Naofumi was much happier to be able to actually taste the food at the party this time. He had more than eaten his fill and was in what was supposed to be his lonely corner. Of course, he didn't mind having Raphtalia around as well as Ren and Wyndia.
Even if Ren's personality was a little more…excitable than remembered, he was nice to be around. Also the memes from Ren's futuristic world were…hard to understand, to say the least. Sometimes though, probably unfortunately, some of Ren's meme references and jokes were understandable…
"Hey Naofumi…" Ren held up his plate showing he had organized his food in a familiar pattern. "It's loss!"
Naofumi let out a deep sigh through his nose. "Just eat your food, Ren."
"We can take a break from the food! As good as it is! Have some fun, Naofumi!" Ren insisted.
"Says the one who can't drink," Wyndia teased Ren. She looked like she was in her twenties now, which made Ren look like her younger brother in comparison.
"You say that like you even drink!" Ren huffed in annoyance. He had gotten turned down at the bar, something that made him rather annoyed.
"Ren is right about having some fun though, Naofumi!" Raphtalia told Naofumi. "This opportunity might not come up again!"
Meanwhile Motoyasu had shown up late with Buddy.
Motoyasu glared over the party. He was just there for the reward for the Wave, and he was happy to get some free food too. He could still feel looks of distaste aimed at him, so of course he couldn't feel at ease.
"Excuse me, sir! No animals inside!" One of the knights said quickly as he ran over. He didn't say it to be mean, just doing his job.
Motoyasu blinked before turning to Buddy. "This isn't an animal! This is…um… My friend! A demihuman noble! His name is…Lord…Buddy?"
The knight raised an eyebrow curiously. "Just Lord Buddy?"
Motoyasu started wracking his brains. What more does he want from me!?
Buddy leaned in to whisper in Motoyasu's ear. "Nobles regularly use first, middle, and last name during an introduction."
"Oh, um…" Motoyasu cleared his throat. "Lord Buddy…Bear…" He then looked at Buddy's hat. "…Hats? Lord Buddy Bear Hats!"
The name was obviously fake, but Buddy seemed to actually like the full name.
"Yes, I am Lord Hats, visiting from Shieldfreeden! That's me!" Buddy said confidently.
The knight nodded before letting them pass. "Enjoy yourself!"
Motoyasu took in a deep breath. "Ok, make sure to eat them out of house and home, Bud."
"Master Motoyasu, even though I am quite big, I still need to watch my weight!" Buddy claimed. "Though I will help myself to the seafood…" He did a fancy twirl of his staff before walking off to get food.
Motoyasu then went to find his own lonely corner.
Naofumi watched over Motoyasu, still unnerved at how Motoyasu had ended up like him. He couldn't do anything about it currently though, as it was unlikely any words from the Shield Hero would be trusted. While he was unnerved about how Motoyasu had ended up, he was at least happy that he could enjoy this party without worrying about a duel.
At least until a glove was thrown at his and Ren's feet.
Itsuki glared at Ren and Naofumi. "I demand you two duel me."
Naofumi raised an eyebrow. "What a ridiculous turn of events…"
"Why in the world would you ask to duel us, Itsuki? We just fought in a Wave! We're all tired!" Ren said as he tried to ease the mood. Of course, he was probably the most tired. He was still recovering from his injuries, he had recently used Guillotine, and he was pretty sure he was starting to get whatever sickness Rifana had when he kissed her…
"Keeping slaves is wrong. Surely you both know that!" Itsuki snapped at he pointed his bow at Ren. "I will act out justice! You will release Wyndia and Raphtalia!"
"And what do we get if we win?" Naofumi asked.
"I will fight you both one at a time, and if you win, you get to keep your slaves," Itsuki offered.
Motoyasu suddenly came up. "That's not a fair trade. They get to make demands. Unless justice boy thinks he is entitled to better treatment than everyone else. How fair and just would that be?"
Itsuki gritted his teeth.
Malty moved to back up Itsuki. "Actually in the face of royalty, shouldn't the king decide?" She then turned to her father with a smirk.
The king nodded in agreement. "Shield Hero and Sword Hero, I order that you accept this duel!"
"Let's go, Ren. This isn't worth it," Naofumi took Raphtalia's hand to lead her along.
Wyndia nodded in agreement as she gestured for Ren to come along.
"It is a royal decree! You two will participate in this duel!" The king demanded angrily.
Ren stopped and turned to the king. "Then Itsuki won't accept my demands for if I win. You will. If I win, I get to choose a prisoner from the dungeon to add to my party."
Trash put on a stunned look. He had no idea why Ren would want some lowly prisoner. "Fine then. I will adhere to your demands."
"Then there you go." Ren turned to Itsuki. "I'll go first then. Don't chicken out."
"You won't impede justice, Ren. I'll crush you," Itsuki growled.
Knights came up to take Raphtalia and Wyndia, Wyndia looking like she would kill anyone who tried to touch her.
"It will be ok, Wyndia," Ren told her. "I'm not losing."
A proper crowd was gathered, and the king and pope were both present to observe the match. By all means it was official.
"An official waste of time…" Naofumi grumbled in annoyance as he watched Ren and Itsuki get ready to fight. He wasn't feeling as confident for Ren. While he knew levels weren't everything by a long shot, he knew Ren's current sword techniques and actual combat skills were based off of what was in a VRMMO, and without actual combat experience, Ren likely couldn't turn this around.
Ren compared his level to Itsuki's, feeling a lot less confident when he saw Itsuki was at level 45. "Great… Bloody great…"
"Quite the crowd, huh? A full crowd to watch justice be served." Itsuki switched to what was currently his best bow.
"Kick his ass, Ren! CRUSH HIM!" Wyndia demanded fiercely.
"Do your best, Itsuki!" Malty called to him. She really only wanted Naofumi's slave gone, but she had to go all the way and make Itsuki free Wyndia as well if her story was to be believed. She was sure Ren could survive without Wyndia anyway, so she didn't feel bad at all for what was about to go down.
Itsuki started firing arrows at Ren. "Let's see your speed I've heard so much about, Ren! Dance!"
Ren slashed down the arrows quickly. "Crimson Sword!" He unleashed a flurry of slashes at Itsuki the second he was close.
Itsuki rolled away and shot Ren's arm.
"Grah!" Ren growled in pain as his bone was fractured again. He didn't stop though, continuing to swing his sword.
"What are you a child? Are you just going to keep swinging that thing?" Itsuki asked.
"Air Strike Bash!" Ren thrust his sword forward, unleashing a blast of air right into Itsuki's gut. "I may not be the best swordsman…but I can see when a cocky bitch is open." He then rushed at Itsuki again.
Itsuki coughed to regain his breath, catching it just in time to try to shoot Ren again.
Ren sliced the arrow in half. "Too slow!"
Itsuki dodged one of Ren's slashes. "Your normal swings are too predictable!"
Ren then suddenly used his empty hand to grab Itsuki's face. "I still have my stats! Sword or no sword!" He then slammed Itsuki into the ground before running to drag him across the dirt.
Itsuki struggled against Ren's grip. He hadn't expected Ren to fight with his other hand. He then aimed his bow up and shot Ren on the side. "Shooting Star Arrow!"
Ren released Itsuki, stumbling back and grabbing his side as he felt his ribs cracking again. "You're a lucky piece of shit." He was still winning though, an upset no one had expected.
Itsuki got back on his feet. "I guess I'll finish you with that luck then-"
Ren suddenly just punched Itsuki in the face to knock him over before pounding his face back into the dirt. "Ooh… Too slow!" His speed stat was just too much for Itsuki to be ready to contend with, and since Itsuki was focused on Ren's sword, Ren could make easy attacks with his empty fist.
Malty couldn't let things be as they were though. She unleashed her wind magic at Ren and knocked him away from Itsuki.
Ren hit the ground hard and looked up, his vision already blurry from the pain he was in. "You stupid bitch…" He pushed himself up, his body shaking as it was being pushed to its limit. "ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE SUFFER!?" He was at his end with her already. He knew she tried to get Naofumi falsely accused, and he also knew she had pretty much ruined Motoyasu's life. He wanted to make her hurt as much as she made others hurt, and he even turned to focus his next attack on her.
Itsuki then shot Ren over with an arrow before he could make an attempt at anything. "Victory is mine."
"Ren!" Wyndia called out to him immediately, but she was quickly pulled back by knights.
"No surprise, but the Bow Hero is victorious!" The king let everyone cheer for Itsuki's victory. "Now to undo this awful seal!"
Wyndia was gagged and dragged over, but she made sure to bite the hands of everyone who tried to gag her.
"Get…away from her!" Ren started pushing himself back up again. He didn't care about Wyndia's slave seal. He never had. He just wanted to make sure no one hurt her. "GET AWAY!"
Wyndia continued to struggle, but the process was quick. She winced as her armor was opened just enough to expose her slave seal and the slave seal was forcibly removed.
"You're all too hasty." Naofumi jumped down from where he had been sitting. He then pointed at Malty. "She cheated! She used magic! Surely you all saw it!"
"Nonsense! The Shield Hero is making lies!" Malty said quickly.
It didn't matter how many people saw it, the king would make sure everyone stayed silent. No one commented because of it.
"No, Naofumi tells the truth." Motoyasu came down as well. "As much as I hate all of you, that was an awful display."
"I was simply too strong for him! That was all that happened!" Itsuki said arrogantly.
"No one was speaking to you, insolent child." Motoyasu seemed to get scarier, his armor having a noticeable intimidation bonus built into it. "Ren won this match simply out of Itsuki's side not adhering to the rules of engagement." He then pointed at Wyndia. "Let her go."
Itsuki was intimidated into a stunned silence, his words catching in his mouth.
Wyndia was finally let go, and she ran over to Ren. "Ren! Are you ok?"
Ren chuckled as he gave her a bright smile. "I am now. For a while, I was worried that curse was all that made us friends, but I trusted you wouldn't leave me still. I'm happy you stayed."
Wyndia rolled her eyes and helped Ren up. "Get up, dumbass. You need to go back to Clyde."
"Do I gotta? He's gonna open me up again…"
"Better than you healing up crooked." Wyndia started leading him along.
"What are you doing!? You're free! Get out of here, filthy demihuman!" Malty started throwing a fit in her frustration.
Ren turned to her. "I won because you made Itsuki forfeit. Consider that." He then looked up at the king. "As my prize for victory, I demand the release of the prisoner by the name of Eclair Seaetto."
Naofumi felt a smirk come to his face as a look of shock appeared on Trash's stupid face.
"There is no proof of foul play by wind magic!" The king said quickly.
Buddy suddenly jumped down to land next to Motoyasu. "Objection! No one said wind magic other than you! Why did you specify if there was no foul play seen?"
The king started to sputter as he came up with an explanation. "Because wind magic is hard to see, so of course foul play would be done with wind magic if there was any."
People in the crowd started nodding to agree with the king.
"Hold it!" Buddy slammed his paws down on the nearest structure. "Dark and light magic can also be invisible, but you only mentioned wind magic! Did you think we wouldn't notice!?"
The king was back to thinking his hardest. He was annoyed that a bear of all things was arguing with him. "It was just the first type of invisible magic to come from the top of my head is all-"
"There is also a clear trail the wind magic made from where adventurer Myne was standing to where Sir Ren was standing!" Buddy pointed at the obvious evidence. "TAKE THAT!"
The king was silent before eventually nodding, finally giving in.
Itsuki glared at Ren and Wyndia as they left, still thinking he had beaten Ren fair and square somehow.
Naofumi put on a twisted grin. "Am I next, Itsuki?"
Itsuki was in no condition to fight Naofumi after the pounding Ren had dished out, so he quickly came up with an excuse. "No. Clearly your slaves are around you two by their own choice. It would be unjust to separate you." He then turned to leave.
"Right answer," Naofumi said as he went to get Raphtalia.
Motoyasu huffed in annoyance. "Not even a thank you. I hate these heroes."
Buddy pat Motoyasu on the shoulder. "I thought you were pretty cool though."
"Says the guy who pulled a Phoenix Wright reference…"
"A what?"
The pope looked down at the heroes when he was alone in the spectator box, keeping his creepy smile on his face. "So the Sword Hero assists the Shield Demon, the Spear Hero is a twisted abuser, and the Bow Hero has caused nothing but trouble with each quest he does. I guess they really are all fake heroes," he said to himself under his breath. He turned to where one of his Shadows waited for orders. "Show the world how evil the Shield Demon is."
The Shadow nodded before leaving.
The next day, the heroes were gathering to get their rewards.
Wyndia was making sure to keep an eye on Ren, helping him around when there were stairs. She had to be very careful with him, considering he had to be operated on twice in such a short amount of time.
"Wyndia… Clyde gave me a whole thing for holding me together during casual activities. I'm sure stairs are fine," Ren assured her.
"No! If you break again, you're going to keep us from grinding for longer!" Wyndia told him. "We need to be ready for the next Wave! Clyde told you that you only need to make it two days before the healing medicine has you back to top shape! Two days! Surely you can wait that long!"
"But I'm going to fall behiiind…" Ren grumbled in annoyance.
Wyndia hadn't gotten her slave seal put back on. She offered to do it for Ren, but he turned her down saying he trusted her.
The two were better at an equal standing anyway.
Naofumi had a slight smile as he watched them. "That's cute. If only I had a romance like that." He was allowed to dream again, considering how well things had been going.
Raphtalia pouted as Naofumi still remained oblivious to her.
Itsuki and Motoyasu were the last ones in with their parties.
"I must say, this castle does have some fine architecture! The buttressing outside is truly a sight to behold!" Buddy said as he followed Motoyasu.
"Heh. Butt," Ren replied in a joking tone.
Buddy narrowed his eyes at Ren. "…Master Motoyasu, I now understand why you have told me to ignore the other heroes."
"Then ignore them instead of telling me you are." Motoyasu went straight to the throne room, wanting his reward and to get out.
"H-hey! I didn't mean anything bad by it!" Ren called after them.
Wyndia rolled her eyes playfully. "We don't have all day, Ren."
The four heroes eventually stood in front of the king.
"I will now be distributing rewards for the heroes," the king told them as he sent out men to hand them their money.
Can't wait to see how weighted this is… Naofumi was already thinking of how he would get by with a low amount of money.
"For participation in the Wave and for handling a personal request, Itsuki will be rewarded with 4,000 silver."
"Thank you." Itsuki bowed his head in thanks.
"The Shield will get 3,800 silver for his work in the Wave."
Naofumi blinked in surprise as he was handed the large sum of money. He hadn't expected to get proper payment like this, and he checked the bag to make sure it was really there. He wasn't a criminal here, so there was yet to be an excuse to treat him like a criminal yet.
"Ren will receive 3,000 silver. The cost of removing his slave's crest has been deducted from his payment."
Ren took the bag. "At least we made some real cash. Finally…"
"Objection!" Buddy suddenly butted in.
The king felt his eye twitch, becoming very annoyed of this bear. "What is it?"
"Slave crest removal is 500 silver at the current rate! Not 800!" Buddy pointed at the king. "You're swindling Sir Ren because you're angered by his victory!"
"Hold it!" One of the king's staff said quickly. "The extra 300 was for the bail of Eclair Seaetto!"
"Objection!" Buddy butted back in. "The bail was a reward for Sir Ren's victory! No money should be deducted! This is in duel law!"
"Duel law is not a thing!"
"Hold it!" Buddy pulled a book on the laws of official duels out of his hat. "I have it right here! TAKE THAT!"
Naofumi gave Motoyasu a look. "Is this going to be a common occurrence?"
"Buddy found a book on law recently…" Motoyasu explained awkwardly. "Not sure he fully understands it yet…"
At the end of it all though, Ren had gotten 300 silver added to his payment.
"Thanks," Ren said awkwardly.
"You're jolly welcome, good sir!" Buddy replied.
King Trash was just happy things were back on track. "And as a criminal, Motoyasu will only receive 500 silver."
The room went silent as everyone looked at Buddy.
Buddy was flipping through his book. He stopped and looked at Motoyasu. "Pardon me, master Motoyasu… It appears that it isn't even required for you to be paid at all, so just be happy we got something..."
"Stupid, fucking law." Motoyasu swiped his silver. "Thanks for looking though, Bud." He rubbed Buddy's back before going to leave. "Later. I'm not wasting my time here." He had an objective he wanted to take care of. He wanted to find that golem that had saved him during the Wave.
Naofumi went to the slave trader right after in order to get Filo's egg. How did he know which egg in the lotto was Filo's? Consider it a father's intuition. He still remembered the magic and recipes from the books that were supposed to be given to him at this point, so he left it to Motoyasu to reap the rewards of saving Riyute Village instead and just buy Raphtalia her own magic book later. He had another priority for the moment. He had much more money than expected, so he wanted to upgrade Raphtalia's equipment.
Raphtalia smiled at him. "You seem so happy, Naofumi."
"Am I normally not happy?" Naofumi asked. He had been doing his best to be slightly more pleasant this time around, but he wasn't sure it would last.
For now though, there had been some speedbumps, but things were still going great.
Raphtalia looked up at the darkening sky. "There will be rain soon."
Naofumi knew Raphtalia could detect weather changes much better than he could, so he decided to take her word on it. "How about we stop by the weapon shop then just stay in the inn until the rain passes?"
"That sounds like a plan." Raphtalia twitched her ears and looked into the shadows. "I smell blood."
Naofumi looked around slowly. "Why though?" He hadn't expected to suddenly end up on a murder scene if it happened.
Raphtalia slowly shifted her gaze to the weapon shop. "Oh. Someone probably just forgot to get a blood-clean coating on their sword and just brought it in now.
Naofumi felt his heart stop for a moment. He knew everything had been going well so far and that nothing bad had happened to him yet. He cared about very few people, so it would be easy to choose someone to target if they wanted to get at him. With that in mind, he ran into the weapon shop. "Hello-!?"
There was no answer, and the air was cold.
"No…" Naofumi went deeper in, looking around as he went.
"Naofumi…" Raphtalia followed him, her tail twitching from how tense she was.
Naofumi eventually stopped when he saw Old Guy, one of his only friends in his last time here, dead on the floor in the back room. He had thought things were going so well. He had thought that things would be better this time, but now things had gotten worse. He went over to the corpse and dropped down on his knees next to it, tears starting to fall from his eyes as his pants were soaked in blood.
Raphtalia stared in shock when she also saw the corpse of the smith she had known since the day she met Naofumi. "How…did this happen?"
Naofumi started gritting his teeth, his sadness fading and being replaced with anger. "I'll find them. I'll kill them." He pounded his fists on the ground. "I'LL FIND YOU! WHOEVER YOU ARE, I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"
Raphtalia started crying as well, unable to form anymore words.
The crack of thunder came from outside, just in time for a familiar notification to pop up in Naofumi's status.
Curse Series Unlocked!
Shield of Rage Unlocked!
Equip Bonus: Change Shield (Attack), Iron Maiden (Skill)
Special Equip Effect: Self curse burning, strength up
Combo: Shield Prison - Change Shield (Attack) - Iron Maiden
Knights suddenly ran in, the commander of them immediately seeing Naofumi.
"Well I'll be damned… The Shield Hero really did murder… I never thought that report would be correct," the commander muttered before putting on a grin. "Shield Hero, you're under arrest for murder of Erhard the smith. You will be coming with us."
They killed a man…to frame me? They couldn't frame me for rape, so they framed me for murder instead!? I'LL KILL THEM! Naofumi slowly turned his head to them as he got up. He thought about burning them all away right here and right now. He could certainly switch to his Rage Shield and do it, but he needed to make sure he found the right person…just to make sure they die slowly and painfully. "…I won't resist."
Second Curse Series weapon has been unlocked as of page 122 of this story. I think that's good enough progress. Now I'm going to be depressed in my own corner now.
As of next chapter...Naofumi has been blamed for killing one of Motoyasu's only friends. They were bound to clash eventually, and it is now time.
