Gonna make this easier for now.

"Talking"

Thinking

[Ability/Magic]

Probably should have done this before.

Chapter 2: Betrayal

His short adventure into the town came to an end with a loss. Or a win? Naofumi didn't know. Sure, he didn't get the dragon, but he did get the guaranteed filolial. So in true gacha fashion, he got the equivalent of a 4-star unit in one pull. A pretty good pull thinking of the probability.

Though he was glad he ended the trip now, he was getting pretty tired. Once he got back to his room, he put all his possessions away, with his newly acquired egg on the nightstand near him. From there, he got in the bed and went right to sleep.

Hours later, a mysterious figure shrouded in the darkness of the night made its move. Silently entering the room, they move around with a sack, silently grabbing everything the hero owned.

They went over to the nightstand the hero was sleeping next to and took the small bag by his side. However, they were quite confused to find that it was virtually empty, with only a few coins left to spare. That's when they looked back at the desk and found the egg sitting in its incubator.

That idiot bought an egg? Why the hell did he waste my money on something stupid like a monster?" The thief groaned.

They went to take the egg from the incubator, but they stopped themselves before they could touch it.

If I take the egg, he'll most likely be notified of its location and wake up. And I can't have him awake; that'll just throw my plans awry. Destroying it here would only yield the same result. Maybe I could use this against him?

Knowing the egg was almost impossible to dispose of at the moment, the thief grabbed what was left and quickly exited the room.

/~/

The sun shined through the window, waking the hero from his slumber. Stretching his body a bit, Naofumi got out of bed and went over to the wardrobe, only to find it empty.

Huh. I could have sworn I put it here.

Thinking he misplaced his clothes last night, he went over to the bedside, only to find nothing as well. This confusion built up to frustration, and frustration caused him to panic as he frantically searched the room, finding not only his clothes but his armor and coin pouch as well.

"First day, and I've already been robbed!"

Naofumi ran over to the nightstand table and picked up the incubator holding the egg. "Why did they take everything but leave this? Is the value that bad? Did I not get a filolial? Not important; gotta get Myne."

Naofumi ran out of his room and into the hallway with his egg in hand. As he reached the door, he banged on it, hoping to get his companion's attention. "Myne! Myne, wake up, we've been robbed!"

Naofumi continued knocking until he realized no one was answering. Thinking the worst happened, he was prepared to kick the door down until several guards ran up to him.

"Shield hero, the king has requested your presence."

/~/

Naofumi assumed the guards were there to help him. But they instead arrested him and dragged him through the town. He had no idea why, but the citizens all watched as he walked towards the castle. All of them were filled with disgust when they saw him, for reasons outside of his understanding, but the gaze of the people wasn't the worst of Naofumi's problems.

Once he arrived at the throne room, they threw him to the ground in front of all the nobles; they even tossed his incubator as well, but Naofumi caught the egg as it fell out.

"What the hell is goin-"

"Silence you, fiend!" The king yelled, silencing the room. "The second you were summoned here, I saw that you'd bring nothing but trouble. And here you are, thinking you can waltz around my kingdom, acting nonchalant about your crimes. Well, not here! Not in this kingdom! I will not let you believe your crimes will go unnoticed and especially not let them go unpunished."

"But what crimes? I was just robbed, and now you claim that I'm the aggressor!" Naofumi argued back.

"You claim this, but our testimony suggests otherwise. Myne dear, I'm sorry to ask this, but please tell us what happened." The king asked.

"Oh, i-it was horrible; the shield hero burst into my room. Last night, he seemed… drunk and kept t-telling me, "Oh the night was young." He then grabbed me, and… f-f forced me down and-" She stopped speaking and began to cry.

"Are you seriously going to believe that? She is not even producing any tears to be crying at that level." Naofumi grumbled.

"That's because she spent half the night doing so, you unforgivable bastard!" Motoyasu shouted.

"I have no words; other than that, you're a disgrace to the title of a hero." Itsuki was insulted.

Naofumi looked over to Ren to see his reaction, but he stayed silent as his eyes were fixated on the egg next to him. That's when he remembered; he had an alibi he could use.

"I can assure you, nothing she says is true. Last night I was out on the town and bought this egg for a circus tent." Naofumi raised the egg for everyone to see.

"If what was claimed was true, can you give the name of this monster seller you speak of?"

"Of course it's... I never got a name actually, but—

"And where exactly was this circus tent located since you're so confident about its existence?"

"That's unfair! I don't know this town by heart; I can't—

"That only brings even more suspicion to your name, but assuming what you claim was true once more, explain to us why this egg was in your room despite stating you had been robbed. If everything was supposedly taken regardless of value, why was this specifically left?"

"B-but, I-." Naofumi couldn't speak; he didn't have an answer to the king's argument. I'm only making things worse at this rate.

"No words, as I thought, A hastily made cover story with several holes. But if you desire to spew any more lies to this court, then I shall show undeniable proof it was you. Bring in the evidence!"

As the king demanded, 2 knights walked in with women's lingerie, making Myne slightly embarrassed by the sight of it.

"According to the reports by several knights in the area, this was found in your room during an inspection. And looking at the earlier testimony, as well as your failed attempt at a cover story, only proves that you're guilty."

"But that's impossible. My room was empty when I left! It's obviously planted evidence!" Naofumi shouted back as he stood up, only to be forced back down by the knight. "

"You say this, but you lack the evidence or proof needed for this trial to go any further. The verdict is in favor of Lady Myne here."

Naofumi looked over at Myne once more; he couldn't understand why she would do this to him. And all he got back was just a mocking face from her.

"You idiots aren't even listening. I said I had a witness, and I got no investigation. You bastards are just biased."

"We heard your lame testimony, Naofumi, and Myne had put a lot more effort into hers. So just admit you're guilty already before I thrust this spear into your knee, you bastard!" Motoyasu tries to walk forward but is held back by Myne.

"He should have his status as a hero revoked. We should send him back," Itsuki chimed in.

"That sounds like a good idea; we don't need people like you messing up the hero's reputation," Motoyasu replied.

The king strokes his beard before chiming in himself. "Even though I really want to, it is impossible for any of the heroes to return home until the waves are done."

"So why can't we kill him right now and just summon another in his place?" Motoyasu asked.

"That is also undoable; only new heroes can be summoned when all 4 have perished."

As that is said, crazy laughter is heard. Everyone looked over at the shield as he laughed crazily.

"Why are you laughing?" Motoyasu yelled.

"So if you want me gone, all three of you have to be sacrificed with me. That seems like a fair trade, doesn't it? Living your lives while also being trapped in a personal hell with me, versus dying and not living out your glory."

"You laugh this up now, but do know, if you weren't a holy hero, then you'd certainly be dead now. Since that can't happen though, rumors of your crime have already spread across the country. As long as you're fighting the waves, no further punishment can be acted upon, but until then, that shall be your punishment. Now release him and get him out of my sight."

A bunch of knights tried to force him up, but Naofumi pushed them all away.

"Get your hands off me! I'll leave myself."

Naofumi left, walking outside the castle; the gate closed behind him, with all of his money, armor, and equipment gone. Also adding the fact that the entire country was against him now, Naofumi didn't care for this place anymore. All he had was a single egg. And if this egg was his only chance at survival, Naofumi was prepared to do all he could to survive.

Thanks for reading.

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