Chapter 20: The Heroes Feast
"EVERYONE MAKE WAY FOR THE SHIELD HERO!" The knight shouted.
Siltvelt was vastly different from Melromarc. Obviously, the animal-like citizens were a major change from the humans he was used to; now Naofumi was finally being treated like the hero he is. Although he refused at first, Raphtalia convinced him to do a parade around the capital.
The first reason why Naofumi agreed was just to please the people of Siltvelt, so they could move on with their plans peacefully. The other half was to get a better view of the area. And if the worst comes to the worst, plan possible escape routes.
"We'll be arriving at the church soon, my lord. Your bird is doing a wonderful job."
"Good. Tell her to keep moving and not to hit any more potholes."
"Yes, my lord!" The bear-like demi-human climbed back to the front of the cart and started to relay his commands to Sakura. Taking this moment of respite to sit back and relax, Naofumi looked over to his companions, who were also riding in the back. He had to agree. Keel was quite rowdy when they first met and was still taking a while to warm up to him. Especially after leaving him with Fitoria for a week.
Raphtalia and Keel were catching up. To Naofumi's surprise, he had had his own adventures, being traded from master to master since none of them were able to handle his rowdiness. He even heard his previous owner say he was happy to give up Keel at a minimal price.
He had to agree. Keel was quite rowdy when they first met and was still taking a while to warm up to him. Especially after leaving him with Fitoria for a week.
Ake was also there, still very paranoid about being in Siltvelt, despite his disguise."
"You look too nervous, Ake. Pull it together, or people would suspect something."
"Sorry. But being a human in a country that hates humans is putting me a bit on edge." Ake explained. "Not to mention, my level's been reset, and I haven't had a chance to bring it back up," Ake added with a nervous chuckle.
It was true. After escaping the church, they didn't have time to grind and only killed the occasional monster here and there that got in their way. Ake was now level five, significantly behind the others.
But as an added bonus, he can get the same boost and adjustments from his shield as everyone else in his party. So in a way, resetting his level was a benefit.
Ake, however, was still a bit weary after explaining all of this. But now more determined to reach his original level and go further beyond.
/~/
The church was huge, much larger than the cathedral in Melromarc.
Looking around his church. Several stained glass windows and statues of various shields litter the halls. Countless rows of benches fill up the center of the building, with various doors and confessionals lying by its side.
The main attraction, however, came from the main stage. Behind the lectern stood a set of stairs that led up to a higher elevated platform. It was barely visible, but Naofumi could see the golden tip of a dragon's wings on top.
"Welcome, Lord Hero, to your grand cathedral!" The cat priest came down from the area above. His features reminded Naofumi of a bobcat. Unlike the pope. He wore black robes instead of white and had no hat, opting to leave his cat-like ears exposed.
"Is the hourglass here?"
"Yes, it is. Lord Werner has informed me of your arrival, and we have taken the necessary actions to smoothen the-"
"A yes would be fine."
"My apologies. I shall guide you to the hourglass now."
The cat ordered all his priests to bow as Naofumi and his party walked past. Even if he was worshipped here, Naofumi found all of this too annoying for his own good.
Is this what celebrities have to deal with every day? What a nightmare.
"It's not that bad, Naofumi. Just keep calm." Raphtalia sighed in an attempt to reassure him.
"Did I say that out loud?" Naofumi thought as he looked over to Raphtalia. He decided to drop any thoughts as he reached the top of the stage.
Ascending the steps, Naofumi arrived at the top floor and saw the dragon hourglass sitting at the back of the church. More acolytes of the shield hero all knelt on the floor as he walked past, with one, in particular, stepping forward.
"Welcome, Lord Shield Hero. I am Herthsith. I shall be your guide from now on." Herthsith did a curtsy as she greeted Naofumi. Due to her features, Naofumi quickly identified her species as a bunny. Specifically a Lop due to how her ears hung.
When compared to the other sisters in the cathedral. Her clothes were much longer, with her sleeves completely covering her hands and drooping to the floor.
"You can speak Melromarc?" Raphtalia questioned.
"Indeed. I was assigned to deal with the language barrier of our lord's companions."
"Good. I'm actually grateful for that." Naofumi admitted, making the bunny overjoyed, before composing herself.
"Thank you, my lord. Now this way, the dragon hourglass has already been prepared for all your needs, Lord Shield. All you need to do is step forward and allow the hourglass to resonate with your very being."
Naofumi sighed as he did what Herthsith asked. Doing this once again, Naofumi raised his shield towards the hourglass, which shoots a tiny beam into the gem.
Hourglass Registered
Time till next wave: 12 days or 288 hours.
'A week and five days. We have less time than I thought.
"I assume the register was a success?"
"It was. Now for our second reason."
"Understood. Lady and bird of the shield hero. Please step forward."
"Finally. Sakura has been waiting for a good five minutes."
"Just go, shove Sakura," Raphtalia grumbled as she pushed Sakura forward.
The bird didn't stumble at the shove, and only used it to increase her walk speed toward the hourglass.
"The class-up ritual for the shield hero is now underway!" Herthsith declared.
The hourglass glowed with a bright light as Sakura looked forward. Naofumi was questioning why nothing else was happening but jumped back as he was startled by a sudden pop-up appearing in his face.
Would you like to choose the path for your monster?
Yes No
I see. I get to choose since I'm their master. Naofumi pondered the screen real quick before selecting no. Once he did, the screen disappeared, and the sound of Sakura getting startled filled the room as her eyes scanned over all the possible options.
"Don't see the harm in allowing them to choose their own path. As long as Sakura doesn't do anything stup- Naofumi's thoughts were cut short as a bright light filled the room. Once the light settled, Sakura walked away from the hourglass, looking the same as before.
"Huh. That was weird."
"What was weird? It was a success, right?" Ake asked.
The priestess shrugged her shoulders when everyone looked at her.
"Well, Sakura was planning on choosing the Blade Dancer class. But something seemed to override my option."
"Override? How is that possible?" Naofumi asked. He looked over to Hearthsith and the cat priest. The former seemed to be going through all her life choices as she attempted to come up with an answer.
After a few seconds of panic, Hearthsith finally composed herself and addressed the party.
"Well… There are rumors of certain blessings that will force a class-up choice. So that could be the issue... Probably."
"Certain blessing you say." Naofumi pondered.
"Sakura doesn't remember getting any. Except."
"Fitoria." Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Sakura guessed at the same time. Throughout all of their experiences. Fitoria was quite literally the only answer. The pope could also be one, but they all subconsciously agreed that judgment was far from a blessing.
"Well. No need to worry about it now. Let's just say whatever she gave was worthwhi—holy shit!"
"Naofumi. This is a holy place."
"Shut up and look at your stats."
"What, did somethin—holy fuck!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Real holy Sakura," Raphtalia muttered. "Now what happened? Is it bad?"
"Quite the opposite. Whatever Fitoria gave her just doubled her stats."
"Doubled! That's insane!" Keel exclaimed.
"Who knew that bird had that kind of power?" Naofumi looked at Raphtalia, Keel, and Ake's stats.
"Maybe if I offer her some food. She'll extend that blessing to these three as well." After calming the crowd, Raphtalia walked up to the hourglass; the same pop-up for Sakura appeared in front of Naofumi.
Once again choosing no, Raphtalia went on to choose her own class, a light shining shortly after.
The light didn't come from the hourglass, however. Instead, it was emitted from Sakura's cowlick, which immediately flew off and into the hourglass. Once it did, the same light from before now developed throughout the entire room.
Quickly checking her stat page, Naofumi saw that she also got the 2x boost that came from Sakura's class up and assumed that the cowlick affected the choice in some way.
"Sakura, did you do that?" Naofumi
"Sakura didn't do anything!"
"She's right. The cowlick overrode my choice before I had a chance to make it. It seems I also feel lighter." Raphtalia added.
"I see. So the bird's blessing extends to those in the party. How amazing." Herthsith Surmised.
"That could be it. Even though it's a very good class up, this could cause issues later. Sakura."
"Sakura knows. She's banned from all future class-ups." Sakura pouted.
"Good. Alright, guys, let's go."
"Wait, wait, wait. You're leaving already. Perhaps you'd like to stay for a service or two?"
"No. We have little time to prepare for the waves. You can do your service without us." Naofumi pushed open the cathedral doors and entered the carriage that was still outside.
"Would you at least like to schedule another visit?"
"Send me a letter!" Naofumi slammed the carriage door after the rest of his party got inside. Once Sakura was strapped in, she sped away from the church and headed towards the castle.
"But he never told me what his address was." The priest sulked as Herthsith consoled him.
"Just be glad that the lord took the time out of his day to visit."
/~/
"Lower the drawbridge!" Commanded a gruff voice. Long before Sakura even reached the castle. Werner sent someone ahead to warn the guards of the shield hero's arrival. It didn't take long for them to get inside once they got there. And Sakura pulled into the courtyard, stopping in front of the courtyard.
"Welcome, my lord. We have a feast ready for you in the dining hall."
"I didn't ask for a feast. Did you forget the whole reason why I was here?"
"No, my lord. It's jus-"
"Then we should be focusing on the wave that could destroy the country. We can party after." Naofumi said angrily.
"Come on, Naofumi. It's just lunch. We haven't eaten since last night."
"Raphtalia is right. Also, it's food." Sakura added.
"I also agree. Sorry." Ake also added.
"What about you, Keel?" Naofumi asked with a sigh.
"My vote is food."
"Welp, it's decided. We're going to eat!" Sakura transformed back into a human and ran inside the castle before anyone could stop her.
"Lord Shield. Should we stop—
"No. Give her a minute."
"A-alright my lord." Listening to his lord's command. Werner stopped the guards from pursuing the bird. And just as Naofumi predicted, Sakura showed up a minute later with a ditzy look on her face.
"Hehe. So where's the dining hall, Red Bird?
"Follow me." Entering the castle properly this time. Sakura and the rest of the party followed Werner through the halls. Many priceless and valuable artifacts were scattered about like a rich person's hallway. Many of them caught the eye of the shiny-obsessed bird, but the real show for Naofumi was the various shields that were displayed on the wall. It seemed that Werner caught his curiosity and said that he would send the shields into his room at a later date.
After another minute of walking down the hall passing by, the party finally entered the dining hall. The room was large and held many tables of foods, sweets, and drinks from all over Siltvelt. The party had seemed to have started a while back, as people that Naofumi could only guess were the nobles of Siltvelt were all getting drinks from their human slaves.
"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" A mammoth commanded. He, along with the rest of the dining hall, all looked over to Naofumi as he entered.
"A TOAST TO THE SHIELD LORD. FOR HE HAS ARRIVED!"
"CHEERS!" Everyone clinked their drinks as the party started back up again.
Instead of splitting up. The party chose a table to sit at and waited there as several of the nobles all came up to them to give their greetings. The party, if Naofumi could even call it one, was just a get-together for Siltvelts nobility. What really tipped Naofumi over the edge was when they served him an appetizer that was some sort of beef with worms on it. The poor servant was then yelled at for serving Naofumi that kind of food and was sent off to grab something more suitable for his lord's mouth.
"I guess you were right, Naofumi. This party really does suck." Ake commented. "Even the food being served to us is inedible... Well... mostly." Ake side-eyed Sakura as she was digging into the meal they just served Naofumi. He forgot that Sakura was a monster that transforms into a human and not the other way around.
"Say what you want. Bird food is great. Want some?" Sakura offers Keel and Raphtalia a spoonful. Both of them reject it immediately to preserve their stomach.
Their wait for food didn't last long, however. Bursting through the front door was several carts of food. Many of them were Siltvets main and best dishes, along with some Melromarc dishes scattered in. With all the meals placed on their table, the party started to dig in, with Sakura directing them to the dishes that were suitable for them.
"I apologize deeply, Lord Hero. But I am unable to fulfill your request at this time." Werner apologized.
"Huh? What request?" Naofumi replied as Sakura slapped a chicken leg out of his hand, and replaced it with another.
"The request to see the council members of Siltvelt. At the moment, several have passed out due to heavy drinking, while the rest are out in Faubrey for diplomatic talks."
Naofumi sighed at the news.
"I know you're unhappy at the news, Lord hero, but rest assured. We will do anything in our power to assist you."
"Between the whores sneaking into my room and the constant celebrations. I say you guys are doing the exact opposite."
"Add the food as well." Sakura chimed in as she dumped the contents of Keel's plate, the latter of whom was trying their best to get it back.
"Pardon? I made sure that the Melromarc food is up to par with the Siltvelt ones in order to please our lord."
"Oh no, it's not that at all." Sakura took a bite out of a griffon leg before continuing. "It's just that a good majority of this food is poison."
The sound of spitting can be heard from everyone at the table as they attempt to remove the food from their mouths. Swapping to his poison frog shield, the shield concluded that the meal was indeed poisoned.
"Why didn't you tell us!" Raphtalia shouted.
"I've been stopping you from eating the poisonous ones for a while. Did nobody notice?"
"NO!" The group shouted at the bird.
"Haha. Whoops." Sakura replied with a derped look.
"Werner. Explain yourself."
/~/
Standing 10 feet away from the whole exchange was a lion. He was part of the Siltvelt council and was currently faking a blackout so he wouldn't be caught. He heard from one of Werner's shadows that a human of all beings was in the party, and his bird was protecting him from every suitor attempt they threw at him.
The shield hero from legends was rumored to be immune to poison. So with some poison, he can take out 1 bird, a human, as well as test the legitimacy of the shield hero. All with one stone. Now all he had to do was blame it on some human slave while he was passed out "drunk" on the floor and watch the death happen. Bonus point if he got the raccoon, who also seemed to be working for the affection of the shield hero.
His plan, though, failed immediately. For the whole 30 minutes, the shield hero's party was eating. Not a single one of them even ate a single piece of his carefully poisoned. And it was all due to the birds meddling once again, as she was somehow able to detect which meals were poison and which ones weren't.
A full day of planning was ruined just like that. And now the shield hero was on guard for any possible situations that may arise. The lion was not happy, and all he could do was hear the shield hero chide Werner as he lay in a pile of passed-out bodies.
AN: Thanks for reading. Leave a review