Alright, I've been reading the Light Novels ever since Christmas. They're really good, and I've been enjoying them. I finished the seventh novel today (yes, that's like 2400-2600 pages of reading in less than a week, I love to read when I have time). Now I feel like I have a better grasp on the Shield Hero verse. I've even been making small notes in the pages to help me out. I'm hoping this will help me with fleshing out future characters.
Anyways, it's getting late in the day. And New Year's is around the corner, so I'll get to posting this story now. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!
Since Last Time: 33 more Favorites, 44 more Followers (Total: 738 Favorites, 860 Followers)
Updated: December 30th, 2019 9:00 P.M. (EST)
Chapter Twenty-Three: Plenty to Think On
The Middle of the Night (33 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)
"Huahhhh."
Naofumi yawned tiredly. 'I wish I could get this to make it easier to stay awake…' He thought before he got back to compounding on his makeshift desk in the back of the wagon.
It had been almost eight hours since they'd been ambushed by a large group of Church Shadows. Eight hours since they'd escaped with the help of an ally Shadow. Seven hours since they'd left the forest and turned Southeast on the plains instead of Northeast like he'd planned. And four hours since he'd made Filo stop in a secluded area where they could camp.
He was alone with his Shield set to the Two Dogged Head Shield so he'd be alerted if any monsters approached his campsite while he was compounding. Or if the Church Shadows they'd shirked with the help of an ally Shadow earlier that day came charging in to ambush his party again...
He paused in his compounding to sip the potion he had just created. It didn't taste as bitter as his medicine, but he still winced at its taste. He sat still for a moment, seeing if it worked or not…
He tiredly yawned again. 'Nope. I can't get this thing to eliminate my need for sleep. It only works on the status condition form of it.' He thought tiredly. He set the bottle of sleep resistance potion off to the side. He'd managed to translate the recipe shortly after their brush with the Church Shadows. 'Damn thing tastes bitter too… but at least it woke Raphtalia up.'
Whether it was because it actually eliminated the status condition, or because of its bitter taste was up to judgment. Regardless, it had worked when he compounded his first one and made her drink it… Naofumi got back to compounding.
...
After a few minutes, Naofumi sighed as he put his compounding tools away. 'That's the rest of the herbs I gathered from the area around us…' After Filo had stopped, Naofumi had taken some time to pick the herbs around their campsite with Raphtalia helping him out. They'd gotten a good amount as the box full of freshly made potions next to him attested to, but it hadn't been enough to help him work through his night shift. He still had a good hour left to go on his watch.
'Maybe I can try one last thing…' He pulled out another sleep-resistance potion (Otherwise called an Awakening Potion) and a poison-resistance potion (Otherwise called an Antidote) and used an alchemy skill to combine the two together. He was curious to see what would happen if he combined the two different status healing potions together.
After a moment, a notification popped up on Naofumi's status screen. Despite how tired he felt, he slightly smiled at the result as he read over the new potion's description.
Cure All: Useful for curing the following battle status effects: Sleep, Poison, Burning, Paralysis, and Frozen.
'Damn, it still only helps with battle status effects. But if I remember correctly, this was a key ware of the typical Night Merchant from my games.' Night merchants were better known for selling this potion than anything else. Now that he'd discovered how to make them, he could add these Cure All's to his stock and solidify his identity as a Night Merchant going around to heal sick people. Despite being very tired, he was pleased with himself.
He was about to set it down when he felt the potion reacting with his shield. Curious, he allowed his shield to absorb it.
Requirements met: Cure Shield Unlocked: Bonus: Alchemy Mixing 1
The Shield also gave him a small boost to his resistance against sickness. According to the Alchemy Mixing 1, it'd give a boost to the quality of potions he created using alchemy. 'First, I find out Filo knows magic, then I unlocked the Mask Shield, and now this…'
His original plan after going through the mountains had been to travel northwest along Melromarc's border to continue the original route he had been taking as the Nocturnal Doctor. While they got some money to get better gear and helped Filo to reach level 40, he had planned on gathering information about the countries around Melromarc. If there was a country he could go to without having to worry about the Capital, the Three Heroes Church, or the Siltvelt Agents chasing after him; the next part of his plan would have been to find a way using Raphtalia's illusion magic to sneak over the border into said country after they'd upgraded their levels and equipment. Finally, all they'd have to do is find the country's hourglass and get Raphtalia and Filo their class-up ceremonies. They'd be brought back to Melromarc eventually when the next wave happened, but at least his party members would be classed up for it. His Help Menu had explained that Class Ups made party members significantly more powerful than they were before. It'd be harder for the Church or the Capital to restrain him from leaving if they could get their class ups.
Traveling southeast though, they were going to travel across flat plains into the interior of Melromarc. Eventually passing just a few miles north of the Capital before they got back into more familiar territory. However, they'd be far from any border up until they got to Dragon Village. If they traveled there. It'd take at least a week of traveling nonstop to reach the village. And that didn't count the time they'd need to stop to rest, collect herbs, defeat monsters, take detours to various towns and villages to earn money, and so forth. If they made fast time, they could theoretically still escape to whatever country was over the border from Dragon Village, but if it was the wrong country, say, Siltvelt, then they'd lose even more precious time trying to get to a more friendly country.
While it was bad that they wouldn't be able to stick to the border towns as Naofumi had planned on doing, he'd realized that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea. It'd been almost two weeks since he'd left the Capital. The Church, having found out his movements, had probably guessed that he was trying to sneak his way to Melromarc's border. If the Church was smart, they would inform the Capital about it. Both of them would end up hunting the wrong areas in the exterior parts of Melromarc trying to find where he was going. Meaning he'd be able to travel more freely on the opposite side of the country. Being able to hide more fully in his night merchant persona with the help of the Mask Shield.
'With all this, maybe we'll finally be able to catch our breaths for a moment.' Naofumi thought in relief.
Feeling up on his luck, he took out a cut gemstone from his inventory. It was an amethyst, a parting gift from the accessory merchant. It was smaller, meant to be fit into a necklace, but it was supposed to be of the same quality as a cut emerald. With it being smaller than the cut emerald, it'd also take less mana to infuse the gemstone. He'd already taken time before the last two days to put spare mana into it. Now, he focused what MP he had recovered after the day's events into the gemstone, hoping it was enough to reach full saturation.
Unfortunately, while the purple gemstone glowed more brightly, he didn't receive the notification that it was fully infused and ready for enchantment. 'Sigh…' He wished he could have vaster stores of mana to use. He set the gemstone back in his inventory, took out some tools and some silver ore he'd gotten exploring a random cave with Raphtalia a few days before they'd arrived at Dragon Village, and got to work crafting a necklace for the amethyst. Besides the medicine and the potions, he was hoping crafting accessories would also become another integral part of his night merchant business. After learning how much they were selling for with the waves going on, he could make some serious coin. But with how hard he was finding it to imbue the gemstones with MP…
'Maybe if I asked Filo and Raphtalia, they could also imbue their spare mana into these gemstones…' He thought. It'd certainly help to have more than one person imbuing them with mana.
...
'Actually, that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'll check if they're still asleep or not.' It was a simple trick. Maybe by teaching those two, he'd be able to imbue gemstones more quickly. It wasn't like they spent all their time fighting monsters.
At the thought, Naofumi put the tools down next to the unfinished necklace he was making. Naofumi then quietly exited the back of the wagon. On his left, the glowing embers of a dying campfire flew up into the clear night sky. On his right, under a half tent he had helped set up under a grove of trees, a sleeping Filo cuddled into the warm hair of her surrogate sleeping mother under their sleeping bag.
A smile tugged at Naofumi's lips at the adorable sight. 'Damn it. Did they have to choose now to look so cute? I'll have a hard time waking Raphtalia up for her shift!' Even after her first nap and her impromptu nap, Raphtalia had gone straight to sleep with Filo soon after dinner. She must have been really tired from today, either that, or the status inflicted form of sleep wasn't as restful as the real thing...
He turned to walk away. Wanting to leave the two of them at peace.
"Mmm… daddy?" Filo murmured quietly.
Naofumi stopped. "What is it, Filo?" Naofumi asked.
"Is everything okay?" She asked, her eyes still droopy. She also looked a little worried though.
He was almost tempted to try his idea. But then he decided against it. Filo had ran hard that day. Either that or the tranquilizer had finally caught up to her. She still looked very tired from the day's ordeals. "Yeah. Everything is fine. Go back to sleep, Filo." Naofumi responded.
"Okay." Filo smiled tiredly as she cuddled up to Raphtalia again. "Thanks again for protecting me and mommy today." She fell back to sleep.
"... no problem." Naofumi found that a small smile was resting on his face as he sat on a log by the fire. Filo might have been annoying at times, but damn, maybe she was turning out to be not so bad either.
'Or maybe I'm just getting used to playing the butler to two gluttonous eaters.' He thought sarcastically to himself. That was always a possibility with Filo. He'd made an extra-large dinner for her after how good she'd been today.
"*Huahhh* Are you thinking something rude Master Naofumi?"
Naofumi quickly turned his head in shock. Only Raphtalia mumbled something unintelligible after that before yawning again, turning over, and going back to snoring softly into Filo's hair. He shook his head and went back to staring at the campfire. 'Even while that girl is asleep she uses her mind magic or whatever…'
…
Naofumi stared at the embers of the dying fire. He still felt tired, but now that he wasn't doing anything, his mind finally thought over the events of the day. 'Raphtalia's level 40…'
He was at 36. Filo was at 34. The two of them still had room to grow. But now, Raphtalia had a star next to her name in his status menu, indicating that she couldn't level up. Because of the growth maturation adjustments from the Slaver's Shields I, II, and III (He'd originally unlocked only two, but had accidentally unlocked the third one when Filo as a baby Filolial accidentally bit Raphtalia's finger while she had been feeding her parts of monsters. Naofumi had been helping Raphtalia with the small wound, and some of her blood had dribbled onto the gemstone of his shield, unlocking Slaver's Shield III) Raphtalia's stats were already well above average. But unless she got a class up, the only way she'd be able to improve now was by getting better equipment. Either that or she'd have to learn more magic. Her only offensive spell at the moment was Light Slash, a Fast variant spell. Raphtalia had let him known earlier though that she'd read the whole grimoire already, so it wasn't likely that she'd learn any more magic from it. So unless they could get another higher class grimoire...
He shelved those thoughts for now.
'We were ambushed in the middle of nowhere… and they almost got us too. If Filo hadn't known magic…'
He remembered the one Church Shadow who jumped for him. He could still remember clearly the hate searing from his eyes. The dagger poised to strike. The rosary hanging around his neck. He involuntarily shivered as a ghostly chill traveled down his spine, and he put some wood onto the dying fire hoping to drive the chill away. Had Filo not intervened with that tornado of hers, that moment could have gone down far differently... their escape could have gone down far more differently if she hadn't used her other magic skill, High Quick…
'I don't get why the Three Heroes Church hates me along with the demi-humans so much. I mean, what did the past Shield Hero and demi-humans do that made them turn me into a devil? Or is there no reason other than the fact that they need someone to feel superior to?...' He couldn't attack, meaning he couldn't easily fight back. His main modes of offense were either counter attacks or being really creative with the effects of his various shields. He could be a perfect target for abuse because of that...
…
Naofumi shook his head. He knew nothing about the history of the Church. He knew very little about the history of this world in general. He had too little information to come to a conclusion about it now. If he tried to think about it anymore, he was only going to come up with conspiracy theories about the matter.
'What really concerns me is that Shadow from earlier…'
He still found himself replaying their short conversation in his mind.
"Can you at least tell me what you want, or who you're working for?" He asked.
…
"I daresay I cannot Sir Shield Hero." The Shadow answered. "For I cannot reveal my mistress's identity at this time..."
'I know this Shadow is working for some lady. I don't know who this lady is though…' Naofumi thought to himself.
"... I can say, however, that my mistress's main purpose is to keep you and the other heroes alive…"
'That's certainly refreshing.' He thought sarcastically. 'I'm glad not everyone in this country wants to put a sword through my back. But not telling me her name is very suspicious...' For all he knew, the mistress the Shadow was working for could have been Bitch, and this was simply her way of making him hope that someone was out there helping him before she came in and crushed him. However, despite what she'd done, Bitch didn't strike him as one who'd plan something as complicated as that. No, in his opinion, she was way too stupid to plan something so meticulous.
For now, all he could do was trust that the Shadow was working against Bitch and her father Trash.
"...Us Shadows are spread thin. More of our ranks than I care to admit have joined hands with our enemies. They grow and become more bold with every day…"
These words honestly did trouble Naofumi. 'Judging on what she said, those Shadows we met back in the forest formerly worked with her or something like it. But now, they've gone over to work with the Church. And if she was able to appear in and out of my wagon the way she did…' Another shiver traveled down his spine. He really hoped the other Church Shadows out there weren't capable of the same feats.
"... I fear I may not be able to help you as I have in the past..."
While the previous part troubled him, this latter part confused him. 'I don't remember her ever assisting us before...'
He thought about it. The Church hadn't been sure if he was dead or alive after escaping the trap in the mines. The Church operatives in the area had been killed. Then there was the party where the Church was going to ambush him. One of Ren's party members had just happened to discover that Raphtalia was his slave. Hell, long before all this, Erhard had been given a note from a random stranger that had led Naofumi to the Slave Trader where he purchased Raphtalia.
'Was she responsible for all of that?' Naofumi thought to himself. If this Shadow and her group were really responsible for that and possibly more, he didn't know what to think about not being able to receive such assistance in the future. He might have been overthinking it… was he?
"Beware, Shield Hero. Your enemies are more numerous than you realize. Some of them will be who you'll least suspect…"
'I mean, I know that almost everyone in this country hates me. But who would I least suspect to be my enemy?...'
Raphtalia was definitely out of the question. She'd had plenty of times to betray him in the past. Hell, she'd had the opportunity to take her freedom and leave him to rot in a jail cell. She could have easily left him to die numerous times since he couldn't damage anything. She hadn't though. She'd stuck by his side, trusting in him, fighting for him, and confessing her love for him time and time again. She'd even made herself his slave after being freed as a symbol for how much she trusted him and for her desire for him to trust her.
He'd already won the lottery having someone as loyal, helpful, and kind as her in his life. The last thing he was going to do was doubt her now after everything they had been through the last couple of months.
There was Erhard, the man who'd first believed him after he learned about the conspiracy against Naofumi. He could have been secretly plotting to turn against Naofumi in the future. Naofumi had a hard time picturing the kind-hearted blacksmith betraying him though. Especially with the quality of armor and weapons he'd provided for both himself and Raphtalia at a discount. He was also out of the question.
Filo… Nah. She was still a child that thought of herself as his kid… unless she developed a taste for human flesh, the chicken loli was also off the table.
'Who else would want to betray me then?... or are they people I haven't met yet…' He honestly didn't know. He hadn't gotten particularly close with many people in this world being on the run, and none of them were coming to mind as potential people to betray him. Did that mean the Shadow meant that there were possibly more enemies out there that he didn't know he had?
But he still had one major thing the Shadow had said in their brief conversation.
"... Soon, the time will come when you will come face to face with my mistress's daughter... we will be unable to keep her safe when she arrives, for those in the country are already plotting against her. Only you will be able to protect her from what's to come in the coming months..."
"Wait, I have to protect someone's daughter?-" Naofumi tried to ask.
"It is a lot I ask of you, Sir Shield Hero. I daresay I am unsure if you will want to protect her after what has been done to you by Melromarc. But know that when you find her, then you shall know who it is I'm working for. And that it is within our best interests to protect you and the rest of the Cardinal Heroes from the dangers of our world."
Naofumi found himself frowning. 'On top of everything else, I'm going to have to find out who this mistress's daughter is. Then I'm going to have to protect her from some conspiracy?'
That was probably where the Shadow had been the vaguest. He didn't know who this mystery girl was. He didn't know her age or what she looked like. He didn't know who was conspiring against her, though he could guess either the Church or the Capital being responsible for it. Maybe Bitch, but that seemed like a stretch.
'What would be happening anyway to keep someone as powerful as her from being able to keep this daughter safe?'
Again, the Shadow had literally appeared and disappeared from his wagon in the blink of an eye. Her stealth stats must have been through the roof! If she wouldn't be able to protect this daughter, how the hell was he supposed to?!
He honestly didn't know. And the things he didn't know pissed him off the most. It sounded like this mistress honestly wanted to help him, yet she didn't trust him enough to reveal who she was. Or maybe the Shadow didn't think he was trustworthy enough. Not that he was one to talk. He had only started to trust people other than Raphtalia and Erhard almost two weeks ago.
…
Naofumi shook his head. He had been so lost in thought, the fire had started to die out again. Plus, he was feeling even more tired. They had a long day of traveling the next day.
'I better wake up Raphtalia and let her take her shift. I don't want her to worry about me taking on extra shifts again... And maybe I could use it as a chance to see if she can imbue gemstones with mana or not.'
With that thought in mind, he got up and went to wake up Raphtalia. Even if she did look adorable being all cuddled up with her daughter Filo.
Earlier that Day (33 Days before the Next Wave)
Ren Amaki leaned boredly against a column of the Three Heroes Church. In front of him, one of his party members, Welt, was in front of the Dragon Hourglass. A group of knights had just set a liquid into the grooves of the platform, and the Hourglass itself glowed a soft red. Welt was looking at a skill/job tree, preparing to choose and receive his long-awaited class-up.
"What class should I choose… being a swordsman is great, but maybe I'd do better in a position that supports Bakta. Like a spearman."
"Would you get on with it Welt?!" Bakta yelled a few dozen feet away. "I'd like to get my class up before I die here!" He was standing uncomfortably in his armor.
"We told you before we got here that you should have gone to the bathroom," Tersia said dismissively next to him.
"Honestly, you nobles and your noble pride sometimes." Farrie then commented next to Tersia.
"It's so embarrassing. You could have just admitted you needed to go to the bathroom before we came up here instead of saying everything's fine." Tersia said.
Bakta was about to yell at the two mages, but then one of the nuns nearby glared at him, effectively silencing him. "This is a Church, not a playground." The nun reproved him. "Be more reverent of the holy place you stand in."
Bakta's face grew red, and he continued to stand awkwardly in his enchanted armor. Tersia and Farrie giggled to themselves.
"Don't put your breeches into a knot Bakta. I'm almost done choosing whether I'll be a spearman or not."
"Shut up," Bakta said angrily as he turned to the side, still blushing a fierce red at having been reprimanded like a child by a nun. Then a look of shock appeared on his face. "Wait, I'm supposed to be the party's spearman!"
The reprimanding snap from the nun drowned out Welt's chuckles and Farrie and Tersia's giggles. He looked like he wanted to flip out as the nun proceeded to lash into Bakta about the sanctity of the holy room they were standing in.
Though Ren was trying to look cool and aloof, if you looked closely enough, you'd see the sadness in his eyes watching his party interact with each other. 'To think I didn't take notice of their camaraderie before.' Ren thought sadly.
Tersia and Farrie giggled into their hands again, seeing the noble tank spearman of their group effectively silenced by the nun. Even after she was done scolding him, the nun watched him carefully, obviously marking the noble as a problem child in her mind.
Ren had only realized two days ago that he wasn't playing in the world of his favorite game, Brave Star Online. Instead, he really was in another world. A real world filled with real people.
Another nun dressed in black robes walked by Ren on the platform, giving a respectful curtsy to the Sword Hero as she passed. This was a real lady, who'd made the choice to give her life over to the worship of her Gods. Even though Ren didn't acknowledge her with anything other than a glance, she looked grateful to have, if only briefly, gotten the attention of one of the Three Cardinal Heroes she strived to worship and emulate.
The people of this church were real too. The nuns and priests gathered together down below the platform for worship were as real as Ren was.
Ren glanced to the side away from his party. Leaning against the column opposite him, covered with a cloak to disguise her demi-human looks was Wyndia. She appeared calm, watching her fellow party members go through the class up ritual. She was only level 16, and wouldn't be going through the class-up ritual. One of her hands rested on the hilt of a small sword resting in a scabbard under her cloak.
A pang of guilt hit Ren looking at her again, briefly shattering his cool facade. Wyndia wasn't looking at him, but he could still feel the glare she was subconsciously sending his way. He might have saved her from a group of slavers, and she might have joined his party, but she was nowhere close to forgiving him for killing her adoptive Father.
"I won't forget what you did here today… But since I have no choice, I'll tag along to make sure you stick to your promise, Sir Ren."
That was right. She was only sticking with him to make sure he stayed in line with his promise. That he'd really grow and become the Sword Hero the world needed him to be. He couldn't go on thinking he'd be okay working by himself anymore. He needed these party members, these people to help him to become better. It struck at his pride as a solo gamer, but he was beginning to realize he couldn't keep going it alone anymore.
Especially when there was a bigger picture to look at here.
...
"Ah, Sword Hero, what a pleasant surprise."
Ren turned his head. Walking through the doors behind him onto the platform was the head of the Church. Pope Balamus. "I heard your trip to slay the Dragon was successful."
"Yes." Ren calmly answered. His normal facade had already taken over. He again looked like the normal, cool, aloof teenager he had been before. "The Dragon Gaelion is dead."
If the Pope was surprised that Ren had learned the name of the dragon he killed, he didn't show it. "It is a pity. Another time, he was one of the more peaceful dragons living in our country's borders. He was well respected by the people in that area." The Pope said, a note of sadness in his tone as he walked by Ren, his hands clasped behind his back. Welt was still choosing what class he wanted to upgrade into. "I guess it goes to show how even those we respect can eventually turn against us and become our enemies."
Ren stared calmly at the Pope. The Pope was facing away, but his words held an ominous undertone to them. "I don't think I understand," Ren said calmly.
The Pope was silent for a moment more. At the hourglass, Welt finally chose a class for himself and was enveloped in a shining light. A moment later, the light died down, and he came back into view looking at himself in surprise. In Ren's status magic screen, the star next to Welt's name disappeared.
"It's happened before." The Pope finally said with a sigh. "The mighty and well respected don't always live up to the promises of the people they promise to serve and protect." Had this been a game, Ren would have thought that this was a situation where an NPC gave him important background information about the world. Information that would influence his perception of what happened later. However, this wasn't a game, and he got the real meaning behind the Pope's words as he spoke.
"There have been people in the past who turned their backs on humanity. People who were once well trusted and respected by those below them. Whose actions affected humanity rather severely. Over time, we grew to see these respected people as enemies, rather than as heroes." The Pope said, watching as Welt was pushed out of the way of the hourglass by Bakta, only for the nun from earlier to then grab the tanker by the ear before pulling him away from the hourglass. One of the mages, Tersia, took his place to get her class upgrade. The nuns poured more of the strange liquid into the grooves of the platform. "Unfortunately, it seems the dragon Gaelion will be yet another addition to that sad list."
...
"People… like the Shield Hero." Ren commented behind the Pope.
"Yes, precisely." The Pope finally turned to face Ren again. A relaxed smile was on his face. "I'm afraid that even Cardinal Heroes can fall from grace to become the devils we fear. The past Shield Hero was no exception when he allied himself with the demi-humans while humanity was in danger from the waves. It was a sad blow indeed back when it happened. I'd hoped the current Shield Hero would be... redeemed."
Ren continued to stare calmly and aloofly at the Pope. The Pope wasn't saying it, but the hidden threat was there. Even Ren could be made an enemy if he made one false move he didn't agree with.
Even if the betrayal was something as simple as partying up with a demi-human.
"I won't betray humanity. Not like Naofumi." Ren said calmly, the lie came from him naturally.
"Good." The Pope turned back to the doors to walk away. However, before he left, he glanced at the hooded figure standing opposite of Ren. "Before I go, may I ask where you found that girl?"
Ren looked to Wyndia. She still wasn't looking at him. She was calmly staring as Tersia finished getting her class upgrade, and Farrie moved to take her place. The nuns again poured more of the strange liquid into the grooves.
"During my travels." Ren calmly answered. "She lost her family to monsters, so I'm helping her to become stronger." He didn't get more specific than that. He still remembered how the slaver had mentioned the Pope being Wyndia's former owner. He briefly wondered if the Pope would recognize her or not. Or if he'd recognize how her hood stood up above her hair slightly higher than normal because of her hidden dog ears...
"Interesting…" The Pope faced the doors again. He didn't seem to have recognized Wyndia as his former slave, or as a demi-human. "I'll take my leave then. Farewell, Sword Hero... And do remember what I told you about the Shield Hero."
Ren didn't respond as the Pope left the room. The same relaxed smile that spoke of how God was on his side still being on his face as the doors closed behind him.
With the Pope gone, Ren moved one of his hands behind his back so he could clench it into a fist. 'That man…' That did it. He had to look more into the Three Heroes Church's activities. He'd garnered that part of the reason for their distrust of Naofumi was because of a past Shield Hero. And that it was somehow related to demi-humans… but that didn't explain why they would hate him so much… he had to look more into it.
"Finally, it's my turn-" Bakta was saying as Farrie walked away from the Hourglass. Looking pleased with having been able to class upgrade.
"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a moment." The nun interrupted him.
"Wait, what!?-" Bakta was yelling in surprise. However, when the nun glared at him, he quieted his voice. "Why do I have to wait?" He quietly asked.
"One, because of your rudeness and irreverence. Two, we used up the rest of our holy class up water on your friends. It will take time to bring more up here." The nun said calmly.
"How long will it take?" Bakta desperately asked.
"Longer if you can't learn to be reverent in our halls!" The nun snapped at him.
"Awwwww…" Bakta lied down on the floor, moaning in pain. He had to go to the bathroom so badly, it wasn't even funny to him anymore. Tersia, Farrie, and Welt all chuckled quietly nearby to themselves. The three of them going over their new stats and abilities in their status menus.
For the briefest of moments, Ren saw Wyndia glancing at him. He turned his head to face her, only to find her looking back at Bakta. She didn't speak up, nor did her calm facade break. The glaring feeling he'd been feeling earlier had lessened somewhat though. Had it been because he'd lied to the Pope about her? Had it been because he'd called the Pope a monster without the Pope realizing it?
Either way, the glare was still there in his mind. Reminding him of the guilt he felt for what he'd done.
Ren again promised himself that he'd make it up to her. To his party for being weak. He'd find out the Church's real plans and put a stop to them before more people like Naofumi got hurt.
Bakta continued to moan in agony on the floor.
Author's Notes:
Sorry, I didn't get a chance to write an omake scene for this chapter. I was so busy reading the Light Novels that the thought slipped my mind. I'm also sorry about this chapter being shorter than the others. But, I guess not every chapter can be light-novel length as I've discovered. Light Novel 4 was only 12 chapters, but almost 350 pages!
Anywho, I hope you all had a great Christmas! Have a Happy New Year, and I'll see you all again next Monday! Leave your comments! They definitely help with the story!
Till Next Time
Allen