I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero
I want to once again give my biggest thanks to Comrade Broseph for betareading and final edit this chapter. Also thanks to Fluffball13 for reading my first draft and keep bouncing ideas with me.
Author's Note at the end for people who want to see me blabber more.
The smell of the slum does not become easier to tolerate for the undercover princess the more she spends in the filthy labyrinth made of winding backstreet alleyways and haphazardly pilled barrels that stink of rotten wood. Within the serpentine and narrowing route it feels like hours have passed after their encounter with those animal thugs, even if the first princess knows on an intellectual level it's not possible. The city of Melromarc Castle simply isn't THAT big, let alone the slum section, no matter how confusing it is to navigate the grim maze.
The disguised princess had managed to calm down somewhat after the unpleasant encounter with the demihuman band of thugs and their impromptu rescue by the man that introduced himself as Beloukas. They were now heading even deeper into the slums on their way to his 'merchant facility.' They were now deep enough into what had to be the shady part of the shady part of town that they no longer encountered any accidental passersby. Most buildings seemed to be completely deserted wrecks for that matter. The place had an eerie aura of isolation that somehow didn't contradict the feeling of claustrophobia imposed by the tight quarters of the desolate alleyways. Yes, unpleasant didn't begin to describe it.
And on the subject of unpleasant things that don't get more bearable as time passes - the incessant mewling and complaining of the two Siltvelt rats is a constant. It's hard to say if they are simply trying to cover up their nervousness over the fact of almost leading Naofumi into an ambush, or if they are truly that scandalized at the thought of some demi-humans who don't instantly prostrate their hairy ass on the ground to kiss the ground that the Shield Hero walks on.
"This heretical country's vices are truly boundless." The more brash one mutters under his breath in between shooting quick glances at Naofumi's back. Just another dig of many that the animal has dared to aim at her kingdom since their group had encountered the man calling himself Beloukas and agreed to follow him.
The rat's continuous whining reminds Malty of the old saying about how a bad dog can't stop eating feces. The saying is as crude as it is crass, yes, but it fits the Siltvelt vermin rather fine. Barely half a day has passed since their initial encounter, yet the lowly spies are already back to their old habit of badmouthing glorious Melromarc in a way that's supposedly a conversation between them, but in actuality is thinly veiled attempt at spewing propaganda meant for Naofumi's ears.
"Indeed. To think that this kingdom has corrupted even our kin to the extent that they'd turn their backs to the only Hero who stood by us throughout the course of generations. Such is unthinkable back in venerated Siltvelt! This country is rotten to the core! It was bad enough when the heretic trickster false monarch summoned our rightful king together with the other three heroes behind everyone's back. Maybe they'll finally get their due, all of them..." Mein doesn't hear any more of the rat's whining as she suddenly bumps into what's seemingly a steel wall that appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the admittedly treacherous narrow alleyway and falls on her behind. She looks up and sees Naofumi stood still right in front of her, his eyes narrow as he looks from one Siltvelt Agent to the other.
Chapter 8: Of Princess, Hero, and Slave
Having bounced off Naofumi's back and landed on the ground due to giving all of her attention to the conversation going on behind her, Mein casts a quick glance ahead of herself. Naofumi is once again wearing a fearsome expression somewhere between severe annoyance and barely contained anger. And behind him looking through Naofumi's legs Mein can make out that the balloon-like slave merchant also stopped in his tracks. She quickly crawls up from the ground, not wanting to spend a moment too much on top of dirt, ash, or - Heroes of old forbid - dried up human waste. Trying to smother her own rising temper that is the result of her mishap she shakes herself off while continuing to pay attention to the new tense situation unfolding around her.
It seems like the slave merchant is suddenly finding his golden ornamented pocket mirror, or perhaps the image of the space behind him that is reflected within the mirror, to be the most interesting thing in the world, as he combs his already well manicured curly mustache. The undercover princess stands aside to cast a quick glance back on the two Siltvelt vermin. Having realized that they may have overstepped once again they are both shuffling on their feet while trying to communicate something to each other with only their beady little eyes. Meanwhile the young thief that's serving as their slum guide leans back against one of the cracked walls belonging to one of the old ruined houses. His eyes seem to glaze over and his posture is as relaxed and nonthreatening as any, but Mein gets the feeling that he is surveying the whole scene unfolding to the smallest detail, not entirely unlike she is…
From many of her trips to mingle with the commoners she knows that professional thieves tend to double as information brokers in Melromarc. It seems that today is a lucky day for this particular young thief. Accurate information about the Shield Hero's rapidly deteriorating relationship with Siltvelt will surely be very valuable with the right client. He may end the day enjoying a real dragon steak after all, rather than merely dreaming about it... Or at the very least, a well roasted griffin steak. There is a reason why the adventurer's guild puts out periodic bounties on those deliciously menacing creatures, aside from them being veritable flying natural disasters for local cattle herders.
"Now that I think about it, something was very strange on my first night out of the castle. The innkeeper treated the arrival of ALL four legendary Heroes like a special occasion. Are you saying the king of this country shouldn't have summoned the four of us together?" Mein feels like her heart is slowly being pulled down under her stomach by a hand with very sharp nails. While thinking about the motive of the rats for pouring filth all over Melromarc's good name she somehow glossed over the minor detail of the exact wording… yet that's obviously not the case for her Naofumi. "How exactly is the Hero summoning supposed to work anyways?"
Damn it, DAMN it, DAMN IT! Much like with Siltvelt's 'Right of Taking', the summoning of all four Cardinal Heroes to Melromarc is a topic that will look bad no matter how one tries to spin it. While Naofumi finding out the truth of the matter was merely a question of time, the undercover princess was hoping her Naofumi will continue to be oblivious to that little trivia at least for while longer, at least till she asserted more influence over him to ensure his faithfulness towards her.
She should have quit while she was ahead and sent those two varmints back to Siltvelt when she had the chance! She could have still convinced her Naofumi to get the slaves, but only after there is no outside interference to mess things up. Now those two vermin just had to dig up the skeleton Mein hoped to keep hidden until at least after the next few Melromarc Waves, until the point at which it would have been too late for him to start worrying about any other nations, even if his loyalty to her would not have been enough to keep him in check.
DAMNATIONS!
"Does Master Shield Hero not know the specific details of the summoning ritual? It is usually believed the summoned Heroes have intrinsic knowledge of the workings of our world." The rats quickly exchanged a surprised glance with each other. Mein notices the tiny little upwards curve around their mouth, even if they obviously try to hide it.
"This shit again? I'm getting real tired of hearing that, especially after that king and his court spoon fed me the bullshit about the adventurers doubting my true identity as a real Hero, all just because I don't know as much as the other three! Justifying their shitty actions when they really see me as the Devil because of their religion!" Naofumi furiously scratches a claw through his messy hair, it seems like his frustration with everything finally reaches a near the boiling point. Mein is honestly surprised it's taken this long. He angrily kicks an already broken pot against the wall, completely ignoring any sense of pain at the splashed broken shards hitting him, even if everyone else flinches. "NO! I don't know anything! Aside from reading this novel about four heroes summoned to a fantasy world to stop a calamity, or something! That book even claimed that we are meant to be summoned together and work as a party, which clearly is not the actual case here from everything I've been finding out since I was summoned. So if you know more, tell me everything, since I'm really getting sick of half-truths and misinformation!"
The Cardinal Heroes have sacred texts in their worlds describing what awaits them once they are summoned? Interesting. Mein supposed it made a sort of sense if their worlds serve as donors to other worlds that require Heroic intervention. But why would this sacred text from her Naofumi's world be altered to state incorrect information? Could it be that in his world there are several heretical off-branching religions with their own varying interpretations on what the truth of being summoned to another world as a Hero is?
She could just imagine it, crusades and wars started over which sacred in-another-world book is superior. Each cult preaching their own blind viewpoint as the truth. Droves of young men spilling each other's blood over disagreements about what awaited them in their in-another-world adventure… Yes, the bloodshed and slaughter must have been as horrendous as it was everlasting. Her poor Naofumi was probably traumatized by it all, hence his general attitude of distaste for religious fundamentalism.
"Ah, it seems like our king was indeed misguided by that book, as well as the false promise of the equally false monarch of this heretic country." The female agent gushes as she quickly steps forward, her gestures and mannerisms placating and pacifying. It's almost as if she is about to throw herself into Naofumi's arms… Mein briefly fantasizes the possibility of the rat carelessly coming too close to Naofumi and getting a nasty surprise courtesy of his hidden orange terrors. However a sharp and withering glare from the Shield Hero stops the demi-human harlot right in her track. "Ri-right! As our king deduced, each of the Four Legendary Heroes is supposed to be summoned into a separate one of the four most powerful countries of our world."
"My partner speaks the truth. The Four Legendary Heroes aren't meant to be summoned by one country, no matter what its standing is compared to the others. For one, the Waves always hit different parts of the world. Meaning that if only one country holds all of them it'll make it next to impossible for the Heroes to arrive at the location of a potential Wave on time if it is set to hit a land far from them. For another, having only one Hero per country allows said country to put its entire military and economic might behind said Hero to back them up during the later, more difficult Waves, rather than divide it's resources them among all four." The male rat quickly steps up through the narrow alleyway to stand literally shoulder to shoulder with his partner. The eagerness he displays here, despite the fact his mate was ready to kick him away and throw herself into the hold of the Shield Hero barely a moment ago is nothing short of disgusting. Then again, this is from the savages who are used to trading their many wives with each other, or even giving them away to their 'venerated' guests.
"And if Master Shield Hero doubts our word, you can simply ask around. Such as we told you is common knowledge in every kingdom. For that matter just a few weeks ago an international summit was called in order to determine the order upon which the Legendary Heroes were to be summoned and to which countries such an honor would go to. It's supposedly still ongoing, although it's initial purpose is now redundant..." The Siltvelt rat wrings her fingers nervously as she speaks.
"We don't know the exact order of the summoning that was discussed, but going by simple common sense... Faubley, the most powerful country should have been the first one to perform the ritual." The female rat doesn't seem to be discouraged by her earlier failed attempt at garnering favor from the Shield Hero. She quickly begins to follow up her partner's manipulative words. The entire farce reminds Mein of certain renown duo act said to be performed by Siltvelt bards who work in pairs, where one sings and the other shouts on top of their lungs like they regrets their chosen career for not being a town crier.
For all her cleverness and quick wits, Mein can only watch with barely suppressed dread as the rats continue to set fire to any sort of good will her Naofumi had remaining towards Melromarc. The undercover princess begins to curse under her breath at her father's absolutely fantastic job of besmirching not only his own good name but also that of the kingdom that's supposed to be HERS one day. It's becoming more and more obvious that after tossing him down the proverbial moat after her big 'confession' with her Naofumi, the incognito princess shouldn't expect those two to patch up their relationships any time soon after that, or at all.
But that's fine. The problem itself isn't what Naofumi thinks of her father. It's that due to the efforts of the two foreign saboteurs Naofumi might begin tying her father and her entire kingdom into something synonymous in his mind.
At this point, everything will fall apart if the Shield Hero's faith in Melromarc itself crumbles into dust. And should that occur what will happen when he eventually learns of her real identity as the first princess of Melromarc? While she could truthfully deny any guilt of being involved with the hatching of her father's plots, and to an extent even her part in the framing attempt, it'll be pointless if he at that point would harbor such hate towards Melromarc that in spite of his feelings for her personally he'll still refuse to become her husband and king.
Yes, she's the one who saved him from the trial. But even that sense of gratitude can only go so far. Compared to the sense of injustice Naofumi must feel at discovering that he was essentially summoned to the kingdom that hates him 'illegally' it would certainly pale.
…She really was hoping against hope this revelation wouldn't have come so soon. Now the silk curtain has been trampled through by a rampaging land dragon, there is no putting that raging beast back into the cave it comes out of.
"Yes! In fact, why won't Master Shield Hero ask this wen-" The male agent is ready to open his big mouth and puts his excrement stained paw into it. A quick clear of throat from his mate puts that blunder into an abrupt hold, much to Mein's disappointment. "I mean, why won't Master Shield Hero ask his respected companion about it? The rightful ruler of the nation that so presumptuously dared to summon you out of turn is currently attending the very same summit at Cal Mira after all. I'm sure even if your companion is from a backwater village, the town crier would still have informed her of this."
"What do you mean 'the rightful ruler of this country'? Are you saying the king is what…a fake? A usurper of some kind?" A look of complete shock replaces Naofumi's boiling frustration. He quickly looks between Mein and the two Siltvelt agents, obviously having a hard time making sense of the whole serious of twists and turns that apparently made everything much more confusing. "Mein, what do they mean by that?"
Mein curses under her breath once again. She supposes it was too good to hope that the two rats would not fire a focused volley at her after their thorough trashing of her country. Yet with the initiative taken away from her she needs to be very careful to dodge around this field of traps. Feigning ignorance on the issue is obviously not an option at this point with the vermin pressing their verbal offensive. She might as well just hand her sword to them and let the Raven wannabes stab it through her chest at that point.
She also has to be very careful on what information she does give to Naofumi. He is obviously very fed up with manipulation through half truths and everything will truly be lost if he catches any falsehood coming from her... But on the other hand, she also can't be entirely truthful to the Shield Hero either. That would reveal to him her intentional deception back after his trial.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. It seems like at a time like this, all she can do is... to gamble.
The incognito princess gives a calculated look of confusion to the Shield Hero before she slaps herself on the back of her head.
"Master Naofumi, I assure you that even these arrogant barbarians did not mean to imply that his Majesty, Aultcray Melromarc, is not the current rightful king of Melromarc. However he is merely the king. Do you perhaps come from a country where the king outranks the queen?" Although Mein tries to be as genuine as possible when she asks this, to her it's already clear that the monarchy of the land Naofumi is from does not operate on matrilineal succession. Else he would not be so baffled at all of this in the first place. Still, it's worth bringing up as a topic that could serve to divert him from the other much bigger issues.
"No. And actually… even though my country has a royal family they don't hold any true power. Our prime minister... or better yet, our benevolent ally from across the Pacific Ocean makes all the important choices for us." Naofumi bites his lower lip and looks away as he all but spits out the words. Mein can feel a deep seated bitterness from the normally cheerful young man from the other world, to the point he willfully ignored her jab at the Siltvelt rats. In fact, it sounds very similar to the tone father tends to take whenever he talks about that dark time when glorious Melromarc was occupied by the Siltvelt barbarians. Perhaps his country is suffering from similar fate? Then maybe she can appease him on that side and divert his attention even further. But she can't make it too obvious. "But yeah, the man of the royal family technically outranks the woman, even if they are all just figureheads in the end." The Shield Hero looks back to Mein, his face a haphazard mesh of forced calm and the boiling anger beneath.
"Melromarc is a matriarchy where the Queen, a royal daughter of house of Melromarc, holds the ultimate power. But it doesn't mean the king is entirely powerless. Historically the kings typically served as the country's regents when their queens were away. Especially our current reigning king. He is known as the Wise Sage King after he helped Melromarc win her independence from the Siltvelt occupants. I've lived in Melromarc for my whole life, so I took it for granted and forgot to mention such details to Master Naofumi. Please forgive me for that blunder." Mein looks Naofumi straight in the eyes as she slowly begins to give her truth.
"I guess I can't fault you for that. These two…" Naofumi points his thumb back at the Siltvelt agents "…forgot to mention a whole bunch of things inconvenient for them too." The young Shield Hero for the most of his part seems to look much calmer than before, the anger showing through his forced facade of neutral calm finally seeming to subside, even if not all of the frustration has ebbed away yet. The two vermin however both have a glum looking face when they are mentioned unfavorably by Naofumi, much to Mein's delight.
For someone like Mein who is used to reading different masks the nobility wears in court, it's not hard to see that Naofumi is trying his best to rein himself in, rather than allowing himself to be lead around by momentary impulses. He is learning quickly and if his mask is not yet perfect he can certainly be forgiven given the circumstances. Even she had a couple of moments where she almost snapped earlier today, both ending up much to the detriment of her budding connection with Naofumi.
As for the consequences of their current conversation… It's hard to know which way his opinion will swing after this. For now, it seems the most urgent crisis is successfully averted, even if revealing the information on their nation's similar past didn't seem to win too much obvious sympathy from the young man. She can at least take some solace in the fact that she's not out of the game yet.
Meanwhile Naofumi turned back to look at the Siltvelt rats.
"Right... and not to mention that according to what you've just told me nobody in your world thought about the possibility of one of the countries undercutting everyone behind their back... why exactly? Because all of you are so damn honorable?" Naofumi turns his gaze back to the two Siltvelt rats, it's hard to notice but Mein picks up on the slight twitch underneath his eye. Yes, this combined with his decidedly sarcastic tone definitely seems to suggest he is more annoyed at those two than her.
Mein supposes it's a good sign he's not immediately going into anti-Melromarc rhetoric. The undercover princess breathes a few big mouthful of air and tries not to puke or cry at the sour taste of dried up urine that lingers in the cramped alleyway. She needs to keep herself calm, or at least as calm as possible if she has any hope of snatching any kind of significant victory from what was set out to be a miserable crushing defeat. Oh, all the indignities and hardships she forces herself through to become the next queen!
…And of course this is also for the sake of making sure her future nation doesn't burn to the ground! That too!
The bards seriously better be writing a glorious tale for her after this...
The two vermin looks at each other in confusion. It seems like their nut sized brains can't comprehend why the Shield Hero doesn't immediately join their crusade of spitting on glorious Melromarc.
"We... don't know the exact process of the ritual. We are fairly low rank spies and come from no great clan. We're certainly not venerated magus that live in incense filled tents and guide Siltvelt while conversing with our revered ancestors." Mein can feel the sweet taste of jealousy thick in the air as it almost viscerally emanates from the rats. It almost manages to cover up the equally strong repulsive smell of filth. She bites into her finger once again, the sting helps her focus her mind.
For now, she bides her time and observes the scene. While she was initially planning to launch a verbal counter attack against the two herself, so as to distract them from making any further untimely revelations, her Naofumi seems to be doing a fine job of that himself at the moment. She'll be quick to chip in if necessary though.
"What we do know is that the magical energy required to summon even one Legendary Hero is enormous, even by the standards of the most powerful of nations. It was simply unbelievable that anyone could just go ahead and summon all the Heroes. Not without crippling the entire magical function of their country and leaving themselves completely open to both the Waves and foreign invasion in the time while the summoned Heroes are not yet of high enough level to truly combat either." The man rat nods his head while looking at his faithless mate.
"Oh? And what if this potential foreign invasion was an inevitability to begin with? Such as Siltvelt retaking their once occupied Melromarc territory?" Naofumi's words make Mein and the two Siltvelt spies drop their jaws.
Quite frankly, despite being glad that he was clearly showing more sympathy to her, Mein didn't expect him to almost pivot one hundred and eighty degrees in such a short time. Especially when he was obviously showing resentment towards her nation after he'd gotten swung by those two rascals with the slavery issue. Or did she read the young man wrong somewhere before and had been basing her analysis of his actions and behavior entirely on false foundations?
Could he have been playing both her and the agents off each other by forcing them into confrontations that inevitably reveal previously unknown information to him? Or is that giving Naofumi too much credit?
"W-we don't know why our rightful king would think that. As we said, our people have no intention of adding more misery-" The female agent looks downright horrified and scandalized by Naofumi's accusation, but further denial is rebuked by Naofumi holding his hand up to shush her.
"You did admit that your kingdom has a big standing army near the border with Melromarc. And aside from that Siltvelt apparently has a recent history of occupying Melromarc's land, since you didn't object to it when Mein brought it up. Plus, the King of this country summoned all the Heroes instead of waiting for his turn like he's supposed to… Despite the fact that logically if he just waited the actual ruling monarch would have probably negotiated the conditions under which Melromarc would have gotten a Hero anyway and without crippling the entire country by summoning all of them either..." Naofumi begins to count on his fingers while he recites the summary of different points from their earlier conversation. Despite it still being daytime his voice sounds faint and more tired than when he's about to turn into his sleeping bag after a full day of fighting monsters.
"As you've said Melromarc didn't do that great in the last war against Siltvelt… so why provoke another one in the first place then?" Naofumi squints his eyes while rubbing his chin. "…Unless it was coming to begin with? It isn't entirely unreasonable to assume that the logic behind this 'rogue' Hero summoning was that if a foreign invasion was inevitable anyway, then at least by depriving their enemy of any Hero capable of fighting back the Waves Melromarc would insure that a permanent occupation of their country would be impossible. That is unless said enemy wants to sacrifice their own country in the process of occupying another. It's essentially using the threat of mutually assured destruction to prevent an otherwise unpreventable conflict. Not to mention the pressure it puts on the other countries of this world that otherwise would not have objected to a Siltvelt-Melromarc war, since if such a war does occur the Heroes are likely to be stuck fighting in it rather than battling the Waves that threaten everyone. So everyone else would be putting diplomatic pressure on both Melromarc and Siltvelt to resolve this potential conflict peacefully."
Naofumi hums as he thoughtfully starts to tap one of his feet. He continues speaking after a moment of being lost in thought.
"But why would an international coalition not simply force an ultimatum on the ruler of Melromarc to release all of the Heroes? Or at least three of them? It's the logical thing to do… unless the actual ruler of Melromarc is currently abroad and has left direct control to a regent. The true monarch, this Queen that's at the summit, has plausible deniability in not being able to see such orders carried out while she herself is away. She'd have to send a message back to the regent, the king… a message which will take time to get delivered and can even simply be 'lost' along the way. And even if it arrives the regent can just claim that there is no proof that the order to release the Heroes is a genuine one. The king could just claim it's a fake, or that the Queen was forced to issue this order against her will by this potential coalition…" Naofumi pauses for a second, considering something.
"…All the while the Queen would not be allowed to just leave the summit and head back home, as for all intents and purposes she is a hostage ensuring that Melromarc will have to keep negotiating for the release of the Heroes rather than just continuously keep hogging all of them. If she leaves the summit after her kingdom has done something so outrageous then that's as good as a declaration of war on everyone threatened by the Waves. Yet her not being able to leave would also be the single biggest delaying factor in the negotiations for the Heroes, as all the de facto power in Melromarc currently resides not with her but with the regent king she left behind. She'd stay at the summit and just continuously claim that the entire situation wasn't planned by her and was done behind her back, while asking for more time to be able to sort it out."
Naofumi stops squinting his eyes and looks around, making eye contact with Mein and then the Siltvelt agents. "Which is just convenient enough to make me think that this Queen was in on the whole plot to begin with and purposefully left to the conference in person so as to allow this scheme to go through."
Mein slowly sinks back to the wall of the cracked up building. Did the young Hero truly guess ALL of that by gathering whatever incomplete information he could from both the agents and herself, or is he simply bluffing in an attempt to unbalance the vermin and hopefully get them to confess? Although she has to say it's a good Wave-damned bluff even if he's only making things up.
As for his speculation in regards to her father and mother… Calling it shocking is an understatement. He is clearly saying all of this aloud to see if she confirms it as fact, but the truth is that Malty didn't even consider the mere possibility of what he is saying.
"Really, thinking about it makes me wonder... which one of the two is the more likely scenario? A king that's apparently widely renowned for his wisdom decided to summon all the Heroes, even the Shield 'demon', for no good reason other than spite, going behind the back of his Queen and antagonizing literally the entire world in the process. This entire convoluted scheme somehow being the result of shortsighted greed and malice, even though it'll surely eventually lead his country to ruin..." Naofumi takes a dramatic pause "Or alternatively, he learns that his old enemy is at his gates during a period of disaster, and in a desperate gambit him and his wife decided to summon all Four Heroes in an effort to ward off the encroaching army? Hmm..."
Silence descends on the alleyway. Even the slave merchant and the thief that was serving as their guide are both openly gaping at Naofumi. The two Siltvelt vermin on the other hand... their faces are turning blue at this sudden turn of events.
None though are quite as shocked as Malty Melromarc herself.
Her thoughts are a messy jumble. If Naofumi is right in his assumptions, then that would mean that she SEVERELY underestimated her own father. All this time that she thought him a fool bent on blind vengeance, while he could have actually been secretly working in tandem with her mother…
Certainly of all the things she expected from Naofumi, validating her father's and her kingdom's actions was not one of them…
…But no, wait. Naofumi can't possibly be right, can he? After all, his assumption about the true motive behind her father's actions doesn't leave any room for the planned framing and then the 'disappearance' of the Shield Hero…. Right?
Unless… if the timing was chosen carefully it could have been arranged to look like Melromarc genuinely let the Shield Hero go free and leave for Siltvelt with the 'embassy.' Even after the man supposedly commit such a heinous crime. Even though they had a technical justification for executing him on the spot. Even though they had all the religious motivation to do so. Yet he'd be let go practically scot free save for his ruined reputation, all for the sake of saving the world from the Waves...
And when the Shield Hero goes missing that's all the more reason to delay letting any of the other Heroes head to any other nation. It would be framed to look like it was all for their own good, lest they meet the unfortunate fate of the Shield Hero that left before reaching a high enough level to protect himself. Melromarc would be acting as their guardian until such a time when they could take care of themselves… All the while framing Siltvelt for being the primary the threat to the security of the Heroes, as they've already 'lost' the one that was graciously given to them…
Malty wonders how the hell she didn't realize any of this on her own. It's all so obvious in hindsight! She had more than enough information to go off and she still somehow missed what's right in front of her, while the Shield Hero somehow pieced all of this together from just the bickering going on between her and the rats!
Naofumi's lengthy, enlightening and incredibly convenient tractation of the geopolitical events unfolding around them makes Mein want to tackle him into a hug and start showering him with kisses. While his words do technically outline two drastically different narratives of how events potentially played out and he phrases it as a question of which one is more believable, it really doesn't take a master level scholar to read between the lines and figure out which version he is truthfully leaning towards.
More importantly she's DEFINITELY in the Shield Hero's good graces once again. Now time to pour more lamp oil onto the bonfire that's the rats and Siltvelt's reputation in the eyes of the Shield Hero!
"What an astute analysis, Master Naofumi! It all fits together so well, not to mention that… Master Naofumi, I do not want to sound like I'm trying to fish for sympathy here... but the first Wave of Catastrophe had already happened before your summoning. It struck Melromarc causing vast devastation and taking countless lives… We barely scraped by ourselves when it hit the holding belonging to lord Seatto. He was a famous commander of the last war know for his martial valor, I practically grew up on his stories together with the other heroic figures of Melromarc, yet even he did not survive the Wave..."
Naofumi maintains a hard and long stare leveled at Mein as she recounts the tale of the fall of House Seatto. The gaze that seems to linger a moment too long unnerves the undercover princess a little, even if she does her best to project an ignorant but confident front. She briefly wonders if she overshot her mark and the young Hero smelled something fishy in her subtle manipulation.
Of course, she tactically left out the fact old man Seatto was killed when he was both fighting the Waves and the rebelling Church of Three fanatics at the same time. It's not like that information would be privy to a country girl anyway... not to mention that she wasn't even supposed to know that as the first princess of Melromarc. She only managed to dig it up by complete chance when she'd been snooping around her mother's courters and discovered some interesting documents in her study.
Now that she thinks back to it, it was extremely unlikely for her to not be caught right there in the act. At the time she attributed it to luck, divine intervention for the sake of her right to the throne over her sister, or a combination of the two. But looking back with the hindsight of all she knows now... it seems like the security was simply so lax due to her father preparing the summoning ritual…
…Unless she was ALLOWED to find those documents and was meant to find out the information contained within. But honestly, to Malty thinking like that just seems like a rabbit hole that she should not go down for the sake of her remaining sanity.
Meanwhile, Naofumi turns his attention right back on the spies.
"So, Melromarc suffered a major disaster, which apparently lost them one of their best commanders that had proven himself against Siltvelt in the last war. AND they have their old enemy arriving practically at their gate. I wonder if these events are correlated somehow..."
The faces of both Siltvelt agents that were already an alarming shade of blue and purple begin to show a truly impressive spectrum of rainbow throughout the exchange. They finally settled into the color of deathly pale as they realizes their foolproof accusation against the wrongdoings of Melromarc were somehow redirected back at them.
Serves those beasts right, for trying to put their dirty paws around her Naofumi once again!
"We had no intentions of tossing a boulder down the well when Melromarc fell into it, Master Shield Hero. Especially when it's so soon after the passing of Lord Seatto. He may be our enemy, but he was one of the few honorable opponents during the war, even calling for mercy to be shown when his fellow commanders simply butchered us like animals." The rats hold up their hands in a vain effort to deny the accusation, yet Mein can easily see large beads of sweat slowly rolling down their faces. "That's part of the reason why we choose to approach Master Shield Hero to take you back to venerated Siltvelt. With Melromarc summoning all Four Heroes, the situation around our world is now hanging a thousand weights on a single hair. If one of the commanders becomes a bit too overzealous we'll return to the last great war while the Waves ravage our lands. But if we convince our rightful king to take back your throne, such threat will surely dissolve into nothing!"
Naofumi's hands slowly begin to rise and cover his blank looking face. He somehow manages to project the barely constrained mental agony and frustration through this almost tasteless expression. "We've already been over this! The plan that you guys had for getting me out was so bad that you might as well have had no plan!"
Silence is the only response from both vermin.
"I want to believe that all people do the things that they do with the best intentions in mind. But actions speak louder than words. You guys have a long way to go until you convince me you that you don't really mean any harm here." Naofumi points a finger at the Siltvelt spies while taking a decidedly accusatory tone. "Plus, let's look at this practically. I am only one of the Four Legendary Heroes, the one without any attack power at that. Having me away still means Melromarc holds the other three Heroes, and I'll be seen by them as a coward that just ran away. That's not going to help anyone if a Wave hits anywhere outside Melromarc. If I stay in this country and start to gain the trust of my fellow Heroes, I'll have a chance to convince them about helping other countries being hit. Surely the king can't overrule all four of us if we want to lend aid to other nations, meaning that this will work better in the long run rather than just me leaving now, assuming I even could?"
The two spies exchange a quick and pained look with one another. "Our rightful king speaks the truth... as expected of the wise Shield Lord. We just hope the other three Heroes will listen to your wisdom."
It's a bit too late for them to be trying to butter up to the Shield Hero, but Mein assumes the vermin's brains simply can't handle the more complex art of subtle Speechcraft. The situation certainly spun way out of her control, it certainly did not do so in an undesirable direction like she feared. While it took a lot of stress and nerves, the undercover princess supposes that she'll have to be content with this result, even if she wants to strangle both rats for putting her into such difficult spot.
"Anyway, going by your own words shouldn't you two go make a report to your superior... or anyone? You two did mention the situation at the border got very heated, and a war can happen if any commander gets overzealous. And as I've said, I'm not sure anyone would want that given the circumstances." It seems like the rats' painfully obvious attempt at flattery isn't fairing well, as Naofumi's next question makes them both shuffle on their feet once again. "Don't you have anything for long range messaging? Carrier pigeons, owls, or ravens?"
The spies hurriedly huddle and discuss something with each other in a low voice. There is some nodding and the shaking of heads, till they finally turn and answer Naofumi's question.
"With how complicated the situation is, I think we need to go report back to our superiors face to face for a proper explanation. A short message may spark the wrong idea and lead to war, even if it isn't intercepted. Half a day shouldn't make a big difference if we need to make our week-long journey back to Siltvelt. For now... we can only cross our fingers and pray that the situation doesn't deteriorate further."
"Is that so… well, then let's not waste any more time." Naofumi looks towards Mein with the corner of his eyes before shifting his gaze further to the short and plump merchant. "Sorry for the delay. We are done with our talking here, let's continue."
"In that case, it's rather fortuitous that my humble shop is right this way." The balloon-like man gives the Shield Hero a courtesy as he points at the last corner behind a bunch of crates that seem to serve as a makeshift barricade. Mein follows behind Naofumi as they turn around the place and comes to a small clearing surrounded by cracked walls and boarded up wooden planks. A very large tent sits at the end of the empty square, two burly looking men standing guard on either side of the flap. The incognito princess is quick to notice this area's rather distinct lack of the back-alley smell. "My little patch of heaven right here in Dust District, right at the beating heart of the Melromarc Castle slums."
"The Dust District." Naofumi seems to chew on the name as he tries to stop a cough from escaping his throat. "Fitting name, there's plenty of dust flying around. And other… things."
"Ah, but it wasn't always so, my dear valuable customer. You see, before the last war this was known as the Street of Silver, the pride of Melromarc Castle where all the big merchant companies set their headquarters and warehouses. Of course, when our venerated furry friends from Siltvelt decided to pay us a visit, this place is also where they first celebrated their downtime... perhaps a bit more enthusiastically than is standard for Melromarc. The Dust District is of course, the final result. Our wise sage king has many talents, yet sadly restoring a ruined city isn't one of them. Thus he just built a new district to house the big businesses, rather than bothering with all this." The portly little man waves his hand around like he's trying to orchestrate a symphony in a theater while completely ignoring the happenings right behind him. Naofumi gives a withering glare aimed at the spies, who shrink down even more under their rightful king's reprimand. It seems that the sly dealer picked up on the fact that the Shield Hero has taken a less than positive view of Siltvelt and is hence trying to endear himself to the man by giving more fuel to that fire. What a dirty conniving opportunist. Malty's opinion of him just improved considerably! "Although it really worked out for street rats like us. Everyone who is anyone in the slum ends up cutting out a part of what's left of Dust District like a Liberation Day stuffed roast. Now, let's not waste any time and get down to what we came here for. Shall we?"
The slave merchant moves to open the flap up and holds his other arm in a welcoming gesture to let everyone in. Naofumi gives one final look back at the misfit collection of princess disguised as novice adventurer, pair of foreign spies, and a common thief before heading inside. Mein quickly follows his example, not wanting to separate herself from Naofumi when two Siltvelt spies are attempting to drill a hole in the back of her head with their eyes.
The inside of the tent is about as large as the dining room of a typical inn or tavern. The dim light of oil lanterns illuminates the clustered place full of wooden crates and barrels. These don't smell of decayed wood but rather a mixture of sweet aroma from foreign spices, herbs or even perfume.
Two burly men stand guard on the inside of the tent, mirroring the guards on the outside. A quick look reveals animal-like ears atop their heads, same as the ones outside. A bit further down the tent two more well build demihuman thugs patrol around the place while looking over the crates.
For the shop of a skin trader, this place has a distinct lack of merchandise. Mein can't help but wonder if the whole thing is an elaborated scheme to lure the Shield Hero and herself into a trap. She slowly puts her right hand around the hilt of her sword once again.
"I'm not seeing anyone in chains and rags." The Shield Hero seems to come to the same conclusion as he raises one eyebrow at the balloon-like man. His gaze shifts back to the two demi-human guards by the tent flap. "Unless you are going to sell your bodyguards."
"Ah, I'm sure it'll be their honor to serve the great Shield Hero himself. Alas, I am not quite so willing to part way with Matthew and Kaus. They are both family now, you see." Beloukas skits his way to one of the demi-humans and gets up on his tip toes. He is probably trying to pat the much bigger man on the shoulder, but ends up only reaching the man's upper arm instead. The demi-human doesn't seem to mind, as he gives the portly man a smile in return.
"Please, stop treating our rightful king like some common tavern patron you can entertain with mere tomfoolery." It seems the Siltvelt spy doesn't appreciate the balloon man's antics as much as Mein, as she chastises the skin trader with a deep frown. "We are trying to stop a coming war here. We would really appreciate if you don't waste Master Shield Hero's time."
"Ah, yes. Where are my manners. Look alive, boys. Our venerated customers are here to see the live goods." The man claps his hands together at the two burly thugs in the back. They nod their heads and mutter something that vaguely resembles 'yes boss' and start to move a big pile of crates in the back.
While they are at it the male rat seems to find a barrel near the entrance very interesting. He walks up to it and puts a hand on the cover before squatting down and starting to sniff at the barrel like he's a dog. The vermin lets out a sudden gasp. "It's dragon ebony incense!"
"Are you sure, Rosat?" The female spy briskly walks to her partner and mimics his action. "You are right! This soothing smell does come from the dragon ebony!"
Mein briefly wonders what's the deal with this barrel that seems to give the rats a bigger shock than the Shield Hero's refusal to go to Siltvelt with them. Naofumi on the other hand has no problem voicing his curiosity. "Is it a big deal?"
"Master Shield Hero, the dragon ebony incense helps clear one's mind, and it's said the incense can make a magus receive the wise guidance of their venerable ancestors much easier. It was only available to those of the highest ranking member of the four guardian families till two decades ago. And even now, it is only available to the selected few of each eighty six tribes." The spy narrows her eyes and hisses at Beloukas. "How did a foreign skin trader like you get it?"
It's meant to be THAT rare? Mein can't help but wonder how the two lowly spies know the scent if that's the case.
"It's simple as the sun and moon cycle that passes our world, my dear venerated Siltvelt friends. Everything always comes down to the right price." The sly merchant's glasses seem to twinkle even inside the dim tent as he makes an O shape with his fingers. "Not all members of the four guardian families are equal in terms of financial status. Same goes for the Sacred houses of Faubley that are pure blood hero descendants, come to think of it. Beneath the luxurious exterior, some of them are quite short on money to live up to their noble heritage. It doesn't matter if it's incense, spice, tobacco, perfume or even precious stone and metal, I offer them the coin and they offer me the goods. It's a rather win-win situation, just like why the Shield Hero would seek someone like me out, no?"
"We are done here, boss." A gruff sound makes everyone look away from the barrel of apparently highly valuable incense. A big hole on the wall is revealed to everyone behind the cleared up space.
"Wonderful! Shall we get down to business as the Shield Hero wanted?" The skin merchant rubs his hands together in glee as he once again skits to the side of the entrance and gives his courtesy. "After you, esteemed Hero."
Naofumi quickly looks Mein in the eyes and nods to her. "No turning back now."
The two of them wordlessly enter the hidden part of the building through the crack, the skin merchant, spies and the young thief following right after. The undercover princess can hear the sound of wood scraping together moments later, indicating the thugs quickly covering up the unorthodox entrance once again. She looks around her, realizing they are inside an abandoned hallway that manages to look even more gloomy than the tent. What remains of the wall paper that once must have looked as pure as fresh fallen snow is soiled into a disgusting yellow color. The walls are full of cracks and holes underneath, letting whatever remaining daylight there is to pass through the empty spaces and into the junk littered hallway.
Mein can't help but breath in a deep mouthful of the extremely foul rotten air full of dust. A rather unfortunate mistake, as she starts to cough uncontrollably. She feels someone patting her on the back, and after a short while of wheezing the incognito princess finally manages to upright herself once again. She looks up, and Naofumi takes a piece of cloth out of his pocket, dampens it up with the water from his water skin and stuffs some herbs into the folded fabric. He hands the thing to Mein with a concerned face. "Mein, try covering your nose and mouth with this."
"Thank you, very much...! Master, Naofumi." Mein bows her head in gratitude as she takes over the makeshift breathing mask from Naofumi and covers her lower face. The damp cloth stops the dust from getting into her mouth, and the scent of the herb helps cover up the smell of decay.
"Ah, do excuse the state of my humble abode, my lady. While this is what passes for luxury here in Dust District, I'm afraid it's simply not befitting of one of your stature." The slave merchant Beloukas clicks his heels together and shuffles his feet around like he's doing a funny little dance.
Mein's eyes widen at the slave merchant's words. Is he speaking rhetorically, or does he truly know her real identity? Unlike the female knight in the Spear Hero's party, there is no way Mein met this eccentric man before. That only leaves the possibility of someone leaking her identity to Beloukas.
The question is who? Could it be the same person who spread the rumors about The Shield Hero, or the puppet master behind the knight in the Listening Room, or someone else entirely? Are they walking right into a death trap immediately after a mugging attempt?
"Don't patronize us. We just want to do our business and go." Naofumi frowns at the slave trader, oblivious to Mein's creeping fear.
"Yes, you better not treat Master Shield Hero, our rightful king, as a fool, you slimy skin merchant. Siltvelt may be far but you don't want to incur the Shield Hero's and our country's combined fury!" The male demi-human bares his teeth at the portly short man. Despite his repeated blunder of incurring the Shield Hero's annoyance via antagonizing his first companion, the little rat seems to have no trouble flexing his almost non-existent muscles at a new target.
"Ah, apologies. Master Shield Hero, my lady. I only jest to lighten up the mood." The Balloon like man tips his top hat at Naofumi. Despite his words, the playful tone he takes seem to indicate Beloukas' rather nonchalant attitude about the whole situation. He points towards one end of the hallway that leads to an inconspicuous looking single door. "Our holding area for the live goods is right this way, come with me."
They go down the hallway despite Mein's trepidation growing with every step. Though the slave merchant seems to be oblivious or willingly ignores hers misgivings. Beloukas waves a hand dismissively through the air that's thick with flowing dust. "Once again, I apologize for my lack of hospitality. I'm afraid keeping this place presentable is a constant losing battle so my boys and girls seemed to have gotten a bit complacent. Shame, I'll have to change into another suit after this venture. I usually don't come to the back shop unless we have a customer with more acquired taste... Ah! Here we are."
The three of them enters the abandoned warehouse, more rough looking men and a few women linger around the area. Some of them patrol around the big metal cages, a few of them sit around a small three legged table playing cards. As they gives Naofumi and Mein a quick look the undercover princess notices some of them move their hands closer to their weapons.
One of the rough looking women walks up to Beloukas. Mein notices her rather distinct white hair even if she can't see any sign of animalesque features or appendages. It's a rather big surprise to know this slave trader seems to have an underling who happens to be at least a partial white tiger demi-human. Her attention is quickly draw downward when she notices the right side of the woman's mouth seems to have a wound that didn't heal properly giving her a look of constant sneer.
"Ah, Kristy. How have our latest tenants been doing?" The balloon like man closes his palms together with a crispy clap.
"The two men are okay, but we are losing the girl." The possible white tiger demi-human, now identified as Kristy answers with a solemn voice.
Now Mein has a chance to get a good look at her, the undercover princess notices something she didn't realize before. Upon closer inspection, the white tiger's split mouth, which Mein attributed to an old wound seems to be some kind of birth defect. As an unnaturally huge incisor seems to push out of her mouth like a root unbound from the earth. It gives the demi-human women a more monstrous look than even that of a pure-blood beastman.
"She's not taking her medicine, she barely eats and drinks. It seems the girl has lost her will to live." The monstrous looking demi-human grinds her teeth, making her birth defect look even more hideous. "Her last owner did a number on her."
"Such is life, Kristy. Well, hopefully our very own Shield Hero can pull a miracle here." Beloukas pats the woman on her arm, his jovial act all but gone for a short moment as he gives Naofumi a sideway look.
The balloon man leads Naofumi, Mein and their ragtag party of misfits towards the cage in the middle of the warehouse. He stops in front of a large cage and points his arm to a dark silhouette inside.
"Now, if you're looking for someone that can chip in when things get rough this one here is my recommendation."
A pair of bloodshot golden eyes seems to stare into the bottom of Mein's soul from within the cage. The shaded bundle of fur, fangs, and claw growls menacingly at Naofumi and Mein. The incognito princess narrows her eyes as her fencing instructor's voice begin to ring in her head.
The werewolves of Greyback tribe are known as the backbone of Siltvelt's army, together with the Boar tribe. Three times stronger than an average man and more nimble than their frame suggest, they can easily tear a human warrior apart with nothing more than their fangs and claws. Best way to deal with them is using strong fire magic from afar.
Naofumi slowly and carefully steps closer to the cage, putting his hands on the bars and peering in to get a better look. He immediately jumps back when the werewolf launches at him with wide an open mouth, almost like he want to tear The Shield Hero's throat open. Even Mein flinched out of sheer instinct almost losing her balance and falling down once again.
The creature on the other hand rams headfirst into the thick metal bars while emitting a menacing growl. The entire cage rattles from the force.
This specimen sure is strong… even if not very bright. His raw power is a possible indication that he may even be classed-up.
"A pureblood Greyback." The undercover princess is dimly aware of the small gasp one of the rats makes. "How did a mere filthy skin merchant get hold of him!?"
"The power of the coin has no boundary among us civilized people, my dear venerated Siltvelt friends. It's the same power that makes two demihuman willing to live in a country they hate." The merchant rubs his two fingers together once again.
The rat gives a very indignant growl at the balloon like man. "How dare you insinuate we stay in this heretic country for profit, skin trader! We do it for our duty to the venerated Siltvelt and the Shield Hero our rightful king!"
Beloukas is once again unfazed by the spy's mewling. He simply ignores him and turns to the Shield Hero with dramatic spin on his heel that rather unmatched a man of his girth.
"Anyhow, Master Shield Hero already met those venerated friends of Siltvelt, and my demi-human family outside. This one on the other hand is a full blooded beastman. They have a stronger connection with their monster blood than the demi-humans, whom look like humans with a few select monster features on them. The beasties can be a bit troublesome when they lose themselves to their monster blood. Luckily for us, this one is a branded slave." Beloukas takes a handkerchief from his suit pocket to blow his nose. He snaps his fingers afterwards. "And you can punish a slave with a literal snap of your fingers."
A magic circle lights up on his arm while the circle on the werewolf's chest begins to glow. The werewolf lets out a heart tearing howl of pure agony as he writhes and rolls on the metal floor of his cage.
"Stop it! I wasn't hurt. There's no need for this needless cruelty." Naofumi turns his head sharply to glare at the Balloon like man. Beloukas returns his look with a knowing smirk.
"I see Master Shield Hero is very kind… Just like the legends say. However, you'd do better to not make the Beastman mistake your kindness for weakness."
"I will deal with him my way." The Shield Hero gives the slave merchant a stern stare. He turns towards the cage and walks up to the panting werewolf. Mein quickly moves to follow him, hiding in his shadow but poking her head out from behind Naofumi's back.
Naofumi holds his arm in front of his chest to show the Shield on it. He bends down in front of the cage so he looks at the werewolf at eye level. "Please, calm yourself. I am the Shield Hero. You know that they say the Shield Heroes of the past always favored Demi-humans and beastman, right? Do you have a name? Tell me your name."
"Shield Hero? Ha… haha… What-whatever… What's it... up to you? You are.. human. We are all... just animals… far as you kind's concerned." The werewolf's fur is twisted into knots and mixed with dirt and his sweat. He still sneers at The Shield Hero through his heavy breath.
"How dare you speak to your rightful king in such rude tone!" The male rat stomps his foot and yells at the werewolf. To the rascal's indignation, the beastman barely acknowledges the chastise aside from a condescending sideway glance. Naofumi holds his hands up to stop the Siltvelt agent from making a bigger scene.
"I would like to know who I'm talking to. But I guess it'd be polite to introduce myself first." Naofumi runs his finger along his chin. "My name is Iwatani Naofumi. I used to be just your average student in my world, but they summoned me here, so I guess I'm the Shield Hero of this time."
The werewolf narrows his eyes at Naofumi. He closes his eyes and recites with pride. "Farkas... Farkas of Greyback tribe. Son of the great warrior Jergen."
"The son of a great warrior doesn't belong in a cage." The Shield Hero nods at the werewolf. "I'm going to free you."
The werewolf barely adjusts himself a little in the cage but doesn't bother to get up. Mein notices there is fresh and clean hay underneath his body. It seems that regardless of his owners willingness to dispense harsh punishment at least his cage is properly cleaned up. The beast seems to scoff at the Hero's offer. "You want to be MY master?"
Mein finds herself wanting to join the rat's crusade in chastising this insolent beast. How dare he look down on her Naofumi when he's the one without a slave seal, while the ill-mannered dog is already stuck in a cage! But the incognito princess chooses to hold her tongue for now. It's clear by now that every time she has an emotional outburst her reputation with Naofumi tanks a little. He took her kingdom's side earlier, but aside from her having succeeded in working him over with political propaganda she still has a long way to go. Besides, why risk herself when someone else is so willing to put themselves in the cross-hairs instead of her?
The Siltvelt spy that shouted is still angrily pointing an accusatory finger at the cages beast. "You should treat the rightful king of all beastman and demi-human, the Shield Hero with more respect. Especially when he is personally trying to help free you!"
"Please, stop. I am not a king, or even a hero yet. No one has to defend me every time-" Naofumi's voice is interrupted by a wheezing laugh. The undercover princess and the Shield Hero stare at the slave beast-man with incomprehension.
Privately, Mein wonders if this one finally lost its mind to dementia.
"Free me? There is no freedom in changing one master for another." The beast turns over to lie on its back. Its voice grows faint like a whisper. "I only change one small cage for a bigger one."
"What if I don't keep you as a slave? I can free you, if you are willing to fight for me." Naofumi's voice grows louder and more urgent.
Mein has to put an actual effort to fight down the urge to immediately rebuke the suggestion this time. Keeping a beastman around without a slave seal to enforce loyalty is a dangerous idea. The many women who found themselves pregnant against their will after the first war with the beastman horde in the ancient time stand testament to that. She still doesn't believe those animals have any sense of loyalty to anyone but themselves, Shield Hero or not. The best outcome is this werewolf disappears into the darkness in the middle of the night. In the worst case, it may have its way with her and then tear their throats out.
But the Shield Hero already railed against the idea of owning slaves several times and it doesn't seem like he is going to budge. Trying to persuade him of his folly any longer will likely drive him further away from her. Especially when he is still high on his own righteous anger from earlier. Hopefully later there will be time to stop him from doing something monumentally stupid due to his lack of understanding of this world before something catastrophic happens.
The werewolf's eyes grow hollow and glassy, almost like it's lost in memory. "We Greybacks fought and died for the honor of Siltvelt and our king the Shield Hero throughout history. That's what father and brother told me since I was a yong'un. It sounded like slavery to me, so I left my family and my country to seek fame, fortune and freedom for myself. I thought I had it all fighting in the Zeltoble Coliseums. And I certainly got my fair share o'fame and fortune... but they tossed me out and sold me to the slavers when my arms and legs got too broken. Now I know I been livin' in a some sorta cage all along. The cages just change in size n'shape, but they're all cages still."
"Well, this one really speaks the truth, Master Shield Hero." Beloukas walks up to the left of Naofumi. Mein wonders if the light and dust are playing trick on her eyes, but his thin mustache seems to droop a little while staring down at the werewolf. "I picked it up when it was discarded due to its broken arms and legs."
"Huh. His legs seem mostly healed." Naofumi narrows his eyes to take a closer look at the werewolf's limbs.
"Why, yes! I have to take care of my tenants at least a little. It'd be a lost investment if I can't impress my customers due to having inferior products, wouldn't you say? Plus, I like to keep my karma a little clean, unlike some of the other slum traders who exclusively deal with live goods." The balloon-like man pulls his mustache up with his fingers. "Though, in spite of my best efforts and a not insignificant investment of resources, his arms are a lost cause. Can't even hold a dagger properly now. Still, compared to how I've acquired this one, you are right now seeing the result of my saintly benevolence!"
"Yes…How altruistic of you." Naofumi gives the slave trader a frown before turning back to the werewolf. The beast seems to finally come back to the present as it glares right into Naofumi's eyes.
"Tell me, Shield HERO." The werewolf hisses at Naofumi, it manages to make 'hero' sound like a dirty word. "Are you free? Does the Legendary Shield's power set you free, or is it a cage around you? Do you know where you will end up with the path you take?"
At this the male rat is once again set off by the beast's taunting. He actually lowers his right hand to the hilt of his sword, yet stops short of actually drawing it. Unfortunate. It would have pleased Mein if he were cut down by the merchant's bodyguards for his insolence. Sadly the rat keeps on shouting unimpeded however. "Stop this contemptuous action at once, or the wise Shields of ancient time help you, I will cut you down here and now! Your words are bringing the greatest shame and dishonor to your tribe, your revered ancestors and venerated Siltvelt…!"
"Take your hand off your sword, you fool! Do you want to get us all killed!?" The other rat hisses with panic in her eyes. Her mate stops his tirade long enough to notice the precarious position he is actually in. The apparently dimwitted vermin seem to finally realize the consequence of their action as they both freeze on the spot.
"Please, boys and girls, no need for discourteous behavior just because two of our customers got their honor insulted by their fellow countrymen. WE, the citizens of glorious Melromarc are supposed to be civilized women and men after all." Beloukas lets out a hearty laugh at the happenings around him. Just like a popped balloon, the tension of the warehouse seems to deflate and everyone begins to slowly put their weapons down. Yet they keep their blades still within an arm's reach just in case the situation heats up again.
The werewolf seems to find amusement in the ensuing chaos that it managed to inadvertently cause. He snorts at the still shaken spies while looking at them with contempt shining in his eyes. Then he speaks again. "You demi thin bloods believe all that crap the pureblood clans keep feeding you? Most of those inbred fucks only want to use the Shield Hero for their own gain anyway."
"That's preposterous! Venerated Siltvelt can't betray its very ideal and turn against their rightful king!" The vermin seem to have a hard time processing this information. Mein meanwhile is growing more and more smug at their discomfort.
On the other hand, Naofumi remains in his kneeling position while looking down at his right arm. The young man seems to be lost in his thoughts and completely ignores the tension now permeating the atmosphere around him. Well, he might be getting used to it with how bloodbaths are constantly on the verge of erupting around him as things are going. His left hand moves towards the surface of the Legendary Shield, smooth fingers brushing through its edge. As he finally replies to the beast in a solemn tone. Naofumi's voice is distant and faint, just like that of the werewolf.
"You are right, I'm not free, just like you. Nor was I even truly free back in my world… Before I came here, I was a nobody. Not even my parents thought that I'd make anything for myself in life. I had a best friend who believed in me, but I... we grow apart as we grow older." For a moment the Shield Hero looks like he wanted to say something more as a nostalgic smile adorns his face when mentioning his friend. But he stops himself before he blurt out something he's obviously trying to hide.
Mein's mouth suddenly feels very dry. Quickly seeing the opportunity for what it is she carefully inches closer to the lost looking young man and wraps her arm around his shoulder… Although she does actually briefly wonder with genuine sympathy what it would be like to have both of her parents look down on her. At least father dotes on her in every way, even knowing mother wants to pass the crown to her younger sister.
"I am the Shield Hero in this world, the only one of the Four Heroes who can't fight by himself. My fellow heroes think I'm weak, this country hates me because the past Shield Heroes sided with their enemies." Naofumi moves his hand away from the Shield and slowly raises his head. "But now I know I am more fortunate than most people in this world. I got so caught up in my own problems I forgot the most important thing in life: No matter how cruel and seemingly hopeless life is, there is always a way to make the best of it. When I was accused of raping my only companion and everyone was ready to burn me on a stake, that very companion defended me at her own peril in front of the entire court… But I can't help but wonder how many people out there don't have someone to stand up for them like someone stood up for me… In a way as the Shield Hero isn't it literally my duty to become that someone for them? So… I will do my best to save this world and the people. I'll do it even if the people here hate me. I'll do it even if I hate a lot of things about this world… because someone has to. And as someone who was saved by someone who was just in the right position to save me, even if it cost them… Well, after that I'd feel like a total dick if I didn't save those in front of me that I'm capable of saving just because it's inconvenient or hard… So I suppose that even if I am not free because of the responsibility placed on my shoulders, I'm fine with bearing it."
As Naofumi finishes speaking the werewolf is no longer looking at him with anger and mockery, but rather with melancholy and… sympathy? Or at least something like it.
Mein nudges closer to Naofumi, their heads briefly touching together. "You will always be my Shield Hero, Master Naofumi. No matter what my king, or the church say."
Naofumi gives her a grateful smile. He turns his head towards the eccentric slave trader. "How much to free him?"
The slave trader's thick lenses seem to twinkle with the asked question. He rubs his fingers together once again. "Fifteen gold pieces, not counting the slave seal removal fee. If you truly intend to free him that is."
What a steep price. One gold piece is the equivalent of one hundred silver coins. It'll be more than enough for a small family of commoners to live for a year, possibly longer.
It's rather sad to not be able to do anything after that grand speech. But the reality is often more uncaring than any pretty word. Mein learned that very early by watching the nobles of the court playing their games of cloak and dagger. She has seen her fair share of idealists fly too close to the sun and burn. The late Lord Seattle was the most recent example. Nobody came to his aid when his fief was hit by the wave, because he was an unpopular man in the court for speaking up for the demi-humans. He bravely fought to his last breath, but all he had to show for it was a ruined fiefdom and a daughter tossed into jail.
Still, even as someone who considers herself to be fairly world-weary and even if it's on Naofumi's behalf rather than hers, Mein can't help but feel a tinge of disappointment at the price being outside their range. It was a good speech after all.
"Are you trying to rob me!?" Naofumi's eyes go wide. He definitely didn't expect a slave to be this expansive. "You are selling a crippled man for fifteen hundred silver!"
"Yes, I understand that it's surprisingly cheap, but sadly his condition drives the price steeply down." The slave trader says facetiously as he turns his head to give the werewolf a quick glance. He shakes his head before turning to Naofumi again. "You see, Master Shield Hero. Our wolf friend here already had his class-up. That makes him extremely valuable, even if he can't use any weapons with his arms."
"Class-up?" Naofumi simply gives a confused look.
Mein quickly follows up Naofumi's conversation. "Yes, Master Naofumi. Remember the time when I taught you how to add me to your party?"
"Yeah, sure…" Naofumi cocks his head sideways like a confused little bird.
"If you remember, there was a faded star icon near my level. When the star lights up at level 40, it means I'm at max level for my class. In this world, we need to class-up at a Dragon Hourglass to rise further than level 40." Mein waves her hand like she's trying to point out something from her status panel. "Every country guards the opportunity for a class-up preciously either by regulation, or large fees. Not many have the privilege to go above level 40 in this world."
"I see... so that's how the social elite of this world guard their status... They would rather the world burn than lose their advantages in life." Naofumi's voice begin to shake. It's hard to know if he is angry or upset at the revelation.
"Do you see it now, boy? Pretty words and obsessed resolves don't matter. We are all slaves in the end." The werewolf snickers at the Shield Hero's plight.
"NO! I refuse to give up." The Shield Hero shakes his head his face a picture of grim determination. He kneels down in front of the werewolf once again."I'm already making money using my crafting skill. It'll take a while, but I'll make enough money to get you out of this life. It's a promise. Don't give up on yourself."
The werewolf glares hard into Naofumi's eyes. Neither the man or the beast backs down for a short while. The beast man eventually blinks first. He whips his head to point at the back. "There's a girl in the back. She's sick and dying. Save her before you make a promise with me. She's young. It's not too late."
"I will free the girl, but I won't give up on you." Naofumi puts his hands on the metal bars. He grips them hard enough that veins start to show beneath his skin and gives the cage a firm shake. He stands up and stares at Beloukas again. "Show me the girl Farkas mentioned."
"Oh, my. What an interesting customer you are, Master Shield Hero. Well, I have never turned down a single request from my customers yet. This way, please." The slave trader gives Naofumi another sly grin. He waves his arm towards the back wall and merrily skids his way towards it.
End Note:
This chapter's delay is mostly my own fault, since I end up rewriting it twice and the work load ends up being a bit too much for my own pace to get done in one week. So I took two weeks, not one week of writing my rough draft. I hope the end product is at least enjoyable.
To everyone commenting about Malty/Tanuki/Firo:
Sorry, no tanuki yet in this update. Although I don't think I'm spoiling anything in saying the 'girl' everyone talk about is her. I'd be honestly curious to know if anyone would think it's tanuki who died in this timeline and Rifana survived in her place.
As for Malty's attitude towards her and Firo eventually... I don't want to say too much since it'll be a pretty big spoiler on her character arc.
To Random reviewC:
I actually been meaning to EN reply back to you a few times now, but me being a scatterbrained idiot keep on forgetting about it.
:P
It wouldn't exactly be Malty anymore if she doesn't try to accuse a guy of sexual assault. At least she did it to a more deserving guy this time around.
XD
But yes, Malty definitely won't be as Smarty Sue who does everything right from the get go (Yes, I'm looking at you, Iris Amelia). But if we know one thing about her from canon, it's she's very stubborn and keep bouncing back even when she gets absolutely trashed. I think that part of her personality is kind of inspiring... if she found a better goal for it than just antagonizing the main character.