Slowly, he started to taste food again.
The slice of brisket in front of him smelled delicious. Served with veggies and garlic bread, Naofumi didn't hesitate to cut a slice of the meat and eat it. It was partially covered in sauce and it made the brisket all the more savory. When shit went down after being accused, food tasted like air, nothing and nothing. Whatever food or drinks he had were devoid of any flavor. He put salt, pepper, and asked for the cooks to put spices on any of the food he ate.
They tasted all the same: nothing.
That started to change when he met Rachel. It improved even more when Mina joined. His taste wasn't fully back, but he could appreciate the hearty meal.
Naofumi looked to his companions. Rachel was almost halfway done with her brisket and Mina was enjoying each bite of her food.
Earlier, when the mayor of Haven Clove announced there would be a party for Legrand, the people didn't hesitate to gather the supplies. Now, at the inn, a cluster of villagers crowded around tables and at the bar. The liveliness of it was infectious. So much so that Naofumi felt a pang of uncertainty in his chest. The party was for Legrand, not for him. But it was still a party nonetheless. Meaning he should enjoy it.
It was just like the party the villagers of Westbrook had thrown for them when they took down the chimera and cured the villagers of Frost Sickness. There were no fancy nobles in fancy clothing with haughty expressions like the party at the capital. Here, it was free, reckless, fun.
Something Naofumi noticed, just like in Westbrook, there were demi-humans here as well. No one was giving them a side-eye or outright glaring at them. The prejudice must only be in certain areas of Melromarc.
Across from the dining area, a group of men was cheering on a man and a woman who were chugging large mugs of beer. The woman slammed her mug down and the group cheered.
Everyone was having fun.
Everyone except him.
It wasn't that Naofumi didn't want to have fun. But there were things in the way that prevented him from having any fun.
There was the issue of not getting a silver moose. Then having to go back to Lute Village and race Motoyasu. Then wait until the next wave. Then wait again for the next wave. And so on and so forth.
Then came the issue of whether or not Rachel and Mina would even stay with him. Unlike them, he only had one task. Protect the people from wave monsters. He entertained the idea of the girls getting bored and leaving him. Rachel going to who knows where selling her medicine and Mina going to and from cities and villages trying to find her parents and the Black Foxes.
That just left him with nothing. Absolutely nothing.
He takes his mug and downs half of it. Something he learned when he first became the Shied Hero was that alcohol had no effect on him. The first night he was ousted as a villain, he drank four bottles of alcohol at an alehouse in Castle Town. He woke up the next morning with no hangover. Meaning he could drown his sorrows in alcohol and not feel the consequences.
"What's got you down in the dumps?" Rachel pushed her finished plate forward and rested her elbows on the table.
"Everything."
"Quit acting like it's the end of the world. We still have a couple more days to get a silver moose. What happened earlier was thanks to that devil bear."
"And we have Rowan with us," Mina chimmed in. "I'm sure we'll capture a silver moose with his aid. We just have to keep positive."
Naofumi commended them for their positivity. He wished it would rub off on him. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so mentally exhausted.
He downed the last of his beer and his eyes caught something red in the crowd. In a table near the bar, Rowan bit into lamb chops. On the table next to his plate a tarantula the size of a house cat bit into a bird of some kind.
Naofumi had seen the hunter enter the bar shortly after the party started with his tarantula. Some of the villagers had joined him, completely unfazed by the giant spider. Now it was just him and the spider.
On the opposite side of the room, Naofumi saw Legrand sitting with other patrons. Three wolves were under the table biting off large chunks of meat. The patrons were leaning close to Legrand as the captain was saying something. Naofumi guessed it was some sort of tale he had.
What Naofumi noticed was Rowan sneaking glances at the man. He would drink from his mug, shift his eyes to Legrand, and shift them back to the spider.
Something was seriously up between the two. Though it seemed as if it was Rowan who was worried, not Legrand. Perhaps this is all one-sided.
Sighing, Naofumi leaned back. Why couldn't any of this be easier for him? He might as well add Rowan's change in behavior to his ever-expanding list of problems. For a moment, he did feel guilty about the thought. Rowan wasn't a nuisance. He did offer to help them free of charge. And he is a skilled under trained under a legendary hunter.
But there was no telling what might happen between him and Legrand.
"Should we invite him over?" Mina's voice broke Naofumi's concentration on Rowan.
"I don't see why not," Rachel says. "It might get him to open up to us. He seems friendly."
Naofumi would be lying if he said he didn't want him to join. There was something about Rowan that piqued his interest. It was Legrand's and his master's whereabouts. When Naofumi said Gareth's name, Rowan looked sad, like a gray cloud was hovering over him.
Maybe if he opened up about Legrand and Gareth, his gloomy expression would start to make sense.
"How 'bout we go to him." Naofumi stood and gathered his plate and mug.
They approached Rowan's table and the hunter took notice of them.
He smiled. "Hey. How are you guys enjoying the evening?"
"Very well, thank you." Mina sat down next to him.
Rachel took her seat across from them, leaving Naofumi with a full view of the tarantula. When he sat down, the spider stopped eating and just sat there. Its beady black eyes didn't move, but Naofumi was sure it was looking at him.
Rowan noticed and chuckled. "Don't worry. He won't bite you. I trained all my spiders to not bite anyone here."
If only that was reassuring. The tarantula went back to eating the bird. He saw it tear liquified chunks of it and stuffed it in its mouth.
He shook involuntarily.
"Listen," Naofumi shuffled a little farther away from the spider. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Is it about the silver moose? Because I can still get you one tomorrow."
Naofumi waved a hand dismissively. "It's not that. I want to know more about your master."
Rowan sat up straight the way a student was called by a teacher. "W-what do you mean?"
"I mean about where he is."
"Where's this coming from?" Rachel asked.
"Not the type of topic one says so bluntly," Mina commented.
Naofumi crossed his arms. "Look, I appreciate you helping us with the silver moose thing, I really do. But it's obvious you miss your master. And something tells me you don't think positively of the Captain over there."
Rowan glanced at Legrand before drawing his attention back to Naofumi.
"I have enough on my plate as it is dealing with what's going on in Lute Village and the Waves. I don't need a distracted hunter to mess up on our hunt."
His words were blunt. He did appreciate the work Rowan is doing to help them when no one else can or would. His skills as a hunter and beastmaster can help them. Just not when said hunter is distracted.
A glare from Rachel only made him angry. He didn't care what she thought. It was the truth.
"Sorry," Rowan said. He picked at his food with a fork. "You're right. I shouldn't let my emotions get in the way of me helping you. It's just that…" He had a faraway look in his eyes.
"Just what? Whatever you have to say, you can say it to us."
Rowan opened his mouth, then closed it. He turned to where Legrand was. The Captain hadn't noticed them. Not even the wolves as a waiter brought more chunks of meat for them.
"Not here," Rowan stood. "I'm sorry, but if you want to know what I have to say, it has to be in my house. I don't want Legrand's wolves to hear."
"Hear what?" Mina asked.
"Something important. Please," he bowed his head. "There's something I have to tell you."
There it is. Just a little more.
"Alright. Lead the way."
They left the inn and walked a good two minutes before coming upon a standard wooden house similar to the other houses. But this one looked slightly bigger.
"Sorry about the mess," Rowan said when they entered.
The 'mess' he mentioned were the bones of what Naofumi assumed to be small animals. Rowan lifted a hand and a small gust of wind carried the bones to a corner of the room.
Wind magic. Naofumi thought.
Rowan ushered them to the living room which consisted of two chairs, a round coffee table, a sofa, and… a gun?
Sitting on the coffee table was a flintlock revolver. The barrel was long and polished well enough to see his reflection. In all the time he spent in Castle Town, not once did he see anyone – civilians or guards – carry guns. Not even the Slave Trader had one.
"Nice gun," Rachel said. "Let me guess, Silvershore?"
Rowan nodded, looking proud. "Yep. And it's from Innis. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy one. And I got an icebox from Silvershore too. Which, um, came from Innis also." He pointed to the kitchen and next to a wood stove was a wooden box the size of the stove with two doors. One side had a light blue haze surrounding it while the other had a deep blue haze.
Naofumi gaped at it. A fridge. He has a fucking fridge.
Just how advanced is this Innis place?
"Neat, huh?" Rowan chuckled. "I had to ask someone in the village to activate it with ice magic and it works like a charm."
Naofumi wanted to look at it more. He'd never seen such a thing. He knew iceboxes were a thing people had back then. Except they didn't have magic to make it cold 24/7.
But he was getting off-topic. "Anyway," he sat down on one of the chairs. "You said you had something to tell us."
"Oh! Right. Yes. Umm…" Rowan sat on the sofa. When he did, a large spider hopped onto his lap. Rowan stroked its abdomen.
Curious, Naofumi wanted to see if it had any stats. Opening his status screen he was surprised at its level. A Lv. 28 jumping spider. This is going to take some getting used to. He thanked God there weren't any spiders that big in his world.
"What do you have to tell us?" Rachel sat down next to him and crossed her legs. "I don't really know why Naofumi is doing this, but he's right. You do look like you have something to say."
"Well…" His head dippsed low.
Mina sat on the other chair. "Whatever it is, you can tell us," she said soothingly. "We may not be able to help, but maybe your spirits will be lifted if you tell us."
Her words made the hunter look back up.
"I… w-well… umm…" He took in a deep breath.
And exhaled.
"I think… I think Legrand may have done something to my master."
What? Naofumi thought. This was getting interesting.
He leaned in slightly. "What do you mean by that?"
"Like he did something bad?" Rachel offered.
Rowan shook his head. "No. At least, I don't think." He didn't sound so sure of himself either.
This made Naofumi even more curious. "Mind elaborating on that?"
"Right." Rowan adjusted himself on the sofa. "As you all know, Gareth is away on a hunt and normally this wouldn't be an issue. But…"
"But?"
"But he's been gone for so long and I haven't even gotten a single letter from him." He waved a hand to a stack of mail next to the gun. "Two months I've been waiting for any word and nothing."
"And what makes you think Legrand did something to him?" Mina asked.
"It's not that I think he did something to him like hurt Gareth. I think he knows more about the situation but isn't telling me. Like he doesn't want to."
"Start from the beginning," Naofumi said. "Back to when this all started."
Rowan nodded. "About two months ago, Legrand came to Haven Clove with an official order on behalf of the royal knights. Because Gareth and I are good hunters, we get requests from many villages, cities, and from the queen and knights themselves to take out monsters that are causing trouble. Even other countries have asked for our assistance.
"When Legrand gave the parchment to Gareth, something about it made Gareth look… scared."
"Scared of what? A monster?"
"It has to be. But Gareth has gotten orders to take out monsters hundreds of times during his time as a hunter. Even when he took me in as his apprentice, he was never showed fear when he was asked to hunt a type of monster."
"Did he say anything about it?" Rachel chimmed in.
"That's the thing," Rowan sounded dejected. "He didn't tell me. When I asked, he just laughed it off and said it was nothing. I wanted to ask more, but he had to leave immediately."
"Wait," Naofumi interrupted. "He just left you here? You didn't tag along with him?" From the way Rowan talked about Gareth, it made them sound like they hunted monsters all the time together.
"No," Rowan answered. "Usually, if there's a request and it's a monster I haven't fought or know nothing about, Gareth usually takes them on by himself. Though he does take me sometimes to watch from afar while he kills the monster."
"Then what gives? I still don't see the issue of Legrand."
"Righ. Sorry," his ears turned red. "Um, after Legrand gave the order to Gareth, I noticed something odd about Legrand. Specifically, his eyes."
"His eyes?" Naofumi was getting more confused by the second.
"An important rule Gareth taught me when hunting is to always look in the eyes of your prey. Eyes show what someone is like more than any other part of the body. I look straight into their eyes, never showing fear. That I'm here to kill it. Since then, I sometimes look in people's eyes to see who they are. It's a habit."
"And you saw something in Legrand's eyes?" Rachel asked.
"Yes." Rowan nestled the jumping spoder closer to his chest. "Legrand's eyes… they were cold. Colder than ice and sharper than any sword. They were… filled with contempt."
For a second, Naofumi understood what he meant about the eyes. He recalled the look on Malty's face when she accused him. Her green eyes were like acid. Nothing about them said she was a kind-hearted person. Then there was the King himself. Eyes so full of anger, he could practically feel the emotion from them.
What came next were the eyes of the citizens. Nothing but contempt. Such small things they were but filled with so many emotions. Naofumi came to realize how scary eyes can be.
"And that's why you think he's suspicious?" Mina asked.
"Not only that, but I know he's hiding something. A few weeks ago, I was asked by a village leader to kill a frog monster clan and when I came back to collect the reward, Legrand and some of the knights had arrived when I was hunting. They were going around villages looking for recruits.
"I decided to ask Legrand if he knew anything about Gareth's whereabouts. He said no and that I shouldn't worry. But his eyes said otherwise."
That summed up what Naofumi wanted to know. Typical. He thought when thinking back on Malty and the King. They all had ulterior motives. Legrand seemed okay enough as a person who helped him and Rachel fight against those bandits. But looks can be deceiving. And he just got deceived. Again.
Is everyone in this forsaken world evil? Is this place even worth saving with so much evil and darkness buried in the hearts of the people?
Why is he even here?
Naofumi noticed the way Rowan was petting the spider caringly. It was a comfort to him, having the spider on his lap.
He didn't know why, but he was reminded of Akito. His brother and Rowan are two completely different people, personality-wise. But the look of distress on Rowan's face brought back a memory. A rather unpleasant one.
It happened on a weekend night. His parents were asleep and he was up playing video games. College entrance exams were done and he wanted to spend the next few days not worrying about school. He'd just finished killing a boss monster and decided to get a glass of milk.
The light to Akito's room was on and Naofumi didn't think much of it. Akito was a teenager and like most teens, they stayed up late on weekends. Naofumi passed by, only to walk back. The door was ajar, revealing his brother sitting on the bed, staring out the window. This was over a year after he started acting out. The dyed hair was proof of that.
It was odd to see him staring out the window like he was looking for something. That's when he saw it. A look of distress. Naofumi felt a pang of guilt in his heart. Thanks to his laziness, his parents forced all their expectations onto Akito and the end result wasn't looking good.
It was his fault Akito was acting out. It was why he looked so stressed with school and his new friends.
Now, he saw that same look on Rowan. Naofumi couldn't fix Rowan's problem as he did with Akito. How could he?
Some hero he was.
"I don't know what to do," Rowan spoke. "I mean, I could be wrong about all this. Not to mention I could get in trouble if I accuse him without proof. I have nothing."
Whoever this Gareth was, Naofumi could see that he meant a lot to Rowan. But there was nothing he could do about it.
"Sorry about your master," was all he could say.
"Thanks," Rowan nodded. He looked outside a window. "It's getting late. You guys should rest up. Tomorrow we'll leave a bit early to get a better head start. How does 9 sound?"
He was trying to change the subject. Naofumi decided to play along.
"Sounds good. What about you two?" He looked to the women.
"Not a problem for me," Rachel said.
"That is fine with me," Mina responded.
"Good." Naofumi stood. "Thanks for telling us. I'm sure you'll hear from Gareth soon."
Rowan smiled slightly. "Thanks."
Back at the inn, the three were getting ready for bed.
"Poor guy." Rachel, freshly out of the bath, started combing her hair. "Makes you wonder where Gareth is, doesn't it?"
"I'm more concerned about Legrand." Mina removed her jewelry and set them inside her bag. "If that man did do something to Gareth, he should not be trusted. Especially if his behavior is like that of the King and Malty. Birds of a feather fly together."
Naofumi sighed. "It just never ends, does it?"
"There will always be assholes out there," Rachel said as she climbed into her bed. "Let's try to avoid him tomorrow."
Later, when the girls were fast asleep, Naofumi stayed up. He couldn't sleep no matter how much he shifted in bed. There has to be something he can do to help Rowan. But what?
His worries soon drifted away as slumber took over.
Hello everyone! Sorry about the wait, I've been trying to get as much lore of Shield Hero in my head, hence why updates will be sporadic.
There is one thing I want to mention which will be seen in upcoming chapters. As you all know, the world map of Shield Hero is basically non-existent other than seeing it for five seconds in the anime. And so, with that, I've decided to add more to the world of Shield Hero. This is an AU story and with that, this AU will have more places for Naofumi and Co. to be visiting. Already they're at a section of Melromarc that's a giant forest spanning for miles. Later they will visit areas that are like valleys, mountains, desert cities, a place that's cold all year round, and more. And yes, that includes Innis. What's Innis you ask? That will be explained later.
Thank you all so much for favoriting, following, and leaving comments! It means so much to me!