Chapter 17: Handler
…
Two weeks later…
…
After two weeks since the day that Tomori bought the slaves from Hrafn. He thought that would reduce the burden on himself and the others, but it was the opposite.
They now had to handle dozens of hungry kids for the past weeks. Food stock was almost gone every single time that he wanted to cook. It is so bad that Tomori even thought of selling back the slaves to Hrafn. But he didn't do that. Instead, he used his secret item that he received from Armorian.
" Flame Thrust!"
" Aqua Edge!"
Clang*
The sounds of a spear head and a sword blade clash with each other. Right now, Tomori, the Blade Hero, is having a mock fight against Tadashi, the Shaft Hero, while being overseen by Everly, the practitioner of Henka Musō.
"That's a good hit, Tadashi. At least you didn't fall down this time." Tomori said as he pushed his sword forward.
"It takes time to handle your attack. But I can handle them fine just now!" Tadashi exclaimed.
"Huh, we see about that! Wind Edge!" Tomori's Small Sword blade glowed in green, as he pushed the shaft of Tadashi's Small Spear forward. " Blade Bash-"
" Whirlwind!" The blonde haired man activated his defensive skill, which cancelled the dark brown haired man's attack.
"Not bad, but how about this! Skeleton Edge!" The Blade Hero slashes his sword upwards from the ground, making a bunch of bones erupted from the ground in a straight line, heading towards Tadashi.
"Guh?!" Immediately, the Shaft Hero is trapped within the bones.
With this, Tomori used his charge skill, Scarlet Slash, and headed towards Tadashi.
" Erst Javelin!" The blonde haired man threw his spear at the dark brown haired man, but he simply dodge it. However, that's what Tadashi wants.
Swoosh*
"Huh?!" Immediately, Tadashi disappeared from Tomori's vision. "Is it magic? An invisibility skill? Or…"
He turned around, and saw the Shaft Hero, preparing to strike him from behind.
" Scarlet Thrust!"
" Scarlet Slash!"
Clang* Bam*
As their weapons clashed with each other, it released a small shockwave, pushing them out from the arena.
Thud*
Both of them fell down to the ground.
"Alright, it's a draw!" The granny said.
Clap* Clap* Clap*
"Wow!"
"That's amazing!"
"The Shaft Hero managed to get a draw!"
The spectators, who are the rest of the heroes and the villagers, cheer on the fight.
"Geez…" Tomori then stood up and cleaned up his clothes. He then walked towards Everly. "Hey, granny. What kind of knowledge did you bestow to him that he drastically improved this time?"
"I do no such thing. I just told him to direct his senses into the battle. That's all." The old woman said to him.
"But his fighting skills have improved, I admit. He's surely catching up to me." Tomori muttered.
"Indeed. However, he is not the only one who improves here, Blade Hero. Your knowledge on Henka Musō has also improved as well." Everly said to him.
"I'm not that knowledgeable about that style. But I know how to handle my Ki efficiently now." Tomori said as felt the surging power that went through his right arm. "But the one who's the most impressive is him."
The Blade Hero gazes towards a blue haired boy who's standing next to Akira, the Magic Hero.
"Like I said before, my student is one of the best people I know who can control his Ki efficiently, even better than mine. It's no exaggeration to call him a prodigy." The granny stated.
"I'm even surprised that he managed to defeat Ivaran. He would lose if he went up against me or Tadashi. But he defeated Ivaran with such ease."
"Piercing and Defense Rating attack, was it?" The granny asked. " Henka Musō is a style that can surpass any defence if one is skilled enough to do it."
"I guess it's not a bad idea to have you become our combat advisor."
"I'm glad that this old hag has its use for the heroes." The granny bowed down to him.
"I'm the one who should thank you." Tomori doesn't like being thanked by someone.
"No, all of you here risked your lives to defeat our world. A simple gesture like this to you isn't that much of a deal."
"If you said so." Tomori then went towards the middle of the arena and clapped his hands loudly to get everyone's attention. "Alright, people! The show is over. Now get back to your job."
"Aww…" Complaints can be heard from multiple parties.
"'Aww', my *ss! Get back to work or there will only be vegetarian food for lunch!"
"Okay…"
In a matter of seconds, the training field instantly cleared out, only leaving the heroes and their parties.
"To think that they're scared of me weeks ago and now started being buddy-buddy with me. Unbelievable."
Tomori then sheathed his sword back and went towards the other heroes.
" Sigh* I didn't manage to defeat Tomori again, huh…" Tadashi muttered.
"It's 20,000 years too early for you to defeat me, you know?" The Blade Hero said as he extended his hand to the Shaft Hero. "You get a draw this time, which means you're improving."
"But that's not enough to defeat you." Tadashi then used Tomori's hand to help himself to get up.
"I wouldn't say that." Akira added. "The point of the mock battle is not to see who will win, but to assess your strength."
"Your skills certainly improved." Reika said to him. "But it's not enough to defeat a monster like Tomori."
"Hey, who are you calling a monster, huh?" The said person seems offended by that statement.
"Well, whatever." The bow wielder shrugged it off. "To think that the waves are in just two weeks, and yet a lot of things have happened in the past month."
"If we think about it, we're only here for a couple of months. And yet, we have so many connections right now." Akira stated.
"And we are grateful for that." Ivaran added. "I never thought that Faible would bloom even more than it used to. It's all thanks to you guys."
"What are you saying, Ivaran. You contribute as well." Tomori said to him.
"Yeah! If it weren't you who disturbed the pope, we couldn't have defeated him." Tadashi stated.
"That's right!" Riri then appeared out of nowhere. "You're also the MVP!"
"MVP? Where did you hear those words?" Reika asked.
"Tomori teach me." The wolf girl points towards her master.
"Hey." The said person then gets closer to Tadashi. "Have you finished making that 'stuff'?"
"I did. Do you want it now?" The blonde haired man asked.
"Of course I would. The main target has appeared. This is going to be a good chance to express your 'art'." Tomori said to him.
"Ah, you're right!" Tadashi shouted.
"Who's right?" Akira asked.
"No one!" Tomori said as he closed the Shaft Hero mouth. After whispering something to Tadashi, he quickly went to Riri. "Riri, can you follow me for a sec?"
"Huh? Sure."
And with that, Tomori, Riri and Tadashi left the training field.
"Look at them. I never thought Tomori and Tadashi were that close with each other." Reika said.
"Well, I heard boys get along with each other more than girls." Akira stated.
"I see… It means that boys will be boys no matter what happens."
"I don't think that's a suitable phrase for it…" Akira thought to herself.
"Ivaran!" A certain knight is calling him.
"Is there something wrong, Flan?" The half-elf asked.
"The villagers had alerted me about the expansion of the plant from the Bio-Seed."
"Again… This is why I'm against using it in the first place…" Ivaran said as he turned to face the giant tree on the outskirts of the village.
The Bio-Seed is what makes Armorian able to have high quality sources of fruits and vegetables that they can sell to Klinge. Though, one problem arises, which is that the plant is sentient. It's a monster plant hybrid, and it can actually attack the village if any of them isn't careful enough.
"It certainly has solved our food shortages." Emil, the quote on quote "prodigy" of Henka Musō stated. "But is it worth it if it raises the chance of it attacking us?"
"But Tomori-dono said that we only have to cut its vines if it reaches either of the buildings in the village. Worst case scenario, we have to destroy it with herbicide. But it hasn't caused any damage to the village. So I think that we are safe… For now."
"The way you said it, it doesn't seem safe at all…" Reika commented.
"Either way, we need to cut the vines now before it reaches the village." Flan urged.
"Alright!"
Both Ivaran and the knight went to cut off the vines.
" Sigh* Everyday is busy as usual." Reika sighed.
"But it's much better than what we have to face before, isn't it?" Akira said to her.
"Yeah."
The rest of them then left the training field. This is the everyday life of everyone at Faible Village.
…
Tomori Tadashi's House
…
"Tadashi…" Tomori said to the person standing next to her. "What kind of abomination have you created?"
"What do you mean by that? I exactly followed the criteria that you wanted." The blonde haired man replied.
"I know, but this…"
"Tomori, is this dress okay?" Riri said as she played with the frill of her new maid dress.
"This is too cute!" Tomori thought to himself.
Upon hearing about Tadashi majoring in fashion before he was summoned as a hero, Tomori had asked him to sew a few clothes for the children to wear. But other than that, he also requested something like this.
"Just like you asked, this is the Battle Maid Uniform. It has defense stats that are equal to the strongest armor that you can find in any weapon shop." Tadashi stated.
"Oh, I just now remember that you actually don't wear any armor, aren't you?"
"That's correct. I actually sewed my own fighting uniform myself. And I'm actually proud of it."
"The quality of it is almost the same as Crimson Crest Armor. It would have already surpassed it if Vadge didn't put any enhancement on it."
"Also, here's the other things that you asked for." The Shaft Hero handed him a bunch of accessories. "There's one problem, I can't enhance it even further for it to have effects on our weapons."
"That's because we need to imbue magic into the accessories in order for them to have some effects on our weapons." Tomori explained to him.
"You know that I'm not that efficient at using magic, right? I even have to relearn the spells that I got from the Crystal Orb just to make those spells even more stronger."
"If that's the case, then leave it to Akira. Or maybe, you can teach her how to make accessories. That would speed up the process even more."
"That's a great idea. I will have a word with her about it."
"Alright, I'm counting on you."
"Just leave it to me!" Tadashi said while giving a thumbs up.
With that, the Blade Hero leaves their house along with Riri. As they stepped outside, a certain second princess rushed towards them.
"Hey, Tomo…Ri…" Miya stopped for a moment and stared at Riri. "What are you making her wear?"
"It's a maid uniform." Tomori bluntly answered.
"I know that's a maid uniform! But more importantly." She gets straight to the business. "That slave trader of yours wants to meet up with you."
"I see… Alright, call Ivaran as well. He needs to hear about this."
"On it!"
…
A few minutes later…
…
"Ahem, Blade Hero. Do you know about Handler?" Hrafn asked Tomori.
Right now, Tomori, Riri, Ivaran and Miya are inside the warehouse so that they can talk about the Ivaran's friends.
"Yeah, the country of businesses and mercenaries. I know that, because I went there a few days ago." He revealed. "It may takes a week to get there, but I know someone who has a teleport location of it.
"Because that's where we bought the materials to add onto Riri's Battle Maid Uniform."
"I see… In other words, you can go there as of now, right?"
"Yeah. I have the teleport mark."
"This will make matters easier then. To simply put, the slaves from Faible Village are being sold at high prices." Hrafn revealed.
"High price?!" Concern grew amongst them.
"Are there any specific reasons that they are being sold at such a high price?" Tomori asked for confirmation.
"No. It doesn't matter regarding their race or gender. Just mentioning Faible Village will make their prices more expensive."
"But why would that happen…" Ivaran muttered.
"Do you know any other reason for the increase of prices?" Tomori continued.
"Well… Rumours have spread the day after you visited my shop from my relatives at Handler." Hrafn said.
"What rumours?"
"That a slave from Faible Village helped to purge the disastrous religion of Transpierce in Welle." The slave trader revealed.
"Slave? That can't be. There's no slave that helps us during… Wait!" Tomori turned to Ivaran. "Does that slave mean you, Ivaran?!"
"What?! I'm not Tomori-san's slave in the first place. Who would spread such baseless rumours…"
"I think that would be the position of Welle." Miya spoke up. "Since our country doesn't treat demi-humans on equal rights, people outside our country would think that every demi-humans in here as slaves."
"That's logical, but what prove that they had to prove that Ivaran is really my slave, and the fact that he's from Faible Village?" Tomori asked the slave trader.
"Hmm… If my memories serve me right, they have footage about your achievements. Let me have a look…" Hrafn then brings out his Crystal Orb. "Here it is."
The orb started projecting a scene.
"What?!" All of them were shocked at what was being displayed from the orb.
"That's us!" Riri points towards the projection of Tomori (in his Spirit Union) fighting against the pope.
"Hey, I remembered that clearly!" Miya then saw a projection of Ivaran (as Shield Hero) fighting Lord Bradforde.
"These recordings… I knew it!" Tomori suddenly shouted. "It's those damn zealots… Even after their religion crumble apart, they still have the audacity to f*cked me over!"
Suddenly, his Small Sword started becoming more frightening.
"Tomori-san, please calm down!" Ivaran said, as he knew that letting him become angrier could lead to trouble.
" Sigh*" He breathed in and out, while sitting on the chair provided in the warehouse. "Okay, we're moving. To Handler that is. I would rather clean this mess out as quickly as possible, as the waves is about to hit in two other weeks."
"I understand." The half-elf agreed.
"Miya, I left the village under your command. If anything happens, call the other heroes." He continued.
"Alright." Miya then left the warehouse.
"Tomori, I want to follow as well!" Riri said to him.
"It's not that I would leave you behind in the first place." Tomori then stood up and faced Hrafn. "Is that okay with you?"
"Of course!" The slave trader said excitedly.
Tomori sighed and gave him the party invitation, which he immediately accepted. He then raised his sword towards the sky.
" Transport Blade!"
…
Handler, Merchant Street's
…
The group then appears in an alleyway. Suddenly, the area is now filled with sounds from people selling their merchandise.
"So, this is Handler…" Ivaran muttered.
"It's so lively here!" Riri commented.
"Well, there's a lot of people selling their merchandise here. So you're not wrong for it being lively." Tomori said to her. Then, he turned to Hrafn. "In any case, how about we meet with your acquaintance now?"
"Sure, Blade Hero. Just follow my lead."
…
Slave Trader's Tent
…
"Ah, my nephew!"
"Uncle!"
Hrafn then hugged his uncle.
"Wha-" Tomori's mouth opened agape when he saw who the slave trader was hugging. He even rubbed his eyes to confirm whether it's true or not.
"Tomori-san, is there a problem?" Ivaran asked him, since this is the first time that the Blade Hero acted like this.
"They… They look the same!"
Indeed, Hrafn and his uncle have the same physic, and even the same looks. The only differences among them is the design of their spectacles and their tailcoats.
"It's almost like they're twins." Riri added.
"Yeah…" Tomori muttered. "I never thought that his acquaintance would be his own uncle. And it seems like the slave trading is actually a part of their family business."
The dark brown haired man shook his head.
"Ah…" Hrafn's uncle then gazed at Ivaran. "You must be the rumored slave from Faible Village-"
"Ivaran isn't my slave." Tomori cut him off. "He isn't a slave in the first place."
"Is that so…" The doppelganger of the slave trader then continued to inspect the half-elf. "I see… It seems like the Blade Hero's influence has made him quite the fighter."
"He isn't wrong about that. Combined with the Companion Series boost and the amount of levels that I reseted from him, Ivaran's strength is comparable to the heroes even before he becomes one." Tomori thought to himself, but he then switched up the conversation. "In any case, how about the slaves?"
"Ah. In regards to that, there will be an auction that will begin very shortly." Hrafn's uncle answered. He then turned to his nephew. "How about you show the Blade Hero and his party there? I have other business to attend to."
"Alright. This way, Blade Hero." The gentleman leads Tomori and his party.
…
After a few minutes, the sun is starting to fall. Tomori and his group walked around the town.
Chatter*
"Hmm?" The Blade Hero turned around the big coliseum, which is filled with loud cheers.
"Interested in the coliseum, Blade Hero?" The slave trader asked.
"Maybe. Is this the place where people compete with each other and gain money if they win?"
"That's correct. However, there's also some special events such as eating competitions and animal races."
After walking for a few minutes, they followed the slave trader into a pub.
"There's a lot of rowdy people in here." Riri said as she saw a crowd of people being loud, and drunk. "And it also reeks here."
"I have to agree with her. I don't like the smell of alcohol. It makes me sick…" But at least Tomori can handle it.
Hrafn then went towards the bartender.
"May I have a bottle of Golden Sanctuary?"
The bartender then takes a glance at Tomori and his group before returning to the slave trader.
"Is there anything you want to mix with it?"
"Winner, Winner, Chicken, Dinner."
"...I really need to stay away from that slave trader along with his uncle."
"Tomori-san, have you been making a lot of weird faces these past two weeks." Ivaran said to him.
"Don't blame me. Everything right now is very, very uncomfortable for me right now." Especially when he understands the reference.
"Very well."
The bartender then asked an attendant to open a door that leads to a downward spiral staircase. The group then walked down, until they arrived at the designated place.
"Humans, demi-humans and elfs… And they were divided into categories. Even their age and background are displayed as well." Tomori thought to himself as he saw the lineup of slaves under the venue. "No dwarf, huh…"
"A dwarf that's a slave is rare these days, since they're very prideful. They would rather die than become slaves." Hrafn explained to him.
"I see…"
Then, a rather well dressed person then started to speak out loud.
"Ladies and gentlemen, behold! Our main product! A slave from Faible Village!"
A buff man then pulled a chain that was attached to a shackle that a demi-human child has on their neck.
"That kid looks half dead. I guess all slaves do look like that…" Tomori then turned to his companion, the villager of the Faible Village himself.
"No…" The half elf muttered. "There's no one like him in our village."
"So, that's a fake…"
No one couldn't tell a difference, since they can't fully identify an authentic slave that's from Faible.
"We will start the bidding at 20 gold!" The gentleman stated.
"Wha-"
This surprised both Tomori and Ivaran.
"20 gold? A normal slave should at least be around 50 silver. The cost is 40 times higher than it should be."
"30 gold!"
"45 gold!"
"69 gold!"
Lots of voices can be heard from the crowd. Both of the heroes' faces became paler as the bidding was rising.
"Sold at 420 gold!"
As the gentleman announced, Tomori took a seat on one of the empty chairs and started thinking about this situation.
"These slaves cost at least 400 gold in an auction… If there's 10 of them, it would mean that we need to have 4000 gold prepared for the slaves." He then started to frown. "400 gold is too much in the first place… That money itself can feed the whole village for a couple of months. And spending it for a single person…"
To Tomori, getting all of the slaves isn't realistic. He doesn't even think that Welle would even lend him that much money. Maybe Armorian could help, but as of now, neither Tomori nor the other heroes has a way to contact them.
Taking the slaves by force is also a no brainer, as the slave seals can be set to kill if the owner wants it. In the nutshell, he's f*cked.
"But wait…" Tomori turned to Hrafn.
"Hmm, I think I know what you are thinking right now, Blade Hero."
"Oh yeah, that makes it easier." Tomori stood up from the chair. "How much does the coliseum pay out?"
"A lot. But I'm afraid that numbers are insufficient to buy all of the slaves that you were searching for. However…"
"If there's an underground slave market here, then it would make sense if there's also an underground coliseum, am I right?"
"Indeed. Now I understand why people hold you in high regard, Blade Hero." Hrafn said to him.
"Now then, what should I do?"
"It's simple." The slave trader handed him a small plate that was made from gold. "Show this to the receptionist at the coliseum, and they will show the way."
"Alright then." The dark haired man stored the plate inside his pocket and turned to his companion. "Alright, I want both of you to return back to the village and inform Miya about this. Also, tell all of the other heroes and Flan to gather up in the morning at the warehouse for a meeting. I want to discuss what we should do from now on."
"Very well." Ivaran answered.
"Oh, can I follow you along, Tomori?" Riri asked.
"Uh…" The said person turned to Hrafn for answers.
"The plate only allows a single person to come in." The gentleman answered.
"That's not a problem!"
Poof*
Suddenly, Riri turned to her Beast Form. But now, she has a white ribbons around her neck.
"Hmm… I don't think they would mind having a pet along with its master. As long as it won't be hostile to others, it will be fine."
"Great-I mean, wuff!" She said as she climbed Tomori's shoulder.
"That settled it then." Tomori then turned to Ivaran.
"If that's the case, then I would be going now." Ivaran said as he raised his shield. " Portal Shield!"
Lights enveloped around him, and then he disappeared.
"The heroes sure have convenient ways to travel around." Hrafn commented.
"Yeah, yeah." With that, Tomori walked upstairs to leave the underground slave market.
Thud*
As he walked out from the hidden door outside the pub, someone stumbled into him.
"Hey! Watch where you are going…" The person said to him. He has red hair and blue eyes. His gear seems to be top notch, and there's a pair of golden gauntlets hanging on the side of his waist. But most importantly… He's drunk.
"I guess he's from the pub. Better ignore him" Tomori just walked from him.
"Hey, you're walking away without apologising? You son of a-"
The red haired man tried to chase after him, but Tomori then used his magic to slip past him.
"?!"
Zap*
Suddenly, Tomori back away from him at lightning speed.
"Wuff?!" Riri barked, as if asking him what happened.
"That guy… He's targeting my neck…" He said as he rubbed it. "If I didn't moved back then, he would certainly had grabbed it."
"You… You quite skillful." The man then wear both of his gauntlet. "It's been a while since I fight someone like you… Hope that you can entertain me!"
The red haired man then rushed at him.
"Sh*t!" Tomori grabbed the hilt of REB and prepared to fight. But then…
Bam*
"Gah!"
Thud*
"...Huh?" Tomori is now confused, as there's an object being thrown at the red haired man, knocking him out instantly.
"Geez… Didn't I tell you to not cause any trouble…" A green haired woman with red eyes came over to the red haired man side. She then picked up the object that was thrown onto the guy.
"A gem? She threw a gem at him?"
"Please forgive him for the inconvenience that he caused." The woman bowed down to Tomori.
"I don't mind it. However, you better be sure to not let your man attack any strangers out the streets while he's drunk."
"I will keep that in mind."
"If that's it, then I have somewhere to go." Tomori then left the two of them.
After he's gone, the green haired woman slapped the red haired man's head.
"What do you think you're doing, Lars?!"
"Oww?! Don't hit me on the head when you just throw a gem at my head!" The man instantly went sober. "More importantly, that's our target there."
"What? Do you mean that…"
"Yeah." Lars then stood up. "That's the guy I talked about, Teresa."
"I see. And the little puppy on his shoulder must be his Shikigami." She stated. "No wonder I felt an immense energy from it."
"Not only that, but that kid also got stronger than the last time we met." Lars then look at his gauntlet. "He reacted even before I get to touch him. I'm afraid that I won't stand a chance fighting him without any assistance. It seems like the only way we could defeat him is through the waves."
"That would be the only logical answer."
"Well, if that's the case, we need to disguise as adventurers that wanted to participate in the waves. Maybe we can asked the guild around here about it." Lars suggested.
"That's a great plan. We can do that tomorrow. But now, we need to relax." Teresa stated. "And no more drinking tonight."
"What?! Aww man…"
…
Coliseum
…
Tomori (with Riri on his shoulders) enters the colosseum and as expected, the entrance is crowded to the brim. However, he doesn't want to enter that kind of colosseum. He moved to the left to the furthest counter.
"What do you want?" The guy at the counter asked.
Without saying anything, Tomori slid the plate towards him.
"Hmm…" The guy inspected the plate, and later gave it back to him. "Alright, the entrance is over at the back."
Tomori gave a nod to the guy, as he went towards the entrance, which is another spiral staircase.
"These people sure love their spiral staircases."
Ignoring their preferences, he walked downstairs until he found a pub, and then…"
Clang*
Two people fighting on the underground colosseum.
Tomori then looked to the sides.
"They even have casinos here. Where do you think I am, Los Angeles or something…"
The dark brown haired hero ignored it and took a seat, staring at the match between a rhino demi-human and hippo demi-human.
"Their gears are top notch. Are they adventurers? Maybe they're mercs…"
"Hello!" A feminine voice called over him.
Tomori turned around and saw a girl with purple hair and golden eyes. She has pale skin, and pointy ears like Ivaran. Other than that, she wears an adventurer's dress. The revealing kind. Also, she has a harpoon on her back.
"A dark elf? But more importantly…" Tomori's eyes glanced downwards. "That's some huge *! Comparable to-"
"Ara~ This is our first time meeting, and you are already looking at me that way?" The girl asked him. "Aren't that a little bit embarrassing, Onii-san?"
"Since when did I do that?" Tomori quickly everted his gazes.
"Ara~ Don't be shy. I can accompany you if you want to-"
"No, thank you." Tomori quickly answered.
"Hahaha! You got rejected, Linda!" A random guy said to her.
"So that's her name, huh…"
"Ehem, Onii-san." Linda said to him. "If you don't order anything, you won't be able to keep the seat for too long."
"Is that so…" Tomori turned to the waitress nearby. "I want two Honey Beers."
"Ara~ Usually, people who come here order alcoholic beverages."
"I don't like alcohol. And neither does her." Tomori said as he turned to Riri.
"Wuff!"
"Ara~ You have a Spirit Beast as your pet?" The dark elf asked.
"You know she's a Spirit Beast? I guess you're an elf after all."
"I'll take that as a compliment from you." Linda laughed it out. "Also, I didn't see any tamer marks on her."
"Since when did I say I have a tamer mark on her?" Tomori asked confusedly. Tamer marks are just the monster's version of slave marks.
"Wait, that means…" Linda was shocked for a moment, before giving a slight smile. "Ara~ You're much more interesting than I thought you would be, Onii-san."
"Whatever you say…"
After that, Tomori's order arrived. He drank his drink while Riri sipped hers. Since the drink is non-alcohol, both of them can drink it just fine.
Tomori continued to watch the match. As the rhino was about to hit the hippo with her halberd, a magic barrier stopped her attack.
"What?!"
"Wuff!" Riri gently pats Tomori's hands and pointed towards a direction over the colosseum.
"That's…"
There's multiple magicians on top of the colosseum.
"Wait a minute… This kind of interference legal here?!"
"Ara~ You noticed it straight away, didn't you?" Linda asked him.
"How can they do that?" Tomori asked her.
"It's from the support money." She explained. "If the guests pay enough money, they can assist the ones that they're betting on winning. But the magic cannot directly attack the opposite party."
"So, anything except offensive magic is allowed?"
"Correct! But… If you don't know that, it must be your first time coming here, right?" The dark elf asked.
"Does that concern you?"
"Hmm… Maybe…" Linda tries to get closer to him.
"Wuff!" But then Riri jumped between them.
"Ara… Very protective of your master, huh?"
"Grr…"
"Alright…" She sits down normally. "Tonight, the one winning is Rino-chan."
"The rhino?"
"Yep!"
"Why did you say that?"
"Just instinct, maybe." She said with a cutesy face.
Tomori ignored her and watched the match.
The hippo slammed her hammer towards the ground, creating a tidal wave that's going to hit the rhino. But the rhino then jumped towards the sky. Then, bullets of rocks appeared from thin air and flew towards the hippo.
The magic barrier appears again, but the rocks are able to pierce the barrier and hit the hippo. To end it, the rhino then slammed her halberd towards the ground, making spears of ground pierced the hippo's body. The hippo then collapsed from the damage, as the spears disappeared.
"And the winner of today's match is Rinona!" The announcer exclaimed.
Multiple cheers and boos can be heard from the crowd.
"I see… The rhino has her own supporter, huh?" Tomori said to Linda, but she just smiled innocently.
" Sigh*"
Slurp* Thud*
Tomori instantly chugged all of his beer down.
"Maybe you can accompany me for a while, since you know a lot about this underground colosseum."
"Ara~ It seems like you're more interested in participating, huh?" Linda then smirked. "If that's the case, let me teach you about it very thoroughly, Onii-san~."
…
The next day, Welle, Faible Village
…
The heroes, Flan and Miya, are currently waiting at the warehouse for someone to come.
"Hmm… Tomori-san and Riri didn't return back now…" Ivaran is worried about them.
"What was Sir Tanaka doing at Handler yesterday?" Flan asked.
"He said that he wanted to check the underground colosseum." Ivaran stated.
"Maybe he got jumped by someone there." Reika speculated.
"There's no way that would happen. It's Tomori after all. Other than that, he has Riri by his side." Akira disagreed with her.
"Yeah. They wouldn't be defeated easily." Tadashi supported her statement.
"We know that, but it's been hours since we last heard from them." Miya expressed her worry.
Creak*
The door of the warehouse suddenly opened.
"Yo, sorry for being late." It's the Blade Hero himself.
"Tomori!" Everyone called his name.
"Where have you been?" Ivaran asked. "And where's Riri?"
"When I said that I will learn everything about the underground colosseum, I learnt about it, including about the normal colosseum as well." Tomori explained to him. "As for Riri, she's taking a nap at my house. But more importantly…"
He then takes a seat amongst them.
"Let's begin the official heroes meeting. And our subject for today is about the Faible Village's children."
As he said that, everyone began to sit down.
"For starters, the kids have been kept by Handler's underground slave market. And there's a chance that there's another slave master there who owned one or two of them as well. Searching for them isn't a problem, as Ivaran or the other kids of Faible can do it.
"However, the main issue is money. Even if our main resources are enough to buy the slaves, it would put us back to zero. And that's where the colosseum comes in. Not only that, I want to focus on the next best thing that we can sell, which is our potions and the Bio-Seed as well." Tomori explained to them. "However, our main focus would be the colosseum. And I already checked it. Me, Tadashi and Reika would be participating in it."
"Wait, us in one team?" Reika asked.
"No. We will enter three different competitions." Tomori stated. "What I planned is me, Ivaran and Riri will enter the underground colosseum team battle while Tadashi will enter the single battle. As for you, Reika, you will enter the colosseum team battle. Originally, I wanted Akira to participate in colosseum single battle, but there's a main problem ahead."
"Which is?" The Magic Hero asked.
"The kids here. Since the price of slaves from Faible is increasing, there's a chance that slave hunters will raid this place to sell the kids at Handle." Tomori revealed.
"That's a possibility. It means that the security of this village needs to be increased." Miya stated.
"Flan, does the guard squad have received their training already?" Tomori asked the knight.
"Yes. Me and Madam had already trained them to at least defend themselves from human attack." Flan answered.
"I see…" Tomori then looked at his party list, which includes all of the slaves he has. "Now then, after this, you and Ivaran are in charge of giving them their class up."
"Understood!" The knight gave his answer.
"Reika, you will lead the gathering squad with your party to gather the listed materials here." Tomori handed her a piece of paper listed with the materials.
"Alright then." The Projectile Hero accepted her duties.
"Akira, you and I are going to be in charge of making potions and collecting Bio-Seed along with your party, the medicine squad and gardening squad." Tomori said to her. "Other than that, I need to borrow Emil for tonight."
"Got it." She agrees. "Also, about the potions and Bio-Seed, I think I am a good Handler who would buy those for higher prices. So, I would like to tag along with you after this."
"Okay." Tomori then turned to Tadashi. "As for you… How about going back to Handler and picking up some quests from the Adventurer Guild with high rewards? You can also use that opportunity to raise your levels."
"If you said so." Tadashi agreed with him.
"And Miya," the Blade Hero turned to the second princess. "I want to request any spare armors and weapons from the queen for this village."
"Consider that done!" She gave her reply.
"Alright. Now then, I have somewhere that I need to be. So, I'll dismiss our meetings here." With that, Tomori stood up and raised his sword upwards. " Transport Blade!"
Tomori instantly disappeared from the warehouse.
"Well then, let's fetch the others, Ivaran." Flan said to the Shield Hero."
"Okay." Both of them then left the warehouse.
"Wait, I think that I can use the teleport skill odf yours to return back to the castle!" Miya chased after them.
"Seems like we need to leave soon."
"I have to get the others ready."
Both Akira and Reika left the room.
"Geez… It seems like I'm alone again… Oh well, let's invite Nena to join me."
With that, Tadashi stormed out from the warehouse to fetch his companion.
…
Handler, Adventurer Guild
…
"Ah… It's good to be back here…"
It's been a while since Tadashi got to visit the Adventurer Guild of Handler.
"Tadashi-sama…" Nena, his companion, called him. "Why do I have to follow you here…"
"Hmm? I don't want to come here alone, I guess."
"But I was resting in the village, you know… It was very comfortable."
"I agreed. With the development almost complete, Faible Village will be able to operate just like other territories. I guess we have to thank Tomori for that one. He's one heck of a guy." Tadashi said as he looked at the quest board.
Nena just sighed, as she expected this day would be like the rest of the previous day. Where she just reads some books, eats, sleeps and repeats.
"Yo, young boy."
"Huh?" Tadashi heard someone calling for him. He turned around and saw a guy taller than him. He has red hair and a pretty attractive face. Not only that, he has a pair of gauntlets on the side of his waist.
"Lars, didn't I tell you to not run around like that." Then, a green haired girl wearing a bandana on her forehead chased after the red haired man called Lars.
"Sorry! I thought that I wanted to ask this young boy here about a quest of two." Lars then turned to Tadashi. "Oh, my name is Lars Gaunt. So, can you help me…"
He then looked at Tadashi's spear.
"Spear Boy."
"Spear Boy…?" Tadashi is confused by the nickname that he gave him. "I'm 18, you know?"
"And I'm 28. So, it's eligible for me to call you Spear Boy. Didn't you think so, Spear Boy?" The red haired man really wanted to enforce that nickname onto Tadashi.
"Ugh…"
Slap*
The green haired woman then slapped the back of Lars's head.
"Oww! What's that for, Teresa?!" He retorted.
"For being rude." She then turned to Tadashi. "My name is Teresa Fluorite. And forgive me for my friends' rudeness to you."
"Oh, you don't have to…" Tadashi now felt awkward.
"Tadashi-sama," Nene gets closer to him. "These guys are weirdos."
"It's bad to say that about them, since we didn't know them at all."
"Whatever you say." The blonde haired woman backed out.
"Either way," Lars stood forward. "We just got here yesterday. And we didn't have that much money to begin with. So, I thought about doing a quest to get some money and increase my levels as well."
"I see… Do you guys already have your class up?" Tadashi asked.
"Yep! I'm Level 56, while Teresa here is Level 53."
"Is that so…" Tadashi then wondered. "I heard from Tomori that anyone that has a class up is either an important person of a certain country or a person who gets approval for their class up by a certain country. And I guess both of them are either one of those people."
"So… Care to help us here?" Lars asked once more.
"Oh, sure!" Tadashi agreed to help. "Oh, my name's Tadashi Kaneshiro. And I'm the…"
"'The' What?" Lars asked, waiting for him to answer.
"Crap, I remembered that Akira and Reika told me to not reveal my hero identity when I'm not operating on Welle!" The Shaft Hero remembered.
"Oh, we're just a normal adventurer from Welle. We have the same purpose as you two, making money and levelling up." Nena said on behalf of Tadashi.
"Nice save, Nena!"
"I see… Since we have the same objectives, how about we form a party? It will make things much easier and merrier on top of that." The red haired man suggested.
"Hmm…" Tadashi glanced at his companion.
"I don't mind it." She said. "If they join, I don't have to do a lot of work."
"Well, I guess that was it. Let's form a party then. I'll send the invite." Tadashi then sends his invite to Lars.
"Great!" In which he immediately accepted it.
…
Welle, Vadge's Shop
…
Ding*
Tomori entered the blacksmith's shop with his casual clothes.
"Welcome!" The blacksmith himself greeted, but changed his demeanour when he saw who's walking in. "Blade Lad! It's been ages since I saw your face! Wait, should I call you 'Lord' now since you're Baron?"
"Haha, just call me like usual, Vadge." Tomori said to him.
"If you said so, Blade Lad."
Tomori then locked the shop, which had been fully repaired.
"Seems like you're back in business again."
"Yep! Can't have this old fella sitting down on the couch every day."
"I guess so, yeah."
"What's your business with me today, Blade Lad?"
"Two. Two businesses. First, I want to buy every cheap weapon you have in stock. And second," Tomori placed his Crimson Crest Armor onto the table. "It's time for this armor to have its upgrade."
"I see… So what's in your mind?"
"Hmm… I want to add a few things, which includes the increase of efficiency in Lighting and Bone Magic." Tomori explained to the blacksmith.
"Bone Magic? I have never heard of that type of magic before."
"Even if you said that, I can use that type of magic."
"If that's the case, then I'll do what I can." Vadge agreed to do it. "Any other things?"
"How about adding some stealth abilities to it?"
"Stealth? I need Iguano's skin for-"
"Consider that done. And I want to add some enhancements too, so here's some bones." Tomori pulled out a long sheath of Inguano's skin and multiple types of monster bones from his gemstone.
"Lad, you never cease to surprise me."
"Hah… It's so nostalgic…"
"So, when do you need this armor done?" Vadge asked.
"By tomorrow, if you can."
"Consider yourself lucky, Blade Lad, since I don't have any custom made items on hold. I can finish this by tonight."
"As always, your service is fast."
"Complementing me aight going to give you a discount, though."
"Hahaha! You saw right through me." Tomori laughed it off. "By the way, about the weapons?"
"Oh, yeah. Let me have you take a look into it."
…
Handler, Adventurer Guild
…
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" Tadashi and Lars, who had their armors messed up, started laughing maniacally.
"Oh boy, you were crazy!" Lars exclaimed. "You jumped into that fish mouth, just to kill him from the inside!"
"I'm not crazy like you, though! You dive into the ocean and punch the fish straight into the volcano! Talk about being crazy!"
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!" They continue to laugh.
"..Boys are weird…" Nena, who just stood a little bit further away, thought to herself . "Tadashi-sama isn't this excited when he was adventuring with us when the others are around, or even with Blade Hero's side. Maybe they had their similarities, which means there's a chance that Lars' guy is a pervert like Tadashi-sama…"
"Those two… They aren't over it…" Teresa said, while bringing the rewards from the guild. She handed one bag of it to Nena. "Here's your part."
"Wait… Ours is much more than yours." Nena realised that.
"Don't worry, Tadashi-san contributed more to the quest than us."
"If you said so…" The blonde haired woman just stored the bag on the side of her waist.
"And also…" Teresa then walked towards Tadashi. "Um, Tadashi-san… May I have a look at your spear for a moment?"
"My spear? Yeah, sure." He then lowered his spear to match Teresa's level.
"Oh, my…" She then later touched the accessory that covers the spear's gemstone. "Tadashi-san, did you happen to know the creator of this accessory?"
"The creator…" Tadashi muttered. "That is the accessory that I made on whim, which Tomori enchanted with his magic to make it usable for my spear.
"Well… It's an accessory that I made with some help from my friend." Tadashi stated.
"Is that so…" She then grabbed his hands. "Wouldn't you mind if I asked you to make a few accessories for me? I would pay you for it!"
"Um… I can, but I need the materials-"
"Say no more!" Teresa then shoved a pouch filled with gemstone to him.
"This… This is…!" Tadashi took a look inside the pouch, and saw some rare gemstone that he remembered from the game that he thought this world is based on, Citrine Online.
"How is it?"
"Well, I can make something good with them. If I'm not busy, I can finish it in two or three days. Is that fine with you?" Tadashi asked.
"Please do!" Teresa said enthusiastically.
"Well, good for you, Teresa." Lars said to her, then pat Tadashi's shoulder. "We're counting on you, Spear Boy."
"Y-Yeah!" Tadashi said. "These guys are so friendly. If the time is perfect, I want them to join my party for real."
"Well then, it's getting dark now. Time for us to split our ways." Lars said to him. "Let's meet up here in around two days to check whether or not you have finished with Teresa's accessories."
"I'm okay with that." Tadashi told them.
"Alright, see ya later, Spear Boy!"
Both Lars and Teresa then left the Adventure Guild.
"You're having fun, huh?" Nena said to him.
"Yeah. Those guys are quirky, but they're fun to hangout with. To be honest, that's what I thought me and the other heroes would be if we're on an adventure."
Imagine, where the four Cardinal Heroes formed a party to slay monsters left and right to defend the peace of this world-
"Ah, here you are." Later then, Tomori appears in front of him.
"Uwah?!" Tadashi backed down. "Tomori, what are you doing here?"
"Waiting for you, Spearhead. We just finished selling all of the potions and Bio-Seed that we planned to sell. So, we're here to meet up with you."
Behind Tomori is Riri, Ivaran, Akira and Emil.
"By the way, Blade Hero." Nena handed him the rewards from the quest.
"Hmm… The bag is quite heavy. We can use this on the colosseum as well." Tomori then stored the bag inside his Inventory. "Either way, I want Akira and Emil here to search for information about the participants that's going to be involved in the underground dungeon."
"Ah, if that's the case, may I tag along?" Nena asked. "I have a hunch that they're going to make Tadashi-sama do something that he is definitely going to drag me into. So, I'm playing safe here."
"Hmm… Oh well, it's better to have a companion to help, I guess." Tomori agreed with that idea. He then turned to Riri and Ivaran. "Both you then will take a look into where the real villagers are being sold to."
"Alright!" Riri said, while Ivaran nodded.
"And you," He then turned to Tadashi. "We're going to do a little scouting."
…
Underground Colosseum
…
Both Tomori and Tadashi entered the underground colosseum.
"Oh wow, this place looks rough… Oh, a casino!" Tadashi said.
"That's basically my reaction here."
Tomori then leads him to take a seat, as he orders something for both of them.
"What?! Honey Beer?! Should we order alcohol or something?" Tadashi asked him.
"You're weak against it. Honey Beer is the best thing you can drink here, you know?"
As the drinks arrived, Tomori took a sip of it while explaining the info that he got from Linda.
"So, you have to be wary if someone casts a debuff spell on you, or a barrier spell at your opponents." Tomori said to him.
"I see… Can we attack those magicians then?" He asked.
"Well… Technically, you can. But this colosseum is covered with barrier magic to protect the crowd from being hit by any physical or magic damage. I don't think you can do that, unless you release a high tension magic that can break the barrier."
"He's right, you know?"
Tomori turned around to the source of the voice.
"You…" It was Linda.
"Ara~ Did you miss me already, Onii-san?" She said teasefully. "It's only been a day, you know?"
"Rather, I wouldn't want to meet with you ever again." Tomori said with disgust on his face. "You made me stay awake for 10 whole hours, you know?"
"Ara~ I never thought you would stay awake that long, you know?"
"Wait, Tomori… Are you and her-"
"Nope! That's just a big misunderstanding!" Tomori instantly knew what he's going to say.
"Oh I see…"
"So, why are you bringing this young boy here? Is he participating as well?"
"Yeah, in the single battle. I have my own team."
"Is that so… Well then," Linda takes a seat between them. "May I accompany both of you for tonight?"