Chapter Seventeen: Earth Vein, Underwater Temple
The following night passed by pretty peacefully for Naofumi and the other two Heroes. The same could not be said about their male party members, however.
When the Shield Hero saw Dou-Lon the next morning, the poor shaking Hakuko only managed to utter a single word: 'torture'.
Thankfully, when he asked Raphtalia about it, she managed to give him a more detailed account.
"You're saying Therese made everyone there sit in the seiza position for over half the night?" Naofumi said in shock.
"Yes. Eclair and the others made sure that they held those positions for the entire time too." Raphtalia explained. "I never realized that Rachel could even use her magic to hold someone in place against their will for that long."
Naofumi felt his legs spasm sympathetically. No wonder Dou-Lon was shaking. It was a wonder that he could still stand at all. He wondered how the other guys were faring.
Hopefully, the girls had been merciful enough to at least allow them to spread their knees out a little bit. Otherwise, they would be down for the count for the whole day.
"Oh, um, Naofumi… I actually wanted to ask. Did you peep on me before that too?" Raphtalia shyly asked. Her tail shook from side to side, and a steady blush filled her face.
"No, why would I do that?" Naofumi asked in confusion.
…
Raphtalia shook her head and didn't try to bring the topic back up again.
He felt like he'd said something wrong again there, but he had no idea what.
After that bit of awkwardness was out of the way, Naofumi gathered his party and announced that instead of grinding, they would be taking it easy for the remainder of their stay on Cal Mira. He was also going to prepare a barbeque for them all. Even after using materials and the like on the various strengthening methods, he still had plenty of meat leftover in his shield.
"Really?!" Filo asked excitedly. "You're going to cook Daddy!?"
"Yup, you've all earned it." Naofumi smiled and rubbed his daughter's head.
"Yaaay!~" Filo cheered.
"There isn't an ulterior motive for you doing this, right?" Raphtalia asked him suspiciously. It was odd for him to reward them with his cooking talents. But she was also drooling at the thought of eating his cooking, and her wagging tail betrayed how eager she was for it.
"Of course not. You've all worked hard to get to this point." Naofumi coughed into his hand. "I figure since there isn't much point in grinding now, we can take the time to rest before we return to the village."
"Um, Sir Naofumi. Not that I mind a barbeque." Eclair's stomach growled, and she looked down at her gut with red cheeks. For once, she wouldn't be quite so honest if she said all she wanted to do was train. Why did Sir Naofumi's food have to taste so good?! "But shouldn't we return to the village if we're done here?"
"... Yes. I thought about that. But, after talking with the other Heroes about it, I realized that we could use a break. We've been taking care of others for so long… is it alright with you if we take a little time to care for ourselves?" Naofumi hesitantly asked.
The swordswoman stared at him, and Raphtalia held a hand over her mouth. She suddenly remembered what she'd told the kids back at their village. "I agree." She told the rose-haired knight before she could speak. "If we don't give everyone a chance to rest before we return, we'll be treating them no better than we would slaves."
…
Eclair sighed. "You raise an excellent point there, Miss Raphtalia." She looked back at Naofumi again. "I hope you won't mind if I take the time we have to train then."
"Feel free to do whatever you like." Naofumi shrugged. "That's what free time is for."
Melty looked shocked. "Does this mean I'm allowed to play with Filo as much as I want?!" She excitedly asked. She didn't have to worry about governing the village or leveling up or anything?!
"Yes, second princess." Naofumi sighed in annoyance.
Bonk!
"Yes, Melty." Naofumi sighed again while nursing a bump on the back of his head where Raphtalia had struck him with a precise karate chop.
"Yaaaay!~" Melty and Filo joyfully exclaimed together.
Naofumi didn't think it was adorable at all. No, definitely not.
"Still, are we sure that leaving the village in Sir Motoyasu's hands is a good idea?" Eclair asked cautiously.
"Eh, I'm sure he'll be fine." Naofumi shrugged it off.
Meanwhile…
"Ahhhhhhh! How are you all eating so much!?" Motoyasu screamed in terror.
His table was crowded with demi kids. There were a few new faces. "More food more food more food!" The growing kids chanted, with Keel leading them all.
"Sir Motoyasu. That Slave Trader is back with more 'useless' slaves for us. Do you think you can prepare a larger meal and get your healing magic ready?" Elena asked in the doorway.
"Sir Motoyasu, Granny wants to spar with you again." An exhausted Rino came in through the backdoor.
"Sir Spear Hero, my neighbor threw his waste on the street again!" A dog demi-human poked his head in through a window.
"Nooooooooooo!" Motoyasu started bawling into his cooking pot. He really hoped the others would get back soon. Like, really soon. He couldn't take much more of this!
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine," Naofumi smirked.
"... Lord Naofumi truly is a vindictive person, isn't he?" Dou-Lon sweatdropped.
"You're just now realizing that?" Eclair chopped the back of the Hakuko's head. "We'll participate in the barbeque, but afterward, it's back to your punishment!"
Dou-Lon moaned, rubbing the new sore spot. He hung his head in defeat. It sounded like he'd whispered, "Please, no more torture" under his breath, but it was hard for Naofumi to tell because of what Melty said next.
"Let's invite the others to our barbeque too!"
"Great idea! I'll invite Therese and L'Arc!" Raphtalia said happily.
"Filo and Melty will grab Bow Guy and Sword Guy!" Filo said happily.
"Hey, wait, I'm not going to cook for that many people!" Naofumi protested.
However, his party quickly dispersed to gather everyone up. It felt like only a few minutes had passed before they found themselves on the beach, with Naofumi manning the grill. The members of his, Ren's, and Itsuki's parties were spread out on several colorful blankets on the sand, all of them bearing identical expectant looks.
The guys' legs were also shaking where they sat. But they seemed more focused on Naofumi than how their bodies felt at the moment.
Naofumi shook his head slowly at the display while turning over a piece of meat on the grill with a sharp sizzling sound as the fat dripped on the fire below. He was wearing his Mask Shield, along with a classic "Kiss the Cook" style apron that had a don't crudely drawn above it in his own writing.
'I can't believe they were that eager to eat my cooking.' It wasn't like it was that good. What was wrong with everyone?
And the way they were staring at him in anticipation didn't help matters either. It was rather creepy, to be honest.
"Master Craftsman, are my flames too hot?" Therese stood nearby, helping him cook with her gem magic. Her hair was currently a ruby color.
"No, they're fine Therese," Naofumi told her. "Though you should keep the flames on the Pengu meat at a lower temperature." He had the Karma Pengu, Squirrel, Rabbit, and Dog meat cooking on different parts of the grill. The Pengu meat looked the most similar to fish and could burn easily as he'd found out during his initial experiments.
"Got it, I shall do as you've requested, Master Craftsman!" Therese said happily.
"You don't need to call me that you know," Naofumi muttered.
"Nonsense. For someone of your talents, you deserve the recognition!" Therese responded with a smile.
He didn't try to protest and started to sprinkle some more salt over the Dog meat. He'd already seasoned it and the others with the spices that Raphtalia and the others had grabbed from the market earlier this morning. He wasn't familiar with the exotic-sounding spices, so he wasn't sure if they'd make the meat taste good or not.
He took off a small piece of the Karma Dog and tasted it.
It tasted good to him, so he guessed he was doing it right. He felt satisfied after taste-checking the others too.
"Boo!~ Daddy is going to eat everything before Filo can try it!" Filo whined behind him. Everyone else burst out into boos and hysterics at Filo's outburst.
"I'm just checking to make sure that it tastes good!" He yelled back at them.
"Good… Why does it smell so good…" L'Arc sat nearby, a depressed look on his face. Or maybe that was a pained look? His voice did sound like it was an octave higher than usual. His legs were also shaking.
"What happened to him? I thought he only suffered from the seiza position?" Naofumi asked Therese, pretending that he hadn't watched the whole ordeal last night while ignoring the growing cries of hunger behind him.
"Well, your daughter certainly gave him quite the kick," Therese said, barely sparing the redhead a glance. "I used my healing magic on him though, so he shouldn't be in too much pain. Plus, I've never seen him so well behaved in his life." She then added happily.
L'Arc moaned again. Naofumi guessed it wasn't that the man was behaving himself and more like he was in too much pain to try and get into trouble.
"Can you check the Karma Rabbit Meat? I think it's nearly done." Naofumi asked Therese.
She cut off a small portion and put it in her mouth. "Oomph!" Her face lit up happily. "This is the best thing I've ever eaten! You're so talented, Master Craftsman!"
"It can't be that good." Naofumi tasted it for himself. It tasted just as good as the previous one he'd tried. Was he just growing used to the improved taste from his shield or something?
At the two of them tasting it, the cries of anger got even louder behind him. Looking back, Naofumi saw even Eclair was glaring at the two of them.
"Will you all just calm down?!" Seriously, what the hell was wrong with them?! It was just FOOD! He wasn't a three-star chef or anything! He just knew how to cook!
A moment later, he was finally done. "Alright, who wants some Rabbit-" Naofumi had just put the cooked meat on a large plate and was in the process of turning around to face everyone when he was suddenly swarmed.
"Hey, ladies first!" Farrie complained.
"Too bad, I'm too hungry to care about manners!" Bakta had tears coming from his eyes as the meat's delicious aroma filled his nostrils.
"Isn't that weird for a nobleman to say?" Aksel asked.
"Do you want to continue with last night?" Tersia said in a dark voice.
"I'd be happy too." Farrie cracked her knuckles. "Rachel, get your magic ready."
"Come on! L'Arc was the only one who even got a peek-" Welt was slapped by Crystal.
"Hey, come on now, guys, guys-" Naofumi tried to make himself heard, but realized that his normal voice wasn't getting him anywhere. His friends continued arguing amongst each other when-
"OI! IF YOU WON'T BEHAVE, THEN I"LL JUST LET FILO GO FIRST!" Naofumi yelled.
"Really?!" Filo's mouth began salivating as she looked at all the meat on the grill.
Realizing that the Shield Hero was being serious, the crowd immediately dispersed and reformed into a nice orderly line in front of Naofumi. Filo pouted since she ended up being the last in line alongside Melty.
"Boo! How come Filo has to wait!?" She complained.
"Yes, I know, it's so unfair," Melty said to her soothingly.
Once everyone had gotten a plateful, they separated and Naofumi allowed Filo to have what was left on the grill. She ate his cooking with a passion that almost made him smile.
"L'Arc, you useless bum, why can't you cook like Master Craftsman here?!" Therese complained while chewing loudly.
"It can't taste that good-" Therese shoved a bite into the redhead's open mouth with surprising speed. He almost choked, and his face lit up in both happiness and defeat. "Good, so good… He can cook too… nooooooooo…" He fell over on his side in a semi fetal position and began to bawl. His girl was as good as gone.
"I already told you that I'm not interested in having more than one girlfriend. Quit your whining and eat." Naofumi rolled his eyes. He took a bite of his food, but again, it just tasted good to him.
Raphtalia, who was eating next to him, was openly crying as she ate. Had she missed his cooking that much or something? Hell, most everyone there was crying. Even Ren and Itsuki were crying.
"Why don't you cook more often Master Craftsman?" Therese asked. "It looks like everyone here likes it."
"Because I hate it when people make a big deal over my cooking," Naofumi grumbled. "It's not that good."
"Are you kidding me?! I wish I could eat this for the rest of my life!" L'Arc exclaimed in complete and utter defeat. "Can you please teach me your secrets Ki- Naofumi-sensei!" L'Arc pleaded, using Naofumi's actual name as he did so. "If I could cook half as good as you, I could die happy!"
"Leave Master Craftsman be, or you will certainly die L'Arc," Therese said in a flat voice.
"Urk!" L'Arc deflated and went back to eating his meal.
Naofumi rubbed the bridge of his nose. He was taking another bite when Filo ran up. "Daddy, can you make more for Filo, please?!" She asked nicely. Looking at the grill, it was already clean of everything he'd cooked.
"Already on it." Naofumi smiled at her and got up. However, as he pulled more meat from a large sack to throw onto the grill, he noticed that groups of different people had begun to arrive. Including, strangely enough, Count Hadenburg, who approached him personally.
"Is something going on?" Naofumi asked tensely. Why was the Lord approaching him? Did something bad happen back on the mainland? Damn it Motoyasu, you couldn't hold the fort for just one week?
"Well, I um, heard talk that the best barbeque ever was being prepared here. Would you mind if I were to check if that information is correct?" The nobleman asked.
…
Oh…
…
Oh no…
"Of course not. Please, go ahead and help yourself to as much food as you like." The Shield Hero smiled tersely.
An hour later, Naofumi was still regretting his decision.
"So, so good!" A random adventurer exclaimed.
"This is the best! I didn't know monster meat could taste so good!" A female adventurer was hugging her empty plate to her chest. Hadn't she had thirds already?
"It's like I'm eating with my grandma again." A grown man began to bawl uncontrollably nearby. "I miss my grandma-ma!"
There were far more people here now than before. Naofumi was forced to get three additional grills going at the same time and even that wasn't enough to meet the sudden growth in demand for his cooking.
It was a wonder that he was able to keep up with everything.
"Are you satisfied yet?" Naofumi dryly asked the count.
"Mmmm, I'm not sure yet." The man bit down on another piece of Karma Rabbit, and his face lit up as he chewed. "Maybe, another plate or two, just to be sure."
Naofumi put his head in his hands. He was starting to wish it had been bad news from the village.
"Daddy, Filo's still hungry." Filo pulled on the edge of his cloak.
"Could you please make us a bit more, Sir Naofumi?" Dou-Lon pleaded next to his daughter.
"Please, Naofumi, it's just so good!" Raphtalia begged, giving him a puppy dog face that he hadn't seen her use in a very long time.
"Sir Naofumi, I never mentioned this before, but my workout routine requires a lot of protein supplements. So, if you would please?" Eclair put her hands forward expectantly. There was a touch of sauce on the side of her lips.
"On second thought, maybe I'll just leave all the cooking in the future to you, Shield Kiddo." L'Arc sweatdropped nearby, seeing the predicament that Naofumi was in with his party.
"Please Naofumi." Ren got on his knees, looking up pleadingly at Naofumi.
"Make us more!" Itsuki also pleaded similarly to Ren. To see the prideful boy brought so low by one meal.
"I am never cooking for anyone ever again!" Naofumi yelled at the sky.
And so, the barbeque Naofumi had thought would only take up that morning ended up taking all day. And after it was finally over, due to him running out of meat to cook with, he received offers from restaurants all over the island to cook for them. All of which he turned down with an annoyed look and a twitching eyebrow.
So much for not being treated like a slave.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!"
A large burst of water, taking the shape of a Dragon's head, appeared in front of Wyndia. With a loud roar, it rushed forward and out over the sea. Going, and going, and going until it disappeared into the waves in the distance.
"Wow! Wyndia, that was incredible!" Therese said excitedly. "I think that was your most powerful spell yet! It must be because of Master Craftsman's delicious meal!"
Wyndia breathed in and out heavily. She rested her hands on her knees. "Yeah, the delicious meal… that I thought would never end." She snarked. Seriously, it wasn't like it'd been that good.
She'd only gone back for like, six platefuls at most.
"... so moving locations didn't help either?" Therese asked.
"What do you think?" Wyndia sighed in exhaustion. "I feel just as exhausted doing it here as I did in the forest."
"Hmmm…" Therese thought to herself again. "You're feeling more relaxed though, aren't you?"
"... Yeah, well, at least I was before this," Wyndia admitted, pinching the bridge of her nose with a growl. "I don't know, I felt like it was going to be different this time. We had the Hot Springs last night. That really, really good food earlier today. But I just… I don't know. It just isn't working."
Therese continued to think. After a while of waiting, Wyndia stood up straight again and prepared to chant. She wouldn't discover what was wrong by doing nothing. She had to get past this. She had to!
"I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel the waves, lend me your strength, give me the power to turn my defeat into a victory!" She gritted her teeth with determination. "Ocean's-"
"Wait, I've got it!" Therese suddenly interrupted.
"Ack!" The spell that Wyndia had been preparing suddenly fizzled out. She slowly turned around, giving Therese the mother of all glares. "What have I told you about interrupting me while I'm casting!?"
"Sorry, but it's a good idea this time, I promise!" Therese clasped her hands together over her heart with a wince.
"Hmph. It better be." Wyndia crossed her arms and pouted. She'd felt so worked up for this one too. Maybe it would have changed everything.
...
Yea, right. And maybe pigs would have started flying next. The good mood that she spent the whole day building up was nearly dried out by this point.
"So we've already gone over how you draw vitality from sources and how you structure the chant in your mind, correct?" Therese asked with a quizzical look. "And then comes the moment when you release it in the form of a spell."
"Well, yea, that's how it's supposed to work." Wyndia scratched the back of her head with a frown. "I still don't see what you're getting at-"
"I've been thinking, what if…" Therese was looking even more thoughtful than usual. "What if the problem isn't with your build-up for the spell but rather your execution of it?" Therese suggested.
…
…
There was a long pause as the two stared at each other. "But… but I've been doing this since I was a child! Why would I suddenly start messing up the execution for no reason?" Wyndia weakly protested. If she was messing up with something so simple...
"I know. But… I want you to just do what you do normally. Don't overthink the spell and let it go through naturally. Then, when the time comes, put your focus on what you're doing at the end." Therese suggested slowly. "Don't overthink the other parts. Just focus on how you release it all."
"... alright." Wyndia nodded, sounding unsure. Normally, she didn't even think about it after she put the puzzle pieces in her mind together. The casting process itself was almost second nature for her with how long she'd practiced under Gaelion. But for this time, she decided not to think about putting the spell together and focused more on her delivery.
"I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel the waves, lend me your strength, give me the power to turn my defeat into a victory! Ocean's Serenity!"
She felt power surge through her for a moment... only to be replaced by overwhelming fatigue.
…
"So, did you notice-" Therese started to ask.
Wyndia raised a hand in her direction, gesturing for silence. "I… I'm not sure. Ju-just, just give me a moment. I'm going to try again." Wyndia eventually responded.
After a little while, she got up and chanted again. "Ocean's Serenity!"
Once more, power surged through her, but then it was replaced by more fatigue that threatened to topple her. But after another short break, she forced herself to do it once more. "Ocean's Serenity!"
This time, the fatigue was accompanied by a cold feeling in her hands. She tried to stay standing, but fell to the ground, trembling from chills.
"Wyndia!" Therese exclaimed. She rushed over and quickly used some healing magic on her.
"Urgh…" Wyndia groaned.
"Maybe we should hold off on the magic for now. We can just-" Therese frantically began to speak.
"No, I… I think you may be right. Just, let me try one more time." Wyndia wheezed.
"Wyndia, you're in no state-"
"Please. This is… this is too important to me." The dog girl begged. "I just… this is the closest that I've felt to figuring it out. I can tell something different is happening during the last step. But if I stop, then..."
…
Therese silently nodded and helped Wyndia to stand up. The dog girl, still shivering, breathed in deeply while leaning on her friend for support.
Deep down, she knew that there was truth in the words that Therese had told her. It was likely a very bad idea to do this. But… something about what Therese had said earlier clicked.
There was nothing wrong with her chant. There was nothing wrong with the puzzle in her mind. There was nothing wrong with any of it at all. She'd been doing it right all this time.
But, during those last few seconds that she'd focused on... She'd felt something. Something… off, unnatural. Something that wasn't supposed to be happening. If she stopped now, who knew how long it'd be before she could find that feeling again. What if she forgot? What if she…
She stopped leaning on Therese, collected herself, and began casting.
"I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition. Earth Vein… lend me your strength." Wyndia said in a tired voice. The pieces moved together in her mind as naturally as the waves lapping at the sand of the beach she was on. She squeezed her fists tightly.
"Channel the waves, channel them into a raging dragon. Give it the power to turn my defeat into a victory..."
'Please, let this work. I'm tired of being useless. I'm tired of being a glass cannon. I just want to help. I just want my magic to work properly so I can help him whenever he needs me.' She felt the vitality of the sea fueling her spell. She just had to find it. She just had to find that feeling, that change. That moment of-
"Sea Dragon's-"
"Why is he fighting alone?"
A younger Wyndia was sitting near a campfire under the night sky. Her new and exhausted party members sat on logs around her, eating their meager meals. Welt and Bakta had their weapons on hand in case the plant monsters would try to ambush them during their moment of rest.
"Sir Ren has always been insistent on having us level somewhere where we would be safe," Welt answered shyly. He was still getting used to having the dog girl in their party. "If we were to fight together with him, we'd just get in his way."
"Well, you'd probably get in his way." Farrie teased. "I'm sure the rest of us could keep up."
"Hey, now, that's mean." Welt's face fell.
"Ignore her Welt. Who knows how long we'll have until the adventurers tell us that we're needed to keep the plant monsters in check again." Bakta muttered.
They all went silent. Wyndia stared down at the meager scraps that the villagers had given them. Fruits that'd come from the vines of the monster that Sir Ren was trying to kill.
"Hey, is everything alright?" The blonde-haired mage, Tersia, sat next to her while Farrie hummed to herself.
"Of course not. The idiot hero that you're all following murdered my father in cold blood and forced me to come with him against my will to some horrible, monster-infested hell hole, only to dump me on the sidelines along with the rest of you goons while he's busy doing gods know what." Wyndia snarled. "How could everything be alright?!"
"I… I'm sure that Sir Ren has his reasons." Tersia said sadly and scooted away.
"Yeah. I bet he does." Wyndia set her bowl to the side and stared at the flames in front of her. "Stupid reasons."
Everyone remained silent for a while after that.
Soon enough, Welt and Bakta left the campfire to rest on their sleeping bags. Farrie yawned soon after. "Hey, Tersia, do you mind taking the first watch for the night?"
The mage looked at the two sleeping men and sighed. "As if I'll have a choice."
"Right. Hehehe, thanks, sister! I knew I could count on you!" The green-haired mage happily hummed to herself while skipping towards her own sleeping roll.
"You should get some rest yourself," Tersia suggested to Wyndia.
"I'm fine. I don't need you to babysit me." Wyndia grumbled.
"I just…" Tersia took a deep breath and sighed.
"You're right. I'm not your babysitter."
Wyndia didn't respond, but then she felt a hand moving through her hair. "I know you probably won't believe me, but I'm here because I want to be your friend. We all do."
…
Wyndia trembled. "Friends, huh… you say that, and yet you were the ones who helped that idiot to kill my… my..."
"And there's no way we could ever apologize enough for that." Tersia sadly admitted. "I'm sorry."
Wyndia started to tremble more. It sucked because she could tell the blonde was being sincere. "I-It's fine. I-It's the way of the wild, isn't it? The s-s-strong kill the weak and g-get stronger. It just proves that my dad was a w-weakling. It was bound to happen eventually. I-I just..." Wyndia hiccupped and sniffled loudly. Before she knew it, a pair of arms were wrapped around her in comfort and she was bawling.
"I just… I miss him so much." Wyndia cried into Tersia's shoulder. "If I'd only been stronger. If I'd only been a little faster. I could have realized something was wrong a little sooner. I could have gotten there and helped him. I… I… I wouldn't have had to watch my dad die."
"..."
Tersia was silent for a moment, allowing the dog girl's tears to travel down her shoulder onto her chest. Wyndia continued to sob. She didn't feel better doing this. If anything, she felt worse. Like she was being crushed under a large stone, and there was no way out from it.
After a little while, Wyndia finally spoke again. "Why did that idiot even take me in?" She asked Tersia. "I thought the Heroes of legend were supposed to be better than this. I thought the Sword Hero was supposed to be better than this… yet he's just… just..."
"I don't know." The dog girl whimpered.
"I don't know either," Tersia admitted. "Before you, he was pretty closed off to the rest of us. He didn't care if one of us joined or left." Tersia admitted. "He preferred working by himself. And he only gave us directions on where to grind to raise our levels. We only ever fought together whenever he was facing some tough monster that he couldn't beat by himself, like your Father."
"... huh?" Wyndia wiped tears from her eyes.
"I've noticed it since the fight with your dad. He's been trying to be around us more. The first time you grinded with us was the first time he grinded with us as well." Tersia admitted.
"S… So?" Wyndia still looked sad, and a little angry. "What's your point? He's out fighting again all by himself right now, isn't he?"
"Yes, but I think the reason's different this time," Tersia whispered while looking at the fire.
"I don't think he's fighting because he thinks he can do it alone anymore.
"He's fighting because he doesn't want to see the rest of us get hurt. And he specifically doesn't want to hurt you even more than he already has."
…
…
"Pbth." Wyndia scoffed. "Right… whatever. He's still being an idiot about this."
"Yes, he is." Tersia held a hand close to her chest. "I just wish I was strong enough to tell him that myself."
Wyndia slowly turned her head, looking in disbelief at the higher leveled mage. Tersia offered her a weak smile. "You should get some rest, Wyndia. It's going to be another long day tomorrow."
"... okay." Wyndia finally got up, walking towards her own bedroll. Tersia stayed at the log, observing the forest for any possible threats.
Even though Wyndia did lay on the mat, she didn't fall asleep. Tersia's words were still echoing in her mind.
"I just wish I were strong enough…"
She knew that feeling all too well. Was that what the rest of the party thought too?...
She turned over, staring at the dancing flames of the fire. The vitality in it. A source she could mold for her own purposes.
Wyndia's eyes widened in shock. Then fell with sadness.
The next day, Wyndia did what the others were too afraid to do.
Carrying a torch, she fought her way through the plant monsters towards the village. Every plant monster fell like dominos to her fire dragon vein magic. The torch served to fuel the vitality of every spell she cast.
She realized that she was strong enough. More than strong enough to kill the Sword Hero. Maybe it was wrong to do this while he was weakened from fighting, but she didn't care anymore.
The bastard had killed her Father. He'd destroyed all of her hopes and dreams of what the Sword Hero was supposed to be like and turned her world inside out.
Tersia would be disappointed, and the thought that the older mage would hate her for this made the dog girl hesitate just a little. Even if she wanted to deny it, she felt that Tersia was genuine when she said that she wanted to be her friend. But she didn't care- no, she couldn't afford to care. That woman was just another goon of Ren's. Another pawn that would only try to get in her way if she knew what Wyndia was about to do.
Ever since losing her Father, her whole world had flipped upside down. Even though the Sword Hero had promised to atone, she couldn't bear this anymore. This was like a nightmare. A nightmare that she wanted to end… a world without her father, a world where her Sword Hero was a murderer…
She just wanted it all to end.
"Aahhhhh!"
Until the moment she'd finally found him.
The Sword Hero was screaming in frustration as he blindly slashed several plant monsters in two, only for more of them to emerge behind him to strike at his exposed back.
Wyndia took cover, extinguishing her torch so the Sword Hero wouldn't notice her.
From where she was hidden, she saw him wipe something away from his face before turning around to face the next batch of bioplant spawn. The monsters lashed out with their vines against his legs, making him wince as he took the hit. Ren endured the pain, however, and slashed through the air with his sword again, launching another skill.
Thunderbolt Slash!"
The monsters were vaporized on the spot. Ren pivoted around, expecting another ambush. Thankfully, the bio plant had retreated again. The Sword Hero collapsed on his knees, breathing heavily while leaning on his sword.
Wyndia stared at him from her hiding spot. This was it. She wouldn't be able to get another shot like this. He was exhausted and completely wide open. She began to quietly chant under her breath. And...
"I'm sorry…"
Stopped immediately as Ren started crying to himself.
"I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry." His words carried over, hitting the dog girl's ears like a thunderclap.
Did he know that she was there?
"I'm such an idiot. A game? What the hell was I thinking? How many mistakes have I made till now? How many people have I hurt because of my stupidity?" He gasped while clutching the grip of his weapon.
"Please, whatever deity is watching this, please, please, at least let my party members be okay." He whispered under his breath. "I don't… I don't want them to be hurt. I don't want to cause pain for anybody else. So please, if you want to hurt someone... then hurt me!" He yelled at the vines. "IT'S MY FAULT! I'm the one who deserves it for treating all this like a game! So stop attacking this village and FACE me you COWARD!"
Another plant monster appeared from a nearby vine, and Ren screamed as he got up and got back to fighting once more.
Wyndia trembled in her hiding spot. She couldn't bring herself to move. The Sword Hero was in no state to fight her. She could get her revenge. This would be the perfect chance. The perfect chance for her to… to…
Her fists, which had been taut ever since she'd resolved to herself what to do that morning, fell at her sides.
"What did you want to talk about Papa?" The little dog girl asked curiously.
"Wyndia, today, I want to teach you about the importance of packs." Gaelion gestured with his head to his other children who were obediently sitting beside him. There were wolves, large frogs, and Usapils, all of whom had dragon scales, wings, or something dragony about them.
"P… Packs?" Wyndia asked curiously.
Gaelion nodded his large head. "Yes. Sometime in the future, a day will come when you'll go out to see the world. So I want you to be ready for when you'll join one or make your own."
"Why Papa, I thought I was already in yours?" Wyndia asked while hugging his large foot.
Gaelion chuckled deeply, his guttural voice echoing around the cave they were in. "Yes, yes, of course, you are little one." He nuzzled his head against her cheek, causing her to giggle. "I cherish you, dear daughter. But your place shouldn't be with me, wasting away in a mountain as centuries pass around you without end."
"Silly Papa, I can't live for centuries!" Wyndia pouted at him.
"Yes." She could tell her dad was rolling his eyes at her. It made her giggle again. "Still, one day, you will grow up. And when that day comes, I want you to be ready when you'll have to leave and rejoin your own kind." There was a note of sadness in his voice that wasn't there before.
Wyndia finally seemed to understand that Gaelion was being serious. "But, but I don't want to leave." She looked down at the ground sadly. "Can't I stay with you?"
"If I wanted to make it so, you'd never have to leave. But every nestling must leave the nest at some point, dear daughter." Gaelion said, gesturing to the first of his children. The dragon wolf puffed its chest out with pride as it stepped forward. "Even though the parting may hurt…" From behind the large wolf, a female wolf slowly poked its head into view. A series of smaller, cuter heads poked out from under her. "... finding another pack amongst your own kind can bring you untold happiness that you wouldn't find otherwise."
Gaelion dropped his head down and moved his son, bringing his son's mate and cubs out into view. At first, the wolf and cubs looked frightened, but then, as Gaelion nuzzled his scaled cheek against one of the cubs, it slowly became braver and was soon leading its fellow cubs in climbing all over his head in a playful fashion.
Wyndia giggled at the sight, and the dragon wolf stared proudly at its offspring. Gaelion let out a snort of amusement.
"Do know that I'm not telling you this because I don't love you, Wyndia.
"I'm doing it specifically because I do, possibly even more than any of my other children, even if it's selfish of me to admit so."
"But… won't you be alone if I leave?" Wyndia hesitantly asked. "I know how much you hate being alone."
"And won't I be alone when you grow old and die?" Gaelion asked. "Would you rather stay with me only as blurry, fading memories for me to linger on? Wouldn't it be so much nicer if I could always see your face whenever I wanted through the offspring that you would leave behind?"
Wyndia blushed at that. "But, but there isn't anyone I love in that way!"
"And there'll never be if you don't go searching for that someone." Gaelion wisely said.
…
"Can I… can I at least stay with you until the day comes when I have to… leave the nest?" Wyndia asked.
The large dragon lovingly nuzzled her hair with his chin. "Of course. I don't plan on letting you leave anytime before that. I only wish to have you be ready for when that day comes.
"And…" The black-winged dragon looked thoughtful. "I am not invincible, Wyndia. Not even dragons are eternal, though we may wish we were. You worry about myself being left alone, but I fear the opposite can one day become true as well. My list of enemies is long, and I fear the day when they shall finally overcome me.
"I might not always be around to protect you, and that is why I wish for you to go out and make new bonds with others. So you won't be left alone. No one is strong enough to live by themselves in this world."
"I only want you to be ready, just in case. Ready for the day when you'll have to leave my pack and join your own."
No.
It wasn't just the law of the wild, wasn't it? It was her own heart.
Even if he'd killed her dad… even if he was messing up now by fighting these things by himself without asking his pack for help…
Seeing him suffering like this, she couldn't bring himself to hate him any longer.
Wyndia shook her head. "Wow, he really is an idiot. Doesn't he know you can't get anywhere by yourself?"
...
"... But then again, neither did I."
...
She returned to the party as if nothing had happened. But the following morning, after reflecting on it some more, she apologized to Tersia and the others for calling them goons. And for being so rude to them.
After that, the mage girl hugged her, saying she'd already forgiven her. She then glared at the others, making sure they'd forgiven Wyndia as well.
Wyndia then asked for them not to treat her with pity for killing her Father. She wanted to move past that. She wanted to start fresh with them, and become part of their pack.
Even though she wouldn't admit it, that was when she started to see her and the others less as goons, and more as people. As… friends...
It was only a couple of days later when she had fought her way to the Sword Hero again. But this time, to have him accept his pack's help, whether he liked it or not.
After several nights of restless sleep, she'd decided that she didn't like seeing him in pain. She couldn't bear seeing him suffer. She had to help him realize that he was strong. Strong enough to defeat her Father. Strong enough to defeat this monster.
Strong enough to save their world. With their help.
She would become strong enough. But because now, she wanted to stand with him, she wanted to stand with his pack, and make sure he'd never fall so low into the pits of despair ever again.
And she'd give her all if it meant helping him to become the Hero he was worthy of being.
… so that was the change.
"- Roar." Wyndia finally finished the chant, the memories of the past channeling through her mind.
A large Dragon's head made of water appeared in front of Wyndia. With an ear-splitting roar, it rushed forward out over the sea.
Wyndia didn't look at the results of her spell. Instead, she was looking down at her hands.
'I see. So all this time… I just wanted to help him… I just wanted to help them...' She wanted to help the pack she'd become a part of.
Because she loved him?...
Yes, letting go of that hurt that day, letting go of that desire for revenge, she realized that's the moment she started on the path to falling in love with him.
That change had changed everything.
...
"Wyndia, you're… are you okay?" Therese asked her.
Wyndia slowly turned to face the gem girl. She still looked surprised. "I mean, you're not falling down or anything, is that… is that a good sign?"
…
…
"..." A smile slowly appeared on the dog girl's face.
"Hehe…" And then, she started to chuckle.
"Hahahaha." Which turned into laughter.
"Ahahahahahaha!" Which then turned into full-blown hollering.
"Whoa- wh-what's gotten into you?!" Therese worriedly asked. Had that last spell overloaded Wyndia's sanity and, and...
Oh no. If she brought Wyndia back to their friends broken, how would they react? It certainly wouldn't be good, and-
"It was so freaking simple! I can't believe I never realized it! I'm such a dummy!" Wyndia was gushing with mirth. It was so unlike her, and it caught Therese so off guard that she started laughing too.
This continued for a while. With neither girl able to calm down. Just as one would be on the verge of stopping, she'd look at the other, and the laughter would begin anew. Tears traveled down their faces, but they still couldn't stop.
Finally, after what felt like hours later, the two were sitting on the sand. Wyndia was still racked with chuckles every now and then, but she was positively beaming.
"So, what was the problem?" Therese finally asked her, wiping tears away from her eyes.
"All this time, I've wanted to be strong enough to fight alongside Ren." Wyndia looked down tiredly at her hands. Even if it hadn't drained her, casting a spell while exhausted wasn't the best of ideas. "I wanted to be as useful as possible. And I… I was unconsciously responding to that whenever I used Earth Vein.
"Whenever I cast some spell using vitality, I had the subconscious urge to push a little of my own vitality into it to try and make it stronger. To try and make it so it'd be enough. I've been doing that all this time without even realizing it. I can't believe I never noticed before." Wyndia chuckled again in disbelief.
"Our vitality pales to the vitality of dragons and the earth. What I was doing was like throwing a grain of sand on top of a mountain. I've been such an idiot for all this time. I'm surprised I didn't kill myself before now."
"... wow, I don't think that's a problem that any gem magic-user has suffered from before in my country," Therese said in surprise.
"I doubt that anyone was stupid enough to try and do what I've been doing for so long." Wyndia sighed, looking at the ocean. When she'd given her all to help the Sword Hero, she hadn't been joking.
They sat like that for a long while, just sitting in silence. Then, even though she still felt somewhat exhausted from all the earlier tries, she stood up, excitedly holding her hands in front of her. "I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel the waves, lend me your strength, give me the power to turn my defeat into a victory! Ocean's Serenity!"
Now that she was aware, she made sure that her own vitality didn't try to add itself to the spell. And when the wave of power went through the dog girl, she started jumping up and down giddily when the usual exhaustion didn't appear. It'd worked. It'd finally, finally worked!
"Sea Dragon's Roar!"
"Air's Torrent!"
Wyndia cast several other Dragon Vein spells using vitality from the sources around her. The only exhaustion she felt was the exhaustion of firing off too many powerful spells one after the other while tired.
"Yes! I did it! My magic's fixed! I finally won't be a detriment to the team any longer! I'll finally be able to fight monsters and other powerful foes! I can-" The dog girl suddenly cut off, looking down at Therese.
"Congratulations. I'm happy for you." The turquoise-haired girl got up, smiling at her.
"..." Wyndia was silent.
Therese wondered if her normal personality was kicking back in or something. But then, with tears leaking from her amber-colored eyes, the dog girl embraced the turquoise-haired girl in a tight hug.
"Thank you… thank you so much for being nice enough to put up with me till now." Wyndia sniffled. Her tears landed on Therese's shoulder. "I… I definitely couldn't have done this without you." It was just like that night with Tersia. Only, this time, her crying actually did make her feel better.
"Whatever you decide to do after Cal Mira, whether it's moving to our village or continuing with whatever you and that red-haired idiot are doing… I'm glad to have a great friend like you." Wyndia admitted through her tears. "Thank you, for everything."
Therese was stunned. She felt tears of her own appear in her eyes, and she sadly smiled as she embraced Wyndia back. Resting her head on the dog girl's hair.
"Yes, I'm happy to be your friend." Therese genuinely admitted.
It was the first time in a long while that she'd felt so genuinely happy with someone besides L'Arc.
"Just, don't offer me any string swimsuits in the future, or I'll make you regret it!" Wyndia threatened after the hug ended.
Therese laughed. "We'll see. I still think it'd look great on you."
Both of them laughed after that.
It'd been a while since Wyndia felt so good.
"Ren, Ren!" Wyndia came bursting onto another section of the beach. She'd tried his room, and her room, and had been looking all over when she finally came across Welt and Bakta. After learning where Ren was at, she'd run off, desperate to find him.
After resolving her inner conflict, she finally felt ready. She felt brave enough to tell the Sword Hero how she felt. And she saw him now. He was standing on the sand near the ocean water, facing away from her. A wide beaming smile appeared on her face.
This was it. This was her chance!
"Ren, I have something to tell you, I-"
"Drifa Fire Blast!"
"Eep!" Wyndia quickly stopped, seeing the large fire spell appear in front of Ren. A quick glance away from the object of her affection revealed it was Farrie who'd unleashed the spell. 'What, what the hell's going on?! Why is Farrie attacking-'
"Zweite Magic Enchant!"
The fire spell hurtling at Ren glowed, and before it impacted him, it vanished entirely. The sword in his hands started to glow red.
"Hmmm, well done, Sir Ren," Tersia commented between the two. "So even the Zweite version of that can absorb our drifa level spells. I'm impressed."
"Yes, and it looks like the stats for my sword got a buff too." Ren studied the legendary blade curiously. "Oh, nice. Farrie's fire spell is giving it a temporary fire damage boost. If I absorb the right spells with this in battle, this will definitely come in handy."
Wyndia stared in dumbfounded shock. What the hell was she witnessing right now?
"Oh, hey Wyndia!" Farrie happily called from her spot. "Do you like Sir Ren's new spell?! He just learned it from that one stone tablet an hour ago!"
"H… Huh?" Wyndia muttered dumbly.
"What have I told you two about calling me sir?" Ren asked the two girls in an annoyed voice. Tersia and Farrie both started giggling at the same time, and Ren rolled his eyes before smiling at Wyndia. "My hard work finally paid off. It's still hard to read this world's language, but…"
He turned to the side, facing a boulder. "As the Sword Hero, source of thy power I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and slice my target with a blade of water and sunder it in two! Zweite Aqua Slash!"
A large slash of water, bigger and stronger than anything Melty had produced so far, appeared in front of him. It slashed the boulder into two pieces and left a nice large groove in the hill behind it.
Wyndia continued to stare in amazement. Ren happily grinned. "I finally managed to learn a spell from that tome."
"And since you were able to do that, I figured you'd be ready to read from the tablet," Tersia said happily. She loved it when she was right. "I can now say that your magic matches your hero status."
"Isn't this great Wyndia?! Now we won't have to waste away our nights helping him study! We can go out as girls and have some real fun!" Farrie said excitedly.
"..."
They finally seemed to notice that Wyndia had been silent all this time. She was also looking down at the sand, with shadow covering the top half of her face.
"Hey, um, is everything okay?" Ren asked, approaching Wyndia worriedly. "I'm sorry to spring this on you all of a sudden, but I thought you'd be happy that I-"
"Good job, Ren. I knew you could do it."
Wyndia slowly raised her head and looked up at him with a bright, happy grin. Her amber eyes were shining with joy, excitement, and pride that left the Sword Hero speechless.
"Way to go." She added as a tiny blush spread on her cheeks before looking away.
"A- aba- ba-" The Sword Hero felt like two bombs had gone off in his chest and brain simultaneously at that moment.
"Hey Tersia, since our evening is free now, how about checking that antique book store we saw when we first arrived." The dog girl turned to the blonde nonchalantly.
"Oh! That's right!" The mage girl's eyes widened in realization. "I can't believe I forgot about that." She then blinked and looked to the side at Farrie sheepishly. "But I already agreed to-"
"Do nothing all evening!" The light green-haired girl happily exclaimed and began to push her fellow nun forward. "Yup! She's as free as a bird! Have fun you two!"
"Huh, but what about-" Tersia muttered in shock. Because they had to teach Ren to read during their trip, Farrie had yet to actually hit the local clothing stores, to her continued frustration. She'd made the blonde mage promise her that she would join her as soon as they were free again.
"Hup hup! Off you go now!" Farrie giggled while patting Tersia on the back.
"Great! Then let's go! Race you there!" Wyndia smiled again and began to skip away across the sand with her arms spread out and tail waving around happily.
"H-hey! You're supposed to count to three first!" Tersia yelled after her before taking off herself.
By this time, Ren's brain had finally finished rebooting itself and he blinked twice before rubbing his eyes and then looking at the two retreating girls.
"Did... did I do something right this time?" He asked Farrie weakly.
She snorted in response before shrugging and smiling coyly. "Who knows? That's the thing about girls, Ren. We're hard to understand."
"You're no help at all," Ren muttered with a blush before looking to the side, the aftermath of Wyndia's genuine compliment still lingering in his chest as a farm fuzzy presence.
While Farrie continued to giggle girlishly, he quickly pulled up his HUD's help guide just in case to see if any advice had appeared there since the last time.
Nope. There was still nothing about how to understand dog girls.
He sighed before closing it. Well, as he had found out with his magic just now, some things were better learned the hard way.
Wyndia glanced back at the beach where the stumped Sword Hero was standing and smiled to herself.
'Well, whatever, I'll just tell him next time.'
The next couple of days passed by without much of note for Naofumi.
Raphtalia and him took Filo and Melty to various places around the main island. Whether it was to see some of the landmarks that Count Hadenburg had told them about before, or some magic tricks and other oddities performed by passing entertainers, or to browse accessories.
Naofumi noticed when he wore the Mask Shield, he either got offers to become the chef for different restaurants on the island, or people would point, screaming that it was the alcohol demon before running away in terror.
Much to his annoyance.
After the first full day of this, Naofumi finally decided to use a different shield out in public. The Book Shield. It wasn't as inconspicuous as the Mask Shield, but at least nobody bothered him anymore. Damn, he really hoped these rumors didn't make their way back to Melromarc. Otherwise, his reputation as the Nocturnal Doctor would be ruined.
He also visited the accessory merchant's shop to see how he was doing. When they arrived, it'd been packed with people wanting to buy island accessories. When Raphtalia asked random customers, they said that they were there because they'd heard that accessories made from ores from the island could boost their experience gains.
The accessory merchant had been super happy too. He was rolling in dough like it was nobody's business. Naofumi ended up leaving the place with a wide smirk on his face. And he refused to tell Raphtalia why.
It only became better when they encountered L'Arc at the end of that day. He'd bought one of the island accessories to help out with his grinding. He was totally convinced that he was getting more experience now than before. Even though Therese was telling him otherwise.
They didn't stay long to chat though for some reason… was it because L'Arc was still talking an octave higher than normal?
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen much of L'Arc or Therese since the barbeque. They must have still been busy trying to grind out their levels or something. Raphtalia said she was still hanging out with the turquoise-haired girl at night alongside their other friends, but he didn't pry. It was her business, not his.
And he'd already been more than embarrassed poking into their business that one time.
Now, he was relaxing on a towel at the beach. Letting the warm rays of the sun wash over his body.
'Damn. This feels… kind of nice, actually.' Naofumi had his arms resting behind his head, and his Book Shield was on his side. Unless people recognized the gemstone in its side, anyone looking at it would assume it was a thick book instead of the Legendary Shield.
The sand under the towel gave way to his weight, letting him feel comfortable. From his position, he could see Filo and Melty playing together in the water. He could see Itsuki and his party further down the beach, playing a game of volleyball together. Well, the rest of his party was, Itsuki was busy building a sandcastle with Rishia.
How cute. That couple really needed to get together soon.
Ren was nowhere to be seen, but that was likely because he was still studying from that magic tome of his. Some of his party members were playing against Itsuki's party.
As he watched, Wyndia, dressed in a tan polka dot swimsuit, jumped incredibly high and spiked the ball right into Bakta's face. The poor tank wobbled off the sand to be replaced by Welt.
It was too bad Ren wasn't there. He probably would have gotten a nose bleed staring at that dog girl of his.
As for Eclair and Dou-Lon... they were sparring nearby. Rather, Dou-Lon was being beat up nearby. The rose-haired woman didn't seem very interested in relaxing like the rest of them.
"Please, Miss Eclair, just let me go so I can- urk!" Dou-Lon cried out in pain when the flat of Eclair's blade slammed into his gut again.
"Not until you land a hit on me," Eclair said flatly.
"But… but…" He'd been sparring against her for weeks and had as of yet to land a hit on her! He had higher stats than her too thanks to the Hero Service Seal, yet she was still kicking his %$#!
This human swordswoman was crazy! Why couldn't she relax like Lord Naofumi?! Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
"You know Eclair, you could take a break," Naofumi muttered.
"Not until I feel satisfied with today's training." Eclair snapped back.
Naofumi wondered if the swordswoman was still angry about Dou-Lon helping L'Arc to peep on all the girls. But he didn't care to ask. "Fine. Just don't kill him… or maim him." Naofumi added.
"Lord Naofumi, please- urk!" Dou-Lon's pleading was interrupted by Eclair swiping at him. Fortunately, he managed to parry the attack with his lance. But when he thought he'd finally have the advantage and charged forward to strike, she sidestepped, grabbed the back of his head, and faceplanted him into the sand.
It was rather amusing to watch, Naofumi had to admit. It was even more amusing seeing Dou-Lon's body flailing around in panic.
While they continued doing that, Naofumi pulled up his HUD in front of his face. 'It's weird that he still can't beat her despite having higher stats… but I guess even Raphtalia struggles a lot whenever she spars against Eclair.'
Against monsters, Eclair's lower stats were a hindrance. Even with those cool-looking moves that she sometimes pulled out against them… he really needed to ask her about them one of these days. But that tangent aside, her skills seemed to make her a good fighter against people.
He wondered if skill really could make that big of a difference if the stats of the other person were much higher...
"Hey, Naofumi…"
Raphtalia's voice pulled him out of his musing. He closed his HUD. "Yes Raphtalia, what's…" His voice died in his throat.
Raphtalia stood in front of him, dressed in a blue bikini. Her face was flushed red. This was, by far, the most revealing outfit she'd worn in front of Naofumi before. Even with the extra bit of cloth over the two-piece, there was still plenty of skin being shown.
"Um, how do I look?" Raphtalia asked, trying to smile even though she felt embarrassed.
She usually wore her outfits because they were modest and offered decent protection. But to wear something so… revealing…
"Um, uh…" Naofumi struggled for words and felt something dripping from his nose. He put his hand to it.
Blood.
Raphtalia's swimwear had just given him a nosebleed.
And here he'd been making fun of what would have happened to Ren.
"Naofumi!? Are you alright?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.
"Yesh, it's fine," Naofumi said, clamping his nose together. He muttered a quick chant under his breath before casting "Zweite Heal" on himself.
He unclamped his nose, and no more blood came out. He slowly looked her body over before finally focusing on her face and giving her a roguish smile. "You look great."
She blushed furiously, and her tail swished behind her nervously. He almost felt like adding more flirting but decided not to press his luck. "Seriously though, you look amazing," Naofumi added instead. He wouldn't be lying if he said that she looked downright perfect.
"Th-Thank you." She almost felt tempted to ask if she could cuddle with him on the blanket, but the recent events made her steel her heart. No need to tempt his trauma into appearing now to ruin this moment.
"I'll be over there then if you n-"
" Want to cuddle?" Naofumi suggested with a small smile.
Raphtalia's mouth was left hanging open. Did… did Naofumi just read her mind? She slowly nodded, and Naofumi got up, grabbing one of her hands. After a moment, both of them were laying on Naofumi's towel with their eyes closed. The Shield Hero was still on his back, but now he had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend protectively, while she hugged his side and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Just don't try to start anything… ok?" Naofumi hesitantly told her. His cheeks were red with embarrassment. But he wanted to enjoy this. He wanted to enjoy Raphtalia cuddling with him without thinking about Bitch or anyone else.
Almost feeling uncertain, Raphtalia rubbed her cheek against his shoulder and slowly stroked his chest. Naofumi tensed up at that, breathing in deeply. But then, slowly, he relaxed.
They both did.
They didn't move. They didn't think. They just enjoyed lying together on the warm blanket. The rays of the sun falling on them both.
No one bothered them. The sounds of Eclair's brutal training regiment with Dou-Lon faded to the background. The hoots and hollers from those playing volleyball disappeared.
It felt so nice… Raphtalia was almost moved to tears.
She'd been so worried that day in the swimsuit shop, telling Therese about her worries. She knew Naofumi needed his space because of his past traumas with girls. But she didn't know how to proceed. She didn't want their relationship to ferment, but she also didn't want to push him over the edge. She wanted to help him move past his trauma, but she didn't know how.
Therese had only suggested one thing for her. To take the relationship at his pace.
If she could do that, she could gradually help him to heal. To open up fully to her. To become comfortable with being together all the time.
And to eventually have sex, as she'd teased at the end. Much to her embarrassment.
It was going to be hard. Even now, she was forced to bridle herself while feeling Naofumi's scarred, calloused skin beneath her fingers. But she was doing it because she loved him. And she was willing to be as patient as she needed to be for his sake.
Maybe it'd be years before she got to experience the feeling of being "one" as Therese had described it. Or maybe the turquoise-haired girl had over-glorified the whole ordeal. But either way, for Naofumi's sake, she was willing to wait.
She loved him that much.
…
Eventually, a voice came from the sea, grabbing their attention.
"Mommy! Daddy! Filo and Mel found something cool!"
The two opened their eyes, seeing an excited Filo and Melty waving at them from the water. "We found a cool island at the bottom of the seabed! It has this cool ancient temple on it and everything!" Stars were in Melty's eyes. "It looks so cool! It must be a part of the lost inult civilization that Count Hadenburg told us about!"
"Is that really important right now?" Naofumi asked tiredly. He looked annoyed that his cuddling session had been interrupted, and Raphtalia felt the same.
"Maybe it'd be better if you informed Count Hadenburg about this-" She tried to suggest when Melty interrupted her.
"No! I want to find out more about what's down there before we tell him!" Melty exclaimed. "This was our discovery, right Filo!?"
"Mhmmm~" Filo hummed happily.
"Geez, if you're that eager, why did you come back up to bother us, Melty?" Naofumi snarkily asked. He only used her real name because he was in such a good mood then.
Melty crossed her arms and pouted at him. "Because Filo wanted to bring her parents along to our discovery." She looked down at her best friend.
"Huh? Was that a bad thing for Filo to do?" The bird girl asked, looking confused.
"... No, of course not…" Melty's pout deepened. Why couldn't she get over her Filolial obsession?! It caused her so much trouble… but it also gave her so much joy!
It was infuriating!
Raphtalia looked disappointed. She'd been enjoying her moment with Naofumi…
Who, she finally noticed, was also dressed in only his swim trunks, and had his shirt open, revealing his toned body underneath… the toned body her fingers had been feeling...
"Raphtalia, why is your nose bleeding?" Melty asked her curiously.
"If it's at the bottom of the ocean, how are we going to get there?" Raphtalia asked back, completely ignoring Melty's question as she cleaned the blood from her nose.
"Oh! Filo and I have been working on using our magic to make an air bubble underwater! Maybe we could make multiple ones for you to-" Melty was saying excitedly.
"Nah. I have a simpler option here." Naofumi looked around, making sure no one else was nearby before pulling out two of the Karma Pengu's drops from his Book Shield.
Pekkul Kigurimi
Stats: defense up, Attack Resistance (small), Water Resistance (large), shadow resistance (small), HP recovery (low), magic up (medium)
Effects: Automatic recovery function, underwater swimming time increased, size adjustment, skill adjustment (small): type alteration, monster equip time, no alterations other than type.
It was a soft costume that looked like a penguin wearing a Santa hat. It was about as strong, if not stronger than Naofumi's Barbarian Armor 2.0.
When he'd shown the others though, they were reluctant to wear it. Which, was to be expected, since walking around fighting while looking like a penguin would be ridiculous. Filo had tried it though. Apparently, the size adjustment made it so she could put it on even in her Filolial Queen form.
Though she hadn't worn it since because of how itchy it felt. It also dropped her stats drastically since it changed her monster type to Pekkel while worn, making her ineligible for the monster and Filolial type adjustment shield bonuses he'd unlocked up to this point. In effect, Naofumi was the only one who'd get a benefit from wearing this in battle.
And going into battle wearing a Santa hat was not something he ever wanted to do.
"It's kind of perfect that we're not in our armor today, actually," Naofumi said, looking at Raphtalia. "We just have to slip these on, and then we can follow behind them."
"... alright." Raphtalia took the Kigurimi from his hands, and the two got in the water before putting them on.
It was almost like putting on pajamas, but… like in a magical way. Unlike Filo, Naofumi and Raphtalia both looked like deflated versions of a Pengu after slipping them on. If anyone saw them like this, Naofumi would never be able to live it down. But at least their boost in swimming and underwater breathing made them useful.
"But… but I wanted to show off our cool magic…" Melty said in disappointment.
"Tough. I wouldn't trust you to help me breathe underwater in a hundred years." Naofumi blandly stated.
"Boo!" Melty pouted in a way very reminiscent of Filo.
Again, it wasn't adorable at all since she was the one doing it and not Filo.
And so, they disappeared under the water to find this temple that they'd discovered.
...
"Hey, Eclair, where did Lord Naofumi go off to-," Dou-Lon asked from where they were training.
"Focus on the battle!" Eclair slammed the hilt of her sword into Dou-Lon's still aching thigh. Making him collapse to the ground.
Yep, he was never going to try and peep on any girl's bath in the future ever again.
It was not worth it in the slightest.
The group of four swam underwater for several minutes, heading towards the sea bed down below.
Naofumi looked to the side, seeing Raphtalia swimming beside him. On the other, Filo was using her wings to propel herself forward. Melty kept a grip on her feathery back while a bubble of air surrounded the upper part of her body.
"How can you even create that?" Naofumi's voice sounded weird going through the water.
"Through a combination of my water magic and Filo's wind magic," Melty answered proudly. "It only took us three days of playing in the ocean to make it work."
"Huh." Naofumi shrugged to himself. So all that time they'd spent playing together, they'd worked on trying to allow Melty to breathe underwater…
It was likely so she could play around longer with Filo, he concluded. Filo liked being underwater a lot, as he'd discovered. Maybe she'd had a sea serpent in her past ancestry or something.
Then again, if that was possible, he didn't want to imagine how such a monster could breed with a Filolial.
Minutes later, they finally came across the island Filo had told them about. Sure enough, a large temple with a large set of doors was in the center of it. It also looked like the ruins of other buildings laid on the sea bed around it, which made its appearance all the more curious.
"I don't think Melty was far off with her statement," Raphtalia said in awe.
"Yeah. Who'd think that a lost civilization would be at the bottom of an ocean." Naofumi rolled his eyes. If this was a game, he'd find that statement all the more ironic.
He'd better not find a sign anywhere saying "welcome to Atlantis". Otherwise, he might just lose it.
They swam up to the doors, and Naofumi was about to ask how they'd get inside since the doors looked to be made of stone when the gemstone of his shield started glowing. Curious, he pressed his hand against the door, and with a sudden lurch, it began to open.
"What the- that didn't happen before!" Melty exclaimed in shock. The bubble around her head almost collapsed from the loss of concentration.
"Careful Mel," Filo told her.
"S-Sorry!" Melty flushed embarrassedly at her blunder.
"Are these doors opening for me because I'm a Hero?" Naofumi wondered.
"... that's actually a very likely possibility." Melty put a hand to her chin in thought. "Count Hadenburg mentioned the past Heroes were tied to the islands… maybe the Inults made it so that the Heroes of Legends could open the temple?"
"Maybe… we don't know for sure if this place is a temple or not though." Cautiously, they swam inside. Soon after, they reached a set of stairs. They swam up, following them into the bowels of the temple when, surprisingly, they burst out of the water into the open air.
"Wha-" Melty's concentration fully snapped, and the bubble around her disappeared.
"Amazing," Raphtalia murmured to herself, taking off her Kigimuri. "No wonder you and Filo couldn't find a way in here. An airtight pocket at the bottom of the ocean..."
"Yeah, but where are we exactly?" Naofumi took his Kigimuri off as well and wondered about the possibility of monsters. If this was like an underwater dungeon meant only for Heroes, who knew what kind of dangers could be in here. "Raphtalia, can you use your light magic?" He raised his shield, getting ready to defend their small group just in case.
"Of course. As source of thy power I order thee, decipher the laws of nature and create a ball of light to light our way. Zweite Light!"
A ball of light appeared over Raphtalia's head, lighting up the interior of the room.
…
There were no monsters. But Naofumi's eyes had bulged in their sockets.
"Oh… oh no…" Melty stared, speechless at the object taking up the entire center of the large room.
"What… but… how…" Raphtalia said in breathless shock.
Taking up the entire center of the large stone floor was a Dragon Hourglass. The sides twisted and spun, just like the Hourglass in Melromarc. Sand leaked from the top down into the bottom.
"What's this thing doing here?!" Naofumi exclaimed in disbelief.
"I… if this temple was from the lost Inult civilization, then maybe they had a Dragon Hourglass as well." Melty finally managed to answer. "But it doesn't make sense. What is this doing here at the bottom of the ocean?! They would have tried to recover this important, or... or..." Melty looked at a loss for an explanation.
After all, they didn't know why the Inults had disappeared.
"Is this thing counting down to Melromarc's Wave or something?!" Naofumi looked at the top, but it didn't look to have much sand in it. Looking at his HUD, he saw that Melromarc's next Wave was still over two weeks away. This one looked more like-
His Shield's gemstone glowed, and a light came from it, connecting with the Dragon Hourglass. The whole thing glowed as he was registered to it, and then…
Cal Mira Wave: 00:12:00:05, 00:12:00:04, 00:12:00:03
"No... it's counting down for a Wave at Cal Mira." Naofumi muttered in horror.
"What?! When!? When is it striking here?!" Melty asked fearfully. The three girls all stared at the horrified Shield Hero.
"The next Wave... is going to hit in twelve hours." Naofumi barely managed to speak out, almost speechless from terror.
Melromarc Wave: 14:11:54:12
Cal Mira Wave: 00:11:59:32
"Twelve hours…" Filo whispered.
...
And just like that, Naofumi found his vacation interrupted in the worst way imaginable.
Author's Notes:
Finally, the next chapter will be the lead-up and the Wave. Two chapters left to finish out this arc. I hope you're all ready. I know I am.
Till Next Time
Allen