Naofumi Iwatani, Megumin, Satou Kazuma. Fanfiction 3. Chapter 7:
Megumin and Chomusuke is sitting in Erhard's shop looking at a gem blinking green, which indicates that Kazuma is getting emotional. Naofumi doesn't want to stay in Melromarc anymore, so he is discussing with Erhard about which kingdom to travel to next. In the meantime princess Melty is angrily walking towards the throne room to talk to her father.
Princess Melty opens the door to the throne room to see her father sitting at the throne all by himself. He greets her with open arms as she starts to walk towards him, never revealing any feelings behind her expression. She stared at him with her neutral facial expression, before she spoke.
"I was told that you were having a conversation with the shield hero, is that right father?" she asked in a stern tone.
"Eehh" he blurted out a little shocked at the question.
"And I was also told the conversation ended in a very hostile manner," she kept on relaying to him.
"Hugh!" He audibly sighed.
"Father if you remain at odd with the shield hero, we may lose our only means of fighting the waves, which could threaten the safety of our entire country. Please try to reconcile with him,"
"Reconcile with that swine!" He yelled out in anger, as soon as she spoke the last sentence, which shocked Melty at her father's sudden anger. The king seeing this frightened expression on his youngest daughter quickly reassured her that she was not the source of his anger.
"Why do you hate the shield hero so much?" She asked in a pleading tone.
"It is just that if he and his demi-humans get to do as they please I will lose my family again," he said with a sad expression emerging on his face, clearly he recalled something traumatic.
"Father, I, uh," Melty tried to find words to comfort her father, but she didn't know what to say. She wanted to talk to him about his past, but she also wanted him to get his ass over to Naofumi and reconcile.
"You don't need an old man like me to tell you about that, not with your sister in the hospital with severe burns and all," he said trying to change the subject.
"Please tell me about your past father," she pleaded with him as she started to walk up the stairs.
He looked up at his daughter with a solemn expression as he reluctantly started to tell her about his past.
"When I was young the Hakuko of Siltvelt killed most of my family, only me and my sister survived, and moved to Melromarc," He said as some tears started to drip down his face.
"What does this have to do with you hating the shield hero?" She asked in a gentle tone.
"Because when I started to venture on the frontlines with Melromarc my sister was brutally murdered in a bloodbath, again because of the Hakuko (Demi-human, Half white tiger, half-human) of Siltvelt, and the demi-humans of Siltvelt pray to the cursed shield!" He angrily said as tears dripped down his face.
"Father, that is some stupid reasoning!" She angrily said making him look at her in shock.
"But-" he tried to say, but she cut him off.
"I get you are angry at the death of your family and sister, by the hands of some high-ranking demi-humans from Siltvelt, but projecting that anger onto the shield hero is highly illogical!" She sternly reprimanded her father as he looked on her in shock.
"But the shield hero tried to rape Malty and poisoned her, and she is in the hospital with severe burns because of him. Did you not see the shield hero throw an uncontrollable fire, that probably led to her receiving such severe wounds!" He argued.
"First of all, I do not believe the shield hero would do such a vile thing, and he was the one that provided us with the antidote for the poison she was afflicted with, and from what I have been told, she cut herself on the spear of the spear hero. Also, we have no proof that the shield hero burned Malty since the crystal ball was crushed, we do however have significant proof that he did his best to defeat the enemy," She argued back, in a stern tone.
"But-" he was again interrupted.
"You are acting like a child father if you promise to reconcile with the shield hero I will go to fetch him this instant," She informed as she stared daggers at her father, making him squirm in his chair.
"I will not talk with him again since we are still unclear what his relationship to the devil that showed up both on the ship under the wave, and in the city some time ago," He said while finding his shoes very interesting.
"Does this hatred you hold against the shield hero benefit you in any way? Will hating him bring back your sister," She sternly said before she left her father to sulk on his throne.
He looked at his daughter leaving the throne room before he looked out one of the windows, "Lucia" he muttered to himself.
/Meanwhile in Erhard's shop
"Shieldfreeden is what I would recommend," Erhard said while pointing to the map.
"The slave trader also talked about Shieldfreeden,"
"Hey, can we focus on this for a little bit? It is kind of important," Megumin said while frantically waving her blinking ring in front of the pair. She was clearly distressed, and Chomusuke wouldn't stop wailing, again.
"Mom, we can't do anything about that right now, we have to focus on getting stronger. If it hadn't been for dad I bet that woman could have killed me with ease, and if we can't find dad again before the next wave our only option is to get stronger."
Megumin took a deep breath and calmed down, Naofumi was right. They had to focus on the things they had on hand and knowing his luck he could find a way back to them, hopefully.
"Erhard the sword you sold to my father, what quality would you say it had, is it better or worse than Raphtalia's current sword?" He asked with a serious expression.
"It was definitively one of my best swords, why are you asking?"
"Because that woman we met on the ship sliced that sword in half in a single strike, here take a look," Naofumi said as he pulled out a piece of cloth containing the broken sword, Erhard looked on in shock at the sight.
Erhard picked up the blade and looked at the cut, "It looked like in cut through like nothing, that is really disappointing to hear," he sulked over as he put the broken sword piece back.
"Do you have any better options?" Naofumi asked.
"Master Naofumi we need to save money," Raphtalia shot in, she clearly didn't want to be a burden.
"Actually, we are pretty well off after selling that potion, so we can probably afford it," he argued back.
"Unfortunately I can't make a better sword without some high-quality items, I do however have some things prepared for you if you are interested please take a look," Erhard offered, as he gestured to a crate near the counter.
"Hmm, what are these for?" Naofumi asked as he pulled out a pair of silver-blue gloves.
"Those give you the strength of a hundred men, just in case little Filo can't drag the wagon, even you can drag it with these on,"
"Mom, let us arm wrestle I want to see if I can beat you with these on," Naofumi energetically said, a little out of character, but he wanted to get his mom to focus on something else.
"Oh, so you are challenging me, very well. Even with those on you can't match my strength," Megumin immediately accepted in an overdramatic fashion.
"How is that a fair fight? The strength of a hundred men, plus the shield hero's base stats against a mage," Suwon shot in.
"You want to bet on it then?" Erhard asked his new helper.
"Sure, but what are we betting? I don't exactly have any money,"
"The loser must load all the customers' carriages for the next week, all by themselves," Erhard proposed.
"I will take that bet,"
Erhard went over to the two that were getting ready to give it they're all.
"Ok on three you can begin, I will be the judge, Ready?"
They both gave quick nods to Erhard as they tightened the grips on the other's hand and wore the same smug grin.
"1, 2, 3!" Erhard said and Megumin's hand started to slowly get pushed down.
"Mom looks like I am finally going to win," he said as he saw her smug grin disappear.
"Easy win," Suwon confidently declared.
When Megumin's hand was one centimeter from hitting the table Megumin suddenly changed her facial expression from worried back to smug. "Very impressive son, you made me use 10% of my power," she mocked as she easily regained the upper hand and smacked his hand in the other side of the table.
"I WIN AGAIN!" She yelled out as she triumphantly rose from her chair, making Filo stare on in aww.
"What did you say again, oh yeah, easy win," Erhard mocked the former assassin.
"But HOW?" Suwon blurted out in shock.
"When someone is 360 levels above you, I don't think a 100 men make much of a difference," Erhard explained. "Now get to loading boy!"
Naofumi went back to the crate and picked up what seemed to be a sword, but when he unsheathed it, there was no blade.
"Ok, what is this then?" Naofumi asked as he held the item up.
"That is a mana sword for enemies with no physical body," He explained
"Why do we need this huge uncomfortable sheath for this when it doesn't have a blade?" Megumin pointed out.
"Because, it makes it easier for the wielder to manifest the sword when they can see the expected length of their weapon," Erhard explained, not really convincing Megumin.
"And what about this?" Naofumi asked as he pulled out a metal disc with a triangle cut out of it, taking on the shape of a metal Pac-man.
"That is an accessory for your shield, it helps you analyze any other shield you might come across, and some other useful stuff," Erhard happily explained.
"What other useful stuff?" Naofumi asked.
"Oh come on, isn't it more fun to find that out on your own?" He asked rhetorically, with a wide grin.
"Well, how much for all of this?" He asked while slapping his hands down on the box.
"300 gold pieces!" Erhard quickly responded.
"I will give you 10 gold pieces since I am such a trustworthy customer," Naofumi started to haggle for the price with Erhard, while Megumin went over to Filo.
"So we are going on a trip?" She questioned Megumin with a hopeful look on her face.
"Yeah, as soon as those two are done haggling, Raphtalia how long can this take?" She asked, while gently running her hand through Filo's golden blonde hair.
"Hmm, it depends. Everything from 20 seconds to 5 minutes," Raphtalia deduced from her experience with how Erhard and Naofumi used to operate.
"Meow!" Chomusuke quickly shot in as Megumin's ring hand waved out of her sight, it then returned to its normal calm red color, indicating Kazuma's heart rate had gone back to normal.
(What could have possibly gotten him so emotional?) Megumin thought to herself as she felt a sudden sense of relief wash over her.
/Meanwhile outside a giant mansion in Axel
(Hmm, if memory serves me right the front door is booby-trapped, {Detect trap}) Kazuma checked the front door to confirm if his memory was correct, which it in this case was.
Kazuma then started to walk around in the garden outside the mansion, always looking for a way in, before he suddenly spotted a giant white tiger laying on the grass. He instantly activated {Lurk}, but he wasn't quick enough. The tiger smelled him in an instant and pounced on him, but instead of biting his head off, it started to lick him. It was like someone rubbing sandpaper against his face, but it was better than getting his head bit off.
"Jake?!" Kazuma yelled out in shock, while trying his best to get the big cat off him.
Jake instantly responded to getting his name yelled out and let go of Kazuma, but still tried his best to rub himself against Kazuma.
"You scared me there for a second, how did you know it was me?" He questioned his old friend, which Jake in response just took a big whiff of him to indicate his smell.
"You remembered how I smell, that is touching," Kazuma said while running his hand through the black and white fur.
(Only you and auntie smell of big sister, I never forget her smell.) Was what Jake tried to communicate, with his intense sniffing.
"Can you help me inside the mansion?" Kazuma asked hopefully to the big cat.
(No, I am tasked with guarding the grass.) Was what Jake wanted to tell Kazuma, but the only thing Kazuma understood was the shaking of his head.
"Hmm, well I will find a way inside on my own then, I will see you-" Kazuma tried to leave but Jake bit onto his cloak and wouldn't let go of him.
(No, I want to play) He thought while doing his best to give Kazuma big puppy eyes, which was surprisingly well-executed for a white tiger of that size. He almost didn't look menacing.
"I come prepared for these situations," Kazuma went into his satchel and fished out a piece of yarn, which instantly caught Jake's attention.
"Go and get it!" Kazuma yelled as he threw the yarn as far away from himself as he could, making Jake literally fly after it. He caught it in an instant and landed gently on the ground like he didn't just jump 50 meters up in the air before he started to play around with the yarn.
(That should keep him occupied for a little bit) Kazuma couldn't help but smile at the big cat playing around with the yarn like some docile kitten.
Kazuma went around another corner where he discovered his way into the mansion, an open window. First, he made sure it wasn't booby-trapped before he started to climb up the outside of the building quickly reaching the window.
"I'm in," Kazuma said like a stereotypical hacker would before he looked to his right.
He instantly locked eyes with a woman dressed in a white dress. She had blonde hair, light-blue eyes, and modest breast size, like high B or low C.
"Hey, I am Kazuma," he introduced himself in a calm voice.
The woman looked at him a little shocked, at the mention of his name, but she quickly regained her stoic expression. She then proceeded to draw a sword, which Kazuma instantly recognized as Calibur. There was only one person that sword could belong to, and if she used it on him, it would most certainly kill him.
"Iris, please put down the sword," Kazuma pleaded as he raised his hands.
"If you really are Kazuma, prove it, if you can't, then I think we both know what comes next for trying to deceive me," Iris threatened.
"Hmm, something only I can do, very well!" Kazuma said as he pulled out his mask and put it on his face, "I think this will suffice, EH!" He yelled as he dodged away from an incoming attack.
"You asshole!" She yelled out in anger while slicing at Kazuma with her blade.(This was what caused Megumin's ring to blink).
"It really is me, Iris, I promise, your ring that I replaced is worth 400 Eris, remember?" He asked as he dodged another slash.
"FUCK OFF!" She yelled out in response, but her voice faltered a little bit.
Now Kazuma was cornered and he knew against Iris he wouldn't have a chance, he had taught her very well in how to fight dirty after all. He would try one last time to try and convince her about his identity, and if that didn't work, well his life had been good up until now.
"Iris please list-"
Suddenly Iris threw away her sword and jumped on him in a tight embrace, making him stop talking instantly. Kazuma didn't expect this, maybe this was the most unexpected thing that could happen.
"Idiot, why did you just leave, you could have taken me with you. WHY DID YOU JUST LEAVE LIKE THAT!" Iris cried out as tears streamed down her face, and her voice cracked.
(She missed me) Kazuma realized as he laid there on the floor totally stunned, while Iris held him as tightly as she could and cried her heart out.
"You are such an asshole, you didn't even give me the chance to say… that… THAT I LOVE YOU!" She cried out before she proceeded to press her face into his chest, wiping her tears and snot on him.
Those words hit Kazuma like a truck, his heart rate went even higher after her confession. Iris had really missed him, and it hurt to know this. He had been able to justify leaving Darkness behind, but he had totally forgotten about Iris, and he felt so bad for it now. Just leaving like that, without any explanation or warning other than a letter, he truly was a selfish asshole. He couldn't make up for it, but he started to tenderly run his hand through her golden blonde hair, trying his best to comfort her.
"I am here now," he gently spoke as he continued to run his hand through her hair.
"T-that is a little late, d-don't you think?" Iris stuttered out as she stared into his green eyes with her light-blue ones. Her face was filled with tears and snot.
"I am,"
"You are what, "sorry," that won't cut it," She angrily muttered, only stopping when Kazuma started to wipe away her tears and snot with his cape.
"I meant to say I am an idiot, and if you want to you can hit me," he said while flashing her a gentle smile.
"You know, I WILL HIT YOU, with my lips," Iris whispered the last part, not giving Kazuma time to react before she closed the last distance and sealed his lips with her own.
"Mhm," Kazuma tried to yell out in shock, but he didn't pull away, was it because he felt guilty for her, no, he wanted this too.
Suddenly his green gem started to blink red and it brought him out of the trance, as he looked at it with worry. PS. (It was Megumin being worried about what was happening to him, that caused it to blink)
"I can't do it, I am sorry Iris. I don't want that feeling of guilt again," He apologized as he pushed her away and showing her his ring.
"I understand, but what if she agrees to it?" She asked hopefully.
"Well, in that case, I see no problem, but how are you going to get her to agree to that?" He questioned the princess with a small chuckle.
"That is something I have to figure out for myself, but I won't force anything," Iris gently told him, while tenderly stroking his hand and looking at the ring that suddenly stopped blinking green, and regained its red shine.
"Could you get off me now, I was planning to meet my daughter?"
"She is right, you do have an innate ability to ruin the mood, heh, but that is the "you", I love," Iris chuckled to herself as she got off him.
"Robin is probably somewhere in this mansion today, hanging out with Chris since she doesn't work on Thursdays," Iris explained.
"I will tell you a good story after all this is over at the very least," Kazuma said before he left through the door, while shooting her an apologetic smile.
"No, stories are for kids, I want to join in on this adventure, so you are taking me with you if you are going anywhere" Iris demanded.
"Sure, I will come to pick you up before I leave this time, I promise," He said before he left through the door.
Kazuma started to wander around in the mansion, it was about the size of a mall, so trying to find someone specific in it would probably take quite some time. That is unless the person searching has incredible luck that is, because behind the first door he opened sat two girls talking. The first one he instantly recognized as E.. I mean Chris, with her short silver hair and purple eyes, in her usual thief outfit.
The other girl had green eyes matching his own, with long brown hair put up in a pony-tail. She was wearing a casual green tracksuit with gold lines instead of white lines. Kazuma instantly understood that this had to be his daughter, because her bust size was very similar to Darkness. It was almost like looking at a female version of himself.
"What are you doing here!?" Chris yelled out in genuine surprise.
"Do you know him?" Robin asked, not really faced by a random man standing in the door.
"How do I put this Robin without making you freak-out, this is your father, Kazuma Satou," Chris told the girl, with some reluctance.
"Are you now?" Robin said in a monotone voice, not giving away any of her emotions. This came as a big surprise to both Chris and Kazuma
"Ehh, that was not the reaction I expected," He said a little shocked at the cold welcome.
"I don't care much for a father, that hasn't been there all my life," Robin said with some undertones of disdain.
In response, Chris walked over to her and smacked her in the back of the head. Similar to how a mother would reprimand a disobedient child.
"Don't talk to your father like that!" Chris reprimanded.
"You are not my mom Chris," Robin said while rubbing the back of her head, but her words clearly hurt Chris, which only Kazuma knew.
"Hey isn't that my sword?" Kazuma pointed at the Katana that was lying on the nightstand.
"No it is my sword!" Robin protested, while quickly grabbing ahold of the weapon.
"Hmm, {Steal}" Kazuma chanted, making a blue light appear in his hand, and when it resided, Kazuma stood there holding the legendary sword, Chunchunmaru.
"HEY! TWO CAN PLAY THAT GAME {STEAL}" Robin chanted and when the blue light resided she stood there holding Kazuma's mask, which Robin instantly started inspecting with vigor, like it was some lost treasure.
(Interesting) Kazuma noted to himself.
"It looks just like mom told me," Robin muttered to herself, still staring at the mask in aww.
Chris formed an evil plan and walked over to Robin's locker and opened it. The locker contained many paper cutouts of stories revolving around Kazuma's exploits. "Now you can put it in your collection," She said with a smug smile, and loved the panic that flashed on her face
"You weren't supposed to see that!" Robin yelled at him, clearly embarrassed over him seeing her little fan collection, which made Chris and Kazuma laugh hysterically.
"STOP LAUGHING!" She demanded from them, but Chris was rolling around on the floor laughing her ass off, while Kazuma was bent over laughing and holding his stomach.
"Heh, you are a tsundere," Kazuma chuckled at the realization, which just made Chris laugh even more, when she saw how red her goddaughter had gotten.
"Hee-hee, I wonder where she got it from," Chris was able to say after she stifled some of her laughter.
"Ah, ok Robin give me back my mask, I am going to need it to keep a low profile,"
"NO, I stole this fair and square," Robin protested.
"OK THEN, if this is how you want it, {STEAL}{steal}," He chanted and when the blue light faded he stood there holding his mask.
"{Steal}!" Robin chanted back, but when it resided she stood there holding a pair of white panties, which made Chris grow red. "Wait what, but how?"
"I predicted you would try to steal it back, so I stole Chris' panties, which has an insane value to me, much higher than the mask or the katana," Kazuma explained to his daughter.
"GIVE ME BACK MY PANTIES!" Chris shrieked as she jumped on Robin, making her unable to use any more spells as she fought with Chris over the panties. She didn't know exactly why, but her instincts told her she was holding something close to a divine treasure, and those sold for a bunch of Eris. Robin liked money so she fought for the panties.
Kazuma seeing his chance to escape took it and left while they were occupied. He drew Chunchunmaru to inspect his old katana, and when it was drawn the blade gave of a light of silver. He realized someone must have had fused the divine blood of goddess Eris to it. Eris had only bleed one time as far he could remember, and that was after they escaped a dangerous dungeon, he had held a handkerchief up to her bleeding cheek as a kind gesture. Feelings were however really high and that lead to some intimate relations, they both regretted later.
"Well, time to meet Darkness," Kazuma said as he started to walk towards the teleport store of Axel.
/Meanwhile in a hospital bed in Melromarc
"Your sister is about to leave, she is trying to catch up to the devil of the shield," A robed figure informed, the now newly bald princess bitc… I mean princess Malty.
"Well, then it is time to execute the plan, in best case scenario my sister will be dead, and the devil of the shield will be destroyed, and if he protects her, we will just say he kidnapped her," bitc… Malty schemed with an unsettling grin emerging on her face.
"I will provide her with some soldiers loyal only to us," The robed figure said, with the same grin.
"Wonderful, now have you found any way to quickly regrow hair?" She asked.
"I will go to perform the plan, I bid you farewell princess," The robed figure quickly dodged the question as he left the room.
/4 hours later on the country road
Naofumi and company were sitting around a campfire and eating. It was really freeing to be away from royalty and all the other people that despised him. Filo had complained about the tea being too bitter, but otherwise, it was calm, peaceful, and the second princess was now fast approaching as she yelled out for their attention. Naofumi just couldn't get away from this royal family.
"Mom hide for now, we don't want them to know you are with us,"
"Don't think it matters now, they have already seen me, let us just see what they want and get on our way," Megumin argued as she rose from the campfire, holding Chomusuke.
Melty disembarked her royal carriage and started to walk towards Naofumi, "Shield hero, I would like for you to come back and apologize to father," Melty said in a calm and collected tone.
"Nah, I don't think I will do that," Naofumi simply retorted.
"Humph, if you don't come back and make amends with father, mom will yell at him when she gets back!" Melty was clearly getting frustrated.
"FORGET IT!" Naofumi yelled back, anger present in his voice.
"It would be better to reconcile with father, we can't have all this in-fighting. We require your help shield hero, plus where would you be without the king's financial help" Melty looked like she was about to cry.
"What are you talking about, that bitch robbed me of all my money after day 1, all the money I have gained was through my own hard work. I am the one deserves an apology!" Naofumi smugly retorted with.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia whispered in a stern tone, to reprimand him for his rude conduct, while Megumin gave her son a judging stare.
"W-why, why do you and father have to be so god damn stubborn, we don't have time for this ridiculous behavior!" She yelled at the group, her voice filled with frustration. The sudden burst of anger stunned the group for a second before they composed themselves again. However, Naofumi noticed the group of soldiers standing huddled up behind a guy with a crystal ball.
(This feels wrong, it feels like a set-up. Just like back then with that bitch.) He thought to himself, and the moment that thought had left his mind a soldier like in slow motion, started to run at them while drawing his sword. Naofumi could see he had the intention of landing a lethal strike, but the soldier's gaze wasn't fixed on him or anyone else in his party, it was fixed on Melty.
(Well how is this going to bite me in the ass later?) He asked the universe before he pulled Melty into his embrace and expertly blocked the sword with his shield. The soldier quickly backed away with his sword pointed at Naofumi.
"Curse you devil! How dare you take the royal princess Melty hostage, GO MEN! JUSTICE IS ON OUR SIDE!" The soldier commanded, which all the soldiers followed without hesitation.
"Great I am devil now, Raphtalia, Filo!" He yelled out, and in response Filo and Raphtalia disarmed all the soldiers with ease, never going for a lethal blow.
"FULL RETREAT!" The soldier in the back with the crystal ball commanded, with a big grin on his face.
"Should we follow them Master Naofumi?"
"No need!" Megumin angrily retorted as she started to walk up, starting to suck mana from the air.
"YOU DARE TO TRY AND LAY A HAND ON MY FAMILY! YOU WON'T ESCAPE JUST LIKE THAT! {EXPLOSION}!" Megumin chanted as her crimson eyes flared up, but instead of a gigantic explosion that obliterated all of them, she aimed it underground which caused the earth under the retreating soldiers to fall apart under them.
The big rocks that splurged out from the ground ended up knocking out most of the soldiers, while it trapped everyone in a makeshift sinkhole. All the horses were unfortunately killed in the ruckus. Megumin wasn't done yet though, she was still walking towards the sinkhole, air, and mana around her distorted and sucked into her staff. She stopped walking and picked up the crystal ball that one of the soldiers had dropped when the earth caved in on them.
"OH, SO SOMEONE IS WATCHING, YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON THE SHIELD HERO EVER AGAIN AND I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL MYSELF!" Megumin yelled out, her voice roared through the terrain as it was magically amplified, before she proceeded to crush the crystal ball with her hand, while also sending a giant surge of mana through it, so that any other crystal balls connected to it exploded in a thousand shards of glass.
"MOM!" Naofumi yelled out, quickly snapping Megumin out of her anger, which caused the aura around her to abruptly vanish and she instantly collapsed from exhaustion.
(SCARY) Filo, Melty and Raphtalia thought at the same time, totally shocked by the feat Megumin had just mustered. They saw irrefutable evidence towards Naofumi being her son. Naofumi couldn't remember ever seeing his mother like this, but she had indeed acted like this when he was younger. The day he was kidnapped by a crazy fan. If it hadn't been for Kazuma, that man would have ended up with a broken neck instead of prison time.
"Hey snap out of it!" Naofumi ordered them as he started to run over to his mother's side. Her vitals seems to be just fine, but Chomusuke looked like someone had forced her to run a marathon. Megumin had probably sucked in all nearby mana, which included the cat.
"Filo take care of her for now, while me and Raphtalia will interrogate these bastards," He commanded quickly jumping down with Raphtalia to the half-buried soldiers, that were scared out of their minds.
He dragged one out of the earth and stared him into the eyes, "What is the big idea with trying to kill the second princess? What were you scheming? Answer me!" Naofumi clearly scared the man.
"I-I w-will never tell anything to t-the devil of the shield!" He stared back at Naofumi, he was afraid, but he wasn't going to talk. Naofumi threw him to the ground knocking him out, and shaking loose a piece of jewelry from the man.
"The three heroes church's insignia, so they were also behind this," Raphtalia deduced.
"Let us tie them up, and then see what to do from there," Naofumi said pulling out some rope.
/Meanwhile in Melromarc's holy chapel
"W-what happened?" one of the robed figures around the crystal ball asked nervously.
"I don't know, the ground just gave out under them, wait someone is picking the crystal ball up," Another said.
"OH, SO SOMEONE IS WATCHING, YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON THE SHIELD HERO EVER AGAIN AND I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL MYSELF!"
"It is the devil our pope warned us about, look at that insane look in her eyes, we won't even need to edit the images, this is perf-EEEEEH!"
"AHH, IT HURTS!"
"I CAN'T SEE!"
The lucky spectators went blind and would never see again as it exploded and shot tiny pieces of glass everywhere. One of the robed figures got a piece of the glass stuck in his throat and he slowly died as his lungs filled with blood instead of air. The head nun was lucky enough to keep her life intact, but the glass shards hit her in the eyes, her open mouth and her left ear. From that day forward the head nun would be blind, mute and only able to use one ear.
A high-ranking priest had it worst though, the glass shot into his face everywhere. He was blind in an instant, but despite the healers best efforts they weren't able to remove all the glass shards. First, they were worried about infection, but it would soon be clear that the crystal shards still took in signals. The signals were weak and jumbled, but it was like getting schizophrenia with all the non-sensical voices he heard every day. After four days he couldn't take it anymore and swallowed poison. The irony of it all was that he had always said that people whom commit suicide are weak and not deserving of heaven.
"Your holiness, I bring grave news, some of the most devoted followers of the church is now dead after the crystal ball incident."
"Do we know the cause behind it yet," The pope asked still wearing a stoic expression.
"Unfortunately, we don't, everyone that was there is either unable to speak or unwilling too."
"If they don't want to talk, kill them. God has no need for cowards in the upcoming war, and while the loss of our brothers and sisters hurts me, God wills it so, and who are we to refuse, now go!" He ordered his subordinate.
"If God commands it, I will perform my duty." He reaffirmed before he left.
"MY PLANS ARE IN RUIN!" He yelled in anger and threw an expensive bottle of wine at the wall making it shatter and spill everywhere.
"NOW WE HAVE NOTHING TO SHOW THE MASSES, no wait. We can still say the shield hero kidnapped princess Melty. If I am lucky they will end up destroying each other. Yes God is on my side, so of course my plan will work." The pope said to himself before he started to write a letter about how the devil of the shield had abducted princess Melty.
"Soon I will stand on top, and this country will be ruled by GOD!"
Well that is going to be that for now, hope you enjoyed and see you next time. Where Kazuma will meet with Darkness again. While Naofumi needs to figure out what to do about his newly acquired group of prisoners. Then Kazuma needs to figure a way back to his family.
