THE NEET IN SHINING ARMOUR CHAPTER III: Religious Fervour
The following day, Kazuma and his newly-formed party sat around a guild dining table. This time, they hadn't gathered to eat, but to discuss a very serious issue. One that would spell the future of their adventuring career within their party.
"We need a healer." Kazuma said, placing both hands on the table. "Without one, we would have no choice but to naturally heal our wounds, which would take one, two or all of us out of action for weeks or months. The price for bandages and healing herbs and such would also take a toll on our budget. We'd be bankrupt within days."
"You do have a point. Fortunately, fighting is a dangerous business and I'm willing to take as much damage as necessary if it means you two can keep fighting." Darkness added, a small blush forming on her face.
'We really need to get that masochism habit fixed..' Kazuma thought.
"You and Darkness are the only damage dealers in this party. If both you guys fall, who will protect me?!" Megumin asked, yelling as if it was the most important issue brought up.
"If you had actually learned other spells then it wouldn't be an issue." Kazuma deadpanned. "Can we not replace you for Yunyun?"
"Oi, if you have a problem with Explosion magic then let's hear it!"
"Seriously, getting distracted and arguing so easily. You two are very bad teammates.." Darkness said, shaking her head in disappointment. "Anyway, having a healer in our party would be very beneficial. Not only would this person provide a source of health on the battlefield, but we'd also have someone to apply buffs to us and repel undead with the Turn Undead skill."
"It's settled then, we're getting ourselves a healer." Kazuma decided.
"A healer, you say?" A voice called to them from the side. Kazuma and co. turned their heads and was greeted by a woman in a red robe. She wielded a deep red staff with a heart on the end, covered in fake yellow flames. "If you're looking for a healer then you have the right person, right here!"
"Is that so?" Megumin asked. "You don't look like any healer I've seen before…"
"I am, indeed, a healer! My name is Kivana, I'm a priestess at a local church here and also an adventurer with the priest class. I'm fairly new, but I already know the basic healing and turn undead skills, but none of the buffs. Despite this, will you accept me into your party?"
Kivana looked towards the group with pleading eyes. Perhaps she too was somebody who had been rejected by other parties, like Darkness and Megumin. Kazuma only knew this when the topic of parties came up during one of their idle conversations.
"I don't know, you seem a bit young to be an adventurer." Kazuma comments, despite being 16 himself. "Are you sure you'll be of any use to us? I mean yeah, we were looking for a healer so we could treat our wounds faster, but will you be up to the task?"
"Don't underestimate me just by looking at me, sir. I may seem young but I'm very experienced." Kivana brags, not adding any context as to what she might be experienced in. "Besides, you considered refusing me because of my age, yet you have her in your party?" Kivana then points to Megumin.
"Oi, I'm not that young!" Megumin protests.
"I guess we'll have to see, won't we? How about this, you come with us on our next quest and we'll see just how good your skills are." Kazuma suggests. "How does that sound, guys?"
"That's what you did for us, I don't have any problems with it." Darkness replies.
"Neither, I'm okay with it." Megumin replies.
"There we go then, Kivana. You're coming with us for a quest."
"Thank you, sir! I won't disappoint you, I swear!"
-line-
Chosen Quest: Subjugate Undead Horde!
Reward: 100,000 Eris!
For this quest, Kazuma's party had to venture quite far away from Axel. Their party went through luscious farmlands and decrepit forests to reach their destination, which was the ruins of a town with a large cemetery.
"This is the place that the quest paper told us to go to. This used to be a really nice and peaceful village called Oakvale, according to Luna anyway. Apparently some Demon King general put a curse here ages ago, and now nothing but undead live here." Kazuma explained. The ruins of Oakvale were shrouded in a dense black fog, and the party could only see a few metres ahead off them. The eerie sounds of nature were all that they could hear, alongside the occasional sound of rocks colliding with each other.
"This'll be a piece of cake! Kazuma, just let me hit them with an explosion! We'll get a different quest for this Kivana person to test her skills with." Megumin begged.
"No, go use explosion somewhere else." Kazuma deadpanned. "This is her test. Now, Kivana, are you ready?"
"Oh, y-yes! Alright, first off I need to do this…" Kivana said. She walked up to Kazuma and took the blade of his sword into her hands.
'W-What is this girl doing?! Is she trying to cut herself?' Kazuma thought, a small amount of worry bubbling up inside him.
Kivana wordlessly grasped the sword tightly and slid her hands from the base to the tip. Once her hands released the blade, the sword caught fire. A bright, orange flame licked the sword and lit up the surrounding area.
"W-Woah!" Kazuma yelled in surprise. He swung the sword back and forth, and was equally as shocked to see that the flames weren't put out. "This skill is amazing! What is it?"
"Hehe, that's a secret!" Kivana playfully giggled, poking her tongue out at him. "Alright Darkness, your turn!"
'There's really no need, Kivana.' Both Kazuma and Megumin thought. Nevertheless, Kivana still applied the flame sword magic to Darkness, and she was having a good time swinging her sword and watching the flames flutter in the air. She also tried touching the flames while she thought nobody was looking.
"I'm afraid that's all I have in terms of buffs." Kivana admitted. "All I have left now are basic healing spells and Turn Undead.
"Speaking of undead, where are they? Didn't you say that only undead live here now?" Darkness asked.
"They might be further in, but it seems pretty scary in there. I don't want to go." Megumin commented, pointing in towards the fog.
"We don't have a choice guys. I don't wanna go either, but not only do we need to see how well Kivana fights, but we also need the money from this quest. You know, to eat and drink and sleep." Kazuma reminded. "Alright guys, we're going in."
"B-But…" Megumin began.
"No buts! If you wanna eat tonight then you have no choice but to go!" Kazuma yelled. "If you're fine with going hungry then stay here!"
Megumin was, at first, speechless. However, she soon gave in and followed Kazuma into the fog. Darkness and Kivana followed closely behind.
"Oi Megumin, can you use healing spells? I mean, they are magic spells, so surely an arch mage could learn Heal and Turn Undead, right?" Kazuma asked.
"Ah, no that isn't the case. Priests have a special class of magic called Holy Magic. Things like healing, buffs, and Turn Undead all fall under that category, along with their Sacred counterparts. Only Priests and Arch Priests can learn those spells." Megumin informed.
"What about the fire sword thing? Is that a priest-exclusive thing?" Kazuma asked.
"I don't know, I've never seen a spell like this ever before. I don't know too much about priests spells so it might be one I haven't heard of." Megumin concluded.
"I see that my Flame Sword ability has you entranced." Kivana observed. "It's a special type of magic, taught only by the people who raised me."
"And who raised you?" Kazuma asked.
"Oh, well that would be the church of-" Kivana began, but was interrupted by a loud shriek. The party turned their heads in front of them and were greeted by a large group of 20 undead soldiers. Their flesh was a pale green and rotting, and their armour had very visible signs of wear and rust.
"Here they are! Quick, Kivana! Use Turn Undead!" Kazuma yelled.
"Ha, I have a better plan!" Kivana replies mysteriously. She points her staff towards the oncoming horde and begins chanting under her breath.
"Oi! Hurry it up or we'll die!" Kazuma yelled, desperation becoming ever-present in his voice. Kivana just kept muttering her incantation, not paying any attention to her party or the enemies in front of her.
"Now!" Kivana yells as a flaming orange beam charges up within the heart on her staff and launches itself from the end of the staff and at the undead. The beam was large enough to envelop most of the horde, setting anything it touched ablaze. The surrounding fog was soon dissipated by the strength of the flames and the muddy dirt beneath their feet was soon coated with the ashes of the dead.
Kazuma was, naturally, very surprised. 'Finally! After finding a useless one-shot mage and an overly masochistic crusader, I finally find a competent party member! Third time's the charm, as they always say!' Kazuma cheered in his head.
"Haha! How was that, Kazuma?" Kivana asked, turning her head towards their party leader. "There are still some alive, but you'll be able to finish them off, right?"
"Of course! You had your time to shine, but just watch me!" Kazuma boasted, pointing his thumb to himself with a cocky smile on his face. Kazuma then ran at the closest undead and swung his sword at it, the flames still licking the blade. The sword cut through the zombie's brittle armour and flesh with ease, leaving a small scorch mark on the now disembodied zombie's body.
"Ah, that really was amazing! What is your sword made of? The fire buff I applied to it would help most swords cut through a zombie of that level, but none of them would ever cut straight through with such ease!" Kivana asked cheerfully.
"My sword? It's made from Dragonsteel!" Kazuma replied, using his extensive knowledge of 'real' dragonsteel from Game of Kings to his advantage. "It's an ancient type of metal that nobody knows how to make anymore! It's magically enhanced steel, forged using ancient magic and dragon fire!" Kazuma yelled while cutting through the remnants of the undead horde.
"Ah, so cool! To wield such a rare weapon must be an honor!" Kivana exclaimed.
'Just as I thought, I knew that description would work well!' Kazuma mentally cheered. Within minutes, the rest of the horde had been dealt with, without the help of Megumin or Darkness. The other two were just watching from the sidelines, surprised by the power of their comrades.
"Ah, mission accomplished!" Kazuma cheered. "Thank you for the help, Kivana. Your skills are amazing!"
Kivana blushed and laughed sheepishly. "A-Ahaha, they're nothing really."
"Don't sell yourself short! You're accepted for sure! Welcome aboard, Kivana."
"Ah, really? Thank you so much!" Kivana cheered. "Oh, we must celebrate. Come, let's hand in the quest and we'll go back to my home!"
'What? She has a home?'
Current Quest Progress: Undead subjugated.
Quest Status: Complete!
-line-
Later on, Kazuma and his party had successfully handed in their quest and received their reward, and were now following Kivana to her 'home.' Kazuma found it weird that she of all people would have a home, especially with how she looked. She wore nothing but a robe and a pair of leather sandals, which are unusual clothes for someone to wear. One could argue that she earned a lot of money as a successful adventurer, but her adventurer card said that she had only been an official adventurer for a week.
"So, Kivana-san. Where exactly is your home?" Darkness asked. "We've been walking for quite a while now, we're quite far away from the Adventurer's Guild."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that everyone. My house is around the outskirts of town." Kivana said, looking back to flash the rest of the party an apologetic look. "We'll be there soon, don't worry."
'I hope so…' Kazuma thought, turning his head to look at Megumin, who's legs had collapsed and who had forced Kazuma to carry her the rest of the way. 'Carrying her this whole way isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I would call her a frail little girl if she wasn't capable of blowing me up at will…'
Their walk took another 10 minutes. They walked through the entire residential area of Axel and towards a more neglected side of town, by the walls. Their walk ended in front of a fairly large church with a sign in the shape of a flaming heart hanging off a nearby signpost.
"Here we are! This is the Church for R'hllor in Axel, the place where all of the Lady of Light's faithful come to pray!" Kivana exclaimed.
'Ah, well that explains her staff. So, she's a worshipper of R'hllor-sama?' Kazuma thought.
"Well, well? Come on in! I wanna introduce you to everyone!" Kivana exclaimed, pushing the large church doors open and running in. Nobody followed, though.
"..are we sure going in there is a good idea? Who knows what might be in there?" Kazuma points out. "Sure, if an innocent girl can live there unharmed then surely it's safe right? Wrong. It might be a clever trap."
"I don't think Kivana would trick us like that, she seems innocent enough." Darkness commented. "Whether it's a trap or not, I'm still going to go in. I'm prepared to withstand whatever a-awful fate awaits me.."
'You can't repress your masochistic urges for a few minutes, can you?'
"Darkness is right, for the most part. Kivana is way too innocent to stage a trap for us." Megumin commented. "Although, her last part about going in whether it's a trap or not doesn't sit well with me, because I'd rather stay out here if it truly is a trap."
"Well, Megumin and I are going in. Feel free to join us whenever you want, Kazuma." Darkness said calmly, looking back at the boy as she walked towards the church doors.
"W-Wait! Megumin! Darkness! What if you die?!" Kazuma yelled, but it was no use. They had already gone in before they had time to heed his warnings. "Dammit! Fine, I'm coming in too!" Kazuma walked briskly up towards the church doors and pushed them open.
Thankfully, Kazuma wasn't greeted by a mob of angry assassins with their weapons poised and ready to kill him. Instead, he was greeted by a typical church interior. Large stone columns, rows of pews next to a singular walkway, a small elevated pedestal and a shrine to their god, R'hllor. There were a small collection of women there too, each one tending to the shrine or cleaning the floors. However, the most noticeable feature was that there were no real windows in the church, and it was only lit up with braziers that are lined up by the walls and gave most of the room a golden-orange glow.
"Ah, hello. You must be Kazuma-san, the leader of the adventuring party that took our Kivana in." The voice of an older woman called to Kazuma. This older woman was standing by the elevated pedestal with her hands placed together. "Welcome to the Temple of R'hllor. I am Mildred, the Head Priestess."
"Uh.. h-hello.." Kazuma replied nervously.
"Mother Mildred! This is the Kazuma that I told you about!" Kivana cheered, running straight through the walkway and right up to Mildred. "He's a powerful swordsman with an amazing ancient sword! He told me that it was made out of a special steel that nobody knows how to make anymore!"
"Ah, is this so? Such a sword must have an amazing name, right?" Mildred asked.
"Well, I haven't thought of a name for it yet…"
"That's a shame. Well then, Kivana. Why don't you go get some food?" Mildred offered. Kivana nodded and ran off. "Kazuma-san. Thank you for taking Kivana in."
"It's no problem, her skills really are amazing. Do you know where she learned them from?" Kazuma asked.
"I do indeed. The skills you speak of, the Flaming Sword and Fire Beam that she showed you, they are all special powers granted to us by the Goddess of Fire. They aren't normal priest spells that can be learned by any adventurer." Mildred informed. "Kivana, like the rest of us here, are Red Priestesses. Most of us voluntarily joined, but Kivana was a special case. We found her at our front door when she was a child, we assumed she was an orphan."
"Don't priestesses usually stay in their towns to tend to the church? Why did you let Kivana become an adventurer?"
"Well, that's for two reasons. The first one is her lack of social experience. Kivana has spent her entire life within this church, and only knows myself, the other priestesses and the occasional worshipper who makes it here. R'hllor isn't a widely-worshipped goddess in Axel, I'm afraid." Mildred said. "The other reason is related to a special mission given to her by the Grand Priest of R'hllor here in Belzerg. She has been tasked with converting the Royal family, the Belzergs, to our faith. Once that happens, the Grand Priest believes that the rest of the country shall follow. I believe that the easiest way for Kivana to fulfill that quest is to become an adventurer and defeat the Demon King. That way, she'll be able to directly contact the king and convert him that way."
"..." Kazuma was surprised. 'So she's being sent on some crazy religious mission?'
"Oh, right. I trust that you won't be telling anyone about her mission. I told you this purely because I trust you. I hope my trust hasn't been wrongly placed in you." Mildred said, leaning in further to Kazuma. "Because if it is, you'll find out first-hand how Kivana's skills are lacking in power in comparison to my own, if you catch my drift."
'So these crazy R'hllor worshippers also threaten people?! I hope I didn't make a bad decision in accepting Kivana…'
"Ah, Kazuma!" Suddenly, Kivana's voice called to him from afar. "I wanna thank you again for accepting me!" Kivana ran up to Kazuma and embraced him tightly, causing the NEET to freak out. This kind of contact with a woman isn't something Kazuma is used to, nor is it something he would refuse.
"K-Kivana?! What are you doing?" Kazuma asked, his voice going shrill for a second. "You're hugging a bit tightly there, and I'm feeling a strange feeling right about now…"
'Not that I'm complaining…'
"Ah, I'm sorry Kazuma-san. This is what I meant by a lack of social experience. Kivana has no concept of what is okay and what isn't. I trust you won't let anyone take advantage of her." Mildred added.
'Damn, and just when I thought I had scored a normal party member. But hey, at least we have a healer now, right?'
