Chapter 13: Setting out.
Shirou looked up from the bench Infront of the magic store, seeing his party walk closer. he stood up to meet them halfway, noticing the small smiles on their faces.
"I take it the class up went well?" Shirou asked, standing Infront of them all.
They all nodded, with Farrie speaking up first.
"It went great! I feel so much stronger now! My stats are much higher than before!" She shouted, pumping her fist into the air with a smile.
"That's great. How about everyone else?"
Everyone else nodded in agreement, smiles on their faces, with Welt speaking up
"Well, they did recognise us as being with you, so they asked us to inform you of some stuff. It's up to you if you want to hear it though. Whilst I know you're not exactly happy about the church, well the request came from the pope himself, so I'm not sure it would be best to refuse it…" He spoke hesitantly.
Shirou hummed for a moment, thinking it through. "Can you tell me what happened?"
With a nod, Welt began to speak.
The group had entered the church, walking to the closest nun
"Hi, we would like to class up, if it is possible?" Welt spoke.
The nun looked between the group for a moment before speaking.
"I see. Would it be possible to have you invite me to your party so I can confirm your levels?"
With a nod, Welt invited her. Quickly accepting, the Nun looked over their levels with a nod, confirming they were all level 40. Her eyes widened at the sight of Shirou's name.
"Forgive me. I did not realise you were with the Sword hero. Come, follow me. I'll get people to prepare the class up ritual. For now, there is someone who wishes to pass a request on to one of the heroes."
The group all looked at each other nervously, having forgotten Shirou was in the party. They knew they couldn't do much. Tersia leaned in.
"I say we go see what they want to ask Shirou and we let him decide."
"I agree." Bakta said with a small nod. "I mean, Shirou can always turn down the request, right?"
The group nodded in agreement, following behind the nun. They watched as people ran around, quickly moving things into the room the dragon hourglass was in.
The nun quickly led the group to a smaller set of stairs before bowing.
"Please wait for a moment. I will inform him that one of the heroes parties are here. I will be just a moment."
with that, the nun walked in, closing the door behind her. They all looked at eachother for a moment, the silence filling the room until the door opened again, the nun walking out.
"The person who wishes to see you is through this door, companions of the sword hero. When you are done, the class up ritual will be prepared."
With a bow, she left.
The group all looked at each other nervously, all hesitant to go down the stairs and find who was behind the door.
"Well… I guess I'll go first then." Welt spoke, a nervous laugh escaping him.
Quickly moving down the stairs with Welt taking the lead, the group stood in front of the door. Welt opened the door slowly, the bright line shining forth from the room blinding them.
Once their eyes had finally adjusted, they took in the room. Rows upon rows of pews filled the room, all made of the same, dark coloured material. Looking further into the room, there was a golden statue, its details marred by time, but yet, there was something holy about it. In the statue's hand was a golden spear, a sense of power coming from it, unnerving the group slightly, whilst a man stood in front of the statue.
"Welcome, Companions of the Sword" the person spoke calmly, turning around to face the group. "Welcome to our humble sanctuary."
The group bowed quickly, recognising the person in front of them.
"Pope Balmus" Welt spoke.
The Pope shook his head.
"Please, do not feel the need to bow. Before this statue, we are all equals." He said with a smile on his face. "I have heard tales of you and the sword hero traversing the land and helping those in need. Worry not, for your actions have not gone unnoticed by the masses."
The group didn't know how to respond, standing there in silence. The pope raised his head slightly. "Is the Sword hero not present?"
Welt shook his head. "Shirou has gone to sort out a couple of personal issues. He sent us here to have our class ups."
The pope nodded in understanding, a small frown appearing on his face for only a moment.. "I see… The sword hero works diligently. It is a good trait for him to have." With a satisfied smile, the pope continued to speak. "If it is at all possible, I would like to have you pass a request to him."
"If you tell us, we will do our best to make the request known to him."
With a satisfied nod, the pope spoke. "There have been rumors of a dragon terrorizing the faithful in Mirso village for a couple of months now. The few adventurers we have been able to request have not been heard back from. If it is at all possible, I would like for the Sword hero to check the area. If the dragon is found, I would like for you and the sword hero to slay it. There will of course be a reward, if you do end up accepting the church's request."
"I see. Is there a time limit to this request?" A nod from the Pope confirmed it.
"Preferably, you would leave today, as we have arranged transport for you in the event that you accepted."
"I see. We will have to talk this over with Shirou. Where would the transport be?"
"It would be waiting next to the South gate. You will simply need to prove your identity by having the sword hero show his sword to the driver."
With another nod, Welt bowed. "Thank you for your time Pope Balmus."
He shook his head, a smile. "It is no problem. Do not let me hold you up any more. Go receive your class up, and reach greater heights with the Sword hero."
The group nodded, exiting in a single file as the pope turned around to face the statue again, a small frown on his face.
—
Shirou thought over everything from what Welt had recalled.
"Tersia, isn't Conel village close to Mirso?" Shirou asked, trying to recall what Tersia had said before.
"That's correct. I'm just wondering what the residents could have done to potentially anger a dragon…" He spoke, shaking his head.
"I mean… there's no harm in going, right?" Farrie spoke up. "We already said we were going to go back to Conel village anyways, so there is no harm in going right? We could always check it out, see if we can handle it, right?"
Shirou nodded. "It would save us time getting there…"
"I personally think we should go." Welt said. "Like Farrie said, we were heading back to Conel anyways, plus it cuts down the time like you said Shirou. Even if we do this request, we can get some new swords for you as well."
Shirou nodded, making up his mind. "I guess we are going to Mirso and checking out this dragon then. If it appears to be too dangerous for us, we will pass on the information we've gathered to someone else more capable of dealing with it."
The group all agreed, beginning to move towards where the transport was.
—
Looking around, Shirou and the group found only one cart next to the south gate. Looking at his party, he spoke.
"Is that the cart?"
Bakta shrugged.
"No idea. We could always check. Just remember you need to show your sword to him."
Shirou nodded.
Walking up to the cart with no one present Shirou spoke up. "Hello? Anyone here?"
A noise could be heard from inside the carriage as a small man poked his head out of the back. "Hello, yes, I am here. If you're looking for transport, I'll have to apologize. I've already been booked for a trip. I'm simply waiting for my client. If you want, I can point you in the direction of one of my associates."
"I believe I am the client." Shirou spoke slowly, showing his sword to the man, switching its form.
The man nodded, looking over the sword carefully before speaking.
"I see, I apologize for not recognising you, sword hero. Come, sit in the cart! We will be moving in a moment, if that's all of you. Just need to get the filolials attached to the cart…" With that, the man ducked out of the carriage, quickly attaching the reins of the filolials to the cart.
Nodding his head, the man turned to face the group who had sat down. "If I recall, the location you're headed to is Mirso village right?"
Shirou nodded his head, and the driver let out a smile. "That's good to hear. Heard some traders have refused to go there until the dragon is dealt with. It's a shame though…"
The man shifted slightly, the filolials beginning to move.
"What's a shame?"
"Well, it's just that the dragon has been there for a few years now. I heard it protects the area from monsters, even dragon related monsters it has sired. Don't let any of them get close to the villages around there."
"From what I was told, well, the dragon kidnapped someone." Shirou spoke slowly.
The driver let out a small laugh, even as the gate opened, gathering him a couple of looks from the small group of people heading out of the gates.
"Now, why would a dragon want to kidnap someone? It's not like any childrens tales or anything like that. As far as I know, dragons like to hoard valuables, and if it's been there a few years, it's definitely not holding the kidnapped person for ransom is it? Not even sure if it would be able to communicate that."
Shirou hummed at that. "I see where you're coming from, but why else would a dragon kidnap someone?"
The man shrugged. "Don't know what to say. I'm just a simple carriage driver. Go enjoy the ride, yeah? Relax, sleep, whatever. I'll tell you all when we get closer."
With that said, the man shut the curtain behind him, leaving Shirou to stare at it in shock.
"Well, that's certainly one way to shut down a conversation…"
He shook his head.
Just why was the church sending him, of all heroes, a request to slay a dragon? Just what was their plan? Shaking his head, he sighed, moving back to sit beside Farrie, currently buried in a book.
"Anything interesting in the book?" The girl nodded, not looking up.
"Yeah, I'm reading up on wind magic. It's a bit difficult to understand though. I'm still going to keep at it!" She spoke, determined, quickly gluing her eyes back to the book.
With another sigh, Shirou leaned his head back, closing his eyes. Surely it wouldn't be too bad if he went to sleep, right?
They will wake me up if they need anything, he thought sleepily.
With that, Shirou drifted off.
—
He dreamed of the world of blades once again.
He looked at the blades around him, some familiar, such as the blade used by berserker and the red spear of lancer, yet there were still some unknown blades, each of them obscured from his sight.
Shirou shook his head, moving further up the hill of blades, only pausing occasionally to glance over a blade.
Shirou made his way to the top of the hill, positioning himself beside the familiar legendary sword. He barely gave it another look, a separate weapon occupying his thoughts instead.
He looked at Naofumi's shield, the green gem glowing ever so faintly. Shirou reached out for the shield, holding it carefully in his hands.
Even as he inspected it, he could tell there was something wrong with it. Before, when he had touched Naofumis shield, he had sensed a consciousness to it. Much like his own sword, but yet, checking it now, it was like it was an empty vessel.
He was sure that if he was to successfully wield it, it wouldn't grant him any bonuses like Naofumis shield had, nor would it absorb any materials. He shook his head, placing the shield back down. He would have to look more into it if he wanted any answers.
Shaking his head, he stood beside his sword, picking it up from where it leaned against a golden sheath.
He could feel the sword's intention, the interest in the sheath that the blade held. The sword wanted to be placed in the sheath.
But Shirou hesitated. Whilst he would like for his sword to be stronger, the golden sheath was precious to him.
He was fighting with himself, but eventually he decided.
If they were to survive the waves, they would have to do stuff they didn't like. This was only a small part of what they would have to do.
Shirou placed the legendary sword into the sheath, a bright light spilling forth from it.
Shirou saw no more as the light covered the world.
The sword sat in the golden sheath. When it had first felt the strength of it, the familiar light, it had thought another holy weapon had claimed its chosen hero. But from what the sword understood, it was simply a sheath for another holy sword, one the sword knew it may never become.
It was happy that its wielder had picked up its intention. It allowed the sword to analyze the sheath, to figure out what had exactly happened to its wielder and why it now resided inside its wielder's body, almost inactive.
It had its work cut out for it. But it would do anything to ensure the world's survival.
Shirou sat up slowly, slowly looking around the carriage. Everyone else was asleep, either leaning against the seats, or against each other in Bakta and Tersia's case. Rubbing his eyes slightly, he thought over what had happened.
He distinctly remembered the world of blades. He could feel a name for it on the tip of his tongue, evading him even as he tried to reach for it. Shaking his head, he pushed the world out of his mind.
Letting out a small sigh, he poked his head out the front of the carriage. The carriage driver smiled when he saw him
"Sword hero. I hope you slept well."
Shirou nodded at that. "I did. Do you mind if I sit up front with you?"
The driver shook his head. "Feel free to. Not every day I get to talk to one of the heroes after all." He shifted himself over slightly, with Shirou moving to sit beside him.
The duo sat in silence for a time, Shirou simply staring off into the distance as he tried to make sense of his dream.
The driver broke the silence first.
"Never introduced myself, did I?" He spoke with a small chuckle. "The name is Darrell. Pleasure to meet you sword hero."
Shirou shook his head. "I'm not a hero, not yet. Please, just call me Shirou."
Darrell nodded. "I see. I guess what people said about you wasn't wrong, huh?"
Shirou looked at him questioningly.
"What are people saying about me?"
"That you are humble, hard working. Apparently you helped a village out with their Timber weaver problem. Not many people would have done that."
Shirou rubbed the back of his head.
"It was the right thing to do. I didn't want to leave them when they still had to sort it all out."
Darrell nodded. "Yeah, glad you heroes are helping out at least."
Silence fell upon the duo, even as Shirou looked into the sky. His mind couldn't help but go back to what Darrell had spoken about earlier.
"About what you said earlier. You were talking about the dragon as if you knew it."
Darrell smiled. "Well, whilst I don't know him personally, he's certainly helped me out. Nice dragon, don't see why Mirso has put a bounty on its head."
He sighed, shaking his head. "He's helped stop other powerful monsters nesting there. Doesn't affect the villages nearby, so I'm wondering where the claim that he kidnapped someone came from."
Shirou took in this information easily.
"What do you mean by kind dragon?"
"Well what else could I mean? He saved my life. Had a few people chasing me into the mountains a couple of years ago. Dragon heard my pleading and took pity. Killed the bandits and gave me some of his gold to help recoup my losses. Whilst he didn't really ask for anything, I'm trying my best to keep silent about him."
Shirou didn't respond for a moment, trying to understand what was being told to him.
"Why are you telling me this?" Shirou asked slowly, watching Darrell's face.
Darrell shrugged. "Just thought you'd like to hear another side of the story. It's up to you who you choose to believe. Is a dragon that kidnaps someone truly capable of saving someone as well? Maybe there's another reason for the dragon taking the person. Just think it over, will you?"
Shirou nodded again.
"I see. I'll keep that in mind when we get to that point, but I'll make my final decision based on the dragon itself."
Darrell smiled. "I understand. I just hope that you keep it in your mind that there may be other reasons for the dragon to do what he is doing." With that said, silence descended upon the duo as the night continued on.
By midday of the next day, the group had reached Mirso Village, Darrell having kept his filolials moving all night.
"Again, are you sure you don't want to be paid?" Shirou asked Darrell, who only shook his head.
"Course I'm sure. Church is already paying for my expenses. All I want for you is to keep what we discussed last night in mind. I'll be here for the next couple of days whilst these two recover, so don't be afraid to visit, you hear?"
The group all nodded, with Farrie and Bakta waving at Darrell as he walked off, his two filolials following behind him.
"So, what's the plan Shirou?" Welt asked, dragging the attention back to the request.
"Maybe we should start with speaking to the locals? They should know more about where the dragon is located."
The group nodded.
"So, should we split up?" Welt asked, with Shirou nodding at that.
"Yeah. Just meet up back here when you think you are done, and we will sort out information then."
With that said, the group split, quickly heading to different parts of the village to gather information.
Heya, sorry for not updating in like 2 weeks. Other stuff got to me and i had to sort it out. Not sure when i'll update again, but I'm still writing, even if it is slowly.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter.