Chapter Twenty-Four: Anxious Love
Two days have passed for the people of Lurolona Village. Only nine days remained until the next Wave of Catastrophe would strike.
The Shield Hero spent some of this time training with his Shield. He also occasionally portaled over to the Capital to check up on his requests with Elhart. He cooked for the people of the village. He spent some time with Raphtalia and Filo. All of this and more he always did with a rather unusual smile on his face. And right now, he was making preparations for tomorrow's feast that would take place after the wedding between Rachel and her demihuman lover.
The Bow Hero, on the other hand, spent the majority of his time in the mountains with Granny and Rishia to learn the intricacies of using life force. After two full days of meditation, he almost felt like he was making progress, but it was hard to tell. One thing was certain though, Rishia had progressed much further. She was already using life force to make her spells stronger and was currently learning from Granny about how to unleash special attacks similar to the Hero's skills by using life force.
The Spear Hero could be seen hanging around the village helping out with the preparations for the wedding. When he was free, he could be found practicing in the training arena, sparring off against Itsuki's white-haired party member, Crystal. With Motoyasu now knowing the basics, Granny felt confident with letting him take it easy while she taught Itsuki and Rishia.
The Sword Hero, feeling awkward around large groups of people, decided to focus strictly on self-improvement instead of setting up the festivities. He would spar with his party members or with whoever else wanted to train with him. On occasion though, he could be seen by himself in some secluded corner. Contemplating about something... or possibly someone.
...
The four heroes weren't the only ones who were busy. Inside Itsuki's cottage home at the edge of the cliff, a group of women was hard at work looking over the new texts that the queen had provided the heroes with. The ones from Siltvelt were of great interest in particular since they provided a very different angle on the waves and the other heroes.
And so Wyndia was currently making her way through one of these texts. With how much time she'd spent reading them already with Tersia, Farrie, Rachel, and Rishia when it was night, she was nearing her limit.
The sheer boredom that was setting in was palpable. There were only so many similar accounts that you could read through, especially when most of them focused on how the newest shield hero at the time had formed yet another harem of demi-girls around himself.
Her tongue stuck out in disgust. What was it with all these freaking Shield Heroes being surrounded by harems? It was absolutely disgusting. And why did they feel the need to detail their escapades with these various girls? That was sickening.
Farrie suddenly started to giggle to herself nearby. "What's so funny?" Wyndia asked with narrow tired eyes.
"I just found something verrrrrrrrry interesting. Here, take a look." Farrie turned the text over so the dog girl could read it.
Wyndia should have known better, but she looked. At first, she was confused. Then, blood drained from her face, only to be immediately filled with a blush. "Gah!" She quickly turned her head away, rubbing her eyes to try and rid herself of the image burning into her mind.
Apparently, one of the past Shield Heroes had managed to mate with a dragon. It looked like the text provided a very detailed account of what'd transpired.
"Farrie, don't tease her." Tersia chided.
"But it had a dragon!" Farrie smirked. "Wyndia likes dragons, right? Though I admit, I didn't realize that it was possible for humans and dragons to have relationships like that. Wouldn't it be like throwing a sausage down a hallwa-"
"Just shut up before I gut you like a fish!" Wyndia screeched, a large blush taking over her face.
Both Farrie and Tersia started laughing at that. Wyndia pouted and crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from the two girls.
She set the scroll down and grabbed one of the new books from Melromarc that Mirellia's shadows had gathered instead. Hopefully, it'd be better than what she'd read from Siltvelt. Ugh.
She flipped onto a random page of text to start reading, but her blush which hadn't faded away yet suddenly came back with a vengeance. It extended all the way up to her dog ears. Her breathing became heavy. Her eyes glossed over.
...
"Hey, Wyndia, whatcha got there-" Farrie leaned over her shoulder with a catlike grin.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The dog girl screamed and threw the book into a wall.
"What have I told you about mistreating books!" Rachel yelled as she stood up to glare at her.
"It- It- IT-" Wyndia struggled to try and find the words to say.
Farrie picked the tome up and opened it on the page that Wyndia had been on. "Oh… OH! OH MY! This is spicy, even for me!" She smirked widely as she turned the book around to show the contents to everyone. "Why couldn't we have been allowed to read these texts as nuns?! I might have actually been convinced to finish my training then!"
It was another excerpt from someone's diary. This time, it was from a past Sword Hero. The text, in his handwriting, was of him describing himself 'getting it on' with a dog girl. Based on the description of said girl, it sounded very similar to a certain someone...
All three girls slowly looked down from the book at Wyndia, who put her hands over her ears and curled into a ball on the floor under their scrutinizing gazes. "Aw, was whittle Wyndia daydreaming about 'getting it on' with Sir Ren?" Farrie teased, pinching the dog girl's cheek.
"GAH! No, of course not!" She bolted away from her friend.
"It's fine. It's only natural to want to do that with someone you love." Farrie kept on pressing.
"Well, um, if that's true, then why don't you do it with Bakta already!" Wyndia retaliated.
Now Farrie was the one blushing up a storm. "I-I don't know what you're talking about-"
"Oh no! Don't give me that innocent look! I'm not blind, I've seen the way you've been eyeing him lately! You have no right to tease me about my relationship status when you're no better!" Wyndia declared triumphantly.
...
Farrie crossed her arms. She didn't look quite so playful anymore. "Bakta is just a good reliable friend to me, nothing more. More importantly, what about Sir Ren? Are you ever going to ask him out? We've been waiting for weeks, months even."
Wyndia froze up. "We aren't blind either. Don't think we haven't noticed you cozying up to him lately. But I think that even a blind person would be able to tell that you're in love with him. So don't go lecturing me about love when you're too afraid to do anything but read some smut from a book about past Sword Heroes." Farrie said, holding up the book Wyndia had been reading from.
Wyndia began to tremble. A worried look came over Tersia's face. "Sister, I think you're taking this a little too far-"
"No, if she's going to take potshots at me, who'll never love any man, then I'm going to set her straight." Farrie looked oddly serious. "In fact, I'm starting to wonder if this is all an act to lead us on. Maybe, she actually doesn't care about Ren at all!"
"That's not true!" Wyndia shouted.
"Is it? If you care about him so much, shouldn't you be spending time with him right now instead of letting him hang out with that pretty knight from Sir Naofumi's party?" Farrie shrugged. "I mean, you do you I guess. But unless you want him to fall for another girl before you've ever had the chance to date him, then-"
"YOU KNOW WHAT! FINE! I'LL DO THAT!" Wyndia slammed the desk in front of her and turned around.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Farrie asked indignantly.
"I'm going to see Ren right now! And we'll go on a date together!" The dog girl proudly announced as she walked out.
...
"Hehe, hook, line, and sinker." Farrie whispered the words under her breath, struggling to hold back her smirk. "You better not be lying! I'll be holding this over you otherwise!"
"I'll show you!" Wyndia's voice sounded outside the room.
Farrie waited a few more seconds to make sure that Wyndia got out of earshot, before bursting out laughing. "Oh my gods! I can't believe that actually worked!"
Tersia sighed but smiled. "It's been a long time since I've seen you look so serious."
"Eh, that was just an act and you know it." Farrie teased.
"Was it though? It really looked like Wyndia had hit a nerve for a second there." Tersia replied, a knowing look on her face. "When are you going to help Bakta learn how to read, huh?"
The blood drained from Farrie's face. "You know, I'm feeling hungry right now. How about we take a break?" She suggested.
"Are you dodging my question, sister?" Tersia purred, this time a teasing tone in her voice.
"Rachel, what do you say about grabbing food from Sir Naofumi, huh? Huh!" Farrie continued to ignore her fellow nun.
The dark mage set the scroll she'd started reading down. It was about the Shield Hero who founded Siltvelt, a man named Mamoru. Already, it looked like it'd hold more information than what she'd gotten from reading over the other scrolls. "Sure. I could use something to eat." She could also use some tea and a little time to make sure that everything was in order for tomorrow. She could check with Sir Naofumi first, and then the florist, and then with Princess Melty, and then...
"Alright, and afterward, we can spy on Wyndia's date and-" Farrie began to say.
Tersia interrupted her by pinching her ear. "And we can respect them by not intruding."
"You're no fun!" Farrie whined.
The three girls soon left the room, with Rachel blowing out the candles.
…
A few minutes later, a hooded figure opened the door again. The stranger looked around quickly, making sure that no one else was around. "Finally. I thought they would never shut up and leave."
The person grabbed the scroll that Rachel had left behind on the desk, as well as several other scrolls and books from the stacks that the girls had as of yet to read.
When it was done, the person put the objects into a bag at its waist. Then, after making sure that no one else had seen this, the stranger snuck back out.
Wyndia was walking through the streets of the Hero village at an intense pace. Her short tail flicked back and forth behind her nervously. An extremely anxious look was painted on her face.
'I can't believe I promised that I'd take Ren on a date right now. I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid!'
There was still a hint of a blush on her cheeks, and no amount of breathing or calming exercises could make it go away. Her fingers twiddled together. Her breaths came out unevenly, and she repeatedly almost walked into things. She'd never felt so anxious in all her life.
How could the Sword Hero live with this on a daily basis? This was unbearable!
'Ok, let's just try to make it simple. All I have to do is take Ren out on something that looks like a date... That probably means sparring with him won't be convincing enough. And I don't think dates spar with each other. That's more Eclair's thing…'
The dog girl stopped, her eyes widening in surprise. 'Is that what that musclehead is doing?! Does she consider her sparring sessions with Ren dates?!'
Her already unsteady breathing started to become panicked. If that was true, then… THEN…
She slapped herself, hard. 'Don't be an idiot now Wyndia! Of course she doesn't think that! That musclehead wouldn't recognize romance even if it was staring her right in the face!'
However, it didn't help with stopping her nervous pacing. At this point, she was already outside the training arena outside the town. How had she gotten here? Hadn't she just been walking the streets a moment ago?!
Oh gods, why did she feel like her stomach was knotting itself?! Were her legs starting to feel like jelly, or was it just her?! This was unbearable! She felt like vomiting!
Was all of this even normal? She didn't even have anything real to be nervous about! She knew how she felt about Ren, all she had to do was-
"Oh, hey Wyndia."
- sink into the ground and hope that her grave would never be found by anyone... ever.
She slowly turned her head. Ren was smiling awkwardly nearby. "So you're finally taking a break from those books of yours, right?" He asked timidly.
Wyndia felt her cheeks blaze red again. Oh no. Oh no. She always called him an idiot, and now here she was, being a complete and utter dummy! She wasn't ready for this at all, but what choice did she have?
Now was the moment of truth. She had to ask Ren out now, or live under Farrie's teasing for the rest of her life.
That was probably an exaggeration. Farrie wouldn't hold it over her for the rest of time if she chickened out now, right?
"Wyndia?" Ren tilted his head curiously. Why was she just standing there, staring at him?
Wyndia slapped her cheeks. Ren wondered if that was why they were red right now.
"Um, R-R-Ren, there was something I wanted to ask you?" Wyndia began to speak, doing her best to keep the nervousness out of her voice.
"Oh, um, sure, what is it?" Ren asked in concern. Wyndia felt herself blush further. She'd tried to hide her nervousness but it was SO HARD!
The tension between them was so thick that you'd need a sword to cut through it. Oh, maybe she could ask him to use his sword to end her misery?
… Farrie would definitely turn that into a dirty comment. Somehow, thinking about that helped to melt away some of Wyndia's anxiety with amusement.
"I was wondering… if… if you'd…" Wyndia felt her brain freezing up. No! Not now! Not when she'd finally plucked up the courage to ask! Why hadn't she thought this out beforehand?! Quick! She needed an idea! Something that'd look like a date, but could be-
"If I'd…?" Ren asked when Wyndia didn't speak for a few seconds.
"If you'd like to learn how to swim!" Wyndia spat out.
…
…
"Huh?" Ren looked like he was trying to process what he'd just heard.
Wyndia felt her blush intensify. Had she really just suggested that?!
However, she'd already dug her own grave, so she might as well lie in it.
"I mean, since you can't swim, and that could be a problem in future battles, I thought it'd be a good idea if I, um… uh, taught you?" She tried to sound confident.
"... Uhhhhhh…" Ren looked very conflicted.
On one hand, he'd get to spend time with the dog girl.
But on the other, he'd have to step into the water.
But then, if he went along, he'd finally get to see what Wyndia's swimsuit looked like!
But then again, they'd have to be in the water…
...
But if they were both in the water, and if she was helping him… then that'd mean he'd get to see her in her swimsuit up close!
"Well, um… I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to-" Wyndia continued.
"Actually, I think it'd be a lot of fun!" Ren might have sounded a little too excited when he spoke there. "Oh, um, I mean, if you want to…"
...
Wyndia smiled. The anxiety and nervousness she'd been feeling were melted away by the flood of relief that filled her core. "Yes, dummy, I want to. Why else would I be asking?"
"Great, then let's, um, meet at the beach in fifteen minutes?" He suggested.
Wyndia rolled her eyes. "Don't we live in the same house?" She pointed out.
"Oh, yea. Then I guess, we could meet in the living room in ten minutes?" He suggested instead.
Wyndia rolled her eyes again. "Dummy." She muttered. However, she was still smiling as she said that.
Ren almost felt his heart stop in his chest. A doe-eyed look was on his face as Wyndia raced back to the Sword Hero's home.
"What are you waiting for?" A voice spoke up behind him.
Ren quickly turned around, seeing Eclair who'd been watching their entire exchange. "Oh, um, about training-"
"Don't worry about it. I see that something important has come up." Eclair waved him off. "Go on and have some fun. And remember, follow your heart!"
...
Ren smiled widely and saluted the rose-haired knight. "I-I will! Thank you Eclair!" He ran off towards his home, and the female knight chuckled.
She really wasn't one for romance.
But it was nice watching others get to experience it firsthand.
…
"AHA! YOU'RE WIDE OPEN! I've got you now Miss Seaetto!" Dou-Lon appeared behind her, swinging his lance down.
A few seconds later, not only was his lance sticking out of the ground where she'd been standing, but the Hakuko laid on his back, breathless and in complete shock. Eclair casually popped her neck into place. "What was that, bakako?" She snidely asked.
She really loved her new insult for him.
"DAMN YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Dou-Lon screamed in frustration.
Ren stood in the living room in nothing but a pair of blue swimming trunks that matched his eyes as well as a simple white shirt. He had his sword in a dagger form resting in a sheath on his side.
'Okay, Ren. Be calm. Just be calm… she's just helping you with your swimming problem. That's all we're doing here.'
But then, why had she looked so nervous asking him? Did she plan on treating this as a date? Should he treat it as a date?
Wait, why was he thinking they were going on a date!? That didn't make any sense?! Dates were supposed to involve moonlight strolls on the beach or candle-lit dinners while learning about each other!
Teaching a fool like him how to swim didn't seem like anything that could resemble a date…
He heard steps coming down the hallway. He turned, ready to tell Wyndia that he was ready to go. Or that he was chickening out because going into the water was too scary. His mind was still struggling over which was more important.
However, upon seeing the dog girl, words failed to come out of his mouth.
Wyndia hadn't opted to wear a shirt and was dressed in only her tan polka dot bikini. She had a pair of sandals on her feet, and that was all. She was distracted with running a hand along her hair, making sure her french braids were still done properly, so Ren got a moment to stare at her body, and...
'WOW! SHE'S HOT!'
His brain couldn't come up with more than that. The dog girl was so hot that she'd just fried the teenage neurons in his brain completely and utterly.
"Alright, are you ready Ren?" Wyndia asked, finally turning her gaze on the Sword Hero.
Ren's eyes quickly averted themselves. "Uhhhhhhh… uh huh…" He managed to mutter.
Wyndia's eyebrow rose at his reaction. Then, seeing the blush on his face, a similar one arose on hers.
Had Ren… been ogling her?!
Instead of feeling embarrassment or a rush of anger like normal, she felt a sense of pride and overwhelming relief. She'd still been worried that her body wasn't good enough after what'd happened at Cal Mira. But it appeared that the Sword Hero didn't mind that her chest was smaller than average.
Ha, maybe her lower assets had won out after all! Suck it, Eclair!
A few minutes later, they were walking on the sand of the beach. Ren said nothing as they approached the ocean water. Just short of it, however, Ren paused in fear.
"Ren, walking in won't kill you." Wyndia rolled her eyes playfully, feeling much better now thanks to what happened earlier.
"Are you… are you sure?" Ren hesitantly asked.
"Yes, we're just going to walk in for starters. There's nothing to be afraid of." Wyndia's voice was calm, patient, and soothing.
Slowly, fearfully, Ren poked a toe into the water. He shivered as the cold of the ocean traveled up his skin. However, Wyndia patted him on the back, encouraging him.
The Sword Hero noted in his mind how warm her hand felt against his skin.
Eventually, both his feet were in the water. After another minute of careful prodding, he was up to his knees. Wyndia, next to him, was up to the bottom of her thighs.
"You're doing good. Just keep stepping forward. You have nothing to be scared of. I'm right here with you." Wyndia continued to encourage the Sword Hero.
A few minutes later, he was up to his waist. He started to shiver as the rest of his lower half went under. It was made worse by the small few-inch tall waves splashing his front with water.
He was really lucky that they were doing this while the ocean was so calm. It would have sucked for his first-ever swimming lesson to be when the waves were as tall as him.
"Ok, we're going to go out a little more, and then I'm going to have you sink into the water," Wyndia told him.
"Sink!? You're going to try and drown me-" Ren started to scream in terror.
"No, of course not!" Wyndia interrupted him. "I just want you to bend your knees until only your head is above the water. You're a little bit taller than me, so unless you'd rather go out further to swim where I'd be unable to hold you up..."
"Oh, um… bending down sounds fine." Ren blushed in embarrassment.
"Honestly," Wyndia rolled her eyes in amusement while Ren was facing away.
The Sword Hero slowly and gradually lowered himself until only his head was left poking out above the water. His breathing looked heavy as he tried not to hyperventilate. Wyndia kept a hand on his back. One, so he could keep his balance. Two, so he'd know she was right there with him.
And three, though she wouldn't say it out loud, she loved the sense of intimacy it gave her to be this close to him. If she wasn't careful, this could become addicting for her really quickly.
"H-How long has it been?" Ren asked nervously. He didn't know whether to feel cold from the water or warm from being so close to the girl he liked.
"I'd guess it only took about forty minutes to get you from the shore to here," Wyndia stated.
Ren looked behind him.
The sand was only fifteen feet away. It'd taken him over half an hour to venture this far out into the water?!
"I'm… I'm going too slow, aren't I?" Ren asked, sounding embarrassed. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time."
"Why are you apologizing?" Wyndia smiled. "I'm trying to go at a pace that you're comfortable with. If I was feeling impatient, you'd know it already." She pressed her hand a little more firmly into his back.
"Ack!" Ren immediately stood up straight and turned around to hug Wyndia for dear life. "No, I'm just fine! Please don't drown me!" He yelled in fear.
"Uh, R-Ren!" It took all of Wyndia's willpower not to push Ren off in embarrassment then and there. Fortunately, Ren realized she was uncomfortable and tried to back off while apologizing.
But unfortunately, he tripped backward and fell into the water with a Clang!
He didn't surface after a few seconds, and Wyndia, recovering from her shock, looked down to see Ren struggling on the ocean floor... three and a half feet below.
Holy crap, Ren really was terrible at swimming.
She reached down and pulled the Sword Hero out by his shirt. He gasped for air after resurfacing. After helping him to stand again, she moved her hand to his back while he fought to catch his breath.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He began to apologize. Wyndia didn't even have a chance to reply as he started to confess.
"I've never been good at swimming! It was an embarrassment for me back in my world! I pretended to be cool and scary and all that, but I couldn't even psyche myself up enough to go near a freaking pond!" He shivered uncontrollably.
"I don't think it's just because of my sword, I've never tried to learn how to swim! You're just wasting your time trying to help me with this. You heard it when my body hit the water, right? It's just like whenever Naofumi punches something. I'm never going to be good at this. Never." Ren crossed his arms and looked away in shame.
He couldn't believe he'd wasted so much of her time coming out here. And it'd been on the motivation to see her in a bikini too. They'd both be better off doing other tasks right now. Boy, he'd been such a-
"Dummy."
Yep, she stole the word right from his mind- he turned to look at her.
She hadn't said that with her usual tone. Seeing her face, he saw that she was sticking her tongue out at him and her ears were flicking playfully on her head.
"Do you ever listen? If I was impatient about helping you, you'd know."
Ren's shoulders slumped. "But I'm wasting your time. You could be doing something far more productive than helping me."
"Well… maybe, I don't mind helping you." She admitted. "Maybe, just being with you out here by ourselves is kind of… fun."
…
Ren stared at Wyndia's face in shock. A blush steadily filled her features, almost making her want to hide. "Just, just don't read too much into it! Just because I'm choosing to be out here with you doesn't mean I'd be willing to do this all the time!"
"Yeah, um, I wouldn't want to practice swimming all the time either," Ren admitted. "Maybe, um, next time, we could, um… I dunno, take a walk around the Capital together, and eat at a nice place, or something?"
…
...
The two were silent for a long while after that. Ren felt his face go through all shades of red. Had he really just said that? It really sounded like he'd just asked her on a date.
Was that how one was supposed to ask a girl out? But he'd sounded so lame, and he was cold, so maybe it was just-
"That…" Wyndia smiled shyly and looked away. "That sounds… I'd really like that."
Because her tail was underwater, he couldn't see how much it was wagging in happiness at that moment. All he could feel was his heart hammering fast in his chest. Had she really...
"Oh, um, then… I guess we know what we're doing next time." He chuckled awkwardly.
"Yes, next time, but for now, I'm going to do my best to help you learn how to at least not drown in shallow water," Wyndia said happily.
Ren mutely nodded. So they wouldn't be leaving the water yet after all...
But after that, the rest of his swimming lesson went rather well. She taught him how to stand up when underwater so he wouldn't drown in water that went up to his neck. At least he wouldn't have to suffer from that kind of embarrassment anymore.
She also held him up when trying to teach him how to doggy paddle. At times, if he glanced, he could see just how close her face was. Her light brown, amber eyes truly were amazing. If he wasn't careful, he could get lost staring into them...
His thoughts on the girl were ruined every time his arms hit the water, however, as an audible clang! would ring through the air each time. It embarrassed him, but she kept on encouraging him. He felt like an idiot, but she continued to hold him up to practice.
Eventually, at one point, he hit the water in frustration, accidentally splashing her face and causing her to drop him. After a brief moment of panic when he managed to stand up on his own, a feat he was proud of himself for, he started to apologize.
Only to be splashed back.
Clearing the saltwater from his eyes revealed a smirking dog girl. Unlike him, she'd done it on purpose!
The rest of their lesson was forgotten by the splash war they had. With both of them smiling and laughing as they played in the water like little kids.
From their vantage point on the cliffs where they could spy on the pair, Motoyasu and Farrie smirked. "Yep, that definitely looks like a date to me." The girl spoke.
"Ren, my man. I'm so proud of you." Motoyasu sniffled and wiped a tear of pride from under his eye.
He watched as Ren picked Wyndia up, and how she let out a screech of surprise before he tossed her into the water with a laugh. When she got up, she glared harshly at him, and then she smirked.
It was not a very good smirk.
"Wait, Wyndia, I was only messing around! There's no need to- Wyndia, why are you chanting- please stop chanting right now, Wyndia, WAIT, WYNDIA-!"
"Sea Dragon's Geyser!" Her Water Dragon Vein spell launched Ren out of the sea with a burst of water. He fell on his back in the sand thirty feet away from her.
After a moment, the dog girl began to fear that she'd put too much power behind the spell. But then, Ren jumped back up to his feet, energy blazing from his form. "Oh, IT'S SO ON NOW!" He began chanting magic of his own.
"Zweite Aqua Shot!" The water spell impacted against the dog girl's chest, making her stagger backward. A competitive growl fell from her lips after that, and she started chanting more magic in response.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!"
"All Zweite Aqua Shot!"
Their splashing fight turned into a full-on water magic war. Ren competed with his water magic while Wyndia competed with her use of Dragon Vein. Eventually, Wyndia made her way out of the water and onto the beach as well so they would stand on even ground as they fought.
Between spells, both were laughing.
Motoyasu and Farrie both looked shocked at the change of scene.
"Wow… they're really going at it now," Farrie muttered.
"Yeah, this is starting to look kind of dangerous. Maybe we should stop them?..." Motoyasu looked unsure.
However, the two teenagers below were having an absolute blast. It soon became apparent that their spells didn't have much if any attack power behind them. All they did was soak each other in water in fancy ways.
The two had discovered a newer, funnier way to playfight with each other.
"Well, more power to them!" Motoyasu stood up. "It's high time we go down and embarrass them, I say!"
"Oh, yea! now you're speaking my language Moto!" Farrie said excitedly as she stood up. She could only imagine the look on Wyndia's face when the dog girl realized that Farrie and the Spear Hero had been spying on their 'date' this whole time.
"Onward, to glory, to fame, to- URK!" Motoyasu suddenly stopped speaking as Rino appeared, grabbing him by the ear. At the same time, Tersia also gripped Farrie tightly by the ear.
"What is this? I thought I asked you to not spy on Wyndia's date." Tersia said icily into her ear.
"Er… hehheh." Farrie smiled guiltily.
"What are you doing, planning on embarrassing the Sword Hero, Sir Motoyasu?" Rino asked the blonde, tugging his ear to make him eye level with her. "I thought you were better than this."
"Ack! It was all in good fun, I swear!" Motoyasu raised his hands defensively.
"Yeah, sure Spear Hero. Sister, you're coming back with me. Rachel can't find the scroll she was reading earlier, so now we have to help her look for it." Tersia began to drag her fellow nun away.
"Wahhhhh, that's not fair! I want to see if they're going to kiss or not!" Farrie whined.
"And as for you, Sir Naofumi needs help cooking. And I told him that you'd help him out." Rino explained to Motoyasu in a tone that left no room for arguing.
"But, but I need to make sure that my bro Ren goes all the way with his girl and- ow! Ow! Ow! Alright! Alright! I'll help Naofumi, just let go of my ear already!" The Spear Hero complained as Rino dragged him off to Naofumi's house.
The rest of Ren and Wyndia's outing passed by in peace, with the two having more fun together than either could ever remember having before.
Ren still wasn't sure if it'd been a date that they'd gone on. It definitely was no moonlight walk on the beach or anything nearly as romantic.
But seeing how they tiredly leaned on each other the whole walk back. How his arm rested over her shoulders while her arm wrapped around his back... he couldn't help but think this is what couples would do...
Later, after he'd rested up, he thanked Eclair for her advice.
Finally, things were looking up for the Sword Hero's relationship status.
As night began to settle in, Naofumi finished the last of his cooking preparations for tomorrow. With many different plates prepared, as well as food preserved and set aside for if he needed to cook more, he traveled to the town square to make sure that everything was going alright.
Upon his arrival, the first thing he immediately noticed was Melty. She was using her earth magic to raise a stone platform out of the ground to make a dance stage in the center of the plaza. She'd also already raised a section of ground near it for the band that'd be playing during the festivities.
The musicians were busy tuning their instruments and practicing what sounded like folk songs from this world. They had an upbeat tune to them, but Naofumi winced at some of the notes he heard.
He wished Itsuki could be there to help them out.
While tuning the band out, Aksel and Maya walked into the plaza, leading a group of ten kids behind them.
"It's weird. There really weren't that many monsters out today, huh." Aksel asked his Raccoon friend.
"Maybe we've been hunting too many of them lately?" Maya suggested with a shrug.
"Maybe." The large tank snorted. "Well, at least we got everyone to level 35 today." He smiled at the children behind them. "Good work, all of you!"
The kids cheered. Aksel and Maya continued on. Some of the kids ran off to play. Others ran around to help some of the adults who were busy decorating the square.
A couple of them ran into the Church. As the doors opened, Naofumi heard singing coming from inside. "Crap, they already started without us!" The two kids rushed inside.
Naofumi curiously walked to the doors and peered in.
Dou-Lon was standing in front of a choir of children. At the point where Naofumi had poked his head in, Dou-Lon had paused the group. "Anya, Yelena, why are you two late?"
"Um, sorry! Our leveling session with the Bow Hero's party members took longer than we thought it would!" Anya, the cat-girl, quickly explained.
Dou-Lon sighed. "We don't have much time to practice. We need to be ready by tomorrow." He gestured to the rest of the choir, and the two girls nodded before quickly joining the ranks.
"Now, Iduna, you need to remain at a higher pitch. You have a great voice for that. Nikos, your tenor is coming along nicely. And Keel, stop trying to sing bass, it sounds unnatural coming from you." Dou-Lon spoke to several of his pupils.
"But men are supposed to sing with deep, rough voices! That's what my dad always told me!" Keel defended himself.
"Really, your dad said that?" Another kid in the choir asked.
"Uh, yeah! Of course!" The looks the other kids gave him said they didn't believe him at all. "Hey, he was a man of the sea, and he knew a lot of sea shanties and the like! It's true!" Keel said angrily.
"Listen, it doesn't matter what your parents have said in this instance. You have to sing in a tone that your body is comfortable with. There's no shame in being more compatible with melody or tenor." Dou-Lon explained to Keel. To demonstrate, he then sang a short rendition of Do-Re-Mi, but it was an octave higher than what people would normally practice with.
Keel stared at the Hakuko in shock. Dou-Lon gave the dog demi-human a smirk. "See, just do what sounds best, and this will be the best choir this village has ever seen!"
He then repeated the same notes as before, having the kids follow along at the octaves they were comfortable with. Keel, looking embarrassed, followed with the tone that Dou-Lon had sung at.
Why was his voice so high? Wasn't it supposed to deepen as he went through puberty? This was dumb and didn't make any sense at all!
After standing and watching with a curious look on his face, Naofumi's eyes caught someone sitting in the pews. He was surprised to find that Raphtalia was here as well, listening to the kids as they practiced.
When Dou-Lon was satisfied and began singing a traditional wedding song from Siltvelt for the kids to follow, Naofumi sat down next to her. Raphtalia was so engrossed that she didn't realize Naofumi was there until his arm was resting over her shoulders.
"What brought you here?" He quietly whispered in her ear.
"H-Huh?" She blushed. "D-Don't you see who's in the choir?" She asked.
Curious at that, Naofumi looked over the faces of the singing children. He thought she'd been referring to Keel at first as he barely recognized some of the kids now that they had begun to grow up with their levels rising so sharply.
Then, his eyes widened!
Filo was singing with them?!
"You found why I'm sitting here now?" Raphtalia teased him.
"Yes. I was almost wondering if you were here to listen to Dou-Lon's hidden skill." Naofumi chuckled. Naofumi hadn't known that the Hakuko knew how to sing, and that he knew how to sing well at that. That was an interesting detail he would have never guessed under normal circumstances.
"The fact he can hold a tune is surprising. But I think Filo sounds better than him." Raphtalia smiled.
Honestly, discerning their voices, Naofumi had to agree with his girlfriend. Dou-Lon's skill was impressive, as he could jump from high notes to low notes. The fact that he could help the other kids to sing better showcased his talents even more.
However, Filo's voice was crystal clear, no matter the tune. He realized that it'd been a while since he last heard his daughter sing. Hadn't she liked humming along to the bards they met in taverns during their travels? Those same songs somehow made their way to what she'd hum or sing when she'd pull her carriage during the day.
Boy, that brought back memories. If he could only listen to something like this forever…
"We did a good job raising her, didn't we?" Naofumi asked Raphtalia.
"I know I did. I'm not sure about you, Mr. Iwatani." She teased him.
"I taught her how to kick someone's balls in one time." Naofumi rolled his eyes.
"And that issue still comes up to this day." The half raccoon girl chuckled.
"Can you blame me for teaching her self-defense against unwanted advances?" Naofumi shrugged. "And if I heard correctly, you were the one who ordered her to kick L'Arc."
Raphtalia blushed and decided to rest her head on his shoulder. The two held hands as they listened to the choir of children and the Hakuko leading them. Because of the pew, her tail moved to rest on Naofumi's lap.
His hands automatically moved and began rubbing the fur along it. He was too busy focusing on Filo to see Raphtalia stiffen up next to him. This was a very intimate thing Naofumi had initiated without realizing it.
Raphtalia eventually felt herself choking up. She felt so much love for him because of how much care his hands showed with handling her tail. She felt even happier, thinking about the good mood Naofumi had been in since they'd gotten back from Cal Mira. The panic attack he'd had on the ship and her worries and fears for their relationship already seemed like a lifetime away.
At some point, the doors opened again to reveal Eclair walking in and looking around with an annoyed expression on her face as if she was looking for something. But when her gaze fell upon the choir and the man instructing it, she froze up. After an awkward pause, she slowly sat down near Naofumi and Raphtalia, a stunned expression on her face.
Hey, maybe learning about Dou-Lon having an extra skill would help them along in their relationship. Unless Eclair wasn't the type to appreciate singing. Actually, she most likely wasn't.
If anything, she was probably more disappointed by the fact that her favorite punching bag was too busy to spar with her right now, so she was sitting here because she had nothing better to do.
A little while later, the doors opened again. "Do you think you could have this pattern arranged by tomorrow?" Motoyasu asked a dog demi-human.
The demi-human raised his hands in a heart shape, putting it to his eye and looking at the altar with it. "Hmmm, I believe so. Yes, your idea will work marvelously, Sir Motoyasu."
"My idea would have never worked if you weren't able to grow the flowers for it." Motoyasu smiled.
"I'll get started immediately! Oh my, to think my new flower patch will get a chance to contribute to something so meaningful! I have to get it ready immediately!" He quickly rushed back out the door.
Motoyasu would have followed, but his attention had already been taken by something else.
"Oh no," Naofumi muttered, recognizing the starry-eyed expression that'd taken over Motoyasu's face.
"AN ANGEL! NO, A GODDESS! IT'S A GODDESS! THAT VOICE COULD ONLY BE FROM A DIVINE SOURCE!" The Spear Hero immediately ran towards the choir, arms wide open in adoration. The choir stopped singing at his approach.
"Nooooooo!~ Get away from Filo, Spear Guy!" Filo cried out in terror.
"I will always love you my adorable little-"
CRACK!
With a quick change, Filo turned into her Filolial Queen form and punted the Spear Hero across the Church with a kick to the balls. "Get away from Filo!" She cried out again.
Her kicks really had gotten a lot stronger since Cal Mira. Naofumi winced in sympathy.
"Wuahhhhhhh!" Stars still filled Motoyasu's eyes as he flew out through the open door.
"Oh no! Sir Motoyasu!" The florist ran after him with a panicked look.
The poor idiot. Some things would never change.
"..." Naofumi and Raphtalia both shrunk down, hanging their heads low so they couldn't be seen in the pews.
"See? She protected herself from an unwanted advance." Naofumi whispered.
Raphtalia facepalmed as Motoyasu groaned outside.
"Heheheh."
Naofumi awoke with a shudder and looked around. Darkness, thick blackness surrounded him.
"Ahahahaha!"
He turned his head back and forth, trying to locate the source of the voice. "Who's there?!"
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
He clutched at his head, realizing that the voices came from his own mind. Countless images started to flash before his eyes.
Malty discussing her plan with Altara.
Running away from the Capital, crossbow bolts hitting his back.
The Two Headed Dog they faced in the mines.
The Monster Tamer calling him a Demon.
His duel with Malty.
Raphtalia's comatose state.
Rifana's lifeless corpse.
Idol laughing as the fat bastard shocked him with the whip.
Balamus's Cathedral raining down on him.
People dying around him to the Ghost Ship.
...
Bitch's smug face appeared again. She was laughing into her hand.
"What's wrong? Having trouble sleeping? Does the weight of your failures bother you, Shield Hero?"
Naofumi paled.
"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head over it. Soon, everything will be over, and with nothing left to protect, you won't have to worry about anything ever again." The fire began to surround her form while she continued to laugh. Before long, it reached Naofumi, and-
GASP!
Naofumi sat up straight in his bed. He was breathing heavily, and trickles of ice-cold sweat like thick raindrops traveled down the sides of his face. 'Raphtalia!'
He quickly looked over at her bed. The Tanuki girl was fast asleep, a resting smile on her face.
He got up and walked over, putting a hand over her forehead. It felt warm to the touch. When he hovered his hand over her mouth, he felt her breath hit against it.
Only then, did he somewhat relax. Tears of relief gathered in his eyes. "Thank God… it was just another nightmare…"
…
Still, worry began to gnaw at him again. Raphtalia was alright, but what about the others?
He quietly snuck out of their bedroom and walked down the hall. Naofumi then cracked open the door to Filo's room.
Both Filo and Melty laid together fast asleep. Filo had indeed fulfilled her promise in pushing their beds together, but they were both sleeping on Filo's portion at the moment. Why hadn't he checked on them during the night sooner?!
Naofumi put a hand to Melty's forehead. Again, it felt warm. And before he hovered his hand over her mouth, she let out a yawn and snuggled deeper into her best friend's neck.
Naofumi sighed once more in relief. Before he could do the same for Filo…
"Daddy?"
Naofumi froze, seeing Filo's weary blue eyes open to look at him. "Is something wrong?" The little girl yawned.
Naofumi gave her a smile. "Nothing sweetie. Daddy's just making sure you have enough blankets."
Filo tiredly smiled back as Naofumi tucked the two girls in. "Thanks, Daddy. Filo loves…" Her eyes closed, and she fell back asleep.
…
Tears fell from Naofumi's eyes at the absolute soul-crushing adorable sight, and he quickly left the room before he broke down.
Both girls were alright. But he still had more friends to check on.
Sneaking downstairs and going down the hallway there, he cracked open Eclair's door to check on the swordswoman.
She was currently asleep in her bed, her right leg hanging off of it. As he debated whether it'd be a good idea to go in or not, she let out a loud snore, turned over, and scratched her butt.
…
Yup, she was definitely fine. He closed her door as quietly as possible.
He would have peeked through Dou-Lon's door next, but…
"Lord Shield?" The Hakuko asked in surprise. "What are you doing up this late at night?"
Instead of being fast asleep, Dou-Lon was currently sitting between two candles on a meditation mat in the lotus position.
"Oh, um…" Naofumi looked caught off guard. He hadn't known that the Hakuko was one to stay up late at night. "I'm just checking to make sure that everyone is alright," Naofumi muttered.
"What? Is there an intruder running around?!" Dou-Lon moved to stand up.
"No, I was just worried, that's all." Naofumi held his hands up placatingly. "There's no need to drop what you're doing because of me."
"Lord Shield?" The Hakuko gave him a confused look.
"Look, it's getting late, so I'll get out of your hair and-" Naofumi began to say.
"Lord Shield…" Dou-Lon sighed, his face turning serious. "You haven't corrected me about the way I address you even once the last few days."
…
…
Naofumi grit his teeth. His face twisted almost unnaturally.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about whatever it is that's bothering you with me. I am just an unworthy Hakuko after all. An unworthy Hakuko who can't even beat a crazy swordswoman despite everything he's done to grow stronger. I am a disappointment as a member of my clan. I am a disappointment to you." Dou-Lon hung his head. One of his fists tightened at his side.
"Dou-Lon, you're not a disappointment-" Naofumi protested but the man cut him off.
"Even still." Dou-Lon looked up at him, his eyes gleaming. "If there's something you're struggling with, I'm here to help. If there is something in my power that I can do, I will gladly do so for you, Sir Naofumi!"
…
Naofumi wiped at his face. A few stray tears had leaked from his eyes. "Thank you, Dou-Lon, but I don't think this is something you can help me with. Raphtalia's been trying for so long, but its getting worse."
Dou-Lon stared in shock. So it was something that not even his most trusted companion could do anything about?
What was his Hero going through?
"Look, I'm sure this will pass eventually, it usually does, so could you do me a favor and not speak about this to anyone else?" Naofumi pleaded.
"Are you ordering me not to do that?" Dou-Lon asked.
"I'm… I'm just asking you, that's all." Naofumi hung his head.
Dou-Lon stared at the Shield Hero for a moment. He frowned. It didn't do his Hero any good to look so vulnerable. "Fine, I won't speak to the others about this." He finally said.
Naofumi nodded. "Thank you-"
"I only ask that, in return, you won't keep whatever it is you're suffering from bottled up within you." Dou-Lon cut the Shield Hero off. Naofumi listened as he continued. "My best guess is that it's a matter of the mind and not the body. If that is indeed the case, then I don't recommend keeping it to yourself.
"You might think that you're protecting us by doing so, but the mind can hurt us far more than our bodies can." Dou-Lon looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Please, if I'm correct then don't keep it caged. It will only fester and grow if you do that. Whether it's me, or Miss Raphtalia, or Miss Seaetto, or anyone else you trust, it doesn't matter. Tell them! Just don't keep this to yourself or I fear something bad could happen to you!"
The Hakuko's words sounded prophetic. Naofumi almost believed that he was right...
"For everyone's sakes… it'd be better if they didn't know. I don't want to cause needless conflict." Naofumi muttered, before turning around in the doorway.
He heard the Hakuko behind him sigh. "Please, try to sleep well, Sir Naofumi."
"Same for you. Good night, Dou-Lon." Naofumi walked back down the hallway.
The Hakuko sighed again and looked into one of the candle's flames beside him.
...
"Lord Shield is walking down a dangerous path…" A tear fell from his eye. "Ancestors, please... help me to become strong enough to help him."
He prostrated himself, and until he slept, he begged the dead for guidance and help for his precious Shield Hero.
Naofumi groaned as he paced the kitchen. He felt drained of energy after talking to Dou-Lon. All he wanted to do was sleep.
But he was afraid to jump straight back into another nightmare. Should he just stay up and do something else? Maybe check the food and make sure everything was ready for tomorrow? But he hadn't been sleeping well since he'd gotten back from Cal Mira. At this rate, he'd work himself into the-
"Excuse me, sir."
Naofumi froze in his pacing. He turned towards the kitchen table.
A lady was standing there in front of it. She was dressed in deep, heavy robes. She looked to be a little shorter than Naofumi.
"Wh-Who are you? Why are you in my house?" Naofumi held his shield up defensively between them. His eyes quickly scanned the room. He found no signs of a break-in, no open windows or cracked doors. How had she gotten in here, teleportation?
"You… you possess the Holy Shield, do you not?" The lady asked as she pulled back her hood, revealing her face.
Naofumi couldn't help but stare. Her face was beyond beautiful, even by Raphtalia's standards. It was the kind of face you couldn't look away from. She looked to be in her mid 20's, though she could have been older. Her hair was a shade of auburn even lighter than Raphtalia's, and she wore it in a Chinese style chignon. Her skin was light and smooth, and she had long, sharp eyes that gave an eastern look to her.
Her chest was also big enough that he could see the shape of her body even with her heavy robes on, but that was beside the point. All of these made it seem like a fox-like air surrounded the mysterious woman.
It reminded Naofumi of Bitch, only putting him more on edge. "Yes, I'm the Shield Hero. What do you want?" He spat out. He mentally pulled his list of party members into his mind, as well as the other Heroes and their party members. Which ones would he need to deal with this lady? He didn't know if she was strong or not, but she had teleported into his house! What if she was here to attack them?! What if she was a friend of Bitch, sent to poke out their strengths and-
She approached him. He held his shield up, ready to defend himself... but she didn't attack. Instead, her hands clasped one of his, and she bowed her head humbly.
"Please. I beg you. You must destroy me."
…
"What?" Naofumi now looked shocked. An already weird situation had taken a turn that made even less sense. His thoughts had been completely blown out of the water.
"As I am now, I cannot complete my task. So… so I beg you and your compatriots to help me!" His shield flashed brightly in response.
Naofumi was stunned. He'd thought this woman was here to attack him, but now, he didn't understand any of what was going on at all. Why was she asking him to destroy her?!
Didn't she know he didn't even have an attack stat to destroy anything with?!
"What do you mean?!" He covered his head with his arms and turned away, thinking he must be dreaming. But then why had his shield flashed there!? How were her hands holding his?!
This didn't make any sense!
"I… I'm over there. Please, stop me." The lady pointed out the window, towards the east. "If you don't, there will be so much unnecessary death."
"What do you mean? I don't understand-" Naofumi turned to face the mysterious woman again.
But she was gone.
His eyes darted around the room. There wasn't a single trace of whoever he'd seen being there at all. It was like she'd vanished into thin air…
…
Naofumi rubbed his eyes. 'I must be really tired if I imagined that. That was a figment of my imagination, right?'
...
With how unstable his mind had been lately, he really didn't know.
...
He eventually decided that maybe some sleep would do him some good. Even if it was infested with nightmares, it'd be better than imagining more people appearing in front of him, asking to be destroyed. That had been a hallucination, right?
It was yet another thing he'd have to keep bottled up within himself after all.
With a tired sigh, the Shield Hero retired for bed.
Halfway across the world, the mysterious woman looked out from her palace balcony over the country she resided in. She breathed in and out heavily, tired from the exertion of manifesting herself over a far distance.
She hadn't had much time. Hopefully, what little she'd been able to say had been enough. If the Shield Hero was like past Heroes she'd met, he'd know the significance of her brief message and would be able to act on it as she hoped he would.
There wasn't much time left to act.
Her brown eyes moved from the many buildings all around her to the forest-covered mountain range in the distance. The mountain range that had been resting there for millennia.
She put a hand over her chest. She could feel it. The monsters flying from their peaks and running from their trees. The veins beneath its skin beginning to pump blood more quickly, the immune system waking up to defend the heart. Above it all was the urgency to wake up and fulfill its duty. To gather the souls of the world and erect a barrier.
Yet it felt so… so… wrong. It was unlike any of the previous times.
"Why… why is this happening?" The woman murmured to herself. Everything had been going so well too. She'd learned that this batch of Heroes was working together to protect their world. This kingdom, which had been having a civil war before she befriended the King, was at peace. Even the Queen of the Filolials was looking to be venturing out from her forest more and more as of late.
The fate of the world had never looked better.
So why. Why was it beginning to wake up? Why did it want to bring destruction upon the face of the land?
...
She didn't know.
And not knowing that scared her more than anything else.
"Please, bearer of the Holy Shield, please destroy me before bad things happen." She whispered to herself. Bowing her head in sadness.
"Destroy me before I destroy everything I have come to cherish."
Author's Notes:
For those familiar with the light novel, I hope you're not annoyed by me including the above scene.
Ren and Wyndia are just too precious. Teenage anxiety is never fun, but I'm glad they were able to work past it this time.
And Naofumi. Well, he's definitely between a rock and a hard place right now. Let us see how long it takes until he cracks.
Hero Clips!
Checking on Everyone: Part One
'I've got to make sure everyone is alright.'
As the Shield Hero, he had to make sure all of his friends were okay…
"Huahhhh!"
Naofumi looked down at the sleeping Bow Hero. The young blonde was lying spread eagle on his bed, his mouth hanging open, and loud snores coming from it. He only paused briefly to pick his nose.
...
He was pretty sure the Bow Hero was fine.
"Mmmm, Filo-Tan…"
Naofumi peeked his head over the window to peer in. Motoyasu was curled up on his side, mumbling in his sleep. In his arms was-
Naofumi nearly lost his grip. Was that a life-sized Filo doll he was cuddling with?!
"Filo-Tan, yes, I love you too." Motoyasu smiled widely in his sleep, snuggling more intensely into the strangely lifelike doll he'd managed to make on his own.
The sewing skills he'd need to do that aside, it was absolutely disgusting!
With a look of horror, Naofumi continued on.
Naofumi put a hand to the Sword Hero's head. The young man hadn't made a single noise since he'd entered the room. However, he still felt warm to the touch, much to his relief.
"Mmmm…" Ren shifted in his sleep, moving onto his side.
Naofumi started to pull his hand away, relieved to know the Sword Hero was alright, but then Ren grabbed his wrist. "Mmmm… Wyndia." He smiled in his sleep, trying to pull Naofumi towards him.
What the- what was the Sword Hero trying to do?! Naofumi tried to pull his wrist away, but Ren's grip was like iron. "I'm glad you wanted to sneak into bed with me, Wyndia." Ren continued, still asleep. His arms were now hugging Naofumi, and the Shield Hero couldn't escape at all! "That makes me really happy."
Ren, you blubbering idiot! Let go right now, or-
"Mmmm, kiss me my hot dog girl, kiss me-" Ren started to pucker his lips. Pulling Naofumi's face towards his.
"Yawn." Wyndia tiredly shuffled away from the Bow Hero's house. Seriously, did Rachel have to make them study for so long? Nothing would have felt better than a-
Cursed fire suddenly burst out of the Sword Hero's room.
"What- REN!" Wyndia screamed as she jerked awake, running towards the flaming wreckage. Her scream awakened almost everyone else in their homes.
And thus, Naofumi and co were forced to put out the unnatural fire. With Naofumi denying it had been his fault. With that, he also wouldn't share why he suddenly unleashed the Shield of Rage on Ren.
Or why he had been in Ren's room for that matter.
At least he was kind enough to use the Shield of Hope to heal the poor guy's cursed burns. Though it'd be a while before his lips would be capable of kissing anyone anytime soon.
...
Needless to say, Naofumi never checked on the Sword Hero at night ever again.
Till Next Time
Allen