A dark armored figure walked through the streets of the capital of Melromarc. Many whispered and gossiped about the armored man as he continued to walk towards the castle.
When he got to the gate, two guards stopped him.
"Halt! What business do you have in the castle?" The knight yelled at the armored man. To most, the knight's order would make them feel inferior, but before the towering man in front of him, it just made the knight look like a child yelling at an adult.
"My name is Momon, I received an invitation to attend a banquet for my part in the battle against the wave." The knights were visibly relieved.
"The banquet has already started, but I can have someone lead you to where it is being held if you want." The other knight spoke up.
"If you could, it would be greatly appreciated" Momon gave a small bow.
"HEY, AKE!"
A young soldier stationed nearby ran towards the group. "Yes, sir?"
"Guide this man to the banquet being held for the victory over the wave." Ake nodded and motioned for Momon to follow him before the knight pulled him close.
"Don't dally, he may be a knight or high-ranking adventurer from a neighboring kingdom. Make a good impression and fix up your goddamn uniform." Ake panicked for a moment checking himself over before he looked over to Momon.
"P-please follow me, umm, Sir!"
Momon just nodded to the nervous soldier and followed him up to the castle. During their walk, Ake awkwardly tried to keep his posture up and would frequently glance over at Momon, though Momon didn't give any indication he noticed or cared. He merely looked around the castle and mumbled to himself on occasion.
"So, umm, did you participate in the defense of Riyute or are you here for more official reasons?" Momon looked over to Ake, which made him quickly explain himself.
"I d-don't mean to pry, it's just I was a part of the knight squad that helped during the wave, and I would have noticed someone like you, with how impressive looking your armor is."
"I was on the outskirts of the village during the wave, only joining near its end. My part was killing any of the monsters that tried to leave the area."
Ake nodded with understanding to Momon's explanation. But before he could ask another question, they arrived at their destination.
"Ah, right through here, Sir. I hope you have a pleasant evening." He bowed before quickly running back the way they came. Momon glanced over to the departing soldier before opening the doors to the banquet.
The room he entered had music in the background, while the guests politely mingled with each other, some glancing over to the newcomer, or that's what he expected. A moment after he walked in, he heard yelling from the upper floor. He quickly went to see what was going on. When he arrived on the upper floor, he saw two adventurers in an argument.
"People can't force others into slavery! Especially not us! We came from another world, and we cannot behave like that here." Momon looked to see the Spear Hero, Motoyasu, yelling at Shield Hero, Naofumi.
He continued to watch as the whole room looked at Naofumi with scorn, but then suddenly, Motoyasu raised his weapon. "Fight me! If I win, you must release Raphtalia." Momon decided now was a good moment to make his entrance.
"What would he get in return?"
"What?" Motoyasu asked. Everyone looked at him shocked that anyone would dare question the hero.
"I asked you what he would get in return for dueling you?" Momon asked him again.
"He would get to keep Raphtalia like he has been, of course" He responded with confidence.
For a moment Momon stood silent, and then, "Are you serious?" he asked dumbfounded. A few young soldiers could be heard chuckling in the crowd before Momon continued.
"So, you are asking to duel someone for the right of owning their property?" Motoyasu glared at him.
"She's not proper…!"
"Yes, she is. As much as I don't approve of it either, in this country she is property, and, in this case, the Shield Hero's property. The same as the armor you are wearing now. The same as the swords on my back. That is what a slave is: property. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the country's monarch." Unlike Motoyasu, Momon spoke with a sense of clarity and finality that could shut down any argument.
Before Motoyasu could think of a response, a different voice spoke up.
"Your words hold truth, knight. Slaves are property meant to be used as their master pleases. And though I can sympathize with Sir Motoyasu's concerns, slavery is the backbone of this country and cannot be easily removed." The king parted the crowd as he walked over to the group.
"Nevertheless, it is still looked down upon for a 'hero' to own slaves. Especially when they use them for fighting. He is not only a criminal but a coward as well."
"Hey! Get out of my way!" Momon looked over to see Naofumi, who was near the exit, being blocked by two knights.
" !" Momon saw that the slave was also being restrained.
"As King of Melromarc, I hereby order the duel between the Shield Hero and Spear Hero to commence at the castle arena. With no outside interference." The king glanced at Momon who simply watched the scene unfold.
"Wait, has never abus…mphMPH!" The knight restraining her put a gag in her mouth. Momon, watching the interaction decided to try and intervene.
"You're not even going to let the slave speak? This is clearly a setup to further diminish the Shield Hero's already ruined reputation and take away his one and only companion, even if she is a slave." The surrounding nobles either looked away or glared at the accusation, but one person stepped forward.
"Yeah, why is Raphtalia being gagged?" Surprisingly, Motoyasu was the one to speak out. But before the king had a chance to respond, one of his companions quickly answered.
"Sir Motoyasu, as I told you earlier, her slave seal forces her to defend the Shield Hero. That does not only mean he can force her to fight but anything she says could just be what the Shield told her to say." Her eyes started to swell up. She turned to Momon and pointed at Naofumi.
"That man has done terrible things. If I would have stayed with him, I might have ended up just like her." She glared at him with tears in her eyes. "You wouldn't understand what is like to be powerless to that... that demon!" She turned to Motoyasu balling as he tried his best to console her.
The king lowered himself down to Raphtalia "You poor thing, being forced to defend your abuser." She tried to scream at him, but the king ignored her walking towards the balcony to address the party below.
"Everyone, please move on to the castle arena to watch as the Spear Hero, Sir Motoyasu, duels the cowardly Shield Hero." The crowd cheered.
As he made the announcement, everyone else already began to move towards the arena. Once the king was done, he looked over Momon who was just standing there, seemingly waiting for him. The king checked his surroundings before making a gesture to a nearby knight. In just a few seconds, Momon found himself surrounded.
"Now, who the hell are you? I ordered all the nobles to stay out of the confrontation between the Spear and Shield. How dare one of the noble's knights go against a royal decree! Explain yourself immediately!" The king glared at Momon, but he just stood there in response.
'Strong religious presence, demi-humans viewed as lower lifeforms, corruption, and punishment for any who dare stand against them. Hmm, the more I think about this place the more it reminds me of the Theocracy. The Theocracy…' Ainz mentally shook his head. The mere thought of the Theocracy forced his emotional suppression to kick in.
'But what's with this guy's bias against the Shield Hero? Was that girl even a slave? She had no bruises or scratches, didn't have a dead look in her eye, and, hell, she was even smiling. If that girl is a slave, then I am the Angel of Purity.' As Ainz continued to reflect on the situation, the king continued to stand there, growing infuriated by his lack of response.
One of the knights surrounding him suddenly spoke up. "Hey! Do not ignore the king when he speaks to you! Such disrespect will get you executed."
"Shut your mouth!" Ainz looked over to the knight in question directing his aura towards him. The knight fell over and started crawling away from him as fast as they could.
Ainz looked back to the king. "I apologize for the delay in my response, regrettably I feel my age makes my mind wander more frequently. My allegiance is not to any of your nobles, but to the kingdom I hail from." Ainz gave a small bow.
"I am Dark Hero Momon, The Sword of the Sorcerer, First Knight of Carne, and my king's personal bodyguard."
Ainz noticed even after seeing what happened to one of his knights, the king did not back down in the slightest. However, the mention of a foreign state clearly made him nervous.
"Never heard of you. I don't recognize that insignia, what kingdom do you hail from? My wife, The Queen, should be handling the affairs of neighboring kingdoms."
"Oh, yes. You are referring to her cleaning up the political suicide you committed by summoning all four of the Cardinal Heroes." The king's face turned bright red at Ainz's remark.
Ainz has met all kinds of rulers in his years of ruling the Sorcerer Kingdom, whether they were a ruler of an empire, city, or just a single village, Ainz has seen all kinds. This king was not unique, not at all. He is just another ruler who is well past their prime trying their hardest to regain the respect and authority they once held, not caring about the people they once swore to protect.
"I did it for the security of my country and I will NOT be ridiculed by the likes of you!" Just as he was about to make the order to attack, multiple dark figures jumped down from the ceiling and landed in between the two, facing the king.
"My king, it is unwise to go against this man." The king couldn't even muster a response before they continued.
"The queen has ordered you to placate any demands made by this knight or any others baring the sigil on the knight's cape." The Queen's Shadow handed over a scroll, which the king snatched out of their hands.
As the king reads the scroll his face goes through a multitude of emotions, but finally ends in reluctant acceptance. He turns his face back to Ainz, trying his best to hide his displeasure.
"I apologize Momon for not giving you the best welcome. But, as you know, our country is in a fragile state at the moment, so I must keep my subordinates in line. If you wish, you may watch the duel between the Shield and Spear, but afterword please leave the castle."
The king ordered the knights surrounding Ainz to stand down and began to leave. But looked towards Ainz again with a scowl.
"The queen may have pardoned you this time, but if you interfere with royal affairs again, you will face consequences." With that, he marched away towards the arena.
As soon as the king and guards left Ainz turned towards the three shadows.
"Thank you for the assistance, but your intervention was not required."
"We did not intervene to assist you. Your master broke the agreement." Ainz smiled internally at their response.
"Has he now? I don't believe so. My lord agreed that he would not leave the forest, which, as far as I know, he has not. Nothing in the agreement said anything about his subordinates being restricted to the forest as well." The shadows glared at him with disdain.
"You may shadow me if you wish, but, like you, I have my orders and I will not break them just because the Queen's Shadows agreed to a contract they didn't fully consider." The shadows, with nothing else to say, disappeared from Ainz's sight.
When they finally left, Ainz felt like jumping for joy.
'After decades of planning, I finally made a plan that worked out as I intended! No Albedo or Demiurge interpreting something different. No random noble or disaster ruining everything. I did it! It was a small plan, sure, but it was mine!'
His plan was simple. Go out as Momon wearing the Sorcerer Kingdom's insignia, get noticed by the Queen's Shadows, and get bailed out if he ever crosses the line when it comes to the country's laws or aristocrats.
Ainz has tried to make reforms, policies, holiday events, and military decisions, but every plan was either altered, manipulated, or didn't turn out as he had hoped. But not this time. Regrettably, as soon as he started celebrating his emotional suppression kicked in.
"Ha, it was fun while it lasted." Ainz looked over to where the king exited the ballroom.
"Might as well watch this duel. I wonder what abilities these 'heroes' have up their sleeves?"
After stumbling through the castle corridors for a few minutes, Ainz finally found the entrance to the arena stands. The arena itself was quite… meh. The setting area was small, with not much décor, and weirdly enough the arena formed a square, rather than the traditional circle.
The two combatants, Motoyasu and Naofumi, already met in the middle of the arena and were just about to begin the duel.
While Ainz did not have high expectations, as the duel commenced Ainz found it surprisingly interesting to watch. Motoyasu was quite boring, spamming his skills and attacking Naofumi with no real strategy aside from overwhelming him from what Ainz could determine.
'It seems the battle with me has not lowered his confidence in the slightest. He does have some flashy skills, but the way he uses them is so predictable. D-. At least he's passionate about the fight.'
The part that stood out to Ainz, other than the unknown abilities being used, was Naofumi. His attacks flowed into one another seamlessly allowing creative and unique attack combos, the opposite of Motoyasu.
'Variety of skills being used, quickly changing his shield to adapt to the situation, and haha, even using mobs to attack. B. Not perfect, but he is using his skills quite well and the Spear hero's aggressive style to his advantage. Cocytus would have some suggestions for his blocking and dodging techniques, but overall, well done.'
The skill level was clearly in Naofumi's favor, but unless he had a way to significantly injure Motoyasu, Ainz was disappointed to say the battle was slightly in Motoyasu's favor. However, all chances of Naofumi winning were completely crushed as one of Motoyasu's party members, the same one from the party, interfered, casting a wind spell that hit Naofumi. That split moment of disorientation was all Motoyasu needed to get the advantage over Naofumi.
'Disappointing, I was kind of hoping the Sheild would win, being the underdog and all, but life is unfair and cruel.'
Just as Ainz was about to leave, he felt negative energy begin to rise from the arena. He quickly looked toward the source and was surprised to see Naofumi, curled in a ball. The signature was weak but was quickly growing.
'Negative Energy... from a hero?'
Before the energy could reach its peak, Naofumi's slave ran up to him, and the energy suddenly stopped growing. Ainz watched as Naofumi's slave spoke with him and eventually embraced him causing the energy to dissipate.
Ainz had a few theories about what could cause this sudden rise and fall in negative energy, but all of them were based on his knowledge of Yggdrasil and the 'new world'. But this world had no traces of tier-based magic or martial arts, rather having its own unique set of rules and abilities that he had barely scratched the surface of.
"Can the other heroes produce negative energy? Or is this unique to the shield's power? You've piqued my curiosity, Shield Hero. I wonder what other surprises you have in store." The flames within his helmet flared as his shadow disappeared.
Important Author Note:
So, we have reached the end... of what I had written before I posted chapter one. I have been reflecting on the reviews and on my own thought while re-reading the story and have decided to increase my benchmark for chapter lengths. I will be trying to aim for 2000~ words a chapter from here on, rather than my previously stated 1000 words. This does not mean I will never release short chapters, but when I re-read what I've posted I enjoyed chapter 2 much more than chapter 1 which some may notice are now a single chapter.
Does this mean chapter won't be released as quickly? Yes, but that was going to happen anyways. I plan on releasing a chapter every week but it depends on my IRL situation. Another reason for the less frequent releases is I am going to be re-reading Rising of the Shield Hero light novels, my shield lore is quite rusty and I don't want to write myself into a corner. But please keep in mind these chapters will be longer than my previous ones.
With that being said, thank you again for all of the follows and reviews and I hoped you enjoyed!