Chapter 5: The False Accusation
Walking in the hall of the palace, EMIYA wondered what happened. He had just met the Shield Hero for more than a day, and sure, he was a little bit dramatic, but he didn't seem to be the kind of guy who could commit something despicable. It's really hard to think of that boy as someone who could murder a person without a thought, or something similar.
Then again, looks could be deceiving. It's not like he hadn't met people who looked really cute and innocent, but turned out to be ax-crazy murderers, or machines of mass destruction.
It's too soon to say anything right now. He needed to wait until he could hear the whole story first.
The team walked through a bright, extravagant corridor. The walls were covered by paintings of people, most of whom the ex-Guardian didn't know. He could see a picture of the king there, next to one of a very beautiful woman; these must be the portraits of people in the royal family. there was a name tag with the name "Aultcray Melromarc XXXII".
But his attention was drawn toward a certain portrait at the other side of the king's picture. It illustrated a girl about twenty years old, with dark red hair and green eyes. She was beautiful, but at the same time, there was something wicked coming from her, something… nasty and evil. And she looked very familiar. Under the portrait, the name tag signed "Malty S. Melromarc".
Before he could think of anything else, though…
"Lord Sword Hero! His Majesty is waiting! Please be quick!"
EMIYA rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure, I'm coming…"
The audience chamber felt no different from a courtroom. The air was so heavy with contempt EMIYA could feel the hostility right upon walking into the room. Most people in the room seemed as confused as himself, though; most of the hostile atmosphere came from the king and his ministers, as well as the party of Motoyasu, who were already standing in the room before he arrived.
Itsuki's party was also in the chamber. And EMIYA was amused, but not surprised, when he saw the Polignac brothers in the rank of the Bow Hero. People like them would not let go of a chance to make a name for themselves. Seeing the Sword Hero and his companions walking into the room, the brothers threw him a dirty look, but didn't dare say anything.
And on the floor, Naofumi was being held by the neck. His hands were held behind his back, and soldiers were standing around him with their weapons pointing at his back.
Seeing EMIYA and his team enter the room, the king raised his voice.
"Ah, the Sword Hero and his companions are here. Very well, we will now hear the charges against the Shield Hero."
"Charges!?" Naofumi protested. "But I didn't…"
The king didn't even let him finish his sentence. He roared.
"Silence, you scoundrel! After what you did, you still even have the nerve to open your mouth?"
Glancing at Motoyasu's party, EMIYA could see that the girl who joined Naofumi the previous day was crying behind him. She sobbed loudly, drawing the attention of everyone.
"L… last night, the Shield Hero drank too much, and he came bursting into my room. Then he… he held me down and…"
"What?! What are you…?!"
Once again, Naofumi wasn't able to finish his sentence. The woman sobbed even louder, drowning his protest.
"He… he held me down and said, 'The night's still young, babe.' Then he started ripping my clothes off… I screamed as loud as I could and ran away from the room, and Motoyasu-sama saved me!"
"What are you even talking about?!" screamed Naofumi. "I went to bed right after we finished dinner!"
"Liar!" Motoyasu, now having walked up and pointing his spear at Naofumi, exclaimed loudly. "If that wasn't the truth, why is Myne crying like this?"
"Why are you speaking for her?! And just where did you get that shiny chainmail you are wearing?! It is mine!"
Motoyasu glared at Naofumi with a disgusted look on his face. "Last night I went to the bar for a drink. I was sitting there alone when Myne came running over. We had a couple of drinks together, and she gave me this as a present."
"What?!"
"Silence, scoundrel!" the king roared. "I had an inkling the first time I saw you. Of course you would sully yourself, you little wretch! Any act of sexual aggression committed against the people of my kingdom, whether by barbarian or Hero, will be punished immediately by death!"
"Of course things turned out this way," Itsuki said for the first time. His voice was full of disgust. "I felt it immediately from the beginning. You were a little different from the rest of us."
"Me too," Motoyasu added in. "Even at that, I had never thought that you would stoop so low to the point of being a rapist. You must have thought you are entitled to anything you want!"
Since the "trial" started, EMIYA still hadn't said anything. But not because he agreed with the king and the other heroes. But rather because he felt everything to be too pathetic and disgusting to digest.
Seriously, did they really believe that he would fall for any of that farce? There were more holes in that rape story than a beehive could have.
He had seen and known a lot of rape victims in the past. Thus, he knew exactly what a rape victim is like, and that red-haired woman is definitely anything but a rape victim. There's no such thing as a woman who had just got sexually assaulted who would happily run into the arms of another man right after she was raped, like she said she had done, and actually was doing, right now.
And the attitude of the two other Heroes disappointed him even more. It was true that they had just met each other for two days, but he had expected them to at least have a bit of common sense in their heads. Instead, it seemed they didn't even bother thinking of anything else and just believed in the words of the king and his lackeys like a pair of sheeps.
Usually, problems of others aren't something he liked to stick his nose in. But if there were something in this world he really hated, it would be betrayal and unfair treatment to others. Even though he loathed being called a Hero, it seemed to be in his blood after all.
And he knew he had to voice his opinion now.
"Excuse me for asking, but I want to confirm something. Based on what we have heard here, the claim that Naofumi had raped that girl came from her words alone; am I correct?"
The king nodded. "Yes. So what?"
"Then doesn't it mean there is no one else who can prove that her words are the truth, either?"
He had expected the kangaroo court to become even noisier than before. But to his surprise, the whole chamber suddenly fell into an eerie silence upon his words.
Finally, Itsuki was the one who spoke up first.
"What do you mean Shirou-san? You don't believe what she said?"
EMIYA shrugged. "Think about it; it was you guys who told us that a shielder has almost no way of causing harm to anything since his attack capability barely exists, wasn't it? If that's the case, it's questionable how he would even be physically capable of forcing himself on her. Besides, I'm not someone who believes the word of anyone easily after just one meeting. Especially after knowing that the person has not been telling the truth about herself since the beginning."
That sentence took all three other heroes aback. "What…!? But she told us her name, right?" Motoyasu protested. "She is Myne Sophia, from the Adventurer's Guild…"
"No," the Sword Hero shook his head. "If you paid attention to the portraits in the corridor outside, you would see the picture of a woman who looked exactly like her. Her picture was right next to the picture of His Majesty himself, so I really doubt that she's anyone else but a member of the royal family. Am I correct…" he looked straight into the aforementioned girl's eyes, "…Malty S. Melromarc?"
The whole room exploded. The companions of the heroes, especially the ones who didn't seem to be from noble families, started whispering to each other in surprise, while the soldiers and the ministers glanced at each other in an awkward and desperate way. The two other Heroes, meanwhile, looked like someone had just punched them in the faces.
"SILENCE!"
The thunderous voice of the king drowned out all the other noises in the chamber. He looked at EMIYA, who calmly received the glare without flinching.
"Yes, she is Malty Melromarc, my eldest daughter," he said coldly. "She used a fake name to join the Heroes on their journey. And then what? Are you implying that my daughter is a liar?"
There's no hiding of the hostility and killing intent in those words. The ex-Guardian narrowed his eyes. So that was his plan. He wanted to use his power as the king to enforce the claim that he was right. And that look in his eyes right now was clearly saying: Go ahead, say another word, I dare you. And you will regret opening your mouth.
He glanced around. The chamber was filled with soldiers. Even if he went all out together with his team, nothing could ensure that he would be able to leave this place alive. Not to mention that he couldn't be sure that the three youngsters in his team would not betray him in the last seconds out of fear. And that's not counting the two other heroes and his companions, and the king himself. He was gripping his staff so tightly, to the point that his knuckles were turning white from losing blood. He didn't know how powerful the king might actually be, but speaking against him now is probably not a very good idea.
"No, of course I'm not, Your Majesty," Finally, after a few seconds considering, he answered.
On the ground, Naofumi started laughing. There was no humor in the laughter at all; it was a dry, sarcastic laugh filled with anger and pain of betrayal.
"…Fine. I don't care. Just send me back to my world, and summon a new Shield Hero for yourself. That will do it, won't it?"
"Things don't go your way, so you decided to run away? How pathetic."
And Motoyasu just had to open his mouth. Other members of his group started adding in their own insults.
"Yes! You don't deserve to be called a Hero!"
"Get out of here! Go back home! We don't need things like you here!"
The king looked at him and sneered. "You think it's that easy? I would very much like to send you home, but the Waves of Destruction will not allow it. New Heroes can only be summoned once the four original ones are all dead. That is what the research says."
Naofumi had had enough. He broke free from the grip of the knights holding him. One of the soldiers tried to punch him, only to receive a painful bruise on his fist. The Shield Hero grinned madly at the king.
"So it means you cannot kill me. You need me alive to deal with your threat, and then you are going to throw me away like the dog you think I am? Then so be it. What is my punishment? Bring it!"
Wow, the dude fucking snapped, EMIYA thought.
"At this moment I am not going to give you any punishment, because we still need you to defend against the incoming Waves," the king sneered at him with a look full of hatred. "However, your crimes are already well known to everyone in this country. THAT is your punishment. Let's see how you are going to live with the guilt of your crime under your head. We are going to summon you in a month, when the next Wave approaches. You are a criminal, but you are still the Shield Hero, so do not even think of shirking your responsibilities. Consider this a chance for you to repent."
"I'm not a criminal, and there's nothing I have to redeem myself for," Naofumi snarled. Then, he pushed the knights surrounding him away and stormed out of the audience chamber.
Walking past Motoyasu, he threw a small bag at the Spear Hero's face. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? Then take it!"
Everyone in the room glared at the Shield Hero's back until he disappeared behind the chamber's entrance.
At the throne, the king thundered. "Everyone in this chamber! I order you to spread the news of the Shield Hero's wicked crime to every corner of this country! Make sure that every single person in this country knows about what he did to my daughter!"
He tossed EMIYA a glare when he said those words. In a single moment, the ex-Guardian could sense the hostility aiming for him quite clearly. But the feeling disappeared as quickly as it emerged, and the king turned away and walked back to the throne.
"So can we leave now?" Finally, Motoyasu asked. "We have a lot of things we need to do today, and this meeting has taken too much of our time already."
The king nodded. "You may, Heroes. But before you leave…"
He waved his hand. From behind the throne, three maidens walked up. Each of them was holding a pillow with a weapon lying on top. Those weapons are beautiful and dazzling, being made of pure silver with all the gold and gemstones decoration. For some reason, the weapons reminded EMIYA of Caliburn, the Sword of Selection, a beautiful sword which is the symbol of royalty, but doesn't fit to be a weapon on the battlefield.
"I have decided to provide the Heroes with royal weapons to help with your journey," the king announced. "However, because of the wicked crime the Shield Hero committed, only the Spear, the Bow and," he stopped for a second, "the Sword Hero would be provided the royal weapons. Now, Heroes! Receive your reward, together with the blessing from the royal family!"
The women brought the three weapons to the place where the Heroes were standing. Motoyasu and Itsuki seemed to have known about this in advance, because they grinned brightly and let their weapons copy the royal bow and spear without hesitation. The ex-Guardian also pulled out his Legendary Sword and touched his royal weapon with its tip.
WEAPON COPYING COMPLETE
[Name: Royal Sword – Quality: Good – Base Power: 40]
[Attack + 5, Speed + 5, Defense +5. 100% additional damage against enemies of royal origin. 100% additional damage when used to protect royal family members.]
[Skill Unlocked: Flashing Blade (0/200)]
[Proficiency: 0%]
[Unlocked at Level 10]
So he's unable to use this sword yet. And the sword itself, while having a decent base power as well as providing good stat bonuses, has a pretty niche unique attribute which is only useful in very specific situations.
Still, a new weapon is a new weapon. He would need to gain more levels after this anyway, since the lowest level he needed to unlock some of the Noble Phantasms he had recorded in the Legendary Sword was 45. And even a mundane weapon like Torashinai, the infamous wooden sword of the Tiger of Fuyuki, needed him at level 10 to unlock.
"Now you are dismissed," the king said, standing up from his throne. He turned around and together with his ministers, retreated from the audience chamber, but not before throwing another glance at the Sword Hero. Soon, the only people left in the audience chamber were the Heroes and their companions.
EMIYA nodded at his team, and was starting to leave the room before…
"Stop right there, Shirou-san!"
Itsuki's voice echoed around the chamber. The ex-Guardian rolled his eyes and turned around.
"What now?"
The Hero of the Bow was stomping toward him from the other side of the room. The boy pointed at him in a dramatic way.
"Yes, there is something I need you to make clear! Why did you abandon Bakta and Walther?"
Ah, so that's what he's trying to do. He glanced at the two noble brothers; they were too slow to disguise the look of eagerness and satisfaction on their faces. Obviously they were expecting the Bow Hero to give their former chosen Hero a lesson.
"Shirou-sensei didn't…" Tersia started angrily, but the ex-Guardian raised his hand to stop her. He looked at the Bow Hero straight into the eyes and said calmly.
"Right. Then please tell me, what right do you have to treat me like a criminal like I think you are doing right now? As far as I can see, whether taking them in or not is my problem, not yours."
"But you are a hero!" the boy pointed at him accusingly. "You are supposed to cherish the companions who dedicated themselves to you, not throwing them away like this!"
EMIYA's eyes twitched. So that's how it was to him?
"You said that I threw them away. I guess that's what they told you, isn't it?"
"Well… yeah, but…"
EMIYA didn't let him finish his sentence. "But if I really threw them away as you said, then why do I still have these three following me until now?" he waved his hand towards the three youngsters behind him. "Let me tell you this: it was those two who decided to run away after I showed them what they might have to face traveling together with me. If they cannot stand the hardship of the journey…" he took a step towards the Bow Hero, and the boy unconsciously retreated a step. "…then they are free to leave; that's not my problem. But don't go around slandering other people's names; THAT is something a hero shouldn't do."
Then he turned around, nodding at his three companions. They smiled and started following him out of the audience chamber. He threw the last glance at Motoyasu's party before pushing the heavy door open and walking out of the room.
There has never been a man who Malty S. Melromarc couldn't have wrapping around her finger before.
Oh, she has a lot of ways to get a man under her control. With the greedy and power-hungry men, she could use her privilege as the First Princess to tempt them with power and money more than they could ever imagine. With the idiotic perverts, nothing would be easier for her to do than charming them with her beautiful body and face. And with naïve innocent pretty boys like the Shield Hero himself, she would seek pleasure in approaching them with a "nice girl" face, then slowly break them from the inside before dumping them unceremoniously. For twenty years living in this world, she had never failed to conquer a man. To her, men are just toys to play with for some time before she discarded them to look for new ones.
Right after the Summoning Ritual, the man named Emiya Shirou had caught her eyes. He is waaaaaay more attractive than any of the three other heroes: he is tall and handsome, and that body of a hunk looks way better than any man she has ever found before. Even though she had gotten the Spear Hero under her hand, she was still thinking of a way to make the Sword Hero hers after she dumped the blonde idiot.
But the red hero had proven to be way out of her reach.
She just didn't expect him to be so… competent and ruthless. He's completely different from the three other idiots holding the Legendary Weapons. Every ploy she had in her mind had been seen through by him; she had believed that her act was perfect, and yet he could still poke holes in her words so easily and convincingly. It's just like he could read her mind. Had she not had her father covering for her, all of her plans would have crumbled into tiny bits even before they could even be started.
And that glare he gave her when he left the room… it was utterly terrifying. It wasn't just a normal glare of contempt; it was also a harsh, cold warning. Don't mess with me, or you will regret it.
The woman who's always proud of being able to conquer any man was right now facing a man who she knew she would never be able to conquer.
No, she's just thinking silly. There's no man who can't be charmed in some way. She just needed to find that way, and sooner or later he would fall under her hand.
But she's going to enjoy the idiot first. There's no need to be hasty…
"Motoyasu-sama~! Wait for me~!"
Naofumi ran. He didn't know how and when, but he had run all the way along the streets of Castle Town, passed the entrance gate, and since god knows when, he had arrived at the river at the suburb of the town.
He looked at the sky. The weather was beautiful; the sun was hidden under the pure white clouds, sending gentle rays of light to warm up the ground. In the river, fishes were happily jumping up and down. On the fresh green field, some balloons were bumping their bodies at each other playfully, and here and there, pairs of usapils were chasing each other's tails. Even animals and monsters had their own partners to be with…
He screamed and punched a tree nearby. The bark cracked under his fist, but didn't help in any way except for hurting his knuckles.
Why him? The other three heroes were also summoned from other worlds, just like him… so why… why only he got this kind of treatment…
He remembered the words Shirou-san had told him in their first meeting after the summoning ritual. Be careful with that woman. The Sword Hero had predicted that something like this would happen, and had tried to warn him… but he just didn't listen. In the thrill of having a pretty girl who agreed to be his partner, he had completely ignored the warning of his fellow Hero.
He couldn't even blame anyone for this. Because after all… it was him who brought this on himself.
Angry and frustrated, he grabbed the Shield on his forearm and tossed it to the ground with all the strength he had. Just because of this freaking thing, his normal life had suddenly become so miserable…
But it was useless. Before it even touched the ground, the weapon had disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared back on his hand, where it had been just a second ago.
LEGENDARY WEAPON RULE VIOLATION: DISCARDING OF WEAPONS
The Heroes may not discard their Legendary Weapons.
He couldn't even try to throw it away. The very same thing that brought him despair and pain… it's stuck to him forever. This was not the paradise in a fantasy game he had thought it was. It was a nightmare.
The monsters had seemingly heard his tantrum, because they were now gathering up and surrounding him. He snarled.
"So you want a piece of me? Then come and get it!"
And with the Legendary Shield in his hand, he charged.
"Can't believe that the Shield Hero could do something like that," Tersia said. Right now, the team was walking on the streets of Castle Town. They were going to the vendor Welt recommended to sell the loots they got the previous day.
"Yeah," Farrie nodded in agreement. "I know that the Shield Hero title is bad already, but to think that he could be someone that despicable…"
"So you all think Naofumi actually did that, huh…"
The warrior girl looked at EMIYA in surprise. "What do you mean, Shirou-sensei? Do you mean you thought he didn't do it?"
Instead of answering, the red hero looked at Welt. "What do you think, Welt? You are the only one who hasn't given your opinion."
The archer looked a bit uncomfortable. "Um… well, I don't know, sensei; your argument made sense, but… it was the king and the princess who said that, wasn't it? Why would they lie about something like that?"
EMIYA opened his mouth, trying to say something… then stopped.
Of course he couldn't expect these three youths to understand it that quickly. They're still too young and inexperienced; it's too soon to expect them to know that royalties are the ones you can never put complete trust in. If someone holds too much power in their hands, it is natural that they will have a tendency to abuse it.
"You will understand soon enough," finally, he said. "That woman is not trustworthy; I know that with just a single meeting of our eyes. I've met a lot of people like her in my life. Remember my word; the Spear Hero is going to regret mangling with her."
The sale went better than EMIYA had expected. The owner of the vendor was a pretty nice middle-aged woman; she happily accepted all the materials the team brought to her at a very good price. Not to mention the quality of the loots was very good; even the bones of the giant boar could be used for crafting, according to the shop owner. Selling the materials alone was enough for them to get back all the money they had spent on the team's equipment, and was able to make them a small profit, too. With the eight hundred silver pieces they got from the store, they had gone around and stocked up on important things, especially a very good pot, a set of kitchen knives and different types of seasoning. The three youngsters seemed to be very excited about this particular purchase, for obvious reason.
The final stop of their trip to the town today was naturally Erhard's workshop. The blacksmith's face brightened up when he saw who entered the store.
"Ah, Sword Bro! Great to see you here today!" he said with a grin. "Planning to do some more shopping?"
EMIYA answered him with a smile of his own while walking into the shop. "Not for now, but later, I guess. Actually, we're here today because we have a gift for you, old man. Considering it the payment for the swords I took from you yesterday."
He placed something on the counter. Curious, the blacksmith had a look at it, and immediately gasped.
"This…! Where did you find this?! This is crazy!"
The Sword Hero blinked. "Hm? We got this from a monster we killed yesterday. Is there something special about it?"
The blacksmith looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. "Is there something special?! This is the animal skin with the best quality I've ever seen in my life! What kind of monster did you have to kill to get this thing?!"
"Shirou-sensei is the most awesome fighter ever, Uncle Erhard!" Tersia chimed in enthusiastically. "That giant boar was so terrifying, and yet he stared it down as if it were just a puppy! He moved like the wind, and cut it down with… Ow! What did you do that for, sensei!?" she glared at the red hero while holding her head in pain.
"That's not what happened at all, stupid," the ex-Guardian deadpanned while retracting his hand, the one which had just slapped the girl over the head. "But yeah, basically, we fought a giant boar in the forest yesterday, and got this from it. It was quite dangerous, but we managed to prevail. Got quite a lot of good material from it already, so…"
Different from the nonchalant expression of the Sword Hero, the blacksmith was freaking out. "No, seriously, I can't take something like this for free! Something like this can easily worth a gold piece! It can buy hundreds of the swords you copied from my shop!"
"Wow, now I suddenly started to regret deciding to give you that," Tersia muttered, and the other two youngsters giggled.
"Don't worry about that, old man," EMIYA waved his hand. "You can think of this as an… investment. We're going to depend on you a lot, so please think about it as what we invest in the store for our future cooperation."
Erhard shook his head. "I'm not gonna convince you otherwise, ain't I? Oh well, how about this? I'm gonna take it since you insisted so much, but I'm going to make you something from it as repayment. And don't even think of turning my offer down," he added quickly when the ex-Guardian opened his mouth to protest. "It belongs to me now, so what I do with it is my decision."
EMIYA knew that arguing more is just useless. He relented with a defeated smile. "Whatever you want, old man."
Suddenly the blacksmith's face turned serious. "Oh, by the way, I heard something was going on in the palace this morning. Something related to Shield Boy, I think. What the hell happened?"
The Sword Hero grimaced. News spread really fast, it seemed.
"Yeah," Welt answered the blacksmith. "The Shield Hero was accused to have raped his companion last night, Erhard-san. She reported him to the king this morning, and he was put on trial."
The blacksmith frowned. "The hell? That boy doesn't seem like a rapist to me. Are you sure that this isn't a mistake?"
"Mm, the king was pretty angry about that, Uncle," Tersia shrugged. "It's understandable though; who would have thought that woman is the First Princess herself…"
Erhard's face suddenly stiffened. "Wait, say that again. What do you mean that woman is the First Princess?"
The girl blinked. "Well, Shirou-sensei was the one who pointed that out. And even the king admitted that it was true, Uncle. But what's wrong with that?"
"I see," the blacksmith nodded with a grim face. "No wonder why I found her so familiar when she went shopping with the boy here. But if that's the case…"
"What's wrong, Erhard-san?" Farrie asked.
The old man sighed. "It's just people whispering, but I heard that princess has a pretty nasty personality. Rumor said that even though she's just a few years older than you, she has gotten quite a lot of boyfriends. But the strange thing is… none of them could stay with her for more than two months. No one knows exactly why… but people say that it was because she dumped them after getting bored of them."
Then he glanced around nervously. "That rumor went around a year after she returned from Faubley. You were all so small back then; there's no way you would have heard about it. No one dared to say it out loud, but you know, rumors are rumors; no matter how much you try to cover it up, it will still leak out. Don't tell anyone that I told you this, though; I don't want my shop to be destroyed by the royal guards, you know."
"So you mean…" Tersia lowered her voice, "…that the Shield Hero might actually have been innocent all along?"
The old man grimaced. "I never said that. Appearance can be deceiving… but if that girl was really the First Princess, then…"
The man didn't need to finish his sentence. Everyone could understand what he was implying under his words.
"There's something I've been wondering, though," EMIYA suddenly said. "It seems this country has something against the Shield Hero. I'm not talking about Naofumi; it feels like the title of Shield Hero itself is something people despise here. Can anyone fill me in on why people have that kind of prejudice?"
The blacksmith scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm… not sure. To be honest, no one actually knows when those Waves started, or when the first Heroes were summoned. The only thing I know about it is that the Waves definitely aren't something that only happened recently, because the Church of the Three Heroes has existed as a major religion in this land for quite some time. Another thing is the Shield Hero has never been summoned in Melromarc in the past. I think the Church said that only 'evil' countries like Siltvelt summoned him. So I guess that's why people would think that the Shield Hero is always a bad person."
EMIYA bit his lip. Once again, the Church was brought into the story. What kind of role did they have in all of this?
He suddenly stood straight up.
"Oh, leaving already?" Erhard was surprised. The ex-Guardian nodded.
"Yeah. The Church you said, is it the tall white building we can see from the town square?"
The blacksmith nodded. "Mm. There is that huge hourglass in there which helps you know when the next Wave starts, if you haven't heard."
"Thanks, old man," the Sword Hero smiled. "Hopefully I'll find the answers to my questions when I go there."
Before leaving the store, he still heard the blacksmith yelling at him from the counter.
"Remember to come back to get what I make for you later!"
So, the infamous kangaroo court.
As you all can see, there's no way someone like EMIYA could have bought into something as ridiculous as that rape accusation coming from Malty. But at the same time, it is impossible for him to openly show that he's on Naofumi's side. Or at least, impossible for now. He is heroic, but not suicidal; opposing the king and the royal family openly at the moment is just like throwing his life away. But you can rest assured, the events of this chapter are going to change a lot of things in the plot.
And someone questioned me why EMIYA used MP for his skills instead of SP as mentioned in Shield Hero canon. And I would answer that it was my intention. The reason would be explained in a later chapter, so don't worry about that for now. Also, an explanation about how EMIYA will grow in this story might be necessary to anyone who still hasn't understood. Alteration of the Soul is how the Legendary Sword itself will grow, but EMIYA himself will also have his own growth in stats through leveling up and training.
Until next time.