Walking outside the castle and then outside the gate, he met no resistance, only eyes from people that stared at him in fear and panic. Not even the castle gate's guardsmen said anything to him, letting them pass unopposed. If this was the quality of soldiers in Melromarc, then this nation truly was doomed. He had no idea how things would have went down in case some idiot got summoned as the bow hero rather than him. Some brave -moronic ones attempted to block their path to steal their belongings , but he simply walked past them and they weren't so confident anymore once their plan of intimidating the duo failed, abandoning the idea of attacking them altogether, not that it would have done them any good.
Naofumi couldn't help but hear the whispers run wild among the common populace as they walked down the streets. He ground his teeth , holding a back a curse. While Ben just let out a sigh in response.
"I see, they had already spread the word about your so called crime long before you started your journey. Rumors aren't this quick to spread about something that happened very much recently in this place. Not that it would have mattered in the grand scheme of things. You were bound to have a hard time in this place anyways." He spoke out as a matter of fact.
"What do you mean by that?" Naofumi blinked in confusion, unable to understand what the Bi-Omnitrix bearer was really talking about.
Ben wore a darker expression than he originally did upon summoning that magical wind serpent thingy. Naofumi felt his heart pick up imagining what his one and only friend might have to say concerning the whole situation they were in.
"Apparently, most people of this nation already had a bias against you. The whole state religion is dedicated to despise you and encourage all three heroes to treat the shield hero with utmost hostility."
Yeah, that sounded about right. Though at this point he would have believed Ben even if he told him something much more ridiculous, but kept listening as Ben explained the history between Melromarc, demi humans , him being contacted by the queen and the Church which had its claws deep in the country's affairs.
It had immediately slipped his mind upon Malty joining his party but he could feel that people were overly dismissive of him. However, he initially chalked it up to his poorly balanced shielder class and his lack of knowledge overall in terms of using RPG mechanics. He hadn't realized when Aultcray referred to him as shield demon, he was literally denouncing him as Satan of his faith. It was one thing to be looked down on for being useless or due to everyone believing that he was guilty of a crime that he had been falsely accused of. But to have his name dragged through the mud just because those people inherently disliked him for filling the very role they summoned him into...!
"I get it now...but all of that...Dammit! Motoyasu and that woman should have to live like this too."
Not even hesitating for once before stepping over him, just to make themselves look better. Mocking and humiliating him because he was already the weakest hero, forcibly summoned into the wrong country! What scum! He would never forgive them! Never ever! Those people who orchestrated his downfall, the people who were responsible for his sufferings, were the true demons.
Not him.
Naofumi bowed his head as he took all the information in, mulling it over longer than Ben thought was necessary
"That's...certainly weird. I am still one of the heroes summoned to fight for the world. Why would they make it so hard for me?"
Ben scratched his cheek with his two fingers, "You see, in the past, the shield hero aligned with the demi humans and fought against Melromarc. That's why a lot of people here hold contempt for the shield hero. From what I gather there is a lot of bad blood between Melromarc and demi human empire called Siltvelt. That's why Siltvelt follows a religion called Church of Shield hero, which revers you, the shield hero and depicts all the humans, including the three heroes as evil."
It all made sense to him. Merchants, traders, errand boys, soldiers, adventures , woman and children, perhaps even beggars, as far as he could recall no one seemed except from this collective witch hunt against him. Naofumi couldn't help but curse himself for being so naive and paying no attention to his surroundings.
The only people who didn't hold any contempt towards him were demihumans. It must be due to the shield heroes allying themselves with the demihumans . But those around him were mostly slaves , or at the very least, poor individuals who worked for starvation wages. Some of them even stared at him with awe and admiration in the rare moments when their task masters weren't paying attention to them, now he understood why. He was a symbol of hope to them, someone who could oppose the oppressive regime which enslaved them. However, there wasn't much he could offer them in. And as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he wasn't that interested in helping them either.
Had Ben not been there, he'd have had much harder time surviving all these ordeals. He would find someway to make it up to him. If ever there was anything Ben needed, he would make it happen. You never turned your back on someone deserving of your loyalty. For the first time, it crossed his mind that even Ren might have been fooled, Had it been anyone else who was accused instead of him...well even he would have had some trouble realizing the true nature of Malty. Initially, it didn't matter whether that person was drunk or not, he'd have taken the world of a beautiful vulnerable woman over a man he just met.
That woman had played them all.
Fuck, Motoyasu though.
Clasping his hands in his own, Naofumi tried to convey the gratitude he felt from the deepest depths of his heart.
"I can't thank you enough for this. You are pretty strong and there isn't much I can do...but... I promise, someday I will repay you."
Ben just let out a mild chuckle, patting him on the shoulders, however before he could say anything else, his gaze shifted to something behind Naofumi as he blinked in slight confusion.
"I will be right back."
Naofumi watched Ben jog across the street to confront a brown haired woman dressed in a maid like attire. His expressions darkened imagining what might be happening right now. While Ben didn't believe the princess, he was sure anyone in this entire freaking nation could make up a story about him to take away his one source of support.
He wouldn't put it past the people of this nation to go to any length in order to "save" their precious hero from the nefarious shield demon.
He felt himself starting to get a bit agitated about the time Ben returned with the female in tow.
Ben wore a slightly darker expressions than when he'd first walked away. Naofumi couldn't help but fear for the worst happening and losing his only ally in this hostile territory where everyone was out for his blood.
"Naofumi, this is Alexia, an agent of the queen whom I have been working with since yesterday and she wants to talk to you about something."
Naofumi responded with a silent nod, cursing under his breath, it was pretty obvious he wasn't happy being around someone who were related to royalty in one way or another.
"Sir Naofumi." Alexia bowed at him , speaking to him in a rather polite tone, "Are you interested in getting a party member for yourself?"
Naofumi grit his teeth in frustration and slammed his fist into a stone wall in anger, "As if anyone would agree to join me in the first place. And I don't know what sort of agreement your queen had made with Ben, I still can't trust anyone who is related to that bitch Malty and stupid king. I would rather work alone than depending on a bunch of backstabbers anyways."
Alexia remained relatively calm despite his angry outburst, continuing in her usual gentle tone, "What if I can help you getting a party member who would never betray you and follow your every order?"
Naofumi went wide eyed at hearing this while Ben just slightly averted his gaze from both of them, appearing rather uncomfortable. It was as if he would choose to be at any other place but here right now. Her words did manage to grab his interest, at this point he would do anything he possibly could to increase his strength and increase his chances of survival during the waves of calamity.
"A lot of demihumans are slaves in this country, if you are willing free one of them free one of them from their misery, They won't mind helping you out. You are the Shield hero after all."
Naofumi shook his head before turning to the Omnitrix bearer, " Ben, all this can't be...real, right? I am not that far gone, Am I? B-buying a slave just to get a party member to fight for me? Isn't there some other way? Can't you just teach me how to fight monsters and do what you just did back at castle?"
"I am really sorry Naofumi. It took me five years to learn how to properly utilize my mana and I dunno if it's possible for me teach you anything you can use to fight monsters. The second wave is about to hit in less than a month, even if I train you day and night, you can not get stronger without using the RPG mechanics followed by this world." Ben said, looking down in shame, then he turned to him with a contemplative look in his eyes. "If you want to offer any consolation, promise you will treat them like one of your own and look out for their well being. "
The dark haired youth mulled over Ben's words once again. He could definitely see that Ben had a point even though the idea seemed terrible at the first glance. Every shield he managed to unlock gave him a defense related boost or some very odd skills such as woodwork, scrapping stuff like that. Only three of his shields, [Hard-boiled Leather Spiked Shield], [Iron Nail Shield] and [Bladed Shield] , offered him increase in attack and str alongside some offensive prowess he used to deal with Balloon monsters yesterday. Even than it wasn't quite efficient with his attack barely around 8-9 at most. And as far as he could tell he was still far behind rest of his peers. It would be hard to trust anyone else except Ben after this whole incident but getting a demi human as his partner seemed like the most logical choice for the time being.
After what happened to him, it would surely feel nice to be worshipped by at least someone.
"Fine, where do we go." Naofumi asked as if he had swallowed a bitter pill.
"You can't go running around being clothed like that, Sir Naofumi." Alexia produced clothes from her bag which were surprisingly his exact size. Melromarc hadn't beaten him so thoroughly of his dignity yet that he was okay with stripping down on a public street to change but he briefly managed after using the cloak to cover himself with it.
"I must thank you, Sir Ben." Alexia bowed to him once again.
"I really couldn't do much to help out..."
"Don't be so humble. It was you who asserted his dominance over the royal court and showed them you are not the one to be trifled with."
The former shadow and his current team mate offered him an encouraging smile.
"Yeah, I bet dumbyasu wet himself when you made that snake appear." Naofumi let out a chuckle , playfully smacking him in the shoulders.
Ben shook his head with a sigh, he didn't know whether he truly helped Naofumi or made things worse for him in the long run by letting his impulsiveness get better of him . Sure he didn't regret doing what he did in the court but he couldn't help but wonder if he might have handled thing in slightly different manner, though at the end of the day, he was more of a soldier than being a diplomat. Besides there was no use crying over spilled milk and he couldn't do much at this point except take things at face value.
"We better get going. We have far too much work to do and too less time to spend."
And just like that the trio started moving towards a rather shadier part of town, hoping to meet a peculiar slave trader who lived in a big tent.
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After spending some time wandering the red light streets of Melromarc they finally managed to reach what they were looking for.
A suspicious looking tent which was too huge to get ignored by anyone.
Quite similar to those used in circus but lacked the cheerfulness of it. Something which Ben found quite ironic, given how this individual was supposed to be dealing with demihumans, beastfolk and monsters- partially animals if not treated even lower than animals in this town- in a big circus tent. It also had a sign saying "We sell monsters" at the entrance flap.
Upon seeing a bunch of eggs lying on a small table, the omnitrix bearer briefly thought about the RPG game- very same one which used the concept of four divine weapons- utilizing the pet system. He wondered if it was possible for him tame a monster and use it as a substitute for party member.
The moment they entered, they were immediately met with sounds- hissing, snarling , growling , scratching followed by a scent of bodily waste anyone would expect upon entering a cave filled with all sorts of wild animals. There was an abundance of cages with thick metal bars, some empty, some covered, others portraying their content. Countless eyes seemed to be watching their every move, which felt a little bit ominous.
"Just...what kind of place is this?" Naofumi's stomach dropped as they entered deeper in the tent.
"A slave market." Ben snarled out in disgust as they reached inner part of the circus tent where a small office was set up.
"Hello Adventurers, What can I do for you?" A small plump man wearing what could only be described as a circus showman's attire, basically a tuxedo, a cane and a monocle- quite odd for the medieval setting of this world but mostly fitting for the circus theme. The most profound feature was the giant top hat on his oddly egg shaped face.
"Huh, you gotta be kidding me! He actually looks like Zombozo's long lost twin."
"I am here under orders of her highness." Alexia pulled out a letter and handed it over to the plump man, "Sir Shield Hero requires a slave and Sir Bow Hero would like to have a monster egg"
Ben's eyes widened in surprise and awe, realizing how insightful his companion truly was. At the same time, not so happy about being seen through so easily. His former nemesis/best friend Kevin Levin always did this to him in order to get on his nerves and it always annoyed him to no end.
"Oh?" The slave trader quickly opened the letter and his face instantly went pale. The a huge grin formed on his face. "To think not one but two of the legendary heroes would honor me with their presence." The plump man bowed to Ben and Naofumi, Fixing both of them with a pointed look."It is true that I am selling slaves, demi-humans and non-human slaves to be exact. How are you interested in taking a look at some of the things I'm selling?"
Naofumi scowled even more than before as he clearly didn't like this man or his business but he had to swallow his pride here because he knew he was desperately in need for some help, especially after everything that recently transpired.
Ben for his part having an internal struggle with this decision about whether this was right or wrong. It was wrong on all accounts to buy a slave or enslaving someone in the first place. But Naofumi didn't have many options available to him as of now.
"Just someone who can fight. Or can be trained to fight" Naofumi said, taking a step closer towards the small man. He looked at the ground and spoke in a more somber tone, "Something male would be nice."
Beloukas wasn't intimidated in the slightest, only grinning wider, " A male battle oriented slave? Skills will be weak, but we have some in stock, would that be alright? About that rumor though..."
CRACK
Naofumi had his [Hard Boiled Leather Spiked Shield] equipped, as he smashed the arm holding the shield against one of the cages , edge of his shield slightly bending one of the thick metallic bars in the process.
"Nevertheless I am convinced you haven't done deeds myself..." Beloukas said with a serious face as he led them in , "Rumors fly by fast these days but not this fast. It hasn't even been 12 hours yet. Anyways, here is what you might be looking for. They are a troublesome bunch but with training they can become quite obedient. "
The first cage had a male with mostly rabbit like features and appeared to be around the same age as Naofumi. He seemed reasonably healthy (as much as anyone could possibly be under those circumstances) except his left arm being twisted and in a weird way. He stared at all three of them with eyes filled with both anticipation and fear. The next cage held a young child, who is clearly of early age both in physique and mentality. She was unbelievably skinny and her reddish brown eyes looked terrified. She had ears similar to a dog's, but rounder. She appeared to have a large bushy tail as well. It looked like she was on the verge of her death due to starvation, sickness and the bruises she had all over her body
"There's a rabbit-type man with a genetic disorder , a mixed breed, LVL 6, 12 Silver. Then I've got this lovely raccoon-type girl. She's suffering from panic attacks and as you can see, is a little sick. She's LVL 1 and goes for 35 Silver. Unfortunately, she isn't a fox-type. If she was, she'd fetch a much better sum. "
Naofumi stared at the little child with a heavy scowl on his face. He wasn't much happy seeing her in this condition as his body trembled in silent rage, while not the healthiest out of the bunch, he was sure that illness was something he could deal on his own, with a little financial aid from Ben. Panic attacks were mostly due to the fact she was a prisoner there or perhaps she was mistreated by her former owner's in past. Something he could help her overcome. And hopefully, if he played his cards right, he could be absolutely sure of her loyalty, being shield hero and all that...
"I would like to have this one." Naofumi asked as he turned to the little girl, who appeared to be still too scared to look at him.
With a satisfied grin on his face, Beloukas tap his cane on the floor of the tent and two very buff looking guards came out and took the girl out of the cage. Naofumi gave Ben a silent nod as he started to follow the two men.
Beloukas asked him with an amused grin, "And what about you, my dear Bow Hero? Have you found yourself something you wanted?"
Ben asked in a nonchalant manner, hoping to get away from this place as soon as possible.
"Anyways, your sign outside says you sell monsters so I'll go straight to the point. For a beginner like me, what's the recommended monster to raise?"
The penguin look a like quickly went in and brought a box full of white eggs marked with the same pattern of the slave crest.
"There's a lot I can recommend but for a beginner like you, Filorials would be the best choice you have."
"Filorial?"
"Yes. Sir Ben. Have you seen the huge birds pulling carts in the city?" Alexia began with her explanation as Ben immediately remembered what it looked like, oversize purple ostrich like creatures carrying carriages filled with massive weight and appearing rather cheerful while doing it. . Those birds reminded him of the ostrich form his world. "Filorials are very easy to raise. Food is a minor concern since when they grow enough to start eating solid food, they eat anything. From fruits to monsters. They're also quite useful for travels. As for battle prowess…. They are considered to share the position of top of the food chain in the wilds alongside the dragon race."
'Holy shit'
A type of bird whose natural enemies are dragons…. That would only grow stronger if leveled.
"How much for one?"
"450 Silvers, Hero-sama."
"I'll buy one."
"Would you prefer an egg or an adult one? Either way it will be 450 silvers . I personally bought this premium batch from one of the most celebrated breeders of Shieldfreeden. It's rumored that one of them might be the long lost "Flying " Fillolial."
"If the price is the same, why would anyone want an egg?" Ben eyed those monster eggs rather critically. The moment he picked up one of the eggs, he felt a slight sensation coming from the omnitrix hidden beneath his left sleeve, as if the dial started vibrating for a moment before everything returned back to normal. however he decided not to pay much attention to it for the time being as Beloukas began explaining further.
"Filorials imprint themselves to the first person they see when they hatch. While the monster slavery seals ensure their obedience, Imprinting on someone makes sure that the filorial is loyal and willing to fight for you. It's very common for adventurers and mercenaries to raise one from scratch if they do plan to bring it for battles. And as they reach maturity by level 20, it doesn't take them much time to become combat ready" The round merchant answered, twisting the tips of his mustache as he pointed to one of the eggs.
"I see."
" So basically like a little chick… that will someday become a super chicken that can potentially fight with freaking dragons, that's really awesome."
Ben thought for a moment . He couldn't help but imagine a giant ostrich kicking the shit out of a dragon. That'd definitely look cool whether in a game or in real life.
Higher level monsters = better drops, more EXP & easy money.
"Okay, I will buy one, 450 silver coins, right?"
He simply just couldn't resist the potential of filorials, especially considering that he could use it to make up for lack of party members, if that ever became an issue for him later on .
Filorials.
Just how strong these birds truly were?
...xxxxxxx...xxxxxxxxxx...xxxxxxxx...
As ridiculous as that might sound to some of you, Ben isn't the best when it comes bargaining stuff.
I have decided to give Ben Yuki as his personal Filolial and she, not Filo will go on to become Fitoria's heir