by Aneko Yusagi
“Power of two, lend your strength to confuse the enemy with an illusion! Re-spin the threads of fate, and turn our defeat into a victory!”
“Rafu, rafu, rafu . . .”
I couldn’t help but smile when Raph-chan recited her incantation. I didn’t know if it was because Raph-chan was essentially a big bundle of magic power or not, but the flow of magic felt even stronger than when I’d cast the spell with Raphtalia.
“Dragon Vein! Hear our petition and grant it! As the source of your power, we implore you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Show our enemies an illusion to confuse them!”
“Emptiness is Form!”
“Rafuuuuu!”
Emptiness is Form?! I thought it was Form is Emptiness! I guess the meaning was essentially the same. We’d cast a spell that was almost the same, but different! Our magic shot out across the whole area, affecting all of the women there. They almost seemed to be tripping out as they stumbled away and then broke out into a riot in a different place than I was.
“No, wait! Shield Hero! Ohhh, you’re such a bad boy!” they yelled.
I had no idea what kind of hallucination they were seeing, but they started writhing around and falling over unconscious, one by one. Alright! This was our chance to escape!
“Rafu!”
Just then, Raphtalia and the others came running up. It was the worst timing possible.
“I got a distress signal from Raph-chan, but, umm . . .” Raphtalia’s voice trailed off.
“Oh my,” said Sadeena.
They were looking around and taking in the scene.
“They all look like they were having fuuun! Were you playing with them, Masteeerrr?” Filo asked.
“Ugh! They beat me to the finish line!” Atla lamented.
“I can’t believe you nailed so many girls in one go . . .” Fohl mumbled.
Did he seriously just say that?
“Like hell I did! Stop getting such ridiculous ideas! Raph-chan and I cast some cooperative magic and made them see a hallucination. Now is our chance to run! Let’s go!” I shouted.
“That will not be necessary!” Werner announced as he walked up.
“My deepest apologies, Shield Hero. Take these women away at once!” he shouted to his lackeys, who then began to drag the half-conscious women away.
Ugh . . . The place had started to reek. It was hard to describe, but if I had to say, it reeked of women. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. I suddenly remembered the trauma I’d experienced when Witch deceived me.
“Shield Hero, please forgive us for this gross mishandling,” Werner continued.
“This is beyond forgivable!” I shouted.
“This is a service that past Shield Heroes have enjoyed through the generations. We assumed you would be no different,” he replied.
“So you finally show your true colors!” I shouted.
I motioned to Raphtalia and the others. Everyone drew their weapons and readied themselves to attack. But Werner stood there motionless with his hands clasped behind his back, as if to say that he had no intention of fighting.
“Well, well, well . . . I guess this means the Shield Hero is quite picky about his women,” said a voice from the shadows.
And then the lion therianthrope from before came strolling over. Werner looked over at the lion and then furrowed his brow unhappily.
“Jaralis, choose your words more wisely,” Werner said.
Upon being reprimanded, the lion that Werner had called Jaralis shrugged derisively and backed off. But he was still staring at Fohl and Atla with a look of contempt in his eyes. Fohl noticed him staring at them and seemed confused. I’d noticed people in Siltvelt looking enviously at the others just because they were under my command, so he could just deal with it for now. I wanted to get back to addressing what had just happened before changing the subject.
“Did you really think I’d let a bunch of women seduce me and then just have my way with them?!” I shouted.
Ever since being summoned to this world, even the thought of that kind of thing just made my stomach churn.
“I’m so very sorry,” Werner said.
I was sure he felt absolutely zero remorse. In that case, I’d use this to make him agree to my demands. Yeah, I liked that idea.
“If you want me to overlook this, then arrange the boat for Q’ten Lo already!” I demanded.
“I-I’m afraid that will take more time. Please be patient with us,” Werner replied.
“Do you really need more time? There will be consequences if you lie to me!” I shouted.
“We do,” he said.
I continued grilling Werner for a while, but like a true politician, he skillfully avoided making any concrete statements and firmly stood his ground.
“Anyway, we’re going to use my teleportation skill to return to the village for now,” I said.
“W-wait! That would be a problem! Please give us some more time!” he replied.
“Why do you want me to stay in the castle so bad?” I asked.
“It would be bad for the country’s reputation if you were to leave without staying even one night,” he said.
Ah, now it made sense. The other countries had left Siltvelt in charge of hosting and managing the Shield Hero. If I left the country because they had pissed me off, Siltvelt would lose its national prestige.
“In such a case, it would be unclear whether we could comply with your request,” he continued.
I had a feeling what he was saying was reasonable, but it still seemed suspicious. What a pain.
“Then don’t let word get out! We’re just going to the village to sleep!” I said.
“Umm, Mr. Naofumi . . . Don’t you think we should give them one last chance? Otherwise we’re never going to reach an agreement, and that would be a problem for us as well,” Raphtalia said.
Werner must have realized I wouldn’t be able to argue with Raphtalia, because a look of relief spread across his face. Dammit! I glared at Sadeena.
“We can try to get to Q’ten Lo without Siltvelt’s assistance, but there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to make it,” she said.
Shit! What an annoying problem to have!
“Fine,” I said.
“Very well. I will call for a vote to comply with your request at an assembly in the near future. I shall do my best to ensure you receive our assistance, so please quell your anger,” Werner replied.
In the near future? At an assembly?
“Just what kind of cumbersome system does this country run on?!” I exclaimed.
“Siltvelt is supposedly similar to what the heroes refer to as a democracy. Representatives from the different races gather and vote on issues,” Sadeena explained.
A democracy?! They sure chose an annoying political system!
“In the past, the opinions of the hakuko and other elite races had a lot of political sway. But that changed after the loss of a war weakened their standing, I believe,” she continued.
That meant Trash was dragging me down even all the way out here in Siltvelt. Give me a break already! I was going to ask the queen to torture him when we got back to Melromarc.
“Utter foolishness! The ignorant masses can gather and discuss things all they want, but that will never amount to anything of value!” Atla muttered.
Hadn’t she been praising Siltvelt earlier? And what was with that comment, anyway? She sounded like some kind of oppressive dictator.
“Okay, fine. I’m going to let this one go. But I want you to make sure I get my assistance as soon as possible,” I said.
“Of course! As you wish, Shield Hero!” Werner replied.
He bowed and then left the bathing area. After that, we all returned to my room. Well, Raphtalia and the others had to wait on standby in the next room over to comply with the Siltvelt rules. And so the night wore on.
I almost forgot to mention that Werner said they planned on having more women waiting for me in my room after I returned fr
om my bath. I remembered seeing a parade of disappointed-looking women walking down the hallway when I was heading back to my room.
Chapter Six: Conspiracy
The next morning in Siltvelt . . . Actually, the Siltvelt castle town was apparently the castle town that never sleeps, so the streets were bustling all night long. It was pretty much the same in the morning. How did these people ever get any sleep? But then again, with such a diversity of demi-humans and therianthropes, I guess that couldn’t be helped. It made Melromarc seem quiet in comparison, and that just felt strange.
I yawned.
“I wonder when breakfast is,” I mumbled to myself.
I woke up early since I was used to getting up at the crack of dawn to take care of the monsters. I played with them a bit in the morning before preparing breakfast.
Other than Raphtalia and our group, there was no sign of anyone else in this section of the castle. Perhaps it was because they assumed I would still be in bed. I wouldn’t have been surprised if leaving the room would set off an alarm or something. But I hadn’t really gotten to talk with Raphtalia and the others much yesterday, so I decided to go meet up with them while I had the chance. I went to check the next room where they were staying.
I’d already had Sadeena and Atla check the rooms for any concealed shadow-type agents. There had been a few, but we chased them off. Even Raphtalia and Raph-chan could see through their concealment techniques by now too. After what had happened at the baths, we decided not to let anyone stick around, no matter who they were.
“Rafuuu!”
Raph-chan was constantly on the lookout, so I was sure there was no one like that around anymore. If they were, I’d smoke them out and use that as an excuse to really get mad this time. Maybe they knew that, because it was dead quiet. We ran the guards off last night too, so there really was no one left.
Alright! I quietly snuck out of my room and then walked over and opened the door to the next room. When I did, I saw Fohl and Atla sitting there talking to a hakuko-looking fellow that I’d never seen before. It must have been Raphtalia and the others’ turn to rest.
“Mr. Naofumi!” Atla exclaimed, as if she had been deeply moved. “Good morning! Today is a good day!”
“Oh yeah?” I replied.
I looked over at Fohl. He seemed a bit annoyed by Atla’s attitude, but I guess he wasn’t going to shower me with insults today.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“He’s someone who used to work for my brother,” Atla said.
“That’s wrong, Atla. He worked for our parents,” Fohl replied, correcting Atla.
Their parents’ servant or whatever he was looked at me and got down on one knee.
“I can never thank you enough for so graciously taking Fohl and Atla in and even going so far as to nurse Atla back to health,” he said.
“Umm, sure. Don’t worry about it,” I replied.
I think he was the first hakuko I’d seen here in Siltvelt.
“You truly are amazing, Shield Hero. To be able to witness such a miracle — I am simply in awe,” he continued.
“That’s enough of the formalities. And the gushy words of gratitude. Any more and I’ll get mad,” I said.
He looked up at me for a moment and then bowed deeply and stood up.
“So what were you three talking about?” I asked.
“Don’t you remember what we discussed before coming here? You said you wanted to try asking for assistance if I knew of anyone,” Fohl replied.
“Oh yeah. So this is that person?”
“Well, yeah.”
This guy was supposed to assist us? I guess, with the way things were now, all I could do was ask him what he’d be able to do for us.
“And what can you do for us? I’m not interested in trying to force you to help if there’s nothing you can actually do,” I said.
“There are several options we can discuss, but before that I wanted to tell you that the shusaku and his followers here in Siltvelt have no intention of letting you leave the country,” he replied.
“I don’t know how much of what you say I can trust, but judging from Werner’s reaction yesterday, that wouldn’t be a surprise,” I said.
I’d gotten a glimpse of his true intentions via his attempt to keep me tied down here by throwing women at me.
“I’m not sure why he would want to keep someone as dangerous as me around, considering I could put his position at risk. He must be out of his mind,” I continued.
“I suppose that depends on the hero,” the man replied.
“What does?” I asked.
“Well, you know . . .”
I guess I could imagine something about getting me to marry someone.
“There are a number of possibilities, but I’m sure you can imagine what they might be,” the man continued.
“Does he plan on giving us a boat to Q’ten Lo?” I asked.
“We haven’t been able to verify those details yet,” he replied.
I wondered if that meant I shouldn’t expect much. I was starting to think this trip had been a waste of time.
“How disappointing,” Atla said.
Wasn’t that supposed to be my line?
“The hakuko are currently in the process of doing everything we can to see that your request is fulfilled, both for your sake and Fohl’s as well,” the man said.
“That said, any semblance of hakuko influence in Siltvelt is basically for show now, so don’t expect much,” Fohl emphasized.
I wasn’t a monster. I wouldn’t act without taking the other party’s position into consideration. But damn, I wanted to get out of this country and invade Q’ten Lo already! Since Siltvelt was a democracy, I wondered if that meant the hakuko were just busy trying to convince the other races to provide us assistance. I had no idea how many political factions there were.
“There is something else too, Fohl. There is a dubious character here in Siltvelt that you and the Shield Hero must be very careful of,” the man said.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Fohl asked.
“I guess it doesn’t hurt to listen, just for reference,” I said.
“Isn’t that a bit rude?” Fohl replied.
He looked at me with a disgusted look in his eyes and Atla gave him a sharp jab.
“Ugh . . .”
“It’s a therianthrope who was with Fohl’s grandfather at the time of his death. His name is Jaralis and — ”
We heard footsteps approaching. The hakuko interrupted the conversation, bowed, and left the room. Several moments later, a therianthrope that looked like a female lion showed up. She seemed to be looking for me.
“There you are, Shield Hero,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter where I am as long as I’m in the castle, right?” I replied.
“You never know where an assassin might be lurking. Please wait in your room until it is time.”
“Yeah, sure. Whatever,” I said.
Hmph. So there was some kind of conspiracy in Siltvelt and now I knew who to watch out for. Jaralis was that lion therianthrope, right? I didn’t know how far his involvement went or what the conspiracy was, but I needed to get them to agree to prepare a boat as soon as possible.
I didn’t care about any Siltvelt conspiracies anyway. They could conspire all they wanted. I had no interest in that kind of thing—as long as it didn’t cause me any trouble. I’m sure they felt the same way too. Because I had been somewhere far away, their worship of the Shield Hero over the generations and all of that was easy to take advantage of. Siltvelt hadn’t tried to get involved with me before now. And that was my answer.
“Alright, Atla and Fohl. Tell Raphtalia and the others I said hey,” I said.
“Okay,” Fohl replied.
“No, it’s not okay. When will we get to see Mr. Naofumi again?” Atla asked the lion.
I stood up to go back to my room. Atla made it clear that she was upset as she questioned the lion.
“You’ll be eat
ing breakfast with the Shield Hero later, so please be patient,” the lion replied.
“There you go. See you then,” I said.
“Understood,” Atla replied.
I went back to my oversized bedroom and had a staring contest with Raph-chan to pass the time until breakfast.
Hmm . . . If something was bound to happen, maybe I should go ahead and bring Filo back with me to the room as another pet to ensure mobility. I wasn’t sure, but maybe she could transform into a filolial chick and then she could be another secret weapon like Raph-chan. I could use her to get away if things went south.
Yeah, I was going to try that. Raphtalia and the others could get away using some other means. I had a feeling this idea was a stroke of genius.
The time came to go eat breakfast. I was taken to a terrace with a really nice view. There was a table surrounded by a ton of people, and they sat me at the head of the table. I guess this was where we were going to eat breakfast. Raphtalia and the others showed up and sat down too.
“How is everything?” I asked.
“No problems so far. I do feel murderous stares every now and then, though,” Raphtalia said.
“I bet,” I replied.
I looked at the dishes that had been laid out before us. Hmm. Raphtalia and I squinted and stared at the food.
“Hm?” Filo muttered.
She seemed to have noticed right away too. I guess those were her filolial instincts.
“. . .”
Atla seemed to have a sense for that kind of thing too. But Fohl still had no idea. In that case, it must have been something that even your average demi-human or therianthrope wouldn’t catch.
“Oh my,” Sadeena whispered.
She’d noticed too. Raphtalia’s and Filo’s reactions had probably tipped her off. I really did have an observant bunch of companions. I looked over at each of them and signaled them with my eyes. They all nodded. I was going to stay quiet and see how things played out.
“Now then, let us all enjoy our meal,” Werner announced after standing up.
