Chapter Six - Fall
There were a few things that people who were lucky enough to get close to her learned when dealing with Kiyoko. Among a rather high-maintenance list of do's and don'ts, there was a singular, very important and particular point.
Unless your name is Ringo or you helped bring me into this world do not attempt to wake me up before I'm ready to get up…
While that was far from the first thought that crossed her mind, the guard in front of her was definitely feeling the full consequences of breaking such a crucial rule.
At first, she had decided to ignore the rather loud banging on the door, still not fully cognizant of where she was. But the annoying person failed to understand the danger he was in and continued with that rather poorly thought-out course of action. It had taken a few minutes of constant banging, for her to get her brain semi-functional. Two, to remove the blanket from her head, realize the sun was hardly up and third and most importantly, to piss her off enough to get her to leave the bed.
The stride to the door had been almost instantaneous, so quick that she had even failed to notice the particular lack of her party member in the room. She might have also forgotten about the stalker tendencies her weapon had. So when she all but threw the door open, hair completely disheveled, rumpled clothes, bloodshot eyes glaring from under the remains of what had been a rather neatly made hairstyle, and a rather flamboyant pure orange sword in her hand the guard's reaction might have been warranted.
If there was one thing that made her forget her social inadequacies, or perhaps exasperated them was lack of sleep, or even just the simple action of denying her of it.
The guard however had not been prepared in the least to face the full might of a half-pint, completely disheveled, pissed-off Sword Hero, questioning what the heck did he want. In the face of such a demonic vision, he did the only thing he could do, backtrack fearfully, hands raised in the air until his back hit the opposite wall.
"Well?!" Kiyoko all but demanded from the fidgeting guard, as she glared at him from under her fringe.
"Milady! Err.. M'am!" The man corrected himself stuttering, "His Highness requests t-that you come to the castle as soon as possible!"
She let the request run in her mind for a moment, before lowering her sword, which she hadn't even realized was pointing straight at the guard, before narrowing her eyes further, "Did something happen?"
It probably isn't even six in the morning for crying out loud!
"I'm not at liberty to say, his Highness will inform you of the situation personally." The man continued in a slighter calmer tone.
Must be important if he deemed it necessary to wake me at this ungodly hour…
"Just give me a few moments…" At the man's nod, she turned back and closed the door behind her, before her eyes found the bed near her undone but missing the person who was supposed to be sleeping there.
Her eyes quickly moved to the backpack near the bed, and she released a sigh of relief.
For a moment there I thought Farrie had left the party… That begets the question of where is she. Not a moment after the question had run through her head, the door to their room opened revealing Farrie. It had taken her a second to recognize the girl since she had her hair down.
The girl closed the door behind her looking somewhat confused, "Lady Kiyoko why is there a guard at our door?"
Kiyoko released another sigh, though this one mostly out of annoyance, "The King called me, apparently it's important."
That part should probably go without saying on another note…" Did you go to take a bath?"
The question was out before she could stop it, having just noticed that the other girl's tips were wet, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Farrie for her part just released a small embarrassed laugh, scratching her cheek, and looking pointedly to the side, "I was going to take one yesterday but…" She paused for a moment releasing another small laugh, "I guess I forgot."
Did she forget to take a bath? After the day we had yesterday? Kiyoko thought with no emotion before shaking her head.
This does not bode well… With that last thought, she moved to her bed, before grabbing her armor from the chair nestled between it and the wall, as she began to get ready.
"Should I go wake the others?", Farrie asked after a moment.
"I…" Kiyoko paused for a moment. She wasn't sure of what was going on, but if it was as serious as the guard made it out to be they might be needed, though the guard had made no mention of her party, only of her, "I don't know. Can you ask the guard if I'm required to take you guys?"
Nodding, the green-haired girl, quickly turned around, opening a small breach before asking. Kiyoko was unable to hear the man's muffled response, but she saw Farrie nodding, before closing the door again.
Turning around the Farrie girl shook her head, "The guard also didn't know, but the summons seemed to be only for you my lady."
If that's the case, then while urgent it's not an imminent threat like a dragon about to attack town or something like that… "I guess I'll go see what his highness wants. Let them sleep for now."
At least let someone get their well-deserved sleep, though the well-deserved is mostly debatable.
"Okay but what about me?" Farrie questioned pointing to herself.
We're the same age so I know for a fact you don't need a babysitter. With a sigh, she waved her hand half-mindedly in the air, while she tried to curb her hair with the other. "Just wait until I return. If you feel like going back to sleep then do that, or anything else really."
"Hmm…" Farrie paused placing a finger on her lip, looking upwards.
Seriously… She is seriously thinking about what to do..? Kiyoko thought semi-incredulously, actually pausing in her attempts to look presentable.
This really doesn't bode well for us…
Finally, the girl lowered her head, a new smile that Kiyoko was beginning to identify with the girl being somewhat embarrassed blooming on her face, "I can't decide on what to do, so I'll think about it later."
Kiyoko blinked rather slowly and placed her folded hands in her lap.
Nope. I'm done… Reaching forward she just grabbed the headband on top of her cupboard and placed it on top of her head, looking at her reflection on the window she shrugged, before getting up and moving towards the door. As she reached she paused for a moment needing to say something, "You do that Farrie."
Kiyoko out.
Closing the door behind her, she nodded towards the guard.
The man gave a slight but respectful incline of his head, before extending his arm, "After you Ma'am."
This is going to take a while to get used to. Everyone is so respectful.
The walk out of the Inn was both fast and silent, though she paused as she exited noticing the carriage that had stopped at the front door. Turning to look at the guard she just sent him a questionable look.
The man sensing the question in her once more extended his hand towards the carriage, which looked much more like a coach that nobility would use, "His Highness did express that we should escort you to him as promptly as possible."
Well, it beats having to walk there, especially since I just woke up, but still… Whatever it was the king was asking them for, it was urgent if he went through so much trouble.
Either that or I'm seriously underestimating how important heroes are… She thought as she climbed into the carriage with some difficulty due to her small stature. After taking a seat, she released a small huff.
These should come in miniature-sized or people like me will always have trouble getting in… Though as far as gripes with her current life went, that one she noted was at the bottom of her long list.
Thankfully the trip had been short, if slightly painful. There was a need to invest in comfort. Unlike a car, she could feel every slight bum, and turn which had made the short trip rather unpleasant.
I take back what I said… She thought as she climbed out of the coach, and had to take a moment for her legs to stop trembling.
…as it turns out, walking would have been mercy compared to this trip from hell.
"Miss Kiyoko?"
Turning her head towards the voice she saw a rather familiar face climbing out of a similar coach, though with far more grace than she had to her annoyance.
"Itsuki." She nodded towards her fellow hero, "They called you too?"
The blond offered her a nod as he made his way towards her, "Indeed. Do you perhaps have any idea of what this is about?"
So he doesn't know either huh? And here I thought it might have been some quest that was similar in this world… She concluded as she shook her head, "No idea."
He offered her a small smile but made a motion towards the castle with his hand, " It's bound to be urgent for sure. I don't think his highness would have called us so early if it wasn't."
She waved off the guard, as the man motioned for them to follow and fell in step with the Bow Hero as they made their way towards the Castle entrance, before murmuring "It better be."
The Bow Hero released a small amused laugh, "Not a morning person I see."
She just shrugged, "Never was and never will be."
Itsuki hummed, and they walked in silence for a moment before tilting his head, "That aside have you acclimatized to the gaming mechanics yet Miss Kiyoko?"
She turned to look at him expecting to see the same conceit he had demonstrated a couple of nights before but to her surprise, he seemed honestly curious, so she just waved her hand in a so-so manner, "More or less. It isn't hard but there's a lot of complexity involved."
Itsuki gave a firm nod at her explanation, "That's all about resumes Dimensional Wave. It's not hard to play, but the choices are almost endless, that's what made it so fun to play time and time again."
She hummed in consideration. Of course, she should have expected Itsuki to have everything figured out if he played the game as many times as he was indicating.
The Bow Hero shrugged after a moment, "Well you ended up having a pretty good class too, it would be hard to fail without doing it on purpose." He stopped for a moment, his smile growing somewhat complicated, "Though there is one of us who will most certainly have troubles."
There was no need to question who Itsuki had been referring to, "Is Naofumi's class that bad?"
The guard in front of her sent her a glance she couldn't decipher as she uttered the Shield Hero's name but kept walking, so she just shrugged it off.
It's common knowledge his class sucks apparently, though that also doesn't bode well for him… If she were the Shield Hero it would have been a tough pill to swallow, and in part, she envied the young man's optimism. She knew if it were herself she wouldn't have been half as positive towards the whole thing.
"Unfortunately so." Itsuki answered, though, from her point of view, he didn't seem that bothered by it, "As I have said before It was a class nobody used and for good reason. It was incredibly difficult to play, and even as you leveled and progressed you would hardly see any benefit from it." He raised his palm upwards, looking slightly towards the ceiling, "The only attribute that rises in any meaningful amounts is defense. While it does seem strong at the beginning, soon enough it becomes meaningless since the monster damage far outpaced the class growth." Finally, he turned his head towards her, with the same knowing smile as before, "Who would ever play a class like that?"
No one… That was the truth, as hard as it was. In the games she used to play, even tanks liked big numbers, and if they couldn't achieve them, they would just roll out a DPS class on the side. Everyone liked to deal huge amounts of damage and see big numbers on the screen. A class that solely focused on defense, and that wasn't even useful in the endgame, was a class only a masochist would play.
"Kinda feel sorry for him…" Kiyoko muttered honestly.
"There is no need for that I think…"
At his words, she once more turned to look at the Bow Hero, who continued.
"…What I mean is," he corrected himself, "While he surely will never get to our level, this is still a fantasy world, so he should still be able to find plenty of pleasure in it."
Kiyoko wasn't entirely convinced. The rather trauma-inducing experience she had the day before was still at the forefront of her mind. The blood she had seen from the small creature, had been real. Completely real, and that posed the question. If it could happen to live creatures, what would happen to them if they god forbid were mortally wounded?
What will happen to Naofumi when he eventually bites more than he can chew… However, as she opened her mouth to question the Bow Hero on it, a loud bang almost made her jump. Looking forward she once again cursed her complete lack of situational awareness, as she had failed to realize they had arrived.
"Your Highness!" The guard that had been escorting them declared, "The Bow and Sword Hero have arrived."
Among her many inadequacies in all things social, even she could read the mood as she walked into the room. It wasn't nice, not in the least. If she had to compare it to something she would compare it to that of a funeral. Her eyes locked in with the highest-ranking person in the room, and even as she slowly made her way in step with Itsuki across the tapestry, she could see the grave expression he wore.
Something really bad happened, I have a really bad feeling about this… She thought to herself before her thoughts were broken by the young man beside her.
"What happened to Miss Myne?" Itsuki questioned.
Something in the tone of voice prompted her to look around, and she almost immediately found Naofumi's party member, what she saw sent something heavy tumbling down her throat before it stopped in her stomach. The young woman was nestled in Motoyasu's embrace, but even from where she was standing, she could the girl seemed completely desolate.
Oh no… Soon the feeling in her stomach grew into something more akin to dread.
Motoyasu raised his head from where he seemed to be trying to consulate the young girl, his expression quickly changing from soft, to enraged, his eyes almost spewing fire, "You guys!" He all but shouted in their direction, "You won't believe what that piece of trash did!"
Oh no no no… Her feeling proved to be correct, as the weight in her turned to stone. This had most likely to do with the person she and Itsuki had been talking about just a moment before.
"What happened?!"
The tone of voice in the Bow Hero's alarmed her since it was a complete change from the previous composed young man, but she was wondering just, that, and as she finally closed in on the pair, she could see the red-haired well enough to realize her eyes were bloodshot, her face still having the tell-tails of tears.
At the question, Myne released a hiccup, "Sir Itsuki… It w-was… It was horrible…" Finally, she released a whimper and all but hid her face in the crook of Motoyasu's neck.
This really, really, doesn't bode well. Her mind was racing for answers but her mouth refused to work properly.
Itsuki seemed adamant and opened his mouth before pausing and closing seemingly realizing that he might have been a little too abrasive.
"There are many Sin's that are punishable in our country, none so much as sexually assaulting a female." The King uttered, his voice matching his expression.
"What..?" Kiyoko all but croaked, as she felt her body freeze. Another whimper escaped from her side but she all but ignored it as she slowly turned towards the man who had spoken, her eyes wide in shock, "Naofumi did what?"
That… That couldn't be true in her mind. It made no sense. Naofumi couldn't have done such a thing.
He seemed so… Nice. Comforting. A good person.
Revolution filled her being, and the Sword Hero all but hugged herself, shaking her head, "That… That can't be."
"As terrible as it sounds, it is unquestionably the truth. I had my guards perform an investigation and they found irrefutable proof of the act." The king continued, placing a palm on his face, almost as if the man was wishing that what was leaving his mouth wasn't true.
"That's a crime! A heinous crime!" Itsuki all but shouted, shaking his head a moment later, venom filling his voice, "Who does he think he is? Does he think just because we are in a game-like world that he can do whatever he wants?!"
Game-like world… That expression turned and twisted inside her head as she recalled the events from the previous day, and suddenly the weight in her stomach churned, and she felt sick.
That can't be true… She recalled the Shield Hero smiling at her, and comforting her. It had been just a few small moments, but out of all of them, he had been the one she felt the biggest connection with, mostly because he had been the one in the closest position to her own.
Had that been a lie? She couldn't help but wonder. Had his entire persona just been a facade to hide an inhuman side inside? One that had come out the moment he thought he could act without consequences?
It could have been me… For a small, minuscule moment the thought crossed her mind, and the feeling of wrongness along with twisting and turning inside of her stomach all but doubled in intensity.
"Now bring in The Shield Hero, and let his trial begin!"
"What?" She croaked once more, and it was all becoming too much for her. Her body was going numb, and as soon as the door opened she felt a shiver as she watched the Shield Hero being pushed in, her eyes moving to the side not being able to look at the young man. Slowly the world began spinning, gaining in speed, as the feeling of sickness continued to increase.
Once she was sure she was about to throw up, the sensation of sickness was gone, almost as quickly as it had come a change so abrupt she was almost left without footing.
Then everything else she had been feeling just vanished leaving behind nothing but the same encompassing numbness. Kiyoko was there, but she wasn't. A sensation of disconnect like she had never felt before.
The Sword Hero could hear the Shieldbearer talking but his words made no sense in her mind, she couldn't decipher their meaning even if instinctual she knew he was speaking the same language as her.
It wasn't until the King ordered the man to be silent that she gained a little focus, the sudden voice coming from behind making her almost jump from surprise.
Then the Shield Hero was talking again. His posture changed to aggressive, and it was then she realized she was looking at the young man again. Or perhaps her eyes had never left him to begin with. His words continued to make no sense to her but she did catch, things like 'Steal', and about a ' Thief'.
"What is he doing?" She asked no one, and even in her ears her voice sounded so very far away.
"Deflecting."
A voice she now could identify as Itsuki answered, also sounding far away but even without taking her eyes off Naofumi, she knew instinctively the Bow Hero was just beside her.
"What?" She asked once more, feeling so much confusion.
"Honestly it's such a common tactic, completely predictable too. And the way he is implementing it is so crass that anyone could see through it." Itsuki continued almost dismissively.
"I… I don't…" and she didn't understand anything either was talking about. What the heck was even happening?
"Miss Kiyoko." Itsuki started once more, and she felt him nudge her on the shoulder, but her body refused to answer, "Like I said it's a common tactic among criminals and villains. When they are caught their first reaction is to attempt to deflect the blame. Now watch as he soon grows more violent as he realizes that tactic doesn't work, and after that, he will make everyone his enemy. Like everyone else is in the wrong. For people in his position, the entire world is the one that wronged them, and there is no blame to be found in his person."
"No blame?" She asked, and this time she could detect how incredulous she sounded.
No blame? No blame?! But he..! She couldn't really deal with this. Kiyoko couldn't even array her thoughts enough to come up with a good response
"We would like it very much to get rid of you if we could," Finally the King's voice echoed from behind loud and clear in her ears, "Nonetheless you are still a hero and one of the last lines of defense against the waves as such we can't punish you too heavily, none the less your sin will be known throughout the country, that in on itself will be your punishment!"
"Haa! Well, thank you very much!" The Shield Hero scoffed at the proclamation.
Is he..? Is he mocking the entire situation? She couldn't help but wonder with a touch of disbelief. After what he had done, he seemed to be making light of his punishment which amounted to nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
The King saw fit right then to continue, "You will be summoned to fight the waves in a month. You may be a criminal but you are still a Cardinal Hero! Do not forsake your responsibilities!"
"Fine, I know I'm weak so I better hurry. No?" The Shield Hero threw out lowering relaxing his defensive posture just slightly as he turned to walk away, yet a few steps he paused, as he began searching for something. A moment later a small pouch was flying through the air, landing close to Motoyasu's feet with a metallic clang, "That's what you were after, wasn't it? Then keep it!"
"What? What are you doing?" The tallest of the heroes demanded, yet the shield hero ignored the blond and walked away.
As the door closed, Motoyasu lowered himself, grabbing the small pouch tightly in his grip, before snarling, "That piece of trash!"
"Lord Motoyasu… Please…" Myne quickly moved forward to grip the Spear Hero's arm, as she tried to calm down the blond man. The effect was almost instantaneous, though there was still some steel in his eyes as he turned towards his fellow remaining heroes.
" Can you guys even believe that guy's gall?!"
"I think…" Itsuki shifted in place, turning to send a glance at the King, "…that his punishment was too light, though I do understand his Highness's position."
It was! Her eyes fell on the red-haired young woman who was still shaking, though less so than a few moments before reality settled in. He should have been imprisoned at the very least!
"You let him walk away…", Kiyoko murmured. The true weight of what Naofumi had done weighed down on her and like her fellow hero she turned to face the highest ranking person in the room, her voice rising a pitch, "You're highness you let him walk away! What if he tries this again?!"
The king placed a palm on his face, tiredness sweeping into his voice, "Unfortunately as far as this is concerned my hands are tied, though rest assured that I will have him monitored to make sure this won't happen again, between my man, and the entire country knowing of his Sin, the Shield Hero will find it very hard to enact any more acts of vile debauchery."
Vile debauchery?! In my world, we call it as it is! A Freaking Rapist! She was completely beside herself in anger, disappointment, and righteous indignation. Once more Kiyoko found her eyes traveling to the young woman. The final result of the trial could hardly be considered a punishment, and it wasn't fair that Myne wouldn't be getting some justice, just because her oppressor had to be some kind of chosen one.
"That begs the question…" Itsuki continued, also looking at the young woman, "While I trust the city's guards will intervene if worst comes to worst, should we let Miss Myne defenseless like that? He might even be thinking of revenge since he got caught."
Said the young woman releasing another whimper and thighed her grip on Motoyasu's arm.
"Like hell, I'll let him!"
"Then am I to understand that from both your actions and words that you will take care of…" He paused for a moment his eyes falling on the red-harried young woman, 'adventurer Myne' for now on Lord Motoyasu?"
The spear hero gave a resolute nod, as he slammed the end of his spear on the tiles below, his previous disposition all but gone, "You can count on me you're Highness, I shall protect her with my life!"
"Lord Motoyasu…" The young woman whispered, tears gathering on the corners of her eyes as she looked overcome with emotion.
Said Spear Hero just sending her a small if steady smile, "Worry not Myne, I won't let that trash even lay his eyes on you ever again."
"I…" Myne clapped her hands in front of her chest, "…Thank you… Truly."
Guess even if he looks like an idiot, Motoyasu's heart seems to be in the right place… The Sword Hero acknowledged though it wasn't long until another treacherous thought crossed her mind.
So did Naofumi… She pushed it into the deep corners of her mind. If she were to continue with it, she would only grow paranoid about every male she came across.
Keep thinking like that and you'll end up sleeping on trees, since most of your party is male Kiyoko…
"So it is decided!" The elder man commanded with a loud clap, "I will entrust you with her Lord Motoyasu."
"Leave it to me!" Motoyasu declared with a genial smile.
The King nodded pleased, "We this issue settled, I should inform you three that the Adventurer's Guild has already been made aware of you're summonings, so you should expect them to have all kinds of requests in these troubling times, naturally you will be rewarded for you're efforts and depending on you're contribution to the country this will be reflected on you're monthly war funds."
Sounds like mercenary work to me. Though it was rather irritating to her the way Itsuki and Motoyasu seemed to smirk. If it was quests they no doubt already had the solution to those inside their head, while she would be left in the dust once more, doomed to fumble for a solution.
Annoying but as long as I can rise my level above theirs I should be able to keep up with them. What she lacked in knowledge she would have to make up with sheer effort and through experimentation, there was no other way.
"We have also begun to gather other things we consider essential for you heroes to have to succeed in your quest, namely magic crystals, for hence where you can learn magic, though should you feel the need to procure anything else feel free to inform us."
"Magic crystals? Is that how you learn magic?" Kiyoko wondered in a murmur, though annoyingly enough it became apparent it wasn't low enough.
"That's right Kiyoko." Motoyasu offered with a smile in her direction, "With those we can instantaneously learn any magic we are attuned to."
Attuned to? She had come across such a system before, where one class could only use magic spells of certain types but that begged the question, "How do I know what magic I'm attuned to?
"Worry not Kiyoko! Big brother Motoyasu knows that. It's easy as the Sword Class you are attuned to lightning and support magic!"
Lightning and support? That sounds cool. Already she could picture raining devastation on her foes by summoning a lightning storm.
"You shouldn't lie Motoyasu!" Itsuki shot back, "I know for a fact that the Sword-Class is attuned to wind and support-type magic."
What? So it's wind? Kiyoko's head moved towards the irate Bow Hero in confusion.
"The one who's lying here is you Itsuki!" Motoyasu exclaimed heatedly.
"You dare claim that I lie?! How many hours do you think I have in Dimensional Wave?!" Itsuki shot back.
"I don't care it's definitely Lighting and Support magic!"
"No, It's not!"
It's different from their games or are they just lying? The common theme is support magic which should be obvious to what it pertains but now I'm getting confused. Kiyoko thought. As she watched them debate with one another it didn't seem like they were lying with how heated they were becoming.
As soon as it became apparent they were inches away from jumping onto one another a loud clap echoed in the room, prompting them all to look towards the man itself.
"There seems that there is some disagreement towards what type of magic Lady Kiyoko has an affinity for," The King commented, "though worry not for there is an easy way to solve this."
With a wave of his hand, a robe-wearing man, she idly recalled having been present in their summoning stepped forward with a round bundle in his hands.
"We did anticipate this and took measures towards it." The King revealed.
The robed man offered a shallow bow to her person as he unruffled the bundle in his hand revealing a large crystal ball, that seemed to shine with some restrained internal pale glow.
"Please place your hand unto the crystal Milady." The man beckoned to her, "And the crystal shall reveal you're innate magic talents."
So some kind of magic atonement detector or something huh? That's handy. With that thought, she took a step forward hesitating only slightly before placing her hand on top of the magic ball.
"Hmm, I see. Milady has an affinity for Water and Support Magic."
"Not lightning huh," Motoyasu murmured scratching his chin as he peered into the crystal ball with a small frown.
"I suppose some things are bound to be different after all" Itsuki offered crossing his arms.
You guys have all that knowledge and still get it half wrong? That did make her feel slightly vindicated.
Guess that their information is not all that.
"Water magic huh?" The King murmured as he gave her a curious look, his lips turning up just slightly, "How nostalgic."
"Your Highness?" Kiyoko asked feeling his stare on her.
He waved his hand, "It's nothing just a few fond memories that all."
"What about our parties?" Motoyasu asked after a moment sending his new addition a side look.
"Of course, they are not forgotten." The man exclaimed, closing his eyes briefly, "I asked for quite the assortment so there should be enough for them too."
"This will make covering for any lack of diversity easier." Itsuki offered, pleased.
"If there is anything else brave heroes feel free to ask."
"Hmm…" Kiyoko began stopping short of raising her arm in the air, "Your Highness did say a wave had already happened right?"
"Indeed."
"The wave spawns all kinds of monsters so I was wondering if it's possible to provide us with the materials from them so we can use them to empower our weapons."
She idly repressed a shiver at the thought of the previous day.
C'mon Kiyoko it happened get over it already or you won't be able to do anything else.
The man scratched his chin, sending his aide a side glance.
The gnarly man who more resembled a rather dubious ring stalker character from a movie from her world rubbed his hands together as he offered her a tight smile," Of course we can though, I can't guarantee their quality, a few days have passed after all."
"That's… That's fine" she swallowed.
"I don't know if such subpar forms will have anything to offer." Itsuki commended airly.
"They are from the very first wave after all." Motoyasu continued.
This coming from the guys who couldn't even get my magic affinities right. She grumbled in her head. They seemed like they weren't completely sure but didn't appear all that interested in them.
More for me I say. It only made sense to her that weapons that were provided by the waves would offer better stats and abilities than the ones from the small fry around a starter town. The waves were the main theme of their new world after all.
"So be it. Now I would like to have a moment to speak with Sir Motoyasu as for the rest we shall call upon you when everything has been collected. Until then do your utmost to fortify yourselves!" The king ordered as he extended his hand forward, before continuing.
One I'm starting to think he has a thing for dramatics. Two he could tone it down on the condescending tone. She grumbled as she followed Itsuki out of the throne room, but not before shooting a glance back at Motoyasu and his new addition.
Probably wants to give Motoyasu some talk, better not to have a repeat… She immediately shook her head at the thought. Motoyasu was indeed quite the piece of work, but she couldn't place him in the same bag as their other 'fellow' hero. It was unfair of her to even considerate, especially since she was judging the Spear Hero based on the small amount of interactions they had.
They made it past the minute mark, walking through the strangely empty halls of the Castle before Itsuki saw fit to break the silence.
"Quite the eventful morning wouldn't you say, Miss Kiyoko?"
In Kiyoko's mind, the Bow hero could use some finesse since that wording didn't make the entire spectacle from before any justice, and it almost sounded callous to her. Still, she could agree with the overall feeling.
"That's quite the understatement…" She murmured, lowering her head, "I mean what the heck even was that? What kind of mental case decides that the first thing they are going to do when they arrive at a fantasy world is doing what he did?"
"I think that he thought since he was a Hero of legend he could do anything he wanted without consequences…" Itsuki explained pausing for a moment almost seemingly contemplating what he had said. Then sending her a side glance, his lips rising just a bit but didn't reach his eyes, "As I thought, I can't easily emphasize with a criminal."
Why were you even trying?! She wanted to shout out loud but refrained from doing so. Soon the light of day reached them, as they made their way out into the open.
"I still feel like he got off easily. People like that should just be locked up." She grumbled, covering her eyes from the glare of the sun on her face.
The young man beside her nodded, "I agree. He should have been taught a far harsher lesson than this, but there are probably consequences for imprisoning a Hero."
Taught a lesson? You're assuming people like that learn. If anything the reaction from the Shield Hero, just like Itsuki had predicted all but indicated that he didn't feel sorry in the least. That in all of this in his mind he was the one that had been wronged.
"I guess the best we can hope is for him to repent, and try and do his job as a hero, as mediocre as it is bound to be."
"Yeah, I guess you're right Itsuki." She allowed, but not really feeling it.
If anything should Naofumi end up in a ditch somewhere she wouldn't be losing any sleep over it in the least.