Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
So, both Jackson and this Logan guy have effectively defected from the Three Heroes' Church. And now they are looking for the Shield Hero. That's honestly not a big surprise. Consevatie the Younger did betray Jackson back in the capital in the most smug, mustache twirling way possible. The commoner would be a fool to continue serving that rich little fop with loyalty. Although she did find it a bit ironic that he ends up coming back to Naofumi, the hero he despised so much, for help.
"You sure this is the right place here, Jackson?" Logan nervously turns his head around, clearly trying his best to look for the Shield Hero. For a fairly large guy, he sure is acting awfully nervous. "I don't see anyone around."
"Yeah. I'm sure. Cut the chase and come out, Shield Hero." Jackson turns his head away from Logan, puts his hand on his waist, and calls out from the middle of the grove. "Your tree monster isn't as good at covering its tracks, Shield Hero. We know you are around here with all the trails in the ground, and the broken branches. The only reason we got here before anyone else is because that Isolde woman got her shoulder blown apart and her rangers are attending to her wound. And the church is now rallying all their men."
Chapter 110: People Can (Not) Change
"Be careful, Master Naofumi. He might be bluffing." Mein carefully nudges close to the Shield Hero and whispers in his ears. Deep down, she doesn't see any reason for Jackson to act the way he did if he wasn't sure Naofumi is around. The commoner had thoroughly burnt his bridge with both Consevatie The Younger (not that the reverse wasn't true), and the Three Heroes' Church as well. Trying to cozy up to Naofumi, and get help from those who support the Shield Hero is pretty much the only way left for him to survive. But she still doesn't want to be too agreeable with someone who thoroughly screwed them over.
"I think he's fine, Mein." Naofumi looks back at the princess. He takes a short pause, to either gather his nerves, or organize his thoughts. "Wasn't those church people also mad at him? There's nothing for him to gain to start screaming into the air if he isn't sure I'm nearby. We need information anyhow, let's see what he has to say about the people who took over Balafon."
"I'll come out with you, Master Shield Hero. Just in case it's a trap. Or if there's more people waiting in ambush." Sir Oersted suggested, and Mein realizes the young knight is correct. Jackson might have made an enemy out of his own group, but there's no guarantee he is free. The church could have already captured him, and is trying to use him to lure Naofumi out. Not the most likely scenario, but it pays to be extra careful after what happened to them outside the capital. Then she realizes that both Naofumi and the Gallian knight had stepped out of the bush while her mind is still wandering.
"You wanted to see me, and now I'm here." Naofumi opens his arms up to the sides, almost like he is trying to offer his former naysayer an embrace. But it also looks like a resigned shrug. "Say whatever you want fast. Because if what you said is true, we have to go on the run again."
"I have no reason to lie to you. Not now, after I showed myself a traitor to them for saving your lady friend's life." Jackson narrows his eyes for a brief moment. He steps forward, closer to the Shield Hero with Logan hovering behind him. "Look, I'm going to be frank with you. I need your help to bring down that Consevatie bastard."
"You wanted revenge." Naofumi narrows his eyes. Contrasting his usually soft and kind expression, the expression the Shield Hero's cast towards Jackson is much more scornful. "He betrayed you back in the capital, and now you want to get him back."
"Yeah. I'm not going to lie to make myself look good. I want that arrogant cunt to suffer. I want to see him humiliated! His achievement and pride were torn to shred! His broken body dragged through the mud before his face got grinded into the dirt!" Jackson's face is also twisted by anger as he spits out vitroiol, although clearly not one aimed at Naofumi. His eyes slowly raise from the ground to the Shield Hero, and his voice becomes much calmer. "But that's not the only reason. I want the people of Balafon freed of his rule. The higher ups from the Three Heroes' Church named him the Overseer of Balafon. To make sure there's no problem with their war ration production. And the first thing he did after settling down in Balafon was to make that damned dryad abomination! I don't want to see the honest common folks of this village suffer because of his arrogance and stupidity."
"In case you are a bit blind, or suffering from short term memory loss, I'm no longer the Shield 'Hero' anymore. The church made me into a fugitive on the run, remember?" The Shield Hero crosses his arms in front of his chest. It's a wonder he is actually thinking of his own safety first, before disregarding his own wellbeing to help some innocent people. Looks like some of Mein's lessons did stick in his head after all. "I lost everything when I got captured outside the capital. You helped to make it happen. It's pure luck that Mein wasn't killed by that Consevatie little shit. So even if I want to help, I have nothing to give. And why do you look for my help anyway? I thought you said that summoned heroes like me are only here to oppress honest, common folks like you? And people like Consevatie is here for you?"
To Jackson's very miniscule credit, the whinny commoner did turn his eyes away to avoid Naofumi's piercing glare. He does look ashamed of his own actions. Or maybe he's just embarrassed that the Shield Hero brought up his own lapse in judgment. "Yeah. I know I fucked up and done shitty things to you. You were not the oppressor, Consevatie is. I'm an idiot. Jaune and you were on the right. But what does it matter to the people of Balafon anyways? Consevatie bastard might try to make another dryad monster, and the next one might born mad, and try to kill everyone around it. Consevatie and his high-leveled, well equipped thugs will be fine, and the folks in Balafon will die because of his stupidity."
The Shield Hero stays motionless and silent as he continues to glare daggers at the pair of traitors from Three Heroes' Church. He finally opens his mouth again just as both Jackson and Logan start to squirm uncomfortably. "Tell me what you know about Consevatie, the men under his command, and the situation of Balafon. Especially anything about Raphtalia and Firo. Let me see if there's something I can do."
"You can't be serious, Master Naofumi! This is not the time, or place to play hero… pun not intended." The princess jumps out of her hiding place in frustration. She understands Naofumi's compassionate nature, even respect him for it. But there is a time and place for his chivalry. And right now is distinctively NOT the time for it. Not when they barely have anything to their names, already having members of their group badly injured, and being pursued by the fanatics of the church. "Have you already forgotten how quickly this little shit sold us out near the capital? What do you think it's going to be any different this time?"
"No, I didn't forget. And yes. I know Nora is hurt very badly. But we got Bed-chan helping us now, and that makes us much better off than everyone in Balafon." The Shield Hero turns around to look at Mein before giving Jackson another sideways glance. "And Jackson looks like he knew he screwed up last time. Plus that Consevatie fucker did betray Jackson the last time he sided with that rich boy. I think we should give him a second chance."
"NO! You honestly think this little shit cares about other people like he said? It's a lie!" Mein points her finger at Jackson, making Logan turn his head towards his companion. "The only reason he ran to us and begged for our help is because he got screwed over by Consevatie, and now he has nothing to lose! He even admitted that he wants revenge!"
"Yeah, I hate Consevatie for being a two faced liar and backstabber. Not going to lie about that." Jackson mumbles under his breath, while his eyes wander down like a kicked puppy. It only makes Mein even angrier at him. "But I saw what he did to the honest, innocent common folks in Lute, and in Balafon. It's not pretty. Someone needs to stop selfish, greedy bastards like him and free the oppressed common people."
"He isn't wrong there…" The Shield Hero's feet begin to nudge around on the ground, his eyes shifting around, not daring to meet Mein's own furious gaze. "I mean… even if I don't care about everyone in Balafon, there's still Raphtalia and Firo…"
"STOP IT! You think I don't know what you are trying to do here?" The princess' angry yell makes both Jackson, and the Shield Hero jump on their feet. "You are pretending to be pathetic, and playing up the tragedy of Consevatie and the church's victims to make us feel sorry for yourself. So we'll help you topple your enemies in the church. But what happens right after? The moment we help you beat Consevatie, you'll run to the next powerful guy who'll throw you a bone like a starving bonedog! Like Cromwell, or maybe the Pope! Sell us out another time for your own gain! Because I know selfish people like you."
Unable to control her own fury, the princess takes a few stomps forward. Closing the distance between herself and Jackson, pulls her arm back and throws the hardest punch she can muster. Which probably isn't very much despite her being much higher level than she first started. She had never been someone who was blessed with brutal strength, and leveling up alongside the Shield Hero doesn't change it. Still, she must have put on a rather intimidating show for it, as she can see Jackson's expression break into startled panic. The commoner templar's body suddenly tenses up into a jerky twitch, like he's about to instinctively try to dodge, or defend himself against Mein's attack. But at the last moment, Jackson's body seizes up, and her fist connects with his nose without any resistance. He falls on his back, and the princess isn't done with him yet.
Mein jumps over Jackson's fallen form, and starts to hit him with a series of punches, slaps, and kicks. She vaguely becomes aware of Logan, the big guy besides Jackson coming over, his arms held up. To the commoner templar's aid, no doubt. Logan is a large, burly man. Yet he can't seem to push her away. "You! You only like to whine about how bad you have it in life, never think about how others could have it way worse! Always want more than what you deserve, not caring about who gets hurt because of your actions! And people like you can never. EVER. change!"
"Calm down, Mein! I know you are angry at Jackson for selling us out. But you'll attract all those church people over if you keep screaming like this!" The princess finally begins to calm down when she feels more than one pair of arms pulling her back, away from Jackson. The Shield Hero's warning is like a bucket of freezing water dumped right over her head. Yes, her outburst is getting rather counterproductive to their survival now.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Mein steps away from Jackson's prone form. Naofumi, and Oersted slowly let go of their arms once she stops struggling against them. "I'm terribly sorry for my outburst… again. Master Naofumi."
She truly does feel a profound sense of shame, although not for losing control of herself like when she started beating the broken Star Wand (she's not really ashamed of that). No, just like the self proclaimed Bitch Lord, Jackson reminded the princess of herself despite their vastly different birth and upbringing. And it hammers into her head how right a pompous fop like Consevatie The Younger is about her. That people like her can not change. Even when she wants to help, all she does is lead people to ruin like she did to Naofumi and his companions.
"It's okay. We are all under a lot of stress. Things got really tough for us all after the Third Wave." One of the hands is back again. Instead of firmly wrapping around her limbs and holding her in place, it rests gently on her shoulder. The princess doesn't need to look to know this is Naofumi, trying to comfort her.
"Look, I know I fucked up, alright?" Jackson's voice makes both Naofumi and Mein turn around to look at him. With his shiny armor completely soiled by dirt, the disgraced knight templar looks every bit as pathetic as his commoner origin suggests. He slowly sits up with the help of Logan, eyes slowly turned towards Mein to focus on her. "You are right. I lived a really shitty life, blaming others for my own misery. Even when I want to be better and help others, I only hurt them because I trusted the wrong people, or because I made more mistakes. But I really do want to help the common folks like me, who gets stepped on by cunts like Consevatie or Cromwell. So I'll tell you what I know about them. You can leave me and Logan here for their goons if you want to. Just do something to help the people of Balafon."
"Let's hear what he has to say first." The princess feels Naofumi's fingers tighten around her shoulder. The Shield Hero sounds solemn, but calm. "We need to know what we are up against if we want to escape with our lives. His insider knowledge will be valuable. Besides, he looks and sounds genuine this time. And he deserves a second chance."
"You trust too easily, Master Naofumi." Mein lets out an upset mumble, but steps back down. She's not so interested in giving people like Jackson, someone who wronged her another chance to do it again. But if this lowly commoner can change… maybe she can too. "But you are right. We need to know more about our enemies. Very well, I'll hear what he has to say. Just so you know, I'm gutting them or setting them on fire as soon as they look at us funny. I'm not taking chances with them this time."
"We better take them both with us, and hear them on the move." Ren bushes through the bushes grown by the Bed of Chaos and steps into the open too. "Nora got her leg hurt pretty bad by that grappling hook, and we'd be slowed down. If what he said is true about The Bed of Chaos leaving a trail, we'll have a hard time throwing our pursuers off."
"You are right, let's… what's that, Bed-Chan?" The Shield Hero is about to say something when the now much shrunken down dryad moves closer to the side of his ears. With the mild headache and strange humming noise ringing in her ears, Mein knows that the dryad is having another conversation with Naofumi again. "You can do that? Great."
"Okay. New plan, guys." Naofumi turns to everyone (except Nora, who is still lying somewhere in the bushes recovering.) and claps his hands. "Bed-Chan just told me that she can sort of split herself up by budding a much smaller new sprout, and still control both of her body so long as she has some vine or root connecting them. So we'll have her large body take our pursuers in circles all around us, while we go find somewhere we can hide and hear Jackson out."
The verdant bushes grown by The Bed of Chaos fall away as the dryad takes a few steps away from the Shield Hero. Her body visibly begins to grow back to her original size. Easily towering over a two level tall building. A sprout begins to split out of the ground, slowly growing into a second knot of twisted branches and leaves that vaguely resembles a human shape.
"This doesn't look practical." The highwayman points out at the newly burrowed hole in the ground by the dryad. "People would notice a vine, or a root spreading through the ground. So she'll leave a trail even easier for our pursuers to follow with this second body of hers."
"Okay… in that case we'll have to do what we did before. Staying on Bed-Chan while she carries us around the forest." The Shield Hero points to the novice necromancer of their group. "Yukari can use her undead familiars to scout ahead for us. If we find a good hiding spot, like a cave with an obscure entrance. We'll stay with her second body while her original large body can lead them away from us. Can you do that, Yukari?"
"Yeah, I already recalled all my familiars." The raccoon girl holds her arm up, letting loose a small skeleton rat from her sleeves. Mein tries to not think about the uncomfortable thought of her Yukari letting undead minions crawl and hide underneath her clothes. "They should be able to keep up with Bed-Chan so long as I give them a head start, and we take a stop once in a while."
"Good, we have a plan. Let them out, Yukari." The Shield Hero instructs the apprentice necromancer to release all her skeleton critters away, which she obeyed immediately. The skeleton rats disappear into the undergrowth in an instant. Naofumi waves his arm to Jackson and Logan next, and points towards the Bed of Chaos' large body. "You two come with us. But like Mein warned you, don't try anything funny."
The pair of renegades exchange a quick and unsure look, but they obeyed Naofumi's command just like Yukari. Everyone gathers around The Bed of Chaos, Ren carrying Nora on his back. The giant dryad puts down one of her limbs on the ground to let everyone climb up, then carefully brings them up to what looks like the crown of her body. The soft and lush leaves make for a rather comfortable ride. The smaller copy of The Bed of Chaos shrinks back into the ground once again, likely absorbed by her original body. With everything accounted for, she uproots herself and begins to walk away once again. Much slower than her previous run, likely accounting for Nora's need to rest.
"I might as well make good on my end of the bargain." Jackson crosses his arms in front of his chest. "First thing you need to know about Consevatie. He himself is an idiot."
"As if we need anyone to tell us that." Mein rolls her eyes at this comment.
"Don't underestimate our opponent, Mein. Even an idiot can have their moment of brilliance." Naofumi reaches his hands over, and gently pats the princess' shoulder. "He did capture us outside the capital."
"Yes, exactly. Consevatie is an idiot, but he's not so stupid that he wouldn't recognize a good scheme when he sees one. That whole plan to get all of you captured? It was thought up by Leon Bartfort, a young son from a minor border noble working with him. Consevatie has a lots of resources thanks to his father to realize other people's schemes. He'd steal their credit in the end and stab his allies in the back, but he isn't going to turn away a plan just because he didn't come up with it. That makes him dangerous." Jackson's brow twists together in what looks to be anger, or at least severe annoyance. "Of course. I wouldn't be surprised if Bartfort is now secretly working against him for what happened between them. Consevatie has a habit to step on everyone who doesn't sing his praises all the time."
"Leon Bartfort… he was that guy who with Consevatie when we were captured, isn't it?" Naofumi narrows his eyes as he runs his hand on his chin. "So that was the reason why he was acting all smug before Consevatie did something to him. It was his idea."
"That guy? He was the son of a noble?" Mein can't hide the shock in her voice. When Consevatie used the slave seal's punishment system on this Bartfort, she thought he was a slave. Maybe someone who got thrown into the penal legion for insubordination, his arrogance certainly would have explained it. Actually, he might still be. "Did this Bartfort guy got thrown into a penal legion by his superior or something? Consevatie was clearly using the slave seal to punish him when gloating to us."
"No, Consevatie beat the stuff out of him, and told his goons to enslave Bartfort. I wasn't there at the time, but from what I heard, Bartfort tried to challenge him for leadership and lost."
"That idiot! He really was an idiot!" Naofumi turns his head over to Mein, probably expecting her to explain why she is having another outburst, repeating and emphasizing the point on Consevatie's intelligence, or lack thereof. "It's against the law to enslave a fellow human, Master Naofumi. Especially a scion of a nobleman. Granted… Bartfort's father is a border noble and probably not a high ranking one, or else I'd remember his name. So probably a baron, or a viscount. But it's still completely illegal to slap a slave seal on their son or daughter just because they lost an honorable duel. Consevatie really is doing everything he can to sabotage himself. Although now I think about it… it's rather lucky my own punishment setting had been kept at default. It only triggers if he manually activates them."
The Shield Hero takes a strange pause at this. "You think he was putting the kid's glove on you on purpose?"
"He wouldn't make it easy on a royal princess." Mein huffs out a mirthless laugh at Naofumi's suggestion. It's true, considering he did put the slave seal on her fully knowing who she was… using a red hot iron, no less. "That fool probably never thought we'd have gotten away, and we were good as dead till he decided to execute us in some special event. If it weren't for Lord Noches and his men, we would have been. Well, at least we don't have to worry about it now. Since you are my new master, and you flat out disabled all the punishment settings."
"Right, back to that Consevatie guy. Not only did he have an infight with his top advisor, he did something illegal to him. Great to know we got bested by such an idiot." Naofumi's words make the princess drop her head in shame once again. Yes, as cathartic to have her opinion of the Consevatie boy validated, it's really bitter to know he was the one who hurt Naofumi and herself the most. "So what's he been up to? Mein explained to me what 'god crafting' was, and apparently he made Bed-Chan using it? Why did he try to make Bed-Chan in the first place?"
"He said something about 'recreating bioplant' as soon as he arrived in Balafon. For what I know, he might have said something as soon as he's promoted to an overseer." The commoner templar squints his eyes. The disgust rolled off his tongue. "I'm not sure why he was obsessed with making this 'bioplant'. I'm not exactly in his inner circle even before what happened outside the capital. But I did catch something he mumbles to himself here and there. Something about a hero's ability. Maybe he thinks making this dryad would give him some ability similar to what you have as a hero?"
"So, he wants to discover abilities like a summoned hero. I don't know what he's getting at. I mean, the shield I unlocked through the Life Root was nice, but it's not like it gave me some very strong, or special ability." Naofumi nods along, looking visibly confused at Jackson's revelation. "I guess he assumed I must have gotten something special after beating the Life Root. I mean… it made sense. It was technically one of the strongest monsters I faced so far."
"The point isn't what ability he thinks you got, Master Naofumi. It's how he wants to replicate something apparently only a hero can do." The princess puts emphasis on the main point of the argument. "Remember Zylden? He wanted to replicate a hero's teleportation ability."
"Oh yeah, Zylden. He's… he's also trapped in Balafon, isn't he?" The Shield Hero turns his head over to the pair of Three Heroes' Church defects. He holds his arm out, about as high as the imp stood. "You two remember seeing a guy about this tall… very big head with golden hair. Constantly drinking his watered wine and likes to crack jokes?"
The two renegade exchanged another look. This time Logan is the one to reply. "Um… not sure about joking around part. But yeah, there's a midget who was apparently in charge of overseeing all those special trees the Balafon people grew. He tried to stop Consevatie from doing what he did to make this huge tree monster. It didn't end well for him."
"They killed him?!" Naofumi's screaming voice is more piercing than usual. It makes Mein close her ears with her hand, even without it giving her a literal headache. The minor discomfort aside, even Mein feels sorry for the misfortune that befell the imp. He might have been annoying with his constant jests, but he was another person who actually believed in her.
"No, not that badly. But he, alongside a few other people from Balafon, got roughed up by the captain commanding those House Consevatie men. I think it was one of his cousins or something? Anyways, they got bonded and gagged, then thrown into one of the small houses they keep troublemakers in. Because Consevatie doesn't want to deal with him."
"What about my big brother?" Yukari immediately cuts in.
"Miss… I don't even know who your brother is." Jackson turns his head around to look at the apprentice necromancer. He looks like he's going to blurt something impolite, but takes a pause to catch himself. Clearly trying to be nicer to those around the Shield Hero. He narrows his eyes again. "Although judging from you being a demi-human… your brother is surely enslaved if he isn't a pure human half-brother. That's how the Three Heroes' Church operates on principle. Anyone who isn't a pure human gets a slave seal slapped on their body, even if only as a 'safety measure'."
"Oh, no. My brother! What have they done to you!?" Yukari breaks down into a series of squeaky sounds.
"That's… that's better than death, at least. I think?" The Shield Hero looks around, almost like he's trying to see if anyone is willing to validate his opinion. After a short while of silence, he turns to look at Mein again. Probably because he wants to change the subject to distract Yukari. "So you were talking about Zylden wanting to find a way to unlock teleportation for regular people, and use it to teleport women directly to his room?"
The princess felt like slapping herself. In hindsight, Zylden wasn't the best example. "Most people aren't like Zylden, Master Naofumi. When they try to do something only a hero can, they want something big. At the very least, they want to be forever remembered in history. Now think about what's Consevatie like. He openly picks fights with heroes like you. Expects complete obedience of his allies and subordinates and would beat them down, illegally enslave them to ensure their loyalty. And when he captured you, he decided to throw you into a dungeon and execute you in some public event just so everyone would know of his 'achievement'."
"You think he is ambitious. He wants acute influence and power to climb over those above him, like that Cromwell guy."
"Very possible. He might even aim higher with his clergy career. Maybe he wants to even topple Pope Balmus and be the one in charge of the entire Three Heroes' Church. He is only second in line of Marquis Consevatie's inherited after his sister." The princess puts her hands on her waist. "From what I heard, his sister is quite well known and respected in high society. So there's little chance Marquis Consevatie would pass her over and give his title to this idiot. He's barely fit to be the court jester."
What the princess said isn't strictly true. Melromarc's inheritance policy is generally 'men fight war, women rule the court' due to Queen Evangeline's reforms. But it's not an ironclad law, since Evangeline doesn't want a rebellion on her hand by taking away male scion's inheritance right through force. And Marquis Consevatie was well known for favoring his son over his daughter. Idiocy is apparently hereditary in the male members of this family. But even if that's the case, gaining prestige and higher position in Three Heroes' Church would help him get his father's title much easier.
"What about Raphtalia, and Firo? Are they being mistreated by Consevatie?" The Shield Hero's breath sounds hitched. What happened to Zylden clearly worried him, and the fear quickly shifted towards the people he grew to care most, his two 'daughters'. Considering what happened to the imp and Yukari's brother (not that she cared about this particular raccoon person), Mein herself is almost too afraid to hear what Jackson has to say this time. "He didn't step in to stop that big brute from beating Firo till she got stomped into the dirt. Literally."
"Those two? They are being pampered like princesses, or queens the whole time." Jackson actually snorts this time, no longer able to keep his previous condescension out of his voice. Well… Raphtalia is the princess of Q'ten Lo people, and Firo is technically a Filorial queen breed. "They are given nice close on House Consevatie's coffer, treated to the best food Consevatie has every meal. And they are pretty much given freedom to do whatever they want as long as they don't attack Consevatie himself, his band of sycophants, or try to run away. I mean, their slave seals still give them quite the shock if they do try to do the aforementioned. That blond brat had to learn the hard way. But plenty of priestesses would have killed to be in their position. That reject from House Amelia glares at them everytime she sets her sight on them. Like she wants to burn them to ash with her eyes."
"Ah… so it's much the same since last time. I suppose it could have been worse. At least Raphtalia and Firo are safe." Naofumi leans his body down into the crown of The Bed of Chaos. He's visibly relieved to learn they aren't in immediate physical danger. Unless Firo breaks another one of Consevatie's rules, it seems. "How close does Consevatie keep them?"
"He let the bird run around freely. Probably because she snaps at him all the time. And he's not in the habit of dealing with a bigger brat than himself. Would hardly let the raccoon girl out of his sight though. Not sure if he realized one of the priestess eyeing him would murder her, or because he's just that creepy. He's related to the child lover after all." Jackson snorts once again before his expression turns more serious. "If you want to rescue them, my advice is grab the bird and then run like the wave is chasing you. Get out of the range of the slave seal so he doesn't command her to drop dead. Forget about your raccoon girl. There's no way Consevatie would give her up."
"I'll take it under advisement. Anything else you noticed about them, or Consevatie? I mean, I'm glad he's treating Raphtalia and Firo fairly well, but he has to do it for some special reason, right? It sounds like he's almost going out of his way to be nice to them. I mean, it's not much, but that's nicer than how he treats his top advisor."
"Hell if I know. Maybe he wants to steal your girls from you? That would surely give a decadent noble boy like him a kick." Jackson shrugs his shoulders, but he slowly begins to frown as if he is thinking of something. "Although now you mention it… there's a strange word, or something when he talks with your raccoon girl. Something like 'EN-Pee-Sea'? He says it faster than me."
The Shield Hero's upper body immediately shoots up from the leafy bed. His movement is so sudden and fast, he nearly loses his balance and rolls down The Bed of Chaos. Oersted has to physically hold him. His face is in the most pale shade the princess has ever witnessed. "He said 'NPC' to Raphtalia?"
"YEAH! Exactly like that. I said something about your girl Raphtalia. How she can't understand him, because she's an ENPEESEA." Aside from this strange word, Jackson's words are very mundane, and kind of confusing on top of it. But the Shield Hero's face only grew even white as his body seemed to suddenly lose all its bones. He looks like he's going to turn into mush and seep into the leaves under him.
"What happened, Master Naofumi? Don't scare me!" Mein quickly crawls over to the Shield Hero's side, grabbing onto him from the opposite side of Oersted. He seems to be mumbling something under his breath, but they are too quiet for her to hear. "Snap out of it, Master Naofumi! What did that Consevatie guy say?"
The Shield Hero slowly responds to her loudly calling to her. But his words completely baffle her. "I think he's like me."
"Consevatie can't be like you, Master Naofumi." The princess places a hand on Naofumi's shoulder. He clearly had too much shocking revelation recently, and is now halfway delirious. "He isn't a hero, and wasn't even summoned to our worlds. He was born from his father Grima Consevatie and his wife."
"No. He doesn't have to be summoned. In my world, there's a specific genre of story that's named Isekai [otherworld]." For a brief moment, a double sound echoes in Mein's head. Not like the headache she had when her broken staff tried to translate The Bed of Chaos' speech, but she still heard both the very exotic and foreign words in Naofumi's voice and the translated meaning behind it. It's likely the Shield Hero's translation system working its effect. "The setting is specifically about someone from my world who goes into another, usually fantasy world. Thus the name. Sometimes, the main character is summoned like me. Other times, they die and reincarnate into the other world."
"You think that's the case with Consevatie." Mein nods her head alone. The idea itself wasn't that strange, as other worlds. Both higher planes of existence as different versions of heaven and hell (and depending on certain theocrates, world of the heroes), and parallel worlds are proven to exist. So the idea of the main character in a fiction goes to another world is occasionally used in knights, or romance novels. Although they aren't usually the focus, and it's definitely rare that the main character is a reincarnate with their memory intact. "That he's someone from your world reincarnated?"
"Yes, because he said 'NPC'." Naofumi nods his head. While his eyes are more focused than before, his face is still deathly gray. "It's a word from my world, which stands for 'Non-Playable Character'. You remember when I talked about video games from my world?"
"The one where people use illusion magic to make someone else think they are in a completely different world? Yeah. It was a long time ago, but I'd remember such a great feat achieved by the mages of your world." It still sounds almost unbelievable that mages from Naofumi's world would manage to create such powerful and useful spells. Yet it's used apparently for entertainment rather than a more important purpose. Such as using it to let warriors hone their skill in a relatively safe environment. The Shield Hero, still in his stupor, gives her a long look before continuing.
"Yeah… illusion magic." The Shield Hero mumbles to himself before continuing. "It's used in those games to describe characters in there not actually controlled by a real person. They are supposed to look like humans, but can't do anything other than some basic things programmed in them. Em… by program, I mean-"
"So they are like the most basic kind of golems. Only able to do what their creators scribed into them." The princess blinks her eyes. Her realization slowly, but surely progressed into anger. She immediately launches herself into another one of her angry tirades, and would have set something on fire if what she's currently riding on is very flammable. "OH! That absolute little shit! Just because our world is very similar to, apparently, one of these 'games'. Make-believes from your world. He started to think all of us are these glorified illusion golems from said make beliefs, who can't think for ourselves?! I don't know how old he was before he reincarnated. But he probably didn't live long in his previous life if he's this stupid!"
"Yeah… yeah! You are right. That must be what he meant." Somehow, color starts to return to Naofumi's face. Perhaps he is genuinely amused at her outburst. If that's the case, she's glad at least someone she cared about actually found some mirth in her suffering. "This world is like a fantasy video game. So he started thinking everyone living in it was a non-playable character."
"I found a cave!" Yukari suddenly begins slashing her finger towards the north east. "It's big enough for all of us, and has only one way in so we aren't going to be surprised behind us."
"Nowhere to run if someone discovered us either." Oersted immediately points out the flaw in Yukari's (not so) strategic mind. "How well-hidden is it?"
"It's… admittedly not that well hidden. It's slightly taller than Logan, and he can walk inside with me if we stand shoulder to shoulder." Yukari practically wilts under everyone's gaze. Logan was the tallest of their group, easily standing a head more than everyone else. And while Yukari is pretty slim, Logan himself is wide and burly. Which means the cave entrance will be easy to spot for anyone who isn't blind.
"Do we pass this one and look for another?" Ren, the former highwayman, turns his head towards the Shield Hero, waiting for his answer.
"Hmm… I wonder…" Naofumi seems to have finally recovered his mind. He turns his face over to Jackson and Logan once again. "You guys passed right over Bed-Chan till Yukari started screaming her lungs out. Did you not see the giant dryad that's taller than most inns?"
"All we saw was a plain cliff. Until this giant dryad came up and started running." Logan reaches one of his hands down into the leaves of The Bed of Chaos. Is he petting the giant dryad like some fluffy pet?
"You have some ability to camouflage, or mimic rock, Bed-Chan?" A branch breaks through the thick layers of soft leaves. It begins to wave up and down like it's nodding. "Great! Bed-Chan can hide the entrance for us this way! Those people from the church won't know where we are, unless they try to set fire to all the rocky surface they see. Is anyone following us, Yukari?"
"I'm not sensing anyone with my undead familiars. They must think it's impossible to lose track of us with trails left behind by Bed-Chan, and are still gathering their scattered men." Yukari's negative answer gives the Shield Hero all the reassurance he needed. Under his instruction, the giant tree monster begins to carefully make her way over to the cave pointed out by Yukari.
"Don't get too close, Bed-Chan. If we lead a trail to the cliffside, it might make our pursuer suspicious. Park us in the middle of the forest, we can cover the rest of the way on foot." Naofumi gives a few gentle pats on the branch with his hand. The giant dryad slowly comes to a half, and the part they've been sitting and lying on slowly breaks apart from the rest of the crown and descends towards the ground level. The princess looks back, and sees the leaves atop of The Bed of Chaos slowly disappearing. Not in that they wethers and fall off the branches, but almost like they are slowly re-absorbed into the branches. Like a normal tree growing new leaves during spring, but in reverse.
"Okay, be careful with Nora. Load her on my back." Ren hops down from the dryad as he bends down on the ground. Naofumi and Oersted slowly carries Nora's still prong form up, and gently lets her down on the former highwayman's back. They carefully make their way through the forest, staying away from branches, bushes, or even muddy ground to leave as little trail to the cave as possible. The church was working with rangers from the northern border, who are very good at tracking down targets.
The cliffside was too steep for trees to grow unlike a hill, so the cave entrance is entirely exposed once someone gets close enough to the mountain. But thankfully for their group, they have a giant dryad monster created through god crafting method. Who apparently has some extremely versatile abilities not even the hero has access to. As they make their way in front of the cave, Mein actually witnesses more growth (presumably) from The Bed of Chaos breaking through the earth to start covering the entrance to the cave. They are clearly some kind of roots, yet their color and texture look exactly like sun blasted rocks. The princess takes a few quick hops forward, and starts to hammer her fist on the rock from the cliffside, and the dryad's growth. They feel exactly the same to the touch. "Yeah, this will work. No way those goons from Three Heroes' Church, or even the rangers from the north would know we are here. Unless Yukari starts to scream again."
"I'm sorry, okay?" The raccoon girl's face grows redder than an overripe fruit. "I got knocked out at night, and woke up with roots and vines coiled all over me. I thought I was being strangled, and eaten alive. What else am I supposed to think?"
"Relax, Yukari. It was only a jest. Come on, let's get in before our pursuers get here, and make ourselves comfortable." The princess immediately rushes into the cave, followed by everyone else. Logan actually has to walk sideways and squeeze a little. The Bed of Chaos seals shut the cave entrance, leaving only a few gaps to let a few needles of light, and presumably air to pass through. And they can peak through the small holes to see what's going on outside.
"Not exactly the tower of my mentors, but it'll do. For now. I could use a snack though." Yukari falls on her behind as she leans her back against the wall. A branch grows out from the root wall blocking the entrance, and drops a fruit on Yukari's hand. The novice necromancer looks both surprised, and grateful for the dryad's action. "Oh. Thank you, Bed-Chan!"
The men in their group start stripping their traveling cloaks down, sprawl them on the cave floor to make a makeshift bed for Nora. Naofumi lets out a sigh. "Guess we'll stay here till Nora recovers, huh?"
"A full eight hours of sleep should heal her leg. Although I'm not sure if Nora will be comfortable with her right leg soon after. It's pretty intense trauma to have a grappling hook meant to dig into trees, rocks and buildings stuck in your leg." Both Naofumi and Oersted cringes back at Ren's explanation.
Once again, a bundle of twisted branches and roots grows out of the wall blocking the cave entrance. They form into the 'head' and 'body' of the dryad, as she leans towards Naofumi's ear again. "What's that, Bed-Chan? You think you can grow us armor with your branches that'll help us move? You want to try it with me first?"
"You probably shouldn't offer yourself first, Master Naofumi." Mein's warning came out too late, as branches, vines and roots started to cover Naofumi's body. Not too long after, his armor crafted by the Lestrange family using shadowed bones gained a layer of dark lime, wooden surface. It almost looks natural with how The Bed of Chaos were able to weave her addition into the armor to not horribly clash with the armor's original design.
The Shield Hero squeezes his hands close and open a few times, and then starts to turn around. He even throws a few punches and kicks, then jumps up and down a few times for good measure. "Incredible. I actually feel much lighter on my feet even with the added weight. And it's easier to move my body. Living plant exoskeleton, or power armor? That's something I didn't expect from this world."
"I have no idea what you just said, Master Naofumi. But I guess our new friend can grow separate plants similar to how the Life Root used its growth to animate those dead beakthings." The princess recounts their brief, yet brutal fight against the newborn outer god they accidently grew with the magical seed recovered near Balafon. And specifically how the reanimated gutterbeak were able to easily tear the roof off Balafon's inn, and killed multiple of Count Balgruuf's guardsmen. Ironically, it seems like Consevatie's plant to make this 'bioplant' using god crafting worked out perfectly. Except the new born demi-god refused to listen to his command and ran away. Even joined forces with Conservatie's enemy, the Shield Hero. The next moment when she breaks her own musing and looks at Naofumi, Mein clearly sees an almost sinister looking smile on his face. "Master Naofumi?"
"I think I just came up with a plan that'll make Lelouch proud."
End Note:
For those who eagerly rubs their fingers in glee hoping to see SIOC crash and burn, this chapter hopefully show that more and more crack is starting to form around his power base. Jackson effectively defected to Naofumi's side, even through he obviously has a lot of make up to do. And Malty's misconception of Naofumi and his world keep getting deeper and deeper just like she keeps on digging a deeper hole to maintain her 'Mein of Samphor' identity.
I feel like I unintentionally made Naofumi look dumber than I wanted for Act III (not that he's very smart in canon either, since most of his 'smart' decisions comes down to Alenko invoking their almight author power to not let the logical negative consequences of his action happen), especially when I decided to have SIOC gets a solid win over him. But hopefully, by next chapter (which is already written, pending editting), you'll guys will see that he can definitely plan something smart when given the chance. Considering how Trash is currently in a coma, he isn't going to be here to save Naofumi's sorry ass like what happened later in Rising. So yes, Naofumi has to come up with something intelligent by himself this time.
XDDD
Guest review time.
To Thomachan:
Not sure you'll be around to see my reply to you on the last chapter. But thank you for your review and kind words!
I probably don't give him enough credit, but I think Comrade Broseph (before his mysterious disappearance, press F to show him respect) really helped keep me on the straight and narrow. Since he's pretty good at telling me I'm going overboard. So yeah, I think most people agree the best part of this story was the beginning when Comrade Broseph was still co-writing it with me. It's fair to say this story's success at the start is thanks to him, while the failing in the later chapters is all my fault alone.
XD