BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO
CHAPTER 12: BEN 10 000 RETURNS
I uploaded a cover image for the story, check it out, guys.
An OC title I came up with is – Claymore Hero Rex Salazar.
The main weapon will be Big Fat Sword, but it is not a vessel weapon, you see.
There was an explosion at the prison!
Nearly 30 empty chambers were busted.
Zero casualties.
Only one person escaped.
The authority and the knights of Melromarc are searching for the wanted person.
Ben Tennyson (16)
Devil of the Shield
Enemy of the Church
of Three Heroes
A man in his late 30s with a muscular body takes a look at the escapee's face illustration on the poster stuck on the wall and smirks before he continues his walk.
"That kid…"
It has been four days since I returned to prison.
Occasionally I sneak out of the chamber to collect information on whatever happens in the town.
The King was panicked to hear the reports that Eclair mysteriously disappeared. She was confined in the chamber.
There was honestly only one who can do that and that one was also in the prison but separate and far away from the castle.
Moreover, he was also strictly restrained, he would be barely able to move.
So what happened? Dark magicians? It's crazy that the word "Dark" just makes it sound villainous. I suppressed my fist before it shot into the King's nasty face.
Well, that's what happened before. It stirs the royalty and the nobility of the King's faction too well. It was quite a chaotic week for Aultcray. I bet it was.
First, the girl who was brainwashed by the shield demon escaped.
Then, four days after that, the jailbreak of Ben Tennyson occurred at the town prison. Ben was only detained for 7 days.
He claimed it was the shield devil who escaped together with Eclair but his advisors' opinions contradicted his idea. Shield devil escaped four days after Eclair's disappearance.
The only hint is the invisible punches, as claimed by the soldier who guarded the jail floor that day.
The Pope didn't show as many emotions as the King when he heard the news. But later in his room alone – technically I was there as Big Chill – he destroys a table in the flow of rage.
Now back to the meeting with Her Majesty,
"So the conclusion is – Rex Salazar, from now on, I put my trust in you to protect your villages."
She assigned three of her shadow squad and told us that just these three could be more than enough to defend the village. Again, she apologized to us for she couldn't allow a part of the army to us, not all knights are trusted when comes to interspecies issues.
I didn't object to it, well, it was her spy squad so she would know them the best.
"Eclair Seaetto, I'd like to hire you as my right-hand knight general since I had been hearing about your capabilities from Seaetto but it was rare to see you in person, right?"
"Thanks for your praise, Your Highness," Eclair replied.
"OK, you can just defend the village for now but I hope you will join me as a knight in the future."
Eclair was offered a position in the military considering she was a knight. But due to the current conditions, the Queen stepped back.
I don't know much about the Queen and I had been pretty much pessimistic about her but for this part, I have to commend that she could employ the right people in the right place.
"And last but not least, Ben Tennyson, I don't doubt you can defend the waves in other nations. I hereby wish your adventure goes well, the Brave One."
It was coincidentally when Partner had finished reprogramming the ID Mask and input some more features. This, I showed them the new disguise I would use when I had to run from the knights as a wanted criminal.
Then skip a few days and finally.
After breakfast, I reviewed my escape plan.
"Keep that in mind, Ben Tennyson. Don't abuse your abilities any more than required."
OK, OK, I'm good. Thanks.
So I transformed into a walking living fire creature and exploded 30 chambers. I am not good with listening to orders.
"Damn, Tennyson," Partner facepalmed at my great job.
Aria Brambila is a beautiful girl even when I look at her shooting practice from behind.
She kinda reminds me of Eunice because of her hair color.
I dare not make Aria take off her clothes and put on my green jacket to relive the moment with Eunice.
She shoots multiple blasts right into the target. Then she senses a presence sneaking around in the house.
She turns around and readies her weapon.
"Who goes there?!" she asks.
A muscular man who seems to be in his late 30s comes out from behind a pile of wooden boxes, blushing.
For some reason, she feels like this guy is SUSPICIOUSLY familiar.
She notices a small shield on his forearm.
"You are…" she begins to figure him out.
"Bingo!"
I enthusiastically point at her with my index finger.
"Ben?" she doubts.
"Yes, I am Ben. Uh… this is a disguise, but this is… literally me. Future me."
I reply, holding up my arms to show off my biceps, though they are fake. But I still feel stronger due to Omnitrix.
Let's have a short flashback.
At the end of the meeting with the Queen,
"What's your plan after getting out of jail, the Brave One?"
The Queen asked. I smirked at the question and held my left wrist up close to my chest level.
"I'm glad you asked, Her Majesty. Omnitrix, command code 2040, activate ID disguise!"
(A/N: I input a number in place of command code. Not entirely coincident that 2040 is Ben's universe.)
Azmuth had reprogrammed the ID Mask function but I didn't know what the new disguise was.
The green light again engulfed the room before revealing a muscular man.
I looked down at my body and exclaimed in shock.
"Oh my God, Partner! This is… muscular."
I recognized the outfit which consisted of a round neck short-sleeved bicep-length black t-shirt tucked in a pair of tight army green slim-fit pants pulled up to my waist. The shirt also had a white stripe around my neck and on the front, and a matching 1 inch trim on the sleeves. I was also wearing a black belt, with matching fingerless gloves and calf-high boots.
The Omnitrix had disappeared but the Shield was still there.
"Whoa, this outfit is… get me a mirror. Get me a mirror!"
Oh My God! It was freaking BEN 10 000!
"Er… Been, what's with that… body?"
Rex asked out of curiosity.
I snapped out of panic before answering.
"Uh, yea, this is my future version."
"YOUR FUTURE VERSION?! IT'S MANLIER THAN YOU ARE NOW! You should join me in the Knight training! With this body! You will make a good soldier!"
I couldn't distinguish if Eclair was insulting or praising me.
"No, thanks," I replied, thinking about a bunch of idiotic knights.
Partner, what happened with the small shield?
"It's a pain to turn it invisible. You should just use a merlinisapien shield."
His voice explained without him appearing on the screen.
"What do you mean by "your future version"?"
The Queen asked with curious eyes.
"I… will somehow become this man in the future. You know the Omnitrix, right? It upgrades my health and body to the peak form. So… in the future, I will have this body. Awesome, right?"
So this is the story.
"Oh my, what has become of you? You… your body…"
"No, no, this is just a disguise, you see."
Aria involuntarily drops her firearms and rushes towards me to embrace me again.
My eye line has been slightly higher since I became taller. I hug her back in my bulky arms.
I don't plan to always use this disguise but I have to make my folks familiar with this appearance. But when I have to transform, I will deactivate and remove ID Mask effects on aliens, so I can convince other people that Ben Tennyson's identity and my future version identity are two different men.
Hey, are we forgetting something? Why is Aria hugging me every time we meet again?
"H-hey Aria, I haven't seen Filo. Let us go?"
"O-oh… OK, I will come with you."
No, I don't lift her in a princess carry pose.
For some reason, Filo can identify it's me at sight.
"But how?"
"Filo can just know master is master!"
It doesn't explain everything but OK enough. And we don't hug each other though she is clinging to my left forearm.
Rifana tries to remove Filo from my body so that she can take place there. I laugh awkwardly but… I am like an old man here compared to the kids.
Partner, please deactivate the ID Mask.
"Roger," a monotonous Azmuth voice responds before turning off the disguise.
The girls step back as the green light temporarily blinds their sight. And then the real me steps out.
"Alright, let's get to the meeting!"
The gathering is scheduled at Rex's house. His house was… well, built for such reasons as more than accommodation.
There exists a long oval-shaped wooden table, that was carpentered by me and Rex, in the meeting room. And sitting at the top is Rex and close to him on his left sits Eclair.
"I'd prefer if you guys don't get late."
Eclair reminds us. The lady-knight is strict with rules and manners.
"Heheh, come on, Eclair." Rex holds her back.
And I'm gonna tease him if these two get together! He teased me about Aria taking a liking to me!
"How are you guys doing?"
I greet them with a friendly smile.
"Well, yeah, it's good. Security it is. And the villagers decided to start agriculture. Many of them were vegetarians so I can't always hunt for meat."
Rex responds with quite a long answer. I nod as I sit down on a seat.
"Glad to hear you guys are OK. And what's about the Queen's… spies?"
His eyes wander to and fro before commenting.
"They are scary," he whispers. "Their impression is intimidating. But since they arrived, no one from the outside has invaded our territory…"
I widen my eyes in the horror of the thought if…
"You don't say they murdered all of the invaders before they entered?" I whisper back.
"We don't do that sort of thing, I dare say."
A feminine voice from just behind me freaks me out that I almost jump.
"Oh, you… Shadow," I gasp.
If I recollect, there were three shadows appointed by the Queen to the village, they are so professional that I can't tell apart from each of them, and I can't tell their gender. This one is said to be one of the most trusted by Her Majesty. Well, I distinguish her by her "I dare say."
"Don't just appear out of nowhere," I beg.
She wears a black hooded robe with a mask and has dark purple hair.
"She's a ninja, totally," Rex comments looking at the shadow.
"No, ninjas cover their mouth, she is wearing an eye mask," I argue.
(A/N: She is a he? He is a she? I mean they are too good at disguising. In canon anime, "he" is disguised as a noblewoman to warn Naofumi in the Church. But I am making a "she" here, anyway it's Ben and the rest's perception. Naofumi asked them to reveal their gender but they refused to answer. But Naofumi also regarded most of them as females.)
"No, dude, there are different types of ninjas. Perhaps there are ninjas who wear masks like that," Rex reveals something I didn't know.
"Oh…" I calm down.
"What is a ninja?" Eclair asks out of curiosity.
"It's a kind of… warrior, they use different weapons. Knives, swords, and weapons that are like 4-pointed stars. They are very… skillful," I answer. Why don't they ask about Sumo Slammers?
"Dude, those "4-pointed stars" are called Shuriken," Rex adds.
"Oh… I… didn't know."
"If they are good, I want to have a duel with one of them!" Eclair speaks up with an enthusiastic tone.
"What about these guys?" I ask pointing at the shadow.
"They are strong and multi-talented. They aren't particularly from an organization."
Eclair answers. I chuckle, remembering that biltzwolfer actually caught one of those guys. Maybe they are too good for humans, but not for aliens.
"Let's discuss future plans. You can take a seat… if you want."
Rex says to the shadow but she looks restless, immediately kneeling on the floor, which I find uncomfortable. Rex gulps looking at the shadow but says nothing more.
"Alright… ahem, uh… the thing is we have to search for the second princess of Melromarc, Melty." Rex proposes.
"The problem is we don't know where to search for her," I add.
Eclair nods in agreement.
"I will take this quest," I offer. "I am going on a journey anyway."
"We have to narrow down the possible regions before we start searching for her. And anything about her appearance?" Rex asks looking at Eclair.
"She has blue hair and her eye is blue. She is about 10," she finishes.
I blink, "Is that enough information?"
"You will know when you see her."
I gulp. Isn't it convenient, huh?
There is a long awkward silence.
"OK, that settles it," Rex breaks the awkwardness. "Let's discuss the economics of the village."
-(BREAK)-
"So before visiting other nations, we have to travel around the Melromarc? Filo is happy!"
I am currently putting together the light metal frames and wooden beams to make a new carriage for Filo.
Filo is restless if she doesn't draw a carriage and she insists on carrying one though we don't need it. So I decided to make a lighter carriage that can adapt to different terrains. In some cases, if the cart can't go on, I can transform into Upgrade and fuse with the carriage.
"I am glad you like it."
"When we find the princess, we have to take her on the journey? To other nations?" Aria asks.
"Yes, why?"
I transform into Upgrade to assemble the frames quickly and then turn back to human form.
"Wow, master is cool," Filo is amazed.
"Nothing. If you are OK with it, we are OK, too," Aria says.
I grin observing the new carriage.
"Filo."
"Yes, master?"
"Let's test drive this!"
-(BREAK)-
On a carriage drawn by a big fluffy filolial running on the streets of Lute Village are me who is disguised as an adult counterpart, and Aria Brambila who is prepared as a boy.
"Omnitrix has a function that can change the user's gender. If you want to use it for disguise, I will gladly unlock it."
AI Azmuth says with a smirk on his holographic face.
No, thanks.
I am 100% sure that my female counterpart would be similar to Gwen, except for brown hair.
But hey, Omnitrix can truly allow the user to stay in the shoes of other species and gender.
I tilt my head a bit to see Aria in disguise.
We decided to visit Lute Village first in order to search for the princess.
"In light of exploits during the last wave,..."
I hear a familiar feminine voice. Yes, it is unfortunately one of the top ten people I don't want to see.
Malty, the first princess of the country.
I order Filo to stop and leave her and Aria in the distance walking towards a crowd. Before the crowd is a small stage, on which Malty and Itsuki are standing. Malty is holding up a open scroll, apparently showing some kind of legal blah blah document from authority with some motives in her mind. And Motoyasu, he looks dumb as always, glad to see you unchanged, man.
"... the Spear Hero, Sir Motoyasu has been appointed ruling lord of this region."
Here we go again.
"To help the rebuilding efforts," she continues. "We decided to levy a toll. Fifty silvers to enter the village and fifty to exist…"
I widen my eyes at the announcement, calculating the value of currency she mentioned for a moment.
"This is absurd!" a villager murmurs.
"We won't even have anything to eat tomorrow."
The complaints of villagers don't seem to reach that idiot of a hero.
"You wish to defy your lord's orders?" Malty threatens.
A muscular man makes his way through the crowd and then appears in front of the stage. It is me, don't think twice. I have my shield already turned invisible though.
"Lord of irresponsibility? Or Lord of High Taxrate?" I question with a mocking voice in the face of Motoyasu.
"Who are you? This is Lord Motoyasu's domain now. You don't have the right to even complain!" she barks back.
It's nice I have never reached the age to participate in an election.
"I don't think this Motoyasu or whatever he is defended the village. I definitely saw shield hero evacuating people and fighting off monsters while the other heroes were playing around in the forest," I boldly stated.
Not to be bragging, I cautiously described myself from the villagers' perspective. My statement is supported by a number of villagers in the crowd, whose complaints make the womanizer guy widens his eyes. Before he can say anything –
"Silence!" Malty orders. "People have no right to bite back their lord."
I don't know politics well, but it will be fun to lecture these guys about democracy.
But now I wanna punch the spear guy, because I don't punch women.
"You dare complain about royal decree?" she questions.
"Whoa, I remember, you are the one who accused the hero of the shield as a criminal of a rape case which never happened! Rich coming from you, huh?" I mumble.
I feel bad about bringing up this old 'fake rape' thing every time I mock this woman.
She furiously gestures to the guards who thrust their weapons in the direction of the people to threaten them. She is glaring at me as if laser beams are gonna come out of her eyes no time soon.
But I don't flinch. Well, it's certainly important to keep cool during a fight or an argument. Talking while fighting, unnecessarily costs my energy. Don't try it at home, boy.
A nearby guard is also holding his weapon in my direction.
"Thanks to you and your father, how much more do you think the Queen has to work?" I ask with a mocking tone.
"Tons!" I answer to my question. "And what do you guys do to ease her life? Literally nothing! No, it's the opposite. It's even lower than zero!" I boldly speak up. Well, it's not like these mere weapons can harm me, hah.
No, no, no, wait. I am being arrogant and out of control. I look back at the villagers. I am here not to bark at the spoiled brat and spear idiot. I am here to defend the villagers' properties. I remind myself again before glaring back at the princess.
"You don't have the right to judge me!"
"I am not judging you, I am merely stating the facts!"
The spear hero is the one being helpless here. He is indecisive if he needs to thrust his spear into my body.
"Guards! Punish them–"
Before she finishes her command, shadows suddenly appear before her. I can't even see how they jump onto it out of nowhere.
"I trust you know who we are, Princess Malty."
Five shadows, the shadow in the middle looks up at Malty to speak.
"Why… Why are you people here?" The princess gasps in surprise.
To be honest, I am surprised, too. But I need to keep my cool as I am a muscular man in his late 30s.
I don't know how many of these shadow spies the Queen has but… it's impressive in a way. Can I just clone myself and make an army like that?
No, that reminds me of Eon. And too much cosmic power in one universe means the downside of said universe. Because the cloned Omnitrices wouldn't lose any energy stored in it, according to Azmuth.
Well, that aside…
They gave Malty another scroll and she is gonna read it with a scowl.
"How could this be!" she grunts.
Then she looks up at me.
"What! You are a trusted merchant assigned personally by my mother?!"
I didn't see that coming! Seems like the Queen pulled some strings but unless I am in an Alien form, I can't sense shadows, they are too neat.
Malty shoots flaming glares at me before pointing at me and announcing something I theorize is in the scroll. Obviously, it's the Queen's order or something like that which she can't refuse.
"You! Tros Bennett!"
"Me?"
I suddenly regret that I didn't consult the Queen about my name or new identity.
"Fight us for the right to rule this village!" She challenges me.
Here we go again. I don't know how the Queen twisted things around the corner but I am not OK with the whole "RULE" thing, you know?!
"You have to take part in the Dragon Race!"
Dragon… What comes into my mind is the map-making dragon who was unfortunately caught by the racist Forever Knights.
"What's that?"
I sincerely ask which makes the surrounding people stare at me in astonishment and shock.
"It's a race where you have to compete riding a dragon!"
A nearby young villager answers.
"I don't have a dragon, and what's a dragon? The big guys? The ones that breathe fire? Or something?"
The villager blinks.
The people look at each other in shock and helplessness. Oh boy…
But I've got an idea in my mind.
It's pretty sure I don't wanna ride Filo.
But I can ride myself… theoretically.
Partner, can you do me a favor?
The holographic Azmuth appears already facepalms disappointed at my helplessness.
"OK…" he sighs, "just tell me what it is."
After a moment,
I jump out of the bush, riding something that's definitely not a dragon.
Motoyasu walks towards me. I don't think he is still sane after two consecutive defeats to me. Usual disturbing voice with a usual mocking tone.
"So lame…"
But he doesn't know what it is I am riding. Of course, no one would know.
Something that doesn't possess eyes.
It's orange bruh! Not evolved from orange balloon monster, though.
It has spikes and gill-like slits on both sides of its neck.
It's quadrupedal.
It's a vulpimancer. It's Wildmutt.
Riding on myself doesn't make me feel good.
The wildmutt roars at Motoyasu, drooling from his mouth.
"AHH– Oh, is that a dog? So lame, no eyes! What kinda monster is that! I doubt he can compete against a dragon which is too fast on two feet."
Dear spear hero, I don't punch you but this guy beneath me will punch you if you don't drop your act.
The wildmutt howls… I understand somehow by using the universal translator.
"Can I kick his crotch?"
I bend my body down and whisper close to his head.
"No."
The Omnitrix symbol is on his torso, which is covered by a LARGE leaf.
"Ugly doggy! Hahahah!"
Well, it's not my fault he kicked Motoyasu right in the crotch and sent him flying.
"Easy there," I whisper, like taming a farm animal.
Wildmutt is somewhat smirking, drools hanging at the edge of his lips.
I am satisfied with that, indeed, though out of my character.
This big orange dog is my sonorosian clone… is that illegal to ride myself?
And like placing a leaf shield on his torso to conceal the Omnitrix symbol.
I'm pretty sure kicking the opponent's crotch right before a match isn't fair, though.
"Hey old man!" Motoyasu calls out climbing onto a dragon-horse.
I don't want to question how he can still walk after that critical hit.
"This is definitely going to bruise."
A guard in the background murmurs looking at Motoyasu's awkward walking style.
-(BREAK)-
"The course will be three laps around the outskirts of the village," the former duke of the village acts as a judge. "Whoever reaches this gate first will be declared the winner."
At the moment the situation is intense.
Motoyasu is leaning forward on his dragon to brace himself for inertia.
"Sir Motoyasu, good luck," Myne in the background cheers for the spear hero.
And I, myself, am leaning forward and whisper to Wildmutt not to accelerate too fast right at the start.
I can see Arian (Aria in disguise as a boy) and Filo cheering for me quietly, while blending themselves into the crowd.
"On your marks…" the judge notifies us.
And then after a moment of silence…
"Start!"
The dragon has taken off and my beast starts running on his paws.
Technically, it is a four-legged vs two-legged battle. Wildmutt has many advantages having adequate stamina, natural predator instincts, and being four-legged which means more force can be exerted from the limbs.
But the dragon-horse has the advantage of having eyes, lmao.
The beast starts accelerating his engine in no time. It almost feels like he is knowing what I think and taking revenge for my mocks.
"S~Sloooowwww! D~Doooowwwnnn!"
I lean on his neck hugging onto it to ensure I am not dropped onto the road.
The spearman and his lovely dragon have long been left behind.
Oh yeah! This is SPEED!
He is handling it quite proficiently, even without slowing down at the curves. He just steers it real well.
But…
"Blah blah blah… create a pit in front of me."
I hear a soldier in armor, apparently from Myne's guards, mumbling some words as if he is saying a spell out loud.
That suddenly causes an "Earth Hole" – as dubbed by the soldier – on the ground.
"Oh my!"
I exclaim in shock and surprise. I honestly don't know Wildmutt can avoid something like this which occurs on the ground without warning.
And it is a turn. The inertia could send us at least a few meters flying.
I underestimated Wildmutt.
He can sense the vibrations on the ground and the sudden change of terrains.
Unexpectedly, he jumps over it without effort, maintaining his momentum. This forces him to kick a nearby tree truck but the kick sends him into a new direction rather efficiently.
"We… should… do… this… every…. Once…. in … a… while…"
But another hindrance occurs.
"Blah blah blah… slow my–"
Wildmutt takes it pretty well by kicking the soldier who is saying spells out to slow us down.
I tilt my head to shout at the soldier groaning in pain.
"NO CHEATING!"
Motoyasu is nowhere to be seen but we have finished the two laps.
"Whoa…"
After two laps, I feel like half of my life force was sucked by a Vladat.
It was… too fast.
I see a soldier in the distance, again.
Now what? I grit my teeth as I don't know how Wildmutt will solve it.
But he says nothing as we pass by him.
If anything, his eyes are overwhelmed by fear.
But I honestly don't know what it is he fears.
In the third lap, Wildmutt slows down a bit.
Motoyasu's dragon suddenly speeds up and surpasses us at a high speed.
Wildmutt lets out a growl before his paw engine starts changing gears to speed up while I hold his neck tightly.
"Whoa… OH–"
We easily pass the somehow nerfed dragon-horse and enter the gate before him.
Consequently causes applause and cheers from the crowd.
I walk to Motoyasu who is looking a bit gloomy in defeat. Though his gloomy look vanishes on Malty as she tries to cheer him up.
I wear a victory smile as I stand among the crowd, that's shouting my name…. Uh, it's Tros Bennett, now.
"It's… cheating with magic and stuff…" I mutter with a disturbed tone letting the princess and her faction hear.
"It's you who cheated! With a… such powerful monster!" Malty barks back.
"He's blind–" before I can't argue, Wildmutt kicks a bit hard right in my stomach.
"Ouch!" I let out a groan.
"It's Karma, hahah!" Motoyasu mocks with a weirdly energetic voice.
I stare at him for a moment, acting like I'm worried about him.
Why, yes to verbally bash him, of course.
"Is your crotch ok?"
He grits his teeth and a grunt escapes his mouth. He grips his spear and steps forward… his steps are stopped by the shadows.
"Merchant Bennett is right," one of them begins. "We detected traces of magic on the course."
That action was taken as a precaution?
Seriously who trained these guys? Magister Hulka can go cry in a corner.
I roll my eyes as I try to avert them from Arian and Filo. Filo is posing a victory gesture, obviously taught by Rex.
V for Victory.
I chuckle at the thought.
"It was that t-tricky m-merchant, obviously!" the brat princess stammers.
The guards in the background also have shocked expressions of their own.
Motoyasu is shaken by their statements, too.
It is priceless… to inspect this view.
"No, the magic affinity of Sir Tros Bennett is healing and support magic," the shadow reveals. "Completely different type than the magic we found."
Yes, of course, though I haven't used it for a while.
Wait, no, how do they know that! The Queen also has connections with the magic shop owner, too? If so, I have to say to that mage woman some words concerning my privacy.
"It's clear that the spear hero's party cheated," she adds to her statements.
If it were others and not the Queen's shadows, these bold statements could be twisted again and called illegitimate and brushed off.
"F-fine… we shall leave for today," the brat princess finally steps down, retreating her guards from the village.
"I let you win today," the Spear Hero utters, walking past me. "But it won't happen next time."
I wish it is the case. You have been defeated like three times.
Competing with other heroes costs me energy, unnecessarily.
"In the first place, that dog…"
Wildmutt comes next to me and acts like sniffing him.
"Is your crotch okay–" I interrupt Motoyasu. "He says." And put the blame on the dog.
"Jeez!" He looks annoyed, rushing off as fast as his legs can WALK.
"Go! Leave! After all it's not like you and I are gonna meet again. Hah!"
Thanks to the voice changer, my voice sounds like a random 40-year-old salaryman.
And so Motoyasu and his squad leave the village quite hurriedly.
"Sir Bennett, again, thank you so much." The old duke says to my face. "We don't know how to express our gratitude for everything you have done."
I chuckle. Oh, all I did is riding myself on a short trip. Too bad, I don't have motion sickness. Nothing to lose, hah!
I place my hands on my hips to show off my confidence.
"Don't mention it," I reply with a smile as wide as I can. "Since the Queen has requested me to help people on my journey."
Suddenly an idea pops up in my mind.
"Oh, since I am merchant, I am fairly rich. So how about I help you rebuild the village?"
I have rebuilt one in the past, hah!
"Thank you very much, Sir Bennett."
I gesture to Arian to bring me a bag of crystals.
But she never comes.
"Just a moment, excuse me…"
I walk back to the cart where Arian looks at me with a pair of annoyed eyes.
"Are you gonna give away crystals like nothing?"
She seems to have problems with my spending limits.
"Why, yes. It's not nothing. I am more than happy to help them."
She pouts cutely and averts her eyes from me.
"Do as you like, not my business," she mutters.
So I take a bag of crystals to the duke and donate it to him.
"Use as you want. Now if you excuse me…"
I turn around to depart for another destination but…
"Sir Bennett, if you are… OKAY with this… we want to give you some of our local products."
"Hmm?"
He gives me bags filled with monster materials and medical herbs.
"Sir Bennett, you shall use them as you want. It's not much but…"
I look back at the generous villager and smile. At first, I was gonna refuse but his genuine expression changes my decision.
"Thanks. I appreciate your generosity."
"Sir Merchant! Sir Merchant!"
Another villager calls out my name, rushing towards me with boxes of ores.
It must be heavy, I gulp looking at the two boxes he carried in his arms.
"Not… not much but…" he says, giving me the ores as he catches his breath. "Please take these, Sir Merchant."
"Oh…" I look at the boxes. Are these expensive? I don't know.
"You don't– Thanks. Now I will take my leave."
If I don't leave, maybe my newly made carriage will be filled with their gratitude presents!
And so Tros Bennett, Arian Brambila and Filo Bennett departs for their new destination!
Hey… er… do I become a real merchant?
CHAPTER (12) ENDS.
Thanks for reading.
I uploaded a cover image for the story so don't forget to check it out, guys. I am not a good artist and if I draw a fanart on myself, it will be a tracing art or something like that. So I put the transparent png images, from fandom wiki websites, together and edited the image.
Christopher Paradox Chronos.