The Strongest Shield

by oblivon2991

The legend! A walking disaster! The "Strongest" Man on Earth! Many titles he gained. Many times he "saved" Earth. His heroics, all a lie? Or all true? Not as it matters. Thrown into an entirely different environment, a new world, he will prove his worth. Hilarity and misunderstanding ensue when he appears! The King engine starts: 'Dub! Dub' "Man, I quit being a hero..."

5. The Calm Before the Storm

Written by Oblivon2991

Proofread: The usual drunken gang of misfits and TranscendedPotato

Thank you for reading my fanfiction and for giving me a chance.

My mother tongue isn't English, so please be patient about the grammatical issues.

I don't own One Punch Man anime/manga/webcomic, it belongs to ONE.

I don't own The Rising of the Shield Hero (Japanese: 盾の勇者の成り上がり, Hepburn: Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari), it is written by Aneko Yusagi.

If you have anything to add or have questions, or remark, please review, or send a PM.

Thank you!

Now let's start the story!

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Chapter 5: The Calm Before the Storm

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"Oh! Hey, Ren!"

"Hmm?" The sword hero glanced towards his fellow hero, offering a bored expression. "Oh, it's you…" It wasn't subtle; he wasn't as delighted meeting the spear hero.

"…Motoyasu."

"Oh! Why the long face? Come on! Cheer up a little, man! It's been some time since we met! Why so serious? What's going on with you and your group, by the way? You manage to level up?"

"Somewhat…" Ren said shortly, not bothering to further explain.

"Tsk! You and your vague answers! Anyway, as you can see, My party and I are preparing well for the wave! We've been completing quest after quest!"

"And you pocket all the money they offer, and then some…" Ren added. Motoyasu was not reluctant to ask — or demand — a high price for his help.

"Well, a hero and his group need to eat! Don't they? It's only natural to be paid for your work, right?"

"So you say…" Ren measured Motoyasu and his all-girl party. "I see your group upgraded their gear, too."

"Yep! Oh, and speaking of my party, we have a high turnover rate! You wouldn't believe how many girls want to join my party! But I don't allow them to be near gore, nor force them to stay in my party when they want to leave. That would be inappropriate for a man like myself!" Motoyasu shook his head, resting his legendary spear on his shoulder with a smug smile.

The girls behind him applauded, celebrating their hero.

"As expected, Lord Motoyasu!"

"Yes! He is the most chivalrous hero…!" The girls noted one after another.

"Hahaha! Being so popular is hard sometimes!"

"You know, you might get stabbed in the back one day…" Ren sweatdropped. The excess trust this guy showed to all these girls, and how many he collected around himself would eventually lead him to offend one of them, who will stab him in the back eventually. "Worse… all of them might band together and kill him as the Senators did with Caesar…"

"Oh! That's already happened to me!" Out of the blue, Motoyasu announced that he died before; as if it was a completely unimportant matter.

"What? You mean to say you've died before coming to this world?" If that was the case, it was kind of a pathetic death. Stabbed to death by a girl — or girls that he cheated on? Was this guy's brain working? Repeating the same thing, the same mistake?

"Yeah… unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding between one of my girlfriends and me… it can't be helped. Hahaha! By the way? How did you die? You have a pretty good face; how many girls chased after you? You don't seem to be the type to take action."

"I'm not like you…"

"Huh?"

"As I remember, before coming here, I got unlucky and ran into a murderer that lurked the streets. That criminal was about to catch me as I was trying to save a childhood friend of mine. The next thing I know, I was in this world…"

"Geez! How unlucky can you be?"

"I can ask the same of you…"

"Ah! How unfortunate for you, Ren. I was simply hit by a dumpster truck when I was turned right on a street. Compared to me, your death sounds a lot more interesting." In the end, the Bow Hero also appeared. A coincidence? Yes, yes it was. It didn't make it any less impressive, though. All of them meeting each other at the same spot, at the same time?

"Wow! That really does sound lame compared to us." Motoyasu blinked, then started to laugh. "What a coincidence!"

"Indeed, it is…"

"I wonder if this is the afterlife?" The spear hero pondered, rubbing his freshly shaved chin.

"Hmm, I'm not sure."

"It is certainly dream-like."

"Like a game world."

"Itsuki is right. We might have had to start over from level 1, but after how many times I cleared this area back then, I can clear the dungeons with my eyes closed."

"Yup! You're right about that, Ren! It's so easy being the Great Heroes that will save the world! One thing is for sure, though. I'm not popular just because I am a hero. That much, I already know."

Ren can only sigh seeing Motoyasu's antics, shaking his head.

"By the way, have any of you heard anything from that King guy?"

"Eh? You mean that strange guy with the scary face?"

"Last I heard, he's been going around the countryside, scaring people into buying his loot."

"How villainous! First raping poor Myne, then even threatening the civilians! How can such a vile person call himself a hero!? Gah! I want to beat him up so much!" Motoyasu was clearly angered upon mention of King, even shaking his fist.

"Don't worry, Lord Motoyasu. I am sure that in time, you will strike that Shield Demon down. Truly, how can such a villain call himself a hero? It would be best to put such a beast in prison." On his side, Myne reassured the Spear hero, offering her best fake smile.

"Actually, you didn't show any evidence, Myne. King clearly had a convincing alibi for that night, much better than yours, even."

"I even investigated the alchemist, who confirmed his statement. He indeed bought that stomach medicine, saying King bought it himself." Ren continued after Itsuki.

"That's still no evidence of his innocence! He bought stomach medicine! So what! He could've still raped her later that night!" Motoyasu tried to be protective, forcing the point she brought up to the other two heroes who were still skeptical.

"As King said, like everyone else, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence. Until proven guilty, he will be considered as innocent. Without clear evidence, we can only guess what truly happened. But after seeing his strength first hand, I presume that if he really did force himself onto Myne, she would be in rougher shape than she was back then in the throne room…" Ren's eyes squinted, watching the redhead suspiciously.

The girl drew his suspicion since the first moment she volunteered for King's team. Then, her sudden change of sides made her even more apprehensive in his eyes.

Her panicking tone was a dead giveaway; she was hiding something when King started to question her. From the very first moment, she was trying to get away from directly providing evidence or subject herself to any medical investigation. The lack of any signs of being forced to endure such a violent act was the last nail in the coffin.

King likely hadn't violated this girl at all. Moreover, she looked collected and firm when they arrived in the throne room, with a big grin on her face upon seeing her on Motoyasu's side. The smile only a victor would offer after a well-thought-out trap...

He's seen that smile too many times in the face of many of his old, cocky classmates. Those apprehensive, malevolent smiles were smiles that Ren knew all too well.

Yet, the question still stood; Why did Myne want to dirty the Shield Hero's name? It constantly bugged Ren, making him think of it ever since they departed that day.

"Ren is right. Without evidence, we can't judge King based on her accusations alone." Itsuki also nodded firmly. Raised in a democratic country, his conscience didn't allow him to judge others hastily — though when King was first accused, he too assumed that King was in the wrong until he provided sufficient evidence...

"Are you out of your minds!? That 'beast' violated her! Then he left without punishment! Are you with him, or what!?" Motoyasu angrily accused the two heroes of siding with the Shield Hero.

"I never said that. I only said that we should see things logically, and see the evidence present before us before we judge him. Why would King want to rape Myne? What reason does he have? Did you get to know him as such a person?"

"Tch! That guy was weird from the beginning! Speaking about nonsense like one big continent and the like! He's crazy, I say! He almost killed us with those balloons he herded together and attracted them to us! Or are you saying that it was also a coincidence?!"

"Maybe it was, I don't know. I only said that we don't have enough evidence to say for sure he is guilty or not. Nor did Myne show enough evidence to confirm that she was indeed raped or allowed herself to examined by healers or doctors. She might've tried to frame him, whatever reason she has to do so…"

"How dare you!? That beast raped me! I was…!"

"Has a doctor checked you for traces of violation yet? You looked strangely fit and happy compared to what happened that night. Wouldn't the innkeeper or the residents of the nearby rooms have recognized your screams for help? Also, knowing King's strength, he could have easily subjugated you, leaving marks of the violation on your body."

"I-I was scared, I was…"

"I've met people like you many times. You use false charges and ridiculous accusations to get what you want. Being a woman, people even believe you without any evidence to support your claims, but not me." Ren clicked his tongue. "I don't trust people like you. Show some evidence first, and then I might just believe you. But until then, it simply stinks as an attempt to frame King. Whatever your reason is, you will not fool me."

"Hey, Ren… don't you think this is a little harsh?" Itsuki placed his hand on his fellow hero's shoulder, smiling nervously. Maybe he was right; hell, his argument seemed the more rational of the two. Still, it was a little bit much, saying all that bluntly. Couldn't he have... you know, put it nicer?

"This is simply what I think, Itsuki. Logic supports my points! Her lack of proper answers and panicking when she was questioned by King himself shows that she is lying. She also lacks any further evidence to confirm the case, simply repeating how she was 'raped' by King, like a broken recorder… "

"Tch! Come, Lord Motoyasu! The Hero of the Sword seems to be foolish, to believe the Shield demon! No, it might be that he's brainwashed Lord Ren already!"

"Can he do that?" Motoyasu glanced at Itsuki uneasily, who just shrugged helplessly.

"Don't ask me, I don't have such an ability, nor have any knowledge about such a thing." According to his knowledge, there was no such thing implemented yet in the game.

"I have no time for this nonsense. Believe what you want. I've listed my conclusion already; the rest is up to you. Now, if you excuse me, I need to return to my mission. Have a nice day…" With that, Ren and his party members left the guild, leaving only Itsuki and Motoyasu behind.

"You know, he has a point."

"You too, Itsuki?!" Motoyasu said, feeling betrayed.

"Yeah… Ren was pretty convincing, as well. Everything — or the lack of evidence actually points towards King-san's innocence. He has a pretty good alibi too. Also, why would he rape her? Think about it! Why would he scare away his only teammate when he only has a shield? Without a party member to support him, he's basically useless."

"You can't be serious! That guy is…!"

"Sorry, that's my opinion about the case. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go. I have some quests to complete. Later, Motoyasu…" Itsuki waved his goodbye, leaving the spear hero to his own devices, filled with doubt after what evidence Ren listed—filled with doubt if he could trust his own teammate after all of that?

The words of that monster of a person and the logical argument of his fellow heroes against the pleas of a beautiful damsel and the trust of king Aultcray — It was evident which he would rather trust. Still, when he heard their reasoning once more, some doubt started to surface in his mind, which pointed towards Myne's false charges and the innocence of the Shield Hero — despite how scary-looking he was.

"Lord Motoyasu, it seems that the Shield Demon has infected even Lord Itsuki's mind as well! How shameless, using such a tactic! They are really a lost cause. Please, don't believe their nonsense." Gently, Myne turned Motoyasu's face towards her pleading green eyes. "Will you believe me? Your Myne? Will you believe my innocence and the treacherous act of that beast?"

It only took a moment and her to innocently bat her eyelids to crush his doubt and persuade Motoyasu into believing her terribly-constructed lie with dozens of loopholes- already pointed out by the other three heroes, derailing the playboy completely.

"Sigh! Maybe you're right, Myne. There is no way a cute girl like you would lie to me. Right?" Motoyasu glanced at Myne, really hoping that it was the case. After all, someone so cute couldn't possibly tell such a lie, right?

"Right!" And the girl nodded with a big grin, her eyes not even trembling after telling her lies. Indeed, she was a natural! Or so she thinks herself to be one, but in truth, out of the three heroes that she should've persuaded into turning against the Shield Hero, only the hero that thought with his crotch believed him, the other two not buying a word of her spiel.

After taking up a few quests, Motoyasu and his party left the establishment.

Their path will surely cross with the other heroes, of that, there was no doubt about it.

---

Scene Change: Somewhere in the countryside:

"That day, when the wave appeared, haunting me all this time… we lived in a small village on the outskirts of this country, a place where you could see the ocean."

The child walked by the man's side in silence. Just now, a small but sad smile formed on her face, remembering what she had lost.

"It was a town full of demi-humans. This country isn't kind to demi-humans, but everyone was friendly with each other and lived peacefully there. Until that day…"

Raphtalia glanced up, watching the clouds move slowly and gently, the lights in her eyes dimmed slightly as the crown of the trees passed her view, remembering that horrible day.

"Demons and monsters we had never seen before came swarming out in numbers unheard before, and my town was swept up with by the wave before anyone knew what was going on…"

The girl clenched her fist, several tears ran down on her face, feeling powerless as she remembered how her parents pushed her down a cliff to save her, just before that terrible demon took them... and tore them apart.

"I was swept away by the waves, and when I recognized what happened, I was already captured and sold as a slave."

"Yes… it happened just like that," She mumbled in a trance, her body in autopilot as she walked near King.

"Did you said something?"

"Ah, nothing, Lord King. I was just talking to myself." The girl quickly denied it, yet, she shuddered as King glanced down at her. It was as if he could see through her very being.

"I see…" With a raised brow, King sighed. Something bothered the kid; he was sure of it. Nonetheless, he wasn't a man who would dig into another's past without their permission.

He was the same; he too had many shameful secrets he would rather not speak about. Asking others about their secrets while hiding his would only be hypocritical.

"Lord King…?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you… will you stop the wave? Will you save the people of this world?"

"Hmm…" King hesitated to answer.

After spending some time in this world, forming a two-member party with this little girl, his lack of confidence in worldly matters should have already disappeared. He should have already gained enough confidence to handle whatever awaited him. He already had the skills to take on some monsters, even! Back then, he couldn't even do anything against a simple balloon monster! Now? He could deal with them with one hit — or squash.

Yet, now looking at Raphtalia's expectant gaze, waiting for the solution from an unreliable person like him, his confidence hit rock bottom once more. Moreover, just looking at him this way pushed King to the point where he would rather run away and hide than face whatever monstrosity would pop up come the next corner.

"According to my calculations, only around less than two weeks remains, and the wave will arrive. What should I do?! I don't even know what to expect! I don't have any information about what will come from it, only that it will be worse than the previous one…"

With no info about what kind of monsters, nor how strong the monsters will appear in the next wave, he was not confident he could handle them at all! Alone, there was no way he could face them! Even with Raphtalia to help dish out damage, it was questionable if he could. Didn't they say their own military forces couldn't do anything? What could one 29-year old otaku and a 10-year old girl do against that?!

Granted, the other heroes also had parties of their own, but still, he hesitated to risk the kid's life in such a dangerous mission. He would rather leave her behind in a safe place if he could, even if it meant his only way to dish out any form of damage was gone.

"Compared to the small monsters we encountered outside the city, my level is rather high in comparison, and I can even ignore them entirely. Nonetheless, I'm in no way confident that I can handle a monster that was able to defeat a whole army…"

From what minute information he managed to glean from his first few days here, the previous wave painted a dreadful picture, even more so for the next — which was said to be even more challenging and dangerous than the last.

According to these resources, a lot of trash mobs would appear when the wave came. Those, he wouldn't worry about. After some time, stronger and more powerful monsters would be mixed among them as elite monsters — and that wasn't even including the boss monster that would be rumored to appear.

"And if that wasn't enough… Some of the beasts described by the survivors resembled the legendary monsters that appeared a long time ago in my world…"

Tales that spoke about the first monsters, monsters that destroyed multiple countries before the heroes of old stopped them!

There were many legends circulating in his original world, mostly coming from the old era where countries still existed. Most of them described world-ending monsters. Creatures the old heroes and military forces of the old world fought off courageously and eventually triumphed against them.

Eventually, after the world was unified into one giant super-continent and everyone lived in megacities, those old monsters slowly stopped appearing, and a different kind of monster appeared. Mysterious beings, monsters that were originally human.

"They say that smaller monsters are less dangerous... In my world's case, that's not entirely true. Size can be a deceiving factor. Just look at Tatsumaki or Child Emperor. Both have the build and size of a kid, and yet, their capabilities are terrifying! Worse still, they're still considered 'human'. How terrifying would it be if they were monsters?"

Even thinking of it made King tremble in his boots. A mysterious being Tatsumaki or Child Emperor... hell, any S-Class hero that turned into a mysterious being would be a nightmare!

As a kid, he was always amazed by those myths of old, imagining himself to be the hero who saved the day when he read about them in the history books from the library — and the animes that were adapted from them.

As an adult, however, his perception of the world changed. Living in a world where the threat of monsters, actual, terrifying monsters were real had opened his eyes, eventually realizing that he was in no way the type who wanted to face such dangerous beings! Especially since he had no special ability to speak of!

He did not resemble a hero that the tales divined. Instead, he would rather hide to save his skin, leaving the problem for others to solve.

"Good grief… I am not at home anymore. But, isn't that more concerning!? There's no Hero Association or Saitama around to save me when a monster pops up. I can't just run away and hope that the other heroes would pop up and save the day. There are only four heroes in this world — and I'm one of them! Dammit! This sucks! I wanna go home..."

Worse still, he's reached the point where the nearby monsters gave little experience — too little to matter for him. The girl still gained some, though. Even so, it was lackluster compared before, her growth greatly diminishing in the past week as there were no monsters strong enough to get her a respective amount of experience. To do so would mean adventuring further than before — and King would rather jump in a pot of boiling water before he did that — boiling water no longer damaged him, anyway.

"Lord King?" His attention snapped back to the girl who still looked at him expectantly. "Will you save them?"

"Well…" Dammit, and now he had to answer such a question? Why was the world making him suffer so? Was his pain that amusing to whatever gods there were? Did he do something wrong in a past life? "Oh, we've arrived at the cave that the villagers spoke about."

"Ah…" Before the girl could ask any more, King took the lead, urging himself to escape the answer — the lie that the girl expected from him.

At that moment, he'd rather enter a scary looking, dark cave than answer the girl's question. Indeed, King was not good at reassuring others when he himself could barely calm himself. Moreover, there was no way he wanted to destroy the hopes of a kid who gave him too much credit.

He was not that cruel... A liar? Maybe. He did abuse his S-Class status quite a bit in order to scare away monsters — but they could be counted as actions to survive. He did end up cleaning the streets of monsters, after all. But cruel? He never thought of himself as such a person. Even in video games, he opted to stay on the morally correct path — most of the time.

"Let's see… [Pickaxe Shield]!" A new shield appeared on his arm; recovering a pickaxe from his bag, King started to hit the ore vein, retrieving unprocessed ore directly from the source.

Originally, his physical condition was poor to the point that even with a pickaxe, he wouldn't be able to scratch the ore, nor crack stone, but with newfound physical strength that was a product of his leveling up, and with the help of his shield, recovering ore was as easy as completing the first level of Super Mario with cheats.

"This mine was abandoned — according to the elder of the nearby village. After the wave, no miners have dared to approach it, after hearing some kind of beastly noises from its direction…"

At first, he thought it would be infested with monsters, and that was the reason why the miners were not coming back. But now, as they investigated the area beforehand and mining ore continuously, he was sure that there were no monsters around. They would've been attracted by the continuous noises he made while mining.

Chances are high that it was just the wind blowing through these empty tunnels and the paranoid villagers thought as the roars of monsters. Though with his luck... well, being ready for anything won't hurt.

"Metal in the town is crazy expensive, and thanks to those charges the king circulated about me, it is kinda hard to find someone I can actually trade with… hell, every time I approach a trader, they either chase me away, calling me a 'rapist', or they simply apologize and recite the new decree that Aultcray guy brought forth!" But unbeknownst to him, many of them were simply intimidated by King's intimidating expression and called for a guard in fright. "Geez! They have no evidence and they'd believe a mentally ill woman's charges against logical arguments? This country is messed up! Haven't they heard of the phrase 'Innocent until proven guilty'?"

Of course, as it was a kingdom he was in, not a democracy. How would they know about such a thing? In his sudden sourness, King almost forgot this sad fact. Still, it was like starting the game, and suddenly, he wasn't allowed to trade with the merchants in the starting city. One would obviously be pissed at that — or at the very least annoyed at it.

"Well, I suppose it can't be helped. Even this idea to find ores to feed with the shield with only came up recently. After passing a cart full of ores, my shield started to glow like crazy! The same glow I receive near things that I can absorb with it."

When he asked if he could buy some, he was immediately denied by the knights escorting the cart. Erhard also didn't want to sell him his own stock of ores in greater quantities due to the deficit of ores since the first wave hit.

"It seems like the kingdom has started to buy up massive quantities, using it to make weapons and armor for the soldiers… it's crazy! It's like they were preparing for war!"

Then again, fighting against a wave was bound to be an expensive endeavor. Also, the people's lack of willingness to return to the mine may have also played a great part in this situation.

"Without people to work in the mines, the country can hardly produce the necessary amount of iron and steel. I wonder if this is the case for the surrounding countries too..."

King often thought about how other countries would deal with this wave. But thinking about it, he came to the conclusion that they might also have their own heroes that they summoned if the need arisen.

"Poor folks dragged away from home without any warning." He could really feel their situation, seeing as he was in it at the moment.

It was just plain wrong, kidnapping others just like that. But thinking about it, desperate times called for desperate measures. He couldn't fully blame them for anything if he didn't even know of their situation.

Not to mention, King shouldn't really have a right to complain; as he's the one who always ran away when a stronger monster appeared, not other heroes. Back in his old world, he even left innocent civilians behind to save his hide. He couldn't do anything anyway.

"I really am a pathetic guy, huh…"

Offering a bitter smile, he continued his work, proceeding deeper and deeper in the cave to find more ores to mine.

In the end, there wasn't any more light from the outside of the cave, and the torches nearby, thus King switched the flashlight on his mobile, handing it to Raphtalia for her to hold it.

He disliked torches, there was no way he wanted to light himself on fire accidentally! Granted, with his ever-increasing defense, he might be able to shrug even that off, but he wasn't taking any chances. Especially since even if he would escape unharmed, he didn't want to end up burning his clothes.

"Umm… Lord King?"

"Yes?"

"What is it I am holding?" Raphtalia looked at the strange device she held in her hand, inspecting it with a confused gaze. Never had she seen a device like this before.

"A mobile?" King deadpanned, forgetting for a moment that the kid had never encountered modern technology before. She was from this world, after all. And they were so primitive that they didn't even have steam engines, let alone telephones, or smartphones!

In his world, even a toddler was given a smart device from their parents to play with. At four years old, kids were usually already more proficient at using such things than their parents who grew up without using such technology. Then again, learning how to do something when they were still in the learning stage would obviously make them much better at it than people who have long passed that time. It was like teaching them to walk or ride a bike. It would be like second nature to them.

It was strange that a girl at Raphtalia's age didn't know what it was.

"A mobile?"

"Ah, right! I almost forgot; you've probably never seen anything like it thing before. In short, it can be used to communicate with others from anywhere in the world. Well, others who have a similar device, anyway..."

Unfortunately, without cellular reception, satellites, or whatever the technology they used for this particular device to communicate, its main function was essentially moot.

"Ah, I see…" The girl hummed, ever more intrigued by the strange machinery in her hand. Such a small thing could emit light like a torch? She couldn't even see the fire, and even when she accidentally touched the glowing part, it wasn't as hot as fire would be!

"Of course, it has many other functions, like for example, a flashlight." King pointed at the brightly glowing screen of his phone. "Or it can store libraries' worth of knowledge, play various games and music, and many other things. Hell, it may as well function as a coffeemaker, with how convenient it is." As said, King was immensely satisfied with the basic functions, never really exploring all the functions Child Emperor and Metal Knight implemented in this crazy expensive stuff. Well, until he actually needed to use them — almost all the time for the past month. He had little to no idea how to start a fire with just two sticks. What kind of nonsense was that, rubbing two sticks until fire appeared? Where was the fuel? The dry grass?

"Oh!" The girl's eyes widened, turning the device around. "This little thing is capable of such amazing things? It is fueled by magic?"

King chuckled, lowering his pickaxe. "Better… science."

"Science?" The kid raised her head, confused.

What was this 'science' thing? Was that how they called magic from the Shield Hero's world? Or was it something else entirely? Whatever the case was, it sparked intrigued in her.

"Indeed… now then, can you please raise the…"

"Lo-Lord King…!" Raphtalia's tail stood up in fright, dropping the device on the ground.

"Grrrr…"

King's hair stood on end, his body slightly trembling. "...Something's behind me, isn't it?" Of course, he found himself in a situation like this. He even warned himself of something like this!

In a typical dark cave, a typical monster appeared behind his back. Why was the world always tossing him around with various situations? Why do such cliché situations only happen to him?

Slowly but firmly turning his head, behind him, a large, black dog stood, towering even above King. It's two heads stood out of the dark, its eyes glowing red.

"AHHHHHH!" King couldn't help but scream, after all, such a huge beast appearing behind him was startling, to say the least! Though in Raphtalia's eyes, he seemed to be battle-ready, hyping himself up with a war-cry.

[Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!]

"Awoooo!"

Instinctively, King raised his shield, only managing to block the beast's terrible attack by a hair, the dog gnawing on his sacred weapon relentlessly.

"Grrrrr!"

'Gnaw! Gnaw! Gnaw!'

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Drool dripped over his hand as the beast's eyes met his, the second head fiercely trying to latch on his neck.

'Snap! Snap! Snap!'

"Hey! Cut it out!"

One head gnawed on his shield, the second head being held back by his other hand; King was in a tight situation. He was also disgusted by the foul breath and the drool of the creature that dripped over him.

"Dammit…!" Back then, his old self would have been overwhelmed by such a monster. Hell, he would have turned tail and run away at the moment such a beast appeared. Yet now, he was strangely standing firm, holding the beast back with his bare hands.

"Maybe it's because the kid is behind me? Maybe it's because she said those words, I don't want to run away?"

Or it was more likely that if he started to run, this half-ass Cerberus wannabe would jump on his back, and he would have no chance to defend himself!

"My high defense might protect me from any critical damage. Still, there's no way I can get away unscathed from it…"

...right? Actually, for how scary it looked, it wasn't as strong as he expected. He was managing to hold it back, despite being smaller than it.

Wait, now wasn't the time! He had to deal with it as soon as possible!

Needless to say, this monster would probably just pounce on Raphtalia once he turned tail. After all, she would seem to be easier prey. Turning back to check, Raphtalia was shivering in fear, rooted to the spot.

"She's trembling a lot… I read once that predators aim for the weakest-looking prey, and also the ones that run away, as that would affirm that they are indeed weaker than themselves. In this scenario, I'm the more troublesome prey... so does that mean that it would aim after Raphtalia first?"

[Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!]

Not daring to continue that train of thought, King's eyes met with the beast's, and his heart started to pump audibly. The beast seemed to hear it, and it confused it for a short while.

"Dammit!" Taking advantage of the small lapse of confusion the two-headed dog had, King punched the dog monster's face. King hoped that it would deal at least some form of damage, though he didn't expect much due to his reduced damage output-

Which was why when he managed to knock it back a considerable distance, he was somewhat surprised. Though immediately afterward, it only seemed to piss it off more.

"GRRR!"

King managed to stand his ground when the dog monster charged at him — mostly Raphtalia behind him — again, and this time, probably due to his newfound strength that came with his levels, he managed to stop the dog monster with his bare hands, his body not moving an inch. It felt almost the same as someone bumping into him. Which was surprising, considering how that 'bump' was a large two-headed dog which was larger than even he was charging in his direction. Was his defense really that high?

Pushing it back again, King then bashed one of the dog monster's heads with his shield, which caused it to whimper in pain.

"[Rope Shield]!" A shield forming a coiled rope appeared on his arm in the next moment, shooting forth a rope which he then used to entrap the beast, immobilizing it for a moment.

"Got you!" Under the passing weeks, King got more accustomed to using his shield. He wouldn't say he was any good at it, but he could say that he'd be able to do this much.

The beast trashed, entangling itself more and more, the rope hugging around one of its necks.

King used some more rope and threw a noose around a stable-looking stone pillar, trying to keep the beast as far from Raphtalia by pulling the rope towards him.

"If I pull too hard, it'll just go around that pillar, and it will have the opportunity to rush towards Raphtalia! If I let it loose, it will escape anyway! Dammit!" Thankfully, King was strong enough to handle this much, at least. If anything, the only problem he had was to control the amount of strength he was using. The dog monster was fully focused on escaping its binds, which made trying to incapacitate it temporarily a more troublesome endeavor than it should be.

One of the heads started to suffocate as the rope tightened around it, making the beast thrash around wildly and unpredictably. It was almost to the point it would've been able to free itself from his hold.

"A little help here?" King glanced back at the girl, hoping for some help from the only member of his party who could dish out some proper damage — even a sword in the girl's hands was a lot better than King using his fists — no matter how much higher-leveled he was compared to her, yet, the girl was still trembling, rooted to the spot.

Raphtalia was still frozen, trembling behind King, holding her weapon unsteadily. "Mo-Mom! Da-Dad..! Ahhhhh!" Once more, her traumatic experiences overcame the girl, the monster making her remember her parents who were killed by a similar nightmarish creature.

"Ahhhh!"

Raphtalia collapsed, grabbing her head. She could only scream hysterically!

This, of course, agitated the two-headed dog, trying ever harder to push through its bonds and free itself from the hold of the rope.

"GRRRRRR!"

[Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!]

"Shit! And when I thought she already got used to fighting and overcame her fears. Now, she's frozen over again! Dammit! That's my luck!" Clenching his rope tighter, King clenched his teeth as he kept the dog in place as best he could. "You stupid dog, don't pull that hard!"

King tightened his grip, trying to balance his strength with the rope originating from his shield, thinking about how cliché his situation is.

A dark mine that was abandoned for some time.

The villagers warned the adventurers. Yet, after the adventurers find nothing that infers to the existence of monsters in the cave — at first —they dismiss the warning of the locals, starting to delve deeper and collecting materials.

And just when they put their guard down, the monster appeared out of nowhere!

"It's almost like the writing of a game. The villagers warn the hero who goes to investigate the cave. Everything is too calm. Then, at the worst possible moment, the monster appears. Sigh… such a cliched and unlucky event can only happen to me, it's too obvious at this point…"

King hated it! Worse, with his luck, he'd likely face similar events in the future!

The girl frozen behind his back was the evidence. He was too careless! He needed to be more careful in the future! His sense of danger had already thinned enough thanks to his raised levels! Granted, it meant he could just ignore smaller monsters, and that was the truth. Even for this scary dog monster, his physical strength was probably above it — with how easily he managed to push it back.

Still, if growing stronger meant that he could potentially be killed thanks to his dulled sense of danger; then he would rather remain weak and survive!

"But what to do? I can't kill this monster with my low attack power. At most, I can wound it, but that's not enough. I can bash it continuously with my shield, but its aim is now Raphtalia, the easiest prey in its eyes. I might not be able to save her in time. Even if the girl's safety isn't a worry right now, it'd take a considerable amount of time to get rid of this thing! Suffocating it is an option, but running away? If it was only me, then sure. But with Raphtalia here... If I loosen this rope for even for a moment, this beast might free itself and latch on Raphtalia immediately! She's evidently too scared even to move right now! Gah! What's with me? I need to save her right now! If I can't even save a little kid after getting stronger, I don't deserve to be a hero!"

"It's fine…" Gathering his courage, King muttered, loud enough for Raphtalia to hear. Even he couldn't believe he was saying something like this.

[Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!]

"Grrr!"

The beast gathered the last vestiges of its strength and started to push against King's iron hold; the stone pillar King threw around the noose beginning to crack.

'Crack!'

If that small stone pillar breaks, the beast would regain its freedom and gain the chance to attack Raphtalia!

The creature was so desperate that it started to ignore its other suffocating head just to reach King and bite him, even though it was futile! On top of this, as the adrenaline coursed through its veins, the muscles of its neck tightened, making the rope suffocating effect less effective as its muscles pushed against it.

Though it was a mindless monster, there was only one real thing on its mind — survive! It would run out and escape — but not without securing the smaller prey, first. It needed to eat to survive- and King was not prey.

"I don't want you to get hurt…"

Forcing a nervous smile, King looked back at the girl, seeing that it was unlikely Raphtalia could help him out at the moment.

His muscles were aching — trying to control his strength was tiring! It was even more so than just using all of his strength! But he couldn't just do that — otherwise, it'd break the stone pillar holding the dog back, and if it freed itself, Raphtalia's fate was sealed. Her life would literally depend on him — if she didn't get up right now!

"Huh? Lord King?" Raphtalia stopped trembling, lowering her hands from her head, as she noticed how King was holding the monster back. "Bu-But… If I leave you behind…" No! That can't be! She'd be all alone again! She doesn't want to get abandoned again! Not again!

"If you can't help, that's fine. But you need to decide quickly. Remaining here is too dangerous. I can't deal with the monster and protect you at once. I understand you suffered some trauma in the past. But you need to overcome it, or this fear may potentially kill both of us in the future."

'Crack!' The stone the noose was entangled around cracked once more, only a little more, and it would break!

"GRRR!" The two-headed dog fumed in a berserk state, even releasing some steam from its mouths, eyes burning with sheer determination to escape!

"I don't blame you if you want to run away now. I can understand your current situation. But you have to act fast. I don't think I can hold it back for much longer, so you have to choose! Help me, or run away. Either pick up your sword and stab it or run away and leave it to me!"

King couldn't help but feel bad saying this. The kid was already trembling in fear. In her stead, he would have run away long ago or died on the spot from a heart attack.

Nonetheless, he had to act fast. If she didn't attack it quickly — or run away, she was dead meat. With how it was positioned, the beast would pounce on Raphtalia- and King wouldn't be able to move fast enough to move between them to stop it!

He had no idea how long he could hold this thing back, or how to even deal with it with his pathetically low attack power. But one thing he was sure, he couldn't do that and protect the girl all at once! That was too much of a challenge!

"I'm not sure if I can even escape alive if it ends up biting my neck…"

This beast was a lot stronger than the ones he met previously. His defense might be high, but without attack power, it was questionable how he will deal with this thing. He might have to bash it until it was dead. Due to his high level, it might not take all that long — but it would definitely be too long at the moment! If he was alone, then yes, it was doable. Needing to protect the girl at the same time? Yeah, no. He'd rather escape with the both of them still alive before dealing with that thing.

But how long would it take to get rid of it? He'd only be able to use his fists or his shield as an actual weapon, and even then it'd take too long!

"Every weapon I've tried to use until now has always automatically been repelled by my shield. Even when I tried to use simple tools like pickaxes as weapons, it seems that this stupid shield attached to me can detect my intent to use them as a weapon and make them fly out from my hand. HOW SHITTY IS THIS SYSTEM!? Even the tank classes in most MMORPGs had a weapon to deal damage with, like a lance, or a shortsword. Never have I ever heard of a shield-class that didn't allow for the use of weapons! What did they think they would attack with?!"

"…" The girl just stared at King blankly for long moments, gulping hard, filled with fear. Unsure of how to proceed, she turned to her only pillar of support. "Lo-Lord Ki…"

'Crack! Crack!' The small stone pillar was about to break at any moment. Only a little bit more, and the beast would break loose!

"IF YOU CAN'T ATTACK IT THEN RUN! I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN HOLD IT!"

This was it! He had no other choice but to shout at the girl.

She would be either shocked out from her trance and move away from danger, and if she didn't, then he would be forced to try some more extreme measures to get her out of the way.

'Break!'

"GRRRR! Guahhh!" Finally, the stone pillar broke, and the beast escaped the tight bindings of the rope it was entangled with, as it pounced towards Raphtalia.

"Shit! [Air Strike Shield]!"

Activating a skill, it formed a translucent defensive barrier before Raphtalia— The beast, repelled by the ability due to its sudden appearance, fell to the ground.

"Grrr! Awooo!"

The two-headed dog, pumped full of adrenaline after struggling to escape the bindings of the rope, the monster turned to its attacker, rushing towards King in a renewed frenzy.

"This is bad!"

Casting another translucent defensive barrier before him, the beast charged headfirst into the barrier, stunning itself. Taking advantage of the current situation, King's mind raced to find a solution — and it found one. One so inane and ridiculous that he didn't even consider it.

Backing up away from the dog monster, when it got up, it charged towards King once more. But what King did...

"Ahhhhhh!"

...was charge directly at the monster, his shield morphing to the [Warthog Shield], increasing his thorn damage and charge speed. With a mighty charge, King managed to knock the giant dog back, the monster impacting the cavern wall.

Before it managed to stabilize itself, King was already backing up, readying another charge. The beast didn't even notice King ramming into it as King used his body as a battering ram.

"Looks like all that excess defense was useful after all!" King thought, almost crying in joy, preparing to charge at it again. It seemed like a stupid action, but it was the only one that seemed to be damaging the dog monster enough. And the fact that it was damaging it was the only thing that prompted King to repeat the action.

After not being able to properly attack anything... to finally deal considerable damage on his own against other mobs that aren't level 1 fodder was, to say the least...

exhilarating.

Charge after charge, King slammed into the monster again and again, with every charge deepening the cracks on the wall. After the tenth or so charge, did King stop, noticing that the two-headed dog barely seemed alive anymore.

But due to charging against it constantly for over ten times, King was tired. He wasn't as exhausted as the time he ran around the starter field, running for his life from the literal flood of balloon monsters, but he was tired nonetheless.

"Phew…That's that sorted…" King leaned against the cavern wall, sighing. Looking at Raphtalia, she seemed to still be rooted to the spot.

"...Hey, you still there?" King asked, shaking the girl out of her stupor.

"W-What? L-Lord King! I-I..." Raphtalia stammered, unsure how to respond. When the Shield Hero held the monster back, she curled up into a ball and cried. When he was struggling against the monster, she simply stood there. Even when he protected her and faced it head-on, she did nothing but watch as he fought the beast from start to finish. Did the Shield Hero even need her at all? What if he decided to abandon her? She was utterly worthless this time around! Even without a weapon, the Shield Hero was as — if not more lethal than her, even with a sword in her hands!

"...I'm sorry." Was all King had to say to Raphtalia.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't even- wait, what?" Raphtalia asked, unsure if she heard him right.

"I'm sorry about that. I couldn't protect you properly." King apologized to her, a sad expression on his face.

What? Fail to protect her? She wasn't even harmed at all! If anything, she failed to be his weapon! The only real way she could help him!

"I shouldn't have expected you to be able to handle it that well in the first place." King patted her on the head. "You know, for someone your age, you held up pretty well against a monster like that."

"B-but! I couldn't even help you! I was completely useless! I didn't even do anything! I just ended up hindering you!" Raphtalia said, utterly confused. She did literally nothing. Why did King even say that?

"It's alright, kid. It's perfectly natural to freeze up upon seeing something scary for the first time. Here, let me tell you something." King said, making Raphtalia look at him.

Though his face was scary, at that moment... he didn't seem like anyone other than a caring guardian looking over a child.

"When things go South, it's okay to run away."

Though his words were wise... his mind was elsewhere.

"I'm getting more and more natural and stealing quotes from manga... sigh... which one did I even take this one from this time?"

"Well then, let's get out of here. I think we've collected enough ore for today-"

"Lord King, behind you!"

Barely turning fast enough, King had to resort to using his shield... and his other arm to block the bite of the two-headed dog.

Somehow, despite charging into the dog constantly, it seemed to attack with a lot more vigor this time around! It was as if it took all of its reserve energy and risked them all on one final attack.

"L-Lord King! Your arm!" Raphtalia noticed the second head gnawing on King's other arm.

"It's fine. It's my fault for not ensuring that it's dead. Remember what I said!" King turned around, a frantic look in his eyes. "Remember what I told you! Run away! I can deal with it myself!"

"B-but..." Suddenly, Raphtalia remembered that night! Her parents! How she lost everything in less than a moment!

That dark place that came to her mind was her 'home' after that… the slavers who captured her and forced her to endure untold suffering!

"No…"

She couldn't bear to see this anymore! She didn't want to go back! Not anymore!

"Raphtalia… RUN!"

At that moment, something broke in the girl. Something broke the dam that held her back to defend what was important to her! Something that made her hesitate, that paralyzed her for so long, had disappeared!

"GRRRR!"

At the moment, the second head that was gnawing on King's arm let go of it, and the beast's second head lunged towards him, aiming for his neck!

"Shit!"

"DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE! NOT ANYMORE! NOT ANYMORE! AHHHHHHH!" Abandoning all reason behind, Raphtalia charged forth, pushing her sword deep into the head of the beast that was about to bite King.

In her eyes, the light of desperation and craze lit anew, filling her with the determination to protect what was important to her!

"GUAAHHHH!" The beast lost its balance as it fell on the ground in fright and pain, starting to struggle and squirm as one of its eye sockets was penetrated by the blade, reaching one of its brains and piercing it.

Immediately, one of the heads fell limp, leaving the other with distorted bodily control.

'Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!'

"Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone…" Again and again, with a crazed fearlessness, the girl stabbed the monster! Again and again, repeating her mantra, ignoring the scratches she got from frantically stabbing the dog monster.

"Guhhh…"

"Don't leave me alone…! Don't leave me alone! Don't leave me alone… Don't leave me alone…!"

Even after it had long since died, even after one of its necks became a bloody pulp full with holes, she continued stabbing the monster, not stopping!

Meanwhile, King was stunned by the girl's action; Unsure what happened to her all of a sudden. Only after regaining his composure, he hurried to the girl to check if she was alright or not.

The man placed his hand on her shoulder, but it seems that her trance was too deep to stop her by just touching her shoulder.

"Raphtalia… RAPHTALIA!" Only after shaking her a few times helped, stopping her crazed state, as she noticed the Shield Hero's concerned face.

"I-I…"

"It's over…"

"Over?" She blinked, still not comprehending that she had killed the monster.

"Yes, you did well. You managed to fight it after all. Are you alright?" Raphtalia was covered with blood, but aside from a few scratches, she was not injured. King was glad that nothing dangerous happened. She was reckless, too reckless, even for a kid.

"She's covered in blood; she needs a thorough bath after this…"

"I-I…" Tears gathered in the girl's eyes, as she buried her face in King's chest. "Don't leave me… I don't want to be left behind again! Please! Don't leave me again, father..."

Father? What is she going on about? He wasn't her father! Does it have something to do with something she experienced some time ago?

"Hmm... What kind of trauma did she have before this?" But what was he to do with a traumatized child? King was no psychiatrist to help her deal with it. Nor did he have any idea how to deal with children. When he was a teenager, he once babysat a cousin of his for some pocket money, but after seven dirty diapers, a burnt lasagna, and a nearly-shattered TV... let's just say King never babysat anyone afterwards. Nor did he have the gall to meet her at the family reunions after.

He thought by simply encouraging her to be able to face monsters head-on or being more confident would be enough to solve her problems with killing monsters. But this?

He just wasn't sure anymore. This kid needed serious counseling after seeing her like this. Something broke in her; something an inexperienced individual like him couldn't really help with. Or it was his fault pushing her too hard? Yeah, it was probably that…

Getting a ten-year-old kid to go out and fight monsters with him day in day out? He would be surprised if he didn't get arrested immediately upon returning to his old world, if they found out about what he did to her.

"Just as suspected… I don't have the qualifications to raise a child…" He told himself the same thing from the beginning, and now, it showed.

He was the last person someone should entrust a child to. But what should he do now? She was already in his care; moreover, calling him 'father' — which was probably the last on the list of things he could be, right below a family man and a hero worthy of his S-Class status.

All of this made him wonder if he was up to the task in the first place. But even then, he couldn't just run away this time. If he abandoned her after all of this, that would not just be cruel, it would be plain wrong.

Thus, King did the only thing that was sensible in the current situation — the only thing that came to his mind after seeing all those films with 'kid plot'.

"Don't worry…" he hugged her with one arm, caressing her hair. "I won't abandon you, I promise."

It was kinda lame, and cliche to say such a thing, befitting the plot of a typical hero story. But then again, what could he do? Tell her that he was not up for the task? Even King wouldn't be that cruel. Also, most animes and manga that he read before told him that this was the best way to comfort a broken child.

"Lo-Lord King?"

"I told you, didn't I?" King forced a smile, trying to look trustworthy. "A promise is a promise. I won't leave you. Let's grow strong together. Let's work hard to prevent other children from feeling sad." With that, he showed a thumbs up to the girl, filling her with hope.

Raphtalia's eyes turned teary once again, burying her face in King's chest. "Thank you! I will not let you down, Lord King! I'll work hard! I'll become your sword to save others from grief!"

"Mother! Father! The Shield hero truly is like in the stories! And I will be traveling with him! Yes, I will prevent something similar happen to other people! I will save them! I will be fine, you don't need to worry about me! Not anymore…" Meanwhile, as Raphtalia had an inner monologue; something else entirely ran through King's mind at this moment.

"Sigh! How bothersome! I just want to go home… where is the Heroes Association when you needed them?"

Though unreasonable to expect them to just save him from another world, he couldn't help but think that.

Dismissing such a thought, the duo had enough excitement for the day. Collecting the loot from the two-headed dog and picking up King's strangely intact phone, the two retreated for the day.

---

Scene Change: Capital: A little less than two weeks later:

The above scene had happened near the beginning of their adventure, and as some time passed, when the two of them visited the good blacksmith once again, Erhard blinked, watching the 'changed' girl with wide eyes.

"Damn! I barely even recognized you!" Erhard blinked, looking at the matured Raphtalia. "It's been a while since I've seen you. You grew quite a lot, even for a demi-human! I bet this ruffian's been pushing you a lot. I'd say you've been fighting non-stop from dawn until dusk, with that much growth!"

"Ah, it's not that bad. Lord King is doing his best to protect me; and in exchange, I do my best to help him." The girl smiled confidently and happily, nodding, remembering her time spent with the man. Even her bushy tail started to wag in happiness.

"Well, she eats a lot more recently..." Muttered King, slightly downtrodden. His already-thin purse was suffering from the girl's newfound gluttony. Then again, she was a 10-year old girl last time. Now? Well, she's probably still ten years old, but she looked like a teenager that was in the midst of puberty. It only made sense that her appetite grew with her body.

"Yo-You make it sound like I grew fatter!" Raphtalia started to stutter, covering her body in embarrassment.

"I didn't mean that, I just said you started to grow into your clothes, that's all!"

"Lord King! You embarrass me!"

"Fine, fine! I won't mention it. Hmph, she's becoming stubborn, recently." Sighing, King started to browse the wares, still mumbling indignantly, leaving Erhard and Raphtalia alone for a moment to catch up.

"Hmm…" Erhard looked suspicious, leaning closer to Raphtalia now as they had a moderate amount of privacy. "Well, I hope he didn't do anything inappropriate with you. If he did…" The man pulled his collar uneasily and cleared his throat before continuing. "…Tell old Erhard, and I'll make sure this guy won't do that again."

"You know I can hear you…" Behind them, King muttered unhappily, even his mere presence was pressuring and menacing. Even more so than usual, as he gained a moderately-sized beard over the passing weeks, which just gave his face another intimidating quality.

"Ah! I didn't mean it like that!" Erhard jumped straight up, laughing, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I was just worried about the kid. Just by looking at her, it's evident you've been pushing her hard."

"Is that so?" King glanced at Raphtalia slowly.

"Yeah, I hope you didn't do anything bad with her."

"Nothing illegal, I assure you…"

"That didn't sound too convincing." Sweat-dropped Erhard.

Indeed, the shadows drooped over King's expression made him unusually unnerving, even compared to his usual state. If anyone watched him now, they would say he was a shady figure, either a hardened mercenary or a deadly assassin.

"Excuse me then…" Hummed King in the end. "I'll try to be more convincing next time."

"Right…" King was not convincing at all; Instead, saying things like this just made him look even more suspicious.

"Lord King! We talked about this! You always scare away the people we might be able to do business with!"

"But I didn't do anything wrong… what's your problem this time?" Seriously! Day after day, the girl started to grow more and more stubborn, demanding, and as well as annoying!

"Grrr!" The girl pouted, looking away, a little bit offended at King's retort.

"It's like she's growing to be like one of those girlfriends from those kinds of movies and media. They try to control how you act and what to do! Man! I miss the Doki-Doki series! Those girls are miles less demanding than the type she's starting to grow into!"

Just yesterday, she started to argue with a trader who refused to do business with them. It was really embarrassing, as well as unnerving how headstrong she became. From a timid ten-year-old girl to this willful, stubborn, headstrong woman? It was scary how fast she changed.

"Poor guy… he, and many other traders already made it clear to us! It's the order of that king. He's just a trader; he's only following the regulations. What's her problem?"

In the worst-case scenario, he could always trade with that shady slave trader guy — he honestly forgot his name. Bellow-something, or whatever. To be truthful, that place would be the last place he would go to, but it was better than leaving his potions and collected stuff lying around unused, or the case of a few ingredients gone bad.

"I am sure he would be willing to buy up my stock for a generous amount. Despite being a slave trader, he looked like a businessman who would rather not cheat on his customers."

King watched Raphtalia walk a little bit farther, starting to inspect the wares after finishing her little story time with Erhard.

"I see your hands are full…"

"Sigh! Don't even mention it." Once more, King sighed, slightly exhausted.

Day after day, his wish to go home grew ever more intensely. Looking at the girl who browsed the wares, he was not sure how long he could bear with this situation.

More so, he greatly missed his games and modern comforts. He couldn't even shave normally since coming here.

"I want a proper shaver… this beard is starting to become bothersome." Caressing it, he really disliked this rough feeling on his face. He couldn't even grab a dagger to shave, dammit! That stupid 'curse' on his shield only made things more and more annoying!

"But damn! She became quite the looker." His train of thought was disturbed by Erhard, grinning like he saw something- or in this case, someone impressive.

"Yes, I can tell. I recognized it already." When Erhard first said she would grow into those clothes, he thought she would've needed at least a few extra years — in the fastest scenario, a year. But this? Barely a few weeks in and she 'evolved' from a girl into an adult woman? This was an absolutely ridiculous growth rate! What was she? A Pokemon or something?!

"Or at least a woman in her late teens…" King was dense but he wasn't blind; he recognized her developing feminine form, as well as how much her height grew since the time they trained and hunted monsters together — As well as… cough cough… rounding up on the front and backside a great amount.

"That's why it's so weird! There are games where the goal was to capture monsters, then evolve them into a bigger and more powerful form. But this? It's so weird, seeing her growing up in no time! I feel old! Yeah, just looking at a ten-year-old girl grow into a busty teenager makes me feel like I actually grew that much older, too!"

King honestly felt uncomfortable. He knows perfectly well that she is still around the age of ten, yet, she looks like a woman that was about to reach adulthood!

If you asked him, it was unnatural how all those people on the street looked at her like a bunch of wolves eyeing a fat piece of meat since she grew to be like… this! Knowing her age, it was even weirder! He was at the point he started to consider people who looked at her 'that way' were the same as pedophiles who liked small children.

"Even more so, I used to play dating simulators that had capture targets just as young — or even younger than her! Granted, some of them were just cyborgs that were technically created just those many years ago, but still, what the hell's happening to me?!"

He had no idea, and it was scary. It was like his old Otaku self was starting to transform something more 'fatherly'. Like a parent who was afraid of creeps — like himself right now — putting their hands on his daughter.

"So… Ahem! What can I do for you two?" Once again, Erhard disturbed his thinking, and King right away recognized how Raphtalia grabbed his arm, squeezing it to her chest.

"WEIRD!" It made him extra uncomfortable despite the pillow-like surface that pushed against his arm.

"We…"

"We came to buy Lord King some new protective gear!"

Once again, this girl took the words out of his mouth! He needed to be careful, otherwise, she might end up being the controlling-type! He had to put a stop to that if he could!

"Well, yeah…" The chain-mail King bought at the beginning of his 'adventurer' here might do; still, he didn't want to risk getting hurt. It was better to be safe than sorry and buy better armor before the wave hits.

He even collected a respectable amount of ingredients and ore. Maybe Erhard could make something nice for them.

"The wave is coming; I can't risk it. One should always upgrade and repair their gear before going into the boss fight…"

Unless it was a 'no gear' run he'd attempt as a challenge, this was not only considered common-sense, but it was also what was expected! No one entered a war without ensuring they had enough bullets for their gun, and this was the same thing. He'd be damned if he didn't take every fight seriously.

"Also, we need something better suited to her, too."

"Wha…What's the problem with my gear?!" the girl started to blush intensely, covering her body. It was almost like she didn't want better gear, however strange that sounded.

"...as I said earlier, we need something to protect her, too. Something that would possibly allow her to keep her agility, but would be strong enough to protect her in the coming wave. If you have a good sword for her, that would be good too. With her growth now, the shortsword she has now is no longer suitable for her."

Since she grew to be like this, King recognized how her shortsword was no longer as useful as before. Still, he wouldn't complain if she kept it as a backup weapon. Even if she lost her sword somehow, she could at least defend herself that way.

A longer but still reasonably-balanced weapon would help her immensely, allowing her to use her bigger body more effectively with a greater reach. Not to mention, generally, the longer the sword, the more powerful the whole strike. But that wasn't always the case. A longsword was incomparable to a katana, despite its reach.

"Got it!" Erhard flashed a smile, offering a thumbs up.

"Any specific requests you have in mind?"

"Well… I want something that offers a modest amount of protection, but would allow me to move freely. My defense is high, but I don't want to get injured either."

"Then some chainmail again?"

"I thought about something different…"

"Oh! I see. Interesting. Well, I am open to ideas. Tell me what you want, and old Erhard'll do what he can!"

"Thank you…"

King hummed, explaining the details to the man — Asking for corrections if needed.

Unfortunately, aside from his common sense — which many people in this world could really use — and gaming knowledge, he had little-to-no experience with armors, medieval weaponry, and or various different gadgets. He needed to rely on professionals like Erhard to fulfill his needs and correct his mistakes.

"Got it!" Nodded the man with a smile after King explained what he wanted.

He had a few ridiculous ideas, but most of what he described was approved by Erhard. He was like a kid, listening to King with a grin and shining eyes.

"Maybe I went into quite a bit of detail… and maybe some of these things aren't possible here for the moment. Still, I had to ask to be sure…"

"You have quite some interesting ideas about armors and various gadgets. I've never heard about others trying such a thing before. I like it! Say, you sure you aren't fellow armorsmith or some kind of inventor?" Erhard asked in the end, grinning with dangerously shining eyes.

"Never tried it…" King deadpanned. The last time he tried to fix something in his home, he hit his finger with a hammer; and since then, he'd rather call someone else to fix things for him.

"Mind if I steal some of these ideas? Of course, I am willing to pay for them if needed."

"Go ahead…" King didn't want to sound greedy.

Of course, he could've asked for 'royalties' for these 'new' design ideas he gave Erhard. But one; he was the only blacksmith who was willing to do business with them and was actually a decent person.

Two, he worked for a great price.

Three, in his old world, all of these 'ideas' either were common sense, historically proven to work, or could simply be found in different RPG games or fantasy novels, and thus, was no secret at all, but rather widespread knowledge.

"Great! But nonetheless, I'll give you a discount for all future purchases, as that's the least I can do for you…"

"Thank you."

"Of course!"

"By the way… How much are you willing to buy this armor back for? Last time, you said that you were willing to buy it back for around 100 silver." It suddenly just came to King's mind. He didn't want to carry around excess armor he wouldn't even use any more. Rather than that, he'd sell it back to Erhard, so it'd lower the cost of the armor he described to Erhard later.

He already suspected that the things he asked for would cost a hefty sum.

"Eh… I'd give eighty for it, considering you've been using it for some time."

"Ninety-five…"

"Ninety, and that's my last offer!"

"Deal."

It was around a month since he bought this chainmail, and it served its purpose nicely — not like he really received a lot of damage, as that was a miracle in itself, but King had a hunch he needed more protection against the coming wave or something really bad might happen.

An armor that was custom made for his needs, offering as much protection as possible while also keeping his agility intact to provide a steady speed for escape... Yeah, that was what he wanted! Unfortunately, the two qualities were usually mutually exclusive, and even if one was made, it could hardly be maintained and equalized at a practical level.

It already existed in his old world, in the form of bulletproof vests and even bulletproof suits, and there was one thing he once saw Child Emperor working on, some sort of energy shield and some shock-absorption armor that was as thin as a wetsuit. But he was in a world where there was only medieval-level technology at their disposal, and he had to utilize them at their fullest — or die without any proper form of armor.

"I've seen how many gadgets and weapons Child Emperor's backpack had once… Dammit! I really want something like that with me right now!"

But in a medieval environment and with such technology he can find around at the moment, King doubted it was even possible to create even a fraction of what his world had, and such, he had to make do with what he had here.

"Even my mobile is seen as some kind of miraculous magic device here. Which makes sense, seeing as they seem to not have anything close to any form of modern technology. Even the steam engine hasn't been invented here! Hoping that they have something like modern alloys and forging techniques, or integrated gadgets is a pipe dream. Well, a man can dream. At least they have magic… Sigh! I hate being here so much! If there is a god that is responsible for what's happening now, he or she must really like seeing me suffer."

Nonetheless, he described his ideas about modern armors and integrated gadgets as best he could to Erhard. Hopefully, the man could come up with something usable.

"In a game, only stats really mattered. The aesthetics and the actual logical viability of the said equipment or armor would be secondary. For example, I've never seen a two-handed weapon larger than its wielder, neither are there armors that are capable of blocking explosions point-blank- and crushing the wearer by its sheer weight…"

Unfortunately, he was well too aware that this was not a game.

Looks were only secondary compared to function, and thus, King needed to focus on listing only things to the blacksmith that was somewhat possible — with the current technology and tools — He had to be realistic- there was no way Erhard could create a bulletproof vest or anti-shrapnel plating. He's been one of- if not the most helpful people so far to him the entire time he's been here.

Well, Raphtalia was a given. She was literally the only person he could count on to deal damage.

"It's better to be prepared for every possible scenario rather than getting caught off guard. Still, one shouldn't distance oneself from reality. One should only focus on what is possible, and ignore all unrealistic options." Before the wave starts, he also wanted to make some more potions and buy some more high-grade ones from the pharmacist. Who knows when he'd need to use them? King feared that even with all his preparations, they might not survive the coming dread. Also, even if he had an immense amount of defense, who knows if there existed an enemy that could ignore his defense. If there was... well, then he was screwed.

"It'll be done soon! Come back in a few hours, and I'll see what I can do." Erhard hummed, making calculations in his head. "It would be bad if you two go against the calamity unprepared, especially when it is so close."

"Hmm…" A few hours? That was quite fast! Didn't forging armors take days of work? I suppose Erhard was indeed worthy of being the best blacksmith in the kingdom! Nonetheless, King had a few more things to take care of, so these few free hours came in handy.

"We're counting on you."

"Got it!"

"Speaking of which…" One more thing came in King's mind.

"Yes?"

"How do you people know how long until that 'wave' arrives? How do you know where and when it will strike?" It was a good question; he was still clueless on where and when exactly the wave arrives.

When he was dragged away to this world, the people mentioned a one-month deadline. How did they know about it? He had no idea. A device of sorts? Or was there a specific time between the waves?

If his calculations were correct, then they only had around a day or two — or even less — before that wave hits, and he had no idea where it would pop up and appear.

He only knows what he heard. "One month… " And that was it!

"If I don't know where to go, or when, no matter how prepared I am, I can't fight that thing…" Though he'd rather avoid a confrontation with the monsters that wiped out the adventurers and almost swallowed a whole army that this country sent against it, but if he or the other heroes didn't fight against this calamity, then who would stop it?

If the heroes run and hide, who will stay and fight?

Now King REALLY started to feel the burden that the proper heroes of the Heroes Association face day after day.

One always had to be prepared, always watching out for a possible monster attack. It was stressful, and it was also a responsibility he'd rather hand over someone more prepared or more responsible personnel.

"How those other three heroes treated the information on the first day, I doubt they're taking this threat seriously — most likely still thinking that this is some kind of game. Let's hope they realized the seriousness of the situation and prepared for the coming catastrophe in the passing month. At least as much as I did…"

If not, he doubted that even with this shield; he could do much at all — more so because he ONLY had this shield, and he himself had limited attacking capability. Any other weapon would've been welcomed! A mace, a morning star, hell, a dagger would've been better than nothing!

True, Raphtalia became much more confident and skillful with her sword since they started traveling together. Even so, she was just one girl — an underage girl, no less — even she couldn't fight a whole army alone. Well, until one got stronger and stronger, but they weren't at that point yet.

"Needless to say, I already feel bad. I have to rely on her when it comes to combat. I don't know how I would be able to live with myself if she died or get harmed because I failed to protect her."

It was against his morals in the first place, letting her fight; nonetheless, he had no other choice but to go along with her request and allow her to become his 'sword' — as she started to call herself.

"As time passes and she grew in size, she became more and more insistent and stubborn. Saying, 'I want to be the Shield Hero's sword! I want to protect the weak and never let other children suffer the same fate as me!' She's just like an annoying sidekick in a lame RPG! She's incredibly useful as she's my only way of attacking something, but she's starting to grow annoying as I proceed through the game."

It was weird enough that she grew up to be an adult woman so fast, but this? King feared that if he wasn't careful, she would end up growing to be the bossy, stubborn type. Honestly, he'd have preferred if she remained smaller — and more obedient. The less clingy she was, the better. It didn't matter how weird it was to have a small kid by his side constantly, the way she was acting right now was just uncomfortable for him!

"Lord King?" Raphtalia yanked King's chainmail a few times, making him come back to reality.

"Hmm? What?"

"You spaced out again…" It happened sometimes. The girl had no idea what the Shield Hero thought about during his small 'moments' of blank periods, but she was sure it was something grand; things befitting of a great hero like him!

"Ah, sorry… what were we talking about?"

"Sigh! I just asked you: Did no one tell you about the dragon hourglass?" The blacksmith made him remember what he was asking about.

"What hourglass?" What was this guy speaking about? What Dragon Hourglass?

"Strange…" Erhard scratched his bald head, finding it strange that no one told King about the device, which amongst many other functions, could tell the exact time the waves hit. "How come no one ever told you about it?"

"I still have no clue what you're talking about…"

"Well, let me explain then." Erhard cleared his throat. "As I heard, there is a church in the town square where you can see a clock tower. There is something there called the "Hourglass of the Dragon's Era". When all of the sand in the hourglass falls down, I heard that the heroes and their comrades would be transported to the place where the calamity will take place…"

"I see…" King sighed, depressed. Great, and no one told him about this crucial information. Why was he even surprised? Since his arrival here, most of the people were unfriendly with him, and some even tried to rob him.

"I'm somewhat accustomed to this by now. But to not tell me such vital information? This is a little bit much!"

At least the Heroes Association always notified him if a dangerous monster detected and popped up in his town. Granted, that was because he had his status as an S-Class hero, but still! As one of the 'legendary four heroes', shouldn't he have been entitled to the information about the wave, at least?!

When he was summoned, the people around him mentioned there was only one month before the wave came, and so he counted down the days until a month passed. "In truth, I even set up a memo on my phone to keep track of time. I have a rough idea of when it will start, but I have no concrete idea about precisely when or where it will strike. The existence of such an item explains how people of this place know how much time is left…"

"So… you say that hourglass is in that creepy church?" He passed by that building when he was in the capital last time. It was hard to miss, considering it was in a public place and towered above all other buildings in the area.

"Just like the churches of my world…" Even his world had something like a religion, a thing he'd rather not get involved in due to how many sects were popping up recently thanks to the constantly present monster threat and the constant fear and pressure people lived in because of them.

King himself never bothered to know if there was any higher power out there or not.

It was enough to worry about the randomly appearing monsters; he didn't need the attention of an even more powerful — or even more monstrous being.

But if there was a god out there, then that God was most likely making fun of him, putting him in such ridiculously dangerous situations all the time. Either that God really liked seeing him suffer, or that they really didn't like him.

"Creepy?" Raphtalia and Erhard blinked, looking at each other at once. What did the Shield Hero mean by 'creepy'?

"Nothing…" King would rather not elaborate on it further. He already had a bad feeling about that place.

"Those priests and nuns that hang around in such places are just creepy…"

Like everything, he found them suspicious, and he'd preferably not mix with people like them.

"Not to mention, in games and movies, churches are the nests of ancient demons and hidden sects and the like… it is actually rare that a church is just a normal church and not some monster nest or that it contained a gateway to the underworld in its basement..."

"So, is there anything else you need?"

"Nothing else, just the gear we discussed earlier."

"Okay, then! Come back in a few hours, and I should have most of the things you requested ready. The rest? Well, let's just say I'll work as fast as possible. Some of the designs you mentioned might take a few days, or they might not even possible with my current tools and knowledge. Nonetheless, I'll do my best."

"Okay, thanks." King offered a small smile, nodding to the first person who was genuinely nice to him since coming here. Granted, he believed the rumor at first, before he slowly believed that King was just falsely accused.

"Bye!" Raphtalia waved cheerfully, and with that, King and Raphtalia left, leaving Erhard alone.

"Let's hope he'll be able to save the people from this terrible wave. Hell, this country needs some real heroes, now more than ever." Erhard also returned to his work, working as fast as possible to prepare the Shield Hero's new gear.

He would surely need it to fight against the wave. As a professional, his pride would only allow him to create the best, and nothing else!

That day, the blacksmith called Erhard worked his hardest to create what was most likely his finest work!

---

Scene Change: The Streets: Little bit later:

"Grrr! That was really mean, Lord King!" Raphtalia was angry; the intense pout on her face and her glare was a dead giveaway that she was angry.

"What did I do again?" King watched the girl confused, scrunching his face innocently. He truly could not figure out why she was angry at times.

"I'm not a child anymore! I want to eat from the adult menu!"

"Sheesh, then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because… because…! Grr…" As they left the restaurant, Raphtalia started to pout intensely, still upset that King ordered from the kid's menu for her instead of what he himself would eat.

Nevertheless, she couldn't deny what King said. She did indeed always allow the man to order her food, saying nothing about if she wanted something else or not.

"Maybe this is what they called a woman's pride?" King really had no idea. He never had a girlfriend, nor did know what the other sex thinks about when they had these small outbursts.

King only knows that in some media, female characters were usually depicted in the way that they never said what they wanted directly, but rather expected others to read their subtle signs or even their mind.

In the end, they were the ones who were offended because the other side didn't get their 'subtle hints'.

"Women are strange in the first place… for a while, I even asked her what she wanted, but she always said that she wanted the kid's menu! A week ago, she happily ate it, and now, she thinks that it's no good? She's weird…"

"Alms. Please provide some kindness for the poor!" An old vagrant was begging not far from them, reaching out with his clutched, crusty hand. "My Lord! Please, give a donation to a poor old veteran!"

The man instinctively turned to King. He was evidently blind — judging from the fogginess of his eyes.

"Umm…" King glanced around; several people were watching him instinctively. They always did. In some way, wherever he went, be it this world or his own, people paid too much attention to him.

It was honestly unnerving and was just annoying. Why couldn't people leave him alone?

"Here." King handed a few copper coins to the old guy, hoping he could get away from here — and stop attracting unnecessary attention!

"Thank you, my Lord. You really are generous. In exchange, let me divine you and your companion's future."

Great, just what he needed. An old man and his superstition.

"That's really not necessary, we…"

"Lord King, don't be rude!" Raphtalia continued for the Shield Hero. "We'll accept your offer." she smiled angelically, stepping closer.

"Ah, just like the Lord, you too, are gracious, my lady, thank you. Then, if you may give me your palm…"

How did the old guy even know she was near him? The better question was, how did he know that she was his companion? He never said a single word that she was traveling together with him.

"I've heard that the other senses of blind people are sharpened to an inhuman level to make up for their loss of vision… but this? Is this guy some psychic, or what?"

Removing her gloves, Raphtalia offered her hand.

"Oh! I see! So you and your Lord are about to undertake an important mission."

"Yes, Lord King and I will fight against the wave!" Announced the girl cheerfully, even pushing her generously-sized chest forward proudly.

"Hmm, I see, I see…" The old man continued to caress Raphtalia's palm. Even watching that old crusty hand waving through Raphtalia's smooth skin made King shudder. "I see many dangers in your future, as well as great sadness and tragedy…"

"Oh!" Raphtalia's eyelids lowered, her face filled with sadness.

"But there is also hope! If you, my lady, are courageous enough, and if the great hero supports you in your endeavor, there might still be time and there would be a chance to avoid the tragedy haunting your past and save who is important to you! Indeed, you must be apt, and unfaltering, even against great odds! Even against the ones you hold close and dear. In the end, only you can decide how their story ends... in the end; you will be the one who makes the choice that will turn the tides!"

It was eerie cryptic; King didn't like it at all!

"Oh…" Raphtalia blinked, completely confused about what the old man told her.

"What a cheap trick…" King almost snorted. "Like those fraudsters in those 'occult' TV shows. Fortune-tellers, those that can divine the future from the stars and cards? What bullshit…"

There was one famous woman called Madame Shibabawa who often appeared on the TV back then — and even so; the Heroes Association requested her fortune-telling abilities frequently.

According to the higher-ups, she divined numerous catastrophes and monster sightings. If you asked King, she was just as fraud like any other fortune-tellers.

She even divined about him back then, saying that he was blessed with luck that could defy even the gods and would save the world when the time comes during its turning point.

"Well, she was wrong… very wrong. Seeing my current situation and everything that has happened to me until now, I don't feel that godly luck she foretold…"

More so, he felt more cursed than lucky.

Their world was full of monsters, as well as catastrophes that can potentially endanger the world went a daily base. Where is the luck in that equation? King just can't see…

"Even I can wave my hands over a crystal ball and say that monsters and natural disasters would appear. There's no skill needed for that. Everyone knows that they happen. It'd be more impressive if she stated where, when, and why the natural disaster would occur, and also how to avoid it."

"You have doubts, my Lord. Don't you?"

"Ah, me?" King blinked, watching the old man in surprise.

"Yes, you doubt my ability, as well as your own. But I don't blame you; many do so... many are unable to see their hidden prowess and power, no matter how humongous it was, despite it being before them all their life."

How did this old guy know about what he just thought? Was he actually a psychic? Was he reading his mind? Or did he just luckily guessed it?

"Damn! This is starting to creep me out!"

"Fufufu… don't fret, my Lord. I don't bite. Besides, what can you lose? In the worst possible case, my divination doesn't come true…"

"Well, I guess you are right." He only hoped that the guy was not sick with an infectious disease that spread through contact. That would really ruin his day. But getting a disease right before an important battle? He was 'lucky' enough for that to possibly befall him, that was for sure.

"I mean… I was never really sick when I was here…" And King didn't really plan to experience the new diseases in this world.

"…" Seeing Raphtalia watching him expectantly, King could only sigh.

"Well… she was brave enough to do it. How would I look if I was afraid to reach out to a simple, blind old man?"

And thus, King removed his gloves, offering his palm. Immediately, the old man clutched on it, and he felt those crusty old fingers running through the surface.

"Oh! How interesting! The palm of a warrior…"

"Yeah, right..." Honestly, King didn't know what to do when people started to say something like this; either they were just mocking him, or worse, were being serious. "I mean… it's enough of a problem at home that people think I am some unbeatable hero… if they start to think the same here too, There'll be problems…"

"…Ohohoho! The Shield Hero himself no less!" The old man continued with a grin. He barely had five teeth — quite an odd toothless smile he offered — yet, King hardly ever saw a smile as bright as that. The only one that could smile at him like that was Raphtalia — and that was just because he did save her from slavery, after all.

"Almost like the smiling face of a deformed baby…"

"What a lucky day for an old man like myself to meet such a famous person."

"Hmm… right." How the hell did he know who he was? All of this was just starting to creep him out even more!

"I see the greatness in your palm, Shield Hero. A great hero, not only here but even in your world! What a surprise! Most summoned heroes come here without experience, completely unaware of the dangers and the responsibility they carry! But you! You've witnessed your fair share of horrors! You've gained experience, strengthened your mind, and sharpened your wits after each encounter! You, Shield Hero, are truly the chosen one destined to save our world!"

"Oh! As expected from Lord King!" Raphtalia, of course, clapped happily, her eyes shining intensely, adoring the man even more.

For King, of course, this was not a praise for him, but an even bigger burden, a responsibility he had to live up! He could only sulk, knowing that somehow, his fake reputation had even invaded this world and started to spread like wildfire.

"Dammit… just what I needed…"

"…Indeed, your hands tell it all. You are destined to greatness. But be warned! Sometimes, even the greatest heroes need someone to help them along the way."

"I am well aware…" King hummed, then a wild idea formed in his head. "Any sign about how I can get home?"

"Hmm…" The old man started to push his fingers deeper, touching King's palm. "Indeed, eventually, you will…"

"Thank god…" King muttered, sighing in relief.

"Lo-Lord King! You want to leave me!?" Raphtalia started to panic, her eyes almost teary.

"Well, not right away, but after he solves this issue with these waves." Well, he hoped he could survive that long. He would really be sad if he died halfway. Even with false hope, he could at least trick himself a little more- that he could just go back home and enjoy his games and manga!

"Hahaha! Don't worry, young lady; the Shield Hero has to overcome many odds before that. His time has not yet come to leave this world!"

"How reassuring…" King deadpanned, sarcastic and bitter about his situation.

"But what is this!?" The old man's foggy eyes widened, gulping deeply. "This… This…!? The World Devourer!? It cannot be!?"

"The what?" What 'World Devourer'?! Just what he needed… A monster that devours worlds?! What kind of deep shit had he found himself in this time!?

"Your future is blurred by great darkness… I am sorry, my Lord Shield Hero. I can't say any more. If I do so, the great hunger will recognize my peering gaze, and it will come here! All will end! All will be consumed!" The old man started to mumble, covering his face and sobbing. "She is already so close! Her tendrils are already touching my mind!"

"Err… okay. I'm sure we will solve it, somehow…" King honestly didn't know what this old man is babbling about; one thing was for sure- he wanted to get away from this creepy man as soon as possible. "Here's a silver coin. For your service… I guess."

"Ah, even when facing total annihilation, you are unmoved, just like the shield which was intended to protect our world. Truly, the Sacred Weapon chose its rightful champion…"

"Right, we need to go now. Are you sure you will be fine here?"

"I will be fine, Lord Shield Hero. Go forth! Fulfill your destiny! Save this world and all the other worlds. Defeat the great devourer which has haunted and consumed so many other worlds before!"

"I guess I'll do my best…" King slowly backed away, turning around and leaving the old man to his devices. No way did he wanted to remain near him any longer. Perhaps he'd scold himself for offering a silver, but he won't regret it. That old man was just creepy!

Slowly but steadily, they reached the church that Erhard spoke about. One thing King was glad about. There was no way he wanted to waste any more time with this than necessary.

"It's even creepier up close…"

He didn't like it, he saw too many times in different anime and manga of demons bursting through such adorned and wide doors from a secret summoning gone wrong, or a sect was hiding in a place like this.

"How beautiful!" Raphtalia, of course, was careless as they entered, her eyes shining as they walked past the entrance.

"You've never been to a church?"

"Not really…" She answered shyly, shaking her head.

"Hmm… I see." As they walked forward, King recognized how the nuns started to whisper amongst themselves, watching them intensely, some of them even glaring at him, before huffing and turning their head away.

"I have goosebumps from entering this place. And those nuns? They're creepy as all hell!" He recognized that before entering this place; the symbol of the church was depicted with three weapons in a strange formation that formed something akin to a cross.

The bow, the spear, and the sword, yet, no shield could be found in that formation.

"I can't find the shield in them…" Maybe this place only intended to pay respects to the three 'sacred weapons'? Then… where is the church for the shield? It was slightly odd that he had never found a church that had a shield symbol.

"Not as though it was a problem. I don't really want to be followed around by a bunch of religious zealots…"

At home, he had fans who went that far in their 'worship', even setting up creepy websites that he'd rather not speak about, but he had nonchalantly stumbled in them from time to time. Some worshipping him as a God incarnate, the symbol of heroism itself, the eternal protector of mankind...

"I remember stumbling upon a few of those… Jeez! They really are too much for normal people to bear. Still, there are some fans that made creepier stuff…"

He even saw weird King x Tatsumaki shit while browsing the internet. Some was kinda cute, but there were stuff that would make any normal person gag in disgust. Honestly speaking? Even if he was strong enough, and even if he saw a monster about to attack the people that created those things... he wouldn't be proud of it, but he'd just pretend he didn't see anything. The internet didn't need any more weird shit.

"The Shield Hero, I take it?"

"Hmm?" King turned his attention to the nun that called for him. She looked different from the rest, wearing a white veil instead of black. Her face was strict and slightly wrinkled, just as expected from a head nun of any kind.

"Ah, yes?"

"May I know what are you doing here?"

"We came to investigate this 'Hourglass Of The Dragon's Era'. Any chance we can see it?"

"Hmm… I see." The way the head nun raised her chin and looked down on King made him hesitant. King felt something akin to scorn in her words, some antagonism radiating from her gaze.

"Follow me, Shield Hero…" And the way she squinted her eyes… the local guards used to look at him this way. Something was definitely up.

Yet, he followed the head nun wordlessly, leading him to an even more intricate-looking hall.

In the middle of the hall, a tall hourglass stood; it was approximately seven meters tall, with red sand enshrined within it. It was decorated and gave off an indescribable divine aura.

"Well, it's definitely not a normal hourglass…." King concluded in his head. Indeed, if he had to compare it to something, it looked more like a respawn shrine he encountered in a few RPGs.

"And look at that! Almost all of the red sand is in the bottom half!" That meant that they didn't have much time left.

'Kaching!'

A sudden ray hit the jewel on his shield, originating from the top of the device.

"Lord King!" Raphtalia shouted in fright from the sudden beam of light, but what appeared before King's eyes was even more frightful.

[21:31]

"W-what the hell is this!? Less than a day!?" He thought he at most had two more days before that thing hits! But less than a day? This was a little too sudden for him.

With the doomsday clock so close to zero, King had little time to think!

Now... how would 'The Strongest Man On Earth' solve this situation?

---

A/N:

Well, this is it!

Part 1 from 2 is completed! (originally, it was one chapter, but I cut it two… I don't want to publish a 20k+ word chapter XD 15k+ already long enough to bear and read XD)

The second part already typed, waiting for proofreaders to complete their work!

Be patient and it will come! :P

Sorry about the delay… laziness, work, life and other things took my time! XD

In the next chapter: The Wave hits! How will King solve the situation?

RnR!

Read and Review!

Send PM if you have further questions!

Good day! Good night! Good sail! Safe winds!

Until next time!

Be aware of Korona-chan!