Chapter 10: In the Midst of Turmoil
After Naofumi and Kurisu returned their respective Pokemon, the party and Melty headed towards Elhart's shop and went inside.
"Uh, Kid… Mind telling me what's this all about?" Elhart asked Naofumi as he was inconvenienced with how the latter and his party suddenly barged into the former's store without any explanation.
"It's a little complicated. If you'd shut up, we can sort it out." Naofumi retorted.
"If you're gonna be here, you gotta let me hear the whole story." The blacksmith stated.
"Forgive me, we couldn't think of any place closer." Raphtalia stated on her master's behalf.
"Oh boy…"
"So, who exactly are you, anyway?" Naofumi demanded with his arm folded.
"Please, accept my apology. I am first in line to the Melromarc throne, but I should've told you that sooner. The second princess! I am Melty Melromarc."
"The princess!?" Elhart exclaimed.
"You're really in line with the throne?" Filo asked her best friend.
"So, it's the younger sister that gets to be queen, huh?" Tyler said. "But I wanna know, how are you able to get ahead of that skank of a sister?"
"I'm sure you noticed, but my sister has always been a problem child due to… personality difficulties." Melty answered, who slightly frowned at Tyler's choice of words for her older sister.
"Not surprising." Naofumi remarked.
"I'm not lying! I really have no idea that you're the Shield Hero." Melty assured him. "But then, this might be a perfect opportunity to—"
"I've heard enough." Naofumi interrupted as he stood up and glared at the ten-year-old princess. "You can forget everything. We're outta here!"
"Dude. That's cold…" Tyler commented.
"I just can't trust anything you say." The messy haired young man coldly refused to believe her. "Get lost!"
The young princess widened her eyes as she couldn't believe that one of the Four Cardinal Heroes rejected her and told her to leave. Everyone else was surprised by how Naofumi acted towards Melty.
"Please, wait! You have to hear me out!" The young princess pleaded.
"I don't have to listen to a damn word that comes out of that filthy royal mouth!" Naofumi coldly snuffed her attempts.
"Naofumi, maybe she's—"
"Not now, Kurisu." The Shield Hero told her. "She's nothing but a filthy liar to me, just like her sister and that bastard of a king that she called "Father"."
Kurisu was shocked to see how even Naofumi refused to trust her, despite the fact that the former could tell that Melty was being honest with him.
"Princess Melty, His Royal Majesty calls. Please come with us." A knight entered the store as he told the Princess.
Seeing that her father calls for her, Melty had no choice but to cut her conversation short. "Very well, I'll go." She then turned towards Filo. "I'm sorry, Filo. I have to leave."
And with that, she ran towards the exit of the store.
"Mel, wait—" Filo was just about to catch up to Melty, but then…
"Filo, don't." Naofumi interrupted her, preventing her from going after her friend. "No."
Filo couldn't believe what her master just ordered as Raphtalia went to her side and comforted her.
"Why couldn't you have given her a chance to hear her out?" Raphtalia inquired as Naofumi was checking his stats.
"Come on, Naofumi! She wasn't that bad." Kurisu added.
"You know, they have a point there, Kid." Elhart stated, agreeing with the two girls.
"Master. I don't understand. How could you treat Mel so coldly?" Filo innocently asked him before she approached her master and saw if he could answer her. "Why? Tell me why? Please!"
Naofumi simply patted her on the head. "Listen to me, Filo. I think it's best that you don't play with Melty anymore."
"What!?" Filo exclaimed with disbelief.
"Master Naofumi! Talking to Filo as if you're her father doesn't make her understand." Raphtalia said.
"Why? Tell me, Master!? Mel hasn't done anything wrong!" Filo begged her master.
"It doesn't matter if she did something wrong or not." Chelsea chimed in, causing everyone except Naofumi to turn towards her. "What matters to Naofumi is that Melty is just another member of that lying, accursed royal bloodline. Plain and simple."
"Chelsea! Don't tell me you're taking Master Naofumi's side!?" Raphtalia said.
"You meanie! Mel is different!" Filo told her.
"Complain all you want, but I don't think Naofumi isn't going to change his mind anytime soon." Chelsea stated. "Don't you see, Filo? Melty isn't your friend anymore. And you're not allowed to play with her ever again. So, deal with it!"
"Y-You… You're a big meanie!" Filo proceeded to leave the store in tears.
"Chelsea! You've gone way too far!" Raphtalia berated. "She's just a child! Couldn't you at least be gentle with her?"
"Oh please, I'm not one to sugarcoat things. Plus, if I don't do that, Filo will keep pestering for answers." Chelsea retorted. "In case you forgot, Naofumi got a grudge against the royal family for making his life a living hell."
"When you put it like that, I guess it's kinda true." Tyler couldn't help but understand the statement.
"But still, it doesn't justify the fact that you have to be really blunt with Filo." Kurisu said.
"Yes. Where did you get off saying such awful things?" Raphtalia stated.
"Trust me, you really don't want to know." Chelsea glared towards, causing them to be slightly unnerved by it. "Mental scars don't heal so easily. So, I get what Naofumi is feeling right now."
"Mental scars, huh?" Kurisu repeated, reminding her of Elaine and her tragedy. She was also curious how Chelsea could relate herself to Naofumi. But then, the door to the shop suddenly opened, revealing Filo.
"Excuse me, Master. You have visitors." Filo, who stopped crying, told him.
"Visitors?" Naofumi repeated as the knight from before peeked his head through the door.
"I apologize." He said as he entered the store with Filo. But he was not alone as he was accompanied by two other knights and two mages.
"It's you again." Naofumi said. "So, what the hell do you want?"
The knight swallowed a lump as he began. "Uh… We… Actually, I… Uh…" He stuttered a bit. "Please, let us accompany you, Shield Hero! At least, during the Waves." He said as he and his companion bowed towards them.
"What…?" Tyler was flabbergasted, as did others besides Naofumi.
"We were touched by your bravery and selflessness when you fought in the previous Wave." The knight stated. "Everyone here wants nothing more to support you and your tireless quest."
"So, wait? That's why you were chasing me?" Naofumi inquired, lowering his hostility towards the group.
"Yes! We all decided that we should ask to fight side by side the next time we see you here in the capital." He said.
"If this is about fighting the Waves, you can do that on your own." The Shield Hero remarked.
"No, Sir Shield Hero! The point is, we want to fight alongside you." The knight elaborated.
"Mind telling me the reason?"
"You see, Shield Hero. We all hailed from the village of Lute." One of the mages began. "Back then, you saved our families from a tragic end."
'Ah, so they're from Lute? That makes sense.' Kurisu contemplated.
"But you alone is not the only reason that we sought you." The knight then turned towards Kurisu. "You're Miss Kurisu, correct? We heard from the lord that you once saved the village from a group of bandits that raided Lute. We also can't thank you enough."
"It's not a problem. I'm just glad that I was able to protect your home." Kurisu said.
"So, you see, we want to repay you in any way we can." The male mage stated.
"Yes, as a thank you for saving our fellow villagers." The knight added.
Naofumi proceeded to pull out a pendant and showed it to the group. "Buy this for 150 silvers." He stated, much to the surprise of the knight. "I'll consider the offer if you cough up the cash."
"That's…"
"What's wrong? You can earn my trust if you buy this trinket right now." The Shield Hero stated.
"Master Naofumi…!" Raphtalia berated him for trying to extort a huge amount of money from the group.
"But 150 silvers, I don't think it's possible." Another knight stated.
"What do we do now?" One of the mages asked the leader of the group.
"We'll just have to arrange it." The group leader stated as he turned to the Shield Hero. "We understand. We'll gather the necessary silver pieces right now!"
After that, the group eventually left the shop to do just that.
"I can't believe you're pressuring them to buy a leftover accessory with that much." Raphtalia said.
"I have to say, you haven't changed a bit." Elhart remarked.
"Meanie!" Filo said as Naofumi was looking indifferent as usual.
Then, the party decided to buy better equipment in order to prepare themselves for the next Wave. Tyler, Raphtalia, Kurisu, and Chelsea bought new, and stronger armor for them to wear. Naofumi took off his Barbarian Armor in the changing room and then put them on the counter in front of Elhart
"Fix this up while you're at it." Naofumi told the blacksmith.
"The made-to-order stuff, huh?" Elhart asked. "Even if I throw some freebie materials for ya, it still costs you this much."
Naofumi then noticed the star symbols that appeared next to the level indicators of Raphtalia, Filo, and Kurisu. Tyler and Chelsea don't have star symbols next to their level indicators. "Hey, Boss! What do the stars next to Filo, Raphtalia, and Kurisu's level indicators mean?"
"Oh! You guys are ready for Class Upgrades already?" Elhart inquired.
"Class Upgrades?" Naofumi repeated.
"It lets you increase your level cap." Elhart stated. "Only those recognized by the court have the option. Since you're a Hero, it's possible. When upgrading your class, that's when you choose what path to take. And I have a lot of trouble deciding mine."
After that, the party decided to leave the store and head towards the church, because one of its requirements is to use the Dragon Hourglass at the town's church. It took several minutes for them to reach the church and proceed to enter it.
"Ugh. Why are we here again?" Tyler said, feeling uneasy about the place.
"Something tells me you don't like being here." Chelsea remarked. "Then again, me too."
"Be quiet, you two." Kurisu said as a trio of nuns noticed them, standing behind the aforementioned hourglass.
"Ah, the Shield Hero and his party. Do what we owe the pleasure?" One of the nuns greeted them.
"I want to do some Class Upgrades on some of my party members." Naofumi told them.
"Of course. That would be 15 gold pieces per person." The nun stated.
"15 gold pieces!?" Naofumi exclaimed, surprised at how much it cost. 'I could get thousands of ten rolls with that money.' He knew that the nun was trying to scam him, but he didn't falter. "Fine then. Raphtalia, you go on ahead. We'll upgrade you first."
"What!? What about me!?" Filo said.
"We'll upgrade you the next time we're here." Naofumi then walked forward up the stairs. "15 gold pieces, right. Here." Once he was in front of the nun, he proceeded to pull out a bag of coins that is worth 15 gold pieces and hand it to the nun.
"Tch. What a cheap bitch." Tyler clicked his tongue.
"Our apologies, we made a mistake." Another nun appeared as everyone turned towards her. "I'm sorry, but we are forbidden to provide Upgrades to the Shield Hero's team."
"But that's not what she said!" Raphtalia said before the older nun pulled a royal decree.
"It's a direct order from His Majesty." The nun explained.
Naofumi couldn't believe that King Aultcray had forbidden him from upgrading his party members. He wanted to shout at how outrageous it is, but he noticed that there were several nuns that appeared and were looking at them with wariness. His mind then flashed back to Merleo's warning.
"A word to the wise: Never trust the Three Heroes Church."
'Merleo's right. The church can't be trusted.' Naofumi stated as he remembered the time on how the church was involved with his rigged duel against Motoyasu. Knowing what to do, he quickly snatched the 15 gold pieces from the nun.
"Come on, guys. Let's get out of here." Naofumi told his party as he walked towards the exit.
"About time! I'm already sick of staying here." Tyler stated as he and the others followed their leader as they left the church.
As they walked away from the church, Tyler spoke up. "So, what do we do now? If we can't get Class Upgrades here, then where should we go then?"
"Don't know, but I do know someone who does." Naofumi stated as he took his party to a certain place.
It doesn't take them long for them to arrive at the capital's slave market.
"Is this what I think this is?" Chelsea asked.
"Yup. It's a slave market." Tyler told him, shocking Chelsea and Kurisu.
"A slave market…" Kurisu repeated. Ordinarily, she would bust down this sort of business. But considering that slavery is legal in this kingdom, she decided to against it as it would cause big trouble for her.
"Are you going to sell me, Master?" Filo asked Naofumi.
"No, I'm not." Naofumi assured her as he and the party entered.
"Ah! Welcome back, Sir Hero!" The slave merchant greeted Naofumi as soon as he and his party entered his shop. "How can I help you?"
"Looks like your business is doing okay, I take it?" Naofumi asked him.
"It is all thanks to you, if I may be so blunt." The diminutive man replied. "Yes, your traveling trade has been extremely profitable for me as well as you, thank you so much!"
"What does that mean?" He asked the merchant.
"Your little Filolial Queen has gained quite a reputation." The slave merchant stated, causing Filo to hide in fright. "Nobles from every corner of Melromarc are contacting me to ask how to procure one for themselves. Quite extraordinary, actually." He didn't turn towards Raphtalia. "And then there is you. You helped my business gain a reputation for providing high quality slaves! And the money doesn't stop rolling in." He chuckled a bit before he turned back towards Naofumi. "But enough of that. How can I help you today? Do you need another slave? Or perhaps you need my assistance with your Filolial experiment?"
"I'm trying to raise some Class Upgrades for us. Can you do that for us?"
"Uh… Class Upgrades, you say?" The slave merchant stuttered as he was unsure what to answer.
"Those bastards are not letting us do anything in this country." Naofumi said as he began to examine the slaves that were in cages. "Plus, I saw some overleveled slaves here." He turned towards a werewolf-like monster who was one of the combat slaves. Its level is Level 74.
"Unfortunately, we don't provide that service here." The slave merchant said.
"I see."
"No reason to despair, however. You can still get it done by simply applying it in any other country's Dragon Hourglass." It was this statement that attracted the other's curiosity.
"You mean there are others?" Naofumi asked, piquing his interest.
"Yes indeed!" The slave merchant stated. "Ordinarily, I would charge you with information like this. But, since it's you who is asking, I'll gladly tell you, free of charge—"
You foul human! Do not think that this cage shall hold me forever!" An unfamiliar voice could be heard, interrupting the slave merchant.
"What's that?" Naofumi wondered.
"Ah yes, that would be a newcomer that just arrived." The slave merchant stated. "A bit of an odd one, but it's very feisty. Quite rebellious really compared to the other slaves here, since it will start attacking everyone, including myself, the moment we release it from its cage. Truth to be told, it has caused quite a problem for me."
Naofumi and the party proceeded to walk towards the source of the voice. When they arrived, they were shocked at what it was.
"Whoa… Is that…?"
Inside the cage was something unusual. The creature is a floating medieval sword. Its body is a silver sword with a light gray hilt. Embedded in the hilt is a blue gem that appeared to be its eye. Attached to the pommel is a long, dark blue sash with a swirl design in lighter blue coloration at the tip and said tip split into four tassels. The creature's sheath is dark brown with triquetra-like lines across the surface. Near the top of the sheath are two rings and a hole that in conjunction with the shape of its blade create the illusion of a face, with eyes and a mouth. A third ring extended onto the hilt and encircled the gemstone-like eye.
"Release me at once so I can slice you to ribbons!" The floating sword said.
"What kind of creature is that?" Raphtalia asked, who had never seen a monster that is simply a floating sword.
"That creature is a Pokémon. More specifically, a Honedge." Kurisu explained.
"Honedge? You mean this sentient sword is a Pokémon?" Naofumi asked.
"Yeah…" Tyler proceeded to pull out a Pokédex about the Pokémon.
"Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. A Steel and Ghost type. Apparently this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force."
"A ghost sword? That's actually something." Naofumi noted.
Raphtalia was looking at the supposed Sword Pokémon. She couldn't help but relate to it since she was bought from this particular slave market. Not to mention that its determination was like her own when it comes to protecting and acting as her master's sword.
"Master Naofumi. I want to catch this one." Raphtalia said, shocking everyone including the slave merchant and the imprisoned Pokémon.
"Raphtalia, are you sure?" Naofumi asked.
"I'm sure."
"Hmph! You must have the nerve of a Steel type Pokémon if you dare to be my Pokémon Trainer, strange one." Honedge remarked as he eyed the sword around Raphtalia's hips. "I see that you are a fellow swordsman such as I. For that, I shall simply ask you one thing."
"One thing?" Raphtalia muttered.
"Indeed." Honedge unsheathed himself before pointing the blade towards Raphtalia. "Therefore, you are to accept my invitation to a duel. If you win, I will deem you worthy and allow you to catch me."
"And if I lose?" The demihuman swordswoman asked.
"Then you are to let me go as I wander through this foreign land to look for more of my Pokémon brethrens." The Sword Pokémon said. "What say you?"
Raphtalia was contemplating this invitation. Thankfully, it doesn't take her long.
"I accept." Raphtalia nodded.
"Raphtalia, are you sure?" Naofumi asked her.
"I am." One of his slaves replied. "Since I can't do a Class Upgrade, I'll make due by obtaining a Pokémon."
"That sounds reasonable." Tyler commented.
"If that's what you want…" Naofumi then turned towards the slave merchant. "Hey! Set this one free! We'll take it with us."
"Of course, Sir Hero." The slave merchant pulled out a key to the cage before opening it, setting Honedge free.
"You are awfully kind, for a human." Honedge told Naofumi.
"Well, Raphtalia was interested in you, so I did what I had to do."
"Anyway, can you wait for us?" Raphtalia asked the Sword Pokémon. "I know this is asking a lot, but there are still things that we need to do here."
Honedge was contemplating this before deciding to honor his opponent's request.
"Very well. I shall wait for you. But do not try backing out from this." Honedge replied.
"Thank you."
"With that out of the way…" Naofumi turned towards the slave merchant. "Let's continue where we left off."
"Ah, yes! Right this way." The slave merchant then led the party to his quarters.
The party then was showed a map of this world by the slave merchant.
"If we're talking about favorable countries for you to upgrade, there's the Mercenary Nation, Zeltoble. Demihuman country, Siltvelt. And Shieldfreeden." The diminutive man explained. "Out of the three, I suggest Shieldfreeden. Even though it's a country of demihumans, it's surprisingly welcoming to humans."
"So, how long does it take to get there?" Tyler asked him.
"By ship, it's two weeks. If you go by wagon, it's the better part of a month."
"Well, that's very far." Chelsea stated. "We're not going to get there before the next Wave."
"Yeah." Naofumi stated.
"Then how about we make due this time by equipping your Filolial Queen with a weapon?" The slave merchant offered. "And I know just the thing." He proceeded to open the chest that was in the room before rummaging in it. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for. "Here they are! Now, have your Filolial Queen transform, Sir Hero."
"Okay." Naofumi nodded at the slave merchant. "Filo, transform!"
"Okay, Master." Filo then transformed into her Filolial Queen form.
"Excellent!" The slave merchant proceeded to have Filo put on the weapons like someone put some shoes on. The end result was that Filo was now wearing some metallic talons. "They are Wyvern's Talons. Pretty slick, huh?"
"What is a Wyvern?" Filo asked the others.
"It's a type of dragon who only has four limbs, which is a pair of forewings and hindlegs." Kurisu explained.
"How much are they?" Naofumi asked him.
"In light of your continued patronage as well as taking that sentient sword off of me, I'll offer you the exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime price of 5 gold pieces!" The slave merchant stated.
"Make it 4." Naofumi bargained with the man. "How about you throw in some reins?"
"Haha! It's a deal!" The slave merchant agreed with the proposal. "You've grown into just the kind of man that I really adore! Hearing it just makes my spine tingle!"
As night fell, they moved just about in an empty space in the forest just outside the capital, perfect for a duel when no one else could interfere.
"I applaud you for staying true to your words." Honedge stated. "What drives you, I wonder? Is it confidence? Or is it foolishness?" The Sword Pokemon unsheathed himself as he entered a battle stance. "Either way, all will become clear in this duel."
"What drives me forward is my continued devotion to Master Naofumi." Raphtalia proclaimed as she readied her sword, which was recently purchased at Elhart's shop. "As his sword, I shall protect and guide him to victory! And I shall prove it here, right now!"
"Before we get started, I should let you know that it's pointless to dodge!" Tyler told Raphtalia, which confused her because she didn't know what that meant.
"Just give it your all, Raphtalia! Don't hold anything back!" Chelsea added, cheering her on.
"Enough talk! Now have at you! Slash!" Honedge then charged towards Raphtalia.
"Here he comes!" Naofumi warned her.
"Right!" Raphtalia rushed forward as she intercepted the move with her sword. The demihuman swordswoman tried her best to not get overpowered by her opponent.
"Hmph! Impressive. But can you keep this up?" Honedge boasted before he went for another Slash towards Raphtalia, which she blocked once again with her sword. And it was one Slash after another.
The two proceeded to exchange blows with one another several times as they tried to overpower the other. Though Raphtalia managed to land a good chunk of damage towards the Sword Pokémon. Unfortunately, it did not deter his resolve as Honedge decided to fight back with more
"Go! Big Sis! Take down that talking sword!" Filo cheered her on.
"That Honedge really keeps up with Raphtalia…" Naofumi commented as he watched the duel onfold.
Seeing it was no use repeating the same tactics over and over again, Honedge flew backwards away from his opponent.
"Well played, lass." Honedge complimented. "But it is now my turn to gain the upper hand! Swords Dance!" As he shouted it, multiple light blue swords circled around him. The swords stop and point towards Honedge, end first, before disappearing. A familiar red colored aura went upwards along his body, increasing his attack.
"What kind of move is that?" Raphtalia wondered.
"That's Swords Dance." Kurisu answered her. "A status move that increases the user's Attack stat by two stages."
"So it used a super buff on its Attack stat, huh? This is going to be rough." Naofumi stated.
"Let's begin, shall we? Fury Cutter!" Honedge's sword glowed light green before he lunged towards Raphtalia with impressive speed. The latter was able to intercept the move, but due to the increased power, she felt the tremendous power in the move before she barely pushed it back. "As admirable as it is to push back my attack, you can not expect to do the same tactic forever! Fury Cutter!" The Sword Pokémon once again went for another attempt. Only this time, he managed to overwhelm his opponent before landing a precise cut on Raphtalia.
"Raphtalia!" Naofumi shouted in worry as she was able to stand her ground.
"I'm fine, Master Naofumi." The demihuman swordswoman assured her master as she focused on her opponent. 'That was no bluff. That Swords Dance move really does increase his attack.' She contemplated. That second Fury Cutter… was more powerful than the first one."
"That Honedge was really clever with how he uses his moves." Kurisu remarked, causing Naofumi and Filo to look towards her. "After using Swords Dance, it followed up with Fury Cutter. It's a Bug type move that the more it's used, the stronger the move will be."
"It seems that the last move has made quite the impression on you." Honedge boasted. "No matter, this has only just begun! Fury Cutter!" His sword glowed once again as he charged towards Raphtalia.
'If I'm right, this one will be stronger than the last…' Raphtalia contemplated. 'I can't block it! I have to dodge.' She proceeded to swiftly move to the right to avoid the move, which was a huge mistake on her part.
"Raphtalia, don't!" As Tyler shouted that, Honedge suddenly appeared before Raphtalia, shocking everyone.
"Such foolishness…" The Sword Pokémon proceeded to do a vertical slash once again, causing Raphtalia to sustain more damage.
"Raphtalia!" Naofumi cried with worry as the tide turned against his slave.
"Come on, Big Sis! You can win!" Filo cheered her up as her "big sister" managed to stand still.
"Don't worry, everyone! I'm fine…" Raphtalia spoke between her breaths, signifying that she was getting exhausted.
"Hey, Kurisu. What was that?" Naofumi asked the former police intern. "How can that Pokémon suddenly appear out of nowhere in front of Raphtalia?"
"That's the work of No Guard, Honedge's ability." Kurisu stated.
"No Guard?" Both Naofumi and Filo repeated in unison.
"Yup. It's an ability that ensures that the user's attacks always hit their targets." She continued. "Of course, the user isn't immune to this."
"So, that means neither Raphtalia nor Honedge can dodge their attacks, huh?" Naofumi asked, which Kurisu nodded.
'So that's why Tyler warned me to not dodge.' Raphtalia pondered in her thoughts as she decided to change tactics. 'I may have to get a little creative now.'
"Now then, what shall you do?" Honedge asked his opponent. "Since you cannot dodge my moves because of No Guard, you have no means to counter my swordsmanship." He then raised himself high before he launched forward with a Slash. "Face it, lass! You are finished!"
"As if I let that happen!" Raphtalia retorted. "As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and blind my target! Fast Light!" And just like that, she produced a ball of bright yellow light that illuminated the battlefield. Everyone proceeded to shield their eyes at the sudden bright light. Her opponent, however, was not so fortunate.
"Gah! My eye! What manner of sorcery is this!?" Honedge canceled the move as he sheathed himself before using his sash to cover his eye. When he uncovered his eye after some minutes of recovery had passed, he was flabbergasted that his opponent was nowhere within sight. "What!? Where are you!?" The Sword Pokémon unsheathed himself as he put his guard up. "Show yourself!"
What he didn't know was that Raphtalia had cast Hide Mirage to hide herself from him. The latter took advantage of the confusion and proceeded to land some hits towards him.
"Gah!" Honedge cried in pain as he felt the assault.
"Wow. She's using her magic to her advantage." Naofumi muttered as he was impressed with how Raphtalia was able to change strategies on the fly.
"Yay! Go for it, Big Sis Raphtalia!" Filo said as she cheerfully cheered towards her.
"Hmph! Do not think such a tactic will last—" Honedge didn't get to finish as he was sliced again and again by his opponent. Seeing that her new sword was stronger than her previous one and she was able to move fast with or without Hide Mirage, the latter was able to deal a huge amount of damage to the former. Unfortunately, the spell wore off and Raphtalia became visible once again. "Enough trickery! I shall end this farce once and for all! Fury Cutter!"
"Very well. Let us finish this." Both sword fighters readied their blade. "Hrah!" Raphtalia let out a battle cry as she and Honedge lunged towards and got past one another as they swung their blade while doing so. Silence entered the atmosphere as they waited for one of them to fall, as did everyone else.
"This is nerve wracking." Tyler commented as he and the others were waiting on the victor.
The silence went on for several minutes as everything remained unclear. And both sides haven't shown any signs of falling… Until now.
"How… can this be…?" Honedge muttered before he fell to the ground on his backside. Everyone could see the swirly line in his blue gemstone-like eye, signifying that he had lost. Raphtalia managed to endure the pain despite the fact that the last move could cost her the duel. Fortunately, she was able muster whatever strength she has to not fall.
"Honedge is unable to battle! Which means Ralphtalia is the winner!" Kurisu announced the winner of the duel.
"Wow! Great job, Big Sis Raphtalia!" Filo rushed towards her in order to give her a hug.
"Yeah. For a second there, I thought you're going to lose." Naofumi also came to her side.
"Thank you, Filo. Master Naofumi." Raphtalia replied as Naofumi used Fast Heal to heal the former.
"Ugh…" Honedge groaned as he slowly came around.
"Chelsea, you got some Potions on you?" Tyler asked her.
"I got some right here." Chelsea answered as she approached the Pokémon and proceeded to use a Hyper Potion to heal Honedge.
"Since you lost, that means I'm allowed to catch you." Raphtalia told her opponent as she approached him.
"So it seems…" Honedge stated before he lowered his head a little as if he was bowing to her, much to the latter's surprise,
"What?" Raphtalia was flabbergasted at this sudden change of behavior, as did the others.
"Forgive my earlier rudeness, my lady. It was clear that your determination in that duel overwhelms my own." The Sword Pokémon humbly apologized for his earlier actions. "Your swordsmanship was clearly superior. That last attack has provided such evidence."
"Thank you." Raphtalia sweatdropped as she was still adjusting to this new behavior.
"From this day forward, I pledge to you as your knight, Lady Raphtalia." Honedge continued. "Just as your devotion to your master is what drives you to win, I believe my devotion to you will make me stronger. Strong enough to protect you and your companions."
"P-Please. Simply call me Raphtalia." The demihuman swordswoman sheepishly told him, embarrassed that the Pokémon is now treating her like a nobility.
"Do not be so bashful, Lady Raphtalia! A fine lady such as you is worthy to be treated as such." Honedge assured her.
"Y-Yes…"
"Raphtalia! Here you go!" Chelsea gave Raphtalia an empty Poké Ball.
"Thank you." She then turned towards her soon-to-be-caught Pokémon. "Let's get stronger together, all right?"
"Of course, Lady Raphtalia. I shall valiantly fight for your cause." The sentient sword-like Pokémon then let himself be hit by the Poké Ball. It only shook once before a beeping sound could be heard.
"And that's that! Honedge is now your Pokémon. Congrats on that, Raphtalia!" Chelsea complimented.
"Yeah. It's not so bad to have a living sword of a Pokémon on the team." Naofumi chimed in, also complimenting her.
"Thank you, everyone." Raphtalia stated.
And with that, the party proceeded to make their way back to the capital in order to sleep at its inn.
(The next day)
Naofumi and the party headed towards the forest outside of the capital to do some level grinding by defeating the monsters that were living there. Since Raphtalia couldn't level up anymore, she decided to train her Zigzaggoon and her Honedge in order to be stronger. Naofumi and the otherworldly Pokémon Trainers also did a little bit of EXP grinding. The result was that Naofumi and Raphtalia were able to get their Pokémon to increase their levels. The aforementioned trio, on the other hand, were also trained and have gained a lot of experience. Naofumi and Raphtalia have noticed that their Pokémon have learned new moves and they have replaced the old ones. When the Shield Hero asked the Pokémon Trainers why they only learned four moves, they were unable to come up with a definite answer.
After hours of grinding, the party decided to have a lunch break, with Chelsea cooking the meal. She gave everyone a plate before she gave one to Filo.
"Here." Chelsea gave a plate of food to Filo.
"Hmph! I'm not eating anything that you made, you big meanie!" Filo retorted, causing Chelsea to get irritated.
"Fine, be starved to death then. That'll show me." Both Chelsea and Filo glared at each other, which caused some serious tension in the atmosphere.
"Master Naofumi. Please, sort this out." Raphtalia told her master.
"Why me?" Naofumi reasoned with her.
"Because it was your fault for sending Mel away. And you're to blame for Chelsea's treatment of Filo." His slave pointed it out.
"Fine…" The messy haired young man proceeded to walk towards them. "Hey, you two! Why can't you just let bygones be bygones and make up already?"
"I don't wanna say sorry to that meanie, Master! She's started it!" Filo refused.
"If she stops being a brat for a second, then maybe I'll forgive her. Maybe." Chelsea added before she and the Filolial Queen returned to glaring at each other.
Without a moment's hesitation, the gunman decided to change the subject. A subject that has been plaguing his mind since yesterday.
"By the way, Kurisu. Back there, you said something about 'arrest'. What sort of Pokemon Trainer were you back in your world?" Tyler inquired, which sparked the interest of the others.
"Now that he mentions it, I'm also kind of curious. You told us a lot about your world in general, but we don't know much about you." Naofumi pointed out. "And since your world is similar to mine, but with a lot of Pokemon attributes… What was your occupation before coming here?"
"Hm?" Kurisu was quite confused with this, as she thought back to meeting the group, and realizing that other than her ability to detect lies, she never said anything much about herself. "Oh, good point. I never did say anything much about myself." she said. "Before I got summoned here, I was actually a member of the police force."
Naofumi and the other two trainers looked at her in shock, while Raphtalia and Filo were both confused about the occupation.
"A cop?! You?!" Tyler gasped, which Kurisu glared at.
"And just what part of that is hard to believe?" she questioned with a serious tone.
"N-Nothing…" The gunman sheepishly replied.
"Well, it certainly makes good use of your lie-detecting ability," Naofumi said in understanding.
"What's a police?" Filo asked.
"It's an occupation similar to that of soldiers and knights." Chelsea answered, who was slightly unnerved by the revelation, something that Kurisu caught on. "I'm pretty sure this is true for all worlds, but I thought members of the police would carry guns or batons. You have tonfas, though."
"That is true. Even in our world, the police would have that with their Pokemon, though rarely. What's the story behind your weapon of choice?" Tyler added.
"Well, I may have been a member of the police, but I was just an intern. As such, I'm not allowed to carry a gun on me. Though I am allowed to carry other weapons I owe." Kurisu explained. "And those tonfas were a prize that I won at a martial arts tournament."
"I see... Still, a police officer? Even for an intern, that's kind of cool. Heck, I'm surprised you didn't get summoned here as a hero."
When Naofumi mentioned that, a thought crossed Chelsea's mind. "Hm? Hang on. Now that he mentioned it, how did you get summoned to this world?" she asked Kurisu then. "From what Merleo told me, Naofumi got summoned here with three others as the Four Cardinal Heroes. In fact, even Tyler…" She trailed off when she realized she hadn't asked Tyler on how he crossed over to this world, realizing that his circumstance was similar to Kurisu. "So, how did you two get here?"
This did bring up some surprising good points for the two. It has been a while since someone asked them that.
"I, uh… was looking around in a new bookstore in Lumiose City, but I stumbled on some strange book." Tyler explained. But what came afterwards was too blurry for him to recount. "But then, everything suddenly went white. And next thing I knew, I was in a cave…" He then showed the gun to the others. "With this in my hand."
'Now that I think about it, I have a feeling that the gun is somewhat similar to Chelsea's hammer.' Naofumi pondered as he thought back about how similar Tyler's gun is to the hammer that Chelsea had.
"As for me, I kinda don't know." It was Kurisu's turn to explain. "The last thing I remember was that I saved a kid from getting run over by a train… After that, I woke up in the middle of a forest with no further explanation."
It was then that Chelsea reached a conclusion after connecting the dots. "Now I get it. You two are the side effects that Merleo claimed to have sensed!"
"Wait. Side effects? From what?" Naofumi asked.
"You see, Merleo told me that he sensed some "side effects" that came from Melromarc summoning all four Heroes in one place." Chelsea explained. "That could be it."
"Funny. That bastard king didn't mention anything about that." Naofumi remarked. "He's either reckless or just plain stupid."
"So, what you're saying is that me and Kurisu dragged here because it is a side effect?" Tyler asked, which Chelsea nodded. "Did Merleo say anything else?"
"No, just that. Sorry."
"Are you sure there's nothing else to be said?" Kurisu inquired about a certain topic, which earned her attention from the others.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not a liar. You can ask Merleo for more details when he gets back." The honey blonde young woman retorted, feeling offended.
"That's not what I mean. You know what, just forget it."
"No, please. By all means, speak. I can tell there's something on your mind. It's a bit ironic for someone like you, who claims to be a living lie detector, to have something to hide.
Kurisu took a deep breath, unsure with how she should proceed. Chelsea could tell what she was thinking.
"Let me guess. It's about Melty, isn't it?" The honey blonde young woman asked rhetorically. "There's nothing to say about that conniving little brat."
"Hey! Don't talk to Mel like that!" Filo defended her best friend.
"Sorry, Filo. Talk is cheap. Just like how your "best friend" tried to reason with Naofumi."
"Okay, that's it! What is wrong with you!? Even if you do have a point about Master Naofumi's history with Mel's family, that does not mean you have to take it all out on Filo like that." Raphtalia stated as she had had enough of her teammate's cynicism.
"You're being incredibly biased right now!" Kurisu added. "Do you know how petty and one-sided that is!? Melty is not like the king and that lying mess for an older sister! It was proven from our brief time with her—"
"Oh, grow up you three! I did what I had to do with Filo back then!" Chelsea snapped, justifying her reasons. This shocked everyone, none more so than the three. "What? Still thinking that sugarcoating will solve everything? She needed that dose of reality. Not in terms of how strong monsters can be, but that there are monsters even amongst people. No matter how kind they may seem. If Naofumi isn't going to give her that, then someone else should!"
Kurisu raised a brow when she said that, finding her use of words quite odd. "... And by that, you mean it happened to you at some point, didn't it?"
This struck a nerve in Chelsea as Kurisu was able to figure her out.
"Chelsea, I know it hurts like hell. But it's time to tell them your whole story." She turned to see Tyler, who was worried about her. "Bottling it all up isn't gonna get any good for you. Just fess up."
'So even Tyler knew about this?' Kurisu pondered. 'But seeing that he came from the same world and region as her, it's not a surprise that he knew something about her.'
Realizing that her "Hero" had a point, Chelsea finally relented. "Tch! Damn it! Why now!?" She cursed before taking a deep breath now, having regained her composure. "All right, fine. But fair warning: my story isn't for the faint of heart."
Everyone steeled themselves as they prepared to hear Chelsea's background.
"Now then, where should I start?" She began. "I was a normal, everyday girl. Good parents, good friends, and even a healthy relationship with a fiancée. But it all changed in one night. Turns out my parents practically make me some sort of sex toy to my fiancée and he was about sexually harassed in ways that was beyond my comprehension! But when I managed to escape and reported this to the police, they misunderstood the situation and made me the culprit! My parents outright disowned me when I refused to be my fiancée's submissive puppet!" She barely holds back her tears. "And my best friend? She ignored my call for help and said that I should handle this on my own!"
"That's dark…" Kurisu muttered, sympathetic to her plight. Little did she know that this was nothing compared to what's to come.
"Everything was hopeless back then…" Chelsea continued. "No matter how much I convince people, they refuse to believe me! I was practically alone back then. No one except my Pokémon."
"I know that feeling." Naofumi stated, as he could relate with her.
"But then… a man approached me and asked, "Are you a victim of this filthy world's greed as well?" After that, he offered me a place in his organization. Of course, I accepted his offer."
"What kind of organization is it? And who is the man that approached you?" Kurisu asked, feeling suspicious about the man and his organization.
"His name is Lysandre." Chelsea stated. "At first, he seemed like a good-natured scientist. But in actuality, he is the leader of a criminal organization called Team Flare."
"Team Flare? That looks like a silly name." Naofumi scoffed at the name.
"You were recruited to join a criminal organization!? Why!?" Kurisu exclaimed as she had mixed feelings about the revelation.
"Don't let the name fool you, their intentions are a little bit extreme. Then again, so am I back then." Chelsea continued. "I was so consumed by rage, hatred, and despair that I was almost willing to go through the organization's endgame: To revert the world back to its beautiful state by killing everyone who isn't affiliated with us."
Everyone except Tyler was flabbergasted once more.
"Hold on just a sec! Your organization's solution is simply to kill everyone who isn't in Team Flare!?" Naofumi felt like that this type of thing only happened in the movies of his world. "That's insane! Not even that petty king was thinking about something like that!"
"I agreed. To think such a group of people would do such a thing…" Raphtalia added as she was horrified at it. "They are terrible people!"
"I'm scared, Master!" Filo proceeded to hug her master.
"What a group of psychopaths!" Kurisu exclaimed in horror. During her time as a police intern, she has caught several criminals as well as helping her fellow officers to take down a criminal organization. But she was caught off guard when she heard of a villainous organization who are willing to commit a total annihilation of those who were not aligned with Team Flare to achieve their goal.
"To be honest, I'm not exactly proud of that once I got some sense knocked into me. Especially when Lysandre tossed me aside once I served his purpose." Chelsea admitted before she glanced towards Tyler. "But thanks to Tyler here, he was able to convince me that there is still good left in the world. I was able to get pardoned by the police, make amends with my best friend, and I was able to get those deadbeats and that bastard to be sent to jail. Life has been much sweeter ever since."
"No wonder you told me that Tyler saved your life." Raphtalia remarked.
'So those were the mental scars that she mentioned earlier…' Kurisu mentally noted. Ordinarily, she, a police officer, would condemn her for trying to bring an end to the world, but unable to because unfortunate circumstances have driven her to such extremes.
"Now that you know my whole story, do you think any less of me?" Chelsea asked. "That I was once a member of a group of genocidal extremists?"
The others, especially Kurisu, were contemplating this. She and Raphtalia began to understand why Chelsea did what she had to do. Naofumi couldn't help but to feel pity for Chelsea because he knew what it was like to lose everything and have so much rage and hatred that he condemned the world for it. Filo could tell how sad Chelsea was when she told her story, so she decided to drop whatever animosity the former had for the latter.
"… That may have been you in the past, but it is not who you are now." Kurisu began. "You may have been a part of such an organization, but only because you were practically forced to. Not because you truly agree with what they did, but because you gave up on life to go along with the eradication. I will never think low of anyone who has gone through that."
The three heroes in the group looked at her in surprise upon hearing that.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the police are supposed to enforce the laws on criminals regardless of reason." Naofumi asked. "Is that really something even an intern should be saying?"
"And you're right, normally we would. But I'm not like those types of officers. Not when I have my own reason to want to be one." Kurisu answered, piquing their interest.
"Why? Did you go through the same horrific shit too?"
Rather than answering Tyler's question, Kurisu simply pulled out Floette's Poké Ball. "It's not me who went through the horrible things Chelsea and Naofumi went through… It was my childhood friend, Elaine, Floette's former Trainer."
"Former?" Raphtalia was curious by the last part.
"Floette? You mean that little fairy that was holding a red flower?" Naofumi asked, having seen the aforementioned Pokémon before during the grinding earlier.
Tyler simply showed the Pokédex entry of Floette. It was also shown with four other Floette with different colored flowers, namely blue, yellow, orange, and white.
"Floette, the Single Bloom Pokémon. A Fairy type. Floette takes care of wilting flowers as it flutters through the fields. It uses the energy of flowers during battle."
"Whoa… They also came in different colors!" Raphtalia commented.
"Some species of Pokémon came in different colors." Chelsea stated. "Personally, I like the blue one."
"Anyways…" Kurisu brought back the subject. "Elaine was the kindest girl anyone has ever known. But because many people knew her father as an atrocious man, kids in our neighborhood assumed she would take after him and did nothing but bully her, accusing her for things she did not do, pinning all sorts of ridiculous blames on her even when she was never near the source of those crimes. She didn't fight back, though; she just wanted to live a good life in peace. It was because of that part of her that she and Floette met. Heck, if things were different, Floette would've been her official first Pokémon."
"Wait. I thought you said this girl was Floette's former trainer, right?" Naofumi asked.
"Not officially. But they were close enough to have that bond back then." Kurisu clarified.
"So, what stopped them from being official?" Chelsea asked.
"Her father. He was just as brutal as people claimed him to be…"
The group was shocked at the response.
"So, her asshole dad is no good criminal then?" Tyler asked angrily.
"It's complicated." The former police intern replied. "While the guy was an executive assistant of a big company back in my world, he was also secretly involved in a huge crime…"
Hearing that made them tense.
"What... What crime is that...?" Chelsea asked.
"I assume you know what "trafficking" is, right?" That one question alone left them all speechless.
"He had people enslaved?!" Naofumi questioned.
"Not people. Pokémon." Kurisu corrected. "It was one thing for Pokémon to be owned by trainers, be kept as pets, or even assist workplaces as staff members, but a Pokémon being forced to live with someone under horrible conditions and do some forced labour, or worse be used as some sick and twisted entertainment in PokéMunus!" She clenched her fist in rage at that last part. "That was far from forgivable…!"
No one knew what to say to that, especially when they did not know what PokéMunus was. Not even Tyler or Chelsea has heard of such a thing in their Pokemon world. But going by Kurisu's expression, it had to be something worse than slavery.
Calming down somewhat, the former police intern continued. "When it was found out that her father was involved in that, Elaine and her mom got scorned by many, even when they were completely innocent from his actions. And though he did get sent to jail for being involved in the act, there was very little evidence as to how involved he was. So, in accordance with the law, he was only sentenced to a few years of imprisonment. It was bad enough that his actions changed other's views of his family, but when he returned home, it was nothing but a hellish nightmare for them. Not just from locals, but even from that... that wretched scum. After having to deal with such hardship for years at a young age... It was just too much for Elaine... Even though Floette and I were always right there for her, we couldn't..."
The way she trailed off from those words, combined with the saddened expression on her face, and the tears forming in her eyes, it did not take long for anyone to know what was the fate of that girl.
"She offed herself in the end, didn't she?" Tyler was the first one to speak, which Kurisu sadly confirmed with a nod.
"Oh, my Arceus…" Chelsea muttered in horror.
"Offed?" Raphtalia and Filo asked in unison, who were unfamiliar with the phrase.
"It means that Elaine ended up taking her own life to escape from the abuse." Naofumi explained the phrase to them, causing the two to have the same reaction as the rest. "Also, I'm sorry for your loss. But what I don't get is why didn't she or her mother report the abuse?"
"Because her mother was hopelessly in love with that guy. She kept believing that he did not really get involved in Pokémon trafficking. Now that I think about it, she was just as dense as Mononashi. And as I said before, Elaine was far too kind for her own good. She also thought there was some good in him, a good that was just stressed from some twisted misunderstanding, and wanted to help him feel better in some way…" Kurisu replied, wiping the tears away. "But the point is, it's because of her that I decided to become a police officer. To prevent that incident from happening again. To prevent another incident of a good life getting taken away. Be it by a misunderstanding, or because of scums hidden in society." She turned back towards Chelsea. "You may have been a part of that heinous organization, but as far as I can see, you're nothing like Elaine's dad. You're just a victim of hidden scums, forced to make the wrong choice. The law in my world may find faults in you for that, but I won't."
"Did you really mean that? Even though I was being a total bitch earlier?" Chelsea asked.
"I'm sure. If anything, you are better than Malty." Kurisu complimented.
"True that."
"Again, you need to keep your chin up." The former Team Flare member turned towards Tyler. "Don't give up 'till it's over, okay? I mean it when I said that. I'll be cheering you on as you climb your way to the top. So don't give up, okay?"
"Yeah, I will." She nodded, feeling encouraged that her Hero provided some good choice of words.
"That being said, I implore you to give Melty a chance the next time you see her." Kurisu stated. "Believe me when I say that Melty is nothing like her older sister and her father. If she was bad, she wouldn't be friends with Filo. If anything, she would treat Filo horribly for being not human. Need I remind you that it was her who stopped the fight and override Malty's royal decree. As well as taking Mononashi out of the fight. If anything, that's not what a bad person would do."
Both Tyler & Chelsea contemplated Kurisu's opinion of Melty. The two could see some truths in it.
"And Chelsea, I want you to give Melty a chance just like how Tyler gave you the chance to make a fresh start." The former police intern glanced towards Naofumi. "That goes for you too, Naofumi. Have a little faith in her. She genuinely didn't know that you're the Shield Hero. I know a liar when I see one, but she's definitely not lying to you all."
"Just like with Tyler, huh…?" Chelsea repeated as she began to reconsider her view on Melty. Naofumi, on the other hand.
"I'm sorry, but I can't trust anything from her or anyone else from that family of hers." Naofumi refused to believe in her, shocking everyone. His hatred for the royal family was so deep that he couldn't see Melty as anything more than a horrible human being. The trauma of the scandal and Malty's betrayal was too great. It was as if it was still fresh in his mind. "You're saying that because Melty is just a kid and apparently you're going soft on her. Chelsea said it herself, "talk is cheap"."
"Dude…" Tyler muttered as even he couldn't believe how heartless even though the party's lie detecting girl said otherwise.
"Okay, fine. I give up. Don't believe me, then." Kurisu relented, much to the shock of others. "But when it comes back to bite you, which it will, expect me to say "I told you so"."
"Yeah, like that'll ever happen."
After that, the party finished their lunch before resuming some more level grinding.
By late afternoon, they were finished with their grinding and headed back towards the weapons shop so that Naofumi could pick up his upgraded armor. There, Elhart gave the armor back before immediately put it on at the back of the shop.
"I've embedded that Dragon Zombie core into your chestplate and an Auto-Repair function." Elhart explained. "This had to be my best work. What do you say?"
"Ugh… Just tell me honestly. How badly did you try to make me the King of the Bandits!?" Naofumi stated, still questioning the design of his armor.
"I don't know, man. That suits you perfectly." Tyler told him.
"Uh-huh! You're so cool, Master!" Filo added.
"Yes, it's very nice!" Raphtalia agreed with Filo.
"As someone with an eye for fashion, that armor matches quite well with your personality." Chelsea complimented him.
"See? They certainly think that you're cool." Kurisu chimed in.
"You think so, huh?"
"Well, well. I thought I'd be finding you all here." Everyone turned to see the newcomer, who was none other than Merleo. He was carrying a box worth of high-grade Holy Water as well as some additional items that Naofumi requested from him. Though he was not alone as he was accompanied by the same group who wished to join him to fight in the upcoming Wave.
"Merleo." Naofumi said. "How did you find us?"
"Well…" The party's resident mage glanced towards the quintets. "I just arrived at the capital and I happened to meet this promising group. When one of them said that they were on their way meeting with you, they led me here after telling them that I'm a member of your party."
"I see." Naofumi then noticed the box. "Looks like you got what I needed, right?"
"Of course! Though I have to run some errands before I can receive them."
"Okay." Naofumi then glanced towards the group. "As for you, did you bring the money?"
"Of course. It is right here, in this bag." The leader of the group said, holding. "It took us a while, but we managed to scrape up 150 silver pieces for you."
"Okay." Naofumi approached the leader before he placed the pendant in the latter's hand. "Go on. Use the money to get yourselves some better equipment."
"Does that mean you'll accept us?" The young knight asked.
"I can't have you dropping like flies." The messy haired young man answered.
"Thank you very much!" He said as Naofumi accepted him as a temporary member of his party. It was then that the latter learned of his name, Ake. The other members of his group were soon enlisted to Naofumi's party as well, though they mostly followed Ake's lead because he is the Squad Leader.
When he first arrived in Melromarc, he learned about the "Battle Formation" function from the manual that was about how a small group of people can temporarily be a member of his party.
"But don't get the wrong idea." Naofumi began as he looked towards the group with a glare. "The second you try to exploit me or set me up, you'll regret it for the rest of your lives."
"Of course. Thanks for having us." Ake and his squad said in unison.
"Master! Now we have so many more friends!" Filo stated as her master looked towards the countdown, which he now had eleven hours left before the Wave.
"We have less than twenty-four hours until the Wave, let's have a strategy meeting here tomorrow morning."
"Right!" The squad complied.
"Hey, Kid! My place isn't exactly your meeting room, you know!" Elhart berated as the party left the shop.
They decided to head to the inn to drop off the supplies that Merleo was carrying before going towards a local diner in town to have dinner.
As they sat and ate their meal, Merleo decided to report to his leader about what the former had learned in the past two days, especially the errands that he had done.
The errands involved helping a nobleman to feed off some refugees in the northern part of Melromarc. He found out that the starving villagers were originally from a minor kingdom up in the north, where its king had imposed heavy taxation on the citizens that drove them to the life of famine and poverty, something that Naofumi had remembered hearing a few days ago. The party was horrified to find out that the resistance that ousted the king ended making said kingdom by taking taxes far more than the king and it was torn apart even further through civil war. Those who were unable to pay the taxes were killed off, but some managed to escape such a cruel fate. What was even more surprising was that Merleo was able to identify the mystery behind the "master archer" that helped the resistance with the assassination of the king.
"So, it was Itsuki who killed the previous king, huh?" Naofumi asked.
"That is what I have deduced. No other person that I could think of with that sort of description." Merleo stated before he sighed. "To think even he would act upon committing regicide without thinking of the consequences afterwards. This is most troublesome…"
"Tch! If anything, that punk's no different than that Spear Idiot." Tyler commented.
In return, the party decided to tell everything from their end to Merleo. Including the encounter with Melty and the revelation of her being the second princess of Melromarc. Merleo was surprised that Naofumi turned her away just because of her ties with the royal family.
"I see. So, you all have met Princess Melty." Merleo said. "While she has the best intentions, I couldn't help but fathom how she's still the naive young girl that I've known."
"Hey!" Filo was offended by the remark that was directed to her best friend.
"Let's just change the subject. I don't like talking about that little liar." Naofumi said, causing Filo to pout at him. "Not only that, I got banned from doing Class Upgrades by that petty king."
"I suspected as much. It was only a matter of time." Merleo sighed at how his king had made one reckless move after another. "But I assume you were going to go other nation to do just that."
"Planning on it once we get through this next Wave."
But they were not alone. Dining with them across several tables were none other than the Sword Hero, Ren, and the Bow Hero, Itsuki. The party eventually noticed them
"Are those bozos…" Tyler asked his teammates.
"Indeed. They are the Bow Hero and the Sword Hero." Merleo clarified as they began to hear their conversation.
"I overthrew this despot in the country in the north." Itsuki explained to his colleague. "Do you know what happened after that? When I visited the guild and picked up my reward, they already had it paid to somebody else."
"Same here. I lost a job to some guy out of the blue." Ren said.
"Looks like someone's going around, pretending to be us."
"I wonder… Who could it be?"
"Well, whoever it is, the guy needs to be taught a lesson that with great power comes great responsibility."
In response to the last statement, Naofumi spat out his drink all over Tyler.
"Dude! What the hell was that for!?" One of his party members exclaimed.
"Sorry about that, man." He apologized as he couldn't resist laughing while drinking, something that had not gone unnoticed.
"What's so funny?" The Shield Hero turned to see two of his fellow heroes approaching his table.
"Hey, I have no idea that you've been bitten by a spider, pal." Naofumi mused as he remembered that particular quote from the movies of his world.
"Bitten by what?"
"I get it. You're referencing a quote from a movie very similar to Spinarak-Man, huh?" Tyler stated while wiping himself from the spit take.
"I don't get it." Itsuki stated before he realized something. "But what I do get is that you're the one who's been impersonating us! Stealing our jobs and rewards!"
"The hell would I do that for?" Naofumi denied the accusation.
"Who else could come up with that idea–"
"I recommend that you do not play the blame game on your fellow Hero, Sir Bow Hero." Merleo sternly interrupted. "As especially if you intent to blame your incompetence on someone else.
"Incompetent!? Me!? What are you talking about!?"
"Must I make myself perfectly clear? Or has your pride blinded you from the truth?" Merleo remarked, making the Bow Hero become more furious. "Your little "stunt" has created more trouble for others. The kingdom you "saved" ended up being torn apart when the resistance you helped ended up becoming despots themselves and the citizens were forced to seek refuge in Melromarc. Funny enough, when I explained the situation to your guild, they assumed that it was me who was the master archer and gave me the reward."
"You're the one who took my reward!?" Itsuki demanded. "Give it to me then!"
"I'm afraid I cannot do that." Merleo calmly refused. "The reward was given to one of the refugees. In other words, it is out of my reach."
"Why you…!" The Bow Hero growled. "Side characters like you don't get to lecture main characters like me!"
"Wow. So, you really did think of this world as some sort of a game." Chelsea remarked. "That's a shallow way of looking at it. Almost pitiful, really."
"Pitiful is too polite, Chelsea. How about a pathetic tryhard who didn't think things through? LIke how screwed up so badly that the kingdom he was supposed to save ended up crumbled?" Tyler chimed in. "If I were you, buddy, I'd listened to my own advice."
"Hey, Naofumi! Keep those two on a leash! They can't speak to me like that!" Itsuki berated his fellow Hero.
"I have no control in how they view things." Naofumi retorted. "Maybe if you weren't trying too hard on this "secret vigilantism" bit, then maybe all of the bad stuff wouldn't happen!" He continued. "All you did was switch who runs the kingdom! You didn't solve a damn thing!"
"Shut up, you damn rapist! I didn't do anything wrong!" Itsuki snapped, revealing his true colors to everyone. "I helped you out in that rigged duel as well as the money, and this is the thanks I get!? You're one selfish, ungrateful bastard!"
"Okay then, then how can you explain my case then?" Ren said as to prevent his colleague from going ballistic. "The dragon slaying quest. I was informed that it was suddenly canceled when I visited my guild."
"Oh yeah, that." Naofumi began. "I took care of it."
"Care to explain?"
"The dragon you killed and left had rotted because you didn't take care of it properly. Because of that, the villagers that were near the area ended up feeling ill because of the toxicity in the air. What's even worse is that it ended up becoming a Dragon Zombie! So, I had to kill it and take care of the corpse. That's why the quest is canceled."
"I see…" Ren said as he was ashamed of how careless he is with his actions.
"Do you two have any idea how many lives are lost because of your reckless actions!?" Naofumi berated them.
"You two should really wake up and see the bigger picture!" Kurisu stated. "This world may be based on whatever games you played, but everything that happened is still real. If you take account of that, otherwise the negative aftermath from your actions would never come to be."
"Tch!" Itsuki gritted his teeth as he loathed being lectured about something he already knew. No, it was more like being lectured about something he refused to acknowledge. His colleague, on the other hand, seemed to take it in stride. Especially because he saw the curse effects on both Raphtalia and Tyler.
"Okay. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Ren said.
"Wha–!? You seriously believed them!?" Itsuki exclaimed in disbelief.
"Why not? The mage and Naofumi have no reason to lie." He told his fellow Hero.
"Of that, I can vouch for him." Kurisu stated. "After all, detecting lies is my specialty."
"Do me a solid and don't cause any problems." Naofumi then glanced towards his party members "Come on, guys! Let's just go back to the inn." The Shield Hero told them as he stood up and made his way towards the exit with his party in tow. But just as he was about to walk through the other side of the door…
"I still don't believe you!" Itsuki shouted at him defiantly.
Rather than replying, Naofumi and his party simply left the diner.
"A word to the wise: If you two continue to treat this world as some sort of a game, then the world eventually will treat your lives as such. "Pride comes before a fall", as they say." Merleo let out a warning before he left the diner as well.
"Those damn side characters…" Itsuki gritted his teeth as his colleague took the time to process the warning.
'Maybe they do have a point...' Ren pondered before he calmed his colleague down before resuming their dinner.
Next: Chapter 11: Catastrophe Returns
Party Data
Tyler Bryant - Level 40
- Hydreigon (Male) - Level 70
Ability: Levitate
Moves: Hyper Voice, Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dark Pulse
- Vivillon (Elegant Pattern) (Female) - Level 67
Ability: ?
Moves: Hurricane, Signal Beam
- Scrafty (Male) - Level 68
Ability: ?
Moves: High Jump Kick, Stone Edge, Iron Head
- Rapidash (Female) - Level 65
Ability: ?
Moves: Megahorn, Flamethrower, Protect, Extreme Speed
- Dunsparce (Male) - Level 67
Ability: Serene Grace
Moves: Thunderbolt, Drill Run, Coil, Last Resort
Naofumi Iwatani - Level 38
- Aron (Male) - Level 29
Ability: Sturdy
Moves: Headbutt, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, Protect
- Quilladin (Male) - Level 20
Ability: ?
Moves: Vine Whip, Bite, Needle Arm
Raphtalia - Level 40*
- Zigzagoon (Female) - Level 18
Ability: Pickup
Moves: Headbutt
- Honedge (Male) - Level 31
Ability: No Guard
Moves: Slash, Swords Dance, Fury Cutter
Filo - Level 40*
Kurisu Hanatabi - Level 40
- Riolu (Male) - Level 33
Ability: ?
Moves: Force Palm, Quick Attack, Metal Claw
- Floette (Red Flower) (Female) - Level 46
Ability: ?
Moves: Vine Whip, Moonblast, Aromatherapy
Chelsea Arel - Level 38
- Vanilluxe (Female) - Level 65
Ability: ?
Moves: Water Pulse
- Delphox (Female) - Level 68
Ability: ?
Moves: ?
- Rhyperior (Male) Level 66
Ability: Solid Rock
Moves: Dig, Megahorn, Rock Wrecker, Thunder Punch
- Sawsbuck (Spring Form) (Male) - Level 63
Ability: ?
Moves: Double Edge, Horn Leech, Jump Kick
- Arbok (Female) - Level 67
Ability: Intimidation
Moves: Toxic, Venoshock, Sucker Punch
- Altaria (Female) - Level 66
Ability: ?
Moves: ?
Merleo Goneri - Level 40
- Abra (Male) - Level 12
Ability: ?
Moves: Teleport
That's a wrap for today's chapter, I hope you enjoyed it!
This chapter was supposed to come out on Sunday, but because I need to attend my maternal grandpa's 11th anniversary of his passing and the huge distance from home to the graveyard, the chapter ended up getting delayed.
Big thanks to Coral the Leviathan for the help in writing the chapter. As well as the term "PokéMunus". According to her, PokéMunusis sorta like how Ancient Rome did with gladiators, except it's with Pokémon.
For those who are wondering about Tyler's 6th Pokémon, you don't have to wait any longer because it will make an appearance real soon. What will it be? Stick around to find it!
Be sure to leave a review and have a good day