by Aneko Yusagi
It was an amazing lie. She really outdid herself.
“Does the Shield Hero really have that kind of power?”
The young princess looked up at me, worried.
“Does it look like I do?”
“Um… no.”
“You didn’t have to hesitate.”
If I had a shield with powers like that, my life would be a lot easier. If I had a shield like that, I could have brainwashed soldiers, knights, and wizards. I could have taken over the whole kingdom. Basically, if I had that kind of power, I wouldn’t be in this position.
In other words, the very fact that people were chasing after me was a good reason to doubt the efficacy of any supposed Brain Washing Shield.
Couldn’t the stupid heroes understand something so simple?
“So that means that Raphtalia and Filo are brainwashed by him!”
“That’s not true! We are not brainwashed!”
“Don’t worry, we’re going to save you two.”
“I’m with Master because I want to be!”
Motoyasu still hadn’t given up on chasing after Raphtalia and Filo?! How obsessed can a guy be?
“Okay, enough of your stupid theories. Listen up. Depending on your reaction, I’ll give you the princess.”
“What?!”
The young princess let out a surprised yelp.
“We’re listening.”
Ren took the initiative. I had to answer quickly and concisely. I couldn’t afford to misspeak.
“Okay, first of all there is no such thing as brainwashing. Next…”
“I don’t believe you!”
“Shut up! I’m not talking to YOU, General Commander.”
Before I could finish speaking Itsuki butt in and I had to shut him up.
I didn’t have any use for the sort of hypocrite that would decide the veracity of a claim only one sentence in.
“Anyway… This is a conspiracy. Whether it was the king, that woman, or the church—I don’t know. But someone wanted this princess dead, and they wanted to pin it on me.”
“Understood. Now then, we will tie you up and you will come with us. In exchange for your acceptance, we promise that no harm will come to you. We need time to investigate your claims.”
“You would believe him?! This evil cretin?! He brainwashed Filo!”
“Yeah! I don’t believe him!”
“Sword Hero! You must not listen to what the demon says!”
Ren was just on the verge of listening and believing me when the Bitch and the others jumped in.
“If we can end this without a fight, it’s worth it, no? We can investigate his claims later.”
Ren was acting as cool as you’d expect—but at least he was trying to calmly assess the situation.
Was it safe to assume he understood?
“No.”
The princess reached up and squeezed my hand. She was shaking, and her face was pale.
“I think… I think they will kill us.”
She might be right. I took a second to think it through. There was a good chance that she would be treated differently than the rest of us.
To keep their theory looking plausible, they’d probably hand the princess to some wizards so that they could cast spells to clear her of the brainwashing. But then what would happen? They would probably have to pretend that, just when they cleared her from my influence, a powerful curse activated and killed her—but of course they would just assassinate her in secret.
It seemed like a likely scenario.
If that was the plan, then Ren, who appeared to believe what I said, was absolutely lying. He must have truly believed I was a criminal.
If the plan was to try and pin another crime on me, then it followed that the Bitch most definitely had a hand in it. But to think that she would act against her own sister…
“Help…”
Her plea was nearly silent. Her voice was hoarse. And to think, I was so close to gaining their sympathies.
Oh well…
“You promised, remember?”
“What?”
Back then. Back on the day they framed me for rape. Back when there wasn’t a single person that believed in me.
And now, the young princess was standing on the verge of life and death.
Brainwashing. They’d use a simple, convenient word to tie it all up. Then they’d have her killed.
Seriously, the plan was so transparent. Even I could see through it.
If the princess died, that would be the end of us. Who would stand up for me—no one even believed me.
“Sorry, I just can’t believe you. If I gave you the princess, I don’t think you’d be able to protect her. And that’s what I promised her: protection.”
I put Mel onto Filo’s back, and then called to Raphtalia to climb on too.
“Filo, I know you don’t want to hear this, but we’re abandoning the cart. Let’s leave these guys in the dust!”
“Okaaaay!”
“Later.”
Filo was ready and waiting. The second she realized that we were all on her back she took off running.
“Wait!”
“Haikuikku!”
“We won’t let you!”
“Wh…”
Motoyasu produced a hoop of some kind and tossed it at Filo’s legs.
It spun around her, tripping her up. We crashed into the ground.
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”
Raphtalia, Mel, and I were all launched forward with Filo’s momentum.
“Ouch…”
There were already two soldiers flying at us. I jumped to my feet just in time to block their attack.
Motoyasu had been expecting Filo’s “Haikuikku,” and he interfered just before she could finish it. I really couldn’t stand him.
“Ugh… Hrm…. I can’t get it off, Master! I can’t get it off!”
Filo was feverishly tugging at the hoop her legs were entangled in, but it showed no signs of loosening its grip on her.
The hoop itself looked like it was made from black iron, but it must have had some kind of special effect. If it had been normal iron, Filo should have been more than powerful enough to remove it.
“You’re not getting away, so don’t bother. Now then, give us the princess.”
“Why would I?!”
It was as clear as day. The smiling Bitch standing next to him was behind all of this.
If they killed the princess, I’d never be able to prove my innocence!
“Filo!”
“Y…Yes! Ah…”
Filo struggled to her feet, but then all her strength gave out and she fell to the ground again, her legs just as entangled as before.
“I don’t… I can’t… I can’t get up! I have no energy!”
Filo started glowing, and turned into her human form.
“What are you doing?!”
“I’m not doing it! I transformed automatically!”
What? How could that be? The only idea I had involved Motoyasu’s hoop…
“Check it out. I had an alchemist make it. It will make it so that Filo will be a little angel forever. As long as she’s in that hoop, I don’t think she’ll be able to attack me anymore.”
“Ugh! Let me go!”
Motoyasu walked over to Filo, where she was struggling to stand. He pulled her to her feet and showed her to us.
“That alchemist did a good job. He was even able to seal away her magical powers.”
Damn, I’d thought that Filo could get us out of there with her speed. That wasn’t looking likely anymore.
How was I supposed to know that they had the power to transform Filo and then suppress all her power?
And what was with that stupid hoop?! Did he really want Filo that badly? But yeah, I guess he was going on and on about “little angels” back in town. He must have had that hoop made specifically so that he could catch Filo. And to think he’d get a chance to use it so quickly and in a situation like this? What th
e hell was going on?
Regardless, Filo’s legs were out of commission, so we weren’t going to be escaping on them.
“Filo!”
“Mel!”
The two girls were yelling and reaching for each other. But their fingers were not able to touch,
“I kind of like rambunctious little princesses. Don’t worry, if you come with us, you can be with Filo.”
“Ugh!”
He really thought he was on top of things, didn’t he? What an idiot! Why didn’t he understand that he was basically sentencing both of them to death?
“Hey…”
“Um…”
“What are you doing? Sword and Bow Heroes! Hurry and arrest the Shield Hero!”
“But…”
Ren and Itsuki hadn’t responded to what was happening yet. They were frozen in place. If they jumped in and attacked now, it would all be over.
The whole lot of them were obsessed with their own ideas of justice. They’d just seen us try to flee, only to be stopped by Motoyasu. On top of that, Motoyasu had taken a hostage to control our actions. That wasn’t the sort of situation they would throw themselves into. But what would they do? I couldn’t begin to venture a guess.
What should we do? They had Filo, so I couldn’t try running.
The Bitch was standing just behind Motoyasu. Who knew what she was capable of?
“Wait! I’m going to save you Filo!”
“You idiot!”
“I am the source of all power. Hear my words and heed them! Slice the enemy with a blade of water!”
“Zweite Aqua Shot!”
Mel ran straight for Motoyasu and cast the spell as she ran.
“Ha!”
Motoyasu jumped to the side just in time to dodge the blade of water.
“Ugh! Let me go!”
When Motoyasu jumped to dodge Mel’s attach, Filo managed to wiggle free from his grip.
Yes! I was thrilled when Filo wiggled free, but just then, as if to make up for his loss, Motoyasu’s hand shot out and closed around Mel’s neck, taking her hostage instead. He passed her over to the Bitch.
“Myne! That’s your precious sister. You better protect her!”
“Mel!”
“Filo! Let me go! Sister!”
Filo reached for Mel, but before she could reach her Motoyasu made to grab Filo’s hand again. I pulled Filo back just in time.
“I can’t let you go, Melty. The Shield Demon is manipulating you. I’ll clear you of that brainwashing influence.”
Now!
“Shield Prison!”
I immediately switched to the Shield of Rage II and used the skill on Motoyasu.
“Wh…”
Not yet… I had to control my anger…
“Change Shield (attack)!”
I changed the Shield Prison into my best attacking shield, the Bee Needle Shield.
“That’s as far as this is going! Take this! Iron Maiden!”
I used all my SP in a last attempt to turn the tide and take Motoyasu down. Honestly, I would have preferred to use it against the Bitch, but I couldn’t. If I could stop Motoyasu with the skill, it would be worth it. It might be strong enough.
“It won’t be that easy! Shooting Star Sword!”
“I knew you were evil! Shooting Star Bow!”
Whoa! Ren and Itsuki both turned and used their strongest skills against the Iron maiden.
There was a loud crack, and a fissure appeared in the Iron Maiden. The closing door slowed down.
“Everyone! Now! Break it now!”
“Yes! Ren!”
“Understood, Itsuki!”
“Motoyasu, we’ll save you!”
Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu’s party members all sent their strongest attacks and spells flying at the iron maiden. There was a loud, dull clang. And then the iron maiden crumbled to dust.
Damn. I was out of SP from my last attack.
“Th… Thank you, everyone!”
Motoyasu had taken some damage from the Bee Needle Shield attack, but he smiled now, discovering himself free from the Iron Maiden.
“Can’t have you forgetting about us.”
“Yes. We’ve saved the princess. The citizens of our country will want her brainwashing removed as soon as possible.”
Ren and Itsuki had jumped to Motoyasu’s aid. On top of that, the Bitch had taken Mel hostage. If we didn’t free her immediately, they would have her killed.
I’d forgotten. Whenever I switched to the Shield of Rage II, Filo went crazy.
But with Filo in human form, nothing had happened.
Why? I suddenly noticed my shield emitting a red… something. It flew at Filo, but bounced off of her.I wonder if that hoop was somehow deflecting any assist spells or stat boosts?
Her movement was probably restricted by protective magic, which had the side effect of blocking my spell.
If Filo went wild, we wouldn’t be able to control her, and that would make fighting with the Shield of Rage II difficult.
“Raphtalia! Can you get rid of that hoop around Filo?”
If we were able to get it off, I planned to switch to another shield as soon as possible.
“I’m working on it now! It’s tough!”
Raphtalia was striking the hoop with her sword, and it filled the area with sparks and clanging. She didn’t seem to be making much progress.
How strong did they really need to make that hoop? She was hitting it really hard.
What to do? I was out of SP, so I couldn’t use any skills. Filo was stuck in human form.
All that was left was Raphtalia, but with her sword and magic alone, she wouldn’t be able to turn the tide of battle.
“Master!”
“What?!”
“They won’t catch me again!”
“That’s easy to say—they already caught you once!”
“I’m fine!”
Filo reached under one of her little wings and pulled out the present that the weapon shop owner had intended for me, the power gloves.
That’s right, they were convenient tools for harnessing superhuman strength.
Filo pulled both of the gloves onto her hands, and then crossed her arms. I could tell that she was concentrating.
“It’s MY turn to save YOU, Mel!”
“What are those gloves? You think you can overpower me with gloves? Oh Filo, you’re so cute! Better just put them away.”
“I’m not losing!”
“Ah, Filo!
I threw out an arm to stop her, but she had already swung a solid punch at Motoyasu.
“Ugh…”
Motoyasu had his arms out, reaching to grab Filo again, but that left his stomach wide open, and she slammed her fist into it.
He doubled over and fell to his knees.
“This… This isn’t… nothing.”
“Hiya! Let Mel go! Hiya!”
“I… I won’t…”
He stumbled to his feet and backed away.
“Filo! Calm down and get back here!”
“Okay!”
Filo came back over to us after she pummeled Motoyasu.
“Do you think you can take those guys out?”
“Watch me!”
“Great. You take Motoyasu, Raphtalia and I will take care of the other two. If anyone has a chance to free the princess—take it.”
At the end of the day, Motoyasu was a feminist—so he wouldn’t raise a hand against Filo, even if she was crazy.
“Mr. Naofumi.”
“What is it?”
“I have an idea. Do you think you can draw the attention of the enemy?”
“You have a plan?”
“Yes…”
Hm… So Raphtalia wanted to try something, but what?
Got it. She wanted to hide and then sneak around behind them. She was good at that.
That must be what she was after.
“Okay. I’ll do what I can. Let’s go!”
“Let’s do it.”
“Okaaay!”
“Here we go!”
Even still, there was no way we could win against the three heroes. But that wasn’t my plan anyway. There was still a way for us to escape.
“Raphtalia, keep your distance.”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go!”
“HIYAAAAAAAAAAA!”
Filo led the charge. Just like I’d told her, she ran straight for Motoyasu. But this time he knew she was coming, and he readied his spear. I was sure he wouldn’t stab her with it.
“Now then Melty, I’m going to ask you to take a little nap.”
The Bitch pulled out a small package of medicine and made the younger princess smell it.
Anyone from another world who had experience with Japanese anime or dramas would recognize it as a medicine that knocks you out.
But I had been here for a while. I knew what the Bitch was like, so that medicine was more likely to just kill Mel.
“Filo! Help!”
“Mel!”
I could feel, physically feel, Filo gathering her magical power into the gloves.
“Haikuikku!”
She looked like she blurred for a second, and then, in a flash, she was right in front of Motoyasu, and she was swinging her fist. The gloves looked different. She’d filled them with so much magic that they were glowing pale, and had magical claws growing from them.
How did that happen? Did the magic somehow crystalize and harden?
“Ugh! What was that?!Her attack is so high! Stop it! Filo, stop it!”
Motoyasu was forced to defend. The claws on the power gloves were hitting their mark each time she swung a fist.
If she could beat Motoyasu back like that, her attack power must have been through the roof.
“Hiya! Take that! Hya!”
Filo was strongest in her Filolial Queen form, but with the way she was fighting now, in those gloves, she must have had nearly the same attack power or more?
Because she had someone to fight for she would fight with all her magical power. Her legs were constrained by the hoop, but she could still harness her magic.
I was concentrating on Ren and Itsuki, but stealing glances at Motoyasu.
Even though I was their target, they knew their attacks wouldn’t be really effective against me, and it looked like they weren’t making much of an effort.