Chapter 16: Problems, yet again
…
"Hmm…" A man with dark brown hair is sleeping peacefully. But then, the urge to wake up comes across the young adult's mind. He then opened his eyes, revealing his dark brown eyes.
He then adjusted the sword with a red gemstone on his left forearm to put it on his waist and got off the bed. He then wears the black jacket that's being left on a chair.
The person was Tomori Tanaka, the Blade Hero. Due to some complications, he's now technically a nobleman with a rank of Baron inside the country of Welle, who used to hate him just because he was the Blade Hero. But lo and behold, he survived through that bullsh*t. And now, he has to do his job as the new Baron of Bassett Territory.
He gets out of his room to check another room next to his.
"Ugh…" Inside the room, he saw a man with blonde hair, sleeping while showing a pained expression. Not only that, there's a small wooden shaft with a yellow gemstone sticking onto his right forearm.
That was Tadashi Kaneshiro, the Shaft Hero. At first, both him and Tomori hated each other's guts. But after the redhead girl and the first princess of this country, Maia, or May, reveal the truth about setting up the Blade Hero and manipulating Tadashi from behind, he felt guilty for pointing his finger only at Tomori. Long story short, for the past few days, they managed to bond with each other. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are super close or anything, but there's no awkwardness between them.
" Sigh* He wanted to drink that alcohol, and now he reaped what he saw." Tomori then walked downstairs to the kitchen and started making coffee for himself. "Nothing is better than a morning coffee…"
He finished the mug of coffee and left the house.
"Alright, I need to get the ingredients ready for breakfast."
Tomori brings out his cooking equipment to make a small cooking station in the middle of the village.
"The meat is running out due to the feast yesterday. I guess that I can ask the others to restock it while helping the village kids level up."
He then started chopping the veggies with a knife. But wait a second… His sword can copy any kind of weapon that has a blade on it. So technically, he can copy the knife that he's currently holding…
Nah, using a normal knife is sufficient. There's no need for a Holy Knife or something like that.
"Tomori-san?" A familiar voice called his name.
He looked to the side and saw a tall, blonde haired half-elf with black eyes. Not only that, he also has a shield with a grey gemstone embedded in the middle.
That's Ivaran. He's the one of the original village that stays here. However, due to the waves that strike here, he lost both of his parents and was sold to slavery along with his friends. A lot has happened to him, but in the, he has been chosen as this world Six Progression, or preferably Vassal Hero, the Shield Hero.
"Oh, Ivaran. Didn't know you were already awake." Tomori said to him.
"Well, it's been a while since I'm here. Might as well wake up early before the sunrise." The half-elf replied. "Need any help?"
"Well, can you heat up these pots and pans?"
"Sure can."
The half-elf helps Tomori to set up the fire.
…
"Alright, all set…" Tomori said as he wiped the sweats on his forehead. "Thanks for the help, Ivaran."
"No problems. But to think that both of us can cook up a lot of food in this short time…"
"Well, I can cook more dishes if we have a proper kitchen, more ingredients and time." Tomori said as he stored his cooking equipment inside his weapon.
"Do you actually cook a lot before being summoned as a hero?" Ivaran asked.
"Actually, not a lot. I only cook if my mom isn't around or she's sick."
"I see… Even so, your cooking is great, Tomori-san. You could open a restaurant with your cooking ability."
"You don't have to praise me that much, Ivaran. I only do homemade cooking. Besides that, managing a restaurant is just as tiring as managing a territory, you know?"
"Ah, right."
The half-elf doesn't want Tomori to be tired as he is now.
"Hmm… Something smells good…" A person with a sleepy tone said.
Tomori turned around and saw a grey haired girl wearing a maid outfit. She rubbed her red eyes as she walked towards the Blade Hero.
She's Riri, Tomori's trusted Spirit Beast. She has been with the Blade Hero ever since the second day he was summoned. Originally, she was in the form of a Hound Wolf cub. But now, she looks like a teenage girl.
"Riri, did you sleep with your maid clothes on?" Tomori said as he saw the maid outfit that she's wearing is wrinkled.
"Hmm… Yeah…" She replied while yawning.
"Alright…" Tomori as he glanced at her left. And he saw a girl shorter than Riri standing behind her. She has blonde hair and purple eyes. Her hair is all messed up and her eyes looked tired. "Princess?"
It was indeed the second princess of this country, Miya Q. Welle. The reason she's here, instead of being in the castle, is so that he could assist Tomori with paperworks.
"Are you okay? You look really tired…" Tomori said to her.
"Well… I asked Riri to switch her clothes, but then she suddenly grabbed me and brought me to her bed. I tried to get out, but her grip was too strong for me to resist. So in the end, I just slept with her…" Miya explained.
"I see, but how come you're this tired?"
"That's because she moves a lot when she's sleeping…"
That's new. Tomori didn't know that. Maybe it's because when Riri slept with him, she's in her Beast Form instead of Human Form. After all, Tomori himself preferred to sleep with a pet. Not that he saw Riri as a pet in the first place… Sort of.
"If you need more sleep, you can return back to your house. I can handle your job this morning."
"No thanks." The second princess replied. "If I can't handle something like this, then how can I become the next queen?"
"Oh well, make sure you don't go overboard." Tomori said as he gave her and Riri their trays that had plates of food.
Both of them then go sit at a nearby bench. Then, another two girls approach him.
"You really like to wake up early, huh?" The dark blue haired girl with blue eyes said to the Blade Hero. There's a bow with blue gemstone on her back.
"Well, I need to prepare breakfast after all." Tomori replied.
"But leaving the cooking duties seems burdening you, Tomori." The black haired girl with black eyes said, concerned about him. There's also a staff with green gemstone on her back.
"I'm the one who holds the ingredients since we don't have a storeroom now. Besides that, I'm also the only one here who can cook for a large number of people." He explained.
The dark blue haired girl is Reika Ishikawa, the Projectile Hero. While the black haired girl is Akira Sato, the Magic Hero. These two female heroes are the ones who doubted the princess about Tomori's rape charges. They are also the only heroes that are on Tomori's side from the beginning.
"Maybe you can teach the kids here how to help you cook." Reika suggested.
"That's a good idea, but our numbers right now aren't enough to split duties. I could ask your party members to help, but they're going to get busy when the combat advisors arrive this midday."
"That's a bummer." Akira said.
"It sure is. But if I get Ivaran's friends from the slave trader tomorrow, we could start asking them if they're interested in these duties. You don't mind that, right?" Tomori turned to Ivaran.
"I don't. I bet they also wanted to help. This is our village after all. And seeing the heroes is probably going to motivate them even more." He responded.
"I hope you're right about that."
Suddenly, couples of people started approaching the table that had trays of food.
"Okay, it's going to get busy now…"
…
During the midday…
…
Few hours had passed since. The other heroes, aside from Tadashi, who's still probably sleeping, help the demi-humans kids to level up. Tomori then has to start cooking again. And this time, every ingredient that he possessed is instantly gone.
Luckily, he had asked the heroes to absorb the meat of the monsters they had defeated for dinner along with picking some herbs and buying veggies in the nearby town.
Damn, this is tiring him. And tonight, he needs to compound potions. There's no time for him to rest.
"I thought being a Baron is fun, but I'm too naive…" Tomori said as he finished cooking lunch. Now, he needs to wait for the heroes and village kids to return.
"Ugh…"
Growl*
As the kids arrive, they start groaning in pain and their stomach is growling uncontrollably.
"Food…" Kyrie, the husky demi-human, weakly said.
"Why are guys acting like this?" Tomori asked in confusion.
"They're like this when they have already reached level 20." Reika answered. "Their bellies are rumbling like crazy, you know. As if they didn't eat for days."
"Yeah. The sounds from their stomachs are really scary…" Akira commented. "Anyways, here's the meat and the herbs that you asked for."
"And here's the veggies."
Both of them then dropped the meat and veggies from their weapons gemstones onto the table.
"There's a variety of meat here. This could hold on for a few days." Tomori absorbs all of the ingredients into his sword gemstone. "Alright then, you guys can start eat-"
The kids then rushed forward and picked up the trays. They all started munching all of the food.
"Oh wow, they didn't lie when they said these kids seem like they haven't eaten for days."
In just a few minutes, all of them had finished their food.
"I guess this is it, huh? And it's already midday. When will the combat advisor arrive?"
"Lord Blade!" A knight approaches him. "A carriage from the castle has arrived."
"Must be the advisor…" Tomori muttered. "Alright, let the coachman park the carriage next to the training field and ask the advisor to go there."
"Understood!" The knight then returned back to his post.
"I guess it's time we meet this advisor." Tomori said to the female heroes.
"How about Tadashi?" Akira asked.
"He just woke up a while ago. I asked him to head towards the training field if he felt better."
" Sigh* You should really have taken away his mug yesterday, you know?" Reika said to him.
"He's the one who wanted to drink that much. Anywho, gather your companions and head straight there." Tomori then turned to the village kids. "You guys can rest for the day."
"Okay!" They replied.
All of the heroes then started to move out.
…
Faible Village, Training Field
…
The heroes and their party members, including Flan, have gathered around at the field.
Flan is actually the son of Lord Bassett, who used to govern this territory. The territory would actually fall to him, but due to him not being interested in inheriting it, he gave the lordship to Tomori.
"I wonder who would be our combat advisor…"
Tomori imagined someone like a former warlord, who has survived thousands of wars and had fought one by one with a dragon with bare hands.
…
Yep, someone like that definitely doesn't exist. Not in Welle at least. But he's kind of excited about this, since he had heard great things about the advisor from the queen herself.
Well then, who would it be…
Drum rolling*
"Oh, I'm sorry for being late. I was occupied by the great scenery here."
A person who comes here… Is just an old granny. But not just any old granny, it's an old granny wearing cheongsam.
"Wait… Is she our advisor?" Tomori thought to himself.
"Hey, granny! It's been a while!" Akira greeted the granny.
"Oh ho, it's good to see that you're in a good shape, Miss Magic." The granny responded.
The Blade Hero then swiftly moves towards Flan.
"Do you know who she is?"
"She's Everly. She's a practitioner of a style called Henka Musō. However, I heard that she stopped teaching years ago. I wonder why she has taken the offer to become our combat advisor." Flan answered.
"Wait, she had stopped teaching years ago?"
Can she really teach them? There's one way to find out. Tomori then walked towards the granny.
"Excuse me, I have something to ask-Eeek?!"
Suddenly, the granny appeared in front of him and started touching him all over the place.
"Hmm… I understand…" She said while continuing to touch him.
With a terrified face, Tomori looks at Akira, who knows the granny.
"Granny, I think you're scaring Tomori right now…" The Magic Hero said to her.
"Oh ho ho! Sorry, sorry! It's been a while since I've seen youngsters like this. Hahaha!" The granny said as she smacked Tomori's shoulder multiple times.
"Is this granny really going to train us?" Tomori thought to himself.
"Look, Emil. Sir Tomori is literally making the same face as you when the granny first met you." Rylon said as he also smacked the blue haired man's shoulder.
When the armored man said that to him, it brought back a couple of PTSD to Emil.
"If you weren't a hero, I would probably take you as my student along with this youngster here." The granny said as she pointed at Emil.
"Student? What do you mean by that?" Tomori asked. What quality does he have that the granny would want him as her student.
"The blue haired youngster here possess a talent that only appears once a century. As for you, Sir Blade Hero, your body is already accustomed to Ki."
"Ki?" Tomori said as it reminded him of something. "Is it the same as the Ki from the EP Boost method?"
"Yes. Ki is a central part of Henka Musō techniques. And it can be used by any living being equally."
"Does that mean monsters can use it as well?"
"Certainly. But I'm afraid that these techniques are too complex for monsters to use. However, they can use Ki to empower themselves."
"I see. It's such a shame." Tomori himself thought that this would be good for Riri as she's good with martial arts stuff.
"Ugh… Hello guys…" A blondie said while walking towards them. He's supported by a blonde haired woman, who's the only companion that stayed with him.
"Yo, you seem a bit better than in the morning, Tadashi." Tomori said to him. "Have you reaped what you sow?"
"Yeah… I didn't know that alcohol could be that strong…" He muttered.
" Sigh*" Tomori just sighed. "Hmm?"
He then saw the granny walk towards the blondie.
"Huh? Who's this granny-Gah?!"
The granny then pokes the Shaft Hero in multiple places on his body.
Thud*
He then passed out and fell to the ground while bubbles came out from his mouth.
"Tadashi-sama!" Nena, who's Tadashi's companion, tried to wake him up.
"Good grief, this one here needs training the most." The granny walked towards the middle of the training field. "Well then, let us begin.
"First of all, I want to see a match between the Blade Hero and the young knight there."
"... What?!" Tomori exclaimed as he heard what the granny said just now.
…
"..." Tomori then pulled out his Small Sword from its scabbard while his opponent, Flan, drew out his rapier. "Why would the granny want to see us fight? Is it to see our capabilities? That should probably be the case…"
"Are you ready, Sir Blade?" The royal knight asked him.
"Yeah." He got into his battle stance. "If I'm right, this is the first time that I have fought without using any skill. Just pure swordsmanship. My opponent is someone who dedicated himself to swordsmanship for almost his entire life. I definitely lose here."
"Well then…" The granny raised her hand.
"However… I don't plan to just give up like that. He has experience, while I have stats, which means… We might be equal."
"Begin!" The granny then lowered her hand, starting the match.
Swoosh*
Tomori rushed towards the royal knight with his sword in front.
"Hah!"
Clang*
Both of their swords clash with each other. But since Tomori is much stronger than Flan, he decided to overpowered him. But the royal knight got a strategy himself.
Clomp*
Flan dashed backwards, surprising Tomori, and proceeded to thrust his rapier on him.
Clang*
But the Blade Hero managed to block his strike using the blunt side of his sword. However, the impact from that pushed Tomori back. Flan takes this chance and rushes at him with his rapier.
"Oh no, you don't!" As his feet reached the ground, Tomori ducked down and leaped forward.
Seeing this, Flan immediately changed his stance from thrusting to slashing motion.
Both of their blades then clash together.
Clang* Shatter*
But to both of them surprises, Flan's rapier blade shattered after coming in contact with Tomori's sword.
Tomori looks at Flan, and then the shattered blade of the rapier on the ground. He then cleared his throat before speaking up.
"Well… That was unexpected. But it's an unfair match in the first place. If I weren't a hero, I would definitely lose here." He said to the royal knight.
"No need to be humble, Sir Blade. It's my defeat." Flan said as he clenched his hand. "There's much more things I need to know about swordsmanship. My loss to Lord Bradforde is proof of that. I don't deserve the title of the strongest swordsman in this country."
"Don't cut some slack on your ability, my friend." Tomori said to him. "You're still young. And I agree with you. There's also a lot of things I need to learn more about swordsmanship. I guess this puts us on the same page, right?"
"Haha… Yeah."
Both of them display good sportsmanship to each other.
"That was a good fight." The granny walked towards them. "Too bad seeing it over so soon."
"Well, it's totally because of my stats-"
"I daresay that you're wrong, Blade Hero." The granny said. "What you did back then was force your Ki into your own sword."
"Huh? Really? But I don't remember and know that I did such a thing."
"Someone who's accustomed to fighting always enforces their Ki during fights naturally." The granny explained. "If the young knight here properly enforced his Ki back then, his blade wouldn't have shattered."
The concept of Ki in this world intrigued Tomori. The granny said that his body is already accustomed to Ki, which means that he already do some sh*ts that he doesn't even notice?!
"I see… Then, please teach me the ways of Henka Musō, Madam Everly!" Flan said while bowing down.
"Hohoho! Alright then!" She agrees. "But first, we need to get these youngsters accustomed to Ki."
"By doing what, exactly?" Tomori asked.
"By meditating in the mountains." The granny answered. "I know a suitable place for it. It would take a few days by walking there, or a few hours if we used horses.
"And since I know that the Blade Hero is busy, you don't have to follow us there. You'll be fine by just meditating properly."
"Alright, if you said so." Tomori said. But in truth, he also wanted to go as well. But he got things to do.
"Tomori-san." Ivaran walked towards him. "Are you sure you don't want to follow?"
"Yeah."
"You sure, man?" Reika, with Akira, then walked towards him. "I thought you enjoyed something like this?"
"I am. But I have so many things on my hands now. Now I need to take the kids back to level up till level 30 this evening." Tomori explained.
"I can accompany you!" Riri said as she latches on to him.
"Well, since Riri does count as a monster, doing this training won't have a great effect on her." Akira said.
"That's right. Well, I guess that settled it then." Tomori said as he looked to the left. "And make sure he wakes up when you guys arrive at the mountain."
"Ugh…" Tadashi is still knocked out from the poking that the granny did a while ago.
…
"Bye bye!" The seven demi-human teenagers, which is Ivaran's friends, wave at the two carriages that left this village.
"Well then," Tomori, with Riri beside him, walked towards them. "Seems like both of us are going to help you guys level up this evening. Are you guys ready?"
"Yeah!" They exclaimed. Since they're fighting with the Blade Hero, who's been taking care of them and really considerate with them, it really pumped them up.
"Well then, since the maximum EXP distribution is only up to six party members, we need to split up into two parties." Tomori explained to them. "Of course, I would be the leader for Party 1, while Riri would be the leader for Party 2.
"Kyrie, Arny, Tina and Liza, you would be with me. The rest of you will be with Riri's party."
"Yes! I'm with the Blade Hero!" Kyrie exclaimed silently. Her other friends are also happy with it.
"Aww…" While the others are quite down.
"Listen," The Blade Hero spoke up. "The reason that I'm allowing you guys to level up in the first place is so that you can protect yourself, and protect this village. Not who gets paired with who.
"After all, I'm going to assign you as party leaders for your other friends when they arrive here. So make sure no slacking off. The seven of you have important duties in the future. You guys better be prepared for it."
"Yes!" They exclaimed simultaneously.
"Well then, pack your things up. We're going to hunt for our dinner."
…
Few hours later…
…
" Erst Blade!" Tomori used a skill to slash a sheep type monster's neck.
Slice*
"Baa!"
Its head falls to the ground while its body continues to stream blood from its neck.
" Zweite Blade!" Without wasting any time, Tomori went straight to the next sheep monster's neck.
"Baa!"
It produces the same result as back then.
"These sheep monsters do give a lot of EXP. But it's weird that there's a lot of strong monsters near the village. I need to tell the knights to improve their security-"
"Hiyah!"
Bam*
Tomori heard a loud noise coming towards him. He moved to the side a little to avoid whatever was coming at him.
Thud*
The thing then hits a tree. Tomori turned towards it and saw a sheep monster with blood flowing out of its body.
"Sorry!" Riri said to him. It seems like she OHKO the monster using a powerful kick.
"Riri, did I tell you that we need to be gentle with these monsters? We can still use its fur." He said to her.
"I know, but these monsters are so weak that it's boring."
"Well, I won't deny that. After all, these monsters are around level 30. Of course, it's not a problem for her. But it could prove challenging for these kids." The Blade Hero glanced to his right.
"Hah!" Kyrie tried to hit the monster, but it evaded her. "Darn it! Don't run from me!"
"Baa!"
The monster then jumps all across the field. The other kids then tried to get a hit on it, but unfortunately, they didn't have the agility for it.
"These monsters here didn't fight back, which makes it even harder to kill considering that all they did was evade all the time. I guess that I can give them some tips or something." Tomori then changed his Small Sword into an Iron Dagger. And yes, Tomori had been using the Small Sword the entire time.
"Yo," He called the demi-human kids. "When you're dealing with a monster with high agility or always evading your attack, there's one thing you should do. Which is immobilising it. Like this!"
Tomori throws the dagger towards one of the jumping monster's legs.
"Baa!" It then fell down to the ground while shaking in pain.
"Now that's done, all you need to do-"
"Hah!" Kyrie chop off the monster's head.
"Is to finish the job." Tomori finished his sentence. "I suggest that Kyrie do the killing while the others immobilise the rest of these monsters. How's that sound?"
Mumbling*
They talked about it with each other first. And then turned to Tomori.
"Yes!"
The four demi-human kids under his wing started hunting those sheep one by one.
"Serving lamb meat for these kids everyday is going to affect their diet. Maybe I should trade some of these meat for other things like chicken meat or something." Tomori thought to himself as he absorbed the corpse of the monsters that were defeated by everyone.
"Here!" Riri and her party dragged the monster's corpse towards him. "You haven't finished yet?"
"No. There's still some monsters that I saw jumping around. We need to finish them all so that they won't randomly attack the village." Tomori said as he absorbed the new corpses.
"Okay. But why didn't you help them?" She asked.
"So that they won't depend on me that much. If it seems dangerous, then I would step in."
"I see. So you wanted them to be more independent, huh?"
"That's one of the reasons. They have experience fighting low level monsters, but not high level monsters like this, which has a tad bit of intelligence. All they need is some wit and strategizing, and the battle would have ended much quicker."
"Blade Hero-niichan!" Tomori turned towards his party. "We're done!"
The demi-human kids lift the dead monster's corpse by its legs.
"Good job!" He then absorbed all of the corpses. "And also…"
Tomori Tanaka Lvl.112
Kyrie Lvl.32
Arny Lvl. 31
Tina Lvl.30
Liza Lvl.30
Sub-party:
-Riri Lvl.81
-Rael Lvl.32
-Hele Lvl.32
-Adek Lvl.31
"We achieved our objective here. Time to go back." Tomori raised his sword to the sky. " Transport Blade!"
…
An Hour Later…
…
Sizzle*
There's multiple lamb meat on the flat metal plate that Tomori used to cook them.
"Alright!" He then picked up one of the meat and put it on a plate. Then, splashed a generous amount of black pepper sauce on the meat and a scoop of mashed potato on the plate.
All of the demi-human kids stared at the plate, waiting for it to come onto their hands. Tomori finished up the rest of the plate for the people in the village.
" Low Lighting V!" He pointed his hand to the sky to release a spell to signal the knights that dinner is ready.
A few seconds later, the knights came to the middle of the village for their dinner. Tomori takes a plate for himself and sits down on the bench to eat his food. Even though he's friendly with all the people here, Tomori still prefers to eat alone, as that's what he usually does when he eat at the uni's canteen back home.
It's not like he dislikes the idea of eating with everyone, but he prefers to have some space and peace when he eats something.
"Why are you always eating alone?" Riri asked while sitting next to him. "Isn't it more fun to eat with everyone?"
"I'm used to eating alone. It would be less noisy, which makes me think more fluently. Although, I don't mind a company or two."
"Is that so? Then, whatcha gonna do tomorrow?"
"Didn't I already explain? I will go to the slave merchant in the outskirts of Castle Town to acquire Ivaran's friends." He re-explained. "With that, I can teach them some things or two to help me manage this village. Heck, I didn't know managing a village could be this hard. Those S*ms game really did bamboozle me. But all things considered, I guess that I can expect a quite relaxing lifestyle for the next week."
He continued to chomp all of his food for the evening. After all, he still has stuff to do at night.
…
Later that night…
…
"Zzz…" After compounding a large batch of medicine and potions, Tomori just slept on the sofa downstairs because he's too lazy to go upstairs to his room.
Knock* Knock*
Knocking can be heard outside his house.
"Erm…" He wakes up from the sofa while rubbing his tired eyes out. "Who's knocking the doors in the middle of the night…"
Tomori walks to the doors and open it.
Creak*
"Oh, it's you…" He said to the girl in front of the door.
"Why do you seem like you don't want to see me?" The girl in question, Miya, asked him.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because someone is disturbing my sleep." Tomori said while rolling his eyes. "In any case, what do you want with me?"
"It's not me, but them…" The second princess stepped to the side, revealing the demi-kids, who stayed silent the whole time. However, there's some sound coming off from them.
Grumble*
Yep, they're hungry.
" Sigh* Oh well… A late night snack wouldn't hurt." Tomori said while scratching his head. "Just head to the usual place. I would cook something light for you all."
…
Burp*
One of the kids lay down to the ground after finishing the light meal.
"Slurping some herb soup during the night is refreshing… Damn, I'm craving for a bowl of ramen right now…" Tomori said as he held down his cravings. "Alright, leave the bowls there and go to the tent to get some rest. I will prepare breakfast for tomorrow. There would not be any hunting for tomorrow, so I suggest helping the knights with the reconstruction of this village."
"Okay!" They left the bowls into the large container and went onto their tents to sleep.
"Aight…" Tomori cracked his shoulders. "Time to clean all these up."
"I'll help you with that." Miya stood up as she flooded her sleeves up.
"Kay. Put some water into the container, Second Princess."
"You still call me that?!"
"Until you become the queen, I will still call you the Second Princess from time to time."
"How irritating… Low Aqua!"
A magic circle appears on top of the container and disperses water from it.
Tomori sat down and grabbed a bowl from the container and wiped it with a piece of cloth. While he is doing that, he also gaze at Miya, who's doing her work like him.
She realized that he's gazing at him and called out, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nah, I'm thinking of hiring you as a maid."
"A maid?! I'm a princess, you know?!"
"I know, I know… I'm just joking. Just chillax."
"Everything that comes out from your mouth is hardly a joke."
"That isn't true. Why do you think that?"
"Because Ivaran said so."
"That's… Well, he got a point." Tomori admit that everything that comes out from his mouth is something either serious, or it's just blatantly stupid but serious at the same time. "Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask. How come you're so close to Ivaran?"
"H-H-Huh?!!! Why are you suddenly asking about that?!" Miya suddenly gets flustered.
"Come on, spill the tea a little bit. I'm just curious here."
"Ergh… Fine. Since I'm following my mother all around to learn from her, I always followed her here to meet with her right hand, the late Lord Bassett. It was then I met the villagers' kids here. They were all afraid of me, except for Ivaran and his raccoon demi-human friend. When I go here with my mother, I meet up with them from time to time."
"Oh, I see… So it's a 'love at first sight' for you, huh?"
"Wha-" Miya's face started turning beet red. "W-W-W-What are you talking about?!!!"
"You should look at your face right now. Hahaha!!!" Tomori then started laughing out loud.
"Geez…" The princess' face turned back to normal as she washed the plates.
"Love, huh…" The Blade Hero gazes his eyes downwards to the ground while he slowly says it.
"Umm…" As Miya heard him say that, she had a question for him. "Tomori, do you have someone that you like?"
"Huh?" He stopped and quickly turned to her. "Why do you ask?"
"Well… You seem to be a person who might be… Umm… Popular with girls…"
"Oh… That might be true since you're asking about it." Tomori said as he smirked.
"Just answer the question!"
"Okay, okay. Geez, it's not fun to tease you." He then continued to wash the plates again. "I do."
"Is that so… Is it someone from your world?"
"Yeah. But… It has been 3 years since I saw her. And I missed the chance to tell her my feelings."
"I see…"
"And I don't want you to make the same mistake as me."
"Huh…?" Miya is confused by his statement.
"Just like his shield, Ivaran is really blunt. You have to drill your feelings into his skulls just to make him understand it." Tomori explained to her. "You only live once in your life. Make sure you do the things that you should do so that you don't have any regrets later."
"...I understand. I will keep that in mind."
Both of them then continued to wash the dishes until it's shiny. After they finish, both of them and the kids go back to sleep.
…
The Next Day…
…
"Alright, Miya." Tomori, with Riri who lays on his shoulder while in her Beast Form, says to the second princess while he is fully geared up. "I'm going back to the town to do some business. I will be back by the evening. If anything happens, just blast your magic up to the sky. I will be alerted by it."
The blonde haired girl nodded.
"Alright. Are you ready, Riri?" The hero asked his Spirit Beast.
"Always ready!" The beast replied.
"Okay." Tomori points his sword to the sky. " Transport Blade!"
In a mere second, Tomori and Riri teleported out from the village.
…
Castle Town
…
"If I remembered correctly, that tent should be… In there." Tomori followed the map that was given to him by the Queen's Shadow to meet up with the slave trader.
"Ugh… Tomori, I smelled something terrible…" Riri said to him as Tomori got closer to something similar to a circus tent.
" A slave trader living in a circus tent… How ironic." He muttered to himself. "Riri, you can stay out here if you don't want to go inside."
"I want to stay near you. It's much better than being alone."
"I agree."
With that, both of them get inside the tent.
"Welcome, good sir!"
When they suddenly get greeted by a person that to Tomori, looks like The Penguin.
"Where is Batman when you need him…"
"My name is Hrafn, and I'm the owner of this premise." The guy bowed down to him. "Now then, how can I help you?"
"Cut the crap down, you know what I want here." Tomori said to the owner.
Hrafn then smirked widely.
"Of course, Blade Hero." He answered him. Hrafn then looked at Riri. "And you must be the infamous Spirit Beast. Hoho, it's my first time seeing a Spirit Beast in my life."
"Think about something funny and I will burn this tent to the ground." Tomori warned him.
"Hahaha! You are really the Blade Hero."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tomori ignored that statement and continued with his business. "Now then, where are the kids?"
"Straight to the business, huh? I like your style, Blade Hero."
"Cut the chit-chatting. Where are they?" Tomori really wanted to get out of here.
"Oh, about that matter-"
"You don't have them right now, aren't you?" The Blade Hero asked calmly.
"As expected, you see right through me, Blade Hero." Hrafn then started grinning again.
"You have exactly one minute to explain about this before I burn this place to the ground." Tomori said as his Small Sword turned into the REB.
"Very well. It's the truth that I can't find the children from Faible Village. But on that matter, it isn't exactly my fault here."
"What do you mean by that?" The Blade Hero asked.
"Sir Hero."
Suddenly, a shadow appeared next to him.
"A shadow? What are you doing here?" He asked.
The shadow didn't answer. Instead, they pulled out a Crystal Orb. Then, it lights up, projecting an orange haired woman.
"Queen…" Tomori recognised her immediately, as she's Miya's mother and the queen of this kingdom, Matilda Q Welle.
"I'm sorry that we have to communicate this way, but this is urgent." The queen said in a worrying tone.
"Does it involve the children from Faible?"
"Indeed. As to why the slave trader hasn't found them is because… The owner of those children sent them off from Welle."
"Wait… Didn't the nobles of this country own them? And you're telling me that they shipped them something else?" Tomori asked.
"Correct. And I believe they did it during that time my daughter escaped from your grasp." The queen stated.
"So, this is the church's scheme?"
"That's true." The queen revealed. "I have gathered some shadows to search for their locations. But as of now, I can't deploy all of my shadows in that effort."
" Sigh* I understand that." Tomori sighed in disbelief.
"Please forgive me for this inconvenience, Tanaka-sama. I will do everything in my power to help in the search for those children."
"I know you would."
"Well then, I have to end our meetings here, as I have other matters to attend to."
The Crystal Orb turns off, and the shadow disappears from his sight. Tomori then turned to Hrafn.
"To think that you have ties with the queen."
"Oh, what made you say that?" Hrafn asked curiously.
"I may not be that bright, but I'm not dumb."
"Whatever you say, Blade Hero." Hrafn face then turned into a smile. "Now then, what will you do now."
"..."
…
A few hours later, Faible Village
…
In the middle of the village, several group people appear.
" Sigh* Yesterday's training was intense…" Reika said as she rubbed her shoulders.
"Totally. I thought that I wouldn't be involved since I'm a magic user." Akira said.
"Ki can help enhance the power of spells, Miss Magic." The granny said to her. "But the Shaft Hero skill had improved a little."
"It's because you trained me up till the middle of the night… My back still hurts…" Tadashi complained.
"Well then, I wonder where Tomori-san is." Ivaran wondered.
"Maybe he's still in the town. He said that your friends will arrive today, right?" Akira brings it up to him.
"That's correct."
"Ivaran!" Someone shouted as they rushed towards them.
"Miya!" Ivaran said the second princess name. But he saw that her face was a mix of uneasiness and worryness.
"Ivaran, you need to come here, now!" Miya then grabbed his hands and pulled him somewhere.
"Wait, what's happening-"
She then dragged to the gate of the village.
There, Ivaran saw multiple demi-humans, including his friends, and a well dressed person. However, aside from his friends, the other demi-humans were all in rags.
"Wait… That's not them. So why they're-Isn't that?!"
Ivaran then saw something he's familiar with; The Slave Parchment Ceremony. And the well dressed person is going to do it to one of his friends.
The half-elf then grabbed his shield from his back and prepared to throw it at the man.
"Contain that bloodlust of yours, Ivaran." A person said as he slowly appeared in front of him.
"Tomori-san… What's happening right now?! Why are they doing THAT ceremony?!" From his voice alone, the Blade Hero knows that his companion is furious.
"There's a reason I do this, but that ceremony is their own decision." Tomori said as he turned around to look at the demi-humans.
"What do you mean by that? And where's the other villagers-"
"The slave trader couldn't find them." He answered.
"What…? But why-"
"Why do I buy those slaves either way? We need more manpower." Tomori said, as the other three heroes came to them.
"Hey, why did the princess suddenly pull you? And what's the ruckus over at the gate?" Tadashi asked as he caught his breath.
"Good, you all have arrived. This makes explaining easier."
"Explaining what, exactly?" Reika asked him.
"What's going on, Tomori?" Akira saw that the hero in front of her now is being more serious than usual.
"Ivaran's friend is not in Welle anymore. The church had ordered their owners to ship them off from this country ever since we saved Miya and Flan. The queen had ordered her shadows to search for their whereabouts. And I doubt that they have made any progress as of now." Tomori explained it to them. "I bet that red haired b*tch is behind this plan."
"What…?" Ivaran could believe his ears.
"May…" Tadashi muttered. It's true that she's his former party member. And since he knew her true feelings about him, he has stopped thinking about her.
"As for the slaves, we need more manpower." The Blade Hero continues. "Can't depend on the queen, since she's also busy trying to rebuild this country from collapsing."
"I guess that's true." Miya added. Since the her mother used majority of the knights to help rebuild this country, the queen can't send anymore aid to
"This." The Blade Hero brought out a vial filled with dark ink. "This is the ink that makes the slave ceremony possible. Not only that, it is also able to unlock a Weapon Series similar to the Companion Series, albeit they need to be a slave in order for the effect to work. Combine this and that, and those kids will be as strong as a Level 40 adventurer while being at Level 20.
"When I explained it to Ivaran's friends, they immediately accepted being a slave, as long as they got stronger. As for the slaves that I bought, they don't have a choice on this matter." Tomori added. "However, this isn't the end. Like I said before, I will bring back the villagers of Faible back to where they belong."
He then walked towards Ivaran.
"And I don't like breaking promises that I can fulfil. We have a month before the waves start again. And that's just Welle, not the other area where the other hourglass is. Our number might be small, but it's what we have now. But overtime, it will grow."
"Wait a sec, Tomori… Do you mean that you wanted these kids to fight the waves?" Akira asked him.
"So basically, you're raising an army now." Tadashi concluded. "I'm in on the idea of having a personal army, but not when kids are involved."
"Don't worry. They might not have the strength now, but they have the will to fight. And to me, that's enough to fight in the waves. It's not like I'm forcing them. Ivaran's friends had already decided to participate in the wave fight. As for the others, they will make their choices after receiving their class up. So now, what I want us to do is to train them up. Is that enough for you?"
Tomori asked his half-elf friend.
"Like always, it's going to be a sticky journey. And I would like to bring my trusty shield for that." Tomori continued.
"...For goodness sake, you're always like this, Tomori-san. But… You would be Tomori-san if you didn't have that quality." Ivaran refreshes his mind before continuing to talk. "I'm in."
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Riri, in her Human Form, put his arms against both Tomori and Ivaran's shoulders. "I also wanted to go on a journey!"
"Yeah, yeah." Tomori put her down and went towards the children once they were finished with the ceremony. The others also followed him from behind. The Blade Hero breathes in before shouting out loud.
"Now listen! I didn't buy all of you here because you aren't worth that much. I bought you because you were cheap, and easy to manage. Don't think that you can be relaxed, nor think of this as a gesture of kindness. Unlike your former owner, who's a sick bastard that gets a kick out of abusing children, I'm much stricter than them."
It's true. All of the children who used to be slaves have injuries or marks all over them.
Tomori then extended his left arm towards the slaves.
" High Spark Healing V!"
In a matter of seconds, all of the slaves' skin sparkles with lightning, which heals their wounds. The slaves then started muttering among themselves.
"And I don't want any of you who have injuries to use them as an excuse to not work. So, listen up. I-"
GROWL* GROWL* GROWL* GROWL* GROWL* GROWL*
"Oh my, I thought the grounds were grumbling. But in fact, it's just from those children's bellies." The granny said as she went closer to the heroes.
Indeed. Those growling in fact comes from the kids, including Ivaran's friend.
" Sigh*" Tomori then turned to the Hrafn, who's still in the village. "Slave trader, I want to have a word or two about the ways you handle your slaves here after this."
"Most certainly, Blade Hero." The penguin-wannebe grin widely.
"Now…" Tomori then turned forward again. "What should I do with you guys…"
"How about we all cook together with everyone? That would make things faster." Miya suggested to him.
"I agreed with that." Reika is in with the idea.
"It would reduce your burden a lot." Akira is in as well.
"This is a good opportunity to find out how your food becomes so delicious." Tadashi is in, although he has ulterior motives.
"That's a great idea, Miya." Ivaran vouched for her. "Do you think so too, Tomori-san?"
"Yeah, that's right." Tomori said with a smile on his face.
…
A few moments…
…
With the help from everyone, multiple pots filled with various types of food lined up in front of them.
"I wouldn't have made it this much if it weren't for everyone's help." Tomori muttered as he wiped up the sweat from his forehead. "Other than that, I also found out that some of the kids have some cooking skills. If trained, they can replace me on cooking duties."
As he fetches his ladle, Tomori goes to one of the pots, which has a lot of kids that just stare at it while drooling.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" Tomori asked them. And when he did that, all of them just scowled in fear. But then… "Pick up your plates and line up. The food ain't going to fly straight to the plates."
"O-Ok!" The kids heed his command and instantly grabbed the plates so that they could have their food.
The Blade Hero then moved on to serve other foods to the others.
"As expected! Niichan cooking is the best!" Kyrie and the others started munching on their food, unlike the new kids, who're still hesitant to eat.
But they overcome their hesitation, as they put the spoon into their mouth.
"This is…"
Slowly, they started munching on the food. Some of them even teared up just from eating.
"Is it good?" Ivaran asked the boy with a mouse ear.
"Yes, it is good…" The boy replied.
"I see. Well, enjoy it then." The half-elf said as he ate his food.
"Is there anything that you wanted to ask?" Ivaran said as the boy wanted to ask a question to him.
"Uh… That person with the red sword… Is he a good person?" The boy asked, which made the other kids turn up his ears.
"Um… I don't know how to answer that…" Ivaran said, as he doesn't know how to convey the goodness of Tomori through words. "That person is kind. But he's also kind of weird if I were to be honest."
"He's right!" Suddenly, Miya then butt into their discussion. "He's a rude person. Not only that, he also has a foul mouth. Just talking to him makes my head spin. However…
"He's also the kind of guy who will help anyone who's in trouble if he has the ability to do it. Although he has a foul mouth, he also motivated others through it. No matter how pierceful his words are, all he wants to do is just to motivate them."
"It's just like what she said." Ivaran continued. "Tomori-san might look like a bad guy, but he's actually a person who cares about others to the point that he would put his life first over them. That's just who the Blade Hero is."
"Is that so… Wait…" The boy and the other kids just realised something.
"THE BLADE HERO?!!!" They all shouted together.
"Ah… Crap… I forgot to introduce myself." Tomori then walked forward to them.
"The name's Tomori Tanaka. As you guys just know right now, I'm the Blade Hero." He then points to Ivaran, Akira, Reika and Tadashi.
"The half-elf there is Ivaran, my right hand man and the Shield Hero. The brown haired girl with a staff is Akira, the Magic Hero, while the black haired girl with a bow over there that's munching on the kebab is Reika, the Projectile Hero. And lastly, the blonde playboy that tries to check the food I made back there is Tadashi, the Shaft Hero."
"I see. Well, enjoy it then." The half-elf said as he ate his food.
…
Notes: Phew… How long does it take? A million months to write a single chapter? Damn, I'm getting old… Oh well, I ain't going leave this story to the dust. Not until I know the fourth power up method of the Holy Shield!