by Aneko Yusagi
“I mean . . . is there a girl waiting for you back in your own world?”
“What are you talking about? Of course not.”
Did she think that was the reason I wanted to get back to my own world? What was she thinking?
The reason I wanted to get back to my world was simple enough: I hated this place.
They’d framed me for crimes, forced me to fight when I didn’t want to, and the knights that were supposed to be on my side tried to set me on fire. Who would want to stay in a place like this?
Raphtalia sighed heavily, again.
“I don’t know what you’re getting at, but I’m going back home because I want to. That’s all.”
When all this was over, I’d go back home as soon as possible. Did she really need a reason?
Suddenly I remembered how’d I felt on the day after my arrival here. It had all seemed so great—I really did think I could have stayed forever.
The desire to stay had evaporated the moment Bitch had betrayed my trust.
I’d already known that, but working through those emotions again made me want to go home even more.
“Shield Hero!”
“Huh?”
I turned to see who’d called for me and saw the volunteer soldiers I’d worked with calling to me.
These were the guys that had come to me of their own accord before the last wave. They’d wanted to help me fight.
“It’s so good to see you again, sir!”
“And you’re all safe. That’s good to know.”
“Yes sir!”
One of them nodded, apparently very happy.
He even flushed bright red. This kid might have worshiped the Shield Hero as a member of the reformed Church of the Holy Four.
“Until we meet again.”
“Yes sir!” they shouted in unison.
Just then, the other heroes filed into the hall.
Ren Amaki, the Sword Hero, came in first, followed by his retinue.
Ren was a teenager who always came off as cool and aloof. He was always dressed in blacks and dark colors.
He came off as the cool swordsman type. He was 16 years old, the youngest of the heroes.
He chatted with his team members for a little while before parting with them and sitting off on his own. I sensed some sort of distance growing between them.
The next to enter was the Bow Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi.
He seemed like he thought himself a real hero, traveling the world and righting wrongs. He was insufferable.
He called on the authority of the Bow Hero to cast himself as a friend of justice. He was so just—at least TWICE as just as everyone else.
He looked like he was younger than Ren, but he was actually 17. He had naturally curly hair that flopped about agreeably. People would probably find him charming . . . I guess.
He looked to me like the type of guy that played piano, sensitive and suffering and all that.
But his sense of justice was so all-encompassing that he never listened to what anyone had to say. He seemed a lot nicer than he actually was, I guess.
I didn’t have a very firm grasp on his character yet.
Motoyasu hadn’t arrived yet. Maybe he had followed Bitch to the hospital to check in on her?
Regardless, he was the only one that hadn’t yet shown up: Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero.
He traveled around with Bitch, and until I had completely proved my innocence, he treated me as if I were guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Among the four heroes he was undoubtedly the most attractive. I didn’t like him very much, but I’m obligated to admit that much.
He was a self-proclaimed feminist. He loved the ladies.
He never listened to what anyone had to say. Back when there was a bounty on my head, he completely ignored the dubiousness of the charge, decided I was guilty, and dedicated the majority of his energy to hunting me down.
They say he’s loyal to his companions, which I suppose sounds quite lofty and nice. In truth, however, he was a fool to never doubt the suggestions delivered to him by his “friends.”
It was his fault, in my estimation, that it had taken so long for the country to come to its senses and expunge the true evil from its lands.
Anyway, all three of the other heroes came from some alternative version of Japan—just like I had—and all three of them had experience playing a game that intimately resembled the world we had found ourselves transported to.
The book I’d been reading at the library, The Records of the Four Holy Weapons, had given terse descriptions of their character.
The Sword Hero was attractive and active, the Spear Hero was loyal, and the Bow Hero was a warrior for justice.
All that was well and fine for the sake of a story, but in reality the whole lot of them were pretty miserable to be around.
“Where’s Motoyasu?”
The queen asked them as they filed in.
“He was very worried about your daughter’s condition, so he went to the hospital to check on her. We’ve already sent for him.”
“You don’t say . . . .”
The queen waved a greeting to Ren and Itsuki.
Soon everyone had finished eating, and the hall was filled with dancing and song.
But the feast was . . . well it was certainly more festive than the last feast had been. I couldn’t help but notice that it seemed to be attended by an entirely different set of people. There were less members of the nobility than I’d expected to attend, and a greater portion of the crowd seemed to be adventurers and soldiers.
It also looked like there were quite a few people from neighboring countries attending. I caught them trying to look at me from time to time.
The queen led Ren and Itsuki over to where I was sitting before she climbed the stairs to the stage.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
“The queen wants us all together.”
“I wonder why? Motoyasu hasn’t even arrived yet.”
“Apparently he’s visiting the woman who tried to poison me.”
“Poison?!”
“You know who I’m talking about, right?”
“Yeah. So it was true?”
“Maybe the queen made her drink poison?”
“No. I was with the queen at the time. She came in with a plate of food, and she was forced to take a bite of it. That’s all.”
“Really . . . ?”
We were still whispering back and forth when the queen turned dramatically and shouted.
“Now then, heroes! How did you enjoy the feast?”
“Wasn’t bad.”
“Very much. Quite a success.”
“Now that my name’s been cleared, it's a weight off my shoulders.”
“How wonderful to hear.”
Really though, it felt like all the hardship and absurdities I’d faced were finally being dealt with.
The queen stood there, nodding subtly to herself before she snapped her folding fan shut and began to address the room.
“In these regrettable times, members of our country have unfortunately done all they could to hinder the heroes’ progress. I would like to do what I can to make reparations for this.”
What did she mean by that?
“In the sea that borders our land lies a group of islands known as Cal Mira. They are in the midst of an impressive activation event. I would like to request our heroes participate in these activities.”
What kind of island was she talking about? What did she mean by “activation?”
“Really?!”
Ren was so excited he jumped forward and nearly shouted.
“What’s that?”
“Do you really mean there’s a bonus field?!”
Now Itsuki was excited too. He stepped forward to stand in line with Ren.
“What are you talking about?”
I didn’t know as much about this world as they did. Why wouldn’t anyone tell me what was going on?!
“It seems
that Mr. Iwatani is not aware of what I’m speaking of, so I will explain. ‘Activation’ refers to a phenomenon that visits these lands once every 10 years. While it is occurring, the normal bout of experience earned through battles is doubled.”
I picked the important parts out of her speech. Here’s the gist of it:
The Cal Mira islands were famous as a resort, but at the same time it tended to attract hoards of monsters in its more remote areas, where they would quickly acclimate to their new environment.
The islands were also famous because adventurers that wanted to level up would make for the islands in large numbers to fight these monsters. Every ten years, when the “activation” occurred, adventurers would descend on the land in even greater numbers.
In order to make up for the leveling experience I’d been denied by the actions of Trash and Bitch, the queen was offering us participation in the activation.
“Naturally, your boarding and transport costs have already been covered. I hope that you will all participate.”
Had this been an online RPG, this would be equivalent to some kind of special event where players’ experience gains were doubled.
So she was talking about double experience for simple enemies. It was the sort of thing any gamer would flip out for.
“Now then, before you heroes make your way to the islands, I was hoping you would participate in a friendly exchange of information. Please come with me.”
“Information exchange?”
“Yes. In preparation for the increasingly difficult and dangerous waves, I believe the only way forward is to ensure more cooperation between the heroes.”
“Is that really necessary?”
Ren spat the question as if he considered her suggestion absurd.
What was his problem? What did he think was unnecessary? Unlike the others, I didn’t already know everything about this place. Didn’t he know that by now?
“I believe so. I’ve heard that the heroes had difficulty coordinating their efforts during the last wave. I think it would be beneficial to discuss this.”
“ . . . .”
Ren was silent.
She was right though. When the last wave came, the other heroes hadn’t even joined forces with the knights. So they were left all alone at the site of destruction.
Apparently if the heroes registered a group of reserve soldiers as part of their party’s back-up battle formation, those soldiers would be automatically teleported to the site of the waves, whenever and wherever they occurred.
But none of the other heroes had taken advantage of the system.
So in the end, aside from the group of soldiers that had approached me, there were no other back-up troops around to help when the last wave had come.
“Aside from that concern, I wonder if it might not benefit you heroes to coordinate your efforts, combine your strengths and knowledge, and move forward together, as a unified body.”
“You’re right. If we want to survive the coming waves, we need to do as you’ve indicated.”
Itsuki immediately agreed with the queen. But he was just saying what she wanted to hear.
If anyone were to protest at this point, they’d look like the bad guy.
Or, if anyone were to protest, they’d end up dying alone in battle.
I realized that I needed to agree as well.
Besides, Fitoria had told me that the heroes needed to cooperate if they wanted to stand a chance against the waves.
Before some of my recent experiences, I probably would have dismissed the possibility of cooperation outright.
They wouldn’t have believed a word I’d said anyway.
But Ren and Itsuki had listened to what I’d said. They’d analyzed the church’s story and found it suspicious.
If they’d done that for me, I could at least return the favor.
“Very well then. Let's set up a place to talk, here in the great hall. Heroes! Introduce yourselves and follow me.”
We looked at one another.
“You heard her.”
“We need to coordinate our efforts. What should we do first?”
“Why don’t we introduce our teammates?”
“Good idea. Very well, I’ll go first.”
And Itsuki led us over to his other party members.
“These people have been traveling with me as party members.”
Itsuki waved his hand at a group of people there, motioning so that Ren and I would understand.
“This is the first time we’ve officially met. Shield Hero, and . . . yes, Sword Hero—though we’ve spoken before.”
“ . . . Yeah.”
Itsuki’s party members each stepped forward and introduced themselves.
It all felt natural and casual enough. In the middle of a feast there was no sense of tension or nervousness. The soldiers were ordering whatever they wanted from the waiters as if it were any other day
“I’m Naofumi Iwatani—the Shield Hero. Pleasure.”
We introduced ourselves, and I made a mental note of each of Itsuki’s friends.
So there were . . . five of them? One of them wore some flashy armor and kept his arms authoritatively crossed.
When he noticed my eyes moving in his direction, he quickly uncrossed his arms. It gave me the creeps.
“Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you. I am Master Itsuki’s bodyguard, and I intend to fight for the good and safety of the world.”
“Bodyguard?!” Ren and I shouted in unison.
That wasn’t a word I was expecting to hear. Ren seemed to be just as surprised as I was.
What’s wrong, Ren? You didn’t know either? Ha! I had to keep myself from bursting out laughing.
Just who did Itsuki think he was? It took all my willpower to suppress a grin.
“Yes!” They all shouted together. “All five of us are Master Itsuki’s bodyguards!”
“Excuse me! I’m terribly sorry it took so long to get this food to you!”
I turned to see a young girl carrying a tray piled high with various foods.
She better be careful. She looked like she was about to drop it.
“Ah . . . .”
Damn! I reached out and quickly snatched the tray to keep it from falling.
“I’m so sorry!”
This kid . . . she seemed kind of young.
She probably wasn’t a day over 14. You could feel the immaturity.
She had a refined bearing though—and a pretty face. She must have come from a good family. She was pretty cute.
She probably had a weak resolve. Had Motoyasu been there, he’d have probably already been hitting on her.
She was a small girl. I guess she was part of Itsuki’s party, but what did she do? Maybe she was a magic-user or something like that.
“You’re so slow, Rishia! Go on, introduce yourself.”
“Fu, Fueeeee! Okay!”
Then all spoke together again. “The SIX of us are Mr. Itsuki’s bodyguards!”
Ren turned to me and whispered, “Didn’t they just say there were five bodyguards?”
That’s what I’d heard too, but there was no use in pointing fingers at this point.
“Don’t say anything, just watch what they do.”
The whole thing made me a little uncomfortable, honestly. But until their behavior became an issue, I would assume that Itsuki knew what he was doing.
“What do you think? Quite the dependable lot, these guys.”
“Honestly I have plenty I’d like to say, but for now I’ll just say that everything looks good.”
I looked them over again, starting from the right, just to take stock. They all wore expressions of extreme self-confidence.
I’m sure they were all dependable enough, but I couldn’t help but remember our battle with the high priest—during which they hadn’t done anyone much good at all.
Itsuki was positively blushing with confidence, but I was still bothered by the guy in the flashy armor. There was something about the way he kni
t his eyebrows that didn’t sit right with me.
He looked somehow condescending, but then I took stock of the whole party and realized they all had that look.
As for the Rishia girl—she was casting awkward glances left and right, looking uncomfortable and unsure of herself.
“I hadn’t really met any of them before, but you’ve got a weird group of people together here.”
Ren chose his words with care. The group had given me the same impression. “You think? They all seem normal to me.”
What did he think was normal about them? Calling them “bodyguards” made the whole thing weird straight from the get-go.
I thought that Itsuki considered him some kind of world-weary general character, the sort that traveled the wicked world righting its wrongs. But here was his party referring to themselves as bodyguards.
I didn’t know what to make of it—it was all too strange.
Itsuki went on to tell me each of their names, but I wasn’t paying attention and immediately forgot them.
I was distracted by the guy in the flashy armor. He’d pointed his chin in my direction, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was looking down on me.
It started to really get to me . . . . I decided to mention it.
“Itsuki.”
“What is it?”
“Do something about this one. His face and his attitude are bothering me. He looks at me like he thinks I’m a criminal.”
“I suspect that has more to do with your own attitude than his, Naofumi. Nothing about his behavior is bothering me.”
“Mu!”
Itsuki . . . . That little word-dance was really obnoxious.
“Yeah, well. He makes a different face when you aren’t looking.”
“Shield Hero, you’re probably just imagining it, don’t you think?”
“We’re talking about YOU! Stay out of it.”
It sure looked like he hadn’t spent much time teaching his “bodyguards” proper manners. It’s probably Itsuki’s fault. I imagined him talking bad about me for the last few months. His friends probably just picked up on the general mood.
Actually, they were from Melromarc to begin with, which meant that they were probably prejudiced against the Shield Hero from the very start.