Naofumi could feel the headache starting to form. He pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing every god known to mankind for dropping him in this world.

They couldn't have picked someone else? No. They just had to pick an otaku to save the world.

But instead of saving the world, he's dealing with a village overrun by knights.

"Can we even get through them?"

Next to him, Rachel stood on her tiptoes, peering over the heads of the villagers who conglomerated at the center of Lute Village.

Ahead, knights stood with their arms to their sides. A few were holding banners with the Melromarc insignia on full display.

And there, in between the knights were Motoyasu and Malty.

Why did he have to have such bad luck? Who did he cross to deserve this?

"Just what is she up to?" Mina asked, her gaze fixed on the Spear Hero and the princess.

"Knowing them," Naofumi shifted his feet. "Nothing but trouble."

"But what kind of trouble?" Rachel huffed as she did a little jump to look beyond the throng of the crowd.

"Does it really matter?"

Of course it mattered, but this wasn't his business. He saved the village, yes, but whatever happened to it afterward was not his problem. It was theirs and whoever was in charge of this village.

"Still," Rachel sighed. "Shouldn't we at least do something? Whatever is going on, I doubt it'll be in favor of the villagers."

"Let's just see what she has to say."

Luckily, no one had noticed them. The villagers were too busy muttering to themselves.

"Attention villagers of Lute Village!" Malty's voice rang out loud enough for everyone to hear. In her hand, she held an open scroll. "The Spear Hero is here on official business on behalf of the King. In light of his heroic efforts in defeating the Chimera during the last Wave, Sir Motoyasu has been appointed ruling Lord of this region."

The villager's mutterings grew louder, confused at the strange announcement.

"The hell?" Rachel looked dumbfounded. "Lord? The guy can barely think with his dick, let alone his brain."

Mina shook her head. "Usually a village always has an idiot. I'm guessing Motoyasu is the idiot. An idiot in charge."

Naofumi's gaze fell on Motoyasu. The man looked smug; his smile was that of someone who thought he was better than anyone.

Why do most handsome guys have to be jackasses?

"To help the rebuilding efforts the Wave has caused," Malty continued. "We decided to levy a toll. This toll will be 50 silver coins to enter the village and 50 to exit."

What?

That was too much for such a small village.

"She's taking advantage of them," Mina said. Her eyes had a sharp glint to them.

"50 silvers? That's more than what I make giving my medicine." Rachel's words were harsh.

The villagers grew louder, some gasping and some looking absolutely stunned.

"But that'll ruin us!" A villager spoke out.

"We can't afford that!"

"We won't be able to buy food tomorrow!"

Naofumi felt sympathetic for them. Back home, his parents had jobs that earned them enough money to live by. And he did have a part-time job, so money issues weren't a problem in the Iwatani household.

Lute Village, however…

They looked well fed. No one was sick at the moment. And they were in the process of rebuilding, judging by the tools and extra wood scattered about.

This toll will cripple them. They'll starve. They won't be able to afford medicine. Their supplies will dwindle. They'll have nothing.

Naofumi recalled the times he watched the news about rich people scamming and swindling those below them, draining them until they had nothing. Most got away with it. Others didn't even make it on the news, their crimes going unheard.

"Always be grateful," his grandmother had told him and Akito. He was grateful for the things he had. He may not like college, but he'll get a good education and a job afterward. The money he spent on games, figurines and collectibles he got as a result of his part-time job was fulfilling.

He had an easy life. That was a lot better than what these villagers had.

And this bitch was going to ruin them.

Not if he had anything to do about it.

More of the villagers rang out their complaints. Malty glared back at them.

"Do you dare to defy your Lord's orders?" The venom in her voice was enough to silence them.

Not him, though.

"You bet we do!"

The villagers turned and Naofumi could see the hope in their eyes when they saw him. Never did he like being at the center of attention. But he'll have to live with it.

"The Shield Hero?" Malty looked disgusted just by seeing him. "What are you still doing here? This is Sir Motoyasu's domain now. You have no right to question him or a royal decree. Get out of this village at once, or suffer the wrath of the knights."

Her threat was empty. The three of them could easily take down the knights. Motoyasu and Malty, however, could be a challenge. Naofumi wasn't dumb enough to fight them. But he isn't going to back down.

"Don't worry, I'll be glad to leave so I won't have to see your ugly face. But the villagers aren't going to be happy about your toll. Motoyasu!"

The man looked back at him.

"Do you have any idea how much it costs to spend the night at the inn here?"

Motoyasu opened his mouth, ready to reply, but abruptly closed it. He scratched the side of his face. "Actually, I…" He looked like a kid who forgot the lines to a play.

Rachel held up a finger. "One silver coin a night. Food included as well."

"And if you do the math," Mina said. "You will be charging a total of one-hundred nights to enter and exit the village. That is far too much for a toll, let alone a toll for a small village such as this one."

With those words, the villagers go the courage to stand up.

"They're right!" One yelled.

"You can't do this to us!"

"You can't just show up here and call yourself a Lord."

"The Shield Hero and his apothecary friend were the ones who save the village when the Wave hit! Not the Spear Hero!"

The more they spoke, the angrier Malty looked.

"You dare complain about a royal decree from your King? Knights!"

On cue, several of the knights drew their spears, pointing them at the villagers. The brave façade the villagers had turned frightful at the sight of the weapons.

Naofumi looked to his left where Rachel was and she already gripping the handle of her ax. To his right, Mina too had her hand on the black hilt of her dagger. They were ready to attack if necessary.

He was too, but it didn't have to escalate to this. It would be a blood bath.

"I suggest you all knock it off!"

His words fell on deaf ears.

Malty raised a hand…

Just as a shadow suddenly dropped in front of her.

Her expression morphed into shock.

The shadow was a person, their cloak covering their body. Two more of them were at her side.

The one standing in front of her lifted their head, their silver mask hiding their face. The holes were the eyes were supposed to be were covered in a thin film of black material. Malty couldn't see through, but the person could.

"I trust you know who we represent? Princess Malty." The person's voice was light, feminine.

"But why have you come?" She asked.

The cloaked person held out a scroll. "For you," was all she said.

Naofuni could only watch as Malty read the scroll.

"You two have any idea who they are?" They looked like assassins. He definitely wouldn't want to get on their bad side, that's for sure.

"Nope," Rachel responded.

"I haven't the faintest clue." Mina shook her head.

Malty, who was reading the scroll, looked far from happy. She looked furious.

"How could this be?" Her hands were shaking in anger.

She closed the scroll and looked up at Naofumi.

"Shield Hero!" She pointed at him. "Fight us for the right to rule this village!"

…

"…huh?"

"Hell no!"

The words came quickly, but he meant them.

"Way to be subtle, Naofumi." Rachel was leaning back against a post, watching as the villagers gathered around them.

Beside her, Mina was reading through the scroll a knight had given to them.

"But please, sir," the village Lord had said. "If you refuse, Lute Village will fall into the Spear Hero's hands. I cannot accept further taxation. My standing as a Lord means nothing if he becomes the Lord."

This was way too much trouble. And it was barely noon.

He looked to Mina. "What does the scroll say?"

Mina cleared her throat.

"Princess Malty," She began. "It has come to mine and my Shadow's attention that you plan on levying a toll on the village of Lute. My Shadows are everywhere, and they have heard of your plans long before you left for Lute Village. As you can imagine, I am none too pleased with what I have heard. But since I am away at the moment, your father's decree is absolute for the time being. Meaning I cannot stop him. However, while I have little say in this, I can offer a proposition. The Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani, is to challenge the Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura, to a race. Given that the Spear Hero has a dragon and the Shield Hero has no animal to participate with, he and his companions are given a week to search for one in order to meet the demands of the challenge. Should they fail to find one in a week, or if they do find one but lose the race, the Spear Hero will become Lord of the village. Should you interfere with my proposition, my Shadows will have no choice but to evict you and the Spear Hero out of the village. These are my demands. Queen Melromarc."

She closed the scroll and handed it to a knight who was waiting nearby.

"At least we have a week," Rachel said. "That gives us plenty of time to get some kind of animal."

"Yeah, but what kind?" He was already regretting not getting one of those eggs from the Slave Trader.

The desperate looks on the villagers added to his headache. Damn Malty and Motoyasu. He didn't even want to do this. Lute Village was not his problem.

Except… there was no way they could live with the toll tax.

And even if they did have a week, how was he supposed to train any kind of animal to race, let alone tame.

"Oh!"

The voice startled him slightly.

A man who was a few paces away from the village Lord came forward. "I think I have an idea!"

This should be good.

Naofumi crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

The man took that as a sign to continue on with whatever he was going to say. "There's this village a few hours away from here in the woods and they can get you an animal to ride on."

"Really?" He didn't want to sound too hopeful should this be a failure.

The man nodded enthusiastically, not noticing Naofumi's deadpan response. "Yes! That village is the home to the legendary hunter Gareth. My brother lives there and he sends letters telling me about Gareth."

Legendary hunter, huh?

This really was sounding too hopeful.

"So I just go there and talk to him?"

The man's smile trembled slightly. "Well… last I heard, he left to go on a hunt and hasn't been back since."

"And how long was that?"

"Two months."

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"But," the man continued, "his apprentice lives there and he's just as good as Gareth. And he's a beastmaster too. He'll get you an animal before the deadline. Ask for Rowan."

He really didn't want to do this. The heroes in the games and books he's read make this look easy. Actually doing it was a huge pain in the ass.

"Guess luck is on our side." Rachel pushed herself away from the post.

"It would seem so," Mina said. "We should hurry and try to salvage what little time we have to stop the princess."

Great. More walking.

"Do you at least have a map so I can get to this place?" Naofumi asked the Lord.

"Yes." He asked a woman behind him to go get a map. A minute later, she gave Naofumi the map.

This map was slightly more detailed in the landscape. Still not understanding the language, he was able to point out Lute Village. The letters underneath it were bold compared to the others.

North-east from here, there was a large section of the map covered in dark green which he presumed were the woods. Four circles indicated villages with a few houses drawn in them.

"Here is where you need to go." The Lord pointed to a village near the entrance of the woods. "It's called Haven Clove. It's about a five-hour walk from here."

Already he could feel his legs cramping.

"Thanks." He took the map and handed it to Rachel who tucked it into her satchel.

The Lord and the villagers scattered, going back to their homes.

"I'm already regretting this." Naofumi thumped his head against a post.

"Complain about it later," Rachel said. "Let's gather supplies and go on. The sooner we talk to this beastmaster, the better."

Pushing himself away from the post, Naofumi took a few steps in the direction of the village shop when a voice stopped him.

"Naofumi."

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled through his teeth.

God, why have you forsaken me?

Motoyasu sauntered to them with his dragon in tow.

"What is it, Motoyasu?" Mina looked none too pleased to see him.

Rachel grunted, glaring at the man.

"You're actually going through this? Just give up already, there's no way you'll beat my dragon." He patted the dragon on the head, earning a slight purr from it.

The dragon was slightly taller than Motoyasu with short arms and long legs. It looked more lizard than a dragon, but it still had that draconic look to it.

And it purred, apparently. It looked fast too, based on the legs alone which were well muscled.

As much as he wanted to counter Motoyasu's words, it would just be a waste of time and breath.

"Whatever. Let's get going, ladies."

They had a long walk ahead of them.