by Aneko Yusagi
Prologue: A Problem with Bandits
“You rabble! Fall in!”
“We’ll try!”
My name is Naofumi Iwatani. Originally from Japan, I was summoned here to this world to be the Shield Hero. As you might expect, that’s all a pretty long story, and right then I really didn’t have the time to reflect on all the details.
I’d just finished breakfast with the group from the village that was under my control and was about to lay my orders on them. We’d finally finished the cleanup from a series of events that had seemed to both take forever and be over in the blink of an eye. And so here we were.
The disturbance in Q’ten Lo coming to an end was all well and good, but that had then led to a smaller disturbance in Siltvelt involving the pain-in-the-ass process of me having to display my authority as the Shield Hero. By which I mean it had taken longer than expected to get back to the village.
It had been tough, sure, but as a result, various problems were also actually on the road to improvement.
“Everyone take your regular posts and complete your duties as normal! That’s all!” I used my best commanding voice.
“Roger that!” The replies were full of energy. The residents of my village certainly had a lot of that. Too much, perhaps.
“Mr. Naofumi, what’s the policy for today?” This question was from Raphtalia, a girl who I treated much like my daughter. She was the official representative of the village, as well as the Heavenly Emperor—that is, queen—of Q’ten Lo, the nation we’d just been off invading. Going from being a slave to the ruler of her own nation? Talk about bettering yourself!
Not to mention, she was the holder of a very special weapon—a katana from another world—known as a “vassal weapon.”
Damn, I mean, taking in her entire history, she might even come out looking better than me.
Today, she was also wearing the miko outfit that served as the symbol of our invasion of Q’ten Lo, and it really was super soothing on the eyes.
“Yeah, about that. There was all that hassle in Siltvelt too, right? So I’m thinking of sorting through all the spoils from Q’ten Lo and Siltvelt,” I informed her.
“So we should just train on our own?” Raphtalia asked. That sounded like a pretty good idea, but I couldn’t help feeling I was forgetting something . . . In that moment, Ren, Itsuki, and Rishia, having finished their meal, came over.
“Naofumi!” Ren, the one calling my name, was the Sword Hero, summoned from a different Japan than the one I came from. His full name was Ren Amaki. The other guy with him, Itsuki, was the Bow Hero, and just like Ren and me, he too had been summoned here from a different Japan. His full name was Itsuki Kawasumi. Rishia was a heroine-level, emotional rollercoaster of a girl who always followed Itsuki around.
Ren continued, “Eclair said that she and Queen Melty have something they want to discuss with you, Naofumi.”
“What?” I didn’t have time for that.
“Sounds like there’s been some trouble with bandits recently,” Ren explained.
“Is that true?” First I was hearing of it.
“Yeah. While you were off invading Q’ten Lo, we carried out the trading that you ordered, Naofumi, so quite a lot of new information has come into the village,” Ren explained.
“That reminds me,” Keel reported, as though it was the most natural thing in the world. “We met with quite a few bandit attacks while we were off trading.”
“Why haven’t these reports been reaching me?” I inquired.
“They’ve been fought off so far, so they haven’t really been a problem. And you’ve been busy yourself, Naofumi. Right?” Ren offered.
“Hmmm.” I guess that made sense.
“These attacks are starting to stand out though, so we’re wondering if you have any good ideas,” Ren continued.
It was true that our trading had really been taking off recently. Spirit Tortoise materials had become pretty trendy, and with me managing the trading of them, the economy of Melromarc was really starting to improve quite nicely. Seeing as I’d been away, everyone had likely been getting sloppy with making reports. These attackers had only just come to the village too.
This reminded me of the accessory merchant in Zeltoble. Always an excitable fellow, he had eagerly explained how, with the appearance of the Spirit Tortoise, people were now much more sensitive to the threat of the waves and much more keen to spend their money on protecting themselves. He’d sworn that getting in now was the route to quick money.
Perhaps it was only natural, then, that the success of merchants such as him would also give rise to bandits preying on them. Currently the Four Holy Pillars—the Adventurers’ Guild, Trade Union, Band of Knights, and the Church—supported each other and maintained the economy. Meanwhile, thugs and killers were banding together to attack merchants and villages for their own profit. Handling such violence was surely beyond the means of those operating the trade in slaves and accessories. They had power, perhaps, but at their core they were nothing more than black-hearted merchants, dynamically opposed to those who relied only on violence and would never listen to reason.
They likely had some plans in place, but still I’d have to act.
What this meant overall, anyway, was that the chain of events since the appearance of the Spirit Tortoise had led to a fall in the general public safety of Melromarc.
“We’ll have to go big on this one. Wipe them all out,” I concluded.
“But how?” Ren asked.
“I do have one idea,” I said, and it brought a grin to my face.
That very same day, I visited the place I’d been thinking of—a farm set up for the rehabilitation of criminals. I took Ren, Raphtalia, and anyone else with me who looked like they might be useful in a negotiation.
“Now do you see? I’ve got a very special, very large job just for you,” I explained.
“N-no thanks! I’ve made up my mind. Once my dues have been paid, I’ll go back home and stick to the straight and narrow!” This from a bandit who, after numerous encounters with me, was now being managed here by Ren. I was trying to convince him to take pride of place as a key player in my plan. However, perhaps truly regretting his deeds from the past, the man continued to reject my offer.
“You actually don’t have the right to say no,” I pointed out.
“Whatever you may say, I’m working hard, right now, to make a go of a normal life! Please don’t mess things up for me!” The man was indeed making an effort. I couldn’t deny his desire to turn over a new leaf.
That said, I didn’t give up on trying to win him over.
“I won’t. Don’t worry. But at least listen to what I have to say. I’m not asking you to do anything crazy for me—nothing too insane. There’s plenty in this for you too.” Honestly, I had quite a lot of respect for this guy. He’d taken his licks, plenty of them, and still stuck it out as a robber.
He was unlucky for sure, but he was also lucky enough to have gotten away with his life.
“First,” I continued my pitch, “I’m going to let you class up, level up, and everything.” The punishment this guy had received from the state was a level reset and to work in developing the land. That meant he was currently level 1. With no means to fight he was just like a slave anyway, simply working off his sins.
Of course, seeing as he actually was a slave, if he ran his slave seal would activate and kill him. So he also had to live with that hanging over him.
All of this stuff certainly made keeping criminals in line easier than in my world.
“Next, and I don’t even know where you come from, but I’ll send some money to your family. Help them out a bit. You are being hir
ed by the state, after all. Give your folks back home something to brag about, for once.”
“Gah!” That seemed to have worked, at least a little. He was paying more attention to me now. A thief with no abilities or connections had a chance to receive support from the state. Of course he was giving it some thought.
“This will be a good deed if it goes well.” I went for the kill. “I promise a significant reduction in your sentence.”
“Naofumi, you look positively maniacal,” Ren observed.
“Shut up. This is called plea bargaining!” I shot back.
“I don’t think that’s quite right,” Ren corrected me.
“Then what? A decoy investigation?” I retorted.
“He’s a decoy?” Ren still didn’t sound convinced, giving me a suspicious glance.
“I appreciate the offer, but still—” This bandit wasn’t having any of it.
“Come, come, don’t rush to a decision. You must be hungry. Here, let me feed you.” The dish I produced was, of course, a cutlet rice bowl famous in Japan for its use in interrogations. My recollection might have been fuzzy on that. Anyway, the exact ingredients couldn’t be obtained in this world, so I’d cobbled it together from stuff that looked the part.
The robber said nothing, but his stomach growled for him. Looking at the food—my trump card—he gave a swallow.
He’d been stealing things for a living, after all. He’d likely never really eaten nice food.
“It’s not poisoned,” I assured him. “Go ahead. I’ll have one of my slaves eat a little first, if you want.” I’d brought Keel along for just this reason, and I placed some of the almost-cutlet-and-rice onto a small dish and had her eat it.
“Bubba Shield! This is delicious! Give me more!” she yapped.
“Just wait,” I replied. “If he doesn’t give me the nod, you can have it all.”
“You’d better not nod, nasty, bad person!” Keel quickly quipped.
“Keel!” Raphtalia admonished. Yeah, I guess taunting the guy to get him to reject my offer just because Keel wanted to eat more herself was worthy of reprimand.
“You’ve twisted my arm then! I’ll eat! I’m eating!” Phew. With that, the robber started to eat the cutlet rice bowl I’d prepared for him.
“W-what is this?” He reacted at once. “It’s delicious! I can’t stop! Like mom used to make, but so much better—” Keel, the little puppy, looked on with jealous eyes as the robber, actual tears streaming from his eyes, greedily stuffed the food into his mouth.
Ren was looking at me with a really odd expression on his face. Like I cared.
“Of course, it doesn’t have to be you. I’m sure there are some other faces here I recognize.” I put the pressure on as the robber finished off the meal. Now that his stomach was full, he’d probably be more inclined to listen to what I had to say. Now I just had to close the deal.
This kind of negotiation was fun. It looked like a good way to burn off some of my recent stress.
“If you do the job that I’m asking you,” I continued, “I can see my way to making you more food.” I held all the power in this particular negotiation, anyway. As I’d already alluded to, if this guy wouldn’t give me the nod, I could easily find someone else who would.
“Whatever you promise, I just can’t sell out my comrades—”
“Filo.” I called in my big gun. This particular robber had a specific trauma in his past of having been beaten black and blue by the so-called “bird god.”
Of course, she wasn’t actually here. Filo was currently with Melty, who had been posted over in the neighboring town.
“Okay, okay! You’ll set me free if I can pull this off, right?” Man, he caved quickly! Was he really that scared of Filo?
“Of course.” I was magnanimous in victory. “I think I can agree to that.” Of course, his freedom was contingent on him even wanting to leave this job behind once he got started.
“Naofumi.” Ren’s mouth hung open, as though he had something he wanted to say.
“What?” I didn’t have time for it. “If we fight all these bandits one group at a time, there’s only so much we can achieve, right? We need to rip them up from the roots.”
“I’m sorry, but . . .” Raphtalia, silent until now, finally spoke up. “You’re really going to make someone try to atone for his past by going back and doing more bad things?”
“I’m not sure I’d call them ‘bad,’ you know.” I smirked.
My plan was to use this individual to investigate the real reason why bandits were on the rise in this nation while at the same time improving public safety. If the heroes were going to increase the light, it stood to reason that they should also manage any darkness created by that light. How many people were there in this entire world? Who would guess that one of those heroes was pulling the strings on one of those bandits?
Even if some did, I had nothing to fear, with almost all of the four holy heroes now among my forces. Reflecting on it for a moment now, I realized that my standing had really changed dramatically.
“You can start by gathering those comrades you spoke of.” I started to outline the plan. “Then go on to expand your forces. Of course, I don’t want you attacking any of my merchants.”
“How are we meant to make a living if we don’t attack merchants? What do you think bandits do?!” There was desperation in his voice.
“Did I say don’t attack anyone? Actually, there’s quite a few merchants I’d love for you to attack.” I gave a wicked grin. There were numerous villainous merchants at work who didn’t belong to the Trade Union and happily ignored territories and regulations. Picking apart the causes of this bandit problem, I had been told on the way here that merchants like these were actually in league with the bandits. And behind both groups were a bunch of moderate anti-shield nobles. Thinking about it, I did recall a bunch of puffed-up peacocks giving me the eye.
“Harvest those evil merchants who ignore the rules,” I commanded. “Do that and I’ll provide you with financial support.”
I should mention that, before coming here, I went to Zeltoble via portal and completed negotiations with the accessory dealer. He’d been very excited and said that he’d definitely name me as his successor.
I really didn’t understand what made this guy tick.
“I can’t tell the difference!” he said, sounding desperate.
“I’ve got you covered,” I assured him. “I’ll keep you fully apprised of the routes taken by my own merchants and the others who you aren’t meant to attack. You select any other wagon to strike, and just take the cargo from evil merchants.”
And so bandits of justice were born—only stealing from evil men. Of course, in this equation “evil men” were determined by the Shield Hero.
This plan should maintain the peace for at least a little while.
“And then? What do we do with the stuff we steal?” my new bandit leader asked.
“Good question,” I pondered and stroked my chin. “You could bring it to me, but then again it would be a hassle if it gets traced back to me. Use half to pay your underlings and give the other half to poor people and villages. Then the world at large won’t see you as evil. As for the nation . . . well, just look at me.”
“Is this really something a hero should be doing?” he questioned. This from a bandit! There was always someone pulling the strings behind every large organization. That was just the way of the world. I’d join forces with the queen if I could and wipe out the trash trying to hide from me too.
“I’ll have the heroes patrol, making it look like we’re clearing the bandits out. You can emerge as a cunning boss with a good nose for a target. If any of your men oppose you or start causing trouble, have them attack one of my merchants. We’ll take them out for you, without it looking too suspicious,” I added.
“Your conditions aren’t bad. It’s not like I can turn you down either. Very well,” he replied.
“Then we have an agreement.” I grinn
ed.
And that was how I successfully became a patron to a bunch of bandits.
“You’re black-hearted, truly,” Ren offered. “I don’t know what Itsuki will say about this once he returns to normal.”
“That’s why I left him in the village, so he wouldn’t see it,” I said smugly. “Seeing as you’re working with Eclair to keep the peace, Ren, you needed to see this stuff.”
“Very well,” he grumbled. “It isn’t easy making money, is it?”
“I’m not sure that’s the takeaway from all of this,” Raphtalia said, obviously not happy with this turn of events, the result of which was that a major new organization, the “Chivalrous Bandit Guild,” if you like, had now appeared in Melromarc.
If we could control the bandits at the state level, it would be best for everyone. It just meant another layer had been added to those shadows we couldn’t discuss with the common folk.
When our negotiations with the bandits finished, we returned to the village via portal.
Soon I would need to go and report to the queen of Melromarc. With everything that had been going on, I hadn’t visited her at all recently. As I considered these things, I looked over a ledger containing the profits and other details from the trade during our invasion of Q’ten Lo.
“Wow,” I exclaimed. Keel’s sales were incredible. The monster that pulled Keel’s wagon for trading—a large caterpilland—was looking over at me. Ah, whatever. I decided to offer Keel some praise.
“While we were away from the village, it seems you’ve been working very hard, Keel. Well done.”
“Bubba?” she asked.
“Mr. Naofumi has suddenly started to praise you. Be careful,” Raphtalia warned.
“I will,” Keel agreed. All it took was one compliment from me and Raphtalia immediately thought I was planning something.
You reap what you sow, I guess. I’m one dark individual most of the time.
“She’s been working hard, so I was just offering some praise. I’m even thinking of giving a reward,” I explained.
“Cook me a meal then, Bubba! Something even more delicious than the food back there!” Food was the reward she wanted from me? That was always what Filo went for too.
