This chapter finally lets me add a new addition to the essay "Can Naofumi do Major Damage Without Using the Cursed Series" on my fanfiction profile. For those not aware, that essay gives a full reasoning for why I don't waste time with an 'offense-based' Shield Hero in my fics. The addition I made to it is Hengen Musou.
I hope you all enjoy the chapter and have a great week.
Oh yeah, I can't forget since I reached this chapter count for this part of the story:
Execute Order 66.
Chapter Sixty-Six: Training for the Future
- ENTRY #1 -
I wasn't ████████████. Not originally, at least.
I was born on ████████████ in a ████████████ in a time of great turmoil.
However, despite ████████████ being ravaged by plagues, wars, famines and death, my parents did everything in their power to shield me from the worst of it.
Even if the way they did it was not always ████████████.
I was made to understand from an early age that my parents ████████████. That nothing in this world ████████████. That everything ████████████ and had ████████████ with tooth and nail, including my ████████████ and continued ████████████. In my case, the price they demanded from me was excellence.
Whether it be ████████████ or anything else they wanted. I had to be the best. Nothing short of ████████████.
Love and affection ████████████.
I remember how early on I tried to ████████████ to this treatment. To ████████████. To ████████████. But it was always ████████████. By force, if necessary.
I vividly recall one particular day when I got a ████████████ on one of the ████████████. It was the ████████████. It was tied for the ████████████ in the academy's history.
Father was furious.
He did not care that I was the ████████████. My efforts did not matter. I was supposed to get ████████████ on everything. This was the first time in my life when I ████████████. I had trouble controlling my ████████████ back then. I shouted back at him, ████████████ my points and ████████████ his ████████████.
I was made to understand that his will ████████████.
My mother wasn't ████████████.
She controlled my social life, ████████████ rather. She instilled her rhetoric into me about the ████████████ of human interactions and ████████████.
The few friends that I tried to make were ████████████ for not being ████████████. I had to ████████████ and ████████████ with those of ████████████ to my own, as was the norm that I had to live up to. Because that's what it all boiled down to, the most basic ████████████. Those ████████████ only approached those with it to ████████████. It was my duty to not allow those ████████████ to get ████████████. My excellence was meant ████████████. And I had to do everything to crawl further up from my ████████████ using every leverage available to me.
I was not successful in such endeavors, unfortunately, despite my mother's best attempts at matchmaking, she simply ████████████ necessary to allow me to meet ████████████. Not that she ever ████████████. It was always ████████████. I was not trying ████████████. I was a bad son for failing her.
I wasn't strong in my musical talents either, which only frustrated her further and soon, the few scraps ████████████ I used to be able to receive had disappeared.
Thankfully, what I was good at was studying, especially after the encounter that I had ████████████. Clearly, fear has proven to be a much stronger motivator ████████████.
I don't know if I can blame them for ████████████ now. But after ████████████, I can't help but wonder why ████████████ were so hard on me.
After all, it certainly didn't help me out ████████████.
"How does the hourglass look?"
It was an hour after the Wave. Itsuki, Rishia, and Ethnobalt were meeting with the Prime Minister of Sickle in front of the Hourglass.
"It's just like it was in Lapis. Instead of two weeks, the next Wave isn't scheduled to hit us for another forty-five days." Ethnobalt told the prime minister after looking at the hourglass on his HUD.
"That long?!" Stone put a hand to his chest as if he was having a heart attack. "We haven't had a reprieve like that since… I don't think we've ever had to wait that long between Waves before! The people will be beyond elated to hear this news! This is cause for another celebration!"
"Are you sure you want to give your King that kind of chance to get in trouble?" Itsuki asked.
Somewhere in the distance, L'Arc screamed as another stack of paperwork was set onto his desk by another minister.
"... on second thought, perhaps a small feast would be better." Stone thought out loud. "Still, why did this happen now? This seems almost too good to be true."
Itsuki smiled brightly. "That would be because you had Cardinal Heroes helping with the Wave this time."
"... You knew this would happen then?" The prime minister asked.
"Yeah. We've helped out with multiple waves in our world. We don't even have to be the ones to defeat the wave boss, actually." Itsuki shrugged. "Naofumi can't fight like me and the others, but having him present helps to suppress the wave. We don't know why it works that way, but that's happened with every wave me or my Cardinal friends have participated in, whether together or separate."
Stone frowned. "Meaning if no Cardinal Hero was at a Wave… it'd make things worse for the opposing world."
"Yeah. It would." Itsuki gave the ground of Stone's argument to him. They were working together, but that didn't mean there wasn't any lingering distrust. "But that's why it's important for Cardinal Heroes of both worlds to participate. The more Waves they participate in, the less their worlds will collide with one another. And the less calamities either of our peoples will have to endure."
…
Stone's frown disappeared. "That is a valid point. Ethnobalt, please make sure to verify this."
"I already have." Ethnobalt smiled as did Rishia. "That was in the text I studied yesterday. I wanted to verify it with the Wave today though, so that's why I didn't tell you sooner."
"Truly…? I see." Stone nodded in relief. "In that case, if you'll excuse me, I must make sure that boy is fulfilling his duties. Good day, and… good work." With that, the man turned around and left the Hourglass Building.
…
There was a short pause as they waited to make sure Stone got out of earshot.
"Well, that went better than I expected." Itsuki said sarcastically.
"Give him time. At the very least, you've taught him, and me, another benefit of our alliance." Ethnobalt said reassuringly.
"You didn't actually find that in the texts, did you?" Itsuki bluffed.
"Haha. Well, large parts of the texts are still untranslated. But it could be there." Ethnobalt chuckled awkwardly.
"Heh. You better hope it is or he'll get mad at you for lying to his face." Itsuki then frowned. "I don't know if that theory is correct anyway since we learned today thanks to Naofumi that time goes by twice as quick in this world than in ours…"
"After the amount of time I spent thinking over bad theories, I wouldn't mind giving room for a hopeful one for once." Ethnobalt smiled.
"Alright…" Itsuki turned to Rishia, and the girl blushed lightly. He blushed lightly as well.
"I should get going." Rishia said nervously. "I need to teach Naofumi and the others in the mountains."
"Alright. I'll be chatting with Ethnobalt for a bit then. I'll… I'll message you tonight, if I don't see you before." Itsuki promised.
Rishia blushed a little more, but she happily smiled as she bowed to the two and then quickly exited the hourglass room. She ran in the direction of Kizuna's home, where the others would hopefully be waiting for her.
…
Itsuki's content smile was ruined by what Ethnobalt said next.
"I could still make a shikigami for you two, if you want?"
"I… I don't even have anything that is personal to her with me." Itsuki blushed at the Boat Hero's knowing look.
"So you're not against having a shikigami then?" Ethnobalt smiled.
"Of course not! I just don't know if Rishia is against it, or-" Itsuki caught himself before he could shoot himself in the foot. But before he could say anything more, his mind flashed back to a memory.
His hand reaching out to someone familiar, walking away from him…
"Naofumi's shikigami was created with a lock of Raphtalia's hair. And amongst the materials used to make Chris was Glass's old katana and one of Kizuna's favorite lures. The things that hold a close connection for individuals are wide and varied." Ethnobalt replied, taking Itsuki out of his reverie. "I find it hard to believe that you don't have something from that girl that doesn't hold a close connection to her. Especially when you looked ready that day to make a shikigami to find her."
"I… I really don't know her well enough to make that kind of assessment." Itsuki rubbed the back of his neck in frustration as more memories tried to leak into his mind. He didn't know why but this topic seemed charged to him. "Can we please talk about something else?"
…
"Very well." Ethnobalt nodded in understanding. Itsuki began to walk out of the room as Ethnobalt followed on his boat. The two were given space by the people they passed outside, and some even greeted the Bow Hero with a smile for the good he and his friends had done as of late.
"So, during this Wave, I couldn't help but notice something." Itsuki began to speak once they'd gotten past the crowd. "I know you already shared your woes about being weak in the past, but seeing it in person…"
"Ah… I thought you might ask that." Ethnobalt's eyes fell.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude." Itsuki elaborated. "It does seem like you at least have an attack stat compared to Naofumi. Is this a feature of the Vassal Boat, or…?"
"Mmm. No, it is not. Previous wielders of the boat weren't known to be particularly powerful. But they could hold their own in a direct confrontation." Ethnobalt replied. "I, on the other hand, can only inflict negligible damage on my enemies, as you saw. Regardless of the weapon form I choose."
"You were using plenty of AoE skills in the Wave. Those typically have low attack power." Itsuki pointed out.
"That is correct, but my skills meant for one target aren't much stronger either." Ethnobalt sighed. "I believe it has to do with my race. Librarian rabbits aren't made for fighting."
"So… your stat build was already pretty terrible before you got the Boat?" Itsuki asked.
"Correct. My kind are geared towards intelligence and speed. We aren't meant to be frontline fighters for conflicts. In the beginning when the Boat chose me, my defense and attack did rise, so I thought that'd allow me to fight alongside Kizuna and everyone else…"
"But while I quickly reached the limit of what I could do, my friends kept growing stronger, and so did our enemies. And it, well, it seemed like I was only getting in the way. If you know what I mean." Ethnobalt admitted with a sad chuckle.
"Didn't you see Kizuna before though? She really pleaded with you to join us in today's wave." Itsuki pointed out. "And even if you didn't do much damage yourself, you gave me and Glass the perfect vantage point to help out all over the battlefield. And your ship was really good at taking attacks to protect us."
"Yes, I suppose my presence today did bring a few benefits…" The Boat Hero looked away sadly. "Still, that doesn't really change the fact that I'm weak. You could have taken care of the Wave without me, with little issue, but I would be helpless without you in the same circumstances."
Itsuki opened his mouth but closed it when he was unable to form a reply and the two heroes simply continued to move forward silently.
Damn it. Why couldn't he think of anything to say?! This was just like Aksel and Maya all over again! There had to be something he could do to help him out!
…
"You know, the funny thing is: early on, both me and Kyo spent a lot of time pondering on this issue, since we shared it." The rabbitman suddenly admitted. "We looked for all sorts of ways to try and cheat, modify, or otherwise circumvent the stat limitations of ourselves and our vassal weapons so we'd be able to do a lot of damage like Glass or L'Arc. The ship you saw me use in the wave earlier was our last attempt and it went nowhere too.
"That's the unfortunate thing about Status Magic. There are no loopholes to exploit or ways to cheat yourself into becoming infinitely stronger. Stats mean everything, and those who believe they can get around that are fools that have no idea about what they're doing.
"It is of little matter now, however. I've accepted that I'll always be useless in fights despite Kizuna's continued protests. There's no reason for me to get in the way of the others when they're much better suited to it than me-"
"Oi, did you not hear what I said earlier?!" Itsuki suddenly interrupted angrily.
"... ah? About what?" Ethnobalt asked unsurely.
"About how you gave me and Glass the perfect vantage point for that last battle?!" Itsuki said loudly.
Ethnobalt frowned. "Yes? But as I already said, I would have been helpless on my own and had to rely on you and the others to kill the wave monsters attacking my ship-"
"And Naofumi had to rely on everyone on the ground to kill the monsters flocking him." Itsuki interceded. Ethnobalt frowned again, but Itsuki continued. "Just because you're not capable of taking on everything that Glass and the others can, doesn't mean that you aren't contributing to the battle or to them in general! Even though Naofumi couldn't damage the monsters, he was still pushing them back from that village singlehandedly just by walking past them! He was contributing in a very meaningful way!
"If you want an even better example of it, look at Rishia! A month ago, she was the same as you! Her stats were absurdly low and even though she can cast all types of magic back in my world, those spells were pretty weak! She was clumsy in battles and she couldn't face monsters by herself!
"But I didn't care about all that because she was my friend and the glue that kept me and my other friends together! She's incredibly smart to the point that she could learn your language in a very short time! She… she was the one brave enough to help me come down from my Cursed Series when I was losing control. She helped me learn how to read so I could study magic. And on top of that, she can cook Napolitan better than Naofumi!" Itsuki ranted.
Ethnobalt cocked his head to the side curiously. "What's Napolitan?"
"You don't know what Napolitan is- nevermind that! Look! Point is, I didn't want her to stay because of her fighting prowess! I wanted her around because I care about her, and I wanted her to see that she could contribute in other ways that helped me and our friends out!
"It was only recently that she became strong enough to fight alongside us. And that was because while she continued doing the things that helped her to contribute, she kept looking for other ways to grow stronger. And she eventually learned Hengen Musou from an old woman in our world. It's because of that one thing she tried that she became strong! Really strong! Hell, she kicked Kyo's butt singlehandedly after he'd kicked all of ours!"
Itsuki paused in his walk. Ethnobalt turned to stare at him curiously.
"Look, even if I'm wrong and what happened to Rishia turns out to be a lucky fluke, that doesn't take away the fact that there are other ways to help your friends. So please, don't just think you aren't able to do anything just because you can't blow up a hill or part an ocean with your attacks or perform some other great feat of strength!
"And if you still feel like you want to do more, then go out and look for new ways to do it! Don't just fold like a napkin and give up because you can't do one thing!
"Like, don't just watch Rishia and Naofumi and the others train in Hengen Musou with mild curiosity from afar. Ask to join them to try it out too and see if it would work for you like it did for Rishia!
"Maybe it'll help or maybe it won't. But at least you would have tried! And if it doesn't work, try something else next! Maybe there is some secret martial art equivalent in your world that would allow you to get stronger. Or maybe there is some undiscovered type of magic here that doesn't rely on your stats, like dragon vein or gem magic. Or a power up method from some other vassal weapon that would greatly benefit the boat specifically!" Itsuki took a deep breath.
"This is a vast world with countless things in it to look into and discover. And if by some miracle you ever manage to find out all of its secrets, you can go and continue on to do it in ours. You don't have to be a glorified taxi driver if you don't want to."
…
"You are quite fond of Rishia, huh?" Ethnobalt said.
"Y… Yeah. She reminds me of my best friend from my world." Itsuki admitted.
She was becoming more like her. Before they discovered their abilities. Before they were relentlessly picked on by the bullies. And…
And… she reminded him of… well… him. The scared, timid boy who got picked on by everyone. Who hardly had any support outside of his family, and who was never able to help out someone else going through his situation…
Including his best friend.
He couldn't ever allow Rishia to do what she had done. Never. "I can't ever allow her to go through what she did." Itsuki said, his hands clenching at his sides.
As Itsuki struggled to push the memories brought up by his zealous plea to Ethnobalt down again, the rabbitman pondered his words for a while.
Itsuki really hoped he'd said the right thing. He didn't want to think that he'd said the wrong thing again after…
"... alright." Ethnobalt nodded to himself after a moment. "I'm not sure if it'll help, but I can try. There is wisdom in your words. No progress can be made without moving forward."
"..." Itsuki smiled, feeling relieved. "Thanks for listening to my rambling."
"No, thank you for what you said, Itsuki. Sometimes, I forget that fighting monsters or people isn't the only way to be useful in a fight. I guess after what happened to Kizuna, I wished that there was something I could have done to save her and… well, as I said earlier, we're past that now."
The two reached the outskirts of town, and Ethnobalt paused at the gate. "Are you sure you don't want a shikigami?" Ethnobalt asked one last time.
"... can you ask me again, after we've defeated Kyo?" Itsuki replied this time.
"Very well. I will. Take care, Bow Hero."
"You too, Ethnobalt."
The two went their separate ways.
Ethnobalt was going to ponder what the Bow Hero had said to him. Hopefully, something there would help to reignite a spark he'd long thought to have burnt out.
And… he realized that he did have to improve himself. If what Naofumi told them was correct and the Guardian of his world feared there were people actively trying to destroy any information on the Waves in both of their worlds, then he was going to have to become strong enough to protect those texts, with his very life if need be…
He made a note to himself to contact his tribe. They were going to have to begin regulating who was allowed to visit the Ancient Library Labryinth.
As for Itsuki…
He was going to take his chance to use the Hot Springs, BEFORE Naofumi and the others returned.
He'd rather get the chance to relax now while he was certain that the Hot Spring in the basement was safe to use.
Naofumi and Raphtalia had traumatized him forever when he walked in on them a couple of days ago.
He'd never been so angry in his life. They had a freaking room they could do it in! Why did they have to do it in there?!
He didn't even think about what he was going to be doing for the rest of the day. That being going out to grind monsters so he could utilize Motoyasu's methods on his best weapon forms. He wanted to use the Hot Spring without fear of his older brother being there to traumatize him with lewd activities. He also wanted the distraction to help take his mind off the green-haired girl he was crushing on hard.
She had been improving so much as of late. And… unbeknownst to everyone, they were growing closer than ever.
They messaged each other back and forth every night. Talking about all sorts of things from what they'd done that day to things about themselves.
And, they'd also had some time here and there when no one else was around to sit down together and read the manga he'd bought in Katana's country. It was so awesome being able to share a hobby with Rishia. And…
His mind still feared that he'd do something wrong, and all that progress they'd made would be destroyed, and that he'd hold her back like his best friend and…
It was rather unfortunate that he got back to Kizuna's house and went downstairs with only a towel wrapped around his waist while he was distracted by these thoughts… because he didn't immediately notice that Maya and Aksel were in the Hot Springs.
But he did notice before he'd gone more than a few steps past the door. Because yes, the two were in the middle of doing lewd activities with each other.
At the very least, Itsuki's troubled thoughts were sent flying straight out the window.
"Ack! WHAT THE LITERAL &^%$, YOU TWO?!" Itsuki screeched as he covered his eyes. He hastily scrambled back and slammed the door with his other hand. "THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU USE BATHS FOR!"
"Oi! Ever heard of knocking first Itsuki!?" Aksel's voice yelled from the other side. "I doubt you'd want me to walk in on you and Rishia while you're in the middle of being intimate!"
"THE TWO OF US AREN'T ANYWHERE CLOSE TO BEING INTIMATE WITH ONE ANOTHER!" Itsuki screeched like a banshee.
"Ignore him, Aksel. We're not done yet." Maya's voice piped up.
"Right, your reward for doing well in the Wave." Aksel said suavely.
"My reward? I thought it was your reward." Maya teased.
"Come now. We both know how much we enjoy this. And might I say, you're really rocking that body suit." Aksel laughed, and Maya giggled along with him as they resumed their lewd activities.
Itsuki put a hand to his face in embarrassment and raced back upstairs, holding tightly to the towel around his waist with his other hand.
He didn't care how stupid he'd look to anyone who might be in the house right now. He just had to get as far away from there as fast as possible!
What was with this stupid sideshow?! It was as if sex had made his good friends and his older brother figure complete idiots! Would the same thing happen to him if he and Rishia ever-
No, he couldn't even get himself to think about that right now. Things were awkward enough for the two of them as it was. There was no way in hell that he would have even had the thought a month ago! Naofumi and Aksel were ruining everything!
Itsuki ended up locking himself in his room for the rest of the day. Reading the manga he'd bought since he didn't want to bother with anyone else until dinnertime.
He didn't care if he couldn't read this world's language without Rishia's help. He could garner enough from the art to move himself along.
Gods, these couples made him sick.
Naofumi's original plans that day had been to soak in the Hot Spring with his girlfriend, check on how their new gear was coming along, continue working on the accessories he was making for everyone, spend more time with his girlfriend before making lunch, spend a couple of hours training in Hengen Musou with Rishia, take a break with his girlfriend during that, maybe take a nap after the hard work and effort he'd put in lately before cooking dinner for everyone… or spend time with his girlfriend if she didn't want to nap.
The Wave had effectively ruined the majority of those plans for the morning.
Stupid wave.
Naofumi honestly hadn't been this comfortable in a long while. Hell, he hadn't even been this comfortable in Cal Mira. The closest he'd come was that day on the beach when he cuddled with Raphtalia.
Even though they'd still been doing other things, Naofumi had relaxed a lot and had definitely not been taking things as seriously as he should have.
However, because of his talk with Fitoria, he only stayed in the Hot Spring long enough to clean the gore of battle off him. And then, he went to the local blacksmith shop without the intention of working on accessories so he could get the important things done.
"Hey, Shield Hero. How are things?" The woman behind the counter greeted Naofumi warmly as he entered her establishment.
"Good. I'm here to check on your progress today." Naofumi replied curtly.
"You're not going to tell me how the wave went?" The burly woman asked.
"We won." Naofumi rolled his eyes.
The woman barked in laughter.
The blacksmith's name was Romina, and while this wasn't his first time meeting her, he'd actually seen her once before. She'd been the woman standing behind Glass and Ethnobalt in the picture of Kizuna's victory fishing trip.
This had helped to easily mark her as one of Kizuna's close friends before Kizuna introduced her to him in person. Though the way Romina treated the small girl spoke volumes about how close the two were.
It was oddly creepy how similar Romina was to Elhart. She was tall and she had the muscles of a blacksmith on her arms.
The main differences were her womanly assets. The red gemstone on her chest signifying her Jewel race… and of course, her full head of lustrous red hair.
Elhart's bald head could never compete against something like that.
"I might just like you a bit more than Kizuna. Straight to the point, unlike her." Romina commented when she was done laughing. Her face then turned serious and her tone took on a business demeanor.
"I'm almost finished with the Katana Hero's sheath. As well as two new katanas that she'll be able to copy. Your tiger friend can then choose which one he wants to wield when they're finished, though their level requirements are going to be pretty high since I'm working with Guardian Beast materials here. I'd recommend he get his level raised a little more. As for your armor, I've been…"
According to Kizuna, Romina was the best blacksmith she knew. And as the tall woman took him around the shop showing the things she was working on for them, he had to agree with the Hunting Hero's assessment.
Even unfinished, the various pieces of equipment he saw looked incredible. Leagues better than anything he'd seen in this world thus far. Hell, he'd learned on the last visit that she was able to make stuff with the Guardian Beast materials in this world. Including the hard components of the Black Tortoise, which she was currently shaping into a katana.
If he went home and found out that Elhart couldn't do that… then Romina would officially be the best blacksmith he'd ever met.
Though he did frown when he looked over the armor she was making for him. "Is something wrong with it?" She asked.
"I… it's nothing." Maybe he was just seeing things. There was no way that armor was resembling the armor he'd used to wear in his old world. Romina and Elhart couldn't possibly be that similar.
"Well then, are you going to continue working on those accessories?" Romina eventually asked when Naofumi had seen all that he needed to.
"No. I'll save that for another time. I need to get back to training." Naofumi deadpanned.
The tall woman pouted at him. "I can't even watch the Master Craftsman work? That's no fun."
"Oi, keep the Therese attitude to yourself." Naofumi scoffed.
Romina might be the best blacksmith he'd ever met. But she was still a Jewel person at heart. Meaning she was just as awed by his creations as Therese was.
Therese had felt like a fluke. But after seeing the quality of his creations, Romina had been just as awed too. Not to the point of giving them equipment for free, but she'd been awed regardless.
He'd need to be careful about this. He could very easily become a God in two worlds if he wasn't careful. And being a God in one was bad enough.
"While you're out, I could use more of these materials." Romina handed him a sheet of paper. "I should finish up much more quickly with these."
"Alright, I'll give it to Kizuna since I can't read this." Naofumi said farewell to the blacksmith, and he got back to Kizuna's home, where the others had finished getting ready to teleport everyone to the mountains.
He did so, and he at least had enough time to give the Hunting Tools Hero the sheet of paper after making the teleport before the younger girl began to run towards the lake in the center of the large bowl.
"Have funnnnn!" Kizuna skipped with glee.
However, Glass grabbed Kizuna by the arm, keeping a determined look on her face as she stopped her best friend. "Kizuna… We would be honored, if you would join us in our training."
"Ehhhhh?! Who needs to train to fight monsters?! Those beasts are way too dumb for me to bother with any of that finesse you use in battle!" Kizuna yelled.
As Glass tried to think of an explanation for not wanting the girl to leave her sight, Dou-Lon chuckled to himself. "Haha, perhaps this is Glass's way of asking to spar with you."
"O-Of course not!" Glass stammered. "Dou-Lon, get into your stance immediately!"
"Got it!" The hakuko male saluted the spirit woman. Then he got into the worst stance imaginable, forcing Glass to let go of Kizuna and begin correcting the hakuko male.
During that, Kizuna took the moment of opportunity she was given to give Dou-Lon a thumbs up before leaving the party and using her hiding skill so she could run off to fish in peace.
By the time Glass finished correcting Dou-Lon's stance and turned back to Kizuna, she realized her mistake and groaned. "Do not travel too far away from us at least!"
"Thanks, Glassy!" Kizuna's voice echoed from somewhere around the lake.
Glass groaned again. If Kizuna were to keep on acting like this even in Lapis, then Glass would have to cuff the girl to herself to keep her from running and causing trouble. Not that she wouldn't enjoy it, but she'd rather not have to resort to-
"Ha, you're wide open!" Dou-Lon lunged forward.
Glass swiftly blocked his katana with one fan, then jabbed at the hakuko with her other fan.
"Eep!" Dou-Lon saw her body move for the strike and barely managed to get back out of reach in time.
…
A smirk slowly touched the spirit woman's lips at the action. "You're finally learning to read my movements."
"No, I was just trying to avoid the bruise that would have given me!" Dou-Lon yelled back unsurely.
Yeah, he had noticed the way Glass's upper body had moved in preparation for that strike. But he still hadn't gotten quite used to the 'rhythm of battle' as the spirit woman liked to call it.
"You are finally getting used to the weight of your blade. Very good. I can finally go as hard on you as I do against Raphtalia." Glass said ominously.
She might have also just pieced together what Dou-Lon had done to help Kizuna escape. Kizuna really had a way of making allies with anyone she met. If only she could protect them from the consequences of their actions.
"Uh, hey, now, if this is about my tendency to go for sudden surprise attacks, I'm sorry-"
Too late, Glass had already blazed forward, and Dou-Lon found himself on a desperate defensive to not get beaten to a pulp by the spirited transparent woman.
Nearby, Naofumi found himself in a position Dou-Lon would have been much more comfortable in. His legs were crossed beneath him, and he was attempting to tune out everything around him next to his girlfriend as Rishia paced around the pair.
"Are you ready to start?" The girl asked formally.
"I… I think so?" Naofumi felt like he could tell the energy Rishia was talking about this time. Though he was also distracted by how different Rishia sounded in a teaching position.
There was no trace of the usual timid girl. In a way, Rishia was beginning to remind him of Raphtalia. Only she was shorter, and braided her hair differently. But she stood as tall as Raphtalia. And the small girl was almost as well endowed as his smoking hot girlfriend, which made him question why Itsuki wasn't making any moves on her or-
"Naofumi, focus." Raphtalia said beside him.
"What? You must be wondering why Itsuki isn't acting on his feelings for Rishia too." Naofumi rolled his eyes.
"Of course I wonder about that. But right now isn't the time for such thoughts." Raphtalia rolled her eyes in return with a slight blush on her face.
"F-" Rishia opened her mouth but swallowed her attempt to make her usual whimper.
Eventually, after a few more minutes, Naofumi and Raphtalia took their pebbles off the ground. Naofumi mimicked Raphtalia in trying to sink his finger into the rough stone through the use of ki.
Rishia described it as gathering his ki to his finger and releasing it to make the rough stone give way to it. Those that were precise and in control of their ki could sink their finger into the stone without making it explode from excess ki. Once this level of control was reached, one could more easily mold their ki and pull off different kinds of attacks that'd mimic the skills of the Heroes, or, if they were Heroes, they could use it to unleash new kinds of skills they didn't have before…
Or something like that.
Naofumi was still trying to learn, after all. Though he remembered Motoyasu using that skill that pierced his defenses.
After a few minutes, Raphtalia's pebble exploded in her hand next to Naofumi, making her fall back in surprise.
"I… I can't believe that actually worked!"
"It took you almost a week of training to learn how to explode a rock," Naofumi muttered sarcastically. "Congratulations."
Raphtalia kissed him on the cheek smugly. It dulled his disappointment in himself somewhat.
"Raphtalia was able to expel her life force from her body. It will still take a lot of time for her to finetune it for any sort of attack." Rishia explained. "You're not as far behind her as you think, Naofumi. Now, concentrate again."
Naofumi rolled his eyes but tried to do as the girl asked. But a few minutes passed with nothing changing for him.
He'd taken it in stride before. But now that he was trying to take this seriously, it was just frustrating him. At times, he wondered if he did see what Rishia was talking about or not. But it just felt so foreign, and Raphtalia exploded two more pebbles while his sat in his hand mocking him for wasting his time doing this instead of going out to gather levels and-
Pow!
Naofumi nearly collapsed to the ground from the hit to his back! He hadn't expected that!
"Fueee! Are you ok?!" Rishia asked worriedly.
"Wh-What the hell was that about?!" Naofumi asked angrily as he got back up. "Why did you just attack me out of the blue?! Are you trying to piss me off?!"
"Fueee…"
"Naofumi, please calm down." Raphtalia put a hand on his shoulder and began rubbing it.
…
Naofumi groaned. Nope, Rishia wasn't completely different when she messed up and reverted to her usual self. "Please… explain what you were doing there."
"I… I um…"
"It's okay, Rishia." Raphtalia said amusedly. "We understand that you were trying to help."
"She was trying to help by hurting me?" Naofumi asked incredulously. "Yeah, thanks for surprising me with pain and-" Raphtalia pinched Naofumi's arm, quieting his complaint.
Sometimes, he forgot that Raphtalia was still one of the only people powerful enough to hurt him if she chose to do so, and that was before she had the Katana to boost her stats.
It was a turn on at other times.
Not this time though.
Rishia breathed in deeply to steady herself. Then, she began to rub her arm awkwardly. "Sorry, I can tell that you're doing your best. But you can't recognize your own ki still. So I wanted to try hitting you with an attack when you weren't expecting it to see if you'd sense the energy entering your body or not."
"I felt something entering my body alright. Something that felt a lot like pain." Naofumi grouched.
…
However, there was some merit to Rishia's idea. The main thing he was struggling with was identifying ki since he couldn't see it or understand what it looked like.
How was one supposed to use something they couldn't see or comprehend? Naofumi felt like he was learning magic all over again! Only, he was having to discover something that was already a part of himself! He just hadn't used it before to defend someone or anything.
"That's a good idea, Rishia. How about you let him know it's coming though so he can expect it and try to sense it." Raphtalia recommended.
"Hmmm… alright." Rishia nodded to herself. "We'll just call this a different form of sparring then. I'll start."
"Is this just your way of watching me get beat up?" Naofumi deadpanned to Raphtalia.
"Better that Rishia does it than some enemy trying to kill you." Raphtalia shrugged with a smile.
Naofumi would have snarked, but Rishia went to punch his shoulder with her fist and he raised his shield instinctively.
"Ow!" However, the ki of the girl's attack went through the shield, hurting his arms.
"Keep your shield down. You're not going to try and defend yourself with your body this time. Concentrate on your inner ki and try to repel my attack." Rishia punched his shoulder again, and Naofumi grit his teeth as he closed his eyes and tried to bear it.
Raphtalia stayed quiet and set the shattered remains of her latest pebble to the side as she watched Naofumi struggle with Rishia's onslaught.
The girl wasn't cruel, and allowed Naofumi to heal himself every few minutes before resuming. She also made sure Naofumi had plenty of time to focus his thoughts in between each strike and that she didn't target his face or any major spot on his body.
Almost half an hour in though, Naofumi still felt like he'd signed up for a brand new way to torture himself. This wasn't working any better than the pebble. He was starting to wish that he'd stuck with the pebble idea.
Pow!
Then, he finally felt it. Something besides the pain of the defense rating attacks going down to the very bones of his body.
Or maybe he was delusional from the pain?
Either way, when Rishia struck him again, he felt that force enter his body again. Only, this time, it felt… tangible to him? However, having finally reached a point where he noticed it, he tried to redirect the energy he felt just like he would with magic power, and...
The strike ended up being no where near as painful as the others.
"Oh?" Rishia paused curiously. "Well done, Naofumi."
"Wh-What do you mean?" Naofumi asked nervously, confused about what had just happened.
"You not only negated a lot of that attack, but you tried to flip it back on me. That was pretty impressive." Rishia commended him.
"Huh? I did?" Naofumi muttered confusedly.
Naofumi was given a moment to use healing magic on himself again. Then, he thought about what he'd just done. As well as the energy he'd seen and manipulated. "Weird. I wasn't trying to use it to attack you or anything. Sorry."
"No, that's fine Naofumi. That wasn't an attack you did. Rather, you were deflecting the attack I unleashed back at me. It didn't damage me since I dissipated the energy before it could hurt me, but well done…" Rishia looked at the Shield on his arm again. "... maybe that's where I was messing up trying to train you? If only Granny was here. She would have picked up on it sooner." Her face fell sadly.
"Please, explain." Naofumi asked, not wanting to see the girl sad when he was still trying to understand what had just happened.
"Well… Sinking a finger into a rock is supposed to help with manipulating your ki to form offensive techniques. It isn't that useful though for teaching someone to shape their ki for defensive techniques. Or to deflect the ki of someone else's attack back at them. It might be that your talents and skills lie elsewhere in how you can use your ki."
"... so what you're thinking is that my shield restricts me from using Hengen Musou as an attack option too?!" Naofumi asked in surprise.
"Fueee, um… maybe? I'd need more time to make sure, but if we get different results trying something else, then-"
"WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naofumi got up and let out a long, excited cheer.
"Fueeeeee?!" Rishia backpedaled in shock. The others paused in their training to look at Naofumi incredulously.
"You hear that Raphtalia!? I won't have to worry about wasting time using defense rating or defense piercing attacks in battle anymore!" Naofumi said excitedly as he grabbed the girl by the hips and spun her in the air above him.
"Ack! Naofumi! Put me down! Put me DOWN!" Raphtalia yelled in surprise, but despite her loud complaints, she was laughing happily with the Shield Hero.
Dou-Lon rubbed his sore arm curiously. "Sir Naofumi is excited about not being able to attack?"
"That appears to be the case." Glass murmured just as unsurely.
Naofumi was a strange person indeed.
Naofumi eventually set Raphtalia back down, and she smiled broadly in return. "See, I told you there was nothing to worry about."
"Yes, you were right." Naofumi's grin changed to a smile, and he kissed the girl caringly on the lips. Raphtalia melted against him as her arms wrapped around his neck and deepened the kiss.
"Fueeeeeeeeee!" Rishia whimpered loudly at the open display of affection. "C-Can we please focus on the training again?!"
"... Fine." The two separated and Naofumi rolled his eyes in disappointment. "We don't have any condoms with us anyway. So we're not going to sneak off or anything."
"FUEHHHH?!" Had that been what those two were doing when they took a break from training?!
The green-haired girl had never looked so mortified in her life!
"I've made some decent progress today already. I'll head back and see what else I can get done." Raphtalia smiled happily.
"Alright, see you later. Love you." Naofumi kissed her again, and Raphtalia happily accepted the love.
The two separated. And Naofumi was still smiling while Raphtalia wished that they could sneak off just like Kizuna had.
Only, it wouldn't be to fish in the lake.
…
Actually…
No. Fun could come later. After she'd gone by that store…
She was definitely going to make sure it'd be a while before they needed to buy any protection again. Raphtalia used a skill from her Katana called Return Transcript to portal back to the hourglass in Sickle's Capital.
It was a skill that allowed the wielder to return to an hourglass they'd registered to. But they had to be within a certain distance of it. And they couldn't use it to go back to where they'd been before. It was essentially a one-way skill.
"Fueee, Naofumi, we're going to continue like before. Only, I want you to redirect the attacks out of your body using your ki." Rishia tried to bring the training back on track.
"Alright, now that I've tried it, it should be easy, right?" Naofumi said upbeatedly.
It wasn't that easy.
Two hours later, Naofumi had only managed to do it three other times. All of which felt like flukes. And he'd had to heal countless bruises all over his body from failed attempts to redirect the defense piercing or defense rating attacks back at Rishia without taking any damage from the attacks.
It was really tricky and would take more time for him to be able to do it properly in a fight. But Rishia said he was improving on manipulating his ki at last. And… admittedly, when her fists went to punch him, he saw a faint layer of energy over them that he hadn't noticed before.
Or, perhaps he had noticed, but he'd thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him or something. Was this something the others could see too?
Oh well. He'd at least made progress today. And now Rishia had a new way to train him that'd benefit him.
He only wished it didn't involve her beating him up the whole time. Ouch, his muscles were really going to feel it tomorrow.
It was after he portaled everyone back inside the Hunting Hero's home that weight settled against the Shield Hero's side.
"Urgh… Sir Naofumi…"
Dou-Lon looked incredibly exhausted and beat up. Glass looked almost as exhausted as the hakuko, but she had no visible injuries besides a light scratch on the sleeve of her kimono.
"You actually landed a hit on her." Naofumi said, his deadpan tone holding a hint of how impressed he was.
"Y… Yes. It wasn't even… a surprise attack." Dou-Lon managed to say with a grin on his face.
Glass said nothing. She turned away but didn't seem willing to divulge how Dou-Lon had managed a counterattack through her barrage of attacks.
"Alright. Lie down while I fix you up." Naofumi moved the tall Hakuko male over to the couch and began using healing magic on him. Just as he had the last few days after every other training session. Only this time, Dou-Lon looked even worse for wear due to how much more intense his training session/round of sparring was with Glass this time.
Now that Naofumi thought about it. He hardly saw the two pause for a break or anything while he was up against Rishia.
"You know, as good as it is that I can do this, you really need to pace yourself, Dou-Lon. These injuries today are worse than anything Eclair ever inflicted on you." Naofumi pointed out worriedly.
"Ha… if I was able to fight through all this… then I'll definitely beat that crazy swordswoman when I return!" Dou-Lon yelled through his pain with glee.
It would have been cool, if not for the pitiful groan that came afterward as he almost passed out.
"You could have gone easier on him you know?" Naofumi complained to Glass.
"I was planning to take it easy on him. I merely wanted to punish him for helping Kizuna to escape. But then he begged me not to stop when I tried to slow the spar down." Glass shrugged.
Holy hell... Dou-Lon had actually asked for it this time?!
Dou-Lon really was turning into a muscle-headed idiot.
"Didn't you talk to me before about pacing yourself and not taking on more than what I could handle?" Naofumi asked his friend incredulously.
"Maybe. Once I perform my cooldown stretches, I'll see if I remember that or not." Dou-Lon replied with a grin. The Shield Hero's magic was already making his pain disappear. "And I've found today that I can definitely take on more than I thought I could!"
"There is such a thing as overtraining. You are not going to progress faster than your body can handle." Glass said seriously.
"And with Sir Naofumi's help, my body will be able to take it!" Dou-Lon replied with glee.
Yep, he'd definitely gone crazy.
The Shield Hero sighed. He wondered if he should stop there just to force Dou-Lon to rest for the night. But he went through fully healing the Hakuko's injuries, and as soon as he was done healing Dou-Lon up, the tiger man jumped up from the couch, and he expressed his eternal gratitude to the Shield Hero before he ran outside with his blade and began to perform a cooldown kata in front of the large home.
"He better not kill himself doing this." Naofumi sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm going to get a headache if he turns into Eclair II."
Glass frowned as she thought to herself for a moment. "I think he is merely driven to overcome the obstacles before him."
"What do you mean?" Naofumi asked. "Do you mean beating Eclair in a duel?"
"Possibly. Though, he also mentioned something about the people of his race needing to overcome the shame placed upon them back in his world." Glass answered. "I can't recall the specifics since I wasn't part of the conversation. But it seemed to be something very important to him."
…
Naofumi frowned. He looked outside the door where Dou-Lon was continuing his kata.
But there wasn't a trace of shame or anything on his face. The tiger man genuinely looked to be having fun with what he was doing.
"It might be the case for other hakuko back home… but I don't think that applies to Dou-Lon. Not anymore, at least." Naofumi shook his head.
He'd ask about it later if it became a problem. But as long as Dou-Lon was serious about this, Naofumi wouldn't try to get in his way.
While Dou-Lon was doing his thing, Naofumi got started on cooking dinner. His daughter reappeared a short while later with Raph-Chan. And the two helped him with preparing food for everyone in the group.
Soon, dinner was ready, and Kizuna and their friends gathered to eat.
"So amazing!"
"Thanks for the food!"
"Why can't I cook like this?!" The last comment came from L'Arc, who was sobbing once again.
The poor guy looked ready to keel over. The ministers must have really worked him hard today even though he'd participated in a Wave. Naofumi almost would have felt bad, if L'Arc hadn't continued speaking.
"Shield Kiddo, please, give me lessons like what you're doing with your daughters so I can woo Therese-"
"No." Naofumi replied before L'Arc could finish.
"But why?!"
"Because you called me Kiddo, boy." Naofumi answered.
The redhead's eyes widened in shock, and he screamed internally in frustration.
Therese looked so happy that it wasn't even fair! Even though Naofumi was hitched and had no interest in other girls, he still had nightmares at night about catching the two of them making out with one another while he was tied up and unable to do anything about it!
If only he could have time to work on his accessory-making skills! Why did the Council of Ministers have to ruin his life?! It was so unfair!
Raphtalia came back in the middle of when Naofumi was preparing seconds for everyone since his cooking was, once again, being consumed at a fast rate.
Naofumi set a meal on the table in front of his girlfriend, and she opened her mouth to thank him only to suddenly freeze in place.
It looked like an exact replica of the meal they'd had in that inn long ago after the incident with the dog monster in the mines. It even had a tiny replica flag on top of the rice.
"Everything ok?" Naofumi asked nonchalantly.
"Yeah, th-thanks, Naofumi." Raphtalia smiled tensely. Though, when Naofumi turned around to head back to the kitchen, she rolled her eyes, thinking that Naofumi was messing around with her. She wasn't a kid anymore.
She dug into her food all the same. Even if it was a bit embarrassing, it tasted almost as good as she remembered.
The Katana Hero thought Naofumi had prepared it just for her. But when she was almost done, Filo came out from the kitchen wearing an apron over the front of her outfit to stand next to her Mommy. Daddy followed behind her with a proud smile on his face. "Is the food good Mommy?" The little girl asked.
"Huh? Of course, sweetie. Daddy's cooking is always amazing." She replieRaphtalia replied absentmindedly, not catching on to the unusual atmosphere.
"Actually, that would be false." Naofumi said with a smirk.
…
"What?" Raphtalia asked, confused at his response.
Filo then spoke again with a happy smile on her face. "Filo made mommy's food from start to finish!"
…
…
…
Raphtalia's stunned face looked from the remaining food to her daughter, and to Naofumi in disbelief. It took a while, but she eventually managed to speak in a hoarse voice.
"You taught Filo how to cook?"
"Some." Naofumi shrugged. "She's learning it herself and still has a long way to go. I'm just giving her pointers here and there. This went a lot better than her first try on her own."
"Rafu!" Raph-Chan bounded onto Naofumi's shoulder, and he rubbed the shikigami under the chin.
"Filo also asked me what your favorite food was and I couldn't exactly tell her: 'anything I make', so..." Naofumi smiled.
Raphtalia was shaking in her seat. Tears were slowly going down the sides of her face, and before Filo could point out that Mommy was crying, Raphtalia hugged Filo tightly.
"It was delicious, honey. Thank you.." Raphtalia tearfully admitted. "But what an awful mother am I, that my own daughter has to cook for me."
Filo pouted and escaped Mommy's hug. "That's stupid. Mommy has been helping Daddy prep food for Filo for ages. It was about time Filo learned how to return the favor for Mommy and Daddy."
"I… but I did it because I loved you and-" Raphtalia began to say.
"Mommy and Daddy don't have to cook for Filo to make Filo love Mommy and Daddy." Filo smiled happily. "Mommy and Daddy do enough to make Filo feel loved. So let Filo do something to express Filo's love for Mommy and Daddy."
Raphtalia hugged Filo again. She was shaking, but this time, the tears flowing down her face were that of joy. And Raph-Chan had to wipe a single tear from Naofumi's face at the wholesome sight.
"Urgh!" L' Arc slammed the table in front of him in envy and grimaced tearfully. "It should have been me, not him! It's not fair! Why does Naofumi get to have a hot wife and a cute daughter who can cook?!"
Therese was about to joke, wanting to ask if now would be a good time to ask Master Craftsman for cooking lessons. However, even she wasn't that cruel. So instead she rubbed L'Arc's back in an effort to comfort him.
Glass simply rolled her eyes while Kizuna laughed joyfully at the wholesome sight. "Don't feel bad big bro, you still have a long life ahead of you!"
"With how reckless he is?" Naofumi expressed his doubt.
"Uhhhh… okay, fair point." Kizuna shrugged.
Most of them laughed while the redhead died on the inside once again.
The next couple of days passed in a similar manner with good weather and nothing world-ending going on. Though, thankfully, Naofumi was able to keep to his original schedule without a wave disrupting anything.
Naofumi got to grind a little with his daughters. He got to see Romina the blacksmith and craft accessories at her forge. He got to train more with Rishia and continued learning how to manipulate life force energy to defend against attacks.
Sometimes Aksel and Maya, or Ethnobalt and Itsuki would join them. While it was a surprise to see the rabbit man interested in participating, it was a welcome one.
It was uneventful for the most part as preparations began for the International Meeting in Lapis.
…
Oh, and, of course, Naofumi got all his time with Raphtalia throughout the day.
It really was a miracle the two of them got so many other things done.
The night before the International Conference at Lapis, Dou-Lon finished swinging his blade down for the thousandth time.
The hakuko, tired, but feeling satisfied with his cooldown kata, drank deeply from a water flask he'd set on the ground nearby. Draining off most of its contents before pouring the rest over his head.
It'd been a rough time since appearing in this world. And the muscles in his arms, neck, and upper back still strained a bit from the change in weaponry. But not nearly as much as before.
As surprising as it was, Dou-Lon felt like he was finally getting used to this new form of fighting. Perhaps those sword lessons he'd taken years ago while he trained to become a royal knight were finally beginning to poke through his muscle memory? Or maybe he'd just had a hidden talent for the blade that he hadn't known about before?
Either way, he was finally beginning to shake off much of the fighting style he'd gotten from his years as a lancer and gauntlets brawler. He was learning to thrust less than before, to not get up into Glass's face, and to stay back to read her body language in the midst of battle. He was also beginning to treat Glass's dance form of combat with the respect that it deserved and practiced the steps and the movement when he wasn't practicing with the katana.
In many ways, it reminded him of Eclair's combat style. Though, that knight treated it less as a dance and more like an art. As if being able to read and react to her opponent as a flowing river came more naturally than breathing.
It was in training with Glass that Dou-Lon could really begin to appreciate the rose-haired knight's style of combat. To realize how she'd spent all that time reacting to his attacks and…
Dou-Lon frowned and shook his head again.
That blasted woman. Always invading his thoughts when he least expected it.
Dou-Lon sheathed his blade at his side. On his way back towards the front door, he paused for a moment to admire the new sheathe as well as the layer of armor covering his torso and shoulders.
Kizuna's blacksmith friend had finished his set first. It still had the kimono underneath, which made him mildly uncomfortable. But it came with light metal greaves over leather and other pieces of equipment that covered his forearms all the way up to his neck. It had a bit of the western look that Melromarc was well known for, mixed with the eastern Japanese look too.
It was amazing and the hakuko loved how well the custom armor fit. And even though the kimono was still slightly uncomfortable, Romina had taken his fur into account and made the sleeves of his kimono out of a strong material that didn't sacrifice stats whilst also allowing his arms room to breathe.
That blacksmith was truly amazing. Dou-Lon loved his custom armor. And he was sure that if Eclair saw him in it that she'd be jealous and…
…
Dou-Lon frowned once more.
Damn it, not again.
It was late, and he'd missed dinner. He was going to have to hope that Sir Naofumi had left him a plate with something to eat.
The thought of eating Sir Naofumi's cooking made his mouth water. And thoughts of the crazy rose-haired swordswoman were driven from his mind briefly as he walked towards the kitchen.
He did find that, yes, the Shield Hero had left him a plate with dinner on it. However, after grabbing it off the counter and heading towards the table, he found Itsuki's tank friend sitting there, eating as well. The hakuko paused in surprise.
"Ah, hey. Late dinner for you too?" Aksel asked around a mouthful of food.
…
"... yes." Dou-Lon moved to the other side of the table. Sitting as far from Aksel as he could.
The knight swallowed and smiled. "Relax. It's not like I plan on pulling your tail again."
"I still haven't forgotten that you know." Dou-Lon jabbed back. "I vowed never to trust being around you again thanks to that."
"Ah, whatever. Have it your way man." Aksel rolled his eyes.
The two ate in relative silence after that. And the minutes slowly passed beside the sound of chewing and gulping.
…
Eventually, though, Dou-Lon seemed to realize how odd it was for Aksel to be down here so late at night. Especially with the changes in the knight's love life recently. He began to look around with narrowed eyes, but didn't spot anything out of the ordinary.
"Is something wrong?" Aksel asked seriously. His hand moved to the ax resting against the chair next to him.
"… is Maya somewhere here to pull my tail for you, or…?" Dou-Lon asked.
Aksel's eyes widened, and he let out a laugh as his hand released its grip on his weapon. "Ha, no. That'd be funny, but she's not down here." The knight chuckled for a moment more, but then he deflated a little bit. "She's in bed right now. She came down with a high fever yesterday."
"Oh… oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." Dou-Lon said apologetically with a sad expression. "Has Sir Naofumi helped her?"
"Nah, she didn't want to trouble him. Besides, it only came about from our own stupidity anyway." Aksel lightly smiled, though he blushed a little bit. "… she kind of got overheated from our Hot Spring activities. I should have known that having her wear that bodysuit of hers in there would be a bad idea. Unfortunately, our horniness got the better of us."
…
Dou-Lon… tried his best not to melt into his chair. "You did that in the Hot Spring? Where all of us go to bathe?!"
"Hey, Maya got the idea since she saw Sir Naofumi and Miss Raphtalia do it first." Aksel waved him off. "Wow, it's weird to think of her as Miss Raphtalia now. The things that change when someone becomes a Hero. Weird."
…
Dou-Lon had to force down so many different thoughts that it wasn't even funny. It was only because of Aksel's face becoming crestfallen that he didn't lash out then and there.
"Anyway, Maya's asleep in our bed now. I've done my best to take care of her today, but she forced me out of the room to get something to eat. That's why I'm here right now." The knight admitted.
"… I'm sorry to hear that." Dou-Lon considered his next words for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he really hadn't seen the knight much since yesterday. "Have you spent all that time caring for her?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Aksel asked curiously.
"No reason. I'm just surprised. With how you two have been lately, I was beginning to think it was just… you know…"
"Just us being horny?" Askel supplied.
"Sure. That." Dou-Lon blushed.
"Yeah. Well I'll admit, we've both been plenty horny. And I don't mind that one bit." Aksel smirked, before his face turned thoughtful again. "But it's not just lust man. I love her. Like… I really love her. And the fact that she's going through this right now…
"I seriously wish that I didn't have to eat right now so I could be back up there, holding a pack of ice to her head and gripping her hand in mine so she'd know that I'm there for her, and… …"
The knight trailed off. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something. And instead of saying something to break his concentration, Dou-Lon listened intently for when he'd speak.
…
"I grew up wanting to become a knight, wanting to be able to protect my friends. And I was interested in other things too. And I had crushes on other girls. And some of the people I'd met made me want to protect them from anything and everything. It's just…"
He paused again.
…
…
"Maya is… special." Aksel chuckled as he smiled. "She makes me want to protect her, yet at the same time I know she can kick my butt if she has to. But even knowing that, I still love her… and just thinking of her makes me want to become better. So I can protect the whole world and make it a safe place for her to be happy.
"So that… so that we'll have a place to be happy, together." Aksel admitted out loud.
…
Dou-Lon was caught off guard by the profundity behind the knight's statement.
Aksel thought to himself a little more and then nodded. "And it isn't just for her. But… also my good brother Bakta. And my good friend Welt. And everyone else I've come to care about or lost in the past."
"I don't want to stop improving. I want to continue on the path to becoming my best self so I can be there for everyone around me. So somebody like Bakta won't have to sacrifice themselves for me or anyone else I care about ever again."
…
Aksel began to chuckle again, though it was self-mocking this time. "Sorry if that came out of nowhere. It feels good to finally say that out loud though."
"How long have you been holding it in?" Dou-Lon asked seriously.
"... You're… you're not going to tease me on it?" Aksel asked in surprise.
"Of course not. It might have been a while since I last fell for someone. But I can tell yours is genuine… not to mention, I've lost good friends in the past too." Dou-Lon admitted sadly. "I won't tease you for wanting to improve because of that."
"... I've been holding it in since the moment I processed their deaths. And I learned the true meaning of love for your fellow man. Something Bakta had long before I did."
Aksel looked down at his plate. Dou-Lon did too. It seemed the conversation had gone in a direction neither of them had expected.
It was quiet for a moment longer. And then, Aksel spoke up again. "Can you tell me about them? The friends you said you lost long ago?"
Dou-Lon was surprised by the question. But then, he didn't even think about it for very long. He simply smiled. "Sure. Their names were Po and Han."
The next hour passed in conversation between the two men.
Dou-Lon started by telling stories about his friends. How they met in his village. How they grew up playing together. How they leveled and grew with one another.
"One time Han dared me to stick my hand in a Scorpion's nest and not get hurt. And I did so for a minute without getting the slightest sting. He couldn't believe it and tried to do the same thing, only to get stung at least a dozen times before he finally pulled his hand out." Dou-Lon laughed at the memory.
"How did you manage to do that?" Aksel asked as he laughed while picturing it in his mind.
"I had taken in my friend Chen at that point. She was very interested in monsters and I remembered her telling me what to do so the scorpions wouldn't look at me as an enemy." Dou-Lon answered. "So I did that and it worked."
"That sounds oddly vague." Aksel replied skeptically.
The hakuko grinned. "It's been a while since that time. My memory isn't that perfect."
The two laughed again, and then Dou-Lon continued with stories of his close friends. And Aksel shared stories of his friends from the village in turn. In many ways, it reflected Dou-Lon in how he grew up with his friends. Though, there was also the addition of the boyhood crushes Aksel had had as well as the times they'd gone swimming in the ocean looking for sunk treasure.
It was a while. But eventually, Aksel asked the question they seemed to be avoiding.
"How did they die?"
…
"... we were in Melromarc searching for the Shield Hero… …" Dou-Lon considered his next words for a moment. "... we were stupid and got captured. And… a nun from the Three Heroes Church beheaded the two of them before my eyes.
"I'd been severely wounded, and could do nothing as I watched it happen. I thought she would kill me next, but she left me there to die… with their bodies still laying before me, discarded like trash for the vultures in the sky… I was thankful when I later learned that Chen did manage to escape, but…"
"..." Aksel didn't smile. His expression upon hearing that was hard to read.
"How about you?" Dou-Lon asked.
"I was in the Capital when the Wave struck my friend's village. I was still in training then so I didn't get to go out with the other knights from the Church.
"But… I learned what they'd done when they came back. And, well… every now and then, I'll go to the Memorial in our village, and run my hand along their names. Wondering if any of them are out there somewhere…"
Aksel, though his face was down for a moment, smiled once more. "Maya went with me the last time I did it, before the Spirit Tortoise attacked. Back when we were still friends. She'd gathered a bouquet of flowers for them and set it in front of the large stone… … …"
The knight shook in his seat. He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked back at the thoughtful hakuko again. "We're really in over our heads, huh. Being here in another world trying to bring an omnicidal maniac to justice."
"A little bit, yes." Dou-Lon chuckled. "But I think we're all growing in ways we wouldn't have otherwise."
"Heh, yeah. If it wasn't for us coming here. I don't think me and Maya would have been as close as we are now, and I possibly wouldn't have learned how much I care about her and…"
…
Aksel eventually stood up. "I should go back to her. Make sure she's doing ok."
"You're not tricking me with something that'll lead to you pulling my tail?" Dou-Lon asked.
"Nah, not tonight. We talked some serious things over today. And, well, I definitely got to interact with you a bit more this time compared to before." Aksel smirked. "Next time though, I'll see what I can do."
"I will not hesitate to cut your hand off if there is a next time." Dou-Lon replied blandly.
"Alright, whatever. Good night, Dou-Lon. Thanks for the talk."
"Good night, Aksel."
The knight left the room, leaving the hakuko alone at the table.
…
…
Dou-Lon pondered Aksel's words for a while. The knight truly did care for those around him, especially Maya. And he was growing because of it…
Dou-Lon then thought of his old friends. His face became downcast as he realized how long it'd been since he thought about them. He wondered if they'd been given proper burials. If the woman who'd rescued him had buried his friends at the base of that tree, and…
Eclair came to his mind. She stood smiling, sword in hand next to the silhouettes of his dead friends.
A feeling coursed through Dou-Lon as his vision turned red. 'No… I'll never let the same thing happen to her. Not ever… … …'
The hakuko frowned. Where had that thought come from? If there was anybody that needed protection the least, it was her. For all of her crippling insecurity and worries about her inability to inflict heavy damage, she fought Sir Ren to a standstill. And that was while he was on the third stage of his cursed form.
Dou-Lon continued to frown as he felt troubled by his thoughts again. His mind was being unruly, and the simple exercises he used when he wasn't meditating to rein them in weren't working right now.
Was Eclair doing alright right now? Was she taking her training seriously? Was she okay from the problems sneaking up on the village and-
Dou-Lon slapped himself. What the hell was wrong with him?! He shouldn't have been this concerned about the crazy swordswoman! It was ludicrous!
It was only then that he finally realized how he'd been skipping on his meditation as of late. Maybe that was the reason his mind was being like this. Had he really been that focused on his training?
Looking outside, Dou-Lon then saw just how late it'd gotten. There was probably only a few more hours till sunrise at best.
Turning off the light in the kitchen, the hakuko went back to his room to roll out his meditation mat and begin a meditation session to try and find out why his mind was so troubled by thoughts of the rose-haired knight as of late.
Unfortunately, to his frustration, thoughts of the rose-haired knight wouldn't leave Dou-Lon's mind. And he wouldn't come any closer to figuring out why, as he'd fall asleep in the middle of his meditation. And his dreams that night would be centered around the rose-haired swordswoman.
He wouldn't figure out why for a long while yet.
"Master Dai-kun. This just came in for you."
"Oh? What's this? A letter?"
"Yes, it's from the King. It appears that you've been invited to some conference."
"So it seems… it looks like the "Hunting Tools" hero is running it. The rumors are true then, she is back. The same girl that defeated the dragon, huh?
"Ha ha ha! I think I'd like to meet her. Then I could possibly challenge her and maybe even bed her!"
"Dai-kun, please don't say such things out loud."
"What? She is the warrior that defeated the demon dragon and carries the title of "hunting hero". She has to be the tall Amazon warrior type! There's nothing more attractive than that!"
"I don't like it when you use terms that I'm unfamiliar with."
"Ha ha ha! Don't speak nonsense, Medina. Come on, let's get to the castle already! I can't wait to meet her!"
"Hoshi, it's for you."
"Is it a letter from my publisher? If it's about the delay on my next manga, please tell him that I'm trying my best-"
"No, it's a letter from the King. It seems he's having a Conference and he wants you to be there."
"... eh? Um… didn't I ask him to leave me alone?"
"It says that the Hunting Tools Hero will be there. Perhaps that is the reason why the King is inviting you, despite your wishes."
"You mean the girl that defeated the dragon? Eugh... I really don't think I should…"
"Come on, you've hardly left this place in the last few months Hoshi. Perhaps you'd overcome your writer's block if you actually go out and do something."
"You don't have to put it so harshly, you know!"
…
"Fine, I'll go, Kuro. But I want to do it before we go!"
"Don't be gross Master Hoshi."
"Come on, pretty please?"
"No."
"Come on, I know that you love it."
"I am going back to the customers Sir Hoshi."
"Ah! Kuro-chan, please wait!"
"Miss Akane?"
"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy with my latest masterpiece?"
"Ah, my deepest apologies ma'am, but… his Majesty wanted to make sure that you receiv-"
"Yes, yes, the International Conference. Of course, I'm invited. I know all about it already. I'm not as cut off from news as those two hikikomori. You can tell 'Corrin' that I'll be there."
"Oh, very well… thank you for your time, Miss Akane."
…
…
'To think that the missing Hunting Tools Hero that killed the dragon and easily defeated the Wave here is back… Just what does she want…? What's her angle…? Is she making a big comeback?'
'That would mean that I'd no longer be the only female Cardinal Hero. I have to make sure she isn't prettier than me. If she is, then...'
...
'Well, we shall see.'
Author's Notes:
So much to do, so much to see. Now I'm taking the back street to a new country.
For a TLDR of the new addition to that essay I mentioned on my profile, it's basically this: Naofumi can use Hengen Muso to defend against or redirect attacks at his enemies just like how he can use his shield to block or deflect magic or physical attacks at his opponents. But he can't use it to attack himself.
Life force energy/ki/vitality is part of the system of rules, just like everything else. Do not ever believe it if someone tries to tell you otherwise.
I'm excited for next week. Or however long it takes to write this chapter.
Hero Clips!
Filo's First Attempt At Cooking by Herself
'Hmmm…'
Filo looked over all the ingredients on the counter before her. It was their second night in the castle, but Mommy and Daddy were off doing something else. So it was up to Filo to make dinner for her family.
"Let's see, what should Filo make? Hmmm…"
She tried to picture all the meals Daddy had made for her in the past. They were hard to recall though since she ate them so quickly. Daddy made it look so easy though.
"Rafu! Rafu!" Raph-Chan jumped up and down next to her excitedly. She was wearing a chef's hat on her head.
"You're right Sis! Maybe if we just get started, then we'll be able to make food as good as Daddy's!" Filo exclaimed excitedly.
"Rafu!"
"Alright! Let's get cooking!" Filo proudly tied the apron poorly to herself sideways, and then she and Raph-Chan began throwing everything in front of her into a pot on the stove.
Half an hour later, Naofumi was standing outside next to Filo, watching as L'Arc's castle burned in the light of the evening sun.
"Honey, next time, wait for me to be there in case you need help." Naofumi deadpanned.
"Oops, hehe." Filo giggled nervously.
"Rafu!" Naofumi should have been more annoyed, but Raph-Chan in a chef's hat was absolutely adorable. So he couldn't get too angry… at least, not until a certain redhead showed up.
"See! I told you this was perfectly normal for newbies to do!" L'Arc yelled victoriously.
"Are you seriously throwing your castle under the bus just to appease your ego?" Naofumi asked incredulously.
"Yes! Absolutely!"
"Also… what's a bus?" L'Arc asked confusedly.
…
Naofumi groaned as he facepalmed at the redhead's stupidity.
Meanwhile, Filo was taking notes alongside Raph-Chan about what they'd done wrong.
"Next time, don't turn... the heat... too high..."
"Rafu! Rafu!"
"And... no...using… wind magic...to put... it...out…"
And that was how Filo's first attempt at cooking went.
Perhaps there was more than one reason as to why they'd moved into Kizuna's home…
Till Next Time
Allen