Chapter 2 / Four Cardinal Heroes


Later that night, the banquet occurred.

The friends spent time having fun with the party. They were seated in the dining room with a long table. To the side, there were an assortment of chefs ready to deliver whatever meals that happened to catch their attention. Given that the friends didn't know what type of cuisine to expect from this world, they were treated to the chef's recommendation, meaning the best dishes that they could make.

It was… certainly exotic.

Although the meals looked similar enough to food that they recognized, the taste itself was clashing with what they expected. For example, the omelet they served didn't taste like an omelet, but instead, it was more like oranges. It hadn't been bad, but the friends knew that they would have to get used to the palette of this world, such that they wouldn't be thrown off by the odd combinations that wouldn't normally be made back in their world.

If Itsuki was asked though, he would have definitely preferred if Naofumi was allowed in the kitchen, regardless of what type of ingredients might have been available or limited to him.

They were guided back to their room by another attendant of the castle, but they had the unfortunate demerit of carrying around Motoyasu. Since the alcohol they were offering had been free, Motoyasu took advantage of that and drank to his heart's content. Although Naofumi put a limit on him, trying to ensure that his friend wouldn't wake up with a hangover, it still wasn't enough to keep him conscious after the drinks crashed down on him.

Naofumi tucked him into his bed as Ren and Itsuki were starting to unwind for the night.

"So tomorrow's the day," Naofumi sighed. "Tomorrow, we're going to go our separate ways."

"Don't get all melancholy on us," Ren grunted. "It's not like this is going to be the last time we see each other, right? Don't make this any bigger than it needs to be." Instead of leading himself to the bed, Ren merely sat himself down on the couch.

"You're not heading to sleep yet?"

"No, not yet. I still want to cover a few things in my tutorial menu before I go to sleep. The moment we wake up, I want to make efficient use of my time."

"That's Ren for you," Itsuki chuckled, sliding into his bed. "He's always trying to go for the best. It was like that in BSO and the time he spent in Emerald Online, so it wouldn't be any different here."

"Wait, are you guys… treating this like a game?"

Naofumi's question was rather random for Itsuki. Considering the setup of the Status Magic, he would have already been taking that for granted. Ren responded first.

"Is there a reason to not treat this like a game? Isn't Status Magic the basis for the world?"

"Status Magic might be what runs in this world, but that doesn't mean we can treat our actions like this is some sort of game. We're saving people, aren't we? It feels wrong that the heroes that they summoned aren't taking any of it seriously."

"Ren takes his games very seriously, just so you know. It's probably better for him to treat it like a game, rather than real life!"

"Shut up. No one prompted you to say anything," Ren grumbled.

"I do understand what you're trying to get at," Itsuki continued, ignoring Ren. He glanced down to the bow on his lap. "We have the chance to become heroes of justice. There's no way that I'll be taking any of this lightly."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cast doubt onto you guys." Naofumi scratched his head. "You probably know far more about what you're doing than I could possibly grasp, game or not!"

He reached out to the nearby lamp, the remaining source of light in the room. "I'm getting pretty tired from today, so I'll be turning everything off. Are you guys good with that?"

"Sure." "Go ahead."

"Alright then. Good night, you two. Have good dreams."

Both of the friends responded likewise. As Naofumi quickly fell asleep, Itsuki rolled over into his pillow, trying to sink inside of its comfort. However, it was all in a failed attempt as time passed and his eyes were still open. Was he so excited for tomorrow that he couldn't sleep?

He rose back up in the middle of the night, barely being able to see his friends' figures in the shadows. Motoyasu was snoring with his body sprawled across the bed, Naofumi was sleeping peacefully without moving much from where he started, while Ren didn't even bother to sleep on a bed. His friend was still on the couch, but his eyes were closed. Everyone was resting except for him, but he guessed that it was because there was too much energy inside of him.

"Maybe I'll go for a walk," he whispered to himself.

Being careful not to wake any of his friends up, Itsuki left the room.

The castle hallways were as dark as he expected them to be. He held a hand against the back of his neck while whistling a tune as he made his way through. There was no particular destination or objective, but he was making sure that he would remember the way he came from, just so he'll be able to return back to his room easily.

"It sure is pretty eerie though…" Itsuki wasn't necessarily scared of ghosts, but the surroundings made it seem like anything could jump out at any moment. "I'm sure nothing would happen though—"

"What is it that you are trying to do?"

Itsuki jumped at the voice. It didn't sound like it was anywhere near him, but his body reacted and hid around a corner. His heart pounded childishly, and just as he thought he wasn't going to be scared, he had to be proven wrong. He wasn't even sure if he was supposed to be wandering the castle at night, now that he thought about it, so it might have been a good idea to make his way back to his room.

He looked around the corner to see where that voice had been coming from.

"I simply wanted to confirm if there's anything else that you need." There had been that person's voice again. Itsuki was rudely trespassing on someone's conversation, but he decided to wait it out for them to leave first. "The Church will take appropriate measures in order for this to be as successful as it could be, but I do not believe that this would be the best way to do things."

He peered around the corner to catch a small glimpse of them. One woman was covered in robes which reminded him of a nun's attire. The other one wore an elegant dress like a noble would casually have, but her beautiful red hair was quite the outstanding feature. It made Itsuki wonder who they might have been, considering they too were wandering the hallways at night.

"Are you doubting my abilities?" the red-haired woman scoffed.

"No, Princess. I am merely—"

Princess…? There was a princess here…?

Itsuki's memory immediately flashed to The Record of the Four Holy Weapons. If everything else was lining up, Itsuki's choice to stay quiet might have been the right one. He tried to get closer to the conversation, making sure that there wasn't anything detrimental coming to him or his friends.

"You don't need to worry much about it. Don't you know that I'm the eldest daughter of the Wise Sage King? Planning comes naturally for me."

"My apologies, Princess."

"Anyways, I already have everything lined up. I've taken care of the documents my father was supposed to be looking at, replacing them with the ones I asked from you. That will at least clear off the stage for anyone that is unneeded and give us people that we can play around."

"And the others? Will there not be others that will look to accompany the—"

"They've already been taken care of." The princess cut her off, knowing exactly what the concern was. "And if there are to be more, they will be taken care of. If the Church gives me their resources, I'll be certain to put them to good use. Between tomorrow and the next day, I won't let a single soul pass right by to him. I'll naturally have him wrapped around my fingers before he could realize it."

Something devious emerged from that sweet voice. Itsuki wasn't sure what the hell he was hearing, but he clearly didn't have any surrounding context on it. For all he could know, this didn't have anything to do with them. They're vague enough for them to understand each other, but enough that Itsuki couldn't understand the bigger picture as well.

"I'll still have to make a few confirmations, here and there. Considering what type of information we've already gathered, the plan might change a little, so come see me tomorrow and we'll put the final parts into motion. The main issue I'm hearing about…"

The red-haired princess paused. He thought that there might have been something to support his theory, but nothing was concrete when she continued.

"It's those others, but I'll find my way around it. I always get what I want, after all."

"The others? What do you mean by that?"

"Let us say that things may not go as smoothly as expected, but we can still play with this outcome. Leave all of that to me and tell your Pope that there won't be anything to worry about."

"Of course, Princess."

"So is that all you need? If so, you're dismissed."

"Yes, Princess. By the grace of the Three Heroes, I wish you a pleasant night."

Grace of the… Three Heroes…? Itsuki raised his eyebrow as the two figures departed from one another. He wondered what all of that had been about, but there was something suspicious going on behind their backs, Itsuki wanted to figure it out. While there wasn't any evidence supporting the idea that the princess was going to be the problem between the Cardinal Heroes, Itsuki wasn't ruling it out yet.

Justice, after all, must be done in secret.

If he was going to be following through with those ideals, he had to do whatever is required of him. If that meant he had to follow the princess for a bit, then follow the princess he shall do. He crept up down the hallways, trying to find out where the princess had gone, only for him to immediately fail by not paying attention as to where she went.

"... Guess I'll continue on my walk."

At this point, he was already willing to return to his room, but when he tried to follow the princess, he ended up disregarding everything else, including his position relative to where his room had been. He swore under his breath, but standing around wasn't going to do anything. As disgruntled as he was, Itsuki dragged his feet through the hallways.

It wasn't long until he came across a garden, bathing in the moonlight. Although his directional guesses were wrong, this wasn't a bad participation reward to receive. As a kind distraction, Itsuki entered the garden in mesmerization.

A brick road made a path to see all of the different flowers that had been planted here. Their scents all jumped up to him, invoking an aromatic grace as it felt like he was being pulled deeper into the garden's arms. A foot after another, he found himself stopping before a fountain of water, shooting out for a refreshing trinkle against the skin.

And there before it, a bench had been waiting. There were a few of them that he walked past on his way to the center, but this one in particular stood out despite being the same design as the others. He slowly sat himself against the wood, leaning back as his eyes rolled up to the dark skies above.

The stars were starting to twirl above, ever so gently.

How much time did he spend, looking up into the skies, remembering the old days where he used to stargaze? Nowadays, he had little need for the little hobby, but it was relaxing to come back to it, every now and again.

"So this is where you wandered off to." A familiar voice reached out for him.

Itsuki glanced over to its direction. "Oh, Ren. It's just you."

"A bit late to be star-gazing, isn't it?"

"I just happened to come here by accident."

"You wouldn't have been wandering over here if you slept soundly. Something keeping you up?"

"It's nothing too important," Itsuki chuckled. Ren read him like a book, just like always. "I just couldn't get comfortable enough to doze off like everyone else could."

His friend walked up to the bench and invited himself to sit right next to him. Ren propped up his leg, crossing it over the other as he silently looked up to the skies with Itsuki.

"Did I accidentally wake you up? I know you're a light sleeper."

"The door creaks louder than you might expect. Also, Motoyasu snores too loudly in a deep sleep, so it isn't exactly your fault."

"Shouldn't you have at least crawled into your bed if you were still awake?"

"Nah. It wouldn't have changed a thing."

"It would have made it so Naofumi wouldn't have a reason to be concerned for your health."

"He's not my mother. He can't tell me what I can and can't do."

Even though Ren said that, Itsuki would have no doubt that if Naofumi expressed his worries, Ren would concede. His friend wouldn't be entirely truthful when he spoke, unlike Naofumi or Motoyasu who held their emotions on their sleeves whenever they were in a conversation. At least, in their perspective. For Itsuki, he could figure it out without a problem.

"It's been a while since we went stargazing, right?"

"Yeah. Not since we moved in with Naofumi and Motoyasu."

Itsuki had only known those two for however long he had been living alongside them. It was a random online ad that they posted which allowed Itsuki to come by to become their roommates. He didn't want to pay so much every month, so this was the next best thing to do.

However, Ren came along with him in moving into the new apartment area.

Ren had been his childhood friend. More so, he came into his life when Itsuki really needed some emotional support on his side from the world that felt like it was against him. Having an ally, even if it was just a single one, felt invaluable when he was at his lowest.

"And now, we're here," Ren declared. "We're in another world, assigned to save it."

"I'm scared that if I go to sleep, I might actually wake back up in our world."

"Are you asking me to pinch you like I did for Motoyasu?"

"N-no, thanks. I'll definitely pass on that."

A longing sigh escaped from Itsuki.

"If not, then you better get used to this world. This is our reality now," Ren smirked. "Are you getting nervous?

"Obviously. I don't want to mess this chance up. We can become heroes that save innocent people from the evil of this world. Wherever the concept of justice exists, there will always be people that cross the line, getting away without pain or punishment to their name."

Itsuki clenched his fist.

"I've finally been given potential strength to be the one to smite their wrongdoings."

"Don't forget what we're actually here to do," Ren scoffed. "We're here to defeat the waves of destruction, so don't slack on your power or else you won't be able to carry your weight in those battles. It's not as if power comes naturally, so I suppose that either way…"

"I know, I know. I'm excited, that's all. Hard not to be." Itsuki timidly chuckled. "Out of everyone, you should know why this is such a big deal for me."

"It's because I understand that I feel like I have to remind you about it. Otherwise, you might be helping out too many people from the shadows, bringing justice to evildoers under the veil of a mysterious hero. One that takes no rewards in the eyes of the public."

"... Do you really think I'd be doing something like that?"

"It's not off the table," Ren chuckled. "One thing might lead to another and before you realize it, you might develop a little justice tingle as your sixth sense. Something that has to be satisfied every so often or else you go into withdrawal."

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" Itsuki sweated.

Ren smirked and winked at his friend. "What gave that idea away?"

"I guess it's true that I might need to hide my identity. If the news spread that the Bow Hero was hunting down people of corrupted morals, they'd certainly be more wary of my movements. A part of justice is defeating evil without announcing it, beating them in secret and letting the news spread in a natural flow." Itsuki looked at Ren with a grin. "Isn't that the cool way of doing things?"

Ren stammered, turning his head away to hide his broken guard. "T-that was a phase, alright!?"

"Hey, I thought your little chunni dramatics were really cool. I never understood why you suddenly stopped doing them."

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Ren covered his ears to make sure of it. "LALALA!"

"You were like a real hero back then, you know?"

"And I thought I made you promise that you wouldn't talk about it! We don't need to bring it back up! Ugh, I'd kill myself if Naofumi or Motoyasu ever learned about that!" Ren's face became flustered with red as he pouted over Itsuki's direction. "It's embarrassing to even think about it! Drop it right now!"

"It's fine right now though? No one's around to hear about it," Itsuki innocently smiled. "How about we play one out like old times? To get into the mood of it."

"Itsuki, we're in highschool already!" Ren groaned, facepalming at the same time. "How could you think it's cool!? I'm the one who acted like that and all I can remember is pure cringe when I get flashbacks!."

"Doesn't change the fact that I still think it's cool and given our circumstances, I'm sure it wouldn't be out-of-place, right? In a world of fantasy, there's bound to be people like that."

Ren held his tongue before quickly looking around. There weren't any people around to see it and with such a hopeful gaze being casted down to him, the only answer he was left with was reluctance. He sighed rather heavily before standing up and stepping a few paces from the bench. Itsuki already knew he caught his friend in a favorable position and he immediately followed.

"Just this one time. After that, don't even think about bringing it up again!"

"You can't deny that you like to do this sort of thing isn't fun to let loose once in a while!"

"Ugh, shut up already! Let's get this over with."

When they were middle school, they would always have a unique way of playing with each other. It was a type of make-believe where Itsuki could truly imagine himself being a hero, playing out in real life even if the surroundings weren't as suspected. That was a strength of a child's imagination, but sometimes, people regret how far they would take that imagination. Some children would even make it a part of their everyday life and frankly, Itsuki had the pleasure of watching Ren do that for about a year.

He kept saying that he hated that phase in his life, but Itsuki knew that it wasn't all in regret.

As Ren cleared his throat, seemingly a little anxious, all of that pretense was unfound the moment he began his dialogue as naturally as it could come. No matter how much Ren wanted to deny it, something like this came by naturally to him, even if he wanted to deny it.

It was that instinct that Itsuki thought had been fun.

"What's this? I can feel the power surging through me." He drew his blade with a twirl and ran his finger lightly on his edge. "Is this what fate has in store for us? Is this what the gods above have decreed? If so, surely we must accept this energy and use it to our fullest potential."

"A blade capable of splitting mountains and a bow that could pierce the skies?" Standing back-to-back to his friend, Itsuki made a whimsical laughter as he strummed the string of his weapon. "Truly fitting for people like us, those chosen by the heavens to cast judgment upon the wicked! They chose their heroes appropriately and for that, we must give them what they are expecting from us."

"Don't think for a moment that we would be tethered to them, my friend. As long as our bodies move and our minds remain intact, we're the ones in control of our own destiny." Ren lowered his blade and raised his hand to his face, barely letting his eyes slip through the gaps between his fingers. "Anyone could be an enemy, anyone could be corrupted by darkness."

"Well said, my dearest friend. We shall let strength hold our heads high and justice run through our veins, guiding ourselves to the greatness that we deserve. No more, shall the evil slip by the cracks. No more, shall the villains be free to wander these lands!"

"Let them all know that the heroes have been chosen and have awakened from their slumber. Let them face all destruction to those that they have influenced under their banner! We give no quarter, brandishing our might against any and all odds! Crossing paths! Shattering illusions! Allow this reality to crumble underneath the weight of your sins brought down by heaven's indignation!"

"Who exactly are we!?"

"Listen to this carefully, for you will have a single chance to hear us out!"

Both of them turned to each other and threw their fists at the other's, forming a cross connecting at their wrist. In that direction, they glared over to an imaginary opponent.

"I am Itsuki Kawasumi! Chosen to be the wielder of this legendary bow, my arrows will hunt you down to the ends of the world from the heavens above! A spirit of justice, an ally of the innocent! A condemner of sin, an enemy of evil!"

"I am Ren Amaki! Chosen to be the wielder of this legendary blade , my sword will strike down with unrelenting force and bury you into the fiery pits of hell! A will of vigor, a champion of power! A misfortune to fight, a crushing strength to face!"

"You can't escape from your fate!"

"Your demise is what awaits!"

""Together, we are unstoppable!""

""Together, we are the Cardinal Heroes!""

After knocking their fist for a bump, they both took dramatic poses with their weapons. Reasonably, none of them would do something as stupid as that in the middle of a fight, but that was the fun of it to Itsuki. He couldn't help himself in breaking character by laughing, seeing how comfortable Ren was in acting out these little confined delusions with him.

Ren groaned, sheathed back his sword while Itsuki put back his bow.

"Are you happy now? I'm too busy cringing on the inside to know."

"Especially so, since you're still as good as you were before! When do you think we're going to be able to do that for real?"

"When hell freezes over, I'll consider it," Ren immediately dismissed. "I was already mentally dying, doing it in front of nobody. This isn't some fighting game where you can open up a battle with a cool introduction. That's just asking for us to get our ass beaten."

"Being summoned to another world is such a golden opportunity to do that! You can't just pass it up whenever we get the chance!"

"Don't talk like I'm the one that wants to do this!" Ren buried his face into his palm, burning up. "Forget it! I'm heading back to sleep! It was a mistake to find you here!"

Despite how he was acting, somewhere inside Ren had been a part that enjoyed letting loose. Out of anyone in the world, Itsuki was proud to say that he knew Ren Amaki the best; the reverse could be easily said the same.

"You can sleep in the gardens for all I care!"

"Wait!" Itsuki laughed, chasing after Ren. "Don't leave me behind!"

Ren still smirked underneath the moonlight's grace as he ran off. Itsuki closely followed him, trying to keep up as best as he could without being left in the dust.

Tomorrow is the day he'll be separated from Ren, Motoyasu, and Naofumi, so before he could even think about being a hero of justice, he needed to be mentally prepared to go his separate ways with his friends.

-/VI/-

Dawn arrived.

Everyone woke up accordingly. They washed themselves up and they were given a good breakfast by the castle. No one felt rushed by the anticipation, as the king gave them time to themselves in the morning. They spent their last few moments together talking about the most mundane things with a varied range. The friends couldn't contain their excitement throughout the entire morning though, but once the sun was raised up into the skies, an attendant called them to come to the throne room.

They came in, as they did yesterday, as the king welcomed them once again. There was a group of twelve strangers off to the side. From how they were dressed, it was easy to guess that they were adventurers.

"As I promised to the heroes," the king announced, casting a gaze over to the twelve strangers, "I have called for others to come and help you during your journey to save our world. I was fortunate to have such luck on a short notice, having these strong people heed my calls for help."

Motoyasu glanced at the adventurers. "So if we each receive three party members from the king, that would work rather equally for everyone here."

"Now then, please select your hero to accompany."

"Whelp, never mind."

Naofumi frowned the moment that the king said that to the adventurers. He was under the assumption that the king would distribute the adventurers preemptively, to ensure that everyone got a proper party to work with. There wasn't a point in forcing somebody to work alongside a hero they didn't want to be with, but there could have been a method to ensure fairness.

Ren had five people clumped around him, all of assorted variety. Itsuki had three people with him, the evenly-distributed amount that should have been given to everyone. Motoyasu, on the other hand, had four people, all of which Naofumi noticed to be females.

There was still one more person that has yet to receive any help.

That's right; Naofumi, as a shielder, received no party members. He looked at his friends, not knowing if he was missing something or not, but the unapproved expressions were spilling out from them rather easily. Especially considering the conversation they had with each other yesterday, Naofumi tried to figure out the problem before anyone else could step in.

"U-uhm! Your Majesty?" Naofumi raised his hand up. "I, uh, don't appear to have any party members. Isn't this somewhat unfair?"

The king groaned, being unnerved, perhaps even annoyed, by the small protest. "My apologies," he said, leaning back in his throne, "but I did not anticipate anything like this to occur. I believe it has to do something about the rumors that were recently circulating around the castle."

"Rumors? About what?"

A minister spoke on behalf of the king. "It was said that the Shield Hero was not knowledgeable about our world and the confidence of the adventurers here must have plummeted when concerning the Shield Hero. The legends do say that the Cardinal Heroes would be summoned with knowledge of our lands already, so if these rumors are to be true, that would cause quite the loss of morale."

Behind, it looked as if the king was enjoying seeing this scene unfold. "It is quite unfortunate, but I cannot force anyone to go against their wishes."

Motoyasu poked his elbow at Naofumi. "I think there were people listening in to our conversation yesterday. They must have thought that our explanations to you were a sign of weakness."

"Seriously? Can't they at least take pity on me?"

"As a hero," Motoyasu wryly chuckled, "I'm not sure if pity is what you want…"

Ren and Itsuki, on the other hand, stepped forwards. The king was slightly startled by their tensed moods and displeased expressions. There was no way Naofumi could hold them back anymore, forcing him to give in and brace for impact.

"Don't you think you should have taken more precaution in dealing with this mess?"

"I don't agree with the method in how the adventurers were split up. We can wait a day if you need to do this properly, but this isn't something you should have taken lightly like this."

"U-ugh…?" Tongue-tied by the unexpected cavalry, the king stammered for another way of the pair's pressure. "I-it is not as if we weren't prepared for an outcome like this. We won't be simply supplying the heroes with experienced party members, but we were going to provide some money to help in your endeavors. Since the Shield Hero received no allies, we will compensate by—"

"Giving him more money? That's not enough," Ren replied coldly. "The Shield Hero cannot attack and even if he can, it's reduced to a miniscule amount. Party members are critically essential for him, more so than whatever money you throw at him to compensate."

"And don't tell me that he can just hire some for himself," Itsuki growled. "Not only does this scene stir up some injustice with those rumors, but if those rumors happen to spread further outwards, who is to say that the Shield Hero will have any luck hiring any loyal party members that won't just abandon him at first signs of trouble?"

"Being hired through the crown certainly seems like the safest bet to guarantee good help, but it looks like my assumption was wrong," Ren scoffed, crossing his arms. His eyes leered over to the presented adventurers. "Are the ones that you gave to us even worth their troubles?"

The king looked to be very cross with the abrupt confrontation as murmurs started stirring concerning the two heroes. The king's fingers impatiently tapped against the throne's armrest, being as displeased as Ren and Itsuki.

"I've already agreed that the adventurers may choose whoever they wish to party up with. It's not my position to force them to change," the king grunted. "Furthermore, we should not delay your start of your journey, simply because of some trivial matter."

"This isn't trivial," Itsuki said firmly. "It's just common sense."

"That does not change the fact that I cannot do anything to change the situation, other than bestowing a higher allowance to the Shield Hero. If it has to do with monetary business, we can do that on the spot, but regarding the trouble of launching another search for appropriate adventurers…"

"In other words, we have to make do with the people that are here?"

Ren turned his head around, almost snarling to the people that were behind him.

"I have a preference to fight by myself. That means if you can't keep up, I'm going to leave you in the dust. Whatever happens to you, that's not my responsibility. I'm sure the Shield Hero would give you some leniency, but not me. If you can't handle something like that, it's best that you leave now."

Despite Ren's threats, no one moved a muscle. In fact, some of them seemed to be more determined that their decision to pick the Sword Hero was the correct one. In other words, it likely backfired in Ren's face, causing him to groan.

"S-Sorry, Naofumi," he quietly whispered. "I tried…"

"I'm not too bothered by it. No need to worry."

"The king does have a bit of a point," Itsuki mulled. "It does ruin our image if we deny the help that they're offering and besides, for my group, I only got the three we should have gotten."

"I'm telling you guys. I appreciate the support, but I'll figure something out."

"It doesn't hurt to try," Motoyasu said. With a gentle smile towards the ladies of his new party, his natural charms shifted into gear. "I'm honestly flattered that all you girls want to accompany me on this journey, but my companion, the Shield Hero, really does need some help. I can promise that you'll be in good hands, despite what the rumors may say. He's a good person, through and through."

The girls swooned more over Motoyasu than before, even some of the ones that weren't in his party. Motoyasu wasn't intending to act like that. If anything, that might have just been his best attempt.

The odds were certainly stacked against him. If Naofumi were to be in their position, it would make sense that they would want to stick with the hero that would give them a better shot at saving the world. Being a hero's companion was already seemingly dangerous enough, so why risk it even more?

However—

"Excuse me, Sir? I'd like to volunteer to serve with the Shield Hero if that pleases you." A woman from Motoyasu's party raised her hand. Naofumi's hopes pulled his gaze over to see that it was a beautiful red-haired lady. His heart skipped a beat when he got a focused look on her.

Both Ren and Itsuki widened their eyes in surprise.

"I've got to say, I did not see that one coming."

"Yeah," Itsuki nodded, "tell me about it."

Motoyasu was beyond content that someone offered to help his friend out. He walked over to the woman and held her hands in excitement. "Is that right? Oh, thank goodness! I really owe you a favor now! If you need anything from me one day, don't hesitate to ask!"

He winked towards her, rather whimsically at that.

"Maybe I'll even take you out on a date, free of charge?"

"A date with the Spear Hero?" She smiled back. "I'll certainly have to consider it."

Both Ren and Itsuki narrowed their eyes in exasperation.

"I've got to say, I definitely saw that one coming from a mile away."

"Yeah…" Itsuki reluctantly nodded. "Tell me about it…"

Naofumi simply laughed at their reactions, but as he glanced back at the king to say that everything worked out by itself, he noticed something off. It was like the king was taken by surprise by this very act, but he was constantly good at holding his tongue and brushing it off with a mask. That judgment was shifted over when the red-haired woman walked over to him, giving me a gorgeous smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Shield Hero. My name is Myne Sophia."

"Likewise. My name is Naofumi Iwatani."

She hadn't been shy at all, as if she always spoke her mind without reservations. It made Naofumi feel at peace, knowing that he would be accompanied by a lovely adventurer. With one person at his side, he could feasibly get somewhere now off the first day.

The king cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. "Is there anyone else that would like to make a switch to another party before I dismiss everyone here?"

As silence came over the throne room, the king made a sigh of relief. He must have been tired dealing with the interruptions constantly here.

Once everything had been secured, he had some attendants provide each hero with a large pouch. All of it contained a sum of money, to which the king kept his word in providing Naofumi with a bonus to compensate for his lack of party members. While everyone else got five hundred silver coins, Naofumi had almost double that at eight hundred.

"The next time that we meet," the king continued, "I do hope it is to celebrate the defeat of your first experienced wave of destruction. Good luck to all the heroes and their new companions. Go forth and grow stronger to save our world!"

With the end of his speech, they were guided out from the throne room and led to the world outside of the castle. They went over a drawbridge, crossing the moat, before they were left alone by the knights.

"So this is it, huh?" Motoyasu crossed his arms, looking over at his friends. They were a bit ahead of their parties at the moment, so this little talk was kept between them. "I almost don't want to leave this place. I thought we could have made such a great team if it weren't for that stupid rule."

"The next time we meet, we might get a chance to test out that theory," Ren smirked. "If we're there to fight the waves of destruction, surely we would have to be fighting in close proximity to each other anyways, so why shouldn't we take that opportunity?"

"Oh, you're right! That completely went over my head!"

"As these types of things do…" Ren murmured to the side.

"That doesn't change the fact that I'll be missing you guys." Naofumi sighed. "I wouldn't know what I would do if any of us ever got hurt."

"Don't sell us short," Itsuki grinned. "Just as you're worrying for us, everyone else will worry for each other. You're not alone in those feelings, but I think that we're going to get through this whole adventure."

His expression grew a bit dimmer as he seemingly gazed over to the adventurers.

"Just watch your back, alright?"

"Watch my back? Oh, right. " It should have been an obvious precaution when dealing with monsters to always be vigilant. Since this was a fantasy world, Naofumi thought it was what Itsuki was trying to warn him about. "Of course. I'll watch my back. Don't you guys worry!."

"That goes without saying," Ren scoffed.

"Then how about a promise?" Motoyasu suggested. "We'll meet up at the site of the next wave of destruction, all safe and sound. We'll fight the waves and then head to that celebration the king mentioned! How does that work for everyone?"

Everyone else glanced at each other and nodded unanimously.

"See you soon, guys."

"Take care."

Although it was inevitable, Naofumi felt like he was losing a part of him as he walked away from his friends. Still though, Myne took a risk in coming along with him from her perspective, so he needed to treat her with the respect she deserved. Whatever happens from here on out, happens.

"Shall we get going, Myne?"

"Of course, Mister Shield Hero."

-/VI/-

Motoyasu left after Naofumi did, but Itsuki couldn't stop gazing over to the direction that Naofumi went in. He didn't know if Naofumi got his message properly, especially considering that he didn't want a certain somebody to overhear it if he was more clear on his vagueness.

After all, that appearance and that voice of the girl…

"You, telling Naofumi to watch his back?"

Itsuki was surprised that Ren hadn't walked off yet. If he had to be honest, he would have assumed that his personality would have made him go off to fight monsters already. Every second he stayed, he was wasting more time which meant that Ren thought this was important enough to address.

"That's not something you would usually say at a parting, would it? Do you know something that's going to happen?"

"I'm… not exactly sure, but it's just a bad feeling I have. About that woman that went with Naofumi. I have my doubts, but in the chance that I've been mistaken, I don't want Naofumi to question his only companion. He looked happy to have her join him."

"If you're right, on whatever basis you have, wouldn't you have a reason to interfere for the sake of justice? For the sake of saving Naofumi from that potential landmine?"

"I… I don't know," Itsuki sighed, shaking his head.

Itsuki held a hand to his chest.

For him to have a chance to execute justice for the first time in this world, it was supposed to be amazing. And yet, he didn't want it to be played out like this. Naofumi was genuinely happy to have somebody tag along to his party, so who was he to take that away from him from a mere conjecture?

He simply needed to be one hundred percent sure if he was going to accuse Naofumi's new party member of his suspicions.

"Could I ask you a favor? You have a good habit of losing other people on purpose, so you can just do that to your new party members."

"Could you not phrase it like that? What does that even have to do with your favor?"

"Well, I… I overheard something last night while I was walking to the gardens."


[SKIT 005 : Anthropophobia]

[Ren] : "... Uh, when the king said that there would be a banquet, you don't think it... might be a large party, right?"
[Motoyasu] : "A party! Damn, I hope it is!"
[Ren] : "S-speak for yourself! If it is, I'm completely avoiding it!"
[Naofumi] : "Come on, Ren. No one is going to bite. We'll be there with you if there are going to be other people."
[Itsuki] : "Yeah, there's no need to be scared or anything!"
[Ren] : "W-who's scared!? N-not me!"
[Motoyasu] : "Does Ren have anthropophobia? I thought he just didn't like talking to strangers."
[Itsuki] : "Presumingly, if there are going to be other people at the banquet, all their attention is going to be on us. We would probably be approached and I'm guessing Ren wants to avoid any confrontations if he doesn't have the flexibility to shrug them off with his cold shoulder."
[Motoyasu] : "Ah, so you strip away his cold shoulder and he's left as a defenseless puppy! That's kinda cute!"
[Ren] : "S-shut up, Motoyasu! You too, Itsuki!"

[SKIT 006 : Banquet Food]

[Itsuki] : "For such strange combinations of taste, it's... actually not too bad."
[Ren] : "I prefer Naofumi's cooking above all else."
[Motoyasu] : "Naofumi's cooking is certainly king."
[Itsuki] : "No, not king. That's too low. Perhaps God is more fitting."
[Naofumi] : "Aww, you guys are making me embarrassed here..."
[Naofumi] : "Even so, I don't think it's right to start comparing cooks when they're offering all this food to us for free. How about we simply enjoy the food we have?"
[Itsuki] / [Ren] / [Motoyasu] : "Alright, Mom."
[Naofumi] : "S-stop that! You're making me more embarrassed!"

[SKIT 007 : Toast to the Future]

[Motoyasu] : "Here, here! How about we drink to our new future as the Cardinal Heroes!?"
[Motoyasu] : "We may have a long road ahead of us, but although we won't be together all the time, that won't stop us from having each other in our thoughts and it certainly won't stop us from pushing onwards to beat the wave of destruction!"
[Ren] : "I'm actually more worried that the next time we meet, Motoyasu will be tangled up in a girl's troubles."
[Motoyasu] : "H-hey, hold on a minute here..."
[Naofumi] : "You could at least put some confidence into Motoyasu."
[Itsuki] : "Yeah, he would at least be entangled in three girls' business."
[Motoyasu] : "That's right, I would—Hey, you wait up a second here too!"

[SKIT 008 : Stargazers]

[Itsuki] : "I don't recognize any of the familiar constellations that we know of."
[Ren] : "That's probably obvious. We're in a different world, so the star arrangements in the sky should be far different."
[Itsuki] : "Feel a bit like a shame. Spent all that time learning the different constellations, only for them to not be applicable here."
[Ren] : "Something tells me it's not typical that these things happen."
[Itsuki] : "No matter. I'll just try and learn about more constellations whenever I have the time."
[Ren] : "Bold to assume this world has the concept of astronomy, stargazing and constellations."
[Itsuki] : "... Ah."
[Ren] : "You've only just realized that?"

[SKIT 009 : King's Attitude II]

[Ren] : "That old man really rubs me the wrong way."
[Itsuki] : "He should have the final say in the organization of the party members! Why did he ever think what happened was a good idea!?"
[Naofumi] : "I understand his intention, but I don't think it resulted in the way that he wanted it to be."
[Ren] : "If it didn't result in such a way, he could have done something about it. There had to be someone outside of those twelve adventurers in the city that was willing to help you out and go through the checklist of the requirements."
[Itsuki] : "If I didn't know any better, I'd say the king is discriminating against Naofumi."
[Naofumi] : "G-guys..."
[Motoyasu] : "Maybe we should leave them alone. If they weren't listening to us last time, I don't think they'll listen this time."
[Naofumi] : "I don't want them to do something crazy like wage war against the king."
[Motoyasu] : "Good joke! That's pretty funny!"
[Naofumi] : "... Joke?"
[Motoyasu] : "... Wait, do you really think they would do that?"