Chapter 11: Solving a famine

"…You do have a solution, right?" Trish asked our leader as we left the room towards the town hall's exit, "You're just not bluffing to get some time, right?"

"Oh, n-no! I'm not bluffing." Itsuki told her with a shaky smile, "I do have a way to solve their famine."

"Which is…?"

"We first have to head back to Melromarc." He explained, "The solution is there."

"You want to go back!? Even with the fastest mounts, it would take at least a couple of days to reach the border!"

"Eh? S-Seriously!?"

I facepalmed at the shock on the Bow Hero's face; he definitely didn't take the travel time into consideration when he asked for time. Despite all that power, he's still an inexperienced kid.

"…I have a way that will let you reach the border in a day or so."

Grif's words got our attention immediately; Itsuki quickly ran up to him and asked, "Really!? What is it!?"

"My partner; she could easily fly us to the border within half-day at the least."

"Oh! You have a flying mount!? That's perfect for us! Thank you, Grif!"

"Thank me after you stopped their rebellion; this plan of yours better work."

"It will! I swear on my title as Bow Hero!"

I was quite appalled at his suggestion, and surprised at him for having a flying mount at all; flying mounts were rarely seen and were extremely expensive to get, not to mention that most if not all of such mounts were known to be quite fast, so it should spare us some needed time.

For a mercenary to even possess such a mount, it spoke volumes of the amount of money he had in his coffers; was he part of some big band of mercenaries?

He lead us out of the makeshift headquarters and to the stables where his mount was resting.

My jaws dropped when I saw it; among the horses and the cowering dragons was a massive beast which towered over most of them; its front half resembles that of an eagle and its back half of a beast.

"A griffin!?" Itsuki cried out in awe, "Your partner is a griffin!? That's amazing!"

"That's right. His name is Talos."

Griffins were one of the most ferocious beasts around, and would be considered the apex predators of all monsters next to dragons and filolials; and they were extremely territorial to the point that no one that had ever ventured near them ever came out unscathed.

To see such a vicious beast carrying a bag along with a halberd on its back, and letting the mercenary gently rub its neck feathers like a horse? Talk about quite the eye opener.

"How did you manage to tame a griffin of all things?" Trish asked.

"Talos has been with me as long as I can remember." Grif explained, "So she's more like a family than a tamed mount."

"Oh, I see…" She nodded, "Still, to have a griffin of all things…"

Judging by its size, it could easily carry the five of us no problem, though it would be a tight squeeze; and griffins were known to be the fastest flying monsters, which was exactly what we needed.

"Down, girl." With a simple command, the griffin laid down on its belly and allowed Grif to get on its back, "Hop on. We're running on a tight deadline, aren't we?"

"Ah, right!"

We quickly scrambled onto his mount and held on tight as the griffin began to flap its wings; once, twice, a few more flaps later and we were beginning to lift off the ground.

"Let's go, Talos!"

"Kah!"

"W-Whoa!"

With a cry, we took off into the skies at speeds that could rival a filolial's fastest pace; as expected of the monster known as the king of the skies, they were fast.

At this speed, we would reach the border in no time at all!

"You know, for someone who supported their cause, you sure are quite willing to put a stop to it all." Trish pointed out.

"…" The mercenary sighed, "I didn't want them to continue on this stupid warpath of theirs. As the Bow Hero said, it was stupid that they even declared war on the crown. These are good people; it's just the famine and the Wave had been too much for them, not to mention the corrupt bastard that caused them so much grief."

"If that's the case, why did you help them at all? You can just not assist in their overthrow of their lord."

"Actually, why did you even help them to begin with?" I asked, "I thought mercenaries were only interested in working for the highest bidder?"

"Okay, that's just stereotyping! Not all mercenaries are money grubbing thugs, you know!"

"Oh, s-sorry…"

I must have unknowingly struck a nerve with that last sentence; best to watch out for that in the future.

"Hah… I owe them townsfolk for saving me." He explained, "I'd have used up all my supplies and nearly starved to death if I hadn't stumbled into this town. They shared their meager supplies with me, even though they were already starving, and I saw how badly the noble's men treated them. So when I heard Duncan plans to attack the bastard's mansion to take the embezzled supplies, I offered my aid."

"That's awfully honorable of you." Eclair noted, "I wouldn't have expected that from a mercenary."

"Like I said, some of us have a higher standard than just how many silvers were offered."

"But why didn't you stop when thing escalated? You could just leave." I asked.

"If I let them be, they would just run to their deaths. I couldn't just let that happened to them; so I stayed and taught them at least how to fight and helped organise their forces better."

The fortifications around the town must have been his idea; and the guards at the gate had mentioned him when going through the checking procedures.

"But even so, they are still just some villagers. Even if they managed raise their levels and know how to properly fight, they wouldn't be able to endure a full on assault by a well-trained army."

"That's true." Eclair nodded in agreement, "No matter how much levels you get, you wouldn't be able to go against a trained professional."

"If whatever you are planning is able to stop them and prevent the army from raining hell on them, I'll help to the best of my abilities."

"Don't worry, it will." Itsuki noted.

"Okay, mind telling us what exactly is your plan?" I asked; I was getting really annoyed that he hadn't said anything about his plan to solve the famine issue.

"Ah, right. You see, I remember that there were these special seeds that an alchemist supposedly made a long time ago that's able to quickly grow endless produce even in the worst of conditions; one such seed was supposedly sealed in a special cave hidden in Melromarc."

"Oh, you're thinking of using that seed to solve their food issues." Eclair concluded, "And with their food problems solved, they would have no reason to continue their rebellion."

"Exactly! A good plan, is it not!?"

"If such a seed indeed exists." I pointed out, "I have never heard or read of such a miraculous plant before. Wouldn't such a thing at least be recorded down somewhere?"

"Uh… that's…"

While Itsuki didn't seem to be the sort to lie about such a thing, the existence of such a miraculous plant was already dubious just by its concept alone.

A miracle plant that could quickly grow produce? That's way too good to be true.

"Actually, I think I had heard of a similar rumor a few weeks ago." Trish noted, "If I remember it right, they say the Spear Hero had helped resolve a famine in a village with a similar seed he got from a cave nearby, something like that."

…Okay, I stand corrected.

"Motoyasu got to it first!?" Itsuki groaned, "Damn it, and that was the only place I know of! What do we do now!?"

"…Do you know which village it was?" I asked her.

"Huh? Hm… I don't quite remember; it was quite a while ago." Trish noted.

"Yeah, that makes sense." I turned to Itsuki, "Sir Itsuki, let's stop by the Adventurer's Guild later."

"Huh? Why?"

"While the original seed is taken, there's a chance we can get more seeds from the plant itself."

If I were the alchemist, I would probably made sure the miraculous plant I created could produce more seeds through its produce; that way, even if the original plant eventually wilted away, there would be more to take its place.

"Then all we need to do is find the village Motoyasu had given the seed to!" Itsuki noted in awe, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"I believe the nearest branch is near the border town at the checkpoint." Eclair noted.

"Then let's head over there. Grif?"

"Heard you loud and clear. Talos!"

"Kah!"

We made it to the border town by the time the sun had began to set, we made a beeline straight to the Guild after landing in the town; Grif had decided to remain outside at their stables.

"Oh, you mean Lerno Village." The receptionist pulled out a map to show us the location of the village when Itsuki asked for it, "It's a farming village southeast of here, about a few days away by carriage."

"I see. Thank you for your information."

"Ah, but I must warn you; there seemed to be kind of trouble happening there for these past couple of weeks or so."

"What kind of trouble?"

Itsuki was immediately drawn to that word like bees to honey; as expected of the guy that wanted to be a Hero of Justice and all that.

"They have put up an emergency request quite recently with quite the hefty pay; something about plant monsters. A few adventurers have accepted it and have yet return."

"Plant… monsters…?"

That had me pondering on the implication of that; a miraculous plant that grew endless produce and plant monsters…

"Did that plant mutate into creating monsters instead of produce?" I noted.

"Into monsters!?" Eclair cried out in shock, "Is that even possible?"

"It's a big possibility; it might be why it was sealed away to begin with."

And why there hadn't been any records of such a thing existing; the alchemist probably didn't want anyone to make use of his creation for less than ideal purposes, but he didn't want to destroy it either. Or maybe he was hoping for someone to be able to fix his mistake.

Either way, the Spear Hero must have not considered that possibility when he gave the seed to the village.

"No way…" Itsuki muttered in shock, "And I was about to use it to… we'll keep note of it. Thank you for the warning."

"It's my pleasure."

Without another word, we left the guild and returned to Grif to tell him about what we found out; to say he wasn't pleased with it was understating it.

"I see… so there's no way for that plan to work…" He sighed, "That's a shame."

"No, there's still a chance it might still work." Itsuki persisted, "If we can figure out what's causing the mutation, maybe we can mend it?"

"But how are we to mend it?" Trish asked, "Alchemy isn't something I know anything about."

"Neither do I." I added. Apothecary and alchemy were two very different fields of studies; the most I could do was experimentally crossbreed certain plants.

"Me neither. But it is better than doing nothing about it." He stated, "At the very least, we should still head to Lerno Village and help them with their problems. A Hero can't turn his head away when there's trouble afoot!"

That's probably the real reason he wished to head over there.

"Let's rest up for the day first." Grif stated as he rubbed his griffin's feathers, "The day's almost over and Talos is exhausted from carrying all of us so far."

"Yeah, let's do that." Itsuki agreed.

We booked some rooms at the local inn and rested for the night; I decided to take the time to make some special formula to deal with the plant monsters.

We left at dawn and reached Lerno Village at around noon.

Under the blazing afternoon sun, it became very clear that my hypothesis was indeed correct.

From above, we could see countless vines crawling all over the village's many stone buildings and almost covered all of it with the exception of a small area where there were some tents set up .

Among the vines were several plant-like monsters that were squirming about the place, with a particularly large one at what looked to be the epicenter of the whole infestation; my guess was that

"Bioplant… so Miss Lisa's theory is correct." Itsuki noted in worry, "To think it would turn out this bad…"

"It's no wonder they sent an emergency request." Eclair said, "Most veteran knights would have trouble dealing with something like this."

"I bet the Spear Hero never would have imagine his little good deed would backfire so badly." I noted with a groan, "I'm not sure if I should be in awe or annoyed at his lack of forethought."

"The large plant must be the origin point of all of this." Trish pointed out, "If we take it out, it might take care of everything around it."

"Hm? Hey, I think I saw someone fighting the vines."

We followed Grif's line of sight and indeed saw what looked like two adventurers and a plump bird monster fighting against the many plant monsters; the large bird was quite agile for its size and hit just as hard.

Actually, the adventurers looked quite familiar. That bandit-esque attire and lone shield that was taking the brunt of most of the monsters' attacks, as well as his sword wielding demi-human partner's raccoon like features, it almost reminds of—

"Wait, isn't that Naofumi!?" Itsuki was the first to recognise the party, "What is he doing in this village?"

"You know them?" Grif asked.

"Yeah, that's the Shield Hero and his party." I explained, "Though it is surprising that he is in this village at all. Why did he come all the way out here?"

"Maybe he heard of the village in trouble?" Eclair suggested.

"Nah, that guy isn't the kind of person that helps others out of the goodness of his heart." Trish stated.

"Whatever the reason, his goal seemed to be defeating that plant monster." I noted; what did Itsuki call it, Bioplant?

"So that's the Shield Hero?" Grif noted in surprise, "Damn, he is one tough guy to take all those monsters attack and barely flinch."

"He is the Shield Hero, after all."

He seemed to have added a monster or his party; a filolial was a pretty good choice, though I was curious why it looked like a ball of fluffy feathers on legs.

"Wait, if he defeats that monster, he might get the seed as drop loot!" Itsuki suddenly cried out, "We need to get down there before—"

"Kah!"

"W-Woah!?"

Talos let out a furious cry before suddenly diving down towards the village at alarming speeds.

"Talos, stop! What are you doing!?" Grif cried out.

"What's wrong with her!?" Eclair cried out.

"I don't know! This never happened before!"

The book about filolials flashed through my mind as I recalled the page about their relations with other animals, more specifically…

"Shit! Filolials and griffins hate each other!" I cried out, "If they are ever in sight of each other, they will always end up fighting!"

"That's a thing!?" Itsuki cried out.

"Wait, that thing is a filolial!?" Eclair cried.

"Everyone, hang on tight!"

We could do nothing but held onto the diving griffin as tightly as we could as we dived straight down towards the village.

Naofumi let out a groan as he blocked a vine from one of the many plant monsters that were attacking them; they were getting sliced to pieces by Raphtalia and his new filolial Filo in moments.

He had originally come to this village to sell some herbicides, but was somehow convinced by the villagers to help them destroy the source of the plant infestation; he had made sure they paid him up front for the trouble.

Hey, if he's going to clean up after that asshole's mess, he was going to get paid for it!

'Damn that Motoyasu! Even when you're not here, you're still giving me trouble…!'

So far, they managed to get through the plant monsters with no trouble at all; none of their attacks could physically hurt him and his party members could easily take care of them with ease.

With the pace they were going, they should reach the source of all of this in no time at all.

"Hm?" He paused when he saw the experience notice suddenly stop appearing, "The hell?"

With how many monsters Raphtalia and Filo were killing, he should have be getting plenty of experience; why did it just stop—

"KAAH!"

"Look out!"

"WAH!?"

"Filo!?"

A scene right out of a comedy manga played out in front of him; a large flying monster suddenly dived bombed straight at Filo and knocking her to the ground while the people on its back minus the rider was sent flying off of it and crashing all over the place.

"Ow…"

One of them he immediately recognised and answered his questions while drawing some ire out of him.

"Oh, uh… hey, Naofumi." Itsuki awkwardly greeted him as he got on his feet, "I-I was not expecting to see you here."

"The hell are you doing here, Itsuki?" He growled at the Bow Hero.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"KAH!"

"Talos, stop! Bad bird!"

"Boo! Stupid meanie!"

The sight of that flying monster, a griffin if the half eagle half lion was anything to go by, sizing up against Filo was like seeing two dogs barking at each other; it didn't help that its rider was trying so hard to steer it away from her like a owner pulling away his misbehaving dog.

"…did your bird just talked?" Itsuki asked.

"Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no. No problem at all."

When he was about to ask Itsuki again, a plant monster struck at him from behind which he managed to block with his shield; it was then slashed in two by a chain whip from one of the Bow Hero's party members.

"Sir Itsuki, let us deal with these monsters first!" The white haired girl, Liya told him as she swung her chain whip and slashed through several more of those plant monsters with ease.

"Ah, yes! Of course!" Itsuki quickly drew his bow and started shooting down the monsters around them, "We can talk about this after we deal with the Bioplant."

As much as he hated the idea of even fighting with him, Naofumi agreed that dealing with the plant monsters took priority, "Very well; and you better have a good reason for attacking my monster."

"I-It wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

'I highly doubt that.'

Naofumi was well aware of how the other three Heroes viewed him as; a vengeful rapist that assaulted the kingdom's princess. Even if the Bow Hero had defended him from that trash king's actions, he no doubt did it to prop himself up on a pedestal as the morally good Hero.

Though he had to admit that he was definitely powerful; he was tearing apart monsters with each shot of his arrows that never seemed to miss.

'What I wouldn't trade to have an attack stat that didn't suck…'

Itsuki's skills with the bow aside, his party members weren't something to scoff at either.

He recognised the white haired girl as one of the adventurers that assisted in defending Lute Village during the Wave; hard to forget someone with such distinct hair and eye colour as hers.

If he recalled right, Liya was someone Raphtalia knew very well; she said that she was an apothecary that stayed in the same village and was her caretaker when the tanuki girl's parents weren't around.

The medicine that had healed his wounds from the duel was made by her; the identity of said medicine wasn't listed in any of the books the medicine shop owner had given him.

The way she had swung her chain whip around and cutting into every monster that got into her range reminded him of a certain vampire hunter; her weapon of choice was similar, and how she dashed about the battlefield to cover everyone around her was very impressive.

It's almost as if she had eyes on the back of her head.

"Zwite Dark Lance!"

The mage in their party fired several spears made of shadows at the monsters that skewered into them; he remembered her as the one that had bound that princess bitch back during their rigged duel.

The image of her being bind by those shadowy tendrils brought a smile to his face.

She was everything he had thought a powerful mage would be on the battlefield; throwing wind and dark magic spells at any monsters as while as binding up any that attempted to hurt her party members. She also looked to be well acquainted with a sword as she struck down any monster that got too close.

Seeing her in action made him want to add a mage into his party, though a slave that knew magic was probably not likely within his budget.

That very thought disgusted Naofumi to the core and made him aware of how twisted his morals had become.

'Some Hero I turned out to be…'

"Hah!"

The masked swordswoman on the other hand was someone he didn't know; though her attire itself raised some eyebrows. Why Ituki would recruit someone as suspicious as her was beyond his understanding; though he probably didn't care.

Despite her dubious attire, her skills with that sword of hers were not to be scoffed at; she was effortlessly taking down monster after monster with strikes that made Raphtalia's looked amateurish in comparison.

'Where did Itsuki find her?'

"Kah!"

"No, Talos! Filolial later! Monster now!"

Griffins were a stable in many fantasy light novels, and those who ride them were always portrayed as skilled warriors capable to taming such a monster; though the one riding this one seemed to have trouble controlling said monster.

It didn't help that Filo was actively antagonising it much to the dismay of both of them; it took him having to activate the monster crest to pull her away from fighting it, an act that earned a glare of the Bow Hero which he rightfully ignored.

With a helm covering his entire face and adorned in a metal armor while wielding a halberd from on top of his mount, he appeared to be a knight of some sort with how skillfully he was with his weapon that he had slashed and stabbed several monsters with as his mount teared them apart with its claws and beak.

He had to admit, things were a lot easier when they had a larger group; they were easily tearing away at the plant monsters and reached the origin of this whole mess in no time at all.

In the middle of what remains of a town square was a bunch of vines twisted together in a shape of a tree, one that a giant eye popped out from within its 'branches' and was looking right at them; the way it blinked at them reminded Naofumi of all the creepy monsters in thriller movies.

"Okay, that's creepy…" The mage stated in disgust.

"This must be the monster that seed grew into." Liya noted, "Once we take this down, it should kill all the other monsters that spawn from it."

"Then we must act with haste! The sooner we deal with this, the sooner the villagers will be free of this monstrosity!"

"Sir Itsuki, wait!"

Itsuki drew his bow and fired at the monster's large eye; it was blocked by a bunch of vines before extending them towards him in an attempt to skewer through him.

"Talos!"

"Kah!"

The vines were stopped when the knight commanded his monster mount to slam its claws into them and pinning them to the ground.

"Are you crazy!?" He cried out at the Bow Hero, "Hero or not, what kind of archer made its target know that they are shooting at it!?"

"I-I didn't expect it to block it!"

'That's a dumb excuse, and he knows it.' Naofumi could only sigh at the stupidity of his actions, 'Looks like Motoyasu isn't the only dumb one around here—'

"Move!"

At Liya's warning, they all quickly dashed out of the way as several more vines shot out from the Bioplant and right at them; the Shield Hero managing to block some of them that were attacking his party.

Not only that, several of the plant monsters nearby had started attacking them in tendum with it; Itsuki's party all frantically dodging their attacks while striking them down.

"Master! Filo is going!"

"Oi, Filo!"

Filo took off running towards the vines, dodging both the vines and the countless projectiles the surrounding monsters were shooting at her; the closer she got to the eye, the more vicious the vines became and they ended up cornering her in the air.

"Shield Prison!"

Naofumi summoned his skill and a cage of shield and chains surrounded his filolial, blocking the vines from striking at her.

"Master!"

"On it! Air Strike Shield!"

An astral green shield was summoned under her feet which she used to jump off of and towards the giant eye. Once she got close enough, she spun and landed a powerful kick into it, exploding it into green goo on impact.

"Urgh, that's nasty." Liya commented, "Wouldn't want to be at the end of her legs."

Unfortunately, the attack didn't seem to have done any fatal to it as mere moments later, the vines around it immediately moved and struck at Filo, who quickly dodged and leaped back to him; the eye grew back soon after.

"Damn it! That wasn't its weak spot!?" Itsuki cried out.

"Hm?"

Naofumi had noticed something deep within the eye as it was regrowing, a small seed of some kind.

'Maybe that's…'

"Raphtalia, there's seemed to be something inside that eyeball." He told her as he handed over a bottle of herbicide, "Try dumping some herbicide on it."

"On it!"

Without another word, Raphtalia got onto Filo and rode towards the eyeball; it quickly noticed them and unleashed several vines at them from all directions while the few plant monsters near it fired their respective projectiles.

"Cover them!"

"No, you don't!"

"Zwite Air Cutter!"

Under Itsuki's command, chains went flying as Liya slashed through them with her whip while the mage unleashed her wind spell that cut through the several vines as well as the interfering plant monsters.

"Talos!"

"Kah!"

"Hiyah!"

The rest of the Bow Hero's party added their assist as well, the swordswoman struck down a few of the monsters below the two of them as the knight had his mount tear through the vines from above while his halberd did the rest.

"Arrow Rain!"

Itsuki unleashed his own skill and fired an arrow into the air, and several arrows came falling down from above onto the Bioplant; the monster letting out a painful shriek as it immediately summoned several of its vines to act as its shield, leaving its eye fully exposed.

"Air Strike Shield!"

"Hah!"

Using the summoned astral shield as a jump board, Filo leaped at the eye and slammed her talons into it, exploding it into pieces once again.

As it remained motionless, Raphtalia quickly unplugged the bottle of herbicide and poured it into the gap and onto the seed; the monster shrieked in response to the medicine's effect and its vines violently writhed before falling motionless.

"Did… did that finally do it?"

At first, it appeared to have work; the monster laid there motionless, seemingly dead. But as soon as the knight said those jinxing words, the vines began to move and, with the other plant monsters, strike right at them in a vicious fury that Naofumi quickly blocked with his skills and shield.

"Sorry, Mr Naofumi! I must have not done it right!" Raphtalia apologised.

"No, you did fine." He told her, "The herbicide must not be strong enough."

But if he used his new passive skill which boosts the efficiency of medicine applied, he should be able to—

"Then I might be of help."

As she dodged and slash the vines and plant monsters attacking her, Liya threw him a bottle filled with some kind of dark liquid, "This is my special blend of herbicide; it is several times more deadly than the usual blend. It kills off any invasive plants within seconds."

Naofumi looked down at the bottle and read its description:

[Toxic Herbicide]

Compared to the ones he made, this one was really many times more effective; if he used this with his skill, it should without a doubt kill that damn plant for good.

"Raphtalia, Filo; clear me a path."

"On it!"

"Roger!"

His two companions struck at the many plant monsters around them as he ran towards the Bioplant.

"Is he…!? Clear the monsters in front of Naofumi!"

The Bow Hero seemed to understand the Shield Hero's plan and had his party assist in clearing away the monsters for him. Once Naofumi reached the roots, he unplugged the bottle and poured the herbicide onto it.

The effect was instantaneous and the Bioplant began writhing violently while the other plant monsters started to shriek; their green leaves turned brown as they began to rot and dry up before finally wilting and crumbling away.

Within seconds, all that remained of the plant monsters were dried up vines and the produce they had grown; the main Bioplant in particular leaving behind a pile of fist sized glowing seeds.

'She wasn't joking about its potency!'

"Well… that was anticlimactic." The swordswoman noted.

"Maybe we should have led with your special herbicide, Liya." Trish told Liya.

"I had only enough materials to make one bottle of it." She explained, "I didn't want to just use it all haphazardly."

'What kind of rare ingredients did she use to make such a thing!?'

Along with that special Recovery Medicine, Naofumi was beginning to wonder if there were other unique concoctions she had created that were never written down in the books.

'Maybe I could get some recipes from her? Unique and rare products could rake in quite a decent profit.'

"Kah!"

"Filo isn't afraid of you, you meanie!"

"Talos, down! Down girl!"

Naofumi let out a groan when he saw the two monsters begin to size each other up once more; he had never seen Filo act so hostile towards a monster that wasn't a dragon before.

"Apparently griffins and filolials hate each other to the core." Itsuki walked up to him and explained, "It was why we ended up crashing here; our mount had decided that attacking yours was worth dragging us down with it."

"Huh."

Another unique tipbit about filolial Naofumi would have to keep note about; not that there were much to know about the gluttonous bird.

"By the way, how did you managed to get a talking monster?" The Bow Hero asked, "Did you get lucky and found a rare breed?"

"Does that really matter right now?" Naofumi noted with a roll of his eyes.

"Yes!"

"Seriously…?"

He could easily guess why he wanted to know how he got Filo; rare monster pets were hard to acquire in any mmo, especially if they didn't know the correct method of unlocking it.

'Well, I don't know how Filo became as she is, so there's no point in telling him anything.'

"Let's just clean up all this first."

He would rather not leave those monster breeding seeds lying around; gods forbid another Bioplant would sprout from them.

"A-Ah, agreed."

They all quickly started clearing away the wilted plant monsters as well as the many vegetables and fruits; some already beginning to disappear into Filo's and that griffin's stomachs as they fought over them much to his and the knight's dismay.

Naofumi was quite surprised at how non-aggressive and even cooperative Itsuki had been towards him through this entire fiasco; he even helped covered for him and his party during the fight.

It was a huge departure from the accusing glares the Bow Hero had given him back in the palace; it honestly started to creep him out a little.

A certain rumor he had recently heard came to mind; there were rumors that the Bow Hero had been telling people that the Shield Hero was falsely accused of his crime and that the Church was throwing false accusations on him to dehumanise him to the public.

For what motives did he have for doing such a thing, Naofumi had no clue; and it only had throw some more suspicions onto his reasons for acting such a way.

"Why did you do it, Itsuki?"

"Huh? Why I did what?"

"I've heard the rumors, you know; they say that the Bow Hero was telling people that the Shield Hero was falsely accused. What's your objective in all of that?"

"My objective?" Itsuki turned to Naofumi and said, "It's to right an unjust act. My party had enlightened me to the injustice of this kingdom and how you have suffered because of it; I wish to correct it and make amends for being part of it. People in power shouldn't abuse their authority against another just for some petty racism!"

'Trying to be a Hero of Justice, is he?'

It made sense, considering how the Bow Hero had gone against that trash king's orders for attempting to nick his money; he was definitely trying to put himself high in the whole morally good spectrum.

"I see. Well, good luck with that."

'At least he wasn't trying to screw me over… unlike Motoyasu…'

He really hoped to never again encounter that simp of an idiot outside of the Wave.

"So, why are you here in this village?" He asked the Bow Hero, "Last I've heard, you were up north."

"I was actually looking for the same miracle seed that Motoyasu had said to have used." Itsuki explained, "I was hoping to use it for some quest, but…"

It was probably for the same reason as Motoyasu's when he gave it to this village; and would have ended up with the same mess as well if he just used it.

"Tough luck there."

"Yeah… if only we could change its properties into something more useful…"

That brought to mind one of his newer shields that he had unlocked with the plant monsters, more specifically it's equip bonus of [Plant Reform]. Going by its name, it should be something that allowed him to modify a plant's attribute.

Picking up one of the seeds, Naofumi activated the ability and was greeted with a window with several sliders; each seemed to correspond to a certain attribute given to the Bioplant.

"I wonder…"

"Naofumi?"

After messing with the sliders for a bit, he planted the seed much to the shock of the Bow Hero; it immediately sprouted and grew into the giant plant monster they had just defeated.

"Shit!" Itsuki cried out as he and his party readied their weapons, "Naofumi, what the hell is wrong with-huh?"

And just as quickly, the monster wilted and crumbled away, leaving behind another glowing seed.

"Huh. So that's how it works…"

"Sir Naofumi, what are you doing?" Raphtalia asked.

"I've got this new ability called Plant Reform, so I was testing it out a bit." He explained.

"You shouldn't do such dangerous things!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Naofumi was now clear what this new ability could do; he could literally modify this monster of a seed to his liking, and possibly make an actual miracle seed out of it.

"Hey, Itsuki. I got a proposition for you."

"Oh, thank you so much, Heroes! You have saved our village!"

"No, no; there's no need for thanks! I'm just doing my duty as a Hero!"

A groan left my lips at the sight of the villagers thanking both Heroes when we came into their campsite; Itsuki basking in the praises like the little glory hound that he was, while the Shield Hero looked rather annoyed, even irritated by it all.

Considering how he had been treated, it was no wonder that he didn't particularly find them appealing.

Still, considering everything, it was quite nice to see his actions being properly praised instead of being accused; a far cry from the bullshit that was the palace duel.

"Kah! Kah!"

"Down, Talos! Down!"

That was contrasted with the almost comical scene of Grif desperately holding back his griffin from tackling the big filolial who was also being held back by Raphtalia.

"Filo hates you too, you big meanie!"

"Filo, stop antagonising it!"

Did I also mention that the puffball of a filolial was somehow talking like a little girl!?

I didn't have the luxury of reacting to it during the whole fight with the plant monsters, but now that everything was settled…

"Call me crazy, but I think that filolial is talking." I pointed out.

"You're not. I've heard it too." Trish stated, "How is that even possible?"

"Maybe it's a unique subspecies?"

My mind went through all the knowledge I have ever read about the filolial race; mostly of any mention of subspecies the monster might have that might have the ability to articulate words.

One managed to stood out, "Maybe it's a queen?"

"You mean, that's a filolial queen?"

"Possibly."

Filolial queens and kings were often a heated topic of discussion among adventurers, as sightings of such creatures were extremely rare; wild filolials often travelled in packs, and sometimes were led by a leader that stood out among them.

"I've heard of them." Éclair noted, "There's a belief that if you managed to spot one in the wild, you would have good luck for the rest of the year."

"That's the one."

To think that the Shield Hero managed to tame one; he's one really lucky sonuvabitch.

"Kah!"

"Boo! Stupid meanie!"

It still didn't take away the hilarity of the scene being played; though it was start to wear on you and began to get really annoying to listen to.

"Hah… I'll handle this…"

I walked up to the two somewhat fighting monsters and did the only thing I know that would surely calm any filolial down, queen or not.

"Mm!? Yummy!"

"Grif, move; now!"

"On it!"

As the bird monster chewed on the particularly large fruit I had unceremoniously stuffed into its beak, the mercenary quickly pulled his flying mount away from it and to the other end of the campsite.

If there's one thing that's one constant in this world, it would be the ever gluttonous stomachs of filolials.

"T-Thanks for your help, Liya." Raphtalia told me, "I'm not sure if I could hold Filo back any longer."

"No need for thanks; it's no skin off my back."

I've got to admit, it was quite nice to fight alongside her outside of the Wave; even if it was an improv team up.

Though it was quite jarring to see the girl I had known since she was an infant tearing into those plant monsters with a ferocity of a seasoned warrior.

I wonder how Keel would feel if he saw her now? Would he even recognise her?

*Cough!* *Cough!*

"Whoa, are you alright!?"

A sudden coughing fit had me in my toes and I quickly give her a visual inspection; didn't look like she suffered any injuries and her face was just a bit red from her coughing. Maybe it was leftover from her time as a slave?

"I-I'm fine." She assured me, "I'd just breathe in some dust."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes, Liya. I'm sure."

Still, maybe I should give her some cough medicine just in case. I think we still have the necessary herbs for it.

"Oh, there you are, Liya."

Itsuki came up to us with the Shield Hero close behind; I turned to him and asked, "Is there something the matter?"

"Nothing much; just I had struck a deal with Naofumi on the miracle seeds." He explained, "Apparently, he gained an ability that allowed him to modify its properties to that of an actual miracle seed; in exchange for modifying them, he wants some medicine recipes from you."

"R-Really!?"

That's great news! Now we have the means to enact Itsuki's plans into motion; and possibly put a proper stop to the whole revolutionary war!

If that's all a few recipes would take, I would gladly give some to him in exchange; though I wonder why the Shield Hero would want medicine recipes.

"What kind do you want?" I asked the Shield Hero.

"That special medicine you gave me, for starters." He stated.

"You mean the Recovery Medicine (Advanced)?"

"That's the one."

I was honestly surprised he hadn't gotten the recipe; did it not get spread to the capital? No, that old man that owes the apothecary there had said he knows of it.

Maybe he wasn't given it due to his lack of experience?

"Sure, I can give you the recipe." I told him, "But I must warn you, it's not easy to make. The ratio must be exactly as was written or it would become something else entirely."

"I'll figure it out when I get to it." He stated.

That's some confidence he had; though this recipe might put a dent in it. Hopefully, he wouldn't get mad at me like that bastard noble did.

"Anything else?"

"You got anything else that could sell?"

"Sell?"

So he's selling medicine on the road to make up for the funds he was denied of? Not a bad idea; with the Waves, medical care would be in high demand. If so…

"I've got one for Recovery Medicine Pellets; and there's one for an antiseptic I've developed."

Both of those were relatively easy and cheap to make for how effective they were; the pellets were specifically easy to make considering it was just the Recovery Medicine but with an additional ingredient to turn it into pellets.

It was quite a big hit with the newbie adventurers back home.

*Cough* *Cough*

A glance at a coughing Raphtalia gave me an idea, "I'll add in a potent cough medicine as well; just a small spoonful of it is enough to stop any coughing fit."

"That sounds… rather specific."

"Hey, you never know when someone needs it."

"Hm… that's true."

His glance at the raccoon demi-human was a clear indicator that he got what why I gave him the recipe; looked like she was in good hands.

"I'll be leaving her in your care, Shield Hero."

"…Of course. I'll take good care of her."

"You better; or I'll be sure you would live to regret it."

No matter how high his defence stats get, it wouldn't be able to stop me from choking the ever-living daylights out of him.

After I written all the recipes down for him, the Shield Hero got to work modifying the seeds into a proper miracle seed.

Moments later, the seed he planted sprouted into a big vine-like tree that bore juicy red fruits; it tasted like pretty good, sweet like a fruit while having a bit of a sour tang.

"Unfortunately, it will only bore one type of produce." Naofumi stated, "But this is as good as it can get."

"It's good enough!" Itsuki stated happily, "Thanks, Naofumi!"

"Whatever."

We gathered as many of the seeds as we could into a crate and departed the village on the griffin; it carrying the crate with its claws.

Due to how late it became, we rested for the night at the border town before finally heading straight for the revolutionary army's base.

"Hopefully, they kept to their promise." I noted.

"They will." Grif told me, "I'm sure they want to stop this war more than anyone else."

"They might not be able to."

We were confused by Éclair's comment before we finally saw what had happened.

In front of the fortified town's gate were countless fully armored knights and soldiers in solid formation; with flags bearing the kingdom's crest fluttering menacingly in the air.

This… this might be an issue.
…
To be continued…

Hey, hey! Finally done with this chapter!

And hoooooly shit, is this chapter hard to write down. The actions scenes were fine, it is how to portray Naofumi that was the issue.

Got to remember, Naofumi at this point was quite a salty jerk to pretty much everyone, the Heroes especially considering all they had done.

So it was tricky to write his dialogue not make him sound like an asshole; hopefully, I managed to write him well.

With that, I thank you all for reading this!

*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.