Rise of The Sword and The Shield chapter 02: Adventures in Melromarc
Lyall the Werewolf: I uploaded chapter 01 to test the waters, but I'm surprised to see it has so many favorites and views already. I guess this story is really popular. I'll upload this chapter and the next. Chapter 04 is currently a work in progress.
(I don't own Senran Kagura or Shield Hero)
"Sword Hero-sama…" a maidservant called to the Sword Hero. The maid had short brownish hair, large blue eyes, and pale skin. She was young and slender, likely the same age as Asuka herself.
"Zzzz…" Asuka snored, with her back turned as she slept heavily.
"Sword Hero-sama, please get up!" the maid began shifting Asuka's body to get her to wake up.
"Grandpa, more Futomaki please…" Asuka mumbled.
"Sword Hero-sama!" the maid cried aloud.
That seemed to do the trick. In a daze, Asuka rose from the mattress, with her hair and nightgown slightly disheveled. That wasn't the most troubling thing the maid had seen, however.
"Who are you…?" Asuka asked, slowly turning to the maid.
"I'm a maidservant, Sword Hero-sama. I've been sent to fetch you." the maid answered.
"What for?" Asuka asked, before remembering, "Oh yeah! We're forming parties today!"
"Yes. And, pardon my rudeness in advance, but is everything alright, Sword Hero-sama?" the maid asked.
"Huh?"
"Well, your face… I can only assume you've been crying most of the night." the maid said, hesitantly pointing to Asuka's face.
"Eh?" Asuka felt her face, and it appeared to be somewhat dry. A result of last night's crying fit, no doubt.
"Was everything not satisfactory for you?"
"N-No, that's not it. I just got homesick last night, that's all..." said Asuka as she got out of bed and walked toward the wardrobe where her uniform was kept.
"Do you require help?"
"Thanks, but I'm good. You can leave now. I'll be out shortly." said Asuka, "Oh, and, could you not talk about me crying last night? I don't wanna worry anybody."
She wasn't exactly embarrassed that a maidservant had seen her in a moment of weakness, but now that this role of a Hero had been placed upon her, she figured that the people of this world were no doubt looking toward the Cardinal Heroes as symbols of hope and strength, and she could not afford to have any moments of weakness on display, lest she disappoint them.
"Understood, Sword Hero-sama." the maid bowed.
"You don't have to call me that. Just 'Asuka' is fine." Asuka said as she stripped off her nightgown, revealing her slender and curvaceous body in her undergarments. The maid blushed deeply upon seeing the Sword Hero's beauty.
"B-But, you're one of the Four Cardinal Heroes. A common maidservant like myself couldn't possibly-"
"It's okay, I don't mind in the slightest. I'm honestly not used to all these formalities." Asuka smiled.
"A-Alright… if that is what you wish, Asuka-sama."
"Still pretty formal, but that'll do, I guess." Asuka giggled, "So, what's your name?"
"My name is Lora."
"Lora-chan, huh? It's nice to meet you,"
"Y-Yes, and you as well, Asuka-sama." Lora smiled, quite taken with the Sword Heroine's friendly attitude. It was better than the treatment she usually received from the Princess.
"I don't want to take up any more of your time, so I'll wait outside for you to finish preparing for today."
"Okay! Thanks, Lora-chan!"
Lora bowed and vacated the Sword Hero's room. Asuka was glad to have made a new friend. It helped her take her mind off the depressing things on her mind.
Once alone, Asuka inhaled and exhaled briefly. Now that she got the crying fit-out of her system, she felt ready for adventure. Now wasn't the time to wallow in self-pity. This world needed a Hero. A Hero with a strong will who acted as a Sword and Shield to the people. Her grandfather, Ikaruga, and others would want it this way.
"The Sword and the Shield... maybe Naofumi-kun and I can team up later down the line." Asuka thought about how cool it would be for her and Naofumi to fight enemies together during the Waves. She hadn't forgotten the thing about not being able to level up as a team because their weapons repel each other, but the thought of their team-up still put her at ease.
Before anything else, though, she felt she had to test something out. She was too tired to do so yesterday, but now she had to be sure she had access to her original move set in this world…
"Shinobi Barrier!" Asuka called out. Nothing happened, much to her frustration. A message even came up that skills outside of those belonging to the Legendary Sword were forbidden. "Yeah, I should have known…"
No Ninja Scroll for Shinobi Transformations and no Shinobi Barrier, which means her abilities as a Shinobi were either gone or unavailable.
"I guess that means I'll have to rely on this sword for now."
After a quick bath and freshening up, Asuka donned her uniform and scarf. She attached her Legendary Sword behind her back, and with the guidance of Lora, made her way to the throne room's front doors, where she would meet with the other heroes and their future party members.
"Alright! I got this!" She declared, brimming with confidence.
[-Throne Room-]
Entering through the doors, the Four Heroes march toward the center of the room as they were yesterday. In front of them stood twelve people armed with various weapons and armor. These must be the adventurers promised to aid the Cardinal Heroes as their party, all assembled by the King.
"I trust you had a good night's sleep, Heroes?" asked Aultcray.
"I slept great! Thanks for asking!"
"I did as well. Thank you for your hospitality."
"Same here."
"I see. I'm glad you boys have adjusted well to our world. And what about you, Asuka-dono?" the King asked Asuka.
"I… had some homesickness, but I'm perfectly fine! Please, don't worry about me." Asuka answered.
"Very well..." said Aultcray as he turned to the adventurers, "As promised, we have gathered the greatest warriors in the land. These brave souls will fight at your side during the Waves' incursion."
Asuka scanned the adventurers one after the other. They all seemed relatively experienced and had decent equipment, though most of the women were exposing more than a little skin. It was nothing new for the Sword Hero since her clothes ripping off during battle and exposing skin happened frequently back in her world. She hoped it wouldn't still be the case in this world.
One adventurer stuck out to her, that being a woman with semi-long wavy crimson hair tied up in a ponytail and bright emerald green eyes. She wore light leather armor, with a short sword hastened to her the left side of her waist. Compared to the other adventurers, this woman's attire was particularly fancy-looking. It didn't take her long to notice the red-haired woman's beauty. She was almost on par with Ikaruga in terms of attractiveness. She was very slender and had quite the bust as well, but surprisingly, hers were a cub size smaller than Asuka's bust.
"She's really pretty. But wait... Have I seen her before?" the Shinobi girl wondered. The hair looked familiar. Was she that woman she spotted from the window yesterday? Why would she be here? If she was living in this castle, then she must be related to King Aultcray in some way, possibly his daughter, thus making her a Princess. There was a bit of a resemblance between her and the King. She didn't look exactly like him, but it was enough to picture the two of them being related. Was she one of those princesses who go out on adventures? That might explain why she was dressed as an adventurer.
It was a possibility, but something about that woman made Asuka uneasy. The woman looked serene and friendly, but the younger girl could feel something else about her that was well hidden. Something… dark? Maybe she was imagining it, but her training had taught her to caution everything around her. While she didn't do that often because of her open nature, Asuka's instincts told her to keep a close watch on her and hopefully not to interact until she was certain of her true character.
The woman's gaze fell to Naofumi, who became enamored by her. She flashed a friendly smile to the Shield Hero, but to the Sword Hero, it felt fake. It was probably nothing.
"Let's not worry about her." Asuka thought before shift her line of sight in front of her.
"Now then, our future champions, it is time to begin your journey!" the King declared to the Heroes, before he turned to the adventurers, "Brave adventurers, go and select the Cardinal Hero you wish to join!"
As ordered, the twelve march forward to the Cardinal Heroes. This came as a surprise for Asuka and Naofumi, while Motoyasu and Itsuki remained calm for some odd reason.
"We don't get to choose?" Asuka thought. She quickly rationalized that maybe it was better this way. She didn't like the idea of forcing someone to join her if they didn't want to. She just hoped that the red-haired woman wouldn't choose to join her party. She was still getting bad vibes from her.
Unfortunately, it seemed the redhead had different plans. She stood directly behind Asuka, which made her very uncomfortable. She looked back with uneasy eyes and found five additional members lined up behind the woman. The former still held a pleasant smile on her face, but it quickly unnerved Asuka, who hastily faced front again.
This whole outcome was very odd to the Sword Hero because while Motoyasu got four and Itsuki got three, Naofumi shockingly had no one standing behind him.
"What's going on here…?" Asuka muttered. Why did no one want to join Naofumi while she wound up with six? There should have been at least an equal split of three between the four of them.
"Y-Yo, King!" Naofumi complained in distress about his situation.
"I am loath to admit it, but even I did not expect this," answered Aultcray, wearing a concerned expression. However, to Asuka, there was a hint of apathy in his facial expression and tone. Something was very wrong here indeed.
"It would seem you aren't very popular," said the King's advisor solemnly.
Meanwhile, another man whispered something briskly into Aultcray's ear. One moment later, the man stood back to the side, allowing Aultcray to speak grimly, "I've been made aware of an unsettling rumor."
"A rumor? What kind of rumor exactly?" Asuka asked.
"Hopefully, it isn't as serious as we think, but rumors are spreading quickly around the castle and town that the Shield Hero is ignorant of this world," Aultcray replied.
"WHAT?!" Naofumi cried in shock.
"Legend has it that all the Heroes already have a firm grasp of our lands. Because of these rumors, the adventurers here must think he might not meet that criteria, in addition to being the weakest of the four." Aultcray explained.
"Someone might have been listening in on our conversation last night," Motoyasu whispered to Naofumi.
"You think?!" Naofumi whispered back in anguish.
"That sounds way too specific, especially since it spread so quickly. Or maybe these rumors have been circling for a long time since the Cardinal Heroes were part of an ancient legend." thought Asuka, "Either way, why should a rumor impact their decision to join us? We're all strangers to this world, so teaching us how things work shouldn't be an issue..."
"Asuka!" Naofumi called out to Asuka, breaking her out of her thoughts, "You don't need six, right? Give some to me!"
Asuka could see the desperation on his face. Having no party members would hurt Naofumi's chances of leveling up since he only had a shield as his only weapon. That meant he couldn't attack anything and gain experience. Additionally, there was a disproportionate number of party members she and the other Heroes have compared to Naofumi. No matter how one looked at it, this was unfair treatment.
"Yeah, and to be honest, why do I have six people in my party?" asked Asuka.
"You think it's so strange? I spotted four guys at your party. It must be because you're so cute." smirked Motoyasu.
"That's what sticks out to you?" Asuka exclaimed in annoyance. She looked back at her party again and saw that yes, she did have four men in her party, and that was more than Motoyasu and Itsuki got. Itsuki had at least two males in his group, while Motoyasu was full of women.
One of the men in her party stuck out to her. He was tall and heavily built, sporting a brown mustache. He seemed calm and stern, but he gave an arrogant and smug air. The Sword Hero wasn't sure if she would be able to get along with such a person.
Personal feelings aside, Asuka felt she had to convince at least a few of them to join Naofumi.
"Anyway, I don't think it's necessary to have six people in my party. Aren't any of you willing to join Naofumi-kun?" Asuka asked her party members. No answer came as they seemed determined to stay where they were, much to her and Naofumi's frustration.
The desperate Shield Hero turned to Motoyasu, "Hey, help me out here, Motoyasu! Don't you think this is unfair?"
"Uh, yeah... I'm pretty surprised that my party's all girls, though." Motoyasu said with a small awkward smile. Naofumi looked displeased at this.
"You don't seem very torn up about it," Asuka said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, don't get upset, Asuka-chan! I'm sure we can still hang out after quests." Motoyasu smiled at Asuka, who sported a deadpan expression on her face.
"Sure…"
"We could split them up evenly a piece to be fair, but if we try to force the issue, it could break morale," said Itsuki, with his party members agreeing with him by nodding in sync.
"So what?! You're telling me to go it alone?!" Naofumi yelled.
Asuka quickly decided that enough was enough. These were baseless and unjust rumors, which no one should even consider taking seriously. So what if he was only capable of defense and had no attack capability? So what if he didn't have prior knowledge of how this world works? He was still a Hero and believing these rumors showed a clear lack of faith in him, which was stupid in her opinion. She had to put a stop to this. If her party wasn't willing to switch Heroes, why let them stay?
"Your Majesty." Asuka turned to the King, "I'm sorry to have to ask this after you put in the effort to assemble a party for me, but I would like to disband it. Is that okay?"
This request came as a shock to all who heard it, most especially Aultcray and those within her would-be party. The man with the mustache looked angry as well. The red-haired woman kept a neutral face.
"Asuka-dono, why would you request such a thing?"
"Yeah, this makes no sense. Are you telling us you wanna go out and fight by yourself, Asuka-chan?" Motoyasu asked.
"Won't things be a lot harder for you if you go it alone?" asked Itsuki.
"I know what I'm doing." Asuka replied, "If Naofumi-kun can't have a party, then I don't see why I should hold onto mine,"
"Huh?" Naofumi uttered in surprise at Asuka's willingness to immediately disband her party for him.
Some of the nobles and adventurers didn't seem to agree with the Sword Hero's reasoning. Even Aultcray was hesitant to agree with her request.
"Hmm…" Aultcray grimaced, "I understand where you're coming from. However, I cannot in good conscience allow you to venture out into this world alone without additional support,"
Asuka decided if she wanted to get her point across, she'd have to be direct. She stepped forward in front of the whole group and turned with a stern face to them. Inwardly, she was very nervous about doing this, especially with all eyes on her now, but she felt this had to be done.
"Look, I'm sorry if this hurts everyone's feelings, but I can't just lead a party when one of my fellow Heroes is about to go adventuring in a strange world he doesn't know a thing about. It's unfair, not to mention detrimental. Not only that, but when you believe rumors before you even get to know who we are or what we're truly capable of, it shows a lack of faith in our abilities. The rumors going around town shouldn't be taken seriously, and they especially shouldn't influence how you all feel about us. Just so we're clear, I have fighting experience, but I don't have pre-existing knowledge of this world, so I don't want anyone to join me if it's because of some baseless unreliable rumor or undetermined facts,"
The nobles began whispering amongst themselves, evidently confused by the Sword Hero's actions. Asuka wasn't entirely sure what was bothering them, but she pressed on.
"We might be the Four Cardinal Heroes as your legend dictates, but we're all new and inexperienced here, which is why you were selected to party with us, to teach us about this world and to help us get strong enough to face the Waves of Catastrophe. I'll be honest with you guys. I can't say for sure I deserve this title given to me..." Asuka's hand began to shake, due to some lingering feelings of doubt, especially because she failed to defeat Orochi.
However, she pushed forward, determined to get these people to see reason, "But, if we're going to have a shot at saving this world, we all need your help. That's especially the case with Naofumi-kun, who can only defend. That's why he needs someone to attack in his place. Leaving him by himself just because he doesn't have pre-existing knowledge of this world is just going to hurt our cause, ancient legends or rumors be damned. He needs your help, just as much as the rest of us do! But if you intend to throw Naofumi-kun to the wolves, I'd prefer not to have a party at all!"
Outside of murmurs from the nobles watching above from the balconies, Asuka was only met with silence. No one seemed willing to consider her word since no adventurers moved from their spots in their respective parties. Did she just embarrass herself trying to help a friend? It frustrated her to no end.
She looked toward Naofumi again, and he looked just as frustrated and disappointed as she did after that speech.
A moment later, one slender hand rose from Asuka's party to the surprise of Asuka and Naofumi.
"Excuse me, Sword Hero-sama." the redhead spoke politely, "Since you're disbanding your party, then may I presume you don't have any problem allowing me to join the Shield Hero's party?"
Asuka was stunned at this. It was a great thing that she decided to lend her aid to the Shield Hero of her own accord, and she was relieved that that red-haired woman chose not to stick around, but why now? She could have joined Naofumi immediately when she was given the opportunity, and just moments prior, she didn't seem keen on the idea of forming a party with him. Why wait until now to want to switch parties?
"Not in the slightest, but are you sure?" Asuka asked, her brown eyes staring directly into the woman's emerald eyes.
"Of course I am! Your speech just now touched me, Lady Hero. If we want to save our world, we need to put our faith in all the Heroes, including the Shield Hero." said the woman, with what appeared to be a genuinely compassionate smile, which bothered the Sword Hero more than she showed.
"Is that how you really feel? I thought you were intent on staying in my party just a moment ago..."
Asuka peered toward Naofumi, who looked relieved to have someone willingly join him. Seeing him like that, she couldn't possibly dash his hopes based on some feeling she had.
"I'm glad you see it my way. Take care, Miss…?"
"Myne, my name is Myne Sophia." the woman introduced pleasantly.
"Is that her real name? It sounds kind of plain for someone so pretty… stop it. She's willingly joining Naofumi-kun's party. If she can at least teach him how things work here, that's good. I just hope I'm wrong about her..." Asuka gave an encouraging smile to the older woman, "Take care of yourself, Myne-san,"
"Thank you for this opportunity, Sword Hero-sama!"
"It's Asuka."
"Oh yes, of course. Please forgive me. Farewell." Myne bowed before making her way to Naofumi.
"Hrmm…" Aultcray sighed, "Are you certain of this, Asuka-dono? Do you really intend to venture out into our world without aid from a party?"
"I'm sure. I can survive on my own." Asuka said firmly.
"I see… if that is your decision, I won't argue against it."
This came as a surprise to Asuka. She thought he would put more effort into convincing her otherwise, but he backed down pretty easily. If he wanted a demonstration of her talents to prove she could survive by herself, she would have been more than happy to do so.
"With that in mind, the extra adventures of the Sword Hero's party will have to join with the other Heroes."
"Thank you for understanding, and I'm sorry for wasting your time on me." Asuka bowed her apologetically to the King.
"Rest assured, we know that your decision is from a heart that cares for her comrades. That is understandable," said Aultcray, raising an authoritative hand, as she readjusted to standing position.
"Asuka, are you sure about this? I mean, this is your party," said Naofumi, feeling a little guilty for making Asuka do this.
"It's fine. Besides, I prefer it this way," she said with a reassuring smile. For some reason though, she could feel someone glaring at her from behind. It was probably that mustachioed shiny armor guy. He seemed prideful enough to hold a grudge, but it didn't matter to Asuka. She made her choice and she wasn't going to go back on it.
It didn't take long for the extra adventurers to join the other Heroes as well. The one other female went to Motoyasu, while four men went to Itsuki. Naofumi still had Myne.
Now Asuka was all alone. It was somewhat disappointing that no one stayed, but she knew she had no right to complain about the result since she requested the disbandment of her party.
The Aultcray scanned the Four Heroes and their respective parties. He seemed a bit hesitant when he gazed upon Naofumi and Myne, and especially Asuka being by her lonesome, but he pressed on.
"So, no one else is willing to join the Shield Hero's party?" he paused after his question, waiting for anyone to respond, but there was nothing. "So be it then. We shall have to take other measures later. Naofumi-dono, you will have to recruit new members on your own for the time being."
"O-Oh, right!" Naofumi uttered, with Myne standing next to him.
"The same goes for Asuka-dono as well. At some point, you will need to band together with a group of allies for future adventures and battles against the Waves of Catastrophe."
"Understood."
"Every month, we shall provide each Hero with the necessary funds they require. However, because of Naofumi-dono's case, he will receive a higher amount, just this once."
Naofumi was certainly happy to hear that.
Asuka felt good about herself, seeing as she helped a comrade, and convinced someone to help him get a foothold in this world. Although, she still felt uneasy about that woman, now wasn't the time. She had to focus on herself for now.
"Here are your initial war chests. Accept them with our thanks." as the King spoke, four nobles stride toward the Heroes, handing them each a bag of coins. As promised, Naofumi received the heaviest war chest.
"The Shield Hero will receive 800 silver coins, while the rest of you will receive 600 silver," said the prime minister. He turned to Asuka's direction, "Since she has elected to adventure solo, we will also provide additional information to Sword Hero-sama so she can get started on her own, and won't get lost in town."
"Procure the necessary equipment and set forth!"
"Yes sir!" The Four Cardinal Heroes sound off together.
And so, the Four Cardinal Heroes were allowed to leave the castle and head toward Castle-Town, which was probably the most straightforward name for a town Asuka had ever heard.
As the Four were advancing to the castle gate, they exchanged brief farewells.
"Take care of yourself, okay Asuka-chan." said Motoyasu, gently patting her head, "I'm here if you need anything, so don't be a stranger."
"I'm sure I'll be fine," Asuka said with a small smile while swiping away Motoyasu's hand.
"If you say so." Motoyasu smirked, before turning to the Shield Hero, "And Naofumi, I know she's not from my party, but you better take care of that girl, ya hear!"
"I know, I know!" Naofumi said while holding his bag of coins.
"They said we can't help either you or Naofumi-san directly, but I at least can wish the both of you the best of luck with your efforts!" said Itsuki.
"Thanks, Itsuki-kun." smiled Asuka.
"Yeah, same here." nodded Naofumi. As Itsuki and Motoyasu leave with their respective parties, he turned to Asuka apologetically, "Seriously though, sorry I had to put you out like this. Now you don't have a party."
"I told you before, it's okay." Asuka beamed, before shrinking into herself, "In all honesty, fighting with strangers, especially that shiny armor guy, makes me nervous…"
"Well, it's your call. I'm just glad I have a party member." Naofumi said as he looked to Myne gratefully, who gave him a beaming smile.
"Um… about Myne-san…"
"What?" asked Naofumi.
"Yes, what is it, Sword Hero-sama?" asked Myne, innocently.
Asuka wasn't sure how to put it into words, especially when Myne was standing right in front of her. "W-Well, just be careful, okay?"
"Uh, yeah." Naofumi nodded, confused by Asuka's short and awkward answer.
"Shield Hero-sama, shall we get going. I know this shop we should visit first." Myne suggested, hugging Naofumi's arm.
"O-Okay!" Naofumi sputtered with red cheeks.
Asuka couldn't help but find the way Myne clung onto Naofumi… off-putting. Though she still felt worried about him with Myne, now wasn't the time to worry about Naofumi. Now was the time to prepare for her first outing outside of Melromarc. Firstly though, Asuka needed to get a better grasp of her new surroundings.
Now that she had time to herself, she quickly found a discreet location in Castle-Town. A back alleyway seemingly rarely visited, which was perfect for what she was about to do.
With a deep breath, Asuka squatted down on her legs and launched herself high in the air. She leaped forward toward a nearby wall, and the moment her feet touched the wall, she used her momentum to defy gravity again and launched herself upward from the wall. Within mere moments, she landed on the roof of that building.
"Good, it seems I've retained my natural physical abilities. It would suck if I couldn't do that." Asuka said in relief. Soon after, she began rooftop hopping around Castle-Town with great enthusiasm. Turns out, this place was perfect for such endeavors. Her natural speed and agility made it quite easy to traverse the town.
As she hopped from rooftop to rooftop, Asuka took note of various areas and committed them to memory. The streets, especially the marketplace, were bustling with people doing their daily business; so much so, they hardly noticed the Sword Hero making rounds up above them. Also of note, the entirety of Castle-Town didn't seem to suffer supposed damage from the First Wave of Catastrophe. Perhaps because the first Wave wasn't too terribly difficult, they managed to keep the damage to the capital to a minimum. But, what about outside of Castle-Town? She could figure that out once she got to explore outside the city's walls.
She spent several minutes exploring the townscape from above until she decided it was time to come down after memorizing everything. Her next priority should be to visit one of the recommended weapons shops the prime minister informed her of. She decided to check this one out first since it was one of the more common shops in town, and she didn't want to waste time going to shops with overly pricey equipment.
After skipping a few more blocks, she landed in front of her destination. Before going in, she checked her surroundings to make sure no one was watching her land. This was likely out of habit because anytime she came close to Hanzo Academy, she had to make sure no one spotted her going into the secret passageways into Hanzo's Ninja Room.
"What am I doing?" she asked herself, somewhat embarrassed. She quickly realized that what she was doing was pointless since her Shinobi status didn't matter here. Still, maintaining a level of secrecy might be appropriate.
Asuka walked into the shop and was greeted by the shopkeeper.
"Welcome!" he said with a cheerful smile. He was a tall, well-built bald middle-aged man with a full beard and scars on his face and all over his arms. He wore a white t-shirt, black gloves, a beige overall forger apron, black pants, and brown boots.
"Well now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." the shopkeeper grinned, "Come to admire the merchandise little missy, or are you looking to buy?"
"Um, I was hoping to buy something from here. It was recommended to me," answered Asuka, who was a little nervous from the enthusiastic greeting from the shopkeeper. She approached the desk and stood face to face with the friendly shopkeeper. "You see, I'm the Sword Hero, and I was told this place sells good weapons and armor."
"No kidding? Two Heroes showed up at my shop today? I must be the luckiest man in the world!" the shopkeeper chuckled.
"Was someone here before me?" asked Asuka.
"Yep. The Shield Hero came by not too long ago." the shopkeeper answered.
"Naofumi-kun? So Myne-san was able to help him, after all. That's great news." Asuka sighed in relief.
"You mean the girl he was with?" asked the shopkeeper, before he wore a puzzled expression on his chiseled face, "You know, I can't help but feel like I've seen that girl from somewhere. She said she's been to my shop before, but I would have remembered her at some point."
"So, people do know Myne-san here." Asuka thought. She found it odd that someone like Myne, who could be a noble's daughter or related to the King himself, would visit a shop like this. Then again, despite being the heiress to a prestigious company/ninja clan, Ikaruga liked visiting the shopping district in Asakusa and was willing to try out new things back home, so it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Ikaruga once entered an eating contest where, according to Katsuragi, she had to eat lots of gross food. She handled the entire event quite well until the last dish, which was so disgusting that she immediately had to forfeit. The heiress definitely deserved props for going as far as she did, even if the whole thing was rigged.
"Well, let's not dwell on that. We're to find something to suit your needs." said the shopkeeper, "This shop's the best weapons shop you could hope to look for, so don't be shy about looking around or placing a special order. The name's Erhard, by the way."
"I'm Asuka. It's nice to meet you, Erhard-san." Asuka bowed respectfully to the old shopkeeper.
"No need for the formalities with me, Lass. Just Erhard or Boss is fine."
"Okay then, Boss, do you have any armor or clothing that's light and not too restricting?"
"Prefer moving fast? Sure, let's see what we've got." Erhard began to check his inventory for the Sword Hero's request. While doing so, he decided to engage in casual conversation with Asuka, "So, word through the grapevine is the Sword Hero decided to do solo adventuring. Sure that's wise? It might be easy at first, but quests get harder as you level up later on, so you may need to party up with somebody in the future."
"I'm sure. Besides, I know I can't stay solo forever. Maybe I'll find somebody I trust to party with." said Asuka, as she looked around at the various weapons and suits of armor. She didn't know too much about crafting weapons and armor, but she could tell that they were all well made and taken care of. This man was clearly passionate about his work. "I take it you know about how adventuring works?"
"I used to be an adventurer way back when. Now, I do smith work and sell my wears as a way of living."
"Wow, that's so cool!"
"Why thank you." smiled Erhard, "Now then, I found a set of gear I think you'll like. It's not entirely armor, but it'll give ya some protection out there."
He gave her a dark brown leather vest and navy shorts. He also threw in brown leather wrist guards and boots. Asuka quickly entered the changing booth and put on her new adventurer gear. After a couple of minutes undressing and donning her new outfit, she came out, albeit embarrassed by how much her new clothes hugged her body. The vest was tight against her ample chest, with a bit of cleavage revealed, and the shorts were form-fitting, clinging to her hips and thighs. She kept the red scarf on, even though it clashed with everything else.
"This feels… really tight…" Asuka mumbled, blushing madly.
"Whoa… I had a feeling they'd fit, but I seriously wasn't expecting this." said Erhard, having to avert his eyes to keep from staring at her, "Still, I doubt you wanna go out showing that much skin. Want me to find something else?"
"N-No, this is fine! You went to the trouble of picking this out for me," interjected Asuka. She was used to exposing a degree of skin, anyway.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. It honestly isn't that bad. And it does offer a decent boost to my defense and agility stats."
|DEF: 20|
|AGI: 33|
"That so? Well, let me throw in another piece so you won't feel uncomfortable with the stares, at least." Erhard said in a teasing tone, to Asuka's annoyance. The old guy gave her a navy mantle to wear around her neck, and thankfully, it was long enough to cover her body up to her knees.
Asuka was pretty impressed with this, knowing that it gave her a bit of a boost in magic defense, but she felt it made her look like a thief.
|MDEF: 17|
"Looking good, Lass!" praised Erhard.
"I look like a thief, though." pouted Asuka.
"You said you wanted to be able to move fast." chuckled Erhard, "Of course, you're gonna want actual armor later on for the Next Wave, so tell ya what, bring me the right materials, and I'll have something special made for you."
"Really? Thanks! I'll go to you when the time comes!" Asuka cheered.
"So, what do ya say we take a look at the swords next?" asked Erhard, "I mean, I know you already have a sword, but it wouldn't hurt to have a few extras."
"I'd like to, but I think I should hold off on that for a while. I wanna get used to my new sword before trying out anything new," said Asuka. She thought about dual-wielding with two swords like she used to, but she figured she had to master using the Legendary Sword before reverting to her old fighting style.
Erhard simply grinned, "Have it your way. In any event, I'll give you a Hero's discount on the clothes. I presume you have the same budget as the Shield Hero, right?"
"I guess. How much for this equipment?" asked Asuka.
"A hundred and ten silver for the outfit. As for the buyback price…"
"Buyback price?"
"When you level up and get stronger, you won't need those anymore." Erhard explained, pointing to Asuka's current equipment, "If your equipment is in mostly new condition, you can sell it back to me for a payback price. You don't wanna carry old stuff around, and I'm sure you don't wanna get ripped off, either."
"Okay, so how much would you be willing to pay for the buyback price?"
"For you, two-hundred and fifty silver!"
"That much?!" Asuka exclaimed. She wouldn't know what to do with that money. She was already carrying more than her precious 100 yen coin.
"Hehe, just kidding. A hundred silver is good enough for me." the old guy chuckled, "So, we got a deal?"
"Hmm… I'm still pretty new to all this, but… yeah, we got a deal!"
Asuka had purchased her first set of equipment. Now it was time to begin leveling outside of Castle-Town.
[-Outside Castle-Town Walls-]
Asuka ventured out into the fields outside the walls protecting Melromarc's capital city. She marveled at how vast and beautiful the landscape was. She took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air of this new world. It was very refreshing.
"This is nice, but I should try to focus on leveling up!" Asuka said to herself. According to the prime minister, the most common monsters on the field outside of Castle-Town were the orange balloons. Balloon-type monsters were generally considered the weakest monsters in this world, meaning they were good enough for new adventurers to grind off of since they provided a good amount of experience points.
After a bit of strolling, Asuka finally came across a pack of orange balloons. They were about the same size as any other balloon, but they all had cartoonish angry faces. There were about four to five of them in total, and they were floating.
"Huh… they're kinda cute. I almost don't want to kill the little guys."
Suddenly, the balloons aggressively lunge toward the Sword Hero. She quickly adopted a defensive stance, with her Legendary Sword facing forward, ready to fight.
She would have immediately countered any attack dealt by the balloon monsters when suddenly, flashes of memory from her battle with Orochi obstructed her vision. Images of the large snake-like tendrils that circled her, attempting to gnaw at her, and beams of energy flying toward her, and even the building-sized Yoma coming down on her was enough to send the Sword Hero into shock.
For a while, she remained frozen until a strange ticklish feeling grabbed her focus. Snapping back to reality, she realized that she was being bitten all over by the tiny balloon monsters while she stood still in her new battle stance. She was told that they were weak in defense but possessed a strong bite. It seemed her higher than normal defense helped regulate the pain to a mere tickling sensation. From her arms to her legs, and even her breasts and all they did was tickle her. No discomfort beyond that. Well, maybe except the left breast, because she found herself getting irritated by the constant biting. It was starting to hurt.
"Get off!" Asuka grabbed the orange balloon, wrenched it away from her chest, and tossed it a foot away from her. With finesse and natural speed, she lunged toward that balloon while the others flew off her body and sliced through the flown balloon, causing them to pop on impact. It surprised her how well she used the sword. It came naturally, almost built-in. She thought for sure she had to work at practicing how to use a single one-handed sword. Maybe it was because she had prior training and battle experience that she could get used to using the Legendary Sword so quickly. Or, maybe it was the sword itself not needing so much complexity, to begin with.
It didn't take her long to slice apart and pop the other balloon monsters with ease due to their weak defense and agility, gaining one experience point for each kill. Hours later, the sun was going down. Asuka had already popped a couple of dozen balloons. Thanks to this, she had risen from level 1 to 5 with ease.
|Name: Asuka Harada|
-Age: 16-
-Class: Sword Hero-
-Level: 5-
-Weapon: Legendary Sword (Locked)-
-Equipment: Light Gear-
|Stats|
|MAX HP: 105/105|
|MAX MP: 25/25|
|MAX SP: 60/60|
|ATK: 25|
|MAG: 14|
|DEF: 30|
|MDEF: 27|
|AGI: 43|
|Special Skills|
-N/A-
The Sword Hero was quite satisfied with this. Additionally, she gathered quite a bit of material from the Balloon monsters. She was told by the prime minister that all monsters drop materials or items after they were defeated, which can be sold for various prices, or used to craft weapons and items. That made sense to her as this world seems to run on RPG mechanics. He also informed her that she could sell the discarded balloon skin as fodder for her sword to upgrade and achieve an alternate transformation of the sword. She had already fed one piece to her sword through the jewel embedded in the guard, after which another popup appeared, saying that she had now acquired the Orange Sword. It wasn't a very strong sword, as it added ATK 1 and DEF 2, but she figured it would be helpful for training purposes.
She decided to save the rest of the balloon skin for a later date.
With that in mind, she immediately re-entered Castle-Town. She decided to find an inn to rest at for the night and get back to leveling up in the morning. Perhaps she could introduce herself at the Adventurers Guild since she was pre-registered beforehand to the Heroes can take on quests.
As she strolled through the streets, she was greeted and praised by nearly every person who crossed her path. Things like pointing out her beauty or wishing her luck on her adventures. It was quite embarrassing to have an entire country's worth of people singing her praise everywhere she went. Although she had to admit, it wasn't all bad. She wasn't always able to interact with normal people because of her shinobi training. Being a Hero now must mean she needed to get used to being known to the public.
"Hey, Asuka!"
Turning around, Asuka spotted Naofumi and Myne, both of whom had new types of armor as well. The former wore a black and brown chainmail armor that covered his upper body, while the latter wore an expensive-looking set of silver armor adorned with jewelry. It exposed a lot of skin.
They approached her casually.
"Naofumi-kun, Myne-san!" Asuka chimed upon seeing them, mostly Naofumi. "How'd everything go? Were you able to level up?"
"Unfortunately, not well. I haven't even reached Level 2 yet."
"Ouch, that's a bummer." lamented Asuka, "I hit Level 5 earlier."
"Why am I not surprised? Someone with a sword could easily level up faster than a Shield user. On the bright side, I did score this sweet new armor for me and Myne. Seems I have a knack for bartering." Naofumi smiled. He seemed to be having fun, despite the setbacks earlier today.
"That's good to hear, but..." Asuka glanced toward Myne and her expensive armor. "I think you might have splurged a bit too much. That armor looks like it costs a lot of money. It looks impractical too."
Again, she wasn't an expert on armor, but even Asuka felt that such glittery and revealing armor would be best left on display than worn on the battlefield.
"I assure you, Sword Hero-sama, it was well worth the price. If I have stronger armor, I can give better support to Shield Hero-sama," Myne cheerfully said.
"It's just Asuka..." Asuka said, mildly irritated by Myne's seemingly blasé refusal to refer to her by name. "Well, it's your money, so I won't argue with you on it, but don't spend so much of it, okay?"
"Sure, I'll try." said Naofumi, "By the way, you got that outfit from the same shop as us, right? We talked to the old guy who runs the place, and he said you showed up right after we left earlier," he asked.
"Yeah, I did. I still have money left over."
"Great, so why don't we all head to the inn together?"
"Huh?"
"That's a great idea! We should spend the night and get to know one another!" Myne cheered, hugging onto Naofumi, pressing her chest against his arm while doing so, which made Asuka visibly uncomfortable.
"What do you say, Asuka?" asked Naofumi with an excited expression.
"S-Sure..." for some reason, Asuka just couldn't say no.
[-Local Inn-]
Later that night, Asuka, Naofumi, and Myne sat at a table in a local inn. The inn was also a tavern, which wouldn't look out of place in any fantasy-style work.
Their table had three plates of steak, with several side dishes, as well as a bottle of wine for the two young adults, while the youngest of the three was content with water.
"Oh, man! The food at the castle was great, but the food here is amazing. I'm telling you, nothing beats food from an otherworldly pub like this!" Naofumi said as he gorged on his piece of otherworld stake.
"Yeah, this is really delicious!" Asuka said happily as she ate the steak too. She wouldn't look out of place among adorable puppies happily eating their favorite snack. She still wished she had futomaki to feast on, though.
"Hehe, I'm so glad you both are enjoying your meals." giggled Myne.
"By the way, Asuka, I meant to say this earlier, but you looked awesome out there," said Naofumi to Asuka, to her confusion. "You sliced up those balloon monsters with ease. I could barely pop a couple of them with punches alone and still couldn't level up,"
"You mean, you guys were out there, and you even saw me?" Asuka asked, "I'm sorry, I was so focused on those balloon monsters I didn't notice you."
"Don't worry. It's no big deal." Naofumi felt a little self-conscious from seeing Asuka take those monsters out with ease after his lackluster performance. Had Myne not offered a confidence boost, he probably wouldn't have been more motivated to keep at it.
"I'm glad those monsters were weak, but I wish they didn't bite my boobs the whole time." Asuka sighed as she remembered getting bitten in the chest about eight times by those orange balloon monsters.
"W-What...?" Naofumi blushed. He only caught a brief glimpse of her slashing away at those monsters for a short time before focusing on leveling himself and Myne up, but he had no idea that Asuka had been bitten like that multiple times.
"D-Did I say that out...?" Asuka asked, now embarrassed by the realization that she just mentioned it aloud.
"N-No..." Naofumi awkwardly answered, now looking upward before his eyes could stare any longer at the younger girl's cleavage and imagining what transpired between her and the orange balloons.
His response pretty much formulated Asuka's answer to her question, which caused her to clutch her head in embarrassment.
"You have quite the impressive figure for someone so young, Sword Hero-sama. I wager it won't be long until most men would come asking for your hand." Myne giggled.
"Ask for my hand... you mean they'd want to marry me? N-No way! I can't just marry somebody I don't know! I'm way too young, and I hardly know a thing about romance and marriage!" a blushing Asuka said vehemently.
"Oh, don't be so modest, Sword Hero-sama. If you have the looks, you should use them to your full advantage..." said Myne, daintily taking her glass of wine and taking a sip from the cup. Seductively and elegantly, it didn't take her long to down the entire glass, finishing with a near intoxicated sigh. Naofumi and Asuka watched her the whole time. While the Shield Hero blushed and looked memorized, the Sword Hero found the display extremely obnoxious. The way Katsuragi loudly slurped up ramen looked more appealing than this. The older woman's line of sight traced toward Asuka, and she grinned. "I don't suppose you'd care to have a sip? It's very delicious," she asked in a teasing manner. There was a hint of condescension in her voice, one Asuka immediately picked up on, and she did not care for it.
"No, thank you. In my world, I'm a minor, which means I'm forbidden from drinking alcohol until I'm a legal adult." Asuka said while averting eye contact. She didn't even feel the need to correct Myne this time, seeing as the older woman was intent on using her title to address her, and the condescending way she was acting was ticking her off.
"Oh, but the rules of your world don't apply here. Just give it one taste. I'm sure you'll enjoy it," Myne pressed.
"I said no, thank you!"
"I see." Myne shrugged, before nonchalantly turning to Naofumi, "How about you, Shield Hero-sama? I'm sure you'd enjoy drinking with me tonight,"
"M-Me? I don't drink alcohol," said Naofumi.
"Oh, that's too bad. After the long day we had, I wanted to enjoy this special vintage with you." Myne said as she gazed at him amorously, which made Asuka incredulous.
"Is she trying to seduce him right in front of me?"
"I-I'm sorry, but I just don't care for it. See, back in my homeworld, my friends and I got drunk at a party, but I was the only one who didn't get hammered, and after watching them all look so wasted, alcohol left a bad taste in my mouth, so I swore off drinking." Naofumi explained.
"I guess you have a high tolerance for it." Asuka said, "Not that I would know, since I've never touched alcohol before, nor do I intend to,"
"Right, so I hope you don't hold it against me, Myne. I'm sorry," Naofumi apologized.
"I understand perfectly. You two are certainly Heroes of high caliber," Myne replied.
"What do you mean? asked Asuka.
"This country is a matriarchy. So no man from here would dare to turn down a drink from a woman." Myne answered, to the surprise of Naofumi and Asuka. They noticed several men drinking with women. Male waiters were even serving a few women who ordered drinks.
"Really? I guess I just don't pick up on these kinds of things," said Naofumi.
"Don't worry. You'll learn." Myne said to Naofumi, "And I'm quite certain that no man could resist showing you a good time, Sword Hero-sama." she said with her eyes on Asuka.
"Could we drop that subject, please?" groaned Asuka, "Anyway, Myne-san, you just said that Melromarc is a matriarchy. Then doesn't that mean that the Queen is the one who rules the country and not the King?"
"That's correct."
"Then where's the Queen right now? If she's the highest authority figure in Melromarc, why isn't she the one taking charge of the Wave situation in the country while King Aultcray is here doing that for her?"
"Queen Mirellia is out of the country on political errands, so to speak," said Myne.
"Why would that be? Does it have something to do with the Cardinal Heroes?" asked Naofumi.
"Of course not!" Myne replied, "Just some silly political and diplomatic matters with the other nations, nothing to worry your pretty little heads over. King Aultcray has everything under control while she's away. All the four of you need to do is focus on getting stronger so you can defend Melromarc!"
"O-Okay, if you say so..." replied Naofumi.
Asuka found this new bit of information troubling. How did Myne know this, and why inform two Heroes while brushing it off like no big deal? The Queen was the highest ruling power of the country. Her being away on political errands at a critical time like this wasn't a big deal? There had to be something more to these diplomatic errands than Myne was telling them. She had to be close to the King and Queen if she knew anything.
Honestly, everything about Myne was very off. From joining Asuka's party to switching over to Naofumi as soon as she announced her decision to disband said party, getting Naofumi to spend a lot of money to buy that expensive armor, and her behavior tonight. Just what was the deal with this woman? Asuka's instincts keep telling her to stay wary of this woman at all times, and she couldn't understand why.
"I think I'll turn in early. Is it okay if we discuss level plans tomorrow, Myne?" Naofumi asked the redhead as he stood up from his seat.
"Of course. I'll head up after finishing your cup." Myne smiled.
"Naofumi-kun, wait." Asuka called out to Naofumi, "I want to talk in private." she said, wearing a grim expression.
"Huh? Sure...?" Naofumi and Asuka walk over to the stairway for their private chat, leaving Myne alone, who didn't seem to mind.
"What's up, Asuka? Did you need something?"
"Well... it's about Myne-san." Asuka whispered.
"What about her?"
"I think she's very suspicious. You shouldn't trust everything she says or does."
"What? But why? She's been great, and she's nice too! She helped me find that old guy's shop, and she told me about how the skin of those balloon monsters can be used as fodder for my shield and be sold for one copper coin each!"
"Okay, that was nice of her. But aside from that useful information, hasn't anything else she's done struck you as odd? Like for example, after I disbanded my party, why did she want to join up with you?"
"Uh, wasn't that because she wanted to help me out?"
"It was almost too easy. Myne-san would have gone to you immediately instead of choosing me if she wanted to help you, yet as soon as I say I don't want a party, she immediately asks to join your party, something she didn't even need to do. That's pretty weird, don't you think? And another thing, she hasn't called either of us by our given names. I can't help but wonder if she's even memorized our names yet. I've told her my name a few times, and she still won't use it,"
Naofumi folded his arms and began to wear a mulling expression.
"There's also the fact that she knows that the Queen is away on some political errands. Myne-san is hiding something about herself. I don't know what it is yet, but... I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right about her..."
"Hmm..." Naofumi hummed, "Hey, Asuka..."
"What?"
"If you're jealous, it's okay to admit it," smirked Naofumi.
"Excuse me?" Asuka glared.
"All this time, you're going on and on about how Myne is bad news. Sure, it was a little weird that she wanted to join me, but it doesn't mean she's a bad person." said Naofumi, "Besides that, she's gorgeous. You must be feeling insecure because of that. That's why you're talking about her like this. I'm sure if you and Myne get to know each other, it'll put these feelings to rest,"
"You can't be serious!" said Asuka in annoyance at Naofumi defending Myne. For some reason, she could picture Motoyasu saying something like that about Myne if he was in a scenario like this.
"I am, and I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about. Myne's a sweet girl, and she won't cause me any trouble. And if you want, we could team up some time. And Myne doesn't have to be along for the ride. The only drawback being we won't get any experience afterward, but hey, it'll still be fun!"
"This isn't about me! I'm just trying to say..." Asuka paused. It seemed that no matter what she said, Naofumi wasn't going to believe her. He was thoroughly convinced that Myne was a good person. Was she just being paranoid? Could she just be acting out on childish jealousy? But, what would she be jealous of? Naofumi having a party, despite it being one person, who gave some mysterious vibes? Or was it because of how much affection Myne seemed to be showing Naofumi? It was difficult to place a reason for her dislike toward Myne, so maybe it would be best not to interfere with the Shield Hero and his sole party member any further. Besides, Naofumi was being kind of a butthead right now.
"You know what? Never mind. You're probably right about Myne-san being a good person, and I'm probably being paranoid." sighed Asuka, "Still, at least try to be careful around her, okay?"
"Quit worrying so much. I'll be fine." Naofumi smiled.
"If you say so." Asuka turned on her heel and made her way to the exit.
"Where are you going?" asked Naofumi.
"To a separate inn. I don't want to be around Myne-san. Not until I have her figured out." Asuka answered. As she was making her way out, the Sword Hero spotted Myne from the corner of her eyes. The redhead just finished the last cup of wine on the table.
Their eyes connect at that point. Myne simply smiled at Asuka, who quickly turned away and walked in a huff.
"Hey, Asuka!" Naofumi called out to Asuka as he tried going after, but ignored him and made her exit from the inn.
"Is everything alright, Shield Hero-sama?" asked Myne as Naofumi stood in front of their table.
Naofumi sighed, "Aw, it's nothing. Asuka's just bent outta shape, saying that you're suspicious and whatnot, but I didn't believe her,"
"Dear me! Did I offend her somehow?"
"No, I'm sure everything's okay. I think she's just feeling a little intimidated by you. Maybe it's because you're so nice and..."
"And what?" asked Myne, slightly tilting her head to the side. Her breasts shake a little in her armor as she moved.
"And, uh... mature!" Naofumi blurted, too scared to say what he wanted to. He noticed Myne had an impressive bust, but Asuka was shockingly bigger than Myne.
"Oh, I see." Myne giggled, "To be honest, I don't like her very much either. Perhaps that's why I was teasing her a little before,"
"I don't get it, but if you two just get used to each other, I'm sure you'll get along,"
"Hm, maybe..." Myne said, but then she whispered under her breath, "I just don't like dealing with kids, especially little bimbos..."
"Huh?" Naofumi couldn't hear everything, but he could have sworn he heard her say something nasty.
"Oh, nothing!" Myne beamed, "Anyway, I'll head up after I finish your cup of wine. Although drinking alone is so lonely,"
"O-Okay..." Naofumi said in confusion. He began walking back toward the stairs, but he stopped momentarily to turn back to the redhead with a sincere smile, "Myne, I really appreciate all the help you've given me, the Shield Hero who can't fight. I turned you down today, but I swear I'll make it up to you, somebody!"
"It's no trouble at all. Pleasant dreams, Shield Hero-sama..." said Myne, as Naofumi went up to his room for the night. Meanwhile, Myne was still smiling, pleased that everything was going according to plan.
[-Sometime later-]
Asuka found another inn and rented a room for herself.
As she was stripping off her clothes, she couldn't help but wonder if she made the right decision in leaving Naofumi alone with Myne. Her suspicions of Myne hadn't gone down. It was like that bad feeling she got from her was growing wider and wider, and the part of her brain thinking about it wouldn't stop.
She knew it would do no good to keep stressing about it because she had a lot of work to do if she wanted to succeed in fighting off the Waves of Catastrophe. Worrying about Naofumi, even if he seemed to have lost a few of his brain cells because of Myne, could wait.
"I hope it's just me..." Asuka muttered to herself as she threw on a long white t-shirt. She quickly laid down on the bed. After a long while, fell asleep in hopes that tomorrow would bring something that wasn't bad.
[-The Next Morning-]
"Sword Hero-sama! Sword Hero-sama! Please wake up!" a masculine voice cried from behind the door.
"Ugh..." Asuka groaned, having been woken up by loud banging and voices. She got from the bed and staggered over to the door while rubbing her heavy eyes. "Can't these people let a girl sleep...?" she muttered, irritated that she was woken up like this twice in a row.
Opening the door, she gazed upon two knights from the castle, looking mighty serious.
"What is it...?" Asuka groaned to the knights.
"Thank goodness, we found you in time!" one of the knights spoke in a relieved tone.
"Found me...? What's going on...?" Asuka grumbled.
"King Aultcray has issued a summons for all of the Heroes!"
"The King? Why? Was there something he forgot to mention to us?" the sleepy Sword Hero asked while rubbing her eyes. He must have given them all the information the Heroes needed for the task of leveling up, stopping the Waves of Catastrophe, and saving this world, so there was no need for a summons, right?
"It's urgent. His Majesty was especially worried about you!"
"Worried? What's going on?" Asuka became confused as her grogginess dissipated. What were these knights rambling on about?
"You're to participate in a legal trial." the second knight answered, "Perhaps it would be better explained by the King if you go to the castle. We'll escort you there ourselves."
"Huh? Why?"
"It was the King's orders. He specifically said that you needed protection out of concern for your safety." the first knight answered, which quickly annoyed Asuka.
"Thanks, but no thanks. I know the way to the castle. I don't need an escort." Asuka said. Her leaping across the buildings yesterday gave her a good grasp of Castle-Town's landscape, so navigation shouldn't be an issue. These two knights acting as though she needed protection was irritating.
"B-But, we were ordered to-"
"Just go! I'll be there soon." Asuka ordered as she slammed the door in the knights' faces.
On her side of the door, Asuka stood there silently. She felt a terrible sense of dread for some reason. More so than what happened to Yagyu, yet almost less so than the appearance of Orochi.
Why was the King suddenly summoning the Heroes to the castle? It had only been one day since their adventures began, and something urgent like a trial came up? It made no sense. Why would he want to hold a trial so soon, and what would make him worry about her that he'd send escorts to protect her? Did it have something to do with Myne?
"Myne-san..." why did she immediately jump to Myne's involvement as the conclusion? Wasn't it established that Asuka was acting out of paranoia and jealousy? But, with what little information she pieced together about Myne, Asuka felt that she was involved in this "trial" somehow.
There was no use in pondering about this. The Sword Hero quickly threw on her clothes and dashed out the window, and traveled by way of the rooftops toward the castle as fast as she possibly could.
Lyall the Werewolf: I don't have much to say for this or chapter 03 because once again, it's all virtually the same, barring some very needed corrections and tweaks to the dialogue. For example, I changed it so Asuka would be more assertive in getting her would-be party members to join Naofumi. I thought I should do that if I wanted to give more weight to Asuka's decision.
Without further delay, let's move to the chapter everyone's looking forward to.