Disclaimer : I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero
Author's Notes : I have had plans for a Rising of the Shield Hero story for a very long time since I read Qinlongfei's 'Ambition of a Red Princess' and I must say that it honestly feels good to finally get this chapter out of the Manager .
I will say before we get into the story that I am a huge Dishonored fan and have taken multiple elements and characters from it . Though I wouldn't really call it a crossover since there are other franchises that I've thrown in here for the sake of convenience and most for fun . These elements will be shown much earlier than you would expect .
I have waited a very , very long time for this .
Big thanks to Qinlongfei's and Putain de Plagieur for beta reading the first draft and providing important feedback on the chapter as a whole and giving good ideas about some edits .
Now without further ado , let's get right into the chapter !
Chapter 1 : The Heroes
Wrath without a purpose is no different from chaos or evil .
But Wrath that has a purpose is even worse .
Malty sighs as she finishes reading a book gently resting it on her table , reading a book about the history of Melromarc's past rulers of old was not something she regularly did with her day. She had no clue how she had possibly survived the countless hours she was practically tied down in a classroom and forced to study ... but an old friend once told her that in order to be a proper ruler , she must be hard-working and focused .
Contrary to popular belief , Malty S Melromarc is NOT a lazy person . Sure , she studies nowhere near as much as her brat of a sister Melty does on daily basis , but she certainly wasn't stupid , in fact she would even call herself intelligent .
And she was quite focused too .
Well ... if you count scheming to retake the Throne as focus ... but it still counts .
Malty now ponders on what she should do with the remainder of her day , she thought if now would be a good time to go snooping through her mother's personal belongings to see if she could get into her mother's head and figure out how her mother thinks . She had just left a little more than a month ago to travel to an international meeting with the leaders of the other major countries of the world . And as luck would have it , her mother also took her bratty sister Melty with her .
So this is quite the rare opportunity . With neither her harpy mother or brat of a sister to have to navigate around and watch out for she is more or less free to do as much snooping as she wants , in order to get back what was rightfully hers .
Although ... Malty isn't blind to the fact that Mother most likely has a group of shadows monitoring everything that's going on in the capital . Mother has always been rather cautious like that so she'll have to be extra smart if she doesn't want to be ratted out by one of the shadows since they will report even the slightest trouble of what goes on in the capital back to her mother
Goes to show how little mother actually trusts me . Typical .
Though she supposes that she should somewhat be grateful for the fact that her mother has gone to the meeting with the other world leaders to discuss who summons which hero and in what order they are to be summoned in .
With the next wave on its way in a little more than a month from now , they can't possibly hope to survive it ... Malty almost hopes that mother comes to an agreement and comes back sooner rather than later and summons a Legendary Hero soon ...
No point being the Queen of the Ashes is there ?
The princess sighs and pushes the thought of her harpy mother away , she was about to lay down on her soft bed when the sounds of footsteps coming from outside her room peaked her curiosity .
Exiting the room , she sees a squad of knights walking down the hall with their backs turned to her , weapons ready at a moments notice . But it wasn't the knights that caught her attention , accompanying them were a group of disciples from the Church of the Three Heroes .
Now this is interesting ...
Normally the disciples of the Church never set foot inside the castle , excluding the Pope that is , so this is certainly catching her eye .
Why would the Church of the Three be here ? What would be the purpose ?
Questions with no answers , Malty walked down the hallways of the enormous castle " Guard ! What is the meaning of this ? Why are disciples of the Church of the Three Heroes here ?" Malty sternly asks the first guard she comes in contact with . The guard automatically straightened his posture and stood as still as possible before the princess .
" I-I-I d-don't know princess Malty ... " The guard stutters out , clearly nervous before the first princess.
This is going nowhere , I need to figure out what's happening and fast , and I know the just the man to talk to .
Malty glared at the guard " My father , where is he ?" she asked him in an angry and irritated tone , which only worsened the guard's attempt at staying calm .
" I-I believe his Majesty is in the Throne Room , First Princess " he answers trying to regain his composure .
The Throne Room , huh ?
"That will be all guard , you may go " Malty says walking away from him
"Thank you princess ..." The guard lets a huge sigh of relief that she can still hear but she chooses to ignore .
What could possibly be so important that father would purposefully exclude me from ?
And idea comes to mind and her eyes widen ...
Could it be that ...? No ... Its not possible , Father wouldn't summon a hero ...
Though it would explain why those disciples of the Church are here ...
Only one way to find out ...
The Princess begins fast walking towards the Throne Room , to find out what her Father has done ...
Well ... this is a new experience to say the least ...
It was not usually in Malty's nature to admit her faults but today felt like a particularly special occasion .
She was completely wrong when she thought her Father would be foolish enough to summon a hero ...
Her father was stupid enough to summon all FOUR of them !
Standing down below her were four young men dressed in odd clothing , at the moment she currently stood on the balcony that overlooked the Throne Room and was often used as a place for the nobles of the royal court to watch and hear important announcements from royalty .
Malty lightly pinched herself just to make sure she wasn't dreaming ... and was surprised to see that it was not a dream .
So much for the Wise King ...
Malty thought in annoyance as she concealed her face behind a fan she carried on her person at all times , which hided her disappointment in her own father.
Besides her were noble ladies and lords , most of which Malty didn't really care about as all her attention was currently on the four men from another world .
The young man who wielded the sword had dark hair and wore an uninterested look at what her Father was saying , the Sword Hero .
It took her a minute to realize that the uninterested expression and emotionless mask he wore was nothing more than a front , due to Malty's extensive knowledge on reading body language , something which has come in handy on more than one occasion , she manages to deduce that the Sword Hero is obviously trying to hide his tenseness surrounding the whole situation .
It was easy enough to tell from the way his shoulder's twitched as he held the sword , the way he was trying way too hard to keep a straight and unreadable face which ironically made him readable or the way that he was practically staring at the King to maintain his stoic persona .
I wonders if this is the effect of being summoned to another world and suddenly having the weight of the entire world rest on your shoulders ?
This was quite the surprise for Malty , as throughout her life she has heard tall tales of the Legendary Heroes , in her youth she had read multiple stories concerning the Sword Hero , how he was a hero of great strength that didn't falter even in the face of death , this leading her believing him to be the best of the 4 heroes .
The irony of the situation does not escape her ...
Standing to the left of the Sword Hero , was a young man who wielded a bow and was giving a quick flick to the string , the Bow Hero .
This otherworlder , had curly blond hair and wore an expression opposite to that of the Sword Hero , there was a kind of interest and mild enthusiasm in his face as he casually looked around the room and up at the balcony like every other noble child on their first visit to the castle .
But ... it may have just been her thoughts playing tricks on her but ... she could have sworn that she saw the Bow Hero look directly in her direction up on the balcony . As if he knew that he was being watched .
Then again , there were dozens of other nobles that were watching the heroes at the moment so it could have been that .
Interesting , l may need to do a bit of research on each of these heroes later .
Standing to the right of the Sword Hero was a man that looked older than the Sword and the Bow Hero , the Spear Hero .
To Malty's surprise he was quite good looking for a man from another world , he had pretty long blonde hair most of which was tied up into a ponytail to look cleaner . To Malty's best observation , his expression was one of confidence as he gave the spear he held a quick twirl .
Finally standing beside the Spear was the man who wielded a shield on his right arm , the Shield Hero .
He had a dark short hair which spikes in all directions and in all of Malty's honesty wasn't half bad looking in comparison to the Spear Hero .
But enough of that , she must focus on what her father tells to these heroes and learn as much she can from them .
" It is an honor to meet you Legendary Heroes , I am the King of Melromarc , Aultcray Melromarc XXXII " Father introduces himself to them , with much honor and respect , though ... by the way he's looking at the Shield Hero she can tell that doesn't include him .
"You are all probably wondering why we have summoned you here and I will explain as much as I can " Father stops for a moment to look at all for of them , he narrows his eyes at the Shield Hero again , like he's dirt underneath his boot , before he continues " Melromarc is on the brink of destruction and this crisis not only concerns just my country ... but the whole world ..."
" You see , there is an occurring natural disaster in our world called the Waves of Catastrophe , these waves bring about swarms of rampaging demonic monsters ... at first we thought we could fight them back ... but we underestimated them and took massive casualties during the First Wave ... and that was only just a month ago " Father grips the armrest of the Throne strongly in his hand , he is clearly on edge with the waves .
" Fortunately ... there is a legend that says that Four Legendary Heroes from another world are our only chance of defeating the Waves and saving our world . And so we followed the legend and summoned you four here . We were left with no other choice . "
" Alright , we get the gist of your problem but what guarantees can you give that you won't betray us ? " The Sword Hero asks .
"I agree it would certainly be selfish and unjust for you to ask us to deal with a problem that really has nothing to do with us , especially without properly assuring us of your loyalty ... " The Bow finishes
...
...
...
...
...
Gods the world really is doomed .
Malty has to suppress the urge to slap her forehead in annoyance and irritation . Do these two heroes not realize just how stupid they sound making such bold statements before the crown and the majority of nobility in Melromarc ? While she can somewhat understand where they are coming from , it is still a bad move to see nonetheless .
" Hey ! Don't be jerks to the King " The Spear Hero to her surprise actually called the two younger heroes out on their immature behavior , nudging them with his elbow , which caused them to glare at him lightly .
At least , the Spear has some level of self awareness ...
The Spear turned back to father " Sorry about that ..." He seemed to apologize on behalf of his fellow heroes .
" It is of no consequence Sir Spear Hero and I understand where the Bow and Sword are coming from " Father speaks empathetically " Rest assured , my country has no intention of betraying our only hope of defending our lands . And you will compensated for your help "
Malty eyes turned to the Shield Hero who had been quiet this whole time and saw that he shared a similar expression to the Spear at Bow and Sword's bold statements earlier .
And of course , the supposed "Devil of the Shield" is the only two of the four with a sense of humility and self awareness .
Malty places a hand to her chin and thinks deep in thought , with all the four legendary heroes here in Melromarc , she needed to start thinking what this would mean for the country , her father and her mother and most importantly herself .
News of Melromarc summoning of all four heroes will spread very quickly , its not even an exaggeration to say it already has . News travels fast around a kingdom especially with spies embedded in every country from every kingdom . And when the news eventually reaches the other kingdoms , it will no doubt spark an outrage among the kingdoms against Melromarc and this will no doubt extend her mother's time away from the country .
And as an added bonus that will mean her bratty sister will also be away even longer than usual .
Going back to the other countries , in the worse case scenario they all join forces together for an all out invasion of Melromarc to retake the 4 heroes . Best case , Mother manages to stop an all out war from happening over the 4 Legendary Heroes .
As unlikely as that may sound .
Malty narrows her eyes at the 4 heroes , particularly the Shield Hero ...
But having the Shield Hero reside in Melromarc would mean that those beasts from Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden will most likely hesitate in the event of an attack on Melromarc . And if they can get the Shield Hero on their side , they can use it as diplomatic leverage to control those animals ...
But the problem with that idea is that Melromarc is a human supremacist country with demi-human slaves. And that's not even the biggest issue having the supposed 'Devil of the Shield' reside in Melromarc , those damn fanatics from the Church of the Three Heroes will not take kindly to having the supposed Devil of their religion stay in the country .
But if there's anyone Malty trusts to take care of those damn fanatics is her father . The Wise King will surely be able to take care of the country she is destined to rule one day .
Malty's attention turns back to the Heroes below as Father speaks once more .
" Please excuse my rudeness Heroes , I did not ask what your names were " Father apologizes
" Not a problem , the name's Motoyasu Kitamura , I'm 21 years and in college " The Spear introduces himself
Malty eyes look at them in confusion , what is this cole-ge ? Is that even a real word ?
" My name is Ren Amaki , I'm 16 and a student in my world " The Sword speaks next
16 ? My guessing ability is off , the Sword Hero could easily pull of the look of a man in his early adult years .
" I'm Itsuki Kawasumi , I'm 17 and a student just like Ren " The Bow explains
Again , she could swear that Bow Hero is younger than the Sword Hero , looks really can be deceiving ...
" I'm last , my name is -" The Shield Hero finally speaks but is cut off by father .
" Ren , Motoyasu and Itsuki , right ?" Father rudely interrupts him .
Malty's eyes quickly look over the man sitting on the throne in surprise .
Did Father just ...? No he couldn't have ... did he seriously just ...
" Uh , King you didn't let me introduce myself ..." The Shield Hero speaks up a bit surprised at Father's dismissivenes
Father narrows his eyes at the Shield Hero " My apologies Sir Shield Hero " Father apology sounds hollow and not meaningful in the slightest .
" Uh ... Its alright I guess ... " The Shield Hero rubs his head , clearly aware that her Father's 'apology' was garbage " My name is Naofumi Iwatani , I'm 20 years old and a university student " The Shield Hero finally introduces himself as Malty processes what has just happened .
Did Father seriously just antagonize the Shield Hero !? The only man that's keeping the entire country from being attacked by those damn beastmen !?
Has the Wise King forgotten that Siltvelt quite literally crushed Melromarc's army and ruled over the country with an iron fist a few decades ago ?
Just as Malty goes to rub her forehead to nurse an oncoming headache , it is then that she notices that there are in fact disciples of the Three Heroes standing among the nobility in the balcony opposite hers holding their rosary's in their hands . In fact , now that she looks around , there are a few disciples on her balcony as well , standing just a few feet away from her .
Malty instinctively moves away from them at the sight .
Could it be that Father is simply trying to appease the Church ? It would make sense that the church's disciples would be attending such an important event like a hero's summoning , especially all four of them , to most likely report back to the Pope as to how Father is choosing to handle each hero ...
Malty looks at her father and smiles a little .
It would appear that father still hasn't gone senile just yet , he must have some sort of plan in place to get the Shield Hero on our side .
Looks like me and Father need to have a little talk ...
The Red Haired Princess thinks as she walks back to her room and think about what has happened and to plan her next moves ...
Scheming is usually best done at night anyway ...
Naofumi's POV
It was few hours after we introduced ourselves to king and he had explained to us why he brought us here . Apparently this world is in danger of some kind of world ending calamity , only known as the "Waves of Catastrophe " or the Waves for short . Whenever these waves arrive they bring about swarms of rampaging demonic monsters . The legends say that whenever the waves start , 4 Heroes are summoned from another world to combat them , these are known as the 4 Cardinal Heroes .
The Sword , Spear , Bow and Shield ...
And out of all the weapons out of the four , I had to be one to end up with the shield .
Naofumi can't help but feel a tad bit anxious now , the shield isn't even a weapon per say , he has no idea how the hell he's going to fight monsters with this . But he guess's the one upside to being the Shield Hero is that his defense is much higher than all the other heroes so that's something to be grateful about .
He couldn't help but ponder why the king was so dismissive of him earlier , he wondered if it had anything to do with him being the Shield Hero , but Naofumi in a way couldn't blame him . Based on what he told them , the country barely survived the first wave and that's supposed to be when the monsters that spill from the wave are supposedly at their weakest and with the second wave coming in a month from now ... that would put any ruler on edge .
Right now Naofumi is sitting on the fancy couch in the room the king designated for Motoyasu , after they all finished their dinner Motoyasu invited them to his room so they could talk . At the moment though , Naofumi was mostly browsing through the 'Help Menu' , trying to learn as much as he can about these weapons .
Wow , this really is just like a game ...its almost freaky in a sense .
According to the Help Menu , the Legendary Weapons they each wield don't require any sort of maintenance . On top of that , if they level up and feed their weapons different materials , they can unlock new and stronger forms of their weapons .
" Well guys I gotta say , when you're a hero in another world , you get some pretty nice special treatment " Motoyasu commented , resting his spear on his shoulder " This room is a lot nicer than my apartment back home "
" And the food they served us was kinda strange in way , but it was still pretty good " Itsuki adjusted his bow on his shoulder , as he leaned back in his chair .
They continued to talk as Naofumi pulled up the stats for the Small Shield ,the shield he had equipped at the moment .
The shield didn't have any resistances and of course the only stat boosts it provides , is in Defense and Magic Defense
" Hey guys ... this kind of resembles a game doesn't ?" Naofumi couldn't help but comment as he pulled down the stat screen .
" Yeah , I was thinking the same thing , this system reminds me a lot of Emerald Online " Motoyasu agreed
"Emerald Online ? What's that ?" Naofumi asks genuinely confused at what Emerald Online was , it sounded like a game of some sort .
" You kidding me man ? It's huge , Emerald Online is a medieval game that was launched last year , it was named the game of the year " Game of the Year ? Now Naofumi even more confused , the game of the year , last year was Fantasy Moon Online .
"What are you talking about Motoyasu , this isn't some online game , its a game I'm familiar with called Dimension Wave . " Both Naofumi and Motoyasu looked at Itsuki confused .
What the hell is Dimension Wave ?
" You're both wrong , everything about this is similar to a VRMMO called Brave Star Online " Ren decided to join in the conversation .
" Okay ... lets sort this out " Motoyasu stood up from the bed
" Ren are you talking about an actual literal VRMMO ?" Motoyasu asked Ren , to which he simply nodded " You guys do know what he means by that right ? "
" Yeah , a sci-fi game I'm familiar with explored the concept of it " Itsuki commented .
" Yeah , I've read about them in light novels " Naofumi added.
This Brave Star Online , kinda sounds like a manga I used to read called Sword Art Online , with just a change in the title a bit .
" Now to be sure lets all compare general knowledge with each other , whose face is on the 1000 yen bill ? " Motoyasu suggests , and they all nod their heads in agreement .
" Yuta Masato "
"Yawara Koutarou "
"Kodaka Enichi"
"Ichifuji Shigeno "
...
...
...
...
...
They all say their answers at the same time and all of them were different from each other ...
" Wait who ...?"
After that they all spent the next 10 minutes , asking a bunch of different kinds of questions like 'Who was the Prime Minister ? ' or ' Which countries won WW2 ? ' .
By the end of it , none of their answers matched up in the slightest .
" There's only one explanation , we're all from different versions of Japan " Itsuki let out sigh , he was clearly taken aback by this sudden information .
" Right ? And they pretty much don't sound anything alike at all " Ren pitched in .
" So there are parallel worlds with parallel Japans ..." Naofumi fell back onto the couch as he tried to process all of this , just like Itsuki he's having trouble accepting that there are parallel worlds out there .
" I thought that we were all just from different era's but I guess not ..." Motoyasu returned to sitting on his bed " But I guess this pretty much proves that the Multiverse Theory is true ..."
" The Multiverse Theory ?" Itsuki and Ren look confused at what Motoyasu had just said .
" The Multiverse Theory . Its the theory that there are parallel worlds outside of our own existing universe that are different than ours in certain ways . The differences between these universes can vary , sometimes the difference is only slightly , sometimes quite radically " Motoyasu continues to explain , Naofumi was honestly kinda surprised that he knows all this stuff " For example , in a parallel earth Ren is born with green eyes instead of blue or perhaps in another world Naofumi was born a girl instead of a boy "
Me being born a girl ? Now that is something I would like to see .
" I'm surprised you know all this stuff Motoyasu ..." Ren looked surprised and for once breaking his blank face .
" Yeah well ... I'm a pretty rounded guy you know ?" Motoyasu smirked a little .
" I can't believe all you guys have played video games so similar to this world , why am I the only one unfamiliar with all of this " Naofumi couldn't help but speak out loud . Ren and Itsuki seem to look at each other for a moment and then back at to him .
" Try not to worry about it too much Naofumi , you can learn as you go , but for now let your buddy Motoyasu help get you familiar with your position " Motoyasu steps up to break the silence .
" Since you're a shielder , attack isn't much of an option for you so your main job is to pretty much to be your parties tank in battle . Drawing aggro and taking the heavy hits for your party " Naofumi decidedly listens carefully to what Motoyasu is telling him , he's gonna need all the info he can get " Which is why I recommend you focus on building your defense as much as possible and as quickly as possible , in Emerald Online the enemies in later battles get much more powerful and difficult "
The enemies get much more powerful ? Guess I should have expected that much.
" What about my offensive ability ? Should I try to raise my attack stat along with defense ?" Naofumi brought up the question.
My current attack stat is 1 so I was hoping that maybe I could get some attack power so I could fight on my own .
" Getting your attack stat up is certainly helpful , but that's a secondary priority , being a shield wielder you're quite frankly pretty bad at attacking , no offense "
"None taken "
" And getting your attack stat up to anything significant for later much tougher battles would take much longer than building your defense , so its not something I recommend but if you could do it , it would certainly be helpful " Motoyasu ends his explanation there .
" And what about the end game battles ? How is he going to be of any use in those ?" Ren poses the question .
Ren looks at me while he speaks " In Brave Star Online the shielder class was completely useless in battle , almost nobody used it and anybody who did use it were pretty much people who had no idea what they were doing . By the end of the first month , nobody played the shielder , since it was god awful class that nobody used . " Naofumi couldn't help but feel a little bit insulted by that .
" Ren's right , in Dimension Wave nobody took the shielder class and the whole thing was removed since nobody was playing it " Itsuki nods his head in agreement with Ren .
" Wait a second ! What about class advancement ? Or did they ever fix it in a patch or something ?" Naofumi asked , but the looks on their faces said it all .
" Even the advanced class were pretty much the same thing , but on a much more glorified level " Ren crossed his arms as he spoke .
Naofumi gripped the sides of my head and fall even deeper in the couch in despair .
This is a horrible ! How am I supposed to survive the much tougher waves like this ? I can't even attack much of anything at this stage .
" Try not to worry about it too much Naofumi , the system is different here , so I'm sure the Shielder is useful " Motoyasu commented with a light laugh , trying to mood up in the room
And he succeeded to an extent , Naofumi's mood was brought up even if it was tiny bit .
" Thanks Motoyasu ..." Naofumi got up from the couch and walked out to the balcony of the room , looking down at the city below him .
I can't let this get in my way ! I've been summoned to another world , this finally my chance to make it !
With a feeling of determination in his heart , Naofumi smiled down at the beautiful lights that illuminate the city .
I swear to you little brother , I will become a hero !
Malty's POV
After retreating to her bedroom , Malty began to ponder on what her father could potentially be planning for the Shield Hero .
From the way father was putting on an act to appease the Three Heroes Church , he must have some sort of plan for getting the Shield on our side . Though that might prove difficult for father to do all by himself .
It is no secret that father holds contempt for those damn beasts in Silvelt and by extension the Shield Hero . So perhaps a purely professional relationship would be best for all .
Malty is more than relieved that even her father knows abusing or even letting the Shield Hero die purely on the grounds of just being the Shield Hero would spark an international incident and get him dethroned and leave Melromarc with a horrible name on the international stage . Possibly enough to have it removed from the international stage entirely !
So she is eager to hear whatever plan her father has cooked up .
Malty started to think about the 4 heroes , should she attempt to gather information on them by talking to them directly ?
Too risky and eliminates other more efficient methods of getting information out of them .
If she talks to them , they'll remember her face and destroy any opportunity she has of gathering information undercover , disguised as perhaps a servant such as a maid or common girl if she must .
There is certainly a difference talking to royalty compared to talking to simple country folk . Mostly because of the former's status causes people to tense up and be careful of what they say . Which is why pretending to be of common blood is much more efficient .
Despite what many people may think , Malty is quite good at disguising herself , while no where as near as good as one of the Shadows she could still get the job done . She could easily change the color of her hair using a potion she was taught to make and while she couldn't necessarily change her face , she knew how to keep her head down .
This was proven time and time again when she would leave the castle at night without anyone knowing , she had done this many times in her youth and still does to this day , it was so easy at this point that she wondered if she should tell her father to fire the castle's guards because they were so bad at their jobs.
Usually after slipping out of the castle unnoticed all she had to do to disguise herself was a quick change to commoners clothing and she was officially no longer Malty S Melromarc . She supposed there are some benefits to no longer being heir to the Throne , unlike her sister who often left the castle to stroll around the city or sometimes outside the city , mostly to find some stupid Filolials to play with .
She never quite understood her mother or brat sister's fascination with Filolials , they are just overgrown birds !
Shaking her head to forget about the birds , she needs to start thinking about the Shield Hero .
From what she can gather the Shield Hero holds a much different personality , in comparison to some of the other three .
He seems to have a sense humility , perhaps brought about by the fact his Legendary Weapon is a piece of armor ...
And he's going to have particularly hard time leveling up and gaining experience , since he can't attack with his Legendary Weapon , perhaps he can use a different weapon such as a sword for the time being ?
But ... according to the stories she has read , the Legendary Heroes can't use any other weapon other than the one they've been given , but to be fair she is unsure how truthful or accurate those stories actually are .
The princess's thinking was interrupted by a knock on the door , quickly walking over to answer it , the man behind the door is a mere common knight .
" What is it ? " Malty says with irritation , she was not in the mood to be disturbed at this hour
" U-um ... his majesty is requesting your presence in the private meeting room , princess Malty " The guard explains , albeit a bit stutter
" Hmm ... what does father want at this hour ?" The First Princess asks , leaving some of the irritation out of her voice
" I don't know princess , he just requested to meet you there " the knight explains a bit calmer
The First Princess thinks for a moment .
He most likely wants to speak to me about the Heroes ...
The Princess turns back to the knight " That will be all , knight " she quickly dismisses him .
"As you wish , princess " The Knight quickly turns on his heel and walks away .
Now ... time to figure out what you're scheming father ...
The Red Haired Princess thinks as she walks to the meeting room ...
Walking up to the meeting room , Malty is greeted by two knight standing guard by the entrance .
" Princess Malty , your father is expecting you " One of them speaks
" As he should knight " Malty says as she opens the door to the meeting room and walks in .
Immediately upon entering , Malty sees her father sitting at the meeting table , writing something down on a piece of paper while looking deep in thought .
" Father ? You called for me ?" Malty alerts the king as the while speaking in a sweet tone while putting a similarly sweet smile to her father .
The King immediately looks up at surprise at his daughter " Oh ! Malty ! I'm so sorry my daughter , I heard you come in but it thought it was just one of the guards " Father apologizes sincerely , as he smiles at her with happiness
Now what do we have here ...?
Malty eyes the paper her father was writing on , but he quickly folded it up and slip it into his pocket .
" So father , you called for me ?" Malty asks keeping the sweet facade perfectly
" Yes Malty , I do hope , I wasn't interrupting anything important " Father says genuinely , it is times like these Malty wonders how father had ever beaten her mother at chess , it was so easy to tell what he was feeling and his intentions that it baffles her how mother never once beaten him .
Then again , looks can always be deceiving ...
" Nonsense father , I can always make time for you " Malty says thoughtfully as she takes the seat right next to father .
"Excellent ! Now Malty what I'm about to tell is very serious " Father's voice turns serious much like when he is sentencing a commoner to either their imprisonment or death ...
" We summoned the Legendary Heroes today Malty ..." Father finally addresses the giant Filorial in the room .
Playing the dumb , innocent and ignorant card seems to be best in this situation ...
" I was unaware such an event has occurred father ... wait a moment ... did you say Heroes ? " Malty speaks acting oblivious to the fact that all the heroes were summoned
" Yes Malty ... we summoned all Four of them just this morning " Father continues
" Oh my ... I do apologize father , as the Princess I should have been more aware of what was happening inside of the castle " Malty apologizes in a fake sincere tone , feeling particularly grateful to all the acting lessons she took in her youth .
" It is of no fault of your own Malty ... I was trying to be as discreet as possible with it " Father explains , which makes Malty bite her tongue lest she say anything insulting to her own Father .
No offense father but when you summoned all FOUR Legendary Heroes and meet them in the Throne Room and made an event about it in front several noble houses , that's not exactly what one would call 'discreet' ...
Not to mention the fact , that news of the summoning most likely has already reached the other countries ...
" But father isn't mother already at the international conference to discuss the hero summoning ?" Malty keeps her tone as passive and ignorant as she could manage , trying not to make it sound forced .
" Yes Malty ... sadly my wife cannot see that the heroes are a powerful resource to fighting the waves ! We cannot let such a valuable asset to fall into the hands of any other country , especially not into the hands of that pig king of Faubley ! Or those beasts from Siltvelt ! " Father speaks with much anger and seriousness in her voice .
And your bright idea is to incur the wrath of both of those nations ? The former of which sees us as a joke , while the latter dominated and occupied our country years prior .
Malty almost wants to say but bites her tongue for now in order to gather more info . She just hopes that whatever plan her father has is a good one .
" So father I must ask ... what does any of this have to do with me ?" Malty asks in an innocently ignorant tone " Not that I mind father , I am always ready to help you in anyway I can "
Well ... that's not a complete lie , as long as it helps her achieve her goal of becoming Queen which she's sure that her father would be more than happy to help with .
Father lets a sigh of relief , Malty could tell that the day has been stressful on him " Thank you Malty ... you have no clue how much it means to me that you are by my side " Father places a hand on her shoulder , which should have been comforting but in all honestly it was not something she was used to at this age .
" So Father what is it that you require my help with ?" Malty asks once more
" To help take care of the Shield Hero of course ..." A voice answers but it not Father's voice , instead it is one of calm and politeness .
A voice she had come to hate .
Both Malty and the King turn towards the door as the man behind the voice walks in dressed in his usual ornate white robes .
" Pope Biscas , please come in ..." Father stands up with a smile to greet the white robed man
" Please Aultcray my old friend , we have known each other for years , just call me Biscas... " The Pope with his usual grandfatherly smile , one that makes Malty feel uneasy in her heart .
" Very well old friend , please come in ! Would you like some tea ?" Father offers the Pope something to drink , it is something he does not usually do for guest of the castle .
" Thank you , Aultcray but I am alright , we have much more important business to discuss ... " The Pope says taking a seat on the opposite side of Father " Particularly about the heroes ..."
" Of course , let us get down to business " Father says sitting back down into his seat .
At the moment Malty's head was going in circles , she didn't expect the leader of the national religion to be here !
Why god ? Why does fate seem to hate me ?
Malty suppresses the urge to bite on her own finger , the Pope is good at manipulating people , hell she would even say he was as good as her . But this is bad , if the Pope is here than that means he can twist her father to do anything he wants .
And the worse part is , she can't do anything about it . Lest she wants to make herself the enemy of the most powerful religion in the country ...
That Pope can herd his followers like sheep and they would be willing to do anything he asks of them ...
Father agrees with pretty much all of the Churches teachings and ideologies , specifically about the Shield Hero being a Devil and discriminating against demi-humans , this mostly due to father's ... rather ... sordid past with those beastmen ...
The worst of all is that its not even an exaggeration to say that the Three Heroes Church hold just as much power as the ruling family , potentially even more so than them .
Malty trusted the Pope and all of his followers as far she could throw them ... preferably out a window from the top floor of the castle .
She'll need to play this as smart as possible and avoid taking unnecessary risks in front of the Pope . And pray to whatever deity is listening that her father has enough sense not to fall for the Church's plans .
Malty silently took a few deep breaths , okay ... she needs to learn as much as she can from both Father and the Pope , information is key to winning a war after all ...
" Pope Biscas , it is an honor to have you here " Malty says in the sweetest voice she can muster up.
" The honor is all mine , Malty ..." Pope returns with a smile of serenity .
Tch ! As if you have any honor you senile old fanatic ...
Father's voice turns serious once again " Now Malty ... you are probably wondering why Pope Biscas is here ..." Father eyes turn to the Pope who is still keeping up the smile without even breaking a sweat " Well , after some thought I decided to summon the Three Heroes with help of some of Biscas's people without his knowledge ... "
Malty silently narrows her eyes at the Pope in surprise .
So this wasn't actually the Pope's idea ...? I would have thought that bastard must have manipulated her Father into summoning them all ...
" I do apologize for doing such an underhanded thing my old friend " Father gave a slight bow of his head to the Pope who quickly waved him off with his hand. It is a rare sight to see father apologize to somebody , though this is his old friend after all .
" It is of no consequence Aultcray . I understand why you did it " The Pope just smiles at her father as he speaks " The Three Heroes are indeed too great an asset to be left in the hands of our enemies ..."
" Glad you agree " Father smiles for a moment before turning back into a scowl " But sadly ... we also had to summon that damned Devil of the Shield as well . As much as it pains me ... it was the only thing to keep those damn beasts from launching an assault against us " Father speaks with such fury she had only seen him use against demi- humans .
" Indeed , if they had managed to summon the Shield Demon, they could potentially use him as a figurehead to rally their people in a war to invade Melromarc again " Pope said with a serious expression " We cannot let that happen ..."
" Agreed . The last thing we need is those damn dogs from Siltvelt stirring things up while the wave is ongoing " Father grit his teeth in anger " Their entire country can burn in hell for all that I care ..."
Okay , father's riled up ... he tends to get talkative when's he angry about something , now all I need to do is steer the conversation to the info I want .
" But father I am much confused , what does any of this have to with me ?" Malty speaks in a innocent yet confused tone , a tone that is truthful in its own right . She genuinely was confused about what any of this had to do with her .
" Ah ... you see Malty , you will be carrying out an important task ... one that is most dangerous ... " The way that father speaks only adds to Malty's uneasiness of him .
" Father ... what are you talking about ?" Malty asks once again with even more confusion in her voice .
" You see my daughter tomorrow morning , the Three Heroes and the Shield Demon , will head out to begin their quest . I have already selected specific adventurers to ensure that none of them will join the Shield Demon . And when it looks as though nobody will join him , you will go with him undercover as an adventurer yourself ... " Father explains his plan .
So he wants to monitor the Shield Hero ? Okay , that's a fair thing to do and to make sure that the Shield Hero doesn't make any attempts to try and flee to Siltvelt . Should he discover about it and his place in it as a whole .
It seems father hasn't lost all sense yet .
Malty still continues to play the oblivious act to keep father talking .
" But father , what purpose would it serve to send me as a companion of the Shield Demon ?" Malty is sure to use the word 'demon' instead of 'hero' , well she never particularly had any love for Heroes of the Shield , but she knew it would make her Father happy .
And it did , as the next part he spoke with a smile on his face " Well you see Malty , the day after you join him , we will accuse him of rape ! You will be tasked of taking everything of value from him and the Shield Demon will be left with nothing ! " Father says with a proud face , like a child who has just learnt his first spell or taken his first slash with a sword .
"He will have no means to support himself and no one would be willing to work alongside a known rapist . And he won't even have any money to hire a band of mercenaries to fight with him . " Father finishes explaining his grand plan .
...
...
...
...
...
I take everything I said back . The world truly is doomed for catastrophe .
Does father not realize how bad of a- no TERRIBLE of an idea it is to piss of the god figure and would-be king of their rival nation . The one that had easily kicked all of their asses during the Great War and they only managed to win back by the skin of their teeth and all the luck in the world . Has father truly lost his goddamned mind-!
Malty stops herself before she can go on a tirade , she needs to stay calm and evaluate the plan and the situation as a whole . It may not be complete and utter fiery garbage if she tries to think about it .
She takes a deep breath to try and calm herself .
Okay ... it is a rather simple plan to a complicated problem , I can understand why father would want me to carry out a task of such importance . For one the accusation is serious and the victim would need to have at least some level of credibility in Melromarc for people to eat it up thoroughly and who better than the First Princess ? I have no doubts people would rather take and listen to my side of the story rather than the supposed "Devil of the Shield" , especially if I can play the part of the 'victim' perfectly which I can definitely do .
Plus if they do manage to frame the Shield Hero , father can mistreat him however he likes and can simply justify it on the grounds of serving justice and father would be seen as the epitome of a merciful and wise ruler if he is willing to let the supposed "Devil of the Shield " live to combat the waves even for all the personal and religious reasons .
A good plan on the surface , but Malty knows she also needs to factor in the demi human countries such as Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden . Siltvelt has never had much care or love for humans and she highly doubts they would even care if they heard they're "god" raped the First Princess , hell some of them might even say its an honor the Shield Hero would waste his time on a ' lowly human ' such as her .
Shieldfreeden may be more reasonable since they were usually more welcoming of humans then Siltvelt , however ... after father's summoning of the 4 Heroes relations between Melromarc and Shieldfreeden will worsen to the point where they may even go to war to retrieve their "god" ...
The same can be said for those beasts in Siltvelt ...
" Father ... while I am more than willing to aid you in your plans , is this really a good move to make ? Especially after ... the daring move of summoning all Four Heroes the entire world will have its eyes on Melromarc and even if you justify mistreating the Shield Demon on the grounds that he is a convicted criminal , countries such Siltvelt may not even care if there is not sufficient evidence proving that such a crime has taken place despite the accusation coming from the First Princess , they still wouldn't believe us and even then it may not matter " Malty speaks in a serious but in a intellectual tone .
"To my knowledge the relations between Melromarc and Siltvelt are ... poor ... " Malty thinks that's certainly one way of saying absolutely atrocious " And Siltvelt has never quite cared about humans so even if you do accuse him of committing such a heinous crime , they would still threaten to go to war over the mistreatment the Shield Demon would face "
" Your daughter raises a good point old friend , even if we do accuse the Shield Hero of committing such a heinous crime we would either need some seriously good evidence to justify his mistreatment or we would need to find some way to put pressure on Siltvelt in order to avoid going to war with them " Pope to her surprise actually chips in support of her worries " I think neither of us would want that to happen ..."
Malty narrows her eyes at the holy man in surprise .
It seems the Pope isn't an idiot . That is to be expected . One doesn't become the leader of the most powerful religion in the country without having some good sense of risk and reward .
It doesn't make Malty hate him any less .
" Your concerns are understandable my old friend , but worry not , I have it all planned out ..." Father gave the Pope a comforting smile , that seemed to put the zealot at ease . At least a little .
Father then looks at her sympathetically " And as expected of my daughter , you are indeed right relations between us and the beastmen have never been good , your worries are not misplaced in the slightest . But do not fear my dear daughter " Father speaks in a comforting tone , in an attempt to ease her worries " We have plans to plant evidence that will make the accusation much more believable , all you need to do Malty is to make sure to act well when we accuse him of the crime ..."
Father gently places his hand on her shoulder which does little to make her feel better " I'm so sorry for having to put you in such a vulnerable position my dear daughter ... but there is no else I trust to carry out this task ..." Father says in a soft voice , in contrast to the way he talked about the Shield Hero moments ago ...
Malty gently places her own hand over her father's " Of course father ... I am more than willing to endanger myself if it means making the kingdom safer ! " Malty spoke with fake enthusiasm , she needs to make her father thinks she's completely on his side .
Truth be told she isn't sure if ... no ... when mother comes back she'll no doubt express outrage at both her father and the Pope over the summoning of the Four Heroes and nearly causing a war , assuming she's able to stop it from happening .And when she hears that Malty herself played a part in this little conspiracy ... she shudders to think what her mother would do to her and father .
Malty also runs the risk of potentially losing any chance of becoming the heir to the throne ... but perhaps father can convince mother that the Shield Hero really did rape her ? If she does indeed decided to go along with his little plan ? That is doubtful and wishful thinking at best , her mother no doubt will be able to see through her and father's lies .
But the Pope might actually be able to do something about it . He isn't the leader of the national religion for nothing .
" Thank you Malty ! It's good see that at least one of my daughters isn't blind to what the Shield Demon really is ! " Father smiles at her with his usual pride and bravado , having completely believed Malty's fake enthusiasm .
Malty quickly looks at the Pope for a brief second ... he's smiling at her ...
He knows ... he knows I'm hesitating ...
" Well , it would seem that all is right , I must be going I'm afraid for I have important business to attend to ... " the Pope says getting up from his seat and walking to the door .
" Of course Biscas , please do come again " Father says in a friendly tone , one that she has only seen him use with close friends
" I shall old friend , have a good night ..." The Pope says in an equally friendly tone , exiting the door .
But just before he left , he gave one last look at Malty with that ... damn smile of his ...
This is most worrying if the leader of that damn cult is pulling her father's strings ... then what's stopping him from taking complete control over Melromarc ? The idea that damn cult could potentially replace the royal family entirely isn't unrealistic ... in fact its damn near believable . The Three Heroes Church has countless followers all across Melromarc and that includes several member of Melromarc's own military , if they did manage to take power , no one would necessarily disagree , many would even support it .
She needs more time to think about this and make her own plan ...
" Malty , what's wrong ? You look ... troubled " Father asks her with concern in his voice .
" Its nothing father , I was just thinking ..." Malty needs to give a response quickly , lest father catches on to her scheming " If I am to play my part as the Shield Demon's companion , could I perhaps make a few requests ?" Malty asks in the most innocent tone , one that no man could possibly refuse .
" Of course Malty ! If it makes , spending even a single day with that animal loving scum a bit more bearable ! " Father nods , instantly agreeing with her request .
" May I please take along with me a few ... personal items , while I am undercover ?" Malty asks in a soft and sort of meek tone , trying to pull off the act that she is nervous about her request
" Of course my dear daughter but er ... may I ask why ?" Father agrees but is a little confused as to why .
Malty gives her the sweetest smile she can give " I merely wish to have a few items to remind me of home ... but if it may conflict with the mission ..." Malty cuts herself off to give the impression that she is willing to 'suffer' a day with the Shield Demon without any of her personal effects .
" It is alright Malty . Take whatever it is you need to make your day a bit better with that accursed shield ... " Father reassures her , which inwardly makes her feel a great sense of pride , she tends to take a little too much pride in her ability to manipulate others and lie to them .
" Secondly ... if I am to spend a day with the Shield Demon ... may you please give him more funds ?" Malty then asks her second request , truth be told this is just in case she doesn't decide to go through with Father and Pope's little plan .
" B-B-But w-why ? Why should we possibly give that scum more funds ?" Father questions , stuttering a bit along the way , he is clearly surprised by her request .
" The Devil of the Shield will have no other companions but me , he will be spending every last copper on me and even if he doesn't , giving him more funds will matter not when I take it and whatever else is of value to the Hero of my choosing " Malty quickly adds , erasing any sort of conflict from her father's face .
" Ah yes ! Very good Malty , I will see to it to supply the Shield Demon with a little more funds than the other Three Heroes . Now ... all that is left is to pick out a name for you and register it as your adventure name... "
Malty places a hand to her chin in thought over her fake name . She had in fact several aliases that she used whenever she snuck out of the castle , but which one would be best for this mission in particular ...
A name ... a flexible name ... one that would fit just her alone .
After a minute of thinking a name comes to mind ... a name that was once told to her long ago by a most trusted close friend ...
" Perhaps a name like Sofia ... or maybe Mya ? Or how about -"
"Mein ..."
Malty cuts off her father as he turns to look at her in surprise .
" Mein Sophie ... that will be my name " Malty says holding her hand to her chest .
" Mein ... that sounds perfect . A choice well made my daughter ." Father claps his hands together in support in of her chosen name
If only you knew where I actually thought of the name ... you would be downright against it ...
" Thank you Father ... I must return to my bedroom , it is quite late and I have a big day tomorrow , have a goodnight Father ... " Malty says getting up from the table and walking over to door .
" Of course Malty , have a goodnight as well ..." Father says with a smile .
Exiting the room and heading straight for her bedroom , as soon as she gets inside , she promptly collapses onto her soft bed . Today was tiring mentally and intellectually , she could not believe that her Father could do something as stupid as summoning all of the heroes . She genuinely wondered how her father thought that doing such a thing was a good idea with complete disregard for the consequences it may bring and potentially cause the destruction of the kingdom she was destined to rule one day ...
Malty sighs , sitting up on her bed . Now was no time to be questioning her father's intelligence , now she needs to start planning with the information she has gathered .
From what she knows , father's plan to frame the Shield Hero is pretty much airtight . The Shield Hero will have no means of actually defending himself during the trial that will come with the accusation , the most he could do was claim his innocence and his word alone won't be much especially with all the religious teachings around Melromarc about the Hero of the Shield being a demon .
And thinking about it now ... Father did say they would plant evidence that would make it look like the Shield Hero really did rape her ... so that means the Shield Hero is absolutely doomed no matter what he says or does . He would be made an outcast by society and viewed as scum wherever he went , preventing him from partnering up with anyone , exactly as the Pope and her father planned .
Yes , the plan appears to be airtight for him , it is quite unfortunate for the Shield Hero .
Malty's pondering however was cut off when a knock at the door interrupted her train of thought .
Malty sighs once more , she was certainly not in the mood to hear more of her father's rant about the Shield Hero ...
Opening the door , Malty is surprised to find no one there , looking down both ends of the hallway , it was completely deserted of anyone or anything ... except for a letter that laid at her feet ..
Picking up the letter and closing the door , Malty carefully examines the letter for any distinct details . There was absolutely nothing about the letter that gave anything away , except for maybe the stamp that colored exactly as her beautiful red hair . It also had a strange feel in her hand , as if the letter contained something .
Opening the letter , and letting its contents spill to the floor , two things catches her eye . First , a pendant with the crest of the Three Heroes and a piece of paper .
Picking up both items , Malty reads the letter and her eyes widen at what she is reading .
The message that surprised Malty read as follows :
Dearest Malty , I do hope that this message finds you well . I am sorry to have to disturb you like this but it is the only way as I could not possibly say what I'm about to tell you in front of your Father . Earlier during the meeting I could tell that you were hesitant when your Father told you about his plan to dispose of the Devil of the Shield , I understand your concern over your part in this but I must assure that if all goes well , you will have nothing to fear from your Mother . Even she will not be able to get in the way of Gods Plan ...
And know this , even if the Devil of the Shield manages to survive the waves longer than anticipated , God has quite the surprise waiting for him ...
And if that does not comfort you , God himself has personally told me that you seek to become the next Queen of glorious Melromarc . If you do as you are told ... I ... the Apostle of God Himself ... will ensure that you sit on the Throne ...
Think wisely and let God guide you .
Is this ... what I think it is ? Is the Pope suicidal trying to mess with the royal procession ? He may be the leader of the most powerful religion in the country but sending a letter to the First Princess is downright stupid and suicidal .
And what's with this strange seal at the bottom-?
Her eyes widen in shock as letter itself bursts into flames .
Malty almost screeched in shock as she let go of the letter and lets it turn to ash before it even hits the expensive carpet in her room .
Malty feels a sense of anger directed at the Pope for giving her such a shock , the seal itself must have been imbued with some kind of magic to destroy itself once it had been read .
She partly wants to compliment the Pope for covering his tracks and also have him imprisoned for coming close to injuring her beautiful hands ...
It is unfortunate though , she could have potentially used that letter as leverage against him to blackmail him into doing her bidding , but now that its gone ... she has absolutely nothing .
Malty gently bites down her finger , can she really trust the Pope ? Can she really trust her father not to become a puppet of the Church over his little personal grudge the Shield Hero ? While she has more faith in her father than the Pope , considering what they both plan to do ... she's not entirely sure if she can even trust either of them .
Malty stands up from her bed and walks out onto the balcony , and down at the city below .
It is quite the dilemma , isn't it ?
Looking up at the beautiful crescent moon , brings a sort of piece to her heart ...
Whether she betrays the Shield Hero and plays along with her Father's plans , one thing is certain for her ...
She has much work ahead of her ...
I will admit that at the beginning of getting into Rising of the Shield Hero , I really hated Malty/Bitch with a passion but after thinking about it some more I quickly realized the great potential Malty had as a character . If the author actually bothered to write her in a good way , even as an antagonistic character . And after reading Qinlongfei's story , I was inspired to write my own Malty-centric story .
I will say though that my Malty is of course going to be very different from canon and even Ambition's Malty . And if any of you noticed about some of the subtle and not so subtle hints within this chapter , its not just Malty that I have massively changed as a character within the story . But I won't spoil too much about what's to come for the characters .
By the way , chances are I'll probably end up occasionally doing edits on chapters after they have been published but that's usually just to correct some mistakes that I didn't notice before .
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter ! And I will see you in the next one .
Angel Out .