With the backing of a nation, just how much could be handed to the Heroes who were to fight waves of monsters? The collection of materials, items, and magic should be a daunting task, especially if they were to go off alone. The king himself didn't personally supply them with anything but purses of coins. Were they supposed to earn money in order to gain more effective tools?

Takehide's gaze dropped to his weapon as he pulled it from his back and held it out in front of him as he walked. His short spear was about five foot eleven inches tall. It was a few inches shorter than himself. This made it rather easy to use for support, made evident as he tapped the butt of his sphere upon the hard stone, and red-carpeted, floor.

There was a question in the back of his mind that was bugging him, where was the Queen? Was there even a Queen? Who belonged in that empty seat beside the King's throne?

Moving into the central hall of the massive fortress that overshadowed the town, Takehide stepped aside from the path leading outdoors. There he came to a halt not too far away from the doors. Without straying from the wall beside the chamber, his dark coal-hued eyes fixated on the tile floor as he went into thought. His chin pinched between his thumb and forefinger as he did so.

'Each of these weapons appears to have a jewel. There must be some sort of significance to it, no? Unless it is just some sort of bobble...'

The spear had red, the bow had yellow, the shield had green and the sword had blue. After mere moments focusing on the item, a screen appeared in front of his gaze, revealing the secret behind the gem describing the weapon's bizarre ability to absorb materials and transform it into other forms.

'That is definitely not something you see every day...' His thoughts went to the idea of what kind of capabilities this thing had. Back from high school science class, he could remember the properties of many different ores, Albeit rather vaguely. At the same time, in games, there were alloys imbued with magic, which he knew may as well be worth a fortune.

'If I were to get a Prehensile from a monster of some sort and absorb it, would there be a corresponding spear for that?' A light grin formed over his lips as more and more thoughts sprouted from a simple idea of improving his spear with materials from both nonorganic and biological resources.

Even as he was thinking about all of this, he wasn't alone. His gaze dressed the precious jewel finely before being suddenly interrupted.

The girl in green paused as she was walking with the rest of the party members and glanced over her shoulder. "Takehide-dono?" She asked in a cool manner with creased brows, seeing him pondering away in the open.

"Hm?" Nonetheless, she was not the only one to notice as the almost blonde brunette in dark clothes, trimmed in ochre yellow, also turned around. Having heard her fellow adventurer call upon their leader, she also found the urge to check on his status, "Is there something wrong, Takehide-dono?"

"Not necessarily," his eyes narrowed on the duo before noticing the fact that the lighting within the throne room had made one of them appear almost blonde. In reality, though, their hair was just a light brown and short. "I was thinking of looking for some books on the Four Heroes, to learn the extent of both my abilities and privileges."

"That does sound like a good plan," Elena said whilst resting a hand under her chin, studying his sharp jaw, tanned skin, and strong Japanese features. "Perhaps we can stop by the book store in town, or the Magic Shop might have something..." She didn't sound enthusiastic about their quest, but it wasn't as if she could just walk away from it without facing consequences. "We'd likely need the King's permission to access the Royal Library..."

Takehide slowly responded to her suggestion as he situated his legendary armament upon his back, "Is that so... Anyways... First comes first, let's introduce ourselves, yes?" Friendly enough, he held his palms up with his fingers curled in a relaxed manner as they already knew his name.

"My name is Rino! It is nice to meet you, Takehide-dono," The girl dressed as a Green mage introduced herself with enthusiastic vigor. Her eyes had become brighter than they once had been in the Throne chambers. It was rather amusing that she had once appeared so serious in earthy colored attire with vanilla colored sleeves. Now she took his right hand into her grasp as she bowed her head lightly, her face hidden by the brim of her hat from his height.

'How Cute,' Takehide grinned to himself as if he had found a treasure in the ruff, "It is a pleasure to have you Rino. I trust we'll work well together." His response was greeted with a quick shift of her feet, especially as he grasped her hand in his.

The other one bowed her head but didn't take his hand, "Elena Haven, I come from a noble family and my father is a Hero devotee, so he may be of some use." This was helpful, she sounded cheerfully sympathetic to his cause, making Takehide feel as if it was really worth his time to travel to her homestead eventually. At the same time, it filled him with relative ease finding that his followers had connections to be extorted.

With gracious highlighting, the purple-haired girl introduced herself with a tongue full of spice, "The name is Lucy." She was trying far too hard to stand out amongst the three of them, not that he minded. Takehide didn't have much interest in her either way, despite the fact that she had quite the figure on her.

As all of the girls had introduced themselves to the Spear Hero, a party management screen appeared before his eyes. Their names transforming from woman one, two and three, and into their true designations. 'Huh... That's rather interesting,' his eyes traced over the information that was now displayed within only his view. 'So if I focus on my team, their information shows up... Fair enough. Though I wish it showed me their mana-levels as well...' His eyes danced over Rino's green hat, tracing over her adorable facial features. She was the shortest person in the group and primarily a magic caster to boot. It would be nice if he could monitor her like he did the others with health and stamina. 'I suppose that would be asking for too much.'

"Takehide-dono?" Rino stared at him with her big green eyes, for a few seconds before he shook his head. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing, just getting used to having the status functions is all," Takehide smiled lightly at all of them, having seen their levels as for the most part they appeared genuinely well leveled as starting companions. "In the meantime, before it gets too late, let's get to the Bookshop, yes?"

Based on what he was seeing, all three of them were between levels five and ten. That was good enough for him, even though he was starting out at level one. Though his base stats were probably higher than most, that was a given due to his training prior to being summoned to this world. A faint sigh escaped his lips as they all had eyes on him, nodding to what he had said in the agreement of where they were to go next.

Just as they all turned to begin walking, they paused as the Shield Hero and his singular companion went walking on by. Takehide's gaze fixated itself on her red hair, before flickering over to Naofumi, "Take care of yourself, Naofumi-san, and be wary of strangers."

"What am I, a child!?" Naofumi burst out into laughter as he held a fist towards his friend.

The rest of his companions also chuckled at this, even the redhead which was the Shield Hero's companion, simply due to his response to the matter. Though they could've been seeing it as the Spear hero was babying the Shield hero due to being weak in the field of offense.

Though quickly he narrowed his eyes as Takehide didn't chuckle along. Seeing that his friend was actually serious about this, he nodded his head and lowered his playful fists. "Ah, alright."

The redhead raised a brow seeing the sudden change, and the fact that the Spear Hero wasn't laughing at his own joke. "Sir Hero~! Let's go!" She chimed as she waved her hand to her friend within Takehide's group, before prancing along toward the open doors leading out to the wagon depot below the main bridge heading out into the Fortress Town.

"Okay, okay~!" Naofumi, despite Takehide's indirect warning, seemed fully into the idea that the woman could be trusted, or at least he was blinded by the fact that she was charming enough to get away with murder. Rubbing the back of his head as he watched his companion wander, he soon followed after her. "Such a cute girl..."

"He is definitely under her spell..." Muttered Elena, the Noble who had introduced herself to Takehide just mere seconds ago. She shook her head lightly and turned to her party leader, "I know where the bookshop is. We can stop at the other shops along the way to collect things to start our journey."

"Sounds like a good plan to follow... Based on how much we need for food and places to stay, we'll divvy up the money for equipment and supplies." Takehide walked ahead of his party members who followed closely behind, the other two groups had already gone on ahead of both his and Naofumi's parties. "How much would you say it costs for a room?"

"Twenty coppers at the place I recommend, it also serves a meal for five coppers," Elena advised as she seemed to provide some much-needed intelligence upon the town itself. Something that most of the Heroes wouldn't have unless they asked their party members. Even if they played some games that were similar to where they are now, it didn't mean they were the exact same.

"So one silver per night, should one hundred coppers equal a single silver coin," he looked down at the pouch he had clipped to his belt. Six hundred silver coins, while Naofumi had eight hundred. "It appears we have the most cost-efficient number of party members."

"Are you planning on getting us all separate rooms?" Lucy asked as she swayed side to side.

"If the Inn can afford it, then I have no problem paying such expenditures. Considering a journey like this... We might be sleeping under the stars from time to time," Takehide figured as the world was in grave peril and there were so few to fight against the incoming waves. It only made sense as their responsibilities kept them on the move and leaving no time of luxury.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Without further delay, the four of them made their way out to the depot in time to see the Bow and Sword Heroes walking away from Naofumi. Though it seemed he was still in high spirits as the only two team party made their way out into the Town behind them.

"So, you're capable of using swords," his eyes shifted over Lucy and Elena, "Make sure you also have a dagger for closed spaces. Don't want your weapon getting stuck in walls, or getting caught on hard surfaces."

"Right, right~ We've done this before, no need to tell us how to prepare," Lucy chirped in response to his advice, showing a little bit of her more snobby personality.

As they were approaching the staircase that led up to the stone bridge, Takehide glanced over at Elena and Rino in particular. "During fights, I'd like you to protect Rino-san..." His eyes flickered over Lucy who was looking at him with a dull expression on her face as he was organizing them.

"That would make you and me the front-liners?" Lucy asked in clarification as it wasn't her first time at a party or as an adventurer. Though she wasn't super strong, she knew about the simple formations parties took in order to hunt down monsters, outlaws, and do other miscellaneous jobs.

"Precisely," Takehide gave a thumbs-up as he jogged up the first flight of stairs. 'They caught on pretty quickly,' he thought to himself with a light smile across his lips, 'I really hope Naofumi doesn't get screwed over.' Then as he reached the top he turned and went up the second consecutive flight of stairs, finally reaching the bridge area that led outside of the fortress itself.

Coming to the top directly behind him, the trio followed Takehide towards the open outer gate.

Elena was smiling to herself, seemingly happy with her assignment. Considering the way she was dressed, she didn't look like she was really meant for combat. That was probably one of the things that tipped Takehide off too, to put her in the back and close to their support.

"So what are you going to get, Takehide-dono?" Elena asked as she walked up beside the Hero, Rino being quick to occupy his opposite side, forcing Lucy to stand beside one of them.

"I'm thinking of some leather or steel scale Mail, some baggy pants..." Takehide was thinking of maneuverability overall rather than armor, as his primary concern was his speed. Having high unhindered agility will place him outside the grasp of his enemies, and make it easier for him to skewer his opponents.

"Really? How much are you looking to cover?" Lucy blinked as she moved ahead of them, walking backward as she was now in front of the Hero. A shadow cast over them as they were heading under the gate that loomed overhead.

"Shoulders, Torso, and upper legs. Shin and Legguards can be implemented as well," Takehide was quite literally thinking of making himself look like a full-on Samurai from Feudal Era Japan. "I'll also be looking for other materials, such as magic alloys. So let me know if you find any being sold..." His eyes jumped over to his weapon by peering over his shoulder, "I very much would like to try absorbing it into my spear."

"Oh, I know a place that has some Magic Alloy weapons in town. We can go there after the bookshop," Rino said happily. It seemed out of the three people in his party, Rino wanted to be here the most, if not just to be with him.

A faint chuckle escaped his lips as he nodded, going out of his way to face Rino as he did, "I look forward to it then."

"Umu~!" Rino held her staff at ease as she nodded to him, a relaxed expression taking her face quite easily as she turned forward and got a move on. Their destination to be was the book store, whichever came first.

As they descended towards the streets from a moderately elevated platform, he centered his gaze on the plentiful of buildings that decorated the medieval cityscape. "So... Who is the Queen of this place? That seat beside the King... It didn't look entirely abandoned."

"Hehe... Right, you're new to the World. Our Queen, Mirellia, is the Matriarch of Melromarc. Though from what I've seen she is currently away from the capital, so the king didn't feel the need to hold back in assuming control." Rino had taken notice of some developments that had occurred that were directly related to current events.

"Like summoning all Four Heroes?" Elena commented as she looked to Rino, "That is against the treaty of nations..." She grumbled the last part as she thought about how the other countries were going to react to this. The only reason she knowledgeable of this was because of her family's position, or more accurately her father's. The last thing they needed was external and internal strife due to the actions of their King summoning all Four Heroes.

"Oh? So each nation doesn't have its own set of Heroes?" Takehide wasn't impressed with Melromarc simply from learning this, it was apparent with his monotonous response. "I suppose that's fine," he sighed quietly to himself, "Perhaps your Queen can fix the King's mess."

"It is a Matriarchy after all," Elena stated absolutely.

With the group guiding him to his destination, he kept his eyes to the various stalls that lined the street as they entered the marketplace. Fresh meat, magic tricks, and trinkets numbering in the many were on display.

Just briefly he could hear the irritating sound of the red-haired girl's voice calling out to Naofumi, "Sir Hero, Hurry!" Just ahead he could see her, leading the Shield Hero off god knows where. Takehide, however, didn't allow his paranoid thoughts to reach him just yet. Was he seeing all of this because some Ninja told him things weren't as they seemed? Or was he really seeing the signals, the red flags, that may end up ruining his friend? Standing beside Naofumi should something happen crossed his mind.

Rino, who was paying a bit more attention to Takehide's expressions as the other two lead ahead of him, frowned. "Takehide-dono... Are you worried about something?" The mage would ask in a hushed tone as she lightly raised her hand weakly. Softly she then pressed her fingers into his arm, letting the fabric of his uniform's sleeve be pinched between her digits freely.

Taking in a sharp deep breath, he looked over at her as he walked with them, a rather favorable smile formed over his lips. "Meh, If you keep asking me that question... I just might end up falling for you," his words slipped off his tongue like sweet nectar from a honeysuckle.

"...Eh?" Caught completely off guard, Rino felt as if all her oxygen was being stolen from her lungs and her face had been lit on fire. Her fingers seized the sleeve that was resting between them, "Really!?" Stars practically launched from her eyes, trying her best to bring herself closer to him, even as far as literally throwing herself into him.

Takehide almost stumbled at the intensity behind her, but it was barely enough force to knock him over in the first place. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he looked down at her, seeing as her arm had already wrapped around his. Was this what she was waiting for? "I'll take it into consideration since you're about sweet enough to devour whole." His eyes jumped to the other girls who were ahead of him. 'Perhaps they didn't hear anything? The marketplace is kinda loud...' Glancing off to the side, he simply didn't notice Elena cursing under her breath up ahead.

"We're almost there," Elena who had also been secretly clenching her fist in front of herself, let her hand fall to her side. "Just a few more feet and we'll be at the book store. I'm sure the owner would be ecstatic to meet the Hero."

"Oh, is that so?" Takehide simpered at this, and as they finally arrived in front of the bookshop, he came to a pause and glanced across the street. Directly across from the bookshop, if not a few doors down, was the Magic Item Shop. "That seems like our next stop..." He uttered quietly to himself before letting his eyes drift to Rino, who was smiling up at him, letting her arms tighten around his.

Swallowing his saliva shallowly, he gave her a light wink and pat his hand against her arm.

Blinking, her face flared up in a blush once more. She was making it blatantly clear she wanted to bask in his affections even if he had just flirted with her. Though part of him doubted she was an easy girl to get with, as he believed it was likely because of who he was. It was either that or people didn't see the green mage to be all that cute.

It was true her attire wasn't necessarily appealing and it looked as if she had just started out adventuring. There was nothing flamboyant or unique about her dress, but it was her face and physique that stood out to him. She was petite and smelled like untainted dry plantlife as if she had been camping out in the wilderness, but there was no hint of being dirty.

With his arm voluntarily released from her hold, he glanced up just in time to hear the bell attached to the front door ring. Lesty and Elena both looked back towards him as he stepped forward to enter the shop. Rino, entering behind the two ladies, tapped her staff along the wooden floor as they spread out into the bookshop. Her little brown boots hardly left the ground as she padded off after the Spear Hero, watching as his fingers lined the spines of the books.

"The convenience of this Spear seems to be rather limited?" He sighed aloud as the legendary weapon was translating everything he saw and heard, but not the words that were printed on the binds of the books. The strange texts that belonged to this country scrolled through his mind as he searched for specific information on the Cardinal Heroes.

"What do you mean, Takehide-dono?" Rino held a gentle, almost indistinct, smile across her lips. She was taking in the way he moved and how he treated his surroundings and the people around them. So far the hero hadn't given her any reason to distrust him, but at the same time, she hadn't been given a reason to trust him either other than his title and purpose.

"Imagine that these Cardinal Weapons didn't make us Heroes literate but translate everything people say... You'd have to spend weeks teaching us how to read and write in the common languages," A grin remained on his lips as he thought about how much studying that was to go into that if they didn't have such powers. "When would there even be time for that?"

Rino giggled at the thought, "That is true," she agreed as she brought her fingers close to her lower lip, curling them over her thumb. Her eyes were now on the bookcases, drifting from title to title just as his gaze was. "B-but I'd take the time for it," Rino let her eyes flutter on back to him.

"Thank you Rino-san... Though I think I'll need you to read for me from here on out," His fingers came to a stop as Takehide's gaze fixated over the spine of a book his index finger. On the spine of the book was a symbol that was made up of the three weapons. "Book of the Three Heroes...?" He guessed the title of the book seeing the three cardinal weapons printed on it as opposed to four. Pulling it from the shelf as he hooked it with his finger and placed it on top of the shelf in front of the window. As he laid it out flatly on the wooden surface, his eyes slipped over the quasi-religious writings that he couldn't quite grasp.

"What book did you find?" Rino asked as she was peering over his arm, standing a bit behind him as she took was skimming the text. An ambient frown was resting on her lips. She herself wasn't very religious, she didn't really have the time to be. "Ah that book, it belongs to The Church of the Three Heroes... It's a popular religion here."

"...The people see the Shield Hero as a Demon? My people dislike the use of such Dogmas," Takehide huffed in annoyance seeing the colorful illustrations that lined the edges of the paper. What it told him was everything he needed to know about the tall tale. "This is a laughable tale of shale," The Spear Hero with two fingers slid the thick book off of the shelf and let it to the floor face down with a thud. This ridiculous work reminded him far too much of the bible...

"Shale?" Rino blinked up at him, considering this book, and the popularity of the religion is what stopped most people from joining Naofumi in the first place.

"Lies, Rino-san. It's a book of lies," Takehide even went as far as to step on the Book of Three Heroes and continued on his scan through the books.

Rino, unfazed by his words, continued to follow him silently through the maze of shelves.

The Librarian who had been following Elena stood there, watching as this had happened and raised a brow. "He disrespected my books..." They went to move forward, to call him out, before pausing themselves as they saw which book it was. "No... The book disrespected him?"

"It's alright, Ojou-san, I'll pay for the book," Elena said as she went to fetch her purse from her skirting, only for the Librarian to raise a hand, causing her to stop.

"No," The Librarian stared down at the white book with gold inscriptions, "Just put it back on the shelf."

Elena blinked and watched as the old woman turned away and walked back towards the front desk of the Town bookshop. Nodding to herself, she quickly shuffled over and picked up the book. Looking over the title, she could recall how he had stood up for the Shield Hero. "So his heart is with his friends, huh?" Scratching her chin, she smirked to herself before looking out the window, slipping the book aimlessly into the shelf as she did so.