by Aneko Yusagi
We would have to go through the trouble of demonstrating that the items were something worth getting excited about, like we had done with the spirit water. We had the Scroll of Return items, but there were only so many. Even if we talked up the fact that they allowed the user to teleport to the dragon hourglasses, and then set out to produce more, there were just too few to start with. There were the items that could check defeated monsters for drops, but those were still being analyzed. We would need to mass-produce them, and while we had figured out how to do that, it still wasn’t clear if they would function properly in this world.
“In that case, I will take care of entering you into the coliseum fights. Yes sir.”
“Alright. I don’t care if it’s dangerous or whatever—just make sure it’s the one we can make the most money off of.”
“I look forward to seeing what kind of performance a determined Shield Hero will give. Yes sir!”
“I’m in a bad mood right now. Get out of my sight before I decide to give you a piece of my mind.”
“The way your eyes suddenly fill with such sinister intent . . . It sends tingles of excitement down my spine!”
“I guess we should head back to the village for the time being.”
The situation had changed. Even if we had a plan now, we still needed to go back to the village first.
“Yes . . . I agree. We should probably explain the situation to Keel and the others.”
“That won’t be an easy talk . . .”
It wouldn’t be fun telling them that we needed to make a ridiculous amount of money to rescue their friends and there was no telling if we’d even be successful. Then again, only four of them were actually from Lurolona, and that was counting Keel. Regardless, the slaves’ eyes sparkled with pride for the hard work they were doing to rebuild their village.
“Either way, we need to go back. Later, slave trader.”
“I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. Yes sir.”
Truthfully, I’d rather not see him again, but this was for the village. I gave him the obligatory wave while registering the portal location and then we teleported back to the village.
We arrived back in the village, and I was left speechless.
“What . . . the hell?!”
“What’s going on?!”
It wasn’t just me. Raphtalia, Filo, Rishia, and even Raph-chan were all at a loss for words. The first thing that jumped out at me was the sight of flames pouring out of a building as several soldiers, who had probably been on standby, shouted and ran out of the village with their weapons in hand.
“Hey! What’s going on?!”
“Oh! Shield Hero! It’s the slave hunters! They’re attacking the village!”
I could see a hint of relief in the soldiers’ faces when they saw me. Slave hunters?! Slave hunters had shown up at a time like this?! You’ve got to be shitting me! Like I told the slave trader, I was in a bad mood. And I was going to destroy these bastards.
“No way!”
“Raphtalia!”
Raphtalia gripped her katana and took off running toward the source of the commotion.
“Filo! You go with Raphtalia and annihilate the slave hunters! Rishia, you see to the wounded and protect anyone that can’t fight. You soldiers go report to Eclair in the neighboring town!”
“Okaaay!”
“Fehhh!”
“That’s already been taken care of!”
That was a relief. They were handling the situation better than I would have expected. I chased after Raphtalia, who had run off into the distance. That’s when I noticed that the village was completely surrounded by slave hunters. There were ten slaves in the village. A good number of soldiers were keeping guard over the village, too. There seemed to be quite a few slave hunters, but it was impossible to fully grasp the situation in the dark of the night. That didn’t matter . . . We would do what had to be done.
“Struggling is useless!” yelled one of the attackers.
“Hiya!” Raphtalia shouted as she cut down the attacking slave hunter in the blink of an eye.
“Arghhh!”
Blood erupted from the slave hunter’s body as he crumpled forward onto the ground with a thud. I was only guessing, but he probably hadn’t classed up yet. Or maybe going up against Raphtalia’s katana would have been an exercise in futility even if he had already classed up.
“Let’s protect the village! Come on!”
I could hear Keel’s voice. She was armed, and it looked like she was fighting off the slave hunters successfully, along with the other slaves from the village. I had been a little bit worried, but it seemed like the slaves were holding their own. Perhaps being raised as my slaves had paid off. They had gotten about as strong as Raphtalia had been before she classed up. I wanted to believe that they would have no problem standing up to the likes of slave hunters or bandits in terms of abilities.
“So you want to fight, eh?! Then I won’t hold back! Gahhh!”
The slave hunter pointed his sword at Keel and . . . suddenly a hole opened up in the ground below him and he fell in, leaving only his head exposed. Just as I was wondering what had happened, Imiya’s head popped up out of the dirt.
“Thanks, Imiya!”
Imiya gave Keel a thumbs-up. So that’s what it was . . . Imiya had dug a pit.
“Gweeeeeh!”
Filo Underling #1 was helping defend the slaves and gave the slave hunter a fierce kick. The other monsters seemed to be putting up a good fight, too.
“Now!”
Keel and Imiya had left themselves open to attack and the remaining slave hunters rushed at them.
“Air Strike Shield!”
I blocked their path with a shield.
“Shooting Star Shield!”
Then I cast a force field around us and stepped in between Keel and the slave hunters.
“Bubba!”
“Looks like you guys are putting up a pretty good fight.”
“You bet! This time we will protect the village!”
Keel’s eyes were filled with determination. That’s right. She was no longer a poor, helpless slave that had to rely on others to protect her. Now she had the strength to fight back and protect the others in the village against the injustice of the slave hunters.
“We can fight back now thanks to you, bubba!”
“That’s good to hear. I see you’re helping out, too, Imiya.”
“Oh . . . yeah . . .”
Imiya looked proud of himself.
“Hiyaaa!”
At that very moment, Raphtalia flew in like a bat out of hell and mowed down the attacking slave hunters. She was emanating an aura of bloodlust. The slave hunters weren’t dead, but their fighting days had come to an end.
“Rafuuu!”
Raph-chan’s fur was standing on end as she moved in sync with Raphtalia, assisting her in combat. She kept the enemy disoriented with her illusions while biting one here and batting another with her tail there.
“Alright! Everyone! Now that I’m here, you can all relax. Get out there and show these thieves that attacked your village what you’ve got!”
“Okay!”
Slaves and monsters alike all whooped together in response.
“Ugh . . . To think that the Shield Hero would show up now! Wasn’t he supposed to be gone?!”
One of the slave hunters mumbled to himself as he struggled against Raphtalia, their blades locked. He seemed to have some experience in combat—he used a combination of magic and swordsmanship and he was putting up a good fight. The guy was actually fairly strong.
“It sounds like you were waiting for me to be gone to make your move. Unfortunately for you, heroes have the ability to teleport.”
I guess they were foolish enough to think that I wouldn’t drop in to check on the village while I was away.
“Raphtalia!”
“What?”
“Can you produce a light bright enough to illuminate the whole village? I want to see ho
w many slave hunters there are. It would also serve as a flare to signal the others in the neighboring town.”
“Leave it to me!”
Raphtalia thrust the slave hunter away from her and took several steps back to join me. She sheathed her katana and began to cast a spell.
“Filo!”
“Yup! I’ll protect everyone!”
While Raphtalia was casting her magic, Filo launched a flurry of kicks at the slave hunters. Keel and the other combat division slaves followed up, finishing off one slave hunter after another. Even so, it would take someone of Filo’s level to make such quick work of the more skilled slave hunters, so the slaves were slowly losing ground.
“Shooting Star Shield! Air Strike Shield! Second Shield! Attack Support!”
I stood in front of everyone and took the brunt of the slave hunters’ attacks while casting skills to protect Filo and the other slaves. I grabbed the arm of one of the slave hunters and threw him toward Filo.
“Gah!”
Naturally, Filo finished the slave hunter off with a swift kick.
“Rafu!”
Raph-chan’s tail puffed up as she assisted with Raphtalia’s incantation.
“As the source of your power, I command you! Let the true way be revealed once more! Flood the area with light!”
“Drifa Light!”
Raphtalia conjured up a ball of light and hurled it up into the sky. The magical light lit up the village like a flare. That was sure to signal the soldiers in the neighboring village, who would then come to our aid.
As the light made its way high up into the sky, I counted how many slave hunters were in the village. One, two, three . . . There sure were a lot of them. Just counting the ones that had been hidden in the darkness, there were a lot of them. I was thinking maybe thirty, but that wasn’t even close. There had to be at least fifty just in the area surrounding the village.
There were only five slaves here—including Raphtalia—that were originally from this village. Just how many people did they round up to come capture them? I couldn’t believe the lengths that people would go to. Then again, it was safe to assume you could get at least 30 gold pieces per slave if you captured them and sold them off in Zeltoble. I guess the allure of making a quick fortune would attract numbers.
“Hiya!”
Raphtalia leapt forward and slashed at the slave hunters immediately upon finishing her incantation. It was almost scary, the way she was fighting. I guess it was to be expected, seeing as how this place was precious to her—a place worth protecting.
“Brave Blade! Crossing Mists!”
With a katana in each hand, Raphtalia relentlessly cut down one slave hunter after another. She moved gracefully, as if she were dancing on the battlefield. It really was a thing of beauty. Surely I wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“Raphtalia . . . You’re amazing . . .”
“She looks like she’s dancing!”
The villagers were all entranced by the sight of Raphtalia fighting.
“Keep your eyes on the enemy!”
I snapped back to reality upon being reprimanded by Raphtalia and struck back at the attacking slave hunters.
“Ugh . . .”
“What are you fools doing!”
A man who seemed to be the slave hunters’ boss appeared. I could see his armor had lost its sheen.
“That’s—”
Raphtalia, Keel, and the rest of the slaves from the village were all at a loss for words. What was it? Did they know this guy?
“How long do you idiots plan on fooling around?! You’ve turned our plan into a failure! You there! How many have you caught?”
“Umm . . . well, we . . .”
The subordinate slave hunter’s voice trailed off and the boss let out a loud click of the tongue in angry disapproval. Then more slave hunters that looked like they knew how to handle themselves came pouring in from outside of the village in droves.
“Tsk! To think that the Shield Hero would show up now . . . That wasn’t in the plan! Still, he may be a hero, but he’s only the Shield Hero. Just wait for him to let his guard down and then snatch up one or two of those brats!”
So this guy was like one of those bosses that always makes ridiculous demands, I guess. But forget about that . . . I was more concerned with the way that Raphtalia and the others had reacted.
“This guy . . . This is the guy . . .”
Keel’s face was more distorted with anger now than it was just a moment ago. Raphtalia remained calm, but I could still tell that she was absolutely furious. The fact that her tail was puffed up more than it ever had been before made that clear.
“Raphtalia. Keel. You know this guy?”
I turned to face the slave hunter boss and readied my shield.
“Yes. The Melromarc soldier that came to our village to capture us and sell us into slavery . . . and that killed the village’s remaining adults . . . That’s this man!”
“Well now! I never would have thought that the little raccoon brat who got away back then would end up with the Shield Hero!”
The slave hunter boss—the former Melromarc soldier—remembering Raphtalia, casually readied his sword. He probably had a pretty good idea how to use that thing, too. Keel and the others wouldn’t likely stand much of a chance against him at their current level.
“Mr. Iwatani! Are you okay?!”
Just then, Eclair and the Melromarc soldiers came running up.
“You?!”
“Raphtalia says they’re Melromarc soldiers. You know anything about that, Eclair?”
“Yes. They’re the soldiers that came here hunting for demi-humans after the territory was destroyed by the wave. I heard that they fled from the powers that be at the time, once they’d found out that you had proven your innocence.”
“I see. So basically, they’re former soldiers that fled the country before they got their punishment.”
The former soldiers turned slave hunters apparently didn’t appreciate my wording, because they were all glaring at me now.
So what to do? We had to be careful about Keel and the others that hadn’t classed up yet. Thankfully, no one had been caught by the slave hunters yet. But the enemy had come to attack in droves. Even if I had nothing to worry about myself, I couldn’t be sure that the others would make it out unscathed. It was only physically possible for me to grab maybe three or four enemies at one time. By my estimates, there were easily fifty or more slave hunters there, so it would be difficult to protect Keel and the others. That said, it seemed like only a select few of them had classed up and knew what they were doing. Those were the ones right here in front of me, so . . . maybe I could manage, after all?
This was also the perfect chance for Raphtalia and Keel. The very villains that had ruined their lives had rolled right up onto their doorstep. Some of the slave hunters had realized they were at a disadvantage and tried to run, but Keel and Raphtalia were not about to let that happen.
“Tsk! You’ve forgotten your place, shield! They’ll be after us now since you had to show up!”
“Like I care? Besides, I can’t imagine there having been a single good reason for you lowlifes to run around capturing territory residents just because the governor died.”
“Oh, but there was! Or do you not know?”
Huh? He was being serious. Ohhh . . . I get it.
“Are you referring to the dogma of the Church of the Three Heroes cult? Sorry, buddy, but that propaganda won’t fly anymore.”
“You bastard!”
He sure could yell, but he hadn’t tried to attack yet. Maybe he realized that it would be pointless to attack me? No, his eyes gave him away. He was planning something.
“Take this!”
The slave hunters shot flaming arrows at various buildings around the village. What a pain . . .
“Put out those fires immediately!”
Shit! So this is what people meant when they said fighting against the odds. But it wasn’t like we w
ere just going to stand by and watch.
“Raphtalia! Keel! Can you handle that guy?”
“Yes . . .”
“We’ll protect everyone!”
Raphtalia nodded calmly, and Keel cried out with determination.
“Good. Then you two make those dirt bags pay!”
I quietly uttered an incantation and cast support magic on Raphtalia and Keel.
“Zweite Aura!”
With all of their stats boosted, Raphtalia and Keel charged at the slave hunter boss.
“Filo! You give any slave hunters you find around the village a good kick. Same goes for your underling!”
“Okaaay!”
“Gweh!”
I sent Filo and her Underling Filolial #1 to take care of the slave hunters that were still lingering around the village.
“Mr. Iwatani!”
“Eclair, don’t even think about holding back just because you used to serve together. Put an end to these traitors!”
“I plan to!”
Eclair and her soldiers nodded and took a fighting stance.
“It seems like you lowlifes thought this was going to be easy, but today is not your lucky day. You probably expected to crush the villagers, but the only thing getting crushed tonight is you!”
I dashed forward to provide Raphtalia with backup.
“Tsk! Everyone! Pull out!”
The boss raised his sword and ordered his men to withdraw, but Raphtalia and Keel both brandished their weapons and leapt at him. The boss warded off the attacks with his sword and locked blades with Raphtalia. He attempted to deliver a swift kick to Keel while he was struggling with Raphtalia, but Keel saw through the attack and dodged it by half a step.
“Hiiiyaaaaa!”
“Ugh!”
The boss guarded against Raphtalia’s katana with his own sword. He was nearly thrown backward but steadied himself just as Keel’s sword grazed his armor.
“Damn you! Don’t get cocky, you demi-human scum!”
There was a loud explosion that came from right where their blades were locked together. Magic!? Now they were getting fancy on us! Looking more closely, I could see that there was someone in the rear providing support by casting magic.
“I’m not done yet!”