by Aneko Yusagi
Filo called out and dipped its head for me to climb onto its back, as though that were the most obvious answer.
“Thank you.”
I didn’t have reigns, or a saddle, but I wondered if it would be okay. The thing was practically asking me to climb on, so I did. The shield would help me survive any falls—my defense rating was through the roof.
As for comfort… Well, the feathers helped with that. If I could find my balance, it wouldn’t be bad at all.
I’d never ridden a horse, but I’d ridden a dog once. When I was a kid, some other kid in the neighborhood had a dog, and they let me ride it once. The owners said that they had never been able to ride it, but it wasn’t any problem for me. The dog carried me around just fine.
“Gah!”
Filo quickly stood up.
“Argh!”
I was so high off the ground, and from my vantage everything looked… different. So this is what the world would look like from Filo’s back.
“Gaaaaah!”
I thought that Filo was just calling out in happiness, but then it suddenly took off running!
“Um… Hey!”
“M…Mr. Naofumi!”
Dash! Dash! We were running!
It was so fast! I’d see something, and then it would be behind us just as quickly. I heard Raphtalia calling for us, but she was already far in the distance.
Dash! Dash!
Filo circled the village once before returning to the stables. Then it sat down and let me off.
“Are you all right?!”
Raphtalia looked worried as she ran over to me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Filo is so fast!”
Filo didn’t look tired in the least and soon turned to preening its feathers.
Filo ran much quicker than I had been expecting. This might have been my best purchase yet.
“All right, that seems like enough for today. Let’s head back to our room.”
Something had a grip on my armor’s collar. I turned to see Filo there, looking back at me.
“What is it?”
“Gaaah!”
It almost looked like it was crying. It kept balking at me.
“Huh?”
I gave up and turned to leave again, but once again it pulled at my collar.
“What is it?”
“Gaah!”
Filo’s feet were digging into the ground, like it was determined to make a stand.
“What, you want to play more?”
Raphtalia asked, and Filo shook its head. Could it understand what we were staying?
“Are you lonely?”
It nodded.
“Gaah!”
It opened its wings and cried out.
“But there’s nothing we can…”
I certainly didn’t want to sleep in the stables, and I don’t think the innkeeper would be happy if we brought a huge monster into the room.
“Let’s stay with it until it falls asleep!”
“Oh… Um… Okay.”
The thing was so big, but it had only hatched two days ago. Maybe it was still a baby, and just wasn’t ready to be left on its own in the stables overnight. Raphtalia and I decided to do our nightly study session in the stables.
Filo sat in its nest and quietly watched us study.
Piki…
“Geez… Am I ever going to be able to read this stuff?”
“If we can’t find a shield to do it, then this is our only option. Besides, if you are always depending on that Legendary Shield, well… it’s probably not best for you.”
“Raphtalia… You sure don’t hold anything back these days.”
“That’s right. So let’s get back to studying so that we can learn magic!”
What was so wrong with wanting things to be easier than they were? I hoped that all this work would actually amount to something. We kept on studying in the stables until we heard Filo’s steady snores.
Then we went back to the room, and I tried my hand at compounding some new herbs.
I still couldn’t read the recipes, so I was really just guessing.
Chapter Five: Kick and Run
The next day Raphtalia woke up with me, and we both went to the stables.
“Gahh!”
When Filo caught sight of us it called out happily and ran over to greet us.
“Are you already all grown up now?”
Filo looked to have grown another head overnight.
Already it looked to be the size of the full-grown Filolials I’d seen walking around town back at the castle.
It was now white, with only very small tints of pink in places. It was pretty.
“Are you hungry?”
“Gah?”
Filo turned its head to the side and looked confused. Good, so it was out of its growth spurt.
Piki…
There was that strange sound again. It was growing so fast that its body couldn’t keep up.
We ate breakfast and then sat down to discuss our plans for the day.
The villagers all seemed very busy. They were bustling about making repairs.
“Gahh….”
There was a cart being pushed down the road, filled with materials for repairs. Filo looked at, almost longingly…
“You want to pull that thing?”
“Bet he does.”
“What is it, Hero?”
Raphtalia and I were talking and pointing at the cart when a villager stopped by and asked.
“My Filolial was staring at that cart, so I was wondering if he wanted to pull it or something.”
“Yes, Filolials are quite instinctual that way.”
The villager nodded in agreement and looked over at Filo.
“Everyone is so busy with the repairs, but we still need all the help we can get. Hero, if we promised to give you a cart, do you think you could help out?”
“Mmm…”
It wasn’t a bad idea. And since I finally had a useful monster, it only made sense to put it to work. If it all went well, we could free up our own travel time to do other things.
“What do you need from us?”
“They are cutting trees for lumber in a nearby forest. Do you think you could help carry the wood back to the village?”
“The forest…”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t visited that forest yet.
“It might take us a little time, is that all right?”
“Sure.”
We were talking it over when I saw someone I recognized from outside of the village. They were in a group, and were running over to us on a carriage pulled by a Knight Dragon.
The leader was in chainmail, with a blinding silver breastplate. He carried a conspicuous spear.
That’s right. It was Motoyasu and the Bitch. They climbed down from the carriage.
“Hey! All you villagers, let’s all gather around, shall we?!”
The busy villagers all set their work aside and started walking over to the intruders. Then the Bitch unrolled a large sheet of parchment and started haranguing everyone.
“Citizens! In recognition for his glorious victories in the last wave of destruction, the King of these lands has granted this man, Motoyasu Kitamura, governorship over these territories.”
What? Governorship? To Motoyasu?
Motoyasu, as if he could hear my thoughts, suddenly shouted.
“Which means that I, The Spear Hero, am now in control here. I’ve been asked to oversee the reconstruction efforts! I expect your cooperation from here on out! Make sure that you have secured proper funding for your projects before you purchase materials!”
“What?!”
The majority of the villagers looked skeptical of their new leader.
That was only natural. During the wave, when the village was under attack, what had the Spear Hero done for them? Nothing! And yet here he was, supposed to be their new leader? Of course they wouldn’t accept this new appointment so easily.
Besides, being given governorship for fighting a battl
e? Why was the Crown so close to Motoyasu?
“You must be mistaken. You see, I am the governor here.”
A man in the crowd raised his hand and addressed Motoyasu. That, too, seemed natural. Why would anyone just roll over and accept a random new appointment?
Granted, it was an official order, so I guess there wasn’t much they could do by way of rebellion, but still—people were going to be aggravated.
“What are you implying? Are you going to disobey an order from your king?”
“I’m not saying that, only that it seems odd that…”
“Silence!”
The Bitch sure seemed to think she ran the show. I really wanted to walk over and give her a hard smack across the face.
But wait… Did that mean that this village belonged to Motoyasu now? Dammit! That would mean that I had to move on… again. The innkeeper had been letting us stay for free, so I was hoping to stay based in Riyute for as long as I could.
“Ha! What’s this? Why are you here, Naofumi?”
He saw me in the crowd and called out to me.
“I’ve based my activities here.”
“Huh? You mean you’re still working in a spot like this? Oh man, that’s the Shield for you… always way behind. You must understand that this village belongs to Motoyasu now, and he will not tolerate criminals on his lands. Get on your way.”
I really wanted to shut her up.
So I guess this means that the Bitch was really the one in control. But what did she want? I could only imagine…
“First order of business: there will now be a toll levied on those entering and exiting the village. If we don’t, we will never be able to raise appropriate restoration funds. The fee due upon entrance will be 50 pieces of silver, and the fee upon exit will be 50 pieces of silver. That makes for a total of one gold piece.”
“But that’s... With taxes like that we’ll never be able to survive!”
“Oh, it’s not that much money.”
Motoyasu clearly had a warped sense of what money was worth to these people.
A piece of gold was… worth a lot of money. For these people to live in relative comfort, they only needed 20 pieces of bronze a day. If you stayed in the inn, a piece of silver would get you a room and a good meal.
Their new taxes were worth 100 days of life. Who could afford to eat with a tax like that?
“What is the problem? Does anyone take issue with our edict?”
“Of course they do.”
The Bitch glared at me when I spoke up.
“You’ve just been appointed governor, and then you show up and levy a huge tax on your first visit? Think about it…”
“You know… he’s kind of right, Myne. Think we could drop it to a level that the villagers can afford?” Motoyasu asked Myne.
When he did, she turned to me with demonic fury in her eyes. Just as quickly, it vanished, and she was batting her eyelashes at Motoyasu.
“If we do not learn perseverance along with our pain, the village will never recover from this calamity. The previous governor may consider himself relieved by the authority of the Crown.”
“How dare you!” The governor shouted in anger.
The rest of the villagers were shouting also.
“Hey! That’s not fair!”
“What are you planning on doing for us?!”
“Now, now… Do you know what it means to revolt against the Crown? Perhaps we will have to teach you.”
Bitch raised her hand, and knights came sauntering into the village, mounted on their dragons.
Were they planning on starting a fight? Violent fools!
Motoyasu was looking at them impatiently, like he didn’t like that he was being forced to stoop to this level. But he was the real criminal here.
“Hey! Now if you don’t…”
Then Myne was suddenly surrounded by a group of men in black, like a group of ninjas.
“Hey…”
“Ms. Myne, yes? Surely you have been informed of our arrival. We have brought a message for you.”
“What is it?”
One of the ninjas stepped forward and handed her a rolled sheet of parchment.
What, were they assassins or something? I guess things like that existed in this world too.
The Bitch stood there looking pissed off as she read from the parchment. Then all the color drained from her face.
What was it? What did it say?
“Who the hell are you?”
“We are employed by a certain someone. We have reason to believe you know of whom we speak.”
“But I…”
Answer them. This is no time to be feigning ignorance! I was about to yell at her when…
“It’s a battle!”
The Bitch exclaimed authoritatively.
“What?”
What was she even talking about? What battle? With who? Motoyasu also seemed to have no idea what was going on.
“You must race our dragons to determine the governorship of these lands.”
“What the hell?”
I didn’t know what was written on that parchment, but it couldn’t have been something that stupid.
“If you don’t, we won’t relinquish control!”
After Myne shouted, the ninjas all began whispering amongst themselves. It sounded like they were talking about what to do once the new governor was appointed.
“Very well then, we will use the fastest monster in this village.”
“No.”
Myne was pointing in my direction. I was gripping Filo’s reigns in my hand, and her finger moved to point at Filo.
“The Shield Hero will race for you.”
“But…”
What sense did it make to appoint me? I wasn’t even from the village?
The governor looked over at me and smiled.
“Shield Hero, won’t you please come to our aid? From what I saw yesterday, your Filolial is very quick on its feet.”
“No way!”
Why should I be involved in all this?
“If you win, we can promise you just compensation.”
“And if I lose?”
“Nothing will happen to you… Besides, your Filolial looks like she wants to race, doesn’t she?”
Filo was staring at the dragons and snapping her eyes from one to the next in quick succession. I had to tug on the reigns. In a sudden fury, she seemed like she might dash off to attack Motoyasu and his cohorts at any moment.
“Considering the long-held enmity between dragons and Filolials, it seems only natural that the bird is ready to race them. It should be a good match.”
What a pain in the ass… though I suppose I didn’t stand to lose anything if we failed.
“What do you think, Mr. Naofumi?”
“Hm…”
Well I certainly didn’t want to hang out in Motoyasu’s territory, and I felt like it would be a shame to leave the village so soon after I’d gotten on good terms with the inhabitants. And I’d started to get a handle on the surrounding areas too. I would have to win if I wanted to stay.
“Fine then, let’s do this.”
I slowly climbed up on to Filo’s back and situated myself. Then I turned to Motoyasu.
“Ahhahaha! Look at the guy on his plump chick! Bwahaha!”
His cohorts were holding their stomachs and laughing forcefully.
I had no idea what they thought was so funny, but I couldn’t stand being laughed at. I felt blood rising hot up my neck.
“What the hell, Motoyasu?”
“Ha! I mean, I thought it was funny that you were walking around with that thing. And now! Now you say you’re going to race on it! Ahahaha!”
“What the hell was so funny?”
Was I riding it wrong? What did they think I was doing with a Filolial anyway, if not to ride it?
“Ha! You look like a fool! First of all, dragons are way cooler than birds. Second of all, look at that thing! It’s got pink all mixed up in its white feather
s—obviously you bought yourself a cheap bird!”
“I don’t know what color you think it should be…”
I still didn’t get what was so funny about it.
I was trying to figure it out when Motoyasu walked over to Filo, pointing and laughing the whole time.
“Gahhh!”
Filo reared back and kicked him hard in the crotch.
I saw it. I saw his laughing face suddenly contort into an expression of confused pain. His whole body spun in drunken spirals, and he reeled back from the force of the kick.
“Ugh…!”
Man… I’d never been so happy in my whole life. I hadn’t even seen it coming. Happiness visits when you least expect it.
“Kyaaaaah! Oh, Mr. Motoyasu!”
Ahaha… that kick must have crushed his balls.
It felt so good. That one kick was worth all the money I’d spent on Filo so far. That’s my monster. It was getting revenge for me. Filo, you’ll eat good tonight—I’ll see to that.
“Gaah!”
“Coward! How dare you attack Mt. Motoyasu!”
“The race hasn’t started yet, and besides, if you walk up to a monster and laugh at them, what do you expect?”
“Ugh… you bastard.”
Motoyasu tottered to his feet. His hands cradled his crotch. The sweat oozing down his face made his pain evident.
I ran my hand over Filo’s head. “So, are we going to start this race?”
“Of course!”
We couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t try something sneaky, but all we could do is stay on our toes and get it over with.
The Bitch untied a dragon from the cart it had been hitched to, and Motoyasu climbed up onto its back.
“The race will consist of three laps around the village!”
The villagers ran off to draw lines in the dirt, demarcating the course.
“Good luck Mr. Naofumi. And Filo? You take care of him, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Gah!”
“I’ll win, I swear it!”
The governor stood before the two of us and raised his hands into the air. When they fell, the race would be on.
“Ready…. Go!”
His hands fell quickly, and we were off!
Our starting dash put us pretty much head to head.
Filo was running at a good, relaxed pace, its cadence at a steady and pleasant rhythm.
Hm? If we were comparing our speed to Motoyasu’s, it seemed like Filo was faster.
