Before the chapter, I want to apologise for the length of time this took to come out.
Truthfully, I've been feeling very flat and unmotivated the past week or two due to not having luck in my job search, and that's affected my enjoyment and motivation for anything I do which sadly includes writing this story. But I wanted to press on regardless, even if it was only to write small chunks at a time.
Secondly, and I am going to be honest…I wasn't very excited about writing this chapter and unfortunately, it'll probably show at points as you read. Whilst in no way an unnecessary filler arc, it's still filler. And in order to get to the more exciting parts later we have to get through them.
Thankfully the anime this season is still very entertaining and one of the few good things in my life right now. Chainsaw Man in particular is blowing it out of the park with such over-the-top characters and quality animation whilst the other four series I'm watching are great in their own way.
With all that out of the way, here's the next chapter of Adventures of a True Shield Hero as we start exploring Kizuna's world. As always, I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero or any of its characters, locations, events or anything else related to the anime/manga/Light Novels. The only thing I own is my OC, Fergus Ward.
For Billy.
Chapter 11 – Earn Your Way
As with most of the hugs I'm a part of these days, this one between myself, Rishia, and Kizuna appeared to last a long time, judging by how relieved Kizuna was to be free of the literal prison she'd been trapped inside for years. She eventually let us go, though the huge grin on her face appeared to be etched there for the rest of time.
"I'm sorry about that…I'm just…I'm so happy…I never thought I'd get out of there," she said finally, catching and wiping away a stray tear from her eye as she composed herself before looking up at me in particular. "And you played a major part in that Fergus…if it wasn't for your ideas, we may never have got out of there. Consider me now in your debt…if there is anything I can do to help you from now on, name it."
"You don't have to do that Kizuna, honestly, since it was in our best interests to get out of there as well…" My answer was immediately cut off as she spoke up again.
"Please, Fergus, I insist!" She stood her ground, so I decided it would be best to not argue with her and accept her help.
"Well…okay then…" I scratched my hair a little awkwardly whilst Rishia let out a small giggle, finding our small exchange hilarious. "I suppose the obvious thing to ask of you is…where do we go next? We managed to escape the Labyrinth, but aside from that I have no clue what direction we should be heading in next."
"Leave it to me! I'll have this figured out in no time flat! Now let me see…" She turned around and examined the shrine we'd landed next to, closely studying its features and the vegetation that was growing around it. "Yup, I know exactly which country we've landed in…in fact, I have a pretty good idea as to our exact position and can guide you from here on out…but first we should probably leave this area before we're caught trespassing."
"B-but the gate ahead of us is closed…how are we going to get out?" Rishia asked.
"Leave that to me…just make you two are holding tight again!" As we did as she asked, Kizuna skilfully flipped the reel of her fishing rod and cast it over the gate, hooking the line around its outer edge. Once it was hooked and the line went taut, the reel whirred once more and carried the three of us up and over the gate allowing us to easily drop down on the other side.
"Nicely done, Kizuna," I said as we all landed. "Okay then, let's put some distance between us and the shrine before anyone comes to check. You two ready?"
"R-Ready!" Rishia squeaked.
"I'm ready to put as much distance between ourselves and this prison as much as possible!" Kizuna grinned. Needing no words of encouragement, the three of us hoofed it down the pathway into the night, aiming to get as much distance between us and it as possible
~AoaTSH~
When we reached the end of the pathway leading to the shrine, the three of us headed for a large forested area off to the side of the beaten path to avoid any traffic or pursuing guards. We came to a halt after a few minutes of moving through the trees and bushes to plan our next move.
"As I said back there at the shrine, I'm pretty sure I know whereabouts we are," Kizuna explained. "The bad news for us is that the country we're in isn't that friendly and might object to our presence. But the good news is we're not far from a border crossing that leads to a nation that will be much safer for us, and I'm pretty sure I can lead us there from here. Sound good?"
"Well, we don't have any other options at this point, and since myself and Rishia are strangers here, it's best that we follow your lead," I replied. "Before we head out though, can I ask you something quickly Kizuna?"
"Sure, ask away!"
"One of the Shields I had back in my world allowed me to use a teleportation skill that could instantly transport me and my party to a previously saved location. Does your weapon have a similar skill or method we could use to do the same?"
"Funny you should mention that because I do…the skill I have is called Return Transcript," she explained with a slight frown. "However, using it requires a specific tool which I am unable to use whilst in this country."
"Oh okay…forget I said anything then…" I trailed off, whatever slight hope I had for a shorter journey dashed by her words. Kizuna slapped my back encouragingly.
"Don't despair, Fergus. It was a good idea, and you weren't to know it works differently here."
"Thanks, Kizuna," I replied with a smile, touched by her efforts to cheer me up. "It's just I'm desperate to find my friends and my girlfriend, that's all…"
"No need to apologise for that…if I were in your shoes, I'd probably be feeling the same way," she empathised. "I'm eager to try and find Glass and the others myself, but for now we're going to have to do so on foot."
"I-It's okay Sir Fergus…I'm worried for Lady Raphtalia, Filo and Keel too…" Rishia spoke up, a soft smile on her face.
"Then let's put our best foot forward and take the first steps to make that happen," I answered, trying to put some cheer and determination back into my voice as I turned back to Kizuna. "Okay then…what do we need to do?"
"The way I see it, we have several options as to how we proceed," she began. "The first is that we head straight through the border crossings to the next country over. However, without a travel pass, we'd have to pay our way through the several checkpoints on each border which would leave us with nothing for the rest of our journey."
"And we need what funds we can scrape together in order to get myself and Rishia some new armour…" "Any other options?" I asked.
"We could try and sneak into the capital of this country and get close to the Dragon Hourglass, where I'd be able to use my skill to teleport us out. The advantage of that method is the guards and those who put me away in the Labyrinth don't know I've escaped and may not be on the lookout for me. However, we'd be relying a lot on secrecy and stealth, and if we blow our cover, we'd have an army of guards on our backs."
"And since Kizuna can't fight back against other humanoids, we'd be in deep trouble…"
"T-That sounds dangerous…surely there's a safer method?" Rishia piped up.
"The only safer method is to wait for a Wave to teleport us back to my country…however, according to my Status, the Wave isn't scheduled for another two weeks so it'd be a long wait."
"Way too long…who knows what could happen to Raphtalia and the others in that time…" Between those options, there was only one that I thought could work, but Kizuna cut me off before I could speak up.
"Before we decide though, we ought to work on getting your levels up, as well as acquiring some more money and equipment," she said. "Let's head to a nearby town and investigate what it's like, and from there we can decide how to proceed. And on our way there, we can always hunt a few monsters to power-level Rishia as much as we can."
Her explanation made sense, and because Rishia and I had nothing else to offer, we agreed to her plan. With our decision made, Kizuna proceeded to lead us towards the forest edge, which would hopefully lead us back to a main road, followed by, hopefully, a town.
~AoaTSH~
Kizuna's deciphering of our location and her sense of direction were right on the ball. As soon as we left the forest, we were able to easily follow one of the main roads for an hour or two, during which time we slew a couple more monsters in order to buff up Rishia's level. And at the end of this particular road was a relatively large town. And as we entered and started walking through it, I noticed it looked…somewhat familiar…and then I realised why.
I'd never been to Japan on vacation before, though I'd wanted to go if the opportunity arose, but Japanese history had always piqued my interest in school. So I'd done some casual reading about some of their ancient historical cultures, notable individuals, and so on, and the architecture I was seeing in this village reminded me of some of the styles of buildings from what had been called the Heian period, which according to the book I'd read had been a 300-year period in Japanese history when its national culture began to shine through and supplanted its previous Chinese influences, which included the design of most of its buildings. From what I'd been able to glean, that had been the period of time where some of the features you can still see in most Japanese buildings came to the fore, such as the development of sliding doors and where wood was used as the primary material for their buildings instead of stone and clay. These kinds of structures surrounded us on both sides as we walked through the streets.
But what caught our attention more than the buildings were the citizens we were passing by or who walked past us. I'd half expected them to share the ancestry of the buildings, but that didn't appear to be the case at all. In fact, the majority of them had the same white skin tone as I did and were clad in various different styles of clothing that reminded me of all sorts of different historical designs…though I couldn't place the majority of them in an exact period of history. But what surprised me most of all were the almost…elven-like features on some of them…the long-blonde hair and sharp ears were hard to miss.
"In this world, those people are called the grass people," Kizuna explained when I asked her about them. "Whilst you might think they are elf-like, they are actually very similar to the demi-humans you were telling me about."
"I see…" I mused, absorbing what information I could as we passed by several individuals wearing the same kimono-like dress that Glass did. But as I looked closer…their bodies seemed…duller, almost faded, and their skin had the same pale white tone that again reminded me of the Vassal Fan wielder.
And it wasn't just I who noticed. "T-Those people we just walked by…they seemed almost like ghosts. What are they?" Rishia whispered.
"Them? Oh, those are the spirit people. People from other countries just call them spirits however," Kizuna replied. "Unlike the other races, the spirit people don't have separate pools of resources for their life force and magic power, as well as soul power if they wield a Vassal Weapon. Everything for them, including their other stats, only exists as energy to them. And whilst that makes them exceptionally powerful, especially if they have higher energy levels…there's no way for them to recover it unless another spirit person gives them some of their own."
"That explains a lot about Glass…" I pondered to myself, remembering how Glass had been able to shrug off some of my stronger attacks without so much of a scratch. "And if they have some other way to restore their energy, their power could really ramp up again, right?"
"Yup, if such a thing like that existed."
"But wait a second…how does that explain the potion that L'Arc chucked to her during our fight? That gave her an instant power-up, but according to Kizuna no such thing exists here…could it be that sort of potion doesn't exist in this world?" My thoughts were interrupted as Kizuna pointed out another group of people to us. Unlike the grass or spirit people, they looked like ordinary humans except for one crucial detail: Jewels that seemed to be embedded in various parts of their bodies. One of the ones we were looking at had a jewel lodged in the back of their left hand, whilst their companion standing next to them had a pale blue one embedded on their forehead. Hang on a minute…on their forehead…that reminded me of…
"…if you are wondering if they remind you of L'Arc's companion Therese, you are bang on," Kizuna's voice mirrored my thoughts. "She, along with those people over there, belong to the Jewel race. They gain immense amounts of power from the gemstone they are born with, and can then augment their power through any other jewelled accessory or armament they acquire."
"I see…" That explained why Therese had been so touched by the accessory I had made for her back on Cal Mira. Somehow, without even realising it, I'd made something that was probably sacred and special for her race of people and which probably reminded her of her home.
All of these new races, cultures, and ways of doing things...this new world was a veritable feast of new information and experiences, ones we'd have to quickly adapt to if we were to survive and rejoin our companions. That being the case, it was paramount for myself and Rishia to learn as much as we could from Kizuna, but just as I was about to ask her another question about Glass' people in particular, our attention was drawn to a commotion coming from one of the larger buildings nearby. Hoping it might give us some intel, we proceeded to head in that direction to sate our curiosity and perhaps learn what had gotten so many people intrigued. As we went inside, we saw a crowd from all races gathered around a pair of notice boards that had several notices written in a script I couldn't understand. But whatever it was, it certainly had people on edge as a few of them were whispering nervously to one another.
"What does that say Kizuna?" I whispered.
"Let me see…'we suspect that neighbouring countries are developing new weapons by breeding powerful monsters together'…" she read off the board on the right.
"Using monsters like that to create weapons? That's awful!" Rishia murmured as I shook my head in disgust.
"No argument from me…as for the other one, it reads the following: 'We suspect that they are also trying to research teleportation techniques using the skills of the Cardinal and Vassal Weapons'…but if that were the case…"
"…then somebody, or a group of people, or even a nation itself, is out for more power for some means or another…" I finished. "Whoever they are, if they are trying to steal power and use it for their ends, that's never a good thing in my eyes…" Such actions reminded me of what Kyo had been doing with the Spirit Tortoise, and I couldn't help but clench my fist as I thought back to what he'd been doing.
"Whatever's going on…it doesn't seem like they've gotten wind of us yet. The longer we can keep that up, the better," Kizuna added with a smile and a wink. "Besides, some of this could very well be gossip in order to provoke a reaction...probably from some 'honourable' hero who'd be champing at the bit to put a stop to this."
"Hmm…" I pondered as Rishia let out a tiny giggle, and as I looked over, I saw both her and Kizuna trying to stifle a laugh. "Why are…oh…" "Very funny you two…" I hissed, pretending to be angry whilst at the same time doing my best not to laugh myself. In the unknown and potentially dangerous circumstances we were in, a laugh was a good way to break the tension. "Now how about you jokers put those heads to work and see about finding us somewhere to stay for the night, okay?"
"Sure…only the best will do for our mighty hero!" Kizuna teased once more, causing me to sigh. Honestly, it was like dealing with Melty all over again…and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
~AoaTSH~
We stopped by some merchants after leaving what appeared to be the town's adventurer's guild, where Kizuna proceeded to sell some of the drops she'd gathered during her time in the Infinite Labyrinth and used some of the resulting money to pay for a three-bed room at one of the inns as well as a sizable feast for us all to share. As we made our way through the inn to our room, Kizuna quickly explained the monetary system that was used in this world and how it was very similar to a type of currency that was used at some point in Japanese history. Fortunately for myself and Rishia, it was exactly like the currency we used in our current world right down to the colours, only our coins were much thinner than these: 100 Doumon (what we'd call copper) equalled 1 Tamagin (silver), and 100 Tamagin equalled 1 Kinhan (gold).
What was unfortunate was the total amount Kizuna had gotten from the drops she'd sold...it had barely been enough for our room and board, and as of now we only had one small bag full of Doumon between us...far from enough for our plans. When I mentioned this to Kizuna while we were eating, she wasn't offended...in fact, she was very much on board with putting together a plan that would allow us to make a fortune in the short time we had.
"…so if you've got any bright ideas of filling our coffers and getting you two some decent equipment, I'm all ears," she finished saying before slurping up a bowl of what appeared to be noodles.
"Funny you should say that because I might just have an idea…" I replied as I remembered something she'd told me earlier about how spirit people couldn't recover their energy and her answer when I asked if it were possible. Seeing her curiosity piqued, I opened the Inventory System on my Shield and removed one of the soul-soothing potions I'd stored in there (when working with party members who relied on other resources for using their skills instead of mana, such as Osmond did when he called upon the power of the Light, I'd learnt that it was important to be prepared for all eventualities and so had carried several vials of all manner of potions in my Shield) and held it up to her.
"I've never seen such a substance before…what is it?" Kizuna asked.
"It's a soul-soothing potion that can be used to recover SP…or soul-power, one of the resources that people in my world use when casting various spells or techniques," I explained. "And back when I was fighting against Glass for the second time, L'Arc chucked her a bottle of this. Once she drank it, her power increased massively…it was as if she'd suddenly gained a second wind. I was lucky the timer ran out on the Wave shortly after, otherwise she may have killed me."
"Wait…Glass managed to recover all her power from one of these?" Kizuna asked disbelievingly, causing me to nod. "If what you are saying is true…do you realise what you are holding onto there, Fergus?! If it became public that these were a thing…Spirits would be willing to pay a fortune to get their hands on it!"
"Exactly…which is why we're going to sell the ones I currently have in my possession," I smirked as I finished chomping away on a skewer. "If they are as valuable as you seem to think they are, we could make a killing on them."
"Hmm…I see…it's a good idea but…do you really think we could find someone who'd be willing to buy them? After all, these items are unknown in our world…you'd really have to convince them that it does what it says…"
"Leave that to me," I grinned fiercely. "You remember me telling you about my time as a travelling merchant back in my world? Well tomorrow, you and Rishia will both get to see it in action."
"O-oh, yes! I remember Raphtalia and Filo telling me all about those days you were all on the road!" Rishia gushed between her mouthfuls. "You even got a reputation from it…what was it…? Oh yes, the Saviour of the Heavenly Fowl, that's who you were! A travelling merchant, riding around the countryside in a cart pulled by a Filolial who healed the sick and provided food and relief for those in need!"
"Thanks, Rishia…" I muttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed as I often did whenever that was brought up.
"If you gained that sort of reputation, you must've been incredibly good at what you were doing. Alright, sounds like a plan," Kizuna grinned. "In fact, why don't we both pool together what we have and figure out what might or might not be good enough to sell? I reckon some other stuff from your world might also fetch a good price here."
"That's actually not a bad idea…" I mused, nodding in agreement. I then proceeded to pull quite a few items out of my Shield and laid them on the table in front of us, whilst Kizuna did the same with the items from her weapon. My items were a mix of potions, monster drops that I had acquired from both my world and the Infinite Labyrinth and items that I had crafted both by hand and my weapon's crafting system, whilst Kizuna's were mostly just monster drops, along with what appeared to be some crafted items and one or two other knickknacks that I didn't recognise. Once we were done, I left it to Kizuna to sift through both of our item pools and decide what could fetch a good price.
"Hmmm…wow, that is some good stuff…yeah, that could go for a lot…that too…and that…" Kizuna hemmed and hawed as she cast her eye over everything before stopping at one of the potion vials. "Hang on…what's in this bottle?" She asked, holding it up. It is one of the light blue mana potions.
"Ah, that's what I call a mana potion. It replenishes your mana or Magic Power as it's called in this world when you drink it. Don't you have that kind of potion here too?"
"No, we don't have anything like that. The people of this world use a resource called earth crystals to restore their Magic Power." As she spoke, she picked up one of the red crystals that she'd taken out of her weapon and showed it to me. "All somebody needs to do is pick up one of these and hold it, and their magic power is restored."
"Really? That's…apologies, but that sounds pretty weird to me…"
"W-With respect, Sir Fergus, we ARE in a different world," Rishia piped up out of the blue, having remained silent whilst Kizuna and I compared our resources. "What may seem weird to us could be completely normal to the residents of this world…"
"…and what may seem normal to us may seem extraordinary or unbelievable to the residents of this world," I finished, following her train of thought and lambasting myself slightly for not thinking that through. "Well in that case, there's no harm in giving it a try for myself." I reached forward and took the crystal out of Kizuna's hand, but as I did so the jewel began to crack before shattering into thousands of tiny pieces which rapidly disappeared in a puff of steam. As this was happening, a message popped into my Status Menu which read the following: 'Dragon vein unlocked! Received 3000 EXP!' Upon reading it, the aforementioned experience points were applied instantly, causing me to bump up a couple of levels on the spot!
"Did it work?" Kizuna asked, seeming oblivious to my current state of mind that was a mix of confusion and elation upon discovering what it had done.
"It did, sort of…" I replied slowly. "But instead of restoring my MP, it rewarded me with a whole bunch of EXP points!"
"Huh?!" Both Kizuna and Rishia exclaimed, both looking as confused as I felt. Thinking fast, Kizuna grabbed the mana potion I'd held out to her earlier and proceeded to chug it down in one go.
"Wow…the same just happened to me with your potion! Not only did it restore my magic power, but it also gave me a load of experience points that I can use to power up my weapons!"
"Hang on…did she just say…?" "You use experience points to power up your weapons?" I asked.
"Precisely! Aside from their levels, my weapons also accrue experience points as I use them. Then they get stronger through a levelling system. For example, my wooden fishing rod should only be a basic weapon useful only for fishing, right? Well thanks to all of the experience points I've dumped into it, it's pretty much a mid-tier weapon by now."
"That actually sounds very similar to the method I use to strengthen my own weapons," I replied and, upon seeing Kizuna's unspoken demand for further information, proceeded to explain how each of my Shields had a proficiency bar that filled up every time I used it to block an attack or activated its special skill, with the bar being higher depending on the rarity of the weapon, and that once the bar had filled up, the Shield in question would give me a permanent boost to some of my stats. I also added that after discovering that the Spear-Hero, Motoyasu, used a different method of strengthening his weapons that relied on using materials and magical items to draw out their additional strength, a system that he called 'Weapon Refinement', I'd managed to incorporate his system into my own in order to strengthen my Shields further.
"You're right, our systems do seem to be similar, apart from you not being able to use experience points to boost the strength of your weapons…" Kizuna stated once I'd finished. "I'm guessing that the two other Heroes have their own methods, correct?"
"Indeed, and there doesn't seem to be any advantage in using one over the other. The best way to explain it is that if someone believes that their method of levelling up their weapons is right for them, then that will turn out to be the most powerful way for them to upgrade their weapons."
"A weapon strengthening system based on belief? That sounds both weird and fascinating at the same time," Kizuna commented as she turned her eyes back to our assortment of items in front of us, her gaze landing on another of my potions which she proceeded to point out to me. "Going back to our selection of goods here…what does this potion do?" It was one of my red healing potions.
"That's a healing potion…downing that heals whatever wounds you've currently got."
"Hmmm…I wonder if that's like our curing medicine?" Kizuna pondered as she pulled out a similar-looking potion, the only difference being it was slightly larger and the bottle was a different shape.
"Probably…but we drink ours, whereas from what I saw you were rubbing it on your wounds after some of our fights back in the labyrinth."
"Wow, there sure are a lot of differences between the stuff in our worlds, aren't there?" She then proceeded to down my healing potion. "Tasty…hmm? Oh wow, it gave me experience points just like your mana potion did!" That was more than enough to have me convinced of how each of us using items that weren't from our respective worlds gave us differing results. "But getting back on topic…I think leading with your potions seems to be the best bet…that soul-soothing potion in particular could fetch us some really high prices, more than enough to pay for some equipment for the two of you along with some passes that will allow us to get into the capital."
"Well then, sounds like we've got a plan. We'll haggle the best we can with the rest, but I agree…leading with the soul-soothing potions seems to be the way to go. And as we discussed, leave the how to me…I can make sure we get the best possible price for them," I explained with a smile. "Once that's done, we'll do as you suggested and get our hands on better equipment. And if possible, I'd like to get my hands on as many earth crystals as we can manage so that I can level up…"
"I'm sure we can manage that! How does that sound Rishia?" As Kizuna spoke, we turned our gazes in Rishia's direction, only to spot that our discussions about money, selling and profits had completely frazzled Rishia's brain from trying to keep up to the point where she'd faceplanted herself on the table, her eyes glazed over accompanied by a loopy, drooling grin.
On that note, Kizuna and I cleared up and, after making sure Rishia was okay, proceeded to turn in for the night. We'd decided to be up and about early the following morning so that we could spend as much time as possible setting up our goods before getting on with the actual business of selling them.
~AoaTSH~
The next morning, we were up bright and early, wanting to get ourselves in place in plenty of time. After a quick wash and meal, we gathered up our goods and set out into the village itself. As we left the inn, we turned left and headed towards the centre of the village, crossing a small bridge over the river that ran through the middle of it before following the roads and pathways that lead to the main districts.
After a tiny bit of scouting around and making one or two necessary purchases, we decided to set up shop in one of the corners of what appeared to be a large and vibrant shopping area. We then proceeded to lay out our wares on a straw mat we'd bought and, after donning the masks we'd also bought just so our identities would remain anonymous (since this was Kizuna's world, there was a high chance of her being recognised), I took a deep breath to compose and settle myself back into the merchant role I'd taken on during my time in Melromarc before proceeding to clap my hand as loud as I could, thereby drawing some immediate attention from those in the vicinity.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention please!" I shouted, my voice carrying out over the shopping square and causing more heads to turn out way. "We three travellers from faraway lands come before you today with an unbelievable offer you may never hear of again! Any adventuring spirit would be out of the spirit to pass up this unique opportunity to sample our amazing never-before-seen item…a medicine we have brought to you from across the ocean itself!" I then picked up the bottle of soul-soothing water and held it aloft. "Behold! A soul-soothing potion, guaranteed to replenish your energy instantly!"
I kept up this same spiel, repeating myself at points, for long enough that plenty of pedestrians took notice, and soon enough we had a crowd of sceptical but interested people gathering around. I was at the forefront of our trio, with Kizuna and Rishia chiming in whenever I had to rest my voice in order to keep our momentum going as they both got into the spirit of things pretty quickly (although Rishia had to really raise her voice at times to make herself heard, and more often than not got embarrassed when her voice dipped down to a squeak).
"What exactly does it do?" One curious onlooker asked.
"What does it do, you ask? It's just as my colleague here stated, it restores your energy levels instantly! Imagine being in the midst of battle or a task, and you run out of energy at a crucial moment! Take one of these and BAM! Energy restored!" Kizuna pitched instantly, keeping up our enthusiastic tirade. "I could tell you so much more, but I doubt you'll be able to properly experience its full effect. But you! Hey, you! Yes, I'm pointing at you!" She proceeded to point at a group of three spirit people that had managed to work their way through to the front of the gathering crowd.
Seeing what she was up to, I quickly followed her lead. "Yes, you are exactly who we are looking for! Only you will be able to understand how invaluable this medicine will truly be! Why don't you come up here and try it for yourself? I guarantee you'll be amazed by the results!"
"Oh, um…sure, I guess?" One of them replied warily as the three in question came forward.
"No need to be so wary, fine folk!" Kizuna assured them "We promise it's not poison, and you don't have to drink it! Applying just a small amount of this to your skin will make its effect known! Please, try it!" As she spoke, I proceeded to pour a small amount of the potion into a dish that Rishia was currently holding up, which was followed by Kizuna passing me a brush that I then used to apply a small amount of the potion to the three individuals' skin. At first, nothing happened. But then before they could object, their eyes suddenly lit up and their faces broke out in astonished smiles.
"It can't be!" One of them shouted
"It's unbelievable! I suddenly feel so much more renewed!" The second screamed at the top of their lungs
"I-I can't believe it! This stuff really restores your energy! This…This is the invention of the century!" The last one stammered enthusiastically. Upon hearing these excited shouts, the crowd grew louder and drew in much closer.
"That's right! This medicine is made just for you fine spirit people!" I followed up, getting right into the spirit of things. It was just like being back in Melromarc, and so far everything was going swimmingly well. Now it was time to kick things up a notch and lay down a competitive marker, so I proceeded to sweep my arm dramatically as I indicated the other bottles on the mat next to us. "Today, we have five bottles of this exceptional soul-soothing potion on sale for you fine folk gathered here! And since you have all proven so willing and considerate to spare us your attention, we will sell one bottle of this soul-soothing potion for two Tamagin!"
Kizuna and I had agreed on this price as an acceptable starting offer to test the waters, and judging by the way the three spirit people in front of us had eagerly opened their wallets and pulled out the respective currency, it had been a perfect call. But things got heated when they each offered ten Tamagin for all of the bottles and began bickering and quarrelling amongst themselves and other customers who wanted in on the action. We needed to get things under control before they erupted into a riot.
"Everyone, please calm down! We don't want a fight breaking out over this!" Rishia entreated them.
"We're limiting our sales to one bottle per customer, so there's no need to argue amongst yourselves! Please calm down and be respectful!" Kizuna added. That managed to do the trick as everyone did calm down, with the three volunteers then proceeding to each buy a bottle for the price we set.
"Thank you very much for your custom!" I spoke up again as they left before indicating the last two bottles to the rest of the crowd. "Now, we still have two bottles left! What do you all think?" Unfortunately, my words didn't have the effect I expected as, even despite the successful demonstration earlier, some members of the crowd were still looking unsure. Seeing this, I decided to change tack and reel them in with another demonstration. "I totally understand if not all of you are convinced, so how about instead of selling them, we use the two remaining bottles to allow all of the spirit people currently present to sample our potion's incredible effects for themselves? If that sounds good to you, please line up in an orderly fashion!"
As Kizuna and Rishia poured the last two bottles into bowls, I used the brush to paint the medicine onto the spirits who lined up to take a sample...only stopping when we had used up all of the medicine. However, everyone who had tried the medicine and felt its effects had become very excited, bombarding me with questions. How did I make it? How much more did I have? Would I do it again the next day? That first question was the most difficult to answer, but I managed to bluff it by saying it was a trade secret that those before me had made me swear not to reveal to anyone.
One of the biggest (and only) lies of my life, but in order to keep up the roll we were on, it had to be done. And as for the other two questions, I killed two birds with one stone with my final announcement of the day:
"Now that we have sampled our wares for you, what are your thoughts? I hope our demonstration today has shown that we have come in good faith and that our product is one hundred percent genuine!" This line got a lot of nods from the spirits who'd sampled the potion which had the added effect of lowering the mood of suspicion that had permeated earlier. We were definitely being believed now. "Unfortunately, due to the time and difficulty involved to create such wares, our stocks are limited and we do not have enough for the rest for you today. However, if you come back this time tomorrow, we'll have gathered up our remaining stock that we'll put up for auction!"
This generated a buzz and got people clapping, exactly as I'd hoped. "Excellent! The auction will take place tomorrow and will be for another five bottles of this soul-soothing potion that you have sampled today. Thank you for your time and consideration today, and I hope we will see you all again tomorrow!" I then proceeded to end with a flourish and a bow as Kizuna and Rishia proceeded to quickly gather up and put away our makeshift stall. And then with one final bow from all three of us, we proceeded to take our leave to a round of applause.
As we walked back to the inn, my whole body was still quivering from the thrill and buzz I'd been able to generate, just like I used to do when I was a travelling merchant in Melromarc. I'd completely forgotten how much fun it could be now that I didn't have the time for it. And I couldn't tell if Kizuna was laughing or excited about it based on the way she was shaking next to me. And all I got from Rishia was a loud sigh of relief that it was all over. "Poor thing's still working on her ability to deal with crowds, but she did really well today…"
~AoaTSH~
"Wow, Fergus, that was absolutely incredible back there!" Kizuna exclaimed once we'd returned to our inn room and removed our disguises, her face flushed from the excitement of what we'd just done. "You weren't kidding when you said you were a natural at playing a merchant...everything you did back there was spot on! You piqued the interest of the right people, created some buzz, and started earning some money. As for the auction idea? That was perfect. The buzz generated by our performance today will help spread the word, and all of the town's nobility will most likely attend!"
"You think so?" I asked as Rishia collapsed to the floor, seemingly at the limit of excitement that she could handle for the day.
"Yup, people love to gossip, and the size of the line we had today was proof enough that we were telling the truth. Just wait and see…I'm sure what I predicted will come to pass," Kizuna grinned as I popped Rishia's head on a pillow.
"T-that was so scary, having to do that in front of all those people!" The magic caster moaned into her pillow. "A-And we've got to do that again tomorrow?"
"Unfortunately, and probably in a crowd twice the size," I apologetically patted her head, causing her to moan in despair, prompting a chuckle from Kizuna and me as we went about ordering some lunch. After that, we decided to sit back and relax for an hour or two, or in Rishia's case, sleep off the exhaustion from the morning's events. Kizuna took her out into the village outskirts as soon as she awoke, where they spent the rest of the afternoon hunting monsters and raising Rishia's level even higher, while I decided to stay behind and start planning for tomorrow's auction. But when the two returned, Kizuna was concerned.
"What happened out there?" I asked as they walked through the doors.
"There were more monsters out there than usual…not sure how or why that's the case but it meant things were a little tougher than normal. Nothing I couldn't handle though!" Kizuna reported as she and Rishia took a seat.
"Hmm…that is strange…you don't reckon there's some sort of special event going on? Or an activation event maybe?"
"Activation event? What's that?"
"It's a limited-time event that occurs over a set time in a very specific location back in my world," I explained. "During that time, the monsters give more experience when you kill them. Sound familiar?"
"Yeah, I've heard of stuff like that happening here. It would make sense seeing as the monsters were stronger than usual…" She trailed off. Upon hearing this, I went back out with Rishia for a few hours to see for myself, only for Kizuna's words to be proven completely accurate as even the cardboard boxes we encountered earlier proved to be tough. Thankfully we were able to deal with them thanks to all the spells Rishia had gotten back along with some of the defensive spells I'd been able to reacquire as I got my level up. Once we were done, we headed back to the inn where, after dinner, we finalised our plans for the auction tomorrow before settling in for another early night.
And as I lay my head on the pillow, I was struck by a realisation that had almost slipped my mind amid the excitement of escaping the Labyrinth and today's merchant pitch. These three days and nights had been the longest I'd spent without Raphtalia nearby since I'd arrived in Melromarc from my old world, and it was only now that I realized...despite the company I was in at the moment, I was missing her so much. Her warm, gentle presence by my side, her caring touch, the tenderness of our embraces each night...all of this fueled my determination to succeed tomorrow morning.
Everything we did, everything we were going to do…it was all for getting closer to seeing her and my friends again. And I would do and go through anything to make that happen.
~AoaTSH~
"Feh…that was so scary…everyone was so mad!" Rishia whined as we left the square at the end of our…let's just say interesting…auction.
"I saw, Rishia…and I'm so sorry. But there's no way we could have gotten so much money otherwise," I apologised. Truthfully, I was feeling awful as well for putting her through that experience, but after careful thought about the alternatives, I felt like I'd had no other choice.
The auction had started off very well, with a large crowd waiting for us when we arrived in the square that morning due to interest in the soul-soothing potion. The bidding war had begun after a brief demonstration to remind those in attendance of what the potion could do. We'd sold the first potion for thirty tamagin and eighty-three doumon, thanks to all of my merchant experience hyping up the crowd and product, as well as Rishia's and Kizuna's constant encouragement.
To be honest, it had been a good start, but it was still slightly lower than what I had hoped for. And we didn't have the luxury of doing this for several days on end. So that's when I'd implement our backup plan. Rishia then promptly tripped over her own feet while bringing some of the other bottles forward for auction, causing the contents (which had been secretly swapped out for regular water beforehand in anticipation of us having to pull this trick) to shatter all over the ground.
This naturally caused the crowd to get really mad at her, with some even preparing stuff to throw at her. But thankfully I'd been able to intervene and 'apologise' for her clumsiness along with a 'promise' that I'd be punishing her for clumsy actions before reminding everyone that we still had one last bottle to sell. And just as I'd predicted, the setback of losing all of those bottles really got the crowd into a bidding frenzy, thinking they only had one chance to get their hands on the precious medicine.
And so the price had kept going up, and up, and up even more as some of the merchants and noblemen got involved. In the end, the winning bid came in at four kinhan, ten times the price we'd managed to sell the first one for. And once we'd sold it, we thanked everyone for coming and bid a hasty retreat before anyone could think of coming after us.
"If we'd sold all five at the price we got for the first one, we would have ended up with one kinhan and eighty tamagin," Kizuna pointed out. "Given a few days, we'd have gotten to the amount of money we got today with no trouble and without upsetting anyone."
"I know that Kizuna, as you told me plenty of times last night," I replied, slight irritation creeping into my voice. "But it's as I said, and even you agreed with me on this…eventually, someone is going to notice you are no longer in your prison and come looking for you. And by then we need to be out of this country and somewhere safe."
"But still…it wasn't nice of you to exploit-" Kizuna's protest was cut off as I spun around, reaching my limit with her arguments.
"You think I enjoyed what I did?! That I took pleasure in embarrassing one of my friends in that way?!" I almost shouted. "You should know me well enough by now Kizuna that everything I do, no matter how underhanded it may appear at the time, is solely to keep my friends and those I care about safe…and that includes you!"
"P-Please don't fight you two…the three of us are all each other have! I-I don't want to see us fall out!" Rishia squeaked, getting between us. "L-Lady Kizuna, I know what Fergus did was mean but he was right…we need to get away before we're spotted!" She then turned to me. "And I k-know you are worried about Lady Raphtalia and the others, but p-please don't take it out on Kizuna…she's only trying to help and we need all the friends we can right now!"
I took a deep breath to calm myself, cursing myself for letting my irritation get the best of me. She was right; I'd let my worries about my girlfriend and other friends affect my mood, and I'd almost taken it out on Kizuna, who, as Rishia pointed out, was only trying to help and without whom we wouldn't have gotten as far as we had. "You're correct, Rishia. Thank you. And Kizuna? I'm sorry... I shouldn't be upset with you."
"Apology accepted, and I'm sorry too. We need to stick together after all," Kizuna replied graciously. "And you're right, this is an enemy country so the better we get out of here the better. The good news is I think we have enough money now to not only purchase the travel vouchers we need but also some equipment and ores that we can use to get you two levelled up."
"Sounds like a plan…let's hit a weapon shop after we get the vouchers to see if we can get something for Rishia since her rapier is still way above her level," I decided. "After that, we should find somewhere where we can get some armour for us both. And then if we still have money left over, we'll look at getting some of those ores."
Both ladies enthusiastically agreed, and so after a spot of lunch, we hit the town for our shopping spree. First of all was the travel vouchers which Kizuna took care of, saying that they would get us through all of the checkpoints between here and the capital with no problems. With that out of the way, next up was the weapons shop. Unfortunately for me, all of the Shields they had for sale were too high level for me to use Weapon Copy on, but we were able to get her a short sword that was similar in size and weight to her rapier which, according to Kizuna, was more commonly referred to as a kodachi. After that, we headed to the armour and clothes shop which was full to the brim with samurai armour, kimonos, haoris and other Japanese styles of dress and which surprisingly had several armours and outfits that were styled towards defence. In the end, I chose a set of light, samurai-style armour consisting of a pale-green cuirass made of metal and lacquered wood, as well as two metal iron plates around my belly tied by a thick piece of red string, leather shoulder pads, a matching set of arm and hand guards, a series of leather plates and cuisses that would protect the lower half of my body above the knees, ankle guards to cover my shins and finally a dark green sleeve-less cloak that fitted nicely over the top of it. Truth be told it wasn't as comfortable as my previous set of armour but for now, until we got back to our world or found a smith to make something, this was the best I was going to do. As for Rishia, she opted for a small, black-tinged leather cuirass that fitted over the left-hand side of her chest as well as two light metal plates over her waist that were tied together by a dark-blue sash which also allowed her to carry her new sheathed blade on her hip. This all fitted nicely over her usual green battle dress.
I'd also offered to buy something for Kizuna given the ruined state of her haori, but she insistently declined. Her reasoning was that the dress in question had been a gift from Glass that she couldn't bear to be parted with.
Kizuna then led us to a shop that specialised in the earth crystals we'd discussed the day before. We managed to get quite a few crystals of various shapes and sizes after some haggling with the shop assistants, which would no doubt give us a significant boost in levels. Kizuna also suggested we pick up some ofuda for Rishia to use.
"What are ofuda exactly?" I asked as Kizuna led us over to another part of the store.
"They're a sort of magic tool. Those with high levels of magic power and expertise can take their power and manifest them physically as sheets of paper," Kizuna explained. "People without magic of their own could use also them as single-use spells."
"Sounds useful…" "Reckon you or I could use them ourselves? It might be able to bypass your weapon's limitations on attacking people…"
"Nah…I've already tried that and it didn't work, and seeing as you are a defence-orientated class, you probably wouldn't get much use out of them either," she replied as she picked up a small bunch of the small strips of paper. "Let's just stick with the fire-based ones for now. They can be useful in lighting a fire or for a quick spell or two if you get in a pinch Rishia."
"T-thank you, Lady Kizuna," Rishia stammered with an awkward bow as the Hunting Hero paid for them.
After we finished shopping, we went to a quiet, out-of-the-way location where Rishia and I used the earth crystals we'd purchased. The effects were immediate and far more powerful than I had anticipated, as each crystal seemed to be worth a whole swarm of monsters that we'd encountered during the activation event on Cal Mira. Combined with the prior grinding we'd done for Rishia, she managed to reach level 40 once we were done, while I remained at level 35. It wasn't ideal given what lay ahead of us, but compared to being at level 1? It was a huge help. It also allowed me to unlock some of my shields and their abilities.
Once that was over with, our need to remain in this town had come to an end. So as soon we were done with the earth crystals, we left the small town behind and started making our way to the capital. According to Kizuna, it would probably take us a couple of days on foot to get there.
~AoaTSH~
The journey between the village we had left behind and the country's capital did, as expected, take a couple of days, but we were able to make the most of that time by getting more practise and experience with our new armour and weapons on various monsters we encountered along the way. Rishia was able to level up to level 45 thanks to all of this new grinding, allowing her to relearn several more of her spells. Unfortunately, she didn't yet have access to her Hegen Muso skills, but hopefully, that would come with more levels.
As well as the grind, the other thing we noticed on our journey was the air around us was getting much, much colder. In fact, the temperature was dropping so low that we had to find sheltered places to camp to ensure we could keep a fire going all night. Kizuna hunched that this was a sign that snow was on the way, which added another reason to the many we already had for us to get out of this country as soon as possible.
Thankfully, on the fifth day of travelling, we arrived at the borders of the capital town. But our excitement about getting to our destination was short-lived as we approached and took stock of what we were facing.
Instead of the bustling merchant town we'd left behind, this was a typical Japanese-style castle town with walls bordering all four sides of it and which you could only pass through by going through one of the four manned gates built into each wall. And as we gazed into the centre of the town from our vantage point, we could just about make out the adventurer's guild, where Kizuna reckoned the hourglass would be, in the midst of it, surrounded by several squads of patrolling guards…almost as if they were on high alert and looking out for someone…
"Something or somebody has tipped them off…they must be aware of a potential chance for a Hero to pass through and try and escape..." I murmured as we continued to scout it out.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Kizuna asked. I nodded.
"It's a trap…I reckon we'll be expected if we try and access it normally and be arrested. If that happens, it'll be back to the Infinite Labyrinth for us."
"S-Should we go back and level some more?" Rishia asked nervously. I shook my head.
"It wouldn't make a difference. Besides, all the time we spend levelling will also be time we're losing before the next wave. We have to take the risk regardless."
"Yes…the Hourglass is our goal. As soon as we reach it, we'll all be able to teleport out of here back to my home country." Kizuna confirmed.
"Then it's decided. We've still got those disguises from earlier, right?"
"I was almost going to suggest those myself. Let's use those to get inside and find somewhere to plan our next step. As long as we show our traveller passes, the guards shouldn't care too much about the fact we're wearing masks. But you and I ought to conceal our weapons, Fergus…just in case."
"Good idea…" I murmured, shrinking my Shield down to its bracelet form as Kizuna swapped her weapon back to its Fishing Rod version. "Okay…let's hope this works…"
Surprisingly, it was exactly as Kizuna had predicted. Even after I explained that we were travelling merchants from a distant country here to sell our wares, the guards at the gate made no objections to our masks. They only asked for our travel vouchers, which we showed and were waved in. Despite our minor success, we remained cautious and kept our disguises on as we walked through the city's streets, eventually making our way to the guild hall's location.
Now normally, especially back in my world, being a Hero would probably allow you instant access to this sort of building and facilities within, including the hourglass. However, we couldn't rely on that here due to Kizuna's status as not only an enemy but also a prisoner. And judging by the guards at the entrance looking all serious and on alert, it was more than likely they'd be asking for identification or for us to remove our disguises should we try to enter.
"…and there'd also be no guarantee that one of the holders of a vassal weapon from this country won't attack us. This is enemy territory after all…" Kizuna had told us on the way here. When I asked about which vassal weapon it would be, she mentioned it would be the holder of the Mirror vassal weapon but was unable to provide any further details about who it was and how such a weapon would work.
Scythe, Fan, Book, Mirror…that accounted now for half of the Vassal weapons in Kizuna's world. A strange mix that made me wonder what the other vassal weapons could be.
Kizuna nudged me with her elbow, which abruptly interrupted my thoughts. As I looked in her direction, she pointed to the crowd of people around us who were suddenly whispering and muttering excitedly to each other, with some even trying to push through the crowd to get as close to the guild hall as possible. Something major appeared to be about to happen.
"Let's see if we can get a closer look…" I muttered.
"My thoughts exactly," Kizuna whispered back as the three of us gently pushed and squeezed our way through the crowd as we made our way to the front, and from the snippets of conversation I got as we made our way through, it sounded like someone, supposedly labelled a 'genius' who came from the next country over, had found a way to duplicate the dragon hourglass teleportation powers of the four holy Heroes and those who held the vassal weapons and just teleported into the guild hall in order to demonstrate it.
"A genius…? It couldn't be, could it?" This sounded way too much like someone I knew, but I was hoping against hope that I was wrong. And just as the three of us managed to make our way to the front of the crowd, the doors of the guild hall opened and several figures stepped out, with the so-called 'genius' standing front and centre if the sudden roar of the crowd was anything to go by.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I got a good look at him. It wasn't that bastard Kyo, but based on his swaggering walk and smug expression, this guy was probably cut from the same arrogant cloth as the Vassal Book Hero. He wore what appeared to be a black, long-sleeved Japanese school uniform over which he wore a large black cape with a furry collar and had long blue hair that was currently hanging loose in a ponytail over his left shoulder. And on either side of him stood two young women, one with long, black hair tied in a ponytail and the other with brown hair tied in pigtails on either side of her head, both dressed in identical blue and white samurai robes with spears clasped to their backs. They were both currently adoring the so-called genius' brilliance.
"That was amazing Sir Kazuki!"
"I knew it would work! After all, it was Sir Kazuki who discovered it after all!"
"Same strut and smug expression as Kyo... check. An air of superiority and having everyone praise his every action like Ituski would…check. Finally, a harem of simping girls in the style of Motoyasu's party... CHECK! I'm not liking this guy already…" I thought to myself as the 'genius' shook hands with what appeared to be government representatives. Given how we'd arrived at the same time as everything was happening, and with security at its peak, I was about to suggest to the girls that we take a step back for the time being when one of the government officials looked our way and, as his eyes roved our group, let out a panicked cry that drew everyone's attention.
"Ahhh! You! What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be under arrest!" He screamed, pointing at Kizuna.
"Huh?! How the heck did he figure it out?!" Kizuna's face wasn't on show so it was impossible for her to be recognised that way, unless he was bluffing to try and draw us out. But his next words put paid to those thoughts.
"Guards! GUARDS! Arrest that girl in the mask and haori at the front there along with her two accomplices! They're wanted criminals who broke out of prison!"
"Ah shit, it was the haori…oh well, best strike whilst the iron is hot…" "Kizuna! Rishia! We need to move, NOW!" I yelled, ditching my mask as the other two proceeded to do the same.
"On it!" Kizuna yelled back, dodging around the onrushing guards and making a break for the doorway where the genius and his two bodyguards were still standing. Before any of them could move a muscle, Kizuna had slipped between them and entered the guild building.
Following her lead, I grabbed Rishia close to me and brought out my Siderite Shield. "Shooting Star Shield!" I roared, causing the two-meter barrier made entirely of light to appear around us and push back both the crowd and the oncoming guards. We charged forward at full speed towards the guild hall's entrance, the barrier around us repelling anyone who dared to get close with their weapons. This included the 'genius' and his entourage, who had the presence of mind to move out of our way as we approached.
The interior of the guild hall was very much like a typical city hall, full of desks, chairs, tills and all sorts of objects that served as obstacles in our way and in the middle of which was our goal, the dragon hourglass which was situated on an upraised platform and surrounded by a decorated wooden railing. And as Rishia and I piled in through the front door, we spotted Kizuna leaping from the top of one desk to another, doing her best to remain elevated and out of reach of any of the guards' weapons. A few of them shot arrows at her, with one passing straight through her haori, but she pressed on regardless.
Rishia and I, on the other hand, used the time and momentum generated by my Shooting Star Shield to race around the hourglass's side and up one of the wooden ramps that brought us around the artifact's front. However, the guards had recovered from our surprise attack outside and were forming up below us, with some of them splitting off to assist their comrades in cornering Kizuna. I was about to turn around and assist her when the sound of clapping and mocking laughter caught my attention. When I turned around, I saw the now-named Kazuki striding through the crowd towards us, his two cheerleaders at his side with their weapons drawn and looking very upset at my actions.
"Well, well, well…" he began in a smug tone of voice that reminded so much of both Ituski and Kyo. "Kyo warned me that the Hunting Hero and her accomplices, a one-eyed shield-bearer and his green-haired friend, were likely to escape the Labyrinth and make their way here. Honestly, I didn't believe that such a thing was possible but here you are. If I'd known how right he would be, I would've brought along more guards.
"Wait…you work with that bastard?" I growled.
"I much prefer the term 'business partner'," Kazuki corrected me. "He agreed to help me with my research in return for catching you lot. I must say he was ever so furious when he asked me to do this. You must have really pissed him off."
"Is that so? I wish I could have seen his face…" I said with a vicious smile.
"You must be either brave or stupid to be so calm when the odds clearly aren't in your favour…and Kyo didn't specify that I had to bring you alive…" he interrupted with a smirk as he motioned to the guards around him. "These criminals are trespassing on our sacred ground. Remove them at once." At his waved signal, the guards all rushed forward on both sides.
I didn't waste a moment. We had to keep buying time for Kizuna to evade all the guards and get over to us. "Rishia, you've got the right side! I've got the left! Try not to hurt them too badly, okay?"
"G-got it! S-so sorry, all of you! Wind!" She proceeded to summon a strong gust of wind that knocked away all of the guards approaching her side and sent them sprawling in a heap.
"Meteor Shield!" I yelled, projecting the familiar blue barrier in the air between me and the onrushing guards that managed to push them back with enough force to send them sprawling as well.
This outcome didn't please Kazuki one bit. "Fine, I'll do it myself then," he growled, forming a large ball of fire in his hand. As he was doing so, I peeked out of the corner of my eye and noticed to my alarm that Kizuna was slowly being cornered by her pursuers. And since she couldn't fight back against them, the instant they got close they would be able to capture her.
Rishia noticed this too and looked at me determinedly. "Y-you look after Kizuna, I'll deal with the genius!" She assured me.
Trusting her to have my back, I immediately switched my focus to where the soldiers were inching closer to our companion. "Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Dritte Shield!" I yelled, causing a series of green ethereal shields that positioned themselves like steps to appear next to Kizuna so that she could jump on them to get away from the guards.
"Great timing, Fergus!" She yelled gratefully, winking at me as she bounded up and over the shields towards us.
"Anti-Fire Squall!" I heard Rishia yell, and as I looked back, I saw her bring up a spiral of water that soaked up Kazuki's fireball with ease and which had the added bonus of further pissing him off
"Damn you! Take this!" He yelled, drawing a sword from the scabbard at this side and leaping up towards where Rishia was standing.
"Oh no you don't!" I yelled in my head as I leapt over and brought myself between him and Rishia, blocking his attack with my hastily-summoned Iron Meteorite Shield.
"You fool! Do you really think you can hold me back knowing how high my level is? I'm gonna slice through that shield of yours and kill both of you in one blow!" Yet despite his boast, he was visibly straining with effort as he tried to push his blade against my Shield. And honestly? I wasn't even trying that hard to push back.
"All that boasting and not enough strength to show for it? I'd be disappointed if he wasn't already pissing me off…" "Oh really? Then come on, show me your strength! Because right now you're being pushed back by a one-eyed man armed with a Shield. How humiliating for you!" As expected, his response to my taunt was to keep pushing even harder.
"Fergus! Time for us to go!" I chanced a look back to see that Kizuna had joined us and was about to put her hands on the Hourglass.
"Sorry asshole! Looks like I'll have to play with you again another time!" I then proceeded to push against Kazuki's blade with all my strength, causing him to fall back over the wooden terrace and land in an undignified heap on the floor below.
"Sir Kazuki!" Both of his girls shouted, racing to help him up.
"Okay Kizuna, we're ready!" I yelled as Rishia and I joined her by the Hourglass.
"On it! Return Dragon Vein!" A soft light proceeded to start glowing around the three of us, filling up the room and enveloping my field of vision.
"Damn you! You won't get away with this! I'll make you pay for this humiliation!" I heard Kuzuki roar, his voice rattling with fury.
"When you next see that bastard Kyo, tell him I'm coming for him! And should you get in our way again, I'll deal with you too!" I shouted back teasingly, flipping him the bird as Kizuna's teleport skill activated, whisking us away from the guild hall in another whirlpool of light not unlike the one we'd passed through on our way into this world.
And that's chapter 11 squared away. It's definitely not my finest chapter as I stated at the start but I hope you enjoyed reading it regardless.
As for any changes from the original content, I again leaned towards the Light Novel interpretation more than the anime due to us not having Raphtalia around. And as for the final scene, that was definitely Light Novel influence since it doesn't have the whole 'stealth mission' scene from the anime and instead just has our heroes ploughing straight on in and getting to the Hourglass sooner. And yes, Kazuki seems to have all the worse traits of some of Fergus' least favourite people so he was bound to earn our Shield-Hero's ire from the moment he laid eyes on him.
Aside from that, there weren't many changes. If anything, I wanted more to showcase the more positive and trusting relationship forming between Fergus and Kizuna as well as Rishia's increased self-esteem and confidence allowing her to speak her mind more often.
Now in regards to chapter 12…I cannot promise a time or date when it will be out. As I said, this period of my life where I'm feeling flat and unmotivated isn't helping but I will do my best to get on with it in the next few days and bring it to you as soon as possible. Apologies in advance. Until then, I am theoneandonlyedster signing out for now and I will see you then!
~AoaTSH~
As they finished their meal, the two of them leaned back in their chairs feeling extremely satisfied. They then turned to look at one another, and though no words were spoken out loud their thoughts mirrored each other's word for word.
"That was, by far, the best food we've ever tasted!"
