Chapter 10 / Calm Before Storm
It was a long trip with a few delays because of some monster encounters, but Itsuki and the party didn't come across other enemies. Itsuki himself tried to get some sleep, but he couldn't get even a wink after the disaster that happened at Rabier's manor. He hoped that a proper bed might do the trick, presumingly one without slaves underneath the ground floor.
Kojeel had her eyes open most of their travels, being the only person that knew how to control the carriage. Itsuki could hear the tired tone from her voice, so anyone needed sleep the most, it was Kojeel.
They approached the guard that was standing before the gates, but they were stopped. Welst raised his eyebrow as the guard approached the carriage to the two in the front.
"What's going on here?" Welst asked, frowning.
"Entrance to Riyute requires a fee of thirty copper per person."
"We can easily afford that," Itsuki said, already taking out the money from his inventory. He jumped out from the carriage next to Welst and handed the money over to the guard. "Here you are."
"Hold on a minute." Itsuki looked over to Welst as he was giving the money over; the guard was equally as confused. "Oh, I don't mean that. I just don't ever remember there being an entrance fee for Riyute a while ago."
"It's somewhat new, imposed by our governor to help alleviate the lost revenue of our mining industry here. It was starting to become difficult to sustain ourselves through other means."
"Ah, the rumors were true."
"You've heard? That makes my job easier."
Once the fee was paid, the guard had the gates opened up for them as Welst continued making small talk in the meantime. "There must have been a reason why the income suddenly stopped like that."
The guard nodded. "The workers couldn't access the mines because dangerous monsters were starting to preoccupy it. Whatever decided to make their nest there, it scared away everyone that wasn;t hurt by it first."
"Did the governor not call for any adventurers to deal with it?"
"He has, but apparently, he didn't have the budget to spare for paying any adventurers. However, there was this pair of travelers that came by and they were able to deal with the monster. There are still a few of them left unaccounted for, but it's largely safe for the miner to return there.
The guard chuckled a bit, happy for his village. "The situation is getting better, and we owe it to those two travelers. We unfortunately do have to keep the entrance fee until we're back to a sustainable level, so thanks for complying. We've had a few troubles with unruly passerbys before."
Once they were in the village, Itsuki leered out the window to watch the people thrive underneath the afternoon's light. Every single time he saw a child run by, he couldn't help but to think about the corpse he and Welst found in the basement. He wondered how many more of those demi-human children had died under similar circumstances.
"Alright, we're here." Kojeel brought the carriage over to the inn's side and started walking over to the entrance. As if the bags underneath her eyes were enough, she finally made a big yawn. "After everything that happened, I'm afraid I'll need some rest now. Apologies, Sir Itsuki."
"You were the one that stayed up the entire time. If anything, I should be apologizing to you."
"I would advise against going outside of Riyute for now."
"Yeah, I understand."
"Then with that done, I will see you two later when I have my energy back."
Kojeel headed into the inn with Itsuki and Welst wishing her a good rest. There wasn't really anything to do that crossed Itsuki's mind, but this was a new town that he came across. His gamer senses were dragging him over to the shops, wherever those were.
"Have you been here before, Welst?"
"Of course," Welst said, puffing out his chest. "Where do you need to go?"
"Weapons shop, items shop. I need to see what this place has available."
"Alright, then we head to the item shop first. That one is closer to the inn."
He started to follow Welst through the village.
"That should be it," Welst said, pointing to nearby building. "You probably used up a good amount of potions during our escape. It should be a good time to restock." Welst kept walking forwards, as if he was as peaceful as the villagers around him, but it prompted Itsuki to stop where he stood.
The mage stopped by the window display once he noticed. "Something wrong?"
"I locked you in a prison cell, but you still came by to rescue me and help me out of that predicament. Why did you do that? Don't you hate me for screwing you over?"
"It's water under the bridge." Welst dismissed with such a flimsy shrug. "Though, I would say its result is a bit annoying. I've basically branded myself as an enemy of the Church, so I might have to head back to Zeltoble. It's fine, since I wasn't planning on sticking around Melromarc for much longer."
"Are you really just going to forgive and forget what I did?"
"No, I'm not going to forget it, but I am willing to forgive it. Your emotions got the better of you, that's all. You live and learn, Sir Itsuki. That's how adventurers go through their jobs."
Seeing how melodramatic Itsuki was taking the mood, Welst sighed heavily. In his opinion, there wasn't any need to take this so seriously because the Bow Hero hadn't been here for even a month yet. Not only was he still new to the job, he was still new to this world. From what it sounded like, Welst believed Itsuki's world was a far more peaceful one.
"You did what you thought was the right thing to do, so I won't hold a grudge over your head. Your justice simply didn't match up with their justice. That's all it is."
Itsuki sighed heavily. "You know, you come off as unreliable, but you really know what to say."
"Yeah, thanks, I try to—" Welst bit down on his lips. "That first part wasn't necessary."
Itsuki chuckled. "I'm glad to have you on my team, Welst."
Welst's expression twisted back into a smile. "Yeah, I'm glad to be here."
Just as their conservation ended, the chimes of the store rang.
Someone must have been coming out after buying or selling some things to the vendor inside and since Welst stepped to the side in their talk, Itsuki caught a full view of the departing person. At the same time, Welst also furrowed his eyebrows, seeing this person.
It was a girl and if Itsuki had to guess, she was about a bit younger than Ren. Her clothing was well-kept, but it was evidently suited for light combat. Both of her sheathed weapons of dagger and sword supported her role, but his eyes wandered to her physical features. Namely, her auburn hair had round ears popping out and there was a wagging tail behind her rear.
"A demi-human? Here in Riyute?"
Welst spoke up in confusion first, but Itsuki kept himself silent.
There was something oddly familiar about this girl, right down to her red eyes, but as he kept staring, the girl eventually took notice of them and looked right back with an equal amount of curiosity. Actually, it felt like the girl was specifically looking at Itsuki. Welst even caught attention of this, starting to look back and forth between the two sides before saying something about it.
"Hey, uhm, you two know each other or something?"
Itsuki shrugged. He didn't know any demi-humans personally.
Actually, that's a lie, but the only demi-human he knew by name was—
"Mister Itsuki!? Is that really you!?"
The moment she spoke, Itsuki realized. His eye unconsciously started twitching.
"Wait a second…" He leaned his head into his palm, trying to rub his eyes a little bit. His head must have been playing tricks on him. "There's no way, right?"
"I was a bit smaller last time, so you probably don't recognize me."
"A bit smaller? Then…?"
Before Itsuki could even think about what she meant by that, another voice came out from the general store and this time, Itsuki immediately recognized the person.
"Hey, Raphtalia? What's the hold-up here?" The man stepped out as the demi-human moved out of the way, letting them eye contact. Just like Itsuki, his eyes grew wide, coming across this chance encounter once again.
"Itsuki!?"
"N-Naofumi! You're here too!?"
"It's good to see you! It's been too long!"
Itsuki was almost immediately caught in Naofumi's arms.
"H-hey, it's only been a little while…"
It's been more than a week since they last met up with each other, but Naofumi seemed to have missed him. Though, Itsuki wasn't shy to admit the same thing. He couldn't even bother to hide his smile, seeing how well Naofumi looked to be doing for himself, but if he had to be honest, he was just glad to see a familiar face after going through so much trouble last night.
However, logic and reason was starting to catch up with him.
"Wait, if you're here, then that must mean…" He detached himself from his friend, gazing over to the girl. Naofumi looked over in tandem, nodding with a chuckle preemptively. "That's… Raphtalia?"
Raphtalia smiled.
"Yeah, that's me."
…
…
"Excuse me, but what the f—"
-/IV/-
After encountering Naofumi and Raphtalia, they all decided to grab something to eat. Itsuki and Welst didn't have much to eat on the way to Riyute while Naofumi and Raphtalia were already on their way to have a meal at a nearby restaurant. The owner was already acquainted with Naofumi apparently, even having their own preferred table be reserved for them around this time of the day.
They ordered their meals before returning back to the subject at hand, something Itsuki needed time to wrap his head around. When his last parting words to them had been "I want to be able to be confused as to who's fighting by your side," this was not what he had in mind.
"Let me get this straight." Itsuki held his hand onto his forehead, trying to make sense of it slowly after Raphtalia and Naofumi were explaining the phenomenon to him. "You're telling me that demi-humans… grow differently. With the amount of experience that they receive, they can mature far quicker than the normal rate."
"Is there something you don't understand?" Raphtalia tilted her head.
"The words, they… make enough sense, but it's just another experience in seeing it happen before my eyes. You were a little girl about a week ago, but now you're steadily growing up to my age!" Itsuki leaned against the table, sighing to himself. "Would you technically be considered an adult when you hit that point?"
"The change is more than a physical evolution, so I'm inclined to say so," Raphtalia answered. "It's better not to treat me like a child anymore, but there is a limit to how much I can grow."
"Yeah, that's based on the species of demi-human that they're from," Welst added on. "I'm not an expert on the subject matter though and that's pretty much the extent to how much I know about demi-humans. Probably some common knowledge in Zeltoble."
"This was still not what I expected…"
"I was really surprised when I noticed Raphtalia was growing," Naofumi laughed.
"It's night and day," Itsuki sighed. "You could never believe that Raphtalia was supposed to be your slave. You've really been taking good care of her."
"Of course," Naofumi nodded. "She's been helping me out so much. On the verge of giving up, she was there to help me get back on my feet. I probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for her."
"Y-you're exaggerating, Master Naofumi…!" Raphtalia was playfully hitting Naofumi, a bit flustered from his heartfelt words. "I didn't do much. It was all your efforts."
For some reason, Itsuki thought this back-and-forth would go on for a bit, but Welst abruptly stopped it before it could go anywhere with his shock.
"—wait, you're a slave?"
"Is there a problem with that?" she asked.
"There's no problem, but it's just that I assumed you were an adventurer!" Welst glanced over his shoulder, away from the table. "I didn't think otherwise!"
"All thanks to Master Naofumi's work."
"Oh, I just did what I would usually do."
"You say that, Master Naofumi, but you did so much for me. You made sure I was cleaned up, eating healthy, and even helped cure the illness I was suffering from back at the slave market. I even looked nice now, maybe even better than how I looked before I was a slave."
Itsuki could attest to that. Her hair was once filled with dirt and was unkempt. Her dry skin was once covered in bruises. She was so thin, being only skin and bones, and the gaze she gave to them originally was dimmed out, giving herself up to the terrible fate ahead of her.
In contrast, he could imagine that Raphtalia could be one of those popular students in a class, having a warm aura around her. Her hair, no longer kept back by impurity, was long and glowed its natural light, as well as her soft-looking skin that doubted the fact that she was fighting in the first place. Not to mention that she was probably indulging herself on her master's meals whenever he got the chance to cook, giving her more meat on her bones.
"Why are you guys in Riyute?" Naofumi asked. "Are you stopping by for the night?"
"Well, we—"
"Yeah, we were just stopping by."
Itsuki interrupted Welst before he could speak of the truth. A silent glance came from the mage, prompting him to keep his tongue still and his mouth closed.
Naofumi was already worrying about the whole assassination attempt made by the Church while he was with Ren; Itsuki didn't want to give another reason for Naofumi to lose sleep at night.
"We were just heading back from a guild request of ours. We have another party member, who's at the inn right now, who got tired during the ride since she was handling the carriage."
"It's not like the guild is waiting on our arrival by the minute," Welst answered. "As long as the request is already finished by the employer, we can take as long as we want to get back to the guild hall. They deal with hundreds of documentations for requests everyday, so they're not exactly anticipating a particular one."
"When you put it like that, it makes me feel like you guys should relax a bit more." Naofumi smiled. "You two do look a little rough. Come across a tough monster encounter on the way?"
"Something like that," Itsuki groaned. " I took enough potions to feel like I'm getting my strength back. Slightly tired, but not enough to keep me down. What about you? What are you doing in Riyute?"
"I think I already have an idea," Welst said, intervening. "It definitely has to do something about the whole mineshaft ordeal that they had, right? You're the two travelers that helped them."
"That entire thing was unintentional," Naofumi chuckled, feigning surrendering hands. "I didn't come to Riyute for that. I actually came here because it was one of the places that you and the others recommended to me, Itsuki."
"Oh, right. I guess we did tell you about the fact that your best bet to get a quick boost in power is using the ore equipment slot method. Far more dependable than hitting the percentages."
"Yeah," Naofumi nodded, "and I got a good stack of the varieties they have in their mineshaft."
"The people were grateful for us to take what Master Naofumi needed," Raphtalia added. "It came to a point where they were giving him far too much for what he was going to reasonably take."
"Even so, there are still monsters that are roaming the mineshafts. Nothing like the monster that we encountered when we first arrived there, but if any of the villagers are taken off their guard, they'll do some serious damage. It's the other reason why I decided to stay here for a while."
"It's not like you have anywhere else to go," Welst sighed. "Your name, along with your fame, is starting to spread across Melromarc, so it's probably better if you keep a temporary headquarters where people aren't going to persecute you."
"In the meantime, we've been helping in protecting the villagers while they're mining," Raphtalia said. "All until they can get back on their feet."
"I don't think we're in a real rush to return to the capital," Itsuki said," so why don't we come along with you two tomorrow?"
Naofumi nodded. "I don't see any problems with it. There aren't any strong monsters, so the experience gained is rather lackluster. Any quarrels about that, Raphtalia?"
"I think it's a great idea," Raphtalia nodded. "The more people we have, the better it would be."
"Way to go, making plans without letting Kojeel know," Welst sighed. "Oh, well. I guess there's no harm in heading out for a little while in the morning like that."
Their food finally came to their table, providing to each a different meal.
Itsuki hadn't been able to understand the menu as of yet, but Welst told him what he could expect here. He helped guide the Bow Hero to what he wanted and that resulted in an ordinary dish of mashed potatoes and meat with a side of vegetables. On the other side, Naofumi already knew what he wanted, ordering for both him and Raphtalia. She was distracted in helping Itsuki to understand the demi-human traits, so when she saw what was brought out, she merely stared at the meal.
She was unhappy with what was chosen for her.
"M-Master Naofumi!?" Raphtalia's face was bright red, standing up from embarrassment after the moment of realization passed her. "What's the meaning of this!?"
"Huh? Didn't you like that meal?" Naofumi genuinely had a dumbfounded expression. "It's all the same order and everything."
"I'm not a kid anymore! We went over this with Mister Itsuki!"
"Does it matter if it's meant for kids?" Naofumi asked. "You enjoyed it yesterday, right?"
"T-this is different!" Raphtalia glanced over to the other two guests whose presence caused her to be more aware of the meal than before. "Why can't I just get the same thing as you?"
"Huh? Seriously?" Itsuki glanced over to Naofumi's plate as her master spoke. Compared to Raphtalia's plate, it didn't exactly hold much value to it. "This is only the cheapest menu item, you know? It's only meant to alleviate costs where we can save."
"Then I'll do the same thing as you! I'll eat the cheapest meal to save costs too!"
"Don't be silly, Raphtalia. The kid's meal, other than what they call it, is perfect for you. It has the nutrition you need for a growing person and it does it in a way that doesn't sacrifice its delicious taste. You should probably skip out on the pudding if you're worried about weight."
Raphtalia's face grew brighter in red. "That's not the problem! And don't say that!"
As Naofumi and Raphtalia went between each other, Welst pulled Itsuki's ear closer to him, whispering in a quiet voice. "They certainly don't seem like a pair of master and slave."
"Yeah." Itsuki quietly replied with a heavy sigh. "If this is what type of relationship that had been formed from master and slave, maybe I wouldn't have too much of a problem if it, but as it stands, as long as terrible people exist out there, it's impossible to imagine such things. Naofumi is just naturally like that, after all. That's why I can't ever imagine him committing any crimes on purpose."
Welst glanced over to the Shield Hero and his slave, before taking the first bite into his meal.
"I can see for myself."
-/IV/-
Kojeel was asleep until the next morning and when Itsuki and Welst came knocking on her room's door, they were surprised to see her with a bedhead. She looked almost like a different person without her red bandana, but she was acting like the person they knew.
"Is there something you need?" Although she looked nothing like the part, basically still being in her pajamas, she straightened out as if forcing energy into her body.
"Are you still feeling tired?" Welst asked, raising his eyebrow.
"I am feeling very well refreshed now. I slept for more than what I expected, but there wasn't any harm done in taking a few extra hours to myself, I hope?" Kojeel glanced between the two guys, noticing no real change in the mood from yesterday.
"Man, even with an appearance like that, you're as composed as ever, aren't you?" Welst groaned, scratching the back of his head.
"Clothing has nothing to do with attitude," Kojeel reponsed, crossing her arms.
Itsuki chuckled before answering her question. "Anyways, we were just wondering if you would join us with a little mining expedition. Naofumi—erhm, the Shield Hero invited us to come along with him to help out the villagers and in the meanwhile, take some materials and ores for ourselves."
"The Shield Hero is present here? That's rather surprising."
After being caught up with what was happening, Kojeel thought for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. I'll be coming with you. Please give me a few minutes to sort myself out."
Kojeel honored her words and got dressed quickly. They had a quick breakfast together at the nearby restaurant before heading off to meet with Naofumi and Raphtalia.
The pair introduced themselves similarly to Kojeel. His party member returned the gesture respectfully. There wasn't much for them to talk about, so they immediately went off to the mineshaft where the villagers were already set up and waiting for their frontline to come to secure a safe path. It was an hour's walk, but the carriage Kojeel hijacked from the manor surely cut that time down by quite a bit.
It was Naofumi's first time riding a carriage, so he was amazed at the feeling.
Not after long, they arrived at minecraft.
They talked a bit with the person who ran the mining operation, having Naofumi introduce the others as friends who were willing to help, before they finally went in with a considerable group of miners and a few minecarts on the tracks.
"Hey, Naofumi? Do they know that you're the Shield Hero?"
Naofumi furrowed his eyebrows, looking downwards with a hand on his chin. "Now that you mentioned it, I… don't actually know. I never really brought it up before to them, so unless they could figure it out by looking at my shield, I don't think they know I'm a hero."
"I believe the villagers think that Master Naofumi and I are normal adventurers," Raphtalia added. "In that regard, I think we should the villagers know, so—"
"You were right to not bring it up," Kojeel replied. "It's best if you limit your identities, especially because of the fact that you're the Shield Hero. Although it doesn't appear that the rumors have reached Riyute yet, it's still best to keep your head down as much as possible."
After securing the way, the group was brought to one of the open spaces. The tracks were still being built down to this open space, so Welst and Kojeel decided to watch over their construction while the other three stayed with the main group. When everyone started to get to work, Naofumi handed Itsuki a pickaxe.
"Want to grab some ore for yourself?"
"Weren't we supposed to stay on watch?"
"There have been less monsters by the day coming to seek out prey lately."
"We've been doing our best to keep the monsters at bay, and I suppose they are starting to get the message. They're unable to get through Master Naofumi's defense, so it makes things easy for me to defeat them."
He glanced over to grab the pickaxe from Naofumi, only to notice that Raphtalia didn't have one. She noticed his stare and immediately assumed his thoughts.
"I tried to offer, but Master Naofumi wouldn't let me."
"Mining isn't exactly the easiest job. It's pretty hard and tiring and the only reason I'm managing to get through it is because of my [Pickaxe Shield]." Naofumi tried to fix her pout with a headpat. "And besides, keeping watch is important."
As Naofumi mentioned his shield, Itsuki glanced down to his own bow and pickaxe while checking around for people's eyes. They were too focused on the ores right now, so he freely allowed the pickaxe to be absorbed into the bow.
[Pickaxe Bow + 0] 0/20 - C
(Equip Skill) : Mining I
"Oh, wait, but if Itsuki is going to need to unlock that pickaxe weapon, I should have probably brought an extra—"
Naofumi turned back to see Itsuki having the [Pickaxe Bow] already out, leaving his friend with an exasperated expression drawn on his face.
"Couldn't you have said that earlier?"
"Sorry… I didn't think you would do it immediately."
"Maybe I'll ask one of the villagers if they could provide me with an extra one."
He ended up heading back out to the surface, which didn't take too long, to grab one as one of the villagers suggested. Once he returned, the railway tracks were nearly finished. Although it was done haphazardly, it certainly could get the job done and looked firm enough to hold the minecarts up to the surface. Kojeel and Welst were already waiting , keeping watch along with Raphtalia as Itsuki took out his pickaxe and went right next to Naofumi.
He got to work and popped out his first ore, absorbing it into the bow.
[Light Metal Bow + 0] 0/30 - C
(Equip Bonus) : Magic Attack 1
(Special Effect) : Magic Defense 1
"The ratings are pretty good on this."
"You should probably strengthen it if you can. I'm not sure about the bow, but for the shield version, I received a counter skill for putting in some energy points into the weapon."
"A counter skill? What does it do?"
"It doesn't do damage, but it's a skill called [Light Counter]," Naofumi explained. "When an opponent hits me as I use that skill, it'll emit a blinding light that will daze them. It affects everyone in the area, including allies, so I have to be careful about using it."
"So I might unlock something along those lines too, huh?" Itsuki was tempted to sit down to try and cram down as much prestiged energy as he could into the bow. Having a new skill under his belt was always good for versatility; he'll never know when he'll need to use something like that, especially when it comes with a secondary supporting effect.
"While I'm at it though, maybe I should return the favor."
Naofumi took a few materials out from his inventory; Itsuki had no idea how happy he was to see him doing it until he actually saw it in action, but that wasn't the point. In Naofumi's hand, there were pieces of a monster's flesh and… its head.
Itsuki knew this was a fantasy world, but seeing the kind Naofumi relaxingly pull out a severed head like it was nothing made for a… conflicting image in Itsuki's mind.
With a gulp, Itsuki took the materials and stuffed it into his bow for absorption. "That was actually the monster Raphtalia killed when we were first here. There were two heads, so I wanted you to take the other one. Think of it as a return on the materials you gave me."
"You didn't have to do that. It was just extra materials, after all."
"Then this is just extra materials as well," Naofumi amusingly replied.
It caused Itsuki to laugh before glancing at the new bow he unlocked.
[Two-Headed Black Dog Bow + 0] 0/30 - C
(Equip Bonus) : Attack 3, Defense 1
(Equip Bonus Skill) : [Alert Bow]
(Special Effect Skill) : [Dog Bite Arrow]
From the sounds of it, [Alert Bow] was useful in scanning the area for enemies. It acted like a radar that he could toggle which significantly made life easier for traveling around, intentionally crossing monsters or even avoiding it if needed. On the other hand, [Dog Bite Arrow] was described to be a ranged attack, as per usual, that sent out the dog's head to bite down on the opponent. It did some good damage, but the main thing Itsuki liked was the slowing effect added onto them.
Naofumi explained that his version of [Dog Bite Arrow] was called [Dog Bite Counter]. It was basically the same execution of [Light Counter], except for a blinding light, the enemy would be attacked by the dog heads on the shield. It did the same effects as [Dog Bite Arrow], that being the slow and its duration, but being the Shield Hero, its attack portion was heavily adjusted.
They returned to excavating the ores, mindlessly talking about random things.
"By the way, I have to ask. Have you ever seen Motoyasu?"
Itsuki's pickaxe froze as it landed against the cavern wall. He should have expected such a topic to come up eventually, but he was still woefully underprepared to face it.
"No," Itsuki answered coldly. "I didn't."
He was trying his best to hold back his anger for Motoyasu through his gritting teeth.
"Oh, that's a shame. I wanted to know how he was doing. I would have gone to see him myself, but I didn't really have the opportunity to do so."
"Last time I checked—" Itsuki lifted up his pickaxe and drove it back into the wall with silent and excessive force. "—he was doing well for himself. Especially after what happened with that trial's result."
"Wait, so you did see him?"
Itsuki bit his lips, letting one more mistake out of the bag. "Only during the same day as your trial. Other than that, I hadn't seen him ever since. Why are you asking?"
"I'm worried for him. After the trial, he didn't look like he was in the best of places, so a conversation with him is long overdue. I'm sure he's just confused right now and a conversation might be the one thing to help clear his mind."
"Why are you concerned with him?" Itsuki drew his pickaxe to his side. "He abandoned you at the trial for Myne. He didn't stand to do anything as you were being prosecuted by the king, even though he should have known that you were innocent. You shouldn't be concerned with him to begin with! All those years of being friends, thrown down the drain, all because Motoyasu was siding with someone he could sleep with!"
"I am concerned. Because I know our friendship hasn't gone down the drain."
A firm statement came out from Naofumi, but he was still mining away.
"I believe in him. I'm sure, somewhere deep in Motoyasu's heart, he still believes in me as well. It's not Motoyasu's fault that things ended up like this." His eyes, being quietly serious, leered over to Itsuki at its corners. "Shouldn't you be blaming the person who caused it in the first place?"
"Obviously! Myne's a dirty, lying bitch who needs to be dealt with. I shouldn't even need to address it, but I still can't believe what Motoyasu did!"
"I can. Because I know Motoyasu pretty well." The rhythm of Naofumi's mining felt like the only ambience in the air between them, despite the working conditions of the other villagers. "He wouldn't have hesitated if there wasn't anything that was making him hesitate. He probably believes in the both of us, but because Myne knows how to push his buttons, things ended up the way it did."
Naofumi lowered his pickaxe.
"That's why I'm worried for him. If Myne is staying by his side, who knows what she might do to him? You weren't there at the trial, but it was like Myne was blocking Motoyasu from thinking by himself. Anything that he could spill out, Myne immediately twisted his arm to make sure it wasn't easy for him to consider his options. All without him realizing it."
Naofumi sighed heavily, throwing out one more strike to the wall to release another ore. He bent down to pick it up before sending it to his inventory. Even though it was duller than the rest, there was still value in it for other uses.
"That's why I need to talk with him. He might not listen to me if I try to convince him that Myne's manipulating him, but I can stand my own ground as a friend that Motoyasu could believe in. It'll still put a wrench in whatever Myne's trying to pull off here."
Itsuki could only remain silent in Naofumi's mature outlook on the situation, compared to how childish his outburst was back at the castle. Apparently, Naofumi made it really easy to make Itsuki feel like he was a shitty person and a bad friend.
"Great. Now I'm getting worried about Motoyasu."
"At the very least, we know the next time when we'll be able to see him for certain."
"You're talking about the waves of destruction, right?"
"Yeah. I'm still not sure how it's going to play out, but at the very least, if we can be present during the wave where Motoyasu is at, we can come talk things out with him by ourselves. The problem might be that Myne would try to push herself into the situation—"
"—but as long as Ren is there, I don't think we'll have a problem with that."
Naofumi smirked, remembering the day Myne tried to introduce herself to Ren, only for him to coldly brush it off without any hesitation. If there was anyone who could keep her business out of theirs, even for a single conversation, it was going to be Ren and his unapproachable attitude.
"Exactly. So for now, I'm just biding my time. Getting stronger through the strengthening methods, and gaining whatever experience points that I could gather. And while I'm at it, help kickstart the economy for Riyute until they're back to a reasonable place where I could leave for another village. I haven't unlocked any new shields in a decent amount of time, so maybe I'll need to get that done."
Itsuki sighed, turning his attention back to the mining endeavors. Although it was unjust to keep things like this, Naofumi helped him to focus on who had been the real enemy here. In any case, it was about time that they straightened out Motoyasu.
"Oh, right. That aside, how's Ren doing?"
"Haven't gotten in contact with him in a while since the day of the trial, but I'm sure he's doing fine. It's Ren, after all," Itsuki chuckled. "He's probably overleveled compared to us and on the day of the wave, he's just going to blow all the monsters away with his power. I wouldn't be too worried about Ren; he knows how to watch his own back."
"Is that right? I'll trust you on that one then."
The sound of pickaxes chipping against the wall echoed through the cavern.
-/IV/-
Chains rattled through the dreary hallways. Flames from the torches flickered, as if frightened by the sudden noises that were echoing their way; only for that to be amplified by desperate shouting.
"Let me out already! Damn it!"
No matter how much he pulled and shouted, his struggles went ignored by the patrol who walked by to make sure that he hadn't made any progress in his fruitless endeavors. Not that they needed to see. Those chains were blocking his Status Magic. Even if he still had his undetachable sword with him, it wasn't going to do much until he had these chains off from his body. That being said, he needed to somehow grab the sword if he was going to plan to do anything else, but something like that was awfully difficult when both of his arms were chained up and his sword was kindly sheathed behind him.
" I didn't think that they would actually imprison me," he grumbled, taking a break from his attempts. "Handing me off to the castle knights under whatever circumstances the Church wanted to accuse me of…"
Ren wasn't told anything else.
When he woke up, this was the position he found himself in. He was being kept, to what he presumed to be a dungeon, without much explanation by any of the guards. He couldn't exactly fathom what might have been happening.
He assumed that there was a point in restraining him here instead of straight-up killing him before he could become a bigger problem to the Church, but he couldn't figure it out. Perhaps a few days have gone by since he snuck into the Church, but he was no closer in determining an hypothesis.
Despite that, he simply kept tugging. He needed to get out.
Ren couldn't keep track of how many times he tried this. It was the equivalent of bashing his head against a brick wall, but when his options were limited, there was nothing else he could do.
No progress. Even if there was, the guards always checked up on his chains while they're handing him his meals. It didn't sound like they did the same for the other prisoners, so it's not as if they were fully ignoring his desperate cries of damnation.
By the end of it, he was tired once again, being out of breath. He slumped over against the wall, slamming his head against the surface.
He suddenly remembered that the king said that the waves of destruction would come every month or so, but if that was the case, it should have been approaching pretty soon, right? If his friends arrived at the wave of destruction and couldn't find him, would they be able to figure out something was wrong? Would the Church act before that could happen?
He couldn't let that happen. No matter what, Ren needed a way out to warn his friends about the Church and specifically, about Myne. If only the book had mentioned anything about a fanatic organization of religion that would stand in their way, he would have been a bit more mindful.
"You would be best to conserve your strength."
A voice came from the cell next to him. He couldn't see the person that spoke up, but he could clearly hear that it belonged to a woman. "You've been trying to break yourself out ever since you got in here."
"Yeah, and?" Ren scoffed. "Want to lodge a noise complaint?"
"I simply wanted to tell you that you're not going to break out anytime soon through that method. Let it be even magic or skills, but if there was any access to one of those within our hands, I wouldn't be here either. It's best to simply stay quiet and conserve yourself."
A sigh came over from her cell. "And yes, I would like to lodge a noise complaint. Your shouting and struggles makes it difficult to sleep at night. You should figure out a better time to do such things."
"I'm sorry," Ren answered sarcastically. "My sense of time is a bit disjointed at the moment because I've been kept in here. There's nothing to help indicate the days and nights."
"It's the shifts of the knights." Her answer was quick, but soft. "You'll notice that there are less knights patrolling around during the night time, than the day time. Furthermore, if you can keep count of the passing guards, you'll be able to safely guess what time it is. They're based on a schedule, after all."
A pause came shortly between her thoughts. "Right now, it's probably approaching evening. In the span of thirty minutes to an hour, the guards should be arriving with our dinner."
"You sure know your stuff," Ren grunted. "Sounds like you've been in here for a while."
"Weeks go by painfully slow for me, so even though I'm able to tell the time, I don't have the capacity to figure out how long I've been in here for. Maybe… a few weeks at most?" Her words found it difficult to drag themselves forwards. "I expect myself to be staying here for much longer…"
"I don't have the luxury to be staying here for as long as you are." Just speaking to this defeated neighbor made Ren want to give it a few more tugs, despite being out of energy. "I got friends that are getting wrapped up in trouble! I can't give up here!"
"Your friends must be lucky to have someone like you, but I'll say it again. You should be conserving your strength. You're not breaking out by yourself anytime soon, so you should probably get yourself comfortable while you're at it."
Ren was left in a slump, basically letting the chains hold him and a yawn came over him. The moment that she mentioned that it was almost evening, his body must have tried kicking itself back into a normal sleeping pattern. He had been erratically awake for the time he was here, getting no real consistent sleep all throughout. It didn't bother him much; he was already used to a bad sleep schedule because of his playtime of Brave Star Online.
Eventually, Ren came to a half-hearted sigh, only finding the willpower and ability to clench his hand into a spiteful fist. The entire time, the imprisoned woman was quiet, letting Ren vent out his frustration through shouts and grunts again, before she spoke up once again.
"Had enough for the day?"
"Just shut up. I didn't ask you."
A silence came over the pair, leaving only an awkward space between them. That, and a brick wall, but Ren wasn't really counting that. As much as Ren was struggling, the woman had a few questions about him, especially after learning a bit more. The fact that he had been earnest trying ever since he was thrown in here and made himself heard from his cell.
"You said that your friends are getting wrapped up in some trouble? What were you arrested for?"
"What? Why would you want to know something like that?"
"I was merely curious."
"Can't keep your curiosity to yourself?"
"There's not much to do inside a prison cell, as you might imagine."
He supposed that his first impressions were a bit unfair to the woman. If Naofumi saw how he was acting, his friend would have been sorely disappointed. There was acting cold which his friend would let slide because it was expected, but then there was acting like an asshole and a jerk.
His muscles relaxed up against the chains, reluctantly exposing himself to his apparent crime.
"I was… in the middle of an investigation for my friend in order to clear his name from an unjust trial, only to be tricked by a party member of mine who was in on the act. I was arrested and thrown in here, but I think they have another reason for keeping me alive."
"Is that so?" The woman was responsive to his sudden self-opening to his story, even if it was brief. "The reason why you're in here is because you were helping your friend. That is noble."
Ren scoffed. "I feel like I keep getting myself into tough situations because I do things like this for them. It's so stupid…"
"That's simply a sign that you truly care for them."
Of course Ren cared for them; that didn't need to be mentioned to the person that knew it the most. They were his closest friends, after all. If he was told that he needed to fight an entire wave of destruction by himself if that protected his friends, without knowing how it would play out, he wouldn't hesitate to take up the offer as long as he had the strength to do it.
No, even if he had a small chance to escape with his life, he would still do it.
"And what about you? Why the hell are you here?"
"Me?" A pause came out from her, as if she was contemplating her words. "I'm just waiting for a trial that will never happen. That's all."
Whatever her reasons were, it left Ren in an awkward position without any way to expand on the topic. This was exactly why he hated speaking to strangers.
"I assume that you're an adventurer then?" she continued, thankfully.
"Yeah, but I have a name."
Ren groaned to himself, not knowing why he was talking more than he should have here. By all means, he wasn't intending to actually introduce himself, but since the boulder was already rolling down the hill, it's not like he could stop halfway through.
"It's Ren Amaki. If I don't have a face to talk to, the least I could get is your name."
"Of course."
The woman gave somewhat of an amused chuckle, but Ren could feel that it was lacking the energy of a normal one. It was like she was running out of hope, having her head start to be filled with despair, but perhaps in talking a bit with her, that wouldn't happen as quickly.
"My name is Eclair Seaetto. I suppose it's as much of a pleasure to meet you as it could be."
[SKIT 053 : Riyute II]
[Itsuki] : "If Riyute is a mining village, you would think that it would be closer to the mines."
[Welst] : "It didn't start as a mining village, from what I heard from the guild."
[Welst] : "It was actually your ordinary village, surviving off of farming."
[Kojeel] : "That would be correct. One day, Riyute suffered a bad crop season and they needed another method to pull in their income. They say that a passing adventurer was the one who brought to them the idea indirectly, as he returned from the nearby mountains with a bag of ores. This provided the villagers of Riyute with an idea to turn themselves into a mining village, since they were the closest settlement to that mountain. The people once laughed at the idea, but now, countless years later, Riyute is very dependent on it."
[Itsuki] : "The more you know."
[SKIT 054 : Heroes of Riyute]
[Welst] : "Saving Riyute is a good start to your hero career."
[Welst] : "You know, subtracting the fact that the Church probably wants you dead regardless of what you do."
[Raphtalia] : "The people of Riyute are certainly voicing themselves when it comes to praising Master Naofumi for his help."
[Naofumi] : "Not just me. They've been saying great things about you as well, Raphtalia. Don't be downplaying yourself like that."
[Raphtalia] : "If it weren't for your efforts, there would be no hero to save Riyute in the first place."
[Naofumi] : "I couldn't have done any of this without your help. You're just as important to saving Riyute as I was, if not more."
[Raphtalia] : "Please, you're exaggerating."
[Naofumi] : "No, I'm seriously. I should really find a way to personally thank you."
[Raphtalia] : "T-there's no need for that."
[Naofumi] : "I insist."
[Welst] : "..."
[Welst] : (They forgot I was here. I'll just... make my way out...)
[SKIT 055 : Further Questions on Demi-humans]
[Itsuki] : "I still have one more question about Raphtalia."
[Raphtalia] : "I'll answer as best as I can."
[Itsuki] : "Underneath that hair of yours, is there a second set of ears?"
[Welst] : "Sir Itsuki. You can't just ask a demi-human if they have a second set of ears."
[Welst] : "Where are your manners!? Have a bit more decency!"
[Itsuki] : "Wait, what? But it's a simple question!? Raphtalia should be answer me easily, right?"
[Raphtalia] : "... A... second set... of ears...?"
[Naofumi] : "Now, now. Itsuki didn't mean it when he asked that."
[Naofumi] : "He has no problem apologizing."
[Itsuki] : "You too, Naofumi!? Am I missing something here!?"
[SKIT 056 : Skirt-Chaser Warnings]
[Itsuki] : "..."
[Raphtalia] : "... U-uhm? Can I help you, Mister Itsuki?"
[Itsuki] : "Excuse me?"
[Raphtalia] : "You've been staring at me a lot. If there's something stuck in my hair, can you tell me already?"
[Itsuki] : "No, nothing's stuck in your hair. Sorry about that, I just still can't believe your transformation."
[Raphtalia] : "Oh, is that it?"
[Itsuki] : "... I guess you can say I'm actually more worried about your transformation."
[Itsuki] : "A certain friend of mine might act all overbearing towards you."
[Itsuki] : "If you ever do meet him, feel free to kick him if he makes you feel uncomfortable."
[Raphtalia] : "... O-okay?"
[SKIT 057 : Two-Headed Dog Memory]
[Naofumi] : "Raphtalia? I wanted to see how you were doing."
[Naofumi] : "You've been having less nightmares recently, if not then none at all."
[Raphtalia] : "Those nightmares came from when I was in the wave of destruction. Me, alongside my parents, were being chased by a three-headed dog that emerged from the wave and they sacrificed themselves to save me. Ever since then, I've been seeing those images in my nightmares of my parents dying, but now that I defeated that two-headed dog with you, I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.
[Raphtalia] : "No, it wasn't just that alone."
[Raphtalia] : "It was me, finding hope again in being by your side, Master Naofumi. I haven't had a nightmare ever since, coming to terms of what happened during that wave of destruction. Sometimes, I feel like are parents are still watching over me. Sometimes, I feel like I'm talking with a friend of mine in my dreams, someone that I've also lost. That's why I need to become stronger to take back what the world took from me. I don't want to be losing anyone else, so I'm not giving up."
[Naofumi] : "You're plenty strong already if you know what you want."
[Naofumi] : "I'll be right there to help you out."
[SKIT 058 : Unlucky Rolls II]
[Itsuki] : "How's your strengthening methods going?"
[Naofumi] : "Pretty good, all things considering. As I increase the ratings of my shields, I always feel stronger. Monsters that could do small amounts of damage to me can be shrugged off very easily now. In fact, if I had all this power during my fight with the two-headed dog monster, it might have gone far more smoothly."
[Itsuki] : "It's only going to get better, because our power is only going to grow from there."
[Naofumi] : "How about using those strengthening methods of yours and Motoyasu's?
[Itsuki] : "What about them? Just hit the success rate. It's easy. You should get success four times in a row from base without much trouble."
[Naofumi] : "For you, maybe? My enhancements have to be cursed! I keep failing them!"
[Naofumi] : "Give me your luck, Itsuki!"
[Itsuki] : "H-hey! Hands off!"
