Authors Notes : First off before we get into anything, I would first like to say that thank you all for 100 followers ! This is my first story that has actually reached a follower count like that and I am very happy for it all . So thank you all for your continued interest in this story !
:)
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and providing important feedback . And for writing the little omake at the end of this chapter .
Now about the chapter itself , I must apologize because it does in fact go over my usual 10k word limit , I'll try to shorten the next chapter so that its more easier to read . I certainly know the pain of having to read an extra long chapter .
With that said , let's get this chapter started !
Chapter 6 : Enemy of my Enemy
Mein usually liked to spend her late afternoons in a very particular way: Enjoy a nice cup of tea while reading an invigorating and thrilling book to sate her boredom. She also liked to work on her swordsmanship , even though she had natural affinity for fire and wind , she trained quite hard on her swordsmanship . More than most ladies in the court probably did , even if she is a princess who has a squad of knights to protect her ... she will most certainly not be a damsel in distress if she is ever in any danger .
But spending her late afternoons fighting against balloons , mush , eggies , pissed off usapil and porcupines were definitely not her ideal evening .
Some rustling in the bush alerted Mein of something coming towards them , but was not certain of where it was coming from .
" Mein , behind you ! " Naofumi points behind her and she turns just in time to see a porcupine charge at her with its pointy needles .
Naofumi's shields her from the porcupine's pointy attack and with a single slash from her sword , she manages to kill it mid-air , its blood staining the grass , but also staining her beautiful face and clothes in the process ! She grits her teeth as she sheathes her sword and wipe some sweat and blood from her brow and face .
" Good work , Mein . I was pretty surprised when that porcupine came out of nowhere " Naofumi usual cheery nature alleviates some of Mein's annoyance , as Mein's status magic showed that he had gained another level , as expected Naofumi showed a visible reaction towards this .
" Nice ! I gained another level ! " Naofumi's face showed excitement that he was getting stronger .
" Hey Mein , I'm gonna need a minute to absorb all of this , can you watch my back ?" Naofumi had crouched down , over the porcupine's body , pulling out his hunting knife . It was something he had picked up a few days ago apparently the rule violation of using a weapon didn't activate whenever he used the hunting knife for non-combat purposes .
" Of course Naofumi , but ... please hurry , its going to get dark soon " Mein looked at the sun that was slowly beginning to set on the day .
" Alright , just give me a few minutes " Naofumi began dissecting the porcupine , for everything he could absorb . Bones , skin , fur , blood ,everything and anything that could be absorbed . Naofumi had adopted the strategy of unlocking as many shields as possible by absorbing every piece of the monsters they had killed .
It was honestly quite clever , because some of the shields did provide useful effects and skills for Naofumi , even if they were purely passive .
Mein let out a sigh of tiredness as the day began to turn to night . It had been 3 days since her little adventure in the freezing rain to raise her level back to 17 and she received her ... 'gift' from her 'friend' . She had spent much of the past few days , absorbing and unlocking new skills and enhancements , most of which were ... quite frankly useless to her . She had taken after Naofumi's strategy of absorbing a monster for every skill and enhancement it could give her .
She and Naofumi had been working hard these past few days , leveling up and growing stronger with each day . Naofumi had had just reached level 8 , while she managed to get herself up to level 20 . Naofumi had set a goal for the two of them , to at least be in 30's before the waves hit .
" Animal Needle Shield ? Wonder what that does ... " Naofumi changes his shield to one with a bunch of sharp needles " Finally ! A shield with some attack power , now all I need to do is master it "
Mein couldn't help but smirk a bit at this , it was amusing to see Naofumi get excited at the slight increase of his attack power , no matter how small it may be . She supposes that he'll have to take whatever increase to his attack stat he can get at this point .
Mein has to hold back the urge to let out a huge sigh of relief and instead only smiles at him " Right you are Naofumi , now we should probably find a good place to camp for tonight "
" Good call Mein , I think I remember seeing a river back there , I think we'll be fine if we set up camp along there " Naofumi looks at a certain direction of the forest , pointing out the general direction of the river .
After setting up camp along the river , Naofumi managed to catch some fish for dinner , with the help of his Fish Shield which he had unlocked days prior . Mein was honestly dumbfounded on what the shield actually does , Naofumi says that it gives the effect of Fishing Skill 1+ but she had no idea how that even works , does that mean it increases his chance of catching fish ?
Mein decided not to dwell on it too much , taking a bite out of one of the fishes that Naofumi had cooked , the taste exploded in her mouth , she has not the faintest idea how , but Naofumi's cooking topped whatever the royal chefs make by a longshot when she lived in the castle . Even when they were out in the wild like this , his cooking was always delicious based on few simple ingredients , she wonders if this is one of the Shield Hero's many hidden talents ?
" I must say Naofumi , this is delicious ! I have no idea how in the world you are able to make something so tasty based on such simple ingredients " Mein compliments her hero .
" It's nothing Mein I just added some herbs to it that increased its flavor , also I think the Egg Shield probably helped with it giving a 1+ to my cooking ability " Naofumi's modest nature shows even when she is complimenting him . Mein seriously doubts that the Egg Shield , had much of a hand in making this fish taste so delicious, because even before he unlocked that shield his cooking ability was top tier .
" I actually use to work in a lot restaurants back home because ..." Naofumi's face seems to sadden a bit at this , but he shakes it off with his usual smile , but it loses some of its sincerity " Never mind , its nothing important , nothing that matters anyway "
Mein can't help but raise an eyebrow at this , so Naofumi used to work at a number of taverns back in his world for reasons unknown ? Mein silently wonders what reason could he possibly have for not telling her ?
She shrugs it off for now , she doubts that Naofumi will tell her if she attempts to insist upon it , its better to just wait it out . Naofumi is the type of sentimental man , he'll tell her sooner or later as time goes on .
After she finishes eating , she goes to the river to clean her face up from all the sweat from fighting today . She also used the excuse of washing her face to check her current status and stats at the moment :
Mein Sophie
Level 20
Class : None
Not too bad ...
As always , her agility stat was still ridiculously higher than anything else , every single time she leveled up , that stat in particular received quite the boost . She decided to start taking advantage of that fact in the battle , using it as a way to dodge attacks or even launch multiple attacks from different angles .
She decided to just leave the pondering for later when there was daylight . Walking back to Naofumi , she saw that he had changed shields that seemed to resemble a blue mush and it looked like he was attempting to ground ... something , that she was unsure of .
"Naofumi , what are you doing ?" Mein's question seems to bring the Shield Hero back to reality , as he snaps his head back to her in surprise showing that he was more than a little engrossed in whatever it is he's doing .
" Oh ! Its nothing Mein , earlier I unlocked this Blue Mush Shield , it gives me a simple compounding recipe so I'm trying to make some medicine out of this " Naofumi holds up the shield on his right arm to show to Mein before going back to compounding the ingredients
Mein can't help but raise an eyebrow at this , wouldn't it be so much easier if he simply used his crafting system to make it for him ? Granted the quality of the items Mein made with her crafting system were always normal , never good , so maybe its quality is only higher if you make it by hand ?
Mein leans forward to see something seriously wrong with what Naofumi is doing " Naofumi , I can't help but notice that you're doing it wrong " Mein noticed this instantly as he was grounding the ingredients together instead of separately , it looked like he was cutting corners in the process .
" What do you mean , Mein ?"
" Well for one , you're compounding all of the ingredients together instead of doing it separately , this can seriously effect the process as it does cut corners . Secondly , some of the ingredients haven't even been cleaned yet , which can affect the overall quality of the medicine itself " Mein gives a detailed explanation to him , she may be a princess ... but even she has a few secrets talents hidden under her sleeve .
" Oh , I see . Thanks Mein " Naofumi discards the ingredients and starts to work on a fresh batch .
Mein can only chuckle lightly at this " Hang on Naofumi , let me help you "
About 10 minutes later , after Mein had cleaned all of the herbs in the river and Mein telling Naofumi not to compound to hard or too fast , as that can affect the quality of the potion . Finally , Naofumi held a small bottle of medicine in his hand , with a proud smile on his face .
Mein leans in to use the Appraisal on it , to test its quality .
Common Medicine
Quality : Good
Effect : Can cure mild colds
Mein couldn't help but be surprised by this , when she tested out the crafting system a few days ago in secret , the quality was always normal . But it seems that it is true that if an item is made by hand , its quality will be that much better .
" I'm actually surprised you know how to make potions Mein " Naofumi looked at her curiously .
" I am a woman of many talents ..." Mein said with a hint of mystery to it " But putting that aside , if we want to actually make more proper potions than we're going to need proper tools and of course learning from that book the apothecary gave us " Mein mentions the book that she hasn't quite gotten around to teaching Naofumi to read yet.
" Definitely but it can wait until tomorrow " Naofumi made a move to the tent he had set up earlier " Are you not going to turn in yet Mein ? If you want , I could stay up a bit longer just in case "
" That's sweet of you Naofumi , but I'll be okay , I just want to stay up a bit longer to keep the fire going " Mein replies in her usual sweet tone , it was good that Naofumi seemed concerned about her safety . With a simple nod and a smile from Naofumi , he retreated into the tent .
Mein waited a few minutes to make sure Naofumi was fast asleep , before checking her status once more . She opened up her skill tree , to see the web of skills and enhancements had grown that much in just 3 days . Well technically 2 since she was down for the count because of her excursion into the forest at night .
At this point , I've unlocked so many skills and enhancements I'm starting to lose count of all of them , I wonder if Naofumi feels the same ?
Well , its not like she can ask him , no matter the circumstances she can't ever tell him about the Mark ... never . She's been extra careful to be sneaky around Naofumi whenever she absorbs something or is testing out some new passive skills here and there . She made sure to always do this at night , so that he won't notice , which is why she tends to wait until Naofumi is fast asleep before doing her business .
But tonight , she doesn't feel like testing any new abilities , instead she just wants to enjoy the night alone , with nothing but herself and the moon . The quietness of the forest , except for the fire that keeps her warm , plays a pleasant tune in her ears .
As Mein looks at the moon one last time , she uses Dark Vision to give the forests around them the all clear , before turning in herself .
Naofumi's POV
After waking up , Naofumi and Mein packed up their things and headed back for the capital . They still had a ton of herbs to sell to the herbalist and there were quite a few things , that he wanted to ask him about ... things he couldn't ask Mein about .
Because somethings not right with Mein ...
Ever since 3 days ago , Naofumi noticed that Mein had an extra bar below her MP , which he eventually figured out to be her SP bar and he had noticed in his notifications that Mein had actually used a skill called Appraisal last night on the medicine they made . This was what confused Naofumi a lot about her , because he thought only heroes had SP bars but then again , he still didn't understand a lot about this world .
But that's not the only thing that was off about Mein , her bars had weirdly changed color . When Mein had first joined his party officially , her bars had the exact same color as his did , but up until 3 days ago they changed color . Her HP had turned the color red , MP to blue and SP to the color purple , which in his own opinion was her color .
And the weirdest thing ... was how much exp they had been claiming and how fast he had been rising in levels . Mein did say that his shield amplified the amount of exp they got but ... he had noticed that they were suddenly getting a lot more than usual and he didn't know why .
I would ask Mein to tell me the truth but ... I don't see her telling me that willfully .
Which is exactly the reason why Naofumi's going to see Erhard about this , hoping he might know something about this .
But for that to happen ... Mein's gotta go .
" Hey Mein , do you think you could drop these herbs off to the herbalist while I go check in with Erhard ? I want to go check in on him for a while " Naofumi comes up with a quick excuse .
" Of course Naofumi , just leave it to me " Mein said with her usual smile , as he handed her bag filled with herbs
" Thanks Mein , when you're done come meet me at Erhard's shop " Naofumi nodded to her before they go their own ways.
Once Naofumi is sure she's heading in the direction of the apothecaries shop and out of sight , he quickly moves to Erhard's shop . He didn't know how much time he'll have to talk to Erhard but he best be quick and fast before Mein shows up , which made him increase the speed of his walking .
" Back so soon , Shield boy ? I thought you wouldn't be back here until a few days later " Erhard greeted him as Naofumi entered the shop " And where the heck is your girlfriend ? "
On any other day Naofumi would have objected to that , but he didn't have time to be embarrassed about getting teased .
" Erhard sorry to barge in so suddenly but ... there is something I wanted to ask you , its actually the whole reason on why I'm here alone " Erhard takes notice as Naofumi's tone turns serious " Erhard , are there any other people in this world excluding the Legendary Heroes , who have and can use SP ? "
That was his first question for Erhard . Mein had it . There was no doubt about it and his status had confirmed it , so Naofumi was hoping Erhard could provide a decent explanation for it .
" Why the sudden interest all of a sudden ?" Erhard crosses his arms and gives Naofumi a questioning look .
" I just got a little curious is all " Naofumi comes up with the best excuse he could think of , lying was definitely not his forte .
" Well , if you say so ..." Erhard uncrosses his arms and didn't pursue more than he had to .
" But anyway , moving back to your question , the only other people in this world who have SP outside of Legendary Heroes like yourself are the Seven Star Heroes " Erhard tries to give the best explanation he possibly can .
Naofumi raises an eyebrow at this " The Seven Star Heroes ? What's that ?"
" They are basically subordinate weapons to the Legendary Heroes , think of them as sort of like weaker versions of the Legendary Weapons . Though the big difference between the Seven Star's and the Legendary Heroes , is that the Seven Star weapons can actually choose natives of Medea to wield them other than just summoning them from another world " Erhard explains in detail .
" So the Seven Star Heroes have SP... " Naofumi wondered if Mein was a Seven Star Hero herself , but if that were the case why keep it hidden ?
But the biggest problem with this theory , is that the second when Mein joined his party , her SP bar didn't exist until a day later so than how ..?
Naofumi turns back to Erhard for answers " What exactly are the Seven Star Weapons to be precise ? "
" The Axe , Hammer , Gauntlet , Claw , Staff , Throwing Weapon and Whip " Erhard lists off all the weapons , counting down with his finger as Naofumi realized that his entire theory just went out the window .
Great , now I'm back to square one ... if the Seven Star Weapons are anything like the Legendary Weapons despite supposedly being weaker than them , than the same restriction of not being able to use any other weapon outside of their assigned weapon would apply to them .
And Naofumi was sure as hell that Mein didn't use any of the listed weapons , so then how did she have SP ?
Naofumi looks back towards the helpful blacksmith, his eyes pleading. "Is there anything more you can think of ? I need more to go on here, I don't even know who to trust. I got summoned to this world, and I almost got framed on third day ! This country, the people, the rulers and the church all hate me because of this shield, and I can't even fight for myself !"
He balls up his free hand into a fist, and knocks on his should a couple of times for emphasis.
"Yeah, tough luck there kid " Erhard stares into his eyes and stays perfectly still for a few second. It's enough to make the Shield Hero squirm in discomfort when the older man lets out a sigh. "Look , you are a good kid and I like you. But this nation... it's not safe passing gossip. Just knowing the wrong thing can have you thrown in the dungeon. Or worse, the inquisition torture chamber."
So, Erhard does know more than he is willing to let on. "If it makes you feel better, I won't go tattle to the king, or the church. They already hate me enough for being the Shield Hero. I don't want to give them more ammunition."
"True, true..." The blacksmith nods his head. He points at a door leading to the back room. "What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave my storage room."
"If it makes you feel better, I'm the Shield Hero. Being hard to hurt comes with the package." Naofumi hammers on his shield once again. "I probably can't feel whatever torture they inflict on me anyway "
"That's the spirit ! " Erhard laughs, and slaps Naofumi on the shoulder hard. It's enough to make the hard to hurt hero stagger on his feet. The smith puts the same hand on his back and guide him into his backroom. "But don't get too cocky. The church can always reset your level back to 1."
They can reset all my progress too !?
Naofumi gulped , adding the Church on his list of people not to piss off . Right after Mein .
Naofumi followed Erhard into the storage and he was pleasantly surprised to see several crates full of weapons and armor in them . The shelves were lined with even more weapons like swords , spears and bows .
But one sword in particular stuck out to Naofumi because it was in a display case and the design itself was enough to draw him in .
" Whoa ..." Naofumi stepped towards the display case to examine the sword .
The sword itself was very beautifully designed , with a gold crossguard that had red gems imbued in each part . The blade itself seemed to be made out of some kind of metal that Naofumi couldn't even describe , but it was shiny enough that the light seemed to reflect off of it .
Naofumi was about to reach out to touch the glass case when Erhard's gloved hand smacks his away .
" Hey , hey , don't touch anything in here ! " Erhard reminds Naofumi that he damn well couldn't just touch anything like a little kid in a store .
" Sorry ... I was just ... amazed by this sword " Naofumi apologized but he couldn't help but feel a tinge bit of envy . If he had a sword like that , maybe being the Shield Hero wouldn't be so bad .
" You damn well should be ! Its one of my finest work ! " Erhard boasted with a proud smile " The guy that had it commissioned paid a hefty fee for it but ... the dumbass never came to pick it up and it didn't feel right to sell it "
Naofumi nodded , he could understand that .
" But never mind that , you said you wanted info on people who could use SP like you heroes do ? Well there's only one other kind of people I know of that can use that sort of thing ... and they don't exactly have a very positive reputation right about now " Erhard explained with a serious look on his face , looking over his shoulder as if to confirm that there were no spies or anyone watching them .
" People call them the Marked "
Marked ? Why do I get the feeling that's not an official name ?
" Who are they ? " Naofumi asked .
" I'm ... not too sure about that , info from the Church is pretty scarce but they are deemed incredibly dangerous and powerful " Erhard said with a weary expression " As powerful as you heroes ... or so they say "
As powerful as us ?
" They are seen as threats by the Church and the nobility as a whole and they are all recognizable by a tattoo on their hand and they can use any weapon they get their hands on " Erhard points to his own hand for emphasis .
A tattoo but how does that-
Wait a second ... didn't Mein suddenly start wearing gloves three days ago ? And these Marked can use any weapon ?
Naofumi shrugs it off he needs to focus for now " But why are they hated by the Church and the nobility ? " And Naofumi thought he was the one who the crown and Church hated most .
" Well ... that's a whole different history spanning centuries back but ..."Erhard seems to contemplate telling Naofumi or not , before he looked the Shielder right in the eye " Alright fine , I might get hanged for telling you this but ... there was this one guy a few years back , he supposedly wielded strange powers . He was trying to bring the crown and nobility down for ... some reason "
" Bottom line is , the nobility and crown don't like these guys anymore than they like you " Erhard said with finality .
So ... could Mein really be one of them ?
And if that's the case ... could she really be my ally then ? If the nobility and crown don't like these Marked guys anymore than me than well ...
" Naofumi ?"
The Shield Hero hears a familiar voice call out from the front of the shop and he easily recognizes it as Mein .
" Come on , Shield Boy its not polite to keep a lady waiting you know ?" Erhard gave him a smirk as they both walked out of the storage room to a waiting Mein .
" Naofumi , Erhard , I was wondering where you two were " Mein admitted as they both got back to the front of the shop .
" Hi Mein , I was just talking to Erhard about some stuff " Naofumi prayed to the gods of his own world that Erhard wouldn't rat him out .
" Oh ? About what exactly ?" Mein stepped closer , which made Naofumi uneasy that she would find out what they were talking about .
" Don't worry about it kid , I was just trying to talk this bozo into buying some better armor " Erhard flashes Mein with his brightest smile and Mein seems to return it with her own .
" Well , that's all well and good , shall we go now Naofumi ?" Mein turns to him , and Naofumi is snapped out of his stupor .
"Yeah , lets go , we're done here "
And with that they promptly left the shop , when they were fair distance away , Naofumi asked Mein about what was up with the bag she had .
" So Mein , what's with the bag ?" Naofumi pointed at the rather large bag that she carried on her back .
" Oh , this ? Well when I was at the apothecary's shop , I asked if he had any tools he didn't use anymore for potion making and as luck would have it , he was more than kind enough to give me them free of charge " Mein did look awfully happy , that she was able to get the tools from him .
" Good job Mein , with this we should be able to start making medicine and all kinds of potions " Naofumi praises Mein , trying his best not to sound tense.
He was still thinking about what he had just learned .
Could Mein truly be an ally to him ? He wasn't sure but ...
The enemy of my enemy is my friend .
" Excuse me , Shield Hero ?"
A rather gruff voice came from behind the two , and they both turned to see a squad of knights behind them all clad in armor and weapons .
" Um ... yes ?" Naofumi tries to make it come as not nervous at all , but pretty much failing .
The supposed captain of the knights , with a mustache step forward and he could see Mein tense a bit at this .
" You two are to report to the royal castle at once , the king calls for you both by name "
Naofumi and Mein could only look confused at this .
" Wait , what ?"
Was the only thing the two of them could respond with .
As per instructed , they were both escorted by a squad of knights during the entire walk there . Naofumi couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable , going back to the castle so soon after that whole sham of a trial and being escorted by the knights did bring back some unwanted memories of him being dragged out of bed in his underwear .
Not exactly his best moment in this new world ...
As they arrived at Throne Room and the big wooden doors open , Naofumi could see that the King had already arrived and is seated on his Throne .
Naofumi briefly wondered if all he ever does is sit in that Throne all day long , but he figured its probably a better idea not to say that out loud or else he might just be on the chopping block for real .
But looking around the room , Naofumi actually spotted the young knight Ake that helped him days ago ! It was that young knight that got him the villagers clothes ! He was standing on the side with a sword , and Naofumi thinks he saw him cast a few sideway glances at him , but wisely decided not to say anything as the King spoke .
" It is good to see you again Sir Naofumi " The Kings sounded more than a bit forced , as if he was willing himself to act professional to Naofumi " How goes your journey to become strong , Sir Naofumi ?"
" Its been going well so far , I think me and Mein will be more than prepared for when the wave hits " Naofumi tells the absolute truth , there's no point in lying about their progress here.
" Good ... that is very good " The king casts a glance at Mein for a brief moment , before returning to Naofumi .
The fact that Mein seemed to have tensed up since the moment the king looked at her , implied that either the King knew about the plot as well ... or was behind the whole thing entirely .
" As I stated days prior , I gave you my word that I would compensate you in some way for the trouble you went through for the trial ... and for that , I have delivered " With a snap of his fingers , a row of knights entered the Throne Room and lined up in a horizontal line .
" I understand that you are short on companions and while I do not doubt the capabilities of your current companion , I believe you will need more comrades so please ... " He gestures towards the row of knights in front of him " Take one of any knight in this room , to serve as your companions , each of the following knights here is one of my own elite guard and will serve you well "
Naofumi can't help but raise an eyebrow a bit at this , so the King was letting him choose his own companions this time ... yet something felt off about the whole thing . If the king wanted to compensate him for the whole trial business , he easily could have just given him more funds , but instead he offers new companions instead ...
Is he trying to plant spies in my party ? Is that the whole reason he's giving away his own men to me ? So that they can keep an eye on me ?
What should I do though ? I can't exactly just reject his 'compensation' outright and I can't think of a good enough excuse to get out of this ...
Naofumi casts a glance at the young knight from before and think ... the king did say he could have any knight wanted ...
And like that an idea just clicked in Naofumi's head ...
" So ... just to be clear I can choose whichever knight I want to join my party , that is in this room correct ?" Naofumi looks to the king for confirmation to which he nodded .
" Of course , take whichever knight you please , Sir Hero " The king seems to empathize that last part on the 'Hero' thing .
" Okay then ... I'll take him " Naofumi raises his finger to point at the knight he wanted and it did not land on any of the knights in front of them ...
But instead directly at the young knight , who looked taken aback by this .
The knights that the king had selected looked genuinely surprised at this , as did the king , as he seemed to look back between me and the young knight .
" Is something the matter , your majesty ? I made my choice already " Naofumi stated as calmly as he could manage , but the truth was that Naofumi was more than a bit nervous about how the king would react to this .
" U-Um , Sir Naofumi I'm afraid you can't take that knight , but please instead take on the knights I had chosen for you ! " The king tries to persuade him back to the row of knights in front of him , which pretty much confirms Naofumi's theory about the whole spy thing .
" If I may your liege ..." Mein steps forward to chime in on the conversation " You did say just a mere moment ago that Sir Naofumi , could select whichever knight that was in this room specifically , correct ? So I apologize if I may overstep here , but I feel it would be unfair to go back on your word "
The king looks a bit shocked at what Mein just said for a moment , before relaxing in his Throne once more " O-Of course , you are correct adventurer Mein ..."
Naofumi is more than a little amazed at Mein for a brief moment , he almost can't believe she managed to shut the king up with just a few words .
" Moving on , if the knight you selected agrees then all will be well ..."
" I do , your majesty ..." The young knight Ake steps forward , much to the bewilderment of his fellow knights .
The knight walks up to Naofumi and places a fist to his chest " My name is Ake Rorik , it is an honor to serve beside you ... Shield Hero " He then proceeds to bow his head down to Naofumi in respect .
" Its great to meet you , I'm Naofumi Iwatani and this is my companion Mein Sophie " Naofumi gestures to the red head beside him as he extends his hand to him " It's good to have you in the party "
He shakes Naofumi's hand and gives me a slight nod " I feel the same way , Sir Naofumi "
With a fake cough from the king , to redirect our attention to him , he speaks once more " Well , if all is settled than safe travels Sir Naofumi and may you stronger in your adventure to prepare for the waves of catastrophe"
Naofumi gives but a simple nod before leaving the Throne Room .
More than a little happy to finally get out of there .
Mein's POV
Well ... this was unexpected.
Under normal pretenses , Mein would at most just be mildly annoyed by the presence of a new party member since it adds an unwanted third wheel to her plan to seduce Naofumi . While she had long accepted the fact , that sooner or later considering Naofumi's personality , they would eventually recruit new members to their party .
She had simply hoped that it would have later rather than sooner .
But yet ... her father had to go ahead and try to plant a spy in the Shield Hero's party and of course Naofumi had to go and do something unorthodox .
She had absolutely no issue with what Naofumi did , more with ... who he picked to be specific .
Because this knight ...
WAS THE ONE WHO RATTED HER OUT TO NAOFUMI ABOUT STEALING HIS BELONGINGS !
Mein was sure of it , the second she entered the Throne Room she recognized him and would have sent him a death glare if she wasn't right in the presence of her father and Naofumi . And she was sure that he had recognized her as well , with how he was casting glances at the two of them since the very start .
And of course ... her dear Naofumi just had to pick the last person in the room that she wanted to work with .
Mein had of course noticed the not so subtle glances that Naofumi gave to the knight as well , as if he couldn't be more obvious about it .
No matter , she'll find a way to get rid of him in time .
She had only played along to Naofumi's wishes by talking her father down as a means of getting close to the knight to eliminate him .
" Sir Naofumi , if I may ask where are we going exactly ? " The knight questions Naofumi as they continue to walk the streets of castletown .
" I wanted to check out the adventurer's guild , I wanted to see if there were any quests we could do for some experience and money on the side " Naofumi answers , to which Mein's eyebrow raises slightly . She supposes he had to go back there eventually.
While they walked , Mein and Ake casts a glance at each other .
Neither of them said anything . They were both in the presence of Naofumi of course , but they both understood each other completely .
Mein's was simple : I'm going to kill you when this is over .
And the knight's was also simple : I'd like to see you try bitch .
Mein had to bite the arrowhead to keep herself from strangling the knight .
After a bit of walking and silence among their little ragtag group , they finally made it to the adventurer's guild...
And of course , one cannot forget the warm reception they got from the adventurer's in the guild the second their party entered the building . Many adventurer's who seemed to have been enjoying their meal or toasting with comrades suddenly stopped and turned at them as they entered . Once again , they were given the very same cold and stony glares they had been given when Naofumi had first registered here .
One adventurer in particular , a man in maybe his late 20's to early 30's dressed in what looked to be cheap metal armor over some leather and chainmail beneath it . He seemed to be giving death glares to Naofumi in particular .
This was to be expected of course .
Mein turns to Naofumi who seems to be noticeably looking away at this " Try to ignore them Naofumi ... let's just get this done as quickly as we can alright ? "
To their credit , none of the adventurer's seem to get up and try to insult them . It would seem that Mein's initial fear tactic of telling all the adventurer's to back off worked .
" Sir Naofumi , I think the board where they post all the quests is over there by the reception desk " The knight points at the board directly next to desk which can be assumed to be the receptionist desk .
" Well , great lets go check to see if there are any - Ren !? "
Naofumi looks surprised to see the raven haired hero in the standing next to the board with his party behind him . Naofumi shrugs off the initial surprise of seeing the Sword Hero , enough to walk over to him without a word to us , both of us following along .
" Hey Ren ... " Naofumi raises his hand to signal over to the Sword Hero , which gets his attention . Mein sees that the Sword Hero still dons his rather simple leather breastplate , which was just about the only piece of noticeable armor he had on . Though Mein did notice that he now had a porcelain tag around his neck . It seems the Sword also had the foresight to register .
" Oh , Naofumi you're here , didn't think I'd see you around here " The Sword Hero maintains his usual emotionless tone , but it was clear he was a bit surprised to see Naofumi .
" Yeah , well I'd thought I might try to pick up some quests to gain some more experience and money while I'm at it " Naofumi scratches while casting a glance to some of the other adventurer's " Though I feel like I'm not particularly welcomed here ..."
You could say that again ...
" Hey Naofumi ! Ren ! " A familiar voice coming from behind them , indicates the Spear Hero has arrived at the guild , he walks towards his two fellow heroes with his party in tow " You two farming for some pocket money with your parties too ?"
" Yeah , I figured I might as well give this adventurer's guild place a shot while I'm at it " By Naofumi's tone , it would seem he certainly didn't expect to see two of his fellow heroes in the same place , on the same day .
" Ah , Motoyasu . Yeah , something like that " Ren's tone does not betray any emotion as per usual .
Well , Shield , Spear and Sword , now all that's left is the Bow Hero to show up !
" So Naofumi ..." Motoyasu slings his arm around Naofumi's shoulder " How have you and Mein been holding up after the trial ? I was honestly kinda worried about you both , considering ... what happened you know "
" Well , me and Mein have been working hard these past few days to level up and get stronger , though ... I can't really say that its been easy " Naofumi gaze seems to shift towards his shield , as if some kind of reminder that he literally can attack .
Motoyasu's eyes turn sympathetic as he unhooks his arm from Naofumi's shoulder " Don't worry about it too much , I'm sure you'll get the hang of it eventually " Motoyasu's attempts to bring up the mood of Naofumi once more with words of encouragement , she wonders if she should take notes .
"After all , we're all Legendary Heroes after all ! "
The Spear Hero's optimistic personality seems to bring up Naofumi's mood once more as he smiles at the Spear Hero " Thanks Motoyasu ..."
The general mood of the group has been improved once more , all thanks to the Spear Hero .
" So Naofumi who's the new guy of your group ?" Sir Ren gestures towards Ake , and Mein can see that Ake is a little offended for being referred to as the 'new guy' even if it is true .
" Oh , yeah right , I almost forgot to introduce you all , this is Ake Rorik , he's one of the knights of Melromarc . The king gave him to me as a party member this morning as my 'compensation' for the whole trial business " Naofumi bends two of his fingers at the word compensation , as if to empathize it .
" Why would the king give you one of his knights as compensation ? That doesn't make any sense " The familiar voice of Bow Hero jumps in the conversation , visibly startling everybody , even her .
She didn't actually expect the Bow Hero to show up , when she said it !
" Wait , what the -?! Itsuki ! When did you get here ?" Naofumi questions , looking visibly taken aback by the appearance of the Bow Hero .
" I've been here the whole time " He says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world .
" ...Ignoring that and getting back on topic for why the king gave Naofumi more companions ... it could be entirely possible that he was trying to plant a spy in Naofumi's party " Despite the Sword Hero speaking in an emotionless tone , it is clear that his fellow cardinal heroes are taken aback by this .
" I don't know why , but I was thinking the exact same thing as Ren , since all the knights he offered me were most likely handpicked by him ... the idea of him have one of them act as a spy in my party isn't totally out of the water " Naofumi voices his logical reasoning for the situation , which was honestly a pretty good one to make .
" But who's the say the knight you have in your party right now , isn't a spy ? Who can truly say ?" Sir Ren doesn't even bother trying to keep his voice down in presence of the 'spy' .
" That's why I made sure to pick a knight that wasn't among the ones that the king picked " The 3 cardinal Heroes look at Naofumi confused , which forces him to elaborate more " Let me explain , you see ..."
Naofumi goes on to explain the whole situation to the Legendary Heroes .
" Using the king's own words against him , to avoid a possibly spy plot and to get a new party member in the process . Clever." The Sword Hero nods in approval .
" I guess it was certainly resourceful of Naofumi , considering the situation and all " Motoyasu chimes in with a smile .
" But isn't it entirely possible that the King also put spies among the-"
The Bow spoke but he quickly cut himself off , as he looked as if he came upon a revelation that he had only just figured out .
" Put spies among the what Itsuki ? " Ren asked looking rather curiously at the Bow Hero .
" ...Never mind , it was dumb ..." Itsuki seemed to purposefully move the attention away from himself.
What could the Bow Hero have figured out ? And what was he about to say ...?
Another time I suppose .
" Well , enough about the king , I came here searching for a good quest , you guys wouldn't happen to know any would you? " The 3 heroes simply shrug at Naofumi's question .
" You're free to look through the board , I just finished up my quests for today . Pretty sure there are some good ones here " Ren gestured to the board.
" Searching for lost pet , balloon clean up job , investigating abandoned house ... " Mein lists off various quest posted on the board , before turning to Naofumi with a disappointed look " None of these quests sound very appealing Naofumi "
" Hang on a second , what about this one ?" The knight pulls a paper from the board and presents it to Naofumi " It says here that a cave right near Pickaxe village has been overrun by an undead infestation . The lord wants it to be cleared out before it spreads too close to the capital "
Hmmmm ... that would certainly explain the sudden undead I encountered during my little escapade to grind my way back to level 17 . I did think it was strange for undead to be seen so close to the capital .
" An undead infestation , huh ?" Naofumi takes the paper to review it " 80 silvers ... not bad for a reward I gotta say "
" I've heard of Pickaxe village , its right near my home village of Lute , I've even been there a couple of times when I was a boy . If we do accept this quest , we could make a stop at my family's old general store and pick up a few essentials along the way " Mein thinks about what the knight said to Naofumi just now , she supposes it would be worth getting some supplies from his family's general store .
The Shield Hero , looks up from the paper to her " What do you think Mein ? Should we give it a shot ?"
Mein ponders whether they should or shouldn't go on this quest , while on one side she believes it is beneath her to go into a dirty cave to exterminate some undead sounds pretty dangerous , but ... the EXP and the potential to unlock some new skills does sound appealing .
" I think we should give it a try Sir Naofumi , I doubt those undead will be much trouble anyway and we could use the money and EXP to go along with it " Mein nodded " Though I think we should follow Ake's idea of going to his family's general store to pick up some supplies first before going to the cave itself "
" Alright , sounds like a plan ..." Naofumi turns to speak with his fellow cardinal heroes " You guys got any advice for this quest ? I'm still kinda unfamiliar with all this adventure stuff ..."
The Sword seem to put a hand to his chin in thought " I haven't faced any undead of this world yet ... but in my game at least light and holy magic were typically effective against undead enemies . I don't suppose you have any ? "
Naofumi could only shake his head in mild worry .
" No wait , fire is what's effective against undead mobs ! " Itsuki seems to jump in with his own personal advice " If you can get them all grouped together , you can easily light them up with a single fire spell and take them all out "
Naofumi seem to perk up a bit at that " Mein can do fire "
" Indeed I can " Mein nodded with a proud smile .
" No wait , you're wrong its holy magic that's effective against undead " Ren seems to argue .
" No , its fire ! Have you never seen a zombie movie before ? " Itsuki seems to argue with his own points " And even if you were right you heard Naofumi , none of his party can do holy magic anyway ! "
The Sword and Bow seem to get in a mild disagreement over the effectiveness of taking down undead.
Mein's face twists in confusion though , what the hell is a moovee ?
" Regardless , the biggest thing you need to avoid though when you're fighting undead is to make sure you don't get overwhelmed " Motoyasu advised with sincerity " Trust me the last thing you want is to be pinned in a corner while several undead are trying to take your head off or bite you to death . Some could even inflict poison on you if you weren't careful "
The Spear actually speaks truth , as it has been said that undead have the power to infect and poison people with their bite . Which would in turn cause the wound to fester and eventually kill the victim if they don't treat it quickly . Or worse case you would have to cut it off entirely .
" Avoid getting bitten or overwhelmed , fire is good and try not to get pinned . Got it " Naofumi nodded in understanding " Thanks guys , appreciate it"
" Any time Naofumi , now make sure you don't get turned in zombie chow " The Spear Hero gives a good hearted pat on the back to Naofumi .
Oh don't worry Sir Motoyasu , I already planned to feed the knight to the undead if they don't like Naofumi .
With the knight leading them they reached the wooden gates of Lute Village . The entire town seemed to be surrounded by some of kind of wooden walls , that looked pretty weak and would likely be able to be topped easily , which to Mein isn't really surprised considering this a village in the middle of nowhere .
This place would fall easily against the wave .
Mein can't help but somberly think that .
" Who goes there !?" A supposed guard , standing on a watchtower beside the gate call out to them " You have the pay the toll to enter-"
" Its me Kaleb ! Open the gate ! " The knight yells out to the guardsman .
Without another word the guardsman scrambled to get the gate open , to which their party finally entered the village of Lute .
" Ake you're back , didn't think we'd see you so soon ." The guardsman comments as they step through .
" Yeah well , I'm not gonna be here long , just need to pick up a few things from my family's old store " the knight tosses a few coppers at the guardsman .
Without another word , they pass several of the buildings in Lute , if Mein was being perfectly honest , the village didn't look half bad from the inside . Many of the buildings looked to be pretty well constructed , despite this being a relatively small village . They walked for quite a bit , before they finally came to a full stop in front of what she assumed to be his family's store .
The knight for some reason was ... completely motionless , he just stood there still as a statue , Naofumi looked worried so he went give him a small touch on the shoulder .
"Hey Ake , are you ...?"
" I'm fine ... lets go " The knight rather rudely shrugged Naofumi off , before walking up the front door and stepping inside the shop with Mein and Naofumi in tow .
Inside of the shop it was ... quite frankly rather generic , the shelves were lined with all sorts of items Mein didn't know and didn't even care to waste a single of her SP to use Appraisal to find out . The shop surprisingly had quite a few weapons lined up on racks , but they looked pretty average and didn't seem to offer anything special or good .
" I'm gonna go in the back to get some of the stuff we need for our trip , make yourselves at home " The knight made a move for the backroom when Naofumi stopped him .
" Hey Ake , you wouldn't mind if I absorbed some of the stuff in here would you ? I promise I'll pay for anything I absorb " Mein can't help but raise an eyebrow at the Shield Hero's honest nature , he easily enough could have just absorbed whatever he wanted while the knight was in the back .
" Take it . Its on the house " The knight says as if he doesn't give a damn .
" Um ... are you sure ? Wouldn't your parents be mad if I just absorbed whatever I wanted -"
" My parents aren't able to be mad about anything now . They are both dead "
A silence seizes the room once more and Naofumi is taken aback by what the knight had just said .
"I'm ... sorry Ake , I shouldn't have -"
"Just absorb whatever you need by the time I get back " The back of the knight disappeared in the back room as he walked away .
Naofumi started absorbing various things in the shop , mostly monster remains that were apparently on sale , most likely to be used in crafting . Mein was a little irked she wasn't able to absorb anything while Naofumi was around , but she beat it down as Naofumi fed a small coil of rope to his shield .
" Rope Shield ? " Naofumi's shield transforms to that of a coil of rope on his forearm " Exclusive Skill : Lasso and non exclusive skill : Air Strike Shield , not too bad " Naofumi seemed to be happy with his new skill , although he didn't what it was exactly .
" Maybe you should test it out Naofumi , to see what it does " Mein suggested.
" Good idea Mein , step back though " Naofumi instructs as he aims his shield to the other side of the room " Okay ... Air Strike Shield !"
With a loud cry from Naofumi , a green ethereal floating shield forms on the side of the room surprising both Mein and Naofumi .
" So Air Strike Shield , actually summons a shield that can be used defensively , that's pretty cool ." Mein nods along with what Naofumi's says. Its good that Naofumi has finally unlocked a skill that can actually be used defensively , instead of all those shields that give nothing but passive effects and skills .
" You finished yet , Sir Naofumi ?" The knight steps out of the backroom carrying a backpack filled with unknown items .
" Yeah , we're done , what did you get anyway ?" Naofumi questions as the Air Strike Shield disappears .
" Maps of Melromarc , water skins , rope , lanterns . Everything we should need for our trip into the cave ." The knight listed down. Mein had to give him credit for coming prepared to their first raid .
" Is there anything useful we should take from this place ?" Mein asks , giving the shop a quick look around .
" No , nothing much of value ..." The knights places a hand to his chin in thought " Actually ... there is this "
The knight walks behind the counter of the shop and reaches under it to pull out what looks to be a magical orb of some kind .
" What's is that ?" Naofumi stepped forward to get a closer look with me by his side .
" This is what is known as a aptitude test orb , it allows you to check somebody's magical affinity " The knights rubs some dust off the orb ,clearly not having been used in a while .
" Magical affinity , huh ? Mein told me that everybody in this world has an affinity for a certain type of magic " Naofumi recalls what she had told him days prior about magic " Mein's affinities are fire and wind , but I still don't know what mine are "
" Why don't we find out right now ?" The knight suggested , placing his hand on the orb .
" Don't you need to understand magic to a certain extent to do that ?" Mein wondered a loud , since he was just a knight and not a combat mage .
" My old aunt Nellie , taught me how to use these aptitude orbs , so I think I know how to do this "
You think , you know how to do this ?
"I guess its worth giving it a shot , not like I got anything to lose by trying " Naofumi agrees to do the aptitude test , which Mein silently agrees as well since it would be much cheaper than finding and paying some random magic shopkeep to do it for them .
" Alright , hope I still remember how to do this ..." The knight's hands hover over the crystal ball as it begins to glow " Okay , place your hand on the crystal ball "
Naofumi does so as the crystal ball begins to glow brighter ...
A full minute passes before the glowing orb dims down .
" Okay you can stop now " The knight stops hovering his hand over the orb as the light fully dies out .
" So did it work ?" Naofumi removed his hand from the orb , as he asked the knight .
" Yes , it would seem you have rare affinities for both healing and support magic Sir Naofumi "
" Healing and Support magic ? " Naofumi seemed confused at his own affinities .
" Essentially it means you specialize in healing magic and casting support spells like increase in defense and the like " The knight explained before Mein could.
Mein raised an eyebrow at this , it wasn't as if the Healing and Support affinities were rare themselves per say , many people had them . But it was quite rare to see a person having both of the two non-elemental affinities .
She supposes it is rather fitting for his role as the Shield Hero , since he can't attack , he'll be much better suited defending and providing healing and support magic on her while she fights .
" So purely non-combat affinities ..." Naofumi did look a bit downtrodden at the fact that his magical affinities couldn't even be used for offense but he seemed to relent " I suppose its fitting since my ATK stat is still so low ..."
" Don't despair Naofumi , support and healing are just as essential to a party's survival as every other member . One could even say that having a member who can heal is critical to the party's survival " Mein told no comforting lies , that was in fact something she had heard from actual adventurer's .
" I guess you're right Mein ..." Naofumi seemed to cheer up a bit at that " So how do you learn magic spells in this world anyway ? "
" Well , generally one can learn magic from grimoires but you can also instantly learn the magic stored up in crystal balls " Mein explains in detail " But if you want a better understanding of magic you would need to learn from grimoires ..."
" Actually I think there was a novice grimoire for sale around here ..." The knight seems to fumble around the counter for a bit before he comes back up " Got it ! Here it is ..."
" Alright , let's take a look at this and ... of course its not written in Japanese ..." Naofumi head slumps forward with a groan.
" Its alright Naofumi , I'll teach you both the magic and the language " Mein says getting a bit close " You'll learn in no time ..."
It takes Naofumi a second to turn back to her " Thanks Mein ..."
" Okay , lets get going , before the day comes to an end " The knight leads the way out of the store and out of Lute Village and they begin their walk to Pickaxe village .
The distance between Pickaxe and Lute wasn't all that large , so Mein couldn't really complain about her feet at this point since she's been doing this for almost a week so she was starting to get used to the idea of walking all the time .
Though she honestly hoped that wasn't the case , perhaps once they made enough money they could purchase a few filorials to ride or even a whole carriage for them to haul them around . It would certainly be much more preferable than walking everywhere .
After talking to the local lord there and getting proper directions to where the cave of the undead infestation is , they proceed to it with great haste before any of them can reach the village .
After some more walking the party comes to a stop just a few dozen meters from the cave entrance that the lord talked about .
And of course , by the entrance there were a couple of undead standing guard .
Well 'standing guard' might not be the most accurate way to describe it , more like there were a couple of undead roaming around the entrance of the cave .
4 undead in total , all swordsman . Should be easy .
" How do we do this ? " Naofumi asked , looking for suggestions .
Mein had already figured one out already " I'm gonna draw three of them over there " Mein pointed out as she grabbed a rock " And I'm gonna lure another to me by those bushes . When I take out the first one , we blitz the last three before they even see what's coming "
" Alright , let's do it " Ake nodded as he unsheathed his sword .
Mein took a breath as she threw the rock to some place close to the three undead to draw them away and isolate the fourth one .
Mein was quick to move away , being very careful to avoid stepping on any branches or twigs and moved close to some bushes in order to get the drop on the third undead .
Once she was in position she let out a low whistle that seemed to only be heard by the lone undead who started to trudge his way towards her bush .
Wait for it ... wait for it ...
Now !
Mein stood up straight from behind the bush surprising the undead and not wasting a second as she stabbed her dagger right through where its heart is supposed to be , instantly killing it and Mein pulled it over into the bush to hide it .
Mein didn't waste another second as she hopped out of the bush and charged at the distracted undead , too busy distracted by a rock to have noticed Mein run up behind them and stab one straight through the chest .
The other two undead were slow to reach to Naofumi and Ake jumping out of the bushes .
" Air Strike Shield ! " Naofumi shouted and the green ethereal shield appeared in front of him . But what Mein wasn't expecting was how the shield practically launched itself at the undead and slammed into both of them , knocking them down.
Neither Mein or Ake let themselves be distracted by this as they quickly ended the two remaining undead.
Mein let out a sigh as she flung some undead blood off of her sword as she turned to Naofumi " I didn't know you could use your Air Strike Shield like that "
" Neither did I . I was actually trying to form a shield between the two of them to throw them off , didn't expect to send the Shield flying towards them " Naofumi explained , looking just as surprised as they were.
" I guess we found the right place " Ake said as he looked over the cave entrance.
" We should ready our torches , it looks pretty dark in there and we sure as hell can't fight in the dark " The knight prepares a few torches before throwing over to Mein " Light it up , using your fire magic , hurry up "
Wordlessly , she flows her mana to the palm of her hand and ignites the torch . She uses her torch to light up Naofumi's and the knights .
" Okay , everybody ready ?" Naofumi looks at both her and the knight , to which they both nod " Alright , everybody stay close together I don't want anybody getting separated in the dark "
" You have no need to worry Naofumi , I'll always be by your side "
And so they finally entered the cave that was pitch black , unknown to the dangers that lurked in the darkness .
Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and yes , I did make it so Naofumi became blatantly aware that Malty is one of the Marked . And of course , Malty not even realizing it . Though in all fairness , while Malty in this fic is smarter , it doesn't mean she is incapable of making glaringly obvious oversights in her planning.
Like failing to realize that Naofumi can see her status and notice her new SP bar .
And I am happy that Ake has finally joined the party , he's definitely one of my more favorite characters since I overhauled his entire character to see suit my needs.
But anyway next chapter is going to be a fun one so hope you all are looking forward to it . And now please enjoy this nice little Omake , courtesy of our very own Qinlongfei.
Canon Omake : What Naofumi did while Mein was down .
He wonders why Mein is so tired all of sudden. Could she have had some kind of stealing compulsion and went on another heist on some helpless adventurer the night before ? Considering her backstory (if it were true), maybe that was how she supported herself before the summoning, and she can't kick off her habit.
She might only pretending to rest, and instead sneak off to meet the supposed conspirators. If her testimony during the trial isn't so much a change of heart, but a last minute change of plan with her possible accomplices.
That's the reason why Naofumi finds himself sitting in the shadow in front of the inn like a hobo through the morning, when he can do something more productive. He doesn't want to act like a paranoid madman, but considering what almost happened the day before, and in light of what he learned afterwards... one can never be too careful.
So much for having a real life Isekai adventurer... Iwatani Naofumi knows he isn't some special 'hero', or 'main character' in his life considering how he was always overshadowed by his much more talented younger brother. But he didn't expect it's more of the same disappointment when he literally gets summoned into a sword and magic fantasy world.
The giant bell half sitting on top of a grand cathedral half a city over start to chime. Is it noon already ? There's still no sign of Mein (or some shadowy figure in a cloak) sneaking out of the front door, or her window. She probably isn't going to meet any conspirators today, at the very least.
Taking out a smoked meat sandwich out of his shield, Naofumi quickly fills his stomach. He stands up, pats away the dust and walks away. Perhaps it really was something innocent. Maybe Mein simply had some nightmares and didn't have a good nights sleep . In any case, he's probably wasting his time camping out of the inn. There are much better ways to verify what she said.
Naofumi considers going to the Adventurer's Guild directly, maybe try to find one of those demi-human and ask them some questions. If they are more friendly towards the Shield Hero, they wouldn't lie to him... right ?
Then again... most human adventurers weren't so friendly towards him. And he doubt he can take another trouble maker as easily as Mein did, with his lack of ATK value. It'd be best if he runs into one of his fellow heroes, and just tag along into the Adventurer's Guild ?
As the Shield Hero wanders aimlessly, he notices three girls near a stand. They are around his age, and all have animal like features. The first girl has snow white hair, a healthy tanned skin town and a pair of long rabbit like ears. She carries a long bow, and a quiver full of arrows on her back.
A rabbit archer ? Aren't rabbits supposed to have terrible eye sight ?
But what grabs Naofumi's attention is what she wears... or rather, doesn't wear. She only has a tank top made of brown colored fur over her chest, and a miniskirt made of the same thing reaching her upper thigh. Not leaving much of her fit body to imagination.
Sadly for the poor healthy young man, the cat girl with auburn hair and a metal tipped quarterstaff hanging over her shoulders is even more indecent. She practically only has a bra, and a thong to cover her golden furred body.
As for the last one... well, at least she has the common sense to wear a full robe. Her coiled horn, and curly hair makes her look like a fluffy sheep.
Does public indecency not exist in this world ? Or is it different for demi-humans because of their animal features ?
The Shield Hero swallows hard and takes a deep breath to calm himself. The young man walks up to the group of demi-human girls, hoping there's no bleed trailing down his nose. "Excuse me, miss... can I ask you some questions ?"
Both the rabbit and cat girl's faces instantly light up, their eyes practically twinkling. Did he just imagine it, or did the cat girl lick her lips ? It makes Naofumi feel uncomfortable, like he's a prey being cornered... or worse, a piece of meat being inspected. The sheep girl simply blushes and looks down.
"Well, if it isn't the shield hero. I see you are missing some... company today." The cat girl closes the distance to rest her arm on Naofumi's shoulder, her chest hovering dangerously close to his arm. "Did your hooman friend ditch you ? Well, her loss."
Hooman ? Is it some local dialect, accent or a racial slur ? Actually, can his shield even translate different local dialect, or they'll all come out as perfect Japanese ?
"Err... no. Miss Mein didn't sleep well last night. She's resting, and I'm just wondering around..." The way these two demi-human girls sharing a knowing smile at each other make Naofumi think he somehow already put his foot in his mouth.
The rabbit girl winks at him this time, he's definitely missing the context on whatever she thinks he understand. "Typical hooman, doesn't have the stamina to keep up. Well, I'm sure the three of us will give you a much better time, my hero."
"To tell the truth... I'm not sure even we'll be enough." The cat girl runs her finger on Naofumi's chest, making him glad he's still wearing his armor. "The last Shield Hero was known to be able to pleasure a hundred women a night, after all."
Oh, oh, OH~. She meant it in that way.
Forget about his constant, and crushing sense of inadequacy. Can a man even do it with a hundred women a night and still live ? Or does behind the door activities also scale with level in this world?
What's the hell is he even thinking about ! He should do the only sensible thing on his mind.
He turns around and run, not even dare to look back and see if he's being chased.
Maybe getting demi-human companions wasn't the best idea for now.