Chapter Twenty-Four: Always Watching
Naofumi was really excited this morning! And Raphtalia was bursting with energy alongside him.
After all, it wasn't every day that they got a chance to spend their time without Shadow watching their every move.
"Remember, brat, this is only temporary," Elhart spoke out. "And we'll be taking turns teaming up with you throughout the day."
"But think about it! I finally won't have to deal with Shadow sulking over my shoulder muttering the words 'Always watching' every hour of the day!" Naofumi pulled off a very good intimidation of Shadow's voice as he spoke those two words.
"I daresay, I do not say 'Always watching' that often, brat," Shadow spoke from the shadows as they walked.
Elhart involuntarily shuddered. "You know. I can't really argue with you there, Shield Brat."
"You're not supposed to agree with him!" Shadow appeared and yelled at the bald dragonsteel-clad blacksmith.
"He's agreeing because I'm right!" Naofumi yelled victoriously.
"I daresay, I say 'I daresay' far more often than I say 'Always watching' Prince Naofumi!" Shadow yelled down at her charge.
"As if that's any better!" Naofumi crossed his arms and pouted.
"Can we please not have this discussion so early in the morning?" Melty sighed audibly. She was resting on Amber's large feathery back.
"I don't know. This is probably the most I've ever seen Shadow interact with us in a somewhat normal manner." Raphtalia shrugged. She was sitting behind Melty on Amber's back.
"True. But I'd rather Shadow interact with us in a 'normal' manner and not a 'somewhat normal' manner." Melty clarified.
"Wouldn't it still be considered progress anyways?" Raphtalia pondered out loud.
Shadow and Naofumi continued to argue while Raphtalia and Melty conversed with one another.
Uncle Bald Guy simply smirked as he watched it all unfold.
Therese and 'Kizuna' had stopped by Naofumi's room that morning to discuss the plan that they'd come up with to grind monsters together. The basis of it was that they could travel to the same island and split the party in two. Some of the party would grind with the Shield Hero and the others would grind with the Spear Hero. Every hour or so, they'd switch parties.
Elhart still couldn't believe the brat had convinced Shadow to party up with him, Melty, and Moto first instead of with the Shield Hero.
Then again, that might have had something to do with Amber pleading to stay in Naofumi's party all day alongside Raphtalia instead of being put with Moto for any part of today's grind. It'd caught them all a little off-guard, especially Shadow.
Shadow reluctantly agreed to not stay in the Shield Hero's party full-time for today. Though she was still going to watch him like a hawk whenever she was around him.
And it wasn't like he and Raphtalia would actually be left unattended. Shadow had called in backup from the mainland to keep an eye on them in advance. So now the island was swarming with ninjas.
Some of them were so well hidden that not even Shadow knew for sure where they were. And others…
Shadow narrowed her eyes at a young blonde man wearing an orange jumpsuit who was making a poor attempt to blend in with the island's civilian populace. He was also obliviously eating breakfast at some noodle stand instead of actually watching Naofumi and Raphtalia.
Shadow would have some choice words with that one later.
But regardless of the unprofessionalism of some of her coworkers, there was no possible way Naofumi could escape to cause trouble without bribing the ferryman to get off the island. And even that wouldn't work since the ferryman they were using today was a retired Shadow of the royal family.
"Just think about it. We're going to get to see how other people slay innocent(?) monsters." Raphtalia suddenly said happily. Her conversation with Melty had shifted during Shadow's musings, apparently.
"Hmmm…" Elhart didn't know if he should be concerned by the half-raccoon girl saying that or not. He had calmed down somewhat after slaying so many monsters. But it seemed like Raphtalia was becoming more bloodthirsty herself the longer they stayed out on the islands.
"Remember to keep a close eye on them." He looked at Amber with a hard expression as he said it.
"O-Of course." Amber shakily agreed.
"Hmph. Why couldn't I be with Amber full-time today? I wanna see her and Moto act lovey-dovey!" Melty complained.
…
Naofumi and Raphtalia sweatdropped. "I'm starting to wonder if Mel is the weird one in our group," Naofumi said to Raphtalia in a stage whisper.
"I'm starting to wonder the same thing." Raphtalia stage whispered back.
"HEY!" Melty shouted with indignation.
"Yes, her Majesty really should have done a better job to ensure that her daughter would not get obsessed with Filolials, just like her," Shadow muttered aloud.
"Not you too!" Melty whined at the ninja woman.
"The brat has a point." Uncle Bald Guy sweatdropped.
"Of course, I have a point! I'm always right!" Naofumi declared.
"I wouldn't quite go that far, squirt." Elhart rolled his eyes.
"Well, even if I'm wrong, you can't slap sense into the back of my head anymore, thanks to my high defense stat, Uncle Bald Guy!" Naofumi stuck his tongue out.
"Careful. 'Uncle Bald Guy' might have a trick or two up his sleeve for dealing with you yet." Elhart grinned.
"Ooh, really?! Can you teach it to me too!?" Raphtalia asked excitedly.
"Hey, don't go ganging up on me now!" Naofumi said in a scared voice.
Raphtalia and Uncle Bald Guy both grinned diabolically together. The poor kid shivered in his armor.
He had a very bad feeling about what'd happen if Uncle Bald Guy and his best friend ever ganged up on him... His defense stat probably wouldn't be enough to save him then.
…
"Ah, I daresay, there they are." Shadow spoke up after a moment.
They looked up ahead at the docks to find Moto, L'Arc, Therese, and 'Kizuna' talking to Ren and his friends.
Ren and Wyndia were, once again, smiling and glowing with energy while holding each other's hands. Tersia and Farrie, as well as Glass and Therese, weren't glowing like them but they still looked ready for today's grinding.
The remaining four young men, however, were the exact opposite.
Welt was silently sipping coffee from a thermos that he'd brought along with him. Bakta looked dead on his feet and twitched every once in a while. And L'Arc and Motoyasu were holding each other up, trying to shield their bloodshot eyes from the sun.
"Therese, can you please fix this hangover for us?" L'Arc interrupted his girlfriend's conversation with Wyndia with his tired plea.
"Hmmmm… no." Therese giggled after pretending to think about it.
"Therese!" L'Arc whined.
"No means no." Therese smiled at her redheaded crush.
She might have allowed L'Arc and Motoyasu to drink last night so he could relax and reminisce about the past, but she was not about to let him dodge the consequences of his drunken shenanigans that easily.
Especially since he'd dragged two of the Sword Hero's friends into his mess as well.
"What about you, man?! You can use healing magic, can't you? You used that healing spell on me yesterday!" L'Arc asked Motoyasu desperately.
"Unfortunately… ugh, I never learned the spell for curing hangovers." Motoyasu groaned tiredly. Why couldn't his Healing Warmth spell fix his hangover? It was completely unfair.
He was really regretting that he'd ever allowed the distance between him and Naofumi to become so great. This was truly painful on another level.
"So why did you go to Inult Island last night, Bakta?" Ren asked his party tank casually. "Everyone was a bit worried when you didn't show up at the inn, but your HP wasn't going down that much, so I figured you were just doing some solo grinding. Was I right?"
"Y-Yea, sure." Bakta turned his tired eyes to the side in embarrassment. "Just some good old-fashion late-night leveling."
"Forget about that, more importantly, why are you wearing my pants, man?" L'Arc asked tiredly. He was, noticeably, wearing a different pair of pants this morning.
…
Bakta began sweating heavily.
How the hell was he supposed to admit that they'd been wrapped around his waist and that he had no choice but to use them since his normal pair was sporting a giant hole in the butt area now?!
That'd totally give Welt and the others blackmail material for years! Why couldn't he remember anything about what happened after getting drunk last night with the others!?
It didn't help when he noticed Farrie glaring at him suspiciously. "A-And what do you want?!" Bakta asked.
"... why are you wearing L'Arc's pants?" The light-green-haired woman asked venomously.
"N-No reason! And who says they are his anyway?!" Bakta hastily defended himself.
"L'Arc literally just said so." Farrie crossed her arms under her chest.
Her glare multiplied tenfold.
"W-Well heck if I know why?!" Man, what kind of defense was that?
"... … … hmph." After staring at him judgmentally for several seconds, Farrie hmphed and turned her face upward and to the side.
"I'll go get you another pair from your room. I think whatever happened, L'Arc would probably like to have his pants back." Tersia suggested.
"Thank you." Bakta sagged in relief.
Farrie just continued to pout.
Was that why the big oaf had been rejecting her advances lately? Was he actually into men instead of women?!
Maybe she'd been going about this all wrong! Maybe she should have been trying to look like a tomboy instead of being a cutesy airhead!
Damn him and all of his stupid little-
"Ah. Good morning." Glass smiled slightly when she noticed Naofumi and the others approaching.
"Good morning Kizuna!" Naofumi raced forward happily, hugging the spirit woman around the waist. "Did you sleep well?!"
Glass was beyond shocked by the enthusiastic greeting. Raphtalia, on the other hand, bristled where she sat on Amber's back.
Why was her best friend hugging that pale woman instead of her!? And he'd called her pretty yesterday too!
Naofumi never called any girl pretty except her!
"Ah, hey Naofumi." Motoyasu tried to approach. "Do you think you could use a spell on-"
"No!" Naofumi hmphed at the blonde simp, before turning with stars in his eyes to Ren. "Hey, big bro, are you going out grinding today too?!"
"Yep. I was planning on hitting up Inult Island today." Ren replied with a smile. "Bakta doesn't want to talk about it, for some reason, so can you tell me what the monsters are like there?"
SO COOL!
Motoyasu's jaw was left hanging open as the kid began talking animatedly to the Sword Hero about the dog monsters that he'd encountered on that island and what to expect from them.
Man, talk about biased. The kid completely ignored Moto for his infatuation with Amber, yet Ren was clearly holding Wyndia's hand and the pair displayed other acts of affection towards each other while talking with their friends and the kid didn't so much as blink.
IT WAS COMPLETELY UNFAIR, I SAY! WHY COULDN'T HE ENJOY THE SAME PRIVILEGES WITH AMBER!?
…
"... wow," L'Arc said, placing a hand on the Spear Hero's shoulder reassuringly. "You really have your work cut out for you."
"Yes, he does." 'Kizuna' agreed.
Motoyasu moaned in agony. He was really starting to wish he'd spent more time learning spells with Naofumi now!
Not even the sight of his beautiful angel walking up to him was enough to make him feel better, I say!
Melty and Raphtalia got off Amber's back, and the Filolial turned back into her human form. She walked over to Motoyasu with the intent to greet him, only to stop midway to sniff at the air coming from his general direction.
"Blondie, why do you smell like wet dog?"
"... please don't ask." Motoyasu sighed.
"And Reddie smells like wet dog too?" Amber cocked her head in L'Arc's direction.
"... yeah, I'm not saying anything either." L'Arc shook his head.
Last night was something the two would both rather forget about.
Which was a hard proposition, since they still hadn't figured out how to quietly get that Karma Dog out of Motoyasu's bathroom back at the inn.
It took a little while, but eventually, Tersia came back with a different pair of pants for Bakta to wear. And after he'd gone off to change into them, Ren bid Naofumi farewell so he and his party could grind on their island today.
This left just the two groups on the dock ready to plan out their day.
"So, how are we going to split up first?" Therese asked curiously.
"We talked it over this morning, and the brat said he wanted to grind with the three of you together," Elhart said seriously. "So he, Raphtalia, and Amber will start grinding with you three while the rest of us will be grinding with Motoyasu there."
"Won't that make it a party of six versus a party of four?" Glass pointed out.
"Don't worry. Uncle Bald Guy is easily worth three men." Naofumi replied happily.
"You're darn right about that!" Now that was a compliment the older blacksmith was more than willing to accept.
"... do you really trust us enough to grind alongside the Shield Hero without more backup for him?" Glass then asked cautiously.
"Hah! If you were strong enough to hurt him, I definitely wouldn't be capable of stopping you." Elhart shook his head with a laugh. "That brat's defense is something else entirely."
The three otherworlders looked at one another, then nodded and bowed to Elhart. "Thank you for this opportunity!"
"Aww, I don't get to grind with my Shield Bro?" Motoyasu asked sadly.
"Um, have you forgotten?" Naofumi asked. "Cardinal Heroes. Experience cancelation and all that nonsense I can barely understand."
"Ah, using such big boy words." Elhart wiped a tear from his eye proudly in the background. Naofumi glared back at him, causing the blacksmith to again stick his tongue out at him.
It was almost like the two had rubbed off on each other too much.
"Oh, heheh… sorry, I forgot." Motoyasu rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure to keep him nice and safe." L'Arc said happily as he rested a hand on Naofumi's shoulder.
"Yay, I look forward to grinding with my new Big Bro!" Naofumi said happily.
…
…
Motoyasu's hangover completely disappeared.
A large fire appeared behind him, and a burning resolution filled his eyes.
OH, IF IT WAS SO ON BEFORE, THEN NOW HE WOULD DESTROY THIS REDHEAD WORSE THAN THAT REDHEAD HE'D LEFT BEHIND LONG AGO!
HE'D BE BACK IN NAOFUMI'S GOOD GRACES BY THE END OF THE WEEK, OR HE WASN'T MOTOYASU KITAMURA, I SAY!
…
Wait, had he had a redhead in his party before? He couldn't recall meeting any redheads besides L'Arc…
He looked at Amber, and a dopey smile tried to work its way onto his face.
Yeah, how could he have any memories of redheads when Amber was the most beautiful thing ever, I say?!
"Ewwww…"
Motoyasu snapped out of his daydream when he saw Naofumi glaring at him. "Go be gross somewhere else, Moto. Nobody wants to see that."
…
…
Motoyasu put his hands to the sides of his head again.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Today's grinding was on Pekkul Island. It wasn't long after they stepped onto the island that Uncle Bald Guy, Melty, and Shadow left with Moto. This left Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Amber with the three Otherworlders.
"So, Shield Kiddo, you ready to see how a real Hero fights?" L'Arc asked in a playful tone as he held up his large scythe.
"Eh? Does that mean you're a Hero too?" Naofumi asked confusedly.
"Of course not!" Therese said quickly, smiling while she and Glass tried to hide the sweatdrops that appeared on their foreheads. "He just likes to fight like one, is all."
"That weapon of his does look pretty weird though," Raphtalia commented with a pout.
She still felt angry about Naofumi hugging Kizuna earlier for some reason. She didn't really understand why, but she didn't like it one bit!
Amber hummed to herself as she studied the scythe as well as the fans in Kizuna's hands.
She could see why the kids would be skeptical. These weapons had gemstones in them, just like the Hero's weapons. But this woman and her fans looked different from the woman the Heroes fought on the Ghost Ship.
Though, their smells were pretty similar. Hmmm…
"Well, our weapons are definitely not the real deal, but they still have their advantages!" L'Arc smiled widely. "For example,"
He turned to face a Karma Pengu Familiar that rushed out of the bushes towards them. Glass's eyes widened as she reached out towards the monster, a name coming to her lips. "Full Moon Army!"
The scythe in L'Arc's hands became super large, and he swung it through the monster, cutting it in half with one strike before the spirit woman could say anything!
"WHOA! SO COOL!" Naofumi said excitedly.
"Heh, you bet! And there's more where that came from!" L'Arc smiled widely as he faced the kid again.
However, his distraction kept him from noticing another penguin monster that dived out of the trees above towards him.
"Whoa!" Before it could land a hit on the redhead though, Naofumi suddenly appeared behind L'Arc, blocking the strike with his shield.
L'Arc turned his head towards him in surprise. How had the little kid moved so fast?! Even he had been barely able to follow him with his eyes!
"Huah!" Raphtalia then raced past just as quickly, slicing the monster through with her black sword before it could register that its sneak attack had been blocked by a little kid wielding a judgmental tsundere shield.
The monster fell to pieces on the ground as Amber quickly raced up to them. "Are you two okay?! That monster appeared so quickly!"
"Yeah, we're fine Amber." Raphtalia smiled happily.
"More than that, I just had an opportunity to protect my new Big Bro!" Naofumi said happily.
L'Arc was still staring at them in shock. Completely surprised by what he'd just witnessed from them.
"I think… I might have been wrong thinking these kids would need our protection," Glass said next to Therese. She also sagged with relief, realizing these penguin monsters weren't her shikigami, Chris.
"Yeah, let's focus on protecting L'Arc instead. He obviously needs it." Therese said next.
"Hey! I wouldn't need it if you'd just heal my stupid hangover!"
Therese giggled as Glass smirked.
"What's a hang over?" Naofumi asked.
"N-Nothing! You're too young to learn about that stuff anyway! Onwards!" L'Arc pointed his scythe toward the center of the island.
Naofumi pouted. He hated being told he was too young to learn about stuff!
However, the group continued on from there. Taking down all the monsters that got in their way.
"Circle Dance Cutting Formation: Instant!"
"Bejeweled Sapphire Blizzard!"
Kizuna dashed forward in a blaze of speed, suddenly cutting down monsters left and right whereas Therese's spell went in another direction, freezing parts of the forest solid along with all the monsters hiding within it.
The sight was really cool, and Raphtalia's eyes sparkled as she watched Therese in particular cast her magic.
"Hmmm, I won't allow myself to be outdone!" Amber declared as she transformed into her Filolial Queen form. Magic power concentrated around her form in an orange glow while L'Arc reeled in surprise.
"What the-" L'Arc started to shout.
"Fiery Spiral Strike!"
And then, Amber suddenly appeared a hundred feet ahead of the party.
Everything that'd been between her and them erupted in a fiery explosion of power. Consuming all the monsters who'd tried to run away in terror.
"WHOA! SO FREAKING COOL!" Naofumi and Raphtalia both yelled out at the same time as they ran up to her.
"Hmph. I have been practicing in my free time, you know." Amber looked down at them with a smirk. "I just haven't felt to show off till now."
"Where did you learn a move like that?!" Naofumi asked excitedly.
"Let's just say a giant bird helped me." Amber ruffled Naofumi's hair as she said it.
Naofumi tilted his head confusedly, but Amber continued to chuckle.
She didn't have to tell anyone about the times she'd met up with Fitoria in the past few weeks to train with her. Or what she'd been practicing in her free time when Moto wasn't around.
"Anyway, are you going to use that Aura spell of yours yet? I might be able to pull off even more impressive feats if you did that." Amber suggested.
"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot." Naofumi proceeded to cast All Drifa Aura X on everyone there.
"Sweet! Let's keep going!" Raphtalia cheered happily as she moved so quickly that she began to blur in and out of existence.
L'Arc, however, was still staring at the filolial woman, his jaw slack on his face.
"How did I not realize before that he also has a monster that transforms into a human?" He asked Therese.
"You didn't first notice her approaching us earlier as a monster?" Therese hummed in teasing.
L'Arc pouted. "Maybe if you'd healed my hangover I might have been able to pay attention to what was happening around me!" Still, regardless of his finally realizing that fact, this coincidence once again lined up with their friend back home and made them begin to wonder how similar Naofumi and Kizuna really were.
Before they could ponder more on it though…
"Come on, we must show off too!" Glass suddenly yelled with a fiery determination on her features.
"Wha-" L'Arc and Therese both reeled back in surprise at not only being brought out of their musings so suddenly but because of the emotion on their best friend's face.
Naofumi's Aura spell had just infused Glass with boundless energy! She felt like she could fight for days! WEEKS! MONTHS AND YEARS WITH JUST THIS!
"RAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Glass dashed forward, slashing through several monsters at the same time without even using a hero skill.
Despite them being over a dozen feet apart from each other.
"FOR THE KIDS!" Glass screamed as she continued forward.
"Careful, Amber, Raphtalia! Looks like you two have some competition!" Naofumi said excitedly.
"WE WON'T LOSE!" Raphtalia and Amber yelled back at the same time. Raphtalia moved so quickly that afterimages of herself raced around slicing monsters apart while Amber began unleashing all sorts of fire spells that boosted her speed to insane proportions, or otherwise blew up sections of the forest around her.
…
"Heheheh, they really are something huh, not just the Heroes." Therese giggled.
L'Arc finally began grinning again. "I'll say. I haven't seen Glass like this since… since ever, actually."
"Hmmm…" The two followed behind their close friend, keeping an eye on her as they grinded. But Glass never wavered, and only seemed to become more energized every time Naofumi recast his Aura spell on everyone there.
Had they found a way to replenish her energy indefinitely?
Probably.
But they just felt better seeing her like this instead of like her usual depressed self.
The group continued on, tearing the entire island apart on their way.
Thanks to Naofumi's spell, their stats were all super high! And the bloodlust coming off of them all was so poignant that the innocent(?) monsters they came across began to flee in terror.
They never got more than a few steps before they were cut down or disintegrated for their sweet, juicy EXP.
Naofumi had the brief thought that this might be bad for the environment when he noticed everyone's attacks felling entire treelines and disintegrating tons of bushes and other wildlife. But then he heard and saw similar explosions happening in the distance where Moto's group entered the island from.
And then, on the distant Inult Island, he saw large explosions caused by Ren and his party members unleashing skill after powerful skill and spell on all the innocent(?) monsters in their vicinity. One of the most notable things was a swarm of swords that appeared over the island's center that rained down and around everything underneath it like that one awesome scene from an anime he'd long since forgotten about.
And honestly, it probably wouldn't have been far off to say the old craters that already littered the ground around them were the results of countless heroes and adventurers killing monsters here in similar ways over many, many generations.
…
The kid had a feeling that destroying the local wildlife would not have any long-lasting consequences.
At last, Naofumi's group reached the center of the island, where the boss monster was waiting for them.
Or, rather, where it was flying around its portal, trying to find a way back into it. Its eyes might have been red, but they were definitely filled with fear!
"Quick, before it can escape!" Raphtalia yelled.
"Huahhhhhhhhhh!" The group all charged forward as one.
…
Yep, it took only a second to kill it.
Actually, it took less than a second.
Between Amber's killer new moves, Therese's ice magic, L'Arc and Kizuna's ranged attacks with their weapons, Raphtalia's blade being infused with magic, and Naofumi screaming (since he couldn't attack worth a darn), the boss monster and its lesser minions were almost completely disintegrated. Its remains were now scattered all over the area!
"Huh, that was anti-climactic," Therese muttered.
"That, was, awesome! I want to do it again!" Kizuna said excitedly. "Hit me with that Aura spell again!"
"Sure thing, pretty lady!" Naofumi happily cast the spell on them all again.
Raphtalia began glaring at her best friend again.
"What is it, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked her with genuine confusion, as he noticed it this time.
"... Hmph." The half-tanuki girl crossed her arms and turned to the side, pouting.
"Wha- seriously, what did I do?!" Naofumi shrieked.
Crap, had he done something to accidentally anger his best friend?! The waves of disappointment coming off of her were crushing his soul, I say!
"Don't worry. Girls are too complicated for guys to understand anyway." Amber comforted her younger brother with a hand on his shoulder.
"Eh, what is that supposed to mean?" Naofumi asked her confusedly.
"You'll understand when you're older." Amber winked at him.
…
Naofumi pouted.
Boo! He'd just ask Raphtalia about it later then! Stupid adults telling him he was too young to understand anything!
Text appeared on his HUD.
Then stop acting like a kid.
"But I am a kid!" Naofumi yelled at his shield.
…
Text appeared again.
More like a brat, if you ask me.
"Boo! Nobody asked for your opinion-"
ZAP!
The others sweatdropped, seeing Naofumi acting weird with his weapon again. Raphtalia continued to jealously pout, however.
She couldn't wait till the party change-ups. She had to ensure her precious boy remained focused on only wanting to floof her tail as soon as possible.
Not for any particular reason or anything… she just didn't want him going after an older woman, that's all!
"I guess we'll set up here since Shield Kiddo reached the boss monster first," L'Arc suggested hesitantly.
They did so, and when Moto discovered that Naofumi and the others reached the boss first, he had to bite his tongue and prevent himself from having a breakdown as he had to stay a kilometer away grinding on lesser monsters with the others.
He'd clearly taken the L in this situation.
Though that was probably for the best. The last thing he needed was Naofumi accusing him of cheating to get to the boss first.
After an hour had passed, the parties switched up so Glass, Therese, and L'Arc were with Moto while Uncle Bald Guy and the others were with Naofumi again.
These exchanges happened at every hour. Every two hours, Naofumi and Moto switched spots so the Spear Hero could have a chance to grind the boss monster too.
When they briefly paused to share lunch together, Uncle Bald Guy took this opportunity to talk to the squirt again. "So, did the boss drop any interesting weapons this time? Something like, say, a new warhammer?"
"Not really." Naofumi frowned as he pulled up his list of drop items. "It doesn't look like it dropped any weapons this time, actually."
"... oh…" The blacksmith deflated somewhat. After the Claws and Sword had dropped with previous bosses, he was hoping the kid might have gotten something else he could play around with too. "What did it drop then?"
"Uh…" Naofumi pulled the item up on his HUD and pulled it out of his weapon. "This."
…
…
The group all stared at it.
Pekkul Kigimuri
It looked like a penguin suit with a Santa hat attached to the head. "What kind of armor is this?" Elhart asked as he looked it over.
It had pretty impressive stats. But it looked ridiculous! No one would want to be caught wearing this!
No one except Naofumi, maybe… hmmm…
The Shield Hero pouted. "What are you thinking about now!?"
Elhart grinned. "Maybe I won't have to make you new armor after all."
The kid's head tilted in confusion, but then his eyes widened in horror. "No, I'm not wearing this!"
Guess he had some sense of fashion in that noggin of his after all.
"I don't know. Its stats are pretty impressive compared to your current armor, brat." Elhart put his hand to his chin as if he was seriously considering it. "Maybe if I changed up its colors a bit."
"No! I refuse!" Naofumi tried to stuff it into his shield.
"Oh no you don't!" Elhart grabbed the ends of it. "You're not wasting something like this on your strengthening methods!"
"Boo! Too bad!"
"Give it here!"
"NO! I refuse to wear this! You can't make me!"
"I don't have to make you wear it! I want to see what else I could do with this as well as all that Oriekul Ore I got from that Dog Boss!" Elhart yelled.
"You mean the ore I got from that Dog Boss!" Naofumi yelled back.
"Whatever, just let me have this brat!"
"No, who knows what you'll do with it, Uncle Bald Guy!"
The others sweatdropped at the interaction. But wisely didn't try to get between the two of them.
Elhart somehow ended up with the Kigimuri outfit in the end. But he definitely didn't put it on himself.
It would have made him the laughingstock of the century.
Afterward, they separated to go back and grind innocent(?) monsters once again.
A lot of monsters were slain between their two groups. And a lot of trees and bushes were destroyed. The experience notifications flooded both sides like a wild tide.
"Da- dang, we haven't had grinding like this since our days with Kiz- our other friend!" L'Arc commented at one point while they were grinding with Motoyasu.
"Yes," Kizuna agreed, looking lost in thought for a brief moment at L'Arc's words. "It was like this whenever we found a lot of monsters, wasn't it?"
"Mmhmm. She was really good at slaying them all too in the most efficient way possible." Therese said.
"Only because it'd mean more time for her to fish and get into trouble." L'Arc rolled his eyes.
Neither of them seemed to notice the mood that'd settled over Glass. But then, they were all racking in levels like crazy.
They'd been in their early 50s level-wise when they started. But by the end of their grinding session, they were around level 70. And Motoyasu and the others were already nearing the upper 70s in levels.
They would have continued on for longer, but then, Naofumi and the others rushed from the boss fight area to where Moto and they had been grinding, canceling out the experience gains for everyone.
"What? Are we done already?" Motoyasu asked confusedly.
"Granny showed up with the Bow Hero and Rishia." Uncle Bald Guy explained.
…
Oh, they'd just barely escaped being made part of a hellish training session.
"I don't think it's safe to grind on this island anymore." Uncle Bald Guy continued with a shudder.
"Why would the Bow Hero showing up with some old lady mean-?" L'Arc began to ask.
KABOOM!
An explosion, larger than anything they'd ever produced, came from the boss area. Everyone turned around in shock.
The trees nearby caught fire while those closer to ground zero had likely been turned to ash.
A mini mushroom cloud also began to rise up over the area.
"ORA! NOW IT'S YOUR TURN, MY YOUTHFUL PUPILS!" A loud voice echoed down towards them.
"FUEHHHHHHHH!" It sounded like two loud whimpers happening at the same time.
"..." L'Arc and the Otherworlder's faces were drained of color.
"Did… did that come from Granny?" Naofumi asked in shock.
"Wow. It's been a while since I've seen her pull out the ol' 'God Blow'." Uncle Bald Guy shook his head with a scared grin. "I think that's enough grinding for one day! We're heading back!"
The Otherworlders didn't try to object. And neither did Naofumi or Motoyasu. And so, they took a long way around, returning to their boats to ride back to the main island.
They caught a brief glimpse of Granny forcing Itsuki and Rishia to take on the large penguin boss with their bare hands. But a brief glimpse was more than enough to fuel their nightmares.
It was more than obvious she was trying to get her pupils to replicate the same kind of attack she'd unleashed just minutes before.
Thus, everyone went on to a different island to finish out the rest of their grinding for the day.
"So… Did you enjoy your time away from Shadow?" Elhart asked after they were on a ferry back to the main island.
"Heck yeah, I did!" Naofumi cheered.
Shadow was already in her spot under the seat, watching them from the shadows in her own creepy way. "Always watching."
…
Naofumi stuck his tongue out at her. "Ha. Too bad. You seem a bit off your game since I pointed out how often you say that this morning!" Naofumi gloated.
It wasn't certain if Shadow was scowling under her mask right now or not. But her glare seemed to intensify tenfold. "I daresay, I was merely mocking you for your earlier statement, Prince Naofumi."
"Ha, I don't even know what mocking means!" Naofumi said proudly.
"No, I'm pretty sure you do." Elhart rolled his eyes.
Well even if he did, that was too bad! Naofumi felt really good after today!
"I had a lot of fun today too," Amber admitted happily.
"Yeah, it's been a while since we were able to have fun together." Raphtalia pointed out with a smile.
Ha, she felt much better now, especially since that pretty lady was on the other ferry. So that meant she had her best friend all too herself!
"Hmph. Are we sure Amber had fun without Moto being around?" Naofumi asked skeptically.
…
…
"..."
Amber's face looked downtrodden at the kid's words and his disbelieving stare.
"Naofumi, that was rude," Raphtalia told her best friend in a dry voice.
"What? You've seen how she's been acting lately!" Naofumi defended himself. "Moto was definitely stealing her from us! And she just let it happen!"
"Heck, you saw the way they kept staring at each other during lunch! She obviously wanted to be with him more than she wanted to be with us!"
"..." Amber's face became even more downtrodden.
"You freaking idiot!" Melty had to hold herself back from violently trying to slap some sense into the back of Naofumi's head. It would have hurt her more than it would have hurt him. "Do you really have no idea what true love is?!"
"... eh?" Naofumi tilted his head confusedly at the bluette.
"Holy- what's wrong with you!? Moto isn't stealing Amber from you! They just love each other a lot, you jerk! Even an idiot can see that!" Melty screeched. "So why are you blaming them for that?!"
"Because Amber hasn't been spending any time with us because of Moto and-" Naofumi started to retort.
"AND SO WHAT?!" Melty screeched. "Amber is her own person! She should be able to decide what she wants to do! Not you or anyone else!"
…
"Uhh…" Naofumi wanted to retort, but his older sister's words made him look at Amber. Like, really look at her.
It'd started out with him wanting a pet monster. That's what they'd first gotten with Amber. Then, his pet monster became an older sister, and he hadn't realized until that'd happened just how awesome having a nice and caring older sister could be!
But then, she'd started spending less time with them and more time with Moto. And he'd just wanted her around again. And…
…
As Naofumi sat there thinking, Amber was reminded of what Elhart had told her earlier. And the blacksmith himself was resting against the side of the boat, silently watching to see what'd happen. But ready to intervene should he be needed.
Motoyasu was on the other ferry close by with L'Arc and the others. And for some reason, he turned his head to look in their direction at that moment.
"I mean… I… but… … …" Finally, Naofumi sighed guiltily. He'd realized that, for once, Melty was right to call him out. "I guess, if Amber would really rather spend time with Moto instead of us, then I shouldn't try and force her to- EEP!"
Suddenly, Amber had her younger brother in her arms.
The Filolial woman had a large smile on her face.
"You know what. I think some brother-sister time is in order." She declared, before jumping off the ferry whilst changing into her queen form.
Naofumi landed on her back, and she turned her large head to look back at Uncle Bald Guy and the others. Melty was surprised, but Raphtalia looked ecstatic. The bald man himself was grinning widely. "I'll bring Naofumi straight back as soon as we're done exploring together! Promise!"
Uncle Bald Guy didn't respond as he started laughing at the look of disbelief that'd appeared on Naofumi's face.
"Y-You mean we're really-" The kid began to say.
"Yep, I'm your older sister, after all. And we haven't spent enough quality time together lately. Grinding with you and Raphtalia earlier wasn't nearly enough to make up for lost time!" Amber said happily with a smile on her beak.
…
Naofumi went from shocked to awed. He hugged her neck happily. "You're the best Amber! Woohooo!"
The Shield Hero cheered as Amber swam away over the waves incredibly fast with her kid brother riding on her back.
"Wha- WAIT!" Shadow materialized on the ferry with her hand outstretched towards them in surprise.
"Awwww, I wanted to go first." Melty pouted.
Raphtalia began to pet the back of her head in an attempt to comfort her.
The bluette found it very weird… yet strangely enjoyable.
After only a few seconds, Naofumi's joy disappeared under a wave of guilt.
"Amber, I'm really sorry. All this time I wasn't really thinking about what you'd want to do, and-" Naofumi tried to apologize.
"It's fine." Amber nuzzled her head in Naofumi's hair while she swam. "Mel was right about me loving Blondie. And I still love him and want to spend my life with him in the way that adults do.
"But I also love you and Raphtalia and Uncle Baldie too. I didn't mean to have you think that I was abandoning you guys for Moto.
"You're Amber's first family. And Amber was stupid to forget how important you were to her."
"I promise that I won't neglect you kids again." Amber smiled sadly as a tear ran down the side of her face.
Naofumi gave her a sincere smile as his small hand wiped the tear away. "Don't worry, I have plenty of experience with being stupid."
Amber laughed. "More than you might think."
"Hey!" Naofumi pouted.
However, he stayed hugging the large Filolial's neck, laughing with happiness as the ferries became smaller and smaller behind them.
Just like that, he felt himself being filled with joy and a sense of freedom again. "Ahahahaha! So long, suckers!" Naofumi whooped out in joy.
"Me and Raphtalia will be up next when you come back with Amber!" Melty called after them.
Raphtalia smiled widely, already looking forward to playing with Amber again.
Naofumi thought after all that he and Amber were home free.
Shadow would never be able to bother them again!
"I daresay, do you truly believe it'd be that easy to escape from me?!"
Amber and Naofumi both turned their heads back, and their eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
Shadow was running towards them… across the water!
She was wearing these strange things on her feet. But whatever they were, they helped her to run on the water as if it was solid land. "I am Her Majesty's number one Shadow for a reason, Prince Naofumi! I'm Always Watching!"
"AHHHHHH! FASTER, AMBER! FASTER!" Naofumi cried out in terror.
"Right!" The Filolial Queen dipped beneath the surface with the Shield Hero and disappeared in a spray of foam.
The two could be seen underwater after that, speeding off in a haze of bubbles.
"I daresay, get back here!" Shadow screamed as she chased after them, leaving a spray of water in her wake.
…
…
Everyone in the boats involuntarily shuddered.
"I didn't think it was possible for Shadow to up her creepiness anymore," Raphtalia said.
"You and me both." Melty shuddered again next to her.
"What the heck kind of woman is she?!" L'Arc exclaimed loudly.
"I don't know, but I think she could give even my former country's ninjas a run for their money." Glass shuddered beside them.
They all decided to remain silent on the way back.
…
Meanwhile, a small ship was approaching the islands.
"Hmhmhmhmhm." A familiar-looking merchant rested next to his stall, hugging his precious cabbages to himself.
The Cabbage Merchant wasn't going to waste his chance. After Melromarc and Siltvelt, he knew for certain that there was no way those stinking brats would find him again out here on the Cal Mira Archipelago to ruin his business.
It was just bad luck that he kept on running into them. There was no way some deity up in the sky was using him as a joke character to make him suffer over and over again.
Yeah, no way whatsoever.
"We're almost there, right?!" He suddenly yelled to the captain of the tiny boat.
"Yes, just be careful. I was already worried about getting your dumb stand to the islands after seeing that storm a few days ago." The man grumbled.
Seriously, if he hadn't been low on money, he would have never accepted the merchant's offer.
The Cabbage Merchant continued to hug one of his precious cabbages to his chest. Oh, how he looked forward to reaching the islands. He would finally be able to spread his pride and joy amongst all the heathens and convert them to the ways of the cabbage and-
"What the hell is that?!" The small ship's captain suddenly yelled.
The Cabbage Merchant looked up, and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.
A large spray of foam was coming up from the ocean surface. Mere seconds later, Amber resurfaced, Naofumi desperately clutching her feathers as Amber kept swimming forward as fast as she could.
"Is she still on our tail!?" Amber yelled worriedly, unable to see what was going on due to the spray of water blinding her.
Naofumi looked back, and his eyes widened drastically. "Oh come on! I even cast Drifa Aura X on Amber to make her faster!"
"ALLLLLLWAYYYYYYYYYYS WATTTTTTTTTCHINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!" Shadow roared in her creepy tone, still running on the surface of the water after them.
Naofumi's features paled. He was really starting to regret his earlier statement about finally being able to get away from his ninja babysitter.
Shadow was way beyond creepy when her anger was pushed over the edge. He would have never mocked her if he'd known it'd lead to this!
"This isn't good!" Amber yelled while looking back at the ninja lady in terror.
Which was too bad, as she didn't see the boat she was about to ram through.
"No. No no no no no no NO! NOT AGAIN!" The Cabbage Merchant screamed in fear.
"Welp, she was good and ol' anyway." The captain sighed, patting the wheel of his beloved ship.
He then promptly threw himself overboard.
"No, no! PLEASE! SOMEBODY, HELP ME-"
What happened next could have almost been considered comical, if it wasn't for the fact that it was actually real.
KaBoom!
Amber's body plowed through the wood of the small ship. She didn't even notice as it happened, thanks to her high level and Naofumi's buff spell.
One moment, the ship had been resting on the surface of the water.
The next, it was shattered into a million pieces. Raining down all over the surface of the water.
"Nice thinking, Amber! This should definitely slow her down!" Naofumi rubbed Amber's neck happily.
"I didn't even see it- oh, and I don't think it will," Amber suddenly said sadly.
Naofumi turned his head, and his eyes widened again. Somehow, Shadow wasn't running on the water now but was bounding through the air using the various debris and cabbages falling from the sky as support!
"I'm always watching, Prince Naofumi! ALWAYS WATCHING!"
Boo! That seemed illegal somehow. There was no way such a feat should have been possible! Yet she did it anyway.
Shadow eventually traversed through the debris of falling objects and Amber and Naofumi continued to flee from the overly creepy and aggressive ninja babysitter through the water.
…
Under the water, the Cabbage Merchant watched as his precious stand sank to the depths of the ocean down below. Above, his cabbages littered the ocean surface.
Even here, that brat had found him once again. Out in the middle of the ocean between islands.
This was more than bad luck. He was truly cursed!
A scream burst from his lips in the form of an air bubble.
Moments later, that air bubble broke the surface of the water, shouting after Shadow, Amber, and Naofumi as they fled toward the horizon.
"MY CABBAGESSSSSSSSSS!"
Screw this world! He was going back to Omashu!
At least there he could be treated with some respect!
(The Cabbage Merchant subsequently survived his last encounter with the Shield Hero and managed to make it back to his world somehow. Unfortunately, he and his descendants are still treated as joke characters by the people there to this day)
The next couple of days came and went, with the two groups getting together to grind on different islands.
The island they went to next was called Squirely Island. It was more or less the same as before. Though, that day, they came up with a competition to see who could get everyone in their group to level 85 first.
Naofumi was with Amber and Glass again, though Uncle Bald Guy and Melty replaced Raphtalia, Therese, and L'Arc, leaving him and Moto with five party members each to make things fair.
Moto had finally learned about the stone tablet, as while Naofumi had been with Amber yesterday evening, Uncle Bald Guy took the blonde simp to meet Count Hadenburg. And the Count had given the Spear Hero his tour of the island, including the stone tablet.
From it, he'd learned a spell called Absorb, which worked similarly to Ren's Magic Enchant.
The main difference was that it didn't absorb magic attacks. It canceled them out entirely. It was basically like an anti-magic field, only Motoyasu couldn't move while he was casting it.
Kind of cool. But useless while grinding monsters.
And thanks to All Drifa Aura X, it was possible for Naofumi's group to slay way more monsters at a much faster rate than Moto and his group!
"WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Uncle Bald Guy roared as he raced like lightning across the island, each swing of his warhammer signaling the end of another life of an innocent(?) monster.
"YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Kizuna was blazing along beside Uncle Bald Guy. Her fans whipped left and right so quickly that her arms themselves looked like blades disintegrating every monster she came in contact with.
"I can't see! I can't see! Why did I have to be over here!" Melty complained.
"Ah, just launch magic in a random direction. I'm sure it'll hit something." Naofumi remarked offhandedly.
"Maybe I should try hitting you then!" Melty screeched at him.
"Meh, whatever." It wasn't like it'd actually hurt him anyway.
The rest of that day passed them by in a blur. Naofumi and his group ended up being the victors of their competition, much to Motoyasu's disappointment.
Unfortunately for Naofumi, Amber wasn't able to run off with the kid again like before since, as soon as they'd returned to the ferry, Shadow practically glued herself to the Shield Hero.
Boo! He and Amber hadn't even gotten into any trouble yesterday! They'd simply explored the deep ocean after eventually losing Shadow underwater and then returned to their room together at night without doing anything else!
The fact that some bucket traps had been discovered over Moto and Itsujerk's doors that morning was entirely coincidental!
…
Though he had been surprised that Amber had agreed to prank Moto.
He still felt really bad for how he'd been treating his awesome older sister lately. Thankfully, she hadn't harbored any ill will against him. And had even apologized several times for ignoring him before.
That night, she'd finally given him, Raphtalia, and Melty a bedtime story she'd prepared just for them. And now they felt closer as siblings than ever before.
…
Though Moto was still going to have to do some work on his own if he wanted to earn the kid's forgiveness.
He really needed to give his affection to Amber the way that Ren did to his girlfriend.
No one liked it when someone acted like a simp.
Anyway, outside of the bedtime story, the kids weren't allowed to have any fun that night! And by the next day, they were back to grinding all over the islands again!
Shadow briefly paused the group on their way to the docks in the morning to chew out a guy in an orange jumpsuit, whom they spotted in front of the same noodle stand as before. The former ninja eventually went crying back to his wife and son, whose name sounded like Burrito.
…
Weird, that was the second time he misremembered someone's name for the food. What was that for?
…
Eh, the kid was probably just as bland as his old classmate anyway. It wasn't like he'd ever watched that anime series himself.
What a strange thought to have!
Anyway, Amber had the bright idea that, since they were no longer getting an experience multiplier for their efforts, they should just race to see if they could hit the 90s or not.
That ended up being a terrible idea.
Not only did the island they grinded on look like a warzone completely devoid of life by the time they were done. But they came back to their rooms that night too tired to even think about causing any kind of trouble!
It was only while they were in the middle of slaying innocent(?) monsters on the sixth morning of their vacation that Uncle Bald Guy put the endless mind-boggling tyranny to an end by bringing Moto and his group back to Naofumi's.
"I think it's safe to say that we've grinded more than enough at this point."
"I daresay, what makes you say that?" Shadow asked. She had been in Naofumi's group this time.
"Take a look at the party screen," Elhart responded.
Shadow did so.
Naofumi: LV. 92
Raphtalia: LV. 93
Amber: LV. 91
Melty: LV. 90
Shadow: LV. 89
…
Motoyasu: LV. 90
L'Arc: LV. 86
Therese: LV. 87
Kizuna: LV. 88
Uncle Bald Guy: LV. 100
…
"Ok, I take it back. We have definitely overshot our initial goals by a wide margin." Shadow said with a sweatdrop on her forehead.
They'd really grinded a lot, hadn't they?
"Wow, you're at level 100 now!?" Melty asked in a shocked voice.
"Not surprising, since I've absorbed enough monsters to power up my shield for at least a month," Naofumi said dryly.
And to think so many innocent(?) monsters had been disin… disintra?…
Erased completely from existence by the other's attacks.
Whoever PETA was, they definitely wouldn't be happy if they ever learned about this 'vacation' of theirs.
"Isn't it still morning though? I don't even think it's time for lunch yet." Therese said.
"Do you think staying out any longer would make any difference?" Naofumi asked.
…
They'd pretty much murdered every type of monster across all the islands at this point. They weren't finding much else that could unlock weapon forms out here.
And again, they'd gathered so many different materials that Naofumi wouldn't need to worry about stealing kitchenware or other random items from around the castle for at least a month.
"To think, in another life, I could have made a fortune off of this." Uncle Bald Guy rolled his eyes.
Naofumi grinned. "Too bad it's all mine!"
"What would you have without that shield on your arm helping you out, brat!?"
"The ability to inflict damage!" Naofumi rebutted with a pout.
"Ha! True that!"
"You're not supposed to agree with me!" Naofumi whined.
"How can I not agree when you're spitting facts!?"
"Here's a fact! Your bald head!"
"And here's a fact! Your short height!"
Raphtalia and the others sweatdropped as the two continued to play-argue with each other.
"And this is definitely a sign that it's time to head back," Amber stated.
"Agreed." Melty and Raphtalia said simultaneously.
"I don't know, we could still use the monster materials from Inult Island…" At seeing the glares Therese and Glass were giving him, L'Arc went very quiet.
Right, they hadn't revealed they were Heroes at this point. Good thing there were so many destroyed monsters. Nobody noticed them sneaking materials into their weapons here or there.
They didn't even have to chop them up to gain more weapon forms. It was already done thanks to all their overpowered attacks.
"I think we have acquired more strength than we thought possible in a very short amount of time," Kizuna stated dryly. She was nowhere near the level of strength she had in her world yet, but she had definitely closed that gap considerably in less than a week.
And being around Kidfumi had… definitely been beneficial, in more ways than one. She'd be fine with cutting things off here…
Though the thought of parting ways with the kid right away made her stomach turn. Did they really have to leave them just yet?
"Hmmm… if we're done grinding innocent(?) monsters… what are we going to do instead?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"What else are we going to do?!" Motoyasu smiled widely. "We visit the beach, I say!"
"Yes! Beach time!" L'Arc cheered alongside the blonde man.
"Who said anything about a beach!?" Glass asked with wide eyes.
"Yay! The beach!" Raphtalia and Naofumi cheered together.
It made sense, given that they were on an island. The only time they'd spent at the beach had been playing dodgeball. They hadn't gotten to do anything else since then.
It was about time for that to change.
"Ohuhuhu, this is going to be great." L'Arc began chuckling evilly while rubbing his hands together. He was leering at Therese.
"You know it is bro." Motoyasu also began to chuckle evilly as well, but he was trying his best not to leer at Amber… unsuccessfully.
"Why am I getting a bad feeling about their motives?" Naofumi asked while glaring at his two older bros.
"You'll understand why when you're older." Uncle Bald Guy rested a hand on his shoulder. "Might as well just enjoy your ignorance while you're still young, kid."
For once, Naofumi didn't argue against that.
And so, they ended their grinding at Cal Mira once and for all.
Author's Notes:
I'll be ending the chapter here. Probably don't need an omake either since the Cabbage Merchant scene was golden.
Ha, everyone's levels are higher than their canon selves! Motoyasu finally gets his spell from the tablet! And to top it off, Uncle Bald Guy has achieved maximum levels of awesomeness!
If the future antagonists were screwed before, then I don't know what term would be best to describe their situation now!
Till Next Time
Allen