Chapter 54
And just to test him properly, I did a little hop in place to settle my own armour, then ran towards suddenly serious faced Spear Hero.
To my surprise, and delight, since I hadn't seen something like this in a while, he moved his front foot back, braced, and tried to stab me in the face with the spear.
What brought me up short, so to speak, was that he held the spear almost like a pool cue. As I moved my face away from the point of the spear, he pulled back with his rear hand and tried to chase me with the blade of his weapon. Wushu spear work!
So instead of trying to get through, I abandoned my charge and brought up the Shield to disrupt the chasing spear point. Again, he proved he had indeed learned something, and took another step back. Keeping me at range (like a proper spear man) and forcing me to expend extra effort to reach him.
So I switched from 'charge' to 'weave', abandoning my efforts to block with the Shield, and weaving my body around his spiralling thrusts and jabs.
And he surprised me again by switching styles! He kept both hands firm on the Spear, and started to use it more like a staff. However, he wasn't flashy. The blade came at my head forcing me to duck. But then he raised his arms over his head so he could use the butt of the spear to try and stab me. I stepped to the side to dodge, then had to jump forward as he spun his body around (instead of the spear) to not only keep his grip on the weapon, but bring the bladed end around again.
There was a clang! As the blade bounced off the Shield. But instead of losing his balance, he half turned his body in the other direction, and I had to bring my forearm up to deflect the other end of his weapon from arcing into my gut.
But then he stopped. "Ha!" He said.
Confused, my left hand (that had the Shield on it) stopped just before I could grip the top ridge of his breastplate. "Ha?"
We both stepped back, "Yeah! That's the first time you actually used the Shield to block me, and!" He pointed to my right arm, "You had to block with your right arm too."
I thought about that for a second, and felt that silly smile working its way into the muscles of my face again, "Huh... I mean, I did use it to block once, but yeah. You came at me with nothing but skill this time. None of the silly special attacks built into the system."
"I mean, sure, I was just about to lose. But you had to try! Admit it!"
"Yes, I did." I admitted, wondering what, aside from me, had humbled him so badly for this kind of personality change. It couldn't have just been me? Right? My eyes trailed to Kuro, who gave me a perfect five degree head tilt. "You've got a long way to go. But you'll actually get there at this rate."
"Well, someone told me I had to stop acting like this was a game. Anyhow." He straitened up, held the spear in one hand, and bowed, "Thank you for the lesson."
I bowed in return, "I honour the willing student." I looked behind me, "Looks like we have a story time ahead." I looked back to Motoyasu, "We've been moving as fast and quiet as possible towards Van's territory. No fires, keep to the woods, that kind of thing."
He nodded, "Yeah, it's weird having to hide after being treated so well." He looked at me, and my raised eyebrow, "I know, I know." He waved it off, "There's a cave you can park in about a kilometre up the road from here."
And to my surprise, and that of everyone else in the party (except Fohl and Atla, and Kunshu the unconcerned), there was indeed a cave. It was just big enough for the wagon too, and thus big enough to hide a fire.
Everyone was grateful for a hot meal after days of trail rations, and while we ate Motoyasu started to tell his story.
"Well, what do you want to hear first?" He asked.
"Where did she come from?" Tetsu asked before I could answer.
"An egg." Kuro chirped, a little grumpy at Tetsu's proximity.
"Tetsu, change so you don't eat everything before people ask for seconds." Raphtalia sighed, tugging on the little claw/finger of the big dragon, trying to direct her away from Kuro and her infinity of fluffy feathers. And now that I was sitting down, Melty was giving Kuro the same look, but was too polite to ask.
"Fine..." Tetsu pouted, sitting next to Raphtalia after a brief burst of smoke. "Oh! I smell that spice again!"
"Go ahead Kuro, come join us." Motoyasu encouraged, "We're all friends here."
Kuro was enveloped in her own puff of smoke, and when it cleared it revealed a child in a nice, mildly frilly black dress. Very modest, with a nice big ribbon on the front that was the exact shade of black as her little angel wings. "Very well." She said with a little huff, sitting next to Motoyasu and making a 'I only like it because you are doing it' grumpy face as the Spear Hero gave her a headpat. I will note, that Motoyasu was careful not to rub over that still present 'feather' (that was now a cowlick), or the ribbons tying up her short twin tails.
"Like you suggested, I visited that tailor in the Castle Town. She was really hard core into making something cute. I also had to visit the Witch for the thread. Man... I have this entire new appreciation for the ground level workers now."
"They weren't too rough on you, were they?" I asked.
"No... Almost as if they knew I'd be coming." He gave me a suspicious look, but didn't press, "Anyhow. When we parted ways, I basically power levelled Kuro-chan, as fast as I could. I kept an eye on her stats, made sure to teach her stuff, basically everything you told me to do, and what ever else I could think of now that I was thinking about it at all."
"My master is a dummy." Kuro said in that same dignified girly voice. "But he has been doing his best."
"You're so mean Kuro-chan." Motoyasu pouted, but then offered her a bowl of stew. Of course, like any food motivated person, she started to sparkle, "But so worth it."
I'd turned the playboy into a dad? What?
"After a little of that, she did what Tetsu did, and I had to get her proper clothing."
"That did not itch." Kuro added.
"I hate itchy clothing!" Tetsu agreed.
"And we went right back to work. It was a bit difficult at first, having to protect her as well as fight, but once she started fighting as well, we started to work together properly. It's just so... weird... I mean, the party I had before all this just kind of... hung on to me. Sure, the mage and healer would pick off strays, and Myne would occasionally fight too."
"Surprising." Melty mumbled, though I don't know if Motoyasu heard her.
"But having an actual partner in combat is something else." He looked up from his bowl, "Oh? I don't know these two."
Fohl was carefully wheeling Atla over, "I'm Fohl, this is Atla. Kodori is taking care of us."
"More?" Motoyasu asked, "If you don't mind me asking, how many?"
"Almost five hundred." I said, "Almost all of the first wave's fallout."
He went wide eyed, but nodded, "We'll save them." He looked to Raphtalia, "And not just because I feel the need to help after all that crap-"
"Language." Kuro swatted his shoulder with her little wing.
"Sorry." Motoyasu looked a bit sheepish, but Raphtalia nodded thanks. "After a little longer of that, and dodging patrols that were sent out to look for me, we wandered into a big forest."
"Got lost in a big forest, you mean."
"Fine fine... Lost in a big forest. Except, it wasn't a normal forest. After a bit of monster slaying, a thick fog rolled in, and suddenly we were surrounded by filolials! All kinds of them. They surrounded us, but then someone who looked a lot like Kuro-chan stepped forward and introduced herself as Fitoria."
"You met the Filolial Queen?" Melty interrupted, eyes wide and sparkling.
"We did. It was so weird... Imagine Kuro-chan, except... old, wise and indifferent to almost everything." He shivered, "It was unsettling at first, and she had this really dangerous feel to her. Like... Like when you talked to the King."
"She is supposed to be very old." Melty said, "But..."
"She is." Motoyasu nodded, "One of the previous Shield Heroes did exactly what we did, and raised her from an egg. After he passed, or left, she didn't say, she kept watching out for the world." He rubbed a hand over his face, "I am so glad you beat the crap out of me."
"It's weird how many people say that to me if they survive." I mused out loud.
"No, you don't get it... She's strong. Super strong. And she does not like how we've been acting. It's weird... The way she says things, it's like she expects us to understand, and doesn't understand what reasons we might have had."
"She doesn't care why we're screwing up, just that we are?" I offered.
"Exactly that. Yeah." He nodded, shaking his head, "She mentioned killing the four of us so the summoning can be done again, as if she was thinking about what to get at the store."
If I were to rank Motoyasu and his ability to tell a good story, he'd be about a six out of ten. However, and say what ever you want about 'bird brains', Kuro added the occasional point that he would then elaborate on. So together? Seven out of ten.
Fitoria... From the bits of conversation he recalled, and the mimicking of Kuro acting out some of the parts, she sounded... Cold. Not evil, or malicious. Just cold. No... not even that.
She sounded a lot like Ophis. She didn't understand 'politics', or 'psychology'. She simply understood what she was. And what she was, was a Guardian.
She was one of the last lines of defence before the world could be destroyed. If the Heroes were slain, then the Guardians would have to beat the Waves. But they were not all powerful, just intelligent monsters that had become tied to this world's foundations.
It was beginning to make a little more sense.
"So yeah, after she told us all that, and to warn me, to warn you and the others to stop being idiots or she'd find us and kill us so the ritual could be done again... She told me what her... I guess it would be 'subjects', told her. It was a little general, but she told me about the army moving west from the castle town, and the sudden appearance of this massive tree over there."
"Oh... Yeah, I did that one too." I said, rubbing my forehead, the side of my finger against one of my horns sounding like sand in my ears. "I think I am getting a better idea of what's going on. I know we're missing something, but..."
"I'd love to hear it." He shrugged.
"Remember that woman? Beat the crap-" My tails swatted the back of my head, making Kuro nod in approval at my built in swear monitors, "out of us? She said she would destroy the world to save hers." I captured my tails with one hand, and held out a hand so Kunshu could place my brush in it. "Thank you. So you have the Waves, you have the Heroes who defend against it. You have Vassal Weapons users, like Glass, who travel to other worlds to fight the Heroes."
Motoyasu scratched at his chin, "And she was super strong too. I mean, she beat three of us in a single swing, then all of you, at once." He motioned to my party and I, admitting without saying it out loud that he and the others had been weak.
"Right. And as strong as Fitoria sounds, well, we proved that even an ancient powerful monster can be slain."
My party, and yes, me as well, smiled at the memory of winning that fight. "Oh, she did mention that. Not 'what' or 'who' just 'someone killed a long sealed evil'." Motoyasu said, "But yeah, it does sound pretty bad. And Vassal weapons? Wait... If this Glass lady has one, and is from another world, this world should have them too, right?"
Fohl spoke up, "The Vassal Claw is in Siltvelt. He must have been away if you didn't meet him." He added, looking towards me."
"And Aultcray has the Vassal Staff." I said, nodding thanks to Fohl for speaking up, "Anyone else know others?" I asked, "Oh... Murder Pierrot had one, thinking on it."
"Sir." Kuro started, "That nice carriage Queen Fitoria has is the Vassal Carriage." There was a hint of jealousy in her voice too.
"Oh? Okay. So that's four... Is there more?" Motoyasu asked.
Silence.
"Maybe there is only four then? One for each hero?" Motoyasu mused, "But by that logic, there would be four vassal weapons from the other world to come here. Right?"
"Very little of this world works on logic I'm familiar with." I sighed, "But yes. How about we assume at least that many. So, four heroes to defend the world, four vassal weapon users to attack the other world, and probably four guardians to kill once the heroes of either world are dead. Then, game over, except it's not a game, but an apocalypse."
We all had a moment of soup bowl studying, then another moment of filling up bowls for people who wanted more.
"Speaking of Siltvelt." Motoyasu said after a mouthful, "The Queen?"
"Should be giving the King a royal beating about now. Have you seen the other two?"
"Not since Kuro hatched." He replied, the dignified girl pouting again as she got another headpat. "So what's the plan for this siege? You've got one, right?"
"I thought you'd never ask." I smiled, "Once food is done, we clean up, and start planning."
"Yes Sir." My party said.
"Oh boy... you make it sound like some kinda... war council." Motoyasu mumbled.
"Holy... it IS a war council." He said after we all spent an hour going through simple 'what if' exercises. "You do this every time?"
"Only when we fight things we don't know how to kill already." Raphtalia smiled fiercely as she ran a sharpening stone over her dragon-steel blade carefully.
"My master just stabs things until they die most of the time." Kuro sighed, "I was quite relieved when he let me fight as well, and could stop worrying." She paused as Kunshu gave her a well meaning 'there there' pat on the head, "Ah... thank you?"
Motoyasu looked like he wanted to cry, "Your words... they hurt me Kuro..." This prompted Kunshu to 'buzz' over to him, and repeat the 'there there' headpats for him.
"So now that we have some simple plans, and plans in place once first contact with the enemy happens... Now we make the tools." I said, reaching over and giving Tetsu some attention. It wouldn't do for the best lucky dragon to feel left out of headpats. "Starting with..."
Some of the 'items' we were going to make were pretty simple. And all but one of them could be put together in the wagon while we moved. So while we were in the cave, we got the last of the canvas (former slave 'clothing' that had seen a half dozen different 'all purpose' uses by now), some of the charcoal from the cooking fire, and a sturdy branch, and made the biggest banner we could using Frost's company standard. If the escort for the former slaves had gotten behind the wall of Van's keep, then they'd need some kind of signal we were there to help.
From there, it was really just making sure everyone (now including Motoyasu and Kuro) got some of the standard items. Potions, bandages, trail rations, signal smoke, that kind of thing. It wouldn't do, now that he was part of the 'plan' to not have the same tools we all had, even though he actually did have some of them already (yes, he was able to 'auto create' things in the spear, but my own knowledge of alchemy far exceeded what the books in this world taught).
All that remained now, was getting there.
We were, in fact, in time.
That night, with Usa 'listening' and Kunshu making the occasional trip skyward (under Raphtalia's concealment spell) to look far ahead, we spotted the enemy.
In time, but only just, they were well on the way into making siege engines. Sadly, whomever was planning this was actually intelligent, and for the sake of speed they had decided to build trebuchet by clear cutting the local trees, instead of dragging them over horrible terrain and hills. Already, there were a dozen of them nearing completion, just waiting for what looked like counterweights.
The numbers weren't in our favour at all either. It made me wonder where the hell they'd all come from. Considering how useless Melromarc had been in stopping the second wave, and even less so with the third, I found it odd that several hundred knights, half again to double that in foot soldiers, and at least one mage for every ten troops.
"But that's not the worst of it." Raphtalia said as we huddled around a small foxfire ball just so everyone could see each other. "In the middle I saw a pavilion of tents, and many of those robed people from the 'church of the three heroes'."
"So not only are they moving to wipe out a known 'rebellion' of demi-humans and their sympathetic Lord, it is under the authority of a 'holy man'." I sighed.
"Your tree?" Usa guessed, "It... it is special to you, right?"
"That might be part of it as well. Instead of finding me, to 'remove the devil of the Shield', they're attacking my people to lure me to them. If I make it in time, they attack me. If I don't, they attack them, then me when I show up."
"Sir? Does she glow like that often?" Kuro asked.
Motoyasu looked at me, "I'm not sur- wait... she?"
The rest of my party nodded while I shrugged. "Yup." My resignation winning over my irritation at being baited into an obvious trap.
"But you... and... but..." Poor Motoyasu rubbed the side of his head to try and make sense of it.
"You're not going to be upset you got beaten by a girl, are you?" I asked.
He froze, took a deep breath, then shook his head, "For some reason it makes even more sense now. But wh... oh... OH!" He clamped a hand over his mouth to quiet himself, "Right... You saw what we all did in the throne room. Almost no women, all these male nobility walking around with their hips forward... And they already didn't like you from the start..."
I wondered if becoming a 'dad' had returned some of the blood flow to his brain instead of his groin like it had been when he had Myne around, leading him by the belt buckle. Then again, he did say he was a university before coming here.
"Yeah, I figured it would be safer, considering I was also a child at the time, and bored rich nobles in three out of four worlds that I've been in like that kind of thing." I sighed, holding up a hand to stop him, "No, not now. Fohl? I want you to stay with the wagon. You have my spell gauntlets and a bunch of 'surprises'. If anyone shows up and starts bothering you, who isn't a swordsman wearing mostly black and looking gloomy, or a bowman wearing..."
"Oh, white and green mostly, short sandy hair." Motoyasu supplied. "Ren and Itsuki."
"Yeah, so if it isn't either of them, and they don't have a really good reason for bothering you, protect your sister at all costs. The wagon too if you can help it."
"And if they show up, send them your way." He nodded, his mostly grown hands not quite a perfect fit for my spell gloves, "These feel so fancy..."
"Okay. Let's get started. Remember, nothing fancy until there is a signal."
(Van Reichnott, top of the wall, Lord Idol's former castle)
"You seem to have a bit of a problem." One of Frost's mercenaries said casually as he leaned on one of the crenellations looking out towards the dozens of little campfires from the enemy camp. "Way it looks to me, they're going to try and make a point." He was in lighter armour, with a bow in hand but looking as if this situation was something that happened every other week.
Van, a scholar more than a fighter asked the obvious question, "What makes you say that?"
"Well Sir." He glanced away from the distant camp, then focused on them again, "They have enough people to burn everything but the castle down. If they came on with just what's there, they could fight us street to street, round up anyone who didn't resist, kill everyone who did, and then wait until we all starved in here."
Van looked out as well, "But instead, they are building siege engines."
"Yup. Looks to me they want to flatten the castle here, and leave it as an example. Typical tyrant... Maybe the leader is from Faubrey? Bunch-a butt gobblers there." He perked up suddenly, "Wait... Back up sir."
Lord Van was not a fighting man if he could help it, but he knew when to listen to them. So, he backed up and went down a couple of steps on the stone steps leading to this little perch. In front of him, the mercenary was looking almost straight up, his hand going for an arrow.
"Wait!" Van hissed, hearing a familiar heavy buzzing that he felt at the base of his skull, "Don't shoot!"
"It's almost on top of us!" The archer growled, not shooting, but instead dropping the bow and picking up a nearby shield while his now free hand pulled a dragon bone dagger from his belt.
The buzzing cut off, started up again, cut off, then started once more, and Kunshu landed just behind the crenellations, her wings going still. In one hand, she held out a little bag, in another, what looked like a shiny bit of armour, and in her third and forth? Big ripe foxberries.
"Kunshu!" Van said, "The Shield Hero is nearby."
The archer relaxed, "Huh... And she's carrying a bit of the boss's armour. What's this then?" He made to take the bag, but Kunshu backed up a half step, and offered it directly to Van. "Ah, for you it seems. You know... never did get to give you a pat..."
Kunshu ignored him while she brought a foxberry to her mouth and commenced the horror show of her eating something as fast as she could. She did, once her face up to the eyes had vanished in the fruit, lean a little into the curious pat.
Van however, carefully undid the bundle he'd been given. "Oh... A spyglass, and..." There was a little ruffle of paper, "Stay behind walls. Red signal retreat tree. Green signal clear. Blue signal help from walls."
"Suppose I should wake up the rabble then." The archer said, "All quiet like. Then bam! We peek out like an angry porcupine." He paused, something occurring to him. "What about that fancy bit of glass?
"That's only three signals though... I've seen the Hero use more than that." Van weighed the spyglass in his hands, noting the quality. "And since they arrived, I haven't been able to use it. I suspect its part of why Kunshu us here."
"Then those are the only three signals you should care about then. Anything else isn't your problem until further orders." The mercenary chuckled as he went past Van and down the steps.
Van felt a little out of his depth, but nodded. He then looked to Kunshu, "Are you staying then?"
The Empress Bee paused her devouring, nodded, then resumed.
(Raphtalia)
Like a shadow... no... Like a shadow's shadow, Raphtalia made her way towards one of the mostly constructed siege engines. It looked so simple, this contraption of logs and rope, but she had been assured it could hurl boulders great distances with nothing more than gravity helping it along.
She could ask for a demonstration later, if she cared enough to remember.
Kodori, and even Motoyasu agreed that because they were so simple, they had very few points of failure. Two triangles of long logs, two short logs at the bottom to brace them, maybe attach wheels, a 'pivot' held up in the crux of the triangles on top, and an 'arm' with a basket on one end, and a big weight on the other. People pull the weight up, let it fall, and that makes the arm sling whatever is in the basket like someone throwing a ball.
After that explanation, the only thing to really 'stick' in her head was 'it needed ropes'. So, carefully, silently, she slipped past thin patrols, edged around pools of campfire light, waited motionless near a tree stump, then, finally, started her first of many acts of sabotage.
(Melty, Usa, Clive)
With Usa listening for patrols and Clive leading them around what was left of the forests near the army encampment, the two casters and the ranger found a good spot to set up an ambush. Not one to plan 'mono-purpose' ideas, and getting favourable input from the three involved, this would not only be a good place for an ambush, but a good place to attack from. The enemy would be forced to deal with them and fall into a multi staged trap of magic and mundane artifice. Or, ignore them and have two high powered casters and an archer, pelt them with spells and arrows.
Once the spot was found, the real work began. Working with only the starlight and newly enchanted 'dark vision' goggles for Melty and Usa, and slow careful work from Clive (who couldn't really wear goggles) they got set up.
(Fohl)
"Who's there?" He asked, making ready to toss some flash powder into the fire to blind any unwelcome guests.
At first, he thought he saw three people at the mouth of the cave. But after a single blink, only two stood there.
"Declare yourselves." Fohl demanded, feeling his palms sweat a little under the bejewelled gauntlets.
One of them stepped closer, his shadowy form gaining proper colour as the firelight overtook the starlight obscuring him. "We were told the Shield Hero was here." He said, his voice tired, resigned.
"I'd be careful about your tone." The other said, also weary, but clearly annoyed.
"What are your names?" Fohl asked.
As described, Ren was indeed wearing black, looked gloomy, and had an overly fancy looking sword at his hip. Itsuki also looked as described, though the white cloth over his armour was dirty.
"Ren Amaki."
"Itsuki Kawasumi."
Fohl relaxed just a little bit, though he still held the flash powder in one closed fist. Eyes still on the two of them, he leaned his head just a little to the side, "Sister?"
"It's them, yes, I'm sure of it." Said a quiet voice from the wagon.
"What's this about? Who else is here?" Itsuki demanded, "Show yourself!"
"That is my sister." Fohl said, moving between the Bow Hero and the wagon, "She's blind, mostly, and can't walk. I have something for the two of you." He bowed, Japanese style, then took something from behind his back with his free hand, still suspicious. "Pardon the drawings, I hope they look good enough."
Each of them took a small leather sack from Fohl. Tetsu had drawn on them, and her well meaning efforts looked... mostly... like a bow, and a sword.
"I've also been told to offer you food and drink while you listen." Fohl added, backing up a step and lifting up a small iron pot from beside his former sitting spot, and setting it on the fire.
"Listen? To what?" Ren asked, his stomach growling as if he hadn't eaten in days. Though, from the look of him, he hadn't done a lot of things in days. Eat, sleep, bathe...
"Orders. Kodori and Motoyasu are making ready to break the siege of Van's territory, and once you've gotten ready, they would like you to help." Fohl replied, hoping he didn't have to use the 'surprise' in his palm. Because if they didn't want to help, well...
"And how to we know you're speaking for... oh..." Itsuki stopped, taking a bit of paper from the leather bag, "Ren?"
Ren stopped looking at the pot of stew warming up on the fire, looked at Itsuki, then looked into his own bag of goodies, "Huh... It's in kanji... more or less..."
"If you are reading this, and feeling tired, eat the little black pill before you have dinner." Itsuki read, "This?" He held up a little black pill, about the size of a pea.
"Wonder what it is?" Ren found his, and eyed it suspiciously, "It almost feels evil." He looked to Fohl.
"All I was told, was to tell you to be very sure you are tired before having it." He said with a shrug, "Kodori is always very serious about warnings."
"Well... We do owe a favour to the Queen for breaking us out of that cell." Ren said, "We'll help."
Itsuki nodded, and the Bow and Sword Heroes popped the instant coffee pill into their mouths.
(Kodori, Kuro, Motoyasu, Tetsu)
"A woman huh?" Motoyasu said as Kuro (the extra super fluffy) shifted her big feet under her. Even with all the feathers, the Spear Hero looked quite secure on her back.
"Doesn't your version of Japan have Kitsune?" I asked, "And for the moment, at least until we get to the Queen..." Under me, Tetsu was on all fours, her long neck curved back so I could pass the time giving her headpats.
"Going for a dramatic reveal, huh?" He chuckled, "I dunno about Kitsune. My version of Japan, as you put it, hardly has anything to do with mythology. Hell-"
"ahem." Kuro, like an owl, turned her head around 180 degrees to look at him with a squint.
"Pardon." He said, "There's only... One? Maybe two? Temples left in all of Japan. The rest of the world hardly has religion, let alone popular myths. All very science driven."
I sighed, "A shame."
"Eh, it's not so bad. Makes fantasy games really popular when they come out. Everyone loves a good story." He grinned, "You know, I have so many questions now."
I looked at the Wave countdown in the corner of my vision. "We have about five minutes before I expect a signal."
"You said three out of four worlds." He looked at me suspiciously, "What's that about?"
"The man on the 1000 yen note in the first world I was in, is Hideyo Noguchi." I said, "They are just breaking into Virtual Reality stuff, but it's far too primitive for really tactile games. My home, the second world I've been to, is a place of high magic, gods, and an infinite dungeon that is suspected to be the corpse of a dragon the size of Japan."
"See Master? Nothing good ever comes from dragons." Kuro said, giving Tetsu a sideways look.
Still purring under my headpats, Tetsu countered with, "I dunno... boss made really good weapons from dragon bones. And big trees... mmm left a little... yeah..."
"The third connected to my version of Japan through a Gate, tried to invade, and was slapped down and occupied by the Japanese Military. Except things happened, and that Gate ended up in my world, and now my world and Japan have a... sort of trade agreement." I continued, "While the third world is on its own again and dealing with their deadbeat Gods.
"Huh... Sounds super complicated." He paused, his eyes wide, "Does your Japan have magic then?"
"They're growing into it, the entire world is. Humanity pushed it back to the shadows, but my world showed them what magic can do, and now they are begging to find their own magic again so they can do it too." I grinned.
"There's that smile again." He pretended to hug himself and shiver, "Brr. What about your wife? You said you had children too?"
"sir." I was about to shut down Motoyasu's question, gently, since this weird new facet of his was starting to making him actually likeable, but the sound stone around my neck vibrated and spoke quietly.
He looked at me expectantly as I pulled the stone out and tapped it. "Here."
"can't hear you properly." Came the reply. It was Melty, "they are doing something in the middle camp. I'm using Usa's amplification and range increasing magic circle to send."
Aha. This explained why I couldn't get Van on the Occulus. So, I held the sound stone between my thumb and index finger, and watched as my Mana bar slowly ticked down. "I hear you."
"good! It's working then. The three of us are ready." Pause, "Have you heard from Fohl?"
I focused again, "No. But if there is something wrong with the sound stones, it's to be expected. If something is wrong, we'll see it. Would you like the opening strike then?"
Melty's determined reply made me smile, "Usa and I are gathering up the clouds now. What was it you said? You'll know the signal when you see it?"
"So long as you have it done before the sun starts coming up." I said, "Carry on."
The stone went dark again, and just as I was putting it back under my shirt, I saw Kuro's head pivot to look in the direction we'd left our wagon. Tetsu also looked that way, and after a moment I heard it too.
And a moment after that, my status window told me exactly what I wanted to know.
Two or more Legendary weapons in close proximity will halt EXP gain!
NOTES!
Looks like the 'season finale' will be next chapter. :) See you then.
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!
And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.
And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!
