"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
He ignored it for now and went to Raphtalia who quickly gestured that he take the egg back. He did, holding it securely. As the began to walk away, he looked down "I wonder what I'll name it? Maybe 'Mera' if it's a girl?... for chimera... I suck at names".
...
It had been a tiring day indeed. After gaining their potentially terrible idea egg, They made their way back to town. They actually were offered a carriage ride by some of the returning knights. Naofumi could not believe that. They told him that there was to be a big banquet to honor the successful repelling of the waves. Telling Naofumi that reward money for dealing with the wave was to be handed out the next morning. Normally he'd be too suspicious to accept their offer, but without a carriage ride they'd miss out on the reward.
"I'm sure that trash king would say that I forfeit my reward if I'm not there..."
He caved and took the free ride. Doing so meant not returning to Erhart until after the rewards were handed out the following morning, but he needed to pay Erhart the rest of what he was owed. He was struck pretty hard during the wave. Without this armor, he might have not been in a shape where a potion would do much. Likewise those commissioned shields were a huge help as well. He was only able to split from Raphtalia because they gave him the ability to hurt his enemies.
This extended time to think and reflect was what Naofumi needed. With the chimera egg within his [Inventory], he sat quietly starring out the window. At some point Raphtalia fell asleep and leaned on him for support. The few knights in the carriage with him probably had ideas about their relationship after seeing her slave seal. Naofumi was too busy thinking about his future to notice. He took off his cloak and draped it over her, she was out cold the rest of the ride.
"I wish I had that. The ability to simply go to sleep without worrying about everything around me. She can do that because I'm here, but I can't. I can only really let my guard down around Raphtalia and only because of the slave seal... Maybe I should get a slave crest on whatever comes out of the egg? Raphtalia would be more okay with that".
He lingered on thoughts like that the rest the trip.
Once they reached the castle, Naofumi gently woke Raphtalia. She was now well rested, but even sleepy she could see of nervousness he had to be in this place. They both prepared for the worst, but what greeted them was not all together terrible. They were welcomed by huge displays of food, many nobles in high-end garb, and generally a positive atmosphere.
Naofumi wasn't chancing it. He saw a corner with few occupants and went to it. From that position he eyed the room. Raphtalia did her best to calm his nerves.
"It should be fine. We save an entire village only hours ago. What reason could they have to interfere with us?"
"The same reason they interfered with me and your village, they're scum". He said it bitterly and Raphtalia found herself unable to retort.
Slowly the hall was filled with the heroes and some of the higher ranking Knights who assisted in the wave. More nobles showed up and with them, musicians. As the hall began to get a little cheery, the musicians started playing. It started feeling like a party as Naofumi recognized it. Naofumi was not focusing on the party though. He was focusing on his fellow heroes.
Itsuki was making nice with nobles, a number of them wishing to introduce their daughters to him. He however, seemed more interested in learning about high society things. Things like the exact nature of their duties and responsibilities as local lords in Melromarc, as well as how taxes are collected and used here. The ones just interested in throwing their daughters at him bowed out, but a number of nobles came forth to tell him of their duties. Using this to talk themselves up and show off in front of the hero. Itsuki's companions stayed quiet and seemed to know their place.
Ren was just nursing a hot cup of tea while smirking. His team seemed to be having a good time. He did not join them, but he also did not impede them either. A few nobles approached him, but were either turned away by his party or by Ren himself if they were pushy.
Overall Naofumi approved of both of their approaches at the party, but unfortunately there are four cardinal heroes.
Motoyasu and his gaggle of girls were loud and obnoxious. Even with Princess Malty by his side, Most nobles stayed clear of them. Only a few ventured over and even so, only to greet Malty before pardoning themselves.
"Even the people who owe their everything to her family can barely stand to speak to her. Yeah, that matches up".
The king appeared at the balcony overhead and rose his hand to quiet the crowd. After the musicians stopped and all attention was on him, he spoke. "We have good fortune this day. By the grace of the cardinal heroes, the wave was stopped and crisis averted. May you have your fill tonight as my gratitude!" He raised a toast, most toasted with him. Naofumi certainly did not.
The king stepped back from the balcony and went out of sight. Naofumi figured he was just out of sight. The celebration began properly now. There was a positive mood throughout, but Naofumi didn't like not seeing the king.
"Naofumi-sama, look" She held out a tray full of several expensive looking dishes "These are the kinds of things we can't normally eat and there's so much more I couldn't fit on my plate!"
Naofumi thought she deserved a reward, "Well then eat all you want, summon up that hunger you had as a kid and eat them out of house and home". He said half joking.
Raphtalia tilted her head to the side, "Could it be... Naofumi-sama. Is it that you prefer stouter women"
Naofumi nearly spit his drink out "This girl is going to give me a heart attack!"
"N-no, I didn't say that. Even if you get fat, you'll work it off in the field".
"Naofumi-sama I am not fat!"
"Whatever. It's just... This food is free. So, it basically saves me money"
Raphtalia sighed, "All he worries about is coin...". "If that's the case let's both try some of this together. I'm sure it's of the highest quality!"
"I don't really-"
"But it's free, right? So eating it saves you money". She said with a victorious smile. Since when had she been able to throw his own logic back on him like that?
She brought a fork full of food to his mouth. He surrendered. She fed him a bite and waited for his reaction excitedly.
He made a sour face, "Don't taste a thing". This shocked her. When she tried it, it was one of the best things she ever ate in her entire life. "What else is wrong with Naofumi?"
Suddenly They both hear a loud yell.
"There you are! Don't you move a muscle Naofumi!" It was Motoyasu pushing passed people directly on his way to them.
"Godammit, what do you want now Mototasu?" Naofumi was tired of the conversation before it began.
"I heard all about it!" He placed his hand on Raphtalia, something Naofumi had now been put in an even worse mood by.
"About what you loudmouth?"
"Don't play dumb. I know the truth. Raphtalia-chan here is you slave!"
Naofumi stood, knowing this situation was about to go out of his control. "Yes, she's my slave" He then slapped his hand off of Raphtalia and then took a step toward him
"If you knew that, then you should know not to touch her".
Both Ren and Itsuki were surprised by this and how he just said it so casually.
Motoyasu grew angrier "What the hell is wrong with you!? You can't just own someone!"
Naofumi had a plan, "Actually you can. This country of Melromarc allows slavery, it's completely legal".
"I-it's not about what's legal! It's about what's right! We come from worlds that outlaw this cruelty. How can you possibly justify this?"
"Before I answer that, I have a question... Why are you yelling at me for having a single slave, when many nobles in this room have maybe 10 or more? Hell, why not yell at the king. It's by his laws that I own this slave".
"That can't be right! these people are of a noble background, they'd never lower themselves to that!"
At this, Naofumi laughed and not just a little bit. He was laughing like a mad man.
"Motoyasu. Slavery is legal. That is a fact. Now ask yourself, 'who made it legal and who can make it illegal'. You want to free Raphtalia? Do it legally".
"Duel me!"
"W-what?"
"I said duel me. If I win you free her".
"And if I win?"
"then things can continue how they are".
Naofumi was floored by his idiocy, "Are you retarded? Either I win and keep my property or lose and lose it? That's not a duel, that's a mugging! I refuse obviously!"
Naofumi took Raphtalia's hand and began to make it towards the exit, but several knight from inside and outside the room halted him. Naofumi turned to see the king at the balcony again.
"That a hero would use a slave... of course that hero would be you... I'll permit this duel!"
"Well I don't care, I decline!" the knights pointed there weapons at him.
Raphtalia spoke up, "Please stop this, i-" A knight gagged her from behind.
"Raphtalia! ..." Naofumi's plan to sick Motoyasu on the nobles failed. He needed a new plan. "What are the legal proceedings for this?"
The king scuffed, "What do you mean? It's as Sir Motoyasu stated."
"No I mean by what legal means are you allowing this? If he can challenge me and legally steal my property, I wanna know why and how. That way I can legally steal from everyone else".
The king twitched in frustration, "It is by my word! Something I will not lend you!"
Naofumi chuckled "That matches up nicely with other things I heard about you. To simply deny people their rights whenever you feel like it."
"Silence!"
[Knock Knock] In the next instant she was free and by his side. "Raphtalia, I order you to tell everyone here what Melromarc did to you!" He said it loud enough for everyone to hear her.
"The orders of slave owners are absolute, she now must tell the truth or face punishment, correct?" Naofumi announced.
Raphtalia knew he did this out of desperation, not malice. Still she didn't like being put on the spot. "I was a legal citizen of this country, a villager of Lurolona village. w-"
As soon as those word left her mouth, the king shouted, "Bind her this instant!" The knight sprang into action again and Naofumi was overrun. He did his best to fight back. He could use [Liberation], but they'd be back on him again in seconds. He was trying to think of what to do when he heard her.
"Please, Naofumi-sama! Don't let them take me again!" She was fighting with all she had, but she was now in tears. Desperate.
At the sight of that he gave up, "Alright! Enough! You win! But you've already said we were following Motoyasu's terms. So if I win, you leave us alone!"
Motoyasu held his head high like he'd done something worth being proud of. Ren and Itsuki however, was very cautious. Everything happening made no sense. They clearly noticed the king freak out when Raphtalia started talking. For now they'd watch carefully.
They whole Audience was lead to an open area to the west of the castle, but still with its grounds.
The advisor steeped forward, "This is a sacred duel. As both are cardinal heroes, killing is strictly forbidden. The match will be decided when either hero is unable to continue or knocked out".
Naofumi's mind was racing. He had gained levels during the wave. He was now level 29. He knew Motoyasu gained no levels at all during the wave, while he gained 5 whole levels. It should put them on-
After using [Inspect] he saw Motoyasu was level 43. Motoyasu had nearly a 50% level advantage. Naofumi was desperate. He could not use [Sunder] because of the crippling cooldown and even if he could... that alone wouldn't be enough here. He thought of a few strategies, but nothing was guaranteed.
"Are those all the rules?" Naofumi needed this to be clear. He could do some things, but if an argument could be made the king would declare a violation.
The Advisor looked to the king, then back to Naofumi. "Besides the aforementioned rules, No one else is allowed to interfere".
"That's helpful by I want it explicitly stated that we can use the abilities of our weapons".
"Of course. the abilities of your weapon are you strength after all".
Unbeknownst to most people, that was a small win for Naofumi.
"Any other questions?"
Naofumi spoke, "Not a question, but I'd like the record to show that I had not been provided with any allies by this country that summoned me. I was kidnapped against my will and brought here, forced to fight in life or death battle and had no one to rely on. Only by using a slave was I able to survive... and only by surviving can I help fight the waves. That you'd try and take her from me seems to only show one thing. That you don't care about the waves and therefore don't care about the people."
The audience was silent and the king was now furious. No one else spoke. until the advisor moved the duel along.
"Then begin!"
Motoyasu wore a smile as he spun his spear while approaching. "We get to put that old story to rest Naofumi. Which wins the spear that can pierce through anything? Or a shield that can block any attack?"
Naofumi didn't want to be part of his banter. He needed to fight Motoyasu on all levels to hope to win.
"Motoyasu is that how you see our cardinal relics? as powerful weapons?" Naofumi's face was completely calm.
"Maybe your useless shield is lacking, but my spear is indeed powerful!" He launched himself directly at Naofumi.
[Parry] Naofumi knocked his spear away dealing a little bit of damage with [Hazard]. "Even doubled it took like 5% of his max Hp? I'm not good enough to intercept 19 more times in a row..."
"Well it'd seem the shield wins, but back to what I was saying" Naofumi opened his [Inventory] and placed a bottle of poison in his free hand on the sly, "These aren't just powerful weapons."
Motoyasu was mad, not only did Naofumi ruin his opening move, but he somehow dealt damage, how!? "Then what are they?"
Naofumi laughed "Slave crests, obviously"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Motoyasu was confused, but still angry.
"It's like I said before the match. We were kidnapped, have this thing we can't get rid of unless you die.. and it forces you to fight with your life on the line until the people who put you into that situation get what they want."
Motoyasu didn't like thinking about it "Yeah I get that you're a scumbag. That you don't want to help people. So of course you'd see it as slavery, because you're naturally evil."
Motoyasu had enough talk and ran in again. [Chaos Spear]. A flurry of stabbed came at Naofumi. Naofumi tossed the poison at him which a stab busted open [Shield Prison]. "I'd of loved using my new and improved red celebration on him, but they'd definitely call that assistance".
As Motoyasu started choking Naofumi continued, "Imagine you needed to put every ounce of strength you had into every strike to kill a level 1 orange balloon after at least 20 blows? Imagine having an attack stat of 1 because you're a 'useless shield'? Imagine having no allies and being told you had to fight a world endangering event, no way out?"
The [Shield Prison] broke before the time was up, meaning he must of destroyed it himself. He looked a little pale, but his HP was still above 90%.
Naofumi turned to him and asked honestly, "Tell me Motoyasu. What would you do? How would you live while not using a slave?" With his back turned, he spawned another poison.
Motoyasu to his credit thought about it for a moment, but only a moment. "The answer is simple. I'd rely on the people I met, because I wouldn't of stooped to being a rapist!" He lunged at Naofumi, "The people of this world wouldn't of rejected me like they have you because I wouldn't have done such a thing."
Naofumi used [Air Strike Shield] as a horizontal platform and dropped the poison as he leapt on it over Motoyasu. Unfortunately, Motoyasu had an ability for poison clouds if not in an enclosed space. [Turbine]! Motoyasu spun his spear like a propeller, causing his spear to be charged with lightning and blowing the poison away.
It looked quite dangerous and Naofumi only had 1 lightning resistance.
"I get what you're trying to say Naofumi, but you had options before you committed that crime. Having no other option as a consequence to your own actions. That's what you're really complaining about." He raised his spear to Naofumi.
Naofumi looked at him in a combination of anger of tiredness. "I forgot how stupid you are. With that bitch in your ear, you'll never get it. Even if you win and Raphtalia is freed... When she tells you how she became a slave, you'll dismiss it the moment that lying whore tells you to. We are basically slaves and you've chosen the worst master out of all of them".
Motoyasu had a rather angry look to him, "That you can so casually say such hateful words to not only the princess of this nation, but your own victim!?" [Lightning Spear]! Motoyasu launched a bolt of lightning at Naofumi
Naofumi knew it was ranged due to [Prophecy] warning him. He guessed that either this attack required the wind-up of the previous ability, or is otherwise greatly enhanced by it. This was his chance!
[Reflect] In one moment the lightning looked like it hit its mark, but next it shot right back at Motoyasu. "What the hell!?" ZAP.
Naofumi was not great himself. Apparently [Reflect] did not cancel out the damage. This would have been great information prior to this duel. All the same Naofumi looked up and Motoyasu was picking himself up and still had more than 60% of his health. Naofumi on the other hand was below 50% after just one hit.
He had to try something else. Motoyasu had him beat in nearly every way and by a large margin.
[Shield Prison]
Naofumi placed Motoyasu into his ball cage yet again.
"That wont work twice!" Motoyasu roared.
He unleashed several skills in a row, [Chaos Spear] shot a flurry of blows out. [Spiral Spear] caused his spear to spin like a drill, burrowing into the cage. Finally [Meteor Thrust] burst out of his spear as a blast of bright energy and through the cage, destroying it.
It took Motoyasu only a few moments to break out of what was suppose to be a sturdy cage. That was within Naofumi's expectations. He used the fleeting time he had to position himself behind the cage. The moment Motoyasu broke free, he leapt at his back, using [Bedrock] to hold him down.
"Get off of me! Fight fair you coward!" Motoyasu was strong, even with the poor positioning and heavy weight he was only barely staying down.
"Fair!? You who started this whole mess by trying to bully someone 14 level below you? I'm not letting you steal from me. What little I have is mine and mine alone" He switched to the [Saw Shield].
"From this position... If I can't beat his stats, I'll beat his armor!" [Spin] He laid his saw into the back of Motoyasu's chestplate. The damage was next to nothing, but Naofumi knew it'd go up as the armor was worsened.
At first Motoyasu just focused on trying to free himself, as the damage from the saw was so low..., but as time went on Motoyasu saw what was occurring. He saw his armor taking major damage. He needed to get up.
Naofumi was worried. [Bedrock] and [Spin] were using his Sp a bit faster than he wanted. He's probably get through Motoyasu's chestplate before then... after that-
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
Naofumi was confused. Motoyasu was pretty well pinned. He had no means to- "dammit". Suddenly Naofumi was struck by a gust of wind. While currently being triple his normal weight prevented him from being thrown off Motoyasu, it was enough for him to finally buck Naofumi off him. Now Motoyasu had him pinned. Naofumi looked over to see Malty, hand raised. Smiling in wicked satisfaction.
"You fuck'n cheat! Can't beat someone 14 levels below you so you get that dumb whore to help!" Naofumi knew no one would call her out. He was now in a two versus one battle.
"I didn't cheat! and stop calling her that!" Motoyasu was ready to end this. He readied another [Lightning Spear].
"Not a chance. In my heart, her name is forever bitch" [Liberation] Motoyasu was flung from Naofumi, not really sure what happened. Naofumi readied another poison bottle in one hand and a healing potion in the other.
"What was that?... Naofumi why do you have so many weird attacks?" Motoyasu was mad, but also tired and a bit curious.
"I need time time think, keep the conversation going"
"If you forfeit right now, I'll tell you. As of right now though, you are my enemy. Why would I help my enemy grow stronger?" Naofumi caught his breath, "or to put it another way, Game knowledge is to be acquired and used by those who learned it, not handed out to noobs"
"Still mad about that?" Motoyasu switched the stance he had and readied himself.
"Not really, I feel you mugging me now kinda supersedes that... I think we're about done." Naofumi moved to place Motoyasu between him and Malty.
"Yeah, we are about done" Motoyasu went to charge in.
Naofumi threw the poison to the ground, shattering it. This caused it to form a cloud. He then drank the healing potion quickly and used [Air Strike Shield].
As he thought, Motoyasu was confident in his offense. He stopped before the poison cloud and launched another [Lightning Spear]. He could not see Naofumi, but knew he was behind that cowardly barrier. Something he'd break in one hit.
And if Naofumi were behind the shield, he'd of been right.
The bolt of lightning never reached the barrier. It struck Naofumi's shield. Naofumi was just in front of the barrier, using it as a support wall and bait.
[Reflect]!
Naofumi's plan was to use the poison to force Motoyasu to stay back and fire a ranged skill. Using the poison as a smokescreen, Naofumi placed the [Air Strike Shield] behind him to trick Motoyasu and keep himself from falling back from the attack. It was a complete success. In Naofumi's mind, Motoyasu's strength was his weakness. The strong don't need strategies or caution after all.
As the bolt recoiled, striking Motoyasu again, he saw Naofumi already running at him with [Saw Shield] at the ready. He hadn't yet caught up to how Naofumi was not thrown back as well.
Naofumi went in to strike Motoyasu, but-
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
"Just as planned!" Naofumi struck the ground with his spinning shield to quickly dash to the side. While her wind magic was hard to see normally, the poison cloud behind him clearly shown the attack to the whole of the audience.
A collection of gasps let out followed by murmuring from the nobles.
"My plan wasn't to beat Motoyasu, but to beat the both of them at the same time. Now I win due to rules violations"
"As all of you just saw, I was attacked from outside the arena, theref-"
Motoyasu couldn't really see the wind magic push the cloud. From his perspective, Naofumi simply left himself wide open. He used [Turbine] horizontally and tripped Naofumi.
"You dumbass, the match is over!" Naofumi needed to get away from this idiot.
Motoyasu pointed his spear at Naofumi, "For you" [Sprout Lance]. With that, the spear's body elongated, increasing in length rapidly. It struck Naofumi with a solid hit, doing bonus damage due to the buff on it from [Turbine].
Naofumi fell to the ground and couldn't move much now. The crowd cheered at this. He tried to yell, tried to pleed his case. He'd won. The loud crowd drowned him out completely.
"No... NO NO NO" Naofumi was putting everything he had into standing up, but he could barely manage to get himself to his knees.
The king swiftly followed up "A clear victory for Sir Motoyasu!"
Naofumi felt a power foreign to him. He used it to speak, "Bullshit! You all saw the wind magic move those clouds! That bitch interfered!"
The king seemed to not mind the outburst at all "Yet another of your outlandish excuses. You had many excuses at your trial as well, as I recall. Truly, you will say and do anything. It was quite righteous of Sir Motoyasu to free your slave. One can only imagine what you put her through".
Malty turned to a few cloaked men, "As Sir Motoyasu promised, remove the poor girl's seal." The men nodded.
As they readied the eraser, Raphtalia struggled against her restraints. Of course she wanted to be free, but not like this. She wanted to stand by his side and earn his trust. She wanted to be free when he decided it.
...
Naofumi was having the single worst moment of his life. He felt so terribly alone and weak. He had no one and no way to live. The world itself would find any way to push him back to the path of failure and death. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how clever the plan, He couldn't take on the whole world. Not alone. "They all get to laugh at me while they push me into the dirt. They dismiss me as nothing and when I try to prove them wrong, they make sure I fail. I can't win. I can't live... Even Raphtalia, they can't even let me have her. Just her."
Naofumi was in tears and he grit his teeth. He was beyond sadness or anger and was heading for insanity.
[Does Thou Seekth Power?]
"yes..."
...
As the cloaked men untied Raphtalia, Motoyasu approached her
SLAP
Raphtalia slapped him as hard as she could. As beat up as he was, it took him to the ground.
"I never asked to be freed!" Raphtalia was on the verge of tears.
Motoyasu was completely bewildered, "Wh-what?"
"I said I was content-no, I was happy to be his slave!" She stood over him in anger.
"But was he not abusing you? Given his history..." Motoyasu didn't want to say more.
"Abuse? Me? That man has given me everything! I was literally waiting for someone to kill me when he bought me!"
Motoyasu shuttered
"When he bought me, I was starving to death! He feed me. Five full meals a day, sometimes six. Even spent extra on sweets when I said I wanted them." She yelled.
"When he bought me, I was sick. He tried to buy medicine for me, but was unable to. So you know what he did? He spent several times as much to buy everything he needed to track down the ingredients and craft the medicine himself and those tools were expensive." She still had her voice raised, but she was no longer yelling
"When he bought me, I was weak. I'd never of been able to defend myself from anyone or anything in this world. I was a victim for the world to abuse. He trained me. He made me into the person I am. Just earlier today, I saved the lives of tens of villagers that you abandoned. He made me strong enough to save not only myself, but had the strength to spare to save others." She wasn't raising her voice at all anymore.
She began to talk in a low voice
"When he bought me, I had nightmares every night. All I saw was the monster of the first wave ripping my parents apart. Falling helplessly into the ocean. I dreamt about the soldiers of this country. How they came and killed our elderly and enslaved everyone else... He held me. Even if just a hand at times, he held me. A constant reminder that I was no longer alone. He kept all that horror at bay. I am forever grateful to him."
Motoyasu was dumbfounded, "That can't be true. He isn't that kinda guy. He makes you fight! He forces you to risk you life!"
Raphtalia met his eyes for the first time. She seemed to look deep into him or maybe far past him?
"Yet you heroes are forced to fight? Why is it acceptable for Naofumi-sama to be forced to fight all by himself, but if he buys a slave it's somehow a grave sin?"
Motoyasu barely registered her words "But it doesn't have to be you!"
"But it does have to be him..."
Motoyasu said nothing.
"The day I can't be with him. The day we can't protect one another. That day..." She didn't want to even consider it.
"I'll never return to what I was. Naofumi-sama has raised me better than that. If they try and put me in a cage again... I'll take as many of them with me as I can." She said definitively
"Y-you can't-You must be being made to say that!" Motoyasu was grasping at straws
"Did you not win the duel? Is the slave seal not undone?"
"True enough, but... that's it! It must be his shield! He has many weird shields that seem to do all kinds of things. One of them must be-"
"Naofumi-sama was right about you. You really are a waste of time." She sounded tired, not bitter.
"You took me from him, even if for a moment. I will never forgive you for that... I have to return at once." She turned and began walking towards Naofumi.
"W-wait" but before Motoyasu could complain too much, malty was beside him. Telling him to leave her be.
Ren and Itsuki approached them both
"Do you want to explain your illegal interference in that duel?" Ren said looking at Malty coldly
"Twice?" Itsuki was fed up with them and it hadn't even started.
...
[Do you hate this whole world?]
"Yes I do! This whole place it rotten. It seems to want me to be miserable. I can't trust anyone to stand with me. This whole damn world wants to throw me to the wolves for their own sake, but wont help me! They wont help me save themselves!"
[Do you want to destroy it all?]
"Yes! It's done nothing, but try and kill me! Trying to kill it back is only fair! I-"
"Naofumi-sama..." She didn't know how to approach this. She knew his anger was at levels she'd not seen before.
"What do you want?" He spat those words, but she'd forgive him for that. She'd always forgive him.
Raphtalia tried to get close to him, he scrambled back a bit.
"I didn't do it..." He whispered
She tried again "Naofumi-sama... I wish to remain by you side."
"Lies!" He shouted as he tried to smack her arms away.
He kept his head lowered as he spoke, "I bought you, I owned you. I made you kill... So i guess this is your chance. Go ahead then. Laugh. Mock me. You're free... Just like the rest of them." He said the last part bitterly.
"Do you think I'd abandon you just because I have no obligation? Naofumi-sama I already told you, I am your sword."
"Stop!" He didn't want to hear it. The hope was too beautiful. If he imagined it, he'd never stop crying.
He grabbed his shield and tried with all his might to tear it off. Strength he didn't think he had. "I want to live, but this damn thing! Grrr! If only I could get rid of it!"
Raphtalia leaned down and placed a hand on his shield. He felt it. It felt like she was touching him directly.
"I don't hate this shield... Do you really? ... This shield gave you the ability to cure my sickness. It gave you the ability to save me from danger, it helped me grow into the kind of person I never dreamed of becoming, it helped you make the usapil meat tastier, it gave us an excuse to be together as we slept... This small shield has given you the ability to act upon you generosity and kindness."
"D-didn't you hate your seal! It's the same thing!"
"That seal... It let me meet you... It let you know you weren't alone, It let you have a hope... that I seem do be unable to give without it. I hated that seal at first, but loved what it came to mean and what it allowed us to have."
"S-stop, I... I just wanted to live! Nothing else!"
"You're wrong. You spent so much coin healing my sickness."
"I needed you to live to fight. I planned on using the skills and abilities I developed from healing you to make money off other people's suffering."
"You fed me warm meals, so often, even got me sweets."
"You had to eat, you were basically a skeleton when I got you. I needed you to grow muscle. T-To fight."
"You held me as I slept, keeping me from my darkest thoughts."
"You'd be too noisy for me t-to sleep... and the monsters would of heard y-"
"Why did you want me to want to live so much?"
"I- what? I never sai-"
"When I told you those words. When I said 'I want to live too' It was the happiest I'd ever seen you."
He said nothing... "I was?"
She chuckled, "In your own way, you're as bad as that Motoyasu guy."
Naofumi felt beyond insulted.
"You'll make any excuse to avoid a truth you don't want to believe..."
"... I'm serious. Stop." Naofumi was trying desperately.
"You act mean, but you save and improve the lives of others so freely. You don't do it to be seen in a better light. You do it because you simply want to. You simply seek the betterment of everyone. That makes you more deserving of the title of hero than anyone else."
"Please, stop" Naofumi was whimpering. These words. They were too sweet. When they turned out to be a farce, it would break him all the more.
"You push people away from you so you don't have to hope. By making them hate you, you don't have to wonder. You're scared of that hope failing, so you never allow yourself the opportunity."
She reached out and enveloped him in a hug. He stopped for a moment. He slowly looked up. He was almost too afraid to look her in the eye.
"Naofumi-sama. You made me want to live..., but that isn't enough for me anymore." She leaned back to look him eye to eye.
"I have a new goal, one we can share... What I want is to be happy. It may be hard for either of us to achieve it, but together we will not fail. So please believe me when I say I will never abandon you. I will always be on your side. I will tell everyone about how wrong they are about you. My presence and willingness should be assumed. I am your sword Naof-"
He caved. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head into her, trying to hide the tears in her clothes. He let go, let go of everything. He was so tired of always being on guard. Worried someone or something would be the last bad thing to happen to him. He was so desperate to live, that he forgot to live. She was right. Living isn't good enough... and he's not alone.
With the stress of his time in this world gone for the moment, he fell unconscious. He was tired from the duel and the relief was simply too much. Knowing he wasn't alone. Resolving to do more than live. In this moment embracing her, he was already achieving happiness.
[First condition for ****** *r*** series has been unlocked]
[Author's Notes]
So yeah.
I think I did a much better job on this fight. Trying to show off Naofumi being smart.
Yes, [Turbine] and [Sprout Lance] are made up. I'm probably making up abilities for Ren and Itsuki later on too.
I feel my dialogue got kinda long-winded, if you felt the same sorry.
Naofumi is beginning to unlock a new series, the [****** *r*** series].
Next Chapter is getting Filo and probably skipping a bit to both eggs hatching.
Please leave a review!