Alright, it's about time I posted this. Sorry it took so long. I have no idea when the next update will be. Hope this batch of wholesomeness makes your day better.
Chapter Nineteen: The Chicken Nuggies
"Alright, I used my Healing Magic on my shoulder, happy now?"
"Yes. Very." Raphtalia replied.
Naofumi pouted. Uncle Bald Guy had managed to get the kid out of his armor and was fixing it up nearby. Raphtalia and Naofumi in the meantime were sitting on a log, watching the coalition army going about the village doing various tasks.
Motoyasu and Amber were off delivering supplies via wagon to another village impacted by the Wave. Ren and Itsuki were out leading their parties and groups of soldiers to mop up remnants of the wave monsters from the surrounding area.
The two had as of yet to see Dadcray.
They'd overheard one of the soldiers talking about a dragon helping out during the fight. Naofumi thought it was so unfair. Why did those guys get to see a dragon while all they got to see was a bunch of stupid shadow monsters?!
And a flying ghost ship. And a cool-looking skeleton captain. And this weird but cool tentacle creature Moto called a Kraken. And that giant white scary-looking fish. Oh, and that cool, yet terrifying raven-haired lady wielding those powerful fans of her.
But yeah, it was totally not fair that he didn't get to see a dragon during all that and they did!
On the bright side, they didn't have to go back to the castle yet, so they were safe from Momellia's lessons for a little while longer.
That was something.
"Hey, brat. If you're going to be busy pouting, you might as well put your magic to good use!" Elhart called out.
"What good use?! My magic is totally lame for combat!" Naofumi replied while flailing his arms around in a tantrum. If only his stupid shield didn't restrict him from using offensive magic! He could be the coolest hero ever!
The coolest hero launching fireballs that only did 1 damage to their targets… but it'd look cool at least!
"We aren't in the middle of combat though." Raphtalia pointed out. "And your Support magic helped us out a lot earlier."
"Well, um… hmph!" Naofumi crossed his arms and continued to pout.
"You know. You could use your Healing magic on the people who were hurt." Raphtalia suggested. "I bet they'd be really grateful if you helped take their pain away. It'd be pretty heroic of you too."
…
You know, Naofumi knew there was a reason why he'd befriended Raphtalia. She was more than just her smile and her floofy tail. "Yeah, and maybe one of them could help us escape the prying eyes of Momellia's Shadows!" Naofumi said excitedly.
"I daresay, that is highly unlikely."
"EEP!" Him and Raphtalia both jumped in surprise. Had Shadow been hiding underneath the log they were sitting on?!
HOW THE HECK WAS THAT POSSIBLE?!
"Always watching…" The Shadow slinked back behind the log and out of sight.
...
Both kids shuddered.
Creepy...
Raphtalia led Naofumi towards a medical tent. And there, Naofumi began using his Healing magic to great effect. There were a lot of hurt people, both humans, and demi-humans.
The soldiers and nurses were grateful for his help. In fact, many of them seemed surprised to see a kid in a place like this. They were even more surprised when they saw how powerful the kid's healing magic was.
"... and heal my targets. All Zweite Heal."
At least twelve people were surrounded by green energy in the beds around Naofumi. And though this last spell nearly depleted his MP reserves, their major injuries healed over thanks to the effects of his magic.
"Amazing, this kid is a prodigy." One of the nurses muttered in awe.
"I wish we could have more healing mages like him." Another agreed, looking in disbelief at the 'top-tier' healing mages under them struggling to heal one person at a time.
Granted, they were dealing with more serious wounds which needed considerable more magic to heal, but that wasn't any excuse to be outperformed by a kid!
Naofumi didn't end up meeting anyone who could help him escape the Shadow lady tailing them. But he had to admit after seeing the happy looks on everyone's faces that maybe his magic wasn't as uncool as he'd initially thought.
It was still uncool for combat. But he guessed that magic could be useful in areas outside of combat too…
He still wished he could throw a giant fireball like Raphtalia and Amber though. One of these days...
It was at that moment that Aultcray walked in, Vassal Staff in hand. "My, to see you taking such initiative young Naofumi! You'll grow into a fine King yet!"
"Dadcray!" Naofumi and Raphtalia both excitedly ran up and hugged him around the waist. Aultcray chuckled as he hugged both kids. The soldiers nearby all smiled at the wholesome moment, whether they were human or demihuman.
"Where were you, Dad?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"Oh, I just made a quick trip home. I had to report the success of the battle to your mother after all." He smiled widely. "She said that she's really proud of how well you two handled yourselves during the Wave."
Naofumi and Raphtalia smiled widely in return. If they did well, maybe that meant they would get a reward! And maybe, that reward would involve them being left to themselves for a bit so they could sow ch- I mean, cause trou-, I mean, um…
Maybe it was a problem that Naofumi's brain was hardwired to cause trouble. Wasn't there anything else he could do…? Nah, trouble was the quickest way of getting excitement in his life! And the easiest too! The moment he thought of something to do besides causing trouble would mean he could no longer consider himself a kid!
"I see he's already plotting trouble once again." Aultcray smiled while addressing Raphtalia.
"Yeah. He makes it too obvious." Raphtalia agreed. "He'd be able to get away with a lot more if he could learn to control his face."
"Hey! I can control my face!" Naofumi pouted at them both, getting chuckles and childlike laughter in response.
"Sure. So are we heading back to the Capital now?" After the brief spout of sarcasm, Raphtalia asked Aultcray her question with curiosity. Her tail flicked behind her this way and that as she looked up at him.
"Actually, I had something else in mind for today." Aultcray smiled. "How would you two like to see another country?"
…
Raphtalia and Naofumi looked absolutely shocked. Then, stars suddenly appeared in their eyes. "WOULD WE?!" Raphtalia's tail began shaking like crazy. "THAT'D BE AWESOME!"
Aultcray laughed at their enthusiasm. "Alright, just know that your mom is considering this practice for you two. If you are to become the future King and Queen, you need to set a prime example when visiting other nations."
"... ugh." The excitement leached out from the two of them. So they had to act like proper royals.
They might as well have gone back home to have more lessons with Mom then. "Can't Melty do that instead-oof!" Naofumi was in the middle of complaining when Raphtalia elbowed him in the side, causing the king to chuckle.
"Melty is already quite versed in proper etiquette for meeting foreign representatives." Aultcray smirked as he leaned in close and whispered in their ears. "And if you two do well, then we'll be able to do something fun together later, something that Mommy won't have to know about."
...
Their eyes slowly lit up again in excitement. Was this what they thought it was?! A chance to cause trouble, with Dadcray helping them out!?
This was an opportunity they couldn't afford to pass up!
"Okay!" The two coughed into their hands and composed themselves as Momellia had taught. "Okay. We shall behave, father." It was so weird for Naofumi to actually sound proper as he bowed his head to the King, even going the extra mile of raising his hand to his chest as he did so.
If it meant finally having the chance to cause some trouble, then he would do anything and everything to endure for as long as he had to!
Aultcray was genuinely impressed with the two. His wife truly was a miracle worker. He was almost afraid that he'd have to follow through on his promise now.
And that made him even more excited to reward his kids! "That's the spirit!"
"So, where shall we be going today, Father?" Raphtalia asked in a tone that would have made Melty proud.
Aultcray smiled widely. Yes, these two would be rewarded greatly indeed! "Siltvelt!"
And so, after all the preparations had been made, after Uncle Bald Guy had finished repairing Naofumi's armor, and after the other Heroes and their parties got back, they all teleported to Siltvelt proper using the King's Vassal Staff.
The next few hours were some of the longest in Naofumi's life.
Being proper and well-mannered was much harder than it looked.
While their arrival had been met with surprise and great enthusiasm by the Siltvelt Council, what'd followed was anything but.
They were taken on a tour of Siltvelt's Capital. Well, tour was probably the wrong word. Tours meant you went around looking at stuff. That alone would have been boring. But what they ended up doing was going around and looking at people.
No, he was serious. It was nothing but a tour of people.
He and the other Heroes were carried around on large chairs and had to smile and wave at crowds of people that gathered to see them and cheer for them. Werner, the man with red wings and claws for hands (which Naofumi found to be super cool) introduced them to important figures as they were carried about.
That wasn't the part that sucked, though. Naofumi loved being the center of attention. And he was the center of attention everywhere they went.
What sucked was that he had to stay sitting, smiling, and waving while behaving in front of all these people... for hours. Like, he lost track of how long it was. Minutes felt like days. Days felt like months. And months felt like, well…
Longer than his life for sure.
When they were finally brought back to the castle, it was well into the evening. An entire day of potential fun had gone down the drain. And Naofumi very well might have considered organizing a rebellion against this country's tyranny if not for the wise Genmu's offer to host a feast in the hero's honor.
To his immense delight, he found that they actually had CHICKEN NUGGIES!
"Son, remember your manners." Aultcray gently told him.
"B-Bu tye're s gud!" The little kid spoke around the food in his mouth. He was also crying.
His favorite food. The food Dadcray had tried and failed many times over to get his castle chefs to recreate. And all this time, it was just a country away!
Or was it several countries? Momellia had been trying to get them to memorize what this world looked like by having them study maps. But it was hard for Naofumi to motivate himself to try and retain such useless information when he was trying desperately to not forget the rest of the cool stuff from his old world.
"Naofumi, remember why we put so much effort into behaving today." Raphtalia whispered into his ear.
Huh- Oh! OH! HE'D NEARLY FORGOTTEN!
Naofumi quickly swallowed, almost choking before recomposing his face. "I'm sorry, Father, this food just reminded me a bit too much of home and I lost my composure." He apologized formally.
Aultcray smiled widely, and the Council members around him stared at their Shield Hero in awe. "You are forgiven, young Naofumi. You may continue as you are." The King turned to discuss with the Council Members again, and Naofumi smiled widely at the King's easy forgiveness.
Had he acted like this in Momellia's proximity, she definitely wouldn't have let him off the hook so easily. Dadcray was definitely the favorite parent of the two by far.
"Now do tell me my friend, how did you manage to make these?" Aultcray asked the Genmu council representative, who sat at the head of the feast.
"Oh, these little things? It's a recipe that was handed down to us by a past Shield Hero. We've found it to be a favorite of other Shield Heroes since then." The old tortoise grinned. "I'm glad to see that still applies even now."
He was definitely a wise turtle. And, as Naofumi had learned, the heroes of the past had good taste.
"Wow, this reminds me of my childhood!" Big bro Moto was wolfing down a larger version that he called chicken tenders. Naofumi didn't know why he called them that. They just looked like oversized chicken nuggets to him. And the best part, they weren't made from Filolials, so it was safe to eat!
"Hmmm…" Ren, cool as always, was slowly eating his chicken nuggets one at a time. He calmly dipped them into a sauce dish then took a bite. Calmly all the way from plate to mouth. So calmly.
He was so cool! Naofumi wished he could be more like him every day!
'So good, so good, must, resist, urge, to, gorge, myself, in front, of my little bro!' Ren's hand shook as he used a surprising amount of willpower to restrain himself from acting like a little kid. It was hard, but not as hard as before. It definitely felt more natural doing this. And he smiled at the look of approval Wyndia was giving him.
It definitely felt like there was more than just Naofumi motivating him to improve every day.
Then, Naofumi saw Itsuki and instantly frowned again.
Jerksuki wasn't eating the chicken nuggets or chicken tenders at all! He was eating some noodles instead. Boo! Didn't the jerk know of the glory of chicken nuggies!?
"Uh, did I do something wrong?" Itsuki asked awkwardly upon seeing the glare that Kidfumi was giving him.
"Hmph!" Naofumi refused to look at the disgrace that the Bow Hero was inflicting upon himself. He went back to talking with Kidtalia about the battle, and also wondered where Uncle Bald Guy and Amber had run off to. Neither of them were sitting at the large table.
While he was distracted, Itsuki began whispering to the other heroes. "Pst, guys, what did I do now?"
"I think it's because you aren't eating any chicken," Motoyasu answered.
"Wha- why should that matter? Is it my fault I think Napolitan tastes better?" He fiercely defended his favorite food choice.
"Does it taste better?" Ren sounded skeptical. It not only tasted good, but he also had many, many childhood memories going through his mind because of the chicken nuggets on his plate. It was like a trip down memory lane.
Only it tasted good.
Really, really good.
...
Ren subtly absorbed some chicken nuggets into his sword to snack on later.
"Tell me this: Do you not like chicken?" Motoyasu asked.
"Well, um… no, it's not that, I just, err… okay, I'm not much of a fan of chicken nuggets." Itsuki admitted.
…
The two taller heroes stared at Itsuki in disbelief. The Bow Hero awkwardly shuffled around in his seat. "How dare you sit at the same table as us." Motoyasu deadpanned.
Ren just continued to stare in disbelief. How could someone not like the taste of this fried, bite-sized goodness?!
It was inconceivable!
"Stop staring at me like that! Not everyone likes processed chicken!... and besides, tenders are much better than nuggets." Itsuki fiercely whispered under his breath.
"I do agree with you there. But I tried one of Ren's when he wasn't looking." The Spear Hero conceded.
"You what?!" Ren fiercely whispered in shock.
"Anyway, it isn't actually processed chicken. It only tastes like it." Motoyasu clarified.
Itsuki looked at Ren for confirmation, but the Sword Hero had moved his plate into a more defensive position away from the Spear Hero. It was unbelievable! He'd trusted these two! And they'd had the gall to betray him like this-
On noticing Itsuki's stare, Ren coughed into his hand. "It tastes like it, but isn't actually processed." Perhaps being reminded of his childhood had been a very bad idea. It was like he'd almost reverted to being a chunibyo again.
That wouldn't have been cool at all!
Itsuki quickly glanced at Naofumi to make sure he was still paying attention somewhere else before looking at the two again. "Look, I'm sorry about how I acted before. I really want to get on his cool list like you two! How do I do that?!"
"You might be a little too late for that." Motoyasu shrugged. "You definitely dropped even further on his cool list just now."
"Come on, there has to be something." Itsuki pleaded.
Ren shrugged. "I don't know. I've noticed that once he has an opinion on something, it's hard to get him to change it."
"It can't be that hard, he's only-" The Bow Hero protested.
"A little kid." Motoyasu and Ren said at the same time.
…
Okay, perhaps Itsuki was screwed. He looked at Naofumi again and felt his heart sink in his chest.
He'd really been a jerk, hadn't he? Not only did Kidfumi share a way for them all to get stronger, but he'd also saved their lives when facing Glass. Itsuki had been on the path before, but that moment had clearly shown him the error of his ways. Even if he was a kid, Kidfumi wasn't useless.
He was a hero, just like them, and Itsuki genuinely wanted to be his friend and get to know the kid better.
Though it'd be kind of hard to do that now since he didn't really have childlike traits like the other two.
You know, besides having enough pride to actually outweigh the stubbornness of a snotty little fifth grader.
Itsuki felt deeply offended for some reason. Had somebody just insulted him?
"So who are you?" Naofumi suddenly spoke up loudly, startling a green-haired girl sitting next to him.
"Fueh! M-M-Me?!" Rishia pointed at herself.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Naofumi immediately apologized. Others around the table stared at him for almost causing a scene. Dang it, he hadn't even been trying to cause trouble! He didn't want all his hard work and effort to go to waste!
Otherwise, he might have to… shudder… go on another tour of the city.
Anything but that.
"F-Fueh…" The girl trembled in her seat.
"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to startle you. I just, I feel like I've seen you before, but I haven't talked to you yet." Naofumi looked down at his plate guiltily.
"Fueh… oh, um, I-I'm Rishia." The girl introduced herself. "I'm sorry, I'm a member of Sir Itsuki's party, but I'm really shy." She admitted.
Oh, that was probably why he'd seen her before. Now that he thought about it, this girl followed Itsujerk and his friends around everywhere. Unlike the others though, she reminded him a bit of Raphtalia in the beginning when the half tanuki girl was shy. But his determination to be her friend broke through all those barriers, and now she was his best friend! A completely different, but even cooler person than before!
She even allowed him to pat her head and floof her tail, and-
"You're thinking about playing with my tail again, aren't you, Naofumi." Raphtalia gave him a judging look.
"No, I'm not!" Naofumi denied it vehemently. "Anyway, I'm Naofumi, and it's nice to meet you!" Naofumi grinned widely while extending out a hand to Rishia.
"Fueh?" She whimpered again, shocked at the blatant introduction. His genuine smile, however, eventually made her smile as she shook his hand in return. "I-It's nice to meet you too, Naofumi."
"Can you tell me about yourself?" Naofumi asked.
"I-I don't know if there's anything cool to know about me…" Rishia whimpered.
"I mean, you'll never know if you don't try." It was a surprising amount of wisdom that Naofumi said in that one sentence. No doubt because of Dadcray's influence.
"O… Okay." Rishia nodded her head, deciding to try her best to entertain the little kid.
She was surprisingly quick to discover what Kidfumi liked and disliked. He found it interesting at best how easily she learned. Though focusing too much on explaining languages she'd learned or books she'd read bored him quickly. So she soon started giving brief explanations of her interest as a scholar, and then as she discovered the little kid's tastes, she shifted to telling cool stories she'd gotten to experience by joining the Bow Hero's party.
"And then, Sir Itsuki busted through the roof, raining shrapnel down on all my captors," Rishia said, eyes sparkling as she intently focused on telling the grand tale of her rescue to the kid.
"Whoaaaaa…" Naofumi stared, transfixed at her storytelling skills.
"It was chaotic. Most people in the room didn't know what was happening. And the ones who noticed him first trembled in fear as they realized that justice was upon them." Rishia continued, her voice gaining confidence with each sentence she spoke.
Itsuki openly stared at the pair in shock.
Was… was Rishia… actually helping to turn his image around?!
"What happened next?! What happened next?!" Naofumi excitedly asked, earning a glare from Dadcray that calmed him right down as he remembered he was still in a dining setting. However, the other members of the Council were also paying attention to the green-haired girl.
"Sir Itsuki stood tall on a pillar, glaring down at those evil men in the very image of a true Hero. He calmly spoke, saying: "I demand you release her at once." And when they rallied in an attempt to fight him off, he took them all down before they'd walked more than a few steps." As she spoke, her hands moved around, adding to the depth of the grand story she was telling.
"It was a disaster for them! The Bow Hero's arrows rained down like the judgment of God! And then his allies jumped from behind his attack, raining down blows on anyone that tried to get back up!"
The members of the Siltvelt Council were drawn in by the story. They stared, taking in the story, eagerly waiting for the next part just like their Shield Hero with wagging tails and bated breath.
"It was a breathtaking sight. It was so scary at the time. I had been torn from my family by the noble's corrupt nature. I had feared that I'd never see my parents or anyone I loved ever again. But Sir Itsuki, he saved me, and I… I…" Rishia suddenly teetered off, realizing that everyone had been staring intently at her.
"Oh, my apologies." The old Genmu turtle chuckled. "It has been a while since we've heard such a captivating story told of a Cardinal Hero. It truly sounded like a tale worthy of legend."
"Yeah, it was really cool!" Naofumi smiled widely, looking up at his new friend with such an endearing look that Rishia couldn't help but smile in return.
"Th-Thank you." She mumbled, shy at the sudden attention on her.
Itsuki was still staring in shock. Naofumi had just called the story of his rescue really cool. He hadn't even remembered it being that cool. It'd just been some… stupid noble who'd needed to be put in his place.
At least, that's what he'd thought at the time. Yet Rishia had told it in such a way that Itsuki had been painted as a...
"Huh, maybe your luck isn't so bad after all," Motoyasu smirked at Itsuki, seeing the way he was staring at his green-haired party member. "Might I suggest keeping her around? You never know what might come of it."
"H-Huh?" Itsuki tore his eyes off her to stare in bafflement at the Spear Hero. But the blonde merely smirked, not disclosing anything else.
It looked like the Spear Hero's mission as the Love Hunter had just received another objective to its list.
"My, my, the Heroes truly have some interesting companions." Werner pointed out. Even Itsuki's other party members had congregated around the green haired girl, complimenting her for her amazing story telling skills.
"Bah, I've heard better." Jaralis turned away and focused on his own meal.
"Oh, would you perhaps be willing to share tales of your grand exploits then, Jaralis?" Aultcray politely asked the lion therianthrope. "I do remember you fighting in a war or two in the past."
"Urk!" Jaralis paused, surprised at Aultcray's bold inquiry. Then, after taking a shaky sip of wine, he backed down and went back to eating his meal.
After all, there was no story he could offer that'd be better than the Staff King's. Especially since the Staff King had personally defeated their powerful and mighty Claw King.
There was no way Jaralis could offer anything that could top a tale like that.
Aultcray smiled, observing all that was going on around him. It was great to see such a spirit of celebration after the successful handling of another Wave. It was even better, seeing the Heroes and their parties getting along with one another.
He realized. Things really had improved for everyone since the summoning of the four heroes. When the Waves had begun several months ago, there had been so much fear and despair in the world. Aultcray had been willing to do anything if it meant protecting his family…
He was fortunate, really. Things could have turned out so much worse because of him choosing to preemptively summon all four Heroes while his wife was away. But Kidfumi had managed to fix even that mistake of his.
To think, the latest Shield Hero, the god of the demi-humans he used to abhor. And now he was his son. He could have never seen this coming three months ago. Aultcray truly was grateful for young Naofumi and all the effort he'd put in thus far to help everyone around him.
Thinking about it all made the King recall something else that'd happened during the battle; there'd been a particular man that he'd sentenced for attempting to rape his daughter before. He'd actually found him after the Ghost Ship Wave, lying in a bed, covered in various wounds.
He'd fought hard to defend his home village. As well as his family and wife, who was eight weeks pregnant with their child. On seeing Aultcray, he didn't get mad or plead for forgiveness. Instead, he said that he admitted he still had more to do before he paid off his debt, and that he'd go back to protecting his village from monsters as soon as the mages had worked their magic on him.
Aultcray didn't let them bother. He himself used healing magic to heal the man's wounds completely. Then, he released him from his punishment, saying he'd done more than enough to repent of his past actions.
Though he also made sure to warn him what would happen if he ever proved unfaithful to his wife, family, and village ever again.
Regardless though, the man formerly accused of raping Meanie was greatly appreciative for the King's forgiveness. And he promised that he would continue to serve Melromarc faithfully until the end of his life.
Aultcray couldn't have imagined a better happy ending for him. It also gave him hope that things would continue to improve for their world.
"So Naofumi, which of our methods have you found the most useful?" Motoyasu asked curiously.
"Oh, definitely Ren's." Naofumi smiled widely. "I don't need to gather any materials or anything! I just need to use my shield for some time and it gets stronger on its own!"
"That's true." Ren smirked at the other two in victory. "Unlike you two, I don't need to gather any materials or souls or anything. I just need to level up and use my weapons to make them stronger."
"Alright, I admit my Smelting method is a bit of a pain, but my main method can make even my beginning spear endgame material with enough time and use." Motoyasu countered.
"Psh," Itsuki chuckled proudly. "Are you kidding me? My Job Level method is probably the most OP of them all."
"Really? I thought your methods were pretty useless." Naofumi admitted casually.
"... … …" Itsuki stared at the kid Hero in shock. His methods, USELESS?!
He coughed to clear his throat so he didn't scream from how offended he'd felt by that comment. "How are my methods useless?" He asked instead, struggling to keep his voice even.
Naofumi shrugged. "I mean, your rarity method is worse than Ren's since it requires the weapon to be rare to have higher stats. But I can use Ren's method to upgrade the rarity of my weapons." That bonus also didn't transfer to Itsuki's method since it was two different types of rarity for some reason. He didn't know. His shield had tried explaining it to him once, but it still made no sense in his mind.
"Your Item Enchantment is also garbage." Naofumi continued, further driving a nail into Itsuki's coffin of pride. "I've tried using it, but all it gives me is resistance to damage from certain monsters." And with how high his defense was, it was definitely useless.
Itsuki grimaced. He didn't even have to mention his ore equip method. That was in line with Motoyasu's smelting method. It was just hard to find places to acquire the ore from. Thinking it over, his methods really were pretty useless compared to the methods the other Heroes had.
"What about my Job Level method though? That one's amazing, right?" Itsuki asked, sounding desperate.
Naofumi tilted his head curiously. "The one that requires a lot of materials for me to use to raise a stat by one? That one sucks the most!"
"Wha- haven't you tried using it more than once?!" Itsuki nearly shouted.
"No, why would I?" Naofumi scratched at his temple with his index finger in confusion.
"Because if you used it on that stat again, it'd go up by two points. And then the next level would raise it by three points! And so on and so forth." Itsuki hastily explained. "Yeah, it isn't powerful early on, but after a hundred days, all those bonuses add up to, well… a lot."
Naofumi stared, a look of shock crossing over his face.
How had he missed a detail like that?! That was actually far more OP than either Ren or Moto's methods!
Text appeared on his HUD:
I did explain that. You just didn't read it.
…
Hehe, oops.
"Pardon me, Sir Motoyasu, what are you heroes talking about?" Aultcray asked curiously. He'd been listening in, but had been confused about them being able to use each other's methods.
"Oh, we're just discussing how we can make ourselves stronger." Motoyasu chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck.
"By using each other's methods?" Aultcray leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table curiously. He suddenly felt like he'd stumbled upon something very important.
"Now that I think about it, his Majesty is a hero too, right?" Ren asked.
"But isn't he a Vassal Hero? That isn't exactly the same as a Cardinal Hero." Itsuki countered.
"Could one of you please explain how you're using each other's methods?" Aultcray asked calmly, trying to hide his growing excitement. Normally, he'd be annoyed, but to think he was about to learn more about the Heroes! "From what I'd learned growing up, I thought Heroes could only use their own methods."
"You see, basically…" Ren then proceeded to tell Aultcray about what they'd discovered a month and a half ago thanks to Naofumi. How the Cardinal Heroes were capable of sharing each other's power-up methods. How their strength had increased exponentially after sharing them with each other. How it was actually Naofumi who discovered that they could use each other's methods first, and how they'd been stupid in not listening to him much sooner.
Aultcray listened intently. Even as the Staff Hero, he'd never heard of this phenomenon amongst Heroes before. Then again, it was rare for Heroes to be working together so closely like this. The last war between the Siltvelt Claw Hero and him as the Staff Hero was proof of that.
It wasn't like he could have just casually waltzed up to the Claw Hero and asked if the large tiger could share his methods with him before they tried to kill each other on the battlefield.
"And mainly, it comes down to believing that you can use each other's methods." Ren finished his explanation. "Once we did that, the rest was history."
"Sir Ren, would you humor me and tell me how it is you strengthen yourself?" Aultcray asked.
The Sword Hero blinked. "You mean, you actually understand what I'm talking about?" He'd tried explaining it once to Wyndia and his friends, but they'd all given him a blank stare at his explanation.
"Of course. My weapon also has a method that I use to strengthen my magic. Let us share and see if this phenomenon is really something that's only limited to Cardinal Heroes." Aultcray wisely suggested.
Excited at the prospect of getting yet another strengthening method, Ren excitedly began to share each of their methods with the Staff King. Naofumi, who currently had his Pillow Shield equipped so he could rest more comfortably on his chair, suddenly paused in talking with Raphtalia.
"What is it?" The little Raccoon girl whispered.
"For some reason, I feel like my Pillow Shield is becoming even softer." Naofumi whispered back.
Why did his shield keep on doing that? It was strange. At this rate, it'd poof out of existence.
Though would that be such a bad thing if it meant he'd finally be able to attack stuff?
Over on Aultcray's end, the Staff Hero looked over the strengthening methods that'd appeared in his HUD after Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu had shared theirs with him. Three of the methods had already increased his stats. The others remained for him to use to further strengthen himself far beyond what he'd already accomplished.
"Unbelievable, to think that the Heroes were capable of something like this." Aultcray was deeply in awe. His already OP stats were even higher now. He hadn't seen an increase in strength like this since… actually, he'd never seen an increase in strength like this! This was unimaginable! This was exciting! This was…
A complete game changer.
"I need to organize a meeting with the other nation's vassal Heroes at once." Aultcray suddenly said out loud.
"What?" Werner cocked his head curiously.
"If the Vassals could share their methods with the Cardinal Heroes and vice versa, we'd be far better prepared to protect our world than ever before." Aultcray explained. Plus, it could help to ease the rest of those nations who had only the strength of their Seven-Star Heroes to defend themselves with.
"Yes, yes, that could very well benefit us." Werner smiled widely, amazed at how the wisdom of the Staff King continued to spew forth like a font of endless water.
"Should we really share such secrets with the other nations though?" Jaralis asked skeptically. "This could give us a clear advantage against them if they tried to go to war against us."
"But if it strengthens the Shield Hero and brings an end to the Waves that much sooner, I don't see why we should keep this to ourselves." Werner calmly replied, before looking at the Staff King again. "I shall send my agents out to contact our Claw Hero as soon as possible."
"Yes, thank you Werner, as for the rest of you." Aultcray looked at the four heroes, who were now looking at him. "My method is this: as you level up, you gain extra skill points that you can put towards upgrading your magic spells."
"Think of it like Naofumi's Zweite Heal. It is already an effective spell as is. But by using these points to upgrade it, he could cast Zweite Heal III, or Zweite Heal V, or even Zweite Heal X. It does not cost more MP to cast the spell, but its effects are strengthened the more it is upgraded.
"The only drawback is that you can only upgrade one variation of the spell. An upgrade to Zweite Heal won't upgrade First Heal, or Drifa Heal. Neither will it upgrade All Zweite Heal or All Drifa Heal. Furthermore, it costs more points to upgrade to each tier, so my recommendation would be to upgrade the most powerful versions of your spells with this method."
As the Heroes attentively listened, they found that the Staff King's upgrade method had appeared in their help guides along with a more detailed explanation of how to use it. Kidfumi frowned at the overwhelming amount of text in his help guide. "I understood what Dadcray was talking about. I don't need all of this info."
More text than appeared on his HUD.
Remember the Job Levels Method, brat?
Hmph! Stupid Shield! His memory wasn't that short!
Then again, he could no longer recall if it was All Might or All Fight that'd been his favorite hero from the other world.
Or maybe it was All Right?
...
It was a debate that'd plague his mind for years to come.
With that, the feast held together with the members of the Siltvelt Council ended, and Werner personally took it on himself to lead the Heroes to their rooms.
"Are we having a sleepover here?" Naofumi asked Aultcray excitedly.
The wise King smiled. "Yes, there are still matters that I must attend to back in Melromarc. But I promise to be back before the night is over."
Naofumi and Raphtalia hugged their adoptive father around the waist. "Have a good night Dad." Raphtalia smiled happily, tail wagging behind her.
Aultcray rubbed a hand through her ears as he smiled. "You two as well. Take care."
Further down the hallway, Ren had paused outside of his room. "Do we have to stay in our rooms right now?" He asked Werner.
"Not really. The Cardinal Heroes are free to go wherever they wish in our fair nation." The Shuzaku replied happily. "As long as, of course, the reason isn't to stir up trouble."
Further down the hallway, Naofumi bristled at the comment. It was almost like the insightful birdman had directed the comment at him!
It was too late to cause trouble anyway! Naofumi was tired after fighting a wave and experiencing a long boring day of absolutely nothing!
"Well… I'll make sure not to cause any trouble then…" Ren replied suavely. To be honest, this part of the world hadn't existed in his game. So he was really excited to go out and explore more of it. As for why he was nervous, well...
He looked behind him, almost jumping as he found Wyndia waiting for him in the doorway. "Are you coming in yet?" She asked. The other members of their party were waiting for them inside.
"... Actually," Ren coughed into his hand.
Alright, this was it! It was time, TO FACE DOWN, HIS BIGGEST, CHALLENGE, YET!
"I, well, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to see the city… with me." Ren managed to get out intelligibly.
"You mean, as in… a date?" She asked.
…
Ren gulped. She'd said the forbidden word that made his heart go crazy and his legs feel like jelly. This… THIS WAS NOT THE TIME TO BACK DOWN! GROW A BACKBONE YOU PATHETIC CHUUNI WANNABE! UNLESS YOU WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE AS A LONESOME NEET WITH NO GIRL TO TALK TO THEN GROW SOME BALLS AND ASK HER OUT!
"Y-Yes." He choked out in a high pitched squeak.
…
MY GOD, THAT SOUNDED STUPID! IT WAS LIKE THE DYING BREATH OF A WHELP! STUPID-
Wyndia smiled, running a hand along one of her french braids. "I'm not really one for dates…" Her hand gripped one of his. "But if it's you, I don't think I'd mind."
…
HELL YEAH! YOU ROCK YOU CHUNIBYO STUD! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU! WOO WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Ren was so lost in the absolute shock that he was feeling that he didn't register until they were well on their way out of the castle that he was going on a date with the hot dog girl of his party. And she was smiling at him as she booped him on the nose with her finger. "Come on, there's a whole city for us to explore, Sword Hero."
The limits of Ren's happiness knew no bounds from that time forth.
"Alright, I'm going to hit the hay early." Naofumi and Raphtalia were surprised to find Amber and Uncle Bald Guy in the room. It looked like they'd been talking about something, but upon their entrance, the former blacksmith stood up, yawned, and popped his neck into place before saying those words.
"But Uncle Bald Guy, you haven't even had dinner yet!" Naofumi said.
"Sorry kid, blocking that woman's attack really took it out of me." Elhart yawned tiredly into his hand again. "Fixing up your armor was exhausting too. That lady really did a number on it."
"Oh… I'm sorry." Naofumi looked down sadly. Had Uncle Bald Guy been too tired to enjoy the glory of chicken nuggies because of him?
"Hey, don't sweat it. I'll feel better come morning thanks to your healing magic." Uncle Bald Guy flexed his bulging muscles proudly, immediately brightening Kidfumi's mood and making the young Shield Hero stick his tongue out at him.
"There goes Uncle Bald Guy, showing off the reason why he became bald!"
"Eh, what's that supposed to mean?!" The blacksmith asked.
"Your muscles grew too big, so they pushed out your brain which in turn pushed out your hair!" Naofumi bent over laughing after saying that.
The blacksmith playfully smacked the kid's back, then said "ow" before rubbing his sore hand. "Kid, your defense is really becoming something else." It was like he'd slapped a brick wall instead of a scrawny little kid.
"Ha, that just means your muscles are for show! Now I can overpower you with just my pinkie!" Naofumi held up his pinkie finger tauntingly.
"Grrr, I'll be darned before I allow that to happen, pipsqueak!" Elhart tried to lock the little kid in a headlock to noogie him.
However, he was very much surprised as Naofumi managed to wiggle his way out of the headlock. He fell on his back, laughing as the stunned blacksmith realized that, yes, Naofumi had managed to outwrestle his strength. "What…"
Elhart shook his head. "You're lucky I'm so tired, otherwise, I wouldn't be going easy on you brat!" Uncle Bald Guy complained.
"Alright tired, I hope next time you're up for the challenge!" Naofumi grinned widely.
Why the little-
Elhart burst out laughing. It felt good that even though the little kid had taken a big hit during the fight, it'd done nothing to tone him down whatsoever. He playfully rustled Naofumi's hair again. "Alright, don't stay up too late."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure we go to bed at an appropriate time, Uncle Bald Guy." Raphtalia told him happily.
"And if she doesn't make sure, I daresay, I'll do so myself." Shadow briefly appeared in a corner of the room, disappearing after making sure the kids got the message.
Hmph. One of these days, they'd learn Shadow's secrets, and then, nobody would be able to stop them! Bwuahahahaha!
"You better keep a close eye on him. I don't like the look he has on his face." Elhart told Raphtalia.
"I will!" She said in a sing song voice.
Urghhhh, he did not have an easy face!
Yes, you do.
Nobody asked you, stupid shield!
"I'm too tired to cause trouble tonight anyway!" Naofumi pouted as he crossed his arms.
"Good. Because there's something I have to do right now." Amber approached the pair at last, smiling as she hugged the two kids close. "Sorry that I won't be able to give a bedtime story tonight."
"Is it because of Moto?" Naofumi asked with a frown. He swore, if his older brother kept on taking their sweet loving older sister away like this, then he was going to stop thinking that the Spear Hero was cool!
"Actually, I think I'm going to be helping Moto out with something involving the Sword Hero. It's really important." Amber said happily.
"Gasp, you two get to help Ren out with something?! Cool, can I join-" Naofumi started to ask.
Raphtalia pulled on his arm. "But we're tired, remember?"
"... oh." Naofumi deflated.
Stupid bedtime.
"Don't worry. I'll be sure to tell you two how it went." Amber hugged them again, then stood up excitedly. "Have a good night!" With that, Amber left the living room, leaving the two kids all to themselves.
Well, besides Shadow, who was no doubt stalking them from somewhere within the room.
…
"Do you think we did well today?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"Did well in what?" Naofumi asked.
"You know, in acting like royals." Raphtalia shrugged.
"Oh, of course, we were pretty amazing, weren't we?" Naofumi smiled at his best friend. "Dadcray will reward us for sure!"
Raphtalia blushed, her tail swishing nervously behind her.
They sat on the couch together and Naofumi started his daily ritual of floofing with Raphtalia's tail. At first, she tensed up and blushed profusely, but then, she relaxed and smiled happily at the feeling traveling up her spine. She then rested against the boy as he continued ministering to her tail.
It was hard to describe this feeling. How content the young girl felt at that moment. She almost wished the moment could be captured in time so this feeling of peace would always remain in her heart.
"We really did good today, didn't we?" Naofumi asked quietly.
"Hmmm?" Raphtalia hummed.
"I… it was definitely scary at times. And boring at others…" The kid trailed off. "We fought another wave today. We got to witness some pretty powerful magic and a bunch of other cool stuff."
Odd, Naofumi normally wasn't this deep. However, when she turned her head to face him, the kid was smiling widely. "My classmates would be so jealous if they got to see the things I saw today! It's all just so cool!"
Raphtalia smiled back at her friend. "It really is." Life really was cool next to this innocent young Hero. A good friend who even made her comfortable even while he was floofing her tail.
The Shield Hero moved the Pillow Shield under her head. And Raphtalia sighed happily at the act of kindness.
Yes, she wouldn't mind this. She wouldn't mind growing up with this Hero at her side.
…
She almost felt like she was going to fall asleep there on his lap. However, just as she was about to drift off to dreamland, Naofumi suddenly got up. Forcing her to have to sit up and rub at her eyes.
"What is it?" She yawned.
"Sorry, I just noticed. Isn't that a shield there on the wall?" Naofumi pointed at the wall in front of them.
Indeed, there was something resembling a shield on the wall. It looked pretty beat up, and was hard to describe. The covering had clearly been made with a number of different tanned hides though. And there was something about it that almost seemed to be calling out to the kid to hold it. He did so.
Weapon Copy Activated!
Shield of the Beast King conditions unlocked!
Shield of the Beast King 0/80 C
Abilities locked: Equip bonus: Therianthrope abilities up (large), demi-human abilities up (large), skill "Beast Transformation Assist" "Territorial Reform"
Special Equip Effect: Power of Devotion.
"Raphtalia!" Naofumi said excitedly as he switched to the new shield. "Doesn't this look cool?!"
The little girl yawned again. Couldn't he have discovered the shield in the morning or something? She was still feeling annoyed about that.
As Naofumi was examining the new shield and its abilities, his eyes focused on the Beast Transformation Assist option. Weird, he wondered what kind of skill that was.
As he hovered over it, an icon appeared over Raphtalia's head.
Would you like to empower the target and force a beast transformation?
Yes/No
"Hey, Raphtalia? Do you mind if I try out a skill on you?" Naofumi asked.
"Huh?" The girl shook her head. "Sure, whatever." As long as it settled Naofumi's curiosity so they could go back to cuddling on the couch.
"Okay!" With her affirmation, he pressed the yes option on his HUD.
The shield began to shine brightly in Naofumi's hands. Then, before Raphtalia could realize what she'd just agreed to, a beam of light shot out and poured over the little girl in the form of support magic.
"W-What is this?!" She cried out in terror.
"I-I don't know!" Naofumi said in a voice just as scared as hers. He tried to find a cancel button but there was no such option. The little girl began to float in the air as the magical light enveloped her body.
"N-Naofumi! I feel weirdddddddd-!"
And just like that, the light faded away.
Naofumi slowly pulled his face out from behind his Shield. "R-Raphtalia?"
…
After a moment, his eyes widened, but this time, in absolute wonder.
Raphtalia was… Raphtalia was…!
"Naofumi… why are you so small?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.
"Oh, I can already tell, this is going to be fun!" Naofumi rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"H-Huh?"
"Looks like the day isn't over yet! Come on, let's go on another adventure!" Naofumi said excitedly.
Raphtalia was beyond confused. And she didn't like the way Naofumi was looking at her then… yet she couldn't help but want to go along with this, whatever this was!
"O-Ok!"
"Oh dear."
Shadow was looking at the wall of the Shield Hero's room. Or rather, the large animal shaped hole in it now."
She'd run into the room after hearing a loud banging sound. She could have sworn the kids had fallen asleep, finally giving her two minutes to disappear and grab something to eat. But now they were gone. And there was no sign of them whatsoever.
You know, besides the giant hole in the wall leading outside.
"..." Shadow groaned as she rubbed her forehead. "Her Majesty doesn't pay me enough for this, I daresay."
In the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the shadows to search for the two troublemakers. Wherever they'd gone off to inside the large city.
Author's Notes:
Again, sorry this has taken so long. There are a multitude of reasons for it between college, RLT taking a break from the fandom for personal stuff, and just the sheer amount of time I spend on Diligence and other writing projects.
I will say though, I do have the rest of this story pretty much mapped out thanks to reading all 22 LN's. I know how I want to subvert later events and even where I'll want the story to end. It'll definitely be shorter than canon. But how long it'll take me to do that, I don't know. You saw how long it took for this update to come out. I'm not making any promises. Do know it was rereading your reviews that finally gave me the motivation to finish this chapter.
Also, ideas for what you'd want to see next chapter is definitely something I wouldn't mind. Since, you know, there's quite a bit set up here.
Hope you all enjoyed the wholesome touch to your lives. Have a good day!
Till Next Time
Allen