by Aneko Yusagi
He’d just said he wanted to kill her, but now he wanted her set free? The guy was crazy!
“You… As long as she’s a girl, you want her—is that it?”
“No!”
He shouted again.
“I’ve never seen such an ideal girl… I…”
“What?”
“Who would think it? There really is a girl out there that’s just like Fleon of the magical lands!”
Who was he talking about now? Must have been a character from some game he played.
That reminded me of something though. I guess Filo was similar to characters from games I knew too. The pure, angelic girl character—a classic archetype.
“I can’t help it. I REALLY like angels…”
“Shut up! I don’t want to hear about your sexual preferences!”
“This world is the BEST! My heart was fluttering the second I laid eyes on her!”
Motoyasu was very excited. From the look on his face, you’d never know he was the same person that had just been screaming about a giant bird. His eyes were shining now—he was enraptured.
The other members of his party were looking annoyed. That must be why they were standing there silent.
“I know that you own that girl somehow! Let her go!”
“God, you’re annoying!”
Okay, okay, so he was saying that I needed to hand Filo over, just because she happened to be his type?
I wished he’d keep his jokes to himself.
“You think I’m just going to go along with that request?”
“If you won’t, we’ll fight until you agree!”
He readied his spear and pointed it at me.
“What, you want to fight here?! Stop that! Think about your surroundings!”
“Chaos Spear!”
Before I could finish my sentence Motoyasu had already called a skill and sent an attack flying in my direction. I lightly lifted my shield to stop the barrage, but the flying spear tips that missed me flew on down the street before burying themselves in a storefront and bringing the wall down with a crash.
There was a crowd of people in the street, and now they were all screaming because of Motoyasu’s violent outburst.
“Hey!”
“Air Strike Javelin!”
He pointed his spear again and sent it flying in my direction.
Damn! I dodged it, but it could’ve hit the crowd of people. I might not have known much about this country and its people, but I knew the difference between a good place to fight and a bad place to fight. Could Motoyasu think about anything but himself?
“Let her go!”
“Who would?!”
He wants me to let that ravenous bird loose? Was he crazy?!
I almost considered it, just so he’d understand what a bad idea it was to let that crazy bird loose.
“So you won’t listen?”
The surrounded townsfolk were on the verge of panic.
“Come on! Control yourself!”
“I don’t care if you are Heroes, don’t fight here!”
Shouts of protest from the townsfolk grew more and more frequent.
This was not good. No matter how much damage Motoyasu caused, I was sure to take the fall for all of it.
“Motoyasu! Calm down!”
It was time. Should I switch to the Shield of Rage, like I did with the Zombie Dragon, and counter his attack?
No. That would burn everything around us. And that was how Raphtalia got hurt. I shouldn’t use it when there are people around. Even still, it wasn’t like I could just run away.
“Hey! You guys stop too!”
I yelled to Motoyasu’s little posse of the Bitch and her friends.
They needed to know that they were pissing off a hero.
They only looked over at me and laughed.
I was getting a bad feeling about this. She never missed an opportunity to piss me off. She’d do anything.
“Everyone please calm down! This is a duel between the Spear Hero and the Shield Hero. It is a legitimate duel, recognized by the Crown, whom I represent here today!”
The Bitch was pretending to go by the name Myne, but even though she pretended to be someone else she still felt entitled to issue commands as the Crown. She flashed a certificate that supposedly empowered her to speak for the royal family.
“Give me a break!”
The first person to express their discontent was the owner of a shop behind me. Soon others in the street joined in his shouts of protest. I didn’t find anything about it surprising in the least. Anyone watching would have seen Motoyasu start the fight all on his own—and now she called it a “duel.” Give ME a break!
“You would speak against the command of the Crown? You scoundrel!”
Scoundrel? Look who’s talking—Bitch Princess!
A glance at the gathering crowd and it was clear that supporters were mixed in with the pedestrians who wanted the duel stopped. The confusion was growing, and the whole scene looked ready to collapse into riot.
“Damn…”
This was not looking good.
The worst part was that I had just finished escaping my pursuers. They were probably still around here, and if a big duel started they were sure to find me.
“Second Javelin!”
Motoyasu produced two glowing spears and sent them flying in my direction.
I stopped one with my shield, protecting a shop behind me in the process—but the second one grazed my arm and left me scratched.
“First Heal!”
I could heal myself with magic—but I couldn’t hope to win a duel by only defending.
What should I do? Without Raphtalia or Filo I didn’t stand a chance of winning.
And Motoyasu KNEW that I couldn’t attack. He was doing this on purpose to humiliate me.
Did he only start duels that he knew he would win? The jerk.
If it was going to be an unfair fight from the start, I wouldn’t have any choice but to run.
Unlike last time, they didn’t have Raphtalia as a hostage, so I didn’t have anything forcing me to fight him.
Or so I thought…
“Please stop that! Spear Hero!”
The soldiers I’d been running from appeared from the crowd and positioned themselves between Motoyasu and me.
“This area is heavily trafficked by our citizens. We cannot permit you to duel here.”
“Yes we can.”
The Bitch immediately snapped at the soldiers. She flashed the certificate and continued:
“Your assistance is not necessary here. This is a duel between HEROES, and the interference of a mere soldier will not be tolerated.”
That Bitch… she was rotten to the core.
“Uh…”
The soldier’s eyes swam with confusion. Even if she was hiding out, she WAS the princess, after all. Certainly they didn’t care about protecting me?
“Even still, the country and its people… I’m a soldier to protect them. If the personal affairs of someone—even if they are Heroes—threatens the people of our country, I must put a stop to it!”
What’s that? It felt like a cool breeze blowing through—things might be different this time.
“And so, because the Shield Hero is unable to fight, I will take his place—I will be his sword!”
“Wh…?”
“Huh?”
Motoyasu and I both fell speechless.
A mere soldier wanted to cover for me as my sword? He was going to challenge Motoyasu?
“I will too…”
A kid who looked like some kind of wizard appeared from the crowd, walked up behind me, and leveled his wand.
He seemed to be some kind of soldier as well.
“Imbecilic fools. You would challenge me? Do you understand my position?”
What the Bitch really wanted to say was that even if they survived the duel, she would make sure they were taken care of later.
“Your position is irrelevant. We are merely carrying out our
orders.”
The Bitch’s face turned red at the answer.
“Insolence! You think you can ignore the will of the Crown?!”
“I will not permit the personal disputes of Heroes to be settled here.”
A soft voice came from the crowd, followed by its owner.
Everyone reacted as though someone with the proper authority had finally arrived. I’d never seen people act that way since I’d come to this world, so I was surprised as well.
All the authority figures I’d met since I came here were scoundrels—rather than stopping a duel, they were more likely to instigate and enjoy it, like Myne, who was second in command.
Who would speak out against her? I turned to see.
It looked like a mere child. Wait, no… It was Mel!
She was flanked on both sides by Raphtalia and Filo, who both looked unsettled. They were walking in my direction.
“What are you doing here?!”
“It’s been forever, Sister.”
SISTER?!
Mel reached into her pocket and pulled out a certificate.
“That’s…”
Everyone was speechless when they saw the paper, and they let their heads droop.
What was it? Who had more authority than the Bitch?
“Spear Hero, please try to understand. I would appreciate it if you can put your disagreements to rest today.”
“But! But!”
“Please look around you! You would fight in a crowded town square? Are those the actions of a Hero?”
“Ugh…”
Motoyasu sighed and slowly calmed down. He seemed to understand the situation.
“Mr. Naofumi!”
Raphtalia came running to my side.
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah. But, what’s up with Mel? She’s that thing’s sister?”
“Holy Saint… But that’s not who you are, is it? Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Melty. Thank you for bringing me back to Castle Town. It was a very enjoyable trip we had together.”
Mel gave a curtsy.
“Shield Hero, what happened here?”
“I don’t know. Motoyasu once again challenged me to a duel—he wants to steal my party members away.”
“AGAIN?”
Raphtalia knit her eyebrows in disbelief and shot Motoyasu an annoyed look.
Motoyasu ignored her and looked over at Filo.
“What’s your name, Miss?”
“Um… Filo!”
“Don’t tell him the truth!”
I had to jump in to save her.
“This guy is making you pull heavy carriages around, isn’t he? Let me save you.”
“Well that’s true. She is pulling a heavy carriage for me—pretty much every day.”
I couldn’t lie about that. I mean, that is the kind of monster she was.
If I don’t let her pull it, she throws a fit. She cries like a baby.
“You bastard! You’d treat this poor little girl like she was one of your fat birds?”
He sure did have a big mouth. What I did with Filo was my business.
“Let Filo go!”
“Shut up already!”
Why did he think everyone in town was trying to calm him down? But he was angry again; he pointed his spear at me.
“I believe I just said that you were not to duel here.”
Mel once again had to order him to stop, but he completely ignored her. Was he just going to ignore her? He was the kind of guy to lose all of his senses when a woman was around.
“Ladies! You must escape! I’m telling you, this guy is very dangerous!”
Motoyasu turned to Filo and tried really hard to look like the good guy.
Didn’t he know that he was fighting so hard to save the “fat bird” that he was screaming about wanting to kill just a little while ago?
Or… I guess she was in human form right now. She just looked like your standard, pretty little girl. What a Motoyasu kind of mistake to make.
“Huh? Why? Master isn’t dangerous!”
“MASTER? You bastard! Air Strike Javelin!”
Motoyasu ignored Mel’s order and performed a skill. I immediately blocked it.
“What are you doing to Master?!”
“It’s okay, Filo! I’m going to save you!”
Why didn’t he listen? We weren’t allowed to fight here!
“I suppose there is no getting around it…”
Mel closed her eyes and raised her hands.
“Filo, I have a request of you. Please stop the Spear Hero.”
“Okay! I will protect Master!”
Filo stood before Motoyasu.
“Filo, please move. I can’t take care of him with you right there.”
But Filo didn’t move. She stayed where she was and opened her arms.
“Filo, he called you a fat bird.”
“Naofumi! You bastard! How could you say that to a little girl?”
“I didn’t, you did. You just said it like five minutes ago. You said you wanted to kill her.”
“Yeah, and the last time I met you, you laughed at me. I hate you, Spear Guy!”
“Laugh? When did I ever laugh at you?”
With a puff of smoke, Filo returned to her bird form. Yes, the Filolial Queen form.
“Huh? What?”
Motoyasu looked shocked at Filo’s transformation. He was leaning over a little, as if to protect his crotch.
Filo watched him, watched the confused look spread over his face, then charged up her powerful leg and delivered a quick kick to his crotch.
“Aaaaahhhh!”
I saw it happen. His face froze in shock, and his body snapped into a tailspin, flying ten meters through the air.
The cup he was wearing shattered into dust and came raining down from above on our heads.
“Ugh!”
“Filo wins!”
Filo threw one of her wings in the air and struck a victorious pose for the crowd.
Was that enough to keep him down? Nah, he was probably just fine. He’d been wearing a cup.
Raphtalia was pale and whispering to herself, but I’m sure she was fine.
For whatever reason, his party didn’t run to help him either. I suppose there wasn’t much anyone could do.
The crowd erupted in applause. It was immediately clear who they’d hoped would win.
My bad mood was feeling better already.
“Please take the Spear Hero to get some medical care.”
The soldiers that had challenged him now picked him up and carried him off.
“All right, Sister? I have to say that it seems you’ve really behaved poorly here. May I ask what the problem is? I might have to report to Mother on this.”
“I… I am simply doing what I must to support the Heroes, as requested.”
“It certainly didn’t look that way.”
“You cannot judge by this single, isolated event, Melty.”
“Can’t I? Your barbarous behavior stands out on the reports.”
“You would turn on me? Your superior? Your older sister?”
“I could ask the same of you, Sister.”
“Pfft…”
The Bitch shot us all hateful looks.
What kind of relationship did they have? From where I was standing it sure looked like Melty held more authority than the Bitch did.
The Bitch noticed that Motoyasu and his party members had slunk off, and she quickly followed them—a good excuse as any to run away.
“Master! Didn’t I do good?”
Filo came running over to me, expecting some kind of praise.
There was no getting around it. I reached over and rubbed her head.
“There, there. That’s the second good kick you’ve given Motoyasu now. Good work. That was one of the best moments of my life.”
“Yeah! I kick him every time I see him!”
“Yes you do! You’re great!”
Eh, heh, heh…
“
Why are you congratulating her?!”
Raphtalia was angry.
But I wouldn’t back-peddle on this—Filo really HAD done a good job, after all.
“I swear… These Heroes…”
Melty held a hand against her forehead and sighed.
“I sure wish they’d stop causing a fuss—at least here in the middle of Castle Town.”
“Oh, I… I suppose I should thank you…”
“Sure, but not here. Let’s find a quieter place to chat.”
I looked around for a good spot, and, sure enough, the crowd was watching us closely.
That only made sense. We shouldn’t talk where everyone and anyone could overhear us.
“Okay.”
“Shield Hero…”
The soldier that had stood up to cover me was now giving me a pleading look.
“Yeah, yeah… You guys are coming too, aren’t you? Not that I know what you are up to…”
“We were never trying to capture you, Shield Hero. I hope you will believe me.”
Considering the way they’d chased me, and their obedience to orders, I wasn’t really sure if I could trust them. But I suppose it couldn’t hurt to hear them out…
Chapter Four: The Volunteer
“So yeah, this weapon shop is one of my favorite places in town—I give the guy all my business. You remember it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hey kid, think I could trouble you for an explanation?”
“A bunch of stuff happened, and I’d like to borrow your shop for a meeting.”
“I don’t really care what happened. But this is my place, not yours. Do me a favor and find another place for your meeting.”
The weapon shop was the only place I could think of where we could speak undisturbed, so after all the drama in town I marched everyone straight there.
“There aren’t really any other places. Like what else? The monster trainer tent?”
“C’mon kid. The monster trainer is really…”
The old guy knew. He knew what really went on in that tent.
“If you’re going to take a bunch of kids to a place like that then I guess I have no choice but to let you hang out here.”
“And so there we have it: the owner’s permission. Now then, who are you? Your name was Melty, right?”
“Yes, I am the first heir to the throne of Melromarc, the second daughter of the royal family, Melty Melromarc.”
