Ok. Fair warning. This chapter and next week's chapter will have some… violence. You can add EDGE to the list of warnings too. Just… I have a feeling all of you will realize when it's coming. It'll be pretty obvious.
Chapter Four: Slavery Debate Gone South
Itsuki looked down at everything going on. With the demi-humans and knights gathered in front of the Church and the other Heroes entering, it was hard for him to keep the grin off his face.
"Sir Itsuki, don't you think your smile looks a little too evil right now?" Rachel asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"How so? It's not like I'm planning to do anything evil." He replied jovially. He really had to hand it to Ren. If he and the others couldn't convince Naofumi that enslaving others was wrong, then perhaps those who had lived as slaves before could do so.
It was genius!
The town square was more than big enough for everyone to gather comfortably. And the top of the Church gave them the perfect position to speak from and listen to the people.
"I'm still not sure if this is going to turn out the way you think it is." Rachel looked at her fiance who had joined the crowd of people settling down on the ground in front of the Church. It looked like he was near the village Blacksmith, the Apothecarian, and the Witch.
She couldn't wait till their wedding day. But this was a matter they had to deal with first. "Even if they don't agree with slavery, there's the chance that they won't view what Sir Naofumi does as such. We could end up with a bigger problem than before if we do this."
Itsuki didn't respond. He was too busy daydreaming about all the different ways this would go. All roads in his mind led to Naofumi's utter downfall and Itsuki's arguments winning out. This would be the beginning of the complete abolishment of slavery in their territory!
Soon, the other Heroes along with Melty were on the roof with him. Rachel sighed at Itsuki's lack of reaction to her words, and left to join the rest of the Bow Hero's party members, who were intermingling with the other people in the town.
Raphtalia was speaking with Keel about something. Filo rested on the ground in her Filolial form, allowing some of the town's kids to play on her fluffy back and wings. Aksel was purposefully sitting with Ren's party, specifically, next to Bakta. Not only so he could pester him, but also as a way to more easily ignore Maya, who sat behind him trying to pester Aksel.
After a moment of discussion between the Heroes to make sure they agreed, which Ren did so reluctantly, Itsuki and the others walked into view on the Church rooftop.
The crowd below instantly became silent.
…
Melty cleared her throat. "During the process of drafting the laws for our new country, we have hit a stumbling block." She said regally. "As this is an area some of you are all too familiar with, Sir Itsuki suggested that having your opinion on the matter is necessary before we can proceed."
Some of the people looked surprised. Others nodded their heads in acceptance. A few looked confused. What would they be familiar with in making a new country?
Melty looked over them, wondering how she should say it. "... the matter pertains to slavery, and its placement in our laws."
…
The people were dead silent. The Heroes had expected anger, or downright outrage. However, some heads were looking down in defeat. Others looked up at them with resentment. And a few did look extremely angry, but it was only because it was the Heroes wanting to talk to them about it that they didn't explode in anger.
"I'm starting to think that this wasn't a good idea," Motoyasu whispered to the others.
"I'm regretting ever voicing this idea," Ren whispered back.
"This is a painful topic regardless. We had to address it sooner or later." Itsuki muttered. "It's better to pull the thorn out now before it grows into a sword that impales us all."
Naofumi said nothing. He looked calm with his arms crossed on his chest, as if he'd been expecting this kind of reaction from the people all along.
"Why do you wish to bring this up to us, Princess Melty?" One of the knights below finally asked. "Wasn't this country made to protect these people from the Waves and from other dangers like slavery?"
"Yes, Sir Adus. There is no doubt in my mind about that." Melty stated. "However, in discussing the laws we'd need to draft, we realized that if we were to abolish slavery entirely. We would…" She looked at Naofumi, and he simply nodded his head, speaking without using words "Just get it over with." She looked back at the people. "We would have to punish Sir Naofumi for having a slave."
…
Again, the people were silent. However, most everyone with the exception of the knights and few others looked up at the Shield Hero in surprise.
"How?" "That's impossible." "Lord Shield Hero would never." Murmuring broke out amongst the crowd of demi-humans.
As the Heroes observed, this time, it looked like the people felt betrayed. It was bad enough to think one of the Heroes was a slave owner. But for the Shield Hero to be that?!
"What kind of bull*&^% is this!?" One of the demi-humans below, a kitsune, yelled.
And that was the spark that lit the fire in everyone else.
"That has to be a lie! There's no way!"
"Are you saying he has someone that he whips before bed each night!?"
"Maybe those rumors about him raping someone are true after all!"
"No! Does that mean that this town being a safe haven was all a lie?!"
Naofumi had heard many things since being summoned to the world. It wasn't the first time people had been angry at him. But to see these people shouting obscenities at him. To hear what they'd had to go through as slaves. To figure he was planning on doing the same thing to them.
It hurt.
It had honestly hurt.
He'd steeled himself for lesser comments, but this level of outrage was too much. It hurt a lot, and he found himself speechless to try and answer their accusations.
The knights were silent, as they'd known the truth about Naofumi owning a slave. But several of them flinched at the harsh words the demi-humans around them said. Several tried to make their voices heard, but theirs were lost in the chorus being spewed up at Naofumi.
Itsuki wasn't grinning anymore at this point. Even he felt kind of bad for Naofumi now. He wasn't guilty of the things other slaveowners were guilty of.
However, this was a necessary course of action. Naofumi had to realize what these people had gone through, otherwise, the institution of slavery would persist and-
"Oi! Would ye loud bumbling idiots shut yer traps for just a minute!"
At the loud bellow, all the shouting stopped. Heads turned to see someone who'd stood up. The man coughed into his hand, ouch, it'd been a long time since he'd had to yell so loudly. "I know the lad up there is many things. But a bad slave owner, the things ye be accusing him of. He ain't it." Jerry, the blacksmith, defended Naofumi.
…
After a short pause, a nearby demi-human laughed. "Are you saying there's such a thing as a good slave owner then, Mr. Blacksmith?" He mockingly asked. "That's ludicrous. There's no way such a person would-"
"That is precisely what I'm saying!" Jerry replied heatedly before turning his head to the side and shouting at someone. "Hey, Lassie, I know you must be angry about this. So why don't you tell these louts a little bout yerself, eh?!"
Most of the people weren't sure what Jerry was talking about at first. But then Raphtalia finally stood. She looked up at Naofumi, steeled her gaze, then unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt, revealing the slave crest painted on top of her chest. "I'm Naofumi's slave." She calmly spoke out, her voice almost echoing in the total silence that followed.
…
…
…
…
"That's…" "But…" "How…" "Why?"
Most of the demi-humans couldn't believe it. They knew who Raphtalia was. But to think she was… the Shield Hero's slave?
"Melty, is it alright if I take things from here?" Naofumi calmly asked the Second Princess. He gave Jerry down below a thankful look. The blacksmith simply winked and gave him a toothy grin in response, almost getting Naofumi to smile.
He knew there'd been a reason he kept him around.
Well, besides being a blacksmith that was willing to work in a new place.
Melty nodded, and moved back so he could address the people himself. "Yes, it's true, Raphtalia is my slave." He told them. "I wish I could say otherwise, but I can't."
Raphtalia closed the buttons of her shirt and silently sat back down. However, some of the people were still staring at her in surprise. The rest looked up at Naofumi again, listening attentively to what he had to say.
"I'm not going to try and say that slavery is good. I can't imagine the lives that you were forced to live out before Itsuki saved you." He looked over them all, his expression as hard as stone. "However, I cannot stand the fact that all of you would assume that I would treat my girlfriend so horribly… that I'd plan on treating you all horribly, when I've been trying my best to help this village."
Many heads lowered at that. One head, however, remained up. He had been silent while everyone yelled up at Naofumi. "I already knew Raphtalia was your slave…" Keel said sadly. "But I've never gotten to ask you, why did you enslave my friend? Did she do something wrong?"
And so, Naofumi explained to Keel and the people why.
It wasn't for wish fulfillment. It wasn't to fulfill some lustful fantasy or something on par with that. It wasn't to take away Raphtalia's autonomy. Nor was it because he wanted to hold some form of leverage over her.
To be honest, she probably held more leverage over him than vice versa.
He'd set the off switch on many punishments for the crest long ago. However, since it required at least one punishment for something so it'd work, he set it to punish her if she didn't listen to an order. And the punishment given… was the equivalent of a shock so light it could hardly be felt unless she were to focus on it.
That wasn't even a punishment. That was like rubbing your feet along the carpet for a minute and then touching someone else to shock them. A little annoying, but hardly painful, in fact, it was barely noticeable!
Most of them stared, unable to comprehend a slave owner ever allowing such freedom to a slave.
In fact, they looked at Raphtalia again. She looked so healthy, so well treated, so clothed, everything that a slave wasn't. It didn't even feel right for them to call her a slave. It didn't look like she'd suffered under Naofumi's care at all, compared to what they had to suffer while they were enslaved. She didn't resemble a regular slave at all. Had she not shown her crest, they would have never believed it.
Could it be that what the Shield Hero and the other Heroes had thought to be slavery wasn't slavery at all? How could they call Raphtalia a slave?!
As for the reason why Naofumi even had a slave crest on her, to begin with. The reasoning was simpler, and far more merciful and caring than they could have ever imagined.
"My Shield makes slaves registered to me more powerful as they level up. Raphtalia is alive today despite facing opponents higher in level than her because of it." Naofumi said. "That's the only reason she still has her crest, to help her survive. If it didn't benefit her in some way, I would have gotten rid of it the moment I knew that I loved her."
"That's why we're struggling with what laws to put down for slavery.
"And that's why I'm considering making my future party members my slaves if they ask me for it.
"It's not to abuse them. It's not to use them. But to make them strong enough to protect themselves from anyone or anything that would want to abuse them. Be it either cruel people who'd want to subjugate them or monsters from the Waves seeking to destroy them.
"I'm sorry you had to suffer from horrible slave owners before. But I'm going to do everything I possibly can to ensure those under my care can survive the Waves of Catastrophe, and help others to survive as well. Whether you or the other Heroes like it or not.
"I want to survive. And I want my friends and family to survive.
"That's all I have to say about this."
With that, Naofumi stopped speaking. He looked down at everyone with a frown. Waiting to see what they had to say.
The people were silent, looking at one another. The Apothecarian was frowning. The Witch looked around worriedly. Jerry was smiling though, and giving him a thumbs up. Raphtalia and Filo were also smiling, and Eclair wasn't frowning. Dou-Lon looked like he was going to go into another worship tirade, but was holding himself back just for him.
Even if they didn't agree with him still, Naofumi felt better about getting it all off his chest. It was like all the frustration he'd been feeling since that meeting with Melty had finally leaked away.
Itsuki smiled sadly for Naofumi. He felt oddly sympathetic for his plight, but there was still no way that slavery was right. It would never be right, and the people agreed with him on that. And he was about to learn that for himself.
Finally, Keel stood up. "I get what you're saying... and... if that's all there is to it…"
…
He pumped a fist. "... then sign me up Shield Bro!" He shouted excitedly.
Naofumi was shocked at that. "What-"
And then, others got up and started saying the same thing. Even some of the knights were all for it.
There were obviously a few who were still uncomfortable with it. But what Naofumi had described to them wasn't slavery. If anything, a better term to use might have been apprenticeship.
They'd still have to work hard and other things. But they'd get to work hard to level up and grow stronger, unlike slavery which kept you weak and unable to fight for yourself. Not only that, but they'd also get rewarded for their work, they'd be paid for their labor, whether in money or in food or other essentials, unlike slaves, who got the bare minimum and the worst treatment that'd just keep them on the cusp of living.
And, best of all, they'd still get to be their own person as they did all of this. Naofumi might not have been asking for them to do this. But after looking at Raphtalia and at how strong she was, they wanted that! They wanted the benefits of growing stronger while still retaining their right to choose!
Itsuki and the others looked shocked at the change in the crowd's mood. Naofumi himself was plenty shocked. He'd only meant to defend his position. He hadn't meant to win them over! Much less, convince them to want to become his slaves! What the hell!
Were these people crazy or something?!
Itsuki stared at the people in horror. What was going on?! Why was this happening-
"Why?!" Naofumi yelled at them. "I wasn't implying that you had to become my slaves-"
"I already had to watch my home be destroyed twice!" Keel answered. "If there's a way for me to become strong enough to prevent it from happening a third time, then I'll take it!" His sentiment was shared by other members of the crowd.
"If I can become strong enough to face any monster, I'll do it!"
"If I had the choice between branding myself or watching some bastard noble brand my countrymen for his sadistic purposes, I'll take branding myself to grow stronger any day!"
"If I can protect my wife and my future children, then I'll gladly wear a brand to do so!" Rachel's fiance roared out. Rachel, sitting next to him, blushed at what he'd said. She didn't need his protection. She was already plenty strong as is. But it still touched her heart to see how much he cared for her and what he was willing to do to keep her safe.
"But… but I…" Naofumi trailed off, unsure what to say. He couldn't be trusted with all these people. He couldn't force them to do this!
But he wasn't. These people were choosing it. Why?! He'd only been worried about Dou-Lon and other future party members, not the entire freaking VILLAGE!
'No, this can't be right!' Itsuki continued to stare in disbelief at the people. His people. The ones he'd saved from the shackles of slavery, and yet now, they were eager to get back into it!
Why was this happening!? How was this possible!? Unless… Naofumi was...
"Please, everyone, settle down!" Melty yelled down to the uproarious crowd. "This is going to need some time and-"
"Naofumi…" The Shield Hero turned around at the dark voice.
Itsuki looked pissed. He drew the string on his bow back.
"Itsuki, wait, I-" Naofumi tried to speak.
"Eagle Piercing Shot!"
Naofumi's eyes widened. "Air Strike Shield!" The ethereal green shield appeared in front of him. However, Itsuki's skill went right through it, and the eagle screeched as it slammed into Naofumi's shoulder.
"Augh!" Naofumi cried out in pain.
The eyes of his party members went wide. "Filo!" Raphtalia called to her.
"Huh?" Filo, who had dozed off, looked around curiously.
The Bow Hero drew the string of his weapon back again. He realized it now that there could be no other reason! Naofumi was tricking them into walking back into slavery by making it look like a sweet deal! He was going to chain them up just like those nobles he'd encountered! He had to stop him right here and now before that ever happened!
"Sir Itsuki, stop this instant!" Melty yelled at the Bow Hero. The people down below stared up in astonishment.
Naofumi gripped his bleeding shoulder while Itsuki shouted at him. "You're done tricking the people, Naofumi! I'm putting a stop to you right now!"
"What are you talking about?! I'm not trying to trick anybody-" The Shield Hero tried to respond.
"Air Strike Spread!"
"&^%$! Second Shield! Shield Prison!" A second Air Strike Shield appeared above Naofumi as a green ball of plates and chains appeared around him. Itsuki's skill split in the air above Naofumi, and rained down on him and his defenses.
Both of the Air Strike Shields shattered. However, his Shield Prison held out to the end of the spread skill. But Itsuki wasn't done. His bow glowed brightly as it readied its next skill. Naofumi blanched in recognition before he'd even released it.
Raphtalia and Filo and the others paled as well. "Everybody, get back!" She started directing all the nearby villagers to get away from the Church.
Too little, too late.
"Explosion Shot!"
Naofumi raised his shield to defend himself. If he tried using Meteor Shield, then the roof of the Church would be destroyed, and the debris would fall on the villagers down below. Maybe he could try knocking it away and hope that it wouldn't hit another part of the village. However, he wasn't very confident with reflecting something this powerful yet. And what if he accidentally redirected it down below? Could he even reflect this?
However, his worries were for nothing as Ren appeared in front of him. "Reflect Slash!" His sword glowed brightly as it slammed into Itsuki's skill like a bat. And then, pushing with all his might, he reflected it away from Naofumi and Itsuki, away from the village, out over the ocean, where it fell and disappeared into the water.
A geyser several dozen feet high was the only evidence of the skill hitting the ocean floor.
Naofumi breathed in and out heavily from the tension of the moment. Ren did the same. He was glad he'd reacted in time to avert the disaster. It'd been like moving on pure instinct and adrenaline. Amazing, but not exactly what he wanted to experience right now.
"So you do support Naofumi! I knew it!" Itsuki yelled angrily at the Sword Hero.
"Itsuki, you almost killed us all there! Calm down before you hurt someone else-" Ren started to yell at the Bow Hero while trying to keep his anger in check.
"Shut up! I knew it! I knew all along that you and Naofumi were working together!" Itsuki yelled in a craze, putting his hands to his head. "That's why you suggested this idea to me! You're both conspiring to enslave the villagers, and-"
"Just shut up already!" Ren stopped holding back his anger. "Your last skill could have killed Naofumi, or Melty, or the rest of us up here! It could have hurt everyone down below! Don't you actually CARE about them?!" Ren yelled furiously. Screw being socially awkward. This blonde brat was being a major IDIOT!
"I thought you stood up for Naofumi on the Ghost Ship when we were about to fight! I thought you told us to understand where he was coming from! To understand all the trials he's had to go through since being summoned! And now we're here trying to resolve an issue he's struggled with personally since we were summoned and you want to KILL him?! Does it mean that those words you said back then were just a lie to make yourself feel better!? WELL! WAS IT, ITSUKI?!"
Itsuki sputtered, and tried to come up with a response that wouldn't incriminate him, when-
Slap!
A hand smacked him hard across the face. He held the red hand mark on his cheek in shock. He looked down at the Second Princess's outstretched hand. Her glare looked very similar to her mother's, only, there was no ice at all in it. It was plain as day that she was one step away from throwing him off a cliff into a deep endless ocean.
"Sir Bow Hero. I'm going to ask you this only once. CALM... DOWN!"
…
Itsuki looked away from her and at the people down below. Many of them looked frightened at the display they'd just witnessed. He then looked at Naofumi and saw that his shoulder was bleeding from the defense piercing skill he'd hit him with earlier.
Realization lit in his eyes. "I-I'm sorry-" He tried to say. He didn't know what'd come over him there.
Naofumi growled. "You little pricks." His shield's gemstone flashed red. "So you want to kill me because I was right all along? Is that it?"
Ren and Itsuki both blanched. Oh no. Had they accidentally pushed Naofumi into the deep anger zone!
A hand rested on Naofumi's shoulder, snapping him back to reality. He turned his head around, expecting Raphtalia, but to his sheer disbelief, it was the Spear Hero of all people who was firmly holding him in place.
"How about we end things here and meet up tomorrow when we have all chilled out."
The three Heroes looked at Motoyasu. He was giving them all the stern older brother's face. "Itsuki, that was over the line. I know you don't agree with what they're saying, and to be frank, I don't agree with it either. But you should know better than to start killing people over it!"
Itsuki was left speechless at Motoyasu calling him out for being a child. Motoyasu then turned Naofumi to face him, before letting go of the Shield Hero's shoulder.
"And Naofumi! I get that Itsuki hurt you. I've hurt you before too, and I'm sorry for that. But using that Cursed Series of yours is not going to help any of us right now! So calm the &^%$ down or I'll have to ask your wife and daughter to beat some sense into that stupid, stubborn head of yours for me!"
Naofumi scowled at Motoyasu's words and then suddenly blushed as his exact wording sunk in. His gemstone turned back to its normal color. With a reluctant sigh, he began chanting under his breath and focused on his shoulder. A few seconds later, he muttered the words "Zweite Heal" and watched as the wound Itsuki had inflicted on him healed itself. His clothing was still stained with blood though.
"... I believe Sir Motoyasu is correct," Melty affirmed. "We should give everyone some time to think about everything they've heard, and then we'll meet again tomorrow morning to discuss what we should do. After all, choices should not be made in the heat of emotion."
Ren, Naofumi, and Motoyasu nodded to her. She then repeated the same words to the people down below. The people similarly agreed that it'd be best to calm down and think it over a little more closely before meeting again.
Raphtalia and Filo, by this point, had appeared next to Naofumi and were trying to help him calm down. Eclair and Dou-Lon rushed up onto the roof with all the other party members, and went to their respective heroes.
"Are you okay, Sir Naofumi?" Eclair worriedly asked.
"To think Sir Bow Hero would attack Lord Naofumi in front of everyone!" Dou-Lon scowled in Itsuki's direction. If he hadn't been so weak, he'd beat the Bow Hero up himself.
"It's fine, just drop it Dou-Lon. I'm fine Eclair. It was nothing my magic couldn't fix." Naofumi said tiredly to them both. "Raphtalia, could you handle dinner tonight? I think the only thing I need right now is some rest."
"You mean, we can't have Daddy's cooking tonight?" Filo asked, sounding alarmed. Even if daddy always complained about it, she knew that he actually loved cooking. If he was not feeling like it, then something was very, very wrong.
Raphtalia looked nervous about having to cook. However, seeing the tired look on her boyfriend's face, she shakily nodded. "Filo, let's help Naofumi get back home first. Then, we'll see what we can do about dinner." She suggested.
"... Okay…" She transformed into her Filolial form. Raphtalia, Dou-Lon, and Eclair all helped Naofumi to climb on so his daughter could carry him home. Melty looked kind of jealous that she didn't get to ride around on Filo. But she didn't dare voice that aloud.
Naofumi didn't understand. Why did the villagers want to be his slaves? He'd only been considering Dou-Lon. Would he have to consider everyone else as well?
"Hey, Naofumi." Naofumi looked at Motoyasu, who had his two girls behind him. "Um, I'm sorry if I said anything that was uncalled for earlier. I just didn't want you to-"
"It's fine," Naofumi said tiredly. "Thank you for that, actually. It helped me snap back to reality."
Motoyasu stayed silent, and Naofumi left with Filo and his party. "See Sir Motoyasu. I told you there was nothing to worry about." Rino, his light green-haired party member, said calmly. "You did the best you could do given the situation."
"Yeah, I guess…" Motoyasu still looked unsure.
"Besides, had you tried to fight there, we all know what would have happened." Elena butted in with a sarcastic smirk.
Motoyasu pouted as he left with his party members. He wouldn't have been completely overpowered if a fight had actually started! His training with that old granny was paying off! No, seriously, it was! It was hard and took a lot of focus, but he couldn't wait to show off the fruits of his labors!
"Sir Ren, you looked so cool back there!" Welt said excitedly as Ren followed with his party members.
"I totally thought we were in trouble! But then you just reflected that attack like it was nothing!" Bakta said next.
"What else would you expect from Sir Ren?" Farrie asked lightheartedly. "He's the strongest person ever!"
"I wouldn't say he's the strongest just yet. But Sir Ren is plenty strong on his own." Tersia corrected her friend, while still praising their leader.
"Guys, what did I say about calling me Sir?" It was taking everything Ren had to not cover his face out of embarrassment. Had he really just yelled at Itsuki in front of everyone in the village?! "I didn't even know if I'd be able to reflect all of that attack or not. What I did there was reckless."
"Indeed, it was reckless. You could have gotten yourself hurt, or worse." Wyndia's statement hit him like a hammer. "But… it was pretty cool, Ren." She admitted. "... For a teenager, that is." She added. Her cheeks red for some odd reason Ren couldn't understand.
Still, he felt better hearing that. "Why can't you guys call me by name like Wyndia?" He asked.
"I-I didn't call you by name Sir Ren!" Wyndia quickly denied. "Right?!" She asked everyone else.
They were about to say that she had, when her glare convinced them to lie. "Of course not." "You'd never say something like that." "Mhmm." "Yup, yup." The variety of responses said back.
"Hmph!" She crossed her arms and entered the Church. Ren was confused as hell, but the others were chuckling as they followed behind. Leaving only Itsuki and his party on the roof.
Itsuki stood frozen, his party members around him saying things, but he wasn't listening.
The villagers. His people. Wanted to be Naofumi's slaves...
"It'll be fine, Itsuki. I'm sure Sir Naofumi will forgive you, hopefully." Maya said to him, trying to smile to cheer up the party.
That was right, he'd gotten so angry that he'd attacked Naofumi. But as quickly as the sadness came, it was wiped out by the next thought.
He'd attacked him for a good reason! He was sure that Naofumi had laced his words, or used magic, or someone else had interfered, or, OR SOMETHING! This hadn't been how the meeting was supposed to go! The people were supposed to have convinced Naofumi not to use the slave crest! Not the other way around! he'd promised to protect them from being enslaved again, and now they were running back into it with open arms!
"Itsuki, we can't just stand here all day, we need to go back and-" Rachel was saying.
"Naofumi lied to them, didn't he?" He finally asked.
…
His party members frowned.
"Sir Itsuki, maybe some rest would do you good," Rachel suggested to him.
"But, but I was in the right, wasn't I?!" He asked again, this time, frantically.
"Sir Itsuki-"
"No! I was right! I've been right about this all along! And, and now, N-Naofumi, he's going to, to-" He stuttered and stumbled over his words, trying to figure out what he was trying to say.
"S-Sir Itsuki…" He stopped, and looked at Rishia. She had her hands clasped together. "I… I don't think Sir Naofumi was lying." She sniffled. "And when you a-attacked him…"
"I, I don't think it was right, what you did, Sir Itsuki." She hung her head.
…
No… no, this couldn't be happening! Even Rishia was disagreeing with him!? He looked at his party members, and saw that they were of the same mind.
"Let's rest and prepare for tomorrow, Sir Itsuki." Karn, the backbone of the party, calmly suggested. "If you don't want the people here to wear a slave crest, you'll need to prepare a convincing argument."
N-No! This wasn't right! It wasn't right at all! He was supposed to protect these people from evil, but even his own party looked convinced by Naofumi's words! How could he allow such a thing to happen?! How could his closest party members disagree with him when he was right!?
Had the entire world gone mad while he wasn't looking?! Had things changed while he was out fixing things in another country?! Why would anyone willingly throw away their freedom?! What possible justification could exist for people to embrace their chains with pride and heads held high?!
None of this was right! None of it made any sense to him!
It had to be a nightmare!
Itsuki tossed and turned in his bed.
No, he hadn't woken up there. His party had done everything they could to help him once they got home, but in the end, he retired to his room, wanting to be alone. He hadn't been able to fall asleep since. He couldn't stop thinking about the town meeting.
Unbelievable. Inconceivable. Impossible.
The people he'd saved from slavery. The people he'd exerted so much effort and heartbreak towards freeing, wanted to go back into it under Naofumi?!
His fists clenched at his bedsheets. Even if it had been a few hours since, he still felt frustrated and his pride had been badly hurt. Nothing helped with the pain he was feeling at losing the argument that by all rights should have been a foregone conclusion in his favor. He couldn't sleep. His mind refused to. He was just so frustrated!
Outside his window was darkness. The storm coming in from the sea was almost upon Lurolona.
Why, just why were these people willing to give up their autonomy for power?! Why were they so willing to become property to a Hero!? He'd done everything to free them! In most cases, he'd put himself through deep, traumatizing pain to do so! And this was how they wanted to pay him back!?
He couldn't even begin to imagine-
Lightning flashed out over the ocean, briefly lighting up the inside of his room. However, instead of thunder, the first thing that greeted his ears was a distant scream.
He instantly jumped out of bed, his bowstring drawn and ready. He looked around his room with wide eyes. A few seconds later, the distant sound of thunder echoed around him.
'... Was I… imagining that?' He looked outside a different window at the village. He didn't spot anything amiss. The insides of the homes were dark, and no one was out and about. Everything was dark, really. Had his frustration leaked out into the real world?
He was beginning to wonder if it was just his imagination trying to distract him or something when he heard knocking on his door. "Sir Itsuki! Are you alright!"
He left the window and opened the door to his room. "What is it now, Aksel?" He asked, a little more harshly than he'd intended.
"Oh, um, sorry if I disturbed you at a bad time." The large knight said meekly.
Itsuki sighed. "No, it's fine, I'm sorry, what is it?" He asked.
"It's nothing, really. I just couldn't really sleep, and then I thought I heard somebody scream. And I thought you might have still been up after what happened today." He said, his head hanging down.
…
A deep, foreboding dread filled Itsuki.
"I guess it must have been my imagination, sorry for disturbing you-"
"You mean… you heard a scream too?" Itsuki interrupted.
Aksel looked up at Itsuki. "Yeah, why do you…" He trailed off.
A look of horror appeared over both of their faces.
Itsuki rushed to his window and looked at the village again. Aksel rushed up alongside him. The knight couldn't see very well outside the window, and Itsuki was struggling with trying to figure out what was wrong. His eyes couldn't see anything amiss-
"Why's it so dark out there?! What happened to the lanterns?! I can barely see a thing!" Aksel complained.
The teen hero finally realized it, thanks to Aksel. The town was dark. He didn't see any lit torches in the streets. Nor did he see any knights on night duty out on patrol.
Something was terribly wrong. And that scream…
"What are your orders?" Aksel asked tensely. Stumbling upon the same realization after saying what he'd said.
"Wake and gather everyone immediately," Itsuki ordered. "The other Heroes included."
Aksel nodded and rushed off. Itsuki quickly got dressed in his armor and cloak, before rushing downstairs just as Aksel was escorting a freshly awakened Rachel out of her room. "What's going on Sir Itsuki, Aksel was banging on my door like a-" She tried to ask.
"Something's wrong with the town. I didn't see any knights out on patrol and I heard someone scream." Itsuki quickly explained.
Rachel jumped to alertness and started helping Aksel with waking everyone else up. Itsuki, meanwhile, rushed out of the front door of his house and headed towards the village.
He was really grateful that he'd unlocked equip bonuses from various bows that improved his vision in the dark. He could see almost as if it was day. No wonder he hadn't noticed the lack of light. He could see just fine at night without it!
He rushed past the Church and various homes. He couldn't see anyone out and about though. And he had no idea where that scream had come from!
And where were those blasted knights?!
He eventually got to the barracks and started pounding on the door. "Get up! There's trouble!"
However, he got no response. "I said wake up-" When he opened the door, he found all the knights asleep. Not all of them were in their beds though. Some of them were in chairs, their heads laying on the table next to half-eaten dishes. Others were lying on the floor, still in their armor. "What… what's going on?!" He shook one, trying to wake him up.
He almost thought they were dead when the knight he was holding snored. He turned him over, and saw his face had a red tint to it.
Was this idiot drunk?!
What was happening?!
Could this just be a nightmare? No, he was certain this was real. That scream had been real! Aksel had heard it too. He couldn't have imagined it!
He rushed out and continued looking for where it'd come from. At this point, the ruckus he was causing some of the demi-humans to come out of their homes. They looked confused. Again, the thought crossed his mind that he'd imagined it. Maybe the knights had drunk too much. All twenty of them, at the same time.
But then as he neared a home near the edge of the village, the home the orphans were staying in with Terra, he smelled blood.
'... No.' He rushed towards the door. It was slightly ajar. His fear worsened, the smell was coming from here. His heart hammered in his chest. Things were going dark at the edges of his vision.
'No, don't tell me-'
He threw the door open…
His worst fears were realized all at once.
Terra, the bear demihuman in charge of taking care of the children, laid against the wall in her therianthrope form. Her matted fur was stained with blood coming from wounds on her throat and chest. The interior of the home was a mess, with signs of a fierce struggle everywhere. Toys laid broken on the ground. Blankets, bedsheets, and mattresses had all been torn apart.
The children were nowhere in sight.
Itsuki just stood there. Staring in shock at it all.
'No… no… no… no…'
"Itsuki, what happened!?" The other Heroes came charging into the room. They'd been awakened by Itsuki's party members and filled in with what they knew.
However, like Itsuki, they stopped in shock at what they were seeing.
"&^%$!" Naofumi cussed. Then, to their shock, Terra let out a gurgling sound. It was indecipherable because of the blood in the way. But somehow, she was still alive.
The doctor in Naofumi acted at once. "Motoyasu, Ren, help me out here!" He yelled at the two Heroes as he pulled several potions out of his shield.
Ren was stiff as a board at the gruesome sight. Motoyasu, however, quickly rushed over alongside Naofumi and began incanting every Healing spell he knew. It looked like he was straining as he did it, but his magic had an otherworldly glow to it as they worked.
Itsuki continued to stand there as more people gathered in the doorway. Their party members. The townspeople. Melty.
"What's going on?" Somebody asked.
"I can't see! It's so dark out!"
"It's Terra! She's badly hurt!"
"The children! Where are the children?!"
"I don't see anyone else in there!"
"What's going on!? Who did this!?"
Itsuki slowly walked up to Terra, almost as if in a trancelike state. Her throat and chest wounds began to close up thanks to Naofumi and Motoyasu's efforts, but it was already too late. There was too much blood staining the floor. Far, far too much.
"S-Sir Heroes…" She managed to gasp out once her throat had healed.
"Stop. You need to conserve your strength and-" Naofumi was saying. Trying to give her another healing potion to drink.
Terra coughed up blood over the bottle. "No, the children… they… You need to find them, before they-" She coughed. More bleed leaked out. Even though her surface wounds were healing, the internal damage was too much. Even Naofumi could tell, but he didn't want to give up yet!
"Stop speaking damn it! You're going to be fine! Now sit still and-"
"I… I tried to stop them, but they… slavers took them… they took the children and fled." Tears leaked from her eyes.
Naofumi and Motoyasu paused. Itsuki stared at her in disbelief. "Took… slavers... took them?" He croaked. He got down on his knees, lifting up one of her bloody paws in his hands.
Terra shivered. More tears came from her black pupils. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Sir Itsuki… I wasn't strong enough… to… to… stop them… please, tell my… husband… I'm..." Her eyes glossed over, and her paw went limp.
Itsuki stared. Stunned at the death he'd just witnessed.
"No, NO!" Naofumi tried to force-feed her the potion, even though her surface wounds had already closed over. However, her soul had already left. There was nothing he could do about the internal damage.
"NO! &^%$! ^%$&! &^%$ &^%$ &^%$ &^%$...!" Naofumi started cussing like a sailor and beating his fist against a wall with each word.
Motoyasu tried to incant another healing spell. However, he could no longer choose to heal Terra on his HUD. He looked down at the floor sadly.
"The knights! THE KNIGHTS! Where the ^%$# are they?!" Naofumi finally yelled at the doorway when beating the wall only reminded him that his high DEF stat made his fist harder than it.
The people outside looked around in fright. But the knights were still in their barracks, passed out for some reason.
"Where the hell are those damn &^%$ing knights?! What the hell are they doing!?" Naofumi screamed. "They should have prevented something like this from happening! What the holy-"
"Naofumi, you're scaring everyone." Raphtalia interrupted him.
Ren finally snapped out of his petrified state and ran off to check on the barracks. Naofumi shook where he was. But thanks to Raphtalia, he clamped his mouth shut.
"Naofumi, there's nothing else we can do here," Motoyasu said sadly, before his face scrunched up. "So, let's go after those slavers before they escape with the kids."
…
Naofumi clenched his fists, and tensely nodded. "You're right, I'm done freaking out…" His face calmed, and Raphtalia sighed in relief. "Raphtalia, Filo, get the carriage ready." He ordered the two of them.
"Got it!" "Okay daddy!" The two rushed off.
"Motoyasu, can I trust you to protect the village from another attack just in case?" Naofumi asked.
Motoyasu saluted. "On my life, I say!"
He nodded in satisfaction. "Everyone who isn't one of our party members, go to the Church! The Spear Hero will make sure you're safe! The rest of us will handle this and figure out what's going on! And we'll get those kids back, I promise!" Naofumi got up and began addressing the fear-filled crowd. This time, helping to calm them down.
Ren's party rushed back to their house to get ready for war. Itsuki's party did the same. Dou-Lon got to work sniffing around the house, looking for the trail they needed to follow. Eclair followed to make sure he stayed safe. Rino and Elena began directing the villagers towards the Church.
In the midst of the sudden storm of activity, Rishia sniffled as she looked around at everything going on. Terra had been so friendly to her and the others. And to think she was dead… As bad as she felt though, she couldn't even comprehend what her Hero had to be feeling.
"S-Sir Itsuki, don't worry, we'll-" Rishia meekly turned to where Itsuki had been only a couple of minutes ago to try to reassure him, only to find out that he was no longer there.
Looking around, there was no sign of the Bow Hero at all.
"S-Sir Itsuki?!" Rishia yelled, looking around fearfully. "Fueh! Where are you!?"
"Lord Naofumi!" Dou-Lon and Eclair rushed up.
"What is it?" He asked, his voice calmer now that he'd had time to process what'd happened.
"We have a trail, but-" Eclair started.
"Sir Bow Hero's scent is on the trail too!" Dou-Lon exclaimed. "I think he's already gone after them!"
…
"That… that &^%$ing idiot!" Naofumi yelled at the night sky. "Why did he go after them by himself!? Does he want to get those kids killed?! ARGH!"
All the anger and frustration came rushing back. "Get me my carriage, now! We're getting there before he does something stupid!"
Itsuki rushed through the woods. The scent of blood was thick in this direction.
Slavers. Slavers had attacked the village. Slavers, they had kidnapped the kids. Slavers, they had killed Terra. And they hadn't cleaned their weapons of her blood either. He could smell it thick in the air. It was covering his hands too. He felt like he was choking on its iron stench!
The stars above were blotted out by thick black storm clouds. It was so incredibly dark. He was only able to traverse the terrain thanks to the Legendary Bow's abilities.
Lightning lit the sky above him again. The rain started to lightly fall. 'No! Not now! Please not now!'
The scent of blood started to thin in the air. The scent of rain gradually replaced it. He became more reckless as he tried to follow it. Uncaring if he came across a monster or something worse. Whatever happened, he could not lose the trail. The lives of those kids depended on it!
A monster appeared in his path. A large wolf-like creature. Whatever it was, it roared and jumped at him.
Itsuki, without even thinking, punched it hard in the snout. It yipped as it flew sideways into a tree, but he didn't check to see if it was dead or not. He kept pushing forward, following the fading scent in the air through the bushes.
He couldn't get the faces of his people out of his mind. The looks of betrayal and fear on their faces.
Hadn't he promised to protect them?
Hadn't he promised he'd keep them safe?
Hadn't he promised they'd never have to live as slaves again!?
But Terra was dead. The kids had been taken by slavers. They were being forced back into slavery and it was-
His promises, broken. His responsibilities, failed.
Tears streamed down his face.
He had to keep going. For their sake.
As he came upon a road, the rain became thicker. He put his hand over his eyes to block out the cold rain. But it was hard to tell which direction the slavers had gone here. Was it left, right, straight?! The scent of blood had almost faded entirely! The rain had washed his hands clean.
WHERE HAD THEY TAKEN THEM!? DAMN IT!
…
He put both hands to his face, tears of frustration and self-loathing leaking from his eyes.
He'd failed. He'd utterly failed.
He remembered the day he saved Terra and her husband. They'd been pulling plows, being treated like cattle by their handlers. Whip marks had covered their bodies, which were thinned from malnutrition.
He'd freed them, and killed the handlers, as well as the noble who'd encouraged his handlers to abuse his slaves as much as possible. He'd brought them to Van's Estate, where they'd recovered. Later, the two had agreed to help him when they learned Naofumi was being held prisoner in the Capital.
He'd promised her husband after she chose to stay in the village to watch over the orphaned kids that he'd guarantee her safety. He'd taken her and several other demi-humans with him to that country outside Melromarc so they could level for that exact purpose. So they'd be strong enough to defend themselves without the use of a slave crest. So their loved ones wouldn't have to worry while they helped Van to restore his lands.
But it hadn't been enough.
None of what he'd done had been enough.
Terra was dead. The orphans had been taken by slavers.
His promises to her husband were broken. His promises to the people were broken.
It was his fault. It was all his fault-
…
…
A dark look entered his eyes.
No...
The bow in his hands started to lose color.
Not his fault... Their fault...
His Bow began to grow in size. An ominous aura started to surround it.
He was faultless... He was without blemish... They were not.
His senses sharpened. He sniffed deeply, then looked to the left. The scent of blood was faint, but it was coming from that direction. That was where they'd gone then.
His eyes started to change from gold to violet, just like his weapon's gemstone.
Their fault. All their fault. It was all their damn fault.
He straightened, the Bow of Justice II held firmly in his grip. An eerie calm surrounded his figure. The rain, which had soaked him before, steamed in the air around him, as if afraid to touch him now.
The wolf monster from before reappeared from behind, intent on revenge. But just as quickly as it'd approached, the hairs on its body stood on their ends, and it ran away in terror with a quiet whine.
They would pay!
An arrow streaked through the air, and the wolf monster fell to the ground. Split in half down the middle. It hadn't even had time to cry out in death. An EXP notification appeared in Itsuki's HUD, but he paid it no mind.
They would pay! All the monsters. All the demons. Everyone who had even a shred of evil in their hearts.
They would pay! They would ALL pay for being wrong!
Lightning flashed in the sky, and after its illumination disappeared, Itsuki was gone.
Author's Notes:
Well. It's a good thing I decided to return to one-week chapter updates for now. It'd suck to sit on this for two weeks. See you all next week!
Hero Clips!
I want to play with her too!
"Wheeee!"
Melty huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from what was going on.
"Filo, do a barrel roll!" Keel yelled, gripping tightly to her back.
"Okie Dokie!" Filo started spinning through the air, Keel and the other kids that were latched to her back screamed with excitement.
"This is so much funnnnnnnn!"
'It's not like I'm jealous or anything. No way, not at all.' Melty continued to hmph and look away.
A little while later, she heard another scream from one of the kids.
"Filo, kick the ball super high for us!"
"Here comes Filo!" Filo brought her foot back, and kicked the ball so high it looked like it'd gone into the stratosphere.
She was in her angel form too. So that alone was impressive.
"Whoaaaaa, so cool!" All the kids cheered. "You're amazing Filo!"
I don't want to play with her. I'm fine by myself doing all this paperwork.' Melty's hand clenched around the quill she was writing with. She had to focus on building the country. Otherwise, she'd be procrastinating. And she'd be building up her work! And she'd add several more grey hairs to her head before she'd even turned 13!
"Wow, you're so poofy!" The kids surrounded Filo, petting her all over.
"Yep! Filo does Filo's best to keep Filo clean and well-groomed!" She said happily.
"Whoaaaaaa! You can really sink into her feathers guys!"
"It's like a whole new comfortable world in here!"
The quill snapped in Melty's fist. 'Are they petting her?!' She turned to look in shock. Not only were they petting her, they were diving into her feathers! No fair!
No! Melty turned to look at her paperwork again. She had to finish this first! She couldn't be jealous of them! She just had to blot it out, and-
"Wheeeeeeee!" Now Filo was upside down on the ground, and the kids were jumping on a trampoline made of wind that she'd conjured.
"Higher Filo! Higher!"
"This is funnnn!" Filo cheered.
"Wahhhhhhhhh! I want to play with her too!" Melty broke under the pressure and began to cry.
"So you are jealous of them." Naofumi boredly spoke to the side. "Didn't see that coming." He muttered sarcastically.
Raphtalia giggled, and leaned against Naofumi's shoulder as they watched one daughter be jealous of everyone having fun with their other daughter.
Till Next Time
Allen