by Aneko Yusagi
“If they can work in collaboration with those from the castle . . . fine. Your explanation has provided much food for thought, Hero Iwatani,” Trash said.
“Glad I could be of help. I’m counting on you to provide the goods, tactically,” I told him.
“Leave it with me. I’m going to take a look at your other fighters and then return to the castle and hone my strategy again,” he replied.
“Okay,” I said. With that, Trash started to select those from my village who would take part in the fighting. Trash did provide some advice that, perhaps because we were fighting humans, indicated there were some individuals who probably shouldn't take part even if they wanted to. Those people really wanted to join in, so it wasn’t easy to talk them down. As Trash had indicated, there were some who had the will but not the way—those whose hands trembled once real combat started. There were also those who could probably handle monsters but wouldn’t be able to kill other people. I consoled those who shed tears at not being able to take part by telling them they didn’t need to take part in the violence. There was a tendency for these people to be among those who had originally been in the village. A lot of them had been women and children, after all.
“Shield Hero. I want to fight too,” Ruft declared, looking me right in the eye with his fists clenched. The way he looked at me reminded me of Raphtalia. They really were related. Their faces looked so similar.
“Ruft, I’m sorry, but you can’t join us,” I told him.
“Why!?” he responded.
“We have something we need you to do . . . but you lack the level, strength, and experience for actual combat. Even to protect everyone here, could you really bring yourself to kill people in battle?” I asked. He had no reply for that. I placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. “I understand how you feel. But you can’t push yourself too hard. Taking too much on and getting yourself killed is the worst thing you could do. I need you to help look after the Raph species,” I told him.
“Okay. But one day I want to become strong enough to protect everyone. After coming to this village, that’s the conclusion that I’ve reached for myself,” he replied. He was really growing up from the young kid he’d been when I first met him. He definitely was a lot like Raphtalia.
“You stick to it. That feeling is important. If possible, you should look at Melty and Trash as your examples, rather than Raphtalia or me. That would be the best thing for you and also allow you to help us the most,” I told him. Not to mention fulfilling his destiny of making Q’ten Lo a better place.
“If you say so,” he said, giving a nod filled with resolve.
As night descended further, I finally asked Ren to take Trash back to the castle.
Returning to the village, I saw Sadeena and S’yne drinking with some familiar-looking faces.
“Hey, little Naofumi!” Sadeena waved me over. “Let me introduce the three Zeltoble mercenary gladiators who have rushed to my aid in this moment of crisis!”
“Huh? Rushed to whose aid now?” I wondered.
“What are you talking about?” The three in question had much the same reaction as me. Putting aside the pathetic noise I made in response to this statement, Sadeena started to introduce her battle buddies.
“First we have Larsazusa of the bamboo grove! She may also be known as little Sasa, but she’s the big sister to coliseum fighters everywhere!” Sadeena proclaimed with a flourish.
“What kind of an introduction was that? Stop making up weird titles for me!” snapped a panda therianthrope. I recalled that she had been fighting in the coliseum when I first met Sadeena. It looked like she had a dog—more like a wolf—therianthrope serving under her too.
“Next we have Elmelo, the earth tremor queen! This popular gladiator, also nicknamed little El, is a fixture in the coliseum’s heavyweight class!” Sadeena continued unabated.
“S-Shield Hero . . . it is a pleasure,” stammered out a large elephant therianthrope. Perhaps nervous at seeing me, she was wringing her hands terribly. For a moment, I had a flashback to being attacked by that mammoth in the baths in Siltvelt. In any case, there was a big gap with how she’d been when fighting in Zeltoble. Elephant therianthrope or not, it seemed more like she was playing a wolf in sheep’s clothing at the moment.
“You said there were three?” I asked. The panda therianthrope’s underling shook their head, making clear it wasn’t them. It couldn’t be Shildina either. Was she so drunk she couldn’t even count to three?
“And finally—” she started.
“Lady S’yne, the master clown! Keeping her audience entranced with her mysterious and chilling combat style!” S’yne posed proudly as her familiar talked her up—almost as though it was talking about itself!
“You’re having some kind of meeting?” I asked. Sadeena seemed incredibly jovial about the entire situation, so much that it was hard to stop myself from commenting.
“We were trying to decide which side of the war to fight on, and then we got this summons,” the panda revealed.
“Hold on!” Sadeena said. “I just introduced you because of the strength you would bring to our side. You guys are in the top five among everyone I’ve ever fought. And yet the two of you are still going to join the Faubrey forces? Sasa? El?”
“The other side is pretty selfish, just having their way with whatever they like. Folk in Zeltoble are angry at being made such a mockery of,” the panda pondered.
“Takt and his forces are quite disliked,” the elephant politely explained, looking at me the entire time. “What with all the turmoil they have caused in Zeltoble, and the killing of the heroes.” These two were likely connected to Siltvelt. The panda therianthrope seemed pretty easygoing anyway—easy to get along with.
“Think you’ve got a chance to win? We might help out, if certain conditions are met,” the panda therianthrope continued, making a circle with her fingers to indicate money.
“And if they aren’t met, you’ll leave?” I asked.
“Not necessarily. I’ve heard talk of the Wisest King of Wisdom getting back in the game. A victory as part of the forces of the Shield Hero himself also seems likely to boost my earning potential,” the panda reasoned. Yep. That sounded like a mercenary working for money. Really easy to understand. I liked her analysis and her way of thinking.
“Nadia . . . Sadeena was your real name, right? With you here, I reckon the safe money goes on you guys,” the panda continued. Interesting. They were choosing to join this side because they knew how strong Sadeena was.
“Sounds good. If you’re joining our forces, have at it. Sadeena, you handle the details,” I said.
“No problem. All shall be as you say, little Naofumi,” Sadeena replied.
“You’ve got this drunkard completely under your thumb, haven’t you? Sounds like the rumors are true,” the panda muttered.
“Just so we are on the same page, what rumors are you talking about?” I asked.
“That you’re a monster when it comes to drinking, Shield Hero. Am I wrong?” the panda questioned.
“Oh, it’s true. Too strong almost for me to handle,” Sadeena admitted.
“Sweet Naofumi holds his liquor like no other!” Now Shildina sidled over. This many heavyweight therianthropes in one place was a little overwhelming.
“Geh! There’s another one!” The panda therianthrope was surprised.
“This is little Shildina. She’s my younger sister,” Sadeena explained. The panda therianthrope looked like she’d broken out in a cold sweat. I guessed that Sadeena alone had drunk her under the table multiple times in the past.
“Are we done with this yet? We’d like to get out of here tonight,” the panda said.
“Oh my. You’re leaving? The night is young! Let’s drink some more!” Sadeena proposed.
“Let’s drink lots more!” Shildina chimed in. Then the killer whale sisters proceeded to latch firmly onto the panda and elephant therianthropes.
“Hey! Stop that—” The elephant t
herianthrope looked at me with pleading eyes.
“Don’t give them too hard a time,” I managed.
“Of course not. If you’ll join in, little Naofumi, I’ll let up on them completely,” Sadeena suggested.
“Oh, good idea!” Both of the killer whale sisters tempted me with a drink. I guess I didn’t have a choice.
“Just a quick one. I don’t want to cause any trouble for your friends,” I said. I had an image of mercenaries liking to drink, but these two were different, it seemed.
“Thank you so much! You handle these drinking monsters!” the panda therianthrope said, and the elephant therianthrope and panda both nodded their thanks multiple times, grateful expressions on their faces.
It turned out that they did like drinking, but not enough to be forced to do it along with the killer whale sisters.
In just a few days, the war and the wave were coming.
We were ready. Every preparation we could make had been made.
Chapter Seven: The Wisest King of Wisdom
The war with Faubrey eventually started . . . a few days earlier than expected.
“Is this Whip Hero just a moron?” Trash furrowed his brow, head tilted, in the operations meeting room. Trash had predicted that they would invade Melromarc at the same time as the wave, but Takt had attacked much sooner. Maybe he thought speed was the key to victory.
There might have been a chance of catching us unprepared, but thanks to Trash’s expedient orders, we were completely ready for anything.
Standing by the trenches in the castle town and squinting, you could see the Faubrey forces advancing. I was therefore in discussion with Trash in the castle concerning their earlier-than-expected invasion.
“The only reason I could think of is that once the wave occurs you and the other heroes, Hero Iwatani, will be boosted to the total level with other worlds . . . but surely he would still expect to win even in that situation . . . so I just can’t see why he’d do something this stupid,” Trash reasoned. Maybe that was the reason, but when I considered it from Takt’s perspective, he would probably still think he could beat us regardless of our levels. “There might still be something behind this . . . but no matter. If this is when they choose to attack, then we must simply respond,” Trash stated.
“Everything is ready?” I confirmed.
“Yes, Hero Iwatani,” Trash replied.
“You’ve really thought up lots of different strategies, haven’t you?” The other heroes and I had been involved to some degree in preparing his operations. Of course, we’d also been training in between.
That said, while heroes didn’t have a level cap, it was impossible for us to catch up with the self-proclaimed level-350 Takt in just a few days. Yet we still had a few trump cards up our sleeve—the knowledge I had provided, and the knowledge obtained from Trash and Fohl’s seven star weapons had mobilized us, leading to the proposal of a specific strategy.
Yesterday, our enemies had taken a certain fortress in Melromarc. To be more accurate about it, we had let them take it. This was all a part of Trash’s strategy.
Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and I had memorized all the strategies that Trash created and decided upon what to tweak as circumstances demanded. The basic plan was for Ren and me to attack Takt, while Motoyasu and Itsuki would respond as required on the battlefield. Trash would give battlefield orders and defend our base. Fohl would be with me, while Rishia would be fighting alongside Itsuki.
In other words, the heroes would be divided between Takt’s party and the battlefield.
Filo, Raph-chan, Gaelion, Sadeena, S’yne, and Shildina were intended to go with me. Keel and anyone else from the village capable of fighting humans would be sent to the battlefield. The Raph species would be operating as a separate unit.
Everything else just came down to Trash’s strategy. We just had to pray his airborne countermeasure would go off as planned.
“Hero Iwatani, I’m just providing a framework,” Trash advised.
“I know,” I replied. Still, I hadn’t expected much from Trash, and those expectations had been suitably betrayed. It was easy to sign off on his plan. It had a much higher chance of success than anything I would have come up with, that was for sure. Letting people play to their strengths was always the best approach.
If everyone just did the best they could with the time that they had, the results couldn’t be bad.
No. I’d make sure it wasn’t bad.
“It’s almost time,” Trash said.
“I know.” I was ready. I took to a podium that had been erected in front of the battlefield. The soldiers from Melromarc, Siltvelt, and Q’ten Lo were all lined up, along with the slaves from my own territory. They could all see me. A wry smile curved my lips and then I made a declaration.
“Everyone! This is the battle to avenge the queen of Melromarc. Not only that, but we face the very scum who interfered with our battle with the Phoenix and now seeks to besmirch the legend of the four holy heroes! You all understand what this means?” My question was met with shouts of agreement. “We are fighting in order to protect this world. But what about our foes? They seek only to take this world for themselves, underestimating the threat posed by the waves and killing the innocent with reckless abandon! We cannot allow them to perpetrate such acts in the name of the four holy heroes!” More shouts. Everyone clearly felt as I did. “Everyone! Bring your hearts together! We shall make this enemy of our world pay for these misdeeds! This battle is when we take our revenge! Let’s put the scum in the ground who caused such harm to us and our allies!” Further cries of agreement rang out across the battlefield.
Seriously . . . I didn’t do this kind of thing often, but it definitely had a positive effect on morale.
“Little Naofumi!” Sadeena came over as I climbed down from the podium.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I’m glad to see you looking so well. You seem to be through the worst of it now,” she said.
“I guess so. More can happen than you’d expect when you’re half-dead,” I said cryptically.
“Okay. At least you are better. If you’ve shaken it off, I need to do my best too,” Sadeena replied with a smile.
“Just don’t get too carried away,” I cautioned her.
“I’ll be careful! Say, little Naofumi. Once we win this battle, how about we have some fun together?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye.
“Yes, yes. I’m now more receptive than before, so if you’re talking about some serious playtime, I might give it some thought. After we’ve gone to get Raphtalia and taken care of some other stuff,” I said. Hearing that reply, Sadeena placed a hand on my shoulder with a grin on her face.
“You’re in top form. I’m happy to see it. Let’s both do our best out there!” she said.
Having finished my greeting, I lightly waved the staff I had received from Trash and started to put his strategy into action.
It was a few hours later.
Takt was standing on a terrace in the fortress he had captured. This vantage point offered an excellent view. Surrounded by women, he looked out over Melromarc. There was black smoke rising from the direction of the castle town in the distance.
His expression was of one drunk on victory.
“Reporting!” shouted a messenger. At just that word, Takt seemed assured that the report was a good one, and actually . . . it was. “Your new weapons and strategy, Master Takt, have successfully landed our nation’s troops in the capital of Melromarc, throwing their command structure into disarray. The heroes barely arrived in time, and though they hold their own for now, considering the disparity in numbers, it is surely only a matter of time before they fall.”
“I’m sure it is,” Takt replied with a chuckle. “We’ve won using this strategy every time until now. No way these chumps could wrap their heads around it.”
“Well said, Master Takt!”
“You’re so incredible!”
“No army can withstand such an assaul
t!”
“Your aircraft bombing and troop deployment strategy is simply incredible, Master Takt! No one will ever defeat it!”
“Please, ladies, restrain your praise,” Takt said over the gaggle of his retinue. “I’m doing this for the sake of this world and the sake of its people. The fastest way to end this conflict is to eradicate this trashy nation from the map.” There was a light smile on his face as he spoke. “I admit, it’s a bit lacking in entertainment value when it’s this easy. But nothing is more fun than a battle you can win. Especially when it’s a strategy you came up with yourself.” More comments of agreement and laughter rang out at his words.
“At least, that’s what you wish had happened,” the messenger continued.
“Huh?” Takt’s laughter was abruptly cut short, and he turned to look at the soldiers who had come to make this report—the soldiers who happened to be me and my allies in disguise.
Here’s how it went down.
I had registered a portal to the fortress that we let Takt take. We’d infiltrated through that, pretended to be messengers in order to reach Takt, and then shared with him the report as dictated by Trash in order to gauge his reaction. If it was as expected, we were to reveal ourselves and take him out.
The messenger uniforms and equipment had been provided by the Zeltoble Dark Guild. Faubrey was a nation with a long history, so there was a lot of that kind of stuff floating around. Just in case, we’d even had Raph-chan cast some illusion magic on us that changed our odor. Making things invisible wasn’t the only use for illusion magic after all. Even those among Takt’s party with powerful noses hadn’t picked up on anything.
“For a start, why would so many messengers be reporting to you? Are you really such an idiot?” I continued. Takt and the others were still looking on dumbfounded, so we ended the charade completely. There was Fohl, S’yne, Ren, Raph-chan, and me. Filo, Gaelion, Sadeena, and Shildina had already engaged the soldiers around Takt.
