"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
The new lords and ladies of Melromarc were doing what they could to strengthen their nation, but they did not aim to restore the power that was lost with the pope's treachery. No, they aimed to strengthen Melromarc even further. With genuine change on the horizon, everyone was motivated to help make that change a reality
…
Naofumi and the others had made great progress in reaching Siltvelt. Naofumi had figured that they'd reach Siltvelt in 10 days before, and that figure would have been wrong. It would have been 9, but the closer he got to Siltvelt the more Naofumi's title of Shield Hero mattered. As of the previous day, they became the unwilling head of a convoy. Many carriages and some strong people on foot, all following Naofumi towards Siltvelt. They treated it like a pilgrimage of sorts. Naofumi was sick of them buttering up to him and they weren't even there yet.
"The bastards could at least move out of Filo's way. They are costing us half a day." Naofumi complained.
"They seem to take your words as a challenge they must meet more than the commands of their god." Raphtalia replied.
"It's because they interpret everything in whichever way is best for them. It's called convenient thinking." Teal added.
"I could fly us over these guys." Leon offered.
"The fools would just speed up." Naofumi said, not even wanting to try.
They were "caught". Surrounded by followers and bootlickers. They couldn't even return to Lurolona that night under these conditions because it was so crowded. If they did and someone stayed where he'd teleport to, Naofumi was afraid that the teleport wouldn't work, seeing the location as occupied. For the first night in a while, they wouldn't be sleeping in the village.
They were originally going to teleport to Castletown and pick up some monster eggs from Beloukas to help keep the bioplant trimmed back, but now this stopped any such plans.
It was Monti's day again and when they told him he could stay in the village or Naofumi would just summon him back, Monti surprised them by saying he'd stay in the village. Monti had never been without them, but maybe they simply misread him. In actuality, the threat of Merodach returning kept Monti from wanting to retreat. He ended up falling to sleep next to their future home in his full form. It felt comfortable to take his full form, but he often avoided it. In the village, doing so was no longer seen as weird, so he'd been doing it more. Still, he wished he could have slept in the cart with everyone else.
The following day was the day they would arrive in the capital city of Siltvelt. It was an annoying journey with people literally singing Naofumi's praises as they rode by. People who knew nothing about Naofumi, except the fact he was the shield hero. It was a frustrating twist on the headaches of the past. They all had preconceived notions about who he was or how he'd act. One sentiment echoed loudest in Naofumi's mind.
"Fuck this." Naofumi was beyond annoyed and so they acted.
The cart was recalled into his shield While Leon transformed and shot off flying. The roads near the capital winded around the farmland. It'd help them get ahead. Once the capital was in sight, Naofumi brought the cart back out. Everyone got inside and Leon flew low and softly placed the cart down while still traveling fast. Filo returned to pulling it at great speed with Leon transforming back and entering the cart. It was a pity, but this maneuver allowed them to enter the city 5 minutes before his arrival was known.
Siltvelt's capital was similar to Melromarc's in a few ways, such as the central castle being the highest point of the city. However, the Melromarc castle was built atop natural stone of a half clear mountain. Here though, the city was separated into rising levels which served as districts. It was similar to Briarhaven's layout, ironically enough. But there were four layers instead of three.
They entered the town and found an alley to place the cart in his shield without witnesses.
"Alright. Now we need to head to the hourglass first and foremost. After that, we can see how long until the next wave here and go from there." Naofumi told them.
As they walked through Siltvelt's streets, a few things became noticeable. Most of the roads leading into the city and even the roads around the outside were just dirt, none of the cobblestone and brick of Melromarc. The houses and shops were also weird. Each building seemed drastically different from one other. Some were little more than shacks, while the buildings next to them were quite impressive. Not only class, but styles also clashed and coexisted next to one another. There were even some buildings that looked Chinese. It had its own appeal, but overall, it looked like an eye sore.
The other odd thing was that every single door they saw was massive. Even for small homes, the doors were often 12' tall and 8' wide. He almost went to question it, but then saw a few very large beastmen.
"I guess it makes sense. This place has both beastmen and demi-humans. The doors needed to be large enough for the largest of beastmen." Naofumi observed.
"We might want to hurry, I don't know what they are saying, but people are getting excited." Raphtalia told Naofumi.
"Okay, I-... Wait a moment… You can't understand them? Does that mean…?" Naofumi was just now realizing.
"They are speaking in the language of Siltvelt. It's a varied and rough language, very little of it makes sense to me." Raphtalia informed him.
"None of you guys can understand them? Shit. I didn't consider that. Sometimes the shield is too convenient." Naofumi thought.
The gem of the shield almost looked like it was sparkling.
"Don't be too happy with yourself." Naofumi thought.
"Let's head toward… that building." Naofumi pointed.
It was a large cathedral adorned with shields. It was impressive, but also aged quite a bit.
"If it's anything like Melromarc, they'll keep the hourglass in the church." Raphtalia agreed.
"Hurry, they know you're here." Teal warned.
"How would Teal know that?" Filo asked.
"Because they keep saying 'Shield Lord'." Teal responded.
"H-How could Teal know that?" Filo asked louder.
"I've been listening to these idiots since yesterday. I learned Melromarcian in a week, a second language is easier to learn." Teal explained.
"Good. Do your best to learn what you can. We'll need it." Naofumi told her.
They had made it to the nicer section of Siltvelt. Strangely, the closer to the center wasn't just nicer, but everything looked older too. The place had animal-based art everywhere. There were paintings, glasswork, and statues, but they were far from the most impressive piece. Each brick and stone that made up the roads and walls were placed with care, creating subtle images of animals throughout the market area. They flowed into one another effortlessly, as if stitched together to form an illiterate tapestry of stone.
The most popular animals? Blue eastern dragons, red phoenixes, tortoises, and tigers. This made Naofumi immediately think of the 'Four Auspicious Beasts'. However, the tortoises weren't black, and the tigers could have been white, but looked too damaged, as if they'd been defaced.
Naofumi didn't have time to think about this. He knew he'd have to deal with these people, but wanted to register to the hourglass first. They went as fast as they could without grabbing attention. They reached the church and ducked in as fast as they could. They removed their hoods and tried making their way inside.
"You. You're a human? It'd be best if you leave." A dog beastman in robes said.
Naofumi kept walking forward. "The hourglass is this way, right?"
The beastmen's eye twitched. "So you want to class upgrade? Of course, typical human to walk into the shield lord's site of worship and give no thought to it." The beastman said, moving towards Naofumi.
"We aren't here to class up. I'm just going to assume it's in here-yup, same as Melromarc's." Naofumi began to speak, but caught sight of the hourglass.
Everyone moved forward towards the hourglass with haste, upsetting not only the dog beastmen they'd seen, but several others waiting in the main room. Several moved to stop him, but Naofumi was close enough that he'd rather register than explain. He used [Shooting Star Shield] to create a barrier around him. As he walked forward, the others were pushed back.
"Blasphemers!" an important looking dog beastmen yelled.
This was about to escalate into a battle, but Naofumi would reach it first.
[Air Strike Shield]! [Second Shield]!
Naofumi hoped over the others using his skills as small platforms. When he landed, a beam shot out of the hourglass into the gem of his shield.
27:51:23
27:51:22
"Tomorrow? Rushing wasn't needed then, but we couldn't have been sure." Naofumi thought.
Naofumi changed his shield to the default form and turned around. He went to explain, but most already put the pieces together.
"Y-You… Are you the… Is that shield there…?" The first rude beastmen tried asking.
"Yeah, I'm the shield hero. I have several forms of identification. The shield, the written word of the queen of Melromarc, and I could eat a rucolu fruit if need be." Naofumi answered.
"I-! My apologies, Lord Shield! I misspoke before, I… I…" The beastmen was stammering.
"If you want to make amends, bar the door. I need a few minutes before everyone won't leave me alone." Naofumi told him.
He just meant it to wave the man to leave him be, but with a small yelp, the beastmen ran to the front of the church to do as he was told.
"Wow. He just did exactly as I said… I wonder, if I tell him to jump off a bridge-" Naofumi went to think something rude, but-
"Stop it." Raphtalia said.
"Tsk." "Okay, I CAN NOT be that easy to read. She clearly has mind reading powers." Naofumi jokingly thought.
"And what of me? What can I do to be of use to you?" The important looking beastmen asked.
"Are you… the leader here?" Naofumi asked.
"Absolutely not! This is a church dedicated to worshiping you. You are our leader." He said while looking like he wanted to be petted.
"Eh… I just meant… Are you like the pope or high bishop or whatever?" Naofumi felt this was going to be more of a conversation here.
He briefly spoke to the beastmen who did confirm he ran the church. The last church head they met, they had to murder him in war. While the circumstances were very different, Naofumi wouldn't forget that the Three Heroes Church was going to kill Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki too. The very object of their worship. At the same time, this man was being quite agreeable.
"-so I need it known that a wave is happening in 27 hours. If any soldiers or guards want the opportunity to protect their people, tell them to be here tomorrow and I'll take them with me." Naofumi told him.
"Of course, of course. Many devotees would want nothing more than to protect you during the wave to come!" The high priest promised.
"Protect… Me?" Naofumi asked in confusion.
Hearing Naofumi's response was enough for Leon to get what was being said by the priest.
"Father is the Shield Hero, y'know? He doesn't need protection. It is he who does the protecting!" Leon corrected him.
"Well said." Monti added.
The church followers finally removed their eyes from Naofumi long enough to see the party he brought with him.
"I haven't spoken that language in some time… Did you say 'father'?" The high priest asked.
"I'm sure it won't go over well here, but yeah, I'm their father… And this is their mother. If you care about me at all, do nothing to upset them." Naofumi told them.
"Ah… Well… Um, we should maybe send someone to the castle to inform the council of the shield lord's arrival." He said.
"Didn't say 'yes' to that like he did the rest. The queen was likely telling the truth about this place…" Naofumi thought.
Soon someone had to leave to inform the castle, which meant letting people in to see Naofumi. They couldn't have known he was here, but the church being closed with news of his arrival was clear to everyone. Naofumi had no choice but to stand there with his family as buffers as person after person wanted to meet him and shake his hand, or swear their allegiance, or some other equally bothersome thing. Naofumi would at least shake their hand and if they offered him their sword, he would respond with news of the wave the next day. Many people asked to join Naofumi in his battle. Some out of genuine loyalty, but Naofumi suspected most of them doing so for social standing and clout.
All the same, Naofumi was turning many away. The waves at this point needed proper fighters of at least level 70 or else he'd need to babysit them the whole time. Because of this, Naofumi expected to turn away every single one of them…, but something weird was happening. Most of the people offering to help were level 45 or higher. Naofumi found over two dozen people over level 70 willing to fight, which was crazy to him.
"This is nuts! Melromarc didn't have people like… It did. Those lords at least. And the stronger ones look both well off and fit. Could it be that… as Melromarc grew weaker, Siltvelt kept all its strength? Maybe even gained further!? I see why the queen was so worried. These guys are animals… … …Okay, that sounded a little racist." Naofumi thought.
This continued for a bit until 11 figures entered the church. They wore even finer clothes than the nobles and clergymen here did. There was a lion and mammoth beastmen, the latter of whom was the largest person Naofumi had ever seen. There was also a man with bright red wings. He had more animal features than other demi-humans, but less than beastmen. He also gave off something the others did not. Some sort of presence. Another was an old white cat demi-human lady who sported a look alluding to the fact she wasn't surprised by Naofumi's abrupt arrival.
"Greetings to you, Shield Lord. These are the elected council members of Siltvelt. My name is Werner, the appointed spokesman for the elite races of Siltvelt. We would like to greet you warmly and offer all hospitality possible to you." He said, bowing deeply.
"Ah, 'Werner'. That means you are the person I was told to find." Naofumi remembered a name for once, and not just because he had Raphtalia write it down for him.
"Ah, I am known to the Shield Lord? To whom do I owe for this?" Werner seemed quite happy.
"Queen Mirellia." Naofumi answered.
Werner's smile soured on his lips.
"She said that you two were not on the best of terms, but she told me you were reliable and competent." Naofumi clarified.
"Hm… Regardless of the source, I am glad you've come." Werner recovered.
"Yes. For our lord to be wasting away in the land of our enemy has been the gravest of insults. One we no longer need to suffer." The lion added.
Naofumi took a closer look at the lion. He seemed almost princely. His attire and how he carried himself was almost like royalty… No, someone pretending to be royalty.
"And when you finally manage to escape, you come straight to Siltvelt. As it should be." The mammoth bellowed.
"Yes, I imagine you'd want to escape that small village, if only for a spell." The older white cat lady said.
"They already know about the village?" Naofumi thought for a moment, but also caught Leon staring at the lion and cat council members.
"We can discuss things somewhere with fewer people. A wave hits your country tomorrow and I'll be there to stop it. Anyone level 70 or higher that wishes to help is appreciated." Naofumi told them.
"Level 70? That's most of us. We'd love to be of help to our Shield Lord. Especially if he rushed here to defend his people." The lion answered loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"Yup, gotta get that clout. Mirellia said these guys are elected, so kissing ass like this is expected…, but I don't like the way he says 'our shield lord' like they own me." Naofumi thought.
They agreed to move to another location. It took nearly 2 hours to go from the church to the castle. The streets were crowded with countless people wanting to get a glimpse of their god. Naofumi had the family hold hands tightly the whole time. It was almost like some of the crowd was trying to separate them, but Naofumi realized he was chasing shadows.
Once inside the castle, the gates were barred. They needed to catch their breath from all those people.
"Is the spirit of your people not staggering, Shield Lord?" The lion demi-human asked.
"High in spirit they may be, but in their blindness all they did was inconvenience the Shield Lord, Jaralis." The older cat woman responded.
"Hmm? Then let us correct this. We shall show the Shield Lord just how useful we can be. Every worthwhile fighter we can find will be brought to your side. Though Rhubaldt Warbaldt, the claw hero, is off training as he often does, there are many others who have sharpened their claws their whole life for such an opportunity." Werner promised.
"Indeed. You will not need to rely on such weak assistance any further." Jaralis added.
And there it was. He pointed to Raphtalia and the kids as he spoke that line. Things needed to be made clear to this council, even though it'll cause more headaches later.
"You got two things wrong there. They are not assistance, they're my family. And secondly, they are all stronger than any of you." Naofumi said sternly.
Even if these council members were somehow level 100, they'd be weaker than Raphtalia. Between her slave and raccoon bonuses, Filo's class upgrade, and an enormous amount of exchanged levels for growth via the whip method… Raphtalia was probably around level 180 in terms of rough stats. That wasn't even mentioning her skill, which while not incredible, was above average. And it went without saying that the kids each had their mother beat in terms of stats. These council members were far off the mark.
"Family?" A few whispered the question.
"Your information gathering skills are subpar." The older cat woman complained at her fellow council members, then began pointing at Naofumi's family members one at a time. "Raphtalia, his woman. Monti, his oldest. Then Filo, Teal, and lastly Leon. Those four being their adopted children. A devout follower would know of the struggles and status of their god." She lectured.
"Now that's odd. We started getting pretty good at detecting shadows, especially Raphtalia and Leon. So how did she gather information on me better than her colleagues?" Naofumi wondered.
"Then let us correct this. We'd like to know what hardships and triumphs you've had up until now." Another council member prompted.
A reasonable request. Doubtless, they had a pile of questions, most of which can be answered with a summary of his time in Melromarc. He'd make sure to express that Malty and the king already received punishment and that the queen had been purely an asset. Last thing he needed to do was accidentally start another war.
"Before that, however, I'm sure your… companions are tired from their trip. We can have them shown to their room." Another council member added.
"A castle bed would be awesome." Leon said.
"Same, I had to sleep on the ground last night." Monti added.
Naofumi wasn't fooled. "They want to separate us. Well, that's not unreasonable while I'm recapping all that happened. Still, they used the word 'companions' instead. And also-"
"You mean our room, right? Would it not be odd to have us sleep in separate rooms?" Naofumi commented.
Another council member tried arguing. "It wouldn't be odd at all. Why would the companions of the Shield Lord need to-"
"Hey, 'family'. Not 'companions'." Naofumi interrupted, then sighed.
"It's important that they know what happened. I'll look after the kids, you have your meeting. We can always just leave later." Raphtalia offered.
"Leave? Please don't. I will apologize as much as needed, but please do not leave us. We've yet to be of use to you." Werner said.
Naofumi eyed the man, then Raphtalia. He nodded to Raphtalia and followed the council members. Raphtalia and the kids were escorted in the opposite direction.
"I need to get this anger under control. Yeah, they're annoying. But they are also a country that appears even stronger than Melromarc and if I play my cards even decently, they'll help us… Help me." Naofumi told himself.
Naofumi was brought into a large room and was asked to tell them all that had happened to him since he was summoned. He told them about the bullshit trial, about having no party members, about buying Raphtalia. About training as best they could for the first wave. The first wave. The duel with Motoyasu, spoke briefly about hatching Monti and Filo without mentioning where Monti's egg came from. He spoke of his adventures and the savior of the heavenly fowl. Of gaining Teal and eventually Leon. About the next wave. About Glass. About the final confrontation with Aultcray, Melty's actions. About the war that came to be and battles they fought. When he spoke Fitoria's name, there wasn't much of a reaction, likely they didn't see her as important as Melromarc seemed to.
He eventually told them about the queen's actions after her return and some of what happened in Cal Mira. He spoke for more than an hour.
"-And so I thought it made the most sense to come to Siltvelt first. We heroes are finally cooperating and we plan to register to as many hourglasses as we can, with at least two of us registered to each one. When I next see the sword hero, I'll bring him here to register too."
"To think so many of our old enemies fell to our Shield Lord in a single day?" Jaralis was genuinely impressed and pleased.
"To think, the wisest king would have his staff stripped from him?" Werner paused.
"To think, the wisest king was thrown into the dungeons by a 10 year old girl…" The older cat woman pointed out something even more absurd.
"All the more reason he left that pathetic nation. They tire themselves of meaningless things. As an act of revenge for their transgressions, we ought to finish them now." Jaralis announced loudly.
"Did you not just hear a thing I just said!?" Naofumi thought.
Naofumi spoke in a serious tone. "Mirellia has settled the matter already. Moreover, war between nations when the waves are happening seems stupid. You'd force me and the other heroes to step in to stop you… For all the grief Melromarc gave me, I know many great people there. I'd protect them from you if you even th-"
"Obviously Jaralis spoke out of turn and only in jest. It's just that hearing of these injustices and how noble you were despite them boils his blood because he is a true Siltveltian." Another council member interrupted Naofumi's threat.
"Making you recall such things would of course anger you. We will not bother you further. We will do what we can to gather fighters for the wave tomorrow." One council member said.
"That's right. Today should be a celebration of your return! The people grow restless. We ought to give you the opportunity to experience the welcome of a grateful nation for a change." Another added.
And the meeting ended there. There wasn't much Naofumi could do right now. They'd plan whatever it is they wanted and he'd need to roll with the punches as they went. Naofumi wasn't too worried about the wave itself. Going off of the last wave boss, this one should only be a bit stronger. The problem was if Glass and the others showed up again. He was told everything was fine, but he didn't trust Ren, let only Itsuki, enough to feel comfortable. Part of him wanted them to show up. For Monti to close the wave on them and leave them trapped…, but at this point he was just wishing he had an enemy with a face to cave in. Something more punchable than time and schemes.
While Naofumi had his meeting, Raphtalia and the others were shown to some random room that looked nice enough. As soon as the maid told them to make themselves at home, the kids ran around the room. The maid assumed they were simply playing and left. In actuality, they were detecting things in the room.
"No air flow from secret passages." Teal said.
"No poison." Monti said.
"No snacks." Filo said.
"...Did that white cat lady remind you guys of anyone? Her and the lion guy had tons of hidden items on them. But she feels… familiar?" Leon suddenly asked.
"Did you sense her presence before? She did know about us, unlike the others." Raphtalia offered.
"No… Hmm." Leon was not satisfied with that answer.
Soon after, a few people in official uniforms entered the room.
"Pardon the intrusion. We were wanting to get your account of Melromarc's actions, and the Shield Lord's struggles."
"Mine would be the same as Naofumi-sama's." Raphtalia responded immediately.
"All the same. You may recall things he will not or find a detail important enough to mention where he may not. Please, we only wish to know the state of our god. To know how best to serve him." They spoke.
"Filo would get tired if Filo had to keep saying they are lying." Filo blurted out.
"..." The room was silent for a moment.
"Fine, I'll tell you what I know." Raphtalia decided.
"We'd like to get the account from each of you." They pushed further.
"Mom has been with dad since the day after he got here. We were all born much later." Monti told them.
"Nah, let's tell them what we can. If they try something, we can blow up half the castle." Leon said aloud.
"Leon…" Raphtalia said his name with disapproval.
"Fine. I won't incinerate the deceitful mortals who dare tread on the family of their god." Even in concession, Leon was boastful.
The person who came to question them now looked quite nervous. They spoke for a time, and while there were more of them speaking, none of them gave as full or detailed of an account as Naofumi. Teal added more detail, but only where she felt like. They said they'd answer the questions, but it felt like pulling teeth.
After Naofumi's meeting, he used [Tele-communication] to contact the others and ask directions to wherever they took them. The one's questioning Raphtalia and the others were confused by them suddenly speaking to no one, until Naofumi arrived.
The one questioning Raphtalia and the others was surprised. "Ah! Lord Shield…? I thought we would have a bit more time and then meet up in the-"
"Not interested. They got my story and they said they'd gather some help. So we should probably get moving." Naofumi told them.
They didn't like that. "Leaving? Have we done anything to offend yo-"
"Yeah, but I'm not leaving Siltvelt yet. I just got here." Naofumi didn't feel like talking to or otherwise listening to these Siltvelt nobles anymore today.
"Which means we get to check out all the shops?" Leon asked.
"And eat all the new food!" Filo did not ask.
"Yeah. We can do that. Mainly we need to look into weapons, armor, and accessories." Naofumi steered Filo back on track.
They kept talking as they left. As they turned the corner of a hallway, Monti caught a glimpse of someone behind them. He was a larger person, yet quick on his feet. He only barely noticed he was there before they hid. Whoever it was, they seemed to just be watching them. He chose to ignore it.
As they came to the front door of the castle, they found two people waiting for them expectantly. It was Werner and the older cat lady of the council.
"Do you guys need something again?" Naofumi asked in annoyance.
"No. We simply wished to offer further assistance outside of an official capacity if it'd please you." Werner said, bowing.
"And what do you get out of it?" Naofumi knew there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"Your time in Melromarc has made you keenly aware of the way the world works. Werner here is a true blue devotee. I doubt he has more than two thoughts in his head when speaking to you." The woman joked.
Werner shot her a look and she continued. "As for me, I have a keen interest in one of the minor details you told us about earlier and wanted to ask some questions about it. In exchange, I'll show you around town. The outfit may make you think otherwise, but I was quite the alley cat in my heyday." She offered.
Leon was now rubbing his chin. He knew her or someone like her. Somehow. "Why can't I place it?"
"Hmm. Fine, but if your questions get annoying, we'll leave you behind." Naofumi told her.
"As is your right." She agreed.
To everyone's surprise, the subject she was interested in was the new lords of Melromarc, and more specifically Mia. She said such a move by Mirellia would force more of the council of Siltvelt to entertain her attempts at negotiating with them. She told Naofumi the main reason Mirellia hadn't done more to stop slavery in Melromarc was not just her old greater lords, but also Siltvelt. The queen wanted to negotiate with Siltvelt for both to limit slavery more and more over time. Her thinking being, if demi-humans were not slaves in Melromarc, but humans were still slaves in Siltvelt, she'd just be placing humans lower on the social scale internationally.
International politics like that never crossed Naofumi's mind. The queen wanted to eliminate slavery only if Siltvelt did the same. There were also likely economic incentives motivating that too. It was all such a bother. This was why Naofumi had left his headaches of ruling the Seaetto territory to Melty.
The thing Naofumi noticed though, was that Mia's personal character seemed to be the main subject of the lady's inquiry.
"Um, what's your name?" Monti finally asked. It was weird to have someone show them around the city and speak with them so much, and yet, not even know their name. While he gained much of Naofumi's traits, he hadn't gained his rudeness, taking more after Raphtalia in that regard.
"Oh, my name is Renair. I'd have given it to you earlier, but I was told the Shield Lord was not a man of small details." Renair answered.
"She also understands my personal quirks on top of knowing Raphtalia and the kids' names and relation to me… She's being very agreeable, too agreeable. She's one of those smarter long term politicians, like the queen. I hate dealing with those types. I don't have the mind for it." Naofumi thought.
Naofumi turned to see that Renair had a strange magical toy on her that was a small handle with a ball on the end that could show simple colorful images. The kids were loving it. This woman was hitting all the right notes in Naofumi's book, but knowing that it could all be an act kept him from trusting her just yet.
"How does that work? Filo doesn't see any switches on it." Filo asked.
"Ah, have you not seen one of these? They use your magic to project an image. It takes a little bit of control, but it's something most kids can do. It's a great first step if they aspire to be a mage. Once you get really good, you can do stuff like this." Renair said, then showed an image of a bird that shifted back and forth to appear to be flapping its wings.
"Whoa…" The kids were intrigued.
"Can I try?" Leon asked.
She handed it to him. "Sure, but it's about precision, not power. You might… what?" Renair was floored.
Leon made an image of his dragon form almost immediately, then made it more detailed, then made it move even more fluidly than Renair did.
"This kid's a freaking genius!?" Renair thought.
Each of the kids tried. Monti and Filo could make an image move, but not as detailed an image as Leon, nor move as fluidly. Filo pouted at that. Teal could make an image, but making it move took a while. She was the worst at magic. She'd need to train that, but the [Hengen Muso] training seemed more useful right now.
"You'll get better. Practically speaking, you are still ahead of the curve… Keep it to practice." Renair offered.
"Huh? She gets one and I don't?" Leon was now pouting.
"Who said you don't?" Renair revealed three more of the same toy in her sleeve and gave each of them one.
"Yay!" The kids cheered.
"...Dammit. She's good…" Naofumi thought.
Their trip was fruitful indeed. They found all kinds of shops. While none of the blacksmiths had as wide of a selection as Erhart, between all of them, they covered all the same things. Naofumi realized that Erhart being able to work on nearly any weapon as well as armor must have been an extreme talent that he never considered before.
Also unlike Melromarc, there were shields everywhere. Most blacksmiths had a few. It made sense with him as their god and all. With that in mind, Naofumi copied every shield he found. Normally, he'd explain what he was doing, but that'd mean telling them that he was the shield hero and then the crowd would be on him again. It was only because of Renair that they'd somehow avoided the ones that knew his face or the appearance of the kids.
The shields copied were pretty good, but none were notable in their effects. Simply boosting stats or other bonuses he already had. Still, he gained over two dozen shields for his trouble. He was also hoping to find a sword for Raphtalia, but it seemed that finding one better than the one she just received was more than optimistic.
Because just two days ago, they teleported to Castletown to do their usual rounds and report to the queen. It was then that Erhart revealed he had successfully removed the curses from the Karma boss item drops. Which meant he now had:
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[Pekkul Trident] Quality: High
[Agility Up, Magic Up, Polearm Skill Up, Blood Clean Rinse]
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[Risuka Flail] Quality: High
[Agility Up, Magic Up, Flail Skill Up, Blood Clean Rinse]
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[Inult Claws] Quality: High
[Agility Up, Magic Up, Claw Skill Up, Blood Clean Rinse]
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[Usauni Sword] Quality: High
[Agility Up, Magic Up, Swordsmanship Up, Blood Clean Rinse]
.
Raphtalia got the sword, obviously. And Naofumi asked him to make another for Eclair, as a gift. Filo took the claws and flail, not wanting to decide. Leon was temped to use the trident, but after looking at Filo, he decided against it. Meaning they had a good weapon and no one to use it, yet.
The accessories were standard to below average. They made use of creative material like ivory or bone from certain monsters, but the quality of their work was nothing worth considering. Renair was sure one accessory shop would impress Naofumi, but it wasn't that special to him. The person made very similar accessories every time. So, they were made with more craftsmanship, but lacked any sort of variety.
Renair then showed them the best food stands and such. In this regard, she was far more reliable. The food was a little gamier than what Raphtalia was used to, but she wouldn't go so far as to call it bad. The kids were loving it. Naofumi was carefully eating each thing and watching the cook.
"The sauce caramelized too fast. If he thinned it out a bit more then it'd be just right by the time the meat is cooked. Hmm, this paste overpowers the meat in this dish. It'd need to be more subtle. Maybe it's to mask the gamy-ness of the meat?" Naofumi was learning new dishes to feed to the Raphtalia and the kids. The people in Lurolona might also like it.
Their time in town became hours. In that time, Renair even started to win Naofumi and Raphtalia over. Especially because she wasn't as pushy as everyone else. Eventually it was time to return to the castle. Naofumi and Raphtalia decided to let the kids stay in some good beds for a change, so they were prepared to deal with some annoyance. Even if it meant the kids had to sleep in a different room.
They arrived back at the castle to see several council members talking and waiting for Naofumi's return.
"Ah, Shield Lord! You were gone so long, we were beginning to worry. We have a very special room being made for you right now. We've spared no expense." Jaralis informed him.
"Your companions will also have fine accommodations as well." Another added.
"The kids can stay in the closest room, but Raphtalia and I will be sharing a room." Naofumi told them, not asked.
"We have a room adjacent to the room meant for servants. They could sleep there." Werner suggested.
"As for her, she'd need to sleep in the other room. Such a dwelling is only suitable to the Shield Lord." Jaralis told Naofumi.
"You keep doing that and it's beginning to piss me off." Naofumi said in a low voice.
Renair took several steps away from Naofumi's group. Werner saw this and Naofumi's mood and went to say something. "Please, Shield Lord. We only mean to-"
"Why is it that you continue to avoid using Raphtalia's name when I've told you it several times? Why is it you continue to refer to my family as my companions? Why exactly do you want me to be isolated?" Naofumi's questions were meant as accusations.
"It seems your time in Melromarc has done considerable damage to you. This is most regrettable. We'll need to set things straight if we are to have the proper relationship and the voices of Siltvelt and their god." Jaralis seemed to be equally irritated.
Renair tried to defuse the situation. "Jaralis. Just let Raphtalia stay with him. I know you normally coordinate castle affairs, but-"
"Shut up you damned alley cat! You shouldn't even be on the council! Your own family is in ruins, what would you know about managing anything? This is why the council should be composed of those with pedigree." Jaralis snapped.
Renair lost her cool for the first time. "It's your own mismanagement that led to that! And pedigree!? If the council was about pedigree then Werner and the elite races would still be in charge. If competence and merit were what mattered, Rhubaldt and myself would still have our positions. How lucky for you that the position of council member is decided by vote." She spat.
Jaralis and Renair looked like they were legitimately going to fight, but then-
"Fuck this. You guys don't seem to understand that you have no leverage. Zero. You make demands of me, but the only thing I asked you to do was gather people to defend your own country tomorrow. I don't even need their help, it just keeps casualties down. You have nothing I want. Do you know why I live in Melromarc despite the bullshit? Because the queen had the brains to leave me the fuck alone. I just want to do my job, protect the world." Naofumi paused for a moment.
"I don't need you all for anything, but I bet you need me. I bet if I bad-mouthed any of you to the public, your career would be over. Be thankful I stay out of politics… We'll discuss this more tomorrow, bye." Naofumi said, raising his shield.
[Portal Shield]!
They were raising way too much of a fuss over Raphtalia sharing a room with him. Combined with what Mirellia told him and… Naofumi could imagine their plans. He'd rather get a good night's sleep in Lurolona than deal with that stuff. Leon was the only one upset, but he had his new toy to play with, so he forgot about it quickly.
They stayed in the village that night with the plan to return the following morning and prepare for the wave. They'd keep everyone else in Lurolona, not wanting to give Siltvelt a chance to do something stupid to Eclair if they thought they could get away with it.
They announced their return and told Melty, Keel, and the others about what happened. They ate a good dinner and made sure to have plenty of sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a wave, but they were so strong from Cal Mira now. Even if Glass and the others were lying and returned, they'd have dozens of allies with them then. For the first time, the wave did not fill them with anxiety.
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[Author's Notes]
Really late. I moved and had zero internet for 2 weeks. That delayed me. Work issues also did some damage. However, I think things are good now. I'm hoping to do the whole ST arc with 1-2 weeks between chapters.
Siltvelt is not up Naofumi's alley at all. Attention and control are two things he has come to hate. While Werner and Renair seem well-intentioned, the other leadership seem to see Naofumi more as a tool or agenda.
Not much else to say, I hope you all enjoy the chapter.
Please leave a review.