"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
...
The family had loads of questions and they'd ask them, but most of them were answered by the large smug grin Leon wore the rest of the day. One tragedy nearly caused another this day, but this time it was avoided.
...
Naofumi and the others had spent nearly all the daylight they had on the potentially terrible events of the day. They had little choice but to return to the road and rest in their cart without traveling an inch. Naofumi believed that Filo was probably hurt more than she'd let on and he was right. So he made her take some medicine and not pull the cart until morning.
The following morning, Filo was getting back to being bratty and wanting to pull the cart that was right next to her and Naofumi allowed it. Naofumi found himself pleasantly surprised that he wasn't annoyed by Filo's brattiness. Thinking about it, he hadn't been for a while now. At first he didn't understand. He thought that he'd be annoyed if any kid acted like that, but maybe since it was his own kid, he had a way higher tolerance?
Either way, he knew he needed to help her work on that, but correcting Filo's behavior was a slow process. She no longer ran off away from the others like a loose cannon, but she also had to be directly proven wrong to get her to listen. Teal had become invaluable in that regard. She was able to talk to Filo in just the right way to get Filo to understand. It wasn't that Filo was dumb, she wasn't. It was more that Filo was heavy on her own set of priorities.
They were on the road for half the day before they caught sight of the village, or more accurately, what remained of it. Some stone structure remained of each of the old buildings, not enough to build from, but just enough to accurately see what was lost. The kids lost most of their enthusiasm at the sight. Naofumi could hardly believe that 4 months ago or so, this was a fully working and populated village. Naofumi and Monti gained more understanding on what a lost wave looked like. It made them all the more motivated to stop the waves.
Filo slowed down and started going toward a series of tents. A few demi-humans were there and they saw Raphtalia driving the cart and waved to her in a welcoming manner. Filo came to a stop as one of them approached
"Greetings. Did lord Reichnott send you?" The first person asked.
It was clear that they were not from here originally. If they were, they would have at least remarked at Raphtalia's appearance, even if she was much different from back then. Being as they spoke of lord Reichnott, they were likely those in Van's lordship that wished to remain here.
"No. I'm from here originally and I came with the shield hero, Naofumi-sama." Raphtalia motioned to Naofumi as he exited the cart, followed by the others.
"Ah, the shield hero. That is great news. We were hoping that you could deal with something." They asked.
They had already been told that Naofumi was likely to be their new lord before he ever shook the queen's hand, it seems. He was here for all of thirty seconds and they already wanted him to act in on his administrative duty.
There was tension between the new demi-humans that had never lived here before and the few demi-human who lived here before. The new demi-humans wanted to start building homes, but the old demi-humans didn't want them to build where the old houses once stood. Their logic being that they didn't know if the rightful owners of that property were dead or not and that they could return here only to have lost their property rights. They didn't want to assume the worst of their neighbors, assuming their friends had died.
The new demi-humans argued that they didn't want to build homes on the outskirts of the village when there was potentially better land right in front of them. If they put all their effort into making a home only to find out that a way better property was available, it would be like punishing them for helping rebuild this town early on.
Both sides had a point and it gave Naofumi a headache.
"Listen... I'll address it by the end of the day." Naofumi promised to get them to stop.
After assuring them again and again, they were finally able to peel themselves away from these people. Naofumi and the others were led by Raphtalia to the edge of the cliff. Along the cliff's edge were a number of graves, but Raphtalia approached a specific pair of graves. No one needed an explanation, these belonged to her parents. Raphtalia took to her knees while everyone else stood awkwardly, not knowing what the appropriate thing to do was.
Raphtalia saw this and spoke.
"Would you all join me?" Raphtalia motioned for Naofumi and the kids to kneel next to her.
They all knelt down with a bit more awkwardness. Once they all were in position, Raphtalia shot them a smile and refocused forward.
"Mom...dad... I'm sorry I was away for so long. It wasn't my choice, as I'm sure you're aware... Things got a lot worse since you two left me... Things have been really hard sometimes and I... I... I didn't keep my promise to you. I gave up..." Raphtalia was emotional, but not crying.
She glanced back at the others and to the side to Naofumi.
"But I won't do so again. I'm not alone anymore and we're doing all the good we can think of. We're going to repair the village and see its flag raised up really high again. We're going to continue to fight the waves, so nothing like that happens anywhere else." Raphtalia made sure to talk herself into smiling, like her parents told her.
"I have a family of my own now... I wish you could meet them, I think you'd like them. Monti is really dependable and I'm sure he'll be a big help around here. Filo is more full of energy and cheer than the other three kids and will really raise any spirits that are down. Teal has no filter and is too smart for her own good, but she's really good at using it to help push people in a positive way. Leon may fight with his sister a bunch, but he knows what to value and he is very protective of what he considers his, family included... And then there's Naofumi-sama... I'm sure you'd both be very rough with him and assume the worst of anyone I brought home..., but please know that I'm very sure that I've chosen a really good person... and... well... I'll be visiting more often and I'll be sure to give you all the details." Raphtalia cut herself short, not wanting to cry.
She repeated herself at Rifana's grave. Keel had her grave placed near Raphtalia's parents, so she found it quickly. Raphtalia came even closer to crying the second time, but she held back. It wasn't until she stood again, that someone else noticed her.
"Raphtalia...? Raphtalia!" a voice called out.
It was Keel. He had seen her from a distance and rushed over. She barely got to her feet before he hugged her.
"It's good to see you, Keel-kun." Raphtalia greeted.
"Same, same. I'm glad you're able to visit." Keel replied.
"Visit? No, even better. We'll be gone a lot, but we're going to be living here now. In fact, Naofumi-sama was named the new lord." Raphtalia told him with excitement.
Keel went from excited to annoyed. He looked to Naofumi with a scrupulous look.
"Hmm..." Keel loudly evaluated him. "I guess we could get worse."
"Oi!" Naofumi said in annoyance.
"Oi!" Leon echoed his father.
Keel laughed at that. "I guess I'll accept it for now."
"You say that like you have a choice..." Naofumi complained.
"I absolutely do, you-wha... What the hell!?" Keel went to retort, but caught sight of Raphtalia's slave crest.
"Raphtalia, why do still have that? Is this guy forcing you t-"
"No, nothing of the sort... Naofumi-sama, please explain it, otherwise Keel will never let it go." Raphtalia interrupted him.
Naofumi begrudgingly explained the bonuses she receives, both the slave and raccoon bonuses.
"...And you're okay with that?" Keel made sure again.
"Absolutely, I love Naofumi-sama and he'd never do anything to harm me." Raphtalia said clearly.
Declaring love so openly threw Keel for a loop. He thought a moment before speaking.
"...Do you have dog bonuses...?" Keel asked.
"Yeah, yeah. If you want, I can have you join my party for a moment and you'll keep the bonuses as long as you remain my ally." Naofumi offered.
"...But I want both... make me your slave." Keel said out of nowhere.
"Keel-kun!" Raphtalia exclaimed. "Why would you asked that!?"
"Because I wanna be strong too. I can't sit here when you could be out there fighting for your life. C'mon, I was always the strongest of us. If you trust him, I'll trust him." Keel told her.
Raphtalia went to talk him out of it. "Keel, y-" but Naofumi walked up to Keel and took a knee to look right into his eyes.
Keel didn't look away. "Please, I don't want to stay this weak the next time something like this happens. I want to fight, not just... watch it all again." Keel said with a pitiful look.
Teal was nudging her father, trying to tell him to say yes, but Naofumi had reached a conclusion.
"Recently... a lot of people died fighting for me and for my family..." Naofumi was thinking of Kurtis and the rest. "They did us a great service, but they died. So I can never thank them. Anyone who sides with us or supports us will face a lot of dangers, but I also don't want to push everyone away either." Naofumi thought aloud.
"Moving forward, I'll do whatever I can to help everyone grow stronger, doing everything I can to see that they survive... So if that's what you want, I won't say no..." Naofumi told him.
Keel was quite happy now, but before he could speak, Naofumi clarified.
"But I want to be clear on some things... The setting will be as low as they can go and I'll have it removed whenever you ask, but you need to cough up the coin to do so." Naofumi told him.
"Of course, of course. You just wait and see, Imma be super strong!" Keel promised.
"What kind of weapon do you want to use?" Monti thought to ask.
"I can make you a sword right now." Teal immediately offered.
"Weapon? I'll use my fists!" Keel announced.
Naofumi smirked at that. He had a great starting weapon for Keel then...
From there, they talked a while and Naofumi promised to get Keel a crest the next day to begin leveling him up. He made it clear that Keel would come level with them sometimes and maybe even fight in the waves if they want, but they both wanted Keel to mainly protect the village. Naofumi liked the idea of traveling with just the family too much to give that up.
Near the end of their conversation, they noticed a number of carts entering the town all at once. Naofumi had to cut it short and see who this was. He saw a number of soldiers and for a moment he thought things were going to go south, but then lord Wymarc exited one of the carts.
"Ah, shield hero, I take it you being here means..."
"Did literally everyone see this coming before me?" Naofumi asked in annoyance.
"Naming you lord of Lurolona? Politically speaking, it was the most obvious move on the board. You may want to develop a political mind yourself." Wymarc said honestly.
"It seems... If I remember correctly, you're bringing..." Naofumi took it in stride.
"Veramir's slaves-former slaves... They have had it rougher than anyone else. Please protect them." Wymarc said in a very serious manner.
The soldiers began unloading provisions from some of the carts while a few helped the women exit the carts. One look told Naofumi everything he needed to know. Each woman looked abused, covered in bruises. Most of them had a dead look in their eyes... and most of them were pregnant. Naofumi had no idea how he was going to deal with a situation like this, but one look at them and he had a strong urge to help.
"Where do you want the refugees?" A soldier asked.
Naofumi had become a hero, an apothecary, and a merchant. Whatever was needed. Now? He needed to be a lord.
"I need them brought to me one at a time, I'll heal their injuries. Raphtalia?"
"Yes?"
"I'll need you and the kids to grab the others staying here and find out what we can do for sleeping arrangements. This is going to take quite some time." Naofumi told her.
"Right." She immediately turned and went to gather the others.
After helping, kids went off to do other things. Teal began planting seeds so they could have enough wood material to make something. Filo started grabbing fish and crabs out of the ocean as fast as she could to provide some extra food. Leon went off hunting the land from above, gathering more food. Monti could have helped Filo or Leon, but wanted to do what he could for the people directly.
Wymarc saw that Naofumi was going to be busy healing, he directed his men and made some decisions himself.
"Put the provisions... in what remains of that church. It has the highest and thickest walls remaining and we'll need security. You three, use some of our spare cart cloth and fashion a roof for the temporary storeroom." Wymarc ordered.
Lines were formed and Naofumi treated each woman. He just got the grasp of 'Zweite' spells from his reading as they traveled, so he used [Zweite Heal] on each of them and gave them medicine. He had to take several Mp potions himself to keep up. He made sure to ask them questions about their pain and such. None of it was going to be useful information, but he wanted to show them that he cared.
Most of them softened up considerably when they found out that Naofumi was the shield hero. Those that didn't tended to soften up to Raphtalia. They wanted to keep things going smoothly, but more than once, a refugee just started crying her eyes out and things were temporarily halted. It was going to take three hours or longer to treat these women and no one was going to stop until that was done.
Oddly enough, things went rather smoothly. Wymarc stayed on top of his men and Raphtalia and Monti directed the residence decently well. It was rare that everyone was so clearly on the same page. Slowly, an atmosphere of cooperation was felt by most.
Once Naofumi was done with their immediate medical attention, he got to work cooking all the food Filo and Leon brought. At the smell of it, the soldiers started acting like strays.
"You guys want a plate? You better stay busy." Naofumi told them.
They collectively ran off to do something while Wymarc laughed at the speed they all had.
"I know we are all busy, but... I wanted to thank you again, Naofumi." Wymarc told him.
"You're welcome... I'm just sorry I couldn't do more back then. I just learned 'Zweite' spells, but I plan to keep improving... That night was... haunting." Naofumi told him honestly.
"Your diligence is commendable. If only the other heroes could think the same." Wymarc remarked.
"I just dealt with Ren the other day. If nothing else, we should have one more hero that takes things seriously." Naofumi assured him.
"More good news then. Oh? And even more." Wymarc said as he looked to the roads.
More carts were entering the village. This was probably more carts and wagons than the village ever received at one time. From the new carts came Van, smiling easily as ever.
"Greetings lord Wymarc, lord Iwatani." He said with a wave.
"Huh, 'lord Iwatani'... Don't do that, just call me Naofumi." Naofumi waved him off.
"I appreciate the privilege. I've brought supplies, mostly food and heavy cloth." Van announced.
"We appreciate it, I'm glad the queen pulled through for us." Naofumi answered politely.
"Oh... um." Van acted weird.
"What?" Naofumi was confused.
"The queen's supplies aren't here yet. She sent some knights along with her supplies, they'll be here later on today or tomorrow." Van clarified.
"So, you're doing this on you own? Thanks." Naofumi answered.
"It is no problem. Actually, some of the demi-humans from my lordship that decided to move here still own their property in my lordship. So I have to pay them for their old homes. So I'll have to hand these supplies to them specifically and then they can trade, share and sell it to the others... I'm sorry if that causes issues." Van clarified further.
"No, that's fair. I have other issues to worry about." Naofumi dismissed the concern.
"Oh? Me and especially lord Wymarc here have years of experience. We'd be more than happy to help advise you." Van volunteered them both.
"Well-" Naofumi went to explain.
"Hey, dad?" Monti called.
Naofumi stopped himself and turned to see Monti nearly to his side.
"Hey, what's up?" Naofumi asked.
"I was wanting to talk to you about that problem earlier." Monti informed him.
"Heh, what a coincidence, we were just about to discuss that." Naofumi answered.
"O-Oh..." Monti now felt out of place among an adult conversation about something important.
"What is it?" Naofumi felt the reluctance.
"Oh... It's nothing that important. I'm sure they have really good advice. I'll-" Monti went to turn away, but Naofumi grabbed his shoulder.
"Monti, whatever it is, I'll hear you out." Naofumi assured him.
"I'm sure they know way mor-" Monti tried to argue.
"Monti... I want to hear you out." Naofumi wasn't buying it.
"Okay... I was thinking about it all day and I don't really like picking a side of who's right and wrong. I think they both have a point, but we can't hash this out because homes need to be built now... Those ladies need one badly... So I was thinking we should gather everyone who survived here before like mom and Keel and confirm the grave stones to figure out who is dead and who could be alive. Do it by household, maybe?" Monti explained his idea.
"A death census to determine next of kin and property rights? I heard Mirso did something similar recently." Wymarc added.
"Y-Yeah, that. Then even if we only determine a few of them, the newcomers could have some good spots to build. That'd help, right?" Monti asked hopefully.
Naofumi sat his hand firmly on Monti's head and rubbed it. It was a shame that Monti sometimes doubted himself, but his insecurities had led to him developing a desire to be useful. A bit of a people-pleaser. In this new village, that was very needed.
"That's a great idea. Please ask the others to help." Naofumi told Monti.
Monti wore a big grin as he ran off.
"Good idea. I assume this was a dispute between old and new residents?" Van asked.
"Yup." Naofumi responded, also sporting a slight smile now.
"A word of advice. Don't let them have that property for nothing. I know you have no infrastructure, but don't let it slide. At the least, tell them that sharing the gifted supplies from lord Reichnott could be seen as payment." Wymarc advised.
"Hmm, that works..., but those women you rescued, I'm not asking any payment from them." Naofumi accepted.
"Indeed, the world owes them a lot." Wymarc thought of Veramir as he said that.
"Still, that boy of yours has a good head on his shoulders and he's incredibly strong from what I've been told. I cannot see how he isn't far more boisterous than he is." Wymarc commented.
"Yeah... Leon is the boaster... Monti is the oldest, the one in charge when we aren't around. I wish he'd stop worrying about others and just be himself." Naofumi said, losing some of that smile.
"What's the source of it, if you don't mind me asking?" Wymarc asked.
"Monti... is a wave monster. More accurately a wave boss now. He made that wave during the last battle. He is a great person, but he feels shame in some ways... this place was destroyed by a wave, I hope fixing it finally gets him to see that he doesn't owe anyone an apology or an excuse." Naofumi said, a stern look now firmly in place of the smile.
"..." They listened and did not offer an opinion.
Right as the food was about to be served, the queens supplies and men arrived. Naofumi asked the kids to hand the food out while he dealt with this. Filo felt tortured having to feed other before herself, but even she wouldn't act up until the pregnant women had their food. After that, she was absolutely going to act up.
The number of carts was larger than Van's and Wymarc's combined. All the knights seemed to begin unloading things themselves with no leadership. A few of them approached Naofumi, one familiar face among them.
"Hello again, shield hero! This time I'll be protecting your town." Ake greeted.
"Ah, so you're among the men the queen sent to protect the place? I'm going to need your opinion on the others, I can't just trust anyone." Naofumi told him.
"That won't be much of an issue. These 40 knights are the ones that princess Melty vetted and took with her to find you. See the dragon insignia on their shields?" Ake pointed.
The knights all had a dragon symbol on their shields, one look told you why. The dragon was a darker blue, the eyes yellow. It was an illustration of Leon.
"After that dragon of yours saved us all, we decided to honor him by adorning our shields with his image." One of the others explained.
Naofumi couldn't hide a smile. Not only did he have 40 loyal knights vetted by Melty, but now Leon actually had worshipers. What a weird day it has been. Naofumi touched one of their shields and copied it.
.
[Dragonguard Shield]
+2 def, +4 mdef, +6 fire resistance
[Ability: Cover II] increases the distance of [Cover] and the speed of travel.
.
"The church ruins over there is being used as a store room. After you are at a stopping point, we have warm food waiting, I'm sure you're all hungry from the road." Naofumi told them.
A knight saying, 'I told you it'd be better here' was heard. Naofumi appreciated the outlook, but needed to reinforce that work was appreciated and laziness wasn't tolerated.
"Construction begins tomorrow. You guys will need to take half shifts helping and half shifts guarding at night for the time being. I know it sucks, but the population has more pregnant women than able-bodied workers." Naofumi told them.
Their spirits weren't that dampened by the news, which was a good sign.
That night there was a feast, Naofumi had never fed so many people and some would say it was mismanagement for him to do so instead of performing some sort of leadership duty, but they'd be wrong. The food was well appreciated and because Naofumi made it, it was the best they ever had. It endeared them all to their new lord and his family. Naofumi could already see it forming, his new home. Things were going to be rough, and quite busy, but they were well on their way to making a place for themselves.
That night was a celebration of sorts. Leon received thanks and praise from the knights he saved and had such a smug grin it hurt. Teal alternated between spending time with Keel and spending time with Ake, doing her best to be social. Filo gorged herself for a while, but she actually stopped to sing some songs. Monti did what he could to make sure everyone had their food and drink and the people had to all but force him to eat something himself and join the festivities. Raphtalia stayed by Naofumi's side and watched the whole event unfold. She watched the rebirth of her village and felt an overwhelming joy.
That night everyone slept in makeshift tents and the few buildings that still had a roof, except the family, who had their cart. Lurolona now had some people, next were the buildings and such. Being able to carve out a life and future here felt so free and everyone was eager to get started.
...
The following day
...
The family woke the next day pretty excited about the day ahead of them. Naofumi found new appreciation for each of them each day. The kids were... well, kids and yet they understood the seriousness of things and did their best to contribute where they could. Raphtalia was quite emotional about what their current goal was, but never let it affect her ability to do what needed to be done. They were among the most admirable people Naofumi knew and made him feel really good about himself to know that they thought highly of him too.
That said, Naofumi knew that he had other responsibilities too. He'd need to find some kind of way for them all to gain levels while they still did all they could for their new home and its people. Naofumi had an idea, but some people might not like it. After making breakfast for the family and sitting down to eat, Naofumi just asked the question.
"Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked casually.
"Yes, Naofumi-sama?" He answered.
"We need to keep gaining levels, especially if I take Keel to Beloukas' this morning..." Naofumi started.
"That's true, but there is enough of us for some to fight and some to help at the village." Raphtalia reasoned.
Naofumi almost hesitated to ask the next question. They were having a nice meal and bringing this up in front of the whole family might cause a scene, but Naofumi didn't feel like he ever had to worry about of plan around Raphtalia. He'd just speak to her as an equal, if she said 'no', then he'd drop it.
"I was thinking we could gain levels really fast, if we have Monti use his wave." Naofumi said those words.
"..." There was a small, painful pause.
"I've been thinking about it too. What's happening to this village, rising from the ashes... It's a dream come true, but I also remember what you told Keel. People near us are under threat, this village can fall again, the people who stand with us could end up like Kurtis... So... We should do whatever we can to win. If we cut corners or don't try hard enough and we fail, we'd have no excuse." Raphtalia told Naofumi.
He gave her a smile. She had been thinking about it too.
"Then Monti, after breakfast I want you to go somewhere really far away and make a wave, try and make it small. If you can't, stagger it out, opening and closing it... Filo, you go with him." Naofumi told the pair.
"Yay~! I getta beat up some monsters. Enjoy being bored, Leon." Filo taunted.
Leon went to snap back, but Naofumi added.
"Leon, I'm sure you have more to read. Focus on your magic, since you're so talented at it." The praise made Leon forget Filo's taunt.
"Teal. You can be useful twice at once. While I take Keel with me, I want you to try and make netting root and those fruit trees of yours on your own. Doing your part of the creation and what I used to do with the [Plant Modification]. It'll help the village a lot and be good practice." Naofumi told Teal.
"You got it... Hmm. I should plant the netting root near the cliffs." Teal thought immediately.
"Why the cliffs." Leon asked.
"The problem with the netting root that I made is that it can keep growing down and whatever grows downward is basically something you're not going to be able to get without tearing up the land and excavating it. You could farm it diligently and it'll never get out of hand, but the point of the netting root was to be low effort... If I grow the netting root on a cliff-side though, then the roots can grow out from the side and that means more harvesting per plant." Teal explained.
"Good idea. Plant the fruit trees wherever we cut down a tree for wood. If you plant them anywhere else, it might be in the way." Naofumi told her.
"So while you're gone, I'll discuss that 'death census' with the others and we'll figure out where we can start building." Raphtalia told Naofumi.
"Right, then when I get back, I'll be the one cutting the trees down and I'll need to place at least one nail per house, that'll trigger as many of my bonuses as possible." Naofumi thought aloud.
Their plans were set for the day and they followed through on them well.
Naofumi and Keel teleported to the capital and Naofumi led the way to Beloukas'. As he did, he wanted reassurance.
"Are you sure that you want this? You don't even know me. Is it because I'm the shield hero?" Naofumi question Keel.
"I trust Raphtalia, that's all. She trusts you, so I will..." Keel answered. "That reminds me..." Keel started.
"What?" Naofumi asked.
"Raphtalia actually said that she loved you, she actually said it... So if you screw up and hurt her..." Keel warned.
"Keel. You don't have to worry. Raphtalia means everything to me too, I love her just as much." Naofumi told him.
"Still kicking your ass if you make her cry." Keel said cheekily.
"Then let's get you powered up or you never will." Naofumi said cheekily back.
Entering the tent and seeing the surroundings stripped Keel of most of his cheekiness. The rest was gone when he saw Beloukas, the walking talking personification of stranger danger.
"Ah, dear customer, t'what do I owe this visit?" Beloukas greeted Naofumi.
Naofumi had to peel Keel off of his back and place him at his side.
"Keel here wants to be my slave, I need your weakest slave seal."
"Curious, this is the second time you've brought a willing slave here. You are quite something." Beloukas commented.
That confirmed Raphtalia's words to Keel, not that he needed a confirmation. Beloukas grabbed the ink and went through the process of mixing their blood. During the short exchange he seemed nervous, but Naofumi telling him that they can stop did not prompt him to give up. After the seal was placed and the pain subsided, Keel didn't seem all that nervous now.
Beloukas went to remind him. "The cost of the seal is-"
"Take it from Teal's profits." Naofumi told him.
"Hehe, fair enough. Anything else I can help you with, dear customer?" Beloukas asked.
"No I... Actually, yes. I need you to start looking for slaves that used to live in Lurolona village." Naofumi thought to tell him.
"The queen already gave me a commission for that same job." Beloukas informed him.
"Oh, nice to see she's following through on that... Then I want you to find others then." Naofumi said.
"Others? That's too broad, dear customer." Beloukas complained.
"If I'm gathering demi-humans... It doesn't matter that they're young. We can level them if they want... and it sounds kind of racist, but I can trust demi-humans not to betray their own more than I can human strangers..." Naofumi thought to himself
"...Kids..." Naofumi decided.
"That's it?" Beloukas complained further.
"Yeah, buy any demi-human kids you can and sell them to me." Naofumi told him.
"I can, hmm. I have three here now if you'd like them?" Beloukas offered.
"We have to visit a few places real quick. Have them ready when we return." Naofumi told him as he and Keel went to leave.
"I didn't tell you the price yet." Beloukas called.
"120 silver." Naofumi said, not turning around, still leaving.
Beloukas went to haggle. "No, no. Two are quite healthy, I'd-"
"130 silver. Think of it as small exchange to help out your biggest source of business." Naofumi spoke back.
"Hehe, fine. I'll part with them for 140 silver." Beloukas called.
"135 silver it is then." Naofumi declared as he and Keel left.
"Of course~." Beloukas agreed.
Once the seal was set, Naofumi told Monti and Filo to have at it. They had traveled 30 minutes away from the village at Filo's speed, they were more than far enough away.
[Wave of Catastrophe]
Monti tried making it smaller, but it took him several minutes to adjust it correctly. Filo took care of the monsters in the meantime. The incoming stream of EXP was going well. Mia and Godiva were receiving it too and without an explanation they were quite confused. Monti and Filo got to work.
Naofumi went to Erhart's next, needing to get Teal some gear.
"Welcome kid... Who's this?" Earhart greeted.
"Good to see you, this is Keel."
"How many more kids are you adopting, kid?"
"Keel is a friend of Raphtalia, no adopting. He wants to get stronger, so we're helping him"
"Ah, so you want to buy some of my gear?" Erhart asked.
"Yes and no. Here." Naofumi pulled several items out of his [Inventory].
He brought out the [Orthrus Dusters], [Wolf Kigurumi], and some of the materials from the Cerberus on the counter. Keel recognized the pelt of the Cerberus.
"That's from the monster that attacked our village..." Keel whispered.
"Yeah. Raphtalia, Monti and Eclair killed it." Naofumi told him.
Keel wore a big grin. "That's awesome..." The grin faded. "But wait, why just them, where the rest of you?" Keel asked.
"We watched. Those three had reasons to want to take it down and they were strong enough to kill it without taking a hit." Naofumi told him.
"Without taking a hit!? Raphtalia?" Keel was in disbelief.
"You travel with us and you'll see. Raphtalia is really strong, she doesn't need protecting... I protect her anyways though." Naofumi admitted.
Keel was blown away.
"These dusters and this... whatever the hell it is, these are already really good. What do you want kid?"
"Can you convert both of these to scaling. They would be great for level 1 Keel, but thanks to Monti it'll be level 20-plus Keel in a few days." Naofumi informed him.
"Sure, the pelt would go great with this suit, the claws and fangs would go great with the dusters... You want me to do something about the look of this thing?" Erhart asked.
"Yeah... Keel would be mad if he had to dress up like a cute wolf, heh." Naofumi answered with a slight laugh.
"Damn right!" Keel barked.
Both Naofumi and Erhart laughed at how snappy Keel was over seeing the costume.
"Then I'll add it to the list. I've been working on everything you asked, but the kids' additions are going to take some time with those odd shapes. You might want me to put this above them, priority-wise." Erhart explained.
"Sounds good. What's the schedule?" Naofumi asked.
"Your armor is done, those staves all have the requested blade added, Raphtalia's armor will be done tomorrow. If I start on these after that, might be done by the time that meeting of yours with the queen is done." Erhart told him.
"Are you sure? We aren't your only customers." Naofumi sounded slightly concerned.
"Unlike before, you are the highest paying now. I'd prioritize your orders to a point, but if you remember your kid dropped 60 gold on my counter last time. Now that pays bills and then some." Erhart brushed off the worry.
Keel's eyes got big at that. The idea that Naofumi could hand over 60 gold was insane to Keel, but that was one of his kids!
"He might do so again. He just received about 80 gold the day before yesterday and finally split Gaelion's hoard, so that's another... 45 gold? 50 gold?" Naofumi told them.
"What the hell!?" Erhart and Keel were both yelling.
"What can I say? He's a dragon. He can sense things of value and how much value they are. He'll be a better merchant than I ever will." Naofumi told them.
Naofumi took his armor and the staves while he was here and they left for the magic shop. Without Raphtalia there, Naofumi felt bulletproof, the witch had no way of harming him. No way to tease him.
As they entered they were greeted, but not by the witch.
"Ah, Naofumi." Ren greeted.
Ren was with some of his party, Wyndia included. She already had on better fitting clothes than before and she was a bit taller. He checked her level and she was already level 26, she was level 17 less than a day ago.
"Ren! Pay attention. You need to buy your grimoires!" Wyndia snapped.
"But I can't even read them." Ren complained.
"Then learn." Wyndia ordered him without consideration.
Ren turned to Naofumi for help.
"Don't look at me. I had to learn the language too, and Raphtalia and I had to teach the kids." Naofumi told him.
"Seriously...?" Ren wished for someone to take his side, but none would.
"See, now get to it!" Wyndia commanded.
"Understood." Ren surrendered.
"By the way, Ren?" Naofumi went to ask.
"What is it, Naofumi?" Ren responded.
"How'd you level Wyndia up so fast?" Naofumi asked.
"Oh... I know where all the best grinding spots are. This world isn't a game, but a lot of my game knowledge holds true." Ren told him.
"Mind telling me a few? Keel here is the latest addition to our extended party and he'll need the help." Naofumi asked.
"Yeah, I can tell you a few." Ren proceeded to tell Naofumi a few spots he could reach easily.
Ren knew his stuff, he told Naofumi not only where these strong enemies were, but how to beat them. Naofumi considered this way better and less dangerous than what he had the kids doing. He immediately went to call the kids and tell them to quit, but he saw that Keel was gaining EXP at a startling rate. It had been maybe 30 minutes since Monti and Filo started and Keel went from level 1 to level 16. Naofumi decided to let them continue. At this rate, Keel would be level 40 by the time of the meeting with the queen, which was staggering. Naofumi also felt in the pit of his stomach that this way was riskier, but he pushed that feeling off for now.
"Shield hero, no Raphtalia with you today?" The witch asked with disappointment.
"That's right, I'm currently immune to your evil." Naofumi said with a victorious smile.
"I put many wicked thoughts in her head last time, wait to find out what..." She threatened.
"A-Anyways..." She was unbeatable. "I need you to check Keel's affinities." Naofumi gave up and moved on.
Ren saw Naofumi's expression and knew they were in the same boat. For heroes to lose so easily.
The witch wasn't done teasing him. "Shield hero, if you wanted another kid, Raphtalia is more than willing to-"
"Keel isn't my kid..., so drop it!" Naofumi interrupted.
The witch laughed a bit. Ren gave Naofumi a concerned look.
"Well never mind then, come, let's check your affinities." She stopped teasing him.
"Hope you get better than me." Ren commented.
"Why? What's yours?" Naofumi asked.
"...Water and support..." Ren admitted.
"Better than healing and support, I can't hurt a thing." Naofumi complained.
"Yeah..." Ren seemed disappointed.
"I don't see the problem. Melty has water affinity and she could slice things, make it rain and knock an enemy back. Seems useful." Naofumi tried to encourage him.
"...You wouldn't get it..." Ren said in a depressed tone.
Naofumi saw his face and moved on, while Wyndia kept yelling at him to get moving.
Keel already had his hands on the crystal ball and was performing the test.
"Hmm, it seems you have an affinity for fire and support magic." The witch informed the pair. "That's a pretty good combination, child." She added.
"Especially going for a fist fighter. Support's not bad on you at all. Buff your attack or speed and have at'em." Naofumi added.
Keel gave agreement with a big grin.
"So, no books?" The witch asked.
"No, we already have those grimoires." Naofumi told her.
Those words struck Ren. "How many grimoires do you have?" Ren asked.
"Hmm... 20." Naofumi counted in his head.
"Wha-What!?" Ren shouted.
"Yeah, we all have different affinities. Of course, Leon is learning them all." Naofumi told him.
"That's why I was shocked. He used a lot of different magic in our fight. Fire of course, but also healing, anti-healing, anti-support, and illusion... That kid is crazy strong." Ren thought aloud.
Wyndia puffed out her chest and wore a smug smile hearing praise for her dear nestmate.
"You don't know the half of it. Since you fought Leon, he received another power up and all the kids are stronger, not just him. You better shape up." Naofumi jokingly warned.
"But how...?" Ren was lost.
"I'd talk to Eclair. She trained Raphtalia some. She seems like the best fighter I've seen in terms of skill." Naofumi suggested.
"That doesn't raise my numbers though." Ren said.
"Doesn't matter. Leon told me you suck at actually using your sword, otherwise you'd have disarmed him early in your fight... You have to improve in every way possible, right?" Naofumi argued.
Ren looked at Wyndia, who was staring back at him with a vicious look. "You're right." Ren surrendered the argument.
Naofumi and Keel left via [Portal Shield] and returned to the village soon after. Naofumi told Keel to go study with Leon, thinking he'd get no greater teacher.
They had three days before the meeting with Mirellia and they had a lot to do. Lord Wymarc and his men left just after Naofumi returned and began their march back to Windingbrook. They'd been going non-stop since before the battle with the three heroes church, it was understandable. Van said he'd be able to stay a few extra hours, but needed to get back to his own lordship soon. He stayed until about noon.
Raphtalia and the others (with Keel speaking via Naofumi's skill) were able to determine 31 properties that had no living owners, with six more that had some known living relatives, but hadn't come here in four months to claim it. Naofumi immediately declared them forfeit. That kind of immediate decision was a shock to a few of them, but not a surprise to Raphtalia at all.
"We are the ones rebuilding this village and making something of it. They had more than a season to come here, but found it to be too much work. If they complain, I might just give a small amount of money to them as payment, but the people here and now matter more than some stranger with little drive." Naofumi said, with no hesitation.
Putting these people first was appreciated by those that heard him to be sure.
Next, Naofumi decided on how they'd begin the construction. It was a bit upsetting in the beginning.
"Today's goal is the foundation of my home. Now before any arguing erupts, here me out." There was some arguing, but they quieted.
"I want the floor, the outer most walls, and the minimum roofing. Nothing else. No interior walls, use temporary support beams if needed. This is going to be a big building, I won't lie. It'll have five bedrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, a workplace for dealing with lordly matters, as well as a place for me to make potions and accessories, and more..., but we just need the outside done. We do that and no one will need to sleep in a tent. I plan on everyone to be under a roof as soon as possible." Naofumi explained.
There was still a mixed opinion.
"I get it. People have been screwing you guys over for a long time, but I've been screwed over too. I don't want to be seen the same as those ass-those people. So, until every one of you has a home that is yours, my family and I will not rest or live in this house. Think of it as your own until we can give you something of your own." Naofumi finished.
That definitely helped them understand him. There were still some people who weren't happy, mostly because of other reasons. Some of them didn't want the construction to be this controlled, because they wanted to grab good land while they could, but Naofumi wasn't having it. It'd be a pain in the ass, but he'd make everything go through him first. No one was pulling a fast one on him. He would do all that he could to provide for these people, now his people, now his town.
Soon enough this place would be home.
.
[Author's Notes]
Keel will be joining the party sometimes. Time for the doggie danger. Getting powered up and ready.
The village has it's own unique set of problems, most of which will take time to fix.
Monti might just shine in this environment, one where his desire to please others can be indulged beneficially.
Last time Monti made a wave, something came through, but I'm sure that's a one time thing, right? ... ...Right?
Question to my readers: I've read further into the LNs and there are a number of issues that I did not intend to get wrong.
Namely, Sp isn't just spirit power, it's specifically power from the weapon spirit. I'd need to make it so eating the soul eater only fixed Monti's Mp and switch Liviccic to Mp and end the Grimwald fight differently.
Plant magic seems to be earth and water, not just earth. I'd need to add water to Teal's affinities.
Leon should not be able to use other magics with an affinity for fire, regardless of his talent. The other spells were fine because they were still rooted in fire, but specifically [Sleep-bind] should be impossible.
Would you (my readers) want me to make these changes now/soon or have me not change them until a much later rewrite?
Please leave a review!