Chapter 3
The children surprised me with their choice of book.
I watched from the ground floor of the library, as the children wandered back and forth from shelf to shelf. One would pick up a book, catch the eye of a sibling, then do that weird 'silent conversation' thing they all did. There would be a pause, maybe another 'opinion' from another sibling, but then the book would be put back.
Even after learning eight languages, I still couldn't puzzle out how the children were talking. It seemed to be a combination of ear twitches, eye blinks, eye movements, and tail swishes. A literal 'body language'. Oddly enough, they didn't do the obvious, like nod yes, or shake no. At least, not with each other.
Super shiny books like Altered Carbon or its sequel Black Man were passed by (probably for the best, since both had some seriously grim stuff going on. Like a cannibal who pulled people out of stasis just long enough to eat some of them before putting them back in stasis, over the course of several years).
Fancy colourful ones like Kinslayer (by Jay Kristoff), with the pretty samurai lady on the front, or Magical Kingdom for Sale (SOLD!), with the collection of strange monsters on the cover (similar, but much less dangerous looking than the Orario versions from the dungeon), were set back in place.
Eye catching books with actual moving parts on them (lets hear it for complex machines of modern day), were only given a single look then replaced (carefully).
Even the book that had bright friendly letters on it that said 'Don't Panic' was returned!
Finally, to my surprise, they found the most boring looking book (at least, it looked boring from the ground floor while they all wandered the second level). No dust sleeve, no picture on the front, red/brown cardboard(?) cover.
"O-ma!" Kei held up the book proudly overhead, "We picked one!"
"Can we jump down?"
"Can we please O-ma?"
I looked up at them, and without my wife nearby, I couldn't resist their hopeful gold and green eyes. I mean, I thought about saying no, thought about pointing to the stairs along the wall that would get them down to the first floor, you know, without having a repeat of 'the roof incident'. (Delly was very upset at having her bushes landed on.)
So, I let out my 'aura'. It had many uses. Made up of 'air' and 'void', I could do all kinds of things with it. Make cloth (I was wearing an all black 'house coat and pants' for example), make it solid enough to hold air like a balloon or glider, create 'weapons' like claws past what my normal reach was, grab things from across the room (though I didn't do that often since they lacked 'feeling' and were no good for holding delicate things). The list was long, and had served me well since I learned how to do it.
This time though, I made a 'crash couch'. Basically making the air in front of me thicker, like water. I could make it like tar if I wanted, but not this time.
"Okay you can jump." I said once the air in front of me started to look like some kind of thin black fog had appeared. "Don't miss the cloud."
"We won't!" Toshi said, reaching up to hold the rail, then vault over it. Young as they were, they were still adventurers, so even at six years old they were quite capable.
Following the young male mirror of Haruhime (blond hair, green eyes), the others hopped over too, hitting the cloud and floating down with happy little noises.
"Now now, it's still a library." I said, catching Toshi, setting him down, then catching Chie, then Yumi, Tatsuo and Tatsuko, Yuki, and finally Kei.
Arms and tails now occupied with children who were all covering their mouths with guilty looks (except Kei, who had the book in front of their face, one gold eye, one green eye peeking over the top edge).
"Records of the Four Cardinal Weapons." I read out loud.
I take it back. The cover wasn't boring at all. I mean, it lacked any 'modern' graphics or colours. But on the cover was an interesting picture in gold inlay. Looking like an oval mirror, with branches and gilding around the frame. Except the gilding around the frame had also been worked into weapons. To the west, a bow. The north, a sword. East, a spear. And south, a shield.
"See O-ma!" Tatsuo started, "A bow for Miss Asuka-san, a sword for Auntie Aisha-san..."
Her brother picked up where his twin left off, "A spear for Mr. Ouka-san, and a shield for Auntie Chigusa-san."
I couldn't fault their logic. Though I'd have to (very gently) tease Chigusa about being called 'Auntie' later.
"But... aren't shields armour?" Yuki asked as I sat down and started placing the children around on Hagane's super padded couch/chair.
Being a living suit of armour (occasionally, since Hagane was also a big metal nightmare cat) meant he needed a reading chair that could support over a literal metric ton. The children bounced up and down a few times before crowding in close to me and my tails.
"Shields are often used for defence, but do you remember how King Marius fights when he visits?" I said, "It is not the most agile of weapons, like a sword. Or the longest like a spear. And it's certainly not very good as an arrow. But it is still solid enough to be used as a weapon if you know how." I explained, having seen, and been on the receiving end of many shield techniques.
The children however, just seemed to soak up this bit of wisdom, and look at the book expectantly.
The pages were faded and yellowed slightly with age. The binding was old but exceptionally well preserved. Opening the hardened leather (not wood or cardboard!) cover made it creak with a quiet yet satisfying noise.
And it started with, "The waves of apocalyptic catastrophe." Unlike most books, it had no author or copyright blurb. It did have a little dedication, written with a quill(!) inside a neat little border of drawn knot-work.
"A record of the four heroes, who saved the world from the waves of catastrophe, long may they live, long may they watch over us."
It started as most stories, with 'long ago in the far away land', then actually named the land, 'Melromarc'.
The story started in this place of Melromarc, just after the sky opened up and let loose a catastrophe. Monsters rose from the ground, fell from the sky, swam up from the sea, and terrorized the lands.
"It sounds like the dungeon."
"When there are monsters, it always sounds like the dungeon."
"Hush."
"Yes O-ma."
The people fought back, as anyone might against the sudden incursion. But the fighting was fierce, and the losses were terrible. The wisest in the land predicted that this was only the 'first wave of apocalyptic catastrophe', and that the warriors of Melromarc, while brave and steadfast, would not be enough. They needed heroes, they needed legends. And so the most powerful wizards of the land cast a great summoning spell.
And with great effort, and sacrifice, the spell summoned four heroes.
These four heroes arrived with the legendary weapons. And with a little push from the King and Queen, they gathered the bravest warriors in the kingdom, to go out, become stronger, and then repel the Waves.
"Huh." I paused, turning the page and seeing a bold block painting of a tall figure with a sword.
"What's wrong O-ma?"
"Oooo that looks kind of like a big sister Maki-san's sword!"
"It does, doesn't it?" I replied, "Well, the story kind of..." I flipped ahead just a little, stopping on a similar page to the Sword Hero's picture, an agile looking, possibly female, person with a bow. "The book seems to divide into stories about the heroes themselves."
"They didn't work together?"
"Didn't Mr. King-san have people join them?"
"The princess too!"
"She looked kind of pretty."
"Maybe they couldn't all work together?"
"If you spread your party out but still keep in contact... um... I forget the rest..."
I finished the 'rules of the dungeon' line, "You can cover more ground, but still call for help if you need it." Then applied a headpat for the effort.
"Yeah that!" Followed by a happy 'hee hee'.
Of course, giving one of them a headpat was unfair, so they all got a little attention, "So... After dinner, you can choose who you want to start with."
They all looked to me, then to the nearest window and collectively said, "Aww, it's already dinner time."
"Yes, and tonight the Brothers are cooking." I gave them all a hug, then curled a tail around them to get them off Hagane's big reading chair/couch thing. "Go on, I'll be right behind you."
I stood as I set Toshi down, and watched them all start towards the door of the library. Before I set the book down however, I picked up a few bookmarks from a table near a few normal reading chairs (meant for setting down books, drinks, the cup of bookmarks, and occasionally Sir Skitters or Chime when they wanted to read over your shoulder). The bookmarks were simple things. Welf and I had been teaching Maki how to hammer metal evenly without making it so thin you broke it or put a hole in it. The end result were thin rectangles of copper, silver, weapon grade iron, armour grade iron, bronze and brass, all nice and ruler straight.
So, I picked up four random bookmarks, and went hunting for pages. One for the Sword hero... another for the Bow... The Spear (a tall man who was leaning on the weapon like a tired man with a staff), then lastly...
Lastly? Aha. The Shield had no picture, just a title page? I flipped the page, wondering if the picture was on the next page, my bookmark (armour grade iron, appropriate I suppose) ready to slot in.
But the pages were blank.
And with a sudden surge of magical energy, the book lit up. "Trap!" I called out, trying to fling the book away.
"O-ma?" The floor under me lit up, the start of a circle tracing itself over the floor, the book landing on Hagane's well padded couch.
"Toshi! Stay BA-" I started to turn to Toshi, spotting him at the door, holding it open for me and waiting, but as I turned, the floor under me vanished, and I was falling.
(Toshi)
The light of the magic circle reflected off Toshi's eyes as she saw his mother slip, then fall, then vanish into the floor, the light snapping off like the lights when you touched the 'switch' by the door. Her command had frozen him in place, the importance of doing as you were told in an emergency well known to him.
But as the light faded, and left nothing but a bit of an afterimage in his eyes, and a weird magical tingle running over the fur of his tail, there was no trace of Kodori, save the book that had landed on the nice red chair/couch.
Turning, holding down tears, he did the other thing the children had all been taught very young. When something happens and you don't understand, you get an adult. "Aunty Aisha-san! I think it happened again!"
(Kodori)
It was similar to my return to Earth (the first time). A magic circle, a tunnel, then a sudden stop. This, I knew, would be followed with a little disorientation, a dash of vertigo, and a shovel full of irritation at having been taken away by an unknown force, to an unknown place (even if it was back to Earth, I probably wouldn't know where I was at first anyhow).
However, the trip was much longer this time. The walls of the 'tunnel' were zipping by, and looked like someone had taken the library I'd just been in, with the shelves and marble walls, and stretched them out. Or like looking at an old film reel playing at top speed but without the clicking noises.
It was different too. There was pain.
My body felt like something was squeezing me, compressing me, trying to fit me through a space too small, yet with just enough give that I could still fit. My tails felt it too, like someone other than Hestia was wringing them out painfully. Quickly, the pain became sharp enough that I couldn't focus, couldn't count how long I'd been in the 'tunnel', couldn't keep my eyes open, couldn't stop myself from curling up to try and put pressure on what felt like a whole body wound, couldn't...
A sudden stop and compression of my body snapped me back to consciousness. I opened my eyes wide, seeing a bright green/blue glow that was starting to fade around me. Lines on the floor? Magic circle? Figure it out later!
I got my palms to the floor, curled my legs in towards my torso, got the balls of my feet flat to the floor and pushed upwards, pushing me to a standing position.
That was the plan at least. One of my feet didn't quite set itself properly, and my arms weren't quite up to the task of propelling me upwards. It didn't help that my clothing seemed to be out of place, and my belt of pouches had tangled around my arm...
So it ended up with me getting most of the way standing, then falling back to one knee. But at least I was upright.
"It worked!" Someone in front of me said, the glow still too bright to make out more than 'tall' and 'robes'. Figures, a wizard did it.
Oddly, my clothes weren't just out of place, they were too big? They were shrinking too, as if adjusting to my... oh no...
"O Brave heroes! Please save our world!" Another voice said.
They weren't tall. I was short!
"Great..." I said, my new voice young and a bit squeaky, my eyes widening as I gave myself a pat down. Ears? Exactly where they should be. Tails? Only one, mostly black with the silver ring and gold 'paintbrush'. "Wait..." This is new. I had a shield stuck on my right arm. Similar to the picture on the book's cover, it was a short kite shield. A three sided rectangle with a triangle point that went past the back of my hand. It was feather light, just heavy enough to notice, and had a green gem inset into the middle almost like a reverse boss (the place where your hand went in smaller shields).
Beside me, as I felt my clothing finish shrinking to my new size (yet, I wasn't the one making it shrink, and the feel of it around my groin told me I was still female), I heard similar voices of confusion.
"What?" Three others said.
Turning, I saw three people. Human, male, each with one of the weapons. A tall young man with a spear, a shorter one with a sword, and an even shorter one with a bow. At least... They were shorter than the guy with the spear, yet towered over me.
The glow finally faded, and one of the collection of robed figures (five in all, with one of them standing in front of the other four), spoke again. "O brave heroes, please, save our world!" He repeated.
My ears weren't playing tricks on me then. I sighed, but the one with the bow spoke up, "What do you mean by that?"
"There is a long complicated story behind this, but we have used an ancient ritual to summon the four cardinal heroes to our world." He said.
He seemed to be in charge of the others, the hood on his green cape was down, a small circlet on his brow. The glow of the magic circle gone, I got a better look at them all. The robe was actually a cape, and under it was a similarly styled green with gold edges 'frock'. Priests?
Wait... priests? But then why... oh no...
I put my palm to my face, taking a deep breath and just keeping my mouth shut while the others spoke. My usual 'ritual' of a deep breath only bringing a delicate calm, not the usual 'surge' of my adventuring strength.
"Our world is on the brink of destruction. We beg you, O brave heroes. Please help us!" And as one, the leader and the four behind him bowed to us.
"I refuse." Said the one with the spear.
"Likewise." Said the one with the bow.
"We can go back to our own world, right?" The Spear continued, "We'll talk about your problems after that."
The one with the sword stepped forward, pointing it at them (like an amateur, arm straight out, point straight out), "Don't you guys feel guilty for bringing us here without asking?"
If this was bravado, it at least mirrored my sentiment. I was going to miss dinner, I could feel it.
"And if you send us home as soon as your problems are over, we'll have worked for nothing." The Bow said.
"So how are you going to accommodate us?" The Spear asked, resting his weapon over his shoulder, "Depending on your answer, we might be your enemies instead."
This guy almost sounded like a gangster, maybe a young Yakuza? But I was impressed they weren't panicking at all. Maybe they were like me? Not their first dimension jump? Though, if it was, that guy with the sword must not have been a fighter before.
But the words had unsettled the priest(?), "P-please, first come with us, the King of our country, Melromarc, is waiting to have an audience with you all. I am sure he will be happy to negotiate a reward after that, so please..."
"I guess that's fine." The one with the sword said, lowering his blade and stepping forward.
"We can consider their offer." The Bow said, a half pace behind the Sword.
"Not like our demands will change, even if it is the King, or whatever." The Spear added, following the other two. He paused to look down at me, "Nothing to say?"
I looked up at him, "You three said it all."
"Heh." Then he mumbled, "Three and a half heroes, not four."
The insult stung a bit, but since my ears might have gone past his belt line, I didn't blame him. Why did I shrink? Why did I only have one tail? Why... Why could I no longer feel my connection to Hestia, or my... no... I still felt something where my Kitsune abilities used to be. But it was so faint now...
I took a step forward, falling in line behind the Spear, my right shield covered hand going to the wedding ring on my left. All it needed was a blink, and that blink brought with a flash of Haruhime's smile, and the underlying warmth of Hestia's love for all her Children.
And something else... Something in the corner of my vision way down at the bottom right, past where I'd normally look before just turning my head to see it directly. A little square that was flashing?
Not wanting to get lost, I filed it under 'questions' and followed the other three. But not before I heard a very quiet noise of distaste from one of the priests(?) as they fell in behind me.
I followed them up from the windowless, arched ritual room we had arrived in, up a well lit spiral staircase. The stonework was good stuff, solid granite or something similar, and the lamps set into the walls were magic, lighting up, then fading as we passed them. This told me they weren't just able to use 'fancy ritual' but could use magic with actual utility in mind.
The stairs were a little tall for my smaller legs, but I moved a little towards the narrower part so I didn't have to adjust my walk while we ascended. After about ten metres or so of upward motion, the soft yellow lights of the magic lamps was replaced by actual daylight coming in from a small rectangle window in the wall. There was no glass, but there were metal bars set into the top and bottom to keep people out.
Of course, I couldn't really stand in front of it to look out, since I was to short, and by the time I could look out, the priests(?) were trying to hurry us along, so I only caught a glimpse of a distant mountain range, brown clay rooftops and whitewashed brick buildings.
Okay, comparable architecture to early Victorian? I didn't smell smoke or any hint of sewage, so it was at least cleaner than early Victorian. Maybe they had similar standards to Rome?
Up ahead, the other three heroes had stopped at another window, "Not a bad looking place." The Spear said.
"The air feels... maybe a Mediterranean climate?" The Sword mused.
"Please, the King is waiting." The Priest(?) urged a little nervously.
Since they'd all paused, and there wasn't that annoying green/blue glow washing out my vision, I got a good look at them.
'The Spear' was indeed tall, almost a head taller than the other two. Blond hair done up in a feathery pony tail, maybe 170cm, bright brown almost orange eyes, he had an easygoing expression, confident. He was reasonably handsome too, someone who took care of his looks. The clothes looked casual, red shirt, jeans, running shoes.
'The Bow', the shortest of the three if only by a tiny bit, maybe a little over 150cm? Light brown hair that was just long enough to be messy, just short enough to stay out of his eyes, he also seemed the youngest of the three with a hint of wonderment in his eyes. He was also wearing a school uniform, though I didn't know the colours. The green coat and a neatly pressed slacks didn't ring any bells, but to be fair I'd only know maybe four schools from current day Japan.
'The sword'... He seemed a bit sullen. Unlike the other two his expression was almost gloomy. It matched his black hair and blue eyes. He was maybe a forehead taller than 'The Bow', and he was also wearing casual clothing. Though, the light coat and track pants made him look like he was going to the store or something before ending up here.
I touched my ring again, and realized it was no longer sized properly. So, I took it off my finger and put it into one of my pouches. My clothes had resized, but my pouches had not, and now they hung across my chest, the belt hanging on one shoulder towards my opposite hip. Eh, it would do for now...
Another half turn from the window they were at, and the staircase exited out into a courtyard. The architecture was certainly close to a Roman style. Just more square. The pillars supporting archways were square, the curve of the arches themselves were at right angles, the bricks were all nice and rectangle, the stones of the floor were all at nice right angles... This place was clearly a 'function' over 'form' kinda place.
We didn't stop as we crossed the inner courtyard, though, while I was looking around and trying to classify things, I spotted a red headed woman in a dress looking out a window, yes an actual window, at us. Aha, they'd figured out glass too. Good good.
We passed through another door into a hallway that went left and right, but that outer door also had a big red wood double door opposite it. The Priest(?) stopped, took a little breath, then opened the door for us, stepping aside and away to let us all enter. "Please, the King awaits."
This was not a small throne room.
It was at least fifty metres long, and lit by ten huge bronze (maybe brass?) chandeliers. Nice white marble floors, big multi-sectioned windows along one wall, lots of those archways (though the pillars supporting them were round, not square) and a generous application of either gold paint, or actual gold leaf trim. As well, in front of every pillar stood a guard. Trident headed spear, sensible helmet, half plate and chain armour. Not bad. Mass produced as all 'army uniforms' are, but solid looking enough.
Even the carpet was super fancy! I mean, unless they had magic for this kind of thing, the red carpet with a double bordered gold thread embroidery would have been hard to make and expensive. I almost felt bad I had to take almost twice as many steps on it as the other three heroes since my legs had become so short. But I was wearing house slippers, though, they had also re-sized to my feet. And that little square at the corner of my vision was blinking still...
No no, I had to put that aside... First impressions and all that. If nothing else, no matter my irritation and whatever the 'rules' of this world had imposed on me, it sounded like something was going on. Like the others, I would at least hear the king out. Hestia would expect it of me.
That said... The King... Well, his clothing matched the apparent wealth of the throne room. He was an older gentleman, his white hair and beard long but neatly kept. On his brow sat a gold crown with a purple stone set in the middle that was about as big as an eye, though pointed like an amethyst. A Royal purple fur lined cape sat on his shoulders and his undercoat was white chested, bordered by gold, then continuing back with royal purple. He of course sat on a nice fancy chair on a raised platform, and though there was an equally fancy chair to his right, it was empty.
The Priest(?) stopped us with a raised hand about ten metres from the throne, then hustled over to stand by some others who were dressed like he was on the King's left at the foot of the platform. I then had to reconsider calling him a Priest(?) when I saw the people standing on the right of the platform. But aside from seeing one of the men there wearing something similar to a Cardinal's hat, my attention was pulled towards the King as he started to speak.
"So these... four are the Cardinal heroes of Ancient Legend?" He didn't move his head, but I could see his eyes sweep over us. Only after he'd looked at us, did he glance towards the Wizards(?), the one who had led us here nodding slightly, before he looked back to us.
"I am the King of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc the Thirty Second." He introduced himself.
Huh... That was... three? Four? Extra Melromarcs than from the book I read.
"Heroes. Name yourselves." His purple eyes still held a firm will. However old he was, he still had all his marbles I was sure.
The Sword spoke first, "Amaki Ren, sixteen years old, in high school."
"I'm Kitamura Motoyasu. Twenty-one and a collage student." The Spear introduced himself.
"I guess I'm next?" The Bow said, "Kawasumi Itsuki, seventeen years old, and in high school."
I was about to open my mouth to speak, but the King didn't even look at me as I took a half step forward. "I see. Ren, Motoyasu and Itsuki." He nodded.
The snub was clear. To be fair, I looked like a child playing dress up. But I simply filed the insult away without letting it show on my face.
"Oh? Not going to let the runt introduce himself?" Motoyasu asked, reaching down and ruffling my hair and ears.
"Hmm? I suppose." The King said, his tone affirming that he didn't seem to care if I was there or not.
"Kodori." I said, deciding on the spot to pretend I was in fact a boy. Almost everyone in the room was a man, so I guessed that was the dominant gender. I bowed, my left hand over my heart, but I didn't say anything else. The King wasn't even looking at me anyhow.
"That's it?" Motoyasu teased quietly as I took a half step back to get in line with the other three. I gave him a bit of a glare, but it was mostly for mistreating my ears, not the comment.
Again, before I could reply, "I suppose I owe you all an explanation." Altcray continued, "My country, and the entire world, is headed towards destruction." Even if he was ignoring me, I couldn't ignore a good 'story teller' voice.
"There is an ancient prophecy that speaks of an apocalyptic disaster. It calls this disaster many things, but 'Waves of apocalyptic destruction' is the most common in our lore." He paused for effect, "These waves, once started, become stronger and stronger, and unless they are thwarted and stopped, our world will fall to ruin."
My ears stayed focused on the King while I looked slightly left and right. Yes, this was sounding almost exactly like the book I'd just read for story time. I could tell it was worrying the people here as well. The wizards to the left of the throne, and the Priest and (aha) nobles (had to be, with their fancy clothing yet no tools or trappings of office) were looking suitably worried as the King told the story.
"At first, we did not believe the prophecy. We thought ourselves ready for the disaster and stood in front of it, weapons ready." The King sighed, also for effect, "We succeeded, but if that was only the first wave, of the many foretold, then the Kingdom will not survive without help. Each kingdom houses an ancient artifact, named the Dragon Hourglass, and the sands inside have started to flow, leaving us less a month before the next wave of disaster."
He looked at us, or at least, the three of them, "Using the old ritual that was used to summon the four heroes the last time our land was besieged by the Waves, we once again summoned the four heroes, our saviours, to push back the waves and spare the world from destruction."
"We underestimated the Waves." The King admitted, "And once we experienced one, after we saw our soldiers and people and homes brought down by the monsters that wave brought to our land, we realized that the ancient legend wasn't just a story, a myth. And that is why I gave the order to summon the Cardinal Heroes."
There was a pause, the King apparently finished, and Ren spoke up, "We get the idea of it now. Of course, you didn't summon us and expect us to save you for free, did you?"
The comment made my eyebrow raise just a little... Pretty mercenary for someone who was sixteen.
Beside the king, to the left of the empty throne, what I assumed to be an advisor (fancy outfit, not quite elderly, and with a gaze that made my tail bristle a little, kind of like say, Jafar, if he were British), "Of course! Once you repel all the waves, you will be rewarded handsomely."
I was liking this overall atmosphere less and less... Impending doom, heroes summoned out of thin air from someplace else, most of the heroes being motivated by greed apparently, nobility that I could just tell weren't giving us the entire story...
And the looks I was getting... They thought I was being oblivious... But no. I could feel, and see, many of the eyes in the room on me, like I was some kind of freak or cripple.
"Well, so long as we have your word." Motoyasu said, his tone one of someone who was getting the better end of a deal.
"We'll work with you, so long as you don't turn on us." Ren added, "But don't think for a moment we're your pets."
"Exactly. Can't have you looking down on us after all." Itsuki said with a smile.
Those eyes that were just glancing at me, focused on me for a moment, but I said nothing. I did however meet a few of those eyes, and felt a little pride that even at a little over half my usual size, I could still make people flinch.
"Excellent. Then, heroes, you should check your statuses."
"Status?" Itsuki blinked, surprised.
"Is that what that is?" I mumbled, Motoyasu looking down at me.
"Oh? I saw it as soon as I got here. Just focus on it." Ren said, "It should have been the first thing you noticed in this world."
So I did. It took a couple tries, but after 'looking' at it, and widening my eyes a little, my vision filled with a transparent 'screen', similar to looking through one of Delly's illusions or HIDA's old holographic projector.
The Shield Hero
Kodori Haruhime
Age: 8 Level: 1
EXP: 0/20
Max HP: 135
Max MP: 60
Max SP: 40
ATT: 1
MAG:10
PDEF: 32
MDEF: 22
DEX: 9
Fire: -100
Water: 5
Ice: 5
Wind: 10
Earth: 5
Lightning: 0
Light: 0
Dark: 20
Equipment
Small Shield
Otherworldly Clothes (+)
Belt of many things (+)
-Error- (+)
Behind my status screen, I saw the other three looking at something only they could see. Looking at 'what I was' almost as plainly as the paper Hestia gave me after every update was kind of weird, but this...
I focused on the little (+) next to the 'otherworldly clothes', and just as I expected, a little sub window opened up.
All black clothing made from magic cloth.
(Size Adjustment) (Self Repairing)
On a whim, I looked at 'self repairing', and it too opened up a new window. 'So long as the wearer has MP, clothing will repair itself.'
I looked away from the window, and it closed helpfully, then looked towards the middle of my status. It seemed I still had something of my abilities from Orario. But my Stats... Well I was the shield hero, so it made sense I had defensive ability that high, but no attack? If this world was based purely on stats, I was not going to have an easy time...
"Level one? That's troubling." Itsuki said, looking to us.
I 'looked away' from my status window, and it vanished. "Might make it hard to fight." Motoyasu said, his eyes still looking at the space in front of him.
The 'advisor' spoke, "Status magic is something everyone in the world has."
"And what are we supposed to do, being level '1'." Itsuki asked.
"You must leave on an adventure, to develop and upgrade your legendary weapons." He replied.
I remember this from the book, though, it didn't say 'how' just 'what'. I looked down at the gem on my shield, the deep green soaking in the light from the sunset. Sunset? Hmm, it was a pretty good story to make me lose track of time like that...
Motoyasu brandished his spear, but I could tell he was just showing off with the motion. "Couldn't we just use other weapons until these are usable?" His 'final pose' would have gotten him laughed at back home.
"We can figure that out as we go." Ren said, the sword in his hand looking a bit awkward, but at least he was holding it right and not resting it on his shoulder or something. "But we're going to have to train ourselves."
Itsuki chimed in, "We'll have to level up as much as we can."
"I'm guessing forming a party is out of the question." I said, remembering the book, and how it was organized. Why have 'the King and Queen' gather adventurers for the Heroes, and then separate the book into sections that focused on each hero?
"Humph, correct." The advisor said, his words prompting a little red flash from the little icon at the bottom of my vision.
Focusing on it, a little window popped up in that 'between' place in my vision. 'When two or more wielders of the legendary weapons operate together, it causes and adverse reaction in the weapons. Working separately is highly advised'.
While I read that, the advisor continued, "We will gather willing adventurers from the city, and you will each recruit and adventure separately."
"With the sun about to set, you should all rest for tomorrow." The King said, "While you do, my soldiers and advisors will find the best talent in the city to assist you in your endeavours."
The instant he stopped speaking, a young woman in a nice ballroom gown stepped towards us from behind a pillar. Aha! I seem to have found a world without a maid uniform. Her pose was the same, with one hand over the other in front of her, but the outfit was all wrong.
"We've prepared rooms and a meal for you, please, this way." She bowed (again the same, but ruined without the maid outfit) and motioned with her hand to a side door set half way between the door we came in from, and the throne.
We were led through the door, down a nicely appointed hallway and through another door. The hallway past it was just bare stone, marking it as a kind of... employee's only area. If they followed the common theme I'd seen from Earth, Orario and Falmart, this was where soldiers and staff would be housed and did the 'chores' that no 'guest' would need to see. Cooking, laundry, sleeping that kind of thing.
And since no guests should ever be here, it lacked the nice carpets, painted walls and all the nice looking decorations. No, the next hall was bare grey stone and functional wall sconces.
"I don't know that scent." I said, pleased my nose was still sharp.
My comment made the other three heroes sniff the air, "Fruit soup?" Itsuki mused.
Of course, the mention of food made my stomach growl. It was past dinner time for me, and if my body had shrunk, and I was now in the body of an eight year old, I was going to be hungry constantly.
The maid we were following glanced over her shoulder, giving me a half second of a glare, then a smile to Itsuki, "You will be eating before our palace guards. I hope the food is to the Hero's liking."
She made a turn at the next door and opened it. Inside was clearly a common eating area, with a big table in the middle and long benches on either side. Along the walls, behind the benches, were simple cross shaped armour stands. There was even a helmet on top of one, likely forgotten by one of the guards after lunch or something. The scent of food was stronger here too, and my eyes (and nose) turned towards an open portal to the kitchen.
We all sat, though I was so short now I had to kneel instead, putting my house slippers under my knees on the bench. Moments later, a trio of ruggedly dressed servants (two women and one man) came out with steaming pots and plates, and without a word they set them down between the four of us and vanished again.
"When you are done, I will lead you to your rooms." The not-maid said before stepping out.
"Huh... I can't..." Ren looked at his sword, "Troublesome..." His eyes unfocused.
"Oh..." Motoyasu looked at his spear and also started looking at the 'middle distance' at his status.
I figured out the problem without needing to ask. They couldn't let go of their weapons. I looked to the shield on my right forearm, and saw that the underside wasn't even strapped to me. It was just kind of... clinging to my arm, as if magnetized to my skin. While I had the advantage over the other three, having both hands free, it was still a wide solid object stuck to my arm at a dinner table.
I took hold of the top edge with my left hand, and it came free of my right arm. "Huh." I tried letting go, and couldn't. So I reached back and put the shield on my back. Again, with that weird, almost magnetic feeling, it stuck there, and I let go. "Itsuki-san? Sling your bow across your chest." I said to The Bow, who was sitting beside me.
"Ah? You mean... Oh." He put the curve of the bow from the top right to the bottom left of his chest, and let go. "Ah, we can't let go, but so long as it's touching us, we can use both hands again."
The other two looked at their weapons. Ren reversed the sword in his grip, and touched the crosspiece to his hip, and to his surprise, it stuck there, angling itself so the point wasn't touching the stone floor. Motosuya frowned at his spear, then did what I'd done and put it behind him. Like the bow, his spear crossed his back from right to left.
"Pretty clever tiny." He grinned at me.
"Foxes are clever." I replied, looking at the food, "I think you might be right, Itsuki-san. Fruit soup."
Notes!
Already, Kodori is showing her experience and perception to things around her. Being an experienced politician, she's well aware that something is up here. But to those who know, you know she isn't getting everything right. :)
See you next time.
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