"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
"Your name comes from the great dragon that sired you. A great dragon named Gaelion who fought to his dying breath to protect his family. You are not only our family now, but his living legacy."
Naofumi told Leon, who seemed to like the name quite a bit more, but maybe not as much as he'd like another piece of meat.
...
After a minute or two of marveling at their latest family member, Naofumi absorbed the dragon shell.
.
[Dragon Egg Shield]
+1 fire resistance
[Ability: Cooking IV] Drastically increase the taste and nutritional benefit of food you cook.
.
[Monster User Shield IV]
[Ability: Maturation Adjustment ll] Monsters mature even faster. They gain 10% more EXP.
.
Their ride became a bit livelier as now they all took turns giving Leon attention. It wasn't all fun and games though. Naofumi taught him what the shield hero was and about the waves. Each member of the family introduced themselves and said a little about themselves, Filo was compliant enough. He seemed to retain most of the information, but some of it felt like it was wasted on him currently.
He also tried to get Filo and Leon to interact with one another. Leon was absolutely against it. Hissing for his life and trying to get away, like a cat to water. Filo was also against it, but to a lesser degree. Naofumi would need to wait until Leon was more developed before he could start getting him to interact well with Filo. No one had any delusions of this being easy.
Naofumi hoped the secret present idea would be the perfect thing to help those two bond.
It wasn't until Naofumi and Teal started their plant modifying shenanigans that Leon saw how strong each member of the party was. He seemed to grasp that he was the weakest one of them there by far.
Leon saw each member of the family destroy plant monsters one after another. Leon wanted to show off at one point and tried breathing fire on a plant monster. It was more like really hot smoke, but it dealt a little damage. Monti finished it off staying near his little brother for protection.
The little lizard was having an identity crisis only a day after being born. In his heart and soul, he felt he was suppose to be this super strong lord of monsters, but everything dwarfed him.
Teal explained levels to him and that he'd catch up to them, but he didn't fully understand that either.
While the plant monster grinding was done for Raphtalia and Leon's benefit, Naofumi preferred neither to help. Raphtalia was still hurt from the cursed fire, despite her attempts to play it off. That and of course Naofumi wouldn't allow the newborn level 1 to do anything.
Even while traveling a good distance each day, the two days after Leon hatched saw the death of so many plant monsters that they had to farm the unmodified bioplant for more seeds. They'd fight the monsters in large groups at a time. Naofumi used these fights to run simple team fight tactics with the family.
There were problems.
Monti did what he was told, but seemed to not trust that the others were doing fine themselves. He always seemed to divide his attention up between his enemy and being a big brother. Nothing wrong with that, but he also sucked at multitasking.
Filo would only kinda listen. If she was told to take out a single enemy, she tried to cause as many around it to die as 'collateral'. Filo had gotten better at listening, but it seemed she still had a ways to go.
Teal would think that she knows better than Naofumi sometimes and it lead to conflict in what orders were given and what orders were ignored. Teal even tried to give orders to Filo a few times, which would lead to multiple leaders in a small team. It undercut authority.
Through these exercises they each improved at least a little.
At some point Monti commented that he was probably the worst at fighting groups out of the family. Everything he did was single target after all. Naofumi explained a spell in a lot of RPGs he use to play 'Chain Lightning'. Naofumi's old world suggestions had been very useful up to this point, so Monti treated it as the next goal to reach. Though he'd never reach it before the wave.
Upon hearing this, Filo declared that she'd make a new 'super duper' spell too. Saying that she wasn't going to be outdone by Monti.
Naofumi hoped Filo and Leon could have this kind of relationship. One where they tried to compete with each other, not against one another.
By the time they hit the next town after Leon hatched, he was nearly level 15. At the current rate he might even reach level 25 before the wave. Their new grinding method and the increased EXP bonuses were no joke.
...
The northern territory
...
Raphtalia noticed the scenery was becoming less enjoyable the longer they traveled. The grass was quite litterally less green as they traveled.
As the cart crested a hill, Raphtalia saw a town. One in bad shape and with a toll.
"Naofumi-sama. There is a town and toll. I'll need you up here soon."
Naofumi simply grunted to express that he heard her.
After Filo slowed to a stop Naofumi came to the front of the cart and tried to hand the toll guard his merchant pass.
"Sorry sir, but merchant passes are not being recognized in this area at the moment. You'll have to pay the toll."
Naofumi was a little disappointed, but this was the first time it hadn't worked. Naofumi suspected the guard was lying and was going to pocket the money.
"I see... and how much is the toll?"
"Five silver minimum per cart or carriage, two silver per person if it's higher than the minimum."
Naofumi paused a moment. "Filo?"
"He isn't lying. He has no bad intentions." she chirped back
The guard fell to the ground at that, "D-did that filolial just fucking talk!?"
The cart shared a round of laughter, as Naofumi left the cart and helped the man up, handing him twelve silver.
"Here, there are six of us."
"...Do you mind if I confirm?"
"...Go right ahead." He wanted to tell him no, but this would be quicker.
The man made his way to the back of the cart and stepped in. He saw Teal on one side, Monti on the other side with Leon resting his head in his brother's lap.
The man paused for a moment before exiting the cart and returning to Naofumi in the front.
"Um. Well... there were three back there, but they...-"
"Then Raphtalia, Filo and myself make six. So twelve silver. Any problem?"
"Um... It's just that... What are they? and.. and I'm obviously not charging you for monsters brought, just people."
"Well they are my kids and you're accepting that coin because they are people dammit. I hate throwing money away, but a man's beliefs should be consistent, not convenient."
Naofumi climbed back into the cart, then Filo started moving again. The guard just tried to figure out what he meant, but by the time he gave up, they were gone.
...
The three heroes church
...
A man in priestly robes quietly entered a large lavish room. He thin peered around the room a moment before finding the man he was looking for.
"Your holiness, I have very good news." the man said warmly.
The pope looked up from the book he was reading and spoke.
"Is it that letter in your hand?" Balmus passively asked while still reading.
"Yes. It's from the lord of Windingbrook." Still speaking warmly.
"Ah... Was our shadows not told to intercept letters in and out of Windingbrook? Would not any letter be bad news?" The pope turned a page.
"Not so. This letter was addressed to the church, he intended for us to recieve it."
The pope closed the book as he decided to give more attention to his visitor's words.
"Am I to take it that he is on board? He sees the wisdom in it?" The pope questioned.
"Yes. According to his letter, his youngest child died of some sickness just before he could return home. He's taking it as a sign that god was punishing him for being reluctant in his duties. He will fully support you and the plan."
"That is quite sad. I'm truly glad that he will be joining us, he is a good man, a weathered fighter, and a fine leader. That it took his son's death to see the light though... Let us hold a service for the child today. Let's use it to signal to the others that we now have nine of the ten greater lords on our side."
"Is there still no word on lord Blackcrown's son, your holiness?"
"Yes. As soon as the news reached Briarhaven of their lord dying from poison, his only son vanished. Worse still, the townsfolk swear to have no idea where he is or how he left."
The vistors voice lost it's warmth "I've heard dark rumors about that boy. Perhaps he wouldn't be a worthwhile ally?"
"Nonsense. If I could only find the boy... Briarhaven has a large number of career soldiers. Not only that, but they are better trained than most. They are all level 20 at a minimum and have been trained in no less than three weapons. They can all track and hunt. They can all cast beginner magic, every single one. That's a high standard for a group that's more than 400 strong. They're one of the reasons we fared as well as we did against Siltvelt in the last war."
The vistor had doubts, "Many of the soldiers from the war have since retired, It's been half a generation since then... Perhaps they are no longer as strong a force as back then?"
The pope refused categorically "No. lord Blackcrown was a stern man, the embodiment of discipline. His men are no less powerful today... We need that boy now."
"But at this point the boy is likely dead. Why not trick the king into naming someone loyal to us as the next lord of Briarhaven?"
"Then we would need the body. Briarhaven men are a loyal lot. Without solid proof, they will never accept a different lord... and at this point we can't count on Audrey to name a new lord of Briarhaven before we stab him in the back... that's why knowing Windingbrook is on our side is so reassuring."
"I see. Insightful as always your holiness... And no leads from the guild?"
"No. The information you gave me back then has been confirmed as truthful by three different sources. The boy is a registered adventurer, but he stopped doing jobs the same time he disappeared from Briarhaven... If he was even in Briarhaven to begin with."
"Your holiness?" the visitor was confused.
"During the investigation to confirm whether he was an adventurer or not, we found paper documents showing him turning in quests at three different offices besides the one in Briarhaven. The one in the capital included... How did the boy get away with traveling on his own as a greater lord's son?"
"Like a ghost... I hate to entertain those rumors, but..."
Pope Balmus seemed to not value those rumors as truth in the slightest.
"The ones about the 'White Nets'? Or the ones about the 'Armor of Bones'? Oh, what of the one about him walking on walls? It's just the kind of nonsense the uninformed invent to spread for entertainment. Lord Blackcrown was a man of discipline and I'm sure his son was raised into a fine boy, even at the age of 15. He may be trying to avenge his father by tracking down that former knight Fitts himself?
"Sir Fitts? ... That a distinct possibility." The visitor had to give that argument ground.
"Hmm? By the way, has lord Wagner received the funds he's requested?" the pope asked
The man perked up "Yes, your holiness. He agreed to the interest rate without argument."
"hmhm, we are blessed with such fortunate news one after the other."
"Indeed. We are carried on god's wind after all. They will carry us to victory."
"Yes, yes" The Pope agreed, but internally he was worried. Usually such good fortune was a sign of something much worse approaching.
"Lastly... I'm afraid we have no further information on the shield devil. He's completely concealed." The visitor felt this would worsen the pope's mood considerably.
The pope wasn't angered in the slightest, "That's fine. Let him stay hidden and weak. It'll make him easier to deal with soon... gathering the masses to search for him gives us an excuse to cleanse anyone who supports him in the chaos. Rest easy."
...
The northern territory
...
Naofumi didn't regret handing the man twelve silver when he could of only given four. Doing so would be denying his children their personhood. Which he'd never do regardless of how small the stakes or how beneficial it would be to do so...
No. He regretted giving him money, because this town was garbage. They should of skipped it. The town was absurdly poor. As essential as medicine was, the townsfolk were in need of something even more essential. Food.
They had next to no coin to offer, but they were desperate. Naofumi was going to lose much more in this town than eight silver.
He told the family to break for lunch and they got to making as much stew as they could. They had a lot of supplies. Enough to last them for at least two weeks, but feeding an entire town nearly wiped it out completely.
This was twice in a row that Leon had seen his father give away to others. First out of pride, which he could understand. This time though, he couldn't get it. Coin and resources are to be hoarded. It was common sense.
Sense the people couldn't offer him any item of worth or even a silver as payment, he opted to use this town as a means to gather information.
Naofumi found out quite a lot. Firstly he found out this place was being overtaxed to fund an army to defend the people from the waves, but the taxes were so great that the lord had to spend more just to enforce his tax policies. The higher taxes meant prices which meant few people doing business here. The death spiral of any economy.
He was apparently assassinated and a new lord was installed. He immediately lowered the taxes to the old rate. That had unforeseen side effects.
Lowering the taxes meant that people had more money, but the businesses returned far slower than their spending money did. So people had coin and nothing to spend it on. Prices rose locally due to the abundance of coin and lack of resources and services in the area. This would have been great for merchants, but information doesn't travel fast in this world, it seems.
Eventually most of the old taxes came back. Now the current lord is trying to gather the funds to incentivize merchants to come to the area and grow select local businesses, but a plan like that would take a while.
Naofumi thought that had the lord lowered the taxes slowly, he would of avoided the perceived inflation of the people. Not only that, but he'd of already had the coin to use to bring in businesses.
No matter how bad the old lord was, bringing in a new governing leader with no experience in a time of crisis was foolish. He had no experience. They should of accepted a temporary council made from the local populace as the leaders until things were settled. Even lacking experience, a group fighting for and against the interests of others tend to have a more clear and fuller view of a situation.
They also told him something that he kept to himself. That the mountains north of here, there was a huge three headed beast that attacks anyone who goes near. Naofumi wanted to think how best to bring this up to the family. They didn't have time to track it down and kill it. The wave was coming up and this was to be the last town they visit before returning. If he told them, Raphtalia and Monti would want to go at it right now... Besides, it might not even be the first wave boss.
"I'll wait until after we make it to the capital..., but I feel bad for doing it this way..."
Not everything was bad though. This was the first place they had been to that didn't look at them weird or treat Raphtalia badly. Even Lute Village gave Monti weird looks that first day.
The day was somehow very fast and soon they were packing up to leave. Teal and Naofumi left them an experimental plant. It was like a potato or yam. It was like a root with very little growing above ground. The plant would grow it's whole self as a root system in every direction. Including up. Once a root makes it to the surface, it would slowly sprout tall thin leaves like the main body. Once the leaves had no yellow left, you could confidently pull it out as the roots aren't very tough. Doing so would net you a large section.
It was a little fattening, but otherwise safe to eat. It's soft body even allowed them to be eaten raw. If it was tended to correctly, they could set wood walls to contain where it grew and a single one would fill a field given enough time. Though long-term nothing stops it from digging down deeper and deeper. Meaning there was some of the plant you'd never really get be able to eat.
Teal named it 'Netting Roots' for its odd spreading growth pattern.
Before they left the village thanked them and the family wore smiles while climbing back into their cart.
They were waved off by the town and Raphtalia, Monti, and Teal waved back. Naofumi and Filo were already busy and Leon was still lacking a human form.
Another thing that concerned Naofumi was just that. Leon's growth rate seemed to be far slower than the other children. He also took longer to hatch. He wondered why.
That wasn't to say that Leon wasn't growing, he was. He had about as much weight as Naofumi. It wasn't all size either. He'd begone to develop lean muscle all over. He still seemed of the thinner side, but not in a bad way.
"Perhaps using some netting roots in our stews will fill him out a bit."
As Naofumi looked up at Leon he noticed something. Leon had a copper coin between two of his claws.
"Leon where'd you get that?" Naofumi asked.
Leon placed the coin in his mouth under his tongue, then looked back to his father with a look of fake innocence. He really thought that'd work, it was almost cute.
"Leon... spit it out." Naofumi said in annoyance.
After entirely too long of a stare down, Leon handed over the coin. Naofumi looked at it. Sure enough, a normal copper coin, minted less than ten years prior.
"Does anyone know where he got this? Our money is stored away."
Filo piped up from the front.
"Little Leon found it during the food rush and hid it. He's in trouble. hehe."
"Don't call him 'Little Leon' Filo" Raphtalia chided her.
"Hmm, what about I call him... Hmmm" She was now lost in thought. Asking life's biggest questions, like 'How best to insult my sibling?'
Naofumi continued, "I'd prefer you not to pick up coin from such poor places filled with good people..., but what's done is done." He flipped the coin back to Leon.
Leon happily snatched it out of the air. Even Raphtalia was surprised Naofumi didn't keep it himself.
He saw the looks and defended himself, "What? If any of you earn coin, I see no reason to take it. You earned it."
Teal was the first to jump at that, "... So if I grow herbs and sell them to an apothecary, I can keep the coin?"
"Y-yeah, sure..." Naofumi responded.
"If Filo and I go out and kill a few monsters by ourselves... Can we sell the spoils?" Teal was now smiling.
"Well the family as a whole should get first-"
"And if Monti poisons someone and I offer the antivenom for a price then-" She was close to laughing
"You're already pushing it." Naofumi said in annoyance
Teal giggled.
"Though ransoming antivenom for profit isn't a bad idea... Monti I'll need some of your venom later." Naofumi wondered why he hadn't tried that.
"Naofumi-sama." She said in an unapproving tone.
"..." Naofumi was now in trouble, but he was also still doing it.
After a moment Naofumi pulled out some silver and handed a few to each kid, stopping Filo to hand the last ones to her.
"Fine. A solution. An allowance. You guys work hard, you support the family, you deserve something. Three silver a week, each. I'm still covering the real costs for anything we need. Use your allowance to buy a little something here and there. Okay? Your dad is a merchant. You should learn the value of money first hand."
"What about mom?" Monti asked
Naofumi looked confused, "What? An allowance? Why? I'll get her anything she wants anyway."
"So mom can spend as much as she wants?" Filo complained.
"That's right. You want to spend someone else's money like that? Attract a guy with deep pockets." Naofumi said without much thought.
"Naofumi-sama that isn't something you should be saying to our daughter!" Raphtalia was getting at him again.
"Always me, the kids are never guilty. Only me."
"...What I meant to say is you should try and find a way to earn more coin then... And if you can find something that'll pay that you also enjoy, then it's not even work really, right?"
Raphtalia sent back a glance that said 'better'. Secretly though, Raphtalia was reeling from what Naofumi had just said a bit ago. That she could spend as much as she wanted. They were in a relationship of sorts, but it wasn't like most relationships. There was no dating, a lot of things she felt were suppose to happen before this point in their relationship was not possible under the current circumstances.
"That's it! A date. When we return to the capital, I'll have Monti watch his siblings for a day and we can be ourselves with no worries. There is still a lot we don't know about the other..."
With her first use of these new fund privileges decided, her mood was taking an upward turn. Which matched the kids after receiving an allowance.
They seemed happy, but Naofumi felt guilty for not doing it sooner.
Monti was so diligent. He also scouted for him and looking after the others whenever they're separated.
Filo pulled the cart for long hours without a single complaint. Where would they even be without her?
Teal had increased his medicine production by an incredible amount. Not only that, but gathering plants in the wild was barely being done anymore, saving them time.
Leon was still growing and couldn't talk yet, but Naofumi was sure he'd also find his niche in the family.
"Why did I wait to give them an allowance? I obviously value them all and we do have the spare coin... Growing into the role of a father seems to be taking me a while... I hope they understand I'm not meaning to make these kinds of mistakes."
...
The following day
...
They were now on a nearly straight shot to the capital. They were going to stop by a mine that belonged to Hickwaal on the way. At the current pace they may even have four days in the capital before the wave.
The good mood from yesterday was inherited into today without a hitch. Naofumi did discovered one new thing about Leon though. Twice Leon left the cart quickly and returned before they could even slow the cart. Both times he picked up a copper coin from the road.
The problem? He wasn't even looking outside. Naofumi used [Inspect] on Leon to figure it out.
Leon's stats were growing nicely, but still seemed a bit lower than Filo's at this same level. However Filo was also fully grown by that point too.
Naofumi found the reason. One of Leon's special abilities.
[Dragon's Hoard] Detect items of value and how much value it has. Range is 10' plus 1' per level.
That was great to have. Leon could allow Naofumi to take in trades as opposed to coin and to be fair in their value. This would help him as a merchent buying items in general too. There it was. The value he'd bring to the family. Just as Naofumi thought confidently just the day prior.
As they approached the mine, Naofumi pondered if Leon's ability would detect ore better than his [Mining l].
"Naofumi. Another skeleton." Raphtalia called back.
Naofumi peered outside the cart. It took a moment to spot it as it was running through the treeline. Not a threat in the slightest to them as they were now, but... It was running. Kinda fast too.
But that made no sense. Based on what they saw earlier, these skeletons should be wondering around aimlessly until a monster was close enough.
"So, why was it running? ... Or the better question, where is it going?"
"Filo. Match it's speed. We're following it."
"Kay~."
Naofumi was willing to go on foot if it went deeper in the woods, but fortunately (and very curiously) it was following the road as well. After a few more minutes they arrived at the mine they had planned on visiting, but everyone was in shock.
Dozens of skeletons were running about the area. What at first looked like a chaotic swarm of undead quickly shown itself to be a mad dash for the mine. They ran into the mine at top speed. As many as there were, they eeriely seemed to disappear near instantly as the last of the skeletons entered the mine.
The nearby buildings seemed abandoned. Where were the workers?
"...Well... Guess we kinda have to, huh?" Monti asked.
FIlo was confused, "Who cares, they barely hurt you like forever ago. I can just kick em to pieces."
Naofumi didn't like that careless attitude, "We have no idea what is in there, there could be traps, and even weaklings can be scary in large numbers. Not to mention whatever is controlling them... Everyone remember Gaelion. Some undead are terrifyingly strong."
The party nodded. Filo and Teal watched the cave entrance while the rest searched the buildings surrounding it.
One had noise coming from it.
Using [Minimap] Naofumi determined that the one with noise coming from it had three people inside. Naofumi used [Tele-communication] and [Trickster] to get the everyone into position.
After a moment, Raphtalia kicked in the door and the party entered the room with Naofumi taking the lead.
In the shack sat three men stunned and scared. They were all a bit older and none of them looked aggressive.
"..."
"Can we help you? ..."
Naofumi felt they acted out of line, but at the same time, lots and lots of skeletons.
"Don't act like normal miners, we saw the skeletons!"
"Skeletons you say?"
"In our mine? That's crazy"
"I think we'd know if something like that was happening."
They sucked at lying and were all looking at the floor.
"Shut the hell up. Do I have to drag a skeleton out of the cave to get you to talk?"
They flinched, but one spoke. "You can't. This mine is privately owned."
Naofumi pulled out the formal letter from Hickwaal allowing him to do some digging at a mine of his.
"Don't even try that. I have a letter from Hickwaal right here. I'm going in that cave."
The man read the letter in disbelief.
"But we... We always met our quotas? Why would he send you?"
Naofumi took the letter back, "I'm here to mine, that's it. This was Hickwaal's way of doing me a favor. Nothing against you or this mine... So start talking about why there's a fucking army of undead in there!"
"I... I can not. I'm sworn to secrecy. All I can say is if you don't go in too deep, they might not bother you."
Naofumi felt insulted that they thought that'd be enough for anyone stop asking.
"I'm not playing this game. I will find out what's going on here, then I'll make sure Hickwaal fires the lot of you!"
"..." The stared at one another a moment.
"...Promise you wont tell Hickwaal?" They begged
"I'll only tell him if I feel he needs to know. He's my business partner after all." Naofumi offered.
"... We know very little, honest. One day we set out to work as we did everyday, but we were attacked by the biggest damned spider you'd ever saw. Never seen anything like it. Bigger than a fuck'n horse! We sent a kill quest to the guild and they sent out this kid with bones wrapped all up and down his clothes. He went in to slay the beast by himself and never came out..."
Naofumi looked confused.
The man saw the confusion and continued.
"We didn't go back in for a few days. We admit it. we were cowards, left the boy to die..., but when we finally worked up the nerve to enter, we could no longer reach the back of the mine. A huge set of doors blocked our way further and nothing seemed to scratch it..."
Naofumi didn't believe them, "You just said you meet your quotas. If you can't mine, how?"
"Those skeletons sometimes approach us with freshly mined materials and a list of items they want. Sometimes they have no material, but coin to pay for the items on the list. It's almost always food demands. We had to comply. Even though they don't attack and aren't threatening us, we have to. If we don't, we'll miss our quotas and lose our contract."
"I don't believe a word of that crap. We're going in and when we leave, you better still be here."
"...Please we've done nothing. We have no reason to run."
"No reason? You've been feeding this thing. You've been sitting on your asses getting paid. Admit it, it was the easy money that swayed you. You could of told everyone and the lords of the land would have hired a hero to deal with this."
"... I wont deny that, but what's the problem? They're harmless."
Naofumi was done talking to them for now. It was a waste of time at this point.
The family met up in front of the mine.
"Alright. Let's do this." Naofumi announced as they began marching into the undead infested mine.
.
[Author's Notes]
So I have not read the LNs myself. I've been reading the manga, skimming the LNs and watch the anime alongside my writing to make sure I remember any plot points that I want to maintain, change, or abandon.
Well it turns out that the anime's version of the northern territory is not the way it went down in the LN. In the LN Itsuki is basically hiding his actions as a 'thankless hero'. It wasn't that killing the northern lord was short-sighted, it was reckless, but did get favorable results.
The problem is that to the every day villager, the bow hero hasn't done a damn thing.
I felt the anime version was bending over backwards to make Itsuki 'just as bad' as Motoyasu and Ren. I also felt the LN version doesn't consider the consequences of new leadership in a crisis.
I hope this revised situation is understandable and makes Itsuki's actions seem to lack the right amount of foresight.
How do you feel about their allowance and what do you expect each one to buy with their cut.
Another question: what accessories should Naofumi give each of the OCs? I plan on Raphtalia and Filo to keep their old ones.
I was thinking of dragon behavior and the idea of hoarding valuables just seemed fun. Works with their business focus.
Next chapter Spooky Scary Skeletons.
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