Wow… 365 days… It's been a long time… Sorry, everyone.
Reader! I hope things are going well for you.
I spent some free hours to try and figure out the map.
Here's the result:
[Google Docs domain] + /document/d/e/2PACX-1vT3SlBq49DkycGLQGa84fYmm14dqEAnWk1U3v9-EJbZ2ei0Kc6QpPGJq1X4XwgQs3nWJ4mVn3jE8RGu/pub
If you wonder why Raphtalia had appeared in the story so early on and is sick, well…
Story-wise, it's easier to use a pre-existing character.
Also, I thought that she was a very good character to interact with Shirou and that it would be a meaningless saving if she was healthy from the start (ahem… * less of character motivations* coughing) … and I have come up with a "solid explanation" why she's here and in this state.
However, I would like to keep it as a surprise to reveal?
I am certain that you wouldn't expect the twist… but you still are free to try to guess?
Nonetheless, Raphtalia is "very dispirited" but she is pretty much a strong, interesting (and other positive adjectives) individual, once you read up on her side-story chapter at the end of the first volume…
So, to those who can get the side stories, go read them! (Fun fact: Her parents didn't die like idiots.)
Also read the Spear Hero's because I'll use it, in the future… like a copycat… as always.
But if you pay attention to differences in it, you might figure out why the Slave business had happened so early on. (- This ancient technique is called a "clickbait": used to attract innocent people to poorly-made content.)
Sorry for being a bit abrupt – Enjoy the story –
~.~
The whole afternoon we were collecting some wide-leaved orange herbs which should help to make a cure for Raphtalia.
As it was planned, the apothecary, Jeroi-san, was a middle-aged one-eyed man, he was being distracted by Thomuey-san with small talk. It seems that he didn't notice my shield being used to increase the quality of herbs.
We returned by evening. This village, named Siun, was encircled by a deep ditch, separated from seemingly endless plains. tig
The place was composed of 13 wooden shacks, one farmhouse, and about ten collapsing buildings.
Still, I felt less pressed here than when I was just summoned to the capital.
Somehow - I felt at peace here? Or was it something else?
At his place, Jeroi-san said that he will make 7 potions by the morning. We agreed and Thomuey-san paid him 10 silvers for the stock.
The apothecary's modest house had a bookshelf with three books and brewing equipment, consisting of glass vials, a heating station, a pair of gloves, and holding tools.
We left after saying goodbyes. The siblings lived quite on the edge of what used to be this place…
When I was opening the door to the siblings' wooden lodge, Lera-san suddenly grabbed me by the wrist and dragged my body inside. When I saw why she was so urgent.
The brunette was laying on the hay and coughing harder than ever. She was very pale like snow and delirious in pain.
"I don't know what to do! I gave her water and put a cloth on her forehead but…" Lera-chan babbled to my back.
Thomuey-san entered as well and stood beside his sister.
I approached the little girl who might not live tomorrow…
No… I still had something useless up to this point. A "trump card" … a sort of.
It won't be able to 'cure' her but she will survive a just bit longer. Just enough until the morning… If what the status says is true.
I checked my menu.
[EQUIPMENT]
* Little Shield (Legendary Weapon) {Divine Construct[?]}
* Peasant clothes
* Magical Ink, Dispelling ink
* Green cape
* Disguise {wig, moustache;(used)}
* Over-worldly device {Phone[?]}
* Avalon {Noble Phantasm} (locked: Hero can only use their legendary weapon!)
Two years ago, at Clock Tower's dormitory, I and Rin had discovered it. It happened when she was teaching me advanced Reinforcement. Yet, it was decided that I would keep it as a memory of its true owner.
I mentally clicked on its name. This sheath was inside my body since the Fire. It allowed me to survive the Holy Grail War and its presence allowed me to endure many battles up to this point.
I suppose it was one of the reasons why my hair still wasn't white, my eyes weren't grey and my skin wasn't brown.
* Avalon: The Ever-distant Utopia
{Noble Phantasm} (locked: Hero can only use their legendary weapon!)
{Only 1/3 abilities (Heal Boost) are usable: for others need *******'s (owner) magical energy}
DEF: 1
Special Effects {Help: "weapon-specific"}:
[Heal Boost]
Unnoticeable boost to natural healing ability of bearer (very low)
[Regeneration (Excellent)]
{Restores/reattaches anything except the user's brain.}
[Barrier]
{"Absolute Defense" that shields the user in the land of fairies, Avalon}
DEF: +++ (+)
MDEF: +++ (+)
Durability: -1 {infinite}
Equipped (Remove? Y/N)
Projecting Avalon in my state? What's the point if it doesn't work in any case?
So, I will give it to her…
And yet, to Shirou Emiya, it felt like ripping out a part of himself…
A luxurious piece of equipment made of gold and decorated with blue enamel had flashed into my hands, followed by surprised gasps from behind.
And thus, I "put" the scabbard into the little girl, hoping for a miracle.
In a flash, her breathing smoothened got a bit. She will survive… I think.
"Sh-Shirou what was that? A sheath?" Lera-san asked me in a whisper.
I looked back at the siblings. Thomuey-san looked me straight in the eyes:
"You don't have to tell us if it's a very important secret. Just tell me if our lives are in danger."
"Ah? No, it can't harm anything. Right now, it should be helping Raphtalia."
"Huh? When, why haven't you used it before…?!" Lera-san became indignant when Thomuey-san stopped her and gestured to Raphtalia:
"It's not even closely potent enough. Don't you see, Lera, that the girl is still pretty sick?"
"But still!" Lera-san wanted a proper answer from me.
"It's something important to me. A precious memory of a long-gone comrade. Something that I selfishly couldn't let go of." I said as I sat down next to Raphtalia.
So weak.
Ah~ how much more could I have done…
Then, I silently whispered to the ill girl while stroking her hair:
"Please, please, get better."
It didn't change anything much like Thomuey-san speculated, and still…
I can't give up or get distracted right now. Keeping the eye on the kid and providing clean water and changing towel on her forehead was more important than this self-hatred.
And I stayed the whole night next to the Racoon girl until the sun rose.
Finally, Thomuey-san led the apothecary into the room:
"Jeroi-san, please…"
Surprisingly, he had no hateful reaction towards his patient. It seemed that he didn't mind at all. What a relief it was…
The man took out the vials and emotionlessly told me to pour the cure into delirious Raphtalia's mouth while he held it open. He said it's quite bitter so we had to make sure that it wasn't spat out on accident.
As Raphtalia's coughing had stabilized, the apothecary had left us the remaining six vials and said that if anything happened, we could always call him. He talked a bit with the siblings in private, gave me a long look, and then left.
While Raphtalia was resting under Lera-san's care, Thomuey-san and I had left to work outside. As per our agreement, I would make up for those 10 silvers spent.
You know, yesterday, I was surprised to find out there were cows in this world… and that the milk tasted like apple juice - it is very weird…
Nevertheless, if there were cows it meant that they needed to be fed.
We approached golden fields outside of the Siun. The weeds swayed from a gentle wind, shimmering under the risen sun.
The Siun people, and even the apothecary, were collecting the hay today. A dozen adults would use generations-old iron sickles to cut the dried grass and rakes to collect it into large three-meter tall piles.
At the same time, the kids put the hay into a carriage with their wooden pitchforks. The shortest kid, Kalt, would stand on the carriage to be able to pick and place the hay inside.
From time to time an adult would go to take the carriage to the village and back.
I was always wearing my disguise, so I was sweating profusely… I even think that my fake mustache had nearly fallen! However, it seemed that nobody noticed.
Still, the sweat blocked vision… until one of the women who worked alongside me gave me an old handkerchief to tie around my forehead.
It was truly helpful.
There were 22 cows in the village and they needed enough food for a half-year, so there was plenty of work…
We repeated the same gathering work for two days until there was nothing more to cut, and the adults took over the kids' work.
After all, hay being collected, I offered my services as a craftsman: fixing fences, doors, pots, tables, chairs, beds, and more using my magecraft… in moderation.
Most of the settlers were slowly warming up towards us, me and Raphtalia especially.
In my spare time, I would either try absorbing something, like a rope or kill a monster or two with my bare fists. The knuckles felt sore and it took me ages but I had to get stronger before the Second Wave.
It was also then I had discovered that if I could 'master' a shield if I had it for long enough. Thus, I slept with any 'useful' shields which could give abilities or status points.
In total a week had passed since the incident with Avalon.
It was evening. I was looking at my status.
Raphtalia had fully recovered which allowed her to get out and to get to know the local kids.
Nowadays, her complexion wasn't as pale and she was more cheerful than ever. The villagers and their children are very amicable people.
Meanwhile, I managed to gain 3 silvers on top of my debt and to level up to level 8…
EMIYA SHIROU
Legendary Shield Hero – lvl8
EXP: 3/240
Max HP: 306/306
Max MP: 297/297
Max SP: 280/280
Sex: Male Age: 19
[STATUS]
|DAMAGE: 2|DEXTERITY: 25|DEFENCE: 56|MAGICAL DEFENCE: 38|
|ATTACK SPEED: 22|
[MAGIC]
(none)
[MAGECRAFT (Over-worldly Magic)]
OD Points: 162
Magic Circuits (x27) = very low quality (6 {+ 5} MP/circuit)
{Damaged: The user will feel moderate pain from using their magic beyond 162MP.}
…
|WEARPON MANUAL|HELP GUIDE|PARTY|ITEM BOX|CUSTOMISATION|
Yes, it was a satisfying feeling to see oneself grow, surpassing yourself from yesterday. However, there were still some complications.
My magical energy had just got to the same levels as it was before me being summoned. However, there was a small nuance. My damaged circuits could hold only 6 units of energy, so when I used up more than 162 out of 297 MP, I began to feel pain. It wasn't an agony but it was still annoying. So, I decided to bet that until the units won't be back at 10, I will have to be moderate in the use of magic.
Nonetheless, the spiritual doctor shield-san truly defies common logic by being such a swiss-knife… Actually, it might have been that sadist Kotomine all along!
Zzap!
I guess I deserved that.
Seeing that my attack stat had never increased and recalling that I "can't attack" from 'warnings', I hypothesized that the Shield has some sort of self-awareness or at least a very advanced system to ensure that I won't be able to 'not protect'. Maybe it's some kind of a conceptual limitation, like how I – an incarnation of "Sword", was unable to use modern weapons. Likewise, the Legendary Shield as a conceptual weapon designed to "protect" wasn't able to attack directly. This world was operating on strange RPG-like rules after all.
Moreover, it might explain the mysterious technique which I used against the Shadow and on top of the castle wall as a by-product, like how shields and armor would be to my Reality Marble.
However, I couldn't do it on monsters for some reason… maybe it's supposed to be a counter-attack against humans? Or it wasn't supposed to work that way…
In the end, there should be something to compensate for my lack of offense! In my wildest dreams, maybe I could obtain an "absolute defense" somehow?
...let you drown in…
So, I decided that I would sneak back to Castle Town to try to find out everything about my Legendary Weapon: from folklore to the general magical theory of this world.
Another of my problems was clinging to my leg:
"Shirou-sama, take me with you!" the Racoon demi-human was begging me. Her tail was wiggling in excitement.
As I had gained enough money to pay, I thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave Raphtalia under Thomuey and Lera's care. Meanwhile, I would travel across the country and gain more materials, EXP, and money than I could ever get by being in one place.
After getting on my feet, I would get a chance to support Raphtalia with money. Until then, 3 silvers were more than enough: 10 coppers are enough to feed a person for a day, so even considering unexpected events it should have made about a month of living.
However, the girl didn't want to stay in safety. Why would she be so adamant about going…?
"Shirou-sama, I know that you can't fight on your own!"
"Huh? Who told you that?" I looked sternly at the siblings.
"They didn't tell me! I… I… I heard about it in the book! Which my mother read to me! The Shield Hero's greatest strength is his bonds with his companions!"
"I see… And what was the book's name, Raphtalia-chan?"
"Em… Re-re… Ah! 'The Records of the Four Holy Weapons'!" Raphtalia relievedly smiled at me.
Huh? 'The Records of the Four Cardinal Weapons' was the title of the book which brought me to this world.
"Have you ever heard of it?" I asked rashly the dark-haired duo before me.
"Yeah, books under such titles do exist. Although, I heard there are many versions out there. The legend claims that the first copy was written by a hero." Thomuey-san said while carefully studying my expression.
By a hero? When it was possible that the book, I had read... Wait a minute, the descriptions for the heroes… was it an explanation of how they were chosen? Based on strength, loyalty, and justice? Bonds?
No, this is a bit too much speculation. I don't have any concrete facts to test out my theory.
"Got it. However, Raphtalia, I'm not going on a vacation. I'm going to kill monsters and defeat the Waves. Those aren't a place for children, so I can't take you with me."
Despite the possibility to have the girl as a source of information, I won't take civilians, especially children, to warfare.
"You are going to defeat the Waves? Alone?!" the trio was shocked.
"Even despite being persecuted by this kingdom?" Thomuey-san asked.
"But of course. It's my duty as a summoned hero. You, Raphtalia, you have no such duty. Moreover, to me."
I perfectly understood that my life was threatened here. However, despite such a scenario…
Shirou Emiya will do his best to save everyone in his sight.
"I will fight." the little girl said under her breath to herself.
…
This felt somewhat familiar.
"I will fight!" she proclaimed to me.
Nostalgic even.
"I WILL FIGHT THE WAVES!" she declared to the world. Her tea-red eyes showed a strong resolve. Did she know the path she would be…?
Ah.
I got a bit carried away with the whole "Save The World" thing that I ignored something crucial. A caged enslaved dying ill child: she had also been through hell… She also has a dream…
…Not even once understood…
Realizing what I ignored, nearly made me feel sick of myself. I am truly a hypocrite.
I would not be him!
I dotingly patted the girl's head:
"Sorry, Raphtalia. I misunderstood. I thought you were only trying to pay me back."
The siblings were puzzled, yet…
Those eyes, this expression. The person before me wanted to undo the hell that she survived – the First Wave and slavery. In her mind, nobody should suffer as she did. There was nothing worse than to deny it.
"Then, if you are determined, tomorrow morning, we will leave Siun."
~.~
The morning, when we exited the house, the whole Siun was there…
"Mister Gil! Raph-tan! Good luck on your journey!" the kids who I worked with and who played with Raphtalia, hugged us.
"Make sure that the girl is healthy or I will find you, no matter where you are!" the apothecary pointed at me.
"Come back, Gil-sama, Raphtalia-chan! There will always be a place for you!" the villagers told us
They came out to say goodbye… it made me feel a bit hopeful.
Thus, we left to the west, towards Castle Town.
"And at least in one world, the name of Gilgamesh was inspiring hope and not dread…"
~.~
~.~
Tis is bah en eksperimentt borne fro' yor comments:
Omake(?)
Ancient Babylonia (-2600 B.C.)
Four people stood atop a fortress wall close to the blue heavens. A rash gust of wind blew past them who stood so high above the ground.
A foolish goddess possessing a mortal vessel, a pink kind female shielder with servant's powers, a determined human who went on a long and uphill journey, and the majestic Wise King of Uruk.
"If travelers can leave with a smile, then a good country should send them off with a souvenir." the one true king said while summoning a decorated golden cup from his endless treasure vault, which was supposed to be a powerful wish-granting artifact, called the Holy Grail. However, it was filled with a precious alcoholic beverage.
"A specialty of Uruk. Some wheat ale." the mighty king proposed to the boy before him.
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty." he politely refused.
"Master and I are still underage and can't drink." the demi-servant girl explained.
"Hmm. That's rather dull."
Thus, the wise king of Uruk himself drank the wheat ale made by his people. The last product of his city…
He could only hope that the humanity of the future would be grateful for this sacrifice and that eventually, they will reach beyond stars.
The arrival of the Age of Man was accelerating – so, this was the threshold, the downfall of the Age of Gods. Of course, he as the King of Heroes will see it to the logical end.
Suddenly, accursed Sha Naqba Imuru interrupted his epic moment of glory:
But there is no rule that an imitation cannot defeat the original.
If you say you are the genuine article, then I just have to surpass you in every way and take you down.
…You are just like me; we are both incomplete!
Gilgamesh. Or just Gil.
And at least in one world, the name of Gilgamesh was inspiring hope and not dread…
Gilgamesh choked on his drink: Damn you! Damn you! Faker!
~.~
Yorokobe, Reader. Another dead timeline: Gilgamesh had probably caused a Lostbelt using the grail. (I'm joking, he didn't: CasterGil just ignored such an absurd future.)
So, next Omake will be either about "Shirou the Bow Hero" or "So many ways to die, Shirou-kun (Part I)"- if this one was fun.
Why did Raphtalia get sicker out of nowhere? Because diseases don't magically vanish.
Why Shirou can work at all? -Because his "endurance" is his true OP skill.
Why is Avalon, the Deus-ex- "Heal-your-protag", is nearly useless? -There is no mana coming from Saber. Why it's not inert? That's my fanon for a Tchekhov's gun… (also I am skeptical about its uselessness because in my mind there is no way Emiya healed himself from the nerve damage he had done upon himself… Just, you know, if your nervous system hearts, it's gotta be serious!)