Journey of the Sword Hero

Chapter 4

The First Day

Guest Room of the Four Heroes

Shirou wakes up the next day feeling… odd but is not sure why. 'I've slept in worse places. Probably just the interdimensional equivalent of jet lag' he assumes. The sun has just peaked over the horizon and the other three heroes are still asleep. 'Even in another world I still wake up at dawn.' *sigh* 'Well, no point in wasting time here.' Shirou makes his bed and quietly leaves the room to not disturb his fellow world travelers. He decides to take some time exploring the castle interior.

As Shirou wanders the hallways he hears bits of conversations from various servants who are out performing their morning duties, before the rest of the castle wakes up. "I heard they summoned all four of them yesterday." "It's true! We had their room prepared last night." "Even the Shield hero? Why would they want someone like him here? "I heard two of them showed up injured." "The Sword Hero's clothes were ruined and while I was able to mend the holes, I had to tell him I could not remove the blood stains. He told me not to worry about it but I feel bad that I couldn't do more for them."

One particular piece of information caused Shirou to worry. "Hey… isn't this going to cause problems with the other kingdoms? Are we not all supposed to get one hero each?" "Surely the King already got approval? He would not risk going to war, right?" "Queen Mirellia is already out negotiating with the other nations so King Aultcray is in charge until she returns, maybe the Queen sent word ahead with their approval. We are supposed to be the next kingdom hit by the waves after all."

'Always trust servants to know the latest gossip.' Shirou thinks 'So, the King is not normally in charge of the kingdoms decisions and we are not normally summoned at the same time or place?" he can see why that would be cause for alarm. It would be like if one master got to have all or even just four of the servants to himself in a grail war. There are a limited number of summons possible and that would put a lot of power in the hands of one person or group. 'Not like we can do anything about it now that we are already summoned. Still, it's good to keep in mind that we may have some foreign diplomacy issues.'

'Speaking of servants' Shirou brings up his status menu. 'This new status screen is way more detailed than the servant stat sheet I have seen in the past.'

Class: The Sword Hero, Saber Class

'The Saber Class Sword Hero seems a little redundant but I guess this is because of the "import" feature? I picked up another skill yesterday too after testing my projections."

'My parameters are… two A's, two B's, and D rank luck? Should I be thankful for or worried about that last one? I have the parameters of a "proper" Saber Class by a Magus definition at least.'

'My personal skills seem to match even though I'm not sure my cooking ability should be rated EX. I seemed to have picked up magic resistance from the Saber Class as well.'

'The problem with these stats is I have no idea if they are good or not, I need someone to compare them with.'

Shirou moves on to check his new skill list.

Sword skill: Doppelganger: Allows user to create a temporary copy of an object or person. Requires familiarity of the subject being copied. Strength and duration of copy is proportional to SP consumed in creation.

'So, it's like a SP version of my tracing magecraft? I guess it never hurts to have too many options available. Could I project a person? How would that even work?'

As Shirou contemplates if any of his other basic skills will have an alternate version. He sees a suit of armor on display in one of the corridors he has wandered in. He looks around to see if anyone is watching him. When he confirms that no one is in the area, he places his hand on the armor and casts structural analysis.

*Otherworld skill Structural Analysis Analyzed*

*New Skill Appraisal Acquired*

Shirou brings up the info on the new skill.

SP Skill: Appraisal: Displays information about current target, can provide information such as name, race, level, stats, and abnormal status effects of entities. Can learn functions, special effects, costs, strength, and rarity of objects.

"Thank you. That is actually a very useful skill." Shirou says to Vivian. 'Even if someone does not have a weapon in hand, I can now get a basic assessment of their strength and skill.'

"The Legendary Weapons are designed to grow with their wielders"

"The longer we are together. The more our compatibility increases."

"There he is. Excuse me! Mr. Sword Hero!" A servant calls out to Shirou from down the hall. She moves quickly to stand by him and takes a moment to catch her breath. "We were worried about you Mr. Hero. We are almost ready for breakfast to be served but we couldn't find you anywhere near the Guest Rooms." A small pout on her face shows that she is more amused than angry.

'Well, might as well try this one out. Appraisal" Shirou focuses on the maid in front of him. His eyes briefly glow gold.

Name: Helena Miler

Race: Human

Level: 1

Status: Mildly Tired

Stats:

HP: 80

MP: 0

Attack: 5

Magic: 0

Physical Defense: 3

Magic Defense: 0

Dexterity: 9

Body Sizes:

Height: 155cm

Weight: 44kg

Bust: 83cm

Wais-

Shirou closes his eyes, blushes, and looks away 'I do not need to know that much!'

"Are you alright Mr. Hero?" The maid asks in concern.

Shirou, still red faced, offers the maid a small bow "I am sorry to have worried you, Helena. I woke up early and just wanted to explore this beautiful place. Would you please be kind enough to show me the way back?"

The maid is blushes for a moment "How did you know my?" but then smiles and takes his hand "Of course, Please follow me!"

After a quick breakfast and with only mild teasing about showing up late hand in hand with a pretty servant girl, the heroes once again gather in the kings Audience Chamber.

The King's Audience Chamber

The people in attendance today differ from the last time the heroes were here. Instead of nobles and attendants, there are many would-be warriors, adventurers, and casters.

The king once again sits on his throne and addresses the party. "Legendary Heroes, the people gathered here today have volunteered to assist you with the upcoming waves. Take their support and a gift of silver to begin gathering strength for the challenges to come. Now adventurers, attend to your heroes!"

Three groups of four adventurers break off from the crowd. Four for the Spear hero, Four for the Bow Hero, and Four for Shirou.

'Might as well see what kind of people I will be working with' Shirou takes a moment to introduce himself to his party. They introduce themselves as the large warrior Bakta, the pretty swordswoman Myne, the curious mage Welt, and the nervous scout Tersia.

Naofumi realizes no one present decided to join him "Wait a minute, seriously no one!? I know I'm not the most popular class but please, I do need at least someone."

The King responds "It seems no one wishes to join you; I am afraid the shield hero has a poor reputation when compared to the others. You also seemed to be the least experienced with our circumstances". The King then addresses the crowd "Are there any among you willing to go to the Shield Hero's side?"

Shirou calls out the adventurers "I ask that at least one of you please reconsider, we are heading into unknown danger and going by yourself is risky at best and suicidal at worst. Everyone at least deserves a partner to watch their back on the battlefield."

After a moment of silence, Myne looks towards Shirou for confirmation. After Shirou gives a nod of assent she then smiles at Shirou and leaves his group "I volunteer! No matter the circumstances, a person traveling alone is disheartening to see!" After stopping by Naofumi's side she introduces herself "I am Myne Sophia, a pleasure to meet you hero!"

Naofumi is momentarily stunned buy her looks and introduction before nervously replying "U-um, thank you. It is nice to meet you."

Shirou decides to take a closer look at his lost party member and quickly realizes Myne is an alias. 'A Princess Knight undercover? Sounds like the start if a fairy tale.' The armor and sword on the princess were recently made by her request to "blend in" with the heroes. Everything else on her is too new to get anything meaningful from.

'At least Naofumi will not be alone. It is not every day you get to fight side by side with royalty' Shirou thinks.

Shirou remembers briefly fighting side by side with a "King" before the light was bled from her by- 'Don't think about it' he reminds himself.

The King of Melromarc speaks again "Now if there are no others… funds will be given to each of you now and every month. Shield Hero, because you are lacking party members, we will grant you a larger amount of coin to start with. Use this to grow your party on your own. Now heroes, you may begin your journeys!" The King then dismisses the crowd and heroes.

'Before I leave… I would like to know who I am working for' Shirou uses appraisal on the king before he leaves. 'No need for body definitions please'

Name: Aultcray Melromarc (XXXII)

Age: 50

Title: King of Melromarc, Virtuous King of Wisdom

Class: The Staff Hero

Race: Human

Status: Uneasy

Level: 95

Stats:

HP: 458

MP: 665

Attack: 103

Magic: 198

Physical Defense: 133

Magic Defense: 183

Dexterity: 119

Shirou is surprised at the gap in power between him and the king. It seems he hides strength of his own. 'The Virtuous King of Wisdom. I hope he lives up to that title. Status uneasy? Well, I guess even royalty is allowed to doubt themselves, at least he puts on a good show of confidence.'

'So, the King far outclasses us at the moment. But if he is so powerful, does he not wish to protect the world himself? He is the "Staff Hero" too? Was he summoned to this world like us?'

'Vivian. What is the Staff hero?' Shirou asks his sword through their mental connection. Her response is 'The Vassal Staff is a Vassal weapon similar to the Legendary weapons. They are weaker in power but may be summoned without a wielder to wait for a compatible candidate to use them.'

After wishing the other heroes' good luck on their Journey, Shirou and his party leave the castle and head towards the Caste Town.

The Streets of Melromarc Castle Town

As the party roams the city streets Shirou takes a moment to admire their surroundings. 'It's like I took a step into the past. It kind of feels a little surreal, I cannot imagine how the other three heroes must feel if they had no prior experience with living legends made manifest. Probably got a culture shock yesterday if the castle washroom was any indication of how many modern conveniences this world lacks. I might have to do some rune work to get back some of those comforts.'

'I wonder if this is how the servants felt when they were summoned? At least they had a grail to give them basic knowledge of the present. I don't know anything about this world other than what the king's people told us. I can't even read the local language.'

The sword spirit Vivian attempts to reassure him.

"I am always ready to provide assistance as best as I can."

'Well, I will take what I can get. Thank you, Vivian.'

Shirou remembers that even with grail knowledge, the servants could lack knowledge of simple things like how to open a juice box. 'Although, some of them seemed to adjust better than others.'

Shirou remembers a beautiful woman in a modern turtleneck, jeans, and glasses looking at him with unusual rectangular pupils. She smiled at him before her face twisted and her lower body transformed into a sna-'Stop thinking about it.'

Shirou diverts his thoughts to his current situation and asks his party "So what made you all decide to come along this adventure? What are you all skilled in?"

Welt speaks first "I was an apprentice mage who heard that the Legendary Heroes were summoned to defend the nation. I thought I could help the most if I traveled with one of the heroes and helped them navigate the world."

Welt shows off his gear "Look. I have a book on Light Magic and a spell orb for… emergencies. Oh, and some healing and mana potions just in case."

Shirou smells something off 'There is the lingering scent of magic but one smell is far more potent.' Shirou focuses on the "emergency orb" 'That magic is active'

*Extrasensory Perception Detected*

*Magic Perception Unlocked*

Suddenly Shirou can now see a faint glow emanating from the orb on Welt. The wisps of magic spread out to form a large ring all around them. 'Am I seeing the flow of mana?' Shirou looks around to see the occasional glowing lights of various colors emanating from several people walking by and certain objects advertised for sale. 'How do I turn it off?' With that simple thought, the lights disappear from view but he can now feel a slight tingle as he passes by the same people that previously glowed.

'Something to test out later, for now I need to look at this.' 'Shirou decides to cast appraisal on the orb.

Item: Recording Orb

Status: Active

Rarity: Uncommon

Quality: Very Good

Cost: 600 Silver

Function: Records images and sound in within a set radius around the device. Recordings may be played back as a projection.

'Why have an active recording device on you and then lie about it? Shirou digs a little further into the orb's history and sees that it was given to Welt by the Church of the Three Heroes. 'Three?'

Before Shirou can investigate further, Bakta declares his intentions "My family has a history of serving Melromarc... and I am proud to uphold our family's reputation. What better way to honor them than by supporting one of the heroes during the waves?"

Bakta Shows his armor and Axe "I've trained with the axe since I was a boy and my armor was given to me by my brother in the guards."

Shirou confirms with a look that Bakta has spent a long-time training with that axe but also sees a history of frustration. Bakta did not want to be a fighter but felt pressured to do so by his family. His armor was commissioned by his brother so he could "make his family proud."

Tersia speaks last "As for me. Well, I was something of a wanderer until now. I acted like a guide for travelers. When I heard about the heroes being summoned, I thought I couldn't waste this opportunity to make it big. Might as well put my skills to use for a good cause, right?"

Tersia shows off his collection of knives and a set of simple leather armor. Shirou has to control himself not to visibly react once he reads the weapons history.

'Those blades do not belong to you' Shirou realizes. In fact, as Shirou looks into the rest of his equipment's history, none of them belong to this man. The items were stolen from their previous owners. 'I cannot confront him about it right now. I will have to wait until we are in a more secluded area. Preferably outside the city.'

Shirou decides to keep and eye on his "companions" for now, and he might as well get some local information while they are still friendly.

Shirou diverts the subject to Melromarc itself, he asks his party member Bakta "I would like to know more about your King. What kind of ruler is he?"

Bakta responds "Well the King only rules whenever the Queen is absent but he is known for his intelligence and is respected by both his people and even his enemies. Before he was King, he was well known for his heroics and our people still place their faith in him to lead us well."

Shirou wants to know more about the king's stats "The King seems like a powerful man. Has he seen a lot of combat personally?"

Bakta proudly replies "Of course he has. The King participated in the war with Siltvelt. He won the Kingdom of Melromarc many battles with both his might and wit. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that Melromarc would have lost the war without him."

Shirou asks for more information "The country Siltvelt? What kind of country are they? Why did they go to war?"

Welt responds this time "Their greedy damned beasts that's why! Their entire people look down on us humans and they thought they could just knock over anyone as they please. We have been in conflict with them for years. They even tried to conquer the world at one point. Thanks to our Kings intervention, they finally realize their place around here."

Shirou felt he was not going to like the answer to his next question "And what is their "place" around here?".

Tersia answers "Around here? They are either in the demi-human village or if their lucky enough they may have the privilege of seeing our city as a slave."

Shirou tries to control his facial expression as he questions "Your people practice slavery?"

Welt confirms "Only to the beasts and demi-humans. Killing them would be wasteful so we might as well make use of them. It's better than what they deserve in my opinion. The slavers know no human slaves are allowed in Melromarc."

Bakta says "There are quite a few of them around here, we even have slave traders regularly stop by. They can be cheap or expensive depending on what you need them for. As long as you don't mind sub-par work, they are only animals after all. Don't expect them to do the best quality work."

Shirou wonders "How are these slaves gained?"

Tersia responds "It's not hard to find some. Vagrants are arrested for the crimes they will inevitably commit. Slavery is a common punishment considering they can't pay most fines. Otherwise, slaves can be shipped in from other countries. Melromarc isn't the only one who participates in slavery."

Shirou asks "And how are these slaves treated?

Tersia responds "As they deserve. We typically use slave crests to enforce their obedience. They are unable to hurt their masters and are punished automatically for disobeying orders."

Shirou needs to know more "What kind of punishments?"

Tersia answers "Whatever their master desires. They are their property so whatever they deem fitting. It can range from simple shocks and paralyzing pain to outright death if the master considers their disobedience severe enough. It's not like they are irreplaceable. Melromarc's slave trade is pretty lucrative these days."

Shirou clenches his hands and grits his teeth. 'Shirou, calm down, you are level one, in an unfamiliar place, and have no one who would support you even if you managed to free some of them. They will need food, water, shelter, and someone with time to teach them life skills. None of which you have right now.' Shirou talks himself down after he realizes he can do nothing to help at this time.

He remembers the words of his "Handler" from clocktower. "Shirou it's not good enough to just rescue someone. Sure, you can save someone from a bad situation but what about the next day? Where will they sleep? What will they eat? How will they live? Are you prepared to take care of them indefinitely? You can make someone's situation worse if you don't plan ahead."

'The king is level 95 and is unlikely to change his opinions soon. The people around here seem to support this. The best I can do for now is to gather strength and trusted allies and come up with a plan later. For now, I need to focus on surviving the first wave and deal with my "Volunteers".

'It appears I have racist and pro-slavery party members and this "Tersia" seems to know a little too much about the slave trade. I will deal with that later, might as well let them show me around first.'

Shirou asks his party "So what places should I go to first? Where can we get rations, water, and camping supplies? Who makes the best armor around here? I would like to also find a clothes shop so I can change out of these bloody clothes. How do we even know how much time until the next wave comes?"

Welt is first to respond "I believe we should stop by the Dragon Hourglass first. It will give you the countdown of when the next wave will arrive. Most armor shops will also either sell clothes too or be close by to other clothing stores. The market square will be the best place to find supplies."

Seeing no reason to disagree, the party decides to see the Shrine of the Dragon Hourglass.

The Dragon Hourglass

The Dragon Hourglass is stored in a shrine and managed by the Church of the Hero Saints. The structure is made of stone with many windows of stained glass casting colorful reflections on its interior.

A priest is present to welcome them "Welcome, Sword Hero, to the Shrine of the Dragon Hourglass. We are pleased you took the time to visit us. However, we were not expecting the legendary heroes to visit us so soon."

Shirou replies "We saw no reason not to come here first before leaving the city. I would like to know how much time we have to prepare for the waves. I hear something here can grant me that ability?"

The priest waves Shirou over "Of course, please come this way and we will show you the Dragon Hourglass to link with. I must ask your party to remain here however if they have no business with the hourglass."

Shirou agrees and walks with the priest. On their way Shirou asks "So this Hourglass is important for the waves. Does it have any other functions?"

The priest is eager to inform the Sword Hero "Of course! It's a very important relic. Not only does it tell us when the waves will appear but it also allows people to rank up when they hit their level cap."

Shirou questions "There are restrictions on how strong someone can get?"

The priest assures him "Oh, you have nothing to worry about Sword Hero. The legendary Heroes have no limitations on their growth but us normal folk cannot progress past level 40 without assistance from the Dragon Hourglass."

"How does that work for your people?" Shirou asks.

The priest clarifies "When someone has reached the level cap, they may come to the Dragon Hourglass to perform a "Class up". When they approach the Hourglass, they will be given a list of potential futures they can grow into. Because of its power, the church normally restricts access to the Hourglass to protect it and to keep… undesirables from gaining more power."

'By that you mean anyone the church does not like.' Shirou cynically finishes in his mind.

Shirou asks about the Church directly "And what does your Church do?"

The priest happily states "Oh, we spread the good news of our Holy Saints and we guide the masses in honoring their deeds. We use their tales to give the people something to aspire too and caution them against the deeds of those who would seek to lead them astray."

"Those who would lead them astray?" Shirou questions.

The priest is a little uncomfortable 'Yes, not all previous heroes were quite so "Heroic" The Shield Heroes for example have a long history as sinful men without fail and I would place caution in dealing with the new Shield Hero if I were you. They have never proven trustworthy before."

Shirou gives a non-committal response "I see, I will take your words under advisement."

When the pair reach the Dragon Hourglass, a large golden structure decorated with flying dragons around a glass center of falling sand, the hero is instructed to hold his weapon towards the glass. A blue beam of light shoots from the sapphire gem of his sword towards the sand of the Dragon Hourglass.

*Dragon Hourglass – Melromarc Region Linked*

Time until Wave 30:12:06:24

"30 days, 12 hours, 6 minutes, 24 seconds"

The priest smiles at the sight. "It is a wonderous opportunity to see one of the true legendary weapons in person."

"I am surprised it can predict the time down to the last second. Is it really that accurate?" Shirou wonders out loud.

The priest confirms "Never has the timer failed us before so it should prove accurate again. You and your party will be transported to the wave's location once the timer reaches zero."

Shirou asks about how Melromarc Region was specifically named "This tracker only works for the current region? How will we know if the waves strike elsewhere?"

The priest hastily replies "Oh, there are other Dragon Hourglasses out there but you don't have to worry about them. The other countries have their own heroes and defenders to alert and protect them from an upcoming wave."

Shirou catches the lie 'No they don't, your country summoned all four of the heroes here and you already know this. Unless he means the Vassal Heroes but they are not as powerful.'

Shirou keeps his growing distrust to himself for now. The priest and hero return to the entrance of the shrine.

As Shirou approaches his party he sees Welt talking with one of the other priests and catches part of the conversation "- a lot of questions, we might need something to distract him from looking further".

Shirou decides to play the fool and question "Ready to go Welt? What were you two talking about? Something about being a distraction?"

Welt panics for a moment "Um, we were just talking about… THE SAND!" After seeing Shirou's stare and the other priests confused expression he continues "Uh yes, I was just talking about how we did not need any unnecessary distractions by having to go back and forth from training and that you should receive some of the sand from the dragon hourglass to assist with travel."

Shirou lets Welt's panic slide for a moment "Oh, and how will the sand help?"

The priest explains "The sand from the Dragon Hourglass will provide the legendary weapons the ability to quickly travel instantly from known locations."

Shirou shows his genuine surprise "Like teleportation? That would actually be a tremendous help for us." Shirou attempts to make himself appear tempting to the church "You would be doing us a huge favor if the Church could provide us with this ability. Could we please have some of this sand? I promise I will use it to do good."

The priest seems unsure for a moment but responds positively "I will get someone to provide you with a sample."

Shirou replies "Thank you, I will remember the actions of your Church."

After a short wait, Shirou is presented with a pouch of sand and he proceeds to store it within his sword inventory.

*Transport Sword Unlocked*

*Ability: Portal*

"May create a portal to and from previously known locations"

'It's that easy? I just got one of the rarest magics of my world with such little effort. Everyone from the Clocktower would hate me right now if they knew. Or in one specific woman's case, try to convince me on how to make as much money as possible with it.'

Shirou thanks the priests and then the party leaves the shrine to go to the marketplace.

Castle Town Shopping District

While the rest Shirou's party already had decent starting gear, Shirou desperately needed his armor and clothes replaced.

The clothes shop was uneventful, other than scaring the seamstress when he had to take off his shroud and reveal his old and bloody clothes. He managed to surprise his party with that stunt as well.

Shirou decided to go with a durable blue long sleeve shirt with gold trim, dark blue pants, and black boots. 'I really did let those girls change my preference in clothes.' Shirou thinks to himself. The clothes will serve as a barrier between what armor he could find and it was also a material he could easily reinforce if necessary. He stored his old clothes in his sword along with his old ruined armor and then rewrapped his shroud over his shoulders again which gave it the look of something between a short cape and muffler.

The smithy was the next destination and the place that would surprise Shirou the most so far.

The party entered the shop of a man named Erhard, supposedly one of the best smiths in Melromarc. Shirou stares at the assortments of weapons, armors, and accessories on display. 'I think this is the first time I have seen a classical smithy with my own eyes and not through a memory' Shirou thinks to himself.

The owner of the shop greets the party "Welcome to my store adventurers my name is Erhard, Is this your first time here?" Erhard was a strong looking man with bald hair, a sizeable beard, and several scars along his body.

Shirou gives a small bow to Erhard "Hello, my name is Shirou Emiya, a pleasure to meet you. This is my first time in Melromarc."

Erhard smiles "Well if it is your first time here then you've come to the best place in the city. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

Shirou takes a moment to see the histories of all the items around him, all of them were expertly crafted by the owner of the store and blacksmith, Erhard. Shirou compliments Erhard's work "I can tell all of these weapons and armors were expertly made by you. From the refining of the metals to the forging of the blades you have taken the time and effort to make quality work. If the finished product was not to your standards, then you would melt it down and make it again. You take pride in all your work." Shirou points to one of the longswords "May I try one?"

Erhard had a brief look of surprise before smiling at Shirou "I don't know how you can tell all that considering we just met but go ahead. Like you said, I personally guarantee everything here is good quality. Some things are more expensive than others but that is because of the materials and time to make them."

Shirou lifts the sword up and confirms what he has already seen "The sword is balanced and is comfortable to hold with one or two hands, the fuller makes the blade lighter without sacrificing durability, the edge is sharp enough to cut but will not chip after impacts, the blade flexes appropriately but will not bend, guard is fixed in place and does not rattle, and the pommel is sturdy enough that it can be used as a blunt weapon. This is a good sword."

*Steel Longsword Form Unlocked*

Erhard confirms his assessment as Shirou gives the Sword a test swing "Well, you definitely know what a good sword needs- "Erhard is interrupted by a small cry of pain from Shirou. The sword previously in his hand clatters onto the floor.

!Legendary Weapon Breach of Agreement!

"A Hero cannot use any other weapon with the intent to fight other than the Legendary Weapon in his possession."

Shirou stares at the message appearing before him and realizes the full implications of it. "Wait, I thought you would just become the means of enhancing all my sword abilities. You really mean I cannot use anything except you?"

"The Legendary Weapons are designed to grow with their wielder."

"You will not need any other weapon."

Shirou tries to make a case "But that severely limits my options, I know how to use bows, shields, spears, axes, daggers, and many other weapons. Is all that knowledge useless now?" Shirou thinks about all of the weapons in Unlimited Blade Works that are now out of his reach.

"There is no Legendary Knife. Knives and daggers may be copied by the sword hero."

Shirou continues "Well that is good to know but I am still going to have to adopt a new fighting style. I am used to being able to mix ranged and close combat at will and you have taken that option away from me."

"Unlocked sword forms can provide ranged combat abilities."

"You have been attuned to the water and healing magic affinities."

"You may use magic and sword skill abilities at will."

"You do not need any other weapon but me."

Shirou thinks about the implications of that 'I have lost the ability to use a large percent of my arsenal but in return I have gained access to water and healing magic… is that a fair trade?' He thinks about the last time he held a bleeding stranger and could do nothing to help them 'maybe it is'

Erhard realizes he is now looking at the Sword Hero and interrupts his thoughts "Are you ok Sword Hero?"

Shirou takes a calming breath and replies "Yeah I am fine. Sorry to make you worry. I just realized I will have to change my fighting style from what I am used too."

Shirou's party looks at him with concern "Were you just talking with your Sword? Is there anything we can do for you?" From their perspective, they only saw Shirou talking to his sword and the gem flashing blue in response.

Shirou turns to Welt "Yes actually, how do your people learn magic around here?"

Welt responds "Magic is usually learned through magic books like mine or crystal balls. Magic books are harder to learn from but can help the user learn a variety of magics. A crystal ball grants quick access to magic but can only be used to learn one thing, it is also more expensive."

Shirou thanks Welt and then turns to Erhard and gives an apologetic bow "Well it would seem my plans have changed for now. I am sorry to have caused a scene in your store."

Erhard easily forgives Shirou and picks up the dropped sword "There is no harm done so don't worry about it. Is there anything you need to get while you're here?

Shirou asks Welt "What is the price on two magic books?"

Welt responds "About 250 silver each"

Shirou frowns "That will take a lot of our funds but it will be a good investment." Shirou turns to Erhard "I am sorry to have wasted your time today but it seems I will have to come by later for some proper armor once I have extra money to spend."

Erhard waves the apology aside "No need to worry about it Shirou, I have been here for quite a while. I will still be here when you return but are you sure you will be alright without any armor?"

Shirou reassures him "I have other means of protection, please do not worry about me. I promise I will return later."

Shirou's party then leaves to the magic shop next.

Melromarc Castle Town Magic Book Store

Welt explained to Shirou that finding appropriate magic may take some time and that the rest of them will leave and return in about an hour.

As soon as Shirou entered the store he could already smell the magic in the air.

The owner of the Magic Book Store is an older woman named Mahora who was dressed like a stereotypical Witch from Shirou's home world. Shirou introduces himself and discusses his need for magic books.

Mahora asks about his previous experience "Have you ever cast a spell before?"

Shirou gives a partial answer "I have casted basic spells before but based on what I have heard, I think your magic system here is different than my homeland."

Mahora's eyebrows raise in curiosity "Oh? How was it different? What kind of spells did you cast? What is your affinity?"

Shirou gives her a small smile and says "We had incantations but it was more like tricking yourself into believing you can cast magic. The words spoken only needed to have meaning to the caster or put them in the correct state of mind. As for my element, believe it or not, my magic affinity was swords."

Mahora is confused "Swords? As an element? But that does not make sense. What kind of spells are swords attuned to?"

Shirou smiles as he replies "It never made sense to my friends either. My unusual element made learning conventional magecraft difficult, magecraft is what we called it back home. I did not have access to a lot of spells so I had to work hard to master what little I was able to. I am proud to say I was better than most of my peers in the so called "basic" spells. I also learned formal craft which can be used by anyone with the ability to channel mana."

Mahora asks "How do you know your elements have changed?"

Shirou lifts his sword in response "I am actually the summoned Sword Hero. My sword has revealed that I have access to the water affinity and healing affinity. I have never been able to cast either of those types of magic before."

Mahora moves to a glass orb at the side of the room and calls Shirou over "Would you mind letting me see your affinities? This orb is capable of detecting someone's ability to use magic, as well as their magical affinities. I would like to see if it can detect your "Sword" element."

Shirou approaches the orb and places his hand on it. "Fair enough, I am curious as well." Shirou is then instructed to channel a little mana into the orb.

The center of the orb begins to shine with light. The light takes the shape of a golden sword, water forms and spirals around the blade and golden particles can be seen dancing all around the orb.

Mahora gives a soft gasp of surprise "I have never seen a result like that before. The water affinity is obvious and I would have normally assumed the light was from the Light element but I have never seen it take the form of a weapon. Healing affinities are rare but the golden particles are a result I've seen before in healers. You should be able to use recovery magic as well."

Mahora then steps away from analyzing the orb "I thank you for satisfying my curiosity. Now you said you came here looking for magic books?"

Shirou confirms "Yes, for water and healing magic if possible. Also, if you have something to help me learn your local language that would be appreciated."

Mahora tells Shirou "I should let you know that magic books take longer to learn from and that the King has already paid for a crystal ball to be provided for each of the Sword, Spear, and Bow hero."

Shirou questions "Not the Shield Hero? Did he say why?"

Mahora replies "No he did not, only that he was not in need of such a thing."

Shirou asks "Would it be possible for me to exchange the crystal ball for the two magic books? I am not afraid of working hard to accomplish something worthwhile."

Mahora frowns "I would not be opposed to the trade but a crystal ball is worth more than 2 magic books. I feel I would be cheating you out of money."

Shirou offers "I would not mind extra magic books; I may not be able to use them but I am sure I can find someone else who can."

Mahora replies "I can give you a children's book we commonly give to help them learn how to read. I will also give you some other elemental books as well, the fire, wind and earth elements are the most common ones out there. You will not need to learn our local language to read theses. Let me show you how to learn from them."

Mahora spends the next hour instructing Shirou on the basics of the magic letters and how they resonate with the casters soul and interact with their magical affinity to form incantations. Shirou finds the concept similar to aria lines from his home world.

Eventually Shirou is able to understand the basic spells water, which simply summons water, and heal, a flexible recovery spell for mending wounds.

*Water Magic (Base) Unlocked*

*Healing Magic (Base) Unlocked*

'This feels odd. It could be because it is another world's form of magic but I never believed I would be able to perform any kind of elemental magic that was not produced by a weapon. I never believed my magic would be able to save someone directly without having to kill something else either.'

Mahora comments on his quick uptake "For someone who has supposedly never cast a spell, you seemed to pick up the basics fast." "This is the fastest I have ever picked up a new spell as well. I guess that is the power of having an affinity for something." Shirou confirms.

Shirou also sees that under the magic section in his status screen the Water and Healing affinities have expanded into two trees that show other ways of using their power.

After feeling like Shirou understands enough to continue learning on his own, Mahora concludes her lesson. The differences in how magic letters read to different people makes Shirou ask a question of his own.

"Do you not have a standard written system of magic that works the same for everyone?" Mahora replies "No, we do not. The magic letters seem to personalize themselves to their individual casters. Even two casters of the same element can have different incantations."

Shirou clarifies "What about for enchanting items with specific effects?"

Once again Mahora replies no. Shirou thinks about how he learned runes and how to use them to enchant objects and arrange them to create bounded fields.

Shirou asks Mahora "May I try something with you? Do you have a fire affinity?"

Mahora replies that she does not. "Perfect. Do you have a stove or old candle holder?"

Mahora is a little confused but gives him one of the candle stick holders with a handle.

Shirou tells Mahora about what he intends to do "I am going to etch a rune from my homeland called "Kenaz" which can be used to symbolize fire, torch, maladies, or death. For this purpose, we want it to create a flame bright enough to see so fire and torch are both appropriate."

Shirou calls out to his sword "Hey Vivian. Just to be clear. As long as I do not hold something with the intent to fight with it then I can safely project and handle it correct?"

"If it is for the purpose of a tool. Then you will not be in violation of the agreement."

Shirou ignores a confused Mahora and then projects a small chisel and hammer and inscribes the Kenaz rune onto the candle holder as Mahora waits for the results.

Mahora is curious about Shirou's projections "What kind of magic is that? A summoning magic of some kind? Or a solid illusion?"

Shirou decides to give her a simple explanation "It is my own variation of a basic spell from home. I don't know if your people can cast it but my magic allows me to conjure solid but temporary objects from memory."

After a minute of checking for flaws, Shirou then presents the empty candle holder to Mahora. "Please try to channel as little as possible mana towards the rune. Think about a fire or torch and call out "Kenaz", if you don't feel it responding then try to add a little more. You do not actually need to call the name out but it helps for the first time.". Mahora does as he asks, for a moment there is no response, then the empty hole for the candle begins to smoke. "Just a little more" Shirou encourages.

Soon there is a small flame bright enough to light up an area of a few dozen feet. "You can stop now. Look." Shirou calmy states to Mahora who had closed her eyes in concentration.

Mahora opens her eyes to see the small flame "It worked?" she asks bewildered. "Yes, it did" Shirou confirms.

Mahora stares at the flame in fascination "The feeling was a little weird but it was not hard to do."

Shirou tells her about the magic of runes "Runes are used in my homeland to provide long lasting and or consistent effects. Depending on the runes used and how they are arranged, different effects can be created. Please be cautious when using them. The runes are not self-aware, they can destroy themselves or cause nasty and volatile effects if they are overcharged with mana or interact in the wrong way with other runes or spells. Intent maters as well when a rune can have multiple meanings."

"This rune by itself will work until it runs out of mana to burn, please do not over charge it. You can turn it off early by pulling the mana back out."

Mahora asks Shirou "Is this something you can teach?"

Shirou scratches the back of his head and responds "I am not the best teacher but I do have all the runes from my homeland memorized along with their effects. I do not have the time right now but I could probably write them all down at some point."

Mahora happily asks Shirou "Please do so if you can, in fact, I will happily pay you for the knowledge. Even just this rune alone will allow me to make a profit from just making enchanted items. I will also give you more books or knowledge that I know of."

Normally Shirou would be willing to provide the knowledge for free as a thank you for the magic books. However, he was working on limited funds and supplies right now so he agrees to come to her later when he has the time to do so.

Mahora thanks Shirou and wishes him well on his travels.

When Shirou leaves the store, his party members have returned and he keeps the fact that he has multiple free magic books to himself.

"I believe our last stop before heading out is for supplies, correct?" Shirou asks his group.

They confirm the destination and go towards the open market.

Castle Town Marketplace

The market was easy enough to navigate. There are many open stalls and the streets are wide enough to allow carts and carriages though. There are many people wondering the streets and stopping to examine the items on sale.

Shirou prioritized purchasing necessities; a tent, sleeping bag, rations, water containers, a few healing potions for emergencies, a book on local flora and fauna, some spices to experiment with, and a map. Anything else could be acquired in the field.

As the party gets ready to leave, a shout draws their attention. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BRAT!" The party looks in the direction of the noise and sees a young teenage girl running with her arms full of bread. The girl has sandy blonde hair that flew behind her in long waves, her amber colored eyes are focused but panic is visible across her face. She wears a simple tattered brown dress and is bare footed. What sets her apart from any other person is the fact that she has a long furry tail with a tuft of fur at the end in addition to the furry cat ears on top of her head.

The one shouting at her is a large man whose longer legs allowed him to keep up with the sprinting girl. The two were running towards the party's direction.

As the girl passes by Bakta, he sticks out a leg and trips her. "Well, well, what do we have here? A little thief? Where's your master? They should know better than to let their beast off their leash."

The girl tries to stand up while shouting "I have no master!"

Before she tries to flee again, Tersia steps on her shoulder and holds her down. "No master? That's no good. Who is going to pay for what you stole? Well, if you don't have the ability to pay then you will have a master soon enough." Tersia says to her.

Shirou looks at the girl and activates his appraisal ability.

Name: Lenora

Age: 14

Race: Lion Demi-Human

Status: Panic, Exhaustion, Hunger, Dehydration

Level: 1

'I have seen enough' Shirou ends the ability early.

The man who was chasing Lenora finally catches up "There you are! Got yourself stopped by a good Samaritan huh? Serves you right!" The man begins to move towards Lenora.

Shirou steps in front of the man with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "What did she do?" He asks the man.

The man is startled by the sudden confrontation with a armed stranger "Huh?"

Shirou stares at the man and states clearly "What. Did. She. Do?"

A momentary anger makes the man brave enough to shout back "She is a thief and I'm tired of these damned criminals stealing my merchandise!"

Shirou asks "How much?"

The man is confused "How much what?"

Shirou says more forcefully "How much is the food she stole?"

The baker responds "Several loafs of bread and some meat, comes to about 15 coppers."

"That's it?" Shirou responds

"What do you mean that's it!? Its my money!" The man angrily shouts back.

"Here, take this." Shirou hold out a silver coin.

The man looks at the coin in confusion.

A little irritated, Shirou says "For the food and the inconvenience for the chase."

The man is now irritated "Now see here, I'm not just going to-"

Shirou cuts him off "Your merchandise has been paid for and you have been compensated for your time. What more do you want? Is your desire to lay your hands on a kid that strong? Is that the only thing that can satisfy you?"

Shirou's party is bewildered by their heroes' actions. "Um. Sword hero" they call out to Shirou.

The baker's eyes widen as he realizes who he is speaking with.

Shirou forcefully pushes the silver coin into the baker's hands "You have what you came for, now leave. Don't you have a shop you should be attending right now? I wonder who might be stealing from you while you're away? Leave any remaining justice to me."

A momentary panic shows on the baker's face before he gives a snarl and turns away. The man rushes down the streets and is soon lost in the crowd.

Shirou turns towards the girl who is still being held down on the ground "Let her up." Shirou says to Tersia. "Are you sure?" Tersia questions. Shirou's response is firm "I said, let her up."

As the girl slowly begins to stand, Shirou picks up the dropped food and presents it to her. "Here, this is yours now." The girl looks at Shirou with suspicion but slowly takes the food.

"Hold still" Shirou tells her as he rests his hand on her head and whispers a unfamiliar spell. The girl flinches at the contact but suddenly relaxes as a warm feeling passes through her body. The minor bruising and tenderness she had was fading away. "I am sorry but this is all I am able to do at the moment." The girl stares at Shirou.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Shirou asks Lenora. She shakes her head no. "Do you have any friends or family here?" "none" She finally finds the courage to say.

*sigh* Shirou takes a breath, takes a step back, and says "Come with us."

"Uh, Sword Hero? Are we taking her to the slavers?" Welt says with confusion.

Shirou glares at the man "No, we are taking her with us out of town."

Tersia complains "We don't need a beast brat to slow us down."

Shirou glares at him next "She will not slow any of you down."

Shirou holds out his hand towards the girl and his face softens "Come with me. I promise everything will be ok. I can take care of you for a little while at the very least."

After a moment of indecision, the girl moves to walk alongside Shirou. "Lenora" She quietly introduces herself before stuffing her face with bread as fast as she can stomach.

Shirou gives a small smile "Careful now, the food is not going anywhere, here drink some water, you shouldn't eat any food without something to drink if you are already dehydrated. I am Shirou Emiya, also known as the Sword Hero around here." Lenora's ears and tail perk up in response.

'I know I can't save everyone. But at least I can save this one.'

The other members of Shirou's group follow him outside the city with conflicted looks on their faces.

The Outskirts of Melromarc Castle Town

Shirou walks past the fields of balloons and minor monsters. They were not his concern right now.

"Um, Sword Hero. Shouldn't we stop to fight some of these balloons? They are the weakest monsters out there to get some practice on." Bakta calls out to Shirou.

"Just a little further." Shirou responds as they walk into the rough tree line.

After walking far enough that the roads could not be seen, Shirou whispers to Lenora "Stay behind me and everything will be ok." Shirou then turns towards the three men. "Alright that is far enough."

The other members of Shirou's party are confused. "Far enough for what? There is nothing here" Welt asks.

"Far enough to have an honest discussion." Shirou responds. He first prepares his body with reinforcement. Glowing cyan lines extend and cross along his body. His sword shifts to resemble the longsword from Erhard's shop. 'Time to get this over with'

*Otherworld skill Reinforcement Analyzed*

*New Sword Skill Empower Acquired*

*New Sword Skill Accelerate Acquired*

*New Sword Skill Reaction Speed Up Acquired*

Before the eyes of the party Shirou had shifted from a common adventurer to a wraith. The glow of magic flowing though him makes his pale skin seem luminescent in the shadows cast by the trees. His silver eyes glow from within with a golden light as he focuses on them.

Shirou starts his accusations "Welt, you are a spy for the Church of the "Three" Heroes. You were ordered to spy on me and report to Bishop Kamile. If I did not seem "malleable" enough, you were to attempt to disable me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Welt's eyes grow wide "What the hell? Who are you talking about? I don't know anyone called Kamile?"

Shirou presses him "No idea huh? No idea who gave you those robes? No idea who gave you that recording crystal ball? You are not going to leave with that by the way."

Welt denies "Its not a recorder! It's a… emergency communication device.!"

Shirou presses "You have been recording everything we have done since we left the castle. You even passed the word along to your friends at the Church while we were at the Hourglass."

Welt panics more "How do you? Who are you? What did you do with the Sword Hero? You shouldn't know-" "It does not matter how I know. What were you going to say to the Church?" Shirou cuts him off.

Welt scrambles for an answer and his wandering eyes catch Lenora who he sees is standing behind Shirou. "Was it you!? Are you a little Witch feeding the Hero lies!? I will show you what we do to fiends." Welt begins to prepare a spell.

*Warning Hostile Intentions Detected*

*Danger Perception (Passive) Acquired*

Shirou shifts to cover more of Lenora "Don't do it!" Shirou shouts. Welt ignores him "may the light burn the unclean and purge the wicked Light Spea-!" He is not able to finish his spell or even continue to speak as his mouth filled with blood. In a flash of blue, a sword is rammed all the way through his chest. A small hole in the ground Is present where Shirou once stood. The distance between him and Welt was closed before Welt could even realize what went wrong.

'This is why I don't like religious fanatics; they give everyone in the Church a bad name' Shirou pushes the dying body off his sword and then quickly returns to stand in front of Lenora. "Bakta" Shirou calls out next. "You do not even want to be here. Your brother pressured you to want to risk your life out here. Please take this chance to leave. I promise I will not say a word other than our fighting styles conflicted too much to work together efficiently."

Bakta seems hesitant "And what about them?" He gestures towards Tersia and Lenora.

"I should inform you that the man known as "Tersia" is already dead. Killed by this man named Connor yesterday on his way to Melromarc Castle." He gestures to the fake Tersia who's eyes widen upon the accusation. "Your crazy man! I don't know what you are talking about, come on Bakta, he's obviously gone psycho on us!"

"That bow of yours, that you purchased today, is the only thing that belongs to you. Your clothes belong to Tersia, you stole those daggers two months ago from a man named Henry on the road to Port Village. You probably did not know his name considering you killed him before he could speak. That cloak you are wearing was owned by a Dog Demi-Human named Asher, you sold him into slavery and then took that from him too. What was your plan? Did you think you could just kill an honest man, masquerade as him and no one would notice?" Shirou gives the history of every item he is currently carrying.

Conners face shows horror before it shifts to anger. "So, what! You some kind of vengeful spirit!?"

"No, but unfortunately I have no evidence I can present other than what my eyes can see. If no one else can bring you to justice, then I will have to." Shirou responds.

"You think you're some kind of big shot hero? You were just summoned, I'm level 8, you aint got nothin on me!" Connor readies his blades for a charge.

Shirou shifts his longsword pointed towards the ground low and centered, leaving his upper body seemingly exposed. Shirou turns his head slightly to Lenora "Lenora, please take a few steps back, cover your ears and close your eyes. I am sorry you have to deal with all of this today."

Connor dashes towards Shirou with his twin blades pointed forward and aiming for Shirou's exposed neck and chest.

When Connor is within range, Shirou swiftly flicks his sword up and bats aside both of Connor's daggers, Connor's over reach pushed his blades away and past Shirou. Shirou then steps forward and swings the blade to meet Connor's neck. Connor's body falls to the ground and then his head swiftly joins it.

*Sigh* "This is not how I wanted this day to end." 'In another world and not even a day later I am already killing people.' Shirou turns to Bakta "I have no grudge against you. I do not like your preference for slavery or your treatment of non-humans but I blame this culture for shaping you like that. If you leave peacefully and don't try to hurt us, I will leave you alone too."

Bakta thinks for a moment before asking "Who made my axe?"

Shirou answers "It was made by Erhard, but it was purchased as a gift from your sister Mara."

Bakta sighs "I don't know how but you really are telling the truth. This is not the kind of work I signed up for."

Shirou gives his sympathies "Hero work is actually pretty unglamorous. It often comes without praise, glory, or pay but it still needs to be done anyways. You see your King as a Hero and I am not denying that he is one. Siltvelt however, probably referred to him as a Devil for how many of their people he has killed. Heroes can be hated just as much as they are praised for the same thing."

Bakta asks "Do you know where Tersia's real body is?"

"Maybe, please wait a moment." Shirou takes a moment to search Welt's body and takes his recording orb. "I do not want the Church to investigate this, as far as anyone is aware, Welt was a loyal citizen of Melromarc and died protecting us."

Using a simple pulse of magic, the recording orb activates and shows a hologram of Welt talking to a priest. "Take this recording orb and keep it on you. The Church wants to keep an eye on all of the heroes and you will follow the sword hero. Guide him on the proper path and teach him what he should know." Shirou cuts off the magic when the next view is of them meeting at the castle.

Bakta frowns when he sees the orb's image "He really was recording all of us? Yeah, I'm not going to mention finding anything like that on him. I don't want to get involved with whatever this is. I'm not cut out for this cloak and dagger shit."

Shirou then goes to Connor's body and places his hands on his shirt. Cyan circuits spread across the material briefly "As far as I am aware, Connor last left the body under the bridge near the South gate. You should be able to see some recently dug earth." Shirou answers.

Bakta proposes a deal "How about this, I'll take Welt's body back, I will reveal that Tersia was an imposter and say he tried to kill us only for Welt to take a killing blow. I will tell everyone that you sent me back to investigate the real Tersia's disappearance while you stayed out here to train. I just want to get out of this whole mess. I will stay in the city and I think I'll join my brother in the guards."

"Sounds good to me. Keep your head down and don't take any risks." Shirou says.

Bakta begins to pick up Welt's Body and asks Shirou "What will you do now?"

"We will stay away from the city for at least a few days. I will prepare for the waves and probably hunt some bandits as well. I doubt Connor was the only one out here." Shirou responds.

"Well, good luck out there, Hero." Bakta bids Shirou goodbye and leaves with Welt to return to Castle Town.

Shirou finally turns around to speak to Lenora. She is currently looking at Connor's dead body with a conflicted look on her face. Shirou stops channeling magic and softly says. "I told you to close your eyes."

"You took too long… and It's not the first dead body I've seen" Lenora replies back.

A memory echoes in his ears 'Shirou! Normal people react badly to seeing a dead b-' 'Don't think about it'

"I'm sorry you had to experience that already." Shirou apologizes as he puts himself between the body and Lenora.

"What are we going to do now?" Lenora looks at Shirou with uncertainty.

"That depends on you." Shirou replies.

"Depends on me for what?" Lenora asks in apprehension.

"I am going to give you a choice. I can try to find you a home. Maybe we can find someone to take you in at the Demi-Human Village I heard about. You will probably be safer there than anywhere else I know of. Otherwise, you can come with me, a stranger you just met today. Someone who you know is willing to kill other people but I will take care of you; at least until you can take care of yourself."

Lenora thinks for a moment before asking "Will you teach me how to fight?"

"I will start with teaching you how to survive. I will teach you how to hunt. Fighting can come later if you wish. Just so you are aware, staying with me will not be the safest option. I intend to make these roads a little safer and we will be on our own for a little while." Shirou wants her to be sure of her choice.

"I want to go with you." Lenora agrees to join Shirou.

*sigh* "Well, alright then, welcome to the team. It will be just you and I for now." Shirou looks over at Connors dead body and prepares to bury it. It is the least he can do. He sees that Lenora's attention has been drawn to Connor's discarded bow on the ground.

"Lenora. Would you like to learn how to use the bow?"

Lenora imagines being able to sneak around the city or forest and shooting someone down from a distance. She imagines stalking her prey instead of being the one on the run. She smiles at Shirou and answers "Yes. Please teach me."

"Party Member added: Lenora"

Author Notes: (Possible Spoilers)

Well… ok so I did a thing.

So first off, the King. It is really hard to find stat numbers for people in Rising of the Shield Hero (Maybe a blessing because I have more room to work with?) so I based his stats off of Melty's stats from the Alchemist Code game. The numbers did not seem too ridiculous.

The King's age is never stated as far as I'm aware but based on his looks I'm going to say around 50? The Queen appears in her late 30's at most but I'm assuming medieval culture where a ten-year gap is not too unusual of a match. Then again this is anime so who really knows.

Honestly, I'm not sure how well all this is going to be received but I wanted to have my own party for Shirou, so Ren's had to go, preferably without painting a target on Shirou. I also needed to get Shirou out of the city for a while so corrupting most of Ren's party seemed best.

I used the party for their connections and knowledge to get Shirou what he needed to know and then got rid of them.

The Magic Shop Scene was to show off Shirou's expanded knowledge and as a potential source of early money. Shirou will have a lot of let's say "unconventional" uses for runes that would be seen as frivolous in clocktower.

Shirou dodged a bullet with Myne going to Naofumi instead of him.

Farrie never got the courage to join the party because of Malty.

Welt felt a little forced in his depiction but I was trying to make him seem like an untrained religious spy who panicked once he was exposed. This gets the Church away for a while.

I killed Tersia offscreen and swapped him with a bandit/slaver as an excuse to make Shirou go after bandits in the surrounding areas.

I made Bakta opposed to adventuring to help cover for Shirou killing a church spy. He will join the guards and not be a major character.

Lenora is the first OC of Shirou's party. She will be here to stay. Shirou is once again a hypocrite who can't bear to see someone suffer in front of him so he took her in believing anywhere outside Castle Town was better for now.