They say death has a face.
It could be the face of a man with cold eyes staring you down.
It could be the face of a woman with kindness in her eyes.
Sometimes death doesn't have a face.
It could be a boulder perched precariously on a rocky edge waiting for an unfortunate soul to pass by.
It could be a tsunami what washes away any traces of a coastal city.
The closest Naofumi came to death was his grandmother dying.
He was twelve when she died. When he was younger, he believed his grandmother would live forever. She always had a smile on her face and brought ice cream in the summer for him and Akito.
Everything about her made him feel at peace. There was a sense of comfort and peace when she was around. If he was having a bad day, she would be there to listen and bake sweets afterward. "Sweets cure any bad feelings," she used to say.
She was the personification of comfort.
That was why when she passed away, Naofumi didn't want to believe it. No matter how many times he told himself it wasn't the truth, the cold reality was that people die.
Back in his home, a shrine was put in the living room. The picture of his grandmother was perched on a small mantle with incense sticks ready to be lit.
The years after death, Naofumi would sometimes light incense and say a prayer. They became less frequent when he entered high school and eventually college, but he made the time to say a prayer.
There was one day in particular when he asked her for something. It had been his first year in college. Akito was going through his rebellion phase and his parents were at a loss on what to do with him. Seeing this made Naofumi fearful that this could forever put a hindrance in his family's ability to bond.
As he was ready to leave for school, he saw the shrine and went to it. His grandmother's smiling face stared back at him as if waiting for him to say something. She was an easy woman to talk with. If you had something bothering you, she was ready to listen.
"Hey grams," he said. The next words died before they reached his throat. What could he say to her? She wasn't here to offer any advice or bake cookies.
"Do you have any idea how to fix this?"
Silence was his answer. A dreary silence.
"Guess you can't answer, huh?" A short laugh escaped from his mouth. Awkward moments always made him laugh uncomfortably.
Once out in the street on his way to the train station, it dawned on him that he would have to find a way to do things on his own. His grandmother can't fix anything anymore. It was all up to him.
And fix it he did. He stopped his brother from going down the wrong path and the strain that was there was now gone. Things got better. It was for the best for everyone.
So how could he fix this? How could he fix a wave of monsters whose only intent is to destroy? He couldn't ask his grandmother because she might not have an answer for this.
The town square was mostly quiet. A few adventures and fighters were gathered in their groups. 2 hours were left until the wave hit. That meant 2 hours of peace. Or something akin to peace. Now he understood the meaning of the calm before the storm.
Some of the adventurers cast glances at him before shifting their gaze. They still didn't trust him. Not that he cared at the moment. It wasn't his job to be liked.
"Think we can do this?"
Behind him, Rachel was sitting on the ground mixing a potion. Apart from her medicine and salves, she did know how to make potions meant to act fast in the moment of battle. She was already on her fifth vial of healing potion.
"Not sure if anyone is ready, really." What little knowledge he knew about the waves, he knew that even when they did happen, the people themselves could be ready to fight or not. All that mattered were the heroes coming in to save the day.
Time ticked by and more people showed up. Naofumi spotted Ren a few of his party members. Motoyasu was there was well with his harem of teammates (save for one guy). They had the advantage of having members on their team. With only him and Rachel, there wasn't much they could do other than act as backup.
01:53:14
Huffing a sigh, he sat down next to Rachel. There was no point in standing for 2 hours, his legs would get weak.
"I'm sure this wave won't be that bad." Rachel said as she began working on her sixth potion.
"What do you mean?" Naofumi asked.
"The waves can be very… random. Some waves are easy to get through, some are not. Some happen once a month, some don't happen for months or even years. No one knows really how these waves operate."
This was the first time he was hearing about his. No doubt the king didn't want him to know about the history of the land.
"What did you do when the waves hit?"
Rachel corked the vial shut. "I mostly hid in villages with good enough defense. Even when I was younger and the waves hit my village, we were well prepared and had plenty of war veterans to back us up."
Naoufimi looked at the gathering crowd of adventurers. Each group balanced each other out with their weapons. When a sword couldn't slice, an arrow was ready to pierce. When a physical attack wouldn't work, magic was there to take care of it.
The only magic they had was his different skills with the shield and Rachel's fire and poison magic. It wasn't enough, but it will do.
Rachel put her vials away and scooted closer to Naofumi. "Let's enjoy the peace while it lasts."
Agreeing with her, he stopped looking at the countdown and looked up at the sky. The dark blue sky was beginning to lighten and the clouds took on an orange hue with the rising sun. It reminded him a lot of the times he woke up early and watched the sky. He shut out the noise of the people around him and for a moment, he was back in Japan.
A bird soared through the sky, cutting the air with its wings. If he could turn into a bird, he would do it in a heartbeat and get out of here. Fly as far as his wings would take him. It didn't matter if he ended up in a desert or a mountain region, so long as it was far from here, any place would be fine. Far from prying eyes and intense glares.
As the minutes passed, more people showed until half the town square was filled with adventurers ready for the wave. They put themselves at risk for something they didn't have any control over.
It wasn't like how it was with his brother. To an extent, he did have control. He stepped in and changed Akito's life for the better. It may not work with all families, but theirs were the lucky ones.
This, however, was beyond his control as an individual, let alone a hero. If the waves have been going on for a thousand years, how could he stop them? Just kill the monsters and wait until the next one?
Silently, he cursed whatever being brought him here. They should've picked someone else, not him. As selfish as it was to want to switch places with someone from his world, it didn't matter.
Selfishness can be a good thing, sometimes.
01:00:25
1 hour left.
Was he going to be nervous all the time when a wave hit? If what Rachel said was true, the next wave might not come for months. Maybe this wave will be a short one and he can take the time to figure out how to get back home. This is a magical world, there has to be something that can take him back.
Huffing out another sigh, he leaned back slightly.
"You OK?" Rachel asks, staring at him. Her blue eyes were inviting this time, not hard and cold with rage.
"I guess?" What was the proper response to this? 'Oh, I'm fine, actually. I can't wait to kill monsters for a world that hates me.'
"We'll get through this, don't worry." Rachel reached out and patted his knee making Naofumi flinch. The last woman to so much as touch him was Malty.
Rachel felt his body stiffen and withdrew her hand. "Sorry."
"It's nothing." It was more than nothing. He just had to remind himself that not every woman is Malty.
There was an awkward silence between them. Naofumi didn't think of Rachel as a friend or an enemy. Yes, she may not be as inviting as most people and can be rude sometimes, but so was he. They didn't oppose each other like magnets.
00:25:14
Naofumi stood and stretched. Never was he good at P.E. nor was he ever into sports. He had no idea how he was going to fight a horde of monsters. Rachel did have the advantage over him being a higher level than he was and having experience with weapons.
Beside him, Rachel stood as well and stretched.
"Almost time." She took one last look into her satchel and gave him a thumbs up. "Ready."
They waited until it was almost time.
00:00:24
Everyone around him started to draw their weapons.
00:00:20
"We got this." Rachel smiled at him.
It was not reassuring, but it helped somewhat.
00:00:04
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
00:00:00
In an instant, the blue sky turned red. Fear clutched at Naofumi's heart. If this happened back in Japan, this would surely be the sign of the apocalypse. The people of this country has gone through this for a millennium. This was nothing new to them.
An orange aura surrounded them. Rachel let out a small gasp. Naofumi didn't even have time to react before a white flash blinded him.
The flash dissipated and Naofumi blinked until his vision cleared.
"Where are we?"
They were standing near a rocky ledge overlooking a path leading to a clearing. Were they here before?
"Naofumi, look!" Rachel pointed to the sky and that's when he saw it.
It was like seeing a whirlpool, only in the sky. Purple miasma clung to the whirlpools which blended into blues and greens. This was it.
"The Wave of Catastrophe."
Black figures started falling from the whirlpools. They stopped falling and instead started flying. The more that came, a buzzing sound grew louder and louder.
"Shit, not these things!"
The more that came, it became easier to see what they were. Some kind of monster wasp.
"Wasps?"
"They're so freaking annoying. Not only do they kill, but they also destroy crops."
With no crops, then people will starve. If these monster wasps were part of the threat, Naofumi didn't want to know the other part.
"Let's go," a voice rang out.
Below them, Naofumi saw the other three heroes and their party members running off into the direction of the whirlpools.
As much as he didn't want to fight with those assholes, what choice did he have?
"Let's follow them."
He turned back and started to run only to have Rachel grab him by the shoulder.
"Wait! Look there." She pointed into the horizon. "Lute Village!"
That's right, Lute Village was around this area.
"Do you think they evacuated?" he asked.
His answer came in the sound of a flare shooting into the sky.
Shit.
"Why did they wait?"
"They're probably waiting for the knights to show up." Rachel said. "It's gonna take them a while to get there, though."
All those people will die if the knights don't get there in time.
Should he go to the center of the wave or Lute Village?
"Follow your heart, Naofumi."
The words of his grandmother rang through his mind.
"What do you mean, grandma?" He was five, wearing his pajamas and clutching a broken toy. It was a toy from his favorite anime he watched every Saturday morning. He'd been over the moon when his parents bought it for him.
Hours and hours he spent playing with it and taking it everywhere he went. It was his greatest treasure. One day, however, the leg snapped off and he started crying. His favorite toy was broken. He didn't even know if he could fix it.
Instead of going to his parents, he went to his grandma. She was in the living room working on a Sudoku puzzle when he tugged on her leg. After explaining what happened, he said he didn't want his parents to know because they'll get mad.
He knew lying was a bad thing, but he didn't want to get into trouble.
When his grandmother told him to follow his heart, he didn't know what she meant. What did his heart want? To tell the truth? To tell his parents?
She smiled at him and gestured to the kitchen where his parents were cooking dinner. Lying was bad. Telling the truth is good. That's what his heart said
He went into the kitchen and told his dad. His dad kneeled down and patted him on the head and said it was alright. He took the toy into the garage, pulled out his toolkit and fixed the toy in no time.
Happy to have his toy fixed, Naofumi hugged his father and ran back into his room. In the end, no one was mad. All because he followed his heart.
Back in present time, he took in his grandmother's words. He followed his heart.
"We're going to Lute Village."
"Right behind you."
They raced into the direction of the village, hoping they weren't too late.
Upon reaching the village, they were shocked to see monsters already running around, weapons at the ready.
This day marked the first time Naofumi saw a zombie.
The zombie in question wore big armor, concealing its body save for the face where the skull was prominent with bits of flesh still clinging onto the bone. And it was about to bring down a sword on a villager.
Without thinking, Naofumi rushed in and brought up his shield. The sword clanged against the shield, making Naofumi's arm to shake and almost collapse from the pressure. He pressed forward, driving back the sword away.
Just when he thought he wouldn't have enough strength left Rachel came up from behind and decapitated it. She wasted no time stomping on the skull, shattering it.
She kneeled down and help the villager up to his feet. "Are you alright, sir."
The man, shaking from fear, managed to nod.
This wasn't good. Naofumi couldn't protect everyone here. They should've evacuated when they had the chance. Not wait for the knights to show up. If he wants to kill the monsters, the villagers would have to be somewhere safe.
"Rachel, help evacuate the villagers to the mines. It's safe there."
Rachel looked at him stunned. "What about you? You can't kill these things all by yourself!"
"I know that. That's why I'm going to lure them away from the villagers. Just go!"
Rachel looked like she wanted to say more but didn't. Still carrying her ax, she ran down the street.
"Everyone! Go to the mines! Let's go! Hurry!"
With that taken care of, Naofumi ran to the center of the village. He memorized the place during their visit in case they needed to go back for any reason. It's a good thing he did, otherwise, he would've been lost. And more villagers would've died.
Ducking between two houses, he made it to the center only to nearly run into a zombie. It had its back turned to him so Naofumi dashed around it. It growled loudly, altering its brethren.
Villagers held pitchforks and makeshift swords, blocking and attacking the undead and monster wasps.
Naofumi held up his shield to his head and made a mad dash forward, knocking away the wasps. Villagers gasped at his presence. He even heard one of them say hero. He was no hero.
A zombie fighting against three villagers was pushed back, giving Naofumi the chance to rear back his arm and punch the zombie in the jaw. It did little damage, but he got its attention.
"Everyone!" Naofumi yelled. "Get out of here! I'll keep them occupied!"
He turned and ran, yelling at the zombies. Daring to look back, they were following him. He would be lying if he wasn't scared at the sight of them.
More villagers were cowering in fear as he ran by. He put up shields to protect them. It will give them enough time to leave. He just hoped these people weren't idiots and listened to him.
The sound of shuffling steps and buzzing became louder with each step he took. He must've had half of the monsters on his tail.
"Damnit!" How was he supposed to fight them all? This was a bad idea, but the villagers were safe for the time being. He still needed to draw in the other monsters that weren't in the center of the village. But how?
He looked around and saw a wooden bell tower. He could barely make out the bell and the gas lamp hanging next to the bell.
Bell. Gaslamp. Gas fuel. Fire.
That's it!
A beacon.
Naofumi mentally gave himself a pat on the back.
A house to his side collapsed and was on fire. Perfect. He pivoted in the direction of the burning house. A wooden beam was slanted against the remaining structure, leaving a big enough gap underneath for him to slide under.
Please don't let me catch on fire please don't let me catch on fire please don't let me catch on fire.
Naofumi dove and managed to slide under the beam. The wasps that were chasing him back away from the flames.
Taking the advantage, Naofumi jumped through the flames. Landing on his feet, he held out a lit torch to the wasps.
"Follow me, you fucking zombies!"
He ran to the bell tower, ready to-
Naofumi jumped back when a sword nearly collided with his face. A group of zombies had him surrounded. They were huddled together, leaving no room for him to run through.
"Fuck!" This wasn't supposed to happen! His plan shouldn't have gone south so quickly.
The zombies pressed forward, not even flinching at the sight of the wooden torch.
This was it. He was done fore. If he used Shield Prison, the zombies would only attack the prison until it breaks. Or worse, the zombies would attack more villagers if he was stuck inside.
Why? Why!
Was he wrong to have followed his heart?
No. When a group of wasps was about to attack a mother and her child, he didn't hesitate to put them in a shield prison. The kid was so small and the mother was still young. Their lives didn't need to be cut short.
Was that why he did it? Because they didn't deserve to die? Because none of these villagers didn't deserve to suffer through wave after wave?
They were people with hopes and dreams. Hopes and dreams that would've been cut short had he and Rachel not arrived and followed the other heroes instead.
If Naofumi had one regret, it was that he wouldn't get to see his parents or Akito. He will die in some world and leave them behind.
I'm sorry.
Several of the zombies raised their swords. Naofumi, though knowing it was fruitless, held up his shield. Come hell or high water, he wasn't going down without a fight.
"WRAARRR!"
That growl…
A black wolf tackled the zombie out of the way. More wolves followed, tackling and biting the zombies.
"Shield Hero!"
The Captain on top his black wolf came forward with his pack of wolves. Rachel was with them too, along with a few villagers.
"Are you OK?" The Captain asked.
"Fine now, thanks to your wolves." He watched as the wolves mauled and tore apart the zombies and wasps.
"Good thing he showed up, huh?" Rachel said.
"What are you doing here? I thought I asked you to evacuate the villagers."
"And I did. Except these guys wanted to fight." She waved at the small group of villagers. "Plus, you know you need me." She teased him with a smile.
"Sure, whatever." Even though the words sounded harsh, he couldn't help but smile. She came back to help. She didn't run or stay back at the mines.
"Shield Hero, I'm sorry but I must leave." The Captain said.
What? He just got here.
Seeing the confused look on him, the Captain continued. "The other heroes are fighting a chimera and they are not prepared enough to fight one. I'll leave you with some of my wolves."
He whistled sharply and ten of his wolves went to where Rachel and the villagers stood.
"They are trained to fight the toughest enemies out there. You can rely on them. The rest of my squad should arrive shortly. Please work with them until the wave is over."
Just thinking about it made Naofumi want to groan. He still remembered the hate in the Knights' eyes when he was branded as a criminal. But beggars can't be choosers.
"Alright."
The Captain smiled. "Good." He adjusted the reigns on his wolf. "Forward!"
The wolf howled and ran in the direction where the other heroes were. His pack of wolves howled and followed him.
With several of the zombies dead, Naofumi could continue his plan.
"Listen."
Rachel, the villagers, and the wolves all looked at him.
"I'm going to use that bell tower to draw in the rest of the hoard. When I do, get ready to fight like hell."
This was going to be a tough one, no doubt. But with the villagers and the wolves, they now had a bigger advantage than before.
"Rachel. Make sure you have your potions ready in case anyone needs healing."
Rachel nodded and hefted up her ax. "Got it."
"You guys," Naofumi pointed to the villagers, "aim for the heads of the zombies. Stab the wasps in the abdomen and rip it apart. That should kill it faster."
The villagers drew their pitchforks and swords.
"You… uh… wolves."
The wolves eyed him.
"Uhh… kill the monsters."
The wolves moved and arranged themselves in a circle, protecting them.
"Didn't think that would work."
With everyone in position, Naofumi made his way up the bell tower. At the top, he got a good look at the village. Or what remained of it. Houses were collapsed or on fire. Stone buildings had their windows broken while others were boarded up.
This village would not fall. Not under his watch.
He gripped the rope connected to the bell.
Now or never.
He pulled.
Dong.
Dong.
Dong.
Dong.
Dong.
The only sound there was after the tolling was the crackle of fire.
Then, the moaning and the buzzing came.
This is it.
Naofumi grabbed the gas lamp and spilled the fuel on the floor. He took a deep breath, then let go of the torch. The second it hit the fuel, Naofumi jumped.
"Air Strike Shield!"
A massive green shield materialized and he landed on it then jumped the rest of the way.
Landing next to Rachel, he got his shield ready.
When the first wave of the hoard came in, the wolves struck first, leaping at the monsters. They bit down on the necks of the zombies, decapitating them. The wasps were able to fly above, their stingers pointed at them.
The villagers stabbed as many as the could, slamming them to the ground and ripping their abdomens apart. Some even stomped on them. Rachel used her fire magic to set them on fire. When that cleared up, more zombies came. Some made it past the wolves and headed in their direction.
"Rachel, with me!" Naofumi ran forward to the first zombie. When the zombie brought down its sword onto Naofumi's shield, Rachel came up and hacked its head off.
"Good, let's keep doing this."
The two worked in tandem, repeating the same process.
More and more of the zombies' hoard dwindled. They finally came upon the last one. Naofumi didn't even bother to block this time. Before the zombie could even lift its sword, Rachel had already taken care of it.
"We did it!" Rachel did a little jump of victory. "Holy shit we did it!"
Naofumi wanted to share in the sentiment, but he knew more would show.
Behind them, the villagers and the wolves congregated together.
"Thank you, Shield Hero!"
"You saved us!"
"Bless you, Shield Hero!"
Even the wolves bowed slightly.
A feeling Naofumi didn't even know how do describe spread through him. The jubilation of Rachel, the villagers, and the wolves had awakened something in him.
This feeling… it felt good. He felt… appreciated.
That feeling was interrupted by more moans.
"We're not done yet. Get back into formation!"
Before they could even move, a sharp whistling sound interrupted.
Another flare?
Naofumi looked up and his eyes widened. Several fireballs were raining down on them!
"Everyone! Behind me!"
They all gathered behind Naofumi. He summoned a magic shield, protecting them from the onslaught of fireballs.
"What the hell is going on?!" Rachel shouted through the flames.
The raining fireballs continued for what felt like an eternity before ceasing.
"Look!" One of the villagers pointed to a dirt path.
Naofumi couldn't see right away, but he did hear the sound of marching. The rest of the knights.
"Well," a knight at the front with a mustache spoke loudly, "looks like we got them all. Good job, men."
They called this a good job? Nearly setting them on fire?
Bastards.
The man at the front wore the typical knight armor. What separated him from the rest was his brown cape and the red tassel hanging off of his helmet. If Naofumi had to guess, he was probably below the Captain.
"The Shield Hero?" He and his men stopped before them. "Not bad. Guess you aren't weak as everyone says you are."
A growl escaped from Naofumi.
"What the hell, you bastards!" Rachel called out. "You could've killed us with those fireballs, you idiots!"
"Calm down, missy," the man said waving his hand dismissively. "We killed most of the monsters. You should be thanking us for saving you."
"You didn't save us, the Shield Hero did!" A villager said.
As if to reiterate that statement, the wolves moved forward and growled. The man gasped and stepped back a bit.
"The Captain's wolves? But…"
"He showed up earlier," Naofumi said. "He did a lot more than you cowards did."
The man, surprised by Naofumi's bluntness, regained his composure. "Just leave the rest of the monsters to us. We wouldn't want there to be any mistakes."
Naofumi noticed Rachel gripping her ax tightly.
"Sure, I guess you're right." Naofumi shrugged.
With them confused by his words, he smiled, baring his teeth.
"I could let you get killed by the monsters, though."
What the man didn't notice was the gargantuan zombie in heavy armor snuck up on them. The man turned and almost fell back.
"Gah!"
The zombie growled and hefted up its sword.
"M-men! Do not falter! Get into forma-"
The zombie swiftly brought down its sword.
Naofumi dashed forward and countered the sword.
"Who's the weak one, now?"
This zombie may be bigger, but he wouldn't let it kill him. Not when they survived the hoard.
"Rachel, get it!"
"You got it!" Rachel jumped on the zombie's arm and cleaved its skull. With that one taken care of, he, Rachel, the villagers, and the wolves continued their assault.
One of the knights, a young man, watched with awe. The Shield Hero was just like a real hero. Never backing down from a fight. A true hero.
"Forget them!" The young man's reverie broke at the shout of the second in command. "Let them handle this. The other heroes need our help!"
The second in command and a few of the other knights followed him. Except for a good bunch. One of them had a scar running across the bridge of his nose. He watched the Shield Hero and his crew take down each monster as if they were nothing. More and more were coming.
His commanding officer had turned their backs on them. He didn't agree with that. When he was sworn into the royal guard, he went into it wanting to protect the people and the kingdom. He wasn't sure about the rumors of the Shield Hero. But that didn't matter now.
"Knights! Supports the Shield Hero and his party! Phalanx formation!"
The young knight and the remaining knights smiled.
"Charge!"
They joined Naofumi and fought back the monsters, their blades slicing away.
Naofumi was thankful for the backup. With them in tow, they would get through this.
Hoard after hoard came through and with each hoard, they brought them down.
When the last of the zombies fell, the sky flashed a blinding white before turning back into a blue sky.
They did it. They survived.
With each battle, there are casualties. That is the horror of any battle.
Lute Village was saved. But not without any casualties.
Naofumi was sitting on a crate watching the villagers going about their ways to help. A woman was wrapping bandages to a man's arm. A group of men was pulling a wagon filled with the charred remains of a house. A child was praying to a box that had a flower on it.
He couldn't save everyone. People still died.
Some hero he was.
A few of the villagers had come up to him and expressed their thanks for saving them. All he could do was nod.
Parts of the village still remained intact while the rest needed to be rebuilt. The knights that shot the fireballs made things worse. Not that anyone would believe him if he said anything.
His gaze wandered until he saw the knight with the scar across his nose. The knight stared at him for a moment before leading the other knights away.
"Hey, I'm back."
Rachel came up from behind and stood in front of him. Earlier, after the wave was done, she went about treating the villagers.
"Make any money."
"I didn't charge them."
Naofumi raised an eyebrow at her. Knowing who she is, this would've been a perfect opportunity to get money.
Rachel adjusted her satchel. "People died, Naofumi. And most of their homes are destroyed. It would be bitchy of me to charge them when they lost so much. They need medicine more than ever now if they want to get better."
So, she does have morals. Naofumi didn't put it past her to charge people given who she is. Guess he underestimated her.
"Guess we're done here, then," He stood from the crate.
"Sir Hero."
Naofumi turned to the sound of the voice and saw a silver-haired man bowing with a few villagers behind him.
"Thank you for saving us. We are in your debt." The man said, raising himself up.
Why was he thanking him? He didn't save everyone and most of their homes are destroyed. He didn't do anything.
"No need to thank me."
"That's not true!" A villager spoke out. It was the man he saved when he and Rachel stormed into the village. "You stayed and fought until the end. It could've ended much worse."
Beside him, a woman was holding on to her daughter. She didn't say a word, but the sincerity from her eyes said enough.
"Like I said I didn't-"
"He doesn't mean that," Rachel said coming up to him. "He's just tired, is all. Hehe." She patted him on the shoulder. She then gripped his shoulder tightly.
Naofumi nearly buckled from the pain.
"Stop acting like a fucking brat and just say you're welcome!" Rachel whispered harshly.
She let go of him and Naofumi rubbed his shoulder. That was going to leave a bruise.
"You're welcome." He said without looking at the villagers.
That seemed enough for them. They said their thanks again and walked back to the village.
"We did a pretty good job, don't you think?" Rachel inquired as they made their way back to Castle Town.
"Yeah, I suppose."
"What's got you down? We saved the village! You should be happy."
"We didn't save all of it."
Casualties were bound to happen he knew that much. He just didn't expect it to happen while he was protecting the village. They did under his watch.
"Hey." Rachel grabbed his arm to stop him. "People die during the waves. It happens. It's horrible, but you can't do anything about it. Even the Heroes before you couldn't save everyone, but they did save a lot of lives. Don't let this get to you. Next time when the wave hits, we'll be prepared."
The guilt was still clawing at his heart like a bear scratching a tree. But her words did help somewhat. He shouldn't blame himself for something beyond his control.
"Cheer up!" Rachel threw an arm around his shoulder. "Once we get our reward, we're going all out on food."
This time, he didn't flinch from Rachel's touch. Her touch held no malice or trickery.
A smile tugged at his lips.
"Sure. Sounds good."
"There you go!" Rachel withdrew her arm and walked forward with a bounce in her steps.
Naofumi looked up to the sky.
I followed my heart, grandma. Thank you.
He then began to walk.
The next day.
Outside of Castle Town, colorful tents lined the perimeter of the city. Furniture was being unloaded out of several wagons and was brought into the tents. Beautiful men and women in dancing garbs stood by and waited while their furniture was being placed. Some danced to the beat of drums being played while others talked.
Once the furniture was set up, the dancers went into their tents (the men and women had separate tents) and began to get ready for the night.
In the women's tent, the women fluttered about. Many were putting on the finishing touches of their makeup while others practiced their dancing.
The flap of their tent opened and a man and a woman stepped in.
"Ladies!" The man called out in a rather flamboyant voice.
All the women turned their attention to the duo and the man gasped dramatically and put his hands to his mouth.
"How is it that all of you get so beautiful with each passing day?"
"Thank you, Luca!" The women said in unison. They loved how he always complimented them, no matter the reason.
"I want you all to have a fun night. And if anyone tries to get their way with you, don't be afraid to unleash your fury."
"They're strong enough, Luca." The woman put a hand on his arm. "I've seen them in action. Along with the men. They'll never let anyone take advantage of them."
"Your faith in them always cheers me up, Lana." Luca hugged Lana. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to see to the men. Have fun, ladies!" He blew a kiss and exited the tent.
"OK, girls," Lana said. "The party for the Heroes begins tonight. Be sure to be on your best behavior. Now, where is the star of the show?"
The dancers looked at a woman sitting on a vanity applying blush onto her cheeks, accentuating her tanned skin. Her dark wavy hair ended at her collar bone. When she was done applying the make-up, she turned to look at Lana and smiled.
"I am ready."