I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero
Sorry about missing the deadline again, I jinxed it by talking about it by the end (*eyerolls*) in last chapter. Long explanation on the End Note.
I want to once again give my biggest thanks to Comrade Broseph for help co-write this chapter with me and giving me a better outline so it no longer feel completely disjointed. Also thanks to Fluffball13 for reading my first draft and keep bouncing ideas with me.
Author's Note at the end for people who want to see me blabber more.
"Fifteen pieces of copper for all of the orange balloon skins. Twenty for all of the red ones!"
The merchant is a fat man with a mousy mustache that he constantly seems to be in the process of twirling. His beady eyes twinkle with the sparks of a cunning sort of greed, as he squints them together and sneers at Mein. His overall attitude is just as rude and unpleasant as his looks.
It makes the disguised princess grind her teeth in indignation. It irks her to be shown this little respect from someone who's status is so far beneath her that he should be groveling in the mud to simply be honored by her presence.
"That is but a third of what you were offering yesterday! Not to mention that today's inventory is nearly double that of the previous time. What you are suggesting is not a fair trade deal in the slightest!"
As she speaks Mein does her best to meet his gaze while keeping a grip on her rising temper. Which becomes an even more considerable task, as the presumptuous rat only deepens his arrogant sneer at her reply. The sheer temerity of the upstart is infuriating, even if he does not realize to whom he is speaking!
"Look here now, girly. Nothing in this life is fair." Mein can make out what seems to be a piece of vegetable stuck in his teeth as the lowly peddler smirks at her. Yes, she knows that trivia of life very well already without the need for a reminder, thank you very much! "With all three of the Cardinal Heroes and even the Shield Demon around, there has been a sudden surge in supply recently. No one needs THIS many balloon skins."
Tch. This commoner presumes to lecture her on the basics of trade and commerce? When she was probably more educated on the subject than his entire pathetic lineage put together?
"Oh, is that how it is then? Well, I suppose I can certainly understand that it would seem like a bad business investment to purchase at market value when there is such an oversupply…" The greedy glint in the rat's eyes seems to intensify at her words, as if the deal was already done and over with. "However good sir, I strongly suggest that you look at my proposal from a slightly different angle."
The rat stops sneering and raises an eyebrow. "And what new angle would that be, girly?"
Mein reaches back and pulls down her hood, letting her long red hair flow loose around her shoulders, and raises one eyebrow back at the merchant. He still looks rather quizzical, however.
Really, you'd think that with all of the rumors she'd be much more easily recognized as the companion of the 'Shield Demon'. Or at the very least as the royal princess that's not to be messed with… But apparently, for better or worse, some dimwits still struggle to make the connection when she is all alone. Mein sighs and pushes onward.
The undercover princess presses her chest down against the counter while leaning her face closer to the shady merchant. She gives the man a wink and a suggestive smile. If the fool doesn't know enough to be afraid of her then she might as well take this opportunity utilize her womanly charms.
The merchant draws in a rapid breath at her proximity and his pupils seem to dilate a little. Looks like her greatest weapon is still sharp, even if her attempt to seduce her Naofumi failed miserably, no thank to that orange pest... The justice Bow Hero dealt to it was too swift!
"Considering this proposal, my good sir. With the Shield... Demon being maligned in Melromarc, wouldn't he be most grateful to your business if you are willing to cut him a good and fair deal? Not to mention, as his only companion I will also be very grateful to you... personally." The first light of recognition seems to flash through the merchant's eyes and for a moment he looks fearful, but a second later his gaze is once again occupied with staring at Mein's considerable bust that pokes outward even behind a thick layer of leather armor.
"Wha-why would I want to make the Shield Demon feel gratitude? I'll have you know I'm a faithful of the three heroes! I a-a-always diligently say my prayers and pay my tithe!" A slight clearing of the throat. "How exactly would you be... grateful to me?" The fat rat tries his best to fake nonchalance, but his heated gaze traveling along Mein's body as if trying to undress her tells the undercover princess a different story.
"As a good faithful of the Three Heroes church should, my good sir. However... the official state religion of glorious Melromarc is still the Church of Four. So whatever the Church of the Three doesn't know wouldn't hurt them, would it? My good sir? As for how grateful I would be..." Mein completely climbs over the counter to lean her body towards the merchant's barrel-like stomach. Her finger slowly glides on his cotton tunic, pressing just hard enough to give the suggestion of contact, but not hard enough to truly feel either pleasure or pain. "...I'm sure a young maiden like me can think of something, if my good sir is willing to give me a fair deal."
"We-well... I'm sure I can consider it. If you let me... Ahmm-! Examine the goods first." The fat rat of a man's face tries to give a charming smile, but it looks more like a smashed fruit instead. His hand moves closer towards on Mein's rear, like a griffon's claw, but both his hand's motion and breathing stop when a cold blade presses on his neck. "Wha-!"
"Oh, I'd very much appreciate my kind sir giving a maiden like me fair treatment first... or your business and perhaps your life may come to a sudden and unexpected end if you try to cheat the Shield Demon's companion out of a fair deal. My good sir." Mein's smile twist ever sweeter as she whispers into the mousy man's ear, like poison dripped wine.
Chapter 6: Cloak and dagger
Back on the first day when the first princess pretended to be a commoner by the name of 'Mein of Samphor', the Smith Demon suggested to Naofumi and herself that they each get a dagger to skin and prepare monsters they fight in the wild. In the fake adventurer's case, she can also use it as a last resort close quarter self defense weapon since she isn't subjected to the Legendary Weapon Violation Rule as Naofumi the Shield Hero. In a manner of speaking, she is certainly putting the stubby little blade to its full use now, since she's both be Skinning monsters in human disguise, AND using it for self defense.
The undercover princess cracks herself up with her own joke sometimes. She likes to think her great sense of humor is another one of her great traits mother willingly ignores to pamper her self-righteous brat of a little sister.
Mein can feel the man's fat cheek and stomach shake, the motion indicative of the onset of panic. He looks like he is about to cry out for help. She pulls her free hand up and hold her index finger in front of the rat's mouth. Her right hand twists just a small angle to make the tip of her blade prick at the fat merchant's chin. Not hard enough to draw blood, but still enough to make the greedy merchant feel even more uncomfortable. "Nu-uh. Please, control your urges my kind sir. After all, I don't want you bleeding out when you fall on something sharp and pointy."
"Y-you can't get away with this!" The not so sly merchant's high pitched squeal sounds suspiciously like a pig knowing it's about to be taken into a slaughterhouse. "I-I'll call the guards! I have connections! My cousin is a sergeant in the royal garrison!"
And those connections would sooner gauge their own eyes out than admit to seeing a royal princess commit any sort of felony. But that's neither here nor there.
"Then why don't we call the guards and put your words to test, my good sir? Shall we see who they'll believe, when it's your word against mine?" The undercover princess smirks at the beady eyed man. Her face suddenly morphs into that of a terrified maiden afraid for her life and she begins to cry out in a hushed voice that sounds ten years too young for her actual age. "Help! Oh, woe is me! I am being blackmailed and molested by this shady merchant! He recognized me as the sole companion of the Shield Hero, and threatened to turn me over to the Three Heroes Church unless I satisfy his lecherous desires! Oh please someone save me from this animal trying to take advantage of me!"
The merchant's eyes suddenly widen like a pair of bells, his face which was already a sickly pale hue, now looks even more ashen than before. The fat rat seems to finally realized his hand is still on Mein's behind. He tries to pull away, but Mein catches him with her left hand again. From a onlooker's perspective it'd probably seem like she's trying to fight his groping.
The incognito princess leans her head further into the man's shoulder and whispers into his ear. "Funny how much beautiful people can get away with, while hideous ones can't. Isn't that right, my kind sir? Maybe now you will feel a bit more generous and willing to share your wealth with a humble adventurer? I'm sure a resourceful merchant like yourself has some change stored somewhere, that you can spare for this humble companion of the Shield Hero?"
"Please, I have family to take care of..." Mein presses her blade harder against the merchant's neck, stopping just barely short of drawing any blood.
"And I wonder what would be left of your family if it came out that you were caught attempting to rape the first princess of Melromarc?" The fat rat only manages to squeeze out a pathetic cry.
His free hand moves to the back of his stall and fumbles for a few seconds, before bringing out a small pouch jingling with the sound of coin. "...Take my savings! Just don't hand me over to the guards, please!"
"I'm glad we were able to come to an understanding."
Scant minutes later Mein is happily humming as she makes her way out of the capital's market with a purse full of silver, that with each of her steps seems to give out a rhythmic jingle that goes along with her tune.
When pressured enough, that pathetic upstart managed to scrounge up a sum that totaled up to just over forty silver coins. Truly, it is remarkable what people are capable of given the right incentive! For his efforts she graciously relieved him of the need to handle such badly cut balloon skins as she was offering him as payment previously, kindly sparing him the effort by taking them with her.
And if the quivering sod manned up enough to go to the guards about it? Well, the princess almost feels bad for what her royal father would do to some commoner that dared to bring charges against his precious daughter.
Mein gives a happy and content nod to the garrison manning the capital's gates when she passes through. The guards all fearfully turn their gazes away. Yes, father must have already sent word that the red headed - and stunningly beautiful! - companion of the so called Shield Demon was not to be harmed or impeded in any way… Lest they face severe consequences.
To inspire such fear… What a lovely feeling, even if it is only through proxy!
Those who love to be feared, fear to be loved, and they themselves are more afraid than anyone, for whereas others fear only them, they fear everyone.
Unbidden, the quote from her mother's journal comes to mind, instantly souring the princesses jovial mood.
Humphf! What does her mother even know about being feared or loved anyway? She is too sentimental as a monarch to inspire fear and too aloof to inspire love. Somewhat ironically, given what she constantly preaches to her subjects, all the queen does is force others into tolerance of her. After all, her mother is more concerned about such inconsequential things as the treatment of demi-humans and sectarian conflicts among the different Churches dedicated to the Heroes, than she is about the image of royalty. How can someone like that inspire any true respect?
The princess furrows her brow as her grin turns into an outright scowl.
…Yes, when Malty S Melromarc is queen she'll teach everyone the true meaning of respect.
For all that she understood the necessity of camping reasonably far out from the city after all of the Cardinal Heroes went their separate ways, Mein still found that the lengthy walks were starting to tire her almost as much as the monster slaying. It wasn't quiet on the same level as the undignified manual labor of mowing down low level pests by the dozens, but it still grated on her to be reduced to a mere courier.
So it was to her great relief that after a couple of hours of trekking eastwards from the capital, Mein finally spotted the little inconspicuous path splitting from the main causeway and leading off into the woods. It's sighting prompted a relieved sigh from her and reaching it she picks up her pace as she turns down the winding dirt track.
Several other travelers moving down the main road give her cursory glances, but quickly dismiss her as just another adventurer that is heading out into the nearby monster hunting grounds. While the royal causeway is well guarded by regular knightly patrols, no matter which part of the kingdom you are in, it usually doesn't take long to find the natural habitat of whatever local monster plagues the region if one were to simply head away from any large settlements for a while.
However most of the monsters around these parts were already likely close to extinct by this point. In no small part due to all four Legendary Heroes and their respective parties going at them like Katarina at a free to eat dessert buffet. They'd repopulate given enough time, but the past week since the Heroes were summoned definitely put a considerable dent in the local fauna.
Indeed, it's been three days since Mein's little… accident… with the Shield Hero's 'concealed weapon.' Now their levels, level 4 for Naofumi and level 6 for her, were high enough to camp in the wild without worry of succumbing to some sort of low leveled predator. At least when one of them stayed up to keep watch at night... Which definitely put a serious wrench into her seduction plans…
As was quickly starting to become the norm, Mein spent most of the day battling various low leveled monstrous creatures. When she wasn't busy acquiring shiny new bruises on her body and abusing her almost nonexistent muscles, she was standing watch at wherever her and Naofumi decided to camp that night. When she wasn't doing one of those she was either fast asleep from the exhaustion of the day's work or traveling to and from the capital.
The reason why she was almost daily going on these walks to and from the city in the first place? To sell the so called 'loot' that her and Naofumi scavenged from the monsters they hunted down.
Obviously they weren't in dire need of more funds with how little shopping they actually did. Especially with Naofumi advancing his crafting skills, which is what he usually spent time doing while she was away. Not to mention that it's not like her father would stop regularly handing out funds to the Shield Hero when his favored daughter was in the Shield Hero's party…
Not that Naofumi knew that of course. And since she couldn't come and outright admit to being royalty, at least not yet and not without undermining most of the groundwork she lay for earning the Hero's trust, that forced her into her current position. That of an errand girl.
Thus each morning she'd venture out into the capital's market district alone, to sell the various acquired body parts of the monsters she and Naofumi slaughtered the previous day. Her solitude in this daily endeavor was another necessity, as they were yet to discover a Shield form that could be suitably disguised as something that would not make Naofumi immediately recognizable to anyone actually paying attention.
Mein supposed that if there was a bright side to all of this - aside from the fact that her Naofumi was a five star chef - it would be that Naofumi already trusted her so implicitly that he'd let her not only take watch while he slept, but also freely let her carry all of their hard earned loot and coins when she left him alone. Trusted her enough to do all of the bargaining and bartering at the market for him too, though not without first attempting to school her in the art of the deal. Honestly, it was somehow both cute and annoying at the same time…
Mein distinctly remembers the first morning that she left him to carry out her chore. It was merely a day after the incident at the inn and she was still slightly simmering at the fresh memory of that unspeakable embarrassment. Naofumi acting as worried and awkward as ever due to knowing that he got on her bad side… The poor boy probably half expected her to leave him then and there, yet he still let her go… She remembers how she found him so nervous and agitated when she returned and how uplifted he was to see her, even as he tried to hide the guilt for having ever doubted her. His elation growing even more at seeing how much she managed to earn from selling the monster remains.
She thoughtfully didn't bring up the fact that most of the money came from several new and inventive methods of extortion, that she concocted while taking advantage of her newfound reputation as the Shield Demon's companion, as well as her old one of being a somewhat capricious member of royalty.
Instead she smiled and basked in the sincere praise coming her way. She was far too considerate to taint her pure innocent Naofumi with the harsh reality of their cruel world. So she decided to let him believe what he wants. At least for the moment. As Naofumi must eventually take his place beside her as her king, she'll eventually have to slowly start opening his eyes to what true negotiations entail.
And as her earlier outing this very morning demonstrated, sometimes the best way to negotiate is to simply leverage the fact that whomever you were negotiating with was in no position to refuse anything you demanded from them. After all, what's the point in convincing someone whose opinion is irrelevant to the outcome? That's why all of the most important and impactful negotiations in the world are carried out with fire and steel…
A sudden distant shout draws Mein out of her contemplative reverie. She blinks her eyes and realizes that she is almost at her and Naofumi's campsite. She pauses her walking and strains to listen to the noise. More shouting is coming through the dense woodland terrain. Shouting and what seems to her from a distance to be the noise of a struggle. Definitely from the direction in which she left Naofumi.
Could it simply be that the local supply of monsters was not as depleted as she thought? If that were the case then this was nothing to worry about. While still not adept at dealing damage quickly, at level 4 Naofumi was strong and resilient enough to deal with dozens of the local pests by himself and beat them down through attrition with little to no effort…
But then why does he seem to be struggling so much?
A drop of cold sweat makes its way down the back of the first princess.
She thought that Naofumi would be out of reach of her father if he simply stayed relatively out of the way from the capital, each day moving to a new campsite in the woods… But how hard would it really be for a spook to discover some badly hidden tracks? To trace them to where the Shield Hero was all alone and defenseless, isolated in the wilderness with no help after Mein left him to go on such an unnecessary and stupid errand…!
She was too naive wasn't she? And after all those thoughts on how she was the world-weary one of the two…
"M-ca, f-y-h! Co-g a—s-e t- m-ofu-ng d— ah~!"
Another shout, louder this time makes it through to her. It's in some sort of foreign language and if she didn't know any better she'd say that it was almost sung, albeit badly, rather than yelled. A fierce battle cry from some foreign mercenary?
…What if it was an entire party of demi-humans from Siltvelt, tasked with capturing and returning their god-king to their homeland? The ruckus would certainly suggest many opponents to be involved in the encounter and the foreign words and barbaric chants belied it being her father's spooks like she initially thought… Which all things considered wouldn't have been that bad, at least compared to what she was suspecting now. Perhaps lord Noches wasn't improvising when he mentioned foreign agents after all.
Just the thought of what those filthy beast degenerates would do if they could get their hands on her…
The undercover princess bites her lip and balls her hands into fists. If it really is foreign agents then her best bet would be to cut her losses and make a run for it right now. She could still make it safely back to the city and then the castle if she wasn't yet spotted. There she could contrive some sort of excuse to explain everything to father and leave this entire mess behind herself…
"Mu—a, f- y—-! —eedom —th- o—ay ye-h~!"
Another series of loud yells and a dull thud that usually accompanies Naofumi hitting something with his shield rings out through the forest. It's clear that he is in trouble and fighting with his all against his assailants.
She unballs her hands and draws her sword while taking a deep breath to steel her resolve. If her Naofumi was still fighting then it was not a hopelessly one-sided battle. That meant if she interfered she should be able to swing it his way if she got the jump on their foes. Foes who couldn't be all that threatening if they were proving to be this incompetent against a level 4, Hero or not.
Mein grinds her teeth and narrows her eyes as she starts to once again walk and then trot down the dirt path towards the campsite. She'll be damned before she gets robbed of her one shot at queenship by some weak demi-human scum that dared to punch above their level range!
She is almost running at a full sprint when she bursts into the clearing, held back only by her care to not trip and accidentally impale herself on her drawn blade. As she lands she settles into a battle pose that closely reassembles the crouch of some sort of feline predator, ready to pounce on any assailants.
Naofumi is there, right next the spot where they set up their tents the previous night next to a campfire, albeit the latter has been put out and the former are sitting packed and tied into neat bundles next to all of their other bags. He has a happy smile on his face while he punches and kicks into the air, in what looks to be a series of hand to hand fighting forms designated to ward off any would-be attackers. Of which there are currently none in sight. And apparently he is the one that is letting out these ungodly shouts that might have at some point been intended to come out in a some semblance of tune.
"Murica, FUCK YEAH! Coming again to save the MOTHERFUCKING Day YEAH~! Murica, FUCK YEAH! FREEDOM it's the ONLY way YEAH~!"
Mein slowly lowers and sheathes her sword while straightening from her fencing stance. Once both of her hands are free she lifts them to her face and lets her head fall into them.
"SHIELD TOSS!" Naofumi shouts as he spins around on his heel. He grabs the legendary shield with his free hand and pretends to throw it out like he's the Throwing Weapon Hero instead.
Mein takes a look at Naofumi's arm and notices he's currently equipping the big tri-colored round shield with the angry face of a Balloon on it. That's the [Red, Blue, and White Balloon Shield] from yesterday, isn't it? The one that he was so excited at having unlocked for some incomprehensible reason?
"What makes you so special!?" Naofumi drawls dramatically like he's one of those villains with very thin mustache and long flowing capes on stage.
"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing…" Naofumi effortlessly slides to the other side and lets out a proclaim while keeping up his heroic pose. The incognito princess is somewhat ashamed that the play scene actually managed to make her heart skip a beat.
"What makes me so special? Nothing, I'm just a kid from Brooklyn!" The young shield hero does a few more kicks and punches before taking up another stance. "I'm not looking for forgiveness, and I'm way past asking for permission." This statement was followed by some more prancing around while pretending to toss the Legendary Shield.
A moment later the mock battle was stopped in favor of adopting another dramatic stand, with one leg on a fallen tree trunk and the arm with the Shield attached to it razed triumphantly in the air.
"I can do this all day!" Naofumi chuckles darkly as he says this. He has his eyes closed and a grin is stretching across his face, that is currently reflecting nothing but confidence and strength… both of which immediately melt away as the noise of slow clapping rings out from behind him.
"And I would really appreciate if you did NOT do this… whatever this is… all day, Master Naofumi." Mein slowly rolls the words off her tongue as she gives out her slow and cynical applause at the impromptu theatrical sketch she just bore witness to.
Naofumi is standing completely frozen in the remnants of what was once intended to be a heroic pose. The only movement seen from him is him visibly swallowing.
As the applause stop Naofumi slowly turns in place until he is looking at Mein. He opens his mouth but then after a second closes it again quickly. Then he quickly opens it again, almost like a fish that's gulping for air.
"Mein! You see I uh, I was, it uh…" Once Naofumi gathers himself enough to speak he starts sputtering in a rush, while blushing and raising one hand to scratch the back of his head. "…I kinda thought that I'd have more time, um, before you returned so, I uh…"
His inability to talk straight and his familiar tick are clear indicators of his nervousness at having been discovered. For once Mein doesn't pay attention to how cute it looks.
That's right, he better be damn nervous after having her worry so much! Did the fool even have the slightest idea just how stressed out she was when she thought he was in trouble? Did he!?
For all she knew he was about to be killed or kidnapped! And even if he wasn't, with all the noise he was making he could have easily drawn the attention of someone out for his head! And where would that leave her!? Did the fool even think about that!?
"…No. I-I didn't." Now Naofumi looks more flabbergasted rather than embarrassed and belatedly Mein realizes that she expressed her thoughts out loud.
Damn. She was supposed to seduce the young man, not tell him off like she is his mother! Even when he was clearly in the wrong.
Naofumi's expression meanwhile completes its transformation from expressing embarrassment to showing a deep and heavy sort of dejection and shame. He won't meet her eyes any longer and is staring at his feet. His hands are clenched into fists that are shaking in anger.
Oh.
Her uncontrolled outburst must have hit him deep. If he gets mad at her now then all of her hard work over the past week would have been wasted!
"I'm not mad at you, Master Naofumi." Mein strolls up to stand besides Naofumi. She reaches out with her hands and slowly wraps her long slender fingers around Naofumi's fist, gently prying at his clenched fingers. The Shield Hero holds still for a few seconds, before his fingers lose their rigid disposition and unwind in Mein's soft hands. As Mein speaks she keeps her voice gentle and sweet like the richest honey. "I was worried for you. We must be careful with Melromarc only know the Shield Demon of the tall tales, not Naofumi the Shield Hero from reality. Ignoring your surroundings is dangerous, even if we no longer stay in the city."
"I... I understand, Mein. I should have been more careful after what happened." Naofumi's face scrunches up again, his messy hair and brows seems to droop even lower than before. "I got complacent... you saved me in the trial, and I've been living out the life of an Isekai novel character after. I let the fact that things turned out well once go to my head."
"I can understand that, Master Naofumi. I'm enjoying my life as the main character in a romance novel myself." The undercover princess gives the Shield Hero a playful smile and a wink. She briefly lets go of Naofumi's hand to brush a wild strand of hair away from his eyes before clenching her hand tightly around his hand once again. This brief pause gives her precious seconds to organize her thoughts better. "But we also can't forget our duty to the realm. As one of the Four Legendary Heroes that are destined to save us all, you will be at the forefront of every Wave with your fellow heroes. Even if your fellow Heroes have taken it upon themselves to assume that they'll be the ones to carry most of the burden, in fact as the Shield Hero I think Master Naofumi is the most important, as you will be at the front line, bearing the strongest attacks for everyone."
While technically this is all true, the reason Mein is bringing it up in the first place is that she wants… needs… him to grow as strong as he can. He needs to become so strong as to be able to hold an entire nation in awe of him. The Shield Hero's resourcefulness and knack for business will be a great boon when he rules glorious Melromarc by her side, yes. But that will all prove useful once she actually HAS the throne.
Right now she needs him to build a reputation as a great Hero that contributed the most to stop the destruction brought about by the Waves, in order to secure her claim. No matter how suited to rule he is, the nobility might not accept the Shield Demon as their rightful ruler if he does not first show his accomplishment during the Waves of Catastrophe.
"As the duty of the Main Tank of the raid party... yes. I... I promised you on the first day that I'll become the strongest shield on earth for you, Mein. When I said it I meant every word!… So I should be taking everything more seriously. Mein, I... I-I wanted to, no, I didn't..." Naofumi's eyes move to meet Mein's and the incognito princess can see hesitant hope, barely repressed fear, and a small tint of sadness shining there… And a deep desire to spill his soul out to someone. The young Hero stops for a second like he's gathering up his courage, yet he ultimately deflates as his eyes hide away from her expectant gaze and he attempts to turn away.
Mein quickly turns around to stand in front of Naofumi instead of standing side by side next to him. She sets one hand to move up to gently rest on his chin to keep his head still. "Master Naofumi, you don't have to force yourself to tell me anything. Everyone is entitled to keep their own secrets after all. I'm sure you will talk to me as soon as you are ready."
The Shield Hero smiles and nods his head like a happy little baby Filorial. "Thank you, Mein."
Mein moves back to settle into her place beside the young hero. She notices he is still looking a bit stiff and chastised in his movement. The undercover princess pounders a little on how to help him relax, and hopefully makes him get comfortable around herself some more. "Master Naofumi, do you maybe want to... talk something about your world? You sound like you miss it a lot… And I can understand why. I miss my home Samphor dearly as well… Although I suppose it's not all that far away, compared to yours… I still feel homesick. But I know that I have a duty to fulfill to my kingdom and I can not return until it's done." Mein tries looking shy and self-conscious as she plays with her hair. "But merely talking about it with you is making me feel better."
Most of that is a lie of course, since the incognito princess has never set foot in a backwater town like Samphor in her entire life and only knows it from having spotted it's name on a map once. Aside from some interesting minor rumors about its ruling noble house. But she does miss all the perks of living as the first princess every single day, and she can't see herself returning to her birthright anytime soon with her current arrangement. "The other veteran adventurers did say talking about it helps a lot."
The novice adventurer gives a quick glance at the Shield Hero. The young man from another world look rather clipped, as if he does not know whether to take her advice or not.
"Yeah... maybe talking about it'll help. Maybe later... Should be an interesting conversation." Naofumi looks up to her with a weak smile. "How was your trip back to the capital?"
It's plain as day to Mein that the young Hero is trying to change topics. But she isn't willing to press on the issue too much. She was only trying to make the Shield Hero feel better rather than being motivated by any genuine wish to learn more about his world, after all. Trying to force him to talk when he is clearly still feeling uncomfortable is the last thing she wants to do. Not to mention, this new topic he just brought up gives her another chance to show how helpful Mein of Samphor is to the Shield Hero.
"I've succeeded in selling the loot we've gathered yesterday! I do believe that the profit I've managed to make is not inconsiderable!" Mein pulls out her coin purse as she says this and unties it, holding it half open before Naofumi.
He lowers his head and takes a peek inside. Then he blinks and rubs his eyes. He looks inside the purse again while taking it from her, using a hand to rummage around and look at the contents properly.
"This is all silver… Last time you've only made a fraction of this amount." He pauses and then looks panicked for a second before hurrying to add more. "Not that I am implying that you did anything wrong the last time! You did incredibly well back then actually! Much better than I could have ever hoped for!" The disguised princess doesn't know whether to be insulted at that remark. "Just, how did you manage to make this much today?"
Mein daintily puts one of her legs behind the other while holding her hands behind her back. She gives a shy smile to Naofumi.
"I simply listened to the advice you gave me, Master Naofumi!" Obviously she did nothing of the sort and she dearly hopes that Naofumi doesn't ask her to recite the tips he gave her that morning, as she forgot most of them by the time she reached the city. "It really worked wonders! I am very lucky that not only is the Shield Hero such a kind and noble man, but he is also one with a mind made for business!" Mein stretches her smile while batting her eyelashes.
"…Well, to be honest it's not like I had any practical experience trading. And it really only was a bunch of tips on haggling at markets that I got from Google years ago…" Mein is happy to see that the praise made the young man blush and successfully seemed to make him forget the awkwardness of just a moment ago.
"Then Sir Google must have been a marvelous tutor. Truly worthy of the great Hero that his disciple has now become."
Mein must have said something wrong, because Naofumi does a double take on her before letting out a chuckle. She wonders if she misunderstood the relationship that the young man had with whomever this Google person was. He looks like he is about to say something in regards to that, but then still letting out rueful chuckles he simply shakes his head and hands back her coin purse to her. Then he pauses as he seems to notice something.
"You've still got all of the balloon skins though?" He says as he eyes the bag that she stores all of the acquired tatters in. Some are clearly showing even now.
Well, shit. Seems like she forgot to throw those away or sell them somewhere else, once she relieved the merchant of all his savings. It seemed like such a good idea to leave him with nothing at the time though…
"W-well, your tips on market haggling were VERY good, Master Naofumi." Mein is starting to sweat profusely as she is saying this and it's now her turn to avoid Naofumi's gaze. Although from the corner of her vision she can still see him staring intently at her and when she briefly looks back he has his eyes narrowed in a manner that screams of him being suspicious.
Damn it DAmn it DAMn it DAMN IT…! Her elaborate and fool-proof lies are somehow coming back to bite her, as her house of cards collapses overhead!
…But everything was going so well! How could she have predicted that it would end like this!?
Naofumi lets out a contemplative hum as he rubs his chin, narrowing his eyes even further. Mein tries to swallow but finds her mouth too dry.
"…I guess I really underestimated the usefulness of the Internet, since I always just took it for granted. But I guess they say that knowledge is power for a reason." He scratches his chin with his index finger.
"If only I had a smartphone with a wifi connection with me instead of this Shield… Though I doubt any knowledge I'd have access to would help much in a kingdom that loathes me for simply existing."
Mein almost collapses on the ground from the sheer relief that is flowing through her. Looks like she just barely dodged a close one.
"I can assure Master Naofumi that he is plenty smart just as he is! In fact, Master Naofumi is in a clear league all of his own, among even the Heroes, when it comes to intellect!" Now she just needs to keep the praise flowing, so that the once again flustered looking young man has no chance to recover and think on the issue properly. "If the rest of the kingdom hates you, it's because they are just too blind to see how great you are!"
And really, as if her story could end there. She is destined for queenship! Fate itself decreed it that way! Obviously nothing is ever going to truly go wrong in her scheming!
"Then perhaps in his infinite wisdom the great Shield Lord would be so benevolent, as to allow these mere mortals to escort him out of this accursed heretical kingdom."
The low ominous voice seems to pierce through her and burrow into her very bones, draining her of warmth and filling her with naught but freezing cold. Her eyes going wide, Mein whips her head around to look at the source.
Upon the slight slope which hides the narrow trail leading to the clearing stand two tall and hooded figures, their faces covered in shadow save for their mouths. Their frames are wrapped in their dark as midnight cloaks, of their entire outfit only their collars standing out in any way due to being highlighted by interwoven black feathers.
Through their hoods Mein can make out slight inclines that indicate animalesque ears or horns. To her utter horror Mein can see that both of them are grinning.
The Raven Order of Siltvelt has come to claim their rightful king.
"In glorious Siltvelt our lord would be bestowed with great gifts and the most loyal and devout of servants. So please, let us assist our great lord in disposing of this unworthy human trash that dares to stand so close to your majesty and takes such an insolent tone, as if she were your equal."
Mein instantly brings her long sword up to hold it between the two Siltvelt agents and herself like it's her lifeline. Yet she can't stop her hands from shaking despite her best effort. She can hear the cluttering sound of her teeth smashing together echoing inside the void between her ears. Her quick wits, which the undercover princess took pride in almost as much as her beauty seem to dissolve like morning mist underneath the bright sun.
Mein can see black spots begin to slowly claw their way into her vision. First only at the edge where she is unsure if it's only her imagination, but steadily the dark miasma begins to expand further and further until all she can see are those two looming cloaked figures.
That's when another dark shadow suddenly blocks even the ravens. For a brief second the undercover princess wonders if she has gone completely blind.
"I won't let you harm Mein." Naofumi's calm but determined voice shakes away the darkness as the Shield Hero stands between her and the heralds of her death, just like his promise on their first day.
End Note:
So yeah, jinxed it again by talking about it last time. This chapter's original one needed a complete re-write since it was very fragmented in its first draft. Probably still readable, but Comrade Broseph's outline is much more superior in term of flow. Unfortunately he encountered more real life difficulties which is a huge reason on why this chapter is delayed for one more week.
And sadly he can no longer help co-write this story with me for what I assume is both real life catching on, and him developing his own ideas for a Shield Hero story when he's co-writing with me. I apologize if my story's quality drops after this chapter since he is much better at both writing out the details and keeping the story's flow than me. Best luck to you for everything and your story idea, I hope you'll eventually publish it since from what I seen with your work for this story, it'll be a very fun ride!
On the bright side, with only myself mostly at the helm of this story at least I should be able to keep a more steady update schedule again with either one week to two week interval. Depends on if I had huge problems I need to fix in my story where thankfully Comrade Broseph can still help me beta-reading it. Yeah... probably jinxed it again.
To Mr. F
I'm glad you enjoyed my version of Malty! I think she could have been a much more interesting character than canon, which is one of the main reason for why I wrote both my original one-shot and this story. And believe it or not, I actually didn't get any influence from Isekai Villainess kind of story since I wrote my original one-shot before I read any of that sub genre story. Although I did realize my way of writing Malty kind of made this a Isekai Villainess minus her being a modern incarnate, which is why I throw in some Easter Eggs from that sub-genre.
XD
To Random reviewC
I hate this current trend of making the three weapon heroes nothing more than buttmonkeys to make the Shield Hero look good. Writers need to realize making your MC look good by making everyone else look bad DOES NOT WORK! At least for anyone who looks for anything more than low effort power fantasy wish fulfillment shlock. That's why I attempt to make the three weapon heroes into actual characters each with their own goals, aspiration, and personal failings for this story. Of course, I don't know if I succeeded in my aspiration till the curtain rolls in the end. GoT's final season showed everyone how on even well written characters can be assassinated by writers who have no idea what they are doing.
:P
As for tanuki... Don't want to spoil too much, but you'll find out more next chapter which I hope to update either next weekend or the one after. Crossing my fingers I haven't jinx it again.
Once again, not too much comment on the duel in canon since that'll reveal a lot of my plans. All I will say is certain major event from canon still happen with a different context, others won't because it won't fit my story. Everyone will have to find out when I get to that point.
;)
