Reviews:
SentinalSlice: I plan to reveal bits and pieces of Naofumi's adventures through part 5 over time. It won't be everything, mostly just his part in the more important parts of the part. And Itsuki won't be calling it a cheat for long :)
drmcgraw186: They won the standoff, but the end result would've been either a draw or they would have lost a few members trying to defeat Glass. Now with Ren kidnapping Melty, that opens up quite a bit for the plot, dont'cha think? :)
DeathCrawler: Thanks! And when I meant short I meant amount of words rather than the size of the chapter by scrolling. Last chapter was the smallest in word count, only hacing 5.5k words, but most of them were in chunks instead of spread out through dialogue. This one does a little better with that though! 6k words babyyyyyyy
calderoneric758: Interesting idea, and there's a lot of potential for comedic crap but I don't want to introduce a new character this late and this deep into the meaty bits of the story. So if he does get a new party member, it'll be either during the Island arc or during Season 2 of the anime, whenever that comes out.
GenericBoi989: Don't mistake someone being kind for being a pushover. Sometimes the most intimidating people are the kindest ones. I'm trying to make sure he keeps his nice disposition (since other than the stands, that's kinda this whole fics identity lol) and I think I've been doing that fairly well, but that might disappear with this chapter. Whoops. I don't regret it though, this plot line will be interesting.
Guest: I imagined him doing Saitama's 'Ok' because it fits way too well.
D3lph0xL0v3r: Plot line differences babyyyyyyy. WOOOOOO! In all seriousness though, Glass can see Wireframe because she is a spirit person, and exists through wht is basically Life Energy. Since Stands are basically the same thing, she can see them but since she isn't a stand herself and doesn't possess one, the infallible rule of only a stand being able to harm another stand is still in play.
Guest: I missed an opportunity to break the fourth wall... damn. And thank you for the kind words!
SomeCallMeDrunk: "Pimp smack off the boat" is now my catchphrase. You are not allowed to copyright it.
Guest: Thanks! I plan to continue to write the story through season 1 of the anime (since that's all I've seen so far) and through season 2 once it comes out so this story still has quite a ways to go :)
RandomA99: Wow! Thanks Me! (Yes I did write myself a review for that joke)
Allan Von'Skoon: So simple, but so effective. Stands just inherently make everything cooler. It's a universal law at this point. Enjoy the story my good man!
Victor John Foxfire: That is my favorite stand cry, and its one I made myself, idk if that makes me arrogant or a narcissist but its funny. As for the JoJo reference, that is not it, but its an interesting guess and since no one has figured out and barely anyone is guessing, I'll just say it here. The first letters of the boss names spell out ACDC, for Esidisi from part 2. Don't look at me like that, I told you it was a stretch!
A Shield's Stand
Chapter 16: Manhunt For The Crown Princess
Having a purple haired child thrust upon you while being framed for kidnapping was not the best way to start the day. Quite frankly, it isn't the best way to make your day a good one. Nevertheless, because comedic law is a force of nature at this point in his life, Naofumi just kind of took it mundanely.
'Deep breaths, Naofumi. Deep breaths.'
Naofumi took the crown princess by the hand and led her through the village, gathering every part of his family and throwing them all into one of the stalls lining the village's main road, with the owner's permission of course. With a map of Melromarc supplied to them by the stall owner, Raphtalia laid it out on a plain wooden table and looked to Naofumi for an explanation. While it was far from the craziest thing to have suddenly sprung up on them, showing up with the crown princess in hand was kind of up there.
"So, what did we do now, Shieldy?" Elina asked the question all of Naofumi's party had been wondering.
"Kidnapping of the crown princess," Naofumi answered with a sigh.
Elina and Raphtalia hummed in understanding while Rifana gave a, "Gotcha," in response. And with that very brief introduction to their issue of the week, they got to planning.
Melromarc was located in the middle of the continent and was surrounded by several of the world's major powers. To the south was Zeltoble, a kingdom of mercenaries and slave owners, which made their current location between Zeltoble and Castle Town, all the worse, given the incredible bounties on their head. To the North was the kingdom of Telvain, but currently they were dealing with their own uprising so heading there was out of the question. To the north-west was the most technologically advanced country, Faubrey, which held some form of blood relation to Aultcray, according to Ren, so they were out too.
Finally, to the east was their most likely support, Shieldfreeden and Siltvelt, but seeing as heading there would be far too obvious and Siltvelt was very rooted in a clear demi-human supremacy, it was unlikely they would be able to escape there, not that it would be smart to escape at all.
Silver spoke up from her spot beside Naofumi, "So we can't see Mr. Forh or Mr. Kane?"
Naofumi shook his head sadly, speaking in a soft tone, "No, we can't. We wouldn't be able to make it to them or we would put them and a lot of other innocent people in danger."
Silver's eyes turned downcast and she nodded. Everyone who saw lost an entire third of their heart to the sheer heartbreak such a view had given them. It was a struggle to try and keep the focused atmosphere of the room after such a depressing display.
"So if we can't run anywhere, why don't we just take on these idiots in a fight?" Riza questioned as she clung to Ren.
Ren delivered a quick head chop to her head, making her hiss half-heartedly at him, "Ignoring the fact that we're horrible outnumbered and underlevelled to do something like that, the last time these five tried it, they were almost wiped out by some of the Church's warriors."
Riza's eyes widened as she whipped her head to look at the five others, "Damn, and you're the strongest thing we got right now."
"We appreciate your input, Riza, but we need to be extremely careful about what we do here. So we would really prefer people only speak up if they have a usable plan," Elina, of all people, spoke sarcastically.
"Up yours, Elina."
"Sorry, but I'm just speaking the truth." She saw the surprised looks of her companions, "Yeah that's right, the meathead just said we shouldn't get in a fight, deal with it. I'm battle hungry, not stupid." Naofumi, Rifana, and Silver all laughed while Raphtalia gave an approving smile towards the larger woman. Elina saw it and scoffed, looking away.
Naofumi calmed down enough to speak, "Thank you for that, Elina. I needed a good laugh."
"Shut it, Shieldy," said woman growled.
"Regardless, Riza has the right idea."
"WHAT?!" All present shouted at the scarred man, making his poor ears ring. They all voiced worries about his words, in the form of complaints, suggestions for different plans, and a single hug, and you can probably guess who did the last one.
As the noise died down, Naofumi spoke up once more, "When I say we should fight back against the church, I don't mean a literal battle between us and the entire church and kingdom forces. Something of this scale is gonna need a little more forethought than just a regular old fight between two forces. What I'm about to suggest is going to be a fairly large risk, but if it works out, then we can take away the bulk of the church's influence, if not all of it, and we can even fix the issues with the King himself."
He looked down at the little girl hugging him tightly and asked, "I know you love it more than life itself, Silver, but can Daddy borrow your shield for a moment?" Silver thought for a moment before shyly giving the plushy to her father. Naofumi looked around the room and asked everyone to grab some of the items closest to them. At the end of the shuffle, they had a random potion, some copper and silver coins (they'll return them, don't worry), some books, a pair of glasses, a… claw that Riza pulled off herself, and a signature shield plushy.
Taking a second to arrange the items on the map, Naofumi began his explanation, "Right now, the King and the church know we're here," he points at the shield, the claw, and the single coin at their current village.
"Which means they going to send a considerable number of their force to capture us," he points at the paper and slowly slid it towards the village, "but he also doesn't want us escaping so that means they'll station some of their troops at the borders of our allied countries," he rips off the corners from the paper and places them at the border between Melromarc and Shieldfreeden/Siltvelt.
"Finally, with some of their forces elsewhere in the country or doing other necessary tasks," he rips off some more paper from the edge, scattering it across Melromarc, "we'll have to deal with at least this much of the enemy."
The paper hadn't shrunk considerably, but it was still a noticeable difference compared to the original size. But that was still a lot of soldiers to fight.
"Sir Shield Hero, surely you don't mean to spread them out, do you? Giving them time to surround us would only lead to an inescapable battle," Melty offered her own thoughts as she looked at the map, still a bit in shock that they had all just managed to take another charge and just roll with it.
Raphtalia seemed to catch on to what he was suggesting, "That's right, but it does give us some room to breath. Look," she tapped the paper, "With a smaller force, they won't be able to cover as much ground, so we can avoid them if we use our time well. That gives us more opportunities to strike back, but with our numbers…"
Elina picked up the thought, "If we grab some of our allies from within the country, then we'll be able to make more of a force to our attack. Which means, we need to head to Lute."
Rifana looked at Elina worriedly, "But they'll be expecting that, they know Lute completely supports us so if they can't catch us, then they'll just beat us there and endanger the town."
"I never said we'd all head to Lute," Naofumi smirked as he grabbed the claw and the coin piece before sliding them over to join with the potion.
"You want us to go?!" Ren and Riza exclaimed.
Raphtalia nodded sagely, "Even though they support us, they know you're well on our side by now, so they'll be just as responsive to you as they would us. Plus, the King would have no reason to suspect the Holy Sword Hero would deliver a message for the dastardly Shield Devil."
"And with the crown princess by your side, also asking for their support, they would have no reason to doubt you," Naofumi said.
Melty shot up at the mention of her name, "Eh? Me?"
"Word around town is the people like you quite a bit more than your bitch of a sister, so if that's the case in other towns, then you should have no issue requesting the aid of your people," Rifana said with a cheeky smirk.
"Yeah! You'll do great Melty! Anyone who is my friend will always do their best no matter what!" Silver said excitedly, wrapping the purple haired girl in a hug, bringing out a blush from the crown princess.
"F-Friend?!" Melty stuttered out.
"Mmhmm! We're friends! And you don't have to worry about anything! Uncle Ren and the mean witch are there to protect you!" Silver said without shame.
"U-uncle?!"
"Who are you calling a witch, you overgrown chicken?!"
Ignoring the now squabbling mounts and the embarrassed Ren, Naofumi decided they had wasted enough time, "That just leaves us the hard part." He grabbed the plush shield and slid it in an arc to the right. "We'll lead the force away from Ren, Riza, and Melty so they can do their job undisturbed. Ren, how long will it take you and Riza to travel across the country?" He directed his question at the Sword Hero.
"A-around a week. Riza is way too fast." He shuddered.
"Adding two or three days for you to convince the villages to send their help, we'll have to lead them on and evade their attacks for almost a week and a half," he sighed out. "Ren, tell them to meet up outside of Castle Town's viewing range and when you pass through Lute, I need you to ask a favor for the Lord," he slid the potion to Castle Town, "Tell him to meet with Erhard and get as many people as they can the hell out of the city."
Melty's face paled, "S-Sir Shield Hero, y-you wouldn't… that could start a civil war!"
Naofumi's eyes sharpened, "Melty, the way things are going, there's going to be a war if we don't stop it. Right now, this is the only way to avoid a civil war between the people and the clergy. This is a risk, I understand that, but it's the best thing we can do right now."
Melty sat down against the wall, her face still pale and her hands gripping her dress tightly, mumbling inaudibly to herself. Ren whirled his head to meet Naofumi's gaze, "Wait what do you mean a civil war? Naofumi, what the hell are you planning."
Naofumi took a deep breath as Rifana sighed, Raphtalia dragged her hands down her face, Elina boisterously laughed, and Silver continued to argue with Riza. He met Ren's worried eyes as he gripped the Shield plushy and slid it directly to Castle Town.
"We're going to storm the castle."
So far, Naofumi's party had managed to last three days into this insane plan. They had managed to avoid the main force of soldiers when they left the village with time to spare, especially when considering the little diversion trick Rifana managed to get the villagers to pull for them. Once the knights and church soldiers managed to pick up on their real trail, the five of them had put almost a day's worth of travel between them. Since then they had travelled through the multiple forests that existed in Melromarc, setting up camp without conflict and laying waste to any monsters that thought fighting them would be a good idea.
And since they couldn't really do much else, they decided it was better if they began learning spells now instead of waiting for this all to be over. An adventurer could never have enough skills after all. Unfortunately for them, none of the otherworld or non-human members could read the Melromarcian language, much less the magic language behind the spells. Fortunately for them, Elina could.
This, of course, led to some interesting… study sessions.
"If you read even a single letter wrong again, you're all running another three laps!" Elina ordered furiously as she tried again to help Silver with another word.
"What does this have to do with reading?!" The other three shouted as they ran through Elina's makeshift obstacle course for a fifth time.
Regardless of her methods, Elina's tutoring somehow managed to work somewhat. The group learned their first set of spells by the end of the fourth day. Naturally, with Silver and Rifana's excitable natures, they had wanted to test out their spells right then and there, and managed to cause a decent amount of damage to the surrounding trees, especially when they managed to accidentally use a combo skill, blasting their way through a total of twenty trees at the edge of their camp.
'So skills can be combined between partners in battle. Noted.' Naofumi thought to himself.
Luckily enough, they hadn't seemed to attract any attention, other than the normal forest monsters… again.
Poison Frog Shield
DEF: +1
MDEF: +2
Skill [ Poison Resistance (Small) ] Learned
"We must stop unlocking shields, Toad," Frog said as he unlocked another
Killer Insect Shield
DEF: +3
MDEF: +1
Almost as annoying as those demons from transit
Killer Snail Shield
DEF: +5
Skill [ Armored Shell ] Learned
Don't underestimate snails, they can kill you with the sickest songs
"So, have they finally caught up?" Elina asked the hooded Naofumi as he returned from his trip to the nearest town. Another day had passed, officially marking the halfway point through the plan. They had done well so far, but it seemed things would only get harder from here.
Naofumi pulled his hood down, revealing his fluffy black hair and his scarred face as he nodded, "They have. Apparently they got a recording of Ren when he met with the princess and managed to magic their way into editing the footage. They're sending it around the area trying to convince villages to be on the watch for us."
The video discussed showed Ren clutching the princess and brandishing his sword at her neck, smiling devilishly while he mounted Riza, who always had some sort of smirk on her face so not much editing was really needed there, before they rode off with Melty screaming for help all the way. Any person worth their brain would think to ask questions like 'why didn't the knights even try to chase after the princess?' or 'why were they recording?' and while there were some in this newest village had the logic to question it, a larger majority latched onto the video without a second thought.
And he had so much faith in them.
"We'll have to be careful, which means no more blasting magic around, got it?" Raphtalia said while eyeing down a particular pair of troublesome but lovable idiots.
"Ok big sis," Silver said sincerely while Rifana began to sweat nervously.
From that point, the group had to move much more cautiously, and much more slowly. Patrols of royal knights were everywhere and managed to unwittingly block off practically every route they attempted to take. Slowly, they were getting boxed in, but there existed some routes that the group could take to escape the never ending swarm of knights. They could attempt to travel along the border of Melromarc and Siltvelt, but that was just begging for conflict, seeing as a large number of knights and church troops had been stationed there. Alternatively they could try to outrun the knights in a pure race of speed along the countryside but if they wanted to continue the wild chase, that wasn't an option.
Which meant there was really only one path they could take to continue the plan. Thankfully, none of them were scared of heights, which did wonders for the group as they shimmied their way along a scarily narrow cliffside. They were forced to abandon their cart for the time being, seeing as the cliff was far too narrow to accommodate a cart, but if the plan went accordingly, they could return to pick it back up from where they had stored it in the underbrush of some random tree in the forest.
Elina finished her walk along the narrow edge and came to the cliff face, a small and really dangerous arch linking the cliff to the other edge of the valley. Testing her weight on it, considering that she was the heaviest of the group, the arch began to crack under her and her weaponry's weight.
"Damn arch can't hold me," Elina told the group. She looked over to Silver but the girl shook her head.
"I don't think I can jump that far with you riding me," Silver took an experimental hop, hovering a bit in the air with her wings before she flopped back down to the ground.
Rifana put her own cents in, "You could probably cross it with Wireframe supporting you-" only to be cut off by an unfortunately infuriating and familiar voice.
"Shield Devil!" The first princess of Melromarc, Malty, called as she and an army of knights emerged from the surrounding woods, Motoyasu and the aforementioned princess leading the charge. "We finally found you!" She scanned the group, looking for the object of her endless fury, only growing more enraged when she failed to spot a head of purple hair, "Where are you keeping my dear little sister?!"
"Why would we tell you? Especially since you plan to kill her to take the throne back, you evil hag!" Rifana shouted out from the cliff face.
"HAG?! I'LL END-" Her rant was stopped before it even started, the holy action taken by the much less holy Motoyasu as he rested his hand on her opposite shoulder, pulling her into a quick hug she obviously did not want to reciprocate.
"I'll handle this, Myne." He turned to face the fallen hero, "Naofumi, I expected such horrible actions from you, but to bring Ren into your damn schemes? What the hell did you do to him?" And of course the spear hero managed to ignore the accusation of the princess trying to kill her sister.
Silver was the only one to answer his question, the rest already knowing it would be impossible to try and convince the yellow haired philogynist, "My Daddy didn't do anything to Melty! My Daddy and Uncle Ren are trying to save her from that mean lady next to you!" She shouted as she jumped into Naofumi's arms, pulling him into a fierce hug and glaring at Motoyasu.
Predictably, the accusations against Myne went in one ear and out the other, but unpredictably, Motoyasu's gaze at the group of rogue adventurers went from heated to… leering? Was… is he leering at Silver? And like that, any singular remaining atom of respect any of Naofumi's party had for the Spear Hero was vaporized, causing an atomic explosion and ending any positive or neutral feelings they had towards the man.
"What in the even?" Rifana mumbled out.
Motoyasu's gaze sharpened from it's leer, not quite losing that… lustful quality but it was like it was on the backburner for now as he glared at Naofumi, "Where did you get that beautiful angel Naofumi? Did you enslave her too?" He growled out.
"Goddammit you moron," Elina spat at the idiot, "None of us are enslaved, if you would just listen for even a fucking second we can prove that to you, and what the hell are you doing looking at Silver like that! She's a child you disgusting pile of trash!"
The Knights watching the really weird scene before them actually kind of agreed to Elina's sentiments. Anyone who looked at a child like that, hero or not, really had to have something going on in their head.
Motoyasu shook his head, "We're getting off topic, what the hell did you do to Ren and where are you holding Melty?"
"Melty is safe with Ren. What Silver said is true, the church and Malty are planning to kill her and put Malty on the throne, we're trying to protect her but you're making that really damn hard Motoyasu!" Naofumi commanded the attention of everyone present. "Don't you think it's a little weird how the church was so prepared to mobilize and hunt us down? Or maybe how they're more focused on catching us than they are finding Melty? Use your head Motoyasu."
It was a long shot, a really long longshot but if they could swing Motoyasu to their side, then the church and king would lose a huge portion of their firepower in an instant. Even with the power they held, losing a public icon like that would do wonders in ruining the image of the church. And in this era? Public opinion determined your lifelong success or an instant death at the hands of the masses. The French hadn't had such a varied line of Kings and Queens for no reason, after all.
Motoyasu's eyes shifted down and his brows furrowed a bit, much to the group's surprise. Were they actually going to be able to swing Motoyasu to their side?
"The Devil has a brainwashing shield! Don't listen to him, Motoyasu, or else you'll fall under his control too!" Malty erupted, bringing an end to any coherent braincells Motoyasu had.
"Are you serious?! No wonder his party listens to him and Ren followed his plan!" Motoyasu said with complete assurance.
Naofumi's group looked on in stunned silence. The Knights looked on in stunned silence. Hell, even Malty looked on in stunned silence. For just a moment they had all shared a single thought:
'What the hell is wrong with this idiot?'
"Nice try Naofumi, but your lies won't work on me!" Motoyasu confidently states, ignoring how literally just five seconds ago he was considering Naofumi's words. "Release them all from your control! Now!"
"Holy hell, you're an actual moron," Elina spoke in disbelief, "I was just insulting you earlier, but I didn't think it was this true." Her words elicited nods from the rest of Naofumi's party, including Naofumi himself.
"If he could brainwash people, wouldn't he be out of this situation by now?" Raphtalia tried to reason with the hero.
(AN: Remember kids, if you're ever having an argument with an idiot, don't try to convince them and just leave the conversation, it'll save your brain cells)
Motoyasu stayed silent, allowing Malty to raise her arm, creating an orb of fire in the palm of her hand. "All knights, take down the Shield Devil and his brainwashed crew!" She commanded as she threw her arm towards the group, the fireball speeding towards them.
Naofumi deflected the spell with his shield, sending the ball of flames careening in a random part of the opposite cliffside, the light from the explosion painting the group in a devilish fashion, freezing some of the knights in their place. Those that didn't tried to confront the five that stood before them.
"Get across the bridge, Wireframe will help you," Naofumi ordered, Wireframe springing from his figure and using its body to pull some of Elina's weight off the ground. The rest of the group took a defensive position, Naofumi summoning Airstrike Shield to block any projectiles while Silver took her filolial form and turned to steel. Motoyasu gaped as the little angel he had been ogling turned into a giant bird.
Elina didn't hesitate to charge across the arch, the rocky ground straining but holding thanks to Wireframe's efforts. The knights reached Naofumi's shield, pushing against it with all their combined might but the infallible skill held strong. Rifana was the next to cross, the ground holding as she made her way. Silver raised her wings to protect her face from the knight's swords and the weapons bounced harmlessly off her metallic body. Raphtalia slashed at the soldiers attacking Silver before darting across the increasingly unstable arch.
"Give them some covering fire!" Elina commanded her shorter allies. Her own magic spells weren't suited for long range cover, especially considering that her affinity is for earth. A single spell from her would collapse the arch in a second.
Rifana and Raphtalia nodded resolutely, focusing on their attacks.
"As a companion of the Shield Hero, I order thee, blind my enemies with a flash of the sun itself! Faust Light!" Raphtalia launched the orb of light that formed in her palm over the crowd of knights, drawing the eye of several unfortunate men as the orb exploded in a blinding light like a flare.
"As a companion of the Shield Hero, I order thee, shock my enemies with the force of lightning, Faust Volt!" Rifana shot off a bolt of electricity, arcing it into the closest knight she could. The volt shocked the man in metallic armor before arcing into another poor soul close to him, chaining through them all and sending half of them to the ground in pain.
"Oi! You two! Stop screwing around and cross already!" Elina shouted at the pair.
Silver turned to Naofumi and with his nod, she wasted no time crossing the arch. Naofumi went to follow but a fireball crashed into the rocky ground, crumbling the path to the other side in a brutal fashion. Naofumi turned to stare down the woman responsible, meeting eyes with the cruel princess. Her eyes held nothing but satisfaction at isolating her most dangerous enemy.
"Good going Myne! Everyone, swarm him now, he can't fight back," Motoyasu ordered the soldiers who looked at him with blank faces.
Naofumi sighed into his palm, dragging it down his face. It's like they kept forgetting about Wireframe, honestly how many times until they remember he has a spirit that he can use to ferry himself around? "Motoyasu, I doubt you'll even listen to a single word I say, but if you doubt any of the words my family has said, then you'll check the archives of the church. You'll find that they haven't been truthful in the slightest with you."
And with that, Naofumi gave a cheeky smile and a salute before hopping into the air, Wireframe catching him and ferrying the hero across the gap. Any arrows or magic they sent at him phased through him harmlessly, Naofumi shaking his head at the attempts. He landed on the other side of the valley, giving an appreciative nod to Wireframe who looked happy at the gesture before joining back with his user.
"How much time do you think that bought us?" Rifana asked.
"Maybe a couple hours, we need to move," Raphtalia answered.
The group listened to her words, disappearing into the forest, escaping the eyes of their enemy.
Motoyasu poked his fingers together as he awkwardly stood beside the fuming Malty, "Well… it was a good try at least, right Malty?"
Malty growled out curses before storming off in another direction.
The forest fire Malty had set in an attempt to smoke them out lasted through the night, but failed to achieve her goal. The Shield Hero's party had already escaped the assault of the crown princess and her supply of royal knights. The dawn of the sixth day came with its own realization, they were quickly running out of options to evade the enemy's forces. For the plan to be complete, they still had to last another four days (including the current day) without being caught or engaging in a fight with the knights or the church which they would undoubtedly lose due to the sheer number of warriors they had at their disposal.
That of course, begged the question:
"What do we do now, Daddy?" Silver asked her father as he scanned the map of Melromarc the village had provided him with.
Naofumi took his eyes from the map, shifting them to his bird daughter. He sighed, "We're really not too sure, Silver, you want to take a look and tell us what you think?" He chuckled at the vigorous nods he got from Silver when she was presented with the opportunity to help her father. Naofumi grabbed her around the waist and heaved her up in a pseudo hug.
"Right now, we're right here," Naofumi pointed at a point on the right of the map, "And we need to be ready to charge all the way here in a couple days," he drew a line to Castle Town. "What do you think?"
Silver nodded sagely with her eyes closed at his words, eliciting sweat drops from the other three women in the group. The sentiment was nice and it was a welcome distraction from their inability to make a plan themselves, but they really doubted Silver would be able to think of a plan that would outsmart the higher ups in the knights hunting them or Malty.
"What about this, Daddy?" Silver pointed at a small settlement near them named Lerno Village.
"We can't go to towns right now, Silver, there's too many people looking for us," Raphtalia explained softly as if she wasn't telling a child they couldn't be with other people because they were wanted criminals.
While the rest of the group kept suggesting ideas, all of which failed, Rifana had an itch in her head. Something that she couldn't quite remember but seemed important right now.
'What was it?' Rifana scratched her head in thought, 'Something about a plant? And a Le… leaf? No that's not it…' Rifana hummed as she itched her hands into her hair harder.
Elina, who saw the ridiculous display, deadpanned at the weasel girl, "What the hell are you doing Rifana?" She asked in a bland tone.
Rifana, with her eyes still closed and her hands in her hair, immediately responded, "I'm trying to remember that the people in the wave village were talking about how a giant plant monster completely overran and took over a town on the east of Melromarc named Lerno Village."
Raphtalia, Elina, and Naofumi blinked at the concentrating weasel. They looked at each other before sighing in exasperation. They've already taken so many risks so far, what's one more?
Naofumi Iwatani
Class: Shield Hero
Level 48
Legendary Shield,「Wireframe」
Bizarre Otherworldly Clothing
ATK: 59
DEF: 429
MATK: 50
MDEF: 333
DEX: 129
AGI: 185
Raphtalia
Class: Demi-Human Knight
Level 44
Magic Iron Sword
Swordswoman's Dress
ATK: 158
DEF: 98
MATK: 142
MDEF: 52
DEX: 99
AGI: 188
Rifana
Class: Demi-Human Rampager
Level 44
Steel Dagger「I've Been A Fool」
Short Furred Covering
ATK: 201
DEF: 93
MATK: 60
MDEF: 54
DEX: 200
AGI: 246
Elina Poli
Class: Human Thrasher
Level 44
Magic Iron War Axe
Plate Armor
ATK: 282
DEF: 116
MATK: 43
MDEF: 39
DEX: 90
AGI: 93
Silver
Class: Adult Filolial Guard
Level 44
Steel Wings
ATK: 168
DEF: 212
MATK: 170
MDEF: 257
DEX: 67
AGI: 164
Wireframe
Power:
D
Speed:
C
Range:
C
Durability:
E
Precision:
C
Development Potential:
A
I've Been A Fool
Power:
C
Speed:
E
Range:
C
Durability:
C
Precision:
A
Development Potential:
C
Notes:
A civil war?! For real?!
YUP! I've only seen this idea used maybe once or twice through all the stories I've read so I can say that it's mostly unique to this story, y'know, other than the stands and junk. Of course, that will make the rest of canon a little difficult to deal with, but that's a problem for future me to deal with.
This chapter was fun to write but awful to plan out, I kept trying to figure out where I could take the different scenes to make it not just meaningless dribble but I just couldn't figure it out. I eventually figured it out, and I have everything planned all the way through chapter 20 so that won't be an issue for a while, can't wait to write those! Next chapter will focus on what happened to the Bioplant monster since I avoided that in the past for the sake of unique content. Also some character development for some of the crew.
Finally, as I'm sure like... two or three have noticed, I took out the skill lists for the members of the party since it just made the stats section SO DAMN LONG. The skills the crew use will still be in line with what they've already shown so there won't be random skills popping out of left field and if they learn any new ones, I'll be sure to say so.
I also really hope I made someone laugh at the review joke I made with myself.
- RandomA99