Hilstara

A mercenary who once fought alongside Simon during the later stages of the war with the Incubus King. Despite her occupation she is a noble soul who is willing to do the right thing without pay so long as it helps people both in the short and long term. She knows better the horrors that the war brings and that is another part of her personality.

Hilstara is one of the most notably bisexual characters in the cast (ignoring succubi). She actively expresses interest in other women in the harem, including Aka, Megail, and Carina. As expected of her personality, however, she isn't pushy about this, giving Carina space when the idea made her uncomfortable.

Story
As a young officer, she fought in the final phase of the war with the Incubus King (when she met Simon). Disenchanted with the whole Chosen of Ivala system, she joined the Redlight Mercenaries:

She keeps a cautious professional relationship with Simon but he said to Robin that he trusts her (coming from Simon, it seems to be a high praise indeed!). In the Devil's Pass, she confesses her feelings to Simon, back in her youth:

She joins the party in Stineford. First you have to find her in the Pub (Noble District) and chat with her (implicit). To recruit her, you have to talk with her again and accept her proposal. Meet her at the mine to finish the process. Try to do that before you take part in any fights to maximize the experience that she is able to receive.

Starting equipment
Weapon: Steel Axe.
 * Axes

Off-hand: Iron Shield.
 * Shields

Headgear: Iron Helm.
 * Helms

Bodygear: Iron Armor.
 * Armor

Accessory: Gauntlets.
 * Common accessories
 * Anti-sexual accessories

Tactics
The clear tank of the game: she's blessed to start with a Steel Axe because honestly her attack growth and attack with an Iron Axe is abysmal. Her choice of weapon means that she is also more likely to miss than the others. Both her stats and her equipment provoke that her actions happen very near the end of the turn. Provoke makes most enemies attack her and she has multiple party wide buffs that double as minor healing spells. She compensates her defects (to a certain degree at least) with her AoE buffer skills: Hold the line! is twice as effective as Tactical eye for clarity not to mention the delicious defensive buffs. She's got 2 utility skills for synergy, Encourage which allows her to increase the damage from another physical attacker (Aka/Varia probably) and Bash which is currently the only form of confusion available to the player and can also stun. Honestly, her attack on average is barely stronger than mages so she is pretty much a full on support character. A highly specialized one at that.

One use for Hilstara is as a shield wall. With Full Plate armor, a Tower Shield and Hilstara's Helm, her AGI will be 1 (so she will always be going last), but most melee attacks will literally bounce off her and do no damage. Even bosses can't do much more than scratch her armor's paint, and with Provoke up they are very likely to target her (and the DEF boost just makes her even more invincible).

The only problem is that her MDEF isn't nearly as high, and most bosses have some form of magic attack--or worse, an AOE attack that ignores Provoke. In which case you'd rather have a strong attacker instead of Hilstara's anemic offense. To summarize: Hilstara is a bench character in a game with a very deep roster.

Relationship points
Maximum affection is 100, at which you can have a conversation with the harem girl that will lock her affection there.

Though Hilstara tends to like "good" choices, for the most part she's an easy relationship. Just pay attention to her and her quests, have sex with her when you get the chance, and so on. Hilstara seems to favor military investments, since that's her specialty.

Base value: 25. Maximum legit value: 100 (+51 leeway).
 * Up to from Yarra's efforts in Devil's Pass.
 * for getting the Bathing with Hilstara sex scene after Yhilin coup sequence.
 * for hiring at least one mercenary company.
 * for investing in Premium Steel.
 * for having Megail convert ProN to Sx.
 * Unmissable from the start of chapter 2.
 * for waiting to fuck Altina.
 * for dominating Varia after allowing Varia's gangrape, OR for dominating Varia after saving Varia from gangrape, OR  for reshaping Varia after allowing Varia's gangrape, OR  for reshaping Varia after saving Varia from gangrape.
 * for killing the Impaler.
 * for getting the Orcent Orgy sex scene IF you did well enough against the orc horde.
 * for talking to her before any other harem girl when reuniting after Simon's route.
 * Unmissable for getting the Reunion Orgy sex scene.
 * for becoming a Premium Steel owner IF you didn't invest before.
 * ordering Hilstara's Helm custom-made from Premium Steel after the reunion, OR if you get it in Chapter 3.
 * for getting the Megail + Hilstara sex scene at Janine's retreat.
 * for voting NO on Declaration of War motion, OR for voting YES.
 * for promising Aram to vote NO on Declaration of War motion then voting NO, OR for promising Aram to vote NO then voting YES.
 * for promising Darghelon to vote YES on New Unpeople motion then voting YES, OR promising Darghelon to vote YES then voting NO.
 * for promising Zirantia to vote for a then-unspecified defense pact upgrade in exchange for NO on New Unpeople motion (you cannot keep your promise).
 * for adopting War Vaults motion.
 * for investing in Deeds of Vinario for 1,000,000 ProN, OR for 2,000,000 ProN, OR  for 3,000,000 ProN.
 * for getting all four Ardford threesome scenes and thus the Ardford Orgy scene.
 * for telling Nalili "Train with Hilstara", OR for telling Nalili "Train with Hilstara" after "Train with me".
 * for having the best Janine's evaluation about Chaos "remarkably after the Battle of Yhilin, OR for "ugly, but the situation isn't unworkable.", OR  for Merchant Quarter shutdown and "It will take time for every layer of society to recover.", OR  for Merchant Quarter shutdown and "It will take a great deal of time for every layer of society to recover."
 * for getting the Hilstara x Lynine sex scene.
 * for funding Infrastructure petition.
 * for funding Countryside Mercenary regulation.
 * for funding City Mercenary regulation.
 * for confronting Yuanon outside the slums bar in Zirantia IF Altina is saner.
 * for at least 15 Zirantia investigation score.
 * for getting the Yarra + Hilstara.
 * for talking to her in royal baths then drinking with her at the guard bar.
 * for having the best Balia's evaluation on Orcent transformation "This is excellent!", OR for "This is great!", OR  for "can't wait to see where we go", OR  for "can see all kinds of ways to go", OR  for "need to think about what didn't go well".
 * for copying the Aramite rapist soldiers.

Affection titles

 * 0 Uncertain Ally
 * 25 Old Friend
 * 50 Committed Ally
 * 75 Loyal Ally
 * 100 Beloved Ally

Special notes

 * Her favorite color is violet.

Scenes

 * Hilstara First Time - Necessity makes old friends new lovers. Unmissable. In the tunnels of Devil's Pass.
 * Bathing with Hilstara - Simon meets her in the bath for some good, clean fun. Talk to her in the baths of the Yhilin Palace after foiling the coup.
 * Aka + Hilstara - Sparring makes the warrior women hot and bothered and they decide to share some fun with Simon. Return to the Yhilin Palace after rescuing Megail. Requires a combined affection of 80.
 * Reunion Orgy
 * Megail + Hilstara - The merchant and the sellsword remember their previous conversation about titjobs... After the reunion, leave Janine's retreat once and return. Requires a combined affection of 110.
 * Hilstara + Carina - Carina tries to have Simon for herself in the Ardford hot springs, but he is not as alone as he appears. Reserve an entire side of the baths in the Gardens of Steam.
 * Hilstara x Succubi - A number of her lusty troops are really impressed with Hilstara's leadership during the battle of Yhilin. Unmissable. After Simon deals with the immediate aftermath of the battle.
 * Hilstara x Lynine - Lynine tries to seduce Hilstara with some fishy complaints/doubts about the succubi. Unmissable. After trying to walk away from Ginasta after the conversation with Aka.
 * Yarra + Hilstara - Yarra and Hilstara decide to have some fun with some taste of Simon. In Yhilin palace royal baths. Requires a combined affection of 180 and having visited Zirantia.
 * Hilstara x Galvia - She and Galvia decide to becoming better acquainted. Talk to Galvia at Eustrin's bar.

On-demand:
 * Doggie - At 50 affection and above.
 * Sixty-nine - At 75 affection and above.
 * Missionary - At 100 affection.