You know, I wrote some of the paragraph below to vent. I was planning on deleting it and just moving on. However, I've been made aware of an issue that needed addressing. And I decided since it's gotten out of hand to not to delete the below paragraph. In fact, I'm adding a little extra. Readers, buckle your seatbelts. It's time to tear a Guest reviewer a new one again. To the Guest this is addressed to... you asked for it.
As several others obviously pointed out, this is the anime and manga section of fanfiction. I don't care if Rising of the Shield Hero was a WN first. I really, really don't care. I read the WN, and it was the absolute worst reading of my life. I've read some pretty cringy fanfics on this site before, but I'd rather make myself read them all again than try and read part of the WN. For all I care, the WN is the rough draft while the LN is the final copy. End of discussion. Next, in case you never noticed, the original anime, Light Novels, even the WN uses humor and gags in them. Therefore, you are massively wrong to say anime humor can't and shouldn't be done in a writing format. They do that in Japan all the time. Finally, if you ever try to pressure me into allowing your comments to make it onto the review page when they're derogatory and antagonize many of the other readers along with myself, I will delete the review just like your last three. I have absolutely no patience for pricks in real life. I have even less patience for anonymous pricks on the Internet who think they can say something I disagree with and then try to bully me or my readers into submitting. As you said, I'd like to think you're better than that. Or am I wrong to assume you're better than that you no balls, integritless swine?
Now, XX, Kirozen, and any other guest/reviewer out there; thank you for defending and supporting this fic, but I want to make it clear that you aren't obligated to say something in my defense every time someone has a criticism. Actually, it'd be wise if you didn't. I deleted one of your comments XX since it started this whole little review war with the above Guest. Part of me wants to delete the other one you made towards another reviewer who had a valid criticism too. I'm not deleting Kirozen's since he addressed some of what I said to that Guest up above. However, I will not be approving such comments towards other reviewers in the future from anyone, even if it is to defend me or this fic. I already said I accept criticism before, but only solid constructive criticism. Not hateful demotivating criticism. Hate on that if you want. I already gave an outline in Chapter Eleven of the criticism I'll listen too. I also decided to add a clearer section about it to my profile page yesterday, so I won't be repeating myself here. Especially do not abuse the other reviewers here. I'll be keeping a closer eye on that in the future so we can avoid having this mess again. Trust me, if I have to address such stupidity again, I will be ticked.
Are we good? Good. Let's get on to the story!
Since Last Time: 29 more Favorites, 32 more Followers (Total: 788 Favorites, 924 Followers)
Updated: January 12th, 2020 11:15 A.M. (MST)
Chapter Twenty-Five: Conversing with the Bow Hero
(24 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)
"Wahhhh, I want your cooking Dadddddddy!"
"Filo, this isn't the time for your whining," Naofumi stated blandly.
"I want your cooking Daddddddddy!" Filo again whined.
"There's nothing wrong with it Filo. Just eat." Naofumi said, sounding a little more impatient.
"But this food doesn't taste like what you cook for meeeeeeee!"
"You damn… urgh!" Naofumi clasped his fist in frustration. This blonde child just wouldn't shut up! He was currently sitting across from Raphtalia in a side booth of a tavern having dinner. Filo was sitting on the inside by Raphtalia. The tavern was noisy from all the villagers drinking away a hard day's work.
They'd been able to continue to travel, compound medicines, study the language, gather herbs, craft accessories, study the grimoires, buy ores and gemstones, and peddle their wares wherever they'd visited. They hadn't seen any sign of the Church's Shadows since the forest, but they had been seeing more wanted posters of him and Raphtalia up wherever they visited. He figured they'd been there since he'd left the Capital based on how worn the papers looked. Still, he left rumors of the Shield Demon raping and pillaging his way northwest in the last couple of towns he'd visited just to be safe.
"Wahhhhhhhh!" The tavern was pretty noisy, but that didn't mean some people weren't starting to look over in confusion at the crying girl.
Naofumi pressed his head to the table. "Raphtalia, can you please calm your daughter down?" He begged.
Raphtalia set her utensils down by her plate. She'd normally agree and work her magic to calm Filo, however… "Um… Master Naofumi?"
"What is it Raphtalia?"
"Our daughter... has a point," Raphtalia whispered nervously under her hood. Looking down at her food which had hardly been touched either.
"What do you mean?"
"This… doesn't taste as good as your cooking." Raphtalia admitted.
"..." 'Her too?' He wasn't sure how to respond at first… had he been spoiling both of them with his cooking? It wasn't a bad meal they were eating. It was one of the more expensive ones the tavern owner had specially made for them as thanks for all the people the Nocturnal Doctor had helped out with his medicines (and in some secret cases, a quick Fast Heal muttered under his breath). Could they really find it that bad?...
"You know what, I'm not in the mood for arguing this," Naofumi said after thinking about it.
"But Master Naofumi-" Raphtalia tried to complain.
"Eat up," Naofumi replied tiredly. "I'm not cooking for you two tonight no matter what you say." He added dryly, leaving no room for argument.
"Awwww…" Raphtalia sadly looked down at her plate of food again.
"Boo!" Filo pouted as she stared down at her food. At least she wasn't crying anymore. So the drunk people who'd been staring over in confusion went back to their drunken activities without the loud noise distracting them.
There were a lot of other people drinking in the inn with it being so late in the night, so they weren't grabbing any attention. There was music playing, and a bard singing in one of the corners. Unlike the few other times they'd eaten at a tavern, these people were very lively. Quite a few were drunk after drinking away a hard day's work. A person was passed out in the booth behind Raphtalia, and another man was singing drunkenly out of tune to the bard's song in the booth behind Naofumi. Somewhat adding to his irritation.
Naofumi noticed Raphtalia looking sad. "What? Does it really bother you that much that I don't want to cook tonight?" He asked.
"No…" It honestly wasn't bad food… She quickly thought up a half-truth. "I'm just worried we'll be discovered here. That's all." She said with a sweet smile on her face. It was always a worry on her part whenever they stayed the night in town. She didn't want to admit the real reason she was sad was that she'd grown fond of Naofumi's cooking. To the point that even this food which had been prepared by a talented chef didn't compare to his cooking.
"Hmmm…" Naofumi shrugged. It was a reasonable worry. "Everyone here is too busy getting drunk or doing whatever to notice us," Naofumi said indifferently. "Besides, my Mask Shield keeps normal people from recognizing me, so we should be fine," Naofumi added. 'Plus, this gives me an excuse to take a break from cooking. And I'll get to sleep in a nice warm bed after this.' He thought to himself.
The euphoria of being able to taste his own cooking had finally died. Cooking large meals for the child glutton and her mother every day had taken their toll. Now, he appreciated the break of having someone else cook for them. Even if it didn't taste as good as his own food.
'Though Filo having a fit about it sure is annoying. Hell, I'm on the verge of sending that loli to our inn room if she whines about being hungry to me again…' Sure, it didn't taste as good to him as his own cooking. But jeez, did she have to make such a racket about it?! What did Filo have to complain about!? Or was she really just a spoiled brat who thought of him as her butler?!
...
"I can't take this!" Filo said angrily as she pushed her plate away. "I want your cooking daddy! I want it now! Give it to me!" She yelled, childishly trying to boss him around as she pointed an angry finger at him.
And Naofumi was pushed over the verge. 'Who does this KFC loli THINK SHE IS?!' He was so not in the mood to play Father or butler anymore tonight. "If you're not going to eat, then you can go to your room without dinner!" Naofumi said before Raphtalia could say something to sooth Filo.
"Whaaaaa?!" Filo looked shocked at Naofumi's response. Had daddy said what she thought he said?
"If you want to complain about the food, then you can go to bed without it!" Naofumi said with finality.
Filo quickly realized that, yes, Daddy was sending her to bed without his cooking. She was being forced to go to bed hungry. Even though, in her mind, he could have easily made her something to eat. "Wahhhh! You big meanie!" Filo cried as she crawled out under the table and ran for the exit.
"Wait, Filo-" Raphtalia tried to stop her. But Filo ducked her mother's outstretched arm and ran crying for the exit. A few drunk bystanders stared at this angel-like girl as she ran by before they shrugged it off and went back to partying.
...
"... Don't you think that was a little rude, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked, feeling disappointed with him.
"Oh well, she'll live," Naofumi said blandly. "Filo can't expect me to cook every meal for her. She has to learn that I'm not always going to be there to cook for her. The sooner she understands that, the better."
"Sigh, I guess you're right-" Something Naofumi said caught up to her. "Wait, do you mean…" Raphtalia tried to find the words to say. 'Is Master Naofumi… planning on going back to his world after the waves are over?...'
"Well. we're fugitives, and at the same time we're dealing with the waves." Naofumi continued, not sensing that Raphtalia had been about to ask him if he still thought of going back to his own world after the waves. "I can't cook for her whenever she feels like it."
… Raphtalia sighed to herself. She wanted to ask… but she was afraid of the answer she'd receive. Besides, it didn't really matter now. They were fugitives, and they were having to deal with the Waves of Catastrophe alongside the Waves. "Alright…" She said defeatedly. She grabbed a fork and forced herself to take another bite of the meal that tasted bland to her.
"Besides, I wanted it to be just the two of us tonight," Naofumi added.
That caught Raphtalia off guard, so much so that she almost choked on her food. "Just, just the two of us?" She asked nervously. First, she thought he was going to mention going back home again. Then he said that out of nowhere, throwing her original thoughts out the window!? 'Did he want it to be just the two of us for some reason? But why- oh no! Is this what my friend Rifana called a date?! Oh no oh no OH NO!' Raphtalia thought. She suddenly became embarrassed and horrified. 'If this is a date, then the chances of us sharing a kiss can drastically go up!' Her cheeks flushed red. 'I can't kiss Master Naofumi! I-'
"Yeah. Now that Filo isn't yelling in our ears, we can see if we can eavesdrop on any news of what's going on in Melromarc before we turn in for tonight." Naofumi said, taking another bite from the steak on his plate.
'... oh.' Raphtalia sat back in her seat. Oddly enough, she felt disappointed. They were finally alone with each other… well, as alone as they could be in a tavern full of drunk and loud people... and all he wanted to do was figure out what they were missing out on in the world… 'Am I disappointed that this isn't a date… then does that mean I want Master Naofumi to kiss me?... Are my instincts telling me I should get pregnant?' He still wasn't a very affectionate guy. But he was getting better at opening up and smiling more. Especially after their talk together at the Hot Spring.
'But if that's the case, then why hasn't he told me how he feels or not!?' She thought, starting to internally panic again at the thought that Master Naofumi might not end up thinking of her as more than a friend. And that she might be warming up to the idea of kissing him if only to become pregnant so he'd love her. Or would getting pregnant only make him hate her...
'I'M SO CONFUSED!'
"Can you listen to the people around the edge of the room?" Naofumi asked, oblivious of what Raphtalia was thinking. "I've been listening to those around us, but I can't hear what's being said at the outer tables."
…
It took a moment, but Raphtalia eventually shook herself from her thoughts and looked around herself. She grimaced when she saw two guys get into a brawl with each other just a few tables over. "Maybe, but it's hard to sift through all this noise," she murmured unsurely to herself.
"Try focusing on one part of the room at a time," Naofumi suggested. "Like when I had you focus on my heartbeat in that crate. I'm sure there are more than a few people going over useful info in here right now," Naofumi said as he looked through the eye-slits of his mask while eating. "At least, I hope there are." Drunk people weren't always the most reliable source of information.
Raphtalia breathed in and out calmly, doing her best to throw her raw disappointment away to focus. Just like Master Naofumi had told her. She could think over what she wanted and what her instincts were telling her later. She tuned out the merry singing and the brawl happening nearby. Her ears twitched under her hood as she tried to find someone to listen to behind her…
...
"... and the Lord of Donto was killed too. His manor was burnt down along with nobleman Zachir's."
"Ha, you must be drinking again. You've always been one for believing wild rumors, Fenril."
Raphtalia turned her head and saw what looked like a very sober servant talking to a very drunk noble in a corner booth. A chained, dejected-looking demi-child sat under the table. Looking down at the ground. Raphtalia had to hold back a gasp when she saw bruises on the poor girl's arms traveling up into the rags she wore underneath the chains.
"Sir, I'm serious." The servant said urgently. "The Lord of Donto was only the next town over from us. He's the fifth noble we've heard of that's died since the last wave. And Nobleman Zachir is the sixth! The Capital is in an uproar over it!"
"They're just wild rumors, Fenril. Nothing for a powerful man like me to worry about." The noble said, slurring his words in his drunkenness before he took another hefty swig of his drink.
"But this time, the vigilante left a survivor who's passing on a message. He sounds serious!" The servant added fearfully.
"Really, and what did this messenger have to say?" The nobleman asked. He was pretending to sound curious, but the fact that he was drunk made it quite obvious that he didn't care what was said.
The servant gulped. "He said; nobles of Melromarc, those of you who enjoy abusing your slaves. Repent of your iniquities and free them, or else justice shall swiftly fall upon your heads. I'm coming for you."
…
"Ahahahaha!" The noble laughed boisterously. Obviously thinking it was a good joke. Raphtalia's eyes widened when he kicked the demi-human child out from underneath his table. The little girl whimpered and huddled in on herself. "As if I'd ever do that! Honestly, I don't know where you hear these crazy rumors from, Fenril!"
"But, but sir, he could be targeting you next!"
"As if!" The noble yelled.
"Damn you, Uncle! Idol Rabier and the others are taking this threat seriously, so why can't you-"
"Take a hike, Fenril. I'm busy right now." The nobleman said. He took a hefty gulp of his drink before pulling harshly on the chain of his slave. "Did I say you could show yourself in public you worthless piece of ****?!" He yelled angrily at the slave.
The slave girl whimpered and tried to huddle herself under the table again. However, the nobleman kicked her hard, launching her out from under the table again. He laughed as he cruelly repeated the process. Tugging the girl back, only to deliver another harsh kick to her ribs that sent her flying into view. The people sitting nearby didn't seem to care, and a few of them laughed as they watched the spectacle being performed in front of them.
The servant, also nephew of the nobleman, opened his mouth, as if to say something more… but then he turned around and headed for the exit. An angry expression was on his face. Muttering something about the "Damn fool" under his breath as he exited.
Raphtalia ignored the servant, and saw red in her vision as she focused on the laughing noble. 'That vile man!' That demi-girl was getting hurt worse by the second. One kick connected with her head, and the poor girl collapsed to the ground and started crying for her parents. Some of the drunk bystanders laughed at her pain.
"I already killed your parents girlie! No one's coming to help you now!" The noble laughed boisterously. The little demi-girl continued to cry.
Raphtalia moved to get up, one of her hands moving to her sword to deal swift justice herself. Not just to the noble, but all the drunk fools who found the situation funny. 'HOW DARE HE-!'
A hand gripped hers. She looked up, and saw Naofumi had a similar look of anger on his face. His desire to get up and protect that girl was just as strong as hers. Maybe even stronger. However, he shook his head and sat down. She got the message. 'We'd only make it worse. For the girl, and for us.' He wanted to help too… but doing so would lead to a confrontation with the noble that could either end in the girl's death, revealing who they really were, or both. They couldn't help now...
It didn't make her feel better about it. But she sat back down, sword sheathed, and eyebrows angrily furrowed. None of the drunk patrons nearby had noticed them.
"Did you overhear anything important before that started happening?" Naofumi asked.
Raphtalia glared down angrily at her food. "I hope those rumors are true." She muttered to herself. Naofumi remained expressionless as she continued. "That noble was talking to a servant. The servant said that there have been several nobles killed recently. Whoever is doing it is demanding the rest to stop abusing their slaves and to free them."
Naofumi thought on it for a moment. "That must be Itsuki. Finally, some news about the other heroes." He said. "It's great to hear that he took what you said seriously… but killing them? I didn't think he was one for killing people before…"
Raphtalia remained quiet. She could tune out some of the other people. But she couldn't tune out what was happening only a dozen feet behind her… she found herself hoping that Itsuki would appear to kill this noble. Otherwise, she was going to find a way to deal with the prick herself.
"I haven't overheard much." Naofumi continued. "All the idiots close to me are drunk off their asses."
Raphtalia didn't cheer up at hearing his joke. The girl was still being beaten behind her. Around the two, conversation and merry singing was starting to die down, but she didn't notice. She just wanted to help that girl before the noble killed her.. "I did overhear some crazy rumors about the King trying to make Motoyasu the Lord of Lute Village and a rebel group forming because of it. It doesn't sound... very reliable though…"
…
Raphtalia hadn't been aware that Naofumi had stopped speaking. However, she did recognize that the sound of the beating of the girl behind her stopped. Along with most of the other sounds in the room. She sighed and turned to look to see how the girl was.
"Unhand me this instant!"
A figure dressed as a knight was restraining the drunk noble. Two mages, a sword wielder, and a spear wielder flanked the knight. Approaching the bewildered noble was a cloaked individual. A normal bow and quiver rested on his back in plain view.
"There's no way…" Naofumi muttered to himself. The rest of the room had gone eerily silent as if they had realized something big was about to happen.
Itsuki kept his face and identity hidden in the shadow of his hood. He glared daggers at the noble who struggled in the knight's grip. "Who are you?! Unhand me, now!" The noble yelled angrily.
"Sir." One of the mages said as he approached. "This is the noble of the area, Lelouch Onren."
"I said unhand me! I wasn't done with my drink and entertainment!" The noble said, still sounding drunk despite the predicament he was in. In his drunken rage, he tried tugging on the chain for his now unbound slave to beat her some more. Yet his brain, so consumed with rage and drink, didn't make the connection as to why he didn't feel something resist on the other end.
The patrons had gone oddly silent. Most watched what was happening with drunk interest. A few that were sober enough paled in horror. A couple fainted. Several tried to casually leave before they became witnesses to another gruesome murder.
"How guilty is this one, Rachel?" Itsuki asked emotionlessly.
"He was a friend of the Lord of Donto. The two were well known to visit each other to see who could get their slaves to scream more. The winner often got to have his way with the slaves." The same mage said blandly.
The unchained girl hugged closer to Itsuki's leg underneath his cloak. Shaking with fear as she looked up at her angry master. "Where's my slavegirl! I demand to know what you've done with her!" The noble shouted, his mind finally making the connection that his slave was no longer chained and that these individuals were responsible. "Answer me or I'll have your worthless heads! I wasn't done meting out that girl's punishment for today!"
The girl squeaked in terror and covered her head with Itsuki's cloak.
"He's also well known for punishing his slaves, and sometimes his servants over the littlest things." The mage added. "The worst punishment he's given was fifty lashings to a slave girl who failed to please him correctly."
"If I don't have my slavegirl back, I'll kill you! I'll kill every last one of you, along with the girl!"
Itsuki continued to calmly stare at the noble. "No wonder that Fenril guy was willing to help us. It's obvious to me that this man feels no shame for what he does." He said blandly, lifting his bow from off his back. The bow almost looked to be dripping with malevolent aura. "Let's take him out back."
The knight carried the cursing noble out the door outside into the alleyway of the inn. Itsuki and his party followed. The tavern stayed strangely silent, listening for what was about to happen.
"Wait, what are you doing!? Unhand me this instant!" The drunk noble demanded outside. "I still have to-"
…
…
An eerie silence followed… a couple more of the people who'd paled fainted in their seats...
...
Itsuki walked back into the tavern. Naofumi caught side of a fading aura coming from the bow that was on his back again. A bland expression was on his face as he pulled out a small bag of coins.
"Sorry for the trouble. A couple of rounds for everyone on me." He said blandly, dropping the coins onto the counter next to the owner of the tavern, who had been staring in shock the whole time at what had happened.
His words finally elicited cheers from everyone in the tavern, and just like that, the atmosphere returned to normal. Drinks were passed out to the various attendees. Those who had fainted were moved to the sides where they could recover from their drunken stupors. Conversations sprung up again between groups. Merry songs of drunkenness were sung again. Including a triad done by the bard and the two former men who had been brawling earlier. They had made up and become good friends again.
'Hmmm… I'm not sure what to think...' Naofumi thought as he saw Itsuki turn to his party members who'd followed him in to say something to them. The bow on his back looked normal again, but that aura he'd been sensing…
"It sounds like he's telling his party to head to the noble's manors to free the other slaves," Raphtalia informed Naofumi. "With him dead, they won't have to erase the slave crests off their chests." Itsuki then turned to another party member and spoke to her in hushed tones. "And he told her to make sure the body is burned with the manor."
"Fue… Fuehhhhh!" The girl's whimper of surprise was loud enough for even Naofumi to hear. Itsuki looked annoyed by her response. The slave girl he had saved was still hugging one of Itsuki's legs, staring up at him in awe as he gave out orders.
"Well… at least that demi girl is safe now." Naofumi muttered. Though he wished the noble hadn't had to be killed in the process...
"Right…" Raphtalia was surprised. Her wish had actually come true. Yet she didn't know whether to feel happy that the girl had been freed or sad that the noble had to be killed in order for that to happen… as horrible as that man was...
After another moment, Itsuki's party moved along to fulfill their various orders. Itsuki walked in their direction since another exit was that way. The injured demi-human girl holding his hand as she limped with him. Some of the people he passed whispered to themselves, wondering if this was the guy who was going around punishing nobility or not. But none of them dared get in his way. Especially after he'd been nice enough to order them a round of fresh drinks.
'Should I try and stop Itsuki to talk to him?...' Naofumi wasn't sure if that'd be a good idea or not. Itsuki had given him some of his reward money for helping out during the last wave… he had also defended Naofumi after the Sacred Duel… 'But I don't know if those two acts would be enough to build a relationship of trust between us...' Naofumi thought.
He was still pondering it when Itsuki stopped next to him. "So, is this where you chose to hide?" Itsuki asked lowly. "Can't say I'm much of a fan of this place."
Naofumi almost looked up in surprise, but he managed to keep calm. No one else had been staring at him oddly, so they didn't recognize who he was with his Mask Shield in place. 'His eyes must have gotten sharper from using a bow for so long. Either that or he noticed Raphtalia.' He logically deduced in his mind. At least, he hoped that was what it was.
"No. I'm not hiding out here. I merely go around in a wagon, peddling valuable medicines and other wares from place to place as a Night Merchant." Naofumi answered.
"You wouldn't happen to be the new famous Nocturnal Doctor I've been hearing about?" Itsuki asked, fortunately recognizing the night merchant reference Naofumi had made. Dimension Wave had had a similar merchant in it who only appeared in random towns at night to peddle his valuable goods.
'Do I tell him-' Naofumi was thinking.
"Yes," Raphtalia said. "My master is the Nocturnal Doctor," Raphtalia said happily. Naofumi gave Raphtalia a flat look at how easily she'd just given Itsuki that information.
"That's good to hear." He looked down at the limping demi-girl. "I'm out of medicine and potions from the last group I saved, and I haven't managed to learn any healing magic. I'd transport her somewhere to get her treated, but my skill's cooldown timer hasn't expired yet. Do you have something you could give to her Nocturnal Doctor?" Itsuki addressed Naofumi formerly.
'Wait, is he saying he can teleport to other places!?' Naofumi thought in surprise. He had to work hard to hide his disappointment at hearing about it. 'That'd be a useful skill to have...' "I have some HP potions that should help. But they're still in my wagon." Naofumi answered calmly. "I also know a spell that could help her if you gave me a moment."
Itsuki looked around. The people were as drunk and lively as ever, but anyone could still be listening in... "How about we meet up somewhere else in ten minutes? We can talk there without anyone else overhearing." Itsuki suggested.
'I figured he wouldn't want to just help this girl…' He wasn't entirely sure if he should trust Itsuki or not. But then he figured, if Itsuki had really wanted to expose him, he could have told everyone who he was then and there. Or he could have just shot a skill at Naofumi while he'd been feeling safe in his disguise.
Itsuki was, at last, earning himself some trust points. "Fine by me. Just make sure you're not seen."
Naofumi whispered which room at the inn was his. Itsuki nodded before he left with the child. Naofumi set down the last bit of his free steak. It wasn't as good as his cooking thanks to the skills he had from his shields, but damn, he'd need to find the recipe the cook used for preparing his steaks. There were some things his cooking skills could supplement when preparing a meal, but even they could be improved upon if he used the proper recipe.
"Come on Raphtalia. It looks like I have one more person to play doctor for tonight." Naofumi said calmly.
Raphtalia set her fork back down. Her food had barely been touched, along with Filo's. "Right."
Naofumi gathered up the leftovers, and then the two of them left the tavern.
Ten Minutes Later
Naofumi reached into his inventory, and pulled out an HP Potion he'd grabbed from his wagon. It was one of his better quality ones. Very High Quality. "Here." He handed it to the girl, who sniffed curiously at the contents. Fortunately, HP Potions weren't like medicine, so it didn't smell bitter. The girl drank it down, and almost immediately color returned to her face. Some of the bruises faded, and most of her cuts closed up. "Fast Heal." Green energy poured over the girl from Naofumi's hands, closing up the rest of her cuts and healing the rest of her scrapes.
"Wow, I'm feeling much better now. Thanks Sir Shield Hero." She said happily. Naofumi, now that they were in his room, had moved changed to his default shield and set it on his arm again. The girl glowed as one of Naofumi's Shield skills improved the potency of the HP Potion and his healing spell.
'This world still amazes me sometimes. Maybe it's for the better that parts of it are like a game. As long as I remember that this is real.' Naofumi thought as the girl felt at her arm. Looking amazed that she didn't feel pain coming from it anymore. Naofumi took the plate that held the rest of his, Raphtalia, and Filo's meals off the nightstand and gave it to her. "Just make sure you take it easy for a while. I'm not sure if my potions or my spell helped your concussion out or not. So don't do anything too strenuous." He said with the calmness of a practiced doctor.
"Okay." The girl happily started eating. There was a lot of food on the plate, but she was quickly plowing it down.
"Careful, or you'll choke yourself-" Raphtalia tried to warn.
The girl stopped and started beating at her chest. Similar to Raphtalia had as a kid when she'd eaten too quickly. Raphtalia was quick to give the girl a wooden cup filled with water.
"Thanks again, Naofumi," Itsuki said, smiling a little in relief. He was sitting at the table in the corner of the room. "I didn't think to grab a meal for her on my way out."
"Don't thank me yet. The potion and spell were worth 5 silvers together." Naofumi responded blandly. "That meal's another 2 silver."
Itsuki looked at him in shock. "But I thought you did this to help someone out?!"
"What? Making high quality HP potions isn't cheap. And MP takes a lot longer to recharge than SP." Naofumi said, shrugging in indifference towards Itsuki's plight. "It's your fault for not checking the details of the transaction first."
"Master Naofumi," Raphtalia said beratedly from her chair. "What have I told you about overcharging those you're helping."
"Relax. I was only kidding Raphtalia. Jeez." Naofumi said to her sarcastically. "Just the fact that he chose not to sell me out to the people here is enough for me not to charge him for this service."
"You know you shouldn't kid about that. How old are you, 11?"
"Okay, I am not 11."
"Well you're certainly acting like it," Raphtalia replied sarcastically.
"But you are too."
"I am not."
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"AM NOT!"
Itsuki almost chuckled at the way the two spun down in immaturity. 'Definitely not a master-slave relationship going on there… hell, they seem closer than they were last time...' After a moment of watching, he looked back down at the demi girl who'd stopped eating. She seemed a lot more tired, yet happy at the fact that she didn't have a horrible master looming over her anymore. And now that all of her various cuts, scrapes, and bruises had disappeared after taking the potion, and since she'd had something nice and warm to eat, she looked on the verge of falling asleep. Possibly having her peaceful rest for the first time in a long while... '... not like what this girl was experiencing with her master.'
If he'd heard correctly, he'd heard the noble say he'd killed the girl's parents before he and his party confronted the vile man...
…
Itsuki felt a little bad about the way he'd judged Naofumi before. He'd judged Naofumi in part since he had ran away from his supposed crime against Myne. He'd also judged Naofumi based on the rumors he'd heard about him going around, killing and raping innocents like he was a barbarian in Skyrim. He'd wondered back then if anyone could be viler than Naofumi…
Yet, Ren had said to wait. They needed to find Naofumi and see if he really was a monster or not. And they'd both found that Naofumi wasn't a monster at all… and the way he'd pictured him had been nothing compared to a couple of the nobles he'd come face to face within their manors the last couple of weeks. Like the first one, who slit a little demi-girl's throat in the name of God. Or the second one, who had been in the middle of raping one of his slaves when Itsuki had busted in. Or the third one… who had been… beating one of his slaves for getting pregnant...
Hell. Itsuki realized the Naofumi having a childish argument with his companion was at least a hundred times better than what these nobles did to their slaves. A thousand times better. 'In some ways, he's a better person than me and Ren. Sure, it looks like he still has his rough patches. But he still tries to help people out...' Itsuki had heard the Lord of Lute Village speaking about how Naofumi helped them during the wave. He'd also heard tales about the famous Nocturnal Doctor going around, healing the sick, helping the needy, charging low prices for his services, and things of that nature. To know that Nocturnal Doctor was actually Naofumi...
"Anyways," Naofumi finally cut off the immature argument between himself and Raphtalia. "You said you wanted to talk to me Itsuki?" Naofumi asked.
Raphtalia's tail spiked indignantly and childishly at Naofumi cutting off their argument so abruptly. And it had been only because he'd realized he wasn't going to win it.
Itsuki was pulled out of his thoughts. "Yes. I wanted to ask how you've been doing. But I can already make a good guess since you're the famous Nocturnal Doctor I've been hearing about." Itsuki said awkwardly. He realized this was probably the first time since they'd been summoned to this game world that he'd actually sat down to talk with Naofumi. "How have you been holding up using only a shield?" Itsuki asked.
"Well, other than the fact that I can't damage anything with my fists, I'm doing pretty good," Naofumi said honestly. "I leave the monster-slaying to Raphtalia and a monster we're raising so I can focus on learning other useful skills."
"A monster?" Itsuki asked curiously. "You tamed a monster?"
"Yeah, well, I raised one from an egg." He corrected. "It's normally a very large version of a Filolial. Yet somehow, she's capable of transforming herself to look like a little girl." Naofumi said blandly. "It's really annoying sometimes."
"Interesting…" He'd never heard of such a monster before in his game. He wondered how Naofumi had come across something like that… then again, he'd never known about the story quest he was on existing before. There were other differences from this game and the original he was used to playing, so he guessed it was something else Naofumi had found out. "Is your monster in the stables, or-?" He tried to ask.
"No, she's in her room since she was a spoiled brat at dinner," Naofumi responded blandly.
"Boo!" Filo voiced her displeasure from the next room over.
"Go back to bed Filo!" Naofumi yelled.
"Meanie!"
...
"Anyways." Naofumi broke the awkward silence that had formed. "I was in that tavern to see if I could learn anything about what was going on with the other heroes." He continued. "Can you fill me in?"
Itsuki nodded. "Sure. I can fill you in on some of what's happened." He said before he proceeded to fill Naofumi in on the activities of himself and the other heroes. He didn't cover much about himself since Naofumi had already seen how he was doing in the tavern.
Itsuki had met with Ren a couple of days ago in a tavern in another town. Ren had killed the dragon-like he said he would, however, it had turned out to be a ploy by the Three Heroes Church to recapture a former demi-human slave the Pope had owned. The former slave was now traveling as a member of his party. He'd been on his way to a town called Leruno to fix the major mess Motoyasu had left behind when Itsuki ran into him.
That led to another discussion. Apparently Motoyasu had been busy… busy being a complete and utter idiot thanks to Myne. She had made Motoyasu the Lord of Lute Village using a royal decree and had tried to tax the town for 1 gold coin a day to help with repairs. Needless to say, some of the villagers rebelled, and the former Lord was restored during the conflict. Motoyasu and his party had been banned by the Lord from entering that part of the Kingdom again. He wasn't sure about what happened to the villagers who'd chosen to rebel. Though the rumor that they'd escaped and formed a rebel group seemed likely.
After that, Motoyasu had gone Southwest to some ruins to unseal a 'Miracle' Seed to give to an area suffering from famine. The seed got rid of the famine. But then it mutated, and the plants overgrew everything. The people had to abandon their town since the plants forced them out. He hadn't as of yet heard how Ren was doing there.
Honestly, the more Naofumi heard, the more his already low opinion of the Spear Hero and the Bitch dropped. It turned out, the King hadn't been very pleased with Motoyasu either, as he had him called in so he could berate him himself for causing so many problems in his kingdom. Last Itsuki had heard, Motoyasu had disappeared without his party members knowing where he had gone.
"And here I was thinking Motoyasu was the King's favorite?" Naofumi said sarcastically.
"He was," Itsuki said. "But I don't think the King liked that Motoyasu has been causing him a lot of problems lately. Not that I haven't been causing my fair share either. Going around and killing the nobles who support him left and right."
"Jeez, I wonder how that wouldn't cause that piece of trash any problems," Naofumi said sarcastically.
Itsuki grinned. It was weird, but he agreed with Naofumi about calling the King trash. "Who would have thought that all the nobles in the country who supported slavery would also support that Trash?" Itsuki also said sarcastically. The two shared a laugh over that.
At this point, Raphtalia was holding the demi-human girl in her lap and was rocking the gently sleeping girl while listening to the two heroes. She smiled, seeing the two Cardinal Heroes getting along with each other. Unlike the first time when she'd seen them interact like enemies in the street before the Last Wave.
"Wait, so does that mean no one knows where Motoyasu went? Not even his party members?" Naofumi asked.
"I'm not sure, honestly. I got all that information from Ren." Itsuki admitted.
"But could that mean Motoyasu doesn't trust Bitch anymore or something?" Naofumi asked. He sounded surprised that Motoyasu might actually listen to the brain in his head instead of the brain in his lower half.
"No, I'm not sure it's that. Ren didn't get the chance to speak with Motoyasu. He only learned about what happened when the guild approached him with the emergency request. As far as we know, he might be in another part of Melromarc leveling up."
"Hmmm." 'I want to think he's actually developing some common sense... Or maybe he's just trying to be less of an idiot than before and not do anything that could cause a mess.' Naofumi thought optimistically to himself. It sounded like the blonde fool had made a large enough mess already. If he was in his shoes, he'd want to extract himself for a while and do something else.
"Still, I wouldn't recommend trying to find him anytime soon. It sounds like he still doesn't like you." Itsuki warned.
"Noted. Anything else I've been missing out on?" Naofumi asked.
"Nope. You already saw what I'm doing. That's everything I know about." Itsuki finished.
"... Thanks Itsuki. It's actually kind of good to know what's been happening while I've been trying to hide around." Naofumi said gratefully.
"Well I didn't have 5 silver on me since I gave all the silver coins I had on hand downstairs to those people. So I figured the information would be worth that much to you." Itsuki said, laughing a little at the end.
'Of course. You were just finding a way to cheat me out of a potion you little piece of ****.' Naofumi thought sarcastically. However, he could tell that Raphtalia was glaring daggers in the back of his head at the moment, so he didn't dare say it out loud. 'How is she able to tell what I'm thinking!?' He was starting to think maybe it was just easy for her to read him. "Well, I'm glad you and Ren are doing alright."
"Sure you are Naofumi," Itsuki said sarcastically.
"No, I'm serious," Naofumi said seriously. "The 800 silvers you and Ren gave me really helped me out. I'm really glad you two weren't punished for helping me."
"Well, like I said before, you deserved a reward for what you did during the wave. To be honest, after we talked to the village Lord, we wondered if we should have given you more. It sounded like you'd really put yourself on the line to help out those people. All we did was fight one boss monster…." Itsuki said, sounding more sad at the end. "I know this world isn't the same as the game I played, having watched what you went through in that arena… and more so now, having seen the way some of Melromarc's slave owners treat their slaves. The NPC's here… some of what they're programmed to do..."
… Naofumi remained silent. Unsure of what he could say that would help Itsuki to feel better. He hadn't realized that Itsuki was still looking at this all as a game. "I've been struggling trying to fulfill the quest Raphtalia gave me." He admitted. His eyes looked haunted. "Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if I'm not strong enough to be a hero… I've failed so many times..."
'The hell… why is this idiot thinking this is a game?!' Naofumi thought, suddenly feeling frustrated with Itsuki. However, Itsuki also looked unusually despondent in that moment. He'd never thought the Bow Hero could look like this before...
"Sir Itsuki," Raphtalia said, grabbing their attention. Maya was awake, and finished whispering something to Raphtalia. "Little Maya here has something she wants to say to you."
Itsuki looked up. Raphtalia set the girl, Maya, back on the floor. She ran up to Itsuki and grabbed his hands. A happy smile came onto her face as she looked him in the eyes. "Itsuki-Kun." She said happily. "Thank you for saving me today. I am very grateful to not be beaten by my master anymore."
…
Like the time on the wall when Raphtalia thanked him, Itsuki was once again floored to hear words of praise from this little girl. Better yet, that this little girl was calling him her close friend. The little girl continued to smile happily for him.
"B… But…" Itsuki tried to say.
"If it helps, I found out that the demi-humans here really enjoy their headpats," Naofumi whispered to Itsuki. He got a glare from Raphtalia at that, along with a fierce blush from her since it was true.
"Well… I guess I saw that in some of the anime I watched in my world… but are you sure-" Itsuki tried to ask.
"Go on, try it."
Itsuki still looked uncertain, but then he raised his hand and started to rub the little NPC's black hair between her raccoon ears. Her face lit up, and her bushy black tail started wagging happily behind her.
"Whoaaaaa…" Itsuki said in awe. "It feels so soft…"
'Careful. Keep that up, and you might just turn into a lolicon too, Itsuki.' Naofumi thought sarcastically to himself.
Raphtalia walked up beside him. "Were you thinking something rude there, Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia whispered in his ear so as not to draw Itsuki out from the bonding moment he was having with this little girl.
Naofumi had to force himself not to laugh as he rubbed the top of Raphtalia's head. A happy smile came onto her face, and her tail started to wag behind her. "No. Not at all." Naofumi said.
…
Raphtalia realized what was happening, and grabbed her tail angrily behind her to keep it from wagging. However, she didn't take Master Naofumi's hand from off her head. It felt… sooooooooo gooooooood!...
…
A knock sounded on the door, and then it opened a crack, revealing one of the mages from earlier. "Sir Itsuki, your orders have been carried out." The mage said.
Itsuki looked up at that and stopped rubbing Maya's hair. "Already?" He asked.
"It has been two hours since we started." The mage informed him. "It'd be best if we left now before the Capital Knights arrived."
Naofumi finally realized how late it was. 'Wow, we just spent all this time talking instead of arguing with each other.' He realized. It made him feel kind of good actually. 'It feels nice getting along with one of the other heroes for a change.'
Itsuki frowned, looked down at the little girl, and then up at the mage. "Okay, thanks for letting me know Rachel. I'll be out front in a moment."
The mage nodded. "Better hurry. Rishia's even more antsy since she burned the manor down. She won't stop whimpering about getting caught." She said, before closing the door to stand watch outside.
"I guess it's time for us to head out." He said regretfully down to the little girl. Now he'd have to take little Maya to Van, and continue on finding other nobles abusing their slaves. Nobles he'd probably have to kill because of their desire to harm and kill others...
"Just remember you're doing a great thing out here Itsuki," Naofumi said, nodding towards the little girl. "There's plenty like her that need help." He could address Itsuki about this world not being a game later. Right now, he just needed to make sure Itsuki stayed on the right path… though that ominous aura he'd felt coming from Itsuki's bow earlier came to mind...
"Yeah… I know." Itsuki stood up, and he smiled happily for Naofumi. There was no hint of that ominous aura, so maybe he'd only been imagining it. "Thanks again Naofumi."
"Don't thank me. Otherwise I might think about charging you for this conversation." Naofumi said sarcastically.
"I already told you I don't have any money left."
"Then I'll make a tab just for you."
The both of them laughed. "Go out there and do some more good for this country. I'll see you at the next wave." Naofumi told him.
"You too, Naofumi. Take care." Itsuki said before he left, bringing little Maya with him. The little girl waved back to Raphtalia and Naofumi before she disappeared with Itsuki.
…
"Well. That was all unexpected." Naofumi said, sounding more upbeat than he had in awhile.
"But it was nice," Raphtalia said.
"Of course it was," Naofumi said. "We weren't at each other's throats the whole time. And for once, he's doing something useful. I'm actually a little proud of that Robin Hood." 'I just wish he'd learn to stop seeing everything as a game. Maybe that's why he's killing the nobles. He only sees them as NPC's instead of real-life people...'
Raphtalia sat in the chair next to him. She suddenly seemed more nervous than before. "Master Naofumi… … …"
"Yes?" He asked when Raphtalia didn't say anything after that.
Raphtalia shook her head to clear it. "Never mind. It's getting late." She said as she got up, flashing him a small smile to show she was okay. "Good night. I love you." She said quietly, before heading for the bedroom.
"Hey, Raphtalia?" Raphtalia stopped, and looked back at Naofumi. "I'm going to be a bit. I still have some medicine I need to compound… but before you go to bed… thank you for helping out that little girl while me and Itsuki talked." He said.
Raphtalia continued to smile for him. And she walked into the bedroom to cuddle up next to the now sleeping Filo.
"... that really was nice of her. But..." Naofumi thought out loud. Raphtalia had left with a smile on her face, but it seemed like it was more forced than normal…
He sat back and crossed his arms. He thought he was getting better at understanding girls. Raphtalia in particular. Yet he still found himself clueless about what went through her mind sometimes. Eventually, he yawned and decided to shrug it off. It really was getting late, and he didn't want to pull an all-nighter again. "Might as well get to compounding-" He stopped talking.
'****! I forgot to ask Itsuki how he's able to teleport around!' He thought as he facepalmed himself hard. 'DAMN IT! I got so caught up in everything else! Learning how to teleport around would have seriously helped me out!'
…
'You know what, I'll ask another time. Right now, I really should get to compounding-' He saw the plate of food on his desk. The demi-girl Maya hadn't been able to eat all of it. "Ugh… seriously? Itsuki couldn't clean up after her?" He said in an annoyed voice. The girl had eaten it messily, and there were crumbs all over the desk he'd been planning to use. Maybe he'd chew out Itsuki about this not being a game the next time he saw him. He really didn't want to think the kid who looked like he'd look perfect playing a piano would be such a snob.
He picked up the plate and looked around for a place to throw the rest of the food away. But now that he was sitting down he didn't want to get up. He could wipe the crumbs off onto the floor and blame it on Maya. But there was no trash bin in the room. He was in a conundrum!...
His eyes fell on his shield. 'Hmmm… this thing absorbs almost everything like a trash can...' He pressed the the plate of leftovers against his gemstone, and it absorbed the dish.
'There. Problem solved.' He wiped the crumbs off of the desk into his shield as well. 'Now, I can finally get to compounding and go to sleep-'
His Shield Menu flashed in front of his face. Chef's Shield I and II Unlocked.
'... Wait… what?'
He changed to the newly unlocked shield. It looked a lot like a metal cover for a pan. The shield didn't give him a defense bonus… but his eyes widened when he saw the passive effect it gave him.
'COOKING SKILLS III and IV!'
Yet again, he'd found another shield to turn him into an excellent butler. He could already imagine Filo crying out for seconds and thirds the next time he cooked.
'DAMN YOU WORLD!'
"I'm sorry we had to kill your uncle."
Fenril, the servant, let out a sigh. "It's alright Sir Bow Hero. My uncle's had issues ever since he got back from war years ago. He's only been getting worse since the first wave hit... This was probably for the best."
"Just make sure whoever takes his place isn't abusive to anyone. I'd hate to have to come back to this place." Itsuki said calmly.
Fenril smiled, albeit a little nervously at Itsuki's words. "No worries. I'll make sure that whoever replaces my uncle, he or she will be nice and won't abuse anyone."
"Good. Now go." Itsuki said blandly.
Fenril smirked confidently and turned around to walk away. A scared look appeared on his face as soon as he wasn't facing Itsuki. 'That King better not appoint another person like my uncle here! That Hero is crazy scary! I thought I was gonna die!' He thought as he disappeared into the forest.
…
"Sir Itsuki."
Itsuki looked down at the little raccoon girl. She had been deep in thought ever since they'd left Naofumi's room to wait outside in the forest with Rachel and a nervous Rishia so the rest of the party could rendezvous with them. "Yes, Maya," Itsuki said.
"I… I…" The little girl looked up at him seriously. "I want to join your party." She said with determination.
"Fehhhhh!" Rishia whimpered in surprise.
Itsuki blinked in surprise at that. "Wh-What do you mean? You're only just a kid-" He tried to say to the NPC.
The little girl pouted up at him. Her black hair flew with the breeze beside her. "I know I'm only a kid Sir Bow Hero! But I want to help! I want to become strong and kind like you!" She said seriously.
Itsuki continued to blink in surprise. This girl barely looked to be eleven. Yet it seemed like her experiences under her master had forced her to grow up faster than others her age. "But… I mean…" He tried to find a way to respond.
"Sir Itsuki. If I may interrupt." Rachel came forward and rested a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "The job we're doing is too much for us to handle. We've been lucky to have been able to have dealt with a handful of lower nobles and a single Lord without much retaliation. We won't be able to face those like Idol Rabier though without more help." Rachel reasoned with Itsuki.
Itsuki looked from Maya to Rachel, and then back down to Maya. It was true, he'd learned that leveling everyone up hadn't been enough. Everyone in the party except Rishia had been able to go to Zeltoble to get their class upgrades, but some of these nobles they were going to face also had class upgrades. If they really wanted to make a difference, they'd need more help. Something that could help to turn the tide. "She's only a kid though." He said again.
"I don't know if you realize Sir Itsuki. But there are reasons why Melromarc discriminates so harshly against demi-humans. One of them being they grow up differently than us humans. If you allow me to train Maya for you, I could show you in a week's time how much more grown-up she can be." She said seriously.
Maya smiled up at the nice lady mage above her. Rachel looked down and smiled back at the girl, causing little Maya to giggle as if they knew something that Itsuki didn't. Itsuki scratched his head in confusion.
"Do you know what they're talking about Rishia?" He asked the green-haired girl.
"Fehhhh!?" Rishia whimpered when Itsuki addressed her.. "I, I think it involves the way in which demi-humans grow up faster than us… I think." She answered nervously.
Itsuki still looked concerned. 'I don't know what Rachel's thinking… but none of my companions have led me astray yet.' Except for Mauld, but Itsuki didn't like talking about him. Based on what Van had heard concerning the noble family Mauld was a part of, Itsuki was going to have to pay him a visit soon. "Okay. I'll allow you to train Maya so she can level up, Rachel. But I'm not going to use a kid in any serious fights." Itsuki said.
"Don't worry Sir Itsuki. I'm sure within a couple of weeks she'll be big enough and strong enough to deal with any noble we come across." Rachel said. Both she and the demi-human started to smile mischievously.
"FEHHHHHHH!?" Rishia looked scared.
Before Itsuki could question Rachel as to how she could be so sure about it, or snap at Rishia for her whimpering, the rest of his party finally arrived. Leading a dozen other demi-human children with them, along with a couple of adult demi-humans, all women. 'I'll think about it later. For now, there's still much we have to do.' He thought as he pulled out his bow and checked his skill menu. Just as he'd thought, his cooldown for the Transport Bow skill had finally ended.
He looked around again, and, briefly, he allowed himself to smile. For once, none of the slaves had died. They'd succeeded in saving every one of them. Almost all of them were former members of Raphtalia's village. Finally, they'd had a success.
There had only been one death that night… the noble who had been abusing them all...
He double-checked his status screen to make sure everyone around him was in his party, including little Maya. Then he chose the skill he needed and pointed his bow up.
"Transport Bow!"
He released the string, and a dome of light formed over the group. A few seconds later, the dome faded. Everyone who had been underneath had disappeared.
In the Southwest (23 Days before the Wave of Catastrophe)
Slash!
Ren's sword slashed through one last root, and the large plant monster called a mandragora withered away as it gave one last screech of pain. He wiped sweat from his brow as his sword stopped glowing from the last skill he'd used. The familiar experience notification appeared next to his head. His SP gauge was almost empty, along with his MP gauge. His HP gauge was close to half full. He was surrounded by the withered corpses of plant monsters.
'Damn it, these things keep getting tougher the closer I get to the center of town…' He'd been going at this for the last two days. The levels started out low enough, and then progressively got higher and harder to deal with. Each time he felt like he was closing in, the monsters would become too strong and he'd be forced to retreat back to the line his party and the village refugees were holding outside of town.
He started to drink an HP potion. 'If I stop to rest for a few moments, they respawn and attack again before I can recover. Yet if I retreat and rest back where it's safe, all the progress I made gets wasted.' He thought in frustration. Each time he retreated he could recover all his gauges, but when he did that the plants took over everything he'd tried so hard to liberate and then some. 'Why the hell did Motoyasu have to cause all this trouble?'
He knew based on details about the emergency quest from the guild that Motoyasu had unearthed an ancient alchemist's seed a couple of weeks ago and that he gave it to this region since it was suffering from famine. It had worked in solving the famine at first, but then the plants started to rapidly mutate, quickly overtaking the village, and eventually transforming into acidic and poisonous monsters. He thought Motoyasu might have come in to deal with this problem himself since he had caused it, but no, Motoyasu had to disappear to another part of the country after being chewed out by the King for causing a mess. Now Ren had to take this assignment from a different representative of the guild (the last one had mysteriously disappeared while returning back from Gaelion's crater along with all his friends) and clean up Motoyasu's mess.
'That idiot!' He thought frustratingly. 'He just had to rely on that game knowledge of his to cause me problems?!'
Oh he figured that was how Motoyasu had known where to find the seed. The damn idiot most likely relied on his game knowledge to find it and assumed it was safe. If he saw Motoyasu anytime soon, he was going to smack him silly with the flat of his sword. He had to exert all his effort on strong monsters that gave little experience and worthless item drops just to keep a handle on the problem while the village refugees searched their legends to try and find an answer.
'The answer is obvious.' Ren thought exasperatedly. 'The main plant, the boss, is being guarded by all these other smaller plants in the center of town. It's just like any event quest like the ones in the VRMMO's I played at home. I just have to get to it and take it out, then-' He winced at that and became downcast. Even now, he still found himself thinking about various situations from the perspective of a gamer.
'I can't get to the main plant. Not without help.' His only tank party member, Baktas, could take physical blows because of his enhanced armor. But he didn't have resistance to poison or acid. None of his party members had resistance, and it was only because of a sword Ren had unlocked from the Dragon Emperor that he had any form of poison resistance in general.
Oddly enough, he found himself wishing Naofumi could help. Naofumi might not do much damage as a shielder, but his defense and resistance to poison and acid attacks would have helped tremendously since he could have distracted all the monsters while Ren landed critical hits from behind. Oh, how he wished for Naofumi's help. But no, the Pope had reminded him while his party members were classing up that the Shield was a devil, and to side with the devil would make Ren an enemy. Shortly after that, a young nun had noticed as he was leaving that he had a demi-human party member, and had told him he should get rid of her as soon as he was able. Claiming demi-human companions were weaker than humans, and that she'd only slow him down.
He gripped his sword tightly. Like he'd listen to a word they told him anymore. It was sounding more like they were trying to order him around instead of leaving him alone and worshipping him. He'd reminded the nun of that before leaving the Church behind. Now, he really wanted to get to the bottom of whatever it was they were up to.
If he could only deal with these damn plants!
Slash!
Ren took care of another plant monster. A PlantRiwe. The dumb thing had been releasing enough poison pollen into the air that Ren had to cover his mouth with part of his blue scarf to keep from breathing it in. 'Couldn't Motoyasu have released something that I wouldn't have a hard time dealing with?!'
The poison pollen cleared after a moment, and Ren started to step forward towards the center of town. He had to get to the main plant. He had to...
"Sir Ren. Me and the others have managed to hedge up the vines. They won't be growing any farther from the town."
Ren turned around in surprise. Wyndia was a dozen feet behind him, surrounded by monster corpses, and holding a wakizashi (a shortened version of a katana) in one hand. She had taken to calling him Sir Ren like everyone else in his party. But she did not speak with the same respect or awe as the others did, rather she spoke with contempt or mockery. Again, he felt like she was glaring at him even though her face was calm. It pushed the frustration away and made him feel guilty again.
He was fine with it. The respect and praise honestly grinded on him a little every now and then. He may have the title of Cardinal Hero, but Wyndia helped to remind him that he still had a lot of catching up to do if he wanted to earn that title.
"How did you manage-" Ren shook his head. Wyndia wasn't a frail little girl like he'd thought. She'd already shown on their way to the village that she knew how to fight monsters. Even Welt was impressed with her sword skills. "Good. Keep them from spreading out any farther, and use it as a chance to level up." Ren said calmly. He wasn't meaning to do things the same way he normally did before the dragon. But the others had to stay back and keep the plants in check to keep them from spreading to other villages. Plus, now that he'd changed the experience distribution, whenever he killed a monster, his other party members benefited from it.
"The other villagers received a supply of weed killer from the Capital. They can keep the plants from running amok without our help. Right now, it would be best to deal with this plant problem if the whole party assisted you." Wyndia said, her tone more calm than ice. Her dislike of the Sword Hero still showed through.
Another Madoragora sprouted behind Ren and started to roar at him, acid dripping from its maw. Without missing a beat, Ren turned, slashing his sword in a rapid series of slashes. The plant monster's roots were all destroyed, and it crumbled away to dust. "I'm doing fine. You and the others could get hurt out here-" Ren tried to say.
A second one that he hadn't seen bit down on Ren's sword arm. Cutting off his words as he cried in pain.
"Fast Fireball!"
Wyndia's fireball seared into the head of the plant monster, making it let go of Ren to scream in pain. "Huahhh!" Ren brought his arm back and slashed the monster in half. The monster crumpled to dust. His already battered armor corroded some more on his arm.
Ren looked to Wyndia, who stood there determinedly. Was it just him, or was this demi-girl a few inches taller than when he'd found her? And did she look like she was in her early teens before? "Sir Ren, me and the others might not be as high a level as you. We might not be as powerful. But we can still help you fight these monsters." She said with determination. "Or do you really not care about protecting the lives of the people like you told me?" She asked with a challenge in her tone.
Ren blinked his eyes as if to clear them of some image only he could see. "Some of these monsters also have poison and paralysis effects." Ren calmly pointed out. "If you were to be hit by one of them-"
"And if you were hit by one Sir Ren, who'd be there to hold the monster off till you recovered?" Wyndia impatiently asked. "Who'd be able to fight the waves then? Who'd be able to make up for killing my Father?!"
…
Ren smiled a little and shook his head in disbelief. "I guess everyone else is getting as sick of this place as I am."
"We're tired of dealing with the scout plant monsters. Please, just let us help." Was it just him, or was Wyndia pleading with him? But didn't she hate him for what he'd done...
"I hear you, Wyndia," Ren said, before facing the center of the town again. He pulled out an elixir and drank from it. "We're going to set up camp in this building. If we can fortify ourselves sufficiently from the plants then maybe we can use it as a resting point and continue towards the main plant without losing our progress. It'll get tougher as we go along, but if we work together as we get closer, maybe we won't have to retreat."
Wyndia briefly looked stunned. Then she tried to look cold again. Her tail, however, was wagging in a pleased way behind her. "I'll gather the others right away." She said calmly before she turned and ran back the way she'd come. The remains of several burnt or slashed through plants withered away as she ran past them. Enemies Wyndia had dealt with on her way to Ren.
'How did she manage to take them all out?...' She was obviously proficient in magic, Ren knew that much. Her Fast spells worked at full power even though she never said a chant beforehand. She'd obviously used a decent chunk of her magic and energy working her way to where Ren had been… maybe it would be best to have her and the others help him out. Gaelion had been training her before his death to defend herself. It could explain why she could wield a wakizashi and fire magic so well. Even without having used a crystal ball.
Ren sighed guiltily as he thought about the dragon. Despite his new resolve, he was still reluctant to work with his party. What if they were to get hurt by his careless loner tactics...
He wanted to keep them safe. Ren had seen how cruel parts of this world was. Itsuki had also told him of some of his exploits against the nobles. Ren knew he had as of yet to see the worst. He wanted to protect his party from that part of the world.
'I'd rather they stayed back where I could keep them safe…' As he thought that, he remembered what he'd heard from the Lord of Lute Village. About Naofumi and Raphtalia. How the two of them working in sync with each other had saved the whole village.
It made him remember times from his VRMMO's back home. How he'd paired up with his girlfriend and their other friends, and how they'd been like an unstoppable force to whatever opponent; NPC or Player, that they were facing in any game. And here he was, presented with an issue where loner tactics and sheer power wouldn't work. He had to work with his team if he wanted to clear this raid boss out.
'I promised to work together more with my party members... maybe we could use this as a chance to not only help out this town but to learn to work together as a team.' He thought.
He had to remember. His party wasn't a group of NPCs trying to assist him in his quest anymore. They were real-life people who were fighting to protect their homes, their families, and their world from the monsters and the waves of Catastrophe. Like him, they had desires to grow stronger and to become the best they could be. They trusted him with their lives.
Maybe he could start doing that and trust his party more.
...
Any further thoughts were cut off as three more Madoragora respawned around him at the same time. Deciding it'd be best to secure the building for them to rest in, he moved to deal with the monsters. He took the weapon experience he'd gotten from his current sword and switched to a sword he'd gotten from absorbing a part of Gaelion. The dragon who was now resting peacefully in the ground of his home. He applied the weapon experience to it, and the sword glowed with power.
"Huahhh!"
Ren jumped into the midst of the plant monsters.
Author's Notes:
I already had a pretty long note up top. I'm not going to bore you guys with another long one down here. Let's settle down and have fun with an omake.
Hero Clips!
The Shield Butler
"You have got to be kidding me."
Naofumi's shield had changed just like his mask shield. Instead of only covering his face, he was now covered in a get up similar to the Slave Traders. Only less fancy and exotic and more practical. "Butler Shield? What would I even use this for-" He was saying in exasperation.
"Master Naofumi, Filo made a mess in the back of the wagon. Could you clean it up please?" Raphtalia asked.
Naofumi tuned out for a moment, and then he found himself having just finished cleaning and organizing the back of the wagon. "Wait, how did I just-"
"Daddy, Filo is hungry. Can you make Filo dinner?"
Again, Naofumi found himself tuning out. Then the next thing he knew he was walking away from a happily sleeping Filo. He was carrying a large empty pot that looked to have been full of food. "WHAT THE HELL!?" He looked around, trying to find Raphtalia. Something strange was going on with this new shield, and he didn't like it!
"Raphtalia?!"
"There you are master Naofumi, we're running low on medicines? Could you compound some more please?"
"No, wait-" Naofumi tried to say.
Suddenly, he found himself finishing up a large batch of medicine in the back of the wagon. His worst fears had been realized. The new shield made him do everything his party members asked him to do as their butler. "Raphtalia!" He yelled.
Raphtalia poked her head in. "Yes, Master Naofumi?"
"Stop asking me to do stuff!" He demanded. "I'm being forced to obey because of this Butler Shield!" He said, pointing at his body.
Raphtalia... started to smile. "Ara Ara Naofumi-kun."
Naofumi paled. 'Oh no...'
"Now that you say that, could you massage my body with your nice, firm hands?" She asked, climbing into the wagon.
Naofumi started to tune out-
Naofumi immediately woke up at his compounding desk. The Chef's Shield from earlier was still on his arm. 'NOPE! THAT DOES IT! I'M NOT GOING TO ABSORB ANYTHING ELSE INTO THIS SHIELD AGAIN!' He thought.
"But Naofumi-Kun, my massage-" Even in the real world, part of his mind still wanted to fantasize about giving Raphtalia a massage.
'AHHHHHHHHH!' Maybe it'd be for the best if he didn't try to absorb anything that resembled a Butler's outfit in the future.
Till Next Time
Allen