Hi there, it had been a while.

So the plot to here was something like "Malty dies- Motoyasu gets blamed- He travels to find a way to revive her- He lose his confidence with the failure- He gets the cursed spear of Sloth- this chapter"

So I hope you enjoy what comes next.

After a long, dreamless night, again, Kitamura Motoyasu woke up from the messy tent he had made some days ago. He reached some of the food he left from the last dinner and ate it slowly, while his brain was awaking too.

"(I don't remember when was the last time I felt like this. No obligations, no duties, just following my sense of hunger and sleep… I think I was just a child the last time, but it doesn't matter I think.)"

In recent days Motoyasu had hunted, sold, bought and eaten, sleeping at least 10 hours a day and repeated the cycle.

In that time, he managed to level up once, reaching level 59, but what mostly changed in that time, is the compatibility level of his new spear, the cursed spear. Since a while, his most used spear was the Sloth curse spear, mostly because he used it to sleep when he gets tired, so it got to level 3. He didn't knew if that was a good or a bad thing, but it wasn't like he was going to stop using it.

Also, it was a strong spear.

In addition to his best stats, now comparable to his previous best spear, but surpassing it in some respects, he discovered that the spear had an energy-draining function. It wasn't as convenient as absorbing the opponent's energy, but if he could touch them, even slightly, they would gradually lose their strength until they couldn't move, at which point he just needed to finish them off. It practically worked as a kind of tranquilizer against monsters. That said he didn't used it in combat too much, because using it tired him even faster.

Besides that, he really had no other things to think about. His days were literally little more than that, hunting, selling, buying, eating, sleeping, and repeating the cycle.

Although lately there was something that was beginning to worry him.

During his weapon changes and use of some abilities, he could see an hourglass with a timer in his status window. He knew what it was, and it's not likeheI couldn't see it in his long spare time, but he really didn't really care about it.

It was the time until the next wave of calamity according to the Dragon's Hourglass, and the number that marked the days had been reduced to 0, leaving him now just over 20 hours. Right now the sun was bright on the sky, so the wave would probably start around tomorrow's noon.

That could be a problem.

Leaving aside the fact that lately he sleep until that hour, once he is forcibly sent there it is possible that the other three will find him. Not only that, as soon as the place of the wave is reported they usually send groups of soldiers to support the nearby villages, so if he was unlucky he could end up being found and captured.

He didn't really mean to fight the wave, so depending on where he was, he could just stay hidden over a tree or in some cave if he find one.

But if they tried to look for him and found him sleeping, he would wake up in a cell, or worse.

It was convenient for him to have rested well, to have provisions and perhaps a blanket to cover himself in case when he goes to sleep he is in an uncomfortable place.

"Wait, I can use teleportation to get back here as soon as I'm sent there."

Motoyasu spent the rest of the day doing a few of the preparations and when the sun started to set, he decided that he would at least sleep early in order to wake up early and not be sent while he sleeps.

Thinking of that, Motoyasu activated the sloth spear and had a dreamless night's rest again.

0:00:02

0:00:00

[traveling into the wave of calamity]

As soon as the clock erased its last number, both Kitamura Motoyasu and the rest of the heroes were transported to a forest where they witnessed how the sky darkened, and a crack opened in it, releasing hundreds of creatures and what seemed be a sailing ship reminiscent of one from the golden age of pirates.

Like last time, the heroes were summoned separately with their respective companions, and fortunately they were far enough away from each other that Motoyasu could be alone.

"..."

Wasting no time he opened his menu of skills and reached for his teleportation spear, ready to get lost and leave the job to the others, but...

"... I don't know why I didn't think this could happen."

The wave of calamity had started, and the ability seemed locked with a notification that read:

[impossible to use during the wave of calamity]

"..."

On second thought, he had obtained his spear by absorbing sand from the Dragon's hourglass, the same hourglass that indicated the start of the waves as they approached, and teleported registered heroes and their companions. If the sand that comes from the same clock allowed a hero to escape from the wave itself, then there would be a problem of priorities to take into account.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Motoyasu hid in some bushes to avoid being found, and from there he managed to hear a familiar voice.

"Motoyasu! are you there? If you are, show yourself. "

It seemed to be Itsuki, the young man who loved heroes and justice with whom from time to time when he spoke, well, when he was still a hero himself. Knowing him, he could almost guess what was coming next.

And he was not wrong at all.

"Your past crimes and mistakes will not be forgotten, but you are still a hero, and this is a time where you can show regret and clear your name with your acts."

"..."

"I must go to do my duty. If you are still able to glimpse what justice is, then I am waiting for you to fight by our side.

Justice and duties, words that are easy to say but encompass much more than one might think. And they were definitely not words that mattered to someone who had given up being a hero.

Itsuki left shortly after saying those words, but before Motoyasu moved, a few heavier steps were put in the place Itsuki was before.

A deep and strong voice followed.

"Listen you failure of a hero. If you don't come to support the justice of the arc hero, then don't even dream of trying to take advantage of those bosses and monsters that he defeats. I will not allow your wickedness to be strengthened by the sacrifice of others!"

He left after saying that. Judging from the heavy sound of clashing metals, it was probably the armored comrade Itsuki was accompanying and he prided himself on being something of the second in command in the group. He also used words that seemed taken from Itsuki's speech, but Motoyasu was able to understand that the intention behind them was totally different.

After they left, Motoyasu waited a few minutes before leaving his hiding place, suspecting that perhaps someone had stayed, but it seemed that for the moment dealing with the wave was more important. The heroes of the sword and bow would possibly go to compete to see who defeated the boss first, like last time, and since Naofumi had no way to attack, he would probably go to defend the nearest village, so to avoid the heroes, Motoyasu had to get away from the rift of the wave, as well as the nearest village.

The spear hero used a map to locate himself and drew a path away from both points. Teleportation was not allowed, so he just walked.

And walked further.

As he was in the middle of the wave from time to time he had to fight a monster, but by not using special moves he hoped not to attract anyone's attention. Being able to gain experience from these monsters guaranteed him that he was far from the heroes, so after each fight he continued on his way.

And he kept walking.

Until at one point he began to hear what seemed to be a fight. Motoyasu didn't want to be discovered, so he twisted his way a bit to keep his distance. However, that was of little use to him, because at a certain point the forest in which he was ended, revealing a meadow that surrounded a path that he would have to cross. And with no trees blocking his view, he was able to see the fight in question.

A car was being surrounded and attacked by some monsters, while someone tried to defend it. Being busy, they couldn't see Motoyasu, however he knew that at this rate he would end up being outmatched.

Naofumi protected the village from a distance. Ren and Itsuki were facing the head of the wave. The chariot was surrounded by three monsters, but more could appear at any moment.

Perhaps hopefully the guards who would come to support would pass this way, but it was doubtful that they would do so in the next few minutes so conveniently. And Motoyasu had no reason to help.

He kept walking and trying not to attract attention until he passed to the other side of the meadow, where he would be closer to a rocky area where he could hide until the wave ended. The other three could definitely win without your help.

And yet, Motoyasu couldn't take his eyes off the car, not so much because he cared about it, but because he could swear he saw it at some point. His hunch was confirmed when, after seeing the man defending the car get hit and thrown to the ground, a smaller person got out of the car with a stick and tried to help. No, it was not a smaller person, but a child.

A fleeting memory came to Motoyasu's mind, a memory from before he left his role as a lance hero, when he decided to help a chariot that was apparently being searched by rogue officials.

Still, he didn't know them. He had no reason to save them again.

But then…

"Throw javelin!"

… Why did he activate an ability to eliminate monsters before they attacked the boy and his father? And why was he running towards them?

Even Kitamura Motoyasu himself had no idea why. However, he was already on his way to save them.

He quickly cut through the existing monsters, and noticed that in the distance some more were approaching.

"Y-you are...!"

The demi-human boy stared at Motoyasu without finding words, but the closeness of the monsters prevented him from finishing his sentence. Still, Motoyasu already imagined what he was going to say to him, and that gave him the reason he needed to fight to protect them.

"(What the heck, those monsters should stay away from this family. Saving them was the last heroic thing I've done before I quit, and does this world want to take it from me too? If this world really has a problem with me, take it out on me, but don't menace the peace of the innocent!)"

It was kinda funny. Even in his exile he didn't wanted to change his way to be. Even when he was a wanted criminal looking for a miracle, he did not try to force his way through or hurt people by using his great power.

He no longer had the willpower to advance, nor was he truly seeking to redeem himself.

It's just that, deep within himself, he was still unable to just let bad things happen without doing something about it. He saw it as a part of being human rather than being a hero, and that motivated him to continue.

But his current source of motivation didn't seem to matter to the arriving monsters, nor the demi humans he protected.

But it also didn't matter to a certain figure who caught sight of Motoyasu fighting in the distance. With its long black hair blowing in the wind, the figure smiled and spoke.

"It seems I found the hero..."

POINT OF VIEW OF NAOFUMI

"Airstrike shield!"

Along with my scream, a green semi-transparent shield manifested between a soldier and a powerful monster that was going to crush him, and before giving my next order, I saw Raphtalia jump and cut the monster, defeating it on the spot.

It had been almost two hours since the wave started, and in those hours we had been defending the town closest to us that could be attacked by monsters. The town was coincidentally the one in which I had made a deal for medicine and saved the life of an old woman, which I could confirm in a bizarre way. Right now, at my right side...

"Choooo!"

The same recovered old woman was single handle beating to the approaching monsters. It was a somewhat surreal sight at first, but after a while it became almost comforting to see that not only did she not have to be defended, but that she helped with the combat.

Certainly this time I had my companions and a group of soldiers had joined me to defend the city, and with the support of the villagers we could do more for longer. However, the delay in finishing the wave was also starting to bother me.

I was aware that without Motoyasu with the other two, the firepower against the boss would be reduced to two-thirds of the total, so it shouldn't surprise me that it could take them longer. In fact, suspecting that as soon as we arrived, I used Filo to reach Ren and give him some instructions, and also Itsuki who apparently tried to find Motoyasu. I just decided to let this hero of the spear be. He would decide for himself what he wanted or did not want to do.

While I was thinking about that, I was still defending the village, but already approaching the third hour my patience was reaching its limit, so after consulting with the others, I decided to go myself, Raphtalia and Filo to contribute in the battle against the boss.

There better really is a good reason those two are taking so long.

MOTOYASU'S POINT OF VIEW

Is... is this some kind of event?

I am the most aware that that thought had given me more problems than solutions, but it was the only way in which I could more or less understand the situation in front of me.

After defending for a while the family of demi humans that I saved when I was still the hero of the spear, what appeared to be a woman in a kimono and black hair appeared, literally sweeping away all the monsters in the surroundings like nothing.

To some extent, I thought it could be some kind of special ally, I mean, she looked like a perfect Yamato Nadeshiko who even held fans in both hands, even a brief desire to have her as a companion surfaced in me, until she spoke.

"That will take care of the unwanted guests, so. Are you one of the sacred heroes of this world?"

I did not answer. Not only because he honestly no longer considered me one of the holy heroes, but also because his voice seemed to contain a certain tinge of malice. I felt like answering could end really bad for me.

And not just for me. I observed the demi-human family that I had protected near me, and I understood that it would be very difficult for me to face or defend myself against that woman on my own without them going badly.

No, even without defending them, you wouldn't be able to win. Not even using them as hostages would he be able to have a chance. I didn't even believe that the sloth spear could give me enough power to defeat it.

But that's when that woman with the air of Yamato Nadeshiko spoke again.

"No, you seem too weak to be one. Well, fighting for others is not bad, but I recommend you be careful for a while. The wave will end shortly."

After saying that, he headed towards the dimensional rift in the distance, away from me. As I watched her go, my legs lost their strength and I leaned on my spear to keep from falling.

Days ago I abandoned the idea that this world was a game with scheduled events, but that woman for a moment made me think about it, an opponent programmed to be invincible, to make me lose no matter what I tried. Not only did I think about it because when I tried to see his stats I came across strange symbols, but also because of his gaze.

Those eyes had a determination that went beyond violence or ambition, and they were unlike anything he had ever seen before. They weren't like Itsuki or Ren's, or Naofumi's, or the king's… And they definitely weren't like mine when I played the hero of the spear.

In fact, was it a coincidence that someone like that appeared to me just when I decided to play the hero again? I don't even know.

What I do know, and I remembered once again, was how deluded I am if I think I can achieve anything with this.

I looked once more in the direction in which the woman in kimono left, and I noticed in the distance how above what seemed to be a flying ship, it seemed that a black shape was materializing that produced a metallic noise that I could hear slightly. I had no idea what that was, but something inside me felt familiar, at the same time that I thought the wave was going to end in no time, so I might as well go.

And that's what I was about to do, until little hands grabbed my clothes.

When I turned around I saw the demi human boy, who was looking at me with bright eyes. Looking at it, it seemed to have droopy and somewhat long ears, and the tail that protruded from behind it was wagging, so perhaps it was some variant of man-dog.

"It really was you, you were the onii-san hero of the spear who helped us earlier."

"Ehm, no, I am no hero child."

"No, I know for sure. Your hair and look is different, but I wouldn't forget your smell so easily. You are definitely that onii-san of the spear."

Did he say anything about my hair and appearance? For a moment I took one of my strands of hair to get a better look, and it seemed to have grown darker. Is this how it gets when I don't wash it? Maybe I'm getting too careless.

Although I had to do something about the dog boy who was holding me first.

But before I said anything to him, the boy let go of me and began to smell the air in a particular direction, then to say.

"This smell of steel… soldiers are approaching. This is bad, if they see you they will chase you!"

I looked in the direction it seemed to be pointing but didn't see anyone. However, the wind was feeling slightly in our direction, so perhaps the dog boy could have sniffed them before he saw them.

Judging by how he reacted to the soldiers chasing me, he seemed to understand that I was the hero of the spear who was being accused of quite appropriate crimes. The soldiers were probably here to do something against the wave of calamity, but that didn't mean they wouldn't arrest me if they found me.

To top it off, I can't use the portal spear until the wave ends, which has been going on for a few hours now. The fight against the wave beasts, followed by the encounter with the Yamato Nadeshiko with fans drained my strength as if I had been stabbed with my cursed spear, so escaping the soldiers on foot seemed simply inconvenient.

In front of the child who looked at me worried, I decided to just sit on the floor.

Maybe it's better to quit and let me capture once and for all.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"This? I'm sitting and waiting, I guess. "

"But, they are guards, and you are the hero of the spear, they will try to capture you."

"I know, and I accept it. I've already caused too much trouble to keep running, and I have no reason to do so anyway."

The dog boy still seemed unsure about what I said, but I didn't give him a choice. The guards had already gotten close enough to keep us in sight, and even if I decided to escape, I wouldn't be able to lose them on foot.

Recognizing me by seeing my spear, the soldiers immediately drew their weapons and surrounded me. They yelled at me about my charges and ordered me to surrender, so I put my hands up as a sign that I wouldn't resist. It wasn't even ten seconds before one of them got close enough to push me to the ground and handcuff me with heavy shackles.

A memory from before arose in my head, when I still had my team of companions and we had just subdued and captured a criminal. At that moment I had seen the resigned face of the criminal while speaking with my companions. "I don't understand why someone like him became a criminal if in the end he was going to surrender," is what he had said, somewhat disappointed that there had not been a more extensive investigation or some subplot related to a criminal gang.

But now that disappointment applied to me. I was really surprised again at how truly naive I was then, and how useless I am now.

Here it seems that it will be the end of my story as a hero.

("At least I managed to save them")

I looked again at the family of demihumans that I had rescued for the second time, and they seemed to be talking to one of the soldiers, explaining that I had helped them. The soldier turned before they finished speaking and addressed what seemed to be his boss, asking.

"Captain, their dialect seems to be from Siltvelt. What do we do with them?"

"From Siltvelt?"

The soldier glanced in my direction once to make sure they held me and then ordered.

"Soldiers, prepare your bows!"

For a moment I thought the captain had found some monster to be shot down, but that was naive of me. On the other hand, I also had no way of guessing what was going to happen. No, it was rather that I did not want to consider it as an option.

The soldiers loaded arrows into their bows and aimed at the demi humans family. They drew their bows in what to me, incredulous, felt like a whole minute, and...

"Shoot!"

Trying to cover his wife and son, the father turned his back on the arrows and used his body as a shield. The woman did the same, covering her son in those places that the father could not cover. And the arrows impacted them, and even one of the filorials that were in front of the chariot.

From my position, I couldn't tell if even the boy was okay, but I knew one thing for sure. Those two weren't going to survive without a medicine of the highest grade.

But the reality was not so convenient, and the captain ordered a second round of arrows.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing!?"

"Hmph, shut up, scum."

"They are supposed to be soldiers who should protect people from the waves!"

"These are not people. They are mere Silltvelt pests, not unlike the wave monsters themselves."

"What... ah..."

There was too much on my mind to formulate a clear answer. But if I did nothing they were going to finish killing them.

I hated the captain.

I hated soldiers who obeyed orders.

I hated the whole situation that seemed to want to take away my last good deed.

I wanted them to stop, or for someone to stop them.

But the reality was not so convenient.

There wasn't much I could do, but I could change my spear with the menu, and I could twist to make the spear touch the ground.

And I had precisely one ability that worked if I met those two points.

As the archers took their second arrow, I swapped my spear for the laziness spear, and rolled a bit to make the point dig at least an inch into the ground.

That was enough for me.

"Bed of thorns!"

A dark circle formed around me, covering the ground for thirty feet around. A second later, dozens and even hundreds of thorns up to 3 inches tall came out of the ground and stabbed into the soldiers' feet.

Bed of Thorns was the greatest skill available to my laziness spear, and it allowed me to fill an area with thorns that would sprout from the ground. By themselves they did not cause much damage, but their main function was that they shared the energy-draining characteristic of the spear, so a touch would be enough to weaken an opponent, which would make it difficult for them to escape and would keep losing energy.

I would lose what few SPs I had left, but it was better to use them now than to let them fire again.

The complaints and screams of surprise and pain soon turned into cries of weakness, with some soldiers falling to their knees or on their backs. This of course brought them into contact with more thorns, so that even the new moans were silenced.

As soon as I saw that the last of the soldiers standing fell, I undid the bed of thorns to avoid killing anyone. Even if his way of thinking was rotten, and he hurt innocents, I was still unwilling to kill a person myself.

Even handcuffed until I was on my knees and I saw the demihumans who had fortunately been out of range of my attack. The boy seemed fine, silent, but his parents were not moving. Gritting my teeth, I looked around to make sure no soldiers could get up, while confirming that they hadn't died.

"Cof, coff. You... damn..."

"Are you still conscious?"

Near me the captain was still awake. Looking at it better, I could tell that his level was the highest of the group of soldiers, so it made sense for him to hold on even if he was so far inside the Bed of Thorns area. He glared at me as he judged me.

"This will not stay that way. For attacking us, proud soldiers of Melromarc, you will definitely receive a punishment that…"

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"

It wasn't me who interrupted him, but someone else. the only other person who was still conscious in this whole situation. The dog boy had gotten up screaming, but more importantly, he was holding a piece of the cart, a long, heavy-looking board just under a meter long.

And swinging that board over his head, he lowered it hard toward the soldier's face.

"… huh?"

"Waahhhhh! Ahhhhhh! Waahhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

There wasn't just one hit. The scene was too sudden for me to react quickly, but when I understood the situation, I dragged my legs to jump in the middle. I then received a blow from the heavy board on my back.

"Gahh!"

"... get off."

"W-wait a minute..."

"Take off!"

"What this will solve?"

I could understand his feelings. He lost his parents to the order of this soldier and wanted revenge, but that would not solve anything. Similar to how the King sought revenge on me for letting his daughter die.

"I know it won't solve anything, but…! It is always like this here. Since we arrived, before you helped us, when you helped us, after that and right now, the soldiers here look at us as if we were less! Can't I fight it? What else am I supposed to do!?"

No. He couldn't understand her feelings. Neither his nor the King's.

The only thing he could do at that moment was to acknowledge it...

"I am sorry."

"Stop it."

"I am sorry."

... and apologize. For not being a hero for at least one more minute. for having wasted so much time fleeing from reality. For failing to protect someone important. For never having paid attention to where it was necessary to be a hero.

Even if it was selfish to do it now with only one person hearing it.

Apparently, I will never cease to amaze myself in this world.

The objective of facing the waves of calamity is to defeat the boss and make the dimensional gap from which monsters emerge to close, and the situation was one where there was a pirate skeleton, on a pirate ship, while a Kraken was attacking. Aside, and instead of agreeing, Ren fought the pirate skeleton while Itsuki fired at the ship. Motoyasu was nowhere to be found, but he was probably doing something like fighting the Kraken instead of supporting the others.

Anyway, when I arrived I put some order in the combat, I found the real boss hiding in the shadows, and seeing that the others could not keep up with him I had to defeat him myself with the power of the cursed shield.

When the iron maiden opened, the Soul Eater boss fell dead outside the ship, but that was only the beginning.

After defeating the boss, a second boss appeared out of nowhere, and just as suddenly as a second Soul Eater appeared, a woman with fans destroyed the boss in an instant before introducing herself as a new enemy. Enemy towards me apparently, because I was only looking for heroes and neither Ren nor Itsuki fulfilled their idea of what a hero was. Ha, if she knew the status of the missing hero...

Due to my exhaustion, I used a recovery potion that I took from one of Itsuki's men, used my defensive and attack shields, gave orders to Filo and Raphtalia, used the shield of rage, and again activated the iron maiden.

Still, nothing worked. She overcame all our attempts to even harm her, so in the end we had to escape, defending ourselves from her ranged attacks and moving away. The wave ended a minute after we escaped, and based on the lack of attacks, we assume she left with the wave.

"Just what is she supposed to be..."

She introduced herself by the name of Glass, carried fans with gems similar to holy weapons, and sought to attack me specifically without paying attention to others, while at the same time making sure not to attack them by mistake.

Was it really part of the wave? Or there is something else?

MOTOYASU'S POINT OF VIEW

Half an hour passed since my apology, and during that time we did not speak. After walking away, I saw the boy use the piece of board to dig into the ground, and without the need for words, I understood what he was trying to do. With some difficulties at first I managed to get rid of the shackles using my spear after returning it to a normal shape, and changing it to one with a wider tip, I started digging and digging in the ground as well.

The attack by the soldiers had caused the death of the boy's parents, and had also seriously injured one of the two filoriales, so he probably would not be saved. With only one affiliate remaining, the chance of taking them both somewhere else to give them a dignified burial was slim, so we just dug there in a vacant lot, and after burying them together, the boy set up a couple of sticks upright.

For my part, I just stood there, taking a few glances at the fallen soldiers while my conscience reminded me of what had happened before.

My skill had weakened the guards, but hadn't killed them. The captain had even managed to stay awake.

But the boy had attacked him. Under normal conditions he would hardly have achieved more than hurt his nose a little, given the absurd value that statistics have in this world, but being weakened changed things. After the boy had calmed down, I could see that the captain's HP had reached 0.

The dog boy had killed him. And I had allowed it, and even helped it to happen.

Let's forget about getting my honor back or being a hero, I couldn't consider myself human anymore.

But if I felt that right now, that silent dog boy must definitely be in worse situation. I didn't had to think about it to understand it.

I had saved him out of impulse more than once, but now there was nothing I could do for him. Nothing, except for something one of the soldiers had mentioned.

This would be my last attempt to help, then I would simply go to Melromarc castle to find an end to everything.

"Boy... I'll take you back to Silvelt, okay?"

Reacting to my words, the dog boy moved his head slightly in my direction, and without making eye contact, and nodded slightly.

As if signaling the end of this disastrous day, the sky returned to a normal color, a sign that the wave had ended. I covered the inert body of the captain of the soldiers with a canvas that I took out of the leftovers of the chariot, we packed some provisions and valuables and put them on the remaining Filorial.

We both mounted the Filorial and decided to left.

Fewhhh, a long chapter made and done.

To be honest, in spanish version this fourth chapter had a different outcome, but the plot made after it were so much boring to write that I decided to change it and reupload it. This english version is that remade fourth chapter.

I hope to finish more chapters quickly, but I'm not gonna make promises. I'll see you with next chapter.