AU NOTES
Update ready. Feed me reviews!
Some arts of the characters would be nice too. Yet, don't feel forced!
I really wish I had the skill to draw the SFW and NSFW arts of these characters, but currently I lack that. Maybe in the future.
Hmm...can you imagine that?
CHAPTER 19: [The Calm After the Storm]
It would take time to gather along some of the population of the Castle City, never mind set the projection crystals necessary to show the other citizens the public shaming of the two ex-royals. For such reason, Mirelia ordered that the traitors be held on the dungeon underground her castle, under constant surveillance of her most trusted knights and shadows. All throughout her land arrests were still being made, the remnants of the Church of Three Heroes trying to avoid the punishment they were due. None would escape her.
Yet, Mirelia still wasn't satisfied. Far from it, the Sheer Cold Calamity was currently spending time in her throne room with her second daughter and her Spy master, trying to figure out a way to stabilize her land and avoid further damage to their relationship with the Shield Hero. It went without saying that Shield Hero Iwatani Naofumi was a target of her interest, but it went beyond that. The man was the true definition of a War Hero.
During her time at the Nations' Conference, trying to dissuade the other countries of Melromark's supposedly greedy possession of all the heroes, reports from her shadow agents were almost endless about the actions of the heroes and their parties. Being so far from her land, her orders had to be delivered through her agents, who would sometimes get intercepted by the other agents of the foolish Three Heroes Church. The queen was surprised that she found the land as stable as it was, considering the factors that occurred on her country.
At first the reports were golden reviews of the three offense-focused heroes:
+ The Sword Hero Ren and his party were lauded and sung praises for their victory over a dragon so soon on their journey. Countless battlefields and monster quests were solved by the young teen and his mighty blade. One could consider Ren the very apex of his class.
+ The Spear Hero Motoyasu was a walking personification of charisma and good-nature. He seemed to be a brilliant problem solver and capable of solving issues first with words. His party was solely consisted of females, but heroes normally would be seen like this. Noblewomen were specially found of his mature good looks, and along with the first princess, the man walked around "warming" up the economy of the common folk with his bottomless purse.
+ The Bow Hero Itsuki preferred to be low-key. Money did not sway his heart and he was a profound advocate of "true justice" across the land. No wrong doing could escape from the sights of Itsuki and his bow, his party spreading the word of his actions instead of the man himself singing his praises. It seemed that the Bow Hero wanted to leave a legacy of selflessness and gentle behavior.
It also went without saying, but the Shield Hero was always reported as a troublesome individual.
+ The Shield Hero Naofumi is truly a fiend. No other words can describe the rude and manner-less man that dresses himself like a barbarian, assaulting merchants and staining the reputation of Melromark with his very presence here. He doesn't make an effort to take quests from the kingdom; neither does he collaborate with any effort that is asked of him. At his point, it would be better to call this man a villainous dirtbag than a hero.
While countless reports from the nobles were addressed like this, Mirelia was never fooled by the honeyed words and far-too-long letters. Her eyes would always stoically read over the inked stains on the papers (because that was what these words were to her), and then the queen would read the real reports, made by her shadows. Disappointment was a frequent sentiment the queen was feeling now. It was a miracle among miracles that the Shield Hero was a vindictive person, and would stay in her country for the shaming; it gave Mirelia some time to figure out how to try to reason with the man. He was logical, scarily so at times, but it also meant that he would see reason. Mirelia wanted to comply with his demands, but they were too absurd. The amount of compensation he wanted would destroy her country without a shadow of a doubt, and that was without mentioning the civil unrest that would be brought about to the land and the citizens.
Surely Naofumi was aware of this. Surely he was aware that the queen herself understood this fact, but it she had gone ahead and agreed to his demands, if only to appease his rage at that moment. Mirelia wanted to have one good tie with the hero, if only because he seemed to be the only one taking this serious. Report after report by her shadows informed that the Shield Hero was more of a mercenary than goodie-two-shoes, which would make the queen put her trust in him much more than the supposed selfless acts of the other three heroes. Those who, in their supposed kindness and selflessness, had acted much more selfishly and wrought much more trouble through her land than the supposed "mercenary/heartless" Naofumi.
Everyone had their own interests, no matter if they belonged to this world or another. These supposed selfless acts raised much more suspicion for Mirelia than the mercenary acts of the Shielder. Yami Village was a living proof of this, as the Sword Hero and his party recklessly acted on the whims of their leader and a supposed "Adventurer's quest" that reported the den of a dragon. Instead of conducting even the barest research of conduct some basic scouting, the Sword Hero went in like he owned the place and killed the dragon, taking the spoils of his conquest and simply abandoning the corpse for the land to deal with. The action then resulted in the poisoning and near destruction of the village. The village that also provided a good amount of ore for the nation as well as some special crops that only grew near the mountain, all of which had to be stopped due to Ren's "selfless" act of riding the land of a "bad monster". Mirelia's shadows could only acquire this much information, but the queen had some suspicion that there was even more to this than simply [Bad monster]. Her stealth operatives were busy (those that hadn't died among the war against the church and their operators), thus Mirelia had had to content with a delay in her information network.
Another thing that weighted in her heart was her abandonment of the shadow unit that now belonged to Naofumi. The Shielder healed that girl's wounded heart; a wound that Mirelia had caused. The queen didn't fully attend to the warning of the girl, trusting her husband to not be so foolish. When news that the girl had been sent to the slave merchant with her level reset, Mirelia could only feel shame at her mistake. It would take years and years of training and fights to have the girl regain her level, meaning that the queen had just lost one of her best assets. At this point, the queen could only send apologies to one of her best shadow units.
I guess I can't really be calling Aultocray foolish like this...The queen sighed to herself, seeing that Naofumi had taken the girl and molded her into an ever better warrior and spy unit. It was impressive, to say the least. The queen looked back at her second daughter and her spy master, seeing the two discussing ideas. Mirelia's expression softened, seeing her daughter now fiercely demanding information that was missing from her repertoire, the blue-haired young girl now behaving like a proper heir to the throne instead of a simple decoration that looked pretty beside her throne.
[XXX]
[XXX]
Naofumi eased himself on the loveseat presented to him, Felicia's aunt watching worriedly over him. Raphtalia was busy looking over their wagon. Thankfully, his transport had been apprehended instead of destroyed, thus it was fairly easy to have the vehicle back. He was ever so eager to get away from the castle, the fancy decorations and knights in plated armor becoming a sore in the eyes of the hero; his companions were happy to follow him, Felicia taking the charge the directing them to her Aunt's magic shop.
The woman received them with open arms, allowing the still tired hero to rest while the preparations for the public shaming of those two bastards was being arranged. If he was completely being honest, Naofumi wanted both idiots to suffer even more gruesomely before they met their demise. Yet, something at the back of his mind was telling him that killing them would not end well for him. That was without also mentioning the messages that pinged to life in his HUD. When you get a notification that you avoided a [Bad Ending], even the greatest of rages would become fuel for careful speculation. Thus, Naofumi settled for taking something very important from both the royals (or in this case, ex-royals).
Malty's true freedom. The bitch would never be free, as there would be an eternal reminder seared directly on her skin about the consequences of her greediness without limits. The First Princess was one to always step on others to get what she wanted. Well, now she would be the one getting stepped on, considering that all she was worth now and forever would always be decided by other people. A master chooses, and a slave obeys.
From Aultocray, Naofumi took much more. His crown, his position of power, his right arm and the lower face of the man. All were either taken away or disfigured, turning the proud king of Melromark into less of a shadow of his previous being. Destined to always feel the pain of betrayal, that man's pain would never fade away since Naofumi's cursed flames not only burnt flesh, they also damaged the soul.
Enough of dark thoughts for now, I'm tired. He released a tired sigh, shedding his shirt and leaning back on his seat. Felicia brought him some herbal tea, the scent refreshing and calming. The dark haired witch put the drink on a table nearby Naofumi's seat, content with merely watching the Demon of the Shield. The title had already been spread by the extinct Church of Three Heroes, and would never truly fade away from the memory of the citizens of Melromark; it surely would never fade away from the memory of the Church's warriors, those that experienced first-hand how truly powerful the Shielder was. Among the battlefield titles Naofumi had received, the two more frequent were [The Storm that is Approaching] and [Wrathful Demon Lord of the Shield], both mentioning the actions and behavior that Naofumi displayed during the battle/war against Pope Biscas.
Felicia seemed to be in an ever-happy mood ever since he unlocked his [Wrath Shield III], the witch doing her best to be around the hero for as long as she could. Naofumi wasn't about to complain about receiving some affection from a member of his party, but he was a bit nervous about it. He knew that the emotion was born out of his previous trauma with the odious redhead princess, but he couldn't help the worrisome feeling at the pit of his stomach when he felt the easy and tender touches that the witch did when they were alone. She also never took her actions too far, mindful that he seemed uncomfortable with too much female skin ship, but it was easy to notice that the witch was giving him sweet looks. It made Naofumi feel a fuzzy feeling, an appreciative sentiment.
He glanced to the left side of his seat, finding Dera coiled around herself and napping the afternoon away. Firo had gone to Old-man Erhart's shop to invite the smith over, even after the hero had mentioned that he would drop by when ready. He had awakened not too long after all, and the restrictions placed upon him by the use of [Blood Sacrifice] still made his body feel sluggish. He let his eyes drip upwards, finding Shadow easily among the wooden support beams of building. He gave the girl a wink, his lips quirking up a bit. He received a head nod as acknowledgement. He patted the right armrest of his seat, motioning for the girl to come to his side.
Like a cat, Shadow came down from her post silently. She made no noise as she finally reached the ground, leaning her head against the hero's arm and releasing a small, pleased sigh.
It was to this scene that Raphtalia came back to, finding her master spoiling Shadow while Felicia stared at him from her own seat. The raccoon demi-human girl pouted, her tail flaring up in a jealous manner. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Rapthalia made her way to her master with confident steps.
"Naofumi-sama, all our stuff is in perfect condition. Nothing has been stolen or damaged; we could ride out of Melromark today." She declared, leaning forward to receive her own reward. The hero was quick on the uptake, his free left hand coming to pat the girl on her head, right between the soft, furry ears of his first slave.
"Thanks, Raphtalia. We'll set off in two days. Plenty of time to stock up on supplies and get whatever we need from the city." Naofumi's voice was a bit rough, the tone deeper than usual. He glanced away from his girls, finding Felicia's aunt spying on them from the corner of her room. When the woman noticed she'd been found out, she came out from her hiding spot with a hearty laugh.
"Hohohohohoh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything..." She stated happily, clearly not bothered by the fact that she had been found out. It seemed that she was glad to see the scenario play out, regardless if she was noticed or not.
The hero released a humorous sigh, wondering if he should cover up a bit more in respect of her shop. As things stood, he was still shirtless, only dressed in his armored boots and pants. His chest was still wrapped up in layers of bandages, but they did little to hide his body from sight. His shirt that draped loosely from his shoulders had long dropped to the ground, Dera snuggling with the clothing.
"Nothing, really." He stated, fixing his position to sit properly to face the plump witch. She picked her wand from the close by table and swung it, magic glowing around a few trays and bringing the items close by, settling them over the coffee table close to his seat. "I know I'm not at 100%, but you guys don't need to treat me like I'm some sort of cripple." Naofumi spoke out, rolling his shoulder to try to ease the stiffness away from him.
His party gave him a bit more space to talk with the older witch. Raphtalia found herself a seat and began reading over the pages of her grimoire, eyes switching target between the inked words and her master once in a while. Shadow kneeled in seiza by her master's loveseat, head now leaning against the armrest. Felicia began smoking out of her pipe, her eyes still fixed on Naofumi, or better yet, his torso. Dera was still content by her place, her tonges flickering out once in a while to taste the air. Firo had yet to come back from her walk, so the hero glanced at his HUD to try and locate the filorial queen candidate, finding her to be already on her way back.
The plump older witch moved her tea set, tea being poured in her cup. She took a sip from her drink, enjoying the contents before fixing her eyes over the hero. "I know, Sir Naofumi." The hero's face soured a bit at the attachment, the witch smiling amusedly. "As much as I would like to be overly familiar with you, people now see you as the powerful Shield Hero, not some thug off the streets. Get used to the formalities; it will save you a lot of headaches." The hero rolled his eyes at her statement, moving to grab his own cup of tea. As he drunk his beverage, the magic shop owner continued. "I was wondering how things are going to play out now that your reputation is going to be finally cleaned. I know for sure that you won't stay in Melromark, so I was wondering where the Shield Hero is going to take his journey." Although Naofumi could do without the teasing, he bore through it due to the tasty tea.
He placed his cup down after empting it, relaxing his back on his seat. He closed his eyes for a few moments, a few thoughts running over his mind as he tried to formulate a proper answer. Like she said, staying in Melromark would never be an option anymore, the hero already saturated with the place. He remembered the world map, his shield morphing to the [Cartographer's Shield] and showing the current world map he had. The projection became more and more detailed, coloring landmarks and territories until it wouldn't look out of place in a 4X strategy world map. He opened his eyes and the map projection began to get market with a few words and symbols. "Like you said, Melromark is a no-go. I want to rest up and build more strength before going over to Faubley Empire, so that one is out. ShieldeeenFrieeden and Siltvelt normally would be the best places to go, but I'm not sure. Silvelt is demi-human centric and their religion is the shield, so that raises some red flags; I heard that ShieldeenFrieeden is more of a mercenary paradise, so I have to watch my behind to make sure high-leveled mercenaries don't sell me for some cheap booze and pocket change." He sighed, the map projection gray-ing out most of the lands with bit structures. That left him with a few wild areas and lands that stood on the borders of the countries.
"I guess the first step right now is to use the Dragon's Era Hourglass and level the girls up, then we can plan out things from there. I'm not too sure on a route for now, so I guess I'll settle near some coastal region, where access to the sea is easy. A dock would bring plenty of trade opportunities, and an escape route that's hard to follow should anyone try something funny." He finished his line of thought, a part of his map circled out by a white line. In the middle of the circled spot a dot was located, the name beside it [Seatto Port Town]. The place "technically" belonged to Melromark, however, since it was on the border between Melromark, Silvelt and ShieldeenFriedeen it was considered more of a neutral grounds land than anything else. It was also Raphtalia's former village before it was destroyed by the waves and looted by Melromark's soldiers, so Naofumi wanted to safeguard the location. It hadn't been long since the waves' attack and the looting, which meant that while surely there would be damaged buildings, it also meant that they had a starting point. Nothing too fancy, but the Shielder was resourceful if nothing else; he could restore and improve the place.
Raphtalia would be happy about it, and Naofumi would have a stable base where he could dictate his next moves without having to worry about some stupid kingdom stabbing him in the back. Besides, if he managed to get surviving villagers back into their hometown, the hero could picture them being grateful and loyal enough to him instead of other lands/people. Hey, he said it before and he would say it again, he was no good samaritan in this world. His job was fighting the waves, anything else was coming out of his own efforts and thus, he would be getting paid by them, be it coin or goods.
The witch hummed in comprehension, glancing at her nephew. The younger witch's eyes never left the hero, the excitement burning inside the onyx pupils of Felicia told the older witch that her child would not leave the hero's side so soon, if ever. The magic shop owner rested one hand on her cheek, glancing back at Naofumi with amusement and a joyful expression.
"I guess you really have thought this through, huh? At least I know that my Felicia is in good hands, I always thought that that child would end up spending the rest of her days stuck inside a dusty old library, reading old tomes until she grew old." Parents and older family members seemed to always know the best ways to embarrass you. It seemed that such fact didn't change no matter if you were in earth or in this world. Naofumi smiled at the teasing, happy that it was not directed at him anymore.
Felicia, on the other hand, looked horrified by her aunt's revelation, her eyes narrowing as she stared at her teacher. Reinforcement magic aura began to cover the younger witch's frame, her right eye twitching in annoyance. "Ohhhh, so this old lady likes to reveal secrets from other people, huh? Let me massage your shoulders then, you are always complaining about back pains!" The Spatial Rend Witch's hands wiggled as she stood from her seat and slowly made her way closer to her aunt. The older witch seemed to be unbothered by the threats, joyfully sipping tea from her cup. Felicia was just behind the woman, her hands slowly lowering themselves until they were mere inches away from her aunt's shoulders before magic suddenly shone from the Polymorph Witch's body, the space previously occupied by her body empty.
Where previously sat the older witch now sat a black cat with a cute purple ribbon wrapped around her neck. Unfortunately for Felicia, body enhancement plus missing target equals overshooting target. The younger witch ended up launching herself face first into Naofumi's chest, the hero never flinching from the human projectile that had landed right on his lap. Raphtalia watched the commotion over from her seat, huffing and burying her face back on her grimoire.
"Ohohoho Fecicia, if you wanted some privacy with the Shield Hero then all you had to do was ask. You bedroom should still be clean, since your spatial seal over it hasn't been lifted yet." The older witch teased again. The woman expected to see her nephew flustered, yet her expectations were broken as the black-haired young witch turned sideways over the hero's lap, effectively laying over him and stretching like a lazy cat.
"F-F-F-F-FELICIA-SAN!" Raphtalia couldn't handle anymore. She stood from her seat and marched over to her master's. Seeing as there wasn't much free space, be it on his lap or over his sides (with Shadow and Dera hogging his left and right), the raccoon girl circled around the loveseat and went to hug her master from behind, holding his head between her arms and chest, resting her own head over Naofumi's. Felicia looked up, seeing the raccoon girl give her an irritated look; which the Spatial Rend Witch ignored in favor of napping away on the hero's comfortable lap.
Raphtalia's irritation was further increased, the girl pulling Naofumi even closer to her body. The hero in question glanced around with a poker face, wondering what would be the best course of action in this case. The temperature around him began to heat up, his party's body temperature increasing his own. He huffed a bit at their erratic behavior, aware that recently his party members had been demanding more and more attention from him.
Not that he could not spare attention for them, but the type of attention the females were demanding was the sort of thing that he was reluctant in giving out. It was a silly and idiotic fear that his heart would get played around again and he would be thrown into a pit of despair; something which would never happen as almost all his current members were slaves with magical crests carved on their bodies that would make it impossible for a betrayal to happen. Yet, the nagging doubt, that silly thing held Naofumi back.
There was also the fact that most of them were younger than him. He had been raising them for a while now, the hero's feelings towards them more akin to daughters than anything resembling a romantic interest. Besides Felicia, he had taken care of them almost like a parent, teaching them useful skills and knowledge so that in the far future they would not need to fully rely on him. The road of the future wasn't clear, but he was a man of plans and precaution; things that had ensured he was still drawing breath. Teaching the girls the same thing was just his way of showing he cared deeply for them, enough that he wanted to make sure they could keep on going even if something were to happen to him.
Naofumi allowed the heated hug for a while, but after ten minutes he had enough of the smothering feeling.
"It is too hot to keep hugging like this!" He complained loudly. Still, his grumbling fell on deaf ears, as the girls kept at their own pace.
The door of the witch's magic shop was opened without a care, Firo sauntering inside the store and hurriedly making her way to him. For a few seconds the hero dared to think the philorial queen candidate might be his salvation from his touchie-feelie situation, but a light cloud of magic smoke emerged from the blonde loli, a rather large owl-chocobo mix of a bird jumping at him to join the group hug on the love seat. Naofumi tried to order the monster-girl to stop before they damaged anything inside the shop, but a delicate hand belonging to a certain black-haired witch placed itself over his lips, the hero widening his eyes as Firo shadowed everyone with her body.
"NOOOOOOTTTTT FAAAAAIIIIIRRRRR~~~!" Bird-form Firo smothered the group in her feathery embrace, Naofumi's worries increasing exponentially as his seat began groaning in complain at the weight it had suddenly been forced to endure. And the temperature further increased, Naofumi's bandages clinging to his skin as sweat began to build up and add to the itching feeling.
A whistle echoed inside the shop, Naofumi too busy getting a face full of feathers to see whoever was inside the place. However, he could recognize the chuckle that followed the noise. It was a sound he had heard constantly when he would stop by Melromark to stock up on supplies or when he needed new gear for either himself or the girls. It also made sense for the bulky blacksmith to be here, since it had been Firo's previous task to fetch the man.
"A little help here would be appreciated!" The Shield Hero complained, his voice being muffled under his companions.
"Nahh, it seems like you got things under control Nii-chan! You are the mighty Shield Hero after all, right?" Erhart teased, and although Naofumi couldn't see him, the shielder was sure that the blacksmith was standing there all smug with his arms across his chest.
Huffing back at the man, Naofumi began to stand from his seat, carrying everyone that was clinging to him together. Since Felicia had been on his lap, his hands quickly grabbed a hold of her, so as to avoid simply dropping the girl as if she was a potato-bag. Curvy witch secured, the hero turned around and dropped Felicia on the love seat. Firo, Raphtalia and (surprisingly) Shadow were still firmly holding on him, making the man have to resort to unconventional methods. That meant that while being smothered by Firo's overwhelming embrace (and feathers), his hands dove inside the fluffy coat of soft feathers, searching around until he managed to find the spot he was looking for; once his hands finally reached around the base of Firo's neck, he began scratching with one hand while the other massaged the back of her neck.
Almost like a spell, the philorial began to coo in a pleased manner. It took under 20 seconds for Firo to stop her clinging to melt under the touch of the hero, the philorial simply stopping her crusade to melt on the floor and become a twitching pile of feathers.
All that remained on the hero were Raphtalia and Shadow. The raccoon demi-human had taken the left side of his back while Shadow had clung to his right side. He could understand Raphtalia's actions, but the rogue's were a question for him as he was sure that she had been fairly quiet and most importantly had been sitting by his side on the love seat. How had she suddenly appeared on his back? He wasn't sure yet.
As things stood, he simply grabbed the easiest one in reach; the one being Raphtalia, as Shadow was quick to flee from his grasp. Holding the demi-human under his right arm, Naofumi tried to make the girl face him. She avoided his gaze, ears lying flat against her head.
He wished to say he was truly annoyed at them, but that would be a badly made lie. He released the raccoon girl and gave her another head pat, aware that a blush dusted her cheeks. After he freed himself, he glanced back to the other adults. The older witch and the blacksmith smirked at him, making the hero huff to try and save some face.
"Thanks for the help, guys." He grumbled, moving closer to Erhart to greet the man. The blacksmith laughed at the Shielder, grabbing the offered hand and greeting the hero back. The Shield Hero finally could talk with people who respected him for who he was, not what they heard about him in rumors. He relaxed, being surrounded by those that he cared about. It was soothing.
[XXX]
[XXX]
The next day, Naofumi and his group were walking towards a different part of town. Normally he would have been either harassed or too annoyed to even approach this place, but the circumstances were now different from when he was banned. Even if he still was, he would push past anyone that would dare stand in his way. It had been long overdue the class-up his girls required to reach further strength, Naofumi himself not needing a class-up since normal restrictions weren't meant for him, being the Shield Hero. Heroes themselves didn't need to class up, since they had no level cap as their class (that being Legendary Hero), but their companions did.
Stepping on the cobblestone that made the streets of Melromark, it was clear that the citizens of the kingdom were conflicted as they glanced at him. Some of these people had blindly believed on their leading faith, antagonizing Naofumi until he had managed to find ways to circumvent the situation by either using the girls as proxy to buy anything or being careful to never use a fancy shield to call attention to him while on other cities far from the capital. Now that the belief of the Shield Devil had been dispelled, guilt took place over the previous anger.
Not that it mattered to him right, since he was just short of going away from this land.
His steps finally led to the white marbled building that housed his current objective. He noticed that the guards that protected the place were different. He could recognize a few familiar faces among them, their bright expressions as he approached the place assuring him that they too knew him.
"Sir Shield Hero!" One soldier approached him with a wide smile, waving as he approached Naofumi and his party. He stopped the group, the lightly dressed Naofumi wondering where he knew this kid from. "Don't you remember me, sir? I'm the leader from the defense force that you organized to protect the villages after the Ryute Village Disaster, sir." The young knight spoke to Naofumi, the Shielder now fully recognizing the teen's face.
"Oh wow! I didn't recognize you, kid. You are looking a lot different from when we last met." As Naofumi spoke, he took the time to properly look at the knight in front of him. The kid had grown a few inches and had bulked up a bit, his armor properly fitting him instead of the somewhat loose fit from before. The teen also walked with a proper stance, broad shoulders; a dignified visage and what the Shield Hero expected to see in a knight whose duty was to protect the people.
The soldier smiled, taking off his helmet to allow cropped dirt-blond hair to appear in sight. "After our last battle, our group decided that we should focus our efforts into truly protecting the citizens, and we made a petition for the queen to make a knight company specialized in dealing with far off issues such as the waves or even monster stampedes. It was thanks to you sir, that the idea was approved and flourished." The kid explained to Naofumi, guiding the hero and his party inside the building and to the Hourglass of the Dragon's Era.
Naofumi released an impressed sound. "Ohh, right? Then, why are you here guarding this thing?" He questioned, seeing that if the kid was a leader of such company, then he should either be out training or doing said duty.
The young knight easily explained. "Well, since the idea was accepted and took off, the Knight Captain has been trying to expand the idea and ordered training for a few other potential knights. He said something about hands-on experience being the best teacher. Some of the squads tried to immediately recruit our group, so we were temporarily placed on this guard duty. It is quite an honor to guard the Hourglass sir, and we need to keep in check whoever advances their class."
It makes sense, Naofumi mused as he entered the room that housed the golden and honestly fascinating structure. You have to keep a check on those people powerful enough to reach level 40 and wish to class-up. You can't have a bunch of powered-up people running wild in your lands without any control after all. He concluded his thoughts, facing the hourglass and looking back at the knight. "How much is it for my entire party to class-up? Last time I checked a toll was paid for it."
The knight seemed horrified about the words Naofumi had just spoken. You could see in the kid's face the sheer shock at the sentence.
"Sir? Y-y-you mean to say that you were charged for it? We only charge adventurers and merchants that wish to use it; heroes and their companions are – of course – exempt from paying." Honestly, Naofumi should have seen such scenario coming. At this point, the hero did not care. His hand went inside the wallet that hung from his hip, fishing five gold coins and handing them to the young night.
"SIR?! I can't accept this!" The kid pleaded with Naofumi, the other guards and knights stationed there also sporting uncomfortable looks.
Naofumi sighed. "Don't think of it as me paying to use this. Think of it as a donation and some encouragement from me. Don't let it get to your head and continue aspiring to protect people." The Shielder said, the young knight still sporting a sour face at having to take money from his benefactor/hero.
Raphtalia took the chance and walked over to the two males. "Don't put on such a gloomy face, knight-san. Naofumi-sama only trusts in money, so when he gives you this, it shows that he trusts you this to protect the people in the future." The raccoon girl said in good spirits, looking back at her master to see him display a conflicted face.
Yeah, he was betting some money into the future of these kids, so that maybe they wouldn't turn out as shit as the previous generation, but to hear Raphtalia say that he only put trust in money stung a bit. It was true, but he didn't need to hear that from his longest companion. He grumbled under his breath, finding the demi-human girl to be sending him a warm smile.
The knight seemed to finally be convinced. He had some tears in his eyes, and it seemed like he wanted to hug Naofumi.
"You try to hug me, I will hung you from the ceiling." The hero stated, raising a hand to give Shadow the command. The rogue/assassin was more than happy to oblige, already drawing out a length of her Metal Thread Wire.
The young knight laughed a bit, wiping the tears from his eyes and giving the hero and his party some space. "There isn't anything complicated about the class-up sir, your companions merely need to touch the Hourglass and they shall be granted the best class according to their current status."
Naofumi nodded to the kid, turning to meet Raphtalia's gaze. The duo stared at each other for a while. The raccoon girl did not avert her gaze this time, fully committed to keep her point to her master. He rolled his eyes at her, motioning with his head towards the hourglass. "Finally, it is time for you all to level up, huh?"
"Yeah, we finally reached it." Raphtalia spoke, a smile painting her features. She would become an even better sword for her master.
Firo jumped up and down, excited. "Firo wants to be able to spit poison! And breathe fire just like master!"
Naofumi shook his head, crossing his arms over his armored chest. Yeah, he had finally been wearing his armor back, the metal and leather being a sensation that he truly missed. "Yes, yes, you will spit poison and whatever else you want." A hissing sound echoed inside the chamber, Dera showing her displeasure at Firo's attempt at copying her ability.
The two almost began throwing another fit, but Naofumi called attention to himself by cleaning his throat.
"Hiiiiiiiissssssssssssssssssssss!" The four-headed Hydra complained to her master, shooting dirty looks at her fellow monster.
Firo began stomping on the ground with her feet, annoyed at Dera. "You meanie! Just because you can spit poison, it doesn't mean Firo can't do it too! Master, Firo wants to be able to spit poison!" Their tantrum was cut short as Naofumi pinched Firo's right cheek with his left hand; his right hand continuously chopping at one of Dera's heads.
"Don't fight here! Raphtalia, go ahead and class-up already. I''ll deal with these two." Naofumi said, punishing the two children for their naughtiness.
The raccoon girl looked at the scene with loving eyes, but hardened her face and approached the smooth hourglass. As she touched the surface of the item, warmth emanated from it to her entire body, a menu akin to the status that her master usually showed her appearing. Information about her status and many other things were displayed for her, the girl a bit indecisive on what to choose. Skills also seemed to be available for her, along with a list of jobs that she could choose for her proper class-up. Her current job was swordswoman, so Raphtalia would begin from there on and then choose what best suited a frontlines-attacker class.
What would best suit Naofumi-sama? She asked herself, turning her head to see the man still administering a light punishment on the two young monsters. She tried interacting with the status, but nothing happened for her. "Naofumi-sama? I can't seem to be able to chance anything." She stated somewhat worriedly, wondering if she had done something wrong.
The hero stopped his punishment of the disobedient two to pay attention back on his raccoon demi-human companion, finding a shiny menu to be on the edge of his sight. He focused on it, the screen growing to life and displaying Raphtalia's status to him in a depth he had yet to see.
[Attention!]
[Companion Raphtalia wants to class up. Please choose her next job and skill allocation.]
Naofumi looked over the menu for a while, but dismissed it form his sight. As soon as he did so, Raphtalia was able to begin messing with her own screen.
"I guess that since you are under the effects of the slave crest, your status were under my supervision. Raphtalia, you choose what is best for you. I can accommodate your class on our fighting plans. It is your class-up after all." He spoke, the girl finding the words a bit disappointing. He was her master, the one who owned her. She was happy he was taking her feelings into consideration, but he should be the one choosing in the end.
This was one of the reasons Raphtalia why loved her master.
She nodded and smiled to his words, focusing on the menu. However, before the girl modified even one single digit of her status, a message appeared.
[Bonus experience added.]
[Skill correction bonuses being applied.]
[Bonus status points awarded due to the influence of (Fitoria's Wind Blessing) and (Dragon Emperor's Core).
[Individual Raphtalia has received the blessings of the Heroes (Fitoria and Naofumi)]
[Class-up Successful!]
A soft glow illuminated her body, the raccoon girl feeling a surge of power inside her like nothing before. The glow soon dispersed, allowing Raphtalia to look at her master.
He had a wide smile, looking over his HUD. Raphtalia herself was a bit…unsure of this situation. She stepped away from the hourglass and walked to her master, wondering how she was supposed to break the news to him.
Firo took the chance to escape from his punishment and hurriedly ran towards the glass. The philorial excitedly touched the hourglass and waited for her precious skill to become a reality. Just like Raphtalia, before Firo could modify her list of skills, her ahoge began to glow. She realized it too late. The same ethereal glow that shone upon Raphtalia covered Firo, but this time the girl came back running towards Naofumi, crying her eyes out.
"MASTER~~~! Firo wanted to be able to spit poison! Ahhhhhhh!" Crying almost like he had spanked her bottom, the blonde loli rushed to his side and glued herself to his right leg.
Naofumi glanced at her with clear confusion painted over his face. "What's wrong, Firo? Your status tripled, so I don't see what is so bad." He said, looking over her status screen.
Felicia came closer and laid one hand over his armored chest. More specifically, over the gems that were embedded on his armor. "If I were to say, my suspicions point to these. Some research points out that certain items can unlock hidden conditions that grant special blessings to those who own these items and their companions. Firo-chan here has received a direct blessing from the Philorial Queen herself, and you had that dragon core upgraded into your armor. Maybe they are catalysts that boost growth?" The witch pointed out, now aware that some of Naofumi's mana seemed to have seeped into the girls. He had always had his mana signature over them, but now it seemed as if a part of his essence was inside those two.
The witch couldn't be happier about this.
Shadow wasted no time touching the hourglass, the same glow bathing her in soft light before it dispelled. The girl's already thin presence disappeared entirely, only Naofumi now being able to detect her. Dera hissed with what could be described as a mocking tone (if Hydra Snakelings could ever do so) towards Firo; then, she touched her four heads on the glass.
[Warning!]
+ [Individual (Dera) is evolving species.]
+ [Bonus experience added.]
+ [Skill correction bonuses being applied.]
+ [Mythological-class blessings have been achieved. Affixing proper blessings and status.]
- [Dragon Emperor Core fragment detected!]
+ [Bonus status points awarded due to the influence of (Fitoria's Wind Blessing) and (Dragon Emperor's Core).
[Stablishing connection to (The Will of the World).] [Mythological evolution is successful!]
- [Individual (Dera) has completed her metamorphosis. Species has changed from (Hydra) to (Yamata no Orochi)]
[XXX]
[XXX]
Naofumi and his party passed the gates that protected the castle, the group moving on towards the castle garden instead of going to the throne room. There was a stand set up right in the middle of the plaza, two pillory stands ready to hold the traitors for their humiliation. There were already plenty of knights and soldiers nearby, a few nobles watching the last preparations on the verandas of the castle.
The Shield Hero and his group were guided by a nearby knight, being directed to seats close to the queen's. Naofumi acknowledged Mirelia with a firm stare, the royal woman giving a slight nod to the hero. There other three heroes were close too, each sporting a different expression.
Ren was managing to keep his poker face, his visage of stoic hero maintained for those less perceptive of the situation. The tense way he moved and the impatient bounce of his armored boots gave away his true feelings on the matters today. Itsuki had a sour look, the justice-obsessed teen clearly displeased to be here instead of doing something productive with his time; he'd never admit that a small part of him feared something on this scale happening to him or his party.
The most expressive of the bunch, however, was Motoyasu. Perhaps they all shouldn't be surprised that the Spear Hero would be contrary to the punishment of his companion, even after all the truths were displayed to him. He was constantly pacing about, trying to formulate plans to try and help Myne to escape her punishment.
If Naofumi was being honest, he felt that Motoyasu should consider himself lucky to avoid similar punishment. The Spear Hero and the remaining members of his harem/party had avoided the same punishment of the ex-royal girl, escaping with mere heavy fines and confiscation of the magic items/tools that they had taken from the coffers of the kingdom.
It was only now that Naofumi took a better look at the Spear Hero's group. On their first wave battle, Naofumi was sure that the blonde hero has a five-person group (counting with the hero himself), the party consisting of two males and three females. From their second wave and forward the Shield Hero only saw Motoyasu and his three female companions, the group never changing.
Which the Shielder saw as a detriment to their fighting force; it was one thing for him, being the Shield Hero meant that he had very few choices to rely upon from the very beginning. Motoyasu was Melromark's favorite hero, someone who had been granted a myriad of privileges that should have boosted the hero way past the point he was at currently. It was a shame that he was so incompetent to be led by the nose by his group.
It was rather clear that Myne and the other two girls had been using the Spearer and his status to pretty themselves and get whatever they wanted. One short glance of his [Appraisal] told him that even now the girls were wearing high-level gear. The Shield Hero sighed in disappointment, finding a seat for his group.
Soldiers went on and about, carrying blue crystals on their hands as they hurriedly moved to finish their preparations.
Naofumi closed his eyes for a moment, hearing footsteps coming closer to him. He opened his eyes just in time for a small recognizable figure to stop right in front of him, the girl doing a curtsy.
"Naofumi-sama." Melty – the Second Princess – stood right in front of him, the aura of the girl changed. She was still that annoying kid he picked up on the road, but now it seemed that some of that childish innocence she carried was lost. Her eyes held that understanding that the world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. He scoffed, shaking his head a bit.
"Melty." He greeted back, leaning forward on his seat. The girl gave a smile at his neutral greeting, a rather good thing considering the type of person Naofumi was. "Seems like you haven't slept in a week; what's going on, mommy slave-driving you hard now?" He threw some snark at the girl, wondering how she would react.
Melty rolled her eyes at him, ignoring his remark and turning to greet the rest of his party. She gave his groups a full bow, smiling as she met Firo. It was clear that she wanted to go talk with the blonde loli, but restrained herself and returned her gaze back to Naofumi.
"I hope that you haven't faced any trouble these days on the town." Melty made small talk, the hero following somewhat following along with her. Now that Melty wasn't behaving like a spoiled brat, demanding that he behave a certain way for the benefit of her family, she was pleasant company to be around.
"Can't say it is too different from before. People hated me before, now they are afraid of the consequences. Merchants love me for some reason, though, so I have that going for me." He explained, his tone assuming a joking manner on the end. Melty's look gave out an understanding feeling, the girl tilting her head to the side.
Their conversation mostly died down and devolved into meaningless comments. Naofumi sighed once more, aware that the girl was probably trying to display her newfound skills and behavior to him. She was still a child, she shouldn't be worrying about adult things like that. He motioned for her to get closer, the girl almost immediately following the request. As she stood right in front of him, Naofumi flicked her forehead, causing a red mark to appear as the girl massaged her forehead.
"What was that for?!" Melty exclaimed in annoyance, holding her forehead with a teary gaze. Now that got Naofumi into a good mood. He chuckled lightly, a smirk planted on his lips as he pointed towards Firo with his thumb.
"Good job on playing the adult's game, Melty. Don't worry about being prim and proper around me when I have already seen all of your shameful self. Stop pretending to be an adult and go have some fun with Firo." He said in his usual bothered tone, seeing the girl stare at him for a few moments. She was probably wondering what to do in this situation, considering he hadn't been the kindest person around. Naofumi didn't consider this kindness per say, he just felt like doing this action this one time.
Melty stayed still for a few moments, wondering if he was going to play another prank on her. When it seemed that his words were true, the girl slowly moved closer to Firo. The blonde loli waved her hand in happiness at seeing her friend once more, glancing first at her master to ascertain that it would be okay to talk with Melty. Since he had yet to complain, Firo jumped off her seat and rushed towards the blue-haired girl. The two began to catch up, their soft whispers trying to hide their conversation from the other adults.
Naofumi rolled his eyes. If Melty wanted to believe he could not hear her, power to her. He glanced to his group, wondering what they were doing to pass time. Shadow was out of sight as always, but he could detect her presence. She was hidden nearby, ready to spring into action. Raphtalia was by his side, looking at the nobles with a neutral gaze; her eyes caught him looking at her, the girl smiling warmly at him. Dera was coiled, laid by his other side. The previously hydra snake had bulked a fair bit, her scales gaining a dull-emerald shine to them, with a few spots colored black. The biggest changes were the ring shape around the joint of her neck and head that were a gaining a yellow-ish tint to them, the three black spots under all her jaws that were shaped as magatamas, and lastly the spot over the crown of her head in which the scales formed a rudimentary shield-like shape.
To say Dera had become something else would be the understatement of the year. Even now Naofumi wondered if the species name that she sported was correct, or if he somehow managed to get himself blasted drunk and was seeing things. He couldn't exactly complain about her transformation, since her status had shot through the roof; Who would also have guessed that she had managed to eat a fragment of the Dragon Emperor's Core, leaving another bit for him as a supposed gift after their fight against the Tyrantsaurus Rex. He really needed to collect more information about this world, considering the amount of things he was still unware. He couldn't fault the girls for not explaining every single speck of information that existed to him, since it was just so common knowledge here that it would surely slip past their minds.
In any way, Naofumi would learn everything that was to be when he settled his true base down. Having a headquarters would allow him to truly grow and establish a defense force not only for [Seatto Town], but a combative force that would aid him and the world. He wasn't sure if the heroes would be able to stay in this world once the waves were finished, and as he stated before, he wanted to let Raphtalia have something after all the past events in her life. She deserved some much needed happiness in her life that was not related to slavery.
In any way, Naofumi waited for time to pass by studying his skill and shield trees. He had unlocked a fair bunch of shields for the past couple of days, shields that all sounded strong, yet incredibly ominous. That the [Will of the World] had also granted him the title of [The Storm That is Approaching] also spoke volumes of what this supposed entity thought of him. Yet, it still granted him power; who knows, maybe the world really needed a maou (Demon Lord) to pass through this phenomenon of the Waves. Nevertheless, the hero passed his time as he read the various skills that his new shields granted him.
It was just short of an hour after he arrived that Queen Mirelia decided to show up. Naofumi stayed on his seat, waiting for the royal queen to begin already the spectacle. The sooner it began, the sooner it could end and the shielder could go about his business.
The mere presence of the queen was enough to silence the whispers and hushed talks of the nobles around the garden, the aristocrats not looking forward to the events that were about to happen. Naofumi, on the other hand, had the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster. Felicia walked to his side, offering a drag of her pipe to see if his expression would ease up a bit. Raphtalia took the other side, shaking her head sideways in small disappointment, yet not managing to keep the tiny quirk of her lips in check.
Hey, I'm not going to pretend I'm not enjoying this! He mused in his head as he politely denied the smoking pipe. Felicia shrugged her shoulders and kept on pulling her smoke, the wide brim of her hat granting the witch some shade.
On her balcony, overlooking the event stood Mirelia. The magenta-clad royal's eyes scanned the garden, her war fan opening once and releasing a wave of wind magic to call attention completely to herself. Silence reigned supreme for the royal queen, the strong woman's voice echoing loud and clear (most likely the result of some type of magic).
"Good morning to all those that hear this message. I am Mirelia Q. Melromark, the ruler of our nation. It is not a surprise for anyone that our world is currently facing a terrible event, the Waves of Destruction that strike our lands every couple of centuries and leave death and misery on their path. We have always counted on the aid of our brave soldiers, knights and adventurers to fight the calamity, and our trump card against the evil, the four holy cardinal heroes.
"As traditions have it, we have summoned our heroes as we face this world-ending peril, requesting their aid as legends have it. So far, our heroes have easily repelled the waves and helped us make extreme progress against the evil of this calamity." Mirelia's speech weaved truths and lies rather skillfully, and Naofumi had to admit that were he to be one of the mostly unware civilians listening this speech, he might have been truly moved and dissuaded to fully agree with the royal's assessment of the situation. He had to admit, the woman had great political skill.
"Our brave people have been facing such trials imposed on us by destiny's will, and we will stand up to challenge. Yet, a situation has happened and we have found traitors to the people's cause. The Church of Three Heroes and their leader, High Priest Biscas plotted against the crown, aided by the First Princess and the King Aultocray; together, their plan almost brought ruin to our land as the traitorous pope wished to sow chaos and raise himself as a savior to you, my humble citizens." Mirelia spoke with a clear and precise tone, her words measured to incite a perfect reaction from her citizens. The people's reaction to her words was leaning on the positive side. She was demonizing her enemies while presenting valid arguments (without presenting most of her own kingdom's faults) that supposedly raised her image on the eyes of the people.
Information manipulation and sweet words at its finest Naofumi mused to himself, looking over to the seats of the other heroes. It was clear on their faces that they were uncomfortable with the Queen's speech. The Shield Hero himself concealed his smirk, crossing his arms over his armored chest and zoning out Mirelia's voice as she went on and on about how culpable and guilty the religious group was, while absorbing her kingdom from their fault.
He could discredit all her words right now and cause the woman to lose quite an amount of face and respect from her subjects, but the consequences of said actions would be terrible. He sighed in frustration, one hand reaching for Raphtalia's head as he began to pat her between her ears. The girl's "eep" was unexpectedly cute, making the hero continue his hand movement with a slow motion, a strong blush painting the raccoon girl's cheeks as she squirmed under his touch.
His eyes trailed down to her backside, mostly specifically to the swishing bushy-tail. Now, listen…he might consider her almost like a daughter, but one could not deny the appeal of animal ears/tails, especially when they were on a girl as pretty as Raphtalia. His ministrations had the girl avoid her gaze from him, yet still allowing him to continue his tender touch even when they close to so many strangers.
Eventually, it seemed that the time for the true event had arrived, as a platoon of knights exited the garden area, only to come back a short while later carrying the traitors. A dark feeling began to grow in Naofumi's chest, his anger and rage at those fools just waiting for a minimal excuse to extinguish their pathetic existence. Gasps of surprise echoed in the garden as the two ex-royals appeared on sight of everyone.
The mages of the court focused the sight of the vision stones on the two individuals. Aultocray was the first to climb the stars and the man could not look worse. His hair was matted and his entire appearance was more akin to a street beggar than a proxy king; to make matters worse, the burnt flesh of his lower face made for pitiful sight. The wooden pillory that was locked around his head and one remaining arm also made the previous king lose the entire regal image he ever had. There were terrible insomnia bags under the lids of his eyes, and all in all the man looked terrible.
Naofumi heard Melty take a deep breath behind him, aware that the girl probably had mixed feelings about seeing her father like this. He pushed any feelings of pity aside and let his eyes wander to the next person.
Malty was somewhat better than her father. That is not to say she looked pretty or even normal for that matter. The First Princess was still dressed in her adventurer's attire, but she looked scuffed and dirty, nothing like what a proper princess supposed to be. Further diminishing her image was the burnt slave crest that adorned her chest, reducing the supposed royal to no more than a common slave; a tool to be used and discarded when her usefulness ran out. Make-up stains ruined the fair face of the redhead, and she limped as if her chest still hurt terribly. Considering that Naofumi's flames hurt even the soul, it was probable that the slave crest burnt on her flesh still did sent pangs of pain on the woman.
They both were led to the wooden on the stand, chained to the bigger pylons of the stand to be entirely within the sight of the vision stone manned by the court mages. It was clear to the citizens of the kingdom that this would be a historical event, something that normally would never happen. As the two convicts faced the other people present, their eyes managed to capture the sight of the Shield Hero, the two had opposite reactions.
Malty's resolve wasn't shattered. She was battered and hurt, but the princess still had the flame of ambition and revenge on her pupils. She would get back at the Shielder, no matter the cost!
As her intent called Naofumi's attention, the hero glanced back at the prickling sensation he felt staring at him. His eyes rapidly searched for who was throwing such intent at him, managing to find the green pupils of the First Princess trying to maintain a glare at him. His own pupils became slitted, a snarl almost leaving his throat as once more the hero felt his jaw almost become too big for his natural, human face. A notification appeared on his HUD, but the hero's focus was on staring back at the woman that tried to mess with him and was staring at him as if he was at fault for her mistakes.
[Skill (Wrathful Demon Lord of the Shield) is now active. Hero title (The Storm That is Approaching) is now active.]
As Naofumi returned Malty's stare back with as much heat as the woman, if not more. His slit eyes made the redhead flinch, Malty avoiding his hunter's gaze almost as if his gaze hurt when settled upon her body.
What the hell is that? Naofumi wondered, seeing a strange line tethered to Malty. The line was connected to her body and went up high into the sky until it he could no longer see it. The strange line was translucent, almost ethereal. It was strange that he hadn't noticed such a thing before, but now he could and thus it made Naofumi extremely curious and weary of such thing.
As the woman averted her gaze and Naofumi calmed his wrath, the notifications on his HUD went away and his pupils returned to their normalcy, cutting his "special sight" short. The hero glanced to his sides, wondering if his party had noticed his little exchange with the First Princess. As none of the girls seemed to have noticed, the hero released a breath that he wasn't aware he was holding in. What is going on?
Letting the woman and his harsh feelings for her aside, the hero took time to glance at the disgraced and one-armed king. The Shielder expected the king to have some fire to spit at him, as the man had always been pretty vocal for his dislike for the Shield Hero. Yet, before him stood a shell of a man, defeated and pitiful.
Aultocray seemed to dead to the world, merely following the motions that he was guided to. It pissed Naofumi that the ex-royal seemed to have already broken down, his supposed strong will being nothing more than a façade. The hero ground his teeth inside his mouth, feeling the sharp fangs that his teeth had become scraping against each other. He huffed, this time calling the attention of his party by mistake.
"Naofumi-sama?"
"Fortress-kun?"
The Shield Hero closed his eyes and shook his head sideways.
"Don't worry about it, let's just see this." Naofumi said, a sour taste in his tongue as he held his temper until Mirelia finished the shaming speech and cleansing his name for the public. She even tried to convince Naofumi to give some sort of speech about forgiveness. He ignored the call and waited. After the theatrics were over, the true reason for his visit to the castle would be discussed: the reparations that were owed to him.
[XXX]
[XXX]
Back on the throne room, Naofumi waited for Mirelia to arrive with a scowl on his face. His party was spread across the room, each doing their own thing until the time for Mirelia to arrive.
The nobles around did the best they could to avoid Naofumi, never entering his line of sight unless absolutely necessary. It was understandable, considering all the events that happened recently. The other heroes and their parties were uncomfortable with the Shielder, but seemed to be trying their best to enjoy the gathering.
Suddenly, the doors to the throne room opened and the majestic queen entered the place, everyone inside quieted down, the only sound echoing in the room the clacks of Mirelia's heels joined by Melty's softer steps on the smooth floor. The queen opened her war fan and made a sweeping motion, the knights and soldiers guarding the place motioning for the nobles and the heroes to leave the room. The aristocrats jumped at the chance to leave the place, vacating the room as soon as possible.
Ren, the Sword Hero, glanced around to find his party. His group looked up to him, hoping that the hero guided their choice at this. The group (all the heroes, except the Shielder, were now being "neglected") were now aware that they suddenly had been labeled as the wrong ones. He motioned with his head for the group to follow along, they had to get stronger and this social frivolous event had already wasted enough time for him.
Itsuki had a wry expression, his own party disheartened that the kingdom was now sucking up so much to the useless Shielder. It was the Bow Hero that should be received with praise and glory, not the heavy tanker. The Bow Hero himself was feeling down, as his sense of justice had been challenged, ans the hero found himself on the wrong side for the first time. His hurried judgement of Naofumi's character led the man to be discriminated and punished for something he had not done. That spat on Itsuki's entire sense of justice. Yet, the young teen could not find in himself the wish to apologize to his fellow hero. Naofumi rubbed him the wrong way, he still wondered if the Shield Hero had not done something wrong and somehow had managed to strong-arm the queen into this thing.
Motoyasu and the remains of his party were nervous, wondering what was now supposed to happen. The Spear Hero had been showered with gifts and coin from the coffers of the kingdom, all under the pretense of "battle aid efforts". All his current equipment had been extremely expensive - if the hero wanted he could stay with the pieces even until the end game, only needing to increase the power of the enchantments in his armor and the power of his spear – and if Queen Mirelia truly wanted to, she could revoke the Spear Hero of all his and his party's equipment and leave them with only rags. The blonde Casanova suddenly found himself on the edge of a very dangerous cliff. He called the attention of his remaining party members and left the premises before they were in the sights of the queen.
Finally, Naofumi and his group were the only ones left with Mirelia and Melty, even the knights and soldiers had vacated the room so as to give the Hero and the Queen the privacy they needed to discuss their matters.
Mirelia had chairs placed on the room, her own throne being lowered from its place until the furniture was at the same level as the Shield Hero's chair. A few minutes of silence passed by as the queen and the hero stared at each other in deafening silence.
Naofumi sighed, his hardened gaze softening just enough that he sported a neutral look. "I'll bite. What is your proposition now?" He asked, seeing Mirelia tilt her head curiously. "Please don't play these games with me; I'm not those bright-eyed fools that you call heroes, or those slobbering idiots that you call nobles. Let's negotiate, since I don't want to see my work be for nothing." He explained, maintaining a civil tone. Mirelia nodded, putting her war fan down and staring directly into the hero's eyes.
"I see that your rage has been quenched, Naofumi-sama." The comment made the hero roll his eyes. The queen took a deep breath, side-glancing at her second daughter and giving the girl a soft look. Melty returned a smile to her mother, the duo returning their gaze to Naofumi. "As you're already aware, Sir, your last requests are rather impossible for us to accomplish without destroying our economy and causing terrible civil unrest. Humiliating Aultocray and Malty won't be a problem, and dealing with domestic matters falls on me. However, giving you 80% won't be possible. At most, we can grant you reparations from the coffers of the nobles and maybe up to 20% of our kingdom's coffers; granting you that much immediately would also be problematic, so if we could schedule monthly payments or even another way for you to receive your owned reparations." Mirelia gave her arguments to the hero, seeing that he gave minimal nods to her.
"I know." He murmured, glancing back at Raphtalia and Firo. It was quick, the hero turning back to the royal with a serious face. "I'll take the 20% deal on monthly payments, and it doesn't necessarily need to be coin. Services, precious metals and gems, aid and whatever else can be used. I'm not that cruel that I'll starve your people or destroy this place; as I said before, I worked too hard around here to simply destroy it on a whim. I also want something." The hero said, surprisingly calm and composed as he changed shields. [Cartographer's Shield] appeared on his arm and suddenly a magical holographic map of the land was visible.
Mirelia took notice of the map, more specifically of the notes that were written on this magical map. Outside of the wonders of such shield, the queen widened her eyes as the location marked on the map called her attention. He wants to settle into that town? Why? The previous lord wasn't someone important and the place itself doesn't wield much strategic resources…unless…the location itself is his objective. A place where he can easily flee to any other country and an escape route that doesn't tie him to any nation whatsoever. Oh, Naofumi-sama, aren't you a cleaver man!
"Also, I want a few things immediately." The hero stated, pulling a scroll out of his hip-pouch and handing that queen.
Mirelia took the parchment and opened it, carefully reading the list of items and immediately formulating a few plans in her head. She might not be able to have the Shielder do what she wanted, but a few plans began being formulated on her head.
"Right away, Naofumi-sama! The land rights shall be granted to you immediately. My cartographers shall redraw our maps and I shall have wagons ready to carry your requested provisions right away." Mirelia spoke, giving Melty a side glance as the young girl returned it with a worried expression. The way the queen looked at her daughter spoke plenty without the use of words.
I have a plan. Do not speak out of order.
Please, do not antagonize Naofumi. Melty expressed subtly, being as quick as possible to avoid the hero noticing their silent conversation.
[XXX]
[XXX]
"Hrrhmmmm!" A masculine grunt echoed in the room of the inn, the bed frame shifting lightly under the weight of the male that sat on its edge. The rogue looking Naofumi released a huff of air, tiredness emanating from his entire body. The reparations talk had lasted the better part of two hours, the hero and the queen balancing the bill that would be signed by the royal and the shielder to finally settle the amount of debts that he was to receive. If one day you asked Naofumi if he'd ever dream never running out of money ever again, he would say that you went crazy.
The shielder tiredly began to unlace his boots, wishing for a fulfilling night of rest. After he and Mirelia finished their talks, the hero decided to book a few rooms on an inn just outside of Melromark's castle town. He wished to be as far from the place as possible, and just because he now wouldn't burn the place down to a cursed crisp did not meant that he had to be buddy-buddy with the royals or anyone else in there for that matter.
He wanted a night of real rest before he began tackling the challenges that were to come. He needed to get his party to level up and become even stronger. He needed to firmly stablish his base of operations and he also needed to begin amassing knowledge from this world. Luckly, things seemed to be going good for him now.
He gave the each of his girls some pocket money (if you could consider 300 silver coins pocket money) to spend on whatever they wanted as he went to the inn to rest up and plan the next step on their journey. He also needed to plan out new strategies and plans, as his party's pool of abilities had increased substantially.
"I suppose that relaxing a bit is deserved." He muttered to himself, finally freeing his feet from his heavy leather boots and wool socks. Before he could begin working on the straps of his armor, he felt a presence lower itself behind him and begin the process for him. He closed his eyes and slowly opened them back up, glancing backwards to see Shadow helping him.
She was without cloak and her usual mask, giving the hero a clear look at her fair face. He had already seen her without her equipment, but now that her health was white-billed and she was eating properly (along with the exercise of their battles and training), her beauty became even greater.
"Master." She acknowledged him, smoothly helping the hero out of his armor. Once Naofumi was stripped to his basic trousers and black long-sleeved shirt, the hero nodded to the girl, laying his back on his mattress and releasing another groan, this time one of satisfaction.
The girl was still kneeled on the available space on the bed. Normally he would rent two rooms with two beds each, allowing everyone some privacy but also always having someone watch each other's back. With the introduction of Felicia to his party, Naofumi would rent three rooms when they were on towns. Travelling on the wild meant that people slept on turns.
All of that mean that the girls had some privacy when needed. Which Shadow should be using now; instead, here she was.
"Go rest already, Shadow." He asked, closing his eyes.
The girl moved. He heard some cloth rustling, but ignored it. The weight on the bed shifted, and the hero felt a body lay by his side, hugging his left side and granting him some comfortable body heat.
Naofumi opened his eyes, finding Shadow to be hugging his left arm. She had stripped to what could be considered pajamas: short shorts and a white top that barely covered the girl's small chest.
"Shadow?" He asked for the meaning of her current action.
"Master." Shadow provided no context, merely snugging her face against his grabbed arm. He gave up on further questions, too tired to complain. Instead, he pulled the young girl closer to him, allowing Shadow to rest her face against his chest as his left arm slowly pat her small back. "C-could…could master give me a new name. Not a codename, a true name that only you know?" She asked in a shy voice, something that rarely happened.
He hmm'ed, enjoying the human contact that the girl provided. "Don't you already have a name?"
The girl dug further into her embrace with her master. "That name died a long time ago, master. Please, I want a name from the master that allowed me a useful reason to live once more." Her soft-spoken words made him groan a bit, all these emotions a bit too much for him.
"I'm not the most imaginative person out there, so if I come with something disappointing, you can't complain." He said, glancing at her to see if he could find some sort of inspiration for a name for her.
Her short, bob-cut brown hair and submissive attitude. Her lean, but strong body that could move silently and assassinate anyone should he order it. All of that made him whisper a word.
"Kana…"
Shadow moved to rest one hand over his chest. "Master, what does Kana stands for?"
"It is a combination of characters from my world. My language is a bit complicated, but basically it stands for a combination of 'dexterity' and 'skill' that forms the combination that stands for 'Kana'. I thought it suited you." He lamely said, missing the blush that strongly colored Shadow's cheeks.
"I wish that you would embrace me already." She whispered.
Naofumi turned his head to hear, wondering if he truly heard what the girl said. Should he question it?
"I like it, Master Naofumi. Kana is an amazing name from my lord's land, it is the best option that I could have received."
Naofumi opted for silence, closing his eyes and resting his head on his pillow.
Should I?
[XXX]
TO BE CONTINUED.
AU END NOTES.
It took quite some time to finish this one. I'm just going to take quick break to rest and then I'm going to work on Blood God, maybe also give some love to Dragon's den.
Should I try my hand back on my Pokemon Story? I don't really want to watch Sun and Moon (better known as "Is this why God stays in heaven?"), so I would have to write the story based on simply my impression of the characters, which will inevitably cause them to behave OOC. If you could PM me quick summaries of their characters, I could try my hand on it. So far the idea is on the backburner.
Give your opinions please, review and make me a happy man. If you want, throw some money my way. I love money, just money.
Just joking…unless?
Not a music for the chapter, just a suggestion I want to give for you people to listen.
( I Will Give You My All 2017 (assault) – Payday 2 Official Soundtrack )
Later! Ryujin Maou out!