A/N: To answer a few questions people have had:
Q. Why does Suzuki tell the people of Melromarc about Yggdrasil? He would never do that.
It is a stretch to say that he would never do that. In the side story with Evileye, he tells her all about his Yggdrasil teammates. He even invites people not originally in Ainz Ooal Gown into the guild to be guild members. He even offers to use his Wish Upon A Star to help Keno- someone who he knew for one afternoon at that point in the story. It isn't completely out of character for him to reveal Yggdrasil to other people.
Heck, you could argue that Ainz acted way out of character in the side story for offering to give up levels to help Keno, but he did, and that's canon.
And yes, one person pointed out how he never would tell the NPCs about Yggdrasil- of course he wouldn't, so that they wouldn't feel bad or whatever. But he does, in canon, tell people in the New World about the place. And he was doing so in this fanfic in a certain context- to make them feel like they should send him back home. He didn't blatantly give away the military capabilities of the Tomb or anything.
Q. Why does Suzuki have Yggdrasil levels but his levels otherwise have been reset?
When I started writing this fanfic, I wanted to incorporate Yggdrasil levels into the SMS levelling system of Shield Hero- but I was told it didn't work like that.
So, Suzuki's Yggdrasil levels always remain constant and are independent of the SMS system's rules- while the levels he gains in the SMS system are subject to rules such as resetting on world transfer, if that makes it clear. That's why he only has 6 levels right now, though his Yggdrasil levels remain constant.
All the while he walked, Suzuki could feel the stares around him.
He could hear the whispers too, about what they thought he had done.
He hadn't even noticed when he had already made his way back to that weapons shop, and the blacksmith approached him.
"Hey!" he said, grabbing Suzuki by the collar. "I heard what you did to that girl!"
"And you believe them?" Suzuki asked him defiantly.
The man took a good look at Suzuki and then lowered his fist. "So... yeah, I never thought it made sense anyway..."
Suzuki removed the man's hand and was about to walk away.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"Your coins," the blacksmith said. "I mean, I can't really sell them now anyway. At least, I can't find a buyer who'll want them because they were yours."
Suzuki shrugged. "Melt them down for gold then."
"Wait, wait," the blacksmith said. "First of all, if you go around wearing clothes like that, you'll end up in trouble."
The blacksmith handed Suzuki a green cape to cover himself.
"Thanks," Suzuki blurted out. He then paused. "Do you happen to have a book of some sort? Just a normal book?"
Suzuki had spent most of the following days in disguise.
For one, he had disguised his shield by turning it into the Journal Shield- which was just an ordinary journal which he could turn around in his hand and pretend as if it was a normal book. He had a similar shield back in that other world, which is why he knew about it.
Next, he had dyed his hair by purchasing some magical dye from a shop. After he changed his clothes, and put on a pair of glasses, he looked just like a common librarian or a poor scholar.
To finish his disguise, he had also stopped shaving. He had to keep himself clean-shaven back on the Earth of 2138 for his job, and back in the Tomb Sebas had taken care of shaving him.
Speaking of, the more Suzuki was away from the Tomb, the more he realized just how much he missed it all. It had only been a few weeks since it had come to life, but that place had felt more like home than anywhere else he had ever been.
And it was only now that he realized how he had taken most of the NPCs and their help for granted- they had been loyal to their last breaths from what he had seen. Not like the people of this world.
Before, when reminiscing about the past the faces of his friends would appear before him, but now, they were interlaced with those of the NPCs, as if they had become one.
It was while engrossed in these thoughts that he happened upon the farm.
"Huh?" he said. "What are those animals?"
He had mostly been talking to himself, but someone actually answered him.
"You ain't never seen a Filolial before?" a man dressed up like a farmer asked him.
"Ah, I've heard of them," Suzuki said. "This is my first time seeing one in the flesh though..."
"Ah well, don't know where ya' from, but Filolials are everywhere in these parts," the man said.
"Well, this is an excellent flock you have there," Suzuki said. He had heard of Filolials once- oh right, from Raphtalia. "Is it true that they can fight off dragons?"
Dragons were the supreme race in Yggdrasil, with powerful base stats and all-around near broken abilities and resistances. They were often final bosses in dungeons. It was the same in many games.
For example, Lucifer, one of his guild members was rather fond of a game known as Pokemon, and mentioned how at one time, the Dragon type in that game had been overpowered, so to counter it a Fairy type was introduced. Then, he would talk about how he was close to collecting 9,000 out of the 12,237 Pokemon which had been released up till that point.
There was no such counter in Yggdrasil- well, there had been his World Item, but that was a rare exception. There weren't even weapons like Wyrmslayers which would deal extra damage to dragons.
As such, if Suzuki could find a race that could not only stand toe-to-toe with but actually put dragons at a disadvantage, he would want to collect as many of them as possible. As such, ever since Raphtalia had mentioned them he had made a small note in his mind to find out more about these creatures.
The man chuckled. "Well, Filolials and dragons sure don't get along- but these ones aren't too strong and wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. I raise them for 'er meat, see."
Suzuki scratched his chin. "So let's say I would want to raise one to fight a dragon, how would I go about it?"
"Well, that 'ere's a weird question," the man said. "But, I'd guess you'd either be better off with raising one from the wild, or raising one from an egg to fight. I don't knows much about 'at, given' I'm just sellin' 'em for their meat, see?"
"Alright," Suzuki said.
Raising a few of them would not pose a problem for someone like Aura he supposed- and even if his experiment in raising them did not yield any fruit, he doubted it would be too bad of an investment.
"How much for one?" Suzuki asked.
The farmer blinked. "Yer serious?"
"Yes."
"Well, see, I can't sell ya one of the adults, they're all going to the slaughterhouse soon," the man said. "But, there are some eggs I could sell you if you wanted to raise one."
The farmer led Suzuki to a shed, where there were about three dozen eggs.
"How much for all of them?" Suzuki asked.
The farmer took a step back. "Urm... I kinda promised to sell some of 'em already to this guy from the city..." He shuddered. "I knows I shouldn't say this about a payin' customer, but he kind of gave me the chills. He was pretty short and had a black top hat and all, and there was somethin' shady 'bout him, but his money was as good as they come."
"Why did he want the eggs? To eat them?" Suzuki asked.
"Naw, I think he wanted it for some egg lottery game or the sort," the farmer replied. "But, tell ya what, I doubt he'd miss just one, so you can go ahead and have one."
Suzuki would've wanted several, with the best thing being several males and females to breed his own stock, but he would put up with having just one for now.
In a way, he supposed, just one was alright for the time being while he figured out how to raise them. It was possible that if he took too many at once he would be unable to feed or control them.
"How much?" Suzuki asked.
"Eighty silvers," the man answered.
Despite the time he had spent in this world, Suzuki was unsure of whether or not this was a fair price or not. He was well aware of how people kept trying to rip him off whenever he was the Shield Hero, or they recognized him as such.
The memory of a very painful incident was still etched into his mind. He had wandered into a magical academy, hoping to learn about how the magic of this world worked.
At first, he had been treated well when he said he was a researcher interested in learning the basics of magic. But, one of them had been able to detect what his shield really was using magic, and that had led to quite a ruckus.
However, this farmer had probably fallen for Suzuki's disguise. He did not give any indication that he knew who Suzuki truly was, and was therefore not trying to rip him off too hard.
Still, Suzuki thought that it wasn't too bad to at least try to negotiate a little. "C'mon, go a little lower- I'm just a scholar is all. I'm not exactly rolling around in cash."
The farmer sighed. "Well, I can't really give out my product for free then, can I? Seventy silvers, take it or leave it."
"I'm sure you can do sixty."
"Sixty's too low!"
In the end, the two of them agreed on seventy silvers so long as the farmer gave Suzuki a crash course in how to best take care of a Filolial, and Suzuki wandered off from the farm an hour later, clutching an egg carefully under his arm.
He could have put it in his inventory, but the thing was that he was unsure how a living thing would interact while inside of there. It was possible it might not hatch if he placed it in his inventory.
A while later, Suzuki actually began to question as to whether or not the purchase was worth it. While he did not think he had been ripped off, the fact remained that he had spent some of his hard-earned money on an egg of questionable value.
Suzuki had slain several monsters and gathered herbs to make potions to sell- and as such he wasn't exactly broke, but the price was a bit steep for him. But, if the farmer's words could be trusted, if he raised the bird right, he could at the very least make a nice profit.
Suzuki Satoru (Shield Hero)
Level: 21 (+16 Yggdrasil Levels)
Yggdrasil Classes:
Guildmaster 4 lv
General 4 lv
Hero 5 lv
Cardinal Hero 3 lv
Again, Cardinal Hero was not a class within Yggdrasil, but it was probably some class he unlocked by coming to this world. He had unlocked a few more shields, and while they had some interesting effects none even came close to the power of the Cerberus Shield.
"So that's the village then huh..."
Truth be told, he had sort of been putting off going to Lurolona Village. He would always find a reason to sidetrack along the way- to fight monsters, to experiment with new plants, to explore a new area, etc. If he actually wanted to reach the village as fast as possible, he could've always just put on an item to help him fly. He could've gotten their over a week earlier. But he hadn't.
The reason was simple- he had no real explanation to give to Raphtalia's parents. He was also afraid that they might attack him.
He felt rather like a school kid who had gotten an F on their report card and was now seeking any excuse to delay going home as much as he could.
And yet, he couldn't put it off forever. There was even the chance that after he was done there, he could pass over to Siltvelt. He had heard rumors that that country was partial towards the Shield Hero, but on the other hand he couldn't be sure if that information was true.
Suzuki's normal paranoia and cynicism had been amplified ever since that ordeal with that woman. It was only by hiding his identity that he was able to live even a remotely simple life.
As Suzuki approached the village, his shield told him that there were people hidden in the bushes. They hadn't made a move yet, so he called out.
"Hey- I can see you guys hidden there. Why not come out?"
There was no response, so Suzuki kicked a rock over near a bush where one of them was.
To his surprise, the person who came out was a small kid. A demi-human, holding a makeshift spear.
"Hands up!" the boy said.
Suzuki snorted. "Just who are you supposed to be?"
"A guard," the boy said proudly.
More demi-humans popped out.
"Keel, you're supposed to stay hidden for a reason," an adult said. The man then turned to Suzuki. "Pardon him, we're stationed here as guards. Some bandits dressed as knights attacked our village, but we repelled 'em. But as you can understand, we have to be a bit on guard." He looked at Suzuki with suspicion. "And why have you come here?"
"I'm just here to visit someone," Suzuki said.
"Who?"
"Roran and Katrina," Suzuki said, remembering the names that Raphtalia had told him.
The man blinked. "Well, the two them aren't here."
"Wait- why?"
"Both of them moved on to the capital," the man answered.
"The capital? Why?"
"Well, to meet with the Shield Hero," the man said. "They had business with him."
Suzuki face-palmed.
"Who are you anyway? I never heard either of them mention someone like you," the man said.
Suzuki was unsure if he should say the truth. "Before I answer, what do you guys think of the Shield Hero?"
"The Shield Hero and his army saved us- he's the greatest of the Four Heroes!"
Suzuki, still unsure, figured he had to put his feet into the water at some time. "I am the Shield Hero."
This was met with roars of laughter.
"Yeah, and I'm the Queen!"
Suzuki changed his shield to the Cerberus Shield, and the dogs on it roared.
This changed the mood of the situation instantly.
"Aww darn!"
Two of the people began bowing immediately, while a girl piped up, "Shield Hero-sama, where's Raphtalia?"
Suzuki's face darkened. "I have some bad news about her..."
The mood shifted yet again. The girl began tearing up. "So, it's true then- Raph-chan is dead!"
"No, no!" Suzuki said. "She isn't dead, more of... lost per se. Well, she's not actually lost, I know where she is, I just can't reach her... it's rather complicated, I came on over here to explain things to her parents in the first place. But if they aren't here, then I guess I should move on."
Suzuki was actually a bit conflicted- he didn't want to leave the village without telling Raphtalia's parents what had happened, but he also couldn't dawdle and stay in one place for too long. There was also the issue that if he went to the capital now, both of them might've actually been on their way towards here and he would miss them again.
After weighing various options, Suzuki supposed that the best thing to do would be to leave a handwritten letter explaining to them what had happened, and to then go on his own way. Once the two would come back, they would find his explanation so they wouldn't be completely in the dark.
Only issue was that he couldn't write the language of this world- but as he was about to give up he realized that he didn't need to be able to. There were people who could write for him.
"Do you know how to write?" Suzuki asked. "Does anyone here know how to write?"
Four hands went up.
"Keel, you can only write your own name. Put your hand down."
"Hey, that still counts!"
Suzuki sighed.
The church was the largest building in the village, which was where Suzuki headed towards.
He saw that the people of the village were setting up defenses, much as the people of Carne had started to. There was a guard tower, and a wall was being built around the circumference of the village. The people also had hard looks on their faces which showed a sense of urgency that spurred them on.
Several people saw Suzuki and asked who he was, and when told that he was the Shield Hero, would usually bow and offer him something- a small amount of wheat, or coins, or a stick. Or they would offer to join him.
Suzuki declined all such offers for the time being- if anything, he was more suspicious of people who offered him free stuff than he was of people who openly stated their hatred of him.
Suzuki noticed that within the church, there was the symbol of a shield hung up on a wall instead of the triad he was used to seeing. The priest, another demi-human, greeted him.
It had not escaped him that the village actually looked to be relatively rich compared to what he had expected- as it was these houses were not lowly mud huts like back in Carne. The people here clearly had access to money, even if it wasn't a lot of it. Suzuki would probably classify these people as what you would call 'middle class' back in the day, rather than peasants.
The church reflected this given how opulent it was. Quite a pretty penny must have been spent trying to build it.
"What can I do for you, Sir Shield Hero?"
At that moment, before Suzuki could even open his mouth, the door of the church was opened and a group of knights walked in.
Suzuki considered taking out a crystal with a teleportation spell in it and fleeing, but they were limited and he wanted to see if it was possible to get out of this situation without having to use one.
If he had been a bit more observant, he would've noticed that the emblems on the knight's shields were different from the ones he had seen up till now, but this detail escaped him.
Leading the knights was a man who sort of reminded him of Sebas in that while he was old, he also commanded an air of respect and stoicism. However, he did not have Sebas's physique and was wiry and thing, not to mention he looked slightly sickly. He was also dressed as an aristocrat.
"Are you the Shield Hero?" the man asked as he approached Suzuki.
Suzuki gritted his teeth. "Y-Yes I am."
And then the man completely genuflected before Suzuki.
It wasn't just Suzuki who was surprised by this- the knights behind him also had shocked expressions on their faces. In particular, one lady with strawberry blonde hair approached the man but was given a stern look by him which told her to keep her nose out of the business for now.
"I beg of you, Sir Hero, to take back your decision to ruin this country," the man said.
"I'm sorry... but who are you?" Suzuki asked, very confused.
"My name is Lord Seaetto, the noble in charge of this region, and also the Queen's right-hand man," he said. "I would first like to thank you for your services in saving this village, and my life as well. But, I would also like to say that the actions of the King and of Princess Myne are not supported by the Queen."
"Wait- Princess Myne?" Suzuki asked.
"Indeed," Lord Seaetto said.
Even now, he had not raised his head.
The thing was, Lord Seaetto had seen firsthand how powerful that Suzuki's army was. A single soldier was able to cast magic that would put the pieces of Ceremonial Magic he had seen during wartime to shame.
To put things into perspective, even the Queen had trouble believing Lord Seaetto's description of Suzuki's army. But he couldn't blame her- to say that a single soldier there could wipe out their whole country if not the whole world by themselves was something that he would have trouble digesting had he not seen it himself.
However, it was clear that if Melromarc went to war with the Shield Hero, they would be destroyed completely. He could not let that happen.
"As I said," Lord Seaetto continued, "she had nothing to do with the conspiracy to frame you. I beg of you to spare our kingdom."
Suzuki frowned. "Hold on a minute- start with one thing, how are you sure that I was framed?" There was a look of confusion. "I mean, I was... but why are you so sure of it?"
"Ah, I know you had nothing to do with it," Lord Seaetto said. "For one, I have seen the woman in your army, Shield Hero. Such beauties would put any other woman to shame. And... this is not Princess Myne's first such accusation. She had done something earlier, only the man had been executed. Her Majesty had long since doubted the authenticity of that claim."
Suzuki snorted. "And if she's so concerned, why hasn't she done anything yet."
"The moment you appeared in this world, Sir Hero, chaos erupted," Lord Seaetto said. "The countries of this world had an unwritten but widely accepted agreement that the Heroes would be divided amongst themselves. Your appearance made many question if Melromarc had gone back on this and summoned the Heroes anyway- Her Majesty was busy trying to negotiate with various countries to ensure that Melromarc was not attacked when all of a sudden, His Majesty went ahead and summoned all Four Heroes anyway. Because of this, Her Majesty is currently occupied trying to stave off enemy countries from declaring all-out war against Melromarc."
This was the first Suzuki was hearing about this. "So... if each country summons a Hero, does that mean that the Waves attack the other countries as well?"
"Indeed," Lord Seaetto said. "There are Dragon Hourglasses in every country, and also in the wilderness as well. Without a Hero to help them, many countries will be damaged, which is why they take such offense to Melromarc's decision to summon all four."
"So then why frame me?" Suzuki asked.
"His Majesty, the king, while an intelligent man is not spared from his... biases," Lord Seaetto said. It seemed that even in this situation, he was hesitant to badmouth a member of the Royal Family. "His family was slain by demi-humans and he has a deep-seated hatred of them, and consequently of the Shield Hero, who defended them."
Suzuki's mouth twitched. "So that's it then? Nothing can be done?"
"No, no," Lord Seaetto said. "As Her Majesty's representative, I have attempted to stand up against his policies but... it has been difficult with most of Her Majesty's forces tied up elsewhere. Not to mention the Church had thrown in their lot with His Majesty, making any action against him difficult. I had come to this village to seek the help of a resident named Sadeena, but given she is not here, I was about to leave when I heard you were here, and I rushed to this Church at once. I ask for your help, Sir Hero."
"My help?!"
"Yes," Lord Seaetto said. "A few days ago, some knights attacked this village."
"Don't you mean, bandits?" Suzuki asked.
"No, knights," Lord Seaetto said. "Knights associated with the Church of the Three Heroes. They came and harassed the people here, and when attacked, claimed that the villagers were the aggressors. The King has declared that the villagers have rebelled, and had asked me to arrest everyone there. I refused of course, and the King has now branded me a traitor seeking to overthrow the crown. Soldiers will soon arrive not only here, but at my domain. I need soldiers, and these knights the Queen have given to me are not enough. Will you fight by my side? Her Majesty, would be in your debt, and we will see that you are rewarded properly when she returns."
"What kind of offer is this?" Suzuki asked, a hint of anger in his voice. "You say you want to help me- but all this has led to me being used as a mercenary for you! If anything, even assuming that you are allied with the Queen, how do I know this isn't some sort of 'good cop, bad cop' routine going on?"
It would make sense if one assumed the king was the bad cop and the queen the good cop- with both trying to finesse Suzuki in different ways.
It was entirely possible that Suzuki would be cast aside the moment this fight was over and he had no more use.
Also, there was a Chinese expression which came to mind, "The victors become rulers, and the defeated become outlaws." In other words, even if Lord Seaetto was telling the truth, if his side lost, then Suzuki would be no better off than before.
If anything, if civil war was really imminent, the best thing for Suzuki to do was to simply leave the country.
"I-I am not familiar with that term," Lord Seaetto said.
"In that case," Suzuki said. "Let me ask you one thing: do you have any children?"
In response to this question, Lord Seaetto turned around to look at the knight with strawberry blonde hair. "My daughter- Eclair."
"Alright then," Suzuki said. While there was a high probability that this was all a farce, if it turned out that there was a way for him to turn the situation around and gain favor with the true monarch of this country, it might be a mistake to not take it. But, he needed a guarantee.
Suzuki took out a mercenary contract. He only had enough Yggdrasil gold for two or three high-level summons, but he would be using one right now. As it was, he had no one else to rely on.
A Hanzo emerged from the scroll. "Alright, here's the deal- I'll help you out. But as a guarantee, I intend to take your daughter hostage."
"W-what!?"
There were shocked cries from everyone else present.
"I'll simply take her to a secure location- don't worry, I'll make sure she had enough to eat, drink, and live in relative comfort," Suzuki said. "However, should you betray me, my... associate here will slit her throat. Is such an arrangement acceptable?"
There was stunned silence. Lord Seaetto had not expected for Suzuki to make such a proposal.
Suzuki had heard of such practices before. It was said that Japanese feudal lords had to keep their heirs within the capital to ensure that they would not rebel, and something similar had also been followed by the Mongol hordes. At least, that was what Punitto Moe, Ainz Ooal Gown's chief strategist, had said once in a conversation. It was a general discussion of tactics- there were no ways to take actual hostages in Yggdrasil, of course.
The daughter in question drew her blade and pointed it at Suzuki. "What kind of Hero are you? Does such an action befit one who calls himself 'Hero?'"
"Eclair, turn your sword away," Lord Seaetto said. "Do not point it at the man who saved your father's life."
"But, you heard what he just demanded!" Eclair said.
"To answer your question," Suzuki said, "I never asked to be called 'Hero.' I saved this village, and as a reward for that, I was falsely accused by the king of this country. I have realized that I cannot trust anyone here. I was going to demand gold as a guarantee instead, but I think a man like you could easily sacrifice a few coins. There is no better guarantee than a man's flesh and blood. So what do you say?"
"I apologize," Lord Seaetto said. "But I cannot use the life of my daughter as a bargaining chip."
"Father!" Eclair said. "Let me go ahead. While I do not approve of Sir Hero's plan-" she shot Suzuki a dirty look "-if that is what is necessary to secure the peace of this region, I shall gladly do so."
"I couldn't-" Lord Seaetto was about to say something when someone barged in.
"Knights! Over three hundred of them are gathered outside the village!"
Lord Seaetto got up at once, and Suzuki followed his retinue to see that at the outskirts of the village, a large squadron of armed figures stood led by...
"...That dumbass and that woman," Suzuki said, now grinning. At long last! He had dreamed of slaying the two of them many times, and now he had a chance!
Motoyasu (Spear Hero)
Level 30
Suzuki groaned- how was this man higher levelled than he was, especially when you factored in Suzuki's head start? It must have been because he had been levelling up with team members, and probably knew better locations to level up in than Suzuki did. No- it was probably that Suzuki's shield was just bad at clearing out large swathes of monsters, even if he used the Cerberus Shield.
It all meant that all the flack he had gotten for being at level 6 initially was completely pointless if the other Heroes were able to outstrip him like this in such a short span of time.
However... Suzuki still didn't see any Yggdrasil levels. But he remembered that the others couldn't see his own Yggdrasil levels either- so there were two possibilities here. One was that Motoyasu had levels in Yggdrasil classes, but Suzuki couldn't see them. Or, Motoyasu couldn't use the Yggdrasil level up system.
Based on how XP worked, Suzuki guessed that Motoyasu's 30 levels would grant him about 10 Yggdrasil levels if he had access to Yggdrasil's system. In other words, combining the two, Motoyasu had the power of a level 40 monster from Yggdrasil at most.
Of course, Suzuki had noticed that the power level of most monsters in this world was rather low. He had seen monsters who were level 20 but which he could easily beat.
However, there was the possibility that Motoyasu was stronger, being a Hero, and there was also the issue that Motoyasu might have some special skills or equipment he would have to be wary of. So it was better to overestimate, rather than underestimate him.
Given all these facts, at most, Suzuki thought that he would be the equivalent of a level 50 monster from Yggdrasil.
And Suzuki had enough items to deal with such a threat. Assuming that everyone else fought as well, there was a good chance that he could come on top. The Hanzo alone was around level 80 and could probably one-shot Motoyasu if given the right opportunity.
The only thing that worried Suzuki was that there might be a skill or power he was unfamiliar with that might be used. Not only that, he was not used to battles involving so many people. He had mainly focused on Motoyasu, but it was possible that someone significantly powerful was hidden amongst the soldiers.
And, he couldn't rush into battle just yet.
Myne took out a scroll of parchment. "The Governor of this land has committed treason against King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII. This village had attacked a group of His Majesty's knights, and we are here to investigate the village and to see if any of you have ties to the Govern-"
She stopped mid-sentence as she saw Lord Seaetto. "Oh, so it seems there is no need for any investigation. Lord Seaetto seems to be involved fist and foot with this village. Guards! Arrest him and the other villagers!"
"You know," Suzuki said, whispering to Lord Seaetto. "I'm willing to rescind my earlier offer- if you're willing to fight and I can kill those two, I'll help you, hostage or no hostage."
"Stop right there!" a voice rang out.
Myne turned her head to see someone dressed up in black at her feet, who handed her a scroll of parchment. Myne's face soured the moment she read it. "This is..."
"I am simply a vanguard," the person replied. "Please wait ten minutes..."
A carriage rapidly approached the village, with the door opening to let a young girl out.
"That is an order from Her Majesty herself," she said, whose hair was a dark purple color. "No need to worry yourselves, but the person in charge of investigating Lord Seaetto's 'treason' will be myself."
"Why- but-" Myne said.
"Oi, who are you?" Motoyasu asked, raising his spear to point towards Suzuki. "Your face is kinda familiar somehow..."
Man, he really is dumb, Suzuki thought. He was sure that anyone who knew him could see through his disguise easily- but given this world had medieval levels of technology they very well couldn't post photos of Suzuki everywhere, so it was rather easy for Suzuki to blend it provided he didn't use his shield's powers in public. But, this was good- it would be beneficial if he could keep his status as a Hero a secret for n-
"-That's the Shield Hero!" several voices shouted.
Well. That plan clearly wasn't going to work.
"Suzuki!" Motoyasu said angrily. "I should've recognized you immediately! Are you conspiring with these traitors?"
"There are no traitors here," Suzuki said. "I just came here to meet with someone..."
"Motoyasu-sama!" Myne cried out. "It's obvious what's happening here! These villagers are in with the Shield Hero! That's why he must've saved them- he's probably been planning to overthrow the Crown from the very beginning!"
"I'll be the judge of that," the girl with purple hair said. "Until then, I ask that you kindly step aside and let me investigate the matter."
Myne looked like she wanted to argue, but at long last just let out a "Hmph!" and with an expression that said that she didn't approve of any of this, stormed off, with Motoyasu in tow.
Suzuki was, as to be expected, both annoyed and happy at the same time. Annoyed because he was really looking forward to a fight, but also happy because he got to see despair painted on that woman's face.
But that raised the question as to who this young girl was. If Myne was a princess and this girl was bossing her around then that meant-
"Princess Melty," Lord Seaetto said. Both he and Elcair genuflected, and everyone else followed, save for Suzuki. "You bless us by gracing us with your presence."
"You flatter me," she said, gently curtsying before turning to look at Suzuki. "And you are the Shield Hero, I presume?"
"Yes," Suzuki said. There was no point in lying when these loose-lipped villagers would blurt out the answer anyway.
"I see, there is much I would like to discuss with you," Melty said. "It is rather fortunate, as a matter of fact, that all of us could be gathered here at once like this."
"Eh?" Suzuki said as something twitched in his pocket. At first, he thought that a scorpion or something like that had crawled into there, but when he put his hand in (a rather dumb thing to do if he really thought an insect or small animal had gotten into it) he saw that the egg he had gotten was shaking and breaking.
"Oh? What is that?" Melty asked. Up till now, she had behaved remarkably prim and proper for such a young girl, but now she looked like a toddler who had just seen the ice cream truck come round the corner.
"So that's what a baby Filolial looks like," Suzuki said.
The bird flapped its wings and hopped onto his head.
"You're kinda cute," Suzuki said. "I think I'll call you- Pandora's Actor Jr.!"
The bird began shaking its head.
"I don't think it likes that name," Melty said.
A/N: In case you're wondering, yes, the egg that Suzuki got was Filo's egg.
The timeline doesn't add up given when Suzuki gets the egg and when it hatches when you compare it to the anime, but my explanation for that is when the Slave Trader bought the eggs, he put a spell on them to prevent them from hatching so that they wouldn't hatch before someone bought them. It would make sense I guess to have something like that in place.
Many things have been changed, given how Suzuki altered the timeline, but I think overall things fit with how they would've played out. The Queen is in a bit of a stronger position here.