Virtue of the Shield Hero

by Allen Blaster

According to Newton's Third Law, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Unfortunately, Naofumi and co will find this to be especially true after returning from their Otherworld trip. Rest of Summary inside. The third installment is here. Multiple pairings. Covers Season Three Territory and beyond. Arc 10: Chapters Thirteen: Part One: Death Match

140. 75: Final Preparations

Bit of a long one today, but I hope you all enjoy it regardless! Thanks for all the positive comments!

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Chapter Seventy-Five: Final Preparations

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- ENTRY #10 -

Damn this brat! Just what the hell is wrong with her?! I thought I had seen some awful ████████████ in my time, but never in my life would I have expected for a goddamn ████████████ to be this much of a slave driver! That stupid brat's bossiness is matched only by her ████████████ and ignorance. She is stubborn, stupidly innocent, and idealistic to a fault and it's driving me up the wall!

In short, she's the worst possible person we could have ████████████ right now!

She's never happy with any of the plans or the suggestions that I put forward! Not one! And only because they involve a high likelihood of ████████████ during them!

Even the freaking ████████████, the only other person in the ████████████ besides myself who seems to have more than a single brain cell in his head, agrees with me about how ████████████ would not only work, but that they're absolutely necessary for curbing the ████████████ advances against ████████████!

Label has already lost half of its territory, and ████████████ is nearly entirely taken over! Its Capital is barely holding out! ████████████ and other nations around the world are struggling to do their parts while we're over here twiddling our thumbs! At least my ████████████ is holding the monster hordes off, for the moment. In no small part thanks to ████████████ using her charisma to force the useless cretins at the Parliament to actually follow the orders that I send back to the letter. But even then, it's only a matter of time before ████████████ forces figure out some kind of weakness to exploit or straight up overwhelm the defense lines I set up to protect my assets and-

Anyway, as I wrote earlier the ████████████ has been trying to convince the ████████████ that sacrifices are sometimes necessary, but it's been to no avail! And despite her being a brat, the ████████████ and most of the others besides ████████████ basically give her free reign to tell everyone what to do, with only the barest minimum of restrictions! And even when ████████████ is here to knock some sense into her, it only lasts for a short while since he's always ████████████ fighting the monsters back and trying to ████████████ liberate his country's occupied territories!

It's absolutely ridiculous! This War will never progress in humanity's favor so long as ████████████ is in charge! Maybe that's why ████████████ told me to ████████████?! We'll only be able to stall the ████████████ advances at best if we're never willing to ████████████ to gain an advantage!

Urgh! I'm so tempted to ████████████ her right now! If nothing changes during these next few days, I might just do it! Forget about her ████████████! She is not just useless, she is a detriment that ████████████!

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- ENTRY #11 -

Looking back at this last entry makes me want to just erase it, but alas. Even I am prone to make the occasional miscalculation.

My frustration from before finally boiled over because of ████████████ asked me how I can proclaim myself as ████████████ when I can't even put together ████████████.

I got very angry, almost to the point where I was ████████████. I had never felt such a strong desire to prove somebody wrong before. So after writing down my previous journal entry, I spent all night working nonstop, fueled by my rage over how this ████████████ could call me out on my 'supposed' lack of intelligence when she was the one who was obviously in the wrong.

Anyway, I wanted to prove she was wrong just so I could rub it in her face. And in an interesting turn of events, the ████████████, visited me the following morning while I was beating my head against this problem and helped me out.

At first, he just appeared to be concerned, since I didn't show up for breakfast in the ████████████ mess hall. He'd found my workspace in disarray, with notes and maps I'd pored over that night sprawled all over the place. And he just happened to pick one of my notes up and ask me why I'd discarded it. The plan I'd written on it had been feasible and would not only push the ████████████ but simultaneously ████████████.

There was a problem with it, however. And I begrudgingly explained to him that the ████████████ was suboptimal for such a large movement ████████████, and that it wouldn't fit the ████████████ had set for me. After studying it some more, however, the ████████████ suddenly pointed out to me how the map of that area that I'd been using was actually somewhat inaccurate and outdated to boot. He then pulled a different one out ████████████ for me to look over.

The two of us spent the rest of that morning poring it over together. And he was right. The map I'd been using really had been outdated. It didn't account for hills we could position ████████████ from. Valleys that we could use to ████████████ while our other ████████████ distracted.

Suddenly, my job became a whole lot easier! And ████████████ helped me out a ton too, showing how his ████████████ could contribute to the plan in ways I'd never thought about before.

In the end, I was able to present a ████████████ plan to ████████████ that'd cut off a part of the ████████████, reclaim a ████████████ in the future, and alleviate pressure on ████████████. I still remember how everyone in the room was shocked at its elegance and simplicity…

…

I'd planned on mocking ████████████ for her tantrum from the previous day. Now that I'd clearly shown how I actually was the smartest person they had in that room…

But instead of getting angry at being proven wrong, she beamed at me after I was finished.

"Thanks, ████████████! This is a miracle! I'm sorry for calling you stupid before! To think you were able to come up with a plan like this in so short a time! You definitely are the smartest in the world right now!"

…

Those were her exact words to me.

I was so stupefied that I wasn't even able to get in how ████████████ had helped me out, since his gathering of sources and data had been the only thing that'd made my job of drawing this plan up possible. But even when I tried to do that later in the conversation, ████████████ interrupted and kept me from speaking, telling me later that he'd only brought me reference materials and pointed out minor issues. I'd been the one doing all the brainstorming.

…

What is up with everyone here?

---

- ENTRY #13 -

It's been a week. The plan that I put forward went off without a hitch.

The ████████████ suffered a crushing defeat. ████████████ himself almost killed another one of the ████████████ help. And while our foe got away with her wind magic in the end, she's definitely far too injured to participate in any future ████████████ anytime soon, so I'll count that as a win.

My plan went even better than expected too. All of ████████████ territory was liberated. What I thought had only been a weakness in the surrounding area had actually allowed ████████████. By the time they finally realized we'd cut them off ████████████, they'd been surrounded by ████████████ on all sides.

All the experts would say that our counteroffensive should have had double to triple the casualties than the other side. But that didn't happen. By the time it was over, we only lost ████████████.

…

I actually expected ████████████ to throw another tantrum and complain about the fact that people had still died despite my brilliant plan working so well, but… she didn't.

She thanked me again instead and hugged me after listening to the full report along with the other leaders of the alliance.

I really should have kept my mouth shut and just rolled with it, in retrospect. But my annoyance and anger at her ████████████ reared its ugly head again. I could not help but bitterly and mockingly ask why she was not showing any reaction to the news about all the deaths. She used to make such a huge stink every time anyone would even remotely bring up the possibility of such a thing happening before. So why did I even bother putting in the effort into this plan then?

All the eyes in the room were on her. The others joined me in solidarity for once, even the ████████████ who was the one responsible for letting ████████████ do whatever she wanted in the first place.

…

Her response made me rethink a lot of things.

It turned out that the reason why she was angry before was not because our actions would result in people's deaths. Rather, she was furious because we not only accepted such a thing as the norm, but were, in fact, actually planning around and for it, by using the lives of the soldiers as just another asset to use and gain an advantage.

She wasn't actually so stupid and ignorant that she thought that we could legitimately win without suffering any casualties. No, what she wanted was to eliminate this particular mindset at ████████████; that our people are simply pieces on a chessboard to move around and sacrifice as we see fit.

"We shouldn't be planning out how we are going to die." She said, "We should be planning out how we're going to smile and live together!"

…

While I personally disagree with such sentiments, I have to admit that the brat is not as stupid as I thought her to be. Even if it was done in a rather crude and hamfisted way, her actions inspired everyone, including myself, to act and put more effort into our work. Which in turn improved both its overall quality and quantity.

I'm still annoyed by her overly positive attitude… but I can't help but concede now that her presence here is bringing an overwhelmingly positive impact on everyone's morale.

…

I wonder if even Kenshiro is starting to take notice of that too?

The Katana Hero seems to be going just a tad easier on her compared to before as of late.

---

The next few days passed by quickly for the Shield Hero.

Label's Minister returned with his troops who'd managed to escape with the Katana Country's supply of Guardian Beast and Demon Dragon materials two days after the battle in Sickle. These materials were handed off to Romina as well as Kizuna, Naofumi, Itsuki, Raphtalia, and the other Heroes to unlock new weapon forms.

Along with the Guardian Beast materials, there were also the white tiger clone materials that Naofumi hadn't had a chance to absorb before from their battle at Label's Capital.

L'Arc and Glass didn't get anything besides some of the Byakko Clone material, as they'd already unlocked the weapon forms for the Guardian Beasts long ago.

The group of Heroes gained a variety of new weapons from absorbing them. Naofumi was a bit disappointed that the majority of them either gave bonuses to stats, access to new crafting and compounding recipes or increased his resistance to different kinds of attacks. None of them were near as powerful as the Spirit Tortoise Heart Shield either.

He wasn't expecting an attack increase, nor did he want it anymore. He did, however, want some new skills in his repertoire to better help everyone out, as well as a shield that had more defense to it. It hadn't helped that Label didn't have all the parts of the Guardian Beasts of their world, so the branch of weapons he and the others unlocked remained incomplete.

Thankfully, amongst the dozens of shields he acquired, Naofumi did get four Shields that had new skills for him to use:

Conditions Met! Black Tortoise Shell Shield Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: "E Float Shield"

Conditions Met! Byakko Pelt Shield Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: "One Hundred Shields"

Conditions Met! White Tiger Clone Shield Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: "Chain Shield"

Conditions Met! Red Vermillion Feather Shield Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: "Bunker Shield"

"Huh, it's about time," Naofumi muttered as he looked at the descriptions of the new skills he'd acquired.

"What did you get?" Itsuki, who was absorbing the new materials next to him, asked curiously.

"Let's see… it looks like E Float Shield allows me to summon a shield that I can either hold onto with my other hand or make it float around me wherever I need it. Nice, that's actually pretty useful." Naofumi muttered in appreciation.

"Then One Hundred Shields… hmmm, it summons a lot of shields simultaneously. I can either summon them to protect multiple areas all around me or focus them in one spot to make a multi-layered barrier. That's really good too!" With a skill like that, he'd finally be more capable of defending small armies on his own! Even if these shields weren't as strong as the Air Strike Shield series, it was still incredibly useful!

"Next up, Chain Shield… it looks to be like a different version of Change Shield. If I use Air Strike Shield, Second Shield, and other shield skills, I could then use Chain Shield to link all the summoned shields together in a chain." In short, it was basically a skill that he couldn't use until after he'd summoned two or more shield skills. But with it, he wouldn't be able to just trap targets between two shield skills, but also be able to squeeze them inside and restrict their movements even further thanks to Chain Shield.

It should make landing skills like Hope Asunder or Pandora's Box much easier for him to do since his Rope Shield had long since become obsolete. Very nice! He was going to keep that one up his sleeve for when they finally dueled Kyo.

"Lastly, Bunker Shield… … … …"

Naofumi glared down at the Shield on his arm.

"What does it do?" Raphtalia, who was also there, asked next.

"According to the info on it… Oh, come on! It nullifies defense-piercing and defense-rating attacks!" Naofumi yelled angrily.

…

The others looked at him in confusion.

Hadn't he just put a bunch of work into learning life force just so he could do that recently!? What the hell was with his Shield's sense of humor?!

"Seriously? Let's try it out, to make sure." The Bow Hero suggested.

Naofumi grumbled, but he equipped the Shield to his arm and turned to face Itsuki. The Red Vermilion Feather Shield was like a Tower Shield, only covered over with soft red feathers.

As the Shield Hero selected the skill, his HUD flared up, giving him options on where to place the barrier. He then selected the area in front of him. "Bunker Shield!"

A dome-shaped barrier colored with a lighter shade of blue than the Meteor Shield appeared in front of him. Itsuki looked it over for a moment and then held his bow up after shrugging once. "Eagle Piercing Shot!" He shot the skill at the barrier, expecting it to go through just like with Kyo's barriers.

Only, the arrow simply dispersed as the Eagle got absorbed into the skill. Besides waves of energy going over the dome-shaped barrier, the attack did nothing to it.

"That's actually… that's actually pretty good, Naofumi. I don't see why you'd complain about something like that." Itsuki told him. It was definitely nothing like his Bunker Shot skill, which only had a situationally useful feature of doing more damage the closer he was to a target.

Also, while it was meant for defending specifically against those kinds of attacks, it was still capable of protecting against regular attacks as well. So Naofumi could use it as an additional skill to protect others if he needed to.

"Maybe it's because I've literally spent the last couple of weeks training to do that without a skill." Naofumi grumbled. "... Although, if I can place it anywhere around me, then perhaps it'd be useful for protecting others who can't do that instead."

Raphtalia and Filo smiled happily. And it helped bring a smile back onto his face. Okay, maybe the skill wasn't entirely useless.

Still, he was never going to understand his Shield's sense of humor.

As for Itsuki, he gained the skill Tornado Arrow from a Byakko bow. It was basically the same skill his Wind Arrow had been turning into thanks to one of Naofumi's accessories. He also got Ranged Shot from a Black Tortoise Bow, which would allow him to not only launch the skill from miles away but give him enough time to use Change Arrow on it. Lastly, he got E Float Bow from a Red Vermillion Bow.

This allowed Itsuki to summon a Bow that'd float around him and act like an automatic turret

It was honestly pretty freaking cool.

Lastly, as Naofumi was absorbing materials from the Demon Dragon Kizuna had fought and killed years ago, he came across one more important Shield that offered an additional skill.

Conditions met! Demon Dragon Shield Unlocked!

Equip Bonus: skill: "Attack Support"

"Huh, I unlocked one more skill," Naofumi muttered. Five skills in one day, not bad.

"Oh? What is it?" The Bow Hero asked.

Naofumi used the skill, which summoned a dart into his hand. After examining it, he found out that it was just like Kizuna's Lure Needle. If he hit his target with it, they'd take double the damage on the next attack in the area where the dart hit.

He could only use it on one individual at a time, unlike Kizuna's version. But the fact that he could apply a damage multiplier to enemies too made him extremely happy as he informed Itsuki and Kizuna about it.

"Sweet! Maybe if we use both our skills together, we'll be able to put a x4 damage multiplier on a target!" Kizuna's eyes flashed with enthusiasm.

"No way! If I get one as well, then…" But when Itsuki absorbed the Demon Dragon materials into his Bow, a frown plastered itself onto his face.

"So? What did you get?" Naofumi asked impatiently. Kizuna stared at him as well.

"Grumble grumble."

"You'll have to speak up, Itsuki. I didn't catch that at all." The Shield Hero kept pressing.

…

"Nothing." The Bow Hero crossed his arms and turned to the side. It was plain to see though that the Bows he'd gotten were just stat and ability boosts like most of the other Bows he'd gotten absorbing the Guardian Beast materials.

Naofumi had no idea what he was complaining about though. He could dish out so much damage with his attacks now that a multiplier on top of that would just be overkill.

And that pretty much covered what he and Itsuki had gotten from their new weapon forms. Raphtalia, Kizuna, and the others had probably gotten some stuff too, but Naofumi didn't know what they got from their new weapon forms.

Regardless, thanks to the shipment of materials arriving from Label, Romina had also managed to finish their armor and weapons the day after their arrival.

"It's about damn time," Naofumi muttered as he saw the table laden with weapons and armor before them later when they arrived at the female blacksmith's workshop.

Raphtalia sighed but agreed with her boyfriend. They really could have used this equipment a lot sooner.

"I did as much as I could with the materials I had on hand. So this is probably some of my best work all around!" Romina laughed to herself after seeing the looks of awe in the eyes of the Heroes and their allies. Particularly in the hakuko's.

"How did you manage to finish these so quickly?" Dou-Lon asked, his voice filled with gratitude and respect for the master blacksmith. "I didn't think you'd make so much progress after I came by yesterday."

"Eh, I had the molds prepared for most everything beforehand. I did as much as I could without the materials for sections of armor. And then I stayed up all night making sure everything went together correctly." The tall woman shrugged. "Not too much work in the end if I'm being honest."

"Really?" Naofumi asked.

"Of course! Is it any wonder I wanted to spend so much time watching you work, Master Craftsman?! There wasn't much else I could do besides sit and twiddle my thumbs while waiting for the rest of what I needed to arrive!" Romina began to roar with laughter again.

…

Naofumi's left eye twitched in annoyance,

Still, as annoying as she'd been, he could not argue with the results of her work.

Raphtalia copied the two katanas she'd made, and then Dou-Lon got to keep one of the blades.

The other went to Rishia, who needed a replacement for her odachi. But both the hakuko and the green-haired girl looked appreciative of their new weapons.

"Is this really made from Guardian Beast materials? It feels so light." The hakuko said in awe as he looked over the blade in his hands.

Black Tortoise Katana

"It really does!" Rishia agreed.

Byakko Katana

Naofumi couldn't even appraise their stats. They were that well made.

Naofumi wished that they could bring them back to their original world later. Dou-Lon looked like he could cry from how happy he was.

"Ah, a perfect fit, just like always." L'Arc complimented the woman as he slipped into the samurai-like lamellar armor she'd made for the King. The individual scales moved perfectly with his body and would help to provide him decent protection while not sacrificing his mobility in the slightest.

"Yes, indeed." Glass also looked herself over in a mirror. While she preferred to make her own outfits… She couldn't deny that Romina was much better at making protective garments than she was. This was her most powerful kimono yet.

"Oooh! Filo loves Filo's new outfit!" Filo dashed around happily, wearing a new ocean-blue kimono that transformed along with her.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan bounded after her sister, looking cute and adorable like always.

"Hmmm…" Raphtalia frowned and leveled a look at Naofumi after seeing what she was getting. "Is there any reason why Romina made me a new Miko Outfit instead of making me something like what L'Arc or Dou-Lon are wearing?"

"Nope. No reason at all." Naofumi grinned widely, already getting a slight nosebleed from how hot Raphtalia looked in her new Miko Outfit.

It really didn't look different from the old one. The stats on it were a bit better though.

And Raphtalia still looked as hot as ever in it.

"Hmmmm." Raphtalia continued to glare at her boyfriend suspiciously, but eventually pulled up the Byakko Katana she'd copied, and then muttered something under her breath. Afterward, a second katana appeared in her hands.

"Oh, you can dual wield now?" Naofumi asked in surprise.

"It looks like it." Raphtalia cocked her head to the side. "I wonder if this means that Ren will be able to dual wield too?"

That'd be something interesting to find out after they got back. They really had gotten a lot more than they'd bargained for from Romina.

Actually, now thinking about it, could Ren copy weapons from all of Raphtalia's weapon forms? That'd be super handy if he could, especially with the forms Raphtalia got from absorbing monsters. While Ren had shown that he could copy katanas before, he seemed to get nothing but European-style swords from absorbing monster materials. So if this worked, it could give Ren a whole new series of weapons he could unlock in his free time.

"Sorry Naofumi, but I can already tell you that it won't work." Itsuki butted in suddenly.

"Wha- stop reading my mind!" Naofumi shouted at the Bow Hero. "And what do you mean it wouldn't work?"

"Kizuna also has access to bows, and while we were in Lapis together doing nothing, I checked to see if we could copy each other's weapon forms or not." Itsuki shook his head. "Needless to say, it didn't work."

"Yeah, I might not use bows much, but Itsuki really had some nice ones I would have liked to use." Kizuna shrugged next to him. "Oh well, you live and learn, right?"

…

Naofumi groaned.

Great, there went another potential idea for strengthening the Heroes out the window. Not like he'd met any Heroes who used shields or gauntlets or the like yet. Still, it would have been so cool…

Maybe they could see about having Ren at least copy the two Guardian Beast katanas Dou-Lon and Rishia were wielding. Their stats might get scrambled up on the return home, but Ren might still be able to copy them then… right?

Overall, everyone seemed to love the gear the blacksmith had made for them…

…

"You've got to be &%$#%$# kidding me!"

Or not.

Naofumi finally found the armor Romina had made for him… and he had some very choice words for what he thought about it.

"Is there something wrong, Master Craftsman?" Romina asked, sounding hurt.

"How, just… how?! HOW?!" Naofumi demanded angrily. He hadn't even brought that armor set to this world! It had been &^%$&^% melted by the Spirit Tortoise into a useless pile of slag! It should have been IMPOSSIBLE for Romina to recreate it!

Barbaroi Armor (Cursed)

Equip Effect: Defense Up (Max), Impact Resistance (Large), Slash Resistance (Large), Fire Resistance (Large), Wind Resistance (Large), Water Resistance (Large), Earth Resistance (Large), HP Recovery (Low), Magic Recovery (Weak), SP Recovery (Weak), Magic Power Up (Medium), Dragon Emperor Revolt, Four Holy Beasts Power, Magic Defense Processing, Automatic Self-Repair, Growth Power

To be fair, its stats were phenomenal. The array of bonuses and resistances would have it be useful against any enemy in most situations too. It was THE BEST armor Naofumi had ever seen.

But its appearance… It was as if Romina had created his old Barbarian Armor and just changed its appearance slightly so it'd fit with the aesthetics of this world.

In other words, it would have made him look like a horny no good Japanese Bandit King.

"How what?" Romina asked again, growing even more flustered.

Naofumi was seeing red. There was no &%$# #$ way! He'd compared Romina to being a lot like Elhart before, but this was ridiculous! He knew he should have realized it when he saw what she was working on, but he'd written it off as absurd. There was absolutely no way.

But there was a way, clearly, as it was laying before his eyes right now in all of its glory. And despite how good it was, only one thought came to Naofumi's mind.

"I am NOT wearing that!" Naofumi finally stated with finality.

"Huh?!" Romina looked simultaneously crushed, distraught, and destroyed at the same time. "Is it because of the cursed attribute?! I didn't think it'd affect you due to your high defense!"

"I don't care! I'm not wearing that thing!" Naofumi stated angrily.

"I-It also only happened after I decided to put the Demon Dragon's core in its chest plate. I could remove that if you're not that fond of wearing cursed armor, though it'd get rid of a lot of the boosts that appeared with it-"

"NO! READ MY LIPS! YOU CAN REMOVE WHAT YOU WANT BUT I'M NOT WEARING THAT PIECE OF &^%$ EITHER WAY!" Naofumi roared in defiance.

"Naofumi, what are you talking about?! You need better armor!" Raphtalia said next to him in agitation.

She was also looking lustfully at the armor and imagining Naofumi in it. That might have turned Naofumi on in a different context, but that wasn't the case here.

"P-Please, I do not understand. Even without the core, this would look perfect on you Master Craftsman-" Romina began to say to him after Raphtalia raised her displeasure.

"No way! I refuse to budge on this!" Naofumi replied heatedly. "Get that &%$# far away from me this instant!"

Romina immediately paled at his words, and then she fell to her knees.

If one looked closely, one could have seen her soul leaving her mouth.

The great Master Craftsman hated her work and had called it &^%$, twice.

She clearly wasn't worthy of living anymore.

"Geez Naofumi, what's got your underwear all twisted up?" Kizuna asked curiously.

"Sir Naofumi! Put it on! It'd look so cool on you!" Dou-Lon pleaded.

"Rafu! Rafu!" Raph-Chan cheered on Dou-Lon's shoulder. Even she was all for her Daddy wearing the cool-looking armor!

"Please, Master Craftsman! Do it or else I fear Romina will die from despair!" Therese begged on her knees for her fellow Gem friend.

Naofumi's only response was a death glare directed at all of them. As well as everyone else in the room who stepped forward to try and convince him. Including Raph-Chan.

Naofumi absolutely refused to look like a bandit king ever again.

Not even Kizuna standing in the corner comforting a sobbing Romina made him budge on it.

...

Though, it at least made him explain the reasoning behind his actions in a slightly calmer manner.

"I'm wearing this new Miko Outfit since I KNOW how much you love it. And you won't wear a set of armor that I LIKE IN RETURN?!" Raphtalia's eyes were on the verge of turning red from anger.

…

He might have also had to explain his reasoning further so he could avoid getting defenestrated by his very pissed-off-looking girlfriend.

It still took a while for the blacksmith to recover and for the others to understand exactly why Naofumi didn't want to wear the armor despite how good it was. And when they did, Romina quietly brought out a backup set of armor she'd made in case the others didn't like the armor they'd been given.

After a quick refitting, Naofumi was able to put it on.

Byakko Samurai Armor

Equip Effects: Defense Up (Large): Wind Resistance (Max): HP Recovery (Low): Magic Recovery (Weak): SP Recovery (Weak): Ally Wind Magic Power Up (Large): Four Holy Beasts Power, Automatic Self-Repair

At the very least, it didn't look anything like the Barbaroi Armor whatsoever. Though its stats weren't nearly as good in comparison for some stupid reason. Wasn't this thing made from Guardian Beast materials too?! How the hell was it weaker?!

Oh well. At least it wasn't cursed. Sad how that was its greatest advantage over it.

Romina said the curse only broke the ribs of the wielder. But that shouldn't have affected Naofumi due to his high defense stat. Yet he still refused it because of the fact he'd look like a villain once again if he put it on.

"I'm truly sorry for the shame I brought upon myself, Master Craftsman." Romina bowed her head apologetically. "I shall strive to make a better creation for you in the future."

"It's not like we'll be in this world for much longer after we find… Kyo…" Seeing the look on her face continue to fall, and the others in the room now death glaring at him, Naofumi sighed. "Fine. You can do that in case I somehow ever need to come back here for some reason or another. Just DO NOT THINK ABOUT MAKING ME LOOK LIKE A BANDIT KING EVER AGAIN, YOU GOT ME?!"

"Yes, absolutely!" Romina's face immediately brightened as he stayed and gave her a sketch of what she could work on for him in the future. It would be similar to what Elhart was making for him back home, just modified to fit in the aesthetic of this world.

"I shall gladly work on this for months to come!" Romina declared proudly.

"Oi, don't shout that as if you expect me to come back!" Naofumi replied angrily.

It was overall a weird interaction and left his purse just a little bit lighter than before.

Meaning it was just like seeing Elhart all over again.

Only, he could have done with a lot less crying.

And a lot less of people trying to make him look like a freaking villain.

Seriously, what the hell was wrong with everyone?!

---

Alongside those… activities, Naofumi continued his compounding experiments with the various herbs and ingredients in this world. As well as crafting accessories for his friends and allies.

He felt he was really close to a compounding breakthrough that'd help Kizuna and the other Heroes out in this world. But he'd save that for another time when he actually finished it.

Accessory-wise, he gave Kizuna her lure and Glass her fan accessory at the same time. They both really appreciated them.

Kizuna especially. You could have sworn Christmas had come early for her with the way her eyes shined upon seeing the lure.

"I'm going to treasure this for the rest of my life!" Kizuna exclaimed after she hooked a monstrous Kraken of a fish with it as easily as she would a small trout.

She already thought it was the best thing ever. But as soon as it went back into the water…

"Eh? Already?" She then pulled out another large Kraken fish.

And then another.

And then another.

And then another.

And then another.

"Holy- is this thing attracting the fish to it!? AWESOME!" Kizuna now had stars shining in her eyes. If she'd thought it was Christmas before, it was now Christmas and her birthday combined into one awesome package. "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFFFFFFFFE!"

"Oh no…" Glass groaned as she rubbed her hands against her face where she stood. She could already tell that Kizuna's new 'toy' would be a huge pain in the neck whenever the girl wanted to go fishing in the future.

Oh well. She at least appreciated the new additions attached to the handles of her fans. They didn't get in her way when she opened and closed them. And they were enchanted specifically for her race.

Fan Handles: Quality: Really Great

Spirit Race Energy Cap Up (Max)

Yes, Naofumi had learned that was an enchantment in this world. And it'd also been why it took so long to get Glass's accessories ready despite how simple they were.

He'd made at least a dozen other accessories just like them trying to get one with an enchantment that'd suit Glass best.

Romina certainly appreciated having the discarded ones on display.

Not that she ever planned on selling them. They were the work of the Great Master Craftsman, after all.

Yeah, she was still weird. But at the very least, Glass 'appreciated' the hard work Naofumi had put into her accessory to give her as great a power boost as possible.

"With this much energy, I won't tire so quickly in battle," Glass commented after she'd taken the time to rest and kill some weaker monsters to gather energy for herself.

"Meaning I won't have to spend as much time worrying about you Glassy," L'Arc smirked beside her.

"Whatever." Glass rolled her eyes in response.

"So, Kiddo, do you have something for me too?" L'Arc asked excitedly. "Something that will potentially power me up to perform even more extreme feats compared to before?"

"No." Naofumi immediately replied in a flat tone of voice.

…

The smile on the King's lips slowly died. "What?"

"If you wanted one, then you should have asked." Naofumi continued dryly.

"OH COME ON NAOFUMI! YOU MADE ONE FOR BOW KIDDO AND HE DIDN'T ASK FOR IT!"

Naofumi had also finished the accessory he'd made for Raphtalia. A sheathe for her katana that was made from multiple gemstones.

It allowed his girlfriend to carry her weapon around without wrapping it in cloth or having to resort to lesser sheathes that ripped and tore after having the katana stored in them. It also had a special bonus that when she sheathed it for a little while before pulling it out, it gave her a speed bonus similar to Filo's Haikuikku for a few seconds.

Yeah, he was a pretty awesome boyfriend. It not only looked pretty, but it was also practical. Just the way Raphtalia liked it.

"STOP!" L'Arc yelled. "STOP IGNORING ME!"

Naofumi had also made an accessory for himself. It was similar to what that Accessory Merchant at Cal Mira had gifted him. Except, unfortunately, it didn't offer him a defense bonus.

It instead offered him a Magic Up (Medium) bonus. This would make his support and healing magic more potent. The other bonus it had disappeared to provide an extra effect to his Meteor Shield skill. Naofumi wouldn't spoil what it was, but it'd definitely come in handy later.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" L'Arc continued to scream. When that failed, he proceeded to start throwing random items off a nearby counter. "AHHHHHHHH!"

That was all he had to report on when it came to accessories. He'd managed to make all the ones he planned on making…

Which included an extra one for Therese.

"T-The pure joy coming from this gem Master Craftsman!" Therese exclaimed with awe and wonder in her eyes upon seeing the bracelet Naofumi had made for her.

Sapphire Flower Bracelet: Quality: Really Excellent

Ice Magic Up (Large) Water Magic Up (Medium)

It was very similar to the one he'd made for her at Cal Mira, only it was made from different materials, most notably from what was left of the Sapphire Flower that he'd used to finish up another accessory for someone else back home.

"The blue of this sapphire will go well with the one embedded in your forehead." Naofumi acknowledged with a smirk, his eyes glancing over at L'Arc who'd finally gone silent and stood in stunned astonishment.

"Naofumi…" Raphtalia warned beside him.

Naofumi didn't respond. He instead looked back to Therese again. "I noticed you used a sapphire before to cast that blizzard spell back in Label. Using this as a medium should help to make that spell even more potent." Once again, it was an accessory that was beautiful and practical.

Therese appreciated it far more than Raphtalia had.

"Y-YES! I WILL! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR GENEROSITY MASTER CRAFTSMAN!" Therese prostrated herself at Naofumi's feet and thanked him with all of her heart.

"If you're really thankful, you could let me poke through the treasury here and- Ok! Ok! That was just a joke, Raphtalia!" Naofumi's voice took on a slightly higher pitch when he saw his girlfriend start to pull her katana out of its shiny new sheath. It looked like she'd switched to her strongest weapon form too!

"That's it! You are sleeping on the couch tonight, mister!" Raphtalia scolded him. "And no tail fluffing for a week!"

"No, please, not the tail fluffing- OW!" Naofumi whined as Raphtalia suddenly lunged forward faster and chomped on his ear.

Meanwhile, L'Arc had fallen to his knees and was bawling his eyes out. Didn't Naofumi tell him earlier that he should have asked him for an accessory if he wanted one? How come he'd made one for Therese then without her asking him?! Didn't he know he'd been trying to make her an accessory in his free time?! Naofumi's looked so much better than his too!

Why!? WHY WAS THIS WORLD SO UNFAIR!? WHY DID FREAKIN' NAOFUMI HAVE TO BE SO GIFTED WHEN HE WAS NOT!?

"It's… it's ok, L'Arc. It's the thought that counts." He hadn't even registered that Therese had moved to rub his shoulder. But he didn't appreciate the pity in a moment like this!

"Mark my words, I'll become a better accessory craftsman than you Naofumi! No matter what it takes!" L'Arc yelled at the Shield Hero.

"Ow! Ow Ow Ow!" Naofumi didn't even have the chance to retort as his girlfriend was still gnawing on his ear to show her displeasure at his attitude.

There were more repairs made to the house. And Naofumi helped with cooking and other things. But besides that, there wasn't much for him to note for those few days after Kyo's failed attack on Sickle.

But eventually, Lapis's fleet had finally arrived.

---

"Naofumi, wake up."

"Ughhhh."

"Seriously, wake up!"

"Leave me alone Itsuki." Naofumi rolled over on his side.

"This is important! Get your butt in gear already!" Itsuki yelled loudly.

Naofumi groaned again as he rubbed at his eyes. He was currently laying on one of the few intact couches in the living room of Kizuna's home.

Raphtalia had actually kicked him out of their room for the last few nights. There'd been no tail fluffing allowed either.

Even worse, she'd kept Raph-Chan to herself. Meaning he hadn't been able to drown his sorrows in his daughter's sleek, warm, and loveable fur.

It was one thing to kick him out of the room, which he'd probably deserved if he was being honest. He also probably deserved to be cut off from sex, all things considered. But to take away the most adorable and pettable and cuddly daughter of all time was a crime in and of itself!

There would be retribution! A reckoning so grand that Raphtalia would be begging at his feet for forgiveness! And only by Raph-Chan's mercy could she ever hope-

"Yo, will you quit daydreaming about your shikigami and listen!?" Itsuki yelled angrily.

"I was not daydreaming about Raph-Chan!" Naofumi refuted immediately.

"Dude, you make the same expression on your face when it happens every single goddamn time! And it really gets annoying when I'm trying to tell you something important!" Itsuki responded heatedly.

…

Ok, maybe it was time he dialed back the Raph-Chan obsession a bit again.

Though it was really hard to do that for more than obvious reasons.

"Alright, what is it then, Itsuki? Am I taking up too much of the couch for you and your girlfriend's precious morning manga and hand-holding time?"

"No, it's-" Itsuki's eyes bugged out. And Naofumi smirked widely. "W-WH-WHA-WHEN DID YOU- NO, WE DON'T- - - WHAT?!"

"Did you really think no one noticed what you two have been doing lately?" Naofumi asked smugly.

…

Itsuki's face went through several shades of red. His fists clenched at his sides and he looked like he wanted to either scream or punch Naofumi's face. Or even both.

Ah, even though he really shouldn't have been enjoying this, Naofumi already felt much better. He felt ready to apologize to Raphtalia for his behavior and make up with her in bed for lost time and-

"That isn't important!" Itsuki finally yelled. "I just came back from the Capital! Lapis's fleet arrived a few minutes ago! I came to grab you and the others!"

…

Naofumi blinked.

Oh, it was finally time, huh?

"Why didn't you just say that from the start?" Naofumi asked as he finally stood up, walking towards the hallways where everyone's rooms were at.

"I DID! YOU WERE TOO BUSY DAYDREAMING ABOUT RAPH-CHAN TO LISTEN THOUGH!"

Meh, that was a pathetic excuse.

Nothing was more important in life than Raph-Chan.

Well, Except for this.

Maybe.

Possibly.

…

He'd better get a move on before he fell into obsession mode again.

---

Fortunately, it didn't take long to rouse everyone else up from their slumber. And within minutes Kizuna had sent a message to Ethnobalt, who came by the house to pick them all up.

"The house looks better than when I last saw it." Ethnobalt offered as they rode in his ship over the treeline.

"Yeah, but it's still going to take soooo much work to fix and clean up everything." Kizuna leaned limply against the ship's railing next to the rabbit man. "I haven't been able to fish as much as I've wanted to these last few days."

"You spent half of yesterday fishing with that new lure of yours!" Dou-Lon exclaimed in shock.

"As I said, I haven't been able to spend as much time fishing as I've wanted to." Kizuna moaned in agony again.

"It is fortunate that we have had Naofumi and his friends helping us out." Glass offered beside her best friend. "It has not been all bad."

"Hmph. It's still going to be a while before I forgive Yomogi for creating that mess in the first place." The young girl crossed her arms and pouted.

"Speaking of her, how's she doing?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

"She's stopped screaming and accusing us of turning against her, at the very least." Kizuna shrugged. "Though that's probably because of Naofumi not coming by to visit."

"Har har." Naofumi frowned beside her.

"Wheeeeeeee!" "Rafu!"

Though, he began to smile again when he saw his two daughters playing around on the deck.

There, now he felt tons better.

The others continued their conversations while Naofumi looked on ahead.

Sickle's Capital was coming up on their left. But when he looked at the airfields for Sickle's fleet sitting next to the ocean, he didn't see any activity there.

"Didn't you say Lapis's fleet just arrived earlier?" Naofumi asked Itsuki, interrupting a conversation he'd been having with Rishia and Hoshi about the monochrome Hero's manga.

"Yeah." Itsuki shrugged and turned around to face Naofumi.

"Where is it then?" Naofumi asked.

"Check the port side." Ethnobalt pointed out helpfully.

"Uh..." Naofumi raised his finger to ask.

"Ethnobalt means look out from the left side of the ship, Naofumi." Rishia chuckled slightly.

Confused, the Shield Hero moved to the railing on the other side of the ship to look out over the plains next to the city.

His eyes immediately boggled out from their sockets.

Naofumi had seen several ships in their time since coming to this world, mostly thanks to Ethnobalt. But while they'd been capable of flight, they at least had a medieval style to them!

These behemoths were like something out of a sci-fi novel!

The ships of Lapis's fleet were parking themselves on the plains. They were at least several hundred meters long, easy. And they were nearly as wide in the back. The ships were shaped like a wedge, so the width slimmed down the closer they came to the front. On top of that, they looked to be at least fifty feet tall, if not more.

The underbelly and sides looked to be embedded with many different gemstones, all of which were giving off a faint glow.

"Oh, wow. Corrin really brought the big ones out of storage for this one." Kizuna commented, awe filling her eyes as she moved next to the Shield Hero.

"Fueehhhhh…" Rishia whispered to herself in awe as she took the sight in as well.

"That's the fleet your friend sent to us!?" Naofumi shouted, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Seems like it." Itsuki was frowning. He didn't remember seeing these ships during his brief stay in Lapis. They must have been stored somewhere else and out of sight. Which would make sense, given that they were so big that not even Sickle's royal airfield could have accommodated them. And while he'd spotted them from a distance earlier thanks to his enhanced vision, he hadn't realized they were this enormous!

"Whoa…" Dou-Lon went slack-jawed at the sight. As did everyone else in their world.

"They're… so big," Maya said in awe.

Even Raphtalia was stunned. She'd lived next to the ocean her whole life, and she'd never spotted ships of this size.

"Ethnobalt, do you have that ship as a weapon form?" Naofumi asked.

"Of course. It is technically a boat, after all." The rabbit man replied with a shrug. "The Invincible is still more maneuverable and durable though. Size isn't everything."

No, freaking, way.

"Indeed, while they are big, they are little more than troop and cargo carriers." Ethnobalt then continued while looking ahead from his spot at the ship's helm. "They are not equipped to fight off other vessels on their own and have to rely on the ship escorts it carries inside its hangars for protection. Though the Gem Pilots they have are capable of converting the energy used for flight into shielding to protect the ship from most attacks when landing troops in an active war zone."

"Additionally, they provide a very large target for the enemy to hit. So their main purpose is to transport armies across long distances. Not to engage them directly in battle."

Aw, man. That could have been so cool. But then again, size really wasn't everything. And here, it was stats that mattered far more than anything else.

"Those things are carrying ships in them?!" Dou-Lon asked incredulously.

"Yes. Therein lies their advantage." Ethnobalt said with a grin. "They might not pack any punch themselves, but the smaller troop carriers they hold are capable of inflicting some damage and securing a landing area on the ground so its mothership can land safely and deploy the rest of the force it carries. Oh, and as well as shielding, the gem people piloting them are also capable of channeling the energy of the gems all over the ship to cast some pretty impressive magic."

"So… cool…" Dou-Lon reached out with one hand.

Why couldn't their world have something like this?!

"Was it a past Hero that designed it?" Naofumi felt to ask.

"I believe so, yes. It's an old but proven design a past Jewel Hero provided long ago." Ethnobalt confirmed.

…

Right. That was probably why it looked familiar to Naofumi. Even Itsuki looked despondent next to him.

"Why does this world get all the cool stuff while ours doesn't?" Itsuki asked pathetically.

"Hey, I'm still jealous that you guys have TV, you know!" Kizuna said angrily next to him.

"I've never seen the recording crystals used like TVs though!" Itsuki protested.

"Hmph. That just means your world has a very weak imagination." Kizuna grinned.

"Itsuki, what's a TV?" Rishia asked curiously.

"I'll… tell you about it later," Itsuki promised nervously.

Thus, Ethnobalt's ship continued on, passing over the fleet below, which was abuzz with activity.

---

Ethnobalt's ship descended with an ease that was almost unnatural. And then, they landed in front of one of the largest cruisers.

The ships weren't floating in the air. Instead, they rested on three large stilts that came out of the underside of the cruiser diagonally. One in the front, and two in the back corners.

Since they were closer, Naofumi could now see the top and bottom of the ship were also wedge-shaped. With the thickest portion being near the back. There, a ramp descended all the way down onto the ground.

People marched up and down it, carrying supplies, weapons, and other things that'd be necessary for the coming battles. Not only that, there was a gap in the side of the cruiser, from which smaller ships went in and out.

These smaller ships were designed to hold a squad of soldiers and open up quickly on both sides, allowing them to charge out onto the field of battle. There were also two turrets on the front with soldiers sitting inside them.

Yes, they also seemed to have been designed by a past Hero as well. A past Hero who must have had an obsession with the franchise this fleet was referencing.

…

Naofumi was just going to call them LAATs, even if they were covered in gems. It'd make it far easier than having to label them as troop carriers or whatever every time they made an appearance. As for the larger ships, he couldn't remember their name since they were shadowed by the larger Venators from that era of the franchise. So Naofumi would just call them Assault Cruisers or something.

It wasn't like anyone was around to lynch him for his opinions. Though he was pretty certain everyone would agree that whoever the past Jewel Hero was that designed these ships, they were definitely a huge NERD.

Naofumi and the others exited Ethnobalt's ship. Then, one of the LAATs landed in front of them.

The side doors opened, and King Corrin stepped out alongside a group of heavily armored and armed soldiers.

Naofumi didn't react. Itsuki, however, did a double take as he took in the soldier's armor and weapon designs. "No… no way…"

"Ah, I thought that was you, Kizuna, Itsuki." Corrin greeted the two formally.

"Corrin! It's so great to see you again!" Kizuna said cheerfully.

Itsuki, however, continued to stare in shock at the soldiers the King had brought with him.

They were covered head to toe in polished plate armor, which included distinct Corinthian-styled antique helmets with t-shaped visors. Gemstones, specifically Chrysoberyls, were embedded all over said armor. The metal itself shined like it was made of diamond. And they gripped what looked like two-pronged pikes in their hands as if they were ready to go into battle at a moment's notice.

Corrin was dressed in the same armor. He held his helmet in his hand though, and while he had a weapon similar to his guards on his back, he also had a long blade sheathed at his side. There were also some slight differences in his armor in various areas that made it look more regal than the others.

However, even with all that, Itsuki would know the design of their armor and weapons from anywhere. After all, it'd been a very popular show that'd aired in his world before he was isekaied. Even people that weren't fans of the franchise would have easily recognized it.

"That past Hero… brought freaking M*ndalorian armor to this world?! Why couldn't I have been summoned here instead?! THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE LAME DESIGNS OUR WORLD HAS!" He harshly whispered to himself. Also, while it looked like several components of these 'pikes' were made from gems, they looked very much like the rifles the warriors in that show used.

Could they fire like them as well?!

"Fueh?" Rishia tilted her head beside him curiously. "Did you say something, Itsuki?"

…

The Bow Hero sweatdropped and turned his face away before his blush became noticeable to the fueh girl. "It's nothing." He lied. He then remembered they were doing something right now. "Anyway, it's good to see you again as well, Your Majesty." Itsuki said politely. "Are things going well in Lazuli?"

"Yes, the majority of my people have given their backing towards this war. And the rest are remaining neutral towards it." Corrin frowned.

Despite the number of soldiers Naofumi saw, Kizuna frowned as well. "You brought so few soldiers with you?"

"I noticed that too," Glass spoke in agreement.

The majority of the men marching around the ships weren't Gem soldiers. Rather, they were made up of soldiers from Sickle and other countries which had offered their support. The gem soldiers were recognizable, as they wore the same armor Corrin and his guards were wearing. But if the Heroes had insider knowledge of Corrin's military, they would have found out that he only brought a fifth of his nation's total soldiers along with him.

"I brought more than enough pilots with me. As well as several divisions of noblesse commandos." Corrin responded grimly. "But I needed to make sure there was enough room for your army and the armies of the other countries to fit when I arrived.

"And after the attack on my Capital, I wanted to make sure I had enough forces left in my nation to protect my people in case Kyo tried attacking there again."

Naofumi frowned. He understood Corrin's cautious approach to an extent, but did it really make any sense to leave a lot of fighting power at home when it was important to take Kyo down?

"What about Hinoka? Has she recovered well from her injuries?" Kizuna asked, sounding concerned.

"Of course. She was more than angry when I told her that she would be in charge of overseeing our country's defenses. But she'd prefer flying one of the royal airships than any of what we brought." The King grimaced. "Damn Kyo. My people are plenty motivated to bring him down, but I had to leave most of them behind to help with repairs and defense."

"Don't worry. We'll make sure he pays when we see him again." Naofumi said grimly. He then studied the armor of those with Corrin curiously. "Also, I must say, that looks very well made. I can't even tell what metal is underneath those gemstones, but it looks tough. I wish Romina could have made something like that for me."

"What? But I thought she did?" Therese turned to face the Shield Hero with a confused expression.

…

…

"What?" Naofumi replied back dumbly.

Therese tilted her head curiously. "You know, the Barbaroi Armor that you rejected and called &^%$? She didn't embed any chrysoberyls into it, since only gem people can draw power from it, and she might have diluted the process with some of the materials from the Guardian Beasts and Demon Dragon instead of what's normally used, but she used the same smithing process that's used for making Lapis's adamantium armor to make the base of the armor you rejected."

…

…

Naofumi sweatdropped, and while Corrin was trying to keep a straight face, his right eyebrow was twitching. "Your blacksmith friend… made an unregistered set of Adamant Armor? The process of making which is one of my country's most closely guarded state secrets?... And this hero here called it $%^&?"

Naofumi grit his teeth and wanted to facepalm. Had that been the reason why its stats were so high? He was probably going to have to apologize to Romina… and possibly see about her using that same smithing process for that next armor set of his.

"Naofumi, now isn't the time for that." Raphtalia frowned next to him.

"Yeah yeah, whatever." Naofumi rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't know. It was very well made, I just didn't like how it'd make me look like a villain."

Corrin opened his mouth to speak again, but then one of his soldiers, the tallest of the bunch who had long dark hair spilling down his back from his helmet, stepped beside the King.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. But I'm afraid the others will grow restless if we stand around for much longer, brother." The man said.

"... Of course, Ryoma. I'll leave the organizing of our forces to you." Corrin said to the man, who gave a slight bow before stepping back. Corrin then turned towards another soldier, who was also covered head to toe. "Cole, I know you are normally my advisor during times of peace, but will you be alright with coming along with me to finish our planning? I believe your counsel would be useful regardless."

"Of course, my liege." The brown-haired man gave his King a curt bow while taking off his helmet, revealing a young face. "I live in service to you."

Corrin nodded to himself. "Where is King Berg? I do believe we have some plans to finalize before we depart?"

"He and everyone else are waiting inside the castle," Itsuki answered promptly.

"Then let us hurry. We have a lot to go over and not much time." Corrin stated seriously. "Also, I'd like to hear more about this… armor issue later, if we have time for it. I'd like to know what convinced Romina to make an unregistered set of adamantium armor for another one of our otherworld hero allies."

Naofumi grimaced. He really hoped this wouldn't come up again in the future and get Romina in trouble. He'd rather forget that it'd ever happened at all at this point.

The group reboarded Ethnobalt's ship, now along with Corrin as well as his armed advisor and two of his honor guard.

And then, just like that, they left in the direction of L'Arc's castle.

---

Another hour passed as the sun rose in the sky.

Naofumi and the others were gathered around the same square table where they'd talked with Sickle's various ministers a couple of weeks ago. Only, everything that'd been on it had all been cleared off, allowing for a map of the world to be placed over it. On which they were planning out their invasion of Luvar and the territory it'd captured.

Before the meeting had started, Corrin had all of them prick their fingers with a small knife. This was to check and make sure that none of them was a Mimic Familiar.

While Kyo's monsters had managed to wreak havoc in other nations, it hadn't taken long to find out how to expose them. Unlike normal people, the mimics didn't bleed. It'd surprised Naofumi, but the logic of it made too much sense and made him wonder why he or the others hadn't thought of it first.

Anyway, after that, the planning meeting had gone on in earnest. As everyone had proven that they weren't a mimic familiar secretly spying for Kyo.

"From my understanding, some of our coalition allies began their march through Mikikage shortly after the attack on our city." Minister Stone explained while using Earth Magic to move a set of figurines on the map outside Mikikage forward. "They have been encountering stiff resistance from Luvar's ground and air forces since then. But it hasn't been anything they claim to be unable to handle."

"Good. Hopefully, it's enough that Luvar has focused the majority of its forces out of Label." Corrin stated evenly. "That should make our jobs easier."

"I'm afraid our spies stationed in Label have reported Luvar having considerable forces inside of Label's Capital. They also report Luvar moving soldiers en masse from Hourglass to Hourglass." Glass cautioned.

"Yes, but that means they can only amass forces around the Hourglasses. We could capture most of the forts and towns outside Central City that fell in the time it'd take for them to march against us." Label's Minister supplied.

"The majority of my army, as well as Label's remaining forces, are already awaiting orders at the border to begin their attack." L'Arc then said, gesturing toward figurines of soldiers and ships resting by Label's border. As he spoke, Minister Stone moved them around with his magic.

"By the time we move in with Lapis's airfleet to reinforce, Sickle and Label's ground forces should have most of the border towns and forts already liberated. If we use the ships Label managed to escape with to launch attacks on Luvar's remaining forces outside Central City, that should allow Lapis's airfleet to fly by unimpeded while Luvar focuses on what they believe to be the main assaults through Mikikage and Label."

"At least, that'll be the hope." L'Arc grimaced as the figures were done moving to their various positions. "If it's true that Kyo has his newly developed airships on the front lines but they're not being seen in Mikikage, then it's likely we'll be confronting them in Label. If that ends up happening, I'm not sure how long our own air fleet will be able to hold them off for."

"Maybe our allies are doing a good job because these airships aren't very effective?" Naofumi suggested. "They were invented by Kyo, after all."

"Yes, but I helped with designing them too," Ethnobalt spoke up hesitantly. "It might not have had as high an attack stat as I'd hoped. But that doesn't mean the ships they're using don't have high stats of their own."

Right, because when their weapons copied something, the weapon assigned the copied weapon stats. It didn't matter what the stats of the original were. The Legendary weapons were the ones who said how powerful the copied forms were in the end. And while Ethnobalt's Boat might have lowered its attack stat, these new ships wouldn't be suffering from such an issue.

"Tch." Naofumi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Unless they or their pilots are stronger than a Guardian Beast, there's no way they'd have attacks capable of breaking through my defense stat."

"Or defenses high enough to withstand my attack stat," Itsuki said, a hand resting on one of the Guardian Beast bows he'd gotten. He had it out so he could unlock its equip bonus.

"True, which is why you two will be with Ethnobalt at the front of the fleet," L'Arc stated seriously. "Me and Glassy can follow along in smaller dropships on the sides of the fleet as additional protection."

"Our goal will be to break through to the Capital, where Kyo said he'd be awaiting us," Kizuna said, her voice unusually low and serious. "He's a master strategist that helped us bring down the Demon Dragon with minimal casualties, so if we manage to cut him out, then the rest of his forces should fold."

"Are we certain that he is in the Capital City?" Cole, Corrin's advisor, asked cautiously. "For all we know, he could have lied so we'd walk right into a trap."

"If he did lie and he isn't there, then we can always wrangle the information out of Luvar's leaders," Naofumi noted calmly. "I'm sure if it came between their lives and his that they'd give him up in a heartbeat."

"Don't be so certain." Cole shook his head. "Loyalty makes people commit incredible mistakes. And if there is anything I can say about Luvar, it is that they are loyal to what they believe is right. They might bend under the right circumstances, but it'll take far more to make them break. May I?" Cole asked his King.

Corrin nodded, and Cole set a new figure on the map in the center of Luvar. "One of the enemy generals we're bound to encounter is a former ally of ours named Xander. Intelligence reports him currently residing in the Capital city of Luvar."

In the description of the man he gave, he described him as a tall, intelligent soldier. A gem person born into the royal family that used to be close to Corrin and his other siblings in the past.

However, after a disagreement between him and Ryoma, one of Corrin's other close confidants, he left Lapis's military and was recruited into Luvar's.

In battle, he was described as a brutal man, one who'd sacrifice almost everyone below him if it meant achieving victory.

"According to our intelligence, Kyo has him appointed as the head of all his forces. If he knows that Lapis has gotten itself involved, then he may have countermeasures prepared for us already. And if all goes well and we do manage to break through to the Capital itself, he'll have all the important leaders evacuated before our arrival. It'd make it that much harder to find Kyo and put a stop to his ambitions should he not be there."

Naofumi frowned as he and the others thought to themselves.

"Have the girls you captured talked yet?" Label's minister asked L'Arc.

The redhead shook his head. "No. Their conditions are improving, but none of them have given any info yet."

"So, we are risking flying in blind to find one rogue hero before his actions potentially destroy our world." Corrin sighed as he stared down at the map.

"Indeed, I wish we could have more time to prepare." Minister Stone said somberly. "Yet what choice do we have?"

"None, I'm afraid," Cole said as he stepped back. "I'm sorry if the info I put forward derailed our confidence in this plan. I'd rather we know what we were getting into though, so we can be prepared for the worst-case scenario instead of going into a trap with false confidence on our side."

"Thank you, Cole. I'm glad I'm able to see you this time around." Kizuna smiled at the young man.

The man smiled back humbly before giving the Hunting Tools Hero a respectful bow. "I'm afraid I was busy with the Hourglass project Corrin assigned me to and couldn't find time to visit Lazuli. But I think you'll be pleased to hear that it finished shortly before I had to leave with his majesty. Kyo won't be able to use our hourglass for his ambitions anymore. I am most certain in it."

Kizuna clapped happily in delight.

It didn't, however, decrease the gloom in the room very much. Even as everyone around the table struggled to think of any ideas in case Kyo was, in fact, not at the Capital like he was claiming to be.

After several moments, however, Minister Stone eventually shook his head. "If it turns out that our enemy isn't where we think he is, then we will just have to scour Luvar brick by brick until we locate him. Even if their leaders manage to get away, someone there is bound to know something."

L'Arc nodded his head. "Agreed. Our plan is already as sure as we can make it. We'll deal with any hiccups as we go along, right Naofumi?" The King smirked at the Shield Hero.

"Well, if worse comes to worst, I can always throw you at the problem. You're probably headstrong enough that you could bust through whatever it was by yourself." Naofumi said dryly.

"Heh, thanks- … … HEY!" L'Arc began to fume.

Naofumi smirked while Raphtalia sighed beside him. Therese was laughing next to L'Arc though, and the tense atmosphere finally gave way to a bit of brevity.

Everyone stood from their seats. It was time to face off against Kyo. And then…

"S-Sir Naofumi!"

At that moment, Dou-Lon rushed into the room, alongside Raph-Chan and Filo. The hakuko looked out of breath.

"Oh, hey Dou-Lon. We're just about finished, so it's a good thing you're already back from-" Naofumi began to say.

"One of our captives finally talked! Kyo isn't in the Capital!" Dou-Lon exclaimed.

…

…

…

The people around the table stiffened.

Naofumi's face turned serious once more. "Let's go."

He and the others immediately rushed to the infirmary, where Trash's former harem was still at.

---

"TRAITOR!"

As the Heroes entered the scene, they were very surprised by what they found.

"Urgh, how is she this strong?" Akane asked through gritted teeth.

"I-I don't know! This is unnatural!" Daitan yelled beside her.

The two Heroes were holding back Yomogi, who'd broken out of the restraints on her bed and was currently trying to throttle the member of Trash's former harem named Mayori. The girl was pressed up against the wall behind her bed, looking absolutely terrified by the murderous look on Yomogi's face right now.

Cole and the soldiers with him immediately raised their weapons at Kyo's retainer, but Itsuki quickly rested a hand on one of the pikes, gesturing with his other hand for them to lower them. "It's fine. I don't think you'll need to interfere or anything."

The soldiers looked unsure, but, after a quick nod from Corrin, they all lowered their weapons. Though, when Itsuki touched one of the pikes, a new notification popped up on his HUD. "Huh?" He pulled it up.

Weapon Copy Activated!

Gem Lightning Rifle Unlocked!

…

…

Wha-…?

"Guys, I'm slipping!" While Itsuki stood in his spot, looking absolutely confused; Hoshi, who was on the ground trying to hold Yomogi's legs, had eyes wide with terror as the boarish girl began to break out of his grip.

"No, can't, hold, on!" The tiny muscles in Daitan's arms strained, but couldn't handle the raw power the girl was exerting.

"Air Strike Shield!" As the three Heroes lost their grip on Kyo's childhood friend, and as she rushed forward to pummel Mayori with her bare hands, a green translucent Shield appeared in front of Yomogi.

Her face comically slammed into it.

Oof, too bad it wouldn't hurt. Man, it was weird how the world worked at times still.

"Huh- YOU! YOUUUUUUUU!" Yomogi howled in rage as she turned to face Naofumi and the others.

"So, Dou-Lon told me that you had some info to share?" Naofumi turned to Mayori, completely ignoring Yomogi's existence. He had the Black Tortoise Shell Shield equipped at the moment.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Yomogi howled in rage again as she charged the Shield Hero. Hellbent on beating him with her own fists if she had to. Before she could even get close though…

"E Float Shield." The summoned Shield appeared in front of Naofumi.

Yomogi's body impacted against another one of his shield skills again, and then she started beating her fists uselessly against it.

"You think this is enough to stop me?!" Yomogi roared furiously. Seeing how the barrier was not breaking, she attempted to charge around it.

However, as she tried moving to the left, the Shield moved along with her. Surprised, she then tried moving to the right. And again, the Shield moved with her to block her path.

"I'd rather not deal with a bunch of ineffectual clanging again, thank you very much." Naofumi directed a glance at her before looking back at Mayori again. The girl in question slowly started to sit up on her bed again, staring at the Shield Hero curiously.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Yomogi tried dashing left and right around Naofumi, trying to get past the floating shield Naofumi had summoned. But unlike his other skills, Naofumi found that all it took was a thought from him to make it move around him.

While it felt unnatural, Naofumi found it easy enough to do. And eventually, Yomogi began to tire herself out from all the running as well as from beating her fists uselessly against the barrier.

"Sigh, Yomogi, please stop before you make a fool of yourself." Kizuna pleaded.

"You mean she isn't doing that already?" Akane asked as she walked up beside her. Rubbing her sore hands while staring in surprise at the Shield Hero.

It was seriously something else. She and her other two friends could barely even hold the powerful girl back. Yet Naofumi was defending himself from Yomogi with ease. He made it look so easy too.

She seriously wondered how it was possible for Naofumi and Itsuki to be so strong. Was it really that easy and sharing the power-up methods would make them that powerful too?

She looked at her own methods listed in her HUD's help menu unsurely. But before she could ponder on it more…

"You know, as aggressive as she is, I think it's kind of hot," Daitan commented next to her.

Boom!

The floor of the infirmary was ruined by the crater Akane subsequently made by driving Daitan's face into the ground.

"Seriously, how does he not get brain damage from all the times that happens to him?" Itsuki asked. He'd looked over the weapon he accidentally copied on his HUD. And it appeared that the 'pikes' Corrin's elite soldiers were carrying were anything but.

The armor had looked like those commandos from that show, but after examining it, the weapon matched up too. Whoever that past Gem Hero was that managed to bring all of this into this world, Itsuki didn't know whether he wanted to kill them or hug them for making a dream of his reality in such a bizarre manner.

Why had he not seen these weapons and armor before? They had to have also been part of Lapis's wartime kit! That was the only explanation that made any sense!

"Oh, I actually take reduced damage from blunt attacks." Daitan helpfully supplied as he dug his head out of the hole. "I think it's a perk from my weapon or something?"

"I could always ask Glass or Raphtalia to do it for me if you'd prefer that." Akane threatened.

"Guys, I'm pretty sure something important is going on right now." Hoshi meekly commented behind the pair. "Maybe we shouldn't interrupt?"

…

Oh, right. There was a reason the others had come here, after all. And it wasn't to watch Yomogi finally collapse on the floor, panting as she tired herself out against Naofumi's float shield skill.

Kizuna sighed as she walked over to her and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Yomogi, you're really making this harder than it should be."

"Gurghhhh…" Yomogi growled tiredly on the ground and pushed Kizuna's hand off her shoulder. But it appeared that she was finally out of energy.

Glass moved next to her, and helped her to stand up again. Though she kept a tight grip on Yomogi's wrist in case she had any other funny ideas.

"Um… um…" Mayori sat on the edge of her bed hesitantly. "Tsugumi, is it really ok for me to tell them everything?" She asked her best friend, who'd been watching what was going on from her cot.

The girl scowled but then nodded her head. "I already said the choice was up to everyone else. I'd personally rather this idiot there just run off to Luvar's Capital and get himself killed… But then it'd be a lot harder for us to have our revenge on Kyo, wouldn't it?"

"Much as I hate to say it, he's probably our best chance at avenging our friends… and the best chance we'll have at coming to terms with what we've done with our lives."

"No one forced you to take that experimental drug from Kyo," Yomogi spoke through gritted teeth. "He warned you what could happen. You have no one to blame but yourselves."

"Oh? Did he warn us that the weapons he gave us would turn all of us, including you, into suicide bombers too?" Tsugumi glared at Yomogi hatefully and for the first time since coming here, the green-haired girl's expression grew troubled as her rage receded somewhat and was replaced with uncertainty.

"That's what I thought. Go on, Mayori. Tell them what you want to say." Tsugumi turned to the youngest member of their group and urged her in a soft tone of voice.

…

Mayori sighed. She then looked at Naofumi and the others again. She even smiled a little as her eyes fell on Dou-Lon. "Um, first off, I do want to say thank you for sparing me and my friends. Even if we didn't deserve it."

Naofumi almost groaned and wanted to motion for her to get on with it. But Dou-Lon smiled in return as he stepped past Naofumi's float shield barrier and stood opposite the girl. "You are human, just like all of us. You made mistakes, and you've acknowledged them. You deserve a chance to repent and atone just like anyone else."

…

The girl sniffled again, but her smile grew just a little bigger. Yet Naofumi found himself staring at Dou-Lon instead.

He sighed but didn't interfere. After all… it wasn't like he couldn't relate to the hakuko's words.

Mayori looked at them again, this time, with a more resolute look on her face. "Kyo lied to you when he said that he was in the Capital." She started. "His base of operations is far away from it, actually."

Over the next few minutes, the girl described Kyo's actual base of operations. A mansion in a forest that he'd purchased long ago.

It was near Luvar's border, far from the path they would have had to take to get to the Capital. Along with that, it was hard to reach because of the fog in the surrounding area.

"It's some kind of illusion spell. Me and the others don't understand how it works or who cast it, but the area is known as "The Misty Forest". Those who enter it without a guide are thrown off course, no matter what they do. Even if you try to follow landmarks in the fog, you'll end up on the forest's edge over and over again."

"Hmmm, that could be bothersome." Naofumi looked to Raphtalia. "Do you think you and Raph-Chan would be able to break the illusion?"

"I don't know. We'd have to get there first before I could figure that out." Raphtalia admitted.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan nodded in agreement where she was sitting on Raphtalia's shoulder.

Naofumi got to thinking again. "Actually, couldn't Filo just blow the fog away with her wind magic?" Filo asked curiously.

"I doubt it." Mayori shook her head. "It was a pretty windy day when Yomogi brought some of us there on a small airship for negotiations. But the fog didn't seem to move at all even when the trees were rustling from the wind."

"Meaning the illusion could be more than just the fog itself." Naofumi frowned even more deeply at Raphtalia's insightful words there.

"And besides the illusion, Kyo also has these weird turrets set up around his mansion that fire magic beams at anything that comes close… those poor birds." Mayori's eyes briefly fell before her next words left her lips. "The rest of our friends were supposed to be brought there later to train and help Kyo, so they're likely guarding the mansion as well."

She looked up at them. "I want to hope that they're still human, but..."

Kizuna walked up to the girl, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, if I have to, I'll cut their beasts out of them just like I did with you girls. I'm not going to give up on anyone that can still be saved."

Mayori sniffled but smiled gratefully at the Hunting Tools Hero.

"Hmmm, for all we know, she could be lying and this could be a trap," Cole suggested beside Corrin.

"Weren't you the one that mentioned earlier that Kyo might not actually be in the Capital?" Itsuki asked.

"Yes, I did," Cole answered. "I'm not sure if our source of info here is trustworthy, however."

"I think she is saying the truth." Dou-Lon stood up to the girl's defense. "From my talks with them, they're plenty motivated to want revenge on Kyo too."

…

Naofumi thought about it as he looked at Corrin and the other leaders. And after a second, he nodded to himself. "The plan doesn't need to change much. You all can distract Kyo's forces, making them think the main axis of attack is still Luvar's Capital while me, Itsuki, Kizuna, and several others take Ethnobalt's Boat to try and infiltrate this mansion and take Male Bitch out. If this intel that we just got turns out to be false, we can message you via Ofuda and then group up later when you arrive in Luvar."

Cole opened his mouth to protest further, but his King held his hand up, shaking his head at his advisor. "Remember that the fate of our world is at stake. I don't like this either, but the Heroes stand a better chance at putting down another Hero than any of us do. And if Kyo really isn't at the Capital, it'd be better to have them focus on their task while we focus on ours."

Cole closed his mouth and stepped back. Corrin looked at the group of Heroes again. "Having said that though, I'd still like to ask for at least one Hero to accompany my fleet so that we can retain an edge over our enemies. If necessary, we could also make it appear that the majority of our Hero power is still concentrated with the fleet by basing the Hero on one of Sickle's Invincibles." Corrin stated.

Naofumi frowned, looking over the gathered Heroes there. The Otherworld Cardinals were easily out of the question. Though if it came to leaving Glass or Itsuki behind, or especially Raphtalia…

"Eh, sure, I'll go with you then." L'Arc cracked his neck to the side. "As much as I'd like to make Kyo pay for what he's done, the King should be the one leading his soldiers to battle. And as much as I dislike this mantle, that would be me when it comes to Sickle's forces."

…

Naofumi smirked, feeling relieved at the redhead for stepping up and volunteering himself. "You mean you'd rather have all the fun in case we're wrong."

"Laugh all you want, Naofumi." L'Arc actually chuckled in good humor with a similar smirk on his face. "This war is a problem between countries anyway. And it should be resolved by countries.

"I'll leave it to the rest of you to resolve our problem with Kyo." He said, smiling resolutely as he looked at Naofumi and the rest of his friends.

Naofumi's smirk turned into a smile. As good as Sickle's soldiers were, as he'd come to find out after the attack on L'Arc's Capital, he did feel some relief knowing they'd be even more motivated having their King leading them off to war. If he was lucky, it'd keep their casualty rates lower as long as they didn't break before the enemy.

Therese smiled next to her King. "Kizuna, would it be alright if I went along with L'Arc as well? Just to make sure he doesn't get himself killed?"

"Of course. Just remember to keep yourself safe as well." Kizuna hugged her friend.

"Knowing this boy here, I'm going to be more worried about him than Therese when it comes to a battle," Naofumi smirked again. "Are you sure you'll be good without me there to protect your ^%$?"

"COME ON! I'VE DONE SUCH A GOOD JOB OF NOT CALLING YOU KIDDO LATELY!" L'Arc bristled. "START TREATING ME LIKE AN ALLY FOR ONCE!"

"I tolerate your presence, don't I?" Naofumi smiled smugly.

The group laughed together in good humor.

But one person at its edge was not laughing.

Instead, Yomogi's eyes were focused on the floor while she furiously thought about everything that'd happened. Her face grew more and more troubled as it went through several conflicting emotions.

At last, some sort of conclusion appeared to have been drawn in her mind and the green-haired girl opened her mouth again. Her voice was devoid of the anger from before and was instead replaced with what felt like desperation.

"Mayori, what happened to your sword?"

…

Everyone turned toward her in confusion at the sudden change of topic. Mayori herself did not seem to understand the question either.

"I'm sorry, what?" The girl replied hesitantly.

"Your sword, or, my sword, I guess," Yomogi spoke quickly, the words coming out of her mouth hoarsely. "We swapped our weapons shortly after we crossed Sickle's border, remember? You said the weapon that Kyo gave you was too big and heavy, and you felt nervous wielding it, so I offered you to switch it with mine since the Sword I had was smaller and had higher stats."

"O-oh, yea! Yea, I remember, but what about it?" The girl nodded stiffly in response.

"Did..." Yomogi licked her dry lips and swallowed hard while giving the girl an intense stare. "Did it explode too? During the fight?"

…

"No, it did not."

As Mayori stared back at Yomogi, not knowing how to respond to the question, the Boat Hero spoke up first and floated forward while pulling something out from the gem of the platform that he was riding on.

Naofumi's eyes widened and he almost lunged forward with the intent to cover up the familiar-looking black sword.

"Peace, Naofumi. This one is of no danger to us." Ethnobalt waved him off promptly and then gestured at the weapon's handle. At that point, everyone was able to see that, unlike the rest of the weapons that the other girls had wielded, this one had no pulsating eye in the handle.

Instead, it had a breathtakingly beautiful sapphire gemstone embedded in the hilt, making it look like a true Replica of Ren's Sword down to the smallest detail. And, the more Naofumi studied it, the more he calmed down. It might have been the same color, but this sword was clearly made from a different material than the other replica weapons.

"This… this is made from pure Adamantium," Corrin said in shock as he walked up to the blade. He rested a hand on it, and almost recoiled. "How did Kyo get his hands on this?! Lapis is supposed to control the output of all the Adamantium mines in the world! I can understand how Romina would have some on hand as a licensed expert, but a non-gem blacksmith!?"

Yomogi remained silent, not answering the King's accusatory stare.

"Yomogi, this is your weapon, right? Or it was meant to be yours anyway. It has your initials carved into the bottom of the pommel." Ethnobalt turned to the green-haired girl.

He flipped the sword sideways, revealing the two symbols underneath for the letters E and Y.

"E? Naofumi narrowed his eyes as he took a closer look. He couldn't read the local language freely yet, but he could understand the letters at least.

"Ethnina, Yomogi." The green haired girl said shakily.

Kyo's retainer sagged down on the floor helplessly as if a great weight had been removed from her shoulders.

"Wait… isn't that Male Bit-" Naofumi's eyes widened in realization.

"Kyo inducted Yomogi into his family and made her nobility by his authority as Luvar's Book Hero," Kizuna explained sadly. "I told you she was his retainer, right? She would not have been allowed to become one if she was just a slave with no last name."

"Wait, slave?" Raphtalia tensed up.

"It's a long story, but like I told you, Kyo is not a bad person." Kizuna looked away.

…

"As for the weapon." Ethnobalt coughed into his hand and turned it upwards again. "As I said, it's perfectly safe and a remarkable piece of alchemical craftsmanship to boot. It is richly imbued with soul energy, which I can only assume came from Naofumi and Itsuki's world. And it possesses functionality similar to Vassal and Cardinal weapons, such as being able to change forms and grant the wielder the ability to use certain skills associated with what it was based on, which I believe is the Cardinal Sword of the other world in this particular case.

"Go ahead, give it a try, you'll see what I mean." The rabbit man then offered the weapon to Dou-Lon. "I would do it myself but, you know? Hero weapon restrictions."

The Tiger man swallowed hard and cautiously grabbed the weapon by the handle and blinked a few times.

The sword suddenly transformed into another shape. "I have a new section available in my HUD." The hakuko spoke out hesitantly. "I can see several skills that I can select, it's sort of like a magic spell list?"

"Wow, this really is an improved version of Balamus'es replica," Itsuki said in awe.

"Does it mean that it'll be useless once it runs out of juice and will require an army's worth of magic power to use just one skill?" Naofumi sneered.

"Is that how the replica you mentioned in your stories worked?" Ethnobalt cocked his head. "Regardless, supply of power won't be an issue. That shield of yours drained it of your world's soul energy during the battle. But it already has more energy now because it's self-recharging."

"... What." Naofumi blanched.

"It doesn't just operate on Soul Energy." The wizard tapped the gem in the hilt with the tip of his staff. "It can also tap into the Earth Veins of our world by using this sapphire here as a catalyst. On top of that, it can also draw power from the user's own pool of magic. Its supply of power is not infinite, and because it doesn't have an SP bar, soul-healing water from your world won't do anything to recharge it, but I estimate its full capacity to be pretty close to a regular hero's, power-up methods notwithstanding, since they do not apply to Replicas."

"So while this will by no means make someone a Hero, it will definitely make them more powerful as an individual than before."

...

"Holy %^&^," L'Arc muttered.

"L'Arc!" Therese hissed next to him.

"No, no, Therese." Corrin waved her off. "I am of the same mind as the good king of Sickle here. And I am sure that everyone else is too. Holy $%^&, indeed."

Dou-Lon, looking self-conscious, handed the weapon back to Ethnobalt. Even if it was a Replica of a weapon Siltvelt didn't think highly of, it still felt sacrilegious to him to have held something akin to a hero's blade. His sigh of relief couldn't have been more prominent than when the new weapons and skills menus that'd appeared on his HUD disappeared simultaneously at the action.

Minister Stone looked at the weapon with a grim expression. "I know this is an awful time to bring this up, but I really hope that the Book Hero did not arm his army with a bunch of these."

"I doubt it." Ethnobalt shook his head. "This particular mastercraft aside, it must have taken Kyo a lot of resources to make this replica. I also studied what was left of the other weapons, the ones that Tsugumi and her allies wielded before Naofumi absorbed them. Each one had a lot of soul energy stored within them.

"I can't imagine Kyo being able to just make them en-masse with his limited supply. Otherwise, our allies in Mikikage would have already gotten overrun by soldiers wielding these weapon-shaped guardian beast familiars long ago."

"Yea, he absolutely did mindlessly spam all kinds of familiars when he had access to the source." Naofumi scowled before turning away. "Whatever, we got the info we needed. So let's move out."

"Wait…" Yomogi shakily stood back up. "Please wait, you... you are going after Kyo, right? Please take me with you!"

…

…

"What? Do you really expect us to just bring you along?" Naofumi asked flatly.

"Of course, Yomogi." Kizuna cut Naofumi off before he could continue. "But I'll need you to put on an Order Ofuda to make sure you don't turn on us. Will that be alright?"

The green-haired girl nodded stiffly. "If that's what it takes."

"Wait? WHAT!? KIZUNA, ARE YOU MAD?" The Shield Hero turned to face his unlikely otherworld comrade in arms.

"Gonna have to agree with Naofumi here, lil sis. This is a bit..." L'Arc nodded next to Naofumi while looking at Yomogi suspiciously.

"That's what the Order Ofuda is for L'Arc. And with how quickly Yomogi agreed to it just now, I am pretty certain that she is finally realizing that something is horribly off here. I am going to guess you did not sign up for Kyo sending in suicide bombers?" The Hunting Tools Hero turned to face Yomogi again. All the other girls in the room that were awake and aware turned to look at Yomogi as well.

The girl shook her head in response. "I..." She closed her mouth and grimaced again before resuming her speech. "No, I did not. I don't know what's happening anymore. I still refuse to believe most of what you're saying but... but something is seriously, seriously wrong here and I need to know what it is. And Kyo better have the best excuse in his life to explain it to me." She finally gritted her teeth in anger again though it was not directed at anyone in the room this time.

"You want to navigate the Misty Forest, right?! Here, I can use this to guide everyone to his mansion!" Yomogi's hand dove into her pockets, and before Glass could stop her, thinking it was a weapon, Yomogi pulled out a… bell?

No, seriously, it was a bell. A regular old bell with something etched into the metal, hanging from rope similar to what Dou-Lon had tied around his waist.

Naofumi's anger turned to confusion as he looked at it. "That… thing, is supposed to guide us through the illusory fog, to Kyo?"

"Yes! It's how I am able to leave the mansion whenever I need to handle affairs for him in the Capital before coming back! And you'll need me to use it if you want a straight shot to Kyo's mansion!" Yomogi fiercely defended it. "That illusionary fog has been there ever since Kyo and I moved into the place! It stretches for miles in all directions! It's why locals call it the Misty Forest! If you want to get through it as fast as possible, this is your best bet!"

Naofumi continued to stare at it. He couldn't sense any sort of magical properties with his appraisal skills whatsoever.

For all intents and purposes, it looked like an ordinary bell.

Raphtalia shook her head as well. It appeared she couldn't sense anything coming from it either.

"You've got to be kidding me." Naofumi drawled.

"I'm not! I can prove it once we get there!" Yomogi stubbornly clung to it.

"Hmmmm, it could work, actually." Kizuna thought to herself. "I've never been to Kyo's home before, but I have heard stories about the Misty Forest. I've always wanted to try fishing there. Is there a lake in the area?" Kizuna thought some more to herself before shaking her head. "Either way, Yomogi would have definitely needed some way to get to and from Kyo's mansion while he was helping us face the Demon Dragon.

"Plus, no offense Naofumi, It'd probably be best not to rely on just your wife friend and daughter getting us to Kyo since the Misty Forest has fooled many travelers before. The place's latent illusion magic might turn out to be too strong for them."

"That's fair." Raphtalia sighed. Raph-Chan also deflated on her shoulder. "I don't know everything when it comes to illusion magic yet and I have been fooled before." She recalled her battle with Victoria in the halls of Mirellia's castle as she said it.

Sure, she'd learned a lot since then, and she even had Raph-Chan to help her out with more difficult illusion spells now. But that did not mean she was infallible just yet. She still required a lot more training before she could see herself reaching that point.

"Are we seriously doing this?" Naofumi asked Kizuna with a pained grimace.

"Oh, now that I think about it, Yomogi did use that bell before to guide us to Kyo's mansion," Mayori said on her bed. "The bell only works when she's holding it though. None of us could sense any magical power coming from it, so she allowed us to hold it and test it out for ourselves. It didn't work for any of us, but when she rang it, a path leading straight to Kyo's mansion appeared through the fog."

…

"Well, at the very least, we can assume that if she overcame that ofuda somehow, she'd only attack you, Naofumi. And we know how well that'd go." Raphtalia smiled slightly beside Naofumi.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan again nodded in agreement with her best friend.

No, Raph-Chan, not you too! Was Naofumi going to have to deal with Inneffectual Clanging for the entirety of his trip?!

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-

"Would we even be able to trust her?" Naofumi looked at the young, green-haired woman with suspicion. "Her attacking me would just be annoying, but what if she were to attack someone else?"

"That's what the Order Ofuda is for, Naofumi. We'll just slap in onto her to make sure she stays obedient and doesn't do anything we don't want her to do." Kizuna shrugged.

"Order Ofuda?" Naofumi looked confused. The girl had mentioned the term thrice already, but his mind was having trouble catching up to Kizuna's antics and complete disregard for common sense.

But then, Kizuna took a very familiar-looking ofuda out of her weapon's gemstone and slapped it onto Yomogi's back.

It looked very similar to the Servant Ofuda that Filo had attached to her as a baby chick. And a glow surrounded Yomogi's form as it took effect. "There, now she won't attack anybody now, including Naofumi, righttttttt~?" The Hunting Tools Hero asked Yomogi playfully.

"... yes." Yomogi reluctantly agreed with a sigh.

"Eeeee!" Kizuna hugged the girl tightly in excitement, and Yomogi sighed again. She didn't make a move to reject the Hunting Hero's affectionate gesture this time.

Glass finally let go of Yomogi's arm, but the girl didn't make a move to attack Naofumi or the others. She was being, in all sense of the word, obedient to the order Kizuna had just given her.

"And you couldn't have just slapped that onto her or the other girls earlier because?" Naofumi asked Kizuna with a very noticeable tick in his right eyebrow.

"Because these are normally used for slavery, so it would have been unethical! I don't want to make anyone my slave, you know!" Kizuna rebutted with a pout.

"... Then why the &^%$ are you doing it now?!" Naofumi yelled angrily.

"Because she gave her consent, so it's not really slavery anymore. Now come on everyone, let's get going! There's no time to waste!" Kizuna skipped away happily.

OH MY FREAKING GOD! EVEN IF IT WAS USED FOR SLAVERY BY OTHERS THAT DIDN'T MEAN IT WAS SLAVERY IF YOU WERE USING IT FOR SOMETHING BESIDES ITS INTENDED PURPOSE! WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!?

ARRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHH!

"Fine then, she can come along as well. Though I'm heavily against that decision!" Naofumi stated through gritted teeth. He was going to have to punch some boxes after this.

The boarish girl did not reply and just kept on looking ahead contemplatively as she followed Kizuna.

"Wheeeeeeee!" Filo ran around happily, unable to wait for their coming departure.

After that, they went back to the planning room, ensuring that everything was in order while tweaking their plan of attack since only L'Arc would be accompanying the fleet, and then they began their final preparations for departure.

During that time, Naofumi disappeared to find and punch some level one box monsters outside the castle, as promised.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Too bad their stats were higher in this world than the level one Orange Balloons he was used to. All he got was Ineffectual Clanging for his efforts.

Man, it was a good thing he hadn't been summoned to this world as the Shield Hero. Otherwise, he would have been COMPLETELY screwed without allies helping him out since he couldn't even take out the level one monsters by himself!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naofumi then vented out his frustrations in a healthy manner through a very loud and prolonged scream while box monsters chomped uselessly on parts of his body.

Thus, the nations of the world were finally prepared to move against Kyo and his forces.

---

Author's Notes:

I… I've had writer's block on the halfway point of this chapter for the longest time. Just… how did the rest of this write so easily when I spent months BANGING MY HEAD AGAINST THIS FRICKING CHAPTER BECAUSE I WANTED TO FIT &^%$&^% STAR WARS REFERENCES NATURALLY INTO THE SETTING?!

Urgh, this is why it's easier to write with the source material without an overload of references. Oh well, at least everything is good. I've even written ahead to 77 right now.

Thank you again, Norin, the end of this chapter wouldn't be so fantastic if it wasn't for you remembering the detail about Mayori's weapon. I cannot believe I forgot about it.

I'll look forward to seeing you all again in two weeks!

---

Hero Clips!

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She is That Stubborn, Part Two

---

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

"Yeah, sure you will." Naofumi snarked.

This time, after Yomogi had woken up from her injuries, she'd tried throwing herself at Naofumi again. Only to faceplant into his E Float Shield once again.

"Why doesn't it produce Clanging sounds when she hits against that?" Itsuki asked curiously. "Isn't she not doing any damage to it either?"

"Hell if I know." Naofumi shrugged. "Ask Allen."

Itsuki looked conflicted. Did he really want to risk that kind of fourth wall break again after the previous few instances? What if he ended up getting bullied again with 'subtle' foreshadowing from the author?

Regardless, as Yomogi screamed and tried to move to the side, Naofumi redirected the barrier with a single thought to keep it in her way. Yomogi beat her fists against it and tried moving to the side again, but the Shield followed along with her.

"Damn, this is so much better. Why couldn't I have gotten this skill sooner?" Naofumi asked.

"Hell if I know. Ask Allen." Itsuki snarked.

Har har.

"Don't be so smug! I will overcome this barrier of yours eventually and kill you!" Yomogi screamed viciously again.

"Yeah yeah, keep dreaming. Anyway, let's kill Kyo already." Naofumi said to Itsuki.

"Sure." Itsuki shrugged.

"Reeeeeeeeeee!" Yomogi continued to uselessly beat against the barrier while trying to move around it to get at Naofumi.

Eh. She'd realize how useless this was eventually.

After the last time this happened in an omake, there was no way she'd prove to be this stubborn when she couldn't even touch him this time around.

---

"Uh… Naofumi? Is everything okay?" Raphtalia asked at the dinner table. The half-tanuki girl was experiencing a strange sense of deja vu.

"Rafu?" Raph-Chan tilted her head.

"Yeah. Daddy's still being attacked by Boar Girl for some reason?" Filo shrugged while eating the meal she'd cooked for her family.

The Shield Hero wasn't paying Yomogi much mind. Even though it'd been a few days since this had started and she was still uselessly screeching and running around in vain to get past his E Float Shield.

Did that thing even have a limit to how long it could be out? Naofumi didn't know. Regardless, it was still working for him.

"I'll get past this thing eventually!" Yomogi vowed.

"Sure thing." Naofumi drawled.

Raphtalia and their daughters looked at each other unsurely. But just like before, they didn't try to interfere.

---

"You've got to be kidding me." Naofumi sighed through gritted teeth.

"Ha! Is your mind finally starting to get tired from directing that shield around, bastard?!" Yomogi yelled just as energetically as she had at the start.

Even though Naofumi had dealt with Kyo. Even though he and the others had returned to their world. Even though they were, once again, in the middle of the NEXT FREAKING PLOT ARC.

The stubborn green-haired girl had followed them to their world and was still trying to run circles around the Shield Hero in an attempt to get past his shield skill and try to strangle his neck.

It'd once more made fighting Kyo himself very awkward. And Naofumi still had no idea how they'd even gotten through it without Kyo laughing his butt off every other minute at the insanity of what was going on.

"You're going to tire out eventually! You'll need to pause to eat or sleep soon enough!" Naofumi yelled in frustration at the girl.

"Until Kyo is avenged, I will not rest!" Yomogi promised.

… There was no way she actually meant that, right?

"Why couldn't Kizuna have just slapped an Order Ofuda on her when I asked her to?!" Naofumi yelled at the sky.

"Because it would have been considered slavery you pea-brain sized-" A random bystander started to retort from the side of the screen.

"NO! IT'S NOT SLAVERY! GO READ A SLAVE AUTOBIOGRAPHY IF YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT SLAVERY IS YOU IGNORANT-" Naofumi started to scream.

"Aha-" Yomogi thought she finally had an opening, but Naofumi barely moved the Shield in the way in time.

"Yes, soon, I'll have my hands around your throat!" Yomogi promised.

No, why was this his life now?! AHHHHHHHH-

---

It was near the end of Naofumi's long life. The Waves were over. He'd raised a nice, loving family and gotten to witness the other Heroes do the same as well.

Yet he felt so mentally exhausted. And the reason for it was more than obvious.

"Soon! Soon I'll have my revenge!" An older Yomogi yelled, looking as spry as Granny.

"JUST EAT SOMETHING AT LEAST! THIS IS TOO WEIRD FOR ME TO HANDLE ANYMORE!" An old Naofumi yelled at her.

Naofumi was legit starting to believe that Kyo had experimented on her so that she'd not only need food or sleep ever again but was also endowed with infinite stamina to annoy the hell out of him. There was no other explanation to explain what was going on… besides crack.

"Never! Now die!" Old Yomogi howled with fury.

Old Naofumi once more tried to direct his E Float Shield into Old Yomogi's way to prevent her from getting close, but somehow...

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Yep, he'd been too late.

Yomogi's hands were now firmly wrapped around his neck. Producing the infamous ineffectual clanging sound he was well known for.

"NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Naofumi screamed in horror.

"AHAHAHAHA!" Yomogi howled with glee. "AT LAST! YOU SHALL RECEIVE YOUR PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR MISDEEDS!"

Thus, Naofumi lived out the rest of his life once again, unable to pry an old, stubborn Yomogi from around his neck. And even though he managed to outlive the girl by a few years once more…

Well, let's just say that one was still able to hear the sounds of ineffectual clanging below the concrete of his grave. And that his E Float Shield skill never disappeared, staying floating above the grave site to signify Naofumi's failure to out stubborn the most stubborn girl in all of existence.

"You see, young ones, this shield here proves that the Great Shield God is always watching over us." An old Dou-Lon smiled at his many strawberry-haired grandkids.

"Whoaaaaaaaa..." Their wide innocent eyes matched exactly with their smiles and wagging tails.

You know, in a way, you could see it like that… somehow.

Either way, Naofumi had long since been driven insane in the afterlife.

Just like the author after realizing how easy it was to write out the rest of this chapter after months of hiatus and working on other stories.

---

Hero Clips!

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I AM NOT WEARING THAT!

---

Barbaroi Armor (Cursed)

Equip Effect: Defense Up (Max), Impact Resistance (Large), Slash Resistance (Large), Fire Resistance (Large), Wind Resistance (Large), Water Resistance (Large), Earth Resistance (Large), HP Recovery (Low), Magic Recovery (Weak), SP Recovery (Weak), Magic Power Up (Medium), Dragon Emperor Revolt, Four Holy Beasts Power, Magic Defense Processing, Automatic Self-Repair, Growth Power

The array of bonuses and resistances offered by this armor set made it useful against any enemy in most situations. It was accompanied by several powerful noteworthy enchantments that'd grow more powerful with the wearer. It was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, THE BEST armor the author had ever thrown at the Shield Hero. And even though it was cursed, the curse itself wouldn't affect Naofumi due to his high defense stat.

"I am NOT wearing that!" Naofumi stated in a venomous tone.

Yet despite that, the Shield Hero was choosing to be stupid because of how the armor would make him look like a villain. And this would likely screw with him later down the road.

What an idiot.

"&%$# off, Allen!" Naofumi made a middle finger at the sky.

A cloud formed a hand waving a middle finger back in response.

"Naofumi, why are you being even stupider than normal?" Raphtalia asked him, looking beyond agitated.

"Yeah, Daddy's being even more stupid than Book Idiot." Filo agreed.

"Rafu!" Raph-Chan nodded her head on her best friend's shoulder. His whole family was glaring at him with hatred.

"Wha-! I'm not being stupid, I'm just stating my preferences!" Naofumi fiercely defended his choice from his family.

"Man Kiddo, for someone who says he's supposed to be focused on defense, it is kind of stupid to not grab the armor set that'd make you the perfect defense." L'Arc shrugged where he stood in his new lamellar armor.

"Shut up boy! Nobody asked you for your dumb opinion!" Naofumi yelled at him.

"Master Craftsman, I have to agree with L'Arc. You really are being kind of an idiot right now." Therese admitted.

"Yeah! Come on, bro! Why you got to do my friend Romina dirty like this?!" Kizuna asked where she was busy comforting her sobbing blacksmith friend.

"And to think people thought my canon self was stupid." Itsuki shook his head off to the side. His friends weren't saying anything, but it was easy to tell that they were also judging Naofumi for what he was doing right now.

"OH COME ON! The armor is cursed! I'm definitely not wearing that!" Naofumi howled angrily at the otherworlders.

"But didn't Romina say the curse wouldn't affect you because of your defense stat, Sir Naofumi?" Dou-Lon asked. "That definitely makes that a poor excuse not to wear it since it's clearly meant for you."

…

No way, even Dou-Lon was looking down on him for his decision.

Text appeared on his HUD.

Obviously, you're really being an idiot. I go through so much effort to make you become a defender and you won't take the armor that'll make your job a hell of a lot easier?

"NOT YOU TOO YANDERE SHIELD!" Naofumi yelled at his Shield.

Yandere Shield? What the hell are you talking about?

Anyway, not even your ten-year-old self was nearly this dumb. I can't believe I'm wishing to have him as my wielder again. Shield-Chan sighed inside of the Legendary Shield.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THIS EVEN REFERENCING?! NAOFUMI WAS SO CONFUSED AND ANGRY AND-

"Please Shield-Senpai! Please wear me so I can be a part of the plot!"

…

Okay, had that voice just come from the Barbaroi Armor?

How was that now the strangest thing that'd happened in this scene?

"What the hell?" Naofumi stared at it in confusion as well as everyone else.

"PLEASE! I PROMISE I'LL BEHAVE AND NOT GET IN THE WAY OF YOUR CHARACTER PLOT POINTS LIKE IN CANON! I'LL EVEN MAKE SURE TO TONE DOWN THE FLIRTING SINCE YOU AND YOUR WIFE FRIEND GOT TOGETHER!"

"Hey, I recognize that voice. Hi Mr. Demon Dragon!" Kizuna said cheerfully from the side.

"That's the Demon Dragon you fought- Wait, flirting?! I thought it was supposed to be male?!" Naofumi was so confused right now. He didn't even know what to pick to be confused about anymore.

"Well, yes, I did start out as male," The Demon Dragon started, "But in the LNs you changed my gender to female when you gave my core to a dragon hatchling meant for Kizuna!

"Besides, if you really don't swing that way, I'll just break time and space to become a female early!"

"… what?" Naofumi said out loud.

"PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR WRATHFUL BABIES, SHIELD SENPAI!" The Demon Dragon yelled desperately from the core of the armor. "I WANT THEM SO BADLY!"

"... I suddenly understand why you don't want to wear this armor, Naofumi." Raphtalia sweatdropped. She was no longer staring lustfully at the trap armor set.

"Rafu." Raph-Chan sweatdropped in agreement.

Naofumi seriously hoped the Demon Dragon wouldn't try to burst its way into the plot in the future.

And that was actually the main reason why he didn't choose the armor. As it would have cursed him with having to deal with a very horny lizard for the rest of his life.

…

Not that it'd work in keeping said horny lizard out of the later part of the story, lol. There was no way in hell a simple action like this would prevent it from forcing itself into Naofumi's life one way or another.

"Wait- wha-" Naofumi tried to speak.

---

Till Next Time

Allen