"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
...
Raphtalia just let it happen, rubbing her eyes. Naofumi could be a pain sometimes and the kids didn't dissuade him at all.
After the kids cleaned the food tables, they left with a very ashamed Raphtalia, apologizing to the staff as they went. They had one more destination tonight before heading home.
...
As they traveled out of the castle and through the streets of Castletown, Naofumi explained what happened at the meeting and what was discussed. He glossed over the power-up methods, as that wasn't necessarily important for them to know. Raphtalia and the kids were a little worried to hear that the heroes would now gain a lot more strength, particularly Leon. They weren't being manipulated anymore, but after everything that happened, they'd hold some grudges.
Still, the idea of going to this 'Cal Mira' and gaining a lot of power in a short time frame was too good for any of them to pass up. They had mixed feelings on the change in plans though.
...
Beloukas' tent
...
They arrived at Beloukas' again. When they entered, they found Beloukas waiting with 10 slaves. Four children, one of which was a beastman mole of some sort, the other demi-humans and six adults, one woman, five men. One of the adults was some sort of reptilian beastman, the others demi-humans.
Beloukas was all smiles as he presented his products.
"I was able to secure an extra child and six adults fit to work." Beloukas told Naofumi, proud of himself.
Naofumi ignored his words and looked at the 'product'. All the adults didn't shy away from looking him in the eye, they weren't scared. The kids seemed scared though, especially the beastmen. This told Naofumi that these adults were probably slaves for quite some time, having become numb to this.
He walked over to the kids and knelt to the mole beastmen and placed a hand softly on their head. There was a flinch, they were anticipating pain.
"...Have you told them why I'm buying them?" Naofumi asked Beloukas, still patting the scared kid's head.
"Why, no. Dear customer, what if you didn't care for one or more of them? Getting their hopes up would be so cruel." Beloukas answered.
"Likely it's because he doesn't talk to them at all, just at them." Naofumi thought.
"Let's talk about price." Naofumi told him.
"The kids, I'll sell them for 80 silver each. That one you are touching, 1 gold and 20 silver. These adults I'll sell for... let's average it at 1 gold and 50 silver each. 1 gold and 70 silver for the women. More than fair." Beloukas offered.
"Not even close." Naofumi turned him down.
Beloukas went to pretend to be surprised "Wha-" But Naofumi interrupted him.
"I'm not paying more than 50 silver for those kids." Naofumi didn't feel like playing.
Beloukas went to haggle. "Dear customer, I-"
"And the price for the adults? Absurd. 80 Silver." Naofumi moved right along to the next complaint.
"At least a gold coin, I-" Beloukas tried to haggle, but could barely get a word in.
"80 Silver and that woman too. Their sex doesn't matter for labor." Naofumi said.
"Let's discuss this then." Beloukas sighed.
"Most importantly, why would I pay more for this little one?" Naofumi asked, checking each of the kids.
"Ah, well that one is a mole beastmen, they are very good with their hands. Ideal craftsmen. For your purposes, they're perfect." Beloukas pitched.
"...They're damaged." Naofumi said with a sad voice.
"Excuse me?" Beloukas asked, a bit confused.
"They're damaged. This one has a bunch of scars on their back... I want a discount for them." Naofumi saw large scars beneath their fur.
"...I'll agree to the previous prices and reduce that one's price to one gold, but the remover cost is separate." Beloukas answered.
At the word 'remover' the adults started paying more attention.
"20 silver each? Then the price hasn't changed." Naofumi was annoyed.
"Hasn't it, though?" Beloukas countered.
"...Deal." Naofumi would accept that.
"Haha, splendid. Now that would make the total price... 730 silver before remover, 930 silver afterwards." Beloukas told him.
Again the word 'remover' was used and now the adults really wanted to know what was going on. Naofumi saw this and left the children for a moment. He went in front of them all.
"And what about my profits?" Teal asked.
The slaves looked at Teal with confusion. They then did the same with the others, confusion mounting.
"Um, excuse me?" One of the adult slaves went to speak.
"I'll answer all you questions in a moment... Beloukas, what's Teal's profit?" Naofumi echoed.
"The original set was sold at 5 silver a seed, I sold all 250 seeds, her share was originally agreed upon to be 20% of the sold seeds, so 250 silver." Beloukas informed them.
"A single silver piece? I'm disappointed with Teal... Then again, I rushed her back then, so... kinda my fault..." Naofumi thought
"Then there's the new stock. The new agreement was 50%. I sold 100 of the old seeds to that man earlier. I charged him 450 silver for them, so a 10% bulk sale savings. Meaning 225 silver would be her cut."
Naofumi almost wanted to argue that Teal deserved 25 more silver more. Beloukas agreed to the 10% bulk discount, not Teal. At the same time, they had places to be. He decided to accept it.
"Then lastly we have the 70 silver for the Valian eggs, so 350 silver. So, the total amount owed to you is 825 silver." Beloukas informed them.
"1 gold and 5 silver, then? Fine." Naofumi handed the coin to Beloukas then turned back to the slaves.
"Listen up, I'm the shield hero." Naofumi told them.
They instantly had hope in their eyes.
"I bought you kids purely to save you, I bought you adults hoping for your help. I now run a village made of former slaves. We need help rebuilding. I'd like you all to live in my village as free people and help us make a real home for everyone." Naofumi spoke softly.
The slaves were extremely overjoyed. The kids were in tears of relief.
"But before anything else, I have a question... Do any of you want to be stronger? Do any of you wish to defend yourselves?" Naofumi asked them.
The lizardman stepped forward. "I would like to, this one wishes to not be weak." He said with a slight hesitation.
"Anyone else?" Naofumi asked.
"..." The others remained silent.
"Then let me explain. I have the ability to make those registered as my slaves stronger. My girlfriend over there, Raphtalia, still has a slave seal set on the absolutely lowest settings. That's so she can gain those bonuses, but she can still make her own decisions. Would you be willing to still have the seal, to receive those bonuses?" Naofumi attempted his first pitch at this.
The lizardman thought hard. Clearly both power and freedom were equally as important to him.
"Can you prove that you are the shield hero?" The lizardman thought to ask.
"Hmm, I can change my shield form, but I also have a signed document from the queen that gave me lordship of Lurolona. It states my name and title as shield hero." Naofumi took the item out and showed it to the slave as he explained it.
"...Then this one will trust in the words of the shield lord. I wish to be stronger." He decided.
"Glad to hear it. In the future, if you ever want it removed, I'll do it upon request. You'd have to pay the 20 silver for the remover, though." Naofumi informed him
After that, Naofumi nodded to Beloukas, who started to remove their seals. They felt like running the moment they were free, but found the sense not to. Once everyone else was free, Beloukas moved on to adding the new seal to the lizardman. After that was done, he addressed them again.
"You guys are free, I'm not the boss of you, but if you come with me to the village, we will treat you well and do what we can for each other. We have supplies and security, but we need homes built, yours among them. If you are willing to trust me, will you come with me?" Naofumi asked.
The mole beastmen rushed forward and latched onto his leg desperately. "P-Please, don't leave me here..." The voice was a girl's and her voice and body were trembling.
Naofumi leaned down and patted her head again. The others either decided themselves or found the answer looking at one another.
"...You look like you've all decided to help me out, thanks. Join my party and you'll be able to go to the village." Naofumi told them.
Naofumi motioned for the family to approach. They came to stand next to Naofumi as he turned to Beloukas.
"I don't know how many more workers I need, but continue looking for kids." Naofumi told him.
Beloukas nodded as the family teleported away via [Portal Shield]. The former slaves were confused for a moment. Beloukas didn't bother explaining anything and went over to his desk to enter the new transaction into his business ledger.
The little mole beastmen girl was about to start crying when-
[Knock Knock II]
...
Lurolona village
...
The family teleported back to the village. They wasted no time, not wanting to scare their newest neighbors.
"Monti, Filo, Leon, you three go tell the others about our new residents." Raphtalia told them.
"Right." The kids said in unison and ran off.
"Teal, you deal with Keel." Naofumi told her.
"Mmmm, fine, I guess." Teal pretended like it was a bother, but ran off with much excitement.
After a moment, Naofumi used [Knock Knock II] to summon the former slaves. They were all confused and/or shocked. The next hour was spent explaining things to them and making arrangements. Then the next hour was spent informing everyone that the Iwatani family was going to Cal Mira and would be gone for a time. Most adults knew enough about the event to know their lord would have to attend, for everyone's sake.
Keel was livid about being left behind, but Teal was a fountain of good news. Giving Keel all kinds of food that Keel never had before and also giving him the equipment he'd be using. Keel seemed to rush to put on the baggy former kigurumi. Teal seemed to know the reason, but no one else was there at the time, so no one else realized.
After eating, Keel, Filo and the lizardman went out to level a bit. Naofumi gave the man a weapon for the time being and he had the perfect one for a beginner, The [Carcass Carver]. They only had a few hours left for such activities, but they needed Keel to gain that last level as soon as possible.
Naofumi made sure to apply medicine to the beastmen girl with scars. She seemed to like him and was scared of most others. Raphtalia and Monti tried their best to get her to like them, but it was hit and miss. Naofumi had them both take care of the kids after he was done giving them medicine and food so he could look through his menus.
He had to use these power-up methods to power up. The first thing to do was to look at his humongous list of drop items. He had literally hundreds of items he'd never use. He wanted to convert most of those to energy, but he also needed to think things through. For both of the enchantments that Motoyasu talked about, you needed to sacrifice items or monster souls. He didn't have any monster sou-yes he did.
From Filo killing monsters, Naofumi just received a soul fragment.
"So I couldn't get those to drop until I knew, huh." Naofumi thought.
He figured he'd focus on only a few shields, shields that seemed like his best or most useful, and power those up.
He had a list of shields he wanted to up. Some for their stats, some for their abilities and a few out of curiosity. He had enough ore to give [Chimera Viper Shield], [Soul Eater Shield], [Dragon Shield], [Deep Hydragar Shield], [Spider Queen Shield], [Cerberus Shield], [Siderite Shield], and [Family Crest Shield I] all a '+2' and have 10 ore slotted each. It was low tier ore, for slotting, it did little. He also took his enormous amount of energy from his liquidated items and previous wave monster stash and took each of those form [C] to [R]. Lastly, he put enchantments on each of them, even if they weren't good, he rolled a result for the random ones and moved on for now.
He then took a look at the second group of shields.
[Tyrant Shield], [Valian Shield], [Paladin's Shield], and [Holy Shield].
These four were the best shields Naofumi had for fire, water, shadow and light defense respectively. Lightning being covered by the [Soul Eater Shield]. For receiving big attacks from future wave bosses, attacks like [Judgement], Naofumi needed these to be improved at least a bit. Naofumi gave them each a '+1', 10 slotted ore and increased their rarity from [C] to [UC].
He was low on ore now and the ore wasn't that good to begin with. Still, he had plenty of energy left. More than enough to awaken a few shields. Naofumi was told the abilities would be increased. So he chose some shields that he believed would be affected well by the awakening.
.
[Soul Eater Shield] (Awakened) +2 (10/40) R
+10 Sp, spirit resistance (medium), spirit attack resistance (medium).
[Ability: Drain Null] Your Hp, Mp and Sp have resistance to draining effects.
[Unique Ability: Wall Escape] Pass through a solid obstacle. (very high Sp cost)
[Unique Ability: Undead Control] Exert control over undead monsters. (Based on level of user versus level of undead monster, unless monster already has a master, then its user's level versus the master's level)
[Unique Ability: Soul Eat] After being struck, the shield drains the target of Sp and grants it to the user. Is more effective if the blocked attack uses Sp. (If the victim doesn't have Sp, it steals Mp, if the victim doesn't have Sp or Mp, it steals Hp.)
Mastery Level: 0
Item Enchantment: Level 1: Magic defense +5%
Eggug spirit: Reduce monster damage by 6%
Status Enchantment: MP +21
.
[Chimera Viper Shield] (Awakened) +2 (10/35) R
+3 def, +3 mdef, +10 to poison resistance
[Ability: Antidote Compounding Up] Increase the effectiveness of anti-poison medicines you make by 25%.
[Ability: Change Shield] Switches shields instantly. Can be used on your shield or on another skill itself.
[Unique Ability: Long Hook] Grab onto something within 24 meters.
[Unique Ability: Snake Venom Fang (large)] After an enemy attacks this shield, poison them with snake bites. The power and effect of the venom is based on your poison resistance and some other resistances.
Mastery Level: 0
Item Enchantment: Level 1: Lightning resistance +5%
Green Mush spirit: Medicine is 8% better on you.
Status Enchantment: Agi +18
.
Both of his choice shields gained abilities or strengthened them. This made Naofumi consider the last group of shields he was interested in upping. The [Commander Shield], [Hourglass Shield], and [Memento Aegis]. These three shields seemed like they'd all benefit from awakening more than other shields, because their stats were all below average, but possessed very useful abilities. He'd awaken these three, but not up them in any other way.
.
[Commander Shield] (Awakened) +0 (0/35) C
+1 Hp
[Ability: General] Each party member gains a slight bonus to their stats for each member under them (+1 to a single stat per subordinate)
[Ability: Lieutenants] Each member of your party may have a party of their own. Those party members are treated as 'sub-party members'. Sub-party members receive most of the same benefits as full party members.
Mastery Level: 4
.
[Hourglass Shield] (Awakened) +0 (0/40) C
[Ability: Portal Shield] You may teleport you and your party to any registered hourglass as well as a number of saved points. (Max 3)
Mastery Level: 5
.
[Memento Aegis] (Awakened) +0 (0/70) C
[Ability: Companion] All party members gain slightly more stats and EXP.
[Ability: Comrade] Those who have been party members previously, but aren't currently, still gain some benefits as if they are still in your party, as long as they remain your ally.
Mastery Level: 3
.
He found that awakening the [Hourglass Shield] didn't grant him any new abilities or upgrade the [Portal Shield] in any way. He also never planned on using it as his shield of choice in battle. This made the energy used to awaken it a complete waste. He let it go. It was worth a try and he needed to learn through trial and error.
He was actually a bit upset with himself. If he waited to power up the shields before giving them to the kids, they'd have been even better. It was a mistake he could not have known about. He'd just need to remember to power up the shields he granted to Raphtalia and Monti.
The new ability that [Commander Shield] had was good at a glance, but more party members meant more split EXP. He'd avoid losing out on EXP when he could. So this essentially gave Naofumi 5 more stat points at random for the cost of the energy needed to awaken a shield. Looking at it that way, it was mostly a waste. Even during a wave with a large party, it scaled poorly.
Naofumi tried a few more things before he looked at what he had remaining. He placed another 6 ore in each of his best shields and was nearly out. He'd need to mine or buy ore at some point and hopefully it'd be better than this crude iron ore he had. He had some other ores, but it was few and was best left for accessory making. He had enough energy to do more. Re-roll enchantments, increase rarity, even awaken another two shields. What else would he do?
"..." Naofumi answered his question immediately.
.
[Family Crest Shield l] (Awakened) +4 (16/80) SR
+1 to all stats (excluding atk) for each other member of your family (currently +5)
[Unique Ability: Coat of Arms] Each member of your family gains a cloak that grants defense and magic defense equal to 15% of you own defense and magic defense.
Mastery Level: 41
Item Enchantment: Level 3: Defense +9%
Balloon spirit: Normal attack defense +5
Status Enchantment: Defense +20
.
This was a shield that meant a lot to Naofumi and it could protect the family when he wasn't around. So he used the rest of what he had to strengthen it. If he got to choose which shield was the strongest, it was definitely going to be this one.
It didn't gain any new abilities, but the ability increased by 50%. Naofumi decided that he wanted to awaken the other family crest shields at some point.
Lastly, with his shields dealt with, Naofumi took a moment to spend some of those spell points he had thanks to the staff method. He came to realize one annoying thing about that method. That was that [Fast Heal], [Zweite Heal], and [All Fast Heal] were all considered different spells. Because of this, he'd not be able to up all his options evenly. He took all his 'Zweite' tier spells to 'III' and kept the rest of the points untouched. He wasn't going to spend them carelessly.
By the time he was done tinkering with his new avenues to gain power, it was getting dark. Filo and the others came back right at dinner, which was leftovers. Keel made it to level 40 and the lizardman made it to level 12.
With the extra time he had from not cooking, Naofumi decided to work on an accessory. Leon asked to watch and learn. Naofumi took it slow and explained things to him as he went. At some point, that same little mole beastmen child snuck up on them and was watching too. Naofumi remembered Beloukas' words about her people being good with their hands and being excellent craftsmen. Naofumi decided to invite her to take a seat next to Leon and teach them both some of what he knew, using this newest piece as an example.
Naofumi found out the girl's name was Imiya. They found out about her uncle and a few other tidbits, but she wasn't going to spill her guts about her harsh treatment so soon.
Keel didn't complain about the outfit, even after them mentioning it was very baggy on him, Keel was adamant that he liked it that way. They left it alone.
The rest of that day came and went far too fast. Naofumi noticed that the days were speeding up again. They'd be busy soon. He found it easy to drift off in the cart that night.
...
The next day
...
Naofumi woke up early to work on accessories again. He had 5 good pieces he'd been working on for the week and they were nearly done. He wanted to sell them on Cal Mira to some higher level adventures. Naofumi couldn't let the family sleep in today at all. Once he felt he made some progress, he went to wake everyone, which included Keel. Keel was staying in the remains of his old home, there was still a room that was well enough to live in.
Naofumi knocked on the door. "Oi, Keel, get ready. We're leaving for the class upgrades soon." Naofumi called out.
There was a loud noise of something falling and it sounded like Keel was scrambling to the door.
"Don't come in, I'll be there in a minute!" Keel yelled, sounding stressed.
"Um, you okay?" Naofumi asked.
"Y-Yeah, just fine..." Keel managed to say.
"...Okay. We'll be waiting." Naofumi let it go, for now.
"If it becomes an issue while fighting, I'll address it, otherwise it's not my business." Naofumi thought.
Naofumi knew they'd be back after the class up ceremony. He'd have to then return and depart the village. He hoped that little Imiya would be fine without him. She had been quite clingy and scared. For that matter, he hoped the knights could keep everyone safe while they were gone.
Soon enough, Keel came running already wearing the modded kigurumi. Did he actually like that ugly thing? After eating breakfast, Naofumi, Filo, and Keel left for class upgrades. The rest of the family tried to help around the village as much as they could, knowing they'd have to depart soon.
...
The dragon hourglass
...
When the three of them arrived at the hourglass in the capital, they were met by a number of people. Naofumi thought it might be like last time, but no one was currently receiving a class upgrade. It was everyone specifically waiting for them to arrive.
Mia, Godiva, and Wyndia were there, awaiting class upgrades. Near them was Ren and the rest of his party waiting nearby. Eclair was also there, waiting to go back with them to defend the village while they are gone. For a moment, Naofumi thought that was everyone, but he noticed Motoyasu in the back. He seemed a little better than he did a day ago, but was keeping his distance. Smart.
"Sorry we're late." Naofumi offered them.
"Nonsense, shield hero. We came early because we know how diligent you can be." Eclair offered.
"Hmm." Naofumi accepted it.
A thought crossed his mind. "Where are Fitts and Chloe? Hell, where's Liviccic and Sophia?" Naofumi thought they'd be going to Cal Mira too.
"They had no need for the class up ceremony and already left for the port. Lord Blackcrown is in charge of overseeing Princess Melty's safety during the trip." Mia informed him.
"Mel-chan will be there!" Filo asked with joy.
"Indeed. The queen wishes for those she picked for lordship to participate in the activation event. Hoping it will help give the image of power Melromarc needs. With that being the case, and some heroes having room in their parties, it seemed like a very safe and quick way for the future queen to gain power." Eclair explained.
"I tend to agree." Naofumi nodded.
"But if they left already and are able to make it to the port on time, why the hell is Motoyasu here and not going with them? I swear if he tries something..." Naofumi thought to himself.
"Alright, begin the ritual." Eclair told the people operating the hourglass.
Naofumi motioned for Filo to stay close to the hourglass for a moment. They then began the class up ceremony. The people receiving this were Mia, Godiva, Keel and Wyndia.
Each of them stepped up, looked at their options and selected one within 15 seconds. They clearly knew what they wanted. That was until the last one, Wyndia. She took much longer to choose
Godiva and Keel actually chose the same class, [Technician]. It was similar to Raphtalia's choice. Both lean towards you mixing magic and martial abilities. Raphtalia up to this point only used it in a more basic fashion, but this allowed them to more freely cast spell-like abilities alongside their physical combat. Godiva chose this to better use the techniques she copied from Averill in their fight. Keel chose it because of what he saw in the fight previously. He had to be good at multiple things, he had to be self-reliant.
Mia chose the class that she would not say, but she seemed pleased, almost as if she didn't think she'd get to choose that option. Being secretive made the younger people quite curious. Filo, Keel, and Wyndia all seemed to pester her. Ren also wanted to know, but he didn't want to seem lame by acting like those much younger than himself.
Wyndia chose a class called [Dragoon]. It helped her with a type of magic she knew called [Dragon's Vein]. Naofumi showed a little interest in that too, but they'd be stuck on a boat and then on an island together for a few days, plenty of time to pester her.
"..." After everything was said and done, they waited for Naofumi to move them.
"Alright. I can only move 6 people, that's 5 others and myself. I have another skill to call party members to my side en masse. Everyone accept the party invite." Naofumi instructed.
"..." Naofumi waited until everyone accepted the invite. then-
"...Oh yeah... gotta wait an hour... fuck." Naofumi just now remembered the cooldown of [Portal Shield].
He now had to spend time in a room with Ren and Motoyasu. Ren was a lot better than before, but he still didn't like the guy yet. Motoyasu was more of a problem. He was now in a room with Filo for an hour. Naofumi had to endure the swelling of fatherly anger.
"Shield hero, if we have to wait, then maybe now is a good time to tell me anything I need to know." Eclair prompted a discussion.
"Hmm, sure."
There was small talk amongst some of the people there, but most of them listened to Naofumi and Eclair's conversation.
Naofumi began to explain. "As you probably know, we have something like 60 pregnant women. There's another 20 or so women that are still recovering, but my medicine took care of most of it. We just bought 10 slaves yesterday and freed 9 of them. There's th-"
"Why keep the last one a slave? ...Pardon the interruption." Mia asked.
"I give bonus stats to my slaves. They level up a bit faster and a bit stronger. We asked if any among them wanted to defend the village, one of them agreed." Naofumi told her, aware of her concerns.
"Me too, I got the crest to become stronger and I don't regret it." Keel added.
"...How many… volunteer combatants does Lurolona have currently?" Eclair found a nicer word to use.
"We just have that one, he's level 12. Oh, and Keel here, but he's coming with us to Cal Mira." Naofumi answered.
"So there's still just the 40 knights?" Eclair asked.
"We got a bandit chief on the way." Naofumi remembered.
"What?" Eclair was dumbstruck.
"Yeah, this bandit leader we stopped in the past got pretty strong and he came begging for a job." Naofumi answered like it was a normal thing.
"That's not exactly how it happened..." Filo complained.
"And you trust him?" Eclair asked doubtfully.
"Hell no! I was going to vet the guy and likely turn him away, that'll be your job now." Naofumi said, with no sympathy in his voice.
"S-Shield hero… Naofumi, why are you like this?" Eclair let formality go as her frustration mounted.
"He's strong, but knows he'd lose, seemed like a low risk gamble. Not like he could best you, right?" Naofumi leveraged her pride.
"Of course." She knew what he was doing, but he was right.
"Besides the security and the residential issues, there's also a lack of workers. There are currently 8 workers and they aren't exactly the most motivated. I got Wagner's son sending stonemasons and carpenters, that should help." Naofumi added.
"How many are we talking about?" Eclair asked.
"Maybe around 20 people?" Naofumi didn't know for sure.
"Influx of new people means conflict. I'll try and keep things calm." Eclair promised.
"The only other things of note are a little beastmen girl named Imiya. She was heavily abused. The scars aren't all gone yet, even with my medicine, those scars were nasty. She is very scared. Try not to scare her. She isn't even okay with the kids yet, just me." Naofumi thought to add.
"Understood." Eclair didn't let her voice betray how hearing of such a child made her feel.
"Don't forget the pets!" Filo added.
"Oh, yeah. We are raising some valians. They have a nest on the beach. Nothing should happen while we are gone, but maybe check on it once per day." Naofumi was starting to see how much he was putting Eclair in.
"Valians? What are those?" Eclair asked.
"It's a shellfish monster, supposedly very rare." Naofumi responded.
"What is with you and raising monsters?" Ren asked.
"I'm not raising them. The kids wanted some pets and they're basically huge lobsters after they grow up. We'll be farming them." Naofumi defended.
"Anything else?" Eclair asked hesitantly.
Naofumi sighed. "We have time to kill."
Naofumi proceeded to give a very long and detailed series of complaints about as many residents as he could. At first, it sounded very rude and harsh, but the more they listened, the more they heard the truth behind what Naofumi was saying.
He'd complain that certain residents preferred certain food so much that if he didn't make the plate of food himself, they'd get way too much of that food and it led him needing to cook more of some things and less of others so everyone still got fed.
He complained how two residents seemed to hate each other, but that it wasn't the case. They were both the venting type and the work they were doing wasn't to their liking, so they took it out on each other. He had to find different work for them to do to solve their issues.
He complained some of the former slaves were scared of certain other residents, so he had to isolate the parties involved from one another. Both, at working assignments, and in their sleeping arrangement.
They all listened as he thought he was 'sharing information', but was really just complaining. From complaining about getting enough food with their deceptive population numbers, to venting about sleeping in the cart while everyone else is in a building. It became clear to everyone that Naofumi really took care of the people he was in charge of and paid more attention to their needs than most would give him credit. They all collectively agreed that they'd not try and convince him, it'd just be a headache.
Even after Naofumi vented all his complaints, there was over 30 minutes left.
"Well, now we're just waiting. You should have brought Leon along." Wyndia complained.
"And hear him mouth off to Ren for 30 minutes? No thanks." Naofumi wouldn't have liked that.
"Leon doesn't know when to shut up." Filo couldn't help but add.
"Filo, don't say mean things about your brother when he's not here to defend himself." Naofumi told her.
"But dad, you were just doing that same thing." Filo pointed out his hypocrisy.
"...Do as I say, not as I do. I want you kids to aim higher than as good as me." Naofumi responded.
"But dad, you're not bad..." Filo tried to correct him.
"Um..." Motoyasu went to speak.
"What?" Naofumi asked in an accusatory manner.
"I just thought we could go over some stuff about our power-up methods..." Motoyasu offered.
"...Fine. I have a question. These soul fragments, they don't seem to be random like Itsuki's. If I move a mush soul to any weapon form it still gives a plus eight to medicine. So that means they're predetermined?" Naofumi asked.
"Um, yeah. I told you Itsuki's enchantments were dumb." Motoyasu responded.
"So what are the best ones you've found?" Ren asked, seeing where Naofumi was going with this.
Motoyasu explained some of the best soul drops he got so far and where to get them. It was as Naofumi and Ren expected, the stronger or rarer the monster, the better the soul drop. Motoyasu pissed them both off by mentioning he got a soul drop from the chimera from their first wave. They each fought strong monsters up to this point, but because they didn't know that power-up method at the time, they'd never even get the chance to get those drops.
"Damn it, with my drop rate... I likely would have received soul drops from most of the big monsters we've fought." Naofumi lamented.
"The Bioplant, Tyrant rex, the Hydra, the Stonehead. I could have gotten more out of those hard fights... If only I knew at the time." Naofumi would be a little upset at the circumstances for some time.
"Naofumi, you mentioned your drop rate. Are you talking about the Usapil bonus?" Ren asked.
"Hmm, yes and no. I have 4 shields that up my drop rate." Naofumi answered.
"4! Where did you get the other three? I only know about the Usapil one, same as Ren." Motoyasu badgered.
"I figured we'd all have those by now. It came from the coinage." Naofumi told them.
No sooner did he reveal that, did the two other heroes absorb a coin of each type.
"Three more drop rate increases... Damn." Motoyasu seemed impressed.
They both switched to the golden coin version of their weapons to begin mastering them.
"Hmm, maybe we should go over more than just our power-up methods? Tricks of the trade like that can be worth a lot." Ren considered aloud.
So that is what they did. They three of them went over tips and tricks that they each learned in their time here. They also mentioned where some of their more useful abilities came from. While explaining things, Naofumi said something that interested both Ren and Motoyasu, but for different reasons.
"Another thing? If we holy heroes raise a monster, it'll become a royal monster. Meaning increased stats, intelligence and a human form. All mine are kids, but Sophia is a young adult, so it may vary." Naofumi thought to add.
"Any monster? Even something as weak as a balloon?" Ren asked in disbelief.
Naofumi considered the absurdity of those little bastards being royalty.
"...Okay, maybe weaker monsters can't. But filolials and the greater and rarer creatures should." Naofumi added to his previous statement.
The other two heroes nodded, agreeing that some kind of limit surely exists.
Motoyasu now had some ideas on how to fill his party again, but he hadn't the time. He'd need to wait until after he returned from Cal Mira to put it in motion.
They spoke a bit longer, but they were cut off when Naofumi's skill was off cooldown.
"No more talking, let's get moving." Naofumi told them, they all nodded and stood ready.
Naofumi used [Portal Shield] to teleport himself, Filo, Keel, Eclair, Mia, and Godiva.
...
Lurolona Village
...
They arrived in the village and Naofumi immediately motioned for Filo and Keel to go find the others.
"You three can head to that building over there, we'll leave in a bit." Naofumi told them.
After a moment, Naofumi used [Knock Knock II] to summon the others. Motoyasu, Ren and Ren's party were used to teleporting at this point so it wasn't an issue.
They surveyed the village for a moment. The majority of the buildings were still blasted to hell. The few that remained were mostly a mixture of different colored rock, indicating they were rebuilt. They saw one large building that seemed wholly new, but Naofumi cut them short.
"Stop gawking. Hurry up and get going." Naofumi told them.
"Which way?" Ren asked.
"That way." Naofumi pointed.
"Alright." Ren acknowledged the answer and motioned for his party to follow.
Ren was leaving without a fuss, as promised.
"I'll meet back up on the boat. I wanna meet the rest of Leon's family." Wyndia told Ren.
Ren flinched. "Um, okay. See you there." Ren responded.
Ren wanted to say something like 'take care of her' to Naofumi, but he knew it'd only get him yelled at by the both of them. He ended up leaving quietly.
Motoyasu also gawked for a moment, but he was gone now, Naofumi didn't see him leave.
…
Teal and Motoyasu
...
Over with the crops, Teal was making last minute seeds and planting them when someone approached her.
"Um, hello..." Motoyasu tried opening nicely.
"..." Teal was a bit surprised and simply turned to stare at him.
"I, um, I wanted to apologize again… Everything you said turned out to be correct." Motoyasu offered.
"And what are you going to do about it?" Teal asked, slightly annoyed.
"I-I don't know. I can't speak with Filo to apologize without getting into it with Naofumi and I'd rather avoid that if I can..." Motoyasu answered.
"What's an apology supposed to do?" Teal asked with annoyance.
"I don't know, but that's all I got..." Motoyasu admitted.
Motoyasu didn't even know what to say, but Teal had given him good advice before and now he felt he could trust her. Once someone gained Motoyasu's trust, it took heaven and earth to convince him otherwise. Teal picked up on this, but didn't want to exploit his naivety. She wanted him to be independent, it'd be a pain if he started using her as a moral compass. He needed his own. What she wanted him to do was act.
"If all you got is an apology, get something else." Teal said matter-of-factly.
"But-" Motoyasu went to argue, but Teal wasn't having it.
"No buts. You are a hero. You're supposed to be as strong as my dad. You're supposed to be heroic and useful. You're supposed to collect powerful and useful abilities and use those to save people and beat these waves. What use is a hero that apologizes and then says they can't do anything else? Then learn to do something else. Become the kind of person that can do more than apologize." Teal lectured him.
"..." Motoyasu listened to her words and thought them over.
"...Then I'll… I'll gather skills and other things and make myself more useful..." Motoyasu said.
"Good, it'd really help if you would..." Teal hated the way Motoyasu just took her words and didn't argue back. It really took the bite out of her words.
"..." They stood there awkwardly for a moment.
"Here." Teal said, offering him several items.
Those items being a bioplant seed, a crystal ore, and a few herbs and fruits. Motoyasu absorbed them one after the other as she indicated. He unlocked several weapon forms.
"So, you trust me?" Motoyasu questioned in a hopeful tone.
"Nope. Those should give you some supportive abilities and utility. I wouldn't want to help you get stronger until I know you won't hurt my family again." Teal dashed his hopes, but she stayed honest.
"...Okay… I'm going to leave before Naofumi sees me. He told me not to speak to Filo-chan, but he never directly told me I couldn't speak to you… I never caught your name." Motoyasu just realized.
"Teal Iwatani." Teal would at least answer him so he could leave.
"Then I'll be going, Teal-chan." Motoyasu left, trying to not be caught.
"Piece of shit, don't add 'chan' to my name like I'm some sweet girl to charm. Prick!" Teal thought to herself.
She really wanted to yell at him, but seeing that he was currently leaving, it'd only keep him around longer if she started yelling at him. She finished up what she could and readied herself to leave.
…
Filo and Fitoria
...
Filo had gotten the cart ready. She knew that her father would tell them to get ready soon, but she really wanted to push the cart and was getting antsy.
"How are things?" Fitoria's voice entered Filo's head.
"Better..." Filo responded.
She was still upset with Fitoria, but she also wanted to forgive her.
"Is the shield hero heading towards another hourglass?" Fitoria asked.
"Dad was, but now we have to go somewhere else." Filo told her.
"Where?" Fitoria sounded annoyed.
"Um... Cal Mima…? I don't remember. A bunch of islands." Filo tried recalling.
"Why?" Fitoria was even more annoyed.
"There's supposed to be a lot of monsters and EXP, but not forever. Dad says we have to leave as soon as possible." Filo recalled clearly enough.
"Ah, an activation event. That's fine. Your strength increasing at such a rate is an acceptable excuse." Fitoria sounded calmer now.
"Um… Okay." Filo didn't understand some of Fitoria's words.
"Other than that… how are you?" Fitoria wanted to see how things were between them.
"Filo is-Filo means I am- I mean I am fine." Filo corrected herself twice.
"What's wrong?" Fitoria asked.
"Leon made fun of me for the way I talk so Fil-I'm trying to get better… I think I'll give up." Filo lamented.
"Just strike down that little cretin." Fitoria suggested.
"No attacking family." Filo said in an uncharacteristically serious manner.
That told Fitoria that Filo was still upset at what she did to Monti.
"Well, tell me if I can help in any way..." Fitoria offered, severing the connection a few minutes later.
…
The others
...
Raphtalia and Monti was handing out medicine and supplies and making sure that the less capable members of the village received food and aid. It was hard with just the two of them, but after a bit, Mia, Godiva, and Keel came to meet up with them. Wordlessly they helped distribute supplies. There was a noticeable hesitation in those dealing with Godiva. She was in full combat gear, but even worse, she was a human. While they curbed their negative opinion for Naofumi, because he was the shield hero, Godiva had no such luxury.
Seeing this, Mia started talking to Godiva.
"So, after you take over the western front, what is your plan?" Mia asked.
"...First thing is freeing all of Averill's slaves. He had no kin, so whomever replaced him gains his property. Not sure if that's how it'd normally go, but the queen said I do. So, I'll return your family as soon as I can. The rest, I'll send here." Godiva thought as she spoke.
"And after that?" Monti asked.
"I have to find a way to free the other slaves owned by the lesser lords in the western front… Not sure how to do that… I also need the western front to band together more. Averill let them run wild, I won't. That's why I need these levels. I imagine that more than a few of them will try to kill me." Godiva explained her desired outcome.
"Then use that. Bait them into attacking you and kill them. Violence is the only way things have ever gotten done out there." Mia told her.
"Hmm, not a bad idea." Keel thought aloud.
"Bait the person or group with the most slaves and you can solve two problems at once." Raphtalia proposed.
As this conversation was going on, those listening began to pick up on the facts. That Godiva was about to be a greater lord, and of the harsh and strong western front no less, yet she was spending her time helping them. She also openly discussed freeing as many slaves as she could get away with. Those around her softened to Godiva a bit, as Mia wanted.
Naofumi and Eclair went to Ake and the others. Naofumi went to begin talking, but Eclair started first.
"How many patrols do we have, how often, how many men in them?" Eclair asked Ake.
And the conversation went on with Eclair asking for more and more information. She then ordered patrols to be done differently from the next shift onward. Naofumi quickly saw that he wasn't needed. Ake pleaded with his eyes, and Naofumi looked away, abandoning him to his fate. He almost felt bad.
…
Wyndia and Leon
...
Leon was moving more heavy rocks. He hated doing it, but with stonemasons coming, having easily accessible stone would speed things along. That, and he knew he'd be able to rest in the cart later. As he dropped the next load of large rocks onto the ground he heard a voice.
"There you are!" Wyndia called. "You look a lot like my dad in that form." Wyndia thought to say.
Leon whipped around to see her approaching him. He lowered his head down to her.
"If you're here, where's the sword hero?" Leon was happy to see her, but knew Ren must be nearby.
"Ren left with the other party members. I stayed because I want to meet the rest of your family." Wyndia told him.
"Oh." Leon transformed into his human form.
Wyndia was a little taller than him before, now it was several inches. Leon was slightly annoyed by that, but ignored it.
"Follow me, I'll introduce you." Leon said eagerly.
Leon saw his family as possessions (not in a bad way). Showing off your most precious treasures with your nestmate was one of the purest joys in life. They left immediately and went towards the garden. Leon and Wyndia caught Teal before she met up with the others.
"Teal, this is Wyndia, my nestmate. Wyndia, this is my sister, Teal." Leon introduced the two quickly.
Wyndia stared at Teal for a moment. "You're… a plant." She found that off-putting.
"Not just a plant, she can be any plant, even entirely new ones." Leon tried bragging.
"Oh, I was just surprised. I assumed your siblings were all demi-humans or monsters I'm familiar with. Sorry, nice to meet you." Wyndia tried greeting kindly.
"You too." She and Teal shook hands, Teal would curb the sass.
"So… Are you a younger or older sister?" Wyndia asked.
"Leon is the baby. It's our big brother Monti, then Filo, then me, then Leon."
"I'm not a baby!" Leon argued.
"It's a figure of speech…, but either meaning, yes, you are." Teal teased.
"Why tease Leon like this?" Wyndia wanted to defend her nestmate.
"If it breathes, I'll probably tease it. That's why dad put me in charge of the gardens… Though Leon is an easy target." Teal told her.
Wyndia glanced at an aggravated Leon. "True." Wyndia admitted.
They spoke a few minutes before leaving to meet up with the others. Leon didn't consider the situation with the people being helped and ran to Raphtalia and Monti. He walked right up to both of them and tried 'showing them off' to Wyndia.
"Mom, Monti, this is Wyndia, my nestmate!" Leon excitedly introduced.
They politely finished with what they were doing and turned to greet her.
"Hello, I'm Raphtalia, Leon's mom." "Greetings, I'm his big brother, Monti."
They both greeted her as kindly as they could. Wyndia greeted them in turn.
"Hmm. What kind of monster are you, Monti? I know a lot of monsters, but you and Teal are things I've never seen or heard of." Wyndia asked and commented.
"Oh, um-" Monti was trying to think about what to say, but Raphtalia cut in.
"He's something called a Manticore." Raphtalia told her.
"Yeah, a super cool chimera." Leon added.
"Chimera? Like a Nue? That is super cool." Wyndia accepted the answer easily.
They appreciated how easily she accepted the answer. They spoke for some time before Naofumi got there. He knew he was interrupting, but they needed to leave soon.
"We'll be leaving soon, everyone get ready." Naofumi told them.
Everyone nodded and went to prepare what little they had. Wyndia followed Leon as they left. They all proved fast, as within ten minutes of Naofumi's words, they were in the carriage and ready to depart. There were three more people in the cart, but it wasn't nearly as cramped in this new cart as compared to the old one. Naofumi gave the village a final look, then a look and nod to Eclair and Ake. They set off for their newest adventure.
They were now heading off to the harbor, towards Cal Mira.
.
[Author's Notes]
Sorry this chapter is late. I had to visit the folks for Thanksgiving.
Keel has been acting strange, I wonder what that's about?
Naofumi, Ren, and Motoyasu give even more advice to each other, will it matter?
Naofumi said royal monsters gain a human form, but that's just from his experience. Royal filolials automatically know it, but Monti got it from Filo, Teal can freely morph her body, and Leon is talented enough at magic that he was able to duplicate the spell by watching Monti and Filo doing it.
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