Chapter 3: First Impression
"Mm…?"
"Liya!"
When I first regained consciousness, I was greeted by a tight hug from my partner. A quick glance around me showed me that I was in the living room of my house. The rest of my party were here as well.
I'm… alive?
"T-Trish…?" I gave Trish a confused look as she eventually let go. I then turned to the rest of my party, "What's… going on…? Didn't I die?"
The tightness of the bandages wrapped around my chest, the stinging pain on my shoulder, the slight beating of my supposedly stabbed heart, all seemed to point at the opposite.
"You were in a coma for a week." Culann helpfully told me.
"A-A week…!?"
"Yeah. You were on death's door until your grandfather managed to save you." Fionne added.
"Gramps did…?"
"With the same medicine you invented." As if on cue, gramps walked out of the kitchen, still had bandages wrapped around him and with a cup of water at hand, "Here, you must be thirsty from sleeping for days."
Now that he mentioned it, my throat does feel pretty dry.
"Thanks." I asked as I sipped on the warm water. With my thirst being taken care of, I turned to him, "Are you okay now? How are your injuries?"
"Most of the more immediate ones were taken care of, thanks to your medicine. Though I'm still feeling a bit under the weather…" He noted, "You have made quite a special one. Its effects were one of a kind."
"What kind of effects does it had?" Besides being stronger than the regular Recovery Medicine, that is.
"Yeah, that's the thing. It is definitely way stronger than the regular Recovery Medicine. The strange thing is how it only heals the most lethal wounds and ignores the others."
Now that he mentioned it, when I applied the medicine on gramps, only his fever managed to go down while most of his other wounds remained.
"It was how we were able to save you despite getting stabbed in the chest." Gramps pointed out, "That, and you were very lucky that he actually somehow managed to miss your heart."
"I am, aren't I?" I then remembered, "What about the villagers!? Are they…!?"
The gramps shaking his head was enough to tell me what happened. Trish's tight grasp on my hand was the only thing keeping me rushing out.
"No…"
"I tried to save some of them, but most were either already taken away or dead." Arjun stated solemnly, "And when you took that sword to your chest, I had to prioritise your safety first."
"…how many…?"
"Less than a dozen of them."
"We had them camp in the woods to hide for the time being." Fionne added, "Those knights didn't even check to find them. They stopped coming the day after."
"I see…" That's a cold comfort, but comfort all the same.
"Also, an orca demi-human came by yesterday. I think her name was… Sadeena, I believe…?"
"Sadeena was here!?"
A little too late, I would say, but at least she wasn't hunted down by those knights. Not that she would get captured considering how strong she actually was, but they had the numbers advantage on her so it might not turn out that way.
"You actually just missed her. Turns out there was a storm when the Wave struck. That prevented her from coming back sooner than she had hoped." Gramps informed me, "So don't blame her for not being here."
"I won't… for the most part…"
It didn't stop me from feeling bitter about her. If she was here, she could definitely beaten off the knights with ease and saved the village from the Wave. But because she wasn't, all that tragedy happened.
If only I was stronger… than maybe I could have…
"Anyways, Sadeena had just left for Zeltrobe to try and find the captured villagers."
I grimaced at the thought of that cesspool of a kingdom. That's probably the best option she has. That place is the epicenter of the entire slave trade on this continent, so there's a good chance those knights will sell them in one form or another.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Culann asked me, "Head after your orca friend to Zeltrobe?"
"I don't know…" I muttered.
The remaining villagers still need protection, and I doubt Culann and the others could stay here indefinitely to protect them. They need to work as well. Paying them was an idea, but there's not much in our savings to hire them along term.
And with my current strength and level, I would only be a liability to Sadeena. It would do either of us no good if I head over there.
"…For now, you should rest up." He noted, "Not all your injuries have healed yet. You can think about it afterwards."
"Yeah…"
Trish gave me a reassuring pat on my non-injured shoulder. "Whatever you choose, I'm with you."
"Thanks, Trish."
I'll think about when I recovered. It's probably the one choice I had left at this point…
A few days had passed since the raid on Lurolana.
Seeing as the knights no doubt had thought that the village was truly deserted, the surviving villagers returned to Lurolana in an attempt to rebuild it, but the raid's aftermath was starting to have a toll on them mentally.
The couple of times I visited them, I saw their depressed faces just sitting around the ruins all day while only like one or two of them work on rebuilding something. Some were even sobbing away in the corner.
I wish I could do something for them, anything to bright their spirits up, but I don't know what I could do. I tried to cheer them up,
Word of the Wave had been spreading about in the kingdom, and there had been a spike in demand for potions everywhere, even in the rural port town of Lola; which meant more business for me and gramps. It gave me something to do to keep my mind off things as I recovered from my injuries.
Culann and the rest had come to visit me from time to time, sometimes to tell me some current news about the Hero summoning and the Cardinal Heroes.
Apparently, when I was in my coma, Melromarc had summoned all four Heroes, including the Shield Hero. It was great as there were more Heroes in the kingdom to help with the Waves, and horrible in that we might had given a reason the other countries to start a war, especially the western country of Siltvelt.
It was common knowledge that Siltvelt was an extreme opposite to Melromarc, being a demi-human supremacist country that worships the Shield Hero as a God and views the other three Heroes as the devils. As such, the very fact that their 'God' was summoned into essentially enemy's territory with no help from them was no doubt pissing them off pretty badly.
It also didn't help that there have been rumors circulating about the bad reputation the Shield Hero has been getting, including a very dangerous claim in which he had raped his party member on his first night in this world.
Rape was a pretty horrible offense in this kingdom, especially when done on a woman. Add the fact that a HERO was to one that did such a scandalous act?
Things are definitely not looking good for him… It was a goddamn miracle that Siltvelt hadn't declared war on Melromarc by now.
In major contrast, there were way more rumors circulating around about the other three Cardinal Heroes' great deeds. From the Bow Hero's acts of justice to the Sword Hero's display of power and strength, there's not one day which they weren't mentioned in any shape or form.
There're also some talks about how the Spear Hero was quite a ladies' man floating about too, for some reason.
To be honest, the more I listened to these rumors, the more it felt like they were purposely spread by the Three Heroes Church for the sole reason of getting more followers to their cult. And I wasn't the only one to think so. Trish and Culann shared the same thoughts as well.
But with no proof of such a thing, we can only speculate on it. It still felt like propaganda, though…
So far, my days had been relatively calm.
But then one day, when I was busy making the medicine to sell…
*BANG**BANG**BANG*
"Yeah, yeah, wait one sec!" I shouted as I made my way to the front door. Gramps was out delivering medicine so I was left alone at home. I had the Chain Sword hanging on my belt in case of self-defense as I opened the door.
What awaited me in front of our front door was a rather lanky man in what looked like noble clothing guarded by a knight.
"Can I help you?"
"Hmph." The nobleman scoffed at me, which really irritated me, "Are you the one that created that new Recovery Medicine?"
"New Recovery Medicine?"
It took me a moment to realize what he meant.
The day after I woke up from my coma, I decided to put the Recovery Medicine (Advanced) on sale at Lola's general store for a pretty high price, higher than the standard Recovery Medicine but way lower than the Yggdrasil potion's usual price range.
No point with comparing with that legendary potion.
At first, it didn't sell that well, most likely due to its sudden appearance on the shelves. That was until Culann advertised it at the Adventurer's Guild and it somehow became quite a popular product among the high levelled adventurers like Culann for its unique effect, and had become somewhat of a specialty medicine of mine.
Most of the special orders I've received since then were mostly for that specific medicine alone. I was busy making a massive order when he came by.
I guess news of it must have reached the nobility, if he came here to see me specifically.
"I wasn't expecting the creator of such a medicine to be made from a child." The noble said in a rather condescending tone.
"I'm 20, sir." I told him with a growl.
"It doesn't matter." He then pointed at me with his nose up in the air, "My name is Count Tyst. And I'm here to recruit you."
"…What?"
"You commoners must have heard of the successful summoning of our Heroes, right?" He noted with a shake of his head, "With the Waves just barely a week away, they would need all the help our kingdom has to offer. Word has it that your Recovery Medicine worked better than any Recovery Medicine on the market. Your medicine will be a great help for the Heroes in their fight against the Waves, and my house would be the one to make that happen."
"…"
I looked at him with an even more confused expression. What is this guy talking about? I get that my improved Recovery Medicine would provide great aid for the Heroes, but what does that have to do with recruiting me?
"…Is that not clear enough for you? Hah, this is why I don't like dealing with commoners…"
"I don't like dealing with you either, you egotistic bastard…"
"Grr…"
Going by his growling and the gritting of his teeth, he didn't like my off-hand remark that well. Well, not that I care either way. I've encountered bastards like him before, noble or otherwise. And every time I would react the same way. Bastards like these don't deserve any respect from me.
"Let me dumb it down for your lesser mind to understand." He stated in a rather angry tone, which pisses me off even more, "I'm hiring you into my household as my family's personal apothecary. You would work for me and the Heroes alone—"
"Not interested."
"Grk-Wh-What!?"
I rolled my eyes at his outrage of my refusal.
Being a noble's own personal apothecary did sound like a pretty amazing offer that any apothecary would readily accept, considering being one would let us earn quite a lot of money that most of us wouldn't be able to in our lifetime. But it also meant we would have to work at their mansion and have little to no contact with our family beyond some letters.
And if what Trish had told me about the lengths some nobles would go to keep talented people at their side, then it is definitely not in my benefit to accept. After all, being away from gramps meant I wouldn't be able to look after him, not to mention that the villagers still need a protector.
Also, being forced to make medicine for just one person wasn't how I want to go about my career. I didn't choose to become an apothecary for the money alone, after all.
"But if you want to better provide aid for the Heroes, I can give you the recipe for it. For a price, that is."
No way I'm letting this bastard getting that for free.
"You… a little commoner dare refuse a noble's generous offer…?" He growled, "Providing aid for the Heroes is the duty for everyone in this kingdom—"
"Not working for you does not mean not helping the Heroes." I pointed out, "And I'm giving you the recipe to help with that aid you want to give, so I'm technically helping them. Just give it to the apothecaries you have and have them make it for you. You don't have to hire me for that."
"Grk! Why you little—"
"Just give me some time to write that down."
I ignored the seething of that noble bastard and made my way to the lab where our writing utensils were to write the recipe down.
"How dare you give me the false recipe!"
I let out a sigh as the same nobleman shoved the parchment paper at my face.
The day was almost over, the sun was just starting to set and I was just about to head to bed after having dinner when he showed up at my front door with several men accompanying him, fully decked out in armor and swords. Blanc was even squawking at them for interrupting his late night snack.
I checked over the words that I've written on the parchment and find no faults in any of it. "No, this is the real deal." I assured him.
"Oh really? Then why is it that when any of my pharmacists follow this, they ended up making some grey blob!?"
When one of his armored acquaintances shows me the flask containing a familiar grey blob, I finally understand what he was talking about.
"Ah, I see now." I pointed to the text I've underlined very clearly, "It says to follow the ratio EXACTLY. Even a slight change can result in failure and that." I pointed to that flask, "It's harmless, if you are wondering—"
"This wouldn't have happened if you come to work with me!"
"And like I've said, I'm not interested in working with you."
You know, Culann once mentioned that a person's face would turn purple when they were extremely angry. I didn't believe him, but after seeing the purple face of this growling and not doubt seething noble bastard? Yeah, I'm going to have to apologize to him for this later.
"Look, just tell them to follow the recipe carefully and—"
"That's it! You are coming with you, whether you like it or not!"
"What are you-GAH!"
Before I could draw out Chain Sword, one of the armed men had somehow snuck up on me and tackled me onto the ground hard; his sword was out of its sheath and poised near my neck while his buddy took my weapon.
"No funny ideas, if you want to remain alive." He told me.
This must have been his plan from the start! Damn it! I should have known when he brought so many armed men with him! And going by Blanc's very loud squawking, they even have him cornered!
"This wouldn't have to happen if you have just accepted my generous offer from the start."
"You son-of-a-bitch…"
The noble bastard sneered at me as my wrists were tied up and I'm blindfolded, before being half-dragged into his carriage and shoved in like a sack of potatoes,
"Liya!"
I heard gramps' shouting before that noble bastard gave the command to leave for his mansion.
"Do not worry. As long as you work hard in making those medicines, you wouldn't be made to suffer any further… complications."
"..."
"The silent treatment? Hmph, any further resistance is futile. Or do you want that old man—"
"You touch even a hair of his and you'll live to regret it!"
He met my threat with a snicker as he slammed his foot on my face hard, "You are in no position to make threats against me, maggot. But rest assured, that geezer would remain unharmed as long as you listen to me. Are we clear on that?"
"...crystal." I growled out.
Urge, can this get any worse…?
Nevermind, it can.
"Welcome to your new home, maggot."
The armed men removed my bindings before shoving me into what I can describe as a damp dungeon cell. They then slammed the barred wooden door close as that noble bastard told me, "I expect you to work hard for me. And don't even think of cheating me out of it again. I would be really disappointed if you did so."
His footsteps slowly disappear into the corridor, leaving me alone in this damn cell. I decided to take a look around to see where I can possibly escape from here. All the windows are barred and after a quick check, the door leading out was locked tightly shut. The room itself is the size of a single-bed room, with no bed or any furniture.
I patted the part of my belt where I would normally have Chain Sword hooked if those armed men didn't take it from me. They had better take good care of that thing; it cost me a heck a lot of coins!
I peeked through the door's bars, noting the armed guards stationed outside and the very long stone corridor that stretches on from either side, illuminated by burning torches. Looking up through the cell's window, I find the dark night sky.
That bastard captured me around sunset, so this mansion must be quite far from my house, further than the Seaetto mansion. Gramps would have noticed something wrong tomorrow morning and try to inform Culann and the rest, but I'm not too confident in anyone attempting to rescue me. He is of nobility, after all. Being a noble pretty much means that he has close to free-reign over everything in his territory.
Thankfully, he didn't have the idea to imprint onto me a Slave Mark, so I'm still technically a free man and wouldn't suffer any major backlash if I attempted to run away. All I need now is an escape plan.
"Yawn…!"
A yawn escaping was clue enough to how tired I was. I had been up and about since early morning, so being this tired was to be expected. Seeing there are no beds, I had no choice but to lie down on the cold cell floor and attempted to sleep the night away.
"Trish!"
Trish was walking back home after a late dinner when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. Her eyebrows raised in surprise when she saw her partner's grandfather running up to her on the streets in the middle of the night; the initial shock turning into worry when she saw the panic in his eyes.
"Is something wrong, Mr Hohen?" She asked the old man.
"I-It's Liya…!" He cried out as he grasped her robes' sleeves, "A nobleman has kidnaped him!"
"What!? Are you sure!?"
"Yes, I'm sure! I saw him getting pushed into a luxurious carriage!"
She knew that wasn't a good sign.
While not very common, there were plenty of moments in which non-demi-humans were taken advantage of by the kingdom's nobility. Whether it was due to rubbing them off the wrong way or being the attraction to one, they all pretty much ended up just as badly as most demi-humans in similar situations.
"Can you think of any reasons why they took him?" She asked. She hoped it wasn't due to his appearance, because she had heard of a lot of messed-up kinks some nobles can get into. And Liya's appearance would stir up some weird fetishes, not that she would know.
"Hm… ah! Liya mentioned that a nobleman visited us earlier this afternoon looking to hire him. I think it was because of his new Recovery Medicine. He refused him, though."
'The new Recovery Medicine… yeah, that's definitely something worth kidnaping Liya for.'
She recalled seeing the product on the general store shelves. They were pretty expensive for a Recovery Medicine, but they were worth the high price. They also weren't as expensive as most other healing items of similar effectives either, so they are pretty sought after by the high levelled adventurers.
Word on the street was that even the king had ordered several batches for the Heroes' use.
The creator of something as effective as that would definitely get attention from the nobility. Especially those who are hoping to make good use of his abilities for their own gains.
And judging by how Liya was taken after refusing his offer, that was most likely to be the case.
"Do you know who took him?" She asked the old apothecary.
He thought for a moment before answering, "I think he called himself Count Tyst."
'Tyst? That house controls the region southeast from here…'
She hasn't heard anything too bad about the Tyst household, but she didn't hear anything good about them either.
House Tyst was a pretty minor noble house, and was one of the many houses that were open supporters of the Three Heroes Church faith since the kingdom's founding, and was willing to go to extreme lengths to do so. And if the rumors were to be true, the current head was a very devoted follower who had recently started sending high-end support items to the capital to aid the Heroes in amounts that shouldn't be possible for a minor noble to purchase in bulk.
And to top it all off, ever since the announcement of the arrival of the Heroes, he had been 'hiring' various reputable craftsmen of all trades in his territory to craft items for them, which fits Liya's situation perfectly.
"Oh, Liya…" The old apothecary whimpered worriedly.
"Mr. Hohen. Why don't you go back home and rest?" She told him, "Leave Liya to me."
"A-All right…"
'Culann and Fionne sure chose a bad time to head off on a request…'
Her party leader really wanted to get back in the adventurer game as fast as he could after he had fully recovered. She could have used their strength in rescuing her partner,
'Arjun should still be around. I could make use of his marksmanship for this.'
With that in mind, she turned around and march off to find Arjun to help her in the rescue—
"I've heard everything. Allow me to help you in that endeavor."
A young male voice spoke out of the sudden that caught both their attention. Walking up to them with four adventurers right behind him, a short young teenage boy with short light brown curly hair and light green eyes.
Trish looked at him with confusion and was wary of him when she asked, "Who are you?"
He gives her a smile, "Just a nosy passing-by adventurer."
Daybreak couldn't have come anytime sooner.
I let out a groan as I cracked my neck and stretched my aching back. The hard ground isn't a good substitute for a bed.
The door to the cell unlocked and opened up; the noble bastard from before walked in with a smirk with a couple men behind him entered after him carrying several large bags.
"Good morning. I take it you have a good night's sleep?"
"…"
He did not take my silent glare well as he slammed his foot into me hard, knocking the air out of me. As I tried to get my breath back, he shouted, "You will answer when spoken to! Damn commoners and their lack of manners…"
He gestured to the men behind him and they lifted me up before binding up my wrists again. I was then dragged out my cell and into the mansion, before undoing it after getting shoved into what I can only guess is an apothecary lab; a room with a large table that has an apothecary set on it, as well as large drapes over the lone window.
They then dropped the large sacks of medicinal herbs into the room after me. Judging by the smell, they were Aero Flowers and Green Plants, along with a few others. One of them then tossed a loaf of hard bread towards me which I easily catch.
The noble bastard then said, "That's all the food you'll get for the day. If you want to get more, I strongly suggest you get to work making those Recovery Medicine. I expect at least several dozen bottles of them by noon. Any less is unacceptable. Do I make myself clear, maggot?"
"Urgh…transparently…"
"Good. Get to work. The Heroes can't be kept waiting any longer."
With those last words, he and his men left the lab with the door slamming and locking shut behind them.
I let out another groan as I felt my throbbing gut. Not sure if it's because my defense stats were my worst stats, but that bastard's hit really hurt. If only I had Chain Sword with me…
Sighing in annoyance over the fact that I was pretty much a slave for that noble bastard, I decided to check the apothecary kit on the table. All of the basic stuff is here. Mortar, grinder, bowls, flasks, even a dropper for small doses; all the standard equipment for an apothecary is here, and really clean. Brand new, even.
"At least he wants the medicine done right."
I then walked towards the bags and checked its contents. As I've expected, inside them are Aero Flowers and Green Plants among the countless different and random medicinal herbs from around the region. It's like they just bought every herb they can get their hands on.
They even had gotten some Ignitis Leaves, a unique plant that burst into flames when its leaves were torn in any way. The damn things' a fire hazard if not handled properly, especially since the leaves were so brittle. And it wasn't even a medicinal herb!
Still, I was surprised that they had actually managed to get some of these. They were usually found further east from here and grew on rocks or cliffs, making gathering them a feat on its own.
"They are either really desperate, or they have absolutely no idea what they are looking for…"
As I bit into my hard bread, and gave up on attempting it again, I sorted out the herbs to see what kind of random plants they think can help in making medicine.
So far, besides the commonly used Green Plants and Aero Flowers, I found quite a wide selection of plants, with a good portion of them having no medicinal properties whatsoever and half of them being straight up poisons. I mean, I could make some antitoxins with those, but still…
Among the medicinal plants was a plant that I nearly had a panic attack over.
The Morphus Bell was a grayish blue bellflower whose pollen is an intense sleeping agent that can knock out even a dragon if inhaled in large enough doses. I've made some sleeping pills using that flower to help with gramps's insomnia issues.
It had worked as intended, if a bit too well. I'd once knocked myself out for three days straight when I accidentally breathed in a single flower's worth. Nothing could wake me up.
And they got a whole bouquet of them, and didn't even bother to cover up the bulbs!
Whomever they bought this from must either be very incompetent at their job, or they purposely did this as a form of revenge against that noble bastard. The latter being more plausible with how he had treated me.
It must have been a damn miracle that these bulbs didn't smash apart amidst transport and knock those guards out for weeks—
Wait a minute here… An idea just hit me. If I can make use of these and… it is a big risk, but it is one I had to take.
Trish wasn't sure what to make of the party of adventurers that had offered their assistance in saving her partner. Especially the heavily armoured man that had been giving her the stink eye since this morning.
The leader of the party, a young archer named Itsuki who looked to be someone of decent upbringing, had expressed his desire to rescue Liya and punish the noble responsible.
"To kidnap people and use them as slaves is nothing but evil! That man would soon face justice!" Those were the words he proclaimed when she asked him for his reasons for helping.
With the way the corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly when he proudly proclaimed that, it was clear that he greatly enjoyed the thrill and glory of being the hero and dishing out justice. It didn't help that he was putting on the act of being this ally of justice that operated in the shadows.
It did not help that his party pretty much worshipped his every word and actions like that of a god, all an obvious act to get in his good graces. At this rate, he might cross the line between actual justice and self-righteousness.
But she'll put that aside for now.
Now, she needed to focus on the rescue plan for Liya.
She, along with Itsuki and his party of bootlickers, met up with Arjun and together, they came up with a plan to take down Count Tyst and rescue Liya. Though, her priority was to the rescue rather than taking down the corrupt Count. There's no merit to her in bringing him down, not to mention the lack of a governing figure for the region if he was just overthrown like that.
For starters, Arjun had scouted the place out during the night before, and found a way in through a gap in the Count's security force. Using said gap, they managed to sneak into the mansion and were now trying to find out where the captives were being kept.
That had led them to searching the Count's currently empty Study for any hints of where they would be keeping Liya.
"Found anything?" She asked.
"Nothing, yet." Arjun replied with a sigh.
"Keep looking. There has to be a clue in here to point towards where the captives are."
"I don't see how this is going to help in our righteous quest." The armoured adventurer, Mald pointed out with a huff, "We should have gone with our usual plans of calling out the Count and demanded the release of their captives!"
"Yeah, that's right!" One of his party mates agreed wholeheartedly.
"And risk losing them to a cover-up?" Trish pointed out.
"Hmph, Master Itsuki wouldn't allow that to happen!"
"It is still way too risky."
If there's one thing she knew about the nobility, especially those who have the backing of the Church, was that they always have a way of covering up their illegal activities. If there's a chance Liya might get killed from their reckless actions, she isn't going to risk it.
"Here's something."
One of Itsuki's party members pulled out a parchment from under the table. At first Itsuki took it, and then blankly stared at it for a moment before handing it to Mald who proceeded to read out the contents for them.
'Does he not know how to read? He didn't look to be the illiterate type.'
The parchment turned out to be a document that listed quite a variety of medicine and potions, all scheduled to be delivered to the capital. What stood out to her about it was the huge amount of items listed. It would take at least a dozen well trained apothecaries to complete even a half of the items listed here.
"Recovery Medicine (Advanced)? What kind of medicine is that?" Itsuki asked.
"It's the new medicine that has been popular among the adventurers recently." Another of his party mates, some guy named Rojeel explained to him, "From what I've heard, even the most lethal wounds were healed almost instantly with it."
"Hm, hm, I see. The noble must have wanted complete control of its production for his own selfish wants, so he kidnaped all apothecaries to make them for him. What a despicable man…!"
"He is, indeed, Master Itsuki! We must have him face justice!"
"He will face your righteous wrath!"
"Could all of you just shut up!? You want us to get caught!?" Trish shouted at them with a groan, 'It is bad enough this guy is acting like this… those bootlickers of his are just enabling him…'
"Found floor plans—"
"Gah! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Arjun silently nodded with understanding before her the parchments. 'I could never get used to him doing that…' She mentally groaned before reading through them. It looked like regular floor plans of the mansion, with the exception of huge letters drawn on circled parts of it. One part has the word Apothecary written on it.
'This must be the area where they keep the captive apothecaries. And Liya.'
"Master Itsuki! I've found the floor plans!"
"Wha-Hey!"
Trish couldn't believe the nerve of that armorered adventurer, snatching up the plans from her hands without even asking for them. How rude!
"And here! This must be where all the captives are being held!"
"Alright! Nicely done, Mald." Itsuki noted with a grin, "Now let us free those captives and confront that evil Count!"
Trish could only facepalm at the adventurers' cheers, Arjun patting her on the shoulder in sympathy.
"Hey… do you smell something burning?"
"Mm? Is that… smoke?"
"It's coming from inside the room!"
The two Guards entered the room with quick haste and got a faceful of the grayish blue smoke. The effect immediately took them as they collapsed onto the floor within moments.
"Sweet dreams, assholes-oh shit."
I quickly stomped on the small bonfire I had made near the door, putting it out before it could spread across the room via the very flammable carpet.
Due to Ignitis Leaves' unique property, it worked great as a fire starter among the adventurers; add in some very burnable drapes and you got yourself a quick bonfire that spewed plenty of smoke that would no doubt alert the guards outside.
And with those Morphus Bellflower bulbs being burned within and their pollen being mixed into the smoke, they would be out cold for a very long time. Which gives me plenty of time to escape the place.
With a wet cloth tied around my face to prevent inhaling the sleep-inducing pollen, I stepped over the two guards and got into the hallway. Armed with a stone hard bread, I slowly make my way down the hallway, recounting my steps from my cell to the here.
If I can get over the fence, I can book it to the nearby town and lay low for a while—
"Just turn this corner—Oof!"
I quickly threw my stone bread at the guard turning the corner, hitting him in the chest before charging and punching into his face as hard as I could. A loud clank is heard as my fist bounces off his face.
Damn it, is his defense that much higher than mine!?
"Rojeel! Why, you little-"
"Wait, wait! That's Liya!"
A very familiar voice stopped me as the advancing armoured man was shoved aside, followed by Trish tackling me with a tight hug, "Liya! You're alright!"
"Trish! What are you doing here?"
"To rescue you, duh." She stated, "Mr Hohen told us you got kidnapped by some nobleman."
Gramps must have rushed to Lola looking for help…
Then Arjun decided to make himself known to me by suddenly patting me on my shoulder which startled me for a moment.
"You too, Arjun?"
"Trish asked for help. She was panicking."
"Really?"
"Of course I was panicking!" She cried out, "A nobleman kidnapping you of all people!? Some of them have a thing for small girls, you know!"
"I'm a dude, though…"
"Some don't care either way."
"Yikes."
"Exactly."
"Ahem!"
We turned to the one making that sound to get our attention, the same armoured man that was about to attack me before and a teenage boy standing next to him.
"You must be one of the Apothecaries that evil man has captured." The boy stated, "Have no worries, for we are here to rescue you and your imprisoned brethren."
Brethren? What is this guy talking about? Am I not the only one that the noble bastard kidnaped?
"Rumour has it that Count Tyst has been kidnapping reputable apothecaries in his territory for the past couple of weeks." Trish explained.
"Huh, really?"
Come to think of it, he did mention something about other apothecaries failing to create my Recovery Medicine (Advanced). I've assumed he was referring to the people working for him, but to think he was actually enslaving them like he did me…
"And he has been overtaxing his people for years!" Mald openly declared proudfully, "Such villainous acts would not go unpunished! For we shall bring down on him the hammer of—"
"Yeah, whatever, big guy." I noted with a slight groan as I turned to my partner, "Is this what you have to deal with?"
"Pretty much."
"I'm surprised you didn't just set him fire or something."
"I was planning to, but it would alert the guards."
"Ah, right."
"AHEM!"
"What!?"
We turned to him with a very disgruntled glare at him. The armoured man flinched and was about to yell at us, only for the teenage boy gestured at him to stop which he immediately did.
"I'm glad that you are able to escape on your own. If you don't mind me asking, where are they keeping the rest of your brethren?"
"Huh? Um…" I honestly have no idea. I was blindfolded and thrown into my cell. I have heard no other people nearby either.
"Hello? Is someone out there?"
A voice called out to us, coming from one of the many doors along this hallway. We all rushed to the door as the teenage boy knocked on the door and replied, "Yes, we are here! Are you one of the captive apothecaries?"
"A-Ah, yes! I am! Who are you?"
"Someone who is here to rescue you!"
"R-Really!? Oh, thank the heavens! The lot of us have been trapped in this place for weeks! You guys! Someone has come to save us!"
"Oh thank the Heroes, we are saved!"
"Finally, I get to return to my family…!"
"We were being forced to make medicine over and over again!"
"It was torture!"
How many of them did that noble bastard enslaved in that room?
"Hey, if you're here to save us, save the new guy they just brought in as well! He's just next door! A real genius, from what I've heard!"
"Genius…?"
Trish and Arjun looked at me; I gave them a confused shrug. I honestly have no idea what she is talking about. When was I a genius?
"That guy apparently created a new form of Recovery Medicine! One no one has ever heard of before until today, and all from using two simple common ingredients that no one has expected to mix well together! It took me a long while, but I gave his recipe a try and it works! This Recovery Medicine (Advanced) is amazing!"
Trish gave me a grin as Arjun patted my back as I could feel my face burning up from all that praise. To be honest, the only reason I have mixed Aero Flowers and Green Plants together was to test my theory of them having some effect with each other. It had been by luck that I was able to find the correct ratio for it to work as it intended.
"W-Well, that sounds pretty amazing." The teenage boy stuttered out, "But that's besides the point. Do you know where the keys to your door might be?"
"I think the guards have them!"
"Got it! Just sit tight, we will have you guys out in no time!"
The teenage boy turns to me, "Do you know where those guards may be?"
"Well, the ones outside my room are knocked out."
"Where would that be?"
I pointed at the direction I came from, and the armoured guy ran to it. "Ah, wait! There might still a pollen mist by the doorway which knocks out people out—"
*THUD*
"…too late." I let loose a groan before wrapping my face with the wet cloth from before, "I'll be right back."
I went to my former prison, gingerly stepped over the unconscious armoured man, and extracted the keys from the unconscious guards' pockets. And then with great effort, I dragged the armoured guy out of the doorway and back to his party.
"Here're the keys." I hand over the ring of keys to one of his party mates. "And I suggest wiping him down before touching him. The pollen might be sticking to his armor."
"Is… he going to be okay?" The boy asked worriedly.
"Yeah, he'll be fine." I assured him, "Morphus Bellflower pollen doesn't kill unless you breathe in a bouquet of blooming ones." They do look pretty when they bloom, if a bit dangerous.
"You used Morphus Bellflowers to knock out the guards!?" The voice from behind the door stated in awe, "How did you accomplish that!? Just opening one bud is risky enough if you are not careful!"
"Burnt them in a fire. Not as effective as using the pollen themselves, but still does the job well."
One time I was burning away the excess Morphus Bellflower buds and I was standing in the downwind and got knocked out for the whole afternoon. Woke up in a dress.
I'm never making that mistake ever again.
"Ah, of course! As both to attract them in and knock them out! Ingenious!"
The teenage boy managed to unlock the door and at least a couple dozen people came running out exclaiming, "Freedom!"
"Shh! Quiet down!" I hissed at them.
"Alright, now let's get out of here." Trish stated, "Follow me, I'll show you guys the way out!"
"Liya, here." Arjun handed me the Chain Sword, "I'd found it at the Count's study."
"Of course he kept it to himself, that bastard…" I grumbled as I took back the weapon. Ah, that's better. It isn't the same without this dangling on my hip.
Everyone all rushed downstairs and into the courtyard, and was greeted by several armed guards all pointing their swords and spears at us. That noble bastard walked to the front of them with a grin.
"You really think I wouldn't notice the obvious trespassers in my own home?" He pointed out, "Now, I would appreciate it if you hand over my property."
"We are no one property!" One of the captives shouted at him, "You have no right to imprison us like this!"
"I do have the right! Everyone in my territory owes their livelihood to my family's governance! It is only fair for me to collect on that favour."
"By imprisoning them and forcing them to work for you!? I don't see how that is fair." I pointed out, "And what about me!? I don't even live in your region! I have nothing to owe you for!"
"But you are wasting your potential!" He cried, "You would rather waste your talents making medicine for commoners, when you could use them for the sake of the Heroes! I'm only a little rough for your own sake-GAH!"
I swung Chain Cross and whipped the bastard across the face, leaving behind a bloody streak on his cheek, "That's for the kick, you egocentric bastard!"
"Grr…! You dare strike against me…!? Against nobility…!?"
"You are not worthy of being one!" The teenage boy shouted defiantly as his party drew their weapons, with the exception of the armoured guy, "We have proof that not only are you guilty of the unlawful imprisonment and enslavement of dozens of innocents, but also you have overtaxed your people to line up your own pockets! For your evil acts, you shall be punished! In the name of justice!"
"Justice? Punished? Quite a boastful claim, for an adventurer. But no matter." He snaps his fingers; his guards step past him and readied their weapons, "None of you shall leave the premises alive! Men, kill these trespassers and capture the escaped prisoners!"
All the guards charged us with spears ready to skewer into us. Trish, Arjun and I all ready our weapons and confronted the charge with the boy's party. The boy extended out his hand, the ornament on his wrist glowed before growing and shaping into a bow with an embedded yellow jewel.
Huh, a transforming weapon. Never seen someone who uses one in combat before. Sure hope he is at least capable with it.
As expected of a nobleman's personal guards, they are plenty skilled, some being quite high level with the highest I can see being Lv38. I was having trouble dealing with even one of them, and was forced to play support for the others. Trish wasn't having as much of a trouble as me, but I could tell that she was having a hard time dealing with them.
Arjun, however, was practically dominating the guards as he shot them down left and right with little to no difficulty whatsoever. A quick glance at his level caused me to nearly drop my jaw in shock when I saw his lv45.
Damn, he had been busy! Did he undergone a class-up during the past few days? No wonder he could take them down so easily!
The adventurers in the boy's party were pretty good, able to hold their own against the guards and took out quite a good number of them; their leader was even matching Arjun in marksmanship, shooting down guard after guard to the point it looked like his shots were curving around us. It was like watching two Arjuns firing arrows at the enemy.
But despite all of that, we were severely outnumbered and were losing ground fast. Not to mention that we have to protect the powerless apothecaries behind us too.
It was a very uphill battle, it looked like we were about to lose it.
"Face justice! Thunder Arrow!"
He drew the bowstring back and a cracking and glowing arrow appeared in his fingers which he then unleashed towards the guards. The projectile flew through the air and exploded within the guards' flanks, killing and fatally wounding a good portion of them.
All of us, with the exception of his party who were smirking, were left absolutely dumbfounded over what had just occurred. What was that!? Was that a technique!? The only techniques I have seen were of Eclair's sword techniques, and they in no way shape or form that strong.
"What was that!?"
"Kind of bow is that kid using!?"
"Screw this! I'm not getting paid enough for this!"
Among the guards who are alive and relatively unharmed, a small portion decided to abandon their post right then and there. The remaining dozen who were either too committed to their job, or were just too scared to move at all. I think I saw one actually peeing in his pants from terror.
"W-What on… how is this… WHO ARE YOU!?" The noble shouted at him.
One of the boy's party members walked up and made a grand gesture towards him. "Do you not recognise our master's bow!? Because rejoice! For you are in the presence of the revered Bow Hero: Lord Itsuki Kawasumi!"
"T-The Bow Hero!?"
"That kid's the…!?"
I felt my jaw dropped at that revelation as did everyone else. This justice-obsessed kid is the Bow Hero? You can't blame me for not expecting it.
As if on cue, the rest of the guards that didn't run away all dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves in front of the boy, the Bow Hero. Even the noble bastard himself was prostrating in front of Itsuki, as he stuttered out the words, "M-My lord Hero! Please, have mercy on me! I'm only doing this to help aid in your battle against the Waves! Everything I did, I did it for you!"
"Enough with your excuses!" He shouted at the noble, "We have proof of all your crimes and misdeeds. The crown would see to your punishment. Your reign of tyranny ends here."
"B-But… I'm a faithful follower…"
The noble collapsed onto the ground, his head limp and his eyes staring blankly at the ground. Itsuki's words must have really affected him if he reacted like that.
"…well, I think that about wrapped things up." He stated quite happily.
I turned to Arjun and Trish, the former hunter gave me a confused shrug while my partner let loose an annoyed groan, clearly not happy about the situation.
…
To be continued…
Yup, this is done! Took a while, but I've finally finished it!
This chapter was a bit tricky, as the butterfly effect of some villagers possibly surviving would have on my fic as a whole. But in hindsight, it probably wouldn't play that big of a role in future chapters.
Itsuki would played a pretty important role this time, so keep a look out.
*Sup! So, this is the rewrite of my rewrite of my Shield Hero OC fic. This time, I'm going to make a few changes so that it would be more than just a Canon rehash.