by Aneko Yusagi
The old guy looked a little worried.
“Well that was fast.”
“Rumor is the spice of life.”
“Whatever. The Trash was acting crazy again, so I had to make sure he knew his place.”
“I was sure you’d do something someday, kid.”
“Glad I didn’t disappoint.”
“I could have used a little disappointment, actually.”
“Great. Well, to answer your question, I’m thinking of heading for Siltvelt or Shieldfreeden so that we can class-up.”
Sure, I could have gone and threatened the Trash to get permission to use the Dragon Hourglass in Castle Town, but I needed to class-up Filo and Raphtalia, and I didn’t want to put them in any unnecessary danger.
I still didn’t have a very good understanding of what the class-up process entailed, but the people who managed the Dragon Hourglass were apparently so concerned with it that they had invented all these rules and regulations to control our access to it. If it was going to be such a pain, then it seemed like the best idea would be to just head to another country where it seemed like we would have a free pass to do whatever we wanted.
“You know, kid. I’ve been thinking you’d head in that direction for a while now.”
“Really?”
He was nodding at us in approval. I wonder what it meant?
“I’d suggest Shieldfreeden. Siltvelt can get a little… crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, they are demi-human supremacists, and they turn humans into slaves there. Kinda the opposite of Melromarc.”
I see now. Considering I was human, it probably wasn’t the best option.
“And yet…”
“Thanks for the advice. We’ll head for Shieldfreeden.”
We finished loading the carriage and climbed aboard.
“All right. Well, I look forward to seeing you the next time you’re in town.”
“Sure. The next time I see you I’ll probably be looking for equipment that is good against ghosts and spirit-type monsters.”
“I see. Sounds like you’ve advanced enough to worry about monsters like that. I’ll make sure I have the things you need.”
“I’d like to gather materials to keep costs down.”
“You can do what you want, kid. Just do me a favor and don’t show up needing everything within twenty-four hours. I’ll tell you where you can get the materials, if you want.”
“Got it. I’ll make sure you have enough time. Okay, we’re out of here. Later, Old Dude.”
“Later.”
Filo started tugging at the reigns.
Our immediate goal was to class-up. With Filo pulling us, we could get there in two weeks. It would be a long trip, but it would be for the best.
“That’s it!”
There was a loud voice coming from outside the gates. As we left Castle Town, we were suddenly overwhelmed by the sound of someone banging against the sides of the metal carriage.
“Found you!”
“Huh? Mel!”
“What?”
I had Filo stop and turned to look outside. The younger princess was there. Her eyebrows arched, pointing a finger at me. Behind her stood a crowd of knights. It was the knights whose voices we’d heard.
“Please return to the castle!”
“What? Just like that?”
“I’m asking you to return and have a real conversation with my father!”
The little brat was getting obnoxious. I didn’t have anything to discuss with the Trash.
“Your father is wrong about everything. I’m not wrong. So at least we figured that out.”
“What was that?!”
Did it take her so long to figure all this out? She was the Bitch’s younger sister. Why should I spend any time talking to her?
“Tell your father this: I can kill him at anytime. Tell him to always be afraid.”
“Why? Why do you have to say such horrible things? Please tell me!”
“Because your father is a piece of Trash! I won’t waste my time talking to Trash. Your parents are the WORST!”
“Y…You… I won’t forgive you! My mother was wrong! The Shield Hero is a jerk!”
One of the knights behind her stepped forward.
“Heh. You want to fight me? Filo…”
“What?”
“Let’s go.”
“But… I want to play with Mel!”
“You can’t.”
“But…”
“Let’s GO!”
“Fine… Bye Mel!”
Filo nodded, turned back to the road, and took off running.
“Hey. Waaaaaaaaiiiiiiiit!”
The shouts of the younger princess faded away. The Castle Town really was filled with garbage. Other than shopping, there was no other reason to go there.
Chapter Fifteen: The Shield Demon
“Mr. Naofumi, don’t you think you should have spoken with her?”
“That’s easy to say, but think about it. She’s the Trash’s daughter, and the Bitch’s sister! I can’t imagine her as a reasonable person.”
“That’s true. But she did help us once. And before that, she was our travel companion for a time.”
Hmm… Raphtalia was right. She had helped us once, back when Motoyasu was running wild in town.
But still, that was probably a strategy to steal Filo from us. If we’d let her keep talking, she probably would have had Filo seized. Filo was already pretty attached to her.
“Fine. If they chase after us, I’ll hear her out.”
“That’s a good idea. She is Filo’s friend, after all.”
“Mel is nice!”
“She pretends to be. Anyway, focus on the task at hand.”
“We’ll sell things along the way, right?”
“Yeah. I mean, we have to pay for the travel and for all our equipment, not to mention Filo’s appetite.”
Filo would help us get there, but we’d have to keep her belly full if we wanted to keep the speed up, and that would cost plenty. I’d been letting her eat the monsters we happened upon, but that wouldn’t be enough to cover her whole diet. I don’t know where all the money went, but I knew that we had to raise money while we had the chance. We could just set up shop in the villages and towns we stayed in on the road.
“Huh?”
In the back corner of the carriage there was a large bag I’d never seen before.
Wondering what it was, I opened the bag to find a single letter mixed in with a whole pile of items.
Dear Kid,
I was too embarrassed to give you these directly. I went ahead and made you all some tools I thought might be useful. Use them if you like.
The old guy from the weapon shop! It was so kind, so considerate.
I reached for the item on top.
It was a long sword. It was the same sword that Raphtalia had been using, the one that had broken.
The old guy must have been inspecting us closely. He was very observant. I was honestly touched. I thought I might cry.
“Raphtalia.”
“What?”
“The old guy made you a present.”
“But this is worth a small fortune. I don’t know what to say.”
Raphtalia accepted the sword, her eyes welling up with tears. That guy really did seem to care about us.
“What else is in there?”
The bag was stuffed with things, and all of them were labeled with our names.
The letter also included short descriptions of the items. He must have rushed to write it all out, as the handwriting was quick and hasty.
So the first one was for me. It was an item for the jewel in my shield. It sat over the jewel like a lid of some kind.
According to his note, it would help me look up information about the shield.
Well, the shield was the whole reason I couldn’t really fight for myself. Anything he did to make it easier to understand was a good idea in my book.
; It clicked into place over the jewel.
The next one was for Raphtalia. It was another short sword. But why? I passed it to her.
“He says this one is for you too.”
“Another sword?”
She quickly slid it from its scabbard. There was a soft pop, and it turned out that there was no blade on the handle.
What was it for?
“Is it a stage prop or something?”
“I… I don’t know.”
The memo indicated that it was an experiment of his: a magic sword. He said it would work against shadow monsters with no physical body.
He wrote the memo is if he expected us to know what he meant. Normally he would have explained it to us, but he must have been embarrassed because he forgot to write how it was used. Where was the blade? Did it mean that only shadow monsters would be able to see it?
“There must be a reason it is missing the blade. I’ll try to look it up later.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he’d give us anything we couldn’t use.”
All right. Raphtalia would do all the research about the magic sword.
“Next up…”
I thought it would be for Filo, but it was for me.
“Is it a glove?”
It looked like a glove with a jewel affixed to it. It was pretty cool looking.
Let’s see here. Yup, there was a memo explaining it.
Reading it made me tense up.
It was supposed to help out if we were ever in a situation in which Filo couldn’t pull the carriage. Apparently if I put on the glove, I’d be able to pull the carriage too.
The effect was somehow linked to my current magic power rating. So I guess it was some kind of power glove. Not that I wanted to pull a big, heavy carriage around. If he wanted to be nice, he was going about it in the wrong way.
“Filo. This one’s for you.”
I figured it was best to leave the pulling and tugging to Filo. After all, she was the one who liked it.
“My hands won’t fit in those!”
I guess it wouldn’t work when she was in her Filolial Queen form. Well, that only made sense.
“You can wear them when you are in human form. Use them to play or something.”
Even in the worst-case scenario, I could use them to craft something.
“Okaaay!”
Seriously, I was surrounded by jerks left and right, but just knowing that there were people like the weapon shop owner out there, well, it made me want to keep moving forward.
There was a good chance we’d run into Glass during the next wave. We would have to get strong enough to face her before that happened.
Which meant that we would probably need the old guy to make us some weapons before the next wave. I felt like my efforts wouldn’t be futile—like I had to get stronger, for him too.
“Let’s go!”
“Yes.”
“Yay! Here we gooooooo!”
We were back on the road.
The next morning, after a light breakfast, we left the inn early. It was that kind of town.
“Waiiiiiiiiit! Please talk to my father!”
I sighed and slapped my palms to my forehead. I figured they’d chase us, but I didn’t think they’d catch up so quickly.
If they were capable of keeping up with Filo, they must have been moving quickly. And to think, I’d purposefully steered Filo in the wrong direction to throw them off.
“We finally caught up with you!”
“Ah, Mel.”
Filo had stopped, so I climbed down from the carriage and faced the little brat.
“Apologize, and speak with me!”
She’d been so polite at first. Now I guess she thought she could order us around. And so the monster sheds its skin. I knew she was after Filo.
“Sorry. Here I am.”
“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to my father!”
Ugh, shut up already. I couldn’t handle talking to the little brat.
“If you don’t, my mother will make him pay.”
“What are you talking about?”
I considered jumping back into the carriage and running. But Raphtalia had already told me off about that kind of behavior. I guess I needed to hear her out, just this once.
To be fair, this girl hadn’t actually done anything bad to us. As for stealing Filo, that was just my guess. She’d never been anything but nice to us. And yet, here she was, begging me to speak with the Trash. I couldn’t imagine anything I’d rather do less.
What did she mean that her mother would make him pay? Was the Trash in for a spanking?
“What do you want me to do?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to say! I’m trying to create a space for the Shield Hero and the King to make amends.”
The group of knights behind her ignored our conversation and drew their swords.
What’s that? One of the knights in the back was pointing a crystal ball at us.
Huh? What was that supposed to be? Then I noticed.
None of them were looking at me.
I suddenly had a really bad feeling. A shiver went up my spine.
It was a feeling similar to how I felt when I realized the Bitch had betrayed me. Tension, with a lot of dread. It was a feeling I’d spent the last few months trying to forget. That sense of betrayal—the air was thick with it.
Without stopping to think, I quickly ran toward the knights. The reason for my growing dread became immediately apparent.
The knights turned their swords on the younger princess.
“Ahhhhhh!”
“Air Strike Shield!”
The little brat let out a shrill scream. The Air Strike Shield appeared before her just in time.
“What are you doing?”
In a flash I was in front of the brat, glaring at the knights.
“You—Shield! You would use the princess as a hostage?!”
“Huh?”
They were the ones moving to attack her! What were they talking about?
It looked like the younger princess understood that just fine—her face was pale.
“The Shield is our enemy! We’ve known it from the beginning!”
The knights shouted, and came running to attack me.
I readied my shield to protect the younger princess. The air was soon filled with the clang of sword on shield.
“Ugh…”
The knights in the back were busy casting a spell. It started to rain fire.
There was no time. I threw my cape over the princess and we waited for the fire to burn out.
“You… You Shield Demon!”
“Filo! Raphtalia!”
“Understood.”
“Okaaay!”
They knew what I meant, and they were both attacking the enemy in a flash.
The knights knew a counterattack was coming. They jumped on their horses and fled.
“Fools.”
Filo was way faster than any horse. In less than a second, she’d knocked one of the knights from his horse.
“AHHHHHHHH!”
“No! A demon!”
We’d already taken care of one of them, but as we chased down another, then another, the other knights were able to get away.
“What the hell was that about?”
Weren’t they here to protect the younger princess? How would we get to the bottom of this? We tied one of the knights up with a rope and questioned him.
“Okay, jerk. Why did you all just try to kill the princess in front of me? Better speak up.”
“I don’t have lips for talking to demons.”
Ha! So I’m a demon now? It’s been a while since people had been so rude to my face. There were plenty of people who said that the Shield Hero was a demon without knowing that I was that person. I’d wondered what they’d meant, but I had never gotten a chance to ask.
And then here was this guy, saying he didn’t have lips to speak with a demon.
“You do understand the position y
ou’re in, don’t you?”
I called out to Filo.
“Lunchtime?”
The knight went pale. But he recovered his sense and spoke.
“Even if I die, I would be a martyr for a holy cause. God will lead me.”
So he was religious. Threats probably wouldn’t work against this sort of fanatic.
“Hey Princess, you have any ideas?”
The princess was trembling with fear. She shook her head.
“Huh, you don’t say? What religion are you talking about? Some stupid cult, I’m sure.”
“The Church of the Three Heroes! You demon! You would blaspheme our God?!”
Of course. Fanatics can’t stand it when you start to make fun of their beliefs.
I could use that to wring information out of him.
“That’s the major religion here.”
Raphtalia whispered to me.
“You know it?”
“Well, most people are part of the church here. My village was a different religion, so I’m not part of it. Mr. Naofumi, you mean you’ve never heard of it?”
“Never.”
“I thought that you knew.”
“Why didn’t the weapon shop owner tell me anything about it?”
“He was probably just trying to protect your feelings.”
Maybe he’d thought I would do something reckless if I’d found out the real reason that everyone had been treating me so poorly. There really had been a time that I would have done pretty much anything. The last time I saw him I’d rushed the conversation too, so I don’t know if he had actually been trying to tell me. I’d have to make an effort to listen to people more.
“Fine. Go through their belongings and see if you can find anything relating to the religion.”
“Oh, ok.”
Raphtalia rooted through their things and came back with a rosary.
From what I could tell, it was just a normal item, made from normal materials, and without any special properties.
“Put it on the ground.”
“…”
What a strange symbol. There were three weapons all folded into one design. Sword, Spear, and Bow. It was a weird selection of violent weapons.
That reminds me, the church we’d visited to buy the holy water had the same symbol hanging up. I guess I’d entered the church without saying anything, so Raphtalia had assumed I already knew about the church.
