Disclaimer: I do not own Rising of The Shield Hero.
Chapter 1 - A Second Chance
"If only I had known from that start."
Currently sitting alone under the meager shelter of a small tree in the middle of a forest was a young man of 19 years, who until a couple of days ago, was just your average ordinary college student leading a plain and simple life. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected to become a legendary hero with the weight of a fantasy world on his shoulders in just the span of a single day. After all, if he were to tell any of his friends back at home that a visit to a library caused such an incident, they may have taken him straight to the doctor simply because of the stupidity of his story.
Even he himself would have considered the tale to be utterly unbelievable had it not happened to him personally. Just think about it, it was hard to think of a single reason why such a simple guy like himself would even have any traits that would qualify him as a hero.
Yet upon his summoning, he had been told alongside 3 others that the fate of the entire world was up to them. Of course, he had been ecstatic at the idea. Unfortunately, the feeling of being important, needed and wanted were more than enough to blind him, casting a shadow over his eyes that prevented him from seeing the truth behind those sugary words. It wasn't until after the fact, did he realize that he meant nothing to them.
He was simply the extra. Someone they saw fit to toy and play with.
"If only I had known..." Naofumi muttered angrily to himself, grabbing a fist full of grass before slamming it into the tree trunk behind him, ignoring the pain that shot up his arm. "...I would have surely done things differently..."
The young man threw an angry glare up at the sky as though trying to seek an answer from the heavens above.
"Why was I chosen huh? Why did I have to endure this crap? Must be pretty funny to watch someone suffer like this right?"
Instead of receiving an answer in return however, the thunderstorm only worsened in magnitude with the wind so strong, it threatened to lift the boy up and throw him across the ground. The droplets of rain that seeped through the cracks of the canopy above were huge in size, landing on his head with heavy thuds that eventually surfaced a migraine in him. But the howling gale and roaring rain did little to his senses, as they were already far too dull from emotional trauma to work properly.
"So this is your answer huh?" He whispered in response to the skies, feeling a wave of despair and loneliness wash over him. "So even you guys are not on my side."
He could feel tears of anguish building up in his eyes as they threatened to fall any minute, but he managed to hold them back as best as he could. Even if he knew that the rain would mask his tears and that nobody would hear his sad outburst, Naofumi wanted to at least hold onto to his pride. There was no way he was going to lose to that traitor of a teammate. She had been the catalyst behind all of this. Had he not known any better, Naofumi would have probably guessed that she was working alongside that blonde-haired hero.
In fact, it might not just be him, maybe the sword and the bow were in on it too. Perhaps the King as well?
Maybe...just maybe...
"They are all my enemies." The fierce scowl that appeared on his face at this thought would be enough to mark him as the villain in any kind of story. It was an expression of pure hatred that could probably keep kids awake at night for weeks. But he didn't care.
If the world was out to get him, then he would simply meet them all head on with no craps given.
Despite it being in the middle of the night when most would be fast asleep in their warm comfy beds, Naofumi decided to do the exact opposite. If he was to survive in such a harsh world with his offensive handicap, then there was no question that he would need to work doubly hard if not more than the others in order to keep up. Therefore now was not the time to rest...well he doubted he could anyway given the mindset he was currently in.
Still...he couldn't help but surface a single hopeful thought just as he prepared to fight some more balloons.
"I wish...I wish I got a chance to start over from the very beginning with someone I could trust by my side."
But before he could lose himself in combat, Naofumi noticed the green gem in the center of his shield begin to glow before a blinding light shot out from it, creating a circular portal of green light directly on the ground below his feet.
He managed to catch a glimpse of a message that appeared before his eyes right before falling into the green abyss below him.
-Skill: Bound by Fate has been activated-
"Ooooof!"
Naofumi grunted as a wave of pain spread throughout his body from the hard impact he felt. But before he even got the chance to survey his environment, Naofumi heard various exclamations erupting from around him.
"Oh! We did it! The summoning was a success!"
The young man's eyes shot wide open at those words, immediately lifting his head up at breakneck speed to confirm the scene before him. There standing directly ahead were a group of people adorning black robes as they held their hands in a prayer-like manner, each wearing an expression that suggested they had just witnessed a miracle of some kind.
'No way, is this...?' In order to confirm his suspicions, the black-haired man immediately threw a glance to his left. Just as he had anticipated, there were 3 familiar individuals beside him, each armed with their own unique weapon in hand as they slowly arose to their feet.
'But perhaps...' Lifting his right arm up to his eyes, Naofumi clicked his tongue angrily as he caught sight of the silver shield attached to his limb. 'I guess I'm still the useless shield hero.'
"O brave heroes, please save our world!"
"What do you mean by that?" A certain bow-wielding boy questioned in return.
"There is a long and complicated story behind this, but we've summoned you all as the Four Cardinal Heroes here using an ancient ritual. Our world teeters on the brink of destruction. We beg you, O brave heroes! Please help us!"
'And here comes the scene where the three stooges play all high and mighty right?'
By now, the young man was getting some serious déjà vu vibes as a scene that he had witnessed only days ago once again replayed before his very eyes. After all, every single syllable that those weird magicians had uttered so far had been exactly like it was the first time around with each of the three 'heroes' each voicing their complaint and conditions in a haughty manner shortly after.
"F-First, we'd like you to have an audience with the king of our country, Melromarc. You can negotiate your reward after that, so please..."
The mere mention of that royal old fart was enough to cause Naofumi to grit his teeth in anger, obviously not too keen on meeting someone who had showed him absolutely no respect upon their initial meeting.
Still the young man had no idea if everything would play out exactly the same. If anything he wanted to use this day as a test to see if anything different would occur. After all, it wasn't until the third day that he got framed for the false crime so he didn't want to stand out before he was absolutely certain.
Sure if one were to put two and two together, you could easily assume that Naofumi had been sent back in time. But there were still too many unanswered questions for the young man to ponder.
For starters, was he really sent back in time or was this perhaps some sort of alternate reality?
Is the King still even the same person?
Would he even meet Myne?
Until these few factors became clear, he didn't want to risk anything. Right now, caution was the key.
With that in mind, Naofumi readied himself to follow the group for an audience with the King, which left him completely unprepared for the question that followed in the seconds to come.
"You said that you summoned us as the four cardinal heroes via a ritual to save your world right?" The sword wielding hero questioned obviously confused about something.
"Yes we did." The magician, who appeared to be the leader of the group, answered in response.
"If that is the case, then something doesn't quite add up." The spear hero chimed in next as he directed a finger behind Naofumi. "Why is there 5 of us?"
"5 of us?" Naofumi uttered in confusion, clearly taken back by this peculiar event. Having placed his bets on being sent back in time, it came with little surprise why he was caught off guard by something that he never remembered occurring last time. It was then that he realized that everyone in the room had their attention directed at him...or rather at the space behind him. Realizing this, Naofumi couldn't help but turn around to face the source of their confusion.
There standing particularly close to his side was an attractive young girl who looked to be in her late teens.
Whether it be her flawless pale skin, long flowing black hair that glistened with a healthy gleam or those alluring red eyes that seemed to pierce the very soul of whoever it laid it's gaze upon, everything about her was gorgeous to say the least, as though the very fabrication of a Yamato Nadeshiko had been created and breathed to life by the heavens themselves. Even the plain full-body dark cloak looked like an immaculate dress when worn by her, further accentuating her already radiant beauty.
Such an individual was sure to turn heads wherever she went as evident by the amount of attention she was currently receiving from everyone present.
"She's beautiful."
"Yeah, absolutely stunning."
"I agree, I wonder which Hero she is?"
The sound of various murmurs and chatter could be heard from the room's occupants as they each voiced their two cents on the mysterious girl by Naofumi's side, curious as to where she had come from. Of course, the magicians were not the only ones interested in her as a certain blonde-haired hero also wasted not a second in his attempts to get acquainted with the black-haired beauty.
"Oh what a pleasure it is to be able to meet someone as lovely as yourself. My name is Kitamura Motoyasu, may I have the honor of knowing yours?" The spear hero conveyed his interest with a practiced tone, which suggested that he was no stranger when it came to interacting with females. Of course, he knew that he had the facial attributes to make girls swoon, hence the reason behind his rather blatant confidence.
Naofumi wrinkled his nose in disapproval not just because he hated the guy's guts, but also felt genuinely put off by the fact that the blonde-haired man would even try to hit on a girl in such a situation.
But he wasn't the only one disgusted by the spear hero's actions as the black-haired girl narrowed her eyes with displeasure openly displayed on her immaculate features. Without even bothering to respond to his advances, she instead directed her unwavering gaze towards Naofumi before making her way to his side once more. And before anyone could ask any further questions, she spoke up in a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear.
"I do not feel the need to introduce myself to the likes of any one of you but I shall do so in order to save Iwantani-sama the trouble. My name is Glass, a loyal vassal of the one and only supreme shield hero, Iwantani Naofumi sama" She continued in a low voice laced heavily in disinterest as she took turns glaring at everyone present. "If there is anyone here foolish enough to attempt to cause harm to Iwatani-sama, know that I will personally make your life a living hell. That is all."
It was clear by the silence in the room that not a single one of them had expected such a strong introduction from her, their looks were more than enough evidence of that. After all, like with many others in the Kingdom, the magicians has been instilled with the idea that the Shield Hero was useless and someone they should hold in very low regard. The King himself had personally circulated that information so they had considered it nothing short of credible.
But the girl's indirect threat caused all of them to shake in their boots as her gaze clearly transmitted a clear intention to follow up on her words should the need ever arise. As a result, every one of them quickly dispelled any negative thoughts against the Shield hero, afraid that Glass might somehow be able to read their minds.
In fact, the leader of the magicians felt so worried that he instinctively followed up with comforting words of his own.
"We will of course offer the Shield Hero the respect he deserves so please do not worry in that regard."
"We shall see about that." She replied without the slightest change in her deadpan glare.
To be honest, Naofumi hadn't managed to get a single word in himself since the beginning of this series of unprecedented events. He was of course just as shocked as the rest with the appearance of the mysterious individual initially but was gradually overwhelmed by an emotion that he never thought would surface within him so soon in this world.
Hope.
Who was this mysterious girl?
Was she really on his side?
How did she even know him?
A look of uncertainty must have been made apparent on his features as he slowly felt a soft and warming sensation enclose around his right hand. Glancing down, Naofumi saw that Glass had taken his hand in her own before giving him a few reassuring squeezes as though to ease his tension.
In the next moment, he felt a voice reach echo inside his head.
'Don't worry Iwatani-sama, I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me and I promise to answer each and every one of them. But I swear on my life that I am on your side, and I will make sure that you won't have to go through those negative experiences alone like last time.'
When the pair locked gazes, Naofumi felt a certain wave of comfort wash over him as he stared at his newfound companion. Of course, he still had his doubts and found it hard to trust someone he had just met lest he fall into the same trap twice, but that didn't stop a part of him from hoping. Hoping that this time would be different, that this time, she was truly someone he could trust.
He was sure that he would arrive at a conclusion once they got some time to themselves, because Naofumi would have a chance to ask her some questions as well as to give Glass a chance to explain herself.
With the commotion coming to an end, the other 3 heroes slowly filed out of the room after the magicians as they headed for the audience with the King. Due to being lost in thought, Naofumi was a little slow to react yet a certain feminine voice managed to reach his ears, bringing his back to reality.
"Iwatani-sama, shall we?" She said before giving him a small smile.
Perhaps this was the second chance that he had wished for. Maybe he really wasn't alone this time.
"We shall." And with that, the pair slowly followed the group out of the small room with Naofumi completely oblivious to the fact that his fingers had instinctively intertwined themselves with Glass's, unconsciously treating her like a lifeline for the journey ahead.