We had a discussion with Ben in regards to where to stay the final day, and I opted for the castle town. The capital was probably not exactly welcoming, especially since Motoyasu and Naofumi had apparently trashed part of the market square, but it was still a good, central location. It helped that I knew Ren was heading there, along with his party, so we traveled via (Fast Travel), arriving at our inn.
I tipped the innkeeper another gold, just to make sure our rooms stayed open for us. From there, we exited the inn, and took to the streets, finding them not nearly as crowded as the days before the Second Wave. Then, they'd flocked here, having no confidence in us, and rightly so, given what we'd faced. That situation, easy as it was, could have gone badly if we weren't prepared for it.
This time? They felt the Heroes would protect them, especially thanks to our individual achievements. This Savior of the Heavenly Fowl guy too, though I hadn't really been able to learn anything other than the name on him. Sounded like someone we might want to get to know sometime, honestly, though I'd be searching for them after the Wave crashed against us, rather than scrambling to find them now.
Otherwise, we waited by the eastern gate into the city, and eventually amongst the stream of people came Ren and his party, the group looking…not quite as good as us. That is to say, their gear was the same as what they'd had before, and the shiny armor and other things we had on us now was more than a little overwhelming to them, especially as, while their levels had gone up, they'd be needing class ups before going any farther.
Luckily, they were all adventurers, and proceeded to the Hourglass to upgrade themselves, commenting as they did they were glad to be part of a Hero's party for this, as apparently the process typically cost about fifty silver. It wasn't a lot for someone who got to level forty per say, but it was still annoying to have to pay out anything for something that really was beneficial like that.
Leaving them to head to the Adventurers' Hall to register for their class ups, along with Souka, who was due for one as well, and Ray who wanted to attend to some private business, we, that is to say myself, the brothers, Lucia, and Ren, instead headed to a nearby restaurant, a good place we'd found that served all kinds of food. Still no pizza, but they had pretzels of all things, and while I'd had better, they were still up there. Shadow seemed to enjoy them as well, if his ability to pack away six of the things in one sitting was anything to go by.
We, however, took to chatting about our adventures, with Ren regaling me with tales of his daring do, stopping a bandit clan cold, and capturing their leader to be turned over to the authorities, slaying a dragon in the hills, where even the bravest heroes had balked at confronting. Finally he went over his run up against the Goblin Lord, breaking into his fort, and slaughtering his forces, before bringing down the monstrous creature itself with a single stroke.
"Those sound like rousing quests, but tell me, how's about your companions? How are they faring?" I asked, and Ren, who was sipping on a mug of ale…still not sure he was of drinking age, but when I'd asked he'd mumbled something about being a man, and he was no lightweight so I let it drop. Still, at the question, he stopped, and then slowly set it down, having a thoughtful expression.
"I'm not saying they haven't contributed, true, but, compared to you, I don't need nearly the same level of help. I'm not one to wait, either in Brave Star Online or here, and with the skills and stats I have, I can take opponents head on. As long as they can keep up with that, I'm fine to have them following behind," he says, and I stare into his face for a moment, before shrugging. It really wasn't any of my business how the other heroes chose to integrate their parties into their own strategies, still I wouldn't be me if I didn't offer.
"That's alright, being a solo player I mean, but we have party members for a reason, and not just to enhance them with our skills. They know the world more, and have seen more of these monsters. Heck, Ray was able to one shot a reaper thing, without any input from me save for an attack boost. Have you asked any of them if they know how to do something like that?" I questioned, and he was brought up short, as obviously he had never considered asking them.
"This isn't the world from our games, I've seen monsters here that are far different already. Heck there are no Balloons in Dimensional Sign, for starters, they use slimes and things as their starting fodder. Besides, think how cool it would be if you learn some combination attacks. They knock the enemy off balance, and then you hit it with a killer blow," I said, smirking around my cup, and I could see that caused a few wheels to turn in his head.
We were just starting to discuss the dragon again, with Ren commenting that, thanks to it being his first big bounty, he'd not come straight back to claim it, and the Guild, in that time, had withdrawn the offer for some reason. He was planning on swinging back by the village at some point to find out what had happened, and if they took the bounty away before he claimed it to save some money…he wasn't sure what he'd do.
"And what if they took it away because you failed to kill the stupid dragon?" asked a voice from nearby, and we turned to find, at one of the tables near ours, Naofumi, Raphtalia, and…a little blond haired blue eyed girl, who looked at me. Instantly, I felt a shudder come down my spine, and I wanted to head to the bathroom, but I forced that feeling back down, as I swallowed the lump in my throat, especially when she smiled at me.
"What are you talking about, Shield Hero? I hit that thing with enough power to bring down a mountain, and it changed from a living being to a corpse. I watched it happen in real time," he explained, and Naofumi actually scoffed at him.
"And what did you do with that very real corpse then? Did you carve it and dispose of it, or did you just leave it there, where it could rot and cause all sorts of problems for the villagers?" he said with an accusatory tone to his voice. He didn't rise from his seat, however, didn't even look at Ren, who had indeed got to his feet to walk over and stand by his table. I…forced myself to do the same, standing beside him, and with him just blocking my view of the child.
"I…I left it there. That was the request. Kill the dragon, and let them do whatever they wanted with the body. I figured they'd make it into a tourist attraction or something," Ren said, a bit hesitant. Obviously he hadn't thought about the implications of that.
"Did you do the purification process with your weapon to the body?" I asked, and Ren looked at me like I'd grown a second head for a moment, making me sigh in annoyance. This system was so not helpful with bringing up tips when it should.
"You have a function on your weapon that purifies the Wave infection, if you don't do that to bodies, they can sometimes turn into plague vectors, or worse, get back up if they were strong or numerous enough," I told him.
"I…I always just fed whatever it was to the weapon before. It was part of the request to leave it there, though," he said, and Naofumi scoffed.
"And so you just let it rot, and then I had to not only clean up after you, but then it got back up as a zombie. Think before you act, idiot!" he shouted, slamming his hand onto the table, and his…daughter? I have no idea, the blonde looked confused, but Raphtalia looked at Ren like he was some kind of criminal. I, however, was having none of it.
"Now see here, you pompous windbag," I began, getting all eyes on me, as I stepped in front of Ren. Naofumi looked like he was going to say something to me, but I held my hand up to silence him.
"If it was part of the request that he leave the corpse there, then regardless of the outcome, that's on the idiots who wrote the request. He had no way of knowing it could get back up. Regardless of that, he DID the job for which he should have been paid," I stated bluntly.
"If the thing got back up, then he didn't do the job correctly," he countered.
"If the thing got back up, then that's a different job. He still killed it the first time, and only failed to remove it because of the client's request. Now, did you, or did the villagers, withdraw that job?" I asked, and he scoffed, saying without words 'as if that mattered', but I slammed my own hand on the table, getting a far louder impact thanks to having several kilograms on him.
"Did you tell the Guild you'd dealt with the dragon on your own, or did the villagers withdraw the job so they could pay you?" I asked, and he gritted his teeth, before opening his mouth, and closing it again, obviously not having thought of that.
"You took them for everything they had, didn't you? So now Ren is out his payment, and I bet you used the dragon's corpse for materials, right? Did you sell it to them, or what?" I asked, and he just looked up at me blankly, a bit of anger in his eyes, but not sure how to respond.
"Now listen here, Master Naofumi fought hard against the dragon, saved me and Filo from it, and I won't have you say he did wrong in doing that!" shouted the tanuki women, and she placed her hand on her hip as she rose from her seat, the hilt of her blade glinting. I almost wanted to smile, given my party members in the corner were rising up, but I motioned with a hand, and they sat down. No need for a bar fight…not in a place with pretzels anyway. Maybe later.
"Miss…first off, it's Filo and I, I won't be threatened by someone using improper grammar…second of all, her name is Filo, it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Filo," I said, tilting my head to her, and the girl actually smiled at that, though I kept from looking her in the eyes as I raised my head.
"Third, this isn't about him slaying the dragon being wrong, it's about payment for jobs done. I would in fact, expect the Guild has a bounty on zombified dragons or the like. Right Lucia?" I shouted the last, and the woman nodded from across the hall.
"It would be considered a revenant creature, an advanced type too. Prove you slew it, and you can get anywhere from twenty to fifty gold," she responded, and I nodded.
"See? This isn't about what he did do, this is about what people think he did, and claiming another's bounty is considered less than polite, even if you came back later and did a followup," I said, and then started when Lucia had apparently gotten up to stand beside me, without me even realizing it.
"It would be on the villagers then, to have reported this correctly, not the Shield Hero. I'll make sure Ray hears the details, and they'll make sure all parties are made whole," she said, and I nodded.
"That's fine then," I said, and placed my hand on Ren's shoulder.
"I'll go with you, to the Hall here in the capital," I offered, and that seemed to make the younger man smile, though only briefly. He obviously hadn't wanted to complain about what had happened, but having someone to back him up made it easier.
"And if the villagers can't pay, then what?" asked Naofumi, sounding…abashed honestly. The words could be easily taken as him accusing US of being the ones taking them for everything they had, but his tone was more in line with him wondering if he'd done a bad thing.
"Nothing terrible. Villages have done this before, and they have to set up a payment plan with the Guild. It might take some time, but so long as you accepted what they paid you, that debt is considered resolved, and I doubt they offered more than a few gold for the dragon job," answered Lucia.
"Two hundred silver, plus a refill for our supplies," he offered without complaint, and that seemed to take most of the pressure off Naofumi, as his shoulders slumped down, before he eyed me.
"And what about the northern country? They say the Bow Hero killed the ruler, and cast the whole nation into chaos and civil war," he said, and you could tell there was some accusation in his voice, but Naofumi was actually pretty smart. He wasn't outright condemning me, considering what he'd gotten wrong about Ren just now. Smarter than I think most would credit him for in that regard.
"I did indeed take that job. She was violating several laws, and needed to be removed. I offered to arrest her instead, but she forced my hand. I will not say I liked doing it, but it needed to be done," I admitted, and this time he looked me in the eye.
"You don't think you should have tried anything else? Or at least made sure whoever was coming up behind her wasn't just as bad as she was?" he asked, getting a bit accusatory here, as I had indeed admitted to the 'crime' and that probably emboldened him a bit.
"I don't think it's our duty to make that judgment. She wasn't being punished just for being a 'bad person'. Her punishment was because of a specific incident. Should her successor continue on that route, I will deal with them the same, but until then, I cannot take action," I explain, and he scoffs again, obviously not pleased with that.
"And so it's alright if others suffer because of that?" he asked, and I shrug, not sure what else to say.
"No, but I was saving those from suffering that I could. What would you propose I do? Take command of the whole nation? Or simply ensure the next person to ascend the throne is a good one by killing all the other candidates?" The question seemed to catch him off guard, as his focus was ON the suffering people, not really on how to help beyond a basic idea.
"No, but if this is the result, maybe you shouldn't have taken that job, regardless of her crime. Think through your actions, and don't try to force what you want on reality," he said, like it was that simple.
"So let some be trodden down and beaten, to spare the greater number from suffering?" I asked, and he just sneered.
"If that's what it takes, sometimes, yeah. If you save one and put ten more in danger, then you've done a net negative," he said, not loudly, but I could see three particular forms that perked up at his words. The brothers, looking from each other. I motioned with one hand for them to stay back, but I could see them growing tense.
"So if you saw someone on the road, begging for help as their slave seal shocked them, you'd let them be dragged back, to spare the others the beating when their master returns empty handed and angry?" I asked, pointedly not looking at Raphtalia or Filo, who both clearly had such seals on them.
"It's not my business, and if it hurts others because I chose to interfere, then I chose wrong," he said, with a clear undertone of menace. Before I could respond, Strong stood up, and then so did his brothers, all three walking over, the open hostility in the way they walked causing everyone in the place to start to run for the door…even one of the people behind the counter making the food.
"If you feel that way, Hero of the Shield, then you are a horrible person, and as bad a devil as the church calls you," said Strong, crossing his arms in front of him and looking down, Raphtalia, with a growl, placed her hand on her weapon's hilt.
"How dare you say that!? Master Naofumi has been doing his best to clean up the messes your Master made of the north, and the ones the other heroes left behind," she said.
"You mean he's been saving humans then. How many Beastmen or Demi-humans has he helped?" asked Fast, and she bared her teeth at him, in a grimace.
"What does that matter?" she demanded.
"Because the reason the queen was slain is she took our entire village as slaves, and tried to work our people to death. LORD Bowman was the one to free them," he said bluntly, emphasizing that I was not their master, but simply their Lord, a difference in title, to be fair, but a major one, given they had no seals on them binding them to me, only their loyalty.
"I…didn't know that," he said, placing his hand on Raphtalia and pulling her back down into her seat without a word, as she herself appeared to have a processing error at that information.
"And you said it didn't matter. If it does now, simply because you are faced with those who suffered, then you are every bit the bad person others thought you were," I said. Not a question, not an accusation, simply a statement of fact in this matter. Without another word to him, I made my way to the end of the place, and put fifty silver on the counter, far more than what our meals had cost, indicating Ren and the rest should follow me.
Outside, a few guards were already assembled, but luckily the other worker who had been brave enough…or foolish enough really, to stay inside with us told his partner to send them away, that nothing had happened. The guards, looking put out at being summoned for nothing, stood down regardless, and then stalked off, while the rest of us proceeded to the Adventurers' Hall.
Ray was there, and we soon discussed things with the current head of the Hall, a human woman who looked far too young to be my age. That got Ren the reward from the dragon job, and a note to 'discuss' things with the village elder whenever they sent a Guild member back there, and just as we finished that bit of business, his party and Souka arrived, looking exceptionally stronger now.
The humans, as Lucia had, were not quite as statistically upgraded, but I could easily see the skills that had been gifted to them by the process saw their power grow exponentially. Souka was…a bit of a middle of the road. Her class was no longer simply Rogue, but Artificer, and included several skills that would aid her in the making and using items and gear, which she seemed pleased by, and I admitted it was a great choice.
From there I asked the Hall's Administrator to post a quest for me, fact finding and delivery. To find out how much damage had indeed been caused, and to give what we could to those refugees suffering in the north. I would never regret my actions, not when faced with the queen's depravity and those blue eyes. I would also not shirk my duty as a hero to help those in need however.
(Author's Note: This scene was one I wanted to do, because the anime version(And the manga one too) is actually rather bad. In either language on Funimation Now. The translation is…off, in some way. As the statements are direct. Ren and Itsuki were cheated of their rewards by Naofumi claiming to have done their jobs…somehow.
For those who don't watch the anime…thank you for reading this far in this fic if you don't, but anyway, in the scene in question, Itsuki directly states his killing of the royal of the northern country was a guild job, and Ren took the job to kill the dragon from the same.
Now, with Ren, it's possible the fact that it came back made his slaying not count, as pointed out, but even then, the request should have been a different job. Also, one would think if Naofumi claimed the reward, we would have had something to do with the supposed Guild(Which is only mentioned, never explained in the anime).
But Itsuki? He was apparently hired to kill a ruling monarch of a foriegn nation, indicating both that the Guild is international, and that they take what are essentially assassination contracts. Cool, but really odd that they were never hired to kill Trash at any point. Or Bitch for that matter. However, beyond that point, Itsuki did do the job, Naofumi had nothing to do with the kill, and if he really did claim it via some, 'he brought peace to the north' thing, then Naofumi's an asshole…a bigger one I mean.
As to why Naofumi confronts them here vs in the anime where they confront him(and probably true in the manga, though that one's less clear), I honestly just couldn't get the scene to flow right with them getting up and berating him, or even noticing him at all, as Bard is trying to teach Ren. Again, he sees the emo as a child, and thus it is his duty as the old man to try and make him a good person.)
