CHAPTER 4:

THE FIRST DAY OF GRINDING

"You okay?" Harry asked, helping Ren down the gangplank.

"Better than I thought I'd be," Ren said. "Thanks for the ginger pills, Raphtalia. They helped."

The demi-human nodded. "That's fine, Ren. I don't get seasick, thankfully. You seemed to stay well away from the railings, though."

"…I can't swim," Ren admitted quietly. "And I'm somewhat aquaphobic. It's a long story that I don't like talking about, so can we leave it at that, please?"

Harry and Raphtalia nodded, even as they stayed with Ren and his party, followed by Hedy, as they walked along the pier. The voyage over hadn't been too eventful, aside from the majority of the other Cardinal Heroes getting severe sea-sickness. Ren had managed to arrange a meeting with Motoyasu so that they could nut out where to go, and Motoyasu, albeit a little reluctantly, did agree. However, they needed to learn the details of how Cal Mira worked, and there wasn't exactly a brochure for it that they had.

Motoyasu was a bit more eager about being able to share drops…or at least get them from Ren and Itsuki. He didn't seem so keen about Harry, but Harry found he was fresh out of fucks to give. He'd given the three of them magically-generated copies of Ignotus' journal, and left them to it. He was only cooperating with Motoyasu because of Fitoria, and he got the impression that both Ren and Itsuki felt the same way lately.

They heard a retch behind them, and turned to see Motoyasu on his hands and knees on the pier, chundering copiously into the water, Itsuki, his party, and L'Arc and the others watching on. "Ugh, I don't remember eating corn," Motoyasu slurred.

"Wish we had a camera for this moment," Raphtalia remarked quietly.

"I'll try and get a Pensieve brought over, we can probably take a screenshot of it somehow," Harry said.

Hedy snickered. "Stupid Spear Guy. That's what he gets for looking like he wants to mate with me."

"Bloody lolicon," Ren muttered.

As they reached the end of the pier, they were greeted by a well-dressed, rather gaunt and dubious-looking man. However, his manner was perfectly polite. "Greetings to you, the Cardinal Heroes and their parties. I am the Earl of Habenburg. Please, allow me to introduce our fair islands to you…"


The tour guide spiel from the Earl of Habenburg was frankly a bit boring, until they got to a square, and they found the statues, ones raised by a previous set of Cardinal Heroes. Harry managed to read one, giving him a new spell: Zweite Aura, which seemed to be a general buffing spell. Ren and Itsuki soon got excited, and with Wyndia and Rishia's help, began translating other podiums. Motoyasu looked unconvinced.

The Earl then explained the details about the activation event. Aside from enhanced experience points awarded, the monsters were also breeding out of control during the activation event. He encouraged them to kill as many as they could. And, of course, there was the MMORPG-style etiquette to avoid killstealing.

They were led to the hotel, a larger version of the inns they had been staying at, in due course. It was actually closer in size, scale and opulence to a palace, and Raphtalia wondered idly if it had been one previously. She also drew comparisons to Hawaii, having actually been there on holiday a few times with her adoptive parents.

After ensuring their baggage was ready, Harry and his party went to consult with the other Cardinal Heroes. Motoyasu, being the idiot he was, had called dibs on one particular island without consulting the others, so Itsuki, Ren and Harry worked out where they wished to grind. They then departed for the various boats to other islands in the archipelago.

As they reached the boat, though, they heard a familiar voice. "Oi, you guys! Wait up!"

They turned to find L'Arc and Therese jogging up to them, followed closely by Keel and Rifana. "Did you actually want to grind with us?" Harry asked.

"Hey, we know you guys better than the others, and there's safety in numbers," L'Arc said. "The other Cardinal Heroes have pretty big parties anyway. Plus, Keel and Rifana know how to fight, they just need levelling up on this world."

"The more the merrier, right?" Raphtalia asked.


As it proved, it was actually quite a wise decision. L'Arc and Therese worked well with them, as did Rifana and Keel. The former of Raphtalia's childhood friends proved to be more of a mage, with elements of what Raphtalia called a 'rogue' or 'thief', whereas Keel was closer to a hand-to-hand fighter, probably closer to a monk, as she could buff herself with magic.

Therese's magic, based on jewels, was fascinating. She could actually hit an enemy with a spell and not harm any nearby allies, even if they were directly in front of the spell. L'Arc's fighting style was predictably bold, but immensely skilled.

However, Harry had to stare at one particular attack L'Arc had used against a tough enemy. "What the hell was that?" he asked, even as he fed parts of the monster to the Shield.

"It's a defence-inversion attack," L'Arc said. "It's something Glass and I learned for our respective weapons. Basically, it causes damage in direct proportion to your defence, bypassing it in the process. If I used it on you, it'd do a hell of a lot of damage, obviously."

"Which makes me all the more glad that you're on our side," Raphtalia mused. "Have you guys had any luck with the other so-called Cardinal Heroes on your world?"

"None. Oh, they're fighting the Waves well enough, but on sufferance, and still thinking it's a damn game," L'Arc growled. "Kizuna's the only one who's got the hint, and her Cardinal Weapon is the weakest by far. But she's taking it seriously and trying to get stronger, and against monsters, she's pretty powerful. Still, the political situation is bad. It doesn't help that Sickle has no less than four of the Vassal Weapons. There's my Scythe, Glassy's Fans, Ethnobalt's Boat, and Naofumi with the Mirror. More than one country is threatening war, especially after we blew the lid on Kizuna's imprisonment."

"I believe Hermione used a proverb from your world, about playing the fiddle while Rome burns," Therese said. "Our accusations against Kyo have only caused them to make counter-claims against us. And the rumours about Okada Izo…well, we learned his real name was Kazuki(1)…he's also been outspoken against us."

Harry scoffed in disgust. "Idiots. You'd think a world-ending apocalypse would actually unite them. I mean, they actually imprisoned Kizuna, right? How stupid is that?"

"You'll get no argument from me, Harry…"


The day went by surprisingly quickly, and eventually, as dusk fell, the makeshift party went back to Cal Mira proper. Harry noticed that both Keel and Rifana had grown, now looking like they were in their mid-teens. Thankfully, they had been given their world's equivalent of magic clothing, which grew with them. Rifana was still rather petite in her figure, and Keel retained her androgynous looks, though.

The group went to a tavern, one which the other Cardinal Heroes had arrived at. Hedy didn't like the smell of alcohol, but she managed to persuade the nearby band to let her sing along. She did so surprisingly well, though Motoyasu hollered at her, to her discomfort.

Harry refused the drinks, at least the alcoholic ones. "It's never really been my thing," Harry explained. "Aside from butterbeer and a rare Firewhiskey."

"Your loss, Harry," L'Arc said, even as he drank from a tankard of ale. "Still, I heard a fascinating story. See those berries in a bowl at the bar? Those are Rucolu berries. Each one has enough concentrated alcohol to fill a barrel of wine. It actually needs to be diluted in a barrel of water, otherwise, it's pretty poisonous, normally. But Naofumi actually ate one without being affected when he came here once while looking for Kyo."

"And he didn't drop dead from alcohol poisoning?" Harry asked incredulously.

Keel chuckled. "Naofumi's apparently unable to get drunk. Has been before he even got summoned from Japan. What about you, Raphtalia?"

"I don't mind a few drinks, but I've avoided really drinking much. I sometimes worried that someone back in Japan might slip me what they call a roofie."

"Right, they drug you to have you at their mercy," Therese said. "Naofumi had to explain the term once."

"Yeah," Keel said, looking around. "And a few of them seem like the type. Not the Cardinal Heroes, though. Hell, even the Spear Idiot probably wouldn't."

Harry wasn't so sure, given the way he acted around Hedy, but otherwise, Motoyasu was more of an overly-persistent suitor, not a rapist, as far as he could tell. Not that he wanted to cut the idiot any real slack. "We'll have to ask the others where they plan to go to tomorrow, to rotate where we are. Still, given the grinding we did today, maybe later on, we can have a break at the beach or something."

"Well, as Hermione said, 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'," Rifana said.

"Hey, she's almost all work, she can't talk," Harry retorted. But then, a familiar armoured form stumbled into their table.

"Huh? Oh, iz you guysh," Mald slurred, his cheeks flushed. And he was still wearing his armour, not even taking his helmet off. "Whatchoo lookin' at?"

"Someone who can't handle his booze," Raphtalia retorted. "Haven't you forgotten what happened last time?"

"Oh, thatsh right you bitsh," he slurred. "I demand shatish…shatish…"

"Satisfaction?" L'Arc supplied.

"Yeah, that one! You, me, right here and now!" Mald snapped, before slamming his elbow on the table, forearm pointing up. "Letsh shettle dish like men!"

As he hiccupped, Harry seemed about to object, but Raphtalia smirked knowingly. "Fine. Arm-wrestling it is."

They hurriedly cleared the table away of food and drink, while Mald clasped his arm to Raphtalia's. For a moment, he struggled to push hers down. Then, with another smirk, she slammed his arm down viciously. A cheer erupted from the gathered crowd. As Mald was led away by his fellow party members, Raphtalia sighed. "Did he seriously forget how strong demi-humans can be when levelled up? Even without the boost from the Shield and what Fitoria's cowlick did to my Class-Up, he should've known better."

"Eh, he looked like the usual inbred racist moron. Probably would've fitted in well with Idol Rabier," Keel said. "I have to admit, I'm enjoying this. Good fights, good grub, good companions…what about you, Rifana?"

"Same here," the weasel demi-human said, her tail wagging. "I'm with the Shield Hero and my friends. It's a dream come true. I…when we were being sent back to the slave dealer, we were in a bad way, especially me. I thought I was going to die. I never thought I'd see you again. But…Naofumi rescued us, and now we have a second chance. And we got to see you again, Raphtalia."

"I know. And I'm glad too. Seeing if you two were all right was one of the few reasons I wanted to come back here. Don't get me wrong, I had a happy life with the Itamis, just as much as I did with my birth parents. Not all of it was happy, but that was nothing to do with them. Earth has so many wonderful and unusual things, and I'm not sure how much Naofumi and I can really tell you, at least without you seeing it for yourselves. It's not perfect, it's still filled with racist morons, but…it's free of the Waves, at least, and has so much interesting technology. Maybe we could bring some to Lurolona."

"Will the Queen really rebuild it?" Rifana asked.

"Yes, and she seems to want us to help govern it, if only for appearances' sake," Raphtalia said. "Do you want to come back and live there?"

"Hell yeah," Keel said. "Don't get me wrong, we like helping out the others on that world, but…Lurolona was our home, y'know? We couldn't defend it from the Wave and those arsehole knights because we were weak. And I'm tired of feeling weak. I may not be able to become like a Cardinal or Vassal Hero, but I want to be strong enough to protect the people of Lurolona, and anyone else in danger from the Waves!"

"Well, you might have a chance later," Harry said. "Mirelia's organising trainers to train the Cardinal Heroes. I'm sure anyone else could be given a chance to train. Éclair Seatto seems to be willing. And maybe she can get that martial artist, Elrasa, to help. For an old lady, she seemed to be more than capable of fighting well. Keel, Rifana, I won't force anyone who can't or won't fight to fight. But if I'm not at Lurolona for any reason, I need people I can trust to protect it. And not just from the Waves. Remember, just because Mirelia outlawed the Three Heroes Church doesn't mean it or its supporters are gone for good. I'm hoping that, once Sadeena is done saving your fellow villagers in Zeltoble, she can help guard it. But if you guys want to help, then fine. Just remember that your lives are at risk. You're still technically children, younger than I was when I ended up going on my own misadventures."

"You bring Hedy with you," Rifana pointed out.

"Hedy's a monster, and honestly, she likes fighting. And even then, she's practically a daughter to us both," Raphtalia said. "And Harry's right. I know demi-human bodies age with combat experience, but you two are still technically children. And…you are my friends. I only managed to learn you were okay after nine years of not knowing. If something actually happened to either of you…"

"Raphtalia," Rifana said, her quiet voice nonetheless cutting across Raphtalia's speech. "We're sure. Harry has kept you safe, and I have no intention of dying. But I want to fight too. We want to fight. We already fought in one Wave on that other world. It's scary, frightening…there were times when I nearly froze, remembering when the Wave hit Lurolona. But I remembered what happened to our families, and that gave me the courage to fight. Besides, we're with the Shield Hero. He'll keep us safe, and we'll keep him safe. And between us all, we'll keep this world safe."

"…Just promise me you'll be careful," Raphtalia said, giving her friends a sad smile. "I don't want to lose you again. I was so sure Rabier had tortured you both to death, or else the disease we caught had put paid to you two. I clung to what hope I had, but…until Naofumi showed us the photo, I kept worrying about the worst-case scenario."

"Raphtalia, we felt the same way," Keel said quietly and solemnly. "We got told horror stories of what happened to that fat bastard Rabier and his goons. We thought you were dead too. The only reason I didn't give up any hope then and there was because of how bad Rifana was. Someone had to be strong for her sake. But Naofumi came along at the right time, though if he didn't come along…well, you two said you came to see if we were at that slave trader's place. But Raphtalia…we want to fight. We need to fight. I hated feeling so helpless during the Wave, and when those bastard knights took us away. I'm not gonna promise I won't die, but I'm not gonna make it easy for anything that wants to try to kill us."

"Okay, okay, I got it," Harry said. "I'm not going to stop you…but I've lost too many friends and loved ones back where I come from, if Hermione hasn't told you about that. So please be careful. For my sake, and Raphtalia's."

As Rifana and Keel both nodded, L'Arc said, "You're a good kid, Harry. Just don't get too smothering, okay? Anyway, enough of the depressing crap! Let's have some fun…"

CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:

The first day at Cal Mira is done. Now, a bit of a skip ahead…

1. Kazuki, aka Trash II or the would-be Vassal Katana Hero on Glass' World, was only named by the anime long after I gave him the stand-in name of 'Okada Izou'.