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: Again, here I am. If you see any mistakes, it's possibly my fault. Best be glad you don't see the pre-beta text!
The Shield Hero who came from another world
Chapter 8
As the sun rose in the horizon, Naofumi knew he was starting to get a tad too tense for his own test. He had been awake for a straight twenty-four hours, and although that fact was not something unusual, it still made him desire to rest in a soft bed and dream of better times. Instead, he was stuck cooking breakfast for his party and the women he had saved the previous night.
After leaving Erhard's shop, he had used Astral Teleport three times to get himself and his party as far away from Castle Town as possible. As soon as they reached a safe place, everyone but Ferrie had gone to sleep, while his first companion kept watch along with him and decided it was a good moment to speak about what had happened before.
"Naofumi, we need to talk," the monk girl told his friend the moment she was sure everyone else was asleep, since they were close enough that they could eavesdrop, and this was a conversation she wanted to keep private.
"About?" Naofumi questioned as he lit a fire: while the temperature was somewhat nice even now, he still wanted something to keep him company for the night. Certainly, he was unaware of the concerns Ferrie had held in the past few hours.
"The way you reacted to the fire in the slums and the Church. And that shield you are still using... it's giving me a dreadful feeling."
"The shield?" Naofumi asked, then he turned to look to his right hand and realized it was still there. "Man, I forgot I was using it. It feels... natural to me."
"Naofumi, I'm feeling the sheer rage that shield emits, and you call it natural? It doesn't feel right to me."
"I learned to deal with it a long time ago, Ferrie."
"Damnit, Naofumi, that's not normal! That hate is like a sickness!"
"It's part of my life, Ferrie. Now, just go sleep, tomorrow's going to be a hectic day."
"Since when do you carry that kind of wrath with you? Was it after Atalanta died? Was it Melissa? Or Rafaella?" she asked, glaring at him, but he ignored her. "Well, would you tell me?"
The only answer she got for that was utter silence, angering her.
"Do you even know how much damage your fire caused, Naofumi?"
"It was only one building. One building where women were kept enslaved and forced to sell their bodies against their will."
"One building? While I was bringing Anne to the workshop, I could see the fire you started was so big that it was eating an entire quarter of Castle Town!" she replied, pointing at Naofumi, who dropped a pair of logs he had been carrying to throw into the campfire.
"What? That-that's impossible! I left a barrier rod inside that building; you know better than anyone that those barriers are impossible to break! It should have kept the fire from spreading at all!"
"Well, from what I heard, that barrier did zilch. I don't know if the rod was broken when you used it or if the world's ambient mana just wasn't compatible with that thing, or if those rods were just not tuned on yet. Like your runes before."
"Fuck. Fuck! Fucking shit! Why the fuck did this have to fucking happen!" he exclaimed, morally exhausted, before walking to a tree and starting to punch it. At the tenth hit, a spark of cursed fire jumped from Naofumi's shield and started to burn the tree, shocking him out of his state. Quickly, he opened Storage and took out another barrier rod out of it, but he hesitated for a while: after what Ferrie had said, he was afraid it would cause even more trouble. Still, he decided to risk it, and buried the rod into the tree before activating it and walking away from the tree.
Moments later, a barrier materialized, engulfing the burning tree, and immediately it was obvious that nothing was escaping from it, as the interior filled with smoke. After a while, the flames petered out, leaving the tree burned but still standing.
Naofumi knew well that this could only mean one thing, and he did not know how to take it. Ferrie, knowing what was going through Naofumi's head, moved behind him and hugged him from the back.
"You... cannot destroy these barriers from outside. It was based on the Hedron Shield, and I've never seen one of them breaking down since the beginning of the war with Chiltic."
"I know that, Fumi. It's... it's not your fault, alright?"
"Maybe... one of those bastards was alive and broke the rod, trying to escape the fire. Maybe they thought it was causing the fire. Maybe someone entered behind me before the rod activated? What... what if they were innocent, Ferrie? Did I kill someone that had nothing to do with it?"
"We don't know, Naofumi. Maybe one of them survived your attack or Raphtalia's rampage? It's just... I remember Ms. Chidori said that going into a fire could kill you if you do not have the training or the equipment to deal with it. I'm not trying to downplay it to help others, or the fact that a good person died in the fire... but this was a mistake, and in the end, it was someone else that paid for it. It wasn't your fault."
The two of them remained silent for a while, watching over the others. Naofumi tried to calm down after his realization of what had happened several hours before: the fire was his responsibility, and he should have returned to make sure the fire had gone out... but he had assumed that the rod would be enough to bring the same results that he had obtained in Aztlan. But now, he was in Melromarc. Different world. Different dimension. Different rules.
And someone, an innocent person, perhaps several, could have died because he forgot that.
"I was thinking, Naofumi," Ferrie said, knowing how awful her friend felt, "you may have killed a man and you started a fire, so you are not allowed to sing Willy Joe or Queen Mercury, alright?"
Naofumi blinked, shaken out of his stupor by the random comment.
"Say what?"
"Yeah, you know, that song that was like Mama mia, Figaro, and Galileo? Or the other one about a lot of names I didn't hear before?"
"What?" Naofumi repeated: hearing her mention those words was nowhere close to what he expected her to say. "How do you even know about those songs?"
"Oh, Ms. Chidori really liked those songs. She even managed to make instruments to play them in her free time, and I loved listening to her."
"I never thought you would actually like that kind of music."
"Are you saying I'm not allowed to like those songs?"
"No, nothing like that," he replied, turning around into her embrace to face her. "I just didn't think you actually liked those songs, and I certainly didn't expect you to mention them. Even if you butchered their names."
"What are the right names?"
"Billy Joel and Freddie Mercury, the leader of Queen."
"Ooh, right, those were the actual names."
Ferrie left to sleep a while later, leaving Naofumi on his own, watching the fire he had built and listening for any kind of trouble that could attempt to strike. Fortunately, nothing happened during the night.
"Good morning, daddy," Aria said with a mighty yawn as she approached Naofumi, followed close by Terry and the other three girls. Lea, the lion-like therianthrope, sat to Naofumi's left, watching around herself as if fearing that slavers would suddenly spring out from behind a tree to capture her and the others. Nelia, the horned girl, took the Hero's other side. And the last girl, a bird demi-human with long black wings where her arms would have been and bird claws instead of feet, sat in front of Naofumi, next to Aria and Terry.
"What are you cooking, daddy?" Aria asked.
"Porridge. I doubt that our guests have been fed well in the past days, so I decided to make something simple that could settle well in the stomach."
"We are so thankful, Lord Shield," Lea said, bowing to Naofumi in gratefulness. The act of borderline worship only annoyed him, but he chose not to comment on it.
"It smells so good! I would love to taste anything besides bread and water."
"Try not to choke like last time, Neila, it'd be a shame if you died to a simple porridge."
"Shut your trap, Merla, it was just one time," the Satyr girl replied, clearly embarrassed by what was clearly a low point in her past.
"What happened to her, Merla-chan?" Aria asked.
"Oh, she was just so hungry one time she choked on a steak because she wouldn't be patient enough to chew it. Mama was frantic and pestered one of our handlers to help her, so he hugged her from behind, pushed into her stomach – and the piece of meat she was choking on flew into Mama's face," Merla replied, ignoring her friend's scowl.
"It was just one time, bird brain, why can't you just forget it?"
"Impossible! My clan has the best memory of all the feathered races! Even the Shushakus can't compare to my mighty brainpower!"
"Yes, yes, I know, you're a harpy of the Korvux clan, we already know that. Shield Hero, when will you serve us porridge and shut her up?"
"Neila! Be more respectful in the presence of Lord Shield!" Lea said, standing up and yelling at her partner.
"Are you a god, dad?" Terry asked.
"No, I'm not, Terry. Lea, right? My name is Naofumi, you can use it. Neila, I don't know you at all and I already can tell you're going to be a handful, so don't get excited and sit down. You, crow girl, is it healthy for you to eat porridge?"
"Yes, dad."
"As you wish, Lord Shi- Lord Naofumi."
"You're not funny, Naofumi."
"There's no problem with that, Shield Hero. And Neila, he let Lea call him that way, not you."
Naofumi gave a bowl of porridge to everyone and told them to eat slowly, so they could let it settle in their stomachs and enjoy the flavor. He had to repeat the warning when he saw Aria and Terry eating too fast and decided to instruct them on how to eat. While Merla and Neila followed him, Lea gave them some other tips they paid attention to, as he remembered something else.
"You need to know this, Shield boy. That one could be a danger to you if what happened to her reaches Siltvelt."
"How come?"
"Her father is one of their leaders, and the most ambitious of the lot. After the last war with Melromarc, he blamed the Tanuki demis for the defeat Siltvelt suffered when it was all the other clans' actions that caused their defeat. But, well, the Tanuki didn't join the fight, so he managed to get them exiled and saved his fur."
"How do you know this, Erhard?"
"I have friends in Siltvelt, and they keep talking about Jaralis and his followers. The lot of them are drunk with power, and I suspect that, should you go there, they are not going to support you unless you support his plot. The moment he finds out what happened to his daughter, he'll start another war with Melromarc."
Naofumi sighed.
"We've got the Waves ready to strike at any point, this is not the time to start a war between nations. I'll keep an eye on her: the worst thing that could happen is if I made her disappear," he replied, his hand on his chin as he looked in the women's general direction. Erhard's surprise was obvious, given how he continued to speak. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do that. It's not my style, anyway. I'm going to help that girl, I promised her, and from what I could tell she doesn't have anyone to support her now."
It'll be better if I don't involve them in my affairs and support them from afar, he thought, turning to the others. "Kids, when you are done eating, there's a stream in that direction you can use to clean yourselves up."
"Thank you, dad. We will, but it won't be soon," Terry replied, pointing at the girls and their reactions to Naofumi's food.
"Oh, my Shield. The food Lord Shield gave me has blessed me. I feel how my sins were forgiven with a single bite."
"This is the best! This is the best! I'd rather have this than my three-hour morning routine! I can't stop this pleasure!"
Naofumi chose not to think about what kind of routine she required that took three hours.
"This flavor is intoxicating... I'll get addicted... Naofumi-sama, please marry me... I can't live... anymore without this in my life..." Merla spoke, taking a spoon of porridge to her mouth between sentences, barely bothering to swallow before speaking.
"Daddy, another one, please!"
"This escalated very fast," Naofumi noted, giving another serving to Aria.
"It could be worse, dad," Terry said.
"Why do you think that?"
"It could be the grown-ups."
Naofumi nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. It could be worse."
"Oh! Naofumi-sama made breakfast! Is there enough for everyone?" Raphtalia suddenly asked, warning him that the absent women had just arrived to the clearing – including Ferrie, who was clearly unhappy to be woken up so soon.
"Terry, you take charge of this. If any of your mothers ask about me, tell them I went to take a leak," Naofumi said before running away anywhere away from the fire, leaving Terry laughing behind his back.
Fortunately, by the time he returned from his unscripted walk, everyone had finally finished their breakfast and cleaned up the pots. Ferrie did not even deign to look towards him for whatever reason, so Naofumi chose to concentrate on what their group had to do next.
"There's a lot of things we need to deal with. First off, the transfer of property. You will be released to make your own life as soon as possible, but for the time being you will stay at Mirso, with Rino's family."
"What happens if they don't accept demi-humans there?" Sunnifa asked. Naofumi knew it was a possibility and considered their options.
"We could simply claim that they are our slaves," Amy suggested. "Free demi-humans are not uncommon in Melromarc, but their presence around there will raise a lot of questions."
"True," Eda continued. "They better pass as our slaves. That should grant them some protection from certain people, and if I wear my old robes, I can help them remain unnoticed."
"Is that alright with you?" Naofumi asked the demi-human women.
"No problem from me. After everything we've gone through, we trust them, and Rino's been helping us a lot even though we only met her yesterday," Aalis, one of the rabbit demi-humans, mentioned, and the others nodded.
"Then... let's start with the ownership transfer."
"Naofumi," Ferrie interrupted, "I would like to volunteer for this instead of you."
"Why is that, Ferrie?"
"Even if demi-human slavery is legal in Melromarc, your enemies will try to use you having slaves against you. They could even try to make something out of Raphtalia's status, even though she was bought in a completely legal way."
"I won't let that happen to Naofumi-sama, Ferrie-nee-chan."
"She is right, though," Rino suggested.
"The Church are a bunch of hypocrites; they will take whatever the Shield demon does and attempt to discredit him. Him having bought the girl as a slave will be used to cause the demi-human nations to lose faith in him. It could even affect the Four Heroes' Faith."
"Wait," Nelia said, "are they going to use us to harm Naofumi?"
"Yes, you can expect that," Lea replied, in a pensative position. "The Church and Melromarc's Crown would claim he is a villain who enslaved demi-humans and humans, despite being a legendary Hero, even though the Church and many nobles keep several demi-humans under bondage. On top of that, Lord Shield's social and sacred position in the other nations would be discredited, leaving the other Heroes as the moral example to follow, thus promoting the status of the Three Heroes' Church."
"Wow, I didn't know you could think of things that way, Lea."
"Th-Thank you, mother, but it is something obvious, something anyone could realize."
"Girl, it took me a sleepless night to get to half of what you just said," Ferrie commented, disheartened to see a twelve-year-old girl had the experience to both understand what was going on and the potential consequences of what they were doing and how they could affect everyone else. "Keep thinking like that, Lea, you'll go far when you become an adult."
"Thank you, Lady Shield."
"I'm not Lady Shield, stop calling me that," Ferrie answered with a grumble, causing the others to laugh.
After that, the discussion turned into protests: since Ferrie was a subject of Melromarc's crown, she was entitled to having several slaves – something most people never tried, since they did not have the means to acquire and maintain them – so, as long as no one discovered the human slaves, she ought to be fine.
However, the demi-humans were not keen on the idea of someone other than 'Lord Shield' owning them but acquiesced when Naofumi asked them to cooperate. In the end, the only exceptions were Raphtalia, Rino, and Eda.
Raphtalia declared she was too loyal to Naofumi, so she didn't want to leave him, causing most of the demi-humans to look at her with suspicion; Rino had stated that the only person she would agree to belong to was Naofumi, and Eda was simply enthused with the idea of just declaring that a nun of the Three Heroes' Church was happy to be the Shield Demon's private slave.
Naofumi thought the idea was hilarious, but he could have lived without the innuendo.
"So, how far are we from Mirso, Rino?" Naofumi asked as the conversation finally got done.
"If we go at a hasty pace, just half a day away, Naofumi-sama."
"So, just one more jump. Perfect. Get everyone ready, we're leaving in five minutes!"
Following Rino's directions, Naofumi managed to pinpoint where to go, and as the group came out of the Astral plane, they arrived to the outskirts of a large town, surrounded by a sturdy wall whose gates were controlled by a bunch of sentries charging a toll.
"Will we have to pay that toll?"
"No, that's for people who are not escorted by a villager, or for merchants who want to sell their goods. I am with you, so you should be able to skip paying."
"Sounds good to me," he replied, taking the shield from his wrist and placing it on his back, under his cape. Then he noticed everyone was looking at him. "If I go there with the shield, they'll recognize me."
Everyone nodded, and they approached the town. Since Rino was easily recognized and she vouched for everyone, they only had to pay a small fee, with Naofumi's being bigger because he had potions and materials he wanted to sell.
"My parents have a generous stretch of land on the other side of the town. I don't think they'll refuse to see us, but..."
"You don't want to tell them what happened."
"No. Well, not now. Knowing my father, he would probably do something crazy that would make no sense at all."
I can sympathize with him, the green-eyed man thought as he noticed how Rino avoided his gaze. "Yeah, best if you go check on your parents-"
"Naofumi? Ferrie? What are you doing here?"
Turning, they saw a group of four, led by a young man with black hair and armor. Behind him stood a bearded man with an axe, a young woman in a black robe and another man of the same age wearing lighter armor.
Eda quickly screamed like a fangirl the moment she realized who had just interrupted them, causing the others to cringe in pain from how loud she had shouted. Ferrie managed to recover quite soon and greeted them.
"Sir Ren, Bakta, Welt, Tersia! It's been a while! What are you guys doing here?" she asked, before the bearded man jumped ahead and grabbed her into a hug, spinning her in the air while laughing, as the other two closed in and began to chat with Ferrie – and leaving Naofumi faced with their leader.
"Ren," Naofumi said, politely yet dry and harsh at the same time.
"Okay, last time we met wasn't the best of circumstances, so I understand why you are angry. But, hey, it turned out just fine in the end."
"Because Ferrie defended me," Naofumi replied, closing his eyes, opening them again to observe his sword-wielding counterpart. "Though, you also helped, you were willing to listen to me and mediated in that joke of a trial. Not that Itsuki or that idiot Motoyasu would have helped, anyway."
"What trial are you talking about, Shield Demon?"
"Shield Demon?" Ren asked, surprised at the rude way the nun was calling Naofumi. So were his party, who turned from Ferrie to look at Eda.
"Eda! We've already told you not to speak to Lord Shield like that!"
"And I have already told you that I will speak to him however I want, Ludmila. Besides, aren't you supposed to be my slave! You can't go scolding me in the middle of the street!"
"I scold you because you must respect the man that rescued you from that hell!"
"Naofumi, what's going on here?" Ren asked, confused. Naofumi sighed.
"Just two friends, fighting over stuff I just don't give a damn about," the Shield Hero commented, prompting the two arguing women to turn to Naofumi at the same time.
"We are not friends!" they both yelled. Ren was shocked and intimidated, although he did manage to keep everyone else from noticing it.
Everyone but Naofumi, who was able to notice the small spasm the younger man had.
Man, that's some poker face he's got. I wish I could do the same, it would have made dealing with my clients a lot easier.
Then Eda decided to open her mouth again.
"After all the times I had to put my head between her legs, I cannot say we are just friends."
Too much information.
"EDA! Don't say those things in front of Lord Shield and Lord Sword!" Ludmila screamed, her face red with embarrassment. Ren was not only blushing, but his mouth was hanging open in shock. Meanwhile, Ren's party just kept smiling, because they knew Ferrie was likely to punch them if they said anything stupid.
As for Raphtalia... the innocent girl just felt weirded out by the idea of someone putting their head between someone else's legs. Then she briefly imagined Naofumi doing that to her, and her face burned up as she decided that those houses in the distance looked more interesting than everything else.
"I'm just emphasizing the kind of relationship we have, Ludmila," Eda said, giving her a small smirk.
"I... I thought nuns didn't do that?" Ren asked, confused.
"Well, a lot of things happened, Ren. We'd better find a more private place to talk."
"Sure. I know one place we can check."
Naofumi called the attention of his group and soon enough everyone was moving for the place Ren was thinking about, but they did not get far before someone else approached them.
"Sir Sword Hero, welcome back! How was your mission to exterminate the dragon?"
"You killed a dragon?" Naofumi asked, surprised.
"Yes, I did. The town requested the Crown for a mission to kill the dragon living nearby. I knew this would happen through the game I played, so I took the opportunity."
"Impressive," the man said. "I see that you and your party members are unscathed."
"We coordinate when we handle a task. The fact that we level up all alone has ensured our stats grow steadily."
"Wait a moment, alone?" Naofumi wondered what Ren meant by his last comment.
"Who are you, sir? And why are you speaking to Sir Sword Hero in such a casual way?" the man asked, upset for some reason.
"Uncle, this is Naofumi-sama, the Shield Hero," Rino said, stepping forward and smiling at the elder man.
"Rino! What a joyous surprise to see you here!" the man said, hugging Rino before releasing her. "Are you doing well as an adventurer?"
"Yes, uncle, I've been doing well. Naofumi-sama, allow me to present you to my uncle, Gavin, this town's governor. Uncle, I'm visiting Mom and Dad to ask them for a favor, but what is this about killing a dragon?"
"Ah! Well, you see," the man said, and Naofumi realized he was way too nervous: he realized that this was far more concerning than expected. "I asked the Kingdom to protect us from Gaelion, he has been acting aggressive and dangerous these past months-"
"WHAT! That's impossible, uncle! Gaelion-"
"You have been away from here for too long, Rino! That damned dragon has been attacking cattle and people! The Sword Hero just saved us from further destruction, be grateful to him!"
"I was just doing my job," Ren replied, but Rino shook her head.
"No, uncle, that makes no sense at all! Gaelion is the most noble of dragons, and he has never attacked anyone without reason."
"You don't know anything, Rino, it's been hell-"
"You're the one that doesn't know anything, old man!" Rino fired back, losing her patience. "I have talked with Gaelion, and he has never done anything to me, even after he started taking care of his daughter!"
"Daughter?" Ren asked, surprised, but Naofumi kept an eye on Rino's uncle, approaching the elder man without him noticing.
"For some years now, Gaelion has been taking care of a demi-human girl he considers his daughter. He wouldn't dare attack the town, knowing that he would endanger the girl."
"That girl doesn't exist, Rino! Don't make up things! Oh, I know, Sir Ren can surely conf-AGH!"
"Naofumi!" Ren shouted, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at his fellow hero, who was now holding the governor by his neck. All the companions drew out their weapons, and the children turned into their creature forms, drawing attention from everyone around.
"Easy, everyone," Naofumi said, "I feel like Mr. Governor here is hiding quite a few things. He's been acting weird since Rino asked about the dragon, and I think you've been played, Ren."
"What are you talking about, Naofumi! The dragon I killed is an evil monster that will destroy humanity if it isn't stopped at this point in the story! That was one of the conditions to have an easy gameplay!"
"Have you already forgotten what I told you our first night here? This isn't a game, this is real life, and you just killed a potentially innocent dragon that was raising a girl!" Ren's pride was clearly struck by that thought. "Say, Rino, is your uncle a practitioner of the Three Heroes' Church."
"Yes, he is. How did you know, Naofumi-sama?"
"The way he looked at me when he heard who I was, for starters. When you mentioned Gaelion's daughter, his body language turned from tension to repulsion, and he didn't stop looking with disdain at everyone not human here. And let's say that people discriminating against my friends is a pet peeve of mine."
"What is your point here, Naofumi? You're choking him," Ren pointed out.
"All to make sure what will happen if he lies again." Naofumi stopped the choking but kept him tight and close by holding him by the lapel. "Why would you want a dragon that has been living in harmony with you for so long, dead?"
The governor was terrified. He wanted to ask for help, to run away, to do anything – but Naofumi's piercing glare kept him in place. So he did the only thing he could.
He wet his pants. Naofumi looked disgusted but kept a hold on him.
"You don't want to speak? It's fine, I'll do the talking for you. This dragon, Gaelion, isn't it? I'll bet he's the kind of dragon that gathers a lot of treasure in his lair." The man's eyes widened in shock, telling him everything he needed to know. "I was afraid of that. Ren, where did you leave the body?"
"The body? I left it where I killed it, on a plateau in the mountain. The governor requested me to notify him where the body was left, so he could send someone to harvest the body for materials that would help the people."
"Alright, that makes sense, but what did you do with the dragon's core?"
"The what?" everyone in Ren's party asked. Ferrie paled, realizing the reason why he was asking.
"Don't you know what the dragon core is, Sir Ren?" she asked, looking at the hero.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Ren replied, puzzled.
"For fuck's sake, Ren!" Naofumi yelled, tossing the governor aside. "Alright, you and your party are going to come with me and fix the mess you made!"
"What's wrong, Naofumi?"
"What's wrong is that, when you kill a dragon, you have to remove its magic core, so it doesn't corrupt the dead flesh and turn the corpse into a zombie dragon! Rino, go find your parents and fix everything you can with them, this is going to take all day. Ferrie, can you help her?"
"Understood, Naofumi-sama."
"Don't worry, Fumi, we'll take of it!"
"What are you doing, Naofumi?" Ren asked, still not shaken out of his confusion as he saw Naofumi giving orders to his party.
"When did you kill the dragon?"
"Hmm. About... five or six hours ago?"
"Good, we still have time. Did you hunt him at night?"
"We spent the entire afternoon and night fighting the dragon, we just got back."
"There's no time to waste, Ren! And you," Naofumi said, pointing at Rino's uncle, who was attempting to escape taking advantage of Naofumi's distraction, "we are going to have words when this is over! Let's go!"
"I'm not going with you, it's a waste of time, Naofumi."
"Sir Ren, please, guide Naofumi to where the dragon's body lies, or there will be terrible consequences!" Ferrie begged him.
"No, Ferrie," Ren insisted, "I already dealt with the dragon. Let the villagers fulfill their end of the bargain."
"Sir Sword," Eda interjected, looking at the young man with a plea in her eyes. Ren could not help but feel uncomfortable by the look she was giving him. "Listen to the Shield Demon. The importance of Gaelion's kind to this world is well known by everyone, including the Three Heroes' Church. There are records going years ago of what happened the last time a dragon was killed, and its core was not retrieved... it wasn't a good end. If you don't go there right now, this village will forever blame you for the zombie dragon's existence. In this time of adversity, faith and hope are what will keep us together... and you could kill them by your own action and inaction."
The nun then bowed as her attempt was done, and Rino took her place.
"Ren-sama, help my village! If what Naofumi-sama said is true, my family, everyone that lives here and everywhere nearby, they are in danger! Please, help Naofumi-sama and stop this curse."
Ren sighed and looked at his party: clearly, they were affected by the situation and the pleas. If a surprise quest could hit them like this, it might be time to leave them behind. But... as much as he would like to think otherwise, he was also affected. The blonde girl had asked him to save her home, and the nun had made it clear that things would be bad if he did not help. It took a toll on his conscience.
"Alright, let's not waste more time, then. Let's go, Naofumi."
Rino's apprehension, which had been eating at her from the moment she heard what had happened, slowly vanished, while Eda felt pleased that she had managed to convince the Sword Hero to follow the right path. Soon, the groups split up: while Rino guided Ferrie and the former slaves towards her parents' home, Naofumi took Raphtalia, Aria, and Terry to join with Ren and his party.
Aria took Naofumi, Ren, and Raphtalia into the air. For Raphtalia, it was the first time she did this, and while it was not exactly a wonderful experience, it was still manageable. At least she had it better than Ren, who was a bit green around the gills, and it was only his pride and desire to keep his image in front of his companions that kept him from a rather nasty end. Meanwhile, Terry was taking Ren's party, running just behind his sister.
As they approached their destination, Naofumi brought Ren up to date with everything that had happened since they had last met, including Ferrie's attempted murder and his encounter with Rino. However, he kept silent on how he had actually met Raphtalia, not having the time to deal with something he actually agreed with but could not fix right now.
"Goddamnit, Motoyasu," Ren grumbled as the encounter with the Spear Hero came up. "Only he could be so stupid as to allow something like that to happen under his nose."
"Yes, he's an idiot, but you shouldn't cast stones at his glass house, and I don't even want to imagine what kind of stuff Itsuki's messing up now."
"Why? Are you saying that I'm not better than that Casanova wannabe?"
"Just like you, he acts like he does because he believes this is all a game when you should have known better from the beginning. In his case, add a woman who has the means to abuse the kingdom's highest authority and who barely has to make an effort to make him jump whenever she says so. If what Rino said is true, Motoyasu is just letting her running roughshod because he's a dumbass. And may I remind you that she was the one that accused me of something I didn't do?"
Raphtalia's grip on his waist tightened, drawing his attention.
Oh, right, she doesn't know about that bitch and the trial she put me through. I really didn't want to bother her with that, but I guess she would have found out about it eventually.
Ren, meanwhile, chose to ignore Naofumi, and pointed to a large plateau, silently indicating their destination. At Naofumi's urge, Aria landed near the body so they could wait for everyone else to come.
However, that wait suddenly got shorter because Raphtalia, in spite of her dizziness, unsheathed her sword the moment she dismounted Aria, who leaned her body close to the ground as she looked at the unmistakable evidence of a fight.
"What's wrong, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked, worried.
"There's someone here already, on the other side of the body."
Naofumi and Ren looked at each other and got ready for whatever could happen. The Sword Hero took a tentative step forward, but Naofumi stretched out a hand.
"Ren, stick behind me. I'm the Shield for a reason."
"I'm faster and more agile than you, Naofumi. If something attempts to attack me, they won't be able to reach me at all."
"I'm trying to keep you from risking your life, you moron," Naofumi replied, but Ren was already moving past and ignoring him. "Fine, suit yourself. But if you end up getting hit by something, I am going to laugh on your face every day. Raphtalia, stay behind me, if you see something hostile attack. Aria, stay alert and help Raphtalia."
"Yes, Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia replied, while Aria tensed up, ready to fight if necessary. Ren, being ahead of the others, was the first to reach the other side of the dead dragon – and found a young girl hugging the dragon's head and crying in obvious suffering as she did so. Confused, Ren let his guard down and carefully approached the girl – who, he noticed, had the features of a dog demi-human.
"Miss, you aren't supposed to be here," he said. "Can I help you find your parents?"
For just one second, the girl stopped crying, and then she turned her head to look at Ren. She was clearly confused that someone was there, in the middle of nowhere, talking to her, but as she wiped the tears from her eyes, she gasped.
Worried about the girl, Ren walked faster towards her, ignoring Naofumi's yells to stop or wait for them. What he did not expect was for the girl to glare at him – and start to chant.
"I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take from! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel my wrath, sorrow, and suffering, and give it shape as a flame that CONSUMES MY ENEMIES! DARK FIRE PALETTE!"
Suddenly, the air was filled with blades made of black flames, and they all flew towards the Sword Hero. The suddenness of the attack took Ren by surprise, and he was struck by the entire force of the spell, which sent him flying: only a quickly applied Air Strike Shield saved him from falling off the plateau, not that he noticed, as the pain from his injuries was such that he had fainted before he crashed into the ground.
"YOU! YOU FUCKING MURDERER! YOU COME HERE AND MAKE FUN OF MY FATHER'S DEATH BY ASKING IF YOU CAN HELP ME FIND HIM? I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES! YOU HEAR ME, YOU FUCKING BASTARD?!"
"Man, Rino was right! The dragon was raising a girl," Naofumi said while palming his face.
"She doesn't look like a dragon to me, daddy."
"Maybe she's like you, Aria. Her papa was from another species, like Naofumi-sama."
"Yeah, you're right, mommy. Well, I'll deal with her, I'm hungry," Aria said, but before she could attack Terry suddenly landed between Ren and the girl – who was ready to cast another spell at the still downed hero – and still with Ren's companions on top.
"I AM HERE! WITH FOOD!" the black Filolial yelled, dropping a couple of monsters from under his wings, while Tersia, Bakta and Welt jumped off him.
"Sorry about the wait, the Filolial was hungry – and so was he," Tersia said, pointing at Bakta, who was busy drinking from a horn while eating something out of a bag. The demi-human girl, meanwhile, looked at them, completely befuddled by the sudden turn of events.
"We found a man selling food on the way here," Welt said, explaining the mysterious drink and food in Bakta's hands. He then turned to look at the unconscious Sword Hero. "Why does Sir Ren seem to be in pain?"
"Flying can do that to you, my friend," Bakta said as he finished his drink. "Say, who's the lass?"
After Ren was healed, and everyone made sure the dog girl (who eventually said she was named Wyndia) would not run away or attempt to kill the Sword Hero again, the young girl was reluctant to speak.
Save for making some rather pointed questions.
"Who are you? Why did you kill my father? What do you plan to do to me?"
"Right, well, I am–" Naofumi spoke before he was interrupted by Ren.
"I'm the Sword Hero, Amaki Ren, he is the Shield Hero, Iwatani Naofumi, and the others are our party members. We were warned that Gaelion had attacked several nearby settlements, resulting in innocent people and livestock being killed, so they sent me to take care of the problem. As for you? Perhaps we should get you to an orphanage or a family that can take care of you."
"Wha-What are you talking about? My father was a good dragon, he never attacked any settlements. HE PROTECTED THEM FROM MONSTERS!"
"We did not realize Ren was duped until it was too late," Naofumi answered. "I know that it won't help you with your pain, and you are in the right to be angry with us... but we want to help you, however we can."
"I don't want your help! I don't NEED your help! All I want is for him to die," Wyndia shouted, pointing at Ren, "and the rest of you away from here, NOW!"
"We can't let you kill Sir Ren, lass," Bakta gently told the girl. "The legends say that we need the four Cardinal Heroes if we want to fight the Waves, and if one of them dies then the Waves will become harder to fight. And we are sorry for your loss, but your dragon attacked us first, and we answered to that."
"DON'T LIE! You were the first to attack! My father has had to protect us from you for the past four weeks because you wouldn't stop attacking us!"
"What are you saying?" Ren asked, stunned. "We are the first group to arrive here."
"We have been attacked at least by four groups already this month!"
The rest of Ren's party was now as stunned as their leader. Naofumi was not as surprised, having already realized what was going on.
"That-That's not possible," Ren stuttered. "In my game, it was said that the hero's party would be the first to reach the Dragon of Armageddon to kill it. The reports in the Guild and the Royal Castle said the same. We all saw the documents!"
"Yes, I read those documents. All of them stated that no one had been sent before us," Tersia replied, angry as he, too, realized what had happened.
"Damn it! Someone played us!" Bakta grumbled
"What do you mean, Bakta?" Ren asked the ranger.
"Not the first time someone uses us adventurers to do the dirty job, Sir Ren. A noble or some fancy merchant gets information about something that could get them money or connections and hires us to kill someone or steal something while feeding us a cockamamie story to make the Guild think it's a legitimate quest. It's like Sir Naofumi said, the Governor wanted us to take Gaelion out of the way so he could steal something of his!"
"My father has nothing of value at his lair, only me," Wyndia mumbled, horrified as she learned what had brought her father's death. "There's also some shining bars at home, but I don't know why someone would want them, they can't be used for anything."
Everyone fell silent for several seconds, as they looked at the girl, who returned the look with confusion.
"You think they could actually be worth anything?"
"Don't worry, Wyndia, those belong to you now. Nobody here wants to take your father's treasure," Naofumi stated.
"We don't?" Terry asked.
"Yes, Terry, we don't want it," Naofumi replied in a warning tone.
"But you could buy me a cart if you had treasure, dad."
"And a saddle! Carrying you around hurt a lot," Aria piped in.
"Kids," Raphtalia interrupted, holding their shoulders. "How would you feel if your father, Ferrie or I got killed by someone, and that person took our stuff and sold them?"
Aria and Terry looked down at the ground, visibly chastened as the truth of what they had suggested got into their minds.
"You understand, that's good. Now, be good children and apologize to Wyndia."
"We are sorry, Wyndia," the two said, bowing to the dog girl, who just glared back at them.
"I don't need any apologies. You saying sorry to me doesn't help me at all. Leave me alone and let me grieve my FATHER alone!"
"Kid, I know what you are feeling," Naofumi said.
"You know nothing about me."
"You think you are the only person that has lost a loved one? And you think the world will care about your loss? No, if we leave you here alone, you will die, or worse, you will be enslaved. Someone in that town wants what's in your father's lair, and they won't stop just because you want to grieve. If they get their hands on you, you will be sold as an object to the highest bidder, someone that will not care about you. If we leave you here, alone and unprotected, everything your father fought for to his last breath will have been for nothing. Do you want his legacy, you, to become nothing to the world?"
"Naofumi," Ren said, trying to warn the Shield Hero, while Wyndia looked at the latter with shining eyes.
"I... I..." she said.
"You, what?" Naofumi gently asked.
"I-I want daddy to not be dead! I want to live with him here, alone! I want things to go back to what they were!" she cried out, and tears cascaded from her eyes as her despair and pain became clear to all. Right now, she was just a lonely, confused little girl who had no place of her own, who had just lost her only family because of the greed of others – and who knew that Naofumi was right. Her home was no longer a safe place.
"We could help her if we left her at an orphanage, right, Naofumi?"
"I don't think it would be so easy, Sir Ren," Tersia said, gazing sadly at the crying girl.
"Why do you say that? And could someone shut her up?"
"She is a demi-human. Here in Melromarc, the likeliest to run the orphanage would be the Church, and I doubt they would accept her at all – and that would be the best result."
"Damned Church. Oi, Wyndia, could you shut up? We are trying to think what to do with you."
"For fuck's sake, Ren, why don't you shut up?" Naofumi shouted at Ren, clearly thinking of making good on his previous threat.
But by then it was too late.
"Naofumi-sama! The dragon is moving!" Raphtalia yelled, and everyone turned to see a dark aura had covered Gaelion's corpse – which was now rising above the lot of them and ready to kill, its dead eyes focused on Ren.
"FUCK! Ren, how long ago did you kill him?"
"No more than ten hours!"
"What the-That should be impossible, the core needs at least thirty-six hours to corrupt the body! Why is it happening right now?"
"Leave those questions for later, Naofumi-sama! What do we do?"
"Looks like we're going to have to fight," he glumly replied. Knowing who was the dragon's most likely target, he turned to Ren. "What do you think is worse, being eaten by an alien cockroach or by a zombie dragon?"
"Not the time to be philosophical, Naofumi! Bakta, Welt, be ready! Tersia, protect Wyndia!"
"Just pondering our options, Ren! Raphtalia, I'll cover for you! Terry, you support Raphtalia, and Aria, attack from the air! This is going to get rough!"
"Aye, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia said, readying her sword for an attack. Aria took to the air, and Naofumi and Terry stood next to her.
And then, with a mighty roar, the undead dragon formerly known as Gaelion charged at the Heroes' parties with all of its might.
After a short pause, here I am with the first chapter of the year. I'll be short on this; I need to finish some planned class schedules to get ready by next week. I'm a teacher at a technical college and never thought that teaching needs a lot of planning and a lot more papers to justify your pay and position.
Just for that, give respect to your teachers. I kindly ask for this.
Due to this, I'll try to get the next chapter as soon as possible.
See you next time