Author Notes.
Nothing much to comment. Just another chapter for your enjoyment. Not many comemnts about anything else either. This one will not be a big one, since I want to focus on the next chap of Blood God, which will be a big one. I want the ending to the I-Island fiasco to have big impact, so it might take a while to finish and edit it out, but please do trust in this Ryujin Maou!
As always, if you want to donate something to this poor peasant to fuel my addictions to rule34 and coffee, you are welcomed on my ko-fi ryujinmaou.
Peace!
Chapter 22: [Call Mira Exploration I]
The next morning had Naofumi and his party ready for a day filled with work. He woke early and used the kitchen of their inn to prepare a meal to his party. It wasn't that he was distrustful of the cooking staff (he sort of was, but that was beside the point), but the hero was used to fixing up his party's meals, and cooking had become a past-time for him.
Eating their meal and getting the girls ready was a quick affair, the hardest thing for him to do was be allowed to leave the kitchen after their head-chef clung to his leg and refused to leave him be until Naofumi promised to show up a few times during his stay. The girls were mostly ready to leave, Naofumi being the one to need a few extra minutes; the group was by the docks, the hero visiting the Frigid Queen once more. Naofumi instructed the girls to rent a smaller boat to get them to the hunting grounds of the islands while he went to talk with the elder captain of the vessel. As he climbed aboard, a few of the sailors greeted him, extending their hands and warmly welcoming the Shielder.
Captain Bardimas was quick to greet the hero too, the jiggle of his somewhat rotund belly a funny sight.
"Lord Shield! It is a pleasure to see you again! What good winds do bring you back?" The elder asked in good spirits, resting one of his wrists atop the handle of his cutlass.
The Shielder extended a hand to the old captain. "Good morning, captain. I was just about to go on a hunting expedition around the islands and wondered if you had some tips to share." It wasn't as if Naofumi hadn't collected information about the place, but having a good relationship with influential people was important too; besides, the hero enjoyed the captain, the nobleman different from the usual fat, money-grubbing sloths that he was used to see back in Melromark's mainland. "And I was also looking for those last pieces of armor that go with my clothes. I have my magic defenses, but I don't exactly fell comfortable being a tank without some armor."
The captain nodded, taking off his hat and running a hand over the bald spot in his head. "Rightly so, Lord Shield. We don't exactly have much in terms of metal heavy armor, but we certainly know how to protect our vital bits!" The elder laughed, pointing towards his quarters with his hat. "Follow me, sir! I have the rest in my cabin."
The hero followed the elder into the cabin; it was – obviously – fancier than the common, shared space that he used, sporting a multitude of personal items that belonged to Sihalas. Bedding, a few chests, a bolted table with a map and some writing tools, a wardrobe and an armory stand; it showed signs that it was well used and it was definitively worthy to be called captain's quarters.
The captain might be packing a few extra pounds, but he certainly was no slouch. His steps were quick and precise, the elder crossing the room in a few moments and reaching the armory stand from where the man selected a few straps and belts, Naofumi taking his time to inspect the map curiously; he had seen a few continental maps (thanks to Shadow), but not a sea-faring one. It was less detailed, but seemed to incorporate more of this world's landmasses and islands that the common one. The hero noticed that the canvas still had quite some leftover space, no doubt for further exploring.
They haven't explored the entirety of this planet? Earth took a while to be fully explored, but then again we didn't have convenient magic bullshit. I guess each world does go at its own pace. He mused, running one hand under his jaw, feeling and hearing some bristling due to the growing facial hair.
"She is a beauty, ain't she? My life's work!" Bardimar exclaimed, approaching the table with the assortment of leather belts. He dumped most of them over the wooden furniture, eyeing Naofumi for a while. "They still need some stitching and sewing, but those fit you almost like old gloves! You sort of have my build, back when I was a squirt, Lord Shield!"
Naofumi raised a brown at the captain. "What, you were a tanker or something?" He began helping the elder to disentangle the various leathers, separating them and sorting what could fit and be of use to him.
Bardimar laughed deeply, in that way only elder men with tons of experience in life could do. "Nothing of the sorts, sir! Naval combat doesn't exactly allow one to be using a shield or wearing fancy metal coffins, but I always was the burly brute type! Besides, I took better to the sword than I did the books; if it wasn't for my wife beating some knowledge in my noggin, I'd probably have ran the family's name out of nobility! Hahahaha!" The captain laughed it up, but Naofumi was quite sure that that was no laughing matter; he still smiled alongside the old sailor though.
The hero found all the pieces that he needed and immediately began strapping and buckling them over. The Shielder closed his blue coat and began the process as Bardimar instructed, showing Naofumi the way of one or another odd piece. It didn't take long, Naofumi feeling relief once he felt some actual weight over his clothes; the leathers didn't restrain his movement and were easy to take off.
"Well, now you are looking like a true sailor, Lord Shield! If you could use a cutlass, you'd look the perfect part of a sailor raid commander!" Bardimas complimented the hero, offering him a wide-brim hat much like his own. The hero shook his head. "Not a hat person? A pity, it would have suited you quite well, sir!"
"I'd end up losing it in combat. A helmet would be more suited, but then again I'm not a fan of restricting my vision." Naofumi exclaimed. The hero was just about to leave when he spotted something framed on the wall of the cabin, just above the bed. His brows raised in surprise, wondering if what he was seeing was truly real. He pointed at it, glancing to the captain in curious wonder. "Are those…"
"Hmm?" Bardimar looked over to where the Shielder was pointing, noticing the framed box. "Ah, you have got quite the fine eye indeed, sir Shield!" The captain hurried to the box and opened a latch on the side, pulling out two items from it. Two flint-lock pistols, so finely decorated and well-crafted that they should be considered works of art; smooth wood stock with gold and silver reinforcements, their steel barrels engraved in wave-like patterns that made the weapons exude an exotic aura. While one had the barrel maintain the black color of the iron framework, the other was carefully tempered, the gray-silver luster of polished steel truly beautiful. "Ebony and Ivory; they are gifts from my wife. Normally women are rarely seen in ships, and she was no exception. Hated being aboard my previous ship and wasn't shy about letting me know it, but she would always come over to pick me up when I returned to land after my trips. One time I was–…I shouldn't hold you sir Shield, you have matters to attend to!" Bardimas exclaimed, carefully returning the pistols their exposition box.
Naofumi was quite interested in hearing the old man's tale, but he agreed to it.
"Maybe when you have some time off after your hunting, we can share a barrel of ale and do a fair bit of chin waggling! There are quite a few pubs here with strong spirits for even stronger men!" Bardimas laughed and guided Naofumi out.
"Sure, I'll hold you to that offer." The hero said as he was about to go down the rampart that led off from the ship.
"Aye aye, sir!"
The Shield Hero left the boat, finding his party to be waiting for him. Once he was in sight, Raphtalia released a squell, starry-eyed at him. Felicia looked at the hero from head to toe, not saying anything about his attire. Firo didn't seem to care, as neither did Dera. Shadow merely nodded.
"Let's get going them?" He asked, amused at Raphtalia's reaction.
The first two days on the Cal Mira archipelago were decided to let the heroes acclimate to the place and work out rotations for their grinding so as to avoid getting into each other's way. Naofumi tried to find the other three to work out a schedule, but the inn's staff had said that they had left early, each towards a destination without leaving any sort of message behind.
Oi oi oi, we are supposed to be working with each other! Naofumi let the thought swim in his head momentarily, sighing at the troublesome behavior of his fellow heroes. It wouldn't do to cry over spilled milk, so the hero gathered his party and headed out.
They quickly managed to find a smaller boat that could take them to one of the islands, the ferry man quickly guiding the group on the large-ish boat and took off. Well, the entirety of his party wasn't in the boat, considering Dera and Firo were circling it – Firo in her bird form while Dera was just…Dera – and gobbling up any small fish-type monster close by and netting them some experience (just as they had done on their way here). The shielder took advantage that the transport ship had a cabin and headed inside to find a seat, Felicia following suit while Raphtalia appreciated the scenery and Shadow (Kana) did her usual spiel and disappeared from sight.
The shielder barely entered the small cabin when a voice called out.
"Ryujin-boy!"
Naofumi blinked, wondering if the universe enjoyed throwing him curveballs just to see how he dealt with them. The Shield Hero massaged the bridge of his nose, his face painted with a troubled expression.
"L'arc, Therese." He greeted them, finding the only available seats to be close to the red-haired man and his companion; with no other options, Naofumi took his seat, the man grandly smiling at him, opening his arms wide as if the hero would give him a hug.
"It is so good to see you here, Ryujin-boy! You have no idea how much your presence has brightened my morning!" L'arc said while standing up and heading towards the hero's side, sitting down on the spot that Felicia had been heading towards. "I see that you took my suggestion and did a once over! You look good! Less like you are going to stick me up in land and more like you are going to raid my ship!"
The witch took a slow drag of her lit pipe, her eyes shining an ominous lavender color.
"Felicia-san, why don't you sit over here?" Therese patted the space next to her, the woman wearing a disarming smile. The witch slowly exhaled all the accumulated smoke from her lungs, eyeing the spot while L'arc loudly talked with Naofumi, one hand draped over the Shielder's shoulders. She resigned herself to it, sitting next to the other woman. "I'm sorry about him, he really just does things at his own pace." Therese wore an apologetic smile.
Felicia slowly shook her head, taking off her wide-brimmed hat and storing away her pipe inside the darkness of the headgear. She let the witch's hat rest atop her legs, pulling a comb from it and beginning to comb her locks. "There is nothing really to apologize over, but I won't say no to free dinner."
Therese nodded. "Of course! How about later tonight?"
The witch nodded back. "Seems fine. I hope to be treated to something expensive too," as Felicia said that, Therese lightly patted the coin purse on her waist. "Since it seems that your casting methods are quite expensive too." Therese blinked at the phrase, glancing at Felicia with a stiff expression, but the witch seemed to have already fallen asleep.
While the two magic-casters dealt with each other, the two males chatted.
"I was talking with some of the ferry boat guys right?! To see how things were about in the islands and you won't believe this! It seems that the four heroes are up and about!" L'arc whisper-shouted, almost as if it was a national-threat secret that had to be maintained; the Shielder showed no reaction, making the red-haired man deflate from his high-tension mood. "Come on, Ryujin! You aren't surprised?"
Naofumi crossed his arms, his common shield hanging from his hip. "Was I supposed to be? Isn't the queen of Melromark announcing their moves a lot recently?" He sure was surprised when he heard the common gossip of the island be their arrival, but then again it was understandable: Mirelia surely wanted to avoid being accused of monopolizing the heroes, thus she was likely to use her shadow-network to spread the news in a careful manner to places where rumors and gossip would spread it by itself.
L'arc seemed frustrated for a bit, before he returned to his jovial and carefree mood. "Whatever; but I bet that you didn't know this! A little birdie told me that they are being a pain in the ass for the adventurers already!"
Hoh? Now this I gotta hear! The Shielder thought while leaning forward, paying some attention to his cabin companion.
"Heard that the Sword Hero got up at the butt crack of dawn to hunt, demanding that Ferries take him to the hunting grounds during one of the most dangerous times! That isn't so bad, but then we heard about the Spear Hero! Dude has been in the plaza and fancy market since the first shop opened, trying to pick some special item that 'increases love-gauge', whatever that means." L'arc explained, Naofumi paying close attention to it, yet unbelieving his ears.
"You haven't heard anything about the Shield and Bow Heroes?" He asked, prodding for information.
L'arc shook his head. "Nah, it seems they haven't acted out that much yet," The red-haired man grunted, soon tightening his left fist and shaking it randomly. "but I just know that they are going to do something bad! That Bow Hero is a slacker through and through! He and his party go about demanding information in every adventurer's guild, but they never seem to do anything about the quests they take. And the guild doesn't punish them when they fail a quest! It is such bullshit!"
That's because he does the quest, but then likes to play hidden hero of justice. The guild also can't exactly punish the darling hero for failing quests or the country might sanction them.
"That Shield Hero too. Don't know what he is planning, but we have to watch out for him, Ryujin! You never know when he might be prowling around!"
Sorry about that dude, but I'm right here.
The rest of the short travel was filled with light banter and jokes, Naofumi getting along surprisingly well with the red-haired man. They reached the Northeast archipelago, Naofumi and his party bidding L'arc and Therese farewell as the duo went to another direction to avoid getting in the way of the full party.
[XXX]
[XXX]
Naofumi lightly parried the demonic dog's claws, Raphtalia easily taking advantage to stab the monster in the head and kill it.
[…defeated! +556 Experience!]
[…defeated! +791 Experience!]
He stared at the monster, wondering if he should feel some type of way about this. It had been a few hours since he and his party entered a forest in the island and it was an uncontested truth that there was an abundance of mobs and creatures to slay. The experience wasn't bad too, the group leveling up already. Yet…
"Isn't this too easy?" He questioned loudly, already getting to work on butchering it. He knelt by the monster corpse's side, Kana already by his side and handing him a butcher's knife. He lightly stabbed it alongside the abdomen, careful to avoid piercing too deep and hitting the internal organs.
Raphtalia swung her sword, cleaning it of most of the fatty gunk and blood that dirtied the tip. She grabbed a cloth from one of the pouches on her hip and finished the job. "It does feel rather…dissatisfying to work like this."
"I think that you meant to say boring." Felicia stated. The witch had – somewhere out of his sight – changed into much more appropriate clothing for the forest. Instead of her elegant black dress, the witch had opted for clothing not too different from what Raphtalia was used to wear, with the exception of the reinforced leather armor. It did accentuate the witch's…backside, but Naofumi kept that detail to himself. She hadn't parted with her wide brim hat or her smoking pipe, but she was practical about her choices. So far she had only used low level spells that most of the time were one-shot kills.
"Master! Firo is bored! These small fries are boring!" The philorial queen candidate whined while she lightly poked at a purple blob, the creature looking as if it would burst if the blonde loli were to put any strength behind her touch.
"Yeah yeah, suck it up. I'm not exactly using any high intellect here, but these monster do give out good EXP and we need it." Naofumi said as he finished his work, putting what he hadn't fed to his shield inside his inventory. Yeah, that's right, Naofumi now could access an inventory; at first he thought it to be some type of joke, but just as those three said it, he now had an inventory. Was it cheating? Maybe. Was he going to abuse the hell out of it? For fucking sure! He still had to finish rummaging through his inventory, considering now that he had rows upon rows of items stashed there, some of which were from Melromark's lands. Was the system bugged or did it really duplicate mob drops?
"Master, this one wishes to suggest something." Kana said, already done with her own clean up and waiting upon new orders. Naofumi glanced at her, nodding. "While this method might award us with experience points aplenty, will it not dull our combat sense?"
The Shield Hero nodded. "True...is this why they are such dumbasses?" Naofumi wondered to himself, glancing at the deeper parts of the forest. "Well, it was getting too easy anyway. Let's head deeper." His choice made, and the group's mode on the rise, Naofumi began the trek towards the more dangerous parts of Cal Mira.
The terrain, different from the mobs so far, was a somewhat tough challenge. His group still faced weak mobs, but now with their sights aimed at a better challenge the group began to steam-roll over the weak mobs. Felicia so far seemed to be the most enthusiastic about it, using wind and ice spells to eliminate the weaklings before they could even understand what was happening. The Shielder didn't exactly have any grounds to reprimand her, he himself bored with the previous work (and stepping over a few mobs himself).
They began facing more and more of the same type of monster the deeper they headed in the forest: the [Cal Demon dog]. It was a better challenge than before, as the group would face five to seven of the monsters at the each encounter, but it was still barely a work-out for them, but at least he was still getting plenty of materials from both the mobs and his surroundings, as he and Kana attentively picked any berry, herb, fruit and mushroom that could have any use.
It was like this that the group approached the deeper parts of the forest, coming into a clearing area that somewhat resembled a mountainous ruin. It was the sort of fantasy sight one would expect from a magical world, the ruin meshing well with its surroundings in a manner one would not expect. Yet, the forgotten structure wasn't the only thing that was fantastical; among the destroyed pillars there was a sort of sphere. It cast no shadow on the ground and resembled the cracks in the sky during a Wave event, the ominous feeling that Naofumi began feeling unforgettable.
He fixed his stance and readied his [Cannon Shield], waiting as he could hear the low growling of another monster, this time his senses indicating that it was a quite the big one.
"Get ready." He calmly stated, his group already getting into their usual positions. He, as the tanker, was always at the frontlines, ready to either block or parry away the major incoming damage - be it physical or magical – and give the rest of his party the chance to attack. Raphtalia and Firo were the major attackers, the two ready to attack together or separate; the raccoon demi-human would focus on swordsmanship and illusionary tactics while the philorial barreled through anything with her power and wind magic. Shadow (Kana) was a joker-type, her skills suited to support any role she needed to play on the battlefield, be it support or assassin, she could run interference against the enemies while assisting her allies. Dera was much the same, with the some difference that the Orochi was more focused on debuffs (poisons) and assault. And to top and end it all, Felicia acted as their mage, casting spells and granting the group control over the battlefield.
While they were fighting weaklings on the island, they didn't necessarily act out in this formation, but now that they were facing a proper monster, everyone fell into their necessary positions without much fanfare.
"ROAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A growling snarl echoed in the ruin. It was followed by a cacophony of multiple other weaker growls, the creatures soon showing themselves.
[Carmic Dog Familia Lv. 95]
From the ruins emerged a larger demonic dog. It had black fur and – most impressively – large wings on its back with the span of at least seven meters. The dog was more like a large tiger, his claws sharp looking. The creature had blood-red eyes and its maw was filled with dagger-like fangs, one horn emerging from the monster's forehead and giving it a rather unique appearance.
It was surrounded by a pack of its followers and certainly was the boss of this part of the island. Naofumi smirked, finally finding a challenge that was suited for his group.
The demonic dog barked at him, the hero feeling magic power behind the noise trying to settle into him. He shrugged it off with nary a thought, deciding to experiment with the skills he had.
"Before you rush, let me try something." Naofumi stated to his front-liners, the girls one thought away of attacking the demonic dog pack. The group stayed in a tightly knit formation, waiting for the hero to finish his test.
The dog pack also kept their unity, but they began to slowly encircle the group. Naofumi didn't mind, since if the skill he'd employ worked as he thought it did, it would be better to have the monsters gathered into a single bunch.
His HUD shone at the corner of his sight, the skill tree for the [Cannon Shield] lighting up and displaying the skills he was currently using. [Charged Shot] selected, the Shielder began to feel the drain on his Mana and SP points as the barrel of his cannon began to shift and enter into a firing position; the hero extended his shield-bearing arm towards the monsters, aware that he had charged. He could already shoot, but it would be a weak mana burst that would serve as more of a leading attack than anything else.
Besides, while he was a shielder and his allies were his greatest strength, Naofumi could execute combo skills by himself.
Combo Skill: [Charged Shot] + [Selective Ammunition (0/2)] + [Shelling Barrage] + [Quick Reload] = [Naval Fury]
The [Cannon Shield] was specialized in running disturbance by bombing the enemy with magic shots that dealt small damage, but had great disrupting power and knockback (besides the fact that you were getting shot at by a magical cannon) effect, but if the Shielder was willing too, he could simply forgo support and focus in a complete attacking method. It cost just about half of Naofumi's mana and took time to set up, but he didn't worry about that.
The boss monster, noticing the great deal of magic being accumulated by the hero in his shield, barked orders at his subordinates, the smaller demon dogs rushing to try and get to the hero. Their mistake was not immediately trying to attack Naofumi as soon as he pulled out the turret.
"This one asks your cooperation. Master is testing his skills." Kana whispered, manipulating a great length of her Metal Thread Wire and using it to keep the mobs away, the metallic thread cutting into the legs of the demons and dropping many into the forest floor. A few managed to escape the attack, but all were pushed back by a violent wave of wind; Firo showed her tongue to the monsters, pulling one of her eyelids down.
Naofumi felt a few options appear on his mind for the [Selective Ammunition] skill. Much to his surprise, instead of reloading actual bullets or even magic stones, the hero had to select a type of magic to insert into his shield, his selection being broad since he could insert up to two different types mana from his allies – or himself – into the skill. For now, the hero opted for Dera's poisonous attribute and his own support-type mana. The two condensed into the very beginning of the turret of his shield, and akin to the reload of a real tank turret, there was a sliding motion that revealed a magical construct, a tank shell, being smoothly loaded into the cannon; after that, behind Naofumi, about sixteen magical shields floated in the air, all of them no longer than fifteen centimeters wide: the shields turned into exact copies of his [Cannon Shield], all of them under his control.
The demon boss roared once more, unwilling to be facing whatever it was that the Shielder was cooking up. Much to his unfortunate luck, the moment the boss began to extend his wings to fly, a magic circle appeared atop him, and the monster found itself grounded.
"Now now, where do you think you are going, mister monster?" Felicia rhetorically asked, pointing her lit pipe at the monster. "First Gravity Press! I won't even need my staff for this. Are you ready, fortress-kun?"
Naofumi's smile was a savage thing. His shield's cannon was pointed at the grounded monster and its minions, the mobs flinching and backing away from him; however, it was too late.
"[Naval Fury – Gunk shot!]"
…
…
…
"Huh?" Ren observed his surroundings, wondering if he was hearing things. He had just slaughtered one of the island's bosses, a giant black bunny monster, when his ears captured a dull roaring sound. It was oddly familiar, the thunderous noise.
Birds (both monster-type and common animals) began to fly away, spooked by whatever it was that had caused the commotion.
The Sword Hero waited to see the event would play out again, but after ten minutes he gave up. Whatever it was, it seemed to be of no importance. He had other matters to be worried about; i.e, he had to grind. He was the highest leveled hero from the past wave, yet he had failed to be of any use! It was unacceptable! He was the chosen Sword Hero, his weapon was a holy weapon of justice, destined to save this world!
He could not afford to fail. He was chosen because he could not fail!
However, the game had a patch and the story had changed. Otherwise, there would be no way for things to be this different. Naofumi had adapted to the patch; the weakest class suddenly was powerful, the beginner's hell –stuck class of any game in his generation was being used by someone who had figured out how to play. It irked the teen.
Where did Naofumi get a guide? Had he figured everything on his own? He was getting stronger, getting stronger people under him. Hell, the Shielder had managed to get one of the most important NPC's of Melromark to back him up!
Ren tightened his grip in his sword and ripped it from the boss monster's head, already getting another form for his weapon. It was a weak thing for a spoil from a boss, but it could accumulate [Weapon Mastery] fast, which meant that Ren could transfer it to more important swords.
He needed to get stronger! He needed to have more attack points! Naofumi could not surpass him, neither could Motoyasu or Itsuki! He was the Sword Hero! His level was the highest, he was supposed to be the strongest!
+ Requirements met! [**** Series unlocked!]
+ Requirements met! [Sword of # * Series unlocked!]
+ Requirements met! [Sword of # * Series unlocked!]
[XXX]
[XXX]
*STAB*
Raphtalia stabbed her sword through the head of the boss demon; the creature was on its last legs and after it had managed to survive Naofumi's magical attack, it was easy prey. The other minions were dead long ago, having fallen victim to the overwhelming barrage of attacks that absolutely demolished the group.
The raccoon demi-human had never heard of anything like that. Even in the stories her parents read to her, Shield Heroes were – while powerful – supposed to be incredibly defense-focused individuals. Was it an influence from her master's world or did the shield originally possess all that power and was just not explored in the right way? Were those that wielded the weapon so used to the defensive role that they had forgotten that a shield, while defensive in nature, could be used in a variety of ways?
The attack deployed by her master wasn't even that damaging by itself, but the effect of Dera's poison was what granted the magic its lethality. Her master merely accelerated the effects of the poison with the use of his own magic. Or so Felicia had explained, the witch's eyes, usually calm, were shining stars of curiosity and wonder, almost like those of a child that had been fascinated by a brand new toy.
The ruin area was covered in a purple poisonous sludge, the fluid shining as it disappeared; it was a magic construct after all. That, however, was no reason for Naofumi to skip on caution. No one wanted a repeat of the zombie dragon back in Yama Village. He proceeded to let Dera gobble down the majority of the corpses, considering he already had plenty of their leather, meat and bones.
On the boss's carcass, however, the Shielder began his usual work.
"It wasn't a challenging obstacle, but at least now we know that you can be pretty mean when you want to, fortress-kun." The witch commented, observing the result of his work on the boss. Normally Dera's venom was so powerful that it would eat through whatever stood on its way, no questions asked; the Shield Hero was always ever so careful with the now five-headed Orochi. Yet, when dealing only with the magical energy from the dragonkin and his own support magic, the result was fabulous. A powerful poison that affected only the intended target, vanishing after its work was done and not polluting or damaging the environment; honestly, at this point the witch was jealous of the capabilities of the holy cardinal weapon.
Maybe she should research that rumor and history about the Seven Star Heroes. It was said that the king of Melro-…the previous king of Melromark was one of them during his youth, but nowadays there was no mention of any magical staff close to the man. Whatever the case be today, he had been essential during the earlier war between the human nation and the demi-human centric Silvelt; the witch had no interest in hero-related stories before, but if one could have that much freedom over magic, as a witch, it was her duty to study and possibly reproduce it. Who knows, maybe she might next time wield the famous staff.
The hero finished his work a few minutes before sunset. He was about to pack the monster's meat away when his own stomach grumbled. He glanced at the girls, finding Raphtalia and Firo to be giving him side glances. Dera forwent subtlety and straight up begged him for food, her five pairs of eyes and flickering tongues managing to look both cute and intimidating. Felicia was busy with writing theories on her notebook, Shadow close to the witch and listening to it.
Naofumi rolled his eyes at them. "Let's have a break and eat something. It doesn't seem like any monsters will spawn from this right now." He stated, carefully inspecting the ominous orb to see if his words had triggered fate and divine punishment. Seeing as nothing happened even after he waited a few minutes, the hero decided that it was better to start his work on the meal.
Thank the Shield for this inventory stuff. Makes carrying utensils a breeze! The hero mused, setting up camp close to the ruin. Kana took over making the group refreshments while he looked over what ingredients he had; thanks to the foraging from earlier he had plenty of wild vegetables and roots, and with the abundance of meat he had, it would be better to do something quick and tasty.
"Stir fried or spit-roast?" He mused. Well, nothing like options. Besides, knowing these girls, it would be better to have plenty on table. With his choices sorted out, the hero began his work. He separated a bucket and had Felicia fill it with water, the specifics of the magic being explained by the witch, but flying over his head as he focused on washing the produce. Most of the yield had been something akin to wild yams, but a quick bite revealed them to be on the bitter side. He washed a bunch and let them rest in water.
That done, the hero had Raphtalia cut the boss's meat into slim pieces; the irony of a raccoon girl slashing a dog and getting its meat for consumption wasn't lost on the hero, he merely smiled to himself.
The task of setting camp was left to Felicia, the witch doing everything by magic. The sight of towels unfolding by themselves and brooms sweeping the area was amusing for sure, but he had to focus on his work.
Firo and Dera observed the work from a little distance, as they wanted to eat with everyone; the last time the philorial and the Orochi squabbled over food, both had gone to bed with plain food served on their plates. A normal monster may consider being feed the same food as its master already to be a heavenly blessing, however, eating food prepared by master Naofumi was just…words failed to describe it.
Thus, as good girls, they would wait accordingly.
Raphtalia finished cutting the meat and was soon involved in rubbing herbs and spices on it. Since they hadn't had the time to fully drain the blood off it, they would need plenty of seasonings to get rid of the gamey smell and taste. Her master had taught her the ways of the kitchen, and while she wasn't as proficient as he was, she could make do.
The hero observed the work of the raccoon girl for a while, making sure that she was on the right path. Satisfied with that, he proceeded on his own end, which was making sure that the other wild vegetables were good to go. A bunch of leek-like branches with a chewy texture, and wild onions were on the menu too, everything given a good wash before they went to the chopping board.
Naofumi began chopping everything, carefully separating them until it was time to stir fry. His preparations done, the hero grabbed an especially fatty cut of the monster meat and let it rest on the big skillet resting over the campfire built by Kana, the stealthy girl already done making the group some green tea.
He sipped on with, approving of the taste with a mere hum of his throat. He would offer a head pat, but then again he was dealing with food right now and he had already washed his hands.
The sizzling sound of the fat heating up the skillet brought the hero back into focus, now being the optimal time for him to begin adding the cut-up vegetables; which he did, Raphtalia slowly adding a few cuts of prepared meat and fetching Naofumi whatever else he needed. A pinch of salt here, some pepper there and a good amount of stirring up had the smell emanate throughout their camp.
He finished the stir fry and handed the skillet to Raphtalia, letting the girl divide the dish into their respective plates as he focused on the spit-roast now. That one was much simpler: A few branches thinned into sticks and some last minute salt covering on the meat had them over the fire, Kana responsible for them as Naofumi went to have a bite of his food.
It was relaxing, the group eating their meal in comfortable silence. There was the odd topic of conversation among the girls, with Naofumi mostly keeping to himself; should really get some more male friends, he thought while appreciating the taste of his meal. The girls deserve some privacy too, and I certainly could use the company.
Now don't get him wrong, Naofumi loved his party. Yet, he sort of missed the talks with Old Man Erhart and – he'd call Motoyasu a genius before admitting it – he…tolerated Beloukas (the Slave Trader). The two were people whom Naofumi could talk with no worries and surely with no stress; it makes one wonder, a Slave Trader was smarter and less on a pain-in-the-ass than his supposed fellow heroes.
L'arc was boisterous, but the man was good company. Maybe he could introduce the red-haired adventurer to his own friends, he was sure that he would appreciate Old Man Erhart; he might not fully enjoy Beloukas, but conversation could be kept at a civilized manner.
With those ideas in mind, Naofumi finished his meal and stretched a bit. He was in the mood for some music; from his inventory, the hero got his hand-crafted guitar and he lightly tested the waters. The strings were well strung and made a perfect sound – or so he imagined, it wasn't like he was a professional (or even a mediocre) musician – the hero placing his fingers once again in the cords and trying to make some decent sound.
The girls finished their meals at their own paces, but they each paid attention to Naofumi while he played his guitar. It was the same tune he played back when then in Melromark's land, the somewhat fast paced and excited song that always made them think of shifting sands and adventurous deeds; the shielder was getting better, but any improvement would have to be judged by a bard back in Cal Mira's main island.
They spent the first night of the hunting season (for them anyway) outdoors, resting up and hunting the odd group that came to harass their camp. The monsters seemed to be a bit more aggressive during the night, but it was still just a grind-fest for the Shielder's party.
Morning came with no trouble for the group, Naofumi being the last watcher for the group. Luckily they still had some food from yesterday, thus he wouldn't have to cook anything this morning. He liked cooking, sure, but even he enjoyed eating out sometimes and it was nice to be free of kitchen duty. Kana and Raphtalia quickly helped Felicia pack camp and soon the group had returned to their hunting routine.
[XXX]
[XXX]
The sun set of the second day washed over the group, the party relaxing and doing maintenance on their equipment as they sat around another campfire.
Having already gotten an idea on how the mobs were, the group was aggressive and through in their hunting strategy. Naofumi, Kana (Shadow), Firo and Dera could track any prey like they were bloodhounds, the group never allowing any sort of mob escape them; it reached the point that the monsters were actively trying to avoid the Shield Hero's party – not that they managed to flee, they only died tired.
The food today was simpler since it was Raphtalia's and Kana's turn to cook, but the Shielder appreciated it nonetheless. He offered some tips, but left the cooking to the girls as he worked on come compounding and crafting.
He was also messing with some of the mechanics that he had unlocked from the Shield. The Rarity bit was simple, nothing that required too much explanation. He could also improve (upgrade) some shields with materials (that part reminded him of gacha games back home), but he would leave messing with that to when he returned to the inn. Some shields he would definitively be working on, but he had to be prepared for failure, thus he figured that it was time for Mirelia to cough up some of those installments that he still had to receive.
"Raphtalia-nee-chan, master is doing that thug-like face again." Firo pointed out, stuffing her mouth with a drumstick of meat.
"Firo!" The raccoon girl reprimanded the philorial loli, but at this point no one in the party could deny that when it came to business – and especially when it came to debt collection – her master's face would warp into something else entirely.
The shielder didn't bother to correct Firo, busy with the HUD and skill trees of his holy weapon. That is, until he suddenly spun around, pointing the barrel of his [Cannon Shield] towards a direction in the forest. Firo was already by his side, big bird mode puffed into action and wind already gathered around her, ready to rend any foolish attacker into ribbons. Dera coiled around herself and stood taller than her master, ready to lunge with her terrible poison towards anyone, seven heads staring towards the presences; Felicia also was ready to cast her magic, the group ready as they noticed the approaching presences, whom sported a noticeable high level.
He charged a magic shell into his shield, merely waiting for the enemy to show itself. His eyes narrowed as he saw movement, a huge blade carving a path for the new arrivals on his campsite.
…
"Give me a reason to not blast your face off with a magic shot." The Shield Hero grunted, already lowering his shield wielding arm.
"Ryujin!" L'arc was the one wielding the large scythe, the weapon fancily decorated, but looking sharp and ready nonetheless. Therese was just behind him, the two sporting worried expressions towards the party.
Naofumi returned to his seat on a cut tree trunk, offering the incoming duo a plate with some kebabs of a bird-type monster. "Dinner?" L'arc still kept up his serious face, making Naofumi furrow his brows. "What's wrong? The heroes fuck up something new?"
"Ryujin…did you…sleep out here hunting?" The scythe wielder question had the hero confused.
"Sure." He replied nonchalantly. "It wasn't really hard; more along the lines of troublesome, but it was certainly doable, especially with a well-coordinated party and competent people. Monsters at night were more aggressive – watch out for that – but everything else one might need can be found right here if they can tough it out."
L'arc and Therese stared at Naofumi and his party as if they were lunatics.
"Ryujin boy, what kind of up-bringing did you have, my dude?"
The Shielder narrowed his eyes. "Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"
Therese stepped up, approaching the group and sitting on one of the offered seats. "Ryujin-san, what we mean is that it is common knowledge that monsters go berserk at night and become much more dangerous. The experience gains are increased for sure, but the risk of losing your life also is great; only novice rookies mistakenly go out hunting in the night."
The Shielder pieced that together a while ago, but he wasn't one to care for the norm. If his party could handle it, then why lose on the experience and drops? He could still push forward - cursed debuff or not – they were already plenty behind the other three, so he had to make up by working harder and smarter.
"The captain of that ship we travelled together was kind of worried about you, 'yujin. Said you were gone since the time you picked some stuff with him and hadn't come back since. They even got us a quest to rescue you in case you were stranded or hurt." L'arc's worried gaze softened Naofumi's temper. "I see that you are making it work quite well out here, huh? Damn, you guys got some really tasty-looking food too! What the hell, Therese? Why aren't we out here with Ryujin?!" The red-haired man was quick to fall back onto his usual laid-back persona.
The girl sighed at the behavior of the scythe user. Well, not that she couldn't understand the reason behind his whining. Camping and outdoors-staying was difficult for adventurers and unless you were close to a town, village or large city with inns, they most of the time had to tough it out and sleep however they could. Either they carried their own equipment and supplies or they had to make constant runs back to resupply; of course there were those eccentrics out there that did some wild things to keep costs low, but she never figured Ryujin would be one of those.
Either that, or since the Spatial Rend Witch was present…Dimensional (Space) Magic that opened a pocket dimension for the user to use as storage space. The cheat that every adventurer would fork over their mother and a pile of gold coins to have it either as a skill or imbued into an item to turn it into a Bag of Holding; Not even Therese had reached that level of finesse over magic yet.
Nonetheless, they did dive deep inside the forest looking for the rough man and his group. Now that he was found unharmed, it was time they returned. Therese motioned for the group to follow up, but Ryujin only raised a brow at her.
"You want me to give up on the EXP and all my loot…because?" He extended the last word, seemingly unconvinced that the nighttime was better spent in mainland (main island, but the woman digressed) than here, camping and levelling up. He really is trying to squeeze the most out of this period…does he have some particular reason, or is he just a hoarder for resources? It intrigued the female magic caster to have someone this dedicated to getting stronger so close.
"Come on, Ryujin-boy! It will be fun!" L'arc humorously exclaimed, twice tapping the lengthy staff of his scythe against his shoulder. "Can you hold your liquor? I was looking forward to taste something local and seeing you eating this banquet made me wish to snack on something too."
The offer did not budge Naofumi, the hero clearly more interested in his work.
Felicia shrugged her shoulders and began to walk closer to the hero, her lit pipe emanating a mint-like smoke smell. "Fortress-kun, we won't be missing much today. We can surely spare one night for ourselves." The witch approached the shielder and leaned against his shoulder, taking a lungful of smoke and slowly exhaling it aside. "Pretty please?"
Naofumi budged, but it was the slightest margin. However, seeing the metaphorical crack in his defense was all that his party needed; Firo immediately pounced on him – remember, big bird mode – and began smothering him.
"Master! Master! Master! Firo wants to go to the city! Can we? Can we?" The philorial queen candidate could be extremely bothersome when she wanted too, considering that she knew he didn't enjoy being under that feathery embrace for too long; and for him, anything more than a few seconds was too long; considering that they were surrounded by an archipelago of tropical islands, it stood to reason that the humidity was high, thus making the temperature feel even higher. It was – in other words – no Bueno!
"Firo, get the fuck off!" Naofumi exclaimed, but his voice was muffled by the philorial's body. He tried to grip a few of her feathers to get some leverage, but that was easier said than done as anything that grabbed a hold of was plucked away, leaving him with hands full of feathers and no hold on his slave. He tried to signal for some help from Kana, but the assassin did not respond to his calls.
Betrayal! The nerve of this lot! He let the thoughts wander in his head. His last light came in the form of Raphtalia, but a mere glance at her revealed the raccoon girl being indoctrinated by Therese, the mage talking close to the swordswoman's ears and whatever argument they were using, it won against their loyalty to him; worse yet, they were doing this with his well-being in their mind, else the slave crest (the sole exception to it being Felicia) would have activated and punished them.
The hero was still in his struggle-snuggle against Firo, managing to hang on due to his physical strength, but the philorial was tricky. She chirped something, monster-speech for sure, and kept on her attack; much to the hero's dismay, Dera joined the happenstance, tilting the scales in their favor as Naofumi now found himself facing one hugging philorial queen candidate and one seven-headed Orochi. Needless to say, he ended up losing due to foul play.
…
…
…
"Drink up, Ryujin-boy! First round is on me!" L'arc exclaimed in high spirits, hanging a mug of a foamy alcoholic drink high in the air as he side-hugged Naofumi, one hand lazily draped over the Shield Hero's shoulders.
The shielder sighed at his pseudo-kidnapping, aware that now there would be no way for him to return to his hunt unless he waited for the next day. Sure, he wanted to spend some time relaxing, but that could have come later. His and his party's level were around the mid-70's, but Naofumi had no time to waste; last time he checked, the other three were also in that level, Ren being the highest one and already breaking the 80's.
Seeing as fighting or complaining would be useless, Naofumi resorted to merely enjoying the taste of his free beverage. His expenses would be paid by Mirelia and Melromark's coffers, so that was one less thing for him to worry about; that didn't mean he was about to go on a ranging drinking spree or be wasteful about his expenses, he was an economy student after all.
The hero took one large gulp from his own tankard, the messy bar they were in filled with a cacophony of noises that one should expect from it. Some drunkards were merely singing nonsense while the bards tried to play some local song to drown out the terribly slurred lyrics, the sight something that reminded Naofumi of his own outings back in Japan. Therese, Raphtalia, Kana and Felicia were on a table by themselves, most of the girls taking about subjects that the hero dulled his senses to.
L'arc was still by his side, making merry as he observed the commotion in the tavern/bar and once in a while the red-haired scythe wielder would shout some encouragement over some nonsense happening around.
The hero couldn't exactly lie and say it wasn't a nice environment; it had a joyful and light atmosphere that relaxed him, easing – even if momentarily – the burden on his shoulders. Right now he wasn't the Shield Hero, desperately grinding levels and trying to find ways to become stronger and win against the terrible Waves of Calamity. Right now he was merely Naofumi (Ryujin for L'arc), enjoying a cold one while taking a break from his work.
"Ryujin-boy, is there something wrong there? You've been awfully quiet for a while…is your drink bad?" The Scythe user gingerly asked, leaning with his back against the bar counter. Naofumi blew a raspberry at him, finishing his tankard in one last gulp.
"Nah, there nothing wrong; I was just thinking a bit." The Shielder replied, signaling to the bartender for a refill. While the tanned and chunky bartender got his order ready, the hero lightly unfastened the leather armor around the top part of his torso, allowing him some breathing room as he popped open the buttons of his blue coat. It showed a bit of his inner white shirt and the muscly chest behind it, but was done merely to allow the hero to relax a bit.
The red-haired man chuckled at the action, sipping from his mug and then pointing it towards a random direction of the bar, the liquid inside sloshing and splashing a bit on the floor. "I got you, I got you! It is a pretty sight for sure, right?" Now that Naofumi paid attention to where L'arc was pointing, he noticed that there were people from Motoyasu's party nearby. Out of the three girls that he was always around, two of them were sitting on a table alone; they – surprisingly – were equipped with fancy and expensive magical gear, the two holding staffs and wearing robes that characterized them as mages.
Naofumi rolled his eyes at what L'arc was trying to propose. "Not what I was thinking about." He dully replied, turning his attention to the newly replenished drink in front of him. The hero nodded to the bartender and took another sip, the alcohol barely tickling his throat and making Naofumi grumble a bit. He spotted a few purple fruits, the food resembling a mix between strawberry and grape; curiosity took over the hero and he plucked one of the jawbreaker-sized fruits.
Biting into the fruit, he was a bit surprised with its texture. It was quite a chunky fruit, the fleshy parts dripping with a rich flavor that spread throughout his mouth and went down smoothly. Naofumi wasted no time popping the remaining of the fruit in his mouth and enjoying the flavor of it.
"Don't try to hide it from me! I know they are with the Spear Hero's party, but it's not like looking is offensive. Pretty things are meant to be looked at, Ryujin-boy!" L'arc tried to tease the hero, elbowing him on the side trying to get a reaction out of him. It was like trying to poke a brick wall, but the red-haired man didn't comment on it.
"I'm not into the habit of gawking at women." His statement got a side-glance from the scythe user.
"My dude…are you…right…no judgment from me, it is just that you certainly don't seem to be the type." The red-haired man stated, jokingly shifting a few centimeters away from Naofumi.
The black-haired hero displayed a confused glance at his conversation partner, but then got the meaning behind those words. You motherfuck- "Just because I'm not a skirt chaser, it doesn't mean I don't enjoy women! Dumb fuck!" The course language spewed from Naofumi got a loud laughter bout from L'arc, the man grandiosely laughing and even slapping his knee.
They attracted some attention from the other patrons, but it was a fleeting thing. It certainly wasn't the first swear spoken in the place and it certainly would not be the last tonight; it seemed that no matter the world, sailors and those living along the coast would always be famous for their rough language and carefree attitude.
Naofumi popped another fruit in his mouth and shook his head. He let L'arc to his giggling bout, opting to observe the bar once more. Nearby his seat on the counter, the girls' table was half-empty; Firo had rushed close to the bards and was now singing along with their song, the drunken nonsense sang by the drunks ceased in favor of some real music. Dera was under the table, her form surprisingly small now that he paid attention to it – he was so used to her bulk that he never questioned if she could shrink like Firo – the Orochi content on being fed snacks by Kana. His rogue/assassin had shed her usual clothing, opting to dress up in a common set on work clothes; she could pass as a simple civilian or even a barmaid, and now he remembered that those clothes were the same that she had used when they were collecting info around Melromark.
Felicia sat with all the grace she was known for, slowly sipping from a wine cup as she talked with Therese. The two were insistent on offering Raphtalia one of the cups, the raccoon girl doing her best to resist it for now. She glanced at him with a questioning gaze, Naofumi himself wondering if he should allow the girl to drink.
She was still a child after all: he had bought her when she was eleven years old. However, as demi-human physiology worked differently from human (he was caught by surprise in his earlier days), the body rapidly matured to allow the person to display their level and stats; body and mind would be pushed to grow, the constant hunger that she displayed back in the day a rather obvious sight now that he stopped to think about it. So, she was sort of grown up; You know what, let's allow one diluted cup. Let's see how she handles that.
He nodded his head at her, lifting his index finger to indicate that she should hold back and go easy at it. Felicia and Therese saw it too, and were quick to begin teasing and playing about with the raccoon girl.
Naofumi took another sip from his tankard, finishing his momentary observation. It was enjoyable to be here, drinking and relaxing without much to worry about; from Firo singing along with the bards to the men doing some arm wrestling, the warm ambiance of this place was something that Naofumi took to his heart. He was not from this world, but he could certainly enjoy it.
The shielder popped another purple fruit into his mouth and released a satisfied sigh. L'arc glanced his way, slowly sipping from his own mug.
"So, Ryujin-boy" The red-head ignored the heated look from Naofumi "how was your hunt?" The question made him roll his neck.
"I got plenty of materials from all the monsters we hunted, so I can't complain on that end. The experience is also good, even while fighting small fry; one would be remiss to waste the chance to level up here while the event is taking place." Naofumi stated, snacking on two fruits this time.
L'arc hummed, having asked for some side dishes to be brought to both groups. The scythe wielder bit into a chunky bite of meat and chewed loudly before replying. "You really get fired up when talking about work, huh?"
Naofumi furrowed his brows at the statement. "Don't speak as if I'm a workaholic!" He tsukkomi'd.
"But it is true, thought, right?" The shielder did not have an answer to the red-haired man. He resorted to drinking the remaining liquid in his tankard, however the shield found it to be empty of anything. "Don't worry! Don't worry! I'm not here to make fun of you. It is just that you seem to be really pushing yourself. We have plenty of time to work on leveling up, so don't wear yourself ragged needlessly." L'arc commented, making a motion to the bartender to fill the duo's cups.
The Shielder accepted the offer, relaxing his brows and crossing his arms over his chest in a pensive manner. What is this? Why is everyone suddenly worried about my work ethic? He mused, wondering the reason of their worry. He glanced around, seeing Raphtalia to be approaching the table of the arm wrestlers, her cheeks dyed with a rosy tone and her eyes were half-lidded.
He was about to approach and intervene, but L'arc blocked his way with the same hand holding his mug. "See, that's what I'm talking about, Ryujin-boy! Let Tanuki-chan have some fun on her own; she fights in the frontlines with you, right? There is no way she is weak or will get into trouble, so just let her be for now. Stop babying them up. Relax." Naofumi wanted to retort to L'arc, but before he could say anything, he saw a comic sight.
The raccoon demi human girl just arm-wrestled one of the bigger men to the ground with absolute ease, her victory pose being one arm raised into a muscle pose while the other patted the biceps with drunken confidence. Felicia lightly clapped at the display while Therese tried to hold back a giggling bout; Shadow quietly ate while also observing the display, but the operator's eyes would sometimes flick to a corner of the bar where a game of cards was being played. Dera was content sleeping under the girls' table, and Firo kept on singing, the tune in the inn changing to follow the mood.
Naofumi sat back on the wooden stool, thanking the bartender for the refilled drink and sipping from it. The somewhat bitter taste of beer hit his taste buds, the beverage's mild temperature just enhancing the bitterness of the drink; he spit the liquid on the ground, frowning back at the bartender that had offered him the tankard.
"Woah, are you already drunk?" L'arc's commentary was ignored as Naofumi and the bartender stared at each other, the shielder's narrowed expression matching the rotund bartender's cynic eyes. It took a moment, but the bartender lowered his gaze and swapped the tankard and fled from the Shielder's gaze. "Or maybe I'm the one that's already drunk. Did he spit in your drink?"
Naofumi rolled his eyes at the red-haired's dumb comments. "He tried pushing a piss-poor brand on us and would probably charge as if he sold the good stuff. First he let us have quality drinks, but he figured that we might be already too drunk to notice the difference in taste."
L'arc looked at Naofumi fairly impressed. "You managed to figure all of that from a mere sip?"
Naofumi shrugged his shoulders. "I went to my fair share of parties and I can hold my liquor fairly well."
L'arc sipped from his own mug and frowned at the taste. "Hmm, now I get it." Even as he noticed the trick, the man kept drinking from his mug. Naofumi almost tsukkomi'd again, but opted to just snack back on another fruit. His tasty treat eaten, the shielder pulled his guitar from the inventory space and check over it. He tightened and tested the strings, sure that each cord was to his taste. The item wasn't missed by L'arc, who raised a brow at him. "You know how to play, huh? I never took you for a bard." There was a slight mockery in his tone, friendly teasing at best.
Naofumi showed him a middle finger while approaching the bards playing and singing with Firo. One of the men – this one holding a lute – noticed him and pulled him aside.
"That instrument is not something common, is it?" The man was dressed in extravagant clothing, tone of red and yellow being the most prominent colors and the fabric was gilded with fine jewelry. Nothing too expensive, but it certainly wasn't the average outfit for a common bard. "How can I help you, lad?"
Is it a sea-side manner to treat people as if they are overly younger than you? Naofumi mused. He certainly wasn't an old-looking man, but with the growing stubble on his face and his constantly closed-off expression, the hero was sure that he displayed an image suiting his 20-years-old age. The bard wasn't even that old looking himself, although the man did sport a goatee and the occasional hint of white among his finely groomed hair. Nonetheless, Naofumi was asking for a favor. Since he wasn't going to be able to increase his level or hunt now, he might as well do something that he enjoyed. He could drink a bit more later – after the bartender got something more palatable – so he opted to ask for a music lesson.
"Could you teach me how to play? I have been practicing by myself, but a professional is sure to have better advice." He asked with manners. Believe it or not, Naofumi wasn't just a ball of rebellious attitude and anger; most people only saw that because that's what they deserved from him.
The finely dressed man mused, running his hands over his neatly-combed facial hair. "Show me what I'm working with, and then I can see what needs improvin'." The bard said, getting himself a chair and sitting down. The music in the inn stopped for a moment, but the man turned around while on his sit and shook his hands at the band, making the group resume their excited tunes soon after. "Don't mind the lads; it is just that they are excited to meet someone new. Musicians and bards are rare during harsh times as the Waves, so meeting a new prospect gets them going." He explained as Naofumi got ready to play. Then, he clapped his hands lightly. "Now, go on. Show me what you can do."
There were just a few tunes that Naofumi could play that he was somewhat used to do, but considering the festive mood of Cal Mira, Naofumi began to play a song that he had been constantly doing so. The excited tune that reminded him of adventure and wonder, of moving sands and fighting spirit; his hands began to ham on the strings with agility, the hero doing his best to play it properly from memory.
(Gerudo Valley – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time OST)
The hero did miss some notes and the song certainly felt incomplete, but he did his best. As he finished the notes, the bard hummed, deep in thought. He then motioned for Naofumi's guitar. "May I?"
The hero's hands tightened around the guitar, and it was clear that he seemed to be unwilling to part away from his instrument. The bard chuckled. "I know, a man's possessions are precious, but I won't mistreat your darling here."
Naofumi relented, but kept a watchful eye over the bard as he slowly presented the guitar. The bard placed his own lute over the table and carefully held the guitar, slowly testing the strings and getting a feel for it. "It certainly is finely crafted. The engravings alone must have taken quite some time to do; it truly is a passion project." He did a few light adjustments, slightly releasing some tension on some strings while tightening a few others. "Here, have your baby. It isn't like my precious, but it is a good instrument. Here, try to follow my moves." The bard grabbed his lute from the table and instructed Naofumi on the proper hand positions.
The hero had some difficulty, following the proper hand and finger placement on the cords took some getting used to, but it wasn't too troublesome to remember. The two began practicing the tune of the song, the bard playing it much closer to the tune Naofumi remembered than what he could do from memory.
They continued the light practice for a few more moments, the bard rapidly increasing the difficulty of it as he began to loudly play the accords, leaving Naofumi little options beside try to follow up. The hero didn't notice it, but the other musicians too began to follow the tune, their skill allowing the group to quickly pick up on the proper tone and act it out.
It was on his tenth try that Naofumi finally managed to not miss a note, although his tempo was still out of tune. However, the hero noticed that the entirety of the inn was focused on him, those that weren't dancing to the flamenco-style song were merrily drinking to it. It brought a warm feeling to his heart.
The bard pushed the hero back to his table. "Keep practicing what I showed you, lad; you aren't all bad, but you can improve. Let us liven things up now! Thanks for the music too!"
Naofumi smiled and returned to his seat close to L'arc, the man whistling at him.
"That's what I'm talking about, Ryujin-boy! See, I knew you could have fun! Come on, drink up!" He exclaimed while presenting Naofumi another tankard. The hero immediately stared at the bartender, the man sighing and nodding his head to him.
He received the offered beverage and drank deep, the taste much better this time. It still had the bitterness of beer, but this time it was at a proper mix. He settled his tankard down and released a content sigh.
"You better go easy on the spirits, Ryujin-boy, if you want to do any hunting tomorrow."
Naofumi ignored the advice, grabbing another fruit and eating it. "You worry about yourself."
L'arc boisterously laughed with a grand "HaHaHa!" while finishing his own drink. The two continued to make small talk, never asking anything too personal and merely sticking to common topics such as party formations, fighting experience and at some point relationships. L'arc had more experience on the topic, but Naofumi wasn't a full virgin on the matter. The shielder didn't have a girlfriend now, but he had gone on a few dates back on Earth (if mixers did count, he had gone on a fair number of them) and had his share of experience. He wasn't the handsome type that made girls swoon and cling to him, but his rogue-ish looks and serious attitude did score him some attention.
Currently they were in middle of an argument since L'arc was proclaiming to be able to last all night while doing the deed. Naofumi was calling it bullshit, but their conversation was cut short when Therese approached them.
"Excuse me, Ryujin-san, but Felicia-san commented something with me and I couldn't help my curiosity." The girl said to Naofumi, making the hero glance at the witch. Felicia merely took a drag from her pipe and blew smoke towards the hero, keeping her mouth open for one second too long. He ignored it and turned his attention back to the mage girl.
"What is it?"
She smiled and beckoned him back to the table. He followed, with L'arc not lagging behind. As the group sat down, Therese took a small leather bag from her waist and placed it atop the table, opening to reveal a fair number of raw and freshly-mined gemstones. "I heard that you are a fine craftsman, and if possible I'd like to hire your services. My magic works by pouring mana into gems so that I can cast my spells, but they must be first properly processed. I wanted someone trustworthy to either introduce me to a craftsman or work on these, since it can severely affect my performance while casting magic." Therese explained, and Naofumi did some eye inspection of the raw materials.
They are quite good; jewelry made with these would sell for a lot of coin. He glanced at Therese's eyes, finding the woman to be showing him firm, but trusting eyes. It was quite the novel experience to him. Having their trust; it is nice…
"My services are expensive…" He said, the woman already about to place another leather bag with coins atop the table, but his raised hand stopped her. "…and I haven't quite worked with these sort of gems yet, but I'll certainly do my best. You can pay me later, when the product is done."
"That is fine! I'm certain that Ryujin-san will be able to craft something magnificent." Therese kindly smiled at him, letting him have the entirety of the bag of gems. Naofumi gave the bag to Felicia, the witch immediately placing it in her hat and outside of the reach of any grabby hands.
The sorceress smiled, taking a cup of wine to her lips and lightly sipping from it. "You won't regret it. Fortress-kun is really good with his hands." The double-meaning of the sentence didn't escape the group, but no one decided to comment on it.
"Naofumi!?"
The Shield Hero turned to whoever was calling his name, finding the Spear Hero entering the bar with a certain redhead in tow. The preciously good mood immediately soured as Naofumi looked at the Spear Bearer with cold eyes.
"What do you want?" Naofumi rudely asked, not even bothering to hide his distaste for the other hero.
The blonde hero glanced at the shielder's table, wondering who were these people with him. He couldn't exactly bad-mouth the hero, as any accusations would land him in a world of trouble, but Motoyasu wasn't used to seeing the shielder with (maybe) friends. Myne hid behind his back, certainly afraid of Naofumi, but he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Maybe it was a misunderstanding what had happened among the two, so Motoyasu would do his best to fix things.
Maybe Malty could one day be royalty again, but he wasn't complaining if she were to remain just with him in his adventures. His group made for a nice party.
"N-nothing, I just heard some nostalgic music and wanted to try this bar." Kitamura couldn't help the first stutter, considering the pressuring gaze of the Shield Hero and the beautiful witch companion he had, but he put on his best smile and proceeded. It was nothing that his charisma wouldn't solve. "I found Clare-chan* and Eva-chan* here and just wanted to hang out a bit. We won't bother you, I promise." Motoyasu finished his sentence while showing a bright smile with all his teeth, but all that did was further sour Naofumi's mood.
The Shield Hero off-handedly shooed Motoyasu and the red-haired bitch behind him. "Go on then, fuck off."
Motoyasu felt annoyed at being treated as if he was a nuisance, but he couldn't afford to mess up and cause a fight; he was without any backing from the Queen, Melty-chan or any other noble that used to help him before. And that was without mentioning that the Queen had placed a few of her Shadow units to follow him. Malty was truly scared of them, mentioning that their skills were focused on assassination and that a visit from them was not a good sign.
He took Myne and went to meet with the other girls on the bar, enjoying from their corner the merry-making in the inn that resumed without any trouble.
Naofumi, on his part, took a deep breath and popped another fruit in his mouth. L'arc had a troubled look on his face, as did Therese. The red-haired man looked at Naofumi and shook his head.
"You tricked the Spear Hero into thinking you are the Shield Hero? Come on, Ryujin-boy, that is a low blow." The scythe user commented, Therese also shaking her head at Naofumi.
Why the hell do you not believe that I am the Shield Hero? Naofumi wondered, keeping the question to himself. It was strange for the duo to so vehemently deny his status as the shielder since he never did hide it or try to pretend to be someone else. They asked for a pseudonym and he gave them one on the spot merely for their convenience, but their denial was strange to him. Had the rumors previously spread by the Three Heroes Church been so bad?
Naofumi sighed and grabbed another fruit.
"Anyways, what's that that you have been eating?" L'arc questioned, seeing Naofumi gobble down one more.
The Shielder shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. They are good though."
L'arc smiled in a good manner and extended his hand to grab one. The red-haired man ate the fruit in one bite, his expression lighting up at the sweet taste of it. Naofumi turned to the bartender.
"Oi, what are these?" The shielder asked while pointed to the grape-look-alikes and grabbing another to eat. The bartender widened his eyes almost like he was a cartoon.
"Sir?" He hurried to Naofumi's side, fussing over him like the hero would suddenly keel over.
"What's wrong?"
"Sir, these are Lucor fruits." The man said, almost as if that would be explanation enough. He noticed Naofumi's questioning (and rather well) expression and his panic seemed to cease. "We normally use one of those and dilute them into one barrel of water to make Lucor Wine due to their high alcohol concentration, but you seem to be fine." The bartender seemed to be staring at Naofumi with an impressed and amazed expression. That was, until he noticed L'arc, who was leaning on the table, foaming at his mouth and lightly convulsing. "Ahhh! Someone, have him vomit it out!"
Naofumi stared at the situation from his seat, turning to glance at Therese who didn't seem too much worried about her teammate. When she noticed his gaze, the woman merely smiled back at him. "That is what he gets for acting the fool."
The hero turned his attention back to the bartender and L'arc, seeing the man desperately performing a Heimlich maneuver on the scythe wielder.
Naofumi went ahead and grabbed another Lucor fruit and ate it without worries.
[XXX]
[To be continued]
AU NOTES
I had a few more plans and thousands of words to add to this one (more specifically about 4-5 thousand more words, but I figured that it would be better to tinker and put them on the next chapter instead of forcefully cramming them here and bloating word count. This chapter was more or less a beginner's introduction to Cal Mira Archipelago, but soon enough more intrigue and plot are going to be mixed in, together with fights and all that good stuff.
I plan on also fleshing out other characters that aren't our main cast of Naofumi and company, but I already rambled long enough.
Have a good one, folks!
Ryujin Maou out!
PS: Would the Metal Gear fans be offended if I had Izuku do a reference?
:I don't know, jack! It seems like you are going to write some cringe! You are never going to be based with that garbage 'puter and trash-tier writing skills!