Forgotten But Not Lost

31

"Holy crap! Archer, what did you kill in order to make this and where do I find more of it!" Tada shouted after having devoured his first serving of some kind of breaded chicken that Shirou had made. Though he seemed to shout just about everything he said. His entire team was loud.

It had come as something of a surprise to Manato and his team when they saw Kikkawa, a fellow Rookie who had showed up with them just ten days ago, walk in to the barracks gate with a veteran team, all of them as loud as he was. He cheerful blonde boy had been happy to see them, even if he didn't remember any of their names and even after being told them he didn't get any of them right and just gave them all embarrassing nicknames instead.
Still, it was interesting to see other veterans. In his mind, Shirou counted as a veteran, even if the others insisted that he was still a Rookie. Tada in particular interested him.
The man was one of the three frontline Priests that Shirou had mentioned before, the former Warrior had hung up his sword and replaced it with a massive war-hammer. His Priest's coat was inlaid with interlocking metal plates, sort of like if he had chainmail sewed between two different coats. Shirou said the style of armor was called "jack of plate" and was used when one wanted to appear less armored than they actually are.
It was strange for someone so violent in his every action to be a Priest.
The first thing the man did when he walked through the gate was challenge 'Archer' to a fight, even though Shirou wasn't even there. Then when he saw Manato's group trying desperately to survive against Mimori's whirling blade and staff combos, he shouted that he would fight them instead. Manato was glad that the man was willing to heal all of their broken bones afterwards, because he doubted he would have been able to manage the job.
The party all regretted their decision to train with Mimori. While training with Shirou had been like a long horrible march through a dessert in the middle of a sandstorm, training with Mimori and Tada had been like being hit by a truck. Much faster, but also leaving far more damage… Wait, what was a truck again?
"Stop overreacting. It's just some melruk meat I bought at the market. I haven't had time to hunt properly with a new group of Rookies to look after." Shirou said in his normal tone of voice, though Manato thought he saw a slight smile.
"Got to admit, your cooking's gotten even better. My hat is off to you kid." Inui said as the older Hunter took his time with his own food. Manato said he was a Hunter, but in truth he was also an ex-Thief and an ex-Warrior. The only Guild he could consider joining that he hadn't already mastered would be the Mage's Guild, since the others would require him to be undevoted to any God or Goddess.
Beside him a smaller woman with pale blond hair, sun kissed skin and large soft lips was speaking incomprehensible gibberish a hundred miles an hour while still finding the space to shovel food into her mouth. Her name was Anna, but she would refer to herself in third person as 'Anna-san' whenever she got excited, which was almost all the time, and expected people to address her as such. She was also a Priest, meaning that this veteran party too seemed to believe it was best practice to have two healers, though she was a former Mage instead of Warrior and was strictly a backline fighter.
"Any clue what she's saying?" Ranta asked Haruhiro.
"How would I know?" The Thief replied with a shrug.
"Because you're a straight man, it's your duty in life to interpret the random crap that comes out of people's mouths." Ranta argued, before adding his usual comment. "Come on, it's all you're really good for."
"She's saying something about the food of the gods. She's mentioning names of what I think are either deities or places and something about an orchard in heaven." Shirou said, hearing the boy's conversation. "Anna-san tends to switch languages whenever she gets excited. She's speaking in a language that doesn't exist in this world, so you shouldn't be surprised that you can't recognize it. I can make out bits and pieces, but I don't really know what it is myself."
"Food of the Gods." Niko said, those seeming to be the only words that made it through to her. "So good. Niko can die happy now."
"You are all being silly." Shirou sighed as he took a bite of his own food, chewed it a bit and sighed. "As I thought, I didn't balance the lemon and sage right. I'll have to adjust my measurements to make up for the increased potency. There is still room for improvement."
"You mean it gets better!?" Tada shouted in shock before pointing a finger at Shirou. "I knew it! I always knew there was something off about you, Archer! You're really a God of Cooking in disguise, aren't you!"
"God of Cooking." Niko and Anna-san repeated.
Tokimune started to laugh hard. "Careful you three, wouldn't want you all to get thrown out of the Priest's Guild for worshipping another God, now would we?" The man said between chuckles.
"Speaking of Priests, Mary. Since you're here, I assume you are willing to join the new recruits' party." Shirou said, turning his attention to another one of the girls.
Manato would have to admit that Mary was nearly as beautiful as Mimori, though she was younger than the Mage was, around the same age as Manato himself. She had pale, flawless skin and long dark blue hair that was tied up on one side. Like Tada, she was dressed in a cross between normal Priest's clothes and functional armor, having metal plates stitched between the layers of her robes and jacket. Like Shirou she had a distant expression and overall demeanor that was more than a little off putting. Even as she ate Shirou's amazing cooking and was surrounded by the laughing members of the Tokkis, she didn't smile even once.
While Shirou was like a robot trying to pretend it was human, or a human struggling with the fact that his face was as pliable as sheet metal, Mary wasn't even trying to pretend. She was a beautiful thing that could only be admired from a distance, as you could never get close to it. Manato couldn't help but wonder at having such a person in his party.
Mary looked at Manato, or perhaps she looked past him, Manato couldn't tell. Either way, the boy felt like he was being judged. He hated being judged. After a moment's consideration, she opened her mouth, prepared to speak… only she didn't get to.
"Hold it right there, Archy-tan!" Anna-san shouted as she stood up from her seat and slammed her hands onto the table before swinging out a hand to point one finger at Shirou in a dramatic fashion. "Don't you go running on ahead! This is an exchange, right!? An exchange! If you want Mary, then you have to give us Megu-chan! Those are the rules! Don't break the rules, Archy-tan!"
"Wait, what? Since when was this an exchange?" Megumin said, tilting her head in confusion from where she sat in Mimori's lap.
"I see." Shirou said a slightly cocky smile passing his lips. "A pity. If Megumin leaves, then I suppose there wouldn't be much reason for you all to visit us anymore for dinner."
"Huh!" Anna-san vocalized, her finger drooping along with her confident grin. "Th…That's not fair!"
"What will it be, Megumin or dinner? It's your choice." Shirou said, taking a certain amount of amusement from Anna-san starting to break down as she tried to figure out a way around Shirou's offer of choice, as she was unwilling to give up either.
"We don't have to decide!" Tada shouted as he too stood up from the table. "Archer, I challenge you to a fight, and when I win, we'll get both Megu-chan and your cooking!"
Anna-san's grin returned. "Yeah! Go Tada-tan! Fight on and win one for the team!" She cheered, throwing her arms up in the air.
"An interesting proposal. And what would happen if I were to win this fight?" Shirou asked the battle crazed Priest.
"Then I suppose we leave you with Mary and go home empty handed." Tada said, probably trying to sound badass.
"What!? No!" Anna-san shouted, shaking her head rapidly. "We can't bet that much on you winning! Not when your chances of winning are next to nothing!"
"Hey, just because he beat me before, doesn't mean he'll beat me again!" Tada objected, annoyed that the girl who had just been cheering him on was now insulting him.
"You dumbass, you aren't any stronger than you were last time! He will beat you and then we won't have either Megu-chan or the god food!" Anna-san shouted back at him.
"That's enough you two." Tokimune interjected in their little argument, though he continued to smile. "Megumin has already made it clear who she wants to stay with, and we all agreed not to press her. And as for Mary, we're just delivering the invite for her and nothing more. We've already mooched a free meal off of Archy's generosity. Leave it at that."
Anna-san pouted but sat back down, crossing her arm and scowling at Shirou. "Fine. We'll let you go for now, but we will be back."
"Of course you will." Shirou said with a sigh, his shoulders dropping. "I'll have to restock the pantry yet again then. You eat like a starving animal."
"Anna-san does not!" The girl blushed bright red at the accusation, though some of her teammates started to laugh, not very discreetly. "Anna-san is thin and beautiful! Archy-tan should be happy to do anything for her instead of being such a meanie!"
"Back on topic, what do you say, Mary?" Shirou said, glancing over at the blue haired girl Priest.
Mary looked at him, taking a moment to wait for Anna-san to stop throwing around what had to be insults in another language, before she finally spoke. "You know how I operate, correct?" She said in a voice just as flat as Shirou's normal tone.
"Yes. I do." Shirou said with a nod. "That's one of the reasons that I suggested you. You'll do your best to keep them alive, even if they hate you for it. At the same time, you won't be babying them, so they won't get their egos inflated and think that they are stronger than they really are. Right now they are barely strong enough to fight two goblins, and they aren't extraordinary talents. They have what it takes to survive in this world, but it will be a long road ahead of them, and I would rather they not try to take short cuts and end up dead in a ditch somewhere."
Manato was confused by Shirou's words. He said that Mary would do her best to help them, but that they would hate her for it. Why would they hate someone for helping them?
Mary thought about if for a few moments before nodding her agreement. "At what time should we meet and where?"
"If you come here tomorrow at dawn, you can have breakfast with us before going out with them." Shirou suggested.
"Acceptable." Mary nodded her agreement before turning back to her food.
"Is it just me or are all veterans a bunch of weirdos." Ranta said as he lay down in his bunk back at the boy's room. "I mean, first there was that Loopy Girl from the tower, then Commander Faggot, Steel Eyed Shirou, and now the Laughing Stocks and the Ice Queen. We have yet to meet a single veteran who isn't batshit crazy."
After dinner, Shirou went back to working on resizing the armor sets while the rest of the guys all took their baths and washed off the day's sweat and dirt before leaving to let the girls have a turn. Now there wasn't much left to do but think over the day and try not to pay any attention to their sore muscles.
"Are you really the one to be talking?" Haruhiro said before looking up at the ceiling. "I met a guy on our first day who seemed pretty normal. Shinohara didn't shout randomly or stare me down or anything."
"So that's one out of what, twenty?" Ranta said with a sigh before giving a tired grin. "Still, those girls sure were hot. Makes me kind of depressed about the slim pickings we've got in our little group. Maybe I'll manage to get that Mary girl to go out with me. I bet I could melt that cold expression of hers."
"Doubt it." The other three guys said at once.
"Don't shoot me down in unison!" Ranta shouted angrily. "How did a guy like Shirou get to be around so many beautiful girls in the first place? He's a nice guy and all, but he has all the outwards warmth of an icicle and the social skills of a hedgehog. Yet he's on a team with three girl, and the two of them we've seen are kind of cute. Even if the blonde is too damn tall for my tastes. Then there is Mimori, Anna and Mary, who were all super hotties."
"Three? Don't you mean four girls on his team?" Moguzo corrected him.
"I'm not counting the little girl. Too young to be considered. I'm only looking at girls who have started developing sexual characteristics." Ranta replied before scratching his chin. "Though if she shows signs of looking anything like Mimori in the next few years, then I'll start reconsidering."
"You are horrible." Haruhiro said with a shake of the head. "Don't you have any human decency at all?"
"Of course not!" Ranta shouted before pushing himself up out of his bunk. "What is the use of human decency anyways!? I am despicable. I am the King of Indecency!"
"You really shouldn't be sounding so proud of that." Manato chuckled at the red-head's over the top actions.
"Tsh, whatever. I'm going." Ranta said, walking towards the door.
"Going? Isn't It too late to be going out." Haruhiro said, looking towards the slit in the wall they had instead of a window. No light was coming through, so it was likely dark already.
"Come on, don't make me spell it out." Ranta said, turning to Haruhiro with a wide grin. "B-A-T-H-S."
"Ah, this feels so nice." Yume said as she let herself slink into the pool sized bath up to her neck. All of the aches from the day where being pushed back by the warm water.
"I know, isn't it." Megumin said as she relaxed herself as well while sitting in Mimori's lap. Mimori and Anna-san had decided to stay behind and join the girls in the bath before heading back home. "Originally, the bath was just a small hole in the ground, but Rin-sama used her Earth Magic to grow it out and compact the outside walls of it into shapes that you can sit on, then she created that crystal you see over there." Megumin pointed to a large crystal coin in the center of the pool. Light was coming from the small disc, illuminating the pool. "That is one of the crystal coins that Orcs use for currency. Rin-sama wove a spell into it so that it can be used to heat the water to just the right temperature and it even produces a relaxing current in water."
"I didn't know that there was magic like that." Shihoru said as she looked down into the pool.
"It isn't a part of the magic taught by the Mage's Guild. Necromancy and Dwarven craft have something kind of like it, but what Rin does is different somehow." Mimori told the younger Mage.
"I still don't know how she made it. Rin refuses to tell us." Anna-san said with a huff. "Not that I'll complain so long as she keeps letting us use it. It's usually a lot of hard work to heat up water for a bath, especially a large one like this, but it feels so fucking good." Anna-san said, stretching herself out and splashing the water about.
"Yes, it is nice to have a warm bath with everyone." Mimori agreed.
"If you say so." Sara said, not sounding nearly as happy about it.
"Don't be a sour-puss Sara-chan." Anna-san said, grinning at the Paladin. "You're just embarrassed about those big old melons of yours." Sara flushed and covered her chest with one hand. "What you covering them up for, we're all girls here. You should be more proud that you have such large bazongas."
"Bazongas…" Niko giggled as she relaxed herself much more openly next to the flustered Paladin.
"I keep telling you. It isn't that my breasts are big, I'm just… too big in general." Sara mumbled.
"Shihoru is big too." Yume said, startling the small girl.
"W…what?" She squeaked, not prepared to be in the center of this.
"Your boobs." Yume said, pointing to the girl's chest. "They are so big, and adorably round."
"A…adorably." Shihoru repeated, her face turning even more red.
"Yume bets they are super soft too." Before the Mage could object, Yume reached over and touched her breasts.
"Wait… wh… Nya…"
"Shihoru makes such a cute kitty noise. Nya! Nya!" Yume laughed, even as Niko and Anna-san ganged up on Sara. They were all enjoying themselves. Or most of them were.
They had no idea that on the other side of the wall, four boys were listening in on them. In the beginning Haruhiro had tried to stop Ranta, but as it turned out, the allure of the forbidden garden was too great for him, and it was the same for Manato and Moguzo as well.
The bath house had only one window and it was seven feet up off the ground. Too far up for any of them. In an action of self-sacrifice, Moguzo knelt before the spot, and told the others to climb up on his shoulders. It was a bonding moment among the boys that should have been a memory they would have looked fondly back on for years… if something unexpected didn't happen.
It would still be a memorable night anyways. Just with a lot more shocks to it.
A chill ran through their entire bodies as a sense of imminent danger began to overwhelm them. Moguzo jolted upwards as animal instinct told him to run for his life, causing Manato to fall down on top of the larger boy. Before any of the four could get their wits about them, an unfamiliar voice spoke up, scaring the crap out of them. "What do you four think you're doing?"
The four boys looked up to see a girl dressed in the whites and blues of the Priests' Order and with midnight black hair, standing a few feet away from them, her hands crossed underneath her chest and a look of disapproval on her face. She must have been a Priest, but in their eyes, at that moment, she seemed more like a dark and vengeful god.
The boys tried to think of something to say. Anything that would get this feeling of dread to stop. But before they did, another memorable and shocking event occurred.
The door to the bathhouse burst open and Mimori came tumbling out with sword and staff in hand. She moved quickly into a stance with her arms and legs both spread wide… showing absolutely everything. She looked around before seeing the new girl and the boys, all of whom had forgotten all about the girl Priest in order to gawk with open mouths at the naked form of Mimori.
The woman immediately relaxed, and a smile spread across her face. "It's so nice to see you Rin-chan. How was your training with the Priest's Guild?" She said, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that she was standing naked in front of the boys.
Rin sighed before lifting up one hand and making a complex seal in the air. "Ohm rel ect el krom darsh." She said, causing a dark shadow to form in the air around her hand before it streamed off towards the already spellbound guys in the form of a shadowy mist. Just two seconds later, each one of them was fast asleep. "It's nice to see you too Mimori, though you shouldn't walk around outside naked."
"Ah, I suppose I shouldn't." Mimori agreed as she sheathed her sword with her staff and started to walk back towards the bathhouse. "Do you want to join us? The water is already warmed up perfectly."
"Yes please. All the incense they burned at that stupid temple has given me a headache and I really need to get myself out of these clothes. Blue and white are not my colors." Rin said as she made to follow the older Mage.
"Should we do something about them?" Mimori asked, pointing to the unconscious boys.
"Nah, just leave them there. They'll be out cold till morning."