Disclaimer: The Rising of the Shield Hero belongs to Aneko Yusagi. This story is non-profit fiction. I just wanted to write something about this series.
English is not my first language. If you notice poor grammatical structure, mistaken verbal tenses, wrong conjugations, etcetera, please tell me to correct it. For me, it is a language-development experience.
A/N: Still working on this. Also, this is the second revision we do.
The Shield Hero who came from another world
Chapter 7
Erhard was finishing up the last improvements to the latest request he had received: an armor made of giant frog skin. An adventurer had encountered the giant frog in a swamp three days away from Castle Town, and the monster – who was twice as tall as he was – had tried to eat him alive. The boy had been lucky in that his armor had taken the brunt of the attack, but the armor had been destroyed in the process. Still, the monster had found too late that its intended meal was still alive, as it got a sword through its brain and died immediately.
Even though he had gotten an almost deadly punctured lung for his efforts, the adventurer had managed to endure long enough to collect the remains and brought them back to the city. Not only did he get a generous reward for dealing with it, Erhard had then promised to build him a new set of armor at a discount in exchange of part of the frog's materials, which the adventurer agreed to without any hesitation.
"Alright, this is nearly done. I'll finish the polishing tomorrow and hand it over. Then, check the forge, dinner – and straight to bed," he mumbled, making a list of things to do to end the day on a good vibe.
"Erhard, I need your help!"
The shock nearly led him to drop his hammer as he shook his hand, but he quickly recovered and turned around, wielding his tool as a weapon (not the first time he had had to do so).
"Who said that!" he exclaimed, only to be shocked again as he saw the source – and shiver in fear from the sight.
In front of him stood Naofumi, the Shield Hero. Nice guy, one hell of a great supplier – and somehow different from what he ought to be.
His body seemed to be covered with flames that ranged everywhere from a dark red to an almost bluish orange, the kind of flame that was sign of a forge at a too high temperature. His eyes were glowing as red as the steel bar in his forge. And his entire body was covered in a set of symbols that he had never seen in his life, but he somehow knew were all pure evil.
"Wha-What happened to you, Shield boy? Are you a ghost?"
"Not exactly, Erhard. It was someone bringing out the worst me just two seconds after meeting them. I could really use your help, I promise it's only for a couple of hours, and after that I'll be out of your ha-way. You know what I mean."
"Brought out the worst of you? What the hell did you do, Shield boy?"
"Likely nothing that any other person in this entire country would not be delighted to do to me. Can you give me a hand, Erhard? I really need your help; this entire place is on fire. I swear I'll pay you."
"Where are you? Why are you in a fire? And what do you need?" Erhard asked. He would save the telling off until he had helped the Hero with whatever was going on.
"A brothel in the slums, the bastards running it had turned women and children, both human and demi-human, into slaves so they could force them into prostitution, and as you can imagine they were not gentle. And Raphtalia got hurt while she released some of the girls. Mind if I swing by your workshop? It's the only safe place I can think of where I can treat them all."
"No problem, bring them all here right now, let me open the back door for you and those ladies."
"No need for that, my teleportation skill lets me go anywhere I know, and bring with me anyone I choose. I just need to deal with the fire before it extends to other buildings, I'll be there in a few moments." Naofumi's projection disappeared without a trace, leaving Erhard with more answers than questions.
"What do you mean a few moments?" he said into the empty air.
As predicted by the young man, a flash and an explosion of displaced air soon gave way to several people appearing in the middle of the workshop: ten women, five human and five demi-human, all of them carrying babies or toddlers, and several girls no older than twelve years. Many of them had injuries or burns over their bodies, and they tried to cover themselves from Erhard as they noticed him. The blacksmith, as soon as he realized what was going on, quickly walked to his home and brought as many covers and sheets as he could find, allowing the victims to preserve their modesty.
As they did, Naofumi and Erhard began to heal their wounds. Raphtalia swayed and moaned in pain, and Naofumi noticed she had a dart embed into her right thigh, and Naofumi carefully pulled it out while he checked her status: seeing that she had been poisoned, he quickly pulled out an antidote from his inventory and had her drink the vial, and as she got better, he turned to the other people. Unfortunately, while most of the injuries could be easily healed, the mysterious burns could not be wiped away no matter what they did.
"The fires of hatred you unleashed on our masters cursed us," one of the women said. "The only way to cure us is to ask for holy water from the Church and apply it to these burns. But you... you are the Shield Demon, and they won't give nor sell you any of their water."
"What's your name? And why do you say that?"
"My name is Eda, Shield Demon, and I was a nun of the Three Heroes Church, and they won't give or sell you any of their water."
"Why would a nun be in that place?" Raphtalia asked precisely the question Erhard was not bold enough to make, while Naofumi was tactful enough to not ask how the nun – or any of the other women, for that matter – had ended up there.
The young woman remained silent, and Raphtalia was clearly unhappy.
"WHY DID YOU END UP THERE!" the younger girl screamed, jumping into the former nun's personal space to grab her by the shoulder.
"RAPHTALIA!" Naofumi shouted, too, grabbing her by the wrist.
The tanuki girl was surprised, not by Naofumi's yell, but the way she had reacted to the woman's attitude. There was something about her attitude driving her mad: the moment she saw Naofumi running towards that building, she had become concerned, as if her instincts were telling her that something was seriously wrong.
She had been barely a street away from Naofumi's location when she saw the green flames bursting out of the building, and she had rushed in, fearing for his life, only to find herself in a scene that could have come straight from hell. Two bulky men were lying close to the door, burning down in green flames that change color as their height increases. The rest of the room she was in was full of naked people, men, women, and children, the latter two trying to move away while the former either attacked Naofumi or were on top of some of the others. She also quickly realized that the women and children were all wearing slave collars – and she knew enough of the world to understand what was going on.
She pulled out her sword (a sword Naofumi gave to her after the fight in the mine) and, when she saw a man still on top of a crying girl, she stabbed him and pushed him off, holding the girl into her arms: a member of the Lion tribe, or Simba, as her father used to call them. It was the first time she had met one of them and wished it had happened in different circumstances.
That was when Raphtalia realized someone was attacking her from the side. She turned to block the attack, but then she felt something stabbing her leg and suddenly her entire leg had felt numb. It was only a Noid demi-human woman ramming her attacker that allowed her to survive, giving her the time she needed to overcome the numbness and kill him.
And, in the middle of everything, stood Naofumi, covered in green flames and burning anyone that got too close. Some of the men attempted to escape, but Raphtalia stood in the middle of their way – just as a burning beam fell on them. She noticed a person dressed in robs with a mask covering their face but ignored it. The building was on fire, and no one was getting unscathed. Raphtalia helped the Noid woman who had just saved her, only to get burned herself by those nefarious flames.
Then Naofumi had started to talk alone for a few moments before stopping. A black sphere – Naofumi's Storage, she knew – appeared and spat out an engraved rod that nailed itself to the room's floor. The magical object pulsed in bright light, covering the entire room, and when the light vanished, they had all appeared in Erhard's store.
With all the confusion she suffered, it was natural that some part of her wanted to unleash some of the rage she did not know she had, but the rest wanted to understand what had just happened and help the enslaved women and children escape their suffering.
"I-I'm sorry, Naofumi-sama, I don't know what came to me," she said, stepping back and grabbing her left elbow with her right hand, looking everywhere but Naofumi and the former nun.
"That's okay, Raphtalia. What happened there was something that went wrong in many ways. Please, help Erhard with the others. Now, you said your name is Eda, right?" he asked, and the nun nodded. "Regardless of how she asked it, Raphtalia's question is a good one. Why did you end up there, and how can I help you?"
"As I said already, Shield Demon, I was a nun of the Three Heroes' Church-"
"Stop calling him Shield Demon, Eda!" one of the demi-human women said. "The Shield Hero just rescued you from the hell your own faith put you through!"
"Shut up, Ludmila! I'll talk to him however I want to! I don't care if he rescues me or not, he's not a god like you all believe! He is a man, a man who is already consuming himself to become the Shield Demon!
"Consuming? What are you talking about? Naofumi-sama is in danger?" Raphtalia asked.
"Yes and no," the nun replied.
"Do you think Naofumi-sama's health is a joke?!" Raphtalia growled: the woman's disrespect for her master was getting on her nerves.
"It is no joke. That shield he used is a cursed shield. Every Shield Demon who got that shield who got it almost killed everyone close to them with their cursed fire, along with themselves. The only way to fight back that thing is never to use it. No one knows how the Shield Demon got it, and nobody knows how to seal it away. The only way to fight back the cursed flames is to use the holiest water you have at your reach, and the closest supply is in the Three Heroes' Church. And there's no way for you to get it."
"Damn it, that's bad," Naofumi said. "Everyone got burned because of this. Thank goodness the babies were able to avoid it."
"Thanks to the Shield for that," a rabbit demi-human said, holding her child close.
"Amen to that, sister," another rabbit demi-human replied, and the other women nodded as well.
"I did not leave anyone behind, right? Are you the only ones that were there?"
"Your concern reaches our hearts, Shield God," Ludmila, a Kitsune demi-human woman said, holding a human child in her arms. "We never expected our God would rescue us from there."
"My sister and I, we've always believed in the Four Heroes' Faith. Seeing you save us... it only makes it obvious to us that our beliefs are the right ones," one of the humans stated, while her twin sister looked down at the baby in her arms.
"Shield Hero-sama... my son has no name, as well as my nephews. It would be an honor for my sister and me... if you could choose a name for them. I ask for your infinite guidance and wisdom."
Naofumi looked at the woman, shocked at her request, while Raphtalia's face went pale as she attempted to think of an answer. Meanwhile, Erhard was clearly amused as he looked between Naofumi and the women he had saved from the brothel.
"Don't bother asking him to do that," Ferrie said, entering the workshop by Erhard's front room and followed by Aria and Terry. Erhard glared at her, and she offered a silent apology to him before turning back to the women. "His ability to give names to others is surprisingly inadequate. Just so you know, a few days ago he tried to give these two children a set of ridiculous names they completely hated."
"Oi, Ferrie, I have a profound sense at naming," the indignant Hero replied to his companion. Ferrie snorted.
"Oh, sure, tell me at least one name you gave that nobody tried to correct you on," Ferrie challenged. Naofumi opened his mouth, but the Monk girl interrupted him. "And no, the Simurgh couple you helped to raise doesn't count, they told you their names when they were old enough.
"Damn it," Naofumi said with a grumble, which only Raphtalia and the women closest to him could hear, making them smile.
"So, there's already a Lady Shield? It's a pity," the woman that had asked Naofumi to name her child said.
"Well, we could still become his mistresses, Rado," her sister said.
"Maybe we can, Miro."
"I'm not the Lady Shield, just his best friend," Ferrie interrupted. "Also, good luck if you want to become his lover."
"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing worth your time, Fumi. Now, tell me, what prompted you to make us come here with such a short time? And who are all these girls?"
"Ixmal Castle."
Her questioning concerned face was suddenly twisted into one that promised pure, unadulterated violence against anyone who dared anger her. In fact, she was giving off such an aura that Aria and Terry hid behind Raphtalia – not that it worked too much, since the girl was exuding the same aggressiveness and frustration – and the babies began to cry in fear. Fortunately, Naofumi was able to gently caress the children's heads, calming them down as Ferrie breathed in and out several times to calm down.
Finally, as she reached her Zen state, she looked over all the women and girls covered in sheets and understood what had to be done now. But she still needed to get several answers of her own.
"Why is everyone covered in burn marks?"
"It's this shield I summoned when I found what was going on. This former nun here was explaining to me the consequences of using it."
"Is it that bad?" Ferrie asked, and Eda nodded, making the monk sigh. "Why do you always get in trouble, Fumi? We are going to need to cure their burns, get clothes and find a way to remove the slave mark."
"You'll need holy water, Lady Shield, and only the Church has it in enough quantity."
"Holy water? Why holy w-what the hell did you do, Iwatani Naofumi?!"
"The Shield Demon released his Cursed Shield, and used its flames to kill our masters and free us from them. Even if we still have the slave crest on us."
"Damn, is that legend real? That's bad news. And stop calling me Lady Shield."
"What is this Lady Shield thing you're talking about?" Naofumi asked.
"In short, Shield Boy, your wife," Erhard replied.
"WHAT!" Naofumi and Raphtalia simultaneously screamed.
"When a male Hero finds a suitable partner to marry, she receives the title of Lady, paired with her husband's sacred weapon. If the hero is female, then her husband is called Lord by the Three Heroes' Church and the Four Heroes' Faith."
"Alright, we've wasted a lot of time already with this stuff," Naofumi said, trying to regain some kind of control over the conversation. "Ferrie, get clothes for them, I'll see if I can get some holy water for the burns."
"Shield Demon, I'll go with you," Eda said.
"Look, lady, I don't trust you. You are part of the people who believe I am a demon, never mind that you keep calling me Shield Demon even after I saved you, and as far as I know, the moment I drop my guard you'll sell me over to the Church to get your lost-"
Eda slapped Naofumi. He barely even felt it, and her hand hurt like hell, but she had no regrets about it. Raphtalia pulled her knife on her, while Aria and Terry clenched their fists, ready to attack the former nun, only for Ferrie to stand between them and Eda in order to make them calm down.
"Don't you dare say that! Those bastards raped me day after day, party after party, only because of my beauty and a bitch that wanted to get the favor of the Pope! I want Biscas' head on a silver tray, I want Joseph to be impaled and hear him scream in suffering as he slowly dies, I want Julia to be raped the same way I was and know what it feels like to be forced to lose your intimacy to someone you hate. I want to cut Maciel's balls with a dull knife and force feed them to him before I beat him until he dies. I want to destroy that fucking lie that is the Three Heroes' Church, and the first step is for you, Shield Demon, to take me there, steal all their fucking holy water, and just burn down the entire building for good measure!"
Naofumi blinked at the sudden tirade, knowing that he was now in a tricky situation: he did not trust the woman as far as he could throw her, but he knew better than most men alive that the hatred of a woman might be the worst thing someone could suffer: way too many women in his life had taught him that lesson. Seeing that Ferrie was apprehensive and that Raphtalia was a hair thread from just stabbing the woman in the head for her attitude, he knew he had to solve the problem quickly.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. Eda, you come with me." Raphtalia tried to interrupt, but Naofumi was faster. "Aria, you come with me as well. Ferrie, take Terry with you, you know what is needed. Raphtalia, I need you to stay here to protect these women and help Erhard with anything he might need. Erhard, please, bear with us until we are ready to get out of this town, it should be just a few hours."
Before anyone could protest, Naofumi took Eda's and Aria's hands and teleported away. Ferrie sighed and took Terry with her, hoping that the dressmaker would be open for business or be willing to come to the smithy and dress the women.
Seeing that everything was just moving, Erhard shrugged and went to seek a set of bandages and healing tools he had set aside for potential injuries, as Raphtalia and the rescued people stared at where Naofumi had been a few moments before.
"Lord Shield took Eda with him while she was naked," one of the children – one with short height, two little horns on the sides of her head, bronze skin, and blonde platinum hair – said. "I'm so jealous of her right now!"
"Of course, it would be the Satyr girl saying something like that. Hold yourself, Nelia," another girl said, rolling her eyes.
"Shut up, you prude, I'll say whatever I want."
"Nelia, Lea, don't start a fight," the Noid woman interrupted, fixing the two younger girls with a stern glare.
"Yes, mom, I'll behave," the girls replied, looking downcast. Raphtalia just sighed and hoped everyone would return soon.
Two hours later, all the rescued people were dressed in well-fitting – if somewhat plain – clothes, courtesy of the dressmaker. Much to their surprise, the woman (who asked everyone else to call her Anne) had insisted on doing this work for free, professing her hatred of what had happened to them and even wishing she had been there to help the Shield Hero destroy their enslavers and rapers.
Ferrie was quite glad, mostly because of how hard it had been to shake off the spies following her around the city as she went to the dressmaker's and brought her to the forge. On the way, she had heard people speaking about the King himself dealing with a large fire somewhere in the slums, and there was enough chaos in Castle Town that they might actually be able to sneak away.
Meanwhile, Raphtalia did her best to help anywhere that was needed, like helping everyone clean up the dirt still covering their bodies or keeping the children entertained so they would be distracted from their current situation.
That was the moment Naofumi, Aria, and Eda returned from their trip, teleporting once more into Erhard's workshop, and judging by their faces – and Aria holding onto Naofumi as if he were a lifeline – it had not been a good moment, which became obvious by their yelling.
"What the hell's going on with that blind nun! It's the second time she's tried to rip my head off!"
"Why did sister Galilea have to appear just when I was close to getting that holy relic?!" Eda said, now wearing a set of nun robes she had obviously taken during the trip. "I was so close to getting away with it!"
"DADDY-I-DON'T-WANNA-BE-NEAR-THE-SCARY-WOMAN-AGAIN!"
Ferrie quickly moved to calm down Aria, as her shouting had awakened the babies again, while Raphtalia approached Naofumi.
"Naofumi-sama, what happened?"
"Nothing serious, but I swear I'm not entering that place again as long as that nun lives there," he replied, before opening his Storage and dropping twenty bottles of holy water on the closest table.
"What happened, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked again.
"Well, we found the water just fine in a wardrobe, and we decided to search for stuff we could use to get the Church to back off and leave us alone. We found a pile of papers about donatives from noble families, but Eda suggested checking the office of this Biscas guy."
"Biscas has several relics in his office he intended to use at some point, and I thought we could just check them, see if there was something interesting. In the history of the Three Heroes' Church, there's a lot of relics, from Heroes' bones to their belongings or documents, all of which have revolutionized the world whenever they were discovered. If what Cardinal Joseph said the last time he took me to a party, they have some kind of relic weapon there they plan to use when the right time comes."
"But then the blind knight nun showed up when we were trying to find that relic and almost beheaded me again. At least I left a bit of fire in that office to distract her while we made our escape."
"You did what?" everyone asked, surprised by the answer.
"Naofumi, are you aware that, if they discover the fire in the city was your handiwork, they are going to start a manhunt to get you again for starting a fire in the Church itself?"
"Which fire? The one in the brothel? That's impossible, the magic rod I left behind should have sucked all the air in the building and killed the fire. And the one at the Church was just in self-defense, and it was way too small to cause any chaos. There's no use crying over spilt milk now, though. Erhard, how much for this favor? And you too, miss?"
"Are you sure? There's a huge fire in the city right now, but if you say you dealt with the fire... maybe it was a coincidence?"
"I want to believe it is all a coincidence," Naofumi said, hoping he was right, but considering all the stuff he had gone through he suspected he was not.
For the next minutes, Naofumi and Erhard discussed an exchange of materials and weapons as payment for the aid the blacksmith had given him and the group. Anne kept to her word of not charging anything, although she did ask Naofumi to come to her first thing if either he or another member of his party ever needed new clothes – and if for any reason he could not come to her store, he could just send word and she would gladly send him the goods or go wherever he was to take his measurements.
"Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia said as the two men agreed on a deal, "while you were at the Church, one of the ladies said she could help all these women if we take them to her hometown."
"Who was it, and where is this place?"
"It was me, Naofumi-sama." Rino stepped forward. Naofumi could tell there was something off with the way she walked, but he chose not to think too much about it: he would rather not burn down Erhard's store. "I want to take these girls to Mirso, my hometown. My parents have enough space to shelter them until they decide what to do. I made mistakes, but in this way, I may be able to atone for my sins."
And then she knelt in front of Naofumi and touched the ground with her forehead. Rino felt ashamed, not only for what had happened to her, but because of how she was feeling: she hated herself for letting it happen and felt the tears welling up in her eyes.
Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and slowly she was lifted from the ground.
"Rino, please, stand up. There is no need for you to do this."
"But–"
Naofumi interrupted her with a wave of the hand.
"Rino, you and all of the people I got from that place went through a horrible situation no one deserves to go through, there is no need to show respect or gratitude. I did what any human being with a minimum of decency should do. If someone wants to sell their body and makes that decision by themselves, then it is their choice, but being forced to do... it is not something I can ignore. The people that did this to all of you deserve a special place in hell, and the only thing I lament is that I was late to help most of you from suffering."
He looked around and saw that Rino was not the only one crying or on the verge of crying. He supposed it made sense: now that the immediate danger was over, and they could think about it, it was going to be a feeling that made them feel crushed.
"Look, I won't be the one to tell you what you should do. But, if you feel like crying, then do it. And then swear at the people that forced you, that humiliated and abused you. Take the time you need to recover and be yourselves again, and then live your lives. It'll be the best way to show those bast- bad people that they didn't break you."
"Naofumi... what shall we do with the slavery seals? They are still marked." Ferrie's question felt like a bucket of cold water for everyone involved. Still, someone had to bring that up because it could be dangerous.
"As long as they have the crest, their ownership can be transferred," Erhard mentioned, sharing the little he knew about the subject. "The only way to remove it completely is to use a special potion, and the only person I know that can provide it is Beloukas."
"And if he shows up in his shop, he's going to tie up the dots that the pretty boy stole them, so he'll only get himself in more trouble," Anne commented.
"I could go there, but there's no way Beloukas will be willing to part from any of it, not without making me go through some deal," Naofumi said. "The only thing we can do is to change the ownership from their late masters to myself."
"Wouldn't that be a problem, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked, focusing back on her master: she was irritated with the seamstress after she called Naofumi 'pretty boy', but Anne ignored her, which had added to her irritation.
"Ownership changes are easy to do, you just need some blood and virgin ink – which is why Beloukas normally doesn't sell it."
"And you have that ink, Shield boy?"
"Sure! I convinced the penguin to sell me some."
Penguin? everyone thought. Naofumi had not taken into account that in this world they may not have an animal by the name, nor that they would have never heard of the character.
"So, if any of you wants it, I can change ownership and keep you safe until I get the remover potion to free you."
His words hung in the air for several seconds: everyone else, even Raphtalia, was stunned by what the Shield Hero had just offered them. Anne hated slavery, and while the idea of Naofumi keeping so many women at his mercy bothered her a lot, she was a person that trusted her gut when it came to knowing people, and her gut told her that the women would be safe under Naofumi's protection and that he would keep his word.
Erhard, for his part, could barely believe what the boy was saying, but he also thought the lasses would be fine.
Almost as if taken by the same idea, the demi-human women knelt before Naofumi, shocking him as the one that seemed to be their leader spoke in an authoritative voice.
"We do not deserve such words from our God, the Shield Hero. Just being taken out of that hell is much more than we can ask of our Lord. We are not worthy of being his slaves. Even so, I ask you to protect the little girls, since they have no one in this world or were abandoned by those who do not deserve to be called their parents."
The three girls raised their heads, looking at each other and somehow having a conversation without speaking.
"Shield God," Lea spoke. The way she was looking at him reminded him of Helena in her most teacher-like moments, when she decided to show him how to defend himself in a war-like environment, a gaze that could freeze anyone with a weak heart or mind. "If you are unwilling to protect them, then we do not desire your protection, either. They did everything in their hand to protect us from those sorry excuses of men who abused us, and we owe them a great debt."
"Look, I promise I won't leave anyone unprotected," Naofumi spoke up before the situation could get more confusing or worse, "but you must understand that, right now, I have no means to protect you guys unless I am there. Right now, Rino's offer to take care of you at her house is the best option we have. But being slaves without a master... if someone with a grudge finds out, you could be in trouble, especially when they find out that several humans were made slaves, which is illegal here in Melromarc. Are you from other countries?"
"I'm the only one from Melromarc," Eda said. "Amy is from Faubrey, and Radoslava and Miroslava come from Zeltoble."
"This is going to be a mess," Ferrie said, looking outside. "It's dark now. I'd say we better get out of here. How long until we can leave, Fumi?"
"Not a lot. Just let's get ready to leave, that way when the skill is ready, we'll get out of here."
"Lord Shield... with what I asked earlier... what is your response?" the lion-like demi-human asked.
"Lea! You shouldn't talk in such an arrogant way to the Shield Hero! Seriously, in moments like this, one can tell that you are Jaralis' daughter," the dog demi-human said, making Lea turn to her, anger in her eyes.
"That piece of garbage isn't my father! Not anymore, Sunnifa!" she screamed, and it took the Noid demi-human woman grabbing her shoulder for her to calm down.
"Okay, we'll make the change of ownership when we arrive at Rino's town. We're leaving in two minutes, make sure to hold onto everything."
The women made sure that everything they had in them – which was pretty much the few clothes they had and what little they had managed to grab before Naofumi teleported them out of the brothel – and they stuck close to Naofumi, who could tell all of them, even the former nun, were quite happy. Although whether it was because they were leaving or because they were close to him, he could not tell.
"I think your record of rescuing women this way is increasing," Ferrie teased Naofumi as she moved next to him. "I wonder how many you will cajole before this trip is over?"
"That isn't going to happen again, Ferrie. To start with, that scenario was completely illogical, and unlikely to happen."
"And yet, you dated three women you saved the same way at the same time."
The Shield Hero only grumbled under his breath.
"Oi, Shield boy, I need to talk to you, just a moment," Erhard said.
"What do you need to–" Naofumi said, only to stop as he saw how pale the blacksmith's face was.
"Seriously, I really need to tell you a few important, urgent things."
"Alright. Be back soon," he said, and he followed Erhard to the backstore. Ferrie was concerned by how pale Erhard was, but she decided not to get involved.
If Fumi needs an ear to listen, then he'll tell me.
True to his word, Naofumi was back quite soon, and without another word he activated the Shield's teleportation skill and, in a flash, everyone saved for Anne and Erhard had abandoned the workshop.
"So..." Anne began, turning to her erstwhile companion, "what are your plans for the night, big boy? If you want, I can show you some games and toys I'm dying to play with for the first time."
"It's too late for you to return home, you can stay tonight in my guest room... by the way, what kind of games are you thinking about?"
The night was falling on Castle Town. The moon was rising, the star-crossed sky shone like diamonds, and from his seat in the council room, he was certain it would be a lovely night.
"If only Mirellia or Melty were here," he whispered. Even though there were other people in the same room, Aultcray Melromarc XXXII felt very alone. He was well over forty, even if he looked to be even older. His eldest daughter was of an age to be engaged, if not married, and seemed to have caught the interest of the Spear Hero. And his second daughter was a young girl on the verge of womanhood that he barely spent time with because her mother never allowed him to do so, arguing his 'failure' with raising Malty showed he was not able to be a good father in that regard.
If there's anyone to blame here, it's not me, Mirellia! You demanded more from her than you did of yourself at the same age! Few can follow the way you work, much less a ten-year-old child, even if it's your own daughter!
He may have had to spend two months away from the royal bed after that, but he was certain he had won the argument.
Now, more than ever, he wished his wife were there. Instead, he was drinking a glass of wine while reading reports on the matters of the Kingdom while his closest advisor, Andrick, attended to him.
"As of today, the three most pressing issues are the famine affecting the kingdom's southwestern regions, around the village of Lerno; the pressure of people migrating from Silesia to escape poverty and settling in the unoccupied lands to the northeast, and the dragon Gaelion, who for some reason is terrorizing Mirso and the settlements closest to the mountain where we know he's taking residence. The Governor believes Gaelion is simply showing his true colors with the arrival of the Waves but given his previous behavior I would counsel caution."
"Who has been charged with dealing with the famine?"
"The Adventurer's Guild, sire. They have sent word that the Spear Hero and his party have taken on the task, and they should leave tomorrow with food supplies to help the region. However, it will take effort to rebuild the land, they have been suffering from droughts for the past few years."
"I remember that. This problem with the Waves kept my wife from solving this crisis: we'll send in people capable in Earth, Fire and Water magic so they can help in the short term, but long term they will require the construction of a dam or a number of channels so water can be distributed from another water source."
"A project of such a caliber would take a lot of time and resources, sire, and the Queen would have to authorize it," Andrick stated, clearly not very convinced by the proposal.
"I know what you are thinking. I know that this may not be the best time to carry out such a project, but I disagree, it is actually the best time, anything that can help the people in this time of distress is something to consider. Now, the issues with Silesia. Send a knight's battalion to protect the border and a Shadow to find out what is causing this situation. If the Waves allow it, we can help them and gain some ground for a trade deal."
"Sire, with all respect, their debts are mostly owed to the fact that they are horrible at managing their trading."
"Still, they have resources we don't, but, unlike them, we have the skills and the means to use them in our favor. Once we learn more we can decide. Now, what is happening with Gaelion? As far as I can tell, he is the dragon less prone to cause trouble in the entire continent."
"And he is. However, Mirso's governor states he has attacked at least four farms in the last month, and fifteen people have gone missing in that time, mostly young women. People inspecting Gaelion's waste reported finding human bones. The Sword Hero somehow learned of this request on his own, and asked to be assigned the mission, both from the Guild and from the palace."
"It'll be problematic if the most reasonable dragon in the world turns out to be spreading terror, let's hope the Sword Hero solves this problem. Now, the Shield Demon. What have the Shadows found about him?"
"Turns out he has two beasts that can transform into child-like humans. When we told the scholars, they went crazy, even comparing them to the mythical Filolial Queen. But... his slave... that's what worries me the most. She was the daughter of one of Lurolona's most influential men, not its mayor but close, as he usually dealt with the administration while he was not fishing. The only particular thing about the man is that his documents said he came from Siltvelt, but left for some reason along with the girl's mother."
"Interesting. What do we know about Q'Ten Lo?"
"Apart from the fact that it remains completely isolated from the rest of the world? Little beyond rumors."
"It is said to be the country where the Hammer Vassal Hero resides. Someone I never met in person. From what we know, what happened in the cave that the slave's father is a descendant of a hero from the past? They could have moved to Siltvelt, and then, with the concessions made after the war, they decided to move to Melromarc. The question is, were they just leaving Q'Ten Lo, or were they running from there?
"Why do you say that, Your Majesty?"
Whatever answer the King of Melromarc may have had turned into ashes as a guard opened the door, clearly scared and agitated.
"Your Majesty, we have problems!" the guard shouted.
"What's the matter?"
"A fire... in the city. It's already burned through part of the slums and the merchants' quarter, and it keeps expanding."
"Haven't the Knights' water magic users been dispatched?" the King asked slightly alarm. "The protocols about fires in the city were clear on how to act in these situations! Must I act to help stop it?"
"Your Majesty," the guard said, clearly frightened. "We followed the protocols for this situation, but... the fire won't stop. The city keeps burning in spite of everyone's efforts."
That brought much cause for fear: the Knights' water magic users were powerful enough to deal with fires starting inside Castle Town, and in fact had done so several times in the past, with almost perfect effectiveness.
"Could this be an attack from Faubrey? You mentioned they had some military tactics that could do something like that."
"Yes, it could be Greek fire, but it could not be. That fat useless king wouldn't use this kind of diversified tactic, he would send his armies for a full-frontal attack. And, either way, it's too early to be attacked like this. Besides that, the Queen is dealing with them, and even that sadist is smart enough to avoid that sort of thing."
"Talking like that, you would tempt fate so easily, Your Majesty," Andrick whispered.
One of the room's secret doors opened up, letting a Shadow in, with the Shadow quickly handing a scroll to the King. Aultcray quickly began to read it, and at the end of it he tore it apart and began to scream at the top of his lungs.
"Get to the Three Heroes' Church and call for priests, the fire is cursed!"
"At your command, Your Majesty!" the guard saluted as he left the room, knowing that time was of the essence.
"Andrick, seek the Knights' light magic users! Anyone that can use light magic and cast Sanctuary is needed to stop the fire!"
"I shall do it, Your Majesty," Andrick said, leaving the office to follow his King's orders.
"Shadow, confirm this, did the Shield Demon start the fire?"
"We only know that he entered a building, followed by his slave and an unknown third person that kept their face hidden and wore black. Minutes later the bulding was burning with those cursed flames. We cannot confirm how he actually started it, or whether it was actually him that did it."
Aultcray was furious. Furious in a way he had not felt in decades. It felt like the hatred that surged in him when someone mentioned the Hakukos, the demi-humans that had murdered his parents and sister; the same hatred he had felt when he fought Tyran and the Claw Hero.
Taking his seat back, he let the fury fill him for a few moments before he reined himself back, knowing this was not the moment to blind himself.
Calm down, Lüge! If you let yourself become consumed by anger, you will end up as terrible as Silvertooth... wait a moment!
"What kind of business took place in the building the Shield Demon went into?"
"Based on the evidence we found and the witnesses we asked, it was a brothel, one that used human and demi-human women alike."
"Used?"
"We cannot say it with full trust, but the rumors say that all the women were forced to work there with a mark of slavery – and there might have been underage demi-humans there as well."
"My goodness," Aultcray whispered. He hated demi-humans with a passion, and, if he had to be honest, he cared little about others using demi-human children as their slaves. Still, there were limits, both ethical and legal, and what the Shadow clearly implied were way beyond them – if the people keeping those slaves were not dead already, he would ensure that they would be soon: the death penalty awaited them.
He took another deep breath and began to focus on what he had to do now: the anger burning under his skin like magma cooled, becoming something cold and deadly. As he stood up and headed for the door, he began to make plans on what he had to do. If what he believed was correct, they would need every person who could wield high-level magic to stop the wicked flames the Shield Demon had conjured.
A glow appeared on the periphery of his sight, but he ignored it.
"Y-Your Majesty, you–"
"There is no time for trifles, Castle Town and its inhabitants need all the help they can get! Warn all the Shadows, tell them to spread the word! Anyone that can use light magic has permission to do so without restriction against the cursed fire!"
"U-Understood, Your Majesty."
The Shadow disappeared, and Aultcray quickly arrived at the stables where his personal dragon mount was waiting. As he overflew the city, he noted that he had never been to the part of the slums where the fire had started – the place known as the 'red light district' for some reason – but it was easy to guess where he had to go, due to the large amount of smoke and fire that could be seen in the distance.
Landing the dragon in an open space, he dismounted and approached the Knights, observing their efforts in trying to stop the fire. The priests had yet to arrive, and the few soldiers who had knowledge of Light Magic were attempting to apply it, with mixed results. And, in the distance, he saw several people working to prevent the cursed fire from advancing.
The entire place was on fire, and howls of agony could be heard. People were screaming desperately, trying to help someone or just survive.
For a moment, the past came back to him: the war against Siltvelt, the battles he had to fight – his sister Lucia's death at the paws of the Hakuko beasts. The memory of it made him rush towards the most intense, malevolent flames, an enchantment already on his lips, and then he remembered something else: one of the few moments in which he saw his beloved's most vulnerable side. It had been on the anniversary of her mother's death, just a few days before the war's decisive battle.
"This kingdom is all I have left from my mother, Lüge. I want to protect it and its people. If I could stop this war just by giving myself to them... I would do it without thought."
"They won't stop even if you do that. Tyran is obsessed with dominating the world and everything that lives in it, and Silvertooth has done nothing to stop him," he had replied, rubbing her back as she hugged him, looking for someone to lean on. "I promise you that they will not win. We will win, and Melromarc and its people will see a new dawn."
"Thank you, Lüge," Mirellia said, looking back into his eyes again... but this time something had changed. Her eyes showed a brightness that he had never seen, and as she brought her face closer to his, he felt a strange sort of fear.
"D-Do I have something on my face, Your Majesty?" he asked. Mirellia leaned back and away from him, giving him an incredulous look before her gaze hardened, and she grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt, dragging him closer to her.
"Your sister is right. You may be a genius in many fields, in the military, political and academical spheres. But when it comes to women... you are an idiot. I want you to kiss me and make me see the stars. That is an order of the Queen you have sworn to protect, Idiot Hero of the Staff."
And, for the next hour, Mirellia Q. Melromarc and Lüge Lansarz Faubrey forgot there was a war going on, in the first of many intimate moments they would share in their lives.
He was brought back to the present, and the fire that he had to put out.
This is Mirellia's kingdom, Mirellia's reason to breathe! I won't let this cursed fire, the Shield Demon nor the Waves of Calamity destroy my wife's reasons to live!
"As the source of thy power," Aultcray began to chant, raising his voice so high that everyone in the vicinity could easily hear him above everything else, "I, the Hero of the Staff and King of this land, order thee, decipher the laws of creation and the divine to purge these curses made of fire and purify those who were touched by these maledictions! High-level Ceremonial Magic: SANCTUARY III!"
A bright and pure light shone and expanded, covering the entire area surrounding the King, and suddenly, the cursed fire vanished, and those hurt by it saw their burns healed. Every Knight, Shadow, and peasant saw firsthand what had happened.
And they were amazed.
By the time the light vanished, the King had also vanished. He had been so fast that even those who had been direct witnesses of the King casting a high-level ceremonial magical spell were wondering if they had actually seen it – even when the effects were so obvious. It was only the King's best Shadow that had managed to follow Aultcray in his quest.
And, for the next four hours, Aultcray ran across the city, fighting against the fire with his strongest spells and shoring up efforts made by others – particularly since the Church's priests exhausted themselves just from casting one Sanctuary.
They are useless, he thought, drinking a mana potion to restore his reserves from a flask he had not had a minute before. He threw the flask away. I will need to have words with Biscas on how his people are training the new adepts.
Soon, though, he finally reached the last focus point of the fire and found the Spear Hero and two of his companions working together: while the Spear Hero crafted potions using his Holy Spear, the soldier was feeding them to the magician, who was chanting a spell.
"As a source of thy power, I, Megan the Green, as the Spear Hero's companion, order thee, cover this desolate land with your blessings in the form of water, Holy Rain!"
Over them, the clouds gathered and darkened, and suddenly water began to fall from them. Much to the joy of those fighting this last fire, the rain was blessed, and the cursed fire was quickly quenched, while everyone finally managed to relax. The King, relieved, approached the Spear Hero, who was busy helping his companion, Megan, since she had collapsed after casting such a powerful spell.
"I'm dying, Yasu-chan, help meee," the girl yelled as the Spear hero's other companion attempted, unsuccessfully, to get her back on her feet.
"How is it possible that your personality changed so drastically just for exhausting your MP? You sound like someone else I know," the Spear Hero asked.
"That's what happens when you cast a cooperative magic spell by yourself, dumbass," the other woman said, clearly unhappy about her companion risking her life in such a way. Aultcray decided to leave them to their business since he would be able to talk with them later.
"Your Majesty, we have more information about the fire and the Shield Hero's actions. It is something you need to know," the Shadow that had followed the King stated.
"We can do that here, Shadow," the King replied, but the Shadow shook his head.
"No, we can't, Your Majesty. Say, what is it that you are holding with your right hand?"
The King suddenly realized there was a weight that should not be there in his right hand, and when he looked, he almost yelled in surprise.
"How? Why is the Vassal Staff here, with me?"
"I think that it came to your hand the moment you decided to come fight the fire yourself. From what I could see, the magic you cast became all the stronger as you helped the people."
Maybe... that flash of light? I was so focused on this issue that I paid it no attention, and in spite of everything I've had to deal with this week, my mind has never been clearer.
Deciding to return home, Aultcray walked into an alley, but anyone watching would have never seen him coming out of the other side: instead, he had sent a party invitation to the Shadow following him, and then he had teleported both of them back to his office, where he immediately took his chair back, leaning back to rest from the fight against the fire.
"What do you have?"
"He teleported to Erhard's workshop with several women and then went somewhere else for a few moments before returning again and leaving with everyone. This is what happened there," the Shadow stated, handing the King a scroll. The latter read it, and his face went from red to white as he took in what had happened.
"Damnation. The Shield Demon unlocked the Cursed Shield after he saw the brothel. I do not blame him for reacting that way, but we cannot really punish him for this."
"But, Your Majesty–"
"I know what you are going to say. 'He commited a crime'. Yes, he found a group of criminals who should be forced to stand trial, and instead of arresting them he burned them to ashes. The law should apply to everyone equally, and even a Cardinal Hero must be tried if they commit a crime. But... right now it is impossible, not when Jaralis' daughter was one of the people he rescued. If we sentence the Shield Demon and it becomes known that she was involved, it doesn't matter if she is estranged or that we have the Waves hitting everywhere, Siltvelt will attack us again no matter what my wife does, and the other nations will join them because we summoned the Four Heroes here. And if it becomes known that my daughter forged documents to turn an adventurer into a slave just for her own pleasure or for whatever other reason, being punished into marrying that bastard Faubrey would be too light a punishment. Not even Mirellia would save her... and, even then, I want to protect her."
"You must recognize she is a danger to the Heroes, Your Majesty."
"She is. It hurts to admit it... but it is the truth. But we'll deal with her at due time. We must find more about the nun's claims. What happened to her, how she ended up in that place... and what she knows about that relic she mentioned. No matter what he might claim, I know Biscas plots to dethrone my wife, my family, and I will not allow that."
"Then, we must act to find the information we need about the Church's movements and motives. I have someone in mind that would be perfect for this job."
"If it is who I think, then yes, they will be the right person for the job. Get in contact with them and put them on the job."
I did not even hint as to who I was thinking of, and he knows? I almost feel pity for the Church. Almost.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," he replied, and vanished into the night, leaving the King alone with the Vassal Staff.
"It's been so long since I last held you. And I really missed having a clear head, but... how did that happen? Well, that can wait. The important thing is how we can finally deal with that Shield Dem-"
The King yelped in pain as the Vassal Staff shocked him. He could actually feel the emotions the Staff felt: it was happy to return to him once more but wanting to cause damage to the Shield Hero was out, particularly when it was not justified.
"It's not unjustified, he killed people-"
Another shock, and another burst of feelings. That the people he had killed were evil people, people who could not be saved from their mistakes. That he needed to cast out his childish hatred for the Shield Hero.
"I'm not childish, I have good reasons to be angry against them!"
A third shock struck him, and one last message.
Them, not Him.
The Staff vanished with a flash, leaving him with an empty hand.
"Now, who is acting childish here?" he asked, but predictably he did not get an answer. "Well, it is good to know that I can count on you in an emergency. Now, I need to plan out how to survive my wive's wrath. I hope he didn't get burned at the fire. Wouldn't be a great loss if he did, though."
Aultcray stood up and walked to his dresser, in order to change into clothes fitting for the task he had in mind. If he was lucky, he would be able to make his wife the happiest mother in the world.
Hi everyone.
I hope that everyone has passed these festivities with joy, and most importantly, that you are with the people you want to be. I usually use this time to take a break from trying throughout the year and relax to prepare for the year ahead.
I hope you have enjoyed this chapter, which will be my last this year.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.