others. It took Venom years to warm up to Shera, and the only reason she did was that she realized Shera wasn't going to take me and split.

'It certainly helped that Shera is an airhead and never thought about it. She was just happy to have friends to travel around with since she had no home to return to.', I recalled, 'Man, Venom put her through hell every time she got cozy with me when she wasn't around. She's come a long way in trusting I won't abandon her as her father did her mother. That said…kidnapping men to procreate probably isn't a good way to keep a husband.'