I hope you all are liking the speed that I am able to start churning these out as much as I am. Enjoy while it lasts my dear readers.
:P
This chapter is actually more Motoyasu focused, the first half is centered around Malty and the crew, but after that it's all Motoyasu.
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and providing good feedback.
With that said, let's get it started !
Chapter 33: Tales of Past
" Raphtalia...can transform ? " Naofumi said groggily, slowly waking up.
" Yes, I saw it with my own eyes " Mein nodded " And I'm certain I haven't gone insane from this Mark "
Mein had to take a few minutes to wake up Naofumi and Ake , who were very groggy at being woken up suddenly. She of course wrapped Raphtalia in her own blanket to preserve her dignity before waking the men up. The sun was slowly rising anyway, so Mein decided that she might as well wake them up now than waiting until later in the morning. She let Filo and Jun sleep in though while the adults of the group handled this new development.
" Very interesting..." Ake cast a sideways glance between Mein and Raphtalia, a slight tinge of disbelief in his eyes.
" Raphtalia, show him " Mein said a little more commanding than she intended for it to be.
The raccoon shyly nodded, in a poof of smoke she had transformed into her adult form. And then she transformed into her tanuki form before reverting back to her child form.
Naofumi and Ake looked reasonably surprised, the Shield Hero's more apparent than the knight's.
" Raphtalia, you can really...shapeshift ?" Naofumi said in disbelief at what he had just seen " Mein can demi-humans or some at least de-age ? "
" They can if they have their level reset and their body isn't old enough to naturally age yet " Mein answered " And there are some demi-humans and beastman who can assume a more beast like form with enough training but those are infrequent and none can switch between an adult and child form the way Raphtalia did "
" But the Yoko of Uzumaki clan could do it " Ake cut in " I remember reading up about them at Port Harp, they are half-demon tricksters with rare and strong affinity for shapeshifting in addition to creating barriers and seals. The only other clan I know of that has demon-like shape shift abilities...are the Gyobu Danuki of Q'ten Lou "
Mein's eyes narrowed at the knight " You know what you are suggesting Ake ? You realize that only those descended straight from the line of the Celestial Emperor could have the chance to gain the ability to shapeshift which would make Raphtalia-"
" Wait a second Uzumaki ? And what the hell is up with all these japanese sounding names right out of folklore !? " Naofumi shouted in surprise.
Ake paid him no mind as he looked down at Raphtalia " So which line are you from Raphtalia ? Are you an illegitimate child of Isshin ? Or are you a true descendant ?
" I'm from Emperor Kajirou's line. My grandfather was Yamato Kutenrou, the youngest son of Emperor Kajirou " Raphtalia surprisingly finds the courage to look up at them...and there's a slight change in her posture. Its a kind of graceful posture that one would expect from someone of nobility or royalty, not from a traumatized child slave.
The princess has to take a second assess this information- Raphtalia was of Q'ten Lo royalty. Admittedly Mein didn't think much of Raphtalia when they first took her in, seeing her as both an annoyance to gain the affections of Naofumi and extra baggage that they would have to take care of. But she did eventually come around to accepting the raccoon as part of their group.
The last thing she expected was for Raphtalia to come from equal standing, as she herself is of royalty, even if the hermit nation Raphtalia descends from doesn't even exist anymore.
Hell, Raphtalia technically outranks her in terms of royal status since she presumably is the only child of her generation and direct descendant of the last celestial emperor, she is the true heir to the throne of Q'ten Lo. Though that doesn't really mean much since Q'ten Lo is a desolate wasteland now.
" Wait a minute, are you both trying to tell me that Raphtalia is some kind...lost princess descendant of this Q'ten Lo place ?" Naofumi tried to get the facts straight since he looked confused by everything going on.
" Pretty much " Both Mein and Ake answer at the same time.
" Goddamn...this is a lot to take in " Naofumi grabbed his head as he let out a sigh at the situation before him.
You're telling me.
Raphtalia bowed her head in shame " Are you...mad at me Master Naofumi ? For not telling you ? "
" I'm not mad at you Raphtalia. I'm just surprised a little " Naofumi said softly " This isn't exactly what I was expecting honestly "
" You tried to hide your shapeshifting when I found you. Why ? " Mein asked the question.
" I was...I was scared that you all would leave me " Raphtalia confessed, refusing to look them in the eye " Father said...father said that I always have to be careful not to reveal who we are back in Port Harp. That there could always be those who want to hurt us for our heritage...so I was scared that if you knew who I was, you would leave because I attract trouble..."
Mein's eyes soften as she knelled down in front of the little raccoon " We're not going to leave you Raphtalia. We care for you and we're not going to let any harm come to you. Right Naofumi, Ake ? "
The knight nodded diligently, while Naofumi spoke up " Of course ! And I think its good that you won't have to grow up into an adult before you're ready. You may have the body of an adult or I guess the ability to change into the body of an adult but you don't have the life experience to make good decisions like a real adult. You don't need to worry so much, we'll all be here to help you work through it all and you can still stay with us after you become a true adult too "
Raphtalia's eyes water as she suddenly hugs Mein, the princess in disguise hugging her back and listening to her words " T-Thank you...it was horrible losing Rifana...mother and father...big sis Sadeena and her family...Keel now too...I don't want to lose anyone else "
" You won't dear. You won't..." Mein pats the girl's back and reassures her, gently pulling away to pat the girl on the head.
" Now that's all well and good...but what are we going to do about Raphtalia's adult form ? Or her shape-shifting for that matter ? " Ake butts in and asks " For that matter, should we do anything about it ? "
Ake raises a good question, is there anything they should do about it ?
The ability to shapeshift is incredibly rare and noticeable, aside from black magic users not many can attain the ability to shapeshift. It would be easy for some with basic knowledge on Q'ten Lo to figure out Raphtalia's true identity. Mein daresay that Raphtalia's shapeshifting is on the same level as her Marked powers, they attract the wrong kind of attention. Not having Raphtalia use shape shifting at all doesn't really work either, the ability is simply too damn useful and versatile in a lot of situations, combined with the powers Mein grants with her Arcane Bond, Raphtalia could grow much stronger if she learns how to use her shapeshifting powers correctly.
Raphtalia may need to work like her, maybe they should get her a mask to cover her face or something. Only use her powers when there are no witnesses around or if absolutely necessary.
" Ake raises a good point. Raphtalia's shapeshifting is incredibly noticeable, if she ever does it in front of the wrong company it could spell trouble for us " Mein nods to Ake's point " I daresay, it could cause almost the same amount of trouble as people finding out that I'm a heretic "
" Hmmmm...you're right " Naofumi put a hand to his chin in thought " What do you think Raphtalia ? "
" It feels...weird being an adult. Very strange like being in a totally new body suddenly and it doesn't help that I'm not used to not having my right arm in my adult and raccoon form " Raphtalia struggles to explain " But I think I can fight better with my adult body...my left hand feels a little stronger when I'm in my adult form "
Mein thought about it for a short time. Raphtalia's abilities and shapeshifting powers combined with her magical affinities and black magic would make her a versatile trickster fighter assuming she could learn the required skills and magic.
" How about we ease Raphtalia into her adult body ? " Mein suggested which brought everyone's attention to her " It took her some to get used to life without her right arm, she'll need some time to get used to her adult body the same way. She can spend some time everyday in her adult and raccoon form to get her used to it. That way she won't be too out of control changing between forms "
" That sounds okay..." Raphtalia quietly agreed.
" And I can also teach her how to properly use a sword to defend herself " Mein recommended, thinking of a sword type that would be preferable for Raphtalia. When she was in her child form, the biggest thing she could use was a small hunting knife, but now that she has her adult form she should be able to use something that can properly defend herself against more than balloons.
Raphtalia only has one functioning arm at the moment though, so it has to be something lightweight and easy to maneuver. Greatswords and heavy weapons are obviously out. Mid-length swords might be too difficult and heavy for her to use. Rapiers and tucks might be the best choice, short swords should also be a good starting point.
" And magic too ? " Raphtalia said looking up at Mein.
" And magic too, don't worry "
" Then its decided then !" Naofumi said, agreeing with her " We'll go with Mein's suggestion for now. Don't worry or rush on trying to learn everything, we still have plenty of time before the next wave and even then...well, Mein seems like a good teacher "
Mein smiled as they had a plan of action now " We should probably get ready to move, looks like the sun has finally risen "
The princess looked over yonder and saw that the sun had finally come up on them.
After eating a relatively 'light breakfast', or whatever could be considered light for the fat bird who ate up a whole mountain of food before they set off again on their journey. Unfortunately they didn't have any spare clothes for Raphtalia to wear, so they just wrapped her in one of the spare blankets and waited until they reached the next village to obtain her some proper clothes.
Ake took the reins this time around while Mein, Jun, Raphtalia and Naofumi sat in the back. Jun was out like a light despite all the bumping. Mein had Naofumi doing a reading exercise where he tried to comprehend the script of a children's book that she had given to him, while Mein was busy teaching Raphtalia about illusion magic.
" You know, I just realized something, if Raphtalia can change forms...does that mean we need to get her clothes made out of mana too ? " Naofumi asked out of the blue.
" No, I don't think we need to worry about that Naofumi. I remember hearing that Yoko and Gyoubu Danuki are natural masters of shapeshifting magic, and they can extend their special magic to their possessions like armor and clothes. Most beastmen and some demi-humans who can shapeshift into a more animal form can't do that...which is strange that Raphtalia ended up tearing her clothes when she transformed last night " Mein explained and gave a glance at the raccoon girl.
" I think it was because it was so sudden and my first time transforming...that I didn't even think of trying to extend the magic to my clothing " Raphtalia gave her reasoning for why her clothes ripped.
" Its okay, in time you're sure to properly master it. You can do it " Mein encouraged the girl before turning to other matters " So Raphtalia, what kind of weapon do you see yourself using ? I was thinking your choices could be rapier, tuck or a good ol' fashioned short sword. The short sword is arguably the lightest of the three, though since you're using one hand you will need to learn specific hand movements for proper maneuvers. Rapiers and tucks are slightly more straightforward since they are focused more on slashing and stabbing, though tucks are mildly heavier than rapiers they do have the trade-off of having a higher ATK rating than rapiers so-"
" Uhhhhh..." Raphtalia seemed dumbfounded at all the information Mein was telling her.
" You really know a lot about weapons, don't you Mein ?" Naofumi chuckled a little.
" Well, I am an adventurer " Mein said proudly " We'll just wait until we get our hands on some actual weapons before deciding on one for Raphtalia "
" Fair enough, though its going to be awhile before we reach the next town " Naofumi shrugged as he continued his reading exercise.
Her adventure with the Shield Hero just keeps getting crazier and crazier.
Motoyasu's POV
Motoyasu didn't consider himself a slouch or unfit by any means. Sure, he wasn't active in any sports or was an exercise junkie since his studies as a doctor took up most of his time, but he did frequently hit up the gym to stay in shape. He felt it would be hypocritical of him to give out medical advice about staying healthy if he himself had an unhealthy body.
The Spear Hero let out a breath of tiredness as he tried to deflect a spear attack from the Pope, only to have it parried away with ease. The battle so far not at all in his favor.
So how the fuck was this old man who was literally in his 70's more fit than he was ?
" Go Motoyasu !" Lesty cheered from the side of the private dueling arena. Gretel was busy reading a spellbook while Rino was diligently observing the fight.
Their support touched his heart...but he was pretty sure he was going to lose.
The Pope was definitely no wrinkly old grandfatherly man, he was a freaking beast. He moved with a kind of quickness and reacted with a tempered balance that it was impossible for Motoyasu to land a good strike on him. This was like fighting a pro-level player when you're starting at mid-level and massively underskilled for this encounter.
Worse part ? The Pope said that he was going easy on him.
If this was easy then Motoyasu wasn't sure he wanted to see how long he would last if he was fighting the Pope on 'hard mode'.
In less than a minute or so, the Pope managed to knock Motoyasu's spear aside and push him to the ground with a rough shove of the Pope's spear to his chest that he was holding horizontally. Before he could recover, Pope was already pointing his weapon at him.
" Good try boy. You lasted longer than last time " Pope said as he helped him up with a smile.
" I suppose...I'm not sure if all this sparring is helping though " Motoyasu said out loud.
" You're not going to see instant results, but sparring helps teach you to keep your wits about you and train your reaction time. It helps temper your skills with your weapon " Pope had a smile on his face as he spoke " An old friend of mine said that if you want to win against a stronger, superior opponent, you need to be ready to lose. A lot "
" I suppose " Motoyasu shrugged as he stretched his back out, popping all the kinks in his bones from the sparring session. The rest of his party entered the arena and approached them. Elena was the only one who wasn't there with them, apparently she needed to go talk with her cousin Iris or something, and stopping by the adventurer's guild to check in on things.
" You did your best Motoyasu, keep up the work and I'm sure you'll be able to beat him in no time " Lesty encouraged, patting him on the back.
" Here, have some water " Rino gave him his waterskin.
" Thanks Rino " Motoyasu took the waterskin and took a good gulp of it
" Don't drink too much water at once, too much water will slow your movements " Pope advised.
" That fighting advice ? " Motoyasu asked with a smirk.
" More like adventuring advice in general. I was never officially an adventurer, but I did pick up some tricks and tips " Pope explained as he eyed the girls " You know what, let us try something different, how about this time you fight me with your party helping you ? "
Motoyasu glanced at his party " What do you think girls ? Want to help fight against the Pope ? "
" Sure, I could use a workout " Lesty and Gretel agreed.
" I've always wanted to see how the Pope fights " Rino accepted.
The Pope smiled as they got into position, Motoyasu and his group standing on one side of the arena and Pope on the other. This time switching out his spear for a sword.
" Before we begin, let me warn that I will be using some magic to...give the fight a bit more flair. Feel free to use whatever magic and skills you wish " Pope warned " First side to subdue the others wins "
Motoyasu nodded as the girls got ready, Gretel and Lesty at the back, while Rino and Motoyasu were at the front to defend them. Pope assumed an offensive posture, no doubt waiting for them to make the first move.
" Air Strike Javelin !" Motoyasu threw the red spear at the Pope...who deflected the projectile thrown at him with ease.
" Gretel ! Lesty ! Hit him with magic ! We'll keep him busy !" Motoyasu and Rino charged at Pope.
Only for Pope to do something Motoyasu had never seen before. He threw his hand forward-
And a burst of bluish energy was thrown from the Pope's hand and knocked himself and Rino on their asses. It wasn't like a strong wind, but more like it was pure force itself that pushed them back.
" W-What the hell ? " Motoyasu barely had time to say as Pope pounced on them like a cat, the two of them barely rolling away in time and getting back on their feet.
" Fast Aqua Bullet !"
" Fast Gust !"
The two girls launched their attacks at the Pope, only for him to jump out of the way in time. The Pope then held up two fingers and a mystical white triangle appeared in front of him and it was aimed directly at Lesty !
" Stop him !" Motoyasu and Rino charged at him once more, but it was too late as Pope jumped back.
" Lesty what the hell are-URK ! " Gretel was cut off when Lesty suddenly grabbed her from behind and began choking her out.
Lesty didn't even say anything as she began choking her teammate out to the point of unconsciousness, letting her gently down onto the ground.
" Gretel !" Motoyasu said running back to the mages to try and help the little witch.
" Motoyasu, watch out-!"
In his panic, he didn't even notice the Pope close in on him and attempted to slash his weapon away.
" Never turn your back on an enemy Spear Hero " Pope warned as he begun slashing at him, Motoyasu barely able to defend.
" Shit !" Motoyasu cursed as he got a hard kick to the chest from Pope, which pushed him back. Rino tried to take advantage of this and stab the Pope, but the old man twirled around quickly and counterattacked with a parry and slash for the chest that she barely blocked.
" Fast Aqua Shot !"
" Whoa !" Rino barely dodged an aqua shot that was aimed for her leg that came from Lesty.
The Pope easily capitalized on this moment, using her thrown off balance moment to deliver a hard hit to the face from the hilt of the sword. Knocking her out instantly.
" Shit..." Motoyasu cursed as he faced off against his turned teammate and the Pope.
" Two on one is hardly fair, let's make it a bit more even " Pope said as he held up two fingers again and the white triangle from before appeared. Pointing it at Lesty, within a few seconds Lesty fell to the ground unconscious.
" What did you do to her ? " Motoyasu asked, slightly concerned over his teammate.
" Calm yourself, I just told her brain to go to sleep " Pope explained briefly.
What the hell ? The Pope can do that ?
Motoyasu decided to save the questions until after this fight.
" Chaos Spear !" Motoyasu activated the skill and sent a flurry of strikes at the Pope.
The Pope didn't jump out of the way this time, instead he held up his hand and a yellowish, dome surrounded him. Protecting him from the strikes of Chaos Spear though it did seem to crack the shield a little.
" Nice try, but you're going to have to try harder than that " Pope said calmly as the shield lowered.
" Blinding Lance !" Motoyasu held up his spear and bright light blinded the whole arena. Pope held up his hand to try and block the light. The Spear Hero tried to take advantage of this and throw another skill " Air Strike Javelin ! "
The light was just about fading so Pope should still be blinded-only he still managed to dodge the attack by moving his body to the right slightly.
Before Motoyasu could recover his weapon after being thrown at the Pope, the old man rolled towards him and thrust his hand out at him. More of that bluish energy from before pushing him to the ground.
" Ah shit !" Motoyasu fell back on his ass from the force thrown at his face. A blade already pointed at his throat before he could recover.
" Damn..." Motoyasu conceded defeat.
" It was a good battle, you lasted longer with your party helping you, if I was just relying on my weapon skills you could have really put me on the defensive " Pope tried to cheer him up as he helped the Spear Hero stand back up.
" And yet we still lost..." Motoyasu said a little defeated.
" Have strength Spear Hero, you are still learning...and there is still plenty that I have to teach you " Pope patted him on the back as he turned to the girls " Come now, let's help out your companions " Pope gestured as the two helped the girls recover from being knocked out.
After helping the girl's get back on their feet and sitting them down so they could recover, Motoyasu and Pope also decided it was time to take a break.
" What the hell Lesty ! Why did you knock me out !?" Gretel shouted at the taller girl, who was still rubbing the side of her head.
" And tried to hit me too " Rino grumbled.
" I'm sorry...I didn't know what I was doing or what I even did..." Lesty struggled to explain " Like my head feels really fuzzy...and I can't remember what even happened after the Pope used that ability on me "
" Axii will do that to you. Don't worry, it will wear off in a while " Pope reassured her.
Axii ? Isn't that the name of a power from the Witcher series ? The fuck...
" What was that magic you used just now ? It was powerful as hell..." Motoyasu asked, curious about it.
" Oh they are Miracles, Spear Hero " Pope explained though Motoyasu was confused by what he meant, which prompted the old man to continue " They are magic granted to us by the Chief God himself. They cannot be learned like traditional spells or magic , but they can grow stronger based on the user's proficiency with the Miracle and training with their own soul. How many times a person can use miracles is dependent on how much training they've done to build up their soul energy "
" Interesting...so you can only get them if this Chief God guy grants them ? " Motoyasu asked " Can heroes get them too ? "
" Hmmmmm...yes, I have heard about heroes of past being able to use Miracles granted to them by the Chief God himself " Pope thought about it for a moment before answering " But whether you current heroes can get them is entirely dependent on our Chief God's whims "
Motoyasu shrugged " Oh well. I still have plenty of skills granted to me by my Legendary Spear "
" Of course, Spear Hero but you still have a long way to go in learning how to use your weapon " Pope reminded him.
" Well, I am feeling incredibly glad that I went to the guild instead of staying here " A bored voice cut in and their eyes turn to see Elena walking towards them. Holding a paper in her hand.
" Elena ! How did things go with your family ? " Motoyasu greeted her.
" Fine, I talked to my cousin a bit and reported to her " Elena shrugged " What happened to all of you ? "
" Got our assess handed to us by the Pope , what do you got there ? " Rino inquires about the paper.
" While I was at the guild, I caught wind of this urgent request coming from the village of Balafon " Elena explained, showing the paper to them all.
" Balafon ? That's in Whiterun county..." Pope mumbled under his breath.
" Yeah, apparently the village has been facing a famine of some kind. So they put out a request for adventurer's to come and teach them how to hunt properly " Elena explained the quest to them all.
" Well, I don't know jack about famine since I studied anatomy, not agriculture but this village sounds in trouble, we should go and help them " Motoyasu said without hesitation.
Its strange though, I remember doing a quest just like this in Emerald Online. Its just a coincidence though...right ? Right ?
" Agreed Spear Hero. It is the duty of the Cardinal Heroes to help in times of disaster, be it on a kingdom level or a small village " The Pope encouraged him with a smile.
Motoyasu glanced at his party, and he could tell that the girl's had looks of uncertainty.
" That's all well and good, but are you sure we can afford to do this quest Motoyasu ? " Elena said boredly, but it held a bit of interest to it " Whiterun County is a week's travel from here by carriage and that's assuming we don't get delayed by anything. And there's a chance we may not even get there in time..."
" We should still try to help !" Gretel argued " Just because they are far away, doesn't mean we shouldn't even try "
" Hate to be a downer, but I'm with Elena on this one " Lesty agreed with the blonde haired girl " I mean, the people of Balafon still have their lord to call on for help right ? So we might not even really be needed there..."
Gretel was about to argue some more before Rino put a hand on her shoulder " They have a point Gretel, Whiterun County is pretty far away and we may not even get there in time "
Motoyasu felt his optimism get diminished as he heard the girl's opinions, but he couldn't deny that there was truth to their words.
" Your companions speak the truth Spear Hero, Whiterun county is in the north and it will take you at least a week to get there on carriage " Pope explained " ...Although if memory serves, the King does have Whiterun county saved as one of his portal locations. He can take you there and you can be back before you know it " Pope gave his idea to cut their travel time down to a fraction.
At that news, the girl's shared a look among themselves.
" I suppose that's okay then " Elena shrugged. The other girls agreeing to it as well.
" That sounds great ! But do you think the king would go for it ? "
The Pope waved away his concerns with a smile " Nonsense. Trust me, I've known the King for a long time and I'm sure he would absolutely say-"
" No " The King firmly said as they all stood in his private study " What the hell do I look like to you, a damn carriage service ? "
Yeah, that feels deserved.
Their group had went to the castle to talk to the King about portaling Motoyasu and his party to Whiterun. After being told that the King was in his private study, they made their way there. Motoyasu had to admit that he was a little surprised by how many bows and salutes the Pope was getting, and it wasn't just out of religious reasons. There was an air of respect and dignity around him that everybody admired. The man definitely didn't rise to the rank of Pope through nepotism, that was for sure.
The Pope kept a calm smile even as they were turned down " Come now, Aultcray, its just a simple teleport to Whiterun county and return here. The Spear Hero would certainly appreciate this favor from the crown, wouldn't you Motoyasu ? "
" Of course !" Motoyasu bowed respectfully " Please king, we just need you to teleport us to Whiterun and we can handle the rest "
" Come on Aultcray, the people of Balafon sounds like they need a hero...why not let the rookies take the reins and try their hand at solving this crisis " Pope said calmly.
The king gave them all a hard look before sighing and standing up from his seat " Come with me to the stables, Balafon is a ride from Whiterun so you'll get there faster on filorial back. You make damn sure that you bring them back "
Motoyasu and the Pope looked at each other, before smirking and following the king along. Reaching the stables and getting set up with some of those filorial's to ride from Whiterun. The king sent them all party requests, which they all accepted and got ready to be teleported.
" Any advice before we go ? " Motoyasu asked the Pope.
Pope put a hand to his chin in thought " I suppose listen to your companions and the village people. Listen to what they have to say and such, think about your decisions before making them...and be prepared to be unprepared "
" What does that even mean ? " Motoyasu asked confused.
" It means,be prepared to make some bad choices. Now let's go " The King said as he took out his staff.
Motoyasu was unsure of what to say to that as he mount up with his group.
" Portal Staff !"
Motoyasu, his group and the King were all engulfed in a white light...and in the next instant, they were standing next to some patch of road.
The Spear Hero looked around confused " I thought you were teleporting us to Whiterun "
" I did, that-" The King pointed at some far away city in the distance that was maybe a few dozen kilometers away " is Whiterun. Word of advice, never set your portal point somewhere out in public. You're going to attract a lot of attention that way and none of it you want "
" Good to know " Motoyasu took note of that. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he teleported somewhere, a person was standing...he was probably better off not knowing.
" Balafon is down this road, you should be able to reach it in a little more than an hour" The King offered him a hand " Good luck to you Spear Hero "
" And thank you King " Motoyasu shook the king's hand for his help, before he portalled away.
" Come on girls, we got a village to save " Motoyasu said proudly as he hopped on the filorial and begun making their way to the village of Balafon.
Like the king warned it did in fact take an hour for them to get to the village of Balafon. In that time, Motoyasu tried to think of ways to try and solve the famine going on in Balafon, running through several different possibilities.
He knew nothing of agriculture, except the basic photosynthesis and plants need water stuff. Maybe he could teach them how to hunt ? Though that ran into the same problem, in which he most definitely was not an expert hunter or even knew the basics of hunting. Lots of the time he relied on his weapon skills to take down prey, he wasn't sure how applicable or helpful his knowledge would be to them. The girls obviously weren't hunters either so they couldn't help.
One after another, he was struggling to think of a solution.
" Motoyasu, we're coming up on the village now " Rino called out to him, which snapped him out of his stupor as he straightened up.
He saw a village coming into sight, maybe a bit bigger than Lute but it had the same wooden wall barrier that it had. At the front gate, Motoyasu could see a guard standing there, holding a wooden stick that was sharpened to a spear.
" Halt ! Who goes there ? " The guard at the gate stopped them.
" I'm the Spear Hero, I'm answering your urgent request " Motoyasu called out, holding up his spear.
" The Spear Hero ? Come in, come in ! " The guard quickly changed his attitude and let them into the village.
As they rode into the village, Motoyasu could start to see the difference between Balafon and Lute. Where Lute was built on grassy lands, Balafon's lands dirt is cracked and there isn't even any dried grass around. The situation is worse than Motoyasu thought.
" You know, where we can find your lord or elder ? " Gretel asked kindly to the guard at the gate.
" They are at the village hall. Please help us Spear Hero " The guard pleaded with him.
" We'll do everything we can. Come on, girls " Motoyasu said as he rode into the village.
Entering the village and passing by earned them a few stares from the people here, but a lot of people kept their heads down. A lot of people here looked hungry, not so much that their cheekbones were pressing against their skin to show it, but a lot moved slower and looked pretty weak, even the kids they passed looked too hungry to move.
Elena tried to keep her bored expression but her mask had cracked a little, letting some emotion out. Lesty was looking away, trying to not be disturbed at the sight of it all. Rino did her best to keep her mask of professionalism on. Gretel seemed to be trying to resist the urge to jump off and try to help the villagers.
And Motoyasu's face turned serious, he would help this village.
Parking their steads and entering the village hall, Motoyasu immediately takes notice of several men around a round table. An older man with a beard, most likely the village elder and a few other middle-aged men.
" Who are you ? Are you adventurers ? " The village elder asked.
" Something like that " Motoyasu greeted them " Good day to you all, I'm the Spear Hero and I'm here to answer your urgent request "
" The Spear Hero himself ? " The village elder's face was surprised before it turned to amazement " Chief God be praised ! Perhaps we will live through this famine after all " The elder praised him and the other men followed suit.
" I'm glad to be here...can you tell me about the famine ? Anything of note ? " Motoyasu asked, standing side by side with the men.
" Not much to tell really. We don't really know what the cause is, but our primary concern is keeping everybody in this village fed " The elder explained " We were just about to send word to our Jarl in Whiterun about sending us food supplies and even if we managed to get them, we would have to ration everything down to the last scrap. Supply caravans aren't exactly reliable since anything can go wrong...so I please ask you to help us Spear Hero "
" Not really sure how I can help really " Motoyasu confessed " I studied about anatomy and the human body, not agriculture. So I'm not sure how we can solve this problem "
" Your notice said something about asking adventurer's to train your people on hunting, why is that ? Don't you already have a hunting group ? " Rino cut in to ask.
" We do, but its too damn risky sending out a hunting party when our village lies so close to gutter beak territory "
" Gutter-what ? " Motoyasu was confused by what that was.
" A type of monster. Vicious and very terrifying for any adventurer to face, much less an untrained villager " Elena explained boredly as she leaned on the table.
" Yes, our hunters are not nearly as skilled as a veteran adventurer...to be honest, we were kinda hoping some adventurers would come and maybe wipe out the gutter beaks to make it safer for our hunters since we don't have the money to pay for a full-on extermination quest "
" Well, why don't we just go and clear them out ? Make it safer for you guys to hunt ? " Motoyasu suggested.
" Won't work. It would be easy if we were just dealing with one gutter beak nest, but you're talking about clearing out an entire territory of those beasts " Rino shot the idea down " We would need a small army to completely wipe the gutter beaks from the map and even if we do that, other stronger monsters may move in to take the territory after we leave "
" So we're back to the drawing board, great..." Motoyasu sighed.
" Is there truly nothing we can do to save our village ? " The elder bemoaned out loud.
Well, there is a quest in Emerald Online that fits this situation exactly. The solution to it lied in a miracle seed that was contained in a dungeon, that could produce all the fruit and vegetables you would need to survive.
Motoyasu held his tongue there, because he didn't want to feel embarrassed if he mentioned it and nothing came of it.
" Please Spear Hero, any solutions you can think of at all would be a great help " The elder practically pleaded with him.
Well, if there truly were no other options and there were this desperate...
" I was just wondering...there wouldn't happen to be a dungeon near here ? That is said to house some kind of seed that can grow fruits and veggies for everyone ? " Motoyasu asked.
" As a matter of fact, there is a monster dungeon not too far from here " The elder seemed surprised at Motoyasu's knowledge as much as he himself was. He couldn't believe that the dungeon actually existed, talk about a coincidence " I remember hearing a rumor that it used to be the laboratory of some kind of reclusive cultists that did experiments on all sorts of things...I think he was an Outsider worshipper. But it was abandoned and left open for all sorts of monsters to make a home out of it. Don't remember hearing anything about a miracle seed though..."
Motoyasu thought it over for a moment, so the dungeon DID exist, he just wasn't sure if it held the seed.
" What do you girls think ? " Motoyasu asked the opinion of his companions.
" I don't think we should trust this 'miracle seed' Motoyasu, I mean...we saw what happened with the undead situation at Pickaxe with that ex-mage. Black magic shouldn't be trusted and I think we should look for other solutions " Gretel staunchly rejected the idea.
Motoyasu couldn't help but agree with her, the situation at Pickaxe did get incredibly bad thanks to that asshat of a mage.
" But do we really have the time to be looking for other solutions ? The situation out there is pretty dire..." One of the men disagreed.
" Would you rather the whole village gets destroyed thanks to some mishap of Outsider magic ? " Gretel glared at the man.
" Alright Gretel, don't fight " Motoyasu broke it up before an argument could break out.
" I will follow whatever you wish Motoyasu " Rino said firmly.
Motoyasu nodded before he turned to Elena " What do you think Elena ? "
" I think its worth checking out Motoyasu, if this dungeon truly does hold the key to this village's problems than I think its worth a look " Elena said, suddenly sounding a lot more energized than before.
The Spear Hero turned to the elder and other important people of Balafon, awaiting to hear their opinion.
" We...we don't want to lose our home unless we absolutely have to. Most of us would end up refugees in Trumpet, begging for food or barely scraping by with limited odd jobs " The elder said with direness in his tone " I beseech you Spear Hero, please do whatever you must to save our village "
Motoyasu stood up and held his spear firm " Alright, we'll go into the dungeon and try to find the miracle seed "
" We cannot thank you enough Spear Hero "
" Don't worry about it, come on girls, we got a village to save "
It took almost an hour to reach laboratory turned monster's dungeon. The entrance itself was basically a carved out tunnel in the side of a mountain and it immediately gave Motoyasu creepy vibes about it from atmosphere alone.
" Looks like the place..." Gretel said out loud.
A loud growl and wind came from within the dungeon and towards them on the outside.
" Well that certainly isn't ominous..."
" Everybody stay close and don't stray from each other. Watch each other's backs and looks for anything out of the ordinary " Motoyasu tried to reassure his party and himself " I'll be at the front with Rino, Elena you're in the middle, Lesty and Gretel you're back "
His group agreed with the party formation he had chosen and prepared their torches, once they were lit they began their descent into the dungeon.
Motoyasu tried to keep himself calm but the reality was that his nerves were going haywire, this was his very first dungeon exploration...and it was a hell of a lot creepier than any game he played before in his life. The darkness of the dungeon made him tense, grip his weapon tighter than he should and his breathing felt unsteady, even with his companions here with him it was hard to feel at ease.
Every shadow they passed by made Motoyasu tense and ready shoot out a skill at a moment's notice, every gust of wind and noise put him on edge, his companion's breathing and his own were something he tried to pay attention to.
'Motoyasu...'
The Spear Hero stopped when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
His companions tried speaking to him, but their voices were drowned out as he looked at the shadows around him. His heart was racing and his breath was ragged as he recognized not one-but two different voices calling his name.
'Motoyasu...'
He raggedly looked around, trying to locate the source of the voices...until he saw something emerge from the shadows. And he gasped in horror as their faces came into the light.
" Ikuyo ? Momiji ? "
Only it wasn't them...not really. Both of them had blood trailing down the side of their face due to trauma to the head.
' Why did you leave Motoyasu...? Why did you leave us ? ' They both asked.
" I never wanted to, please believe me I never wanted to leave..." Motoyasu pleaded with them, on the verge of tears.
' Why couldn't you just die with us ? Why were you the one to get summoned...while we were left to bleed out to death in the apartment ? ' They both asked ' Why Moto ? '
The Spear Hero tried to form words, but it was no use. They all died in his throat, what could he say to his dead friends ? The ones he had known since childhood ?
" SNAP OUT OF IT ! ITS NOT REAL !" Elena yelled at him, but it was drowned out.
" Oh for the love of- Zweit Light !"
Rino threw her hands up and a large ball of light appeared above her head, illuminating their surroundings...
And in the light, Motoyasu could see it. Some kind of shadow monster made out of pure darkness. There were more than a few of them all around them, all of them screeching in pain at the light burning them.
" Chaos Spear !" Motoyasu released the skill on pure instinct at the monsters, the skill easily tearing through them.
Rino and Elena also seized this chance to kill them, stabbing and slashing at them while they were burning.
Once they were all dead, Motoyasu fell to his knees using his spear as support. He looked to where Momiji and Ikuyo were standing to see they had disappeared. They were never there to begin with...
" Motoyasu ! Are you okay ? " Rino immediately asked, trying to help him up. Elena and the other girls also looked genuinely worried.
"...Let's just get the seed and get the fuck out of here " Motoyasu said firmly, standing back up.
No one had any disagreements there as they progressed through the dungeon, all of them walking in complete silence.
They kept going for maybe a few minutes before they reached an oval room...that had three different pathways. One directly in front of them, two more on both sides.
" Oh for the love of-" Motoyasu almost cursed before rubbing his forehead in frustration.
" Should we split up ? " Lesty recommended.
" After what we just encountered ? No. We stay together...let's just try this one first and pray we're making the right choice " Motoyasu said as he took the lead and the pathway directly in front of them.
A few more minutes of silent walking, before they came upon a large room. It had all kinds of lab looking equipment, tables, desks and stuff he couldn't even properly name.
" Looks like the laboratory..." Motoyasu said out loud " Everybody look for the seed so we can get out of here "
So the group searched the laboratory, Motoyasu combing through the desks searching for any clues, the bookshelf for any sort of like hidden levers. While he was searching the desk, he came upon some kind...journal ? Should be useful.
" Hey guys over here ! I think I found it " Lesty called them over as she stood in front of an ornate chest.
" Careful. It could be trapped " Rino warned.
Motoyasu gently tapped his spear on it to check, not sure if that's how you're supposed to check for traps but it was the best he could think of. Slowly, very slowly, he opened the chest and it revealed a single seed inside.
" Looks like what we're looking for..." Motoyasu said as he picked up the seed " I also found this book too, think its a journal "
" Really ? Let me see it " Gretel took the book from Motoyasu's hands and began reading it " Yes, this definitely belonged to the mad cultist who lived here...should be useful in figuring out what the hell this seed is all about "
" Hang on guys, look there's more writing " Lesty pointed at some kind of stone tablet that was set next to the chest. Motoyasu couldn't read it for shit.
" Gretel, any idea on what this says ? " Motoyasu asked.
Their resident witch took a good look at the tablet, before sighing " Damnit...its written in some sort of ancient language, I can't make any sense of it "
" Whatever. We got the journal and the artifact, let's get the fuck out of here "
A loud roar came from behind them and it sent chills down Motoyasu's spine.
" Definitely. Let's get the hell out of here "
They all agreed and quickly walked back the way they came in.
Motoyasu had never been more glad than ever to see the light again, turning his head one last time at the dungeon...where he saw his childhood friends one last time.
"-So that's what happened " Motoyasu finished reciting the whole tale to the village elders.
" Incredible, so you managed to recover the Outsider artifact ? "
" Yes, but we want to make sure its safe for use first " Motoyasu turned to his resident witch, who was flipping through the journal " Gretel, what do you got from that journal ? "
" Do you want the good news or the bad news first ? " Gretel asked solemnly.
" Good news, I guess ?"
" Well, the good news is Motoyasu was correct and that the mad bastard who created this seed was in fact trying to create a fast growing fruit using Outsider magic. From what this journal tells , he was planning on using the seed to sell the fruits to as many people as possible to get rich " Gretel read off the journal " Even better news, the seed is enchanted with magic from the void, its not an artifact bestowed by the Outsider himself. So its not a Void artifact by strict academic terms "
" Is that important ? " Motoyasu asked.
" If you don't want to get charged with heresy, then yeah...Outsider and black magic artifacts are big deals. The Church doesn't take lightly when it comes to stuff like that " Rino explained.
" Oh..." Motoyasu said before changing the subject " Well, what's the bad news ? "
" The bad news is that the bastard neglected to write the instructions of how to properly use this damn thing before going insane " Gretel showed them the rest of the journal, which was incomprehensible scribbles and words written over words " And the idiot didn't even bother listing the possible side effects. I knew this damn thing was more trouble than it was worth..."
" Let's not be too hasty here Gretel, the people of Balafon may not be able to make use of it, but House Amelia may be able to " Elena stepped in " I can talk to my cousin Iris, and negotiate that House Amelia provide all the food supplies Balafon will need until the end of the Wave of Catastrophe in exchange for the seed "
" But that doesn't solve the problem does it ?" Lesty argued " Balafon will still face a food shortage after the Wave continues and I doubt House Amelia will feed this village indefinitely "
"I won't pretend House Amelia will continue to feed Balafon out of the kindness of its heart " Elena conceded on that point.
Motoyasu turned back to the elder " Its your village sir. What do you want to do ? "
The elder looked at his fellow people before turning back to them " Balafon is our home...we don't want to lose it "
" You might lose it anyway if this thing goes wrong " Gretel warned.
" We'll take that chance over starving in the streets of Trumpet " The elder understood the consequences " Plant the seed "
" Alright, let's do it " Motoyasu nodded.
Their small group made their way out of the village hall and a little ways from the village, in case something happened at least the village won't be affected right away. They decided to plant it on the dried dirt plain, since there really was no other place to plant it.
" Hope to god this works " Motoyasu muttered as the seed was planted.
" How long should we wait ? " Lesty asked.
" Who knows, the idiot neglected to mention in his journal how long it will take " Gretel shrugged.
" Wait, look !" The elder pointed at where the seed was just planted.
A single green plant emerged from where the seed was planted, and then the ground around it started to sprout grass again as if magic. It was slow but it was slowly gaining ground and spreading, the plant that had sprouted started growing fruit off of its vines. and was growing into a full-blown tree. Much to the amazement of the villagers and Motoyasu's group.
" Oh my god...its rebuilding the land !" The elder exclaimed as he admired the fruit that had just sprouted " We are saved !"
" Don't get too happy, we're still not sure if the fruit is safe to-"
Gretel was interrupted when she saw the villagers start to eat some of the fruit.
" Oh, sorry..." The villagers apologized before putting the fruit down.
" Does it taste okay ? " Motoyasu asked.
" Yes, it tastes like a regular apple " The elder said as he glanced at the other effects of the miracle seed. Other plants sprouting from the ground and creating similar fruit.
" I just hope it stays that way " Motoyasu muttered.
" Just make sure to watch out for any signs that it might go bad or might make you grow extra limbs or something " Gretel warned.
" Of course, we cannot thank you and your party enough Spear Hero " The elder thanked him " We shall get you your reward for this-"
Motoyasu held up his hand " I didn't do this for the reward. Your village needed me and I wanted to help, it feels disingenuous to take a reward after all this "
The elder was surprised at first before chuckling " The stories are true. The Spear Heroes really are the heart and soul of the Cardinal Heroes " The elder held out his hand to him " Thank you for helping us "
" Anytime...just take care of yourselves " Motoyasu shook his hand.
" Without a doubt, good luck to you Spear Hero "
" Likewise. Portal Spear !"
As Motoyasu portalled himself and his team away, he felt a sense of...pride. He felt good that he was able to help these people.
Maybe this hero business won't be too bad, after all.
Here we are at the end of the chapter, next chapter we'll be getting back to Mein and the crew. You know, I originally didn't plan on having a chapter like this but I think I quite liked this Motoyasu centered chapter. Since I wanted to present some good context for how the whole monster plants situation ended up in the first place and where to assign blame is debatable.
Like in Qin's story, I wanted to present the way Motoyasu's screw up went as something that was understandable and not because the author just dictated it would happen for no valid reason. One thing I've seen people critic Motoyasu's screw up for is that there was a message next to the box warning him...but if I remember correctly, said warning was written in an ancient language that canon Naofumi could only understand because he had a witch who could read it out to him.
So yeah, I wanted to add some ambiguity as to who is truly to blame for this whole mess.
And before anybody asks, yes, the other heroes will get dedicated chapters to their supposed mess-ups. With the exception of maybe Itsuki since that would easily stretch into a full-blown arc, but there will be a short scene dedicated to it.
I'm glad to finally introduce the concept of 'Miracles' into the story, they function somewhat similar to the Miracles from Goblin Slayer but with some tweeks to how much they can be used and how strong they are.
With that said, I will see you all in the next one.