Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything feels cold…

So cold…

My vision is blurry, but I can sense my surroundings somewhat.

I’m in… a weird place. Somewhere I’ve never been before in my life. It’s like a mountain, with a great view of the sea. I can feel how I’m sitting atop a rock from there.

It’s also windy, very windy. I feel how the air brushes my face with noticeable strength. It’s not hurting me, and if anything, it’s oddly soothing. I can also feel how the wind blows… something behind my back. I feel how a cloak that I was wearing is being dragged on by the strong wind, but it never leaves my body. Not once, it stays persistent on my person.

However, I stay motionless, looking at the scenery. The more I’m here, the more I realize the minute details that surround me. I’m not looking blurry, there’s a little mist around here. The wind is cold, but it doesn’t bother me, I’m used to it. Passing by, I see some… birds. They look like seagulls, but I can’t be sure from here. My view on them from here is limited, and as much as I want to, I seemingly can’t move my neck towards it.

That’s when I noticed. I can’t move my neck.

I tried to stand up, but I stayed motionless, as if my body didn’t answer me.

I just… stay there. Sitting on that rock, looking at nothing. What am I doing? What is this place? Where even am I? Why am I dressed in such weird clothes? Where are my friends? What happened to-?

My inner questions would be interrupted as I start hearing something. It sounded as if something soft had started hitting multiple things, bouncing off these multiple rocks. Then I felt it , a ball hitting my leg. It was orange, attached together with leather and strings, however, the ball’s texture itself is something I don’t know how to describe. It was soft, but sturdy enough, like a super soft plastic of some sorts, but I wasn’t fully convinced. It didn’t quite… feel like plastic?

I heard little footsteps behind me. I wanted to turn and see, but my body still wouldn’t give me control!

However, I did start moving. I knelt to grab the ball on my foot. Grabbed it tightly with my two hands. From there, I did stand up, getting a whole new view of the sea in front of me.

But I didn’t pay much mind to it, as I fully turned around.

I was greeted with a sight I wasn’t expecting. In front of me, a small girl appeared. Her clothes, patterned brown and red, gave me this weird… feeling. Not of her per say, but me, that I was misplaced, that I didn’t belong there, that I was at another time even.

What did immediately struck me off from her was… her ears.

Not her ears, like mine, but that she had animal ears on her hair!

That’s definitely not normal! Was I dreaming about some weird anime now?

She looked towards me, no, she was looking at me. And then, my body moved. It was like autopilot, I didn’t think, I didn’t act even, but I was still doing it nonetheless. My body was still not under my control. But after I stopped close to her, I knelt once more and handed her the ball.

The ball never fully left me, as the girl placed her hands around it as well, and at that, I felt a grand ray of sunshine hitting on us. I would’ve flinched as it struck me, but I didn’t. I was immobile.

Then, the light became stronger and stronger, I finally looked at it, moving my body on my own accord for the first time.

I looked directly at the light. Fully focusing on it.

Until I woke up.

I gasped for air.

Which I immediately regretted.

Breathing hurt, a lot.

And out of reflex I started coughing.

My ears were ringing that horrible pinging sound for some reason. And I couldn’t see quite well.

I must have been very sleepy.

…Another nap couldn’t hurt, right?

I was starting to feel drowsy again, my eyelids blinking rapidly, unsure if to stay awake or drift to sleep.

Before I could though, I felt something on my face.

It both felt warm and… cold at the same time.

That woke me up.

And both my hearing and vision were beginning to be clearer now.

The pinging stopped, thankfully.

And vision slowly unblurred, allowing me to see what was in front of me.

The first thing I noticed was the color.

Lavender.

A nostalgic feeling invaded me out of nowhere.

The second thing I noticed was the shape.

Round, like a face.

And third, lastly, I felt something wet on me.

That… I didn’t know just yet.

I blinked to fully clear my eyes, and there I saw her.

–“Kiri…giri-san?”

–“Makoto…” Her lips were quivering from disbelief.

–“Wha- What happened? Wh-Why are you…?” 

–“Makoto! I’m… so glad…”

I’m... confused.

Kyoko Kirigiri, my closest friend, was above me, shakenly so.

This was the first time I’d seen her like this. The first time I’ve seen her this… emotional.

She’s always been the cold calculative type, even though she is a good person below all that. She’d always hide her emotions behind that cold mask of hers.

She was controlled, stoic even.

So… why…

Ah…

It hit me then.

I looked below me, and to lo and behold, my clothes, the suit uniform I used for the Future Foundation meetups, were now completely bloodied.

But the biggest offender was without a doubt the metal beam incrusted through my stomach.

It looks like it didn’t go that well for us this time.

–“H-How is Aoi?” My memories were slowly coming back. I had managed to push her out of the way.

–”I-I’m alive! B-But Makoto…” Another voice interjected. I recognized that it belonged to the Ultimate Swimmer.

–“She is fine. ” Kyoko said as I felt how she cradled my hair, her hands felt… oddly soothing. 

–“I’m… glad then… Guess I was lucky all alone.” I smiled a little.

I felt some discomfort from the two with that comment of mine… I had to apologize…

–”I-Is he-he going to be fine?” The swimmer, outside of my view, asked.

–“M-Makoto. We are going to try to move you. I’m going to pull you with all my strength. Stay strong.” Kyoko said, composing herself.

–“...Alright…”

I inhaled deeply for air, even if it hurt so bad, preparing me for what I expected to be something worse. 

–“Aoi, help me.” The detective wore her mask again, determination filling in.

–”Y-Yeah. Here.” I felt another set of hands on the lower part of my abdomen.

–”On three. One, Two!”

There never was a ’Three’, but they pulled with all of their might.

And it freaking hurt.

–”GAAaaaaaaaagh!” This was a type of pain like nothing I could’ve ever imagined. I don’t really remember being stabbed before, but this… stung like… like a b-word.

–”I-I’m sorry Makoto! We are doing our best!” The swimmer tried to explain.

–“Keep… pulling!” Kyoko however did not falter.

And so they did. Both Swimmer and Detective were pulling me with all the strength they had. But as they used theirs, mine began to run thin. I screamed so much that I ran out of a voice to continue screaming. My clenching hands went so tight, I started stabbing my palm with my own nails, but I stopped altogether, as I was running out of will to even feel the pain. At this pace, I assumed that the next thing I’d run out of would be blood.

And with the slimmers of strength that remained of me, I begged my two friends to stop.

–”Ss…Stop! Ssstop…” It was barely a murmur at the end. But they both listened.

Halting their actions, they slowly let go of me, I fell once more to the same position I had woken up in.

I was starting to see black dots all over my sights, unabling me to see.

–“Are you alright?”

–“As… alright as I can be… Kirigiri-san…”

–“Rest for a little. Gather your strength so we pull you out of there.”

My detective friend said, but being fully honest, I wasn’t so sure if I was getting out of that.

–“I… don’t think I have the juices in me for another go at it… no pun… intended…”

–“Nonsense. We are getting you out of there. We still have to get out of here, reunite with the rest and escape this forsaken game.”

This would be the first time I saw Aoi since I woke up. She was still out of her suit, only wearing that bloodied white shirt of hers.

But her clothes mattered not, her expression did…

She seemed… heartbroken. Genuinely so. As if we were thinking the same thing.

There was no place for such thoughts.

–”Aoi.” I called out to her, out of the blue.

–”Huh?”

–”This… was not your fault.”

Bullseye. The corners of her eyes were now forming tears.

–”B-But you got like that because I… because I…”

–”Do not blame yourself, Asahina-san. I know I don’t.”

–“...I know… but that just… I-I’m s-ssorry.”

–“Don’t be…”

–”Makoto is right. Don’t be sorry for anything, because we are pulling him out, and we are going to get away from this.” The lavender detective insisted.

–”Kirigiri-san…” Aoi and I really did start seeing the same things.

–”Makoto! We are trying again. Aoi, get behind him. I pull, you push this time.”

–”Kirigiri-san…” It was my time now to murmur.

–“We still have time before the fourth time limit, we can still-!”

She wasn’t listening. She wouldn’t listen.

Kyoko Kirigiri was in denial.

I had to tell her. I had to do it. I had to be the one. After all, I’m…

–”Kyoko!” I shouted, shutting her up.

Her eyes widened, in shock… I didn’t like doing this.

But I have to.

–”I-” My voice would be cut as I felt how blood filled it, I started to cough profusely.

In my state, Kirigiri knelt in front of me again, one of her hands falling on my cheek again. In tow, Asahina followed. Neither spoke.

–”Kirigiri-san… I… don’t think I’m getting out of this…”

–”D-Don’t say that!” Kirigiri all but shouted.

Her voice was more rough now, hoarse even.

–”We haven’t tried everything just yet! Aoi and I are getting you out of that, Makoto.”

She then grabbed me by my shoulder, and started to desperately pull.

–”Nngaaagh!” I winced in reaction.

It hurt, she was pulling me diagonally, it felt like my insides were going to be split in half by the metal beam in my stomach, but Kirigiri didn’t stop, wouldn’t stop.

–”Aoi! Don't stand there, help me!”

–”K-Kirigiri… you are…”

–”We’ve come this far, and so we all will get further than this!”

–”Kirigiri!” Aoi tried to send some reason, but the detective for once, refused to see the truth.

–”We are so close! We cannot-”

–”KIRIGIRI! LOOK AT HIM!” Aoi shouted, grabbing Kyoko from her shoulders.

That finally managed to make Kyoko unhand me, and from their distance, stuck on an armlock, did she see me.

Not that she couldn't, but more as she hadn't registered my critical state. Can't blame her though.

–”He's… dying…” Aoi dropped a bomb on Kyoko, yet sadly, true.

That statement was what fully brought Kyoko to a stop. My bleeding, the mess we were in, Aoi’s tears in her eyes. She took in everything.

And her mask finally dropped.

It was only in rare moments where Kyoko allowed herself to show emotion. Very much so more with other people.

This… was happening for real…

There was no way around it.

And for some reason… I'm… contempt with that.

We helped a lot of people.

We didn’t give up on this world.

We rescued those that were close to us… the ones we could at the very least.

We lost some friends, but at the very least they will live with us in spirit

Or at least, with them now…

My only regret is having both Kyoko and Aoi this… anguished.

It couldn't be helped though. We had been through so much… I never thought it’d end like this…

Regret…

In a moment, it was like my life flashed before me, and I remembered a lot of unkempt promises.

My promise of protecting Sayaka…

How I promised everyone that we were going to survive The Tragedy…

That time I promised Ikusaba-san to be her friend…

When I told mom and dad I’d make them proud before entering Hope’s Peak…

Komaru…

God, Komaru…

I’m not going to see her again, am I?

–“...akoto! Makoto! Please, don’t drift away!” The voice of Aoi brought me back to reality.

–”Oh, s-sorry. Got lost… thinking… I… realized that I… didn’t keep my word a lot of the time…”

–“Don’t say that! You tried- DID your best…”

–”Should have tried harder…”

–”Makoto…”

–”Listen… I want to ask you guys something.”

Kyoko seemingly got out of her stupor, and spoke up.

–”No! You are doing it yourself, we-”

–“Kirigiri-san! This is… important…”

I stared deeply into her eyes, and she followed suit, this was going to be my dying wish.

–”It’s about Komaru… She’s going to be alone…”

–“Don’t worry, Makoto! We’ll take care of her! I know you would have done the same for Yuta…” Aoi immediately replied.

That clenched my heart. Aoi’s brother was one of the many people we couldn’t save…

Now I feel guilty for asking this.

–”...I trust that you will, but… I need you guys for something different.”

Both were staring at me expectantly, they wouldn’t interrupt me.

So I continued.

–“...Back in Towa City I… told her that our parents were still alive, out there, somewhere…”

I lowered my head in shame.

–”I lied.”

I heard an audible gasp, Aoi’s most likely. They knew where I was going.

–”I didn’t want her to suffer more than she already had that day… I planned on telling her when we were done rescuing our upperclassmen, but…”

It went as well as it did… Leading up to… all of this…

–”Makoto…”

–”Were they…” Kyoko was going to ask, as perceptive as ever…

–”The couple she found? Yeah… If it was from… the kids or… by themselves, I… don’t want to know…”

Enough was left unsaid… It only brought painful memories.

–“I… wanted to apologize to her… for lying, but… I don’t think I will be able to now...”

Both girls stood idle, neither saying another word, nor uttering a sound. I didn't like that…  So I tried changing the subject. Noticing the absence of one person, I decided to ask.

–”Mitarai-san is alright, right?”

–”Ryota left to try to find something to help, maybe someone…”

–”He hasn’t returned…”

I frowned, that couldn’t be good. So I had decided on what to say next.

–”You two should go look for him. Make sure he’s ok.”

–”What?”
–”Huh?”

Both swimmer and detective replied, almost in sync.

–”No way!”
–”We are not going to leave you behind!”

–”Makoto! Don't give up just yet!”
–”Makoto! We are not giving up on you!”

They spoke so fast, I could barely keep up…

–”Guys! If… If Mitarai-san got hurt or something happened to him, you guys need to help him!” If breathing hurt, talking loud did even more.

But that didn't matter, everyone else did. They all have to survive!

It was only for a moment, but I saw a small frown on Kyoko’s face.

–”Aoi, go look for him first, I’ll catch up.” The detective said, seemingly making up her mind.

Aoi was… surprised at Kyoko’s statement. It made sense in a way, they could split just in case, but it was already too late for me, there was nothing Kyoko could do for me.

As for Aoi herself, she seemed apprehensive at the idea, staring at us both for what felt the shortest and longest time possible at the same time, however, without fighting much back, she sighed.

–”...Alright, I’m gonna make sure Mitarai is fine, but first.”

The ultimate swimmer looked straight into my eyes. It felt like she was trying to see through my very soul. I don’t know what that stare was, but it was a rather lengthy one, as if she was trying to gain time for… something.

“M-Makoto… I… I’ve always…”

Both Kyoko and I stood watching her. I couldn’t quite see Kyoko’s face then, but Aoi was… trying to say something to me, probably for the last time…

“I’m sorry… for everything.” Were here last words, before quickly turning around and running off after Mitarai-san. 

I noticed the faintest trace of her tears on the corners of her eyes. She looked like she had something else to say, something to get out of her chest, but I guess I’ll never know now. Hopefully, she can move on from whatever she’s holding her anguish in. I just hope for the best for her.

Hina always was a great friend… I hope that she knows it…

Should have thanked her for everything… but it was too late now…

It was only Kyoko and me now, all alone.

It was… always embarrassing for me how we almost ended in a pinch with just the two of us. But I guess that’s just how we were.

–”I’m sorry…” Were my first words. 

–”...What are you even sorry for?”

–"I... I tried my best, I wanted to protect everyone... I wanted to protect you, but… guess I wasn’t enough…"

I would get the biggest surprise of my life now, I felt something wet falling to my face now. Looking slightly up, I saw her.

I saw Kirigiri-san, Kyoko, the master detective crying. Crying for… for me…

–"You did protect us! You've done more than anyone could have ever ask for! You led us out of that school! You never gave up on us, or yourself… Just… keep going… Hold on a little longer!"

Those words… Kirigiri truly meant them…

It's… so sad that it got to this…

I try to smile at her a little, even though I don't have very pretty things remaining to say.

–"Kirigiri-san... I… don't think... I have much time left..."

Kyoko’s voice became ever more desperate now.

–"No! Don't say that! We still have so much to do. So many people to save. I…"

I gazed up at her eyes, I could feel my own softening.

–"Kirigiri-san... you've always been… stronger than me... all I was good for was… to hope… on all of you… Back then… when… Sayaka died… you gave me that hope, Kirigiri-san… Thanks to you… I could go on… I could believe in myself… For that I’m… eternally grateful, Kirigiri-san…”

–”Ma-Makoto, I… I’m not… Don’t…”

I grabbed her hand. I really didn’t like seeing her like this, I had to try to make her feel better. So I stared into her eyes.

–”Promise me... you'll keep fighting… that you’ll keep going… no matter what..."

That made her tear… And I felt like the worst human being now…

–"I promise, Makoto. But you have to stay with me. You can't leave me alone in this."

I tried to smile to her at that, the slimmest smile it was, but it held all my strength on it.  

–"I'll always be with you... in your heart... in your memories... Just like with everyone else, right…? Thank you... for everything..."

–"No, Makoto! please..." Sobbing she pleaded, not caring any longer for appearances or anything like that. I felt her hand caressing my cheek again.

This would be the third time she placed her… soothing warm and refreshing cold hands on my face…

Wait…

–“Huh… I just… noticed… Your gloves…”

–“I-I-I… took them off a while ago… I needed to know if you… were still with us…”

–“Well… I lasted this long, huh…?”

–”I’m sorry…” It was the detective now that apologized.

–“Don’t be… You were the one to give me strength… it was… thanks to you that I made it here, Kirigiri-san…”

“Kyoko… just… call me Kyoko… Makoto.”

I couldn’t help but smile. We’ve been on a first name basis for a while, but we never… officially stated it… Too bad it was just now…

–”Your hands feel… very soft, Kyoko…”

–”A-Are they to your liking? Even like this?”

I never once cared about those scars. I'm happy enough to have her show them more now. Shows how much she's grown… how close we got…

–”They are… very warm and… refreshing… unlike anything I’ve felt…”

Any control the detective was gaining on her feelings was being destroyed.

That wasn't right. I decided to make my final move. I weakly extended my arm towards her face, her cheek. I placed my palm against it, allowing me to feel her smooth skin with it.

This surprised the detective, staring back at me incredulously.

–“Crying… doesn't suit you, Kiri– Kyoko-san… I want you… to smile more…”

I began losing my strength on my arm, it seemed my time in this world was nearing its limits.

–“You’ve always had… a beautiful smile…”

Her trembling lips, her wet eyes, her shaking hands… I took in everything from her, and I made a last attempt.

–“...I…” my voice was barely a murmur, a whisper, gone with the wind.

But Kyoko heard me, with baited, shaking breath, she waited for me to finish.

But those words would never come out.

My arm fell limply, and I stopped sensing my surroundings. My whole body had grown weaker, way weaker than normal. And I could barely hold my eyes open for much longer… 

–“Makoto? Makoto?!” I could no longer discern the voices I heard as they blurred out of recognition for me.

And I felt… so tired… I wanted to close my eyes, to wander off to dreamland. See my parents again, my sister, my friends…

–“MAKOTO!!” were the words I last heard. the anguished screams of my… best friend… Kirigiri-san… fading away into obscurity.

My eyes, closing and closing ever more, until they finally did. And so, the curtain fell on my story, putting an end to my life in this sour, yet beautiful world I lived in.

I sluggishly opened my eyes. I was half expecting to see… honestly, not even I was sure what I was expecting.

Heaven, god, buddha, hell, purgatorium, something. But I was face to face with Black. Pitch black, a nihilistic void darkness that, honestly, made me question if anything I did held value at all…

However, I quickly shook those ideas off, of course they did. I did not do all I’ve done expecting to be rewarded in the afterlife, so it doesn’t matter. But admittedly, having this perspective of… nothingness greeting me was quite the punch. So no second life? No afterlife? I can’t even see how my loved ones are doing? If they are still alive?

…

The void stared back at me, replying with silence. That was to be expected… I guess…

I sighed…

–”This… really is how it ends for me…” I commented to no one in particular. Half disappointed, my other half didn’t even know what to expect so, it wasn’t a total loss?

Ugh, of course it was. Komaru was now alone, Kirigiri now has to face Munakata and the rest without me… At the very least she has Mitarai-san and Aoi on her side…

Even though I think that, that excuse doesn’t satisfy me. The memory of our last moments with her tearing up plays up constantly in my mind now.

It’s barely just enough to distract me from the golden light that’s blinding me…

Wait… ‘Golden light that’s blinding me’?

It started slim, faint, a tiny shining ball from afar. But the moment I noticed, it had started to expand at an exponential rate. It began to cover my entire sightline in gold, that light was painfully bright and it looked like I had no escape from it.

But the next thing I feel, is a small force towards it. No, rather, coming from it. It’s almost instantaneous how I started to feel a weird sensation, as if I was being pulled towards the initial brightness.

Well, more than ‘pull’, it feels more like a vacuum slowly sucking me in…

…

…

…Oh no…

It began to violently drag me from toe to head towards the light, as if I was a ghost and that light was some… vacuum?

It… was technically correct in a way?

Where was I? Oh, yeah…

–”Wh-What is thiiiiiiiiiiiiiii–”

I never got to finish that sentence.

I started to free fall like crazy, as if I had jumped out of a plane from… I don’t know! Very very high!

–“AAAAHHHH!!!!!” I took it as well as I could

And, in an instant, I sensed how the golden light turned blue for just a moment.

The next.

*OOOF*

–”Gaaaaagh…” I fell hard against the floor…

Huh? Floor?

I opened my eyes, and I did, I fell right on my butt against a cold floor of stone.

–”I-I’m… Alive…?”

–”Fantastic! The summoning was a success…” I heard a voice towards my front.

–”Huh?”

I looked up and I saw a bunch of people wearing some weird fantasy robes. Some were hooded, a few were not. What was this?

–”What– Who-Who are you people?!” Was my immediate question.

–“Brave heroes! Won’t you please save our world from pure evil?”

–”What?”
–”What?”
–”What?”
–”What?”
For voices, including my own, said in unison.

I turned towards my left, trying to stand up, and there I noticed that I was next to three other people. The three of them were holding some weapon. A sword, a spear and a bow. If I wasn’t confused, now for sure I was.

–”Who-Who are you guys?” I asked, now fully standing up.

Then I immediately thought of doing the most logical question.

–“Where… Where even am I?”

From the corner of my vision I saw something weird on my arm. I glanced towards it and saw that I had some… shield attached to my arm? What? How? When did I get that?

–”A… shield?” I murmured out loud.

–”Please oh brave heroes! Our world is in dire need of saving.”

I had listened to what the… lead robed person said, but I was too busy staring at my shield to even acknowledge or answer him.

–“What do you mean it’s in need of saving?” The kid furthest from me asked, he was the one that held the bow.

–”The story behind it all is long and complicated,but suffice it to say that you are the Four Cardinal Heroes, and you were summoned here using an ancient ritual.”

–”Cardinal?” I asked in reaction, not fully comprehending.

–”Our world is in a most fragile state, and teeters on the brink of destruction. So we beg you, oh brave heroes, please lend us your aid.”

I shook my head a little, trying to make sense of this man’s words.

Replying to him, I started out.

–”...Alright…? What do we–”

–”Forget it.” The one with the sword said. He had a very sharp tongue, somewhat reminding me of Byakuy–

–”Huh?” I was surprised and asked instinctively. What he said fully got me out of my stupor.

He immediately refused?

–”I also refuse” The one with the bow backed him up.

What?! Is there something I’m not getting?

–”You can send us back to our homeworld, right? Do that and maybe we'll talk.” The blonde with the spear now stated. I was missing something out for sure.

The one with the sword pointed it up against the robed men.

–”You brought the four of us here without our consent. Don't you feel the least bit guilty about it?”

–”Not to mention, if you throw us out as soon as we restore peace, we'd have done all that work for nothing.”

–”How willing are you to accommodate our requests? Depending on your answer, we may end up as your enemies instead of your allies.”

Sword, Bow and Spear spoke after one another with a flow that I… would have never expected out of complete strangers. They were all in sync, thought the same thing, and all three were brave enough to lash it out loud with these people?

I’m still trying to stand straight here!

–”Hey guys?” I asked out loud, trying to be part of the conversation.

However, I was promptly shut down when the robed man spoke once more.

He took a couple steps towards us as he spoke.

–”Good sirs, before I say any more, we'd like you to have an audience with the king of Melromarc. You can negotiate your rewards with him directly, so please.”

–”All right, fine.” The one with the sword stood his weapon down.

–”I suppose we'll consider their offer.” The one with the bow started to walk, following both the guys with the sword and the robed men.

–”Sure. Doesn't matter who we talk to, our demands won't change.” And the blonde with the spear added up while following the other two…

I was… left in the dust, right there and then.

I shook my head, and promptly chased after them. I need to understand what was happening.

As I did that, we started taking the stairs from one of the towers, heading upwards. This tower had some openings to let people inside see the scenery from here.

I took a curious peek, and I was mesmerized with the view.

–”Woah…” I left out in awe.

–”Wow, indeed… look. This really is another world, huh?” The one with the bow agreed with my musings.

–”Sure is.”

I couldn’t stop taking in the view from here. I haven’t breathed this pure air since… well, since I was trapped in Hope’s Peak probably. After The Tragedy everything just became harder, even the air polluted, becoming more dense and less pure as we used to have. We could still breathe, but it could hinder people’s nostrils quite frequently…

–“Hey, short stuff, are you coming?” I heard from my side.

I turned and saw how the other three were waiting for me to follow them.

–”Oh! Sorry! I haven’t seen a view this beautiful since… ever, really…”

Not many pretty things remained after The Tragedy… Another reason to fight… to get back what was lost… I sure hope Kirigiri and the others were doing ok…

–”Does that mean you've never traveled outside of Japan before?”

–”Judging by the breeze, I'd say this place has a fairly standard mediterranean climate.”

–”I…” A nervous chuckle came out from me.

I wanted to explain myself right there and then but…

–”I can explain later if you guys want. We have to keep moving, right?” I decided to be a little more pragmatic.

–”We sure do! Lead the way, Ahoge-boy!” The blonde spearsman said while getting behind me and patting me on the back, inciting me walk before the other three.

I nervously chuckled at that, I didn’t want to be seen as a burden by keeping them behind schedule or anything, so I went along with it.

We continued walking until we left the tower and went through some stony grounds. There were a bunch of pillars all around here. And from there, we entered a door that lead us to the main hall of the castle, and from there, we kept walking up some stairs until we got to the Throne’s room.

There lay a man, sitting on his throne. He had white hair, white beard, wore a golden crown with a purple gem in the middle and, matching with that, he wore a purple coat with golden markings and white fur. He looked like a king, and most likely, was the very same we were going to have a meeting.

I instinctively gulped some saliva.

Once we were close enough, the King addressed us.

–”So you young men are the Four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend? This is the land of Melromarc, and I am her king, Aultcray Melromarc the 32nd. Welcome, brave heroes. Please identify yourselves.” He gestured to us, allowing the other three to speak and introduce themselves.

The one with the sword started first.

–”Ren Amaki. I'm a high school student, and I'm 16 years old.”

–”I'm Motoyasu Kitamura. College student, 21.” Followed the spear.

–”I suppose I'm up next. Itsuki Kawasumi, still in high school, and I'm 17.” And bow as well.

It was my turn to introduce myself, so I walked ahead two small steps to make myself noticed.

–”Then this is my turn… I’m Mako–”

–”Good. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki.” King Aultcray interrupted me, repeating the other three’s names.

I got a little nervous. I know I was a bit small, but, really?

–”Uh-Uhm… Your Majesty? I… haven’t introduced myself?” I said while scratching my cheek, trying to get his attention.

–”Uh... Oh, yes, forgive me.” The King… huffed?

What?

–”My name is Makoto Naegi. I’m… I guess I’m a highschool graduate? And I’m… between 18 and 19 around now…?” I introduced myself, leaving that detail behind.

–”You don’t know your birthday?” Itsuki asked rather… confused.

–”You guess you are a highschool graduate?” Ren also questioned, but his tone sounded more… demeaning.

–”You are no way that old, kid. I don’t believe you.” Motoyasu quipped, that wasn’t quite respectful…

–”I-I’m telling you! I have an explanation, years became difficult to count where I come from.”

–”Eh?”
–”Eeh?”
–”Ehh?”

The three… did that in unison.

–”Ahem.” King Aultcray coughed into his fist.

–”S-Sorry for carrying away, your majesty!”

–”...Sure, no worries… Anyway, I suppose I need to explain why we've brought you here. My beloved country of Melromarc and the entire world surrounding it are heading down a path to certain ruin.”

–”Certain… ruin?” I repeated after him.

The king nodded.

–”Yes, for you see. This world is plagued by an old prophecy, one we were afraid would bring us our certain doom. This prophecy spoke about these calamities that all kingdoms would face. We’ve called them ‘Waves’ because they bring monsters one after another with no respite, like the waves from the sea do with its water. Thankfully, all kingdoms were granted a Dragon Hourglass, allowing us to predict when the Waves would commence. Initially, after filling our ranks with our most elite knights and the high rank adventurers, we were confident in our ability to handle them, and so we faced the first one last month. But we underestimated the potency of the Waves. Once we actually experienced the first one and barely survived, we realized that only the Four Cardinal Heroes could counter them. So we followed the legend and summoned you four. But now, we have no time to lose!”

This… sounds like the story of some cliche isekai novel…

*CLING*

Ren swung his sword onto the ground, the blade’s impact with it echoing inside the throne room.

–”Okay, I think we get the gist of it. Anyway, I'm sure you didn't bring us here thinking we'd save you for free.”

–”Of course not. Once you repel all the Waves, I can assure you we shall reward you most handsomely.” A man said, one who I assumed to be the King’s advisor.

–”Yeah? Well, it would seem we have no choice but to take you at your word.”

–”Long as you don't renege, we'll work with you. But don't think for a moment that you can tame us.”

–”Exactly. We won't put up with you looking down on us.”

I blinked at the other three, I was quite amazed with how quickly they picked everything up and were now this confident in themselves…

I turned around and saw the king in full front, I know myself I can’t speak like that with a figure like him standing in front of me.

But I was being silent enough. So I quipped an answer of my own.

–”Well… I’ll help where I can… I trust you guys to guide me well.” 

I felt the gaze of the other three behind me, as if I said something wrong, but I didn’t dare turn around to learn that just yet.

Aultcray then continued with his speech.

–”If I can trust that we have reached an agreeable arrangement, I would ask you brave heroes to now check your statuses.”

I frowned in confusion.

–”Huh? W-What status?”

–”Um, yeah…? How do we do that?” Itsuki asked after me.

–”Are you guys dense? It should've been the very first thing you noticed when you got here. Don't you see the icon in the lower right corner of your vision?”

–”Huh?” I moved my head to my right, trying to see what Ren meant.

–”Don’t– Ugh.” The sword hero facepalmed.

–”Huh? What? What did I do?” I looked back at him.

–”Don’t turn your head, use your eyes, idiot.”

–”Huh?” I then followed suit with that, and with my pupils I looked towards my lower right.

To my surprise, there was something there.

–”Oh! I actually see it.”

–”Try focusing your attention on it…” Ren huffed with not much patience left.

And so I did, I focused hardly on the weird icon that appeared, it was… some figure in golden, I couldn’t quite tell because of how small it was.

And before I knew it, the icon expanded and… something like a screen appeared?

Makoto Naegi                          Lv.1                                                                                                                              ⧗ Melromarc
H————————————————
M————————————————
S ————————————————  

                                                  STATUS                           

                                                                                                                                                           Max HP                       70
                                                                                                                                                           Max MP                       19
                                                                                                                                                           Max SP                        20
                                                                                                                                                          Shield Hero      ●●●       0

                                          Makoto Naegi                    ⛉                        Lv. 1      
                                        ◆——————————◆      ———————————      ◆——————————◆

                                                  ♂  Age 18                 Exp                      0/20    

                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆                 
                                        👤 Status                             Ō Attributes                        ⚔ Equipment
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        🗡Physical Damage 0.5        🕯 Fire   0    ⚡︎ Lightning 0      ⛊ Small Shield
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ⊙ Magic Damage      7        🌢Water 0   ☀︎ Light 0             ? Clothes of Another World
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ⛨ Physical Defense  27       ❆Ice    0    ☾ Dark 0
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ◉ Magic Defense     17        ༄ Wind  0   ᨒ Ground 0
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ᯓ Agility                   7                 ☘ Luck

–”Wh-What? Do you guys see this?” I said, pointing towards my own screen.

–”We only see ours. I cannot see yours, Makoto.” Ren stated.

–”Oh… good to know…”

So I’m 18? Well that’s good to know now…

W-Wait up! What do you mean with half a point of damage?!?!?! How is that fair?

–”Only Level 1? Well, that's really disconcerting, isn't it?”

–”Yeah, no kidding. Who can tell if we can even fight like this?”

I decided to try my luck, for something I was the Ultimate Lucky Student, and turned to our new king.

–”Your majesty? Do you know how this works? Or… what is it?”

The king looked back into my eyes, and I swore that I saw… something in his eyes, I couldn’t quite tell, but the more he looked at me, the more nervous I felt for sure.

–”It's called Status Magic, an ability exclusive to the heroes.” His advisor replied instead.

–”So where do we go? What's the first step?”

–”You must set out on an adventure to develop and upgrade these legendary weapons you have been equipped with.”

I looked back at mine…

–”...Weapons?” Was all that I left out.

I felt another strong tap on my back. I turned to see the Spear wielder beside me.

–”Relax! Can't we just wield other weapons until these are usable?” He said with a low chuckle.

–”Suppose we'll have to figure that out as we go. Regardless, it looks like we've all got a lot of training ahead of us.”

–”We'll have to level up hard and fast.”

I was starting to get this now.

–”Yeah… and we are fairly well balanced, I go on the front, Motoyasu has our back, Itsuki watches from afar and Ren goes all around. If we work together, I’m sure we can–”

–”One moment, brave heroes.”

We all left a collected ‘huh’ at that…

It was the advisor.

–”I neglected to mention, you must each recruit allies and adventure separately.”

That startled me.

–”H-Huh? What-Why?”

–”It is said that by their very nature, the legendary weapons repel one another. If you try and work together, it will apparently hinder their development.”

At that, I brought my shield closer to Motoyasu’s spear, and there, I got a sudden screen that read the following:

[HELP]

[WARNING: Possessors of the Legendary Weapons are unable to gain experience when in close proximity of each other ]

I blinked multiple times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.

Yeah, I’m still seeing the floating screen in front of me.

And yeah, it reads exactly what I’m reading.

…Another read can’t hurt, right?

Right? Please?

–”Since the sun is about to set, rest here for the night, and begin your quests tomorrow. In the meantime, we'll gather the best of the best to form your parties.” King Aultcray declared.

And that left us all surprised, another collective ‘huh?’ taking place.

In any case, then a woman stepped in front of us, appearing from behind.

–”We have quarters prepared for you all. Please, sirs, right this way.” She gestured us to follow her.

This was… one hell of a weird day…

And as we left the throne room, lead by the noblewoman, I could still feel the sensation of multiple people staring daggers at my back.

I had started feeling that, regrettably, familiar feeling ever since we first got to this room, if not back when we were summoned. I felt that way with almost everyone present, even from my three other hero companions that one moment, but theirs felt completely different to what this was.

I’ve felt this many times before now. At first back when Sayaka died… Then when I was voted to face punishment… and grazing it… And lastly, the most intense one of them all, back when all the branch heads of Future Foundation believed me to have a hand on the killing game we got trapped in. This felt eerily similar.

But why?

I want to believe that it’s everyone being nervous.

But I don’t know if I was being rational… or if I was just trying to convince myself. 

–”I guess when you're "heroes of legend" you get special treatment.” Motoyasu stated.

The four of us were stationed now in a private room for all of us. Some servants brought some delicacies and Motoyasu was the first to nab at it.

–”The girl who showed us here was cute, too.”

–”Was she?” I replied monotonously.

–”Though it did taste unusual, our dinner was quite sumptuous.” Itsuki added up while finishing his plate.

–”Really?” I asked again without much enthusiasm or interest.

–”...Okay dude, cut it with that. What’s wrong with you?” Motoyasu turned to me.

I blinked a couple of times until I registered what entered through my ears.

–”Huh? S-Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

–“Dude– You’ve been like this since we got here, what’s the matter?”

–”About what?”

–”About… all! We are in another world! With very pretty girls! Exciting adventures! Are you seriously telling me you are not the slightest bit pumped?”

I admit that I had been… very out of it recently. Well, you could say that I was for the whole day really. I still was trying to cope with the idea that… Well, I had died, and now, I am living. In another world no less. Where there’s statistics, magic and in a fantasy world with supposed monsters, like in a videogame. Would you cut me some slack? A lot was going on RIGHT AFTER my waking death.

–”I mean… it sounds… fun? I’m just… still processing how we got here… how I got here.”

–”Why? What happened?” Itsuki joined in the conversation.

Well, I guess it’s due time for some story telling.

–”Well, now that we have the chance… I can explain some stuff about myself.” I said while standing up, taking some air.

I didn’t know how the others would take this, but I had to try.

–”So… Before I was brought here, I was going to die…” 

I said it.

…

…

–”...Damn, you too?” Motoyasu asked like it was the most normal thing ever.

–”I was bleed– Wait, What do you mean with you too?!” I turned to the blonde, completely bewildered by his words.

–”What I meant. You too were dying?”

–”Ye-Yeah…”

–”Wow… that's crazy. Yeah, I was going to be a goner, but then, POOF, I got brought here. Not gonna lie, it was for everyone’s best interest…”

He then raised his brow a little.

–”Hey, you don’t happen to have died from being stabbed…?”

My eyes widened.

–”Yeah!” I immediately answered.

–”...by your two girlfriends at the same time…?”

I blinked once.

I blinked twice.

I blinked THRICE.

WHAT?!

–”N-No…?” My voice died down a little while answering.

–”Hmm, guess that would have been pretty crazy. How did you die then?”

–”Some… debris fell on me when I tried to get a friend out of the way. A metal pipe or… something stabbed me through my stomach. My friends tried to get me out of there but… it wasn’t possible.”

–”An honorable death, saving a friend. I respect that.” The blonde nodded with some… approval?

What is going on inside his head?

–”So the two of you died, and were brought here?” Ren suddenly quipped in. He stayed on a corner, brooding to himself, much like how I did, yet… with a bit more tint of edge than what I could ever bring to the table.

–”Yeah. You?” The blonde asked the sword user.

–”It is quite curious… I was also stabbed.”

My eyes widened at that.

Motoyasu too was quick to ask.

–”...By your two girlfriend-”

–”No.”

–”What happened?” Motoyasu immediately changed the topic.

–”...” Ren never replied. He simply frowned, but not towards us, it was more as if he was reminiscing about what happened to him right then and then. He walked away, showing clearly how he wanted to not take part in that conversation.

–”...Well, that was quite interesting. The three of you died after getting stabbed somewhere in your bodies.” Itsuki added up.

–”Yeah. Interesting. ” Motoyasu said a bit… sarcastically?

–”What about you, Kawasumi-san? Were you luckier than us?” I asked while I took a glass of water and started chugging.

–”I don’t know… last I remember was a truck running me over.”

A WHAT?

I spat my drink in surprise, Motoyasu getting caught in the crossfire…

–”...Oi…” He said in a low tone, his hair now dampened.

–”S-Sorry!”

–”Yeah… got sent right here after that… or… right before? I honestly don’t feel like I’m dead right now.”

–”Weird question, but I assume you didn’t get thrown to the truck by your two girlfriends, right?”

–”No. Never had a girlfriend, not to mention two.” With that reply, Motoyasu nodded.

–”Hmm…” Ren hummed, adding… that to the conversation.

–”Welp… Since you guys shared that much… Not gonna lie with mine, I was pretty bad before I got here. Bleeding out quickly and all, I sure felt like I was dead for a moment.”

I then tried to add up more to the conversation.

–”Well, I did… die I think… After that, for a few moments it was… pitch darkness for me. Nothing around me, nothing to do. Not even someone waiting for me on ‘the other side’ y’know?”

–”Perhaps you were lucky and didn’t outright die. Maybe you fainted and then you got brought here.”

I gave a little chuckle at that.

–”Yeah… with my luck… I don’t know…”

That comment seemed to interest the three of them, but no one really said anything.

Nonetheless, I rambled on.

–”It’s still that crazy to me that we got transported into a world that looks just like a videogame of some sorts…”

Motoyasu gave a hearty laugh.

–”That's 'cause it is a video game. It's exactly like Emerald Online.”

–”Huh?”

Emerald Online? I don’t think I’ve heard of that game before. I mean, I was pretty much a normie when it came to that, so I never specialized in any game that much…

Perhaps it’s a niche title or… I just didn’t know it.

–”...Sorry, Never heard of it.” I gave a slight chuckle as I scratched the back of my head.

–”Huh? Seriously? It's huge! An entire franchise!”

–”What are you talking about? This isn't some online game. It's a new console game I was playing before. It’s called Dimension Web.” Itsuki said when he could join the talk..

I don’t know that one either…

–”Well–”

–”You're both wrong.” Ren quipped it, again, out of nowhere.

He had a knack at it.

–”Everything about this place is identical to a VRMMO called Brave Star Online.” The swordsman stated.

–”VRMMO?” I had to frown at that.

I don’t think I can’t quite follow up on this anymore… Something’s… not right?

–”Ok. Let's sort this out.” Motoyasu stood up.

He pointed with his spear at Ren.

–“First off, Ren, do you really mean an actual, literal VRMMO?”

–”Yeah.”

–”You guys do get what he means by that, too, right?” Motoyasu turned to us now.

–”A sci-fi game I'm familiar with explored the concept.” Itsuki replied.

It was my turn to answer now.

–”I’m sorry, but no. I think I get what it’s supposed to be, but we were in like… uh… the 7th? 8th generation of consoles? I can’t think of a single MMO that was played with VR from my experience.”

Motoyasu did raise an eyebrow at that.

–”Ok then… Now to be sure, let's compare general knowledge… Can you all name the current Prime Minister?

–”Yeah.”

–”Sure.”

I mean… there was no current Prime Minister…

I’ll just name the last one we had.

–”I think I can.”

–“Ok, let’s all say it at the same time. One, Two...”

–“Masato Yuda.”
–“Gotaro Yawahara”
–“Enichi Kodaka.”
–“Shinzo Abe.”

…

…

…

Wait, who?!

Everyone’s elses’ reactions were the same.

–”O-Okay? This was–” I stammered.

–”Who are you guys talking about?”

–”Me? Who are you talking about?’”

Chaos… unfolded, huh?

–”G-Guys, let’s try–” I tried to get their attention, but they wouldn’t listen.

–”You three named completely random names. Why?”

–”I didn’t! I mean, come on! Abe doesn’t even sound Japanese!”

–”Guys!” I finally got their attention.

–”Again. Whose face is on the 1000 yen bill? Okay?” 

After everyone scanned me with their eyes and gave a little nod did I continue.

–“Okay… One… Two… and…”

–”Yawara Gotaro.”
–”Yuta Masoto.”
–”Enichi Kodaka.”
–”Noguchi Hideyo.”

–”HUH??!!!” We all stared at one another in disbelief.

From then on out, we all just sputtered random questions in quick succession.

–”Buzzword of the year, last year’s?!”

–”Most popular Pop Group?”

–”Favorite voice actors?!”

–”Most prestigious Academy?!?!”

–”Which countries won World War II?”

–”What year did The Tragedy happen?”

The questions stopped right there with my last one.

–”Tragedy? What tragedy are you talking about, Makoto?” Itsuki asked.

–”What?! What do you mean with ‘ what tragedy’? I’m talking about THE TRAGEDY!”

Itsuki still looked at me quizzically. I quickly turned at the other two guys.

–”You two? The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History?! The Worst, Most Despair-inducing Incident in the History of Mankind???!”

–”I have no idea what you are yapping about.” Motoyasu shot me down.

–”Me neither.” And so did Ren.

I fell on my knees. Who were these people?!

How do you not know what The Tragedy was…? How CAN you not know what The Tragedy was?!?!?

–”Well… I think there’s only one explanation.” I heard Itsuki sigh before making that comment from behind me.

I turned to him to fully listen.

–”We're all from different versions of Japan.” The bowman said.

…Huh?

–”Right… And they pretty much don't sound nothing alike at all.” Ren acknowledges.

–”So there are parallel worlds with… parallel Japans?” That… honestly sounds possible… Considering how things got in my world, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a parallel version where nothing of that happened…

Just my luck…

–”I thought we might just be from different eras, but it would seem not, huh?”

–”Yeah… the only thing you guys had in common was how you three mentioned a game that was similar to this world.”

–”Yeah… you’d be right about that.” Itsuki mused.

–”What about you, Makoto? Did you play a game similar to this?”

I shook my head.

–”Can’t say that I have… With The Tragedy, the last two years brought a full stop to… Well, everything. And even before that I don’t recall playing, or even hearing any game that was anything like this…”

–”Hmm…”

–”I see, I see…”

Ren and Motoyasu pondered in their minds what I said.

Itsuki, however, asked me for something.

–”Well, while we are on the topic. Could you tell us what exactly this… Tragedy was?”

–”Oh! That’s right.” Motyasu brought a fist to his palm in realization.

–”That’s a good question. We may be able to learn something from that?” Ren added up, rather optimistically.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t so hopeful. I… don’t think The Tragedy would be even remotely similar to what this game is…

–”I mean… I don’t think anything will come out of it, but I don’t mind telling you guys. I do warn, it’s a bit… strong.”

The three sat down, giving me the floor to speak.

–“Well… I think I should start from the beginning… I’ll try to make it quick, I promise! Remember how I asked about your guys’ Prestigious Academy and mentioned mine? Hope’s Peak Academy was a school to nurture talent to the gifted individuals of Japan, only recruiting and lecturing the very best. There were some nuances here and there, but that’s the gist. To attend, you had to be the very best at what you did. They scouted almost every talent imaginable in order to nurture them to reach no limits. Think of any job, position or even hobby. Pop Sensations, Baseball players, Bike gang leaders, Programmers, Gamblers, Authors, Martial Artist, Moral Compass… if that makes sense to you and… Fanfiction writers… They had many promising prospects, hoping to nurture and develop them for Japan’s Future.”

I seemed to have gotten the interest of all three with this small summary, and I was just getting started…

–”But one of them… Chose to end all future.”

At that, Itsuki raised his brow, Motoyasu arched an eyebrow and Ren… remained still.

–”Junko Enoshima, one of my classmates. She was at a first glance, what we called The Ultimate Fashionista, being the top seller out of all fashion magazine models, leading to outstanding sales with her views on fashion. She however, had a secret talent, that of The Ultimate Analyst, which actually led her to analyze how the fashion market worked, accurately depicting what would be the best sell and, with that, she created her false alias under the guise of fashion… She played us all.”

–“Was she hot?”

I had to blink to actually take in the question.

–”Wh-What?”

–”What I said, was she hot?”

I was utterly starstruck with Motoyasu’s question.

I… honestly found Ikusaba-san more approachable… I would have liked to know her better…

Then again, she was Junko’s blade and gun… perhaps it was for the best that we didn't interact much?

I say that, but it doesn’t feel right…

IF only things went differently…

–”Ignore him, go on.” Ren, as always, cut to the chase.

I nodded as I composed myself.

–”Right. With few words, Junko was… not a good person… and neither was she sane. She had this weird… obsession with being under mental pain and desperation. To ‘live in despair’ so to speak, and she was so obsessed with it that she wanted the whole world to feel the same way she did.”

–”Out of what? Vengeance? Retribution? Because of how she got to feel like that for the first time?” Itsuki asked this time, I saw his interest had… piqued a little? What was going on inside his mind?

–”Boredom.”

That actually got the bowman to widen his eyes. 

–”Her own words.”

–”...Wow…” He said, almost in disbelief.

–”The point was, she was not a good person. Awful, in fact, even after everything we tried… She started going to Hope’s Peak and acted in the shadows to ruin its reputation from the inside, leading to… many questionable choices from Hope’s Peak staff. And, after all that… I… still don’t know how, but she did it.”

–”She did what?”

–”She plummeted the whole world in despair.”

The three heroes had mixed feelings with my wording, but it was what it was.

–“Out of nowhere, there were massive suicide rates along all of Japan.”

Now that got their attention.

–”What?” I heard Itsuki’s gasp. But I didn’t halt.

–”And it didn’t stop there. Riots, Brainwashing, Genocide, The Remnants of Despair, Towa City taking over, All three killing games! She…!”

After saying all that, I took a breath and finished.

–”...Accomplished her goal.”

Ren and Itsuki looked at one another, I was unsure on what their expressions meant.

But Motoyasu was loud and clear.

–”Wow… You should really consider writing a novel.”

…

What?

–”Like really, that sounds a whole lot of crazy fun. It would definitely be a wild ride to read.”

–”What?” This time I said it out loud, yet Motoyasu didn’t halt.

–”And imagine all that turned into an anime! The blood! The gore! The horrors! Dude, your imagination is huge, even if kind of freaky.”

I was… astonished. What was he implying? 

–”Th-This all happened!”

–”Nah. I don’t believe you. That’d be very unrealistic.”

I deadpanned at him.

–”You find society crumbling single-handedly by one singular extra-talented person, one capable of doing calculations and predictions that machines barely keep up with in an alternate universe of yours, where what you perceive as realistic can become subjective, to be unrealistic?”

–”Yeah.”

–”...Even after we got into a literal ISEKAI?!”

–”Well… when you put it like that…”

–”Like what?”

Motoyasu clasped his hands together.

–”You know. Overtalented people, one with the superpower of absolute intelligence, destroying society… That kind of stuff comes right out of a manga, it has to be!”

–"But my world doesn't have superpowers!”

The briefest memory of Sayaka came to my mind, and I winced.

–”...I think at least?”

–”Huh? Why did you get so insecure all of a sudden?”

–”Just… a friend used to joke about being psychic… her being able to read minds and such…”

–”R-Really?” Itsuki asked out of nowhere.

–”Yeah… terrifyingly so, she always predicted what I was thinking or what I was going to say at times, only for her to immediately back down from her statement...”

Yet I turned to Motoyasu again.

–”But it all happened! And, at the very least, my world doesn't have anything like… metahumans or something! That would be absurd!”

–”Yeah…” Itsuki added without… adding anything, really.

–”Still sounds unlikely for me.” Motoyasu still replied.

–”In his defense, it does sound weird.” Itsuki said.

–”And convoluted.” Ren too added up.

–”That’s because it was!” I tried to explain furthermore.

–”Then, you surely have material to make like, I dunno, fifty-three seasons of a show like that.”

–”...You are not telling me to turn the biggest event of mankind into One Piece… You are just not…” I massaged the temple of my forehead, I don’t think I’ve gotten a headache this big on a long while. He believed  that everything that I’ve just said, everything that I went through was just a work of fiction?! One I could milk with?! How rude!

–”One Piece? What's that?” The blonde asked.

However, I got tired, I let out a sigh in exasperation. I quickly realized that, them believing in me or what I said at all or not, in the end, doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things… 

–”Nothing to do about it though… Now I’m dead… at least for my surviving friends I am, and I won’t see those who I lost just yet...” It was… awfully nihilistic in a way…

–”Well… guess you could see it that way…”

I ended up thinking my words through, and shook my head.

–”Well. What's important is that I did my best. I may not be there to help them anymore but, my friends will carry on from where I left. They all were more talented than me anyway, so I'm sure they'll make things right.” I said, no! stated with a determined smile.

–”If you say so…” Motoyasu said with not much interest. 

–”So, if everyone had a talent at that school, and you were that girl's classmate, what's your talent?” Ren asked.

–”Yeah, that's another good question. Perhaps that's what is related to you being brought here.”

…If I had to be honest, that's probably right, just… not in the way they could believe…

–”Maybe… but probably not… In truth l, while my classmates were specially talented in some way, I… really wasn't like them.”

–”Meaning?”

–”Did you not have a talent?”

–”I mean… I technically did?”

That confused them.

–”After a certain point, Hope's Peak held annual raffles as one of their scouting methods. That way, they found my upperclassmen, Komaeda-san, who could arguably manipulate his luck. He was a rare occurrence, spurts of good moments followed by very bad ones, one after another and vice versa. That interested the heads of the school.”

I had to lower my head next.

–”Then, they got to me, I got in due to the raffle that took place that year. So I was given the title of “The Ultimate Lucky Student” like Komaeda but… I honestly don't find myself to be very… Well, lucky.”

–”Perhaps you were the ultimate UNlucky student then!” Motoyasu suggested.

–”Motoyasu…” Itsuki chastised him, but the spear wielder continued.

–”It could be the case! After all, he didn't have the chance to learn a game like this in his world, AND probably also lead to him having the shield!”

Wait, the shield? What's that supposed to mean?

–”H-Huh? What's that supposed to mean, Kitamura-san?”

He turned to me and, well, he seemed a bit confident in his words.

–”Well, I just think that it’s all related. Don’t you guys think the same thing?” He turned to the other two heroes.

–”Perhaps… it is…”

–”Could be the case.”

Both Itsuki and Ren hummed outwards, but I still was… not getting what Motoyasu was saying.

–”I’m… not following?”

The previous two sighed at my ignorance, but Motoyasu decided to take a step forward.

–”Don’t worry. As the eldest, your ‘Nii-san’ Motoyasu will bring you up to speed on the basics.”

I nodded at him, listening with attention.

–”As far as I've ever seen, the "Shielder" class, that specializes in the shield…”

–”Yes?”

–”...is for losers, because no true gamers ever play it.”

I… lost count how many times this happened to me now, but I blinked repeatedly at what he said.

–”What does that mean?”

It seemed that my answer shocked the three of them, of course, each with their own way of expressing it.

–”You still don’t get it?”

–”I mean… I can’t call myself a ‘true gamer’, I barely kept up with the games I played cuz they got hard or bored me.”

–”Good grief.” The swordsman facepalmed.

–”If it means that there are few people that play the shielder, doesn’t it mean that I’m more rare to come by then?”

–”That’s… where the problem comes, Makoto…”

–”Huh?” I turned to the bowman

–”You see, when a game comes out and many people play it, the very hardcore and dedicated ones will try to find the best ways to play that game. What are the better weapons, what is the better class, what is the better strategy. We call that “The Meta” of said games.”

–”Uh huh…”

–”If there are few Shielders, that’s because they are generally bad…”

I widened my eyes at that.

–”Oh…”

–”Falling out of the meta, being barely viable, hard to use or downright being a bad choice or ‘trollpicks’.”

–”Troll…pick?”

–”It means you use a bad character on purpose.” Ren quickly explained.

–“Oh… H-How bad is the shield in your worlds again?”

–”Not meta.”
–”Terrible.”
–”Very hard to use.”

–”It generally sucks.” Motoyasu concluded.

I… stood silently at them, I lowered my head as I brought my arm closer to me, fully inspecting the shield on my arm.

Was I… really given the worst weapon? 

Then again, with my luck…

I threw my body backwards, falling onto the coach once more and melting on top of it… Groaning during so.

–”So what's the terrain like here?” They continued on, like nothing happened.

–”Not sure, but it looks very similar to what I'm used to.”

They moved on from my conversation.

Welp. It doesn’t matter. I’ve been given worse hands and we still came out on top. I just know that I’ve got to trust on my team, whoever they may be. Working together, anything can be achieved, just like I’ve always done…

And hopefully… once this all is over… Maybe I can return? See Kirigiri-san’s face again? Komaru’s? Hina and the rest?

It’s my biggest regret not saying everything that I held on my chest, but if I can come back, I will make sure to not hold myself back!

Yeah! No holding back now!

–”Alright.” I said as I stood up, and headed to the balcony we had.

Once I opened it, I gazed up at the stars, seeing how beautiful it all looked.

We had lost this back in my world, but now, I’ve got another chance. I’ve finally seen the stars in the night again. If that was possible, then there’s nothing I can’t accomplish now.

I will get home! I can hope for it.

–”I will not hold back!” I shouted into the night, determination filling inside of me.

–”No matter who or what. I’ll get home! I’ll see you guys once more! Just wait for me, ok?!”

–”Well, someone’s excited.” I heard someone behind me say.

I turned my back and realized that all three of the heroes were looking at me.

I sheepishly nod at them.

–”Y-Yeah… I’m going to make the best of this…” I said while scratching the back of my head.

–”Alright, since tomorrow we start questing, let's head back to our rooms and get a good night's sleep.”

–”Do you think they have baths here?” Itsuki asked the taller blonde in question.

–”Outdoor ones, if any at all.” Motoyasu replied.

–”H-How embarrassing…” I couldn’t help but stammer at the thought of bathing in the open…

And so, my first day in this world came to an end.

This was not the end of Makoto Naegi!

I will make sure of that!

The next day, after we slept, woke up and had a quick breakfast, we were gathered to be reunited once more in the Throne Room with the king again.

–”We have gathered the greatest warriors in the land. These brave souls will fight the Waves alongside you.”

–”Alright…” Motoyasu said, scanning at the adventurers that were lined up. He seemed to keep a close eye on the… female ones I think?

I must be wrong.

–”How are we doing this?” He asked us.

–”Do we take turns picking them for our parties?” Itsuki asked, while turning towards the adventurers.

–”That does sound like a fair way to go…” I mused as I turned towards where the bowman was looking.

In that swipe of my head, I took in the varied appearances all adventurers had. From males, to females, to tall, short, buff, slim, armored, or… modest clothing. It was truly surprising to see so many people, yet they all gave a completely different look.

My eyes landed on one of them. She had red hair, green eyes, and seemingly had a very friendly face. I also had to admit, even if it embarasses me, how different yet beautiful or handsome everyone looked. Maybe it’s because this was a completely different environment for me, but with just a glance, I could tell the objective attractiveness of… pretty much every single adventurer present. Including the red-haired warrior.

However, it seemed that I eyed her too much, her noticing me that I was looking her way. I initially panicked, but she replied with a friendly smile. Not my finest moment, as I was left agape for a mere moment, but quickly shook out that and gave her an earnest nod, as if I was saying ‘hello’ nonverbally.

Hopefully, all the time I spent with the girls during Hope’s Peak will allow me to not make much of a mess out of myself.

Scary.

–”Our future champions, the time has come to begin your journey!” The king stated.

And as a calling card, all adventurers started marching.

Marching towards us.

–”W-Woah…”

So they get to choose?

Oh man… How nervewracking…

I had to close my eyes out of nervousness.

Once I heard how all footsteps had haltered, did I decide to open my eyes again and turn around in order to see who would become my future teammates.

The view I got left me incredulous.

–”Ah…”

No one had chosen me.

I had to count how many people went to the other heroes.

Itsuki had three.
Ren had FIVE.
and Motoyasu had four.

I was… speechless.

Was I… going to have to go alone?

–”I am loath to admit it, but even I was not expecting this.” I heard the king say.

–”No volunteers? He must have zero charisma.” The voice of his advisor, in a lower tone, I could hear.

–”B-But… I…”

I… I…

I don’t know what to do?

–”Ah. I've been made aware of an unsettling rumor.” King Aultcray spoke once more

–”Has something happened, sir?” The spear wielder asked as I turned around to face his majesty.

–”Not exactly. The rumor that is quickly spreading around town is that the so-called Shield Hero is ignorant of this world.”

–”W-What?!”

-”Legend tells us the heroes arrive with a firm understanding of our lands. And the townspeople seem to believe that the Hero of the Shield doesn't meet that criteria.”

What?

But, how could they-?

–”Someone must've been eavesdropping on our discussion last night.” Motoyasu whispered next to me. I don’t know what purpose that could have, I think everyone heard him.

I didn’t even reply to him.

I was still processing this…

–”Um… what do we do?” I heard Itsuki ask.

–”Someone could give out some of their members.” Ren replied to him.

–”Yeah, the kid could use a hand, honestly.”

–”It might seem to be the most fair if we split them up three apiece, but if we try to force the issue, it could destroy everybody's morale.” Itsuki said, whilst two of his followers nodded behind him.

–”S-So… Do I go on my own? All by myself in a completely unknown world?” I asked, the tone of my voice showed my pleading in-between the lines.

I felt how Motoyasu nudged me on my side, whispering again.

–”Don’t confirm the rumors dude…”

I shut my mouth right there and then.

–”All of you. Whoever cannot cut it will be left in the dust. Last warning.” Ren said to his members, but all five seemed to be determined to go alongside him.

So this was it?

I really will have to walk this path on my own?

…Do I even have a chance this way? To get home…?

However, right amidst my despair of taking on an unknown world all by myself, did I get a bright slimmer of hope in the form of a raising hand.

“Sir Hero!”

–”Huh?”

It was…

The red haired warrior from before… The one with the green eyes…

–”Would you kindly allow me to switch parties and join the Shield Hero?”

–”Uhhh…” Don’t stammer now, me! Say yes!

–”Are you sure?” Motoyasu, who was the hero that this woman had previously chosen, asked her!

Dude!

But before I could say anything, she replied to him. 

–“I am.”

I still couldn't believe my ears.

–”H-Huh…? You sure??” Why am I like this…?

But… Is she really going to join me?

–”Are there any others who would be willing to join Master Naofumi on his quest? 

However, no one else said anything.

–”Ah, well, so be it. We shall have to take other measures, then. Master Naofumi, you will have to recruit for your party yourself.

I barely registered his words.

–”Ah… Ehh? Oh, uh, right!” I was… a little out of place.

–”Every month, we shall provide each hero with the funds they require. This one time, however, Master Naofumi's payment will be higher than the others.

As the king said this, he had ordered for some of his servants to bring some bags to us.

–”Here are your initial war chests. Accept them with our thanks.”

–”Shield Hero receives 800 silver coins while the rest of you each receive 600 silver.” His advisor said.

–”Procure all necessary equipment and set forth!” King Aultcray concluded.

–”Sir!” The three heroes said
–”Sir! Yes sir!” I… differed a little…

And with that, our royal reunion was set.

We left towards the gates, and the red-haired warrior actually did stay with me. We were lagging behind a bit as I… focused a little too much on the new bag on my hands.

–”Sir hero?”

–”Ah! Yes!” I turned to her. Registering again that she was alongside me.

–”Later, Makoto!” I heard Motoyasu’s voice from above me.

I looked up and see the three heroes in tow.

–”Take good care of her now, you hear me?” Motoyasu Kitamura said, emphasizing ‘good care’ for some reason.

–”They said we can't help you directly, but I can at least wish you best of luck with your recruiting.” Ituski said, trying to give me high spirits.

–”Until next time. So long.” Ren was just Ren however.

-”Oh, uhh, Y-Yeah! Goodbye!” I waved towards them, thanking their words.

–”I beg your pardon, Shield Hero, sir.” The red hair warrior… no, my new companion asked of me.

I turned to her, giving her my full attention.

–”Let me introduce myself. My name is Myne Sophia. It's an honor to fight with you.”

I smiled at her.

–”Alright then. My name is Makoto Naegi. It’s my pleasure to meet you.”

–”The pleasure is all mine!” She extended her hand to me.

To which, I replied in tow.

This was my first teammate. My first guide. My first friend maybe even. I’ll make sure to make things right then!

–”Where can we start?” I asked as I brought my arm back to me.

–”Well, why don’t I show you around the village then?”

–”Very well. I didn’t have the chance to see much of it when I got here, so I would thank you if you could guide me out there.”

–”Sure thing!” She said in excitement as she took the lead and headed onwards.

She was very friendly and open. Charismatic even. I admit that I was worried at first, thinking that I wouldn’t know how to tread around someone like her, but she seems to be far more approachable than what I could have ever expected.

To that, I’m very grateful, and so, I will make sure to pay back in kindness by saving her world!

That’s a promise!

We had walked around town for a bit, and Myne had shown me a lot of amazing things I would have never seen back in my old world. Street vendors, Carriages, Magic! This really was another world!

She had concluded that the best course of action now would be to buy good equipment to fight with. I agreed with her, not thinking any other idea that sounded more important than that, so we went to this armory she said she knew.

We walked through the front door, and we were greeted with a tall man who, despite my wording, definitely looked like what I imagine a blacksmith would.

–”This place gets my highest recommendation.”

–”Woah…” I said as I observed all types of weaponry inside here. Swords, Axes, Daggers, Shields even. I hadn’t seen anything like this before.

At least… in a more innocent matter?

–”Welcome, good sir.” The tall man greeted us.

I wasn’t sure how to answer at first…

But he took the lead.

–”So, first time in a weapons shop, is it? Well, you already know how to pick the best one.”

–”Y-Yeah, but I have to thank my friend here for bringing me here.” I said as I gestured to Myne.

His eyes fell on my red-haired companion.

–”Hmm? You do look familiar, miss. Have we met?” He said, as he inspected her features from afar.

–”Sure! I've been in here before.” She replied.

She came here?

–”Your shop is rather renowned, after all.”

–”Aw, sweet of ya to say so. Anyhow, who's your companion here with the funny outfit?

I looked down to myself and realized that I was still wearing my Future Foundation suit.

–”Ah…” I scratched my cheek at that.

–”You mean you can't tell, sir?”

–”No…” He initially said.

But then he looked more at my clothes and me. Maybe even my shield?

–”Are you tryin' to tell me he's one of them heroes?”

I couldn’t help but smile nervously.

–”A shield. So, guess that means you must be the dud.”

I exhaled a little in defeat.

Did those rumors spread that much already?

–”I’m the Shield Hero, my name is Makoto Naegi, sir! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

–”Makoto then? Well, if you become a regular, I won't give two hoots what you wield. I’m Erhard, this shop’s blacksmith,”

At that I smiled at the man, who seemed to smirk as well.

–”Very well kid. Good to meet ya!” I nodded at his greeting.

Myne giggled a little with our interaction as I felt her use me for support for a moment.

–”Now that that's out of the way, could you provide Sir Hero with his equipment needs?” She asked.

The man crossed his arms with curiosity and attention.

–”Our budget is... around 250 silver.

–”Alright. Give me a moment.” The man said as he turned towards the swords he had in display.

One by one, he grabbed the hilts of the swords and brought them to the table he had. In total there were five swords, and he was explaining us about them

–”Left to right, that's iron, magic iron, magic steel, and silver iron in ascending order of price. All quality swords, guaranteed.”

I decided to try out on the simple, but sturdy Iron sword.

–“Wow. Perhaps with this, now I can be- ARGH!

Interrupting me, a huge jolt of energy spurted out of my hands, forcing me to drop the sword to the ground.

–”Wha-What??!” I said as I decided to attempt grabbing the sword from the ground.

Attempt being the operative word.

–”Ouch!” Electricity again, hurt me.

The sword fell again to the ground.

–”Wh-What is this?”

–”I have no idea, kid.

–”It looked like they just flew out of your hand.”

–”Y-Yeah… but… why-??

Huh?

A screen was displayed in my vision. Reading the following.

[CAUTION]

[WARNING: Legendary Weapon Possessors may not equip weapons that are not of the same class as the Legendary Weapon itself with the intention to fight. If they attempt to handle another weapon, they will be zapped. ]

[HELP]

[ Possessors can handle weapons, but only without the intent of utilizing it in a fight. ]

So… I can’t use another weapon to fight? 

But then, how do I even fight with just a shield?

I decided to voice out my newly learned information.

–”It appears that besides this shield, I'm not allowed to use any other weapons. 

–”How does that work, then?” The blacksmith asked as he knelt in front of it.

He pulled out a magnifying glass of some sorts and started inspecting my shield. However… light exuded out of it?

–”Hmm…” Whatever that was, it was allowing Erhard to see through my shield apparently?

Maybe I can learn something from it!

–”At a glance, it's like any other small shield.” He said.

Then he would ask.

–”Does this thing not come off ya?”

–”No, but I can move it around my body. Have it on either arm or even my back, but no, can’t remove it outright.”

–”Well, That's strange…”.

He pressed the green gem in the middle of the shield.

–”I can sense a great amount of power in here, but my appraisal magic doesn't really tell me much more.”

Ah...

That’s a shame…

–”Oh… well then…”

–”Uh… thanks for showing me something interesting.” He seemed a little awkward seeing my displeasure.

He then got back to business.

–”Anyway, wanna buy some armor?”

I mean… that’’s what we were here for, I guess…

I was given a chainmail to try and went to the dressing room to put it on.

Once I did, I opened the curtains of said room, showing myself to the other two.

The chainmail was a little too big for me but… it wasn’t that bad either.

–”Hey. Now you're starting to look the part, at least.

–”Hehe… thanks?”

–”How much do you want for it?

–”Hero's discount. 120 silver.

–”And the buy-back price?

–”Well, let's see, if it's still in mostly new condition, I'd offer you 100 silver.”

I joined in the conversation.

–”Buy…back price?”

–”Once you grow strong enough, you really won't need this armor anymore. You don't wanna get ripped off when you come to sell it back.

–”Oh,.. That makes sense, I guess.”

–”All right. We'll take it.” Myne said as he grabbed me from behind, dragging me around.

–”H-Hey, wait up-”

–“Excellent! I'll throw in some innerwear to show my thanks!

I exhaled in defeat.

–”Well… that’s that, I think-”

–”So! Where shall we head to next, Sir Hero? Off to do battle?”

Huh? Battle?

–”Battle? You mean we are going to fight?”

–”Yes, sir hero.”

–”Oh… Alright.”

Now that I… think about it…

I… never was good for fights?

And I… was chosen to FIGHT against… well.. whatever the waves were?

…

Honestly… I’m going to leave that thought for later.

Because there was something that I had to do.

And If I want to get used to this, then I’ve got to start now!

Which means.

–”Alright Myne… I guess that it’s time to level up, don’t you say?”

–”Yes, sir hero!”

Yeah… I was going to fight.

But… in any case.

This was supposed to be the beginning of my journey!

So I’ll become strong, and I will get home!

No matter the cost!

After we left Erhard’s shop, Myne brought me to a big meadow near the kingdom. It was a simple terrain, but not less wonderful to gawk at. From where I was standing I could see the kingdom in its entirety, a bunch of trees and just how beautifully the reflection on the sun looked on the green field.

*PLING*

–”H-Huh?” I turned around when I heard that weird sound.

Towards where I was looking now, I saw how a little shadow on the grass was moving with a red icon pop-up atop of it. I wasn’t exactly sure what that was supposed to be.

I quickly turned to Myne, who was standing next to a tree. and from here I saw how she pumped her fists in the air.

I understood what she meant, and turned again towards the shadows.

I may have been weak physically my whole life, but now things are different! I can be strong now!

–”Alright! Hit me with your best shot!” I had become way more excited than what I could have ever imagined.

As the shadows got closer to me, they leapt out of the grass revealing themselves to me.

They were some circle-shaped orange monsters with comically spiked teeth made out of the same material of their skin.

Two of them jumped at me, so on instinct I tried to dodge them both. My small frame actually came in handy as I quickly got out of the way. As they bounced into the ground, I charged towards the closest one to me and punched it hard, the meanest one I could muster. 

However, the “balloon” monster was unscathed by my punch, bouncing away. At that, the other balloon got behind me and jumped to munch my back.

It bit hard into my spine, and I felt it.

But it… didn't hurt…

I felt it alright, but it didn't hurt me…

Was this perhaps the result of my status as the shield hero?

Nevertheless, I didn't stand idly, as I reached for it, barely managing to grab it. I made it lose its grip on my chainmail and while holding it in one hand, I punched it. It didn't seem to do much to it, so I struck at it again and again and again.

However, it didn't seem to flinch in the slightest bit.

At that, in my peripheral vision I saw how the first ballon I punched was trying to bite me again.

Out of instinct,  I turned towards it, extending the ballon I had towards it in order to block the attack.

The balloon munched onto its fellow monster.

And it happened.

*POP*

The balloon in my hands blew up.

[+1 EXP]

–"Woah…” I mused as I saw that number pop up in my ‘screen’.

However, I couldn't admire it for long as the balloon charged with a revenge in mind.

Like a goalkeeper, I grabbed the ball-shaped monster, preventing it to munch my face.

I actually felt the material thoroughly just now. and it was… oddly familiar for some reason.

Nevertheless, I was going to start punching it again, however… An idea came to me.

These… monsters… look like actual balloons, they are even named like that…

What if I…

I proceeded to start squashing the orange monster between my hands with all my might. I could actually feel how it's shape was morphing upwards while being squashed, just like how an actual balloon would-

*POP*

[+1 EXP]

–”Woah!” The balloon blew up on my hands surprising me, causing me to fall on my butt onto the grass.

It blew up… like a balloon would!

*POP* *POP*

–”Huh?”

I heard the same noises from afar, and from here I saw how Ren was quickly cutting through all the balloons that attacked him.

Looking around for just a bit, I could see how Motoyasu and his female only party was also working through the same balloons.

–”RAAAH!” A new balloon appeared out of nowhere, leaping straight to my face.

It took me for surprise, and I closed my eyes waiting for the bite to come.

*FIUM*

But it never came.

*POP*

I opened my eyes and saw how the balloon had popped in front of me out of thin air.

–”You okay?!” I heard a new voice from behind me.

I turned around and I saw how Itsuki was also here, his bow freshly unquivered. He was the one that shot the balloon.

–”Y-Yeah! I'm still getting used to this! Thank you, Kawasumi-san!” I stood up and bowed at him.

–”No worries. Just be careful and keep working hard.”

–”Yes!” I couldn't waste any more time. I headed towards a small part where I wouldn’t bother the other three heroes.

At that, I tried to squash every single balloon at once that I came across with, but I either got bitten by a wild balloon appearing, allowing the ones I held to escape, or put simply, they slipped off my hands. I ended up learning that the more I punched these monsters, the less resistance they put when I held them.

*POP*

[+1 EXP]

That was my 5th balloon now. I need to pop fifteen more to level up…

–”Thank you, Myne.” I said to my companion as she handed me the next piece of balloon fabric.

-"No worries, Sir Hero.”

The day had flown by, the sky had turned orange, and we were the last group in the fields.

I had taken my time with the balloons. I could only do so much when I literally had half a point of damage. 

–”Hah…” I couldn't help but to exhale.

Even after all this time, I still hadn’t gotten up by a single level. I busted through thirteen balloons until I just.. couldn’t continue. All the balloons were getting away from me, I could barely catch up.

The others made it look like a cakewalk… they even left early and all…

But no matter, I knew this would take time, so I won't let it bother me that much.

Something new I learned today was that my shield could absorb materials.

And what did that help me with?

[UNLOCKED]

[New Shield Unlocked : Orange Small Shield. ]

[Description : A very flexible and elastic shield. Not very good at resisting attacks, but its elasticity could come up with some uses. ]

[ +2 DEF ]

New Shield?

I mused inwardly after the shield absorbed eight out of the thirteen peels of the orange balloons.

Myne had told me to not leave the field without collecting these, these monsters didn't just pop, but leave their plastic skin behind as well, which could be sold later.

I thanked for that, so we started collecting and once I grabbed the first peel, my shield instinctively shined. The thought of letting it absorb the skin appeared on my mind, so I did.

And here we are. A new screen popped up, telling me about a new shield of some sorts.

–”I apparently got a new shield?”

–”Oh?” Myne sounded surprised.

–”Yeah, right after it absorbed two of these orange peels.”

–”Oh, wow! That must be part of a legendary weapon's power.”

I nodded.

–”Yeah… It also must have something to do as to why I didn't feel pain when I was bitten.

She probably doesn't know much about the powers of the weapons themselves, so she can't exactly guide me with that.

[HELP]

[Interchangeable Weapons : Legendary Weapons can absorb the materials of the world that surround them in order to develop new sidegrades that they can turn into in battle for various situations. Legendary Weapons can morph and interchange its form with said newly developed counterparts. ]

interchangeable Shields?

I can have multiple to pick?

After I learned this, I decided to try to equip this new shield of mine, even if I didn't quite understand how it could work.

I simply thought of the new Shield's name and, to my surprise, my shield started to glow a vivid sky blue light, completely surrounding it.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to avoid getting blinded by the light, however, before I noticed, my simple silver shield with the green gem had morphed into a round orange one. It still kept the gem in the middle, but it had completely changed its appearance.

This shield looked to be made out of the exact same materials that those balloon monsters were.

My curiosity got the better of me as I touched and felt how the shield was.

It wasn't very rigid, it felt like leather, but highly more... slimy in a way? I could fully submerge my finger in it, but it didn't seem to stretch in a permanent manner, or rip it or… hurt its fabric in any way. .

–”Woah…”

–”I had never seen something like this, Sir Shield Hero.”

–”Well… It doesn’t seem to be any better than my current shield but! I’m sure that the more we explore, the more we’ll discover.”

–”Yeah. That’s the correct attitude to have.”

–”Well then… Let's call it a day.”

–”We should stop back in at the weapons shop.If we can buy some new equipment for me, we'll get even farther tomorrow.”

Alright… Yeah.

Just in case I can’t protect her, it’d be good if she had good equipment on her.

–”Sure. Lead the way then.”

And so, we headed back towards Erhard’s place.

The walk was quite soothing, a good change of pace after the frenetic day I had of being munched, bitten and punching as hard as I could. Even if my punches were made of butter…

Anyway, we got to Erhard’s place once more.

–”So, gear for the lady, hm? You'll certainly be much stronger decked out with some good equipment.”

–”Right?” The red haired warrior replied while inspecting a sword that catched her eye.

In the meantime, I made some small talk with Erhard.

–”So… I hope you don’t mind me asking… but you are a blacksmith, yes?”

–”Well, I wouldn’t know… Do I look like a blacksmith?” He smirked back at me.

–”Honestly speaking, yeah. You look the part, sir.” I gave him a nervous smile.

–”Don’t fret boy. Why are you asking?”

–”I was curious… Do you make all this equipment?”

–”Hmm? Why so curious?”

–”I mean… this whole shop has a lot of stuff… And… well, I don’t know how you guys make stuff in this world.”

–”You had blacksmiths in your world too?”

–”But of course! However, we no longer require the use of swords and shields, sir.”

–”Sounds like a terrible place to live in, at least for me.”

–”You would be surprised… I knew a blacksmith, the best one in my country.”

–”Country?”

–”Uh… Umm, It’d be my equivalent to kingdom or region.”

–”Alright… so how was he?”

–”We weren’t all that close… Didn’t know him for long but… we were at odds for most of the time I knew him…”

–”Hmm? Why?”

Oof… how do I begin to explain this?

–”Let’s… say that back in my world, we were living in harsh circumstances… and from that, other circumstances forced us to be… well, on edge most of the time. Sadly, I couldn’t prove my worth to him…”

Nor save him…

–”Well kid, that sounds… complicated…”

–”Not gonna lie… it really was… But, it does make me question. How do you guys work here?”

–”Hmm? What do you mean?”

–”Well, while it’s true that we do without using swords and armor anymore, that doesn’t mean that smithering died, if anything, we found new uses for it. But that was thanks to our advanced technology.

–”Technology.”

–”Think of… a very sharp saw that cuts things on its own. Or a very strong hammer that flattens the iron out? I… don’t know how smithering works…”

–”No, no. You aren’t that far off… Continue.”

–”I was… wondering… Could it be possible for someone like me to learn how to smith?”

That seemed to surprise the blacksmith.

–”Why do you ask that? You wish to retire me from the market?” He grinned.

–”Wha-? No no! I was… wondering how useful it could be if I knew how to repair or forge equipment and…”

–”It does quite sound that you want to take over my business!”

–”N-N-No sir! I promise to you that it’s not it! I-I-I was…”

I admit… that I had quickly panicked a little… maybe too much. But Erhard chuckled harder and made me stop fretting over myself.

–”You don’t have to worry about a thing, kid. You come to me, and I’ll make anything you could need. You’re always welcomed.”

–”R-Really?”

–”Of course. As long as you know the price.”

–”Y-Yes! Of course sir!”

Joyous banter at its fullest. However, it would be cut now.

–”Alright. This will do!” Myne said as she placed all the items she picked on the table.

At that, when she did, all the armor had fallen with some strong clankering of the metal. Surprising us both…

–”Ah… th-that’s… quite a lot, Myne.”

–”Why, yes Sir, hero. All this is of quality weaponry. With these, I’m sure I can beat any and all foes we come across.”

–”I… see… you woudln’t… mind… sparing some… coins, please?”

–”I’ll tel you what, kid.” Erhard then brought me an olive branch.

–”Yes?”

–”I’ll round all that to 440 silver.”

–”You’ll do?!” My eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but smile.

But he raised his finger at that.

–”IF… You give me something in exchange.”

–”S-Something in exchange? But I don’t have much else with me sir…”

–”That blacksmith friend of yours. Don’t you have something in that noggin from him that could be of use to me?”

I started to think real hard there. This was a great opportunity to save some money, and Erhard was being so understanding! I can’t let him down.

I try to memorize everything that I studied from Sonosuke Izayoi, The Ultimate Blacksmith in my world.

May he rest in peace...

–”Oh! Wait! I think I got something.”

–”Hmm?”

–”Sir Erhard. Do you know what heat treating is?”

–”Heat treating?”

–”In my world, 'heat treating' is a method used to improve the durability and strength of metal tools and, well... weapons.

–”Hmm… I think I know what you are talking about… We do something similar here, but… What’s different about your method?”

–”I remember something that I studied while reading Sonosuke Izayoi’s files. He’s the… blacksmith friend that I told you about. His family mastered the technique of 'tempering.' How it works is that, after heating the metal to a high temperature, you quench it quickly in oil or water to harden it. But then, to reduce brittleness, you heat it again, but to a lower temperature. After that, you let it cool slowly away, making the metal both hard and tough.”

–”So they controlled the heating and cooled it to heat it again, huh? We usually just quench and be done with it. Heating it again at a lower temperature... interesting.”

He then grinned.

–"I like the sound of that. I'll have to give it a try. Alright, lad, a deal's a deal. You get that discount."

–”Really? Thank you so much sir!” I extended my hand to him and he shook it with gusto.

–”So, Sonosuke Izayoi, huh? I'll make sure to remember his name when I use this technique. Make sure his legacy lives on.”

That… made me smile awkwardly…

–”Y-Yes… He'd be happy to know his knowledge is being put to good use…”

–”Thank you for buying it all, sir hero!” Myne joined in at last.

–”Y-Yeah… even though it was very expensive… Couldn’t you just have gone a little bit cheaper?”

–”Well, sir hero, you know what they say. Going cheap becomes expensive, shield hero. Besides…”

She then walked closer to me, using me to support herself. Then she grabbed my arm, placing it between… b-b-between………

–”The stronger I am, the more loot we can collect from monsters, right?” She whispered into my ear.

Until this point, I had NOT realized any… of… her… features…

How much taller than me she was, how her perfume smelled like roses, how stunning her green eyes were, how charming her smile was and how big were- 

STOP!STOP!STOP! STOP!

Like the cork of a beer bottle, my ahoge shot comically upwards. And to add salt to injury, so did my face redden at that.

TH-THE AHOGE ON MY HAIR!

I wiggled myself out of her embrace, embarrassment shown clearly on my face.

–”I… I guess you are right…” I didn't dare face her way.

–”All right, shopkeeper, we'll take these!” Myne proudly announced… even though the deal was already set…

–”Very well. Thanks a ton, young hero!”

At that, we started packing the stuff we bought. It was expensive, sure, but we had a good budget.

For… For now at least…

I gotta keep what little remains.

As we did, I thought of pulling out the orange peels of the balloon monsters.

And then… quickly thought out loud.

–”Hey… you wouldn’t happen to know where I can sell these balloon skins, do you?”

–”There are shops that specialize in monster goods. They'll buy most of those things off of ya.”

–”Oh! Wow, thank you! We’ll check them out tomorrow, what do you think, Myne?”

–”Sure thing!”

With everything now packed, Myne and I turned to the exit.

–”Goodbye Sir!” Myne greeted her goodbyes and fully left the building.

I was going to as well, but of course, I greeted Erhard before leaving.

–”Thank you for everything, sir. I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for you.”

–”No worries, boy. You are welcome here any time.”

–”Right. Thanks a lot.”

–”However… do come back with that interest one day.”

–”Huh?”

–”You seem to know more than a thing or two that you let on. You could perhaps teach this old dog a few more new tricks. If you help me out, I will help you out. And who knows, perhaps one day you can open your own store. Just make sure you do it in another town, I call dibs in the capital.”

–”Ha… hehehe… S-Sure thing, boss.”

I bowed at him for… the eleventh time probably.

–”Thank you for having us.”

–”Pleasure’s all mine, Shield boy.”

And with that, I left Erhard’s shop with a toothy smile.

–“Woah…” I was now deeply staring, if not admiring, the plate that I was served with.

We had gotten to an inn that Myne seemed to know. I let her do the check-in for us as I sat at one of the tables while waiting for her so we could order our dinner once she got here. Once she was finished and handed me my room key, did we order. Myne recommended me a special offer that seemed to be appetizing and… well, you know the rest, I was now gawking at it.

My redhaired companion was giggling at my reaction.

After that did I dare to try its taste and, I was in for a ride! It was delicious.

–”I'm so glad you're enjoying your meal.” Myne suddenly said, making me stop munching.

–”Wosh, Wosh itt dat oubious?” I said with a mouthful.

–”It was… And please, finish eating first, we can talk later.”

So I did, we left planning discussion for later.

And once we finished eating, we immediately started with that.

We pulled out a map we had been given alongside the ‘war chest’ from the king. I was trying to discern the places we had been today.

–”So… this was the meadows,  this is the capital, of course, and this… is…”

–”Lafan Village, Sir Shield Hero.”

–”Ah… yes… I’m sorry, I can speak, but I can’t read your language…”

–”No worries. You’ll get to it in time. Tomorrow, after we sell all balloon skins, we’ll head to Lafan Village. And past Lafan Village, we'll find a dungeon that's perfect for rookie adventurers.”

–”Dun-Dungeon?

–”We won't make very much money there, but it's an excellent spot for you to work on leveling up.”

–”Oh.. won’t lie, it sounded dangerous but, I’ll trust in your word, Myne.”

–”Yes. Now that I have new equipment, and with you defending me, it should be a walk in the park.”

I nodded at that, however, I was… quickly processing all of this.

If it weren’t for Myne… I’d be completely lost here…

–”Sir Shield Hero?”

–”Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking a little.”

–”Is something wrong?”

Well, better off to say it. I don’t want to regret not saying anything anymore.

–”Thank you, Myne. I’ve realized how… vital you were for me today. Had I… gone on my own I… honestly, I wouldn’t know where I would be…”

She giggled at that.

–”Perhaps sleeping in the woods.”

–”Yeah… it would sound like that…”

–”By the way, Sir Hero…” I looked up at her again.

She took in the glass of wine that she had on her side of the table. We were both given a full glass.

–“...we have all this wine here, aren't you going to drink some?”

I… hadn’t drink a single drop of it.

Being honest, I never liked alcohol.

Perhaps I never got used to it, perhaps I’m a bit childish still, but I just never quite liked how strong it felt.

Don’t ask when I tried it for the first time… Please…

I would have to apologize to her.

–”Y-Yeah… sorry, I… don’t quite like drinking alcohol. I’m also not legally allowed to drink it anyway.”

–”Hmm? How so?”

–”Where I come from, we can only drink and… do certain stuff past certain ages. Drinking, driving, buying a house…”

And added one last thing to the list.

–”Marrying…” I whispered.

–”Driving?”

–”Oh, it would be like… riding a steed. In my world we need a license for that, and only those above eighteen could.”

–”So… you couldn’t drink in your world?”

–”Yeah… I’d have to be twenty years old for it.”

–”So… how do you know that you don’t like it?”

…

Damn it…

–”It’s… an embarrassing story…”

–”We have time.”

–”...Point is, I’m sorry, but I can’t drink with you.”

–”Oh, that's too bad. This is a really fantastic vintage. After the long day we've had, I'd love to share it with you.” As she said all that, she drank her whole glass in one swift motion, and then pushed her glass against my own, making them both cling.

…What’s… with this aura? It’s like… super embarrassing…

–”I’m… I’m really sorry, Myne, but I really don’t like drinking. You can have my glass if you want.”

–”Is that so? Well, too bad.” She said as she took my glass.

–”I’m… really sorry…”

–”Heh. That's a hero for you, I suppose.”

–”Hm? What’s that got to do?”

–”This kingdom is a matriarchy. No man who's from here would ever dare turn down a drink offered by a woman.”

So… it’s the complete opposite to what my world used to be. How interesting…

–”Oh… I’m sorry. I’m a bit dense and slow at this kind of stuff, so…”

–”Oh, don't worry, you'll learn. I'm glad we got to discuss our plans for tomorrow.”

–”Yeah.. really puts my mind to rest for a bit…”

And speaking of rest…

–”Hey, Myne? I think I’m going to sleep early tonight.”

–”Of course. I'll head up after I finish your wine.” She replied as I stood up and walked towards the stairs.

She was… really making me feel bad…

–”Although drinking alone gets so lonely.”

Yeouch…

Welp, here goes nothing. Honesty is the best policy after all.

–”Hey, Myne?” I called out to her.

She turned around, fully facing me.

–”I’m… I can’t describe to you how thankful I am.”

–”Oh, that? It's totally fine, I mean it.”

–”No, I’m serious. You helped me out a lot today. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know if I would even be sleeping indoors tonight… I will make sure to pay back all the kindness you’ve given me today. I promise you that.”

When I said that, she… fell silent for a moment. It seemed she was taking in what I had just said.

However, she would reply before I left.

–”There’s nothing to worry about, Sir Shield Hero.”

–”Mark my words. I’ll make things right.” I smiled confidently for once.

–”Goodnight Myne, thank you for everything.” I bowed for the last time.

–”Goodnight” She smiled back at me.

And so, I departed from the diner. I went up and looked for my room number. 

Found it. Turned the key and, open sesame, the door was opened.

And I didn’t have to turn the knob weirdly, thankfully.

I was a bit tired, but I felt that I had some stuff to do before going to sleep.

Firstly, I wanted to count the money I had.

Today I bought: My chainmail, which was 120 silver, and Myne’s stuff, 440 silver for everything. Add up the stay at the inn and the food and I had… 239 silver? We could’ve gotten the change but, 30 copper as tip seemed fair, even if Myne did look at me funny for just giving out some coins like that.

With that done, I began to undress myself. I stored my chainmail and my Future Foundation suit inside the wardrobe of the inn. I was now wearing the clothes that Erheardt gifted me.

After that, I sat on the bed, a little bored. Just thinking.

–”I… really am in another world…” I had finally registered it.

I chuckled a little. It took me the whole day to believe it, but it was true. This was a fantasy kingdom, with legends and princesses, kings and monsters, and I was brought to it.

How weird, yet exciting.

Although, I’m more hopeful at the part that, once we are finished here, we can be brought back to our worlds.

Hopefully… I get to see everyone again…

See Kirigiri-san…

And… Komaru…

And tell her… about… our parents…

…

This had gotten real sweet to real dark very fast…

I exhaled. I wonder what would be Komaru’s reaction to this? That his brother literally got Isekai’d, just like in one of her mangas.

I wonder how she would react to all this place? To the king, to Myne, the other heroes, the food?

Well, I’m sure she would love the food.

It’s Komaru who we are talking about.

But this whole place really feels like I was some tourist…

I… was in a way, a tourist from another world.

But yeah…

…

Heh, that reminds me of something…

Mom and Dad were real collectors. They always kept something hidden, just in case they weren’t allowed to bring something back or just to avoid being fully empty if they were robbed…

…

…

I’m really going to do it, am I?

Hah….

I exhaled once more, knowing what fate was going to bring me.

I stood up, and grabbed some of the silver coins from my bag.

Then, I changed my shield from the regular one to the Small Orange Shield, in order to compare one another.

The regular Small Shield was the tiniest bit bigger. But there was something I wanted to try with the Orange Shield.

Firstly, like I expected, it was much softer, so I wouldn’t have a piece of metal stabbing my arm or back or whatever part of my body my shield could strike me during my sleep.

And now, perhaps the more important one…

I grabbed a bunch of coins and piled them up together, making a small tower with it. This ‘tower’ had 7 coins, and now, I was going to pile it all under the Small Orange Shield.

I knew I could holster plenty of coins under the regular shield, but I wanted to test how… elastic this ‘plastic’ like skin could be…

So when I introduced the pile underneath the shield, I was given the surprise that, as I thought, the shield had room for the coins.

With the regular shield, I could have stored around 20 coins, all in columns of two, but with this one? Even if it is significantly smaller, I ended up storing 4 columns of 7 coins. So 28 coins. it doesn’t sound like much, it's just 8 more coins, but every penny was worth a lot right now.

And it also had a small personal piece for me. 4 columns… one for each of us. Mom, Dad, Komaru and Me. These would be my ‘lucky coins’ of some sorts.

And with that now done, I proceeded to fall back on my bed now. fully embracing it.

I ended up standing straight once more, just so I could pull the sheets off and use them to sleep, but as I did that, I heard a couple of noises coming from the walls.

–“Man, I leveled up quite a bit today.”

–”I won't let you outdo me twice!”

–”Ha, ha! We'll see about that!”

Kitamura-san and Kawasumi-san?

How cool, we were all staying at the same Inn.

I’ll make sure to greet them properly in the morning.

With that, I blew off the candle that was lit, fully covering my room in darkness, and I proceeded to head to dreamland.

Great things await me tomorrow morning!

I can’t wait for it.

I’m in… a weird place… again.

And everything felt cold…

But I noticed a couple of things.

One, I wasn’t wearing Erhard’s clothes anymore.

But my own from my world. Only my jacket was missing.

Two. Wherever… this place was, I had a full front view of… the earth? Whatever I was standing on, it was black, like a non-existent matter, yet I was standing on it all the same.

This was… no way real whatsoever.

However, I couldn’t stop staring at the earth in front of me.

Until I heard it.

–“Naegi.”

Her voice.

That was…!

I turned around to see her.

–”Kyoko-”

–”You are dead.” She said in disdain.

–”K-Kirigiri-san?”

I could now see her, she was wearing her Future Foundation uniform. She was also missing her jacket though. However, I couldn’t discern her features from this far.

I tried to reason with her.

–”Wh-Why are you-?”

–”Naegi…” Another voice from behind me spoke.

This time, I gasped in recognition. I… also knew this voice… It was… It was…

–”You are such a liar!”

N-No… I… I didn’t-

–”Remember you swore to get me out alive? What happened there?”

I quickly turned halfway to confirm my fears. Behind me was Sayaka Maizono, The Ultimate Pop Sensation.

Who I failed to protect.

–”S-Sayaka, no… I…”

–”This is all your fault.” The Ultimate Detective stated now coldly.

I turned back to her, to Kyoko…

–”Wh-What? B-B-But I, I did all I could-?!”

Huh?!

When I turned around this time, I didn’t see my detective friend alone anymore. She was accompanied by… my other classmates.

Hifumi Yamada… Celestia Ludenberg… Kiyotaka Ishimaru…

But… Th-they were all… dead… They died back in… back in…

I had this dark feeling rising from behind me as well, I turned back to see Sayaka again, and she too was no longer alone.

Chihiro Fujisaki, Mondo Owada, Sakura Ogami and Leon Kuwata…

But… They too were… Why are they…?

–”I-I’m Sorry! B-But I don’t understand why-”

–”You failed us, Naegi. And yet you were still alive?”

–”Yeah, right? You were supposed to keep us alive! We even died believing in you, but in the end, you die? At the very least you deserved it…

–”And yet… you cheat death…”

–”How selfish of you, Naegi.”

Tears begin to form in my eyes.

No… I… Didn’t want this to be this way… I… I just wanted to-

–”Naegi… It should have been you who was killed instead of us…”

No! No! But! But!

–”What are… you talking about Kyoko?! You didn’t die! I didn’t-”

When I turned to see Kyoko once more, she has in front of me, at a distance where I would’ve felt her breathing, her air, her exhale leave into my face, but she wasn’t, she seemed so stiff and… and… half her face was now purple. Pink falling out of her left eye socket, and the nerves… I could see how her nerves were coagulating all the blood in the lower half of her face…

And her eyes. She was… so cold… like… like a corpse, I could only see hatred in her irises.

–”Do I look like I’m alive, Makoto…?”

I had been shaking the whole time, but I genuinely felt like having a panic attack.

–”But I– But I… I just wanted everyone to be…”

I started feeling wet from my feet.

–”T-T-TO BE?” I looked down, and I saw a pool of blood invading my shoes.

I looked behind me, and Sayaka was holding me in a hug. However, it was the coldest embrace I’ve ever felt. And all of her blood was now covering me.

All that bloody Pink mess was… from Sayaka’s death…

She was covering me all on it. as if saying that…

Her blood… was on my hands…

–”S-Sayaka… please I-” I wanted to plead to her, I wanted to apologize to her, I wanted her to forgive me.

But when I looked at her, I couldn’t miss seeing how all my other classmates were faring up.

Leon’s features… disfigured after being stoned with baseball balls, the sport he hated so much. Sakura was standing the same way she did when she died after taking that poison, her death was… our collective fault. we made her feel like a monster, I should’ve done more for her… Mondo had completely disappeared, only his jacket remained, but underneath that revealed his fate… being turned into literal butter, it might not sound the worst, but the implications of it were… were…

And Chihiro… she… he… looked exactly how he did when I found him dead… Hanging from his hands being impaled, and completely bloodied up, the strike on his head still present…

I barely had the courage to look Kyoko's way, but when I did, the same thing happened.

Hifumi and Kiyotaka were now standing, with blood covering their heads. They both died the same way… They both were struck there… Betrayed by… by…

The incinerating Celeste. ‘Burn the witch’, ‘Let her burn’, ‘Burn, burn, burn their up’. I could hear those chantings while looking at her. But she wasn't like that! She was no witch! She was forced to do something she would have never done otherwise! Our memories were removed, the Celeste I knew would have never… never…

–”This is all your fault.” I heard everyone’s voices.

–”N-No… wait. H-He's….” I tried to plead, but I was engushed in blood.

And I saw his eye.

His… goddamn red eye…

And that laugh that would forever taunt me.

–”Upupupupu…”

But in a flash, I was… somewhere else.

I was crawling on the ground. But my eyes were looking directly at one thing.

There was… some dagger there. It looked very sharp, it’s blade was patterned with gray stripes all over it. And the hilt was of that iconic black and white. White on the left, black on the right, of course.

And I felt… so compelled to grab it.

To use it.

To… end it all.

I reached to it

–”That’s the way.” I heard Kyoko’s voice.

I handed it, and stood on my knees.

–”Yes, Yes! Join us…”

I knew what I had to do…

To amend…

To redeem myself…

–”Make things right.”

–”Do it Naegi!”

…

…

–”Sure… on my way…” I said in excitement, feeling my vision go in spirals, feeling my transformation completed.

I was now in complete despair.

And right there, I stabbed myself on the stomach. It hurt worse than when I had been stabbed in that debris, but the pain wouldn’t halt me there, no…

From there, I sliced myself from right to left, slowly opening my stomach.

–”Gr…ggaahh, ugh…”

It was slow.

It was painful.

It was… for me .

This was known as Seppuku, an act of redemption back in feudal japan.

You killed yourself. That was how you redeemed yourself.

It hurts… It hurt… so bad. 

But in the end, now, I was… I was…

My vision darkened. Blurred, slowly losing consciousness.

My… friends… My… family…

I was going to see…

I was… going to be…

–”Right back to me.”  I heard… her .

With my weakened state, the chills I felt were torturous.

That voice…

Those clothes…

That… hair…

Th-That… Smile…

–”It’s so good to see you again, Naegi… Too bad that it’d be here in hell…”

No…

I’m not… I don’t… I c-can’t…

I can’t form an answer to her. My jaw slowly quivered because of my pain.

I also felt how my energy slowly depleted from my body, along with all my blood.

–”You won’t be seeing your friends anytime soon… after all.”

She then held me to her, and whispered into my ear.

–”This is what we deserve.”

No… No.. NO, NO! NO N O NONO NONON O NO N O N  O N O NO N    O N  O   N ON N N NNO N ONO NONONO N ON O  NONONONONONONONONONO NO NONO NO NO NO NO NO

NO!

–”NOOOOOOO!”

I violently shouted as I grimaced, clutching onto the mattress

Well… it seems that even in another world, these dreams will keep haunting me.

Ever since we escaped Hope’s Peak I’ve dreamt of them constantly.

Of my classmates. The ones that lost their lives.

Every single one of them had appeared in one way or another,

From Mondo and Ishimaru.

To Celeste and Hifumi.

Chihiro and Leon.

Sakura and… Sayaka…

And even Mukuro at times.

They all had one thing in common.

She took their lives.

And even in her grave, she still finds the way to get to us… to me…

I have to bring my hand to my naked chest in order to soothe my heart. Relax it’s rapidly beating rhythm.

I don’t even know what time it is, and I’m already this startled… Great…

I probably should get dressed and get ready to…

…Hold on.

Dressed?

Naked?

I end up looking at my chest once more. I noticed that I wasn’t wearing anything at all. Looking even more down, I see that I was wearing nothing but my plain underwear.

Did… Did I undress myself before going to sleep?

But I never sleep this naked? Especially when it's this cold.

I slowly stood up from the bed and gazed at the window. I saw that it was already daylight, but it was early, still.

I lowered my gaze at the table underneath, right where I had left my bag with the silver coins.

I didn’t see them, so I hastily marched towards it, getting the full view of the empty table.

–”What?” I let out loud, not even registering it.

I turned around and headed to open my wardrobe. Surely I had misplaced it and saved it with my clothes then?

Before I could reassure myself that that was the case, I opened the wardrobe and saw… nothing

Not my chainmail, not my clothes from Erhard, not even my Future Foundation suit nor the bag that had the map or the balloon peels.

It was all… gone!

I heaved a couple of times and even felt a migraine acting up, but I had to do something!

I looked around for my door key, but it was also missing. Out of desperation did I try turning the knob of the door which, thankfully, opened. I bolted out of there, walking through the hallways.

I remember from back when Myne gave me my key that her room was the one next to mine.

I had to warn her, to make sure she was fine.

I got to her door and started knocking.

–”Myne?! Are you there?!”

I got no response.

I decided to try again.

–”Myne?!! I know it’s early, but you have to get up! I was robbed, m-my stuff is gone!”

Still nothing though. Not a soul.

–”Myne?” I didn’t even try touching the door this time. I started thinking the worst.

Was she robbed too? Did she get abducted? Did someone got to me in my sleep and now she’s missing? While I slept?

If anything happened to Myne, I don’t know what I would do.

I have to think of something… I need to get help, find Myne.

Was there some kind of police in this world? Dammit, why didn’t I ask Myne about common knowledge stuff in this world?!

With not many options, I decided to head downstairs and run outside, see if I could get some help.

And so I did, hastily running down the stairs and heading to the entrance of the inn. It was straightforward. I didn’t come across anyone and neither did I see someone that I could ask for help.

So I followed suit by going outside… even if I was naked…

Almost naked at least…

I opened the door and jolted through. The rocky street was rough, the wind was a cold and I still couldn’t see anyone. 

It must be too early…

I have to run to find some help.

Running through the streets of the city, only wearing my underwear was not an experience I was looking forward to when I came to this world, but it was what it was, right now I have to find Myne and from there we can try getting our stuff back.

I decided to try for a lucky turn on the corner to see if I could find someone.

Eureka.

I had gotten to a marketplace. Most stands were still not open, but there were a couple of people roaming around.

–”I’m sorry! I’ve been robbed! Can you help me?!” I shouted out loud, getting the attention of a lot of people.

However, when they did turn to look at me, they quickly turned away and started trotting away…

What?! Why?! What happened?!

–”H-Hey! Wait up, please! I know this looks weird, but everything I had was stolen, even my clothes, please!” I asked, no, pleaded to them, but no one seemed to slow down.

I could understand it from some women that had their children around, but most men? Why were they avoiding me like the flea?

I decided to try my luck at one of the stand owners.

I got close to their shop and proceeded to ask.

–”G-Good sir! I know I’m being a nuisance, but please! I need hel-”

–”Get away, you scum.” He replied to me with disdain.

–”Wh-What?”

And from where he stood, he pushed me away, making me fall to the ground and scratch my leg and back.

–”Do you have no shame? Walking around naked after all that?”

–”What?” I asked, almost instinctively from the ground.

–”Tch.” Was all I got from him as he decided that opening shop was not worth it today, proceeding to pack his stuff. I didn’t dare confront him again.

I got up on my feet, kneeling a little to caress the right side of my leg, I had gotten a little injured from that. It didn’t hurt, but it still felt sore and uncomfortable. After that I stood straight and ran my hand through my shoulder, where I felt a rock from the ground had hitted me. Same thing, no pain outright, but discomfort.

I was… confused. What even happened? Why was that man so aggressive with me?

I thought of heading to the next turn, to see if I could get better luck. I didn’t run though, I could feel how my energy had died down a little from that.

No! I can’t think that way, Myne is out there, somewhere, alone. I have to find her and-

–”Shield Hero!” I heard from behind.

I turned around and saw a bunch of literal knights wearing their silver shining armor. They all had swords, but were sheathed.

Hold on, knights? They must be from the king! They must be this world’s law enforcement! I can ask for help.

–”Yes! That’s me! I’m thankful you found me… You see, my partner’s missing and my stuff was–”

–”The king has issued a summoning for you, boy.”

–”H-Huh?”

–”You're to come with us.”

I blinked owlishly at that. The king wanted to see me? I wasn’t sure what that meant though.

–”Alright… but, listen! I was robbed and my partner-”

–”You won’t listen?” One of the knights barked at me.

–”What? No! I’m trying to make myself be listened, I don’t understan-”

–”I’ll make you understand.” The knight that had spoken first said, walking closer to me.

I got this sense of danger coming from him, yet I didn’t listen to it. This man was probably the captain or lead from these knights, and he represented the authorities in this world. I’m also one of the chosen heroes to fight for this world, he would surely help me out in my peril here so I could fin-

*PUNCH*

He struck his fist directly into my face, knocking me down to the ground.

I actually felt that punch. No, felt is underselling it like before. That punch hurt!

But why?! Why did-.

–”Oof. H-Hey! What is that for?!” The man grabbed my arms and rose me up, holding me in a full-nelson hold.

–”You are under arrest, boy. Does that make it clear to ya?”

What?

I was… being arrested?

B-But… why?!

–”I-”

–”Shut up.” He struck me with his elbow to the side of my head.

it DiDn'T hurT… but That actually left me stuNned…

–”Sir, don’t be too rough with him, we need to bring him to the hearing.”

–”No worries, he won’t be left any dumber than he already is…”

…huh…??

b-but i… i di-didn’t…

breathing… is… really hard… actually…

i’ll just… lay still and… let these… fine gentleman carry me… wherever we are heading.

i’ll… explain everything… when we get there…

my thoughts were… fuzzy

and i didn’t see the lights that well…

everything was… quite bright…

but there wasnt… much sun out?

I… Where am I…

–”Your majesty.”

i feel like i’m flying…

no… i am flying? quick question though.

why is the ground getting closer?

*THUD!*

–”OOF.” I felt my face meeting the ground once more.

That had actually cleared my mind a little, and I was able to see where I was.

Raising my head just a bit I could see that I was now in the throne room. Meeting face to face with the king.

The other heroes were there too, along with countless knights and nobles.

And I was…still… wearing only my underwear… great…

W-Wait… is that… 

–”Myne?” I recognize the red hair from behind Motoyasu.

She seems to have reacted to me calling her name.

–”Myne?! You are fine?! Thank goodness, I was worried you-”

I didn’t finish my sentence, because Myne had cowered behind Motoyasu after I speaked to her.

–”A-Are you alright?! Why are yo-”

–”Silence, you filth!” The King demanded that of me shut up.

–”H-Huh?!” And I… listened, as I stood upright, only to be stopped by some pointy pikes.

It was then that I noticed that I was surrounded by the knights of the kingdom. They were holding me in place, aiming the sharp of their tridents towards me to ensure I didn’t… act out.

The king then turned to my red haired… partner?

–”Myne, I'm sorry to ask, my dear, but would you mind repeating your testimony for us again?”

She seemingly gained the courage to speak. But… What was she this… scared of?

–”It-It happened last night. The Shield Hero forced his way into my room; he was stinking drunk! He grabbed me and pinned me down!”

…Huh?

Huh?!

–”He said something like, "The night is still young." And then the next thing I knew, he was tearing all my clothes off!”

HUH?!??!

That’s… that’s not 

–”Somehow, I managed to escape! I ran down the hall for help, and I found Sir Motoyasu, who happened to be staying at the same inn!” She concluded, hiding her face on Motoyasu’s shoulder.

I… But I… I didn’t do any of that!

I don’t understand! Why is Myne lying about this?

Could she be forced to do so? If so… I have to steer this in the right direction.

–”If she hadn't asked me to wait until dawn and call the knights, I would've gladly cut you down myself!” Motoyasu brought his spear up, pointing it towards me.

I need to not think much of Kitamura-san’s hurtful words.

I’ve got to explain myself calmly, that way, we’ll find our way to the truth.

And now that I think of it… Isn’t… Kitamura-san wearing… my chainmail?

There had to be an explanation for this. Nevertheless, I won’t falter!

I took a breath before I chose my words.

–”Alright…”

–”So you admit it?!” Motoyasu screamed to get an answer out of me.

I shook my head.

–”No. I’m stating my case.” I said without falling into anger or desperation. What I need is a clear mind.

My statement made some of the nobles to murmur with one another.

–”You think you have the right to say anything, you scoundrel?” One of the knights holding me down shouted.

–”We’ve heard Myne’s side of the story. It’s only fair to listen to mine as well.”

–”Hmm… very well. Speak up, Shield.”

–”Thank you.” I started.

I heaved in, and left out. Here I go.

–”Yesterday, after us four heroes went to the meadows to fight the balloons and level up, Myne brought me to the inn we stayed in. She checked in the rooms for us while I waited for her in the diner. We had our meals and discussed our plans for tomorrow, and we both were brought a glass of wine for each with our orders. Orders that Myne herself made, as I’m not accustomed with this world’s dishes. She offered me to drink, but I refused. Where I come from, I’m of minor age than the one required to drink alcohol, so I didn’t drink a single drop and offered her to have my glass in my place. After that I left early, got to my room, counted our money, undressed myself off my armor, and then headed to rest after I heard both Kawasumi-san and Kitamura-san through the walls of my room. After that I slept through the night, woke up without my clothes and with all my belongings stolen. So I headed outside to ask for help. No one did and some guy even threw me down. Then the knights found me, one of them punched me in the face and brought me here. Was I clear?”

–”Yes. Now explain to me, how can you prove that you are telling the truth?”

Oh man… this does not sound good…

{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (ALL THIS IS COSMETIC. :P) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - }

Make Your Argument!

TRUTH BULLETS

[MAKOTO’S HEIGHT}>  

King Aultcray: Adventurer Myne says that you drank like there was no morning.

And at that, You barged into her room.

    THAT Is inconceivable. Poor Myne must have been scared as you pinned her down…

My Poor Myne… What you must have gone through…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(That is what Myne said… but something doesn’t add up… Just… how could I…)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

       Poor Myne must have been scared as (you pinned her down…)

BANG!

{COUNTER}
–”No! That’s wrong!”

BREAK!!

{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (1st time doing this... X-X) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - }

–”Wrong you say?! Why you-”

–”I’m sorry, your majesty, but that simply can’t be.”

–”What do you mean, Shield?” He asked, disgust filled in his voice.

I stood up straight, but my action made all the guards surrounding me move their tridents in reaction towards me.

A drop of sweat fell on my side, but I couldn’t stop now.

–”Can you see how tall I am?”

–”Yes. I can. I’m not blind.”

–”And can you see how tall Myne is?”

–”Why of course, I’m sure I know the height of-”

He abruptly stopped. I hoped that it was because he got what I was meaning to say.

–”As you can see. I’m exactly 160 cm. tall. I’m not sure if you guys use this measurement in this world, but that’s my height.”

I then pointed at the cowering red haired woman.

–”Myne on the other hand, is taller than me. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s around 173 cm. However, you don’t need the numbers to see that yourself, do you, your majesty?”

–”...What is your point?”

–”My point is… How could I , someone shorter than Myne, pin her down to force my way onto her? Wouldn’t it be more likely for her to be able to break off my grip as she resisted? Overpower me with how much taller she is?”

–”That is…” the king didn't have an answer to my argument.

My point was valid! This is a great start.

–”With that said, I would also like to-”

A
R
G  –”That’s not the case!” Myne suddenly spoke up, behind Motoyasu.
U
E

{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING D:) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - }
✪ Myne Sophia - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Makoto Naegi ▣

                                                                                                            R
”You are one of the legendary heroes. Of course I couldn’t                   E
                                  pin you down.”                                                   B
                                                                                                            U
                                                                                                            T                                                                                  “Ehh? H-How so?!”
                                                                                                            T
“You have the strength of your legendary weapon on your on side!      A
                           I can’t fight against that!"                                          L
                        
                                                                                                                                                                                       “But my shield…
                                                                                                            S                                                                         Doesn’t work that way.”
                                                                                                            H
                                                                                                            O
                                                                                                            W
“Your shield protects you from harm, you told me that yourself!”         D
                                                                                                            O
                                                                                                            W
                                                                                                            N

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

<= =ORANGE BALLOONS= =|- -)
<= =ROYAL KNIGHT’S PUNCH= =|- -)

✪ Myne Sophia

“Back when we were fighting the balloons.”

“And they bit you down hard.”

“You didn’t even flinch!”

“That’s the power of the Legendary Shield!”

<= =ORANGE BALLOONS= =|- -)

----------
ADVANCE!
----------

Makoto Naegi ▣

“But that’s because we were fighting Orange Balloons! The weakest monster!”

“We all saw how Amaki-san and the others cut through them easily… But I couldn’t even beat enough to level up! How could I harm you like that?”

✪ Myne Sophia

“That’s… Because of your strength.”

“Not damage wise, but endurance!”

“Your shield grants you strength to become unammobile, like a wall!!”

“As the shield hero , you knew this!”

“Not even punching you hard in the face could take you down!”

<= =ROYAL KNIGHT’S PUNCH= =|- -)

Makoto Naegi ▣

{COUNTER}
-”I’LL CUT THROUGH THOSE LIES!”–

BREAK!!

{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKED THIS... T-T) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - }

–”Myne. I don’t know why you are doing this, but what you’ve just said is untrue.”

–”Wh-What?”

I pointed towards one of the knights that was on my back.

–”That knight, when I was out on the streets, he arrested me and took me down.”

–”You did?” King Aultrcray asked the knight.

–”Yes, my lord! We had to bring him here!”

–”And how did you do that?” I asked him.

He seemed to have caught on.

–”Well I… I…” He didn’t want to say it out loud.

–”Speak, we don’t have all day…” King Aultcray demanded.

–”...I struck him on his face.”

Bingo!

–”You struck him on the face?”

–”...Yes, your grace…”

This nobles murmured once more. I had to take this on full front.

–”See?! I’m not unbeatable like Myne is trying to say! I can only do half a point of damage, and I-”

–”But he needed his full team to back him up…” Another knight interrupted me.

…What?

He didn’t even state it that loud, it was like a desperate explanation.

That… They wouldn’t believe that weak excuse, right?

–”Is that so?” King Aultcray asked.

–”Y-Yeah! All eight of us went to catch him. He had been avoiding his capture, so we gave chase. We eventually cornered him and struck him good, but it took the combined efforts of all of us!” The first knight, the one I had pointed out by punching me, suddenly revitalized.

What?! That’s not what happened!

–”Y-Your majesty, they are lying!”

The king however…

–”Why didn’t you bring this up sooner?” Completely ignored me.

–”I was… waiting to be allowed to speak, your grace.”

–”How foolish of you. Critical evidence like this must be revealed as soon as possible!”

–”Y-Yes, your grace!” He dropped his trident and kneeled from his spot.

–”And you.” The king said.

I both hoped and dreaded that he was referring to me.

But he was not.

He called out to the knight that interrupted me.

–”Are we missing something else we should know?” His tone was demanding, cold. Almost threatening.

–”N-No, your grace… Not that I believe of.” The knight replied.

–”Believe…” The king lowly repeated.

He shook his head.

–”So, The Shield Hero is capable of resisting arrest from eight royal knights. Does that claim satisfy you to accept your sentence?” He finally turned to me, giving me a dreadfully wrong statement.

–”No! I’m telling you, they are lying!”

That got a reaction from everyone present.

–”What a terrible shame.”

–”I worried something bad might happen, but hoped you knew better.” Itsuki commented

–”Guess he thinks a hero can do whatever the hell he wants and get away with it.” Ren coldly stated as well. I couldn’t count on either of them.

And from there, several people joined in the talk.

–”Outrageous! Claiming the honorable knights to lie mid-trial!”
–”I knew the moment that when the Shield appeared, that he would do something nefarious!”
–”We were just fine with the three of these. The Shield was never needed!”
–”But who could know that the shield would be such a monster?”
–”Poor girl, I can’t begin to comprehend how she must be…”
–”It’s all true, I swear!”

–”Lock the shield hero!”
–”Damn you, Shield Hero!”
–”The Shield Hero is the worst!”

A lot of the crowd was joining in, and I could even hear the voices of many of the king’s close personnel. Ren, Itsuki, Motoyasu and even Myne were speaking their thoughts out loud as well.

But I can’t fail now. I can’t allow myself to massively panic in this debate… not now…

…

…And honestly…

If the knights decided to lie in this trial…

I have no choice but to even the playfield….

{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  - (OHHH SHIIIT, HERE WE GO AGAIN (•᷄- •᷅ ;) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - }

Mass Panic Debate.

TRUTH BULLETS

[STRIPPED POSSESSIONS}>
[SHIELD}>
[EVADING TOWNSFOLK}>
[MOTOYASU AND ITSUKI}>
[ROOM KEY}>

Start!

                    –”The Shield Hero is the worst!”          | –”This sure is…                       |–”Who do you think you          
                                                                              | one big tragedy… “                 | are??!! You go on, say
                    –”Had I known this is what the shield  |                                               | all that random shit of
                    was like, I would have never ordered  |–”Unlike him, we promise to     | this chick being the
                    you to be summoned"                        | fulfill our duty!”                       | worst in your world, and
                                                                              |                                                | you, after all that, you
                    –”The Shield Hero ran out to the         | –”At the very least, he was       | come out and do this?!
                    streets, knowing he would be             | caught in the act. Myne           | Do you have no honor?
                    arrested! We were thankful that          | was lucky that you and            | No shame?! Is anything
                    some townsfolk warned us of his       | Motoyasu were there.”              | you've said true in the
                    whereabouts.”                                    |                                                 |      slightest?!”
                                                                              | –”I can't think of what would    |
                    ”We gave chase to him, with guts       | have happened had we not       |–”S-Sir Motoyasu,
                    and valor! All for his majesty!"            | been there…”                           | please…”
                                                                              |                                                 |
                    –”We should just lock him up for        | –”Thank you, Bow Hero...”         |–”You are not the
                                          good!”                          |                                                 | protagonist of this world!!
                                                                              |                                                 | This is not your
                                                                              |                                                 | consequence free
                                                                              |                                                 | playground! You took the
                                                                              |                                                 | chance to force yourself
                                                                              |                                                 | on her once you were
                                                                              |                                                 | on your own. Too bad I
                                                                              |                                                 | was around!, I would cut
                                                                              |                                                 | you to pieces right here
                                                                              |                                                 | and now,, but I'll let the
                                                                              |                                                 | king decide your fate.”
                                                                              |                                                 |

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(Nothing they are saying is out of place… if this goes on, they will condemn me for something that I'm not! I have to find the truth, even if… I do something risky…)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[MOTOYASU AND ITSUKI}>    

“…You took the chance to force yourself on her once { you were on your own .}

BANG!

{PERJURY…}
–”I’LL REVEAL THE TRUTH! NO MATTER WHAT!!!!”–

BREAK!!

{ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (This one was a pain to make (X_X)¬) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - }

–”Kitamura-san, could you repeat that?”

–”Heh, what? That I’d cut you down to pieces?”

–”No… before that.”

–”...You are not… the protagonist of this world?”

–”...After… that. That I forced myself on Myne as soon as I knew that I was alone with her.”

–”Yeah… Yeah! I said that! And you did, you fiend!” He shouted again, coming back from his momentary stupor.

–”Well, that cannot be… As I could never be on my own.”

That seemed to confuse the crowd, Motoyasu included.

–”Wh-What?”

–“In fact, I always knew that I wouldn’t be alone.”

–”Explain yourself.” The king frowned and asked in demand.

I’ll have to tread carefully with my wording. Here I go, all in. I’ll have to take a page from your book… Celeste-san…

I closed my eyes… breathe In… and…

Out. I opened my eyes.

–“....I didn’t initially see it as a factor to take into consideration, however, one of the proofs to my alleged assault against Myne was that I was confident that I could take advantage of her without repercussions, just as Kitamura-san explained. Right, Kitamura-san?”

–”I do not like your tone. Where are you heading with this?” The blonde spear user said, rather suspicious of me.

–”The truth, Kitamura-san. I am not a… a… I did not commit that crime!”

I turned back to his majesty.

–”When I was waiting for Myne to make our reservations at the inn for us to stay, I sat on one of the tables. Do you remember?”

–”...I do… I fail to see how that comes into play.” The king replied.

Here goes nothing. Or rather, everything…

–”During my downtime… I managed to spot Kitamura-san in the pub.”

–”Whaat?!!!” The spear hero shouted in surprise.

This is very risky… but If I can show evidence that I was knowledgeable of the presence of the other heroes that were present in the inn, they would be forced to rule my supposed intentions towards Myne as too reckless to even commit. Not to mention the previous discrepancies that I’ve revealed already.

The knights lied and gave the king a potential work around for me to physically outpower Myne, so I’ll have to shoot down the idea of me trying anything logically . That's all I can do now.

–”I saw the Spear Hero before the supposed act of crime.”

–”But… we weren’t even there yet! What time was it?”

–”I… don’t know. I can’t read the time in this world, can you?”

–”I… uh… Well I… Of course I can… It’s just that-”

–”Spear Hero.” The king turned to him.

–”Yes, king?”

–”Can you or can you not read the time?”

–”No… your highness… I’m afraid I can’t...”

That works in my favor!

–”But! My teammates sure can! What time was it?!” He barked at me.

–”Again, I’m afraid I can’t tell you. Myne, could you enlighten us?” I turned to the red hair in question.

This… is even more riskier. But I’m confident about this. Myne is now forced to give a timeline, even if I can’t exactly tell myself, she can only do one of two things.

One, she tells the truth, saying the correct time that we sat, ate, and discussed our plans before I headed to bed. From there, the timeline she presented will naturally not match. If I went to bed first and then to her room, there would be a significant gap of time unaccounted for, and someone would have surely seen us moving around the inn at such a late hour. Inns are busy places, especially at night, with staff and even other guests still awake roaming around either working or heading to sleep. Additionally, if I did leave my room after supposedly going to bed, why did no one spot me wandering the halls? or hear any noises, especially considering how I supposedly barged into her room. Her story just wouldn’t fit. Moreover, if I truly committed such an act, it would have been reckless to assume no one would notice. The inn was filled with other guests, including the other heroes and their companions. It’s highly unlikely that I could have snuck around without being seen, not to mention heard , I could hear Motoyasu and Ituski just TALKING through the walls. Would no one hear Myne’s supposed screams of anguish as… I… forced…myself…? …In-in any case, this discrepancy alone casts doubt on her version of events, further proving my innocence.

Or two, she lies, saying we ate much earlier or much later. At first glance, this might seem like the best option for her to support her accusations, but the moment she deviates from the truth, her entire story will begin to unravel. 

Say we ate too early and I couldn’t have gotten to bed, meaning that I would’ve stayed to drink and interact with other people, but no one would see me do so? With how many guests inns commonly have, and even the other heroes and their companions staying, it would be ridiculous to say that I was around for that long, and no one saw me, and if I stayed in my room for too long… then wouldn’t the effect of alcohol just wear down? Furthermore, showing her lies. 

But, if she says that we ate too late, it would compress the timeline of events significantly. This rushed time of events would require me to act quickly and recklessly, moving from the dining area to her room and committing the alleged act. I was supposedly drunk, so I technically could be this reckless, even if it's unlike me. But being that reckless drunk and still going unnoticed by the guests? That’s just impossible, not if I rushed things out like this timeline would suggest. Yes, there would be less possible witnesses, but it would also be quieter, calmer… A drunk rushing in and out of there would just be too hard to slip past unnoticed.

So, state the time Myne… I’ve played my cards. Now play yours.

As I waited for the red-hair’s response, Myne took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing onto me as she prepared to speak.

–”It's fascinating how you weave these stories, Shield Hero, but let me remind everyone that this isn't a simple game of who can craft the better tale. We are dealing with serious accusations here, and your attempt to confuse us with timelines won't change the truth.”

The crowd murmured, and the King leaned forward, intrigued but wary.

She’s… not talking…

–"Then please, enlighten us with the truth, Myne. What time did we eat and discuss our plans?" I reinstated her to present her evidence.

Myne smirked, her confidence returning as she addressed the room.

–”Shield Hero… you seem to forget that you are the one under scrutiny here. You claimed to have seen Kitamura-san at the pub, yet you conveniently can't recall the exact time. How convenient for you, considering you can't read the time in this world.”

She turned to the King and the other heroes, her voice steady and assured.

–”Your Majesty, esteemed heroes, let's not get bogged down by these minor details. The fact remains that I was violated, and I have been nothing but truthful. Makoto's attempt to distract us with irrelevant points should be seen for what it is: a desperate bid to escape justice.”

The king… nodded?! at her response?!

–”Indeed. Shield Hero, your inability to provide a precise timeline weakens your argument..."

She’s… she’s not answering!

She’s avoiding the question! How can she do that, and weaponize it against me?! 

That’s… That’s not fair!

I can’t believe this! Myne was shifting the focus away from the timeline to hurt my credibility.

I can’t stay idle. I can’t… let her stain my name!

–”But if we don’t consider the timing, we miss a crucial part of understanding what happened!”

At that, I fell once more, as Myne seized the opportunity to drive her point home.

–”Or perhaps… you’re just trying to muddy the waters to hide your guilt. I went to Motoyasu right after you committed the crime. He can attest to my state and the immediate aftermath.”

Motoyasu nodded vigorously, eager to support Myne's claims.

–”That’s right! Myne came to me immediately, and I saw how distressed she was!”

I couldn’t lie, I was beginning to hyperventilate. I need to remain calm...

I try to reason with them again.

–"This isn't about confusing anyone. It's about finding the truth. The correct event of the orders!”

And Myne would settle it right here and now.

“And the truth is, you are the Shield Hero, desperate to avoid the consequences of your actions. Let's not be distracted by his attempts to twist the narrative.”

This is bad… very bad…

I have… to find a way around this!

There’s only one thing remaining for me to talk about!

–”So. You went immediately to Kitamura-san after the… crime, is that correct?”

–”Yeah, for the eleventh time.” The Spear Hero answered in spite and anger.

–”I’ve been meaning to ask you this, Kitamura-san but, where did you get that armor from?”

–”Oh, this? Myne gave this armor to me as a special gift when I met her at the pub yesterday. After you had your way with her you dirty bas-”

–”That’s my chainmail.” I interrupted him as soon as he said what I wanted him to reveal.

…Myne gave it to him?

A dark feeling clenched on my chest.

–”Huh? You are still on about your whole being robbed thing?”

–”I’m literally naked, Kitamura-san.”

–”Well… why of course. You took it all off to have fun with Myne, didn’t you? And the guards caught you off guard in your room.”

–”No, that’s wrong! We’ve already addressed this! I first went OUT to the streets, with nothing but… well, this!” Stating my underwear…

–”The knights didn’t catch me off guard, preventing me from being dressed, I got everything taken away from me in my sleep. Which is quite telling.”

–”Telling? What the hell do you mean?”

I shook my head, I’m making this cut, dry and clear.

–”Firstly. Do you state truthfully that you got that chainmail from Myne?”

–”Yes.” He frowned.

–”Then I want to ask something. To you, your party members and the other heroes as well.” I said as I turned to have a general view of everyone.

–”I was wearing that exact armor. It was a bit too big for me, and it looks a little tight for you, doesn’t it, Motoyasu?”

–”That’s… there can be plenty more like this around. It’s not like it’s a unique item, don’t you think, Itsuki?” The spear user tried to get backup from the bowman.

–”I…” The bow hero’s eyes twiddled between his Spear and my Shield. Itsuki had been… too quiet for a while now.

–”No comments.”

Great…

–”I do have something to say.” Ren however, spoke up.

–”Yeah, Ren. Tell this guy what’s all about!”

He turned towards Motoyasu.

–”It’s not like I’m defending him, and it is true that there can be multiple chainmails like that ”

–”Well, yeah, duh, what are you-”

–”Problem is… that there aren’t .”

–”Huh?”

–”Makoto.” The Sword Hero turned towards me.

–”Yes!”

–”Where’s your chainmail?” Ren asked.

–"Stolen! Along with all my belongings. My suit, my money, my bounty from the balloons, all gone!" I replied, trying to keep my voice steady despite the stress.

I pointed towards Motoyasu. 

–"I’m certain that’s my chestpiece."

–”I hear. And Motoyasu, you said Myne gave this one to you.”

–”Of course.” The Spear Wielder confirmed, but his confidence seemed shaky.

–"It’s quite convenient that there’s only one of those oresent right now. Itsuki seems afraid to admit it, but Makoto WAS wearing an armor piece just like yours yesterday."

There were some low murmurs, but Ren remained focused.

–”And what? I don’t remember him wearing it.” Motoyasu tried to downplay it.

–"But I do. So does Itsuki," Ren insisted, turning his cold gaze towards the Bow Hero. 

–"I saw Makoto in that armor piece, and I know Itsuki did as well."

Itsuki, clearly uncomfortable, shifted under Ren’s scrutiny. He hesitated before speaking. 

–"I… I do remember seeing Makoto wearing it. But… I didn’t think it was so significant."

–"Significant?" Ren pressed. "It’s crucial. If that chestpiece was indeed Makoto’s, it means that the supposed crime was impossible to have occurred in the way Myne said, given the timeline and physical evidence."

–"Huh?" Motoyasu and the King both echoed in confusion.

Even… even I was surprised too…

My heart raced. Could Ren really be supporting me? A flicker of hope was flourishing in me, even amid all this overwhelming tension.

–”Explain yourself!” Motoyasu demanded.

–"The order of events and the evidence don't add up. If Makoto was indeed wearing that chestpiece yesterday, which he did, then he couldn’t have committed the crime as described. The fact that Motoyasu is now wearing it only proves that it was taken from Makoto after the alleged incident."

…He was…

He was making sense!

–”Especially considering that, even after all this time, Myne has not once addressed this gift to you, Motoyasu.” Ren answered, as cutthroat as ever

He then raised his sword towards the blonde’s new companion.

–"Would you like to explain yourself, Myne?" Ren's steely gaze remained unyielding, his eyes locked onto Myne with an intensity that seemed to pierce through her defenses.

This was… this was the best possible outcome! And all because of the same chainmail that Myne bought for me. Yet, even as hope flickered within me, confusion and doubt swirled. Why is Myne saying all these things? Why is this happening?

But now, with Ren’s support, maybe I can-

–"I… I… I never wanted any of this! I’m sorry," Myne suddenly cried out, her voice trembling. My eyes widened in shock.

Was she… was she going to confe-

–"But I’m going to speak the truth… the whole truth," she continued, her tone shifting to one of venomous resolve. Her eyes, which moments ago seemed filled with remorse, now blazed with hatred as she glared daggers at me. The change was so swift, so jarring, it left me reeling.

–"Myne?" Motoyasu asked, his voice tinged with incredulity.

A terrible feeling began to settle in my gut, a cold dread that made my heart pound faster. No… this was not going to go the way I had hoped.

–"I didn’t want to mention it, because it was wrong on my part, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be taken seriously if I did…" Myne’s voice had dropped to a lower, more somber tone as she began her tale. Each word felt like a nail being driven into my coffin.

What?

–"But after the… Shield Hero had his way with me… I was filled with… anger, resentment. I wanted to have revenge in some way…" Her voice wavered, but the poison in her words was unmistakable.

What?!

–"So after he fell asleep, I entered his room, stole his belongings, and made sure he would feel the same way I felt. I stripped his items, his rewards, his crafting materials… I stripped his clothes away too." she continued, her voice now dripping with venom.

–"It was… it was you? All along?" I managed to whisper, disbelief coloring my words.

Myne’s glare only intensified, her hatred palpable. 

–"It was only fair! You took my dignity away, so I took yours too."

Ren, who had been staring at Myne throughout her tirade, finally turned back to me. His expression was unreadable, his voice cold. 

–"Do you have anything to say?" He asked, his words falling like a death sentence.

WHAT?!! But… I didn’t do anything!! He sounded as he was no longer doubting Myne…

–"But I haven’t done anything!!!" I protested, my voice rising in desperation. I turned to Myne, pleading.

 –"I haven’t done ANYTHING to you, Myne!"

–"Liar! You fucking raped me, you fucking asshole!" Myne screamed, her voice echoing off the chamber walls.

Did… I… I couldn’t… But… Could I? Did I…

The confusion and panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I had to keep my composure, I had to stay focused.

–"None of that is true! I didn’t face all eight knights at once! I didn’t drink a single drop of wine! AND I DIDN’T FORCE MYSELF ON YOU!" I shouted, my voice breaking under the strain.

–"You are a monster! A villain! A devil!" Myne’s voice was shrill, filled with pure, unadulterated rage.

The courtroom was silent except for her accusations and my frantic denials. The tension was thick, suffocating, as everyone saw how this confrontation unfolded.

I was growing desperate. I knew I had to stay composed, to be reasonable and state my case clearly for everyone to believe me… 

But everything was piling against me! The pressure I was feeling was… immense.

–"Myne, your words may sway some, but the truth cannot be twisted!” I said firmly.

 I then turned to the King, addressing him directly. 

–"Your Majesty, let us consider the facts and the timeline of events."

The King looked at me skeptically, but I digressed.

–"Myne claims I assaulted her after we returned to the inn. But consider this: if we had finished our meal earlier, I would have had ample time to be seen by others in the common area. Yet no one can place me there during the time in question. On the other hand, if we dined much later, the events would have to be rushed, leaving little time for such an incident to occur without anyone noticing!"

I had to pause to breathe. I was speaking so quickly I could barely keep up with myself..

–"And let's not forget! If I had truly committed such a heinous act, why would I return to the inn, knowing full well I would be discovered? I can be drunk, sure, but that just removes the filter of one, if I was that way and I acted that way, would I really just go to sleep back to my bed?! All cozy and dandy? It makes no sense whatsoever!"

I was not getting any replies. I wasn’t getting any reactions. I looked around, but no one was doing anything!

–“I am not the protagonist of this world, nor do I want to be. But neither am I the villain Myne wants you all to believe! I've been set up! And if you truly seek justice, and you truly want the truth, you'll see through all of these lies!”

–”QUIET!” King Aultcray… exploded in anger.

…What?

–”I’ve had ENOUGH of your goose chase, circling around this trial, making a mockery of this sacred throne. I’ve had enough of you, Shield.”

…..wh-what…?”

What… am I doing… I can’t stay shut now!

–”Your Majesty, I’m trying-”

–”ENOUGH!” The king shot me down again.

I had started to tremble, or at least, I started feeling it now.

–"Justice?" The King sneered. 

–"You speak of justice, yet you stand accused of the vilest of crimes. Your words are nothing but a desperate attempt to escape your fate of the dirty scum that you are."

His eyes were filled with pure hatred, disdain, disgust, resentment… His eyes told a much bigger story than what I could have ever expected, imagined, or even warned about.

–"To think that the Cardinal Shield Hero, who was summoned to protect this nation and uphold its honor, could be accused of committing such a grave sin, one that undermines the very essence of justice and morality in our land. It's not just infuriating; it's a profound betrayal that shakes the foundation of everything we stand for."

-”S-Sin…?”

The advisor finally broke his eternal silence.

–”In Melromarc, even attempted sexual assault on a woman is punishable by death!”

The king threw his hands at me, giving me a very well known and familiar gesture.

–”If you weren't a hero, you'd be executed at once!”

……..what……..?

“Exe…cuted?”

I couldn’t help but to hear a certain bear’s laugh behind me.

Even in… another world…

I can’t… escape from it…?

To avoid being… executed?

Killed?

Framed?!

Betrayed?!!

No… I…

I can’t…

–”Please… your majesty… This is… this is all wrong, I…” My knees felt weak, I could barely defend my case anymore.

And, as a twisted cut from fate, I was interrupted once more as a small group of knights walked in the main door.

One of them directed himself directly in front of the king, kneeling to him.

He… started to announce.

–”Your grace. When we performed a search of the Shield Hero's room, we, um…” The knight wasn’t able to finish his sentence at first.

But he eventually did…

–”We found this, sir… Strewn across his bed.” The guard said as he pulled, um… Myne’s alleged nightgown. She gasped when the guard showed it. 

–“Nooo!!!!” She hid herself into Motoyasu’s arms.

–“You animal!” The blonde barked at me furiously.

–”The proof seems rather undeniable now. Do you have something else to say, Hero of the Shield?” The king ‘allowed’ me to speak once more, but it absolutely felt that his sentence was already made clear.

But that didn’t mean that I would give up.

As I saw the newfound evidence… something surged within me.

Something I hadn’t felt this way in… a very long time.

Anger.

–”That’s… that’s your EVIDENCE?!!”

I jolted upwards, but I didn’t get anywhere as the knights that were still surrounding me kept me mostly immobilized with their tridents.

“Some ripped clothes that I’ve never seen before? That is UNDENIABLE PROOF TO YOU?!” I shouted at the top of my lungs, the highest I had done so in a long while.

This seemed to starstruck not just the king, but Myne the other heroes as well for a short lived moment.

“I can’t begin to fathom WHY this is even being considered at all in the first place!” I repeated, frustration noticeable in my voice.

Motoyasu decided to taunt me. “What? Because you’ve ‘never seen it before?’. Come on, Makoto, you can’t continue ly-”

I interrupted him, nothing he said was useful in any way. “Myne has already admitted to entering my room during the night! What stops her from leaving some tattered clothes behind before she left?”

Then I turned to the guard with said piece of evidence. “If you want real evidence, let me show you around! Find real conclusive evidence. Strands of my hair in her room, since that’s where the crime scene allegedly happened… Witnesses, how come no one saw or even heard us? The walls aren’t that thick! And how come Myne can claim this without stating a specific time?! How fair is that?! Or even-!”

–“SILENCE!!!!” The king roared once more, shutting me too once more.

Any ‘courage’ I builded up to speak this high, was immediately thwarted by his screaming.

–”I worried something bad might happen, but hoped you knew better.”

–”Guess he thinks a hero can do whatever the hell he wants”

Bow and Sword hero jabbed at me, but I could barely care at this point.

Just… why?

Why is this happening?

I lowered my head to the ground.

–”Why won’t you listen to me…?” I murmured, almost giving up.

Why?!

Why are you lying like this… Myne?!

Weren’t we a team? Weren’t we friends?

I slowly raised my head, trying to gaze at the redhead in question that was behind Motoyasu.

For a moment, just for a moment, I saw Myne keeping her lips curled into a soft, mocking… smile…? But then, after a quick glance toward the king, she let the mask slip. Her smile twisted into something cruel, and her eyes gleamed with malice.

Slowly, deliberately, Myne raised her hand, extending her index finger toward her eye. She pulled down her lower eyelid slightly, sticking out her tongue in a mocking gesture. The fake anguish and torment vanished entirely, replaced by a look of sheer contempt, satisfaction even.

The gesture was fleeting, a mere second, but it was enough for me… enough to send a cold wave of realization, crashing all over me 

The truth was undeniable now, and it cut deeper than any weapon could. This had all been a ploy to her. A cruel, twisted plan in which I was nothing more than a pawn. A falling guy.

"Why…?" The word barely escaped my lips, My voice was so faint I don’t think anyone even listened, not that they would even care…. 

I felt my strength leaving, any fight left draining from my body as the weight of the betrayal became too much to bear.

Myne, now satisfied that her message had been received, let her expression return to one of feigned hurt. She stepped closer to Motoyasu, placing a delicate hand on his arm as if seeking comfort.

I started to pant excessively, my mind racing a thousand thoughts, trying to… to process this! 

Was everything she said, every moment we had. Was all of that just been a lie?! 

And even now, not only using and backstabbing me, but twisting the knife she used as well to frame me as a damn rapist , just to show me how much of a fool I am?!!.

I felt tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced them back desperately, the last thing I wanted was to break down in front of the court. In front of… of them .

But deep down, I… didn’t think I had a chance…

For once, I don’t think I can have any hope out of this.

–”I… I…” My clenching hand ceased all strength, I no longer had the fight in me.

–”Just finish with this for once… Make it all stop…” My voice slowly died on my throat…

–”Hmm… You truly are pathetic.” Were the cold words from the king.

–”I knew it! It was a mistake to summon all four together at once.” One of the nobles screamed from atop.

–”Exactly. They shouldn't have summoned the Shield Hero at all.” And of course, more joined in.

–”But who could've known he'd be such scum?”

–”And what did you expect?! It’s the Shield Demon afterall.”

Shield…?

They still… They still insult me because of the shield?

Do they think that I chose this? That I wanted to be brought here instead of eternal rest?!

Why??!! And I’m supposed to protect these people? To help them?!

Just… why… Why should I raise a finger to help them if they are like this…?

I don’t want to be here anymore. I just want their voices, the trial, their stares, all of them to stop.

I raised my head, not with much energy, but enough to catch the attention of everyone and silence the crowd.

–”...What will you do with me? Will you kill me…? Execute me…? Send me back to my world to die again…?”

The king sat once more.

–”No. Like I said, we won’t execute you, we still need you to fight the waves, even if I despise it. And even if I wanted to, neither can I send you back to your world.”

That seemed to get the attention of the heroes…

But I…

I don’t care.

The king seemed to be answering one of the other heroes’ questions.

–”...legend says that no new heroes may be summoned until all four of the original Cardinal Heroes meet their end.”

–”What'd he say?”

–”That's… insane…”

–”...” 

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t feel like it. 

So I can’t return home… even if It were to just bleed out again…

That’d be better than all of this, being honest.

–”But there is only one way you may return home: Fight off all the incoming Waves.”

–”But, sir!” Motoyasu spoke up.

–”Does that mean we'll have to fight alongside a criminal like him?” He said while pointing at me.

‘Criminal…’

I felt something bubble inside me, something along those words resonated with me.

‘Criminal…’

–”(...) the moment (...) the Shield appeared, (...) he would do something nefarious!”
–”The Shield was never needed!”
–”But who could know that the shield would be such a monster?”
–”Lock the shield hero!”
–”Damn you, Shield Hero!”
–”The Shield Hero is the worst!”
–”Had I known this is what the shield was like, I would have never ordered you to have been summoned!”

‘Their voices…. They keep… Yelling at me…’

And it was getting stronger and stronger.

–”And what did you expect?! It’s the Shield Demon afterall.”
–”But who could've known he'd be such scum?”
–”They shouldn't have summoned the Shield Hero at all.”
–”Does that mean we'll have to fight alongside a criminal like him?”
…alongside a criminal like him.
…a criminal like him.
criminal like him.
Criminal
Like him
Him…

‘... ME??!! ’

‘A… Criminal??!!’

‘A… Demon??!!’

–"You are a monster! A villain!” Myne's words resonated in my mind.

‘A Monster…??’

‘A… A VILLAIN?!’

–”A DEVIL”

De…vil?

One like…

Like…

Her .

That diabolical grin of hers was drawn to my mind.

And I just could not contain it.

–”CRIMINAL!!??!?!” I spat at Motoyasu, blowing up as I did. My voice was hoarse now, almost breaking by the sudden yelling. 

Resentment, frustration, anger, hatred, what you named it, whatever. I could no longer hold back after those words, after everything they said. I forcibly stood up, trying to remove the guards that were keeping me restrained.

This had gotten everyone’s eyes on me once more. The guards got in close to hold me down again.

But my screams were only getting louder and louder.

–”No! I am NOT such a thing! I am NOT a criminal. I’m NOT a monster!! I did NOT rape her and I will NOT let any of you taint me of something that I’m NOT!!!”

I tried to wiggle off of the ones that were keeping me captive, but the guards increased their strength, trying to still keep me down, all their arms directed towards me, holding me tightly ever more.

–”S-Shut your trap, you scum!”

–”Restrain him! He’s gone mad!”

–”The Shield Demon has done it now, if only we–”

–”The shield again? How much more will you haunt me for it?!” I barked, but no one seemed to care.

I didn’t want it in the first place! Why should I be treated this way?! Why did I have to go through all of this?!

And as the more force the guards used to restrain me, the more aggressive I was becoming.

–”Pin him down, that way, we can–”
–”Don’t move!”
–”Continue this insubordination and I will have yo–”

All guards yelled to try to control me.

It only backfired.

–”HANDS OFF ME!!!” I said as I felt something within me surge, a feeling I have never in my life felt before.

[UNLOCKED]

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Weapon Skills: Possessors of the Legendary Weapons have different unique abilities linked to their varia–

[Small Orange Shield Skill: Rejection: Produces a shockwave that pushes aw–

[Skill Activation: Rejection!!]

–”NOW!!” I screamed as loud as I could.

In reaction, I felt how an orange hue colored me, and a large gust of wind, or force, erupted from my body, knocking all the guards that were holding me. I was now freed from their grasps.

All of the guards fell to the ground, now disarmed as the tridents also fell away from their reach. I stood there panting for a couple moments, scanning the whole room. All eyes were on me, and I saw how many more knights were prepared to unsheath their weapons to charge at me if I attacked, or were given the order.

At that, I thought that continuing to fight through all of them was pointless, as I lowered my shoulders and fell back to an idle stance.

–”So… What of me?” I only asked what I cared about.

My eyes were directed to the king, and solely to the king. What everyone or anyone else did, thought or said was no longer of my concern.

–”Will you imprison me until the waves come?” I asked bluntly, cutting through the noise with a voice steadier than I felt.

The king looked down at me, a mixture of disdain and something resembling satisfaction in his gaze.

–”There is no more time before the next Wave, so I won't be imprisoning you. Scum or not, you're still a hero, and one of the only beings left who can fight them all off.” He paused, perhaps expecting a reaction. I gave him none.

I simply narrowed my eyes, allowing him to continue. 

–”But news of your crime is already spreading among the people. That is your punishment. You should never expect to be allowed to lead a decent life in this country.” His voice dripped with self-righteousness.

It made me want to vomit.

I stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in, but I refused to let him see how deeply they cut. Without a word, I turned away, my steps heavy as I moved toward the door. I wanted nothing more than to leave this wretched place behind.

But something made me stop. A lingering bitterness, a need to show just how deeply they’d hurt me. I reached beneath my orange shield, pulling out the last of my silver coins, the twenty eight in total. My hand closed around them, feeling their cold, hard edges biting into my palm.

–”You wanted vengeance, ‘revenge’, Myne?” I said, my voice carrying across the room as I turned back toward them. Towards her.

I turned around to meet her gaze once more. That fake face she had was still on display, still pretending to cower next to her ’Sir Motoyasu’.

–”Have it all.” I threw my closed hand open and I bid farewell to all my remaining savings. Basically everything that I had.

They fell short, but with the quantity I had, they had managed to make a resounding echo, an unmistakably noise that everyone recognised. One of the coins actually rolled up to Motoyasu’s foot. 

This had actually gotten a gasp out of both her and Motoyasu.

–”I don’t want anything from the likes of you. This was what you were after, was it not?” I said with venom.

–”Be proud. You've succeeded where even the most twisted person I've ever known failed." For a brief moment, Her face pictured itself in my mind, her mocking smile, her voice dripping with derision as she pushed me to the brink of despair, even after death, both hers and mine. It all annoyed me further beyond.

Yet, not even she could break me, but they? The crowd? The heroes? The king? Myne? They all accomplished it.

I could feel the isolation closing in around me, the whispers that trailed in my wake, the way the air seemed to grow colder as I walked. But I didn’t look back. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

I was done here.

However, they weren't, apparently.

–”Hey! Wait one second!” Motoyasu said as he ran towards me, grabbing me by my arm, preventing my leave.

Surprisingly enough, I barely felt his touch, if anything at all, but I was still held in place.

I didn’t care to answer him immediately. I stood idle to see his next move.

And when he realized that I wouldn’t ‘escape’, or even reply, the Spear Hero continued.

–”Explain yourself! What was all of that about?!”

…

…

–”Does it matter?”

–”Huh?”

I slowly turned my head towards Motoyasu.

–”Not once did you believe in me. Not when I shared my story. Not when I told you all what I went through. Not now.”

I narrowed my eyes with the slightest tint of irritation that I had remaining in my core.

–”If I did explain myself, would you even care to try to believe in me?”

I couldn’t see them, but I could feel how I stared at Motoyasu with dead fish eyes just now. Whatever words he had, seemed to have died on his throat.

–”...” Further shown by his agape silence.

–”As I thought…” I said before starting my march again.

I didn’t even remove my arm from Motoyasu’s grasp, I just continued walking and he eventually let go.

I don’t know what went through his mind at that moment.

Hell, I don’t know what went through everyone’s minds.

The one thing that I knew.

I do not care.

What they think of me. How they perceived me. Whether they were against me.

It doesn’t matter.

As I walked and got to the gates of the castle, Once I was out and I turned to see it from the outside, finally being able to exit this hellhole, could I ever feel that…

–“…”

…That…

…

…Honestly…

I felt nothing. 

No respite. No gratification. No relax. No glad that it was all over. No calm after the storm.

The only thing I felt was how a part of me was lost inside that castle.

Was it lost innocence? Were the cold facts of betrayal? That I had been stripped of all possessions and money? Or the knowledge that I was now marked as a rapist for probably the entire kingdom by now?

Maybe it was all of them.

But in truth.

I no longer cared.

Because in the end…

I turned my back on the royal castle, hopefully to never set a foot in there ever again.

–“It doesn’t matter.”

After leaving the castle, I wandered aimlessly through the town, my mind still numb from the chaos that had just unfolded. The whispers, the pointed fingers, the glares, none of it mattered anymore. I was no longer just Makoto Naegi, and neither was I the honorable Shield Hero. I was just a criminal, a villain in the eyes of everyone around me.

The town was alive with the usual bustle, but it all felt distant, like I was walking through a dream. People went about their business, but whenever they saw me, they recoiled as if I carried some disease. Some muttered under their breath, others outright spat on the ground in my direction. It was clear that the king’s words had already taken root.

I had no destination in mind, no plan, no purpose. I just wanted to be anywhere but here, anywhere but in this town that now despised me. My stomach growled, but I had no appetite. The coins I had thrown at Myne and Motoyasu were gone, and with them, any chance of buying food or shelter. Not that I had much left to begin with.

As I continued walking, my thoughts spiraled. What was I supposed to do now? How was I supposed to survive? I had nothing. No money, no allies, no way of fighting off the Waves on my own. Even the other Heroes saw me as nothing more than a monster.

Eventually, my feet carried me to the edge of town, where the buildings thinned out and the noise of the market faded into the background. I found myself in a small, dimly lit alleyway, where a few shops lined the narrow street. Most were closed, but one caught my eye.

A blacksmith's forge,

I recognised where I was. And I had no business here.

However, as fate would have it, once I turned around I was now face to face with him .

–”Shield Boy.” He spoke with narrowed eyes, his tone unkind and unwelcoming towards me.

Erhard… the sympathetic blacksmith I met yesterday.

By the looks of it, he too has heard of the rumors. Of my sentence.

–”So I heard what you did to that girl you were with…” He walked closer towards me, and I made no attempt to stop him, nor to get away.

He grabbed me by my shoulder and pushed me hard against the wall behind me.

–”I oughta punch you in the face!”

–”...” I put no resistance.

I just…

Didn’t care.

I didn’t like having one of the few kind faces that crossed my path be hostile towards me.

But even if I tried explaining, would it even matter.

Would Erhard even bother to listen to me? Or would he dismiss me just like everyone had just earlier?

At that, I just lowered my head, and braced for the hit to come.

…

…

…

But it never did.

I felt how Erhard’s grasp from my shoulder was lifted, and how now I was no longer being pressed against the wall.

I looked up to him once more, and his expression had… changed. His anger, his sense of retribution to defend ‘that girl's honor’ vanished. Only a look of…

A look of genuine worry.

…

I decided to break the ice.

And, I didn’t know why I did this… But I just spoke up some words.

Words that… I would have never seen myself saying.

–”What’s the matter… Weren’t you ‘ought to punch my face’.” I spat back, antagonizing him even.

Why was I doing this? This man towers me at least… I don’t know, five feet? Never cared to learn the measurements. I won't win anything other than a beating by antagonizing him.

And yet.

–”What the hell happened to you?” Were his only words.

He seemingly asked with genuine confusion, shock even.

For a moment, I thought that I could tell him everything that’s happened. What they’ve done to me.

But it was a short lived moment.

‘I can’t trust him. For as much as I know, he could too put something on me too. No one would believe in the Shield Rapist anyway…’

I better get out of here.

So I tried just that, as I was freed from the blacksmith’s power, I started to walk again, no real destination in mind just yet.

However, the older man would stop me with just his voice.

–”Wait up a moment.”

I don’t know why I obeyed him. He’s nothing to me and in his eyes I’m just another criminal. What could possibly compel me to listen to a word he said?

And yet, I did just that.

I turned my head just enough to gaze at the blacksmith, but I would not turn back.

–”Come on in my store, you won't make it very far dressed with only your underwear...”

I narrowed my eyes at him, my suspicion being evident to see.

–”…”

–”...What I presume its your underwear, at least…” He added up last second.

…seriously?

–”Take a guess.” I only replied with.

The blacksmith however sighed, and walked ahead of me, undoubtedly heading towards his blacksmith shop. I considered just running, getting our of there as soon as I could. I did not want this man to accuse me of theft, breaking and entering or whatever laws they may have in this forsaken kingdom, I don’t care. I just want to be out of here. Yet I followed him, at least I did until the entrance, where I still scanned him thoroughly.

He had opened the door and was holding it open for me to go through.

–”Come on, get in.”

–”I’m not staying alone with you, inside your house.” My message was clear.

The blacksmith left out an irritated breath, yet he didn’t curse nor berate me.

–”Then don't leave. I’ll be right back.” He said as he went inside his shop on his own.

There, I stood once more on my own, outside Erhard’s shop. A couple of possibilities started to run through my mind. Erhard never coming back. Erhard never coming back and some guards being brought in, taking me for disturbing the peace of the city, or town, whatever. Erhard coming back with a sword in hand, with which he uses to slice me. Erhard coming back with an axe in hand, with which he uses to gut me. Erhard coming back with–

You get the point. 

So I started considering if staying here any longer was really worth the risk. I have no ties to this town, I wish to leave it as soon as I can, but I cannot afford any long travels just now. I cannot buy food, medicine, or a bed, who knows if there are tolls at the entrance of each town. I cannot risk traveling unprepared. So sadly, I’ll be stuck in this shitty town for now. 

But just as enough of my patience was running out, and just as I thought that enough was enough, I turned around, gave my first step.

At least until I heard him talk behind me.

–”Leaving without saying goodbye is pretty rude, kid.”

I turned and faced Erhard once more. I’m not exactly in the mood to answer his comment respectfully, so I choose to not say a word. After all, silence IS an option, isn’t it?

It was then that I noticed that Erhard had indeed come back with something in hand, but it wasn’t any of the weapons I mentioned, in fact it wasn’t a weapon at all.

He had some clothes on his right hand. I couldn’t quite tell from here but, it seemed fairly clean if anything.

–”Have this.” He extended the hand with the clothes to me.

I instinctively took a step back as I analyzed the clothes I was presented with. I have no clue about fashion, nor design, nor the eye to tell if these clothes were anything special or not, or if they were cheap or expensive. I know nothing of this world, not even the most common knowledge or norms.

–”I don’t have anything.”

–”Consider this a parting gift then.”

I eyed him suspiciously at that.

–”Why? Why are you even doing this?”

That got another tired exhale from the blacksmith.

–”Kid, there’s a difference between being cautious and a nuisance. Take the clothes or not, I don’t need them.”

At that, I made my choice.

I snatched the clothes from his hand, half because I knew it was the better choice to make rather than let myself get cold in the night. The other half just wanted to shut him up.

–”How much?”

–”They are quite common clothes. 5 Copper Coins should suffice.”

–”Hmm…” Was my only reply.

And then, I planned to take my leave.

–”Don’t you want to go in and change clothes?” Erhard said while pointing at his house.

–”I’m changing in the woods. I won’t be accused of breaking in while there.” I continued my departure, leaving behind a very perplexed blacksmith.

–”Don’t die, boy.” He said thinking I wouldn’t hear him.

But in fact, I did.

But, as you guessed it.

I do not care.

–”Hah!”
–”Hyah!”
–”Rrraaah!”

*CHOMP*

–”NGH! AAARGH!”

*WHAM*

*POP*

[+1 EXP]

I started to pant even harder. I had decided that I could try to vent my frustrations a little.

[ALERT]

[Exp. Has Been Maxed : You are now Level 2!! ]

Makoto Naegi     Lv.2                                                                                                                             ⧗ Melromarc
H———————————
M————————————————
S ————————————————  

                                                  STATUS                           

                                                                                                                                                           Max HP                       98
                                                                                                                                                           Max MP                       26
                                                                                                                                                           Max SP                        28
                                                                                                                                                          Shield Hero      ●●●       0

                                          Makoto Naegi                    ⛉                        Lv. 2      
                                        ◆——————————◆      ———————————      ◆——————————◆

                                                  ♂  Age 18                 Exp                      0/28    

                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆                 
                                        👤 Status                             Ō Attributes                        ⚔ Equipment
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        🗡Physical Damage   0.6      🕯 Fire   0    ⚡︎ Lightning 0     ⛊ Small Shield
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ⊙ Magic Damage      10       🌢Water 0   ☀︎ Light 0         👕 Ragged Clothes & Cloak
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ⛨ Physical Defense  40       ❆Ice    0    ☾ Dark 0
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ◉ Magic Defense     30        ༄ Wind  0   ᨒ Ground 0
                                        ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆      ◆——————————◆
                                        ᯓ Agility                   8                 ☘ Luck

As I had said to Erhard, I got out of the town, reached the first wildlife that I could spot and I’ve been wandering aimlessly ever since. The day had darkened, the moon showed up and I was now resting after battling the whole day, evening and night.

I don’t even know what time it is, only that it's very dark already. It took me this entire time just to level up to Level 2. And my attack value was still a joke as I only raised it up by 0.1 point of damage.

My fists clenched, only to immediately feel the gust of the wind pass through my skin.

Thankfully, I was now fully clothed, thanks to Erhard’s “charity” of his.

Having clothes was now a thing I could do again. The clothes that Erhard gave me truly weren’t anything special, but they’ve been working out for the most part.

At that, I raise my hand towards me, only to find it still hidden inside the sleeve.

The one problem these clothes had was that they were too big for me.

The longer sleeves made fights uncomfortable, my pants would fall off If I did too sudden moves, and the cloak… The green cloak that I wore was definitely the biggest offender for me, as I kept stepping on it every couple of steps.

These clothes were clearly not meant for me, and I even have to question if they were Erhard’s to begin with, I do not see him wearing this cloak, and the clothes look small for his ample body.

But that’s besides the point.

During my stay in the woods, I decided to just try my luck and fight any monsters I could. Thankfully, as I didn’t have to worry about being too late for shops to close, inns to get full or even just a place to go, time was the one thing I had.

But I know I don’t have enough to spare. I have no clue when or where the next Wave will begin. I don’t even know what the Waves are exactly, but I have to make sure to be prepared for them.

I decided to sit on the grass and start looking through the multiple screens I had been neglecting for the past hours.

–”Let’s see… what did I miss?”

[UNLOCKED]

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Weapon Skills: Possessors of the Legendary Weapons have different unique abilities linked to their variations. The possibilities are endless, make sure to get as many as you can! ]

[Small Orange Shield Skill: Rejection: Produces a shockwave that pushes away foes. ]

–”Huh… So that’s what I did back then?” I asked as I thought back of when I pushed the guards off of me.

I looked back at my shield, I was equipping the Small Shield right now, so I decided to change shields and bring the Small Orange Shield instead to gaze at.

–”How come this shield… activated that skill without me knowing how to?”

And also, why didn’t I learn of this sooner back then with… with her .

Ugh, my head hurts now.

[UNLOCKED]

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Small Shield Skill: Hunker Down: While crouching, you can activate this skill to gain a stackable boost to your defense. Double its effectiveness while using this in tandem with any cover! ]

I raised my eyebrows as the new alert popped up.

Crouching?

Hmm, I think I can probably use this one day.

But it doesn't matter. It seems that as I level up, more skills I will be learning or be able to access. Yet another reason to continue to level up as fast as I can.

It took me the whole night, but maybe I can rest now so tomorrow I–

–”GRRRRRRRHHHH!!!” I heard some grumbles nearby.

I looked up and saw how I was slowly being surrounded by more Orange Balloons.

I sighed, this was something I was kind of expecting with the idea of sleeping in the woods. But it was free, so it’s the only thing I have.

I stood up, switching up my shield during so.

And I also annoyingly step over my cloak once more.

–”Ugh, I swear, I’ll either trim this down or just cut a hole in the middle so I can use this thing as a poncho…”

However, that would be a fashion question for later, assuming I can even hold a knife to cut this thing with.

But right now, I had around seven Orange Balloons that were quite excited to meet the one that’s been fighting their kin for the whole night.

And I cannot stop just now… I have to work hard… So…

–”Come at me!” I screamed at them, as I charged to battle once more.

It was now day again. The soothing sunlight fell upon my face.

And I did not get a wink of sleep.

–”Turns out that, despite the math telling me otherwise, attacking some monsters with very low damage, even though I had objectively improved my overall damage by 20 %, defeating these balloons did not feel 20 % faster in any way shape or form. I probably was, but what's the difference between 40 and 38 punches when I had to repeat the process 6 more times? Gee, I'm really glad I didn't have to punch 14 more times after I punched around… over 200 punches at the very least, not that I cared to count though.”

–”“Progress is progress” you could say… but is it?”

…

I'm going on a tangent, and probably insane as I spoke out loud to the last remaining Balloon that was gnawing my side, albeit it with much less enthusiasm than back when it started munching me…

–”Whatever…” I finished my TedxTalk.

I proceeded to grab the Balloon, holding it in my hands now as I prepared for the ‘killing blow’. I took a long breath and then dropped the balloon to let it fall to the ground, but just before it could touch the dirt to be freed to nature once again, did I swing my leg to kick the balloon the hardest I could, as if it was a football… ball… during a world cup finale.

*POP* The balloon blew up, with no parting gift nor flying colors.

[+1 EXP]

…

…

–”This was lamer than I even thought.”

After I finished my little circus, I decided that enough was enough and that I should probably go endure yet another torture session in public, heading back to the town.

Hopefully, I could sell all the materials I had gotten from these balloons and get enough for something to bite at the very least.

So with that, I trekked back to town, a full show of glee and excitement evidently absent from my features. I just know I was not going to enjoy this.

As I got back, the residents had clearly recognised me every time I crossed paths with someone, thankfully, I was decently clothed this time forward.

I should probably address what I ended up doing with them. I have nothing sharp to cut things with, so, I decided to completely ditch the idea of using the cloak as intended, instead, I had it wrapped around my waist, as if it were some damn towel. Thankfully that solved the issue of my pants falling. With the cloak tied, my pants underneath played along, staying in place and behaving properly. As for the sleeves, I thought of ripping them, but I decided against it, if winter ever comes, I'd rather have more fabric covering my skin from the cold environment than not. But as soon as I'm in need of bandages, yeah, they are gone for good.

I was walking through an unknown part of the market to me. I was trying to find the shop that bought these materials that Erhard had told me of the other night. If I sold all these fabric-like orange skin, maybe I could eat or buy something that could help me, like a bag.

I ended up coming across someone that was carrying an orange balloon peel himself, so I decided to stalk the man for a short minute, perhaps, he could lead me to where this shop was.

And after turning the corner… case and point, I had finally found it.

I looked around and, it didn’t seem to be a very visited area. Understandably so, since there aren't many shops around.

As I waited for my turn, I could glance the transaction that the two men were having.

–”How much can you give me for this?” The man handed him two orange peels exactly.

–”I can give you one copper for both.”

–”Yeah, sure. You got yourself a deal.”

Hmm…

It seems to be as simple as it sounds.

A basic trade. These coins probably work like bills do from my world.

If so, then who is the one that represents and distributes them? The kingdom? Does that mean that there are different currencies in different kingdoms? That sounds like a hassle already.

Once the man got his money, he turned around, and got a full glimpse of my face.

–”Agh! Ugh…” The man I stalked and waited behind left growling, disgust clear in his face.

I had the small temptation to tell him off, but it was too late.

Then again, would it even matter if I did?

Now that it was my turn, I stepped ahead, up to the metaphorical cashier.

I placed my bounty and savings on the makeshift counter. I only had seven orange peels.

–”How much for these?” I cut to the chase.

The overweight vendor ‘examined’ them without much interest, immediately blurting a response.

–” I can give you one copper for all of those.”

–”...But you told the other guy that a pair was worth one copper.”

The man faked a surprised face.

–”Did I…? Hmm… I don't know… but if I did, then you know. The Waves… Inflation… Things get cheaper… you know… But in the end.”

A disgusting smug appeared on his face.

–”I set the price.”

–”...” My fists hardened, clenching to the point that my knuckles could turn white.

The vendor shrugged next thing.

–”You must understand, I do have a business to run, but if you don't like my prices, you can try better luck somewhere else. That’s just how this works.”

–”Sure thing…” I took my stuff and turned around, ready to leave.

But the vendor wouldn’t stop there, would he?

–”Hm! Yeah, that's right! Leave this humble store alone, Shield Rapist!”

Now that got me angry, yet I decided to continue walking. How rotten can the people in this world be?

I would have clenched my fists had it not been for these orange peels I was now carrying. I really needed a bag or something I could store these things in.

But I don’t have any money to buy one, and one copper would surely not be enough for it, that much I can guess.

I ended up looking through the entire town, but as it would seem, no other place wanted to buy me these peels. Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t due to the fact that I was the famous criminal in town they knew of, or at least it wasn’t the main reason most of the time. Orange peels don't have much demand, despite what I’ve heard of being a fairly cheap material to use to fabricate stuff with, such as bags, cloths, leather armor… I even saw a vendor that sold balls made out of them.

He was the last person I had come across with.

–”Yeah… I can give you 3 copper for each pair, but I can’t afford to buy much of these.” The ballmaker explained.

–”Deal, keep the spare one. I don’t have any use for it anyway.”

And at that, my very first few earnings were made.

–”A pleasure doing business with you.” The ballmaker said, an actual satisfied grin on his face.

–”...”

I decided to not reply to him and just take my leave. 

At the very least, he didn’t wish for my immediate hanging. Let’s see how long that lasts for…

After that, I immediately went in search of a diner, somewhere I could buy something to eat. I quickly managed to find one, so I decided to head in as if the place was mine.

Immediately after I entered could I feel the stares of most clients, if not the personnel as well. But I went on to the counter, waiting to be served by a waiter or the bartender.

Speaking of which, the bartender arrived.

–”Good day, how can I–” His eyes flickered with recognition.

Great…

–”Oh…” He left out.

–”Can you serve me or not?” I asked, I haven’t even sat down just yet.

–”N-No, I guess I can… what do you want?” He asked, his tone lowering and changing to a more hostile one by the word.

–”How much is your cheapest dish?”

–”...Five copper.”

Damn…

–”Thank you. I apologize for wasting your time.”

And as quickly as I entered, as quickly did I leave.

I just could not afford it just yet, guess I’ll stay hungry for today too.

Eating was not an option, and an Inn is definitely out of the question. I can either continue exploring the town or head back to the forest to maybe get more orange peels, perhaps sell more to the ballmaker.

Or… at worst, eat my pride and be willingly scammed by that other merchant.

In any case, I knew what was the best for now.

Perhaps exploring the shops can be a good idea later. What looked like a greenhouse apothecary could be a good option to scout to maybe buy medicine from. So was the thought of finding a leatherworker, one that could sell me a bag to store my items in. Maybe pay Erhard a visit and get some actual armor… once I can cost it.

I look down to my only coins. Three copper. That's all I have.

‘I still need to pay him back...’

I tightened my fist with my scarce budget. I decided to store the three coins below my shield once more.

I've decided to leave town yet again, and maybe, just maybe, I could get some sleep this time.

I walked, I fought, I explored, I slept. I would have never thought that I would be sleeping out in the woods on my own, at first the mere thought of it was scary to me before all of this. But now… I had to do it, and at this point, who cared if I lost myself or lost my life? I was alone in this world, no one would miss me, and I already was dead to everyone I cared about.

However, I refuse to give up just yet. I’ll get home, even if I die, during this whole saving the world bullshit or after it ends, whether I return to my bleeding form or not.

Enough brooding, now I was exploring the inner deeps of the forest that I was in last time. 

I started to notice something though. The grass in the ground was different. Different as in greener.

And the plants, they really did flourish here. I never was an expert related to greenhouses or farming or… any of that, all I know is what I remember of Bandai’s archive from Future Foundation, but that’s about it.

I decided to grab a leaf I had seen, recognising it as the same type the greenhouse apothecary was growing, and for some reason, the Shield was alluring me to let it consume it too, just like it did with the Orange peels back then.

Once more, I compelled the thoughts in my mind and I allowed it to have its way with the leaf, devouring it deliciously.

I did feel something, but nothing really happened. I felt it urging me to have another go, so, to lo and behold, the shield had repeats.

It was with this second leaf that I did see something. Something that literally popped up.

[UNLOCKED]

[New Shield Unlocked : Leaf Shield. ]

[Description : A shield made out of leaves and grass. Sturdy for a leaf, not so much for a shield. However, it’s got a great affinity with nature. ]

[ +2 ABS ]

I frowned.

–”Great… affinity with nature? ABS?”

[UNLOCKED]

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Leaf Shield Skill: Botology: Collecting grass and other natural materials while this shield's skill is active will enhance the quality of the materials! ]

–”Well… that definitely doesn’t sound busted as he–”

[UNLOCKED]

[Weapon Mastery Skills!!]

[HELP]

[Weapon Expertise]

[ Using one type of weapon to the point of full dominance, they will grant you the ability to keep the skills of said weapon even after its changed to equip another. As an added benefit, the higher the mastery, the stronger the skills become! ]

…

What?

I felt that I was being fed too much information to take in all of a sudden. I’ll have and will process this thoroughly later.

Right now, I just want to try one thing.

I opened the tab of the shield selection I had been glimpsed with just now, and I get a broader view of how many shields there actually are. This was the first time I was seeing this screen, and with everything I was just showed with, it already felt overwhelming enough.

Also, I only had three shields. Everything I’ve done and worked for now feels insignificant compared to this unsurmountable mountain I had to compare with.

But no matter, There’s nothing I can do other than to continue forth. 

At least until I could no more.

I concentrate, as I pictured the name of the shield in my mind, just the same I did with the Small Orange Shield.

–”Leaf Shield!” I said, as if I was calling for it.

Next thing I knew, I could feel a white shine from before me, a brightening light from my arm. There, my Small Shield used to be on my arm, and now, I saw a brand new shield laid on it.

The Leaf Shield was in fact made out of leaves and grass, somehow keeping together its form, which was leaf shaped. Thematically accurate, how cute…

What I was more interested in was its skill. So, promptly after equipping it, I knelt and grabbed a random herb that sticked out. Once I ripped it apart from the ground, a small green shine covered it for just a moment.

Hmm? Was that it?

I honestly wasn't that convinced, but I figured I'd take it.

After that however, I thought back to the words of the shield.

–”It said natural materials, I wonder if that applies only to leaves or plants?”

I looked around, and found a pebble. I figured that I wouldn’t lose anything by trying.

So, I reached for the pebble and…

Once I grabbed it, nothing happened.

–”Welp, guess I won't come by any rock forged by the pits of tartarus anytime soon…”

However, while nothing happened with the pebble, something did happen because of it.

I felt how the Shield… craved for it.

I'm beginning to be amazed,  this thing has a larger appetite than of Komaru's… that's no easy feat.

With not much care, I placed the pebble on the gem of the shield, which yes, it still was present on the Leaf Shield. The Shield, much like a bottomless stomach, ingested it and…

[UNLOCKED]

[New Shield Unlocked: Pebble Shield. ]

[Description: A pebble turned into a shield, although it looks more like a shield turned into a pebble. It’s durable enough, but it’s not anything amazing. Do remember though, Men stumble over pebbles, never over mountains. ]

[ +1 DEF ]

…Huh… guess the legacy of the pebble lives on…

Hmm…

…

Wait, that’s it?

Usually around now I would be interrupted and a skill warning would appear telling me it’s unlocked…

…

...

Wow, it really seems that way.

I ended up very curious about this shield, so I decided to call upon it.

–“Pebble Shield!” Never would I have ever thought I would be saying those words.

The shield shined and the the form morphed, once I could glance over it’s changed size, did I realize something.

The alert had been literal.

This shield was… tiny!

It was the pebble I had just grabbed! Only with a gem in the middle! Gem that was shrunken down mind you!

‘What the hell?! How am I even supposed to use this thing as a shield?!!’

Perhaps I can… throw it?

…from my arm? How do I even toss it?

I tried grabbing it… and I was actually successful, the pebble had gotten unstuck from my arm and was now laying on my hand.

I frowned a little confused, but I decided to just try throwing it hard to see what it could do.

I threw it against a tree, which it hit and…

…

…

It bounced off the tree… just like any pebble would.

Once my Pebble Shield fell to the ground, it shined with brightness and dematerialized, vanishing completely. 

Now that was surprising.

I looked around, trying to find it, then my eyes fell back to my arm and, there it was, it had returned to its place.

This is… worthless.

Weird, if anything.

And worthless.

Not every carbon needs to be a diamond in the rough, but right now, i'm in dire need of emeralds, gold, silver, copper even.

Or something edible at the very least.

Without glory and perhaps a little shame, the Pebble Shield was unequipped, forever destined to stay in the darkness.

In its place, the Leaf Shield reappeared, with its regular size as I previously knew.

As I said, I need money, and right now, the only thing I could think to do was to collect some herbs and negotiate with the apothecarian if they are willing to buy me these herbs… even if they are already growing some. I’ll make sure to pick anything that comes to my eye, perhaps I can find rarer herbs.

I can't waste any time

I stood outside the apothecary.

I had finished collecting herbs and, I was debating myself if all of this was worth it or not.

I look down my arms,  where the giant flock of herbs, leaves, grass, honestly, anything that was a plant that I could grab until it all started to crumble.

Walking back here like this was a pain, as you can imagine.

I was now staring at the door, unsure if it was worth bothering myself to be doing all of this or not.

*GRRUMMMM*

And that was the call I was waiting for. I'm hungry, famished even, the longest i've been without food was probably the whole time I was incarcerated by Future Foundation. 

…or when I was thrown to the trash shuttle after my… ‘execution’. I'm still not sure myself how long I was there, thank goodness Kirigiri-san found me, even if I wasn't there for a long time.

…

Kirigiri-san…

How…?

How would you…?

I shook myself. I can’t stand idle now.

With new resolve, I went through the door, using my shoulder to push it open.

Once I was inside the shop I immediately felt that change in the scenery. It had become late, but not so much, the orange light still lighting the ground. Inside here however, everything felt darker in comparison. Perhaps the owner liked this setting more, or perhaps there was another reason, lack of budget to increase the lighting maybe, or just lack of maintenance.

This environment had gotten my attention. Even more so as I saw all the shelves around, some were empty, others barely filled. However, I’m not exactly sure what each row is meant to be. I presume medicine, but for as long as I know, it could be holy water and I wouldn’t tell.

But that’s not important, so I resumed my walk to the counter.

The owner of the shop, a grown man with gray hair, silently greeted me. Just making eye contact with him puts me on edge, preparing should he lash out on me.

However, other than a judgemental look, he doesn’t say anything about me.

–”How may I help you?” Instead, he asks me that professionally.

I’m glad this is the case, seeing that, at the very least, there were a few people that were willing to put their differences aside.

But I can’t lower my guard just yet.

I placed the whole bush made out of herbs I was carrying on the counter, my arms finally allowed to use their motor functions.

–”Are you willing to buy me these?”

The man eyed the herbs for a moment. Then to me, and back to the herbs.

–”Let’s see…” The man started inspecting everything.

In short, when I said that I’d grab everything, I meant it. I was schooled by the apothecary what each grass, herb and leaf I grabbed were for. I had collected a bunch of grass, which were pretty much useless. Some leaves I got could be used as a decent coal replacer, should I need something to burn with. I wondered why he was explaining me this to me but it made sense after just a couple words. Some of the grass around here has high concentration of water still in them, so burning a fire with those was, not impossible, but a hassle, he recommended me to avoid those and keep an eye for the leaves instead.

I looked over my shoulder and I noticed some remnants of nature still imbued on my clothes. Most likely he has guessed that I was staying in the forest.

However, it was this last part that I was most interested in.

–”It is surprising. Where did you find these?” He asked.

–”Around there. Not that deep in the forest.”

–”Interesting…”

I had gathered a good bunch of medicinal herbs, which can be used for make medicines with. The apothecary explained that he was growing a bunch of them himself, but that they never sufficed, so he would buy any I brought to him. What was more interesting though was that he was surprised by the herbs I collected. He explained that most herbs near us are decent to use for medicine, yet the ones I brought seemed purer somehow, as if they hadn’t lost any vitality after being stripped away from their connection to nature. I guessed this had something to do with the Leaf Shield.

–”For all this…” The man placed his price on his table.

*Cling* *Clank* 

I could see the coins, I counted around thirty copper coins and I saw a single silver one.

135 Copper…

–”This much?” I asked the apothecary.

–”They are of very good quality. If you find more of these, do not sell them somewhere else, come to me and I’ll give you a just price for them.”

I nodded a little at that, however, there was something that lingered in my mind.

–”Do you happen to have a bag?”

The apothecary raised an eyebrow.

–”What for?”

–”I carried all this with my hands, if I can get something I can store these herbs in, I can probably bring more, if not in less time.”

The man brought a thumb to his chin, as in thought. I decided to add something else though.

–”I’m not asking you to buy me one or give one to me for free. I was curious if you had one around so I could buy it.”

–“Yes, I understand. No worries.” At that, he knelt for a moment, reaching something beneath him.

Then, he pulled up something to the table, I was actually quite surprised.

–”I have this ” In hand, he had a decently big pouch.

–”How much?” I immediately asked.

At that, the owner told me his price.

–”Free. Under one condition.”

I narrowed my eyes on him.

–”Speak.”

–”Did you do it?”

My fists immediately clenched, as my eyes flared with anger.

However, I didn’t wish to blow up in front of the only man that I had been able to do business with, but neither did I want to be treated like this, the walking sin everyone gawked and whispered about.

I decided to not take the pouch, turning around to head towards the exit.

–”Kid.” The man said, stopping me while still giving his back.

I turned my head just enough.

–”You are forgetting your money and your pouch.”

I was malding, I swore I could just scream to his face all obscenities that came to my mind.

However, the man remained calm, not even annoyed nor antagonizing me still.

–”Take these before you do something you might regret. You worked hard today.”

–”...What do you know…?” I said bitterly.

He then left out something I hadn’t quite expected.

–”Someone taught me long ago… That the eyes are the windows of the soul.” He explained like it was the most obvious.

That brought me to a full stop, all anger, all fury, all aggressiveness or desire to run vanished as I turned to the apothecary once more.

–”May one day you find justice, Shield Hero.” He said, even with a courteous nod.

–”…”

…

…

I took my money, the pouch and left.

And I still had not answered the man.

Even though I was starving.

I lost all appetite.

‘You won’t fool me again…’

Tonight, I will sleep in the forest. That much I had decided, but I still had one thing to do in this town. I didn’t feel like wasting money staying in an Inn just yet, and neither did I feel comfortable or safe enough to do so. Ergo, the wild was my choice. However, I wanted to come by quickly to some place.

I found the blacksmith I had grown used to, and I decided to pay up a quick visit to Erhard.

Erhard’s shop was always left open, a fact that puzzled me at first. It was likely not his real home, which explained his lack of concern for thieves. With him absent just now, probably off gathering materials, I planned to leave the money on the counter and slip away.

I wanted this to be quick, but neither do I want to lose more time waiting for him. I’m not even sure what I would say to him should I see him.

So, leaving the money on the counter and leaving was what I was going to do.

So, just as I was pulling out the five copper coins I had made just now from the apothecary, did his words come back to my mind that very moment.

–”The eyes are the windows of the soul.”

–”What the hell happened to you?” Erhard’s voice with genuine confusion echoed within me…

…

…

‘Fucking… Damn it.’

‘If Togami-san were to see me now, he would berate me for sure…’

I walked out, leaving behind the single silver coin I had on the counter, and with it, a small piece of the hope I’d been clinging to.

During the night, I didn’t sleep. After that rushed decision I had made, I decided that I was going to compensate by working hard. That meant filling the entire pouch AND my arms with the medicinal herb I now knew was worth bringing more of.

The apothecary was quite surprised, and so I was with his payment. I had managed to break even from my ‘investment’ to Erhard.

35 copper from last night, plus 2 silver and 20 copper for this morning and I have a grand total of 255 copper. Definitely much better than the meager three copper coins I had started with. Sadly, I don’t think I can solely depend on the apothecary, as he himself will eventually tire his budget.

Thanks to the pouch, I no longer had to decide whether I should sacrifice certain items for space, so…

–”R-RRRRR… RAH-”

*POP*

[+1 EXP]

I decided to collect orange peels again.

Last time I gathered herbs with just my hands, I had to avoid all fights with any monster I would encounter, leading to missed opportunities to sell their materials, even if I was going to get scammed. Now, I no longer had to choose between either as long as my hands were available, so I took the time and now, I have exactly 24 Orange Balloon peels. Theoretically speaking, if I sell it to that merchant with my associated price, I could only get 3 copper from him. However, if he piously decides to give me the usual price considering the amounts I was going to bring him, meaning his business would stay afloat, then I can accept selling them to him. Otherwise, I'll ask the ballmaker if he needs any.

So, once more, I ended up in his shop.

–”Oh… hello there…” The overweight vendor ’greeted’ me with, as much enthusiasm as I expected.

I decided to cut to the chase, bringing from my pouch the twenty four pieces of peels I could sell him.

–”How much for these?” I dryly asked.

The merchant eyed the Balloon skins, then to me, and said with the most smug voice he could muster.

–”1 Copper.”

WHAT?!

–”...You said that seven was worth one coin for me.”

–”Oh…that, yeah, I don’t do that anymore. one copper for all of those.” He had the most irritating face right now.

His smirk taunting me. I wanted to punch his face with all the strength I could muster.

–”...No deal. Either sell me the right prices or I’m leaving.”

–”Hmm… the right prices? Kid, I set the right prices. The right prices for me! I gotta think about my business’ well-being first and foremost…”

I could hear my teeth grinding against one another.

–”And you know, if you think it’s that easy to have low prices, open up a shop of your own. Don’t bother me with your filth, rapist.”

*THUD*

I struck his counter, my fist was seeking blood as its knuckles turned white.

–”I’ll make you regret that.” I seethed from my teeth as I walked away.

The man had actually gotten spooked, but once he saw I was getting away, his bravado recovered like nothing happened.

–”Oh, yeah?! Then never come back!! You are hereby banned from this shop!!!”

Banned? Tssk, as if I cared. It didn’t matter. I was fed enough with his bullshit.

Did he think that I wouldn't fight back? That I couldn't? That I'd let any yellow-bellied freak have its way with me, just because of how I was deemed by this forsaken kingdom?

You are wrong then.

I won't be a pushover. Not anymore.

I decided not to leave, instead, I sat down, directly across from his shop.

The man stood still, gazing at me for a moment.

–”I told you that you were banned! Leave!”

–”No. You do not own the street. Don’t worry though, I’m not planning on laying a hand on that sorry excuse of a shop you have.”

–”Wh-Why you…. Hm!” And like some child, he had a tantrum before acting like he was ignoring me. At that, he promptly fell back into his shop, disappearing from the public.

Such manchildren exist in this world too?

…

In truth, I don’t know… what compelled me to do this, staying in this one spot.

…

Well, I did know. But I wasn't even sure it would work.

I untied my cloak and I laid it on the ground. After that, I sat there comfortably, knowing that I would be there for a while.

Eventually, many people saw me. Some were annoyed by my mere presence, some of them spit on the ground just by seeing me. However, eventually, someone stopped in front of me.

–”Hey… What are you doing here?” A regular person asked me.

And there, it all began.

–”I’m buying anything you have to sell.”

–“Huff…” The manchild of the shop owner puffed his stomach.

–“That was a well deserved lunch break…”

He had gone inside his shop for a while to eat his meal. At that, the moments prior to it replayed in his mind.

–“That rotten shield… it almost left me with no appetite…”

–“Almost… Heh.” He chuckled thinking back to his delicious appetizer.

–“I can't wait for today's dinner…” He clasped his hands together as he headed back to the curtains of his shop.

Once he did, he noticed something weird. There was a bunch of people outside his tent.

Initially he thought that people were making a line during his break, almost exciting him as that meant more customers, and with that, more materials, meaning more easy money.

But, as soon as that thought came it disappeared, as all of these people were facing elsewhere, giving their backs to him.

Oddly enough… they were looking across his shop…

Curiosity got the better of him, promoting him to attempt heading there first front to see what was going on.

The overweight merchant attempted vaulting over the counter of his shop, causing him to lose his balance and stumbling on the floor, falling on his butt. After he staggered on the ground for long enough did he stand up and walk to the front of small multitude of people. 

As if crossing through a jungle with longfalling leaves, the merchant went through everyone’s sides, this caused several responses from them.

–”H-Hey, look out!”

–"Don't cut the line, fatso!”

–”Wait for your damn turn!”

The overweight man however didn't halt his advance, causing even more people to complain about his antics and annoying them furthermore.

–”Move! I wanna see!” Were the merchants final words before he passed the last person blocking his sight.

And once he did, he stopped in place.

And he saw…

–”You!” he shouted, pointing a shaking finger.

Me.

I looked up, meeting his glare with a calm expression, uninterested in his antics.

–”Do you mind? We are in the middle of a conversation here.” I said, my voice steady, laced with just a hint of irritation.

The merchant's eyes darted between me and the man I was speaking business with, his face reddening with each passing second.

–”What are you doing?! What are you planning?!” He asked, or rather demanded, his pitch rising furthermore.

I simply decided to ignore him.

–”How about ten copper for all of this?” I offered my client for his orange balloon peels.

–”Th-that much?” He asked with slight surprise.

–”Don't ignore meeeee!” The merchant screeched, his voice breaking, desperate for attention.

The merchant's face flushed red as he saw the exchange take place right in front of him. I didn't spare him a glance as I handed the agreed ten copper to my client, who seemed satisfied with the deal.

–”Next?” I asked the public for the next one to come.

However, before the woman that was at the front of the line could move, the merchant passed her and got to my face.

–“You're cutting into my business!" The merchant spat accusatory lily, his voice quivering with rage.

I owlishly blinked at how he threw a fit.

–”Could you kindly move out of the line? There’s people behind you that are waiting for their turn.”

–”Shut it! You are even doing it wrong!”

He pointed at the orange peels I just bought.

–”Those Orange Balloon peels cost merely one copper for the pair! You bought them one for each! How are you planning to cover the expenses!?”

I raised my thumb to my chin in fake pondering. 

–”Really? But I thought you were buying me twenty four of those for one. I just wanted to collect some more for myself, and I thought that one for each was fair enough.” I shrugged.

Then I narrowed my eyes to him.

–”Also, why do you care? This is my business, you know. I was setting the right prices. The right prices for me…”

I couldn't help but smirk with that comment.

And that obviously enraged the merchant.

–”Enough! How dare you mock me in such a manner!”

–”And what, you'd want me to take requests? Shall we begin now, Humpty Dumpty?”

–“Ggrrreeeeeeh.” He grumbled, his frustration nearly boiling over. Then, a sly smile crossed his face as if a metaphorical lightbulb had ignited above his head.

–”Everyone! Everyone, listen to me right now!” He called out, raising his voice to get the attention of the crowd. He turned toward my clients that were lining up, one after the other.

–”Move out fatso!” a man shouted from behind, shoving his way forward to see what the commotion was about.

“Yeah, what’s the holdup?” Someone else complained.

Ignoring the protests, the merchant gestured wildly, his eyes flicking between the gathered shoppers.

–”Listen! This guy!” He pointed towards me as if I were a thief caught red-handed.

–”This is the Shield Rapist! You surely don't want any business with someone like him, do you?”

That had actually gotten everyone to shut up. It actually surprised me. Did some of these people not know who I was? Perhaps the rumors have just enough reach. If not everyone in this city knew about it, does that mean that towns and villages farther away from here might haven't heard of ‘my antics’ just yet?

I mused to myself, still unbothered. This was fun while it lasted but it's not something I was not expecting.

With an eye roll, I prepared myself to leave. However, my efforts would be stopped.

–“So what if he is?” Surprisingly, a woman near the front said, crossing her arms. 

–“He pays better than you, and I’ve got kids to feed.”

Another man stepped up to the plate.

–“Yeah, and at least he doesn’t cheat us with watered down goods. If the Shield Rapist’s got the coin, I’ve got the time.”

And even others chimed in

–“He's willing to argue the prices and, so far, pays in full. That’s more than you do, you arrogant pig.”

–“I heard that he bought a yellow balloon for a silver, I wanna see how much I can squeeze out of him.”

–“Besides, if he’s the Shield Rapist, isn’t that the queendom’s problem? We’re just trying to make a living here.”

…Wasn’t this King… Kingdom? Queendom? Wasn’t this place supposed to be a matriarchy? Then why…

The merchant’s face twisted in fury as the crowd turned back to me, clearly more interested in the copper I was willing to part with than any rumors of my character.

I stood there, taking in the scene. The whispers, the greedy glances. They didn’t care about the truth, about who I really was, if I'm innocent or not. They cared only about what they could get out of me. The cheapest deals, the easiest money.

These people… They… they are all the same… Rotten to the core. Thinking only of themselves.

For a moment, I felt the weight of it pressing down on me, the futility of trying to prove anything to anyone. I was nothing more than a walking coin purse to them, a convenient excuse to fill their pockets.

But I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. No, it wasn’t worth getting angry over. If they wanted to use me for their own ends, fine. I could play along, as long as it suited my purposes.

I looked directly at the merchant, who was still seething. 

–“Looks like your plan didn’t work. As you can see, they don't care about your accusations. They only care about what’s in it for them.”

With that, I turned back to the market stall, making a show of counting out the copper coins in my hand. 

–“Now then, who else wants to do some business?” I called out, my voice carrying over the murmurs of the crowd.

The response was immediate. People stepped forward, eager to make deals, their eyes gleaming with the promise of profit. The merchant could only stand there, his mouth working soundlessly as his plan unraveled before him.

As I handed over the coins, one by one, I kept my expression neutral. I had no friends here, no allies. But that was fine. I’ve learned by now that survival sometimes meant playing along with the charade, Thanks to Celeste for that, even if it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Once I “closed shop,” which was really just me tidying up, picking up my cloak, and storing all the items I bought in my pouch, I finally got the chance to stretch my legs. I must have been there for... a while. Two or three hours at the very least, kneeling on the rough ground of the street. Such a shame that the shield’s defenses don’t work on my sore and aching knees right now…

In any case, I got up, stretched my legs and back, eliciting a couple of satisfying cracks. Just like that, I was ready to move on.

However, there was one last straggler, a client who had already done business with me, still hanging around. He stepped forward as I was dusting myself off, a sheepish look on his face.

–“Hey, Shield Hero.” he began, his voice low and uncertain. 

–“Will you be here again tomorrow?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could get a word out, I caught sight of the overweight merchant who’d caused a scene earlier. He was glaring at me from across the street, his face a mask of barely-contained anger. I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. It was like he’d been standing there, waiting for his chance to pounce.

With a casual shrug, I turned my attention back to the client. 

–“We’ll see,” I said, nodding subtly in the merchant's direction. 

–“Someone seems eager to talk business…”

The client followed my gaze and caught sight of the merchant, his eyes widening slightly. He quickly mumbled a goodbye and scurried away, leaving me alone with my new ‘business partner.’

The merchant marched up to me, his bulk making each step seem like a challenge for his legs. His face was flushed with indignation, and his fingers twitched at his sides. He stopped just a few feet away from me, his eyes narrowing.

–“Shield Hero…” he began, his voice dripping with disdain. 

–”Humpty.” Was my only greeting.

–“I don’t know what that means, but it certainly doesn’t sound flattering.” He replied with a frown. Yet I couldn’t hold back my laugh.

–”No, no… If anything, I’d say that it resembles you perfectly.”

–”...Whatever… You’ve been undercutting my prices all day, stealing my customers. This market isn't big enough for the both of us, you know.”

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. 

–“Is that so? It seemed plenty big to me. You’ve got a nice stall over there with a sign and everything. I’ve just been here, kneeling on the street.”

He ignored my jab, pressing on. 

–“Here’s the deal. You stop cutting into my business, and I’ll ‘unban’ you from my shop. You can buy from me directly again, at the normal prices. No more wandering around looking for deals like some common peddler.”

I considered his offer, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make him uncomfortable. 

Finally, I nodded. 

–“...Fine. You’ve got a deal. But if I’m going to stop undercutting you, I’ll need to make sure your prices are fair. What do you say we make a deal right now?”

The merchant’s face twitched into a smug smile. 

–“Sorry, Shield Hero, but my shop’s already closed for the day,” he said shrugging, his tone dripping with condescension. 

–“You’ll just have to come back tomorrow…”

With that, he turned on his heel and waddled away, clearly pleased with himself. I watched him go, biting back a sigh. So, this is how it’s going to be. He was trying to put me in my place, making sure I knew who held the power here.

Well, if he thought I’d back down just because he played his little games, he was in for a surprise. There were always other ways to get what I needed, even if it meant bending the rules a little.

I tucked my cloak around my waist tighter, feeling the weight of the pouch at my side. Maybe tomorrow, things will be different. Or maybe, just maybe, I’d find a way to turn this whole situation to my advantage. 

After all… Survival is not based on who’s the strongest or the smartest …

It comes down on who can adapt .

And I will come out on top this time.

With a final glance at the bustling market, I headed off into the winding streets, the crowd already beginning to thin as the day drew to a close. There was always more work to be done. And I had plans to make.

Firstly, an inventory check is to be needed. I barely had time to process how much stuff I’ve gotten, and how much money I have left.

Second, I still need to find a way to get more money. I don’t think that two silver a day will be enough to live in the city. Perhaps I have to move out, but until I can buy resources to even travel that far, and merely getting the expenses for said costs will still take time.

And Third, something I’ve been neglecting all this time.

*GRUMMM*

I need to eat.

I’ve been feeling pretty down for a while now. Guess that strained work without proper rest for the last 24 hours and no food for 48 wasn’t that much of a healthy lifestyle.

Hopefully, I lost some weight… That's about the only silver lining I can think of.

In any case, I headed back towards the same diner. It was almost a repeat of the same exact scenario. I entered the restaurant, customers and staff glared at me alike. I stepped up to the counter. This time however, I got a seat. This time I knew I could cost it.

Our interaction was tame, this time the bartender didn’t have an initial shock, recognising me right away.

I asked for the cheapest dish and he got to work.

Searching through the pouch, I could see my remaining money.

Fifteen copper and one silver…

I had used so much money already on all of these items…

Most of them were Orange Balloons. Right now, I didn't have any use for them other than storing them out of spite…

Maybe I can sell most of these, alongside my own bounty and that way I can make up for it…

…it is unlikely though. I bought sixteen balloon skins, one copper for each. If I sell these for 2 the pair, I'll only cover half of what I got. Add up my twenty four and I get twelve more, getting the grand total of twenty copper back…

I started with fifty five…

Well, at the very least, I might be on thirty five copper, assuming that merchant keeps his word…

Meanwhile… I have all of this junk.

Orange balloon skins weren’t the only thing those people sold me. A bunch of them sold me a couple of weird rocks. Either they were absolutely normal ones and I was hella scammed, or I was given some ores and materials I could potentially use…

…Don’t ask me how though… But I do have one idea…

Lastly, as I searched through my items, my hand rested on the familiar soft fabric of the orange balloon skins, but my hand rested on a yellow one. That one must have been the flashiest purchase I’ve done.

…I kind of bought a yellow balloon skin for one of my two silver coins… Which definitely got the attention of many people right away. I was more surprised by it more than anything, I thought that it was hopefully rare compared to the orange counterpart. However, with their reaction of how much I was willing to spend on it, I have the tiniest feeling that it's more common than what I initially believed.

Doesn’t matter though. This was one of the few items I was most interested in. I nabbed it and decided to let my shield have a snack. It promptly absorbed the fabric and…

…

…

Nothing happened…

Hmm…

I unlocked The Orange Small Shield once I absorbed two Orange Skins… I’ll probably need another one, if not more.

It’s not until the bartender comes back with my food that I stop musing on my own with the shield. I almost feel bad for it as I grab the fork to eat, seeing how the shield hungers for more materials…

Almost though. It is an inanimate object after all.

No pleasantries, no thanks, not even a prayer. I wasn’t in the mood for any of that anymore. The days of polite smiles and gratitude were behind me. Now, it was about survival, about getting through another miserable day in this despicable world I was kidnapped into

I stabbed at the slab of meat with my fork, the metal scraping against the plate louder than I expected, grating on my nerves. My hand tightened around the handle of the knife as I cut into the meat, the texture firm under the blade, but nothing about this felt right. Almost mechanically, I brought the piece to my mouth. “Just eat.” I told myself. Maybe it would take my mind off things for a few minutes.

But the moment it touched my tongue, I knew something was wrong.

Immediately, I felt my stomach lurch in revolt. My mouth burned, the flavor overpowering, rancid, as though the meat had been left out for days in the heat. The texture was a mix of rubber and slime, and I gagged, instinctively pulling back..

I couldn’t stop the coughing fit that followed. The piece of meat flew from my mouth, landing back on the plate with a sickening splat. My throat burned like I had swallowed acid, and I struggled to catch my breath, my eyes watering from the violent reaction.

–”What the hell?” I glanced at the plate, my brow furrowing in confusion. How could something so simple taste so… vile? It was like someone had deliberately poisoned the dish.

I pushed the plate away slightly, glaring at the now-offensive meal as if it had personally insulted me. 

–“Is this… some kind of joke?” I muttered under my breath, feeling rage bubbling up from deep within me.

I grabbed my water, taking a desperate swig, but even that offered no relief. The water, usually cool and refreshing, tasted metallic, harsh against the inside of my mouth. I spat it out onto the floor beside me, coughing again.

–“What is this?” I growled, my throat still burning, as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Was the meat spoiled? The water dirty? Did the bartender do this on purpose?

I looked around, scanning the room. The patrons at the other tables seemed fine. Eating their meals, laughing, enjoying themselves. No one else seemed to have any problems with their meals.

I frowned, my eyes narrowing as my mind started racing. Was this deliberate? Had they intentionally sabotaged my food? It wouldn’t surprise me. No one wanted the Shield Hero here. No one cared what I went through. No one would even cast a side glance my way, why wouldn’t they do this to me?

I picked up the knife again, this time gripping it with far more force than necessary. The urge to slam it into the table was overwhelming, but I resisted. 

–“Is everything alright?”

Barely.

As I eyed towards the voice I heard from my side, I saw the bartender. He seemed rather concerned. Perhaps he saw me spitting the water on the floor just now.

Or perhaps, he’s just waiting for me to lower my guard to… Do something. What I don’t know, but with these people…

–”It’s fine.” Was my only reply as I threw some coins on the table, seven copper to be exact, more than what this was worth, but hopefully that would shut him up.

Once he picked them, my eye probably twitched, as the bartender flinched a little, but he eventually crept back to the kitchen.

And, just like that, I laid there, disgusted not just by the food, but by the world around me. Everything tasted bitter now. Everyone’s reactions towards me were the same. Everything was the same.

And I’m supposed to save this world… To be their hero …

The Shield Hero … one nobody wanted.

And right now, I didn’t want anything to do with them either.

But they won’t stop messing with the simplest things to me. I can’t even have a moment of rest to even eat food that’s not contaminated. What a fucking joke.

I laid my knife on the plate, my appetite gone, even if I continued to hunger. What was the point? I won’t be giving them the satisfaction of seeing me eat their rotten food.

As I sat there, stewing in my thoughts, I barely noticed the group of three men approaching my table. They were rough-looking, clearly not the type you’d expect to find in a tavern like this unless they were looking for trouble. And trouble was exactly what I didn’t need right now.

–“Hey there, Shield Hero!” one of them called out, his tone far too cheery for someone addressing me. He was tall, scruffy, and had a sly grin that made my skin crawl. His two friends, equally untrustworthy, hovered just behind him. 

–“Mind if we join ya?”

I didn’t answer right away, hoping they’d take the hint and leave me alone. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk, or any talk, for that matter. But, of course, they didn’t.

Without waiting for permission, the first man sat down next to me, sliding into the seat with an exaggerated sigh. 

–“Man, it must be tough, huh? Being the Shield Hero and all. People don’t treat ya right.”

–“What do you want?” I glanced up at him, my expression flat. 

The man feigned surprise, putting a hand to his chest as if I’d wounded him. 

–“What? Can’t a guy just try to be friendly? Thought you could use a bit of company, you know?”

His two friends chuckled behind him, and I clenched my fist under the table. I’d seen this before. Back in my world. I’m having the biggest feeling of Déjà vu from that time Hagakure literally tried selling me to the yakuza to harvest my organs…

It was a good thing that… She was there… Truly made me believe in her. Trust in her …

People trying to buddy up when all they want is to use you... My chest tightened with anger. I wasn’t going to play that game. Not anymore

Hiro at the very least apologized…

…Even if it took him years.

–“I’m not interested.” I said coldly, turning my head away, denying them of my attention.

“Whoa, whoa, no need to be so harsh there.” he said quickly, leaning forward with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. 

–“We just figured… you’re the Shield Hero, right? Must have gotten plenty of resources. And well, we’ve got a little… investment opportunity. Could help us both out, ya know?”

I turned back, my back stiffening as I looked down at them. 

–“What kind of ‘opportunity’?”

The thug’s grin widened. 

–“Just a small loan to get us on our feet. We’ll pay ya back, promise. Plus interest, if that makes ya feel better.”

I let out a bitter laugh. Of course. Of course, this was about money. It was always about money with people like these. Everyone wanted something from me, they are dumb if they’ll really believe that I’ll take on their little fairy tale.

–“I’m not your bank, find someone who cares.” I said, my voice hard.

The thug’s grin faltered, and his eyes narrowed slightly. 

–“C’mon, now. Don’t be like that. We’re all just tryin’ to survive out here.”

I didn’t feel that the conversation was going anywhere, so I just proceeded to try to ignore him. Yet, the moment my gaze left his, I felt a hand placed on my opposite shoulder. One of the thug’s friends appeared to my left.

–“Don’t you know it’s uncourteous to look elsewhere when you are being spoke to, Shield Hero?” he growled, his voice low and threatening.

–”...And is it not uncourteous to suddenly butt in when someone’s trying to have peace?” I challenged his glare back.

If it were my old self, I would be shivering by now.

But, right now?

It doesn’t really matter. Afterall. There were countless people like them. Nothing would save me from meeting this type of person in the future. Might as well brace myself from the start.

–”We are asking nicely… Hear us out.”

–”I don’t have to. Leave me alone.”

I felt my pulse quicken, the heat rising to my face. The room seemed to shrink around me, the walls closing in as that familiar bitterness surged in my chest. Why did everyone think they could take advantage of me? Why did they all think they could just use me?

He lowered his hand, grabbing below my elbow, but I yanked my arm free from his grasp. 

–“Get lost.” I warned, my eyes narrowing as I glared at him. 

–“Before you regret it.” I won’t cower. Not anymore.

The thug on my right stood up, towering over me. 

–“Or what?” he sneered, his friends closing in on either side of me now. 

–“You gonna hide behind your little shield, hero? That all you’re good for?”

Without another word, one of them lunged at me, his fist aimed straight for my face. But before it could connect, I instinctively raised my shield, the metallic clang of his fist striking it echoing through the tavern. He let out a yelp, clutching his hand in pain as he stumbled back.

–“You runt!” the other thug shouted, charging forward.

I sidestepped him, letting the shield absorb the blow as his hit bounced off harmlessly and the force of his attack was used against him to push him away from me. My eyes narrowed, my patience long gone. These idiots thought they could scare me? They thought they could take advantage of me just because I was on my own?

Think again.

The third one, seeing his friends struggle, hesitated, yet launched an assault of his own. I raised my shield in preparation.

Until...

–”STOP IT! THAT’S ENOUGH!” A new voice shouted loud and clear.

I turned to see that it was the bartender himself. Makes sense honestly, after-all, someone like him wouldn’t want their business to become a bar-fight or something.

–”The four of you! OUT!”

I frowned at that order.

–”They started.”

–”And I’m ending it before any of you do something even more stupid. Now get out!” He barked, pointing towards the exit.

I rolled my hand into a fist, clenching it. Of course I would be rolled up in this mess. The worst part was that the trio of idiots didn’t even seem bothered by it, smirking to each other.

Taking the hint and not wanting to waste a single more moment, I grabbed my stuff and turned to the exit. 

Why bother staying? Trying to make a case for myself?

After all.

The Shield Hero wasn’t welcomed anywhere.

It wasn’t until I stepped outside that I realized how late it had become. The sun had fully disappeared, and shadows now swallowed the alleys of the capital.

So much for trying another place for food. Maybe if I got a hood or something to hide my identity, I could get a decent meal... not that it would probably work.

But staying idle wasn't an option. The last thing I wanted was another run-in with those three idiots. They’d already drained enough of my patience for one day, and I’d prefer to keep what little remained intact.

I walked on, half-aimlessly. I had a vague idea of where I was going. Hopefully out of this wretched town and back to the forest, where I could sleep off the hunger. But every corner, every alley looked the same. The capital was a maze of shadows, and it wouldn’t take much for me to get lost.

And of course, just my luck, before long, I found myself face to face with the very people I was trying to avoid.

I stopped on my tracks as soon as I spotted them, their sneering faces illuminated by the dim glow of a nearby lantern. It was like fate had conspired to throw these idiots right in my path. Their leader, the sweet talker from before, spotted me immediately, his grin widening.

–"Well, well." he drawled, swaggering toward me with his two lackeys close behind. 

–"If it ain't the Shield Hero, out for a stroll. We were looking for you."

I sighed, gripping the strap of my pouch a little tighter. 

–"Yeah? That's great. Now, if you don't mind, I've got places to be."

I moved to walk past them, but one of the thugs stepped in my way, blocking me with a smug grin. 

–"Not so fast, Hero. You still owe us. Remember?"

I stared at him, my patience wearing thin. 

–"...Owe you what? I didn’t take anything from you."

–"Money," the leader spat, his eyes narrowing. 

He extended his hand.

–"You’ve been making coin all day. It's only fair you share with the locals, don’t cha think?"

I could feel the weight of the day bearing down on me. The hunger gnawing at my stomach, the bitter taste still lingering in my mouth from that awful meal, the constant disrespect...

I clenched my teeth, the irritation building. Hatred sky rocketing.

–"I don’t have time for this." I made myself clear.

"Wrong answer." the thug sneered, reaching for something inside his coat.

Before I could react, he lunged at me, drawing a rusty dagger from his belt. His two lackeys quickly followed, one swinging a broken bottle, the other a club. They were desperate, most likely hoping I was an easy mark, tired and weak after a long day.

But they’d made a mistake. I refuse to give up.

Instinctively, my shield deflected the first strike with ease. The dagger clanged harmlessly against the surface, the force knocking the thug back. His eyes widened in surprise.

From my sides and behind, the thugs with the club and broken bottle tried to get a swipe out of me, however, I managed to dodge them both just in the nick of time. They didn’t seem to be that well coordinated, as the man with the broken glass almost slitted his friends’ throat accidentally.

Almost, sadly.

–"You’ve got one chance to walk away," I warned, venom filling in. 

–"I won’t repeat myself."

They didn’t listen.

The second thug recovered himself as he swung the bottle, but I sidestepped, catching him off balance. Without thinking, I slammed my shield into his gut, sending him sprawling onto the cobblestones, gasping for breath.

The leader snarled, enraged. 

–"You’ll pay for that!"

He charged again, this time more reckless, more desperate, more idiotic. I parried his dagger once more, knocking it aside before I shoved him backward. He stumbled, nearly tripping over his fallen comrade.

–“You should’ve listened,” I muttered, readying myself for the next move.

For a moment, they hesitated. The two who were still standing exchanged nervous glances, realizing this fight wasn’t going the way they expected. Their bravado was cracking.

–”DIE!” The final thug leaped from behind me, trying to catch me off guard, but just as his club was getting closer and closer to my scalp…

[Skill Activation: Rejection!!]

A strong gust of wind emitted from my person, the orange hue from before covering me entirely, becoming the only source of light in this corridor.

The clubbing thug was shoved away, falling on his head to the floor, it seemed that he had fallen unconscious…

What a pity.

–"Get lost," I growled, taking a step torwards the other two.

That was all it took. With one last glare, they scrambled to pick up their fallen friend and bolted down the alley, their footsteps echoing in the night.

I stood there for a moment, the weight of everything pressing down on me. It wasn’t just the fight, or the hunger. It was the realization that no matter what I did, no matter how hard I tried, the world wasn’t going to give me a break.

–“Figures.” I muttered under my breath, turning away from the alley.

-“The Shield Hero isn’t welcome anywhere...”

The forest sounded like a better option by the minute.

I couldn’t help but retell the events that just happened. My reactions were fine, but they need improving. I’m not strong, but the shield is sturdy enough to make the work for me, another thing I need to change.

My defense was on point… But I can’t do as much as tickle them with my absurd attack… barely above half a point, make that make sense.

I need damage to power up to beat monsters, but I don’t have that damage, I cannot power up. How am I supposed to increase my levels by defeating monsters when something as simple as a single balloon monster takes me multiple minutes if not hours to beat?

It’s a vicious cycle.

I have to level up to increase my power, I have to kill monsters to level up and killing monster needs power…

–”Damn this forsaken shield! What the hell do I do?!”

–”Looks like you could use some help…”

I immediately shifted towards the new voice, shield already prepared in case this was another ambush.

I spotted a plump, short man, dressed with what seemed to be fairly more expensive clothes than most of the commonfolk I have seen around here. He had lenses, a mustache and a sickening grin. 

He audibly chuckled as he said those words.

–”It's clear you don't have any.”

His clothes were dark, I was barely recognizing the purple tints of his… suit… And to top it all off, he had a tophat. 

What does this guy want…

–”Whatever you are saying, if are talking about other adventurers, then I’m not–”

–”Ahaha” he suddenly laughed.

Whatever he had on his mind, it was not giving me a good sign…

–”Adventurers? Party members? No, no…” He shook his head.

His grin had not faltered for a single moment.

–"I wouldn’t offer you something so… unreliable…”

What…?

–”...Speak.” This man had gotten my attention.

–”What I'm offering you is a service I believe you'll find far more convenient.

–”And that would be…”

–” Ehehe… Interested, are we?”

I frowned back at him, I was not in the humor for this.

Yet he laughs.

–”You've got that look in your eyes that I just adore.” He said, almost explaining himself.

–”You're every bit the man the rumors said you'd be.”

–”So, you know who I am then?

–”Of course I do, brave Shield Hero, sir.”

I continue to scan him with my gaze. Yet he doesn’t falter.

–If my offer interests you, follow me and we can discuss it further.”

And… even though I was taught from very young to now follow strange men I meet in alleyways. Right now, I did just that.

–”Right this way.” We had gotten to… somewhere…

The place looked like a circus tent, yet…

It insides were…

–”So, what exactly are you offering me here?”

–”Can't you tell by just looking?” He said as he suddenly stopped, we had arrived.

–”They're slaves, my boy!” He turned around to face me, arms extending, as if I was meant to view this as an amusement park.

For the tiniest bit… I did. I stared every corner, every detail, every… jail. And they were indeed… things caged in them

–”I run a slave-trading business!”

–”…What would make you think I'd want to own slaves? Where I come from, that’s…”

–”Oh, I don't know,..” He faked some pondering.

–”…The fact that they can neither lie nor betray their master?”

–”...What?” I left out without intending to.

–”We keep all our slaves in line by placing them under the effects of a curse.A strong, seal-based curse.If they misbehave, it can take their very lives.”

–”That’s…”

Many words came to my mind. Horrible, Despicable, Atrocious, Disgusting, Horrifying. Yet the words that I wanted to say were none of those.

–”So, Whaddaya say?”

–“...”

–“...”

–”…Show me what you've got.”

The slave trader grinned.

–”I knew you had exactly what it takes to be a most wonderful patron.” We resumed our walk.

I decided to start asking some things I started to notice.

–”There are a bunch of them that look like animals.”

–”I can assure you that, while technically they are, they also are not.”

–”What do you mean?”

–”Creatures that look mostly human but resemble animals are what we refer to as demi-humans. They're mostly used as servants or for manual labor.

…What?

–"Beastmen are demi-humans whose appearance lean more toward the animal side. They're often used as bodyguards or gambled on as participants in death matches.

This truly is… a fantasy world… I can't believe it.

–”But they both are the same race?” I asked.

–”Indeed.” He enthusiastically nodded.

We had stopped on our tracks for just a slight bit.

–”And since this country practices human supremacy, and demi-humans are thought to be closer to monsters, life can be quite hard for them here. As such, they're treated as slaves.”

The more I hear about this place, the more I want it to let it burn to ashes. It’s maddening, sickening, yet–

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

I heard some coughing from a very specific cage that my eyes had landed on. It was covered by a cloth, and I felt the need to uncover it…

–”Sir, over here.” I heard the voice of the slave trader, bringing me back to consciousness.

I walked up to him, and we both watched on the same cage.

–”I recommend this for a high- class gent such as yourself.”

He pulled out the blanket, and an immediate growling was heard.

*GRRRR*

It was some type of wolfman, it was not in a good mood, from what its claws grabbing the cage with rabid anger could tell me.

–”It's at level 75.”

So 73 levels above me…

This is too good… yet…

–”What’s the catch?”

–”Well, I mean, it is highly capable in battle and fairly rare… Not easy to come by…

–”So it’s expensive.”

–”How does 15 gold pieces sound?

I wasn't even aware that gold coins existed…

–”I don’t have that money. You are well aware of that.”

He chuckled. Loudly.

–”That I do. You're gonna become one of my best customers. I got a nose for these things. So I gotta make sure you develop a keen eye… if you catch my drift, good sir.”

–”Sure… Sure…” I don't. 

Once his exposition ended, the slave trader had a few things to say.

–Well, now. Since you've seen my best, lemme ask you a question.” He started. 

–”Exactly what kind of slave are you in the market for?”

–”...So far… one that I can afford.”

–”Very well… what’s your current budget then, my friend?”

I bit my inner cheek.

I hate to admit it… but a slave is precisely what I need right now. Leaving aside the shoulds and shouldn'ts I, right now I cannot trust anyone. I’m on my lonesome, and buying one right here and right now would be my best bet.

Yet… I fear that I cannot cost it.

–”One silver… and eight copper.”

–”...” That had gotten the slave trader completely silent.

If I insulted him with my low offering bid, then I’m afraid I have lost the potentially only way for me to level up…

Guess I’ll just have–

–”Amusing…”

What?

–”This is truly amusing. The stories of the royal crown casting aside the Shield Hero was enough, but to see him in this light…”

What is this guy blabbering about?

–”If I may, Shield Hero. What’s your name?”

Right then… I felt that I was doing a deal with the devil.

…And I was signing it’s fucking contract.

–”Makoto Naegi.”

–”Very well, sir Makoto Naegi. My name is Beloukas, and I have to admit that your situation is most amusing for me.”

–”Well, that makes one of us, I guess…”

Here goes nothing.

–”I assume you don’t sell anything for that price?”

–”Nope. Not slaves at the very least.”

Tough luck…

–”Then… I might come back to–”

–”No.”

–”Huh?”

That grin of his… Would be forever plastered on my mind. It was uncomfortable, it was seething with ill intent, it filled me with… distrust.

–”Let’s make a deal… Shield Hero…”

I narrowed my eyes, wary of his sudden interest. 

–"A deal?"

Beloukas chuckled, the sound grating against my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. He leaned in closer, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. 

–"You see, Sir Shield Hero, I’m a man of… peculiar interests. And I’ve been known to bend the rules from time to time, especially for someone as… entertaining as you.”

–“Entertaining?” I echoed, my stomach churning with unease. 

–“I fail to see what’s so entertaining about my situation…”

–“Ah, but soon you will…” he replied, with a chuckle.

His grin widening ever more. 

–“You see, a man in your position… desperate, cast aside, struggling to survive… brings out certain opportunities. And I like to invest in such opportunities.”

I didn’t like the sound of this. Every word out of his mouth reeked of manipulation, but I couldn’t deny that I was cornered. No allies. No power. No other options.

–“What kind of deal?” I asked cautiously, my grip tightening on the strap of my pouch.

Beloukas spread his arms wide, as if presenting me with some grand offer. 

–“A simple one. I can offer you one slave for your meager sum, one you’ll find more valuable than you’d expect… In exchange, all I ask is that you return the favor… someday.”

I swallowed hard. ‘Someday’, he says, like it’s not a noose waiting to tighten. 

–"And what does this ‘favor’ entail?"

His grin widened further, and the glint in his eyes sent a chill down my spine. 

–"Oh, nothing too dangerous. Let’s just say, when the time comes, you’ll know. And when you do, you’ll owe me."

The air around us felt heavy, as if I was sinking deeper into something I couldn't escape. I felt the weight of his words pressing against my chest, constricting, but I knew I had no choice.

No money. No credibility. No options.

I needed this.

–"Fine," I said, my voice steady despite the cold sweat prickling the back of my neck. "So what’s on your mind?"

Beloukas clapped his hands together, his grin had never been wider. 

–"Excellent! I knew you’d see reason. Now, come with me. I have just the thing for a hero like yourself."

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just made a terrible mistake. That I had loaded a shotgun that would later blow up on my face.

But it was already too late to back out now

–”So I assume that you just won’t gift me something like that wolfman you showed me.”

–”I see you are starting to catch on.”

He extended his arms, pointing at the general cages that where nearby.

–”I’ll let you choose any slave you want from this section. They all have similar prices between 20 and 30 silver. There are demi-humans, monsters… even some mutated species…” 

The way he spoke, like he was offering fine wine at a banquet, sent a chill down my spine. But I forced myself to stay calm. I couldn’t back out now. Not when I was this close.

I began eyeing the cages, looking over the potential candidates. Mutants, monsters, and more, but none of them seemed right. One had a strange deformity that looked like it would make training near impossible, another had eyes that were deadened beyond repair. They weren’t just physically scarred; whatever remained of their minds seemed to be lost to madness. Too broken. Too far gone.

My feet carried me back to the same cage I had seen earlier, like some unseen force was guiding me. I crouched and pulled back the ragged cloth that covered it.

What I saw inside... was interesting.

There, huddled in the far corner of the cage, was a small girl. Her raccoon-like ears twitched slightly as the fabric fell away, revealing her to the dim light. Her clothes, if you could call them that, were little more than a torn shirt hanging loosely over her malnourished frame. Her skin clung to her bones, and her eyes…

For a long moment, those eyes remained hollow, devoid of anything resembling life. She stared straight through me as if I wasn’t there. But then, she broke into a violent coughing fit, her whole body wracked with it as she curled tighter into herself.

–”That mangy half-raccoon's sick as a dog and a couple spokes short of a cartwheel… I'm having a helluva time with her myself.” Beloukas said with a dismissive wave

I turned to Beloukas. 

–”What’s the story with her?”

–”You see, her previous owner loved his torture. She's not long for this world. I'd suggest something else…”

I paused, my gaze returning to the girl. Her hacking cough had subsided, but she still lay there, unmoving, as if the effort to breathe had taken what little strength remained in her frail body.

–”That won’t be necessary.”

–”Eh?” Beloukas blinked, clearly not expecting my sudden refusal

I didn’t need to think about it any longer. The other options may have been stronger, more capable short term, but I doubted they would serve me well as things went on.

The mutant... there was something wrong with it, something deeply flawed. I couldn’t fix that. The other one, gone, practically feral. Its mind was lost to some inner chaos, and I wasn’t about to waste my time on something beyond reason.

But this girl...

Something flashed in my eyes when I saw her.

I don’t know what it was exactly, but I knew this much: I could treat her disease, assuming we managed to make enough money.

This girl. She seemed broken, distant, as if she was living in the past during better days, refusing her current predicament.

I can mold her. I can control her. I could turn her into a capable fighter. One that would fight for me. One that would be on my side in this sickening twisted world.

One that could die for me.

That’s exactly what I need.

–”I’ll take her.”

As I said that, the little girl seemed to return to reason, immediately shaking in fear as I said those words.

This one… will become my tool to survive.

Nothing more.

And nothing less.

SOOOO, YEAH. That was a thing. Admittedly, I started writing this (July 22nd) during my goal of updating all my works on August first (Which I failed, T-T), it’s crazy to think it’s been over a month already. I cannot explain the amount of soul I put into this one, craziest part being that around 16k was written in one go. This one has definitely crushed my previous longest chapter record of JUS being… 15k long? That one took me like 8 months to make WITH HELP. Welp, with nothing else to say, I hope you enjoyed this one…

Lucky Shot should come out soon though… I hope…

Chapter Text

I can’t help but muse to myself…

My mind travels, asking if the decision I made was the correct one.

Even though I already know the answer to it.

I didn’t have money, I potentially risked myself to something worse than anything that Hagakure could have put me up to…

And I lowered to the deepest pits that this world could bring me down to.

Yet, I get the feeling that…

There was no correct choice.

That no matter what I did, I would still be faced with adversity. That there was no ‘right’ way to get me out of this mess.

So that eases my mind for the slightest bit.

Yet my brain doesn’t stop there and goes to immediately ask something else.

“What would they think of this?”

My thoughts are interrupted though, as I hear from in front of me how the girl I “bought” was furiously munching down food down her throat.

–”Slow down. You’re going to choke at this pace.” I said half-annoyed, half-understanding. This girl probably hasn’t gotten a decent meal in a long while. Yet that doesn’t give her the excuse to eat like a troglodyte.

Reminds me of someone.

–”Here, drink.”

I pushed the water cup I have been refusing to drink towards her, to which she promptly took a hold of it, quickly chugging it down.

As she does, my mind continues to drift, remembering just how this came to be.

I… really got a slave…

Once I had picked this girl, Beloukas had gotten her out of her cage and brought us both to a different section of his shop. He seemed to be preparing something.

When he returned, he asked for a drop of my blood to claim the “ownership” of this girl.

I was hesitant at first, a needle in this world? What were the chances of it being used to collect other people’s bloods, ergo the possibility of contracting a blood-borne disease?

…Were there Blood-borne diseases in this world? I swear, the more thought I put into things, the more wary of everything I become.

–”If it’s hygiene what you are worried about, Shield Hero sir, I promise you that this needle is a fresh one.” Beloukas immediately noticed my stalling, grinning at it.

–”And I’m supposed to believe you outright?”

–”Yes!”

I sighed, I had gotten this far… If I get something out of this… 

Haa… I can’t even threaten to do anything… In the end, what can I do?

–”...Just get on with this…”

–”As you wish!” He excitedly grinned.

Once my blood sample was taken, Beloukas made a mix of it with some… ink.

Meanwhile, the restrained girl stood in place, shaking ever more as time went by. Once Beloukas finished with the preparations, he got close to the girl and with a special brush, he drew a circle of purple ink on her chest where some kind of purple tattoo was imprinted on.

Beloukas was using the same weird mix that my blood had for it.

–”What's–” I was going to ask about it, but got interrupted immediately.

The girl started wincing in pain as a barrage of purple shocks emitted from her chest. Taken by surprise, I immediately worried a little.

Half for the girl’s wellbeing.

The other half…

–”What do you think you are doing? Trying to get away selling damaged goods?” I barked at the slave trader.

was louder.

–”It’s nothing to worry about. The pain will dissipate soon.” 

He pointed towards the girl, her chest specifically. 

–“That slave crest branded on her chest makes it impossible for her to defy you. I just needed it to link it to you with your blood.”

–”Hmm… Sure…”

I wasn’t sure if this guy was telling the truth or was bullshitting me.

Although, could you fault me?

The girl was of no use to me if she couldn’t fight.

< CONTRACT >

[ You have acquired a new companion! ]

I had to blink multiple times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.

–”Companion?” I murmured.

I wouldn’t be able to probe further just yet, as Beloukas proudly walked up.

–”Alright, good sir. She's all yours.” I turned back to the slave trader when I heard his voice.

–”Thanks for your… ‘services’, Beloukas.”

–”A pleasure to serve.” He said with a bow and that grin of his.

At that, I walked closer to the girl. She had her head hung low, one hand tightened on her chest while she used the other to support herself from the floor.

There were multiple ways that I could have started this conversation.

Ask her if she was alright. Know if she was hurt. If I could help with anything. Things that a normal human being would do without second thought.

At least… One that had a heart at least.

I liked to believe I used to fill on the earlier category.

But right now?

–”What is your name?” I asked, straight to the point. 

I would not play games.

If anything my past life has taught me was that, no matter what I did, I would suffer the consequences of my actions. Therefore, I would tread forward head on to anything that came my way, even if it was the last thing I’d do. And I did that to a fault, sticking to my morals all the way through.

But this world? If I was taught anything while here, it would be that there was no amount of kindness or hope that would get me out of this mess. What could I do to get out of this mess?

I couldn’t think of anything. Everyone in these lands hates my guts, scoffs at my name and sneers at my form. No matter what I do, it would not matter.

So I wouldn’t get out of this mess. I would just do what I was called to do, and as soon as I could, leave this hellish world.

This world didn’t hold any empathy towards me. Why should I hold any to its inhabitants?

The racoon girl hadn’t answered me just yet. A violent coughing fit invaded her lungs.

I did not care.

–”Well? Tell me your name.”

Only after her coughs had died down, was she able to provide an answer.

–”I'm… I’m... Raphtalia.”

–”Raphtalia?”

Wouldn’t lie. It definitely sounds like a fantasy name.

I shrugged it off and grabbed the girl by her arm. She didn’t resist in the slightest. 

–”Let's go.”

As we stood up, the slave trader spoke up once more with… a little excitement.

–”I look forward to your next visit! we're always open for you!”

Eye to eye with the man, my mind wanders a little.

This slave trader was one of the very few people that didn’t immediately cast me away. So far, he’s been the most willing to help me out, to the point that he even ‘gifted’ me this… slave.

I knew that it wasn’t out of the kindness of his heart per se.

But it still doesn’t go unnoticed.

Something was for sure happening behind my back. Yet I couldn’t stop thinking of doing one thing.

–”Yeah… Beloukas?”

–”Hmm?”

With my free hand, I looked inside my bag. There I found my last remaining silver coin.

Pulling it out of my bag with my thumb, I flinged the coin towards the slave trader, who promptly catched it.

–”Thank you for everything. I’d like to keep doing ‘business’ with you in the future. But don’t expect me to be this… ‘eager’ for your services as I was today.”

The slave trader smiled at my comment.

–”But of course… Just remember… We do have that deal on board still.”

We did… We absolutely did…

–”...I’ll still pay you back. 30 silver coins?”

–”You don’t have to worry about that, Makoto Naegi sir.”

But I sure will...

After that It didn’t take us long to leave that place.

Yet, all the way out, I felt that man’s grin following.

Whatever he was thinking at that moment… I may never know.

–”Welcome!” The familiar voice of the blacksmith was audible. 

–”Hm? Oh, it's you.” Erhard didn’t seem to forget me just yet.

–”Well, well. What's with the girl, boy?”

I decided to cut to the chase.

–”How much will a weapon for her cost?”

Erhard’s eyes widened in surprise.

–”H-Huh? For the girl? Well, I-”

–”And some clothes would come in handy as well, if you have any.”

Erhard slowly took in everything before giving us a full on reply.

–”...Let me check first. Let’s talk numbers later…”

And, in due time, we were given the chance to try a couple of blades for Raphtalia. Erhard had also found some clothes for her to dress with, allowing her to use the dressing cabin I used first time I came.

Raphtalia took her time to get out, but I decided to not say anything. I too had some problems putting on the chainmail at first. But she will have to hasten her pace.

–”Does it fit you?” I quickly asked.

–”...Ye-…Yeah…”

–”Alright then, grab the knife on the counter.”

She turned around to see the blade I had chosen from Erhard for her to practice with. She obediently retrieved it as she held it in her hands, sheathed and all.

I noticed that her hold on it was flimsy, shaken. What I expected.

Being honest, if I was in her shoes I would be the same.

But I wasn't, so it matters not.

–“Good. Now I want you to test it.” I said as I moved my hand inside my cloak.

–“Huh?”

From there, I pulled out a grunting Orange Balloon monster that has been biting into me for an annoying amount of time by now.

*GRRR*

The balloon continued munching me. I was surprised when I learned that these guys weren’t able to hurt me. Although that was a two-way street, as the damage I dealt to them was too low.

The little girl stepped back when she saw the monster, recoiling in fear.

–”I want you to stab this thing.”

–”N-No…”

Seeing our… training session, the owner of the shop decided to speak up.

–”Since when have you had that balloon?” Erhard couldn’t help but ask.

–”They are a real bother. They won’t stop pestering me. This one’s been gnawing my arm ever since morning. I essentially gave up killing all of them after boring one to death.”

–”H-How does that–”

I didn’t care. I held the monster with my other hand and pointed towards the slave girl.

–”Raphtalia! Stab this monster!”

She continued protesting.

–”No! I- I can’t-”

–”Stab it now! That's an order!”

Right there, Raphtalia glowed in purple. Violet electricity bolts emit once more. The slave crest seal was working as intended…

–”Nnngggghh!” The girl fell on her knees out of the pain.

–”It won’t stop until you do it. Stab it!” I shouted again.

This girl is my only chance at surviving this world. She has to fight monsters, even if I have to force her to do so.

The little raccoon girl slowly stood up once more through the violet sparkles. Unsheathing the blade and preparing herself, she ran towards me, prepared to thrust the monster with her new knife. Only once she obeyed did the shocks stop.

She successfully lunged at the monster, but it wasn’t enough to kill it as it had managed to catch the knife with its teeth.

*RRAHHH* The monster through sheer force rejected the girl’s attack, causing her to fall on the ground as the knife fell from her hand.

I calmed myself before I could speak up in annoyance. I needed to keep a critical mind.

–”Not like that! Put more weight into it! As if you desperately need to.”

I’ll refrain from making aggressive comments on her for now. I don’t want to, but I’ll do what I must if I have to.

–”Stand up! Come on! Once more!”

The girl flinched and collected herself once more. Once prepared to strike again, she marched with a scream of war.

–“EAAAAAAH!” It was a rather scared scream than one of war...

Although, once she hit the monster with the blade did I feel the shift in strength. I had to put a little more strength on my hands to avoid the monster slipping through.

With gritting teeth, Raphtalia stabbed through the orange balloon, being rewarded with a…

*POP*

Rewarding pop. The balloon gave in as it blew up, causing the little girl to fall once more.

[RAPHTALIA: +15 EXP]

[+12 EXP]

[ALERT]

[Exp. Has Been Maxed : You are now Level 3!! ]

Makoto Naegi     Lv.3    ⧗ Melromarc
——————————————
————————————————
————————————————  

Raphtalia            Lv.1  ⧗ Melromarc                                                                                                           
————————————————
————————————————
————————————————  

STATUS                         
Max HP                    196
Max MP                       36
Max SP                        39
Shield Hero      ●●●              8

Makoto Naegi     ⛉           Lv. 3      
◆—————————◆    ——————————    ◆—————————◆

        ♂  Age 18                 Exp                 0/50    

◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆                 

👤 Status        

                               Ō Attributes                    ⚔ Equipment
                        ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆
                        🗡Physical Damage 0.6     🕯 Fire   0  ⚡︎ Lightn. 0     ⛊ Small Shield
                        ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆
                        ⊙ Magic Damage     12    🌢Water 0   ☀︎ Light 0      👕 Ragged Clothes & Cloak
                        ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆
                        ⛨ Physical Defense  45    ❆Ice    0   ☾ Dark    0      👕 Pouch
                        ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆
                        ◉ Magic Defense     35    ༄ Wind  0  ᨒ Ground 0
                        ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆    ◆—————————◆
                        ᯓ Agility                  10                 ☘ Luck

Huh?

–”Wait, Why did I get experience points for that?”

And why so many?! Every single Balloon I killed gave me one point! This girl kills one and gives me the worth of twelve of them?!?! AND SHE GETS FIFTEEN !? WHAT?!

Erhard seemed to know the answer to that as he stepped in after boredly observing us.

–”Probably because when you formed the pact, you set her as a companion… Oh, now wait a minute, don't tell me you didn't do that with the lady who was in here before.”

My brow furrowed at the mere mention of her.

–”No… I didn’t…”

Erhard recoiled from my tone.

–”Oh. Uh…” He was visibly staggered back.

I decided to leave that unpleasant conversation hanging. I turned to the girl on the ground. 

–”Hey, Listen up! And listen good!” I spoke up, getting her attention.

The racoon girl looked at me with her big eyes, yet I stood unfazed.

–”From here on out, I’ll make you fight monsters for me, you realize that, right?”

She slightly shuddered at the thought, but I digressed.

–”I used almost everything I had to pay for you, and I didn’t even cover a fraction of what I owe to that man, so you will be working hard to help me cover the expenses. Is that clear?”

The girl didn’t give me an immediate reply, or even a verbal one at that. She barely nodded for me to acknowledge as she looked down towards the floor.

–”Y'know what, boy? You're not gonna die a painless death.”

–”Third time’s the charm, isn’t it?”

–”Huh?”

I shook my head, it doesn’t matter anyway.

–”Whatever. How much will everything be?”

–”Well… As for the clothes… One silver should suffice. Consider that already paid.”

–”Hmm… I wonder why.” 

–”...As for the blade… A couple silver is about right… I’m thinking three or…

I stared at him dead in the eye.

–”Give me the full price.” I pierced through his soul.

–”…Six Silver.”

–”Got it. Raphtalia, stand up and hand the man his knife back. We’ll come back for it later when I have the money.”

Raphtalia stood up as I ordered her to do, however, Erhard spoke before she gave back the blade.

–”Just… Just take it, boy. I know you will pay for it.”

I frowned at that. There was… something in his eyes.

I didn’t like that.

–”I don’t need your pity, only your weapons.” I bitterly told the blacksmith.

At that, the blacksmith gave a frown of his own, tired of being a pushover all along.

–”Listen up, boy . I don’t know who you think you are or who you think I am, but I’m getting fed up with your condescending bullshit that you spew at me every time I do something for your own good. So either take that knife with you or bid farewell. I don’t want to play these childish games with you anymore.” He sternly said, glaring my eyes back.

We stood on a deadlock, neither flinching or giving in. We stared- glared at each other’s eyes. We both refused to falter.

…

…

…

Until I did.

I had poked the bear too much… and too often.

That much I admit.

So I relent.

–”...Very well. We are off to work.” I turned around, giving my back to the blacksmith, not even waiting for my newly appointed slave to follow me.

I didn’t apologize, but neither am I a stubborn prick. I’ll give the man some peace.

Who am I? Easy question. I’m Makoto Naegi, 

What's that supposed to mean? I'm no longer sure. 

Nowadays I feel that I’m just a fraction, a shallow part of who I once used to be. I no longer hope for a better tomorrow. I struggle to survive today. I no longer trust in those around me, I choose to distrust everyone I meet.

And it’s hard to look at my past for clearance when I don’t know if I’ll even have a future ahead of me.

I hoped for a future.

Now, I survive to have a today.

I left the shop as I heard little footsteps following behind me.

We had things to do.

…

…

–”Haah…” The blacksmith sighed.

–”I no longer know whether the country's at fault or if the boy was just corrupted…”

–”Why, sir?”

–”Hmm?” I broke out of my thoughts. I looked across from me to see Raphtalia with food crumbs on her mouth staring at me.

–”Why… Did you buy food for me?”

Ah…

That’s what.

It was true that I bought her the kid’s menu with the last eight copper coins I had. It was more expensive than what I had the other day, but being honest, I wasn’t going to eat here anyway.

I decided to bring the girl to the same restaurant I was kicked out the other day. The waiter from that time recognized me but didn’t say anything. Either they don’t have the balls to kick or ban me or I wasn’t being blacklisted for something I didn’t commit.

Would be a first around here.

Raphtalia’s stomach had started grumbling only after a couple of steps we have gotten out of Erhard’s shop. I wasn’t going to let her starve.

She had work to do, afterall.

–”You were hungry. I’d apologize if it wasn’t to your liking, but you munched it through anyway.”

–”O-Oh… Uh…” She seemed a little insecure about that.

I grabbed a napkin and reached towards her the most I could. She seemed to flinch when I did, yet she didn’t move. Perhaps she thought I was going to hit her or something.

I didn’t though. I decided to clean off the scraps of food she had around her mouth.

–”Did your parents not teach you how to eat properly?”

–”Uh! Uh…” She struggled to come up with a reply, even blushing at it. She was almost adorable.

A familiar feeling went through me

‘She almost reminds me of…’

…

…

I shook my head as I quickly got back to my seat.

–”We will be going to hunt for some monsters to level up. We may stay in an inn if you work hard and we can afford it.”

–”Ye-Yeah…”

At that, I forced myself to stop thinking about it.

…

–”Now! Raphtalia!”

–”Y-Yes! EAAAH!”

*POP*

[RAPHTALIA: +7 EXP]

[+5 EXP]

I decided to bring Raphtalia to the meadows to hunt some more Orange Balloons.

This time however… there were more of them. And not only Orange ones, but Yellow and Red ones. The one Raphtalia just killed was a Red Balloon, as an example.

With Raphtalia, these guys were now light work.

–”Come on! They are getting away!” I said, quickly giving chase

 to another group of balloons.

–”W-What?!”

Our work dynamic has been like this ever since. She attacks, and I defend. Killing Balloons had never been this efficient.

It was a restless hunt, grinding through levels as quickly as we could.

Once the sun settled did we stop to rest for a bit. I asked Raphtalia to help me fish some… fishes, to cook for our meal.

I have no idea what I am doing. This was the first time I tried to light a fire in the woods. The only previous experience I had was after watching a slasher movie called “Camp of Horrors” that I had gotten curious to try lighting a fire with only branches. Mostly to calm myself after watching said movie, I wasn’t able to finish it.

This time however, I had managed to find a flint rock near the river and decided to try for myself if I could light a fire.

I tried messing with some branches and stuff, but making  friction was difficult as everytime I tried every piece I held would just crumble. I had to be doing something wrong.

I was about to give up, crossing my arms in thought to think what could I try.

At that, a dim reflection went to my eye, making me glance at the shield that was reflecting the sun's glow towards me.

Then… I had a questionable idea.

‘This… Shield…’

I gave two knocks on it, the shield emitting the familiar panging sound of metal, steel…

‘It is… made out of steel, right? Couldn’t I…?’

With my free hand, I brought the flint close towards it

I gave it some thought. It sounds both possible and stupid.

But I don't see any alternatives around…

–”Raphtalia, step away. I'm going to try something dangerous.”

–”Huh?” She left out, but complied without probing further.

Once she was relatively away and I was mentally prepared, I placed the flint on the shield. I aimed the shield towards the used twigs on the ground and struck it as I swinged the flint down hard, hoping that my idiocy could work.

And it did.

A small shower of sparks flew, but no flame.

The act alone had surprised me, I wasn't even angry that it didn't work in one go, I was rather speechless to see the strange phenomenon I just made. I think I even heard Raphtalia gasp for a short minute. 

I gave it another try, almost unconsciously, and again, yet another shower of sparks went off, but still, no fire was made.

I frowned and concentrated

Why do I get the feeling this is gonna end badly?

And it did.

Finally, a small flame caught on the twigs…

But I almost caught my sleeve on fire. I quickly patted it down, not wanting to burn myself or lose the only clothes I had.

“M-Master!” Raphtalia shouted, hearingly worried, yet I managed to extinguish the flames before anything happened.

…

…

‘I could have burnt myself doing that…’

‘Guess that answers Komaru’s question as to why women live longer than men…’

I turned to the little girl at that.

–”Bring the fish over. We’ll try to cook them.”

Somehow.

As we had dinner, or late lunch, or… whatever, I used the moment of tranquility to continue studying the… ‘screens’ that I was able to see.

In depth, it all looked like RPGs menus, which yeah, I've played Dragon Quest, I just never finished any…

Or passed the tutorial for some.

It was… concerning to see how ‘gamey’ it all seem.

Yet the world… The world felt… real, as if thrown to medieval age real.

In any case, I was now studying a bunch of skills that I had unlocked thanks to today's grind.

I was proudly sitting at Level 4, 

Which meant… 

0.6 on attack still.

At the very least I got some new skills and shields.

–“Blending?” I read the newest unlock entry.

That's something that might come in handy…

–”Master? Sir?” I heard Raphtalia’s voice.

I turned towards her, she was eating the first batch of cooked fish, holding two of them, one in each hand.

She seemed to like the food, which makes me look forward to it as well. I haven't eaten anything decent since… that night…

Back with the racoon girl, she wanted to ask something.

–”Who are you? And what I mean is, who are you really?”

–”Hmm…”

This is probably the quietest moment we've had today. It makes sense that she's curious about me. Afterall, I'm her new owner, and from what I heard, the previous one wasn't a very kind one.

I guess she wants to know if she'll have the same fate with me.

As to which…

–”I'm… a ‘hero’...”

–”Huh?”

–”The Shield Hero. That's how they were calling me.”

The girl seemed to react at that comment.

–”W-Wait, do you mean... The Shield Hero from the Four Cardinal Heroes?”

I think they called us like that at the castle.

Or at least with Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu…

–”From what I've heard, yeah.”

After that, I glanced at her and the girl seemed a bit… different. She wasn't as lifeless as she had been until now, and she seemed to brighten up for the slightest bit.

I guess that the heroes here were of folklore, that would explain how she knows of The Cardinal Heroes, but not ‘know’ know them, if I make sense…

–”You're really the Shield Hero…” I heard the girl mumble as I continued with my work.

‘Or the Shield Villain, for other eyes…’

Raphtalia then realized her composure and got out of her stupor.

–”Please, sir. What do I call you?”

Sir? That's weird.

But I guess it makes sense that she wants to know my name.

That much I can give.

–“My name is Naegi Makoto…”

A quick thought came to mind.

–“...Or should I say Makoto Naegi? I don’t know how names work here…”

I glanced at the girl, who didn't seem to catch what I was saying.

I wouldn’t like for everyone to think that my last name is my first...

…Or would that be a good thing?

Questions for later.

–”Makoto is my name, Naegi is my family's.”

–”Makoto… Naegi…” Raphtalia repeated my name in… awe? To which… I didn't know how to respond.

At that, she threw a coughing fit, her illness acting up.

That was no good. 

I reached towards the girl to hand her a beverage I've been working on.

–”Drink.” I said as I handed her a leaf cup. Who would've guessed that all the useless handcrafts I did with Komaru would end up paying up.

The girl eyed the cup and then to me unsurely, doubt filling in.

Mind you, she was still holding onto her two fish sticks.

I spoke, hoping to quarell her worries.

–”It's medicine, I just blended it. It should help with your coughing.”

I held it closer to her.

–”Drink.”

At my insistence, she moved one of her sticks to her other, with a new free hand, she reached for the cup.

A couple of seconds later did she start gulping it down.

It was but a moment that her eyes widened.

–”Bluuuugh” She spat the medicine to the ground.

–”Hey, Hey! Don't waste it!”

–”It's so bitter!” She whined.

–”Good. Then it should work as intended.”

I grabbed the cup on her hands, making sure she doesn't spill it.

–”Now, Drink!”

–”BLUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHH” An echo resounded through the forest.

Once that was finished and Raphtalia cleaned her mouth with some clean water did I get a chance to taste my cooking.

–”Kids…” I thought out loud as I reached for another stabbed fish that was left to cook on the fire.

Visually, it seemed fine, a bit well done compared to Raphtalia's that were rather rare, eager to munch as soon as possible.

I gave a bite of my own on the cooked fish. Finally having something to eat that was free from those people's hands, unable to tamper with.

…

…

It's not as good as I expected. 

No, rather, it was still as regurgitating.

I still gulped it down, as I didn't want to leave a bad impression on Raphtalia…

…

…

Why do I care about that?

–”Hmm?” The racoon girl hummed in confusion.

–”Nothing. It's nothing.” I said as I threw the cooked fish to the river next to us, Raphtalia seemingly winced to see the fish go.

–”Don't worry. It didn't taste good.” I said, so she wouldn't worry about wasting food.

–”But it looked… delicious…”

–”It wasn't.” I shrugged.

I started preparing our camp for the night.

–”I'm still a novice cooking out in the wild. I'm honestly surprised that those fishes were to your liking.”

–”O-Oh, uhm…” Raphtalia mumbled a little.

She twiddled her fingers with one another.

–”I was… hungry.”

I stopped to process that statement. It made sense. This girl hasn’t been getting any decent food for, who knows how long. She would crave for anything that some sloppy cook like me could give her.

That made more sense than me cooking a good first meal with nothing but wood and fire for the first time. Coming to this world wouldn’t give me cooking skills out of nowhere.

–”And I had never tried anything like that…”

–”I see.” Was all that I answered.

Silence immediately fell after that, to which the girl seemed uncomfortable by it.

–”I-m-I'm sorry, sir.”

–”What for?”

–”For speaking up. I didn’t mean to say things like that.”

I was a little confused by that.

–”Like what? You didn’t say anything wrong.”

–”Th-Then why did you stay silent, sir? Were you not angry?”

I shrugged.

–”I’m just tired, I want to get to rest for the day.”

–”Oh…”

As we spoke, Raphtalia saw me prepare what would be our makeshift beds, and with makeshift, I meant just the grass. Had to move some rocks to get out of the way in case we rolled on our sleep. After that, I got the idea of untying my cloak for it to be used as a sheet. It was already big enough for me and without question it would be big for Raphtalia, but of course, there was only one.

It’s not an issue though, we would be sleeping in shifts to avoid surprises. A couple of Balloons wouldn’t be a problem, but we haven’t faced anything other than that just yet, so we had to keep watch.

 That meant that we could lend the cloak to each other once the other’s turn ended.

Once everything was settled and the dark was approaching, I turned to Raphtalia once more.

–”I’ll take the first shift. You can rest, I’ll wake you in around… five to six hours. Rest for now.”

I told her, but it honestly felt more like an order or declaration, as Raphtalia didn’t even reply. Neither did I wait for an answer from her, as I immediately grabbed my pouch and emptied the contents of it to list everything that we had.

After seeing me do all of that, Raphtalia decided to bid me goodnight. I replied with a silent nod and allowed her to drift to dreamland. And once more, I was left alone with my thoughts.

…

…

And I have not much to say.

I now have a slave. I don’t know what to say.

I’m hungry as hell, and I don’t know what to make of that.

And I’m alone as… I always was, I guess… It was only during Hope’s Peak that I started gathering more friends.

Never was a loner, but neither a people’s person. I was just, y’know. Just a guy.

I only ventured to be more outspoken once I met them. I felt that I had to try harder.

And now, none of them are here. Half of them perished and the other half believe that I’m dead.

And again. I don’t know how to take that.

I wanted to be hopeful at the beginning, inspired to see them once again, even after death.

If I died that is, I no longer know what to make of my last moments with Hina and Kirigiri-san. Did I really die? Was this some kind of afterlife? Or rather, hell?

But just as soon that I started having those thoughts did my stomach start rumbling, feeling how famished I was.

This, at the very least, felt real. So no matter what I say or how I coped, nothing would stop me from having this much hunger that I did.

But I will have to persevere until I learn how to properly roast fish or, admittedly less enjoyable, allow myself to indulge in the townsfolk delicacies, even if they were tampered with.

Wouldn’t be surprised to get food poisoning at this rate.

…

…

I’ll just put my mind into the items that I have…

That is, at the very least, productive. So I can prepare myself.

I began searching through everything.

The most abundant of what I had was a lot of unsold grass, some of which I used to make Rapthalia’s medicine. If I did things properly and the Shield hasn’t been leading me off, then it should help her with that.

I can’t have her around being like that.

If she’s sick, she can’t fight.

If she can’t fight, she’s of no use.

So it’s in my best interest to keep her healthy.

Next were a couple of rocks that I was keeping around. Some I bought to the people from before, at the shop district, others I found and kept around. Perhaps I can ask Raphtalia if she can discern something useful out of these. 

Next were some Balloon skins. I had a bunch of Orange ones, but those were not just the only ones I had anymore. With Rapthalia, we hunted Yellow, Blue, Red and even Green ones. Now I have a collection of these.

I had: Three Yellow Skins, Three Red, Two Blue and One Green. After that we easily got like fifteen of the Orange ones.

It’s crazy to think that it took me hours to get, maybe a dozen of these. Today we worked for just an hour before the sun began settling, and we easily got the double of that.

Once more, I felt the familiar feeling of the Shield craving for a snack, and out of sympathy, I complied. Handing it the three Yellow skins from the fallen Balloon monsters.

Last time, I gave it one and nothing happ–

[UNLOCKED]

[New Shield Unlocked: Small Yellow Shield. ]

[Description: A lightweight shield made from toughened material. While it may not offer the best protection, it possesses a unique property when put under pressure.]

[ +2 DEF ]

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Yellow Small Shield Skill: Reception: Temporarily enhances the shield’s absorption, allowing it to absorb incoming attacks. ]

…Well that’s new.

So to unlock a shield I need to fill a certain criteria? So getting X amount of something to receive Y?

It gets more bizarre everytime I see something that is similar to a video game in this world…

So, the Small Orange Shield took… How many? I think it was four? Or was it more? Yellow was four without a doubt… Then I doubt that the Orange Shield took me four… Do these scale with rarity or is it just random?

…Are there rarities in this at all? I don’t see anything that suggests that the Yellow Shield is rarer than the Orange one. In fact, I think the Orange Shield is just better?

I’ll have to test that new skill. On paper, it just sounds like an upgrade to protect something with the shield, but…

–”Yellow Shield.” I summoned the newly unlocked shield and it appeared on my arm with no problems.

It’s what I expected. Identical to the Small Orange Shield, only yellow and a tad bit smaller. 

The skill sounds good, but the shield itself?

I touched the part of the shield made out of the balloon skin, and as I expected, it felt almost identical to the Small Orange one.

The only key difference that I could tell was that this shield wasn’t as elastic as the Orange one.

And with ‘as elastic’ you can probably say that almost not at all.

It moved enough for you to realize what material this was made of, Yellow Balloon Skin, but other than that, it doesn’t… act the same way the Orange shield did.

Do they have any difference? The monsters seemed identical to one another at a glance, I can’t think of what would make them differ for this to happen.

I decided that enough probing on the new shield was enough. I eyed the other Balloon skins and I immediately went on a debate.

To absorb or to not absorb.

On one hand, other than the yellow skin, I didn’t see any of these being sold or bought. Perhaps they are rarer and have a larger value?

On the other… getting these was not any more difficult than the yellow or even orange balloons were. They just seemed to be less frequent. I don’t know if this means that they are rarer to come by, or if they even have a demand.

In the end… I ended up absorbing every single one of them other than the Orange peels, as I doubt my shield would get any further use out of them. That and we really needed the money.

…

…

How often can we get attacked by monsters?

Now that I remember, I didn’t keep watch on my lonesome, I would just sleep and shrug it off if monsters came by.

Is this really needed?

…Probably, wouldn’t want to be ambushed by a… bear or something…

…

…Are there bears in this world? As in, bears like mine, or rather monster versions of them?

I’m really scraping the bottom of the bottle, am I?

Other than keeping watch, I really don’t have anything else to do. It was tiring, but not an all nighter that I hadn’t pulled off previously.

I glanced at the form of the little girl sleeping with my cloak.

Leaving… everything aside… I do have to wonder.

How did things come to be this way?

How did she end up like this?

Where are her parents? 

Do I even want to know?

I shook my head, trying to dismiss the questions I wasn’t ready to face. My eyes drifted aimlessly to a nearby tree, its branches swaying quietly in the night. The silence around us should’ve been comforting, but instead, it felt... unsettling. Like the calm before a storm.

Just as I was lost in those thoughts, a piercing scream shattered the stillness.

–”NNOOOOO!!!” A terrified scream echoed out of nowhere.

I shot up from the dirt I’d been sitting on, heart racing, expecting a monster to attack us. My eyes darted around, searching frantically—but nothing. No monsters in sight.

I exhaled sharply, frustration rising.

I turned toward my slave, the source of the scream.

–”What the hell is wrong with–” 

But the words died in my throat.

–”They're dead! They're dead!”

The little girl, who was sound asleep just moments ago, was thrashing wildly, her arms swinging through the air as if trying to grab onto something—or someone—who wasn’t there

A panging grew deep within me as I rushed to her side.

–”Hey, Hey! What happened? Can you hear me?”

But it was no use. She was trapped in whatever nightmare gripped her. Desperate, I pulled her into an embrace, holding her tight.

–”Just calm down. Everything's okay.” I cradled her hair furthermore.

–”Father… No! My mother…”

–”...Don't cry.” I pitifully asked. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do in this situation.

–”...they're both gone.” She finally “calms” down, murmuring almost into whispers, I was unsure if she was saying that to me or… to herself…

–”It's… all right.” I tried to comfort her by brushing her hair. I never was good in… these situations.

–”It'll be all right…” were my concluding words for the night.

Neither of us will be able to sleep, it seems.

The next morning was, if anything, awkward. But we didn’t have the luxury to stay idle like fools and do nothing, so after enough dilly dallying, I just packed everything and told the girl to follow me without making any questions.

To which… I have to say.

I didn’t ask any questions after that.

It wasn’t my place to probe into her life.

And neither do I have to.

Ergo, I just wouldn’t ask.

We continued the day lightly, grinded through some more levels, killing more balloons and we eventually returned to town.

I paid a visit to the apothecarian again. I brought him more herbs this time, thanks to the help of Raphtalia, we now had the power of four hands to carry them. I managed to make quite the profit thanks to that. I also showed him the handmade medicine I made for Raphtalia. I had made more after last night for her, but thought to ask if they had any value, to which he was impressed by. So thanks to that, I have another fund of income to look up to, yet I still want to expand my horizons. I can’t sell everything to the apothecarian, he will eventually run out of money. 

To which… 

–”Do you happen to have any tools you don’t need? I’ll buy them.”

I had an idea.

Progress was made today. From literally running out of money, to making ten silver, and one hundred forty copper… the difference was day and night.

First thing I’m doing is paying Erhard back. Perhaps that will ease him.

After that, I’ll be allotting some of these earnings to pay back Beloukas. He offered Rapthalia for thirty coins, and I gave him one. Twenty-nine silver coins. 

That is… if he doesn’t ask for any interest…

I’ll go prepared.

I walked out of the store, outside awaited Raphtalia, she had stayed behind saying something that ‘her kind wasn’t allowed’ or something. I’d have to ask more about that.

She was distracted seeing a couple of kids playing around, kicking an orange ball, strangely reminiscent of the Orange Balloon Monsters.

She was completely lost in thought while following those kids with her gaze…

…

–“...Raphtalia?”

She didn’t seem to hear me out.

–“Raphtalia.”

–”Huh?!” I finally burst her bubble of thought.

I stood a second just gazing at the girl… She still seemed a little off, but…

–“...Would you like a ball like that?”

Her eyes widened, but her body trembled first.

–”No, I don't!” She said as she got off the boxes she was sitting atop. 

–”I'd never want a ball, not at all!” She said, but her tail wagging uncontrollably sold her out… 

I can’t help but shake my head, this takes me back to…

…

Nevermind.

At that I turned around towards the kids once more, and I ended up seeing a familiar face over there. The ball-maker was doing business around here, how convenient.

Guess we can finally have some profits out of the balloon skins that we’ve been collecting…

…

…And now that I think about it…

Since we had to free some space in our bags for the next time we hunt for experience and materials, we would have to sell most of our stuff. We also needed the money, so we’d be doing that anyway.

It was… pleasurable doing business with someone that didn’t outright hate my guts. Both the apothecarian and ball-maker were professional enough, if not neutral alright, to not let my “reputation” among the population of this city interfere with our businesses. Something that was… hard to come by when you are openly labeled as a rapist …

The ball-maker can’t buy much from us, but we get better prices from him. And at that…

–“Huh?” Raphtalia asked in question as to why the ball-maker was giving me one of his balloon skin balls that he makes.

–”Pleasure doing business with ya.” He said with a smile.

–”...Same…”

I can’t get the feeling that everything that everyone says around me are just lies. That everyone tries to deceive me so I can lower my guard down…

But I know the ball-maker isn’t one of them… or at least, I should know…

But I still can’t get it off my chest…

After we finished our business and we made a couple of steps away, did I hand over the ball to Raphtalia.

–”This is yours now. You can play around with it after we're done with work.” I said as she locked eyes with the ball in question.

Her mouth was agape, uncertain, but had a tinge of happiness brewed within that mix of emotions.

She quickly shook her head, clearing her confused state.

–”O-Of course!” She hastily replied, perhaps not wanting to keep me waiting for an answer, or fearing I’d be angered if she didn’t give me one…

With that done, I can start to calm down about her depressed state. Some recreation will do wonders for her mental health.

I can’t have her biting her own tongue to death because of it.

I have, no, need  to find a way to survive before the next Wave of Catastrophe hits.

Right now, I’m completely dependent on Raphtalia, and she is still weak. Not as weak as I am, but I doubt that we’ll be able to fend off these waves if we stay like this. 

We need to grow stronger.

We need to prepare ourselves for the worst that’s to come.

We need to survive.

–“Raphtalia!”

–”Yeah!”

*POP*

[RAPHTALIA: +3 EXP]

[+1 EXP]

*POP*

*POP*

[RAPHTALIA: +4, +2 EXP]

[+2, +1 EXP]

Things have been going better so far.

After selling all the balloon skins that I didn’t use for my shield to the fat merchant from the other day (At worse prices mind you, but at least acceptable.) I had decided to just go out once more to level up some more.

Back in the forest we usually went in, this time we had been more daring than before, reaching parts we haven’t ventured in just yet. To which…

–”Very well… I believe we can probably go deeper into the forest now. Don’t you think, Raphtalia?”

To which, the racoon girl barely mumbled.

–”I-I…”

–“RIIIII”

We heard a sudden noise. We both turned around in unison, spotting a white bunny coming out of one of the bushes from the forest.

–”Is that a… rabbit?”

Said rabbit menacingly showed its fangs as it lunged towards Raphtalia.

My eyes widened as I quickly moved in front of her.

–”Watch out!”

*MUNCH*

The rabbit fiercely bit into my arm. This was the strongest bite I’ve felt so far, but it thankfully didn’t hurt as much as I’d expect it to.

With gritting teeth, I grabbed the rabbit by its long ears and removed the thing from my arm before it could bite into it even further. WIth my other hand, I grabbed the back of its body, holding it high in place, now immobilized to escape or defend itself within my grasp.

–”Got it! Raphtalia! Now, stab it!!”

But the girl… hesitated.

She shook in fear.

–”Hurry up! What're you waiting for?”

She wasn’t obeying.

–”Raphtalia, what are you doing?!! Stab it!”

The girl flinched, yet she still didn't move. 

–”B-But I can't… It'll bleed if I stab it.”

…What?

–“I hate blood!” The girl declared, almost pleadingly so.

And right there, I don't what or why I was compelled to do so. 

But I snapped.

–”And you think I don’t?!?!” I roared, my voice echoing through the forest. My grip on the rabbit tightened as I wrestled with its relentless struggle, even if fruitless.

With a surge of frustration, I turned and slammed the rabbit against a nearby tree. It thrashed harder, refusing to give in, but I refused to let go either.

My outburst seemed to shake Raphtalia to her core, her trembling growing worse. But I couldn’t stop now.

–”I never asked for this!” I shouted, slamming the rabbit again. 

–“I never wanted blood on my hands or its smell burned into my nostrils!”

I slammed the rabbit once more as it writhed in pain, surprisingly. its movements slowed as I continued to hold it in place.

–”But you know what? It doesn’t matter what I want anymore!” My voice cracked, my emotions boiling over. 

–“There’s no choice but to adapt! That’s how I’ve survived, and that’s how we’ll both survive!”

I turned my head to her, my voice quieter but no less intense.

–”If you can’t fight, then step aside. I don’t have time to babysit someone who refuses to help. If you won’t face this world, I have no use for you.”

The finality of my words hung in the air like a blade, cutting deeper than I intended. I could see the pain in her eyes, but I couldn’t back down now. We didn’t have the luxury of kindness or hesitation, not here. 

Not now.

–”There's another Wave coming, and I don’t even know what those are, but from what I’ve heard, that could end everything.”

With gritted teeth, I can only imagine what awaits us. This world was not kind to me. Not to many.

My mind flashes the memories of the last days. How I was deceived, mistreated and betrayed for being the Shield Demon. The worst.

The weak.

–”I don’t have much time, but I need to get strong, stronger than I’ve ever been, as soon as possible. Otherwise, we're all wiped out.”

And as I said that, pushed the rabbit further, squashing it against the tree harder and harder, yet it was of no use.

–”But my attack is lacking. No matter how hard I try, no matter how strong I may be, no matter how long I do, I can’t even strangle this fucking rabbit!” I shouted, slamming some force onto it, but it felt like I did no damage.

My eyes glance down at my arm, the one forced to carry this… ‘Legendary Weapon’.

–”My shield only serves to protect, that’s all I'm good for, and probably all thay I'll ever need... *Tch* How ironic…”

In my search to protect those around me, it left be defenseless by myself…

Truly useless…

–”I need someone to fight for me. I need someone that can fight. If you can't, I'll find someone else, but I don’t have many options…”

Those last words that came out of me left with little hope remaining. I said that, but, what could I possibly do? Buy another slave? With what money? I haven’t even paid for Raphtalia yet…

–”Y-You… You'll fight the Waves of Catastrophe?” Raphtalia asked, her voice still quivering, yet she asked nonetheless. 

–”I have to. That's what I was… summoned for.” I answered.

Even if I like it or not…

–”I-I understand…”

I was confused by that, but when I turned once more, I saw Raphtalia grasping the hilt of her knife once more, ready to strike again.

–”T-Then I, too, have no choice…”

With realization hitting me, I moved the rabbit towards her, holding it in the air once more. At that, with renewed confidence, Raphtalia struck and stabbed the rabbit dead center, blood gushing out. I got surprised with how much came out, yet 

The rabbit’s corpse, unlike the balloon’s, didn’t pop or disappear. We were left with its entire lifeless body at our disposal… As if it was truly…

That’s when it hit me, all these menus, and all these… game-like elements… they are a farce, because as much as I could see and feel, this was real life, not a game.

My eyes landed on a panting Raphtalia, trying to scrub some blood off of her face. My fist tightened at that.

–”Master, I'll fight for you. Just don't-don't throw me away!”

I didn’t answer her… I didn't promise that I wouldn’t. I didn’t tell her anything after that.

But one thing was clear.

We needed to survive, we have to.

And I’m afraid that it’ll only be able if we do so together. The two of us.

This world… I'll rise up in this world. I'll overcome anything thay is thrown at me and change my flaws if need be.

No matter the costs.

I will prevail.

Once we had finished with our grinding session, we made another visit to Erhardt. 

Even if still bitter about last time, he still helped out.

Now, with enough funding, I was able to pay back Erhardt what I owed to him. Afterwards, I asked for a legitimate blade for Raphtalia to wield.

Due to her size, Erhard gave us a shortsword light enough for her to carry and use. He sold it at a cheaper price and I, begrudgingly. accepted his deal. I didn’t want to make yet another scene.

After that, I asked him a question I had in mind for a while. If he recommended us to go to another village for us to make more money.

And he did answer. He told us of a small village called Lute that wasn't too far from here. I believe it was the same village that… she, was talking about that nigut.

On foot, was quite a hassle, but we got around paying a carriage that was passing by.

We had finally arrived. We walked around the village to spot what was around until I found a street merchant sitting on the ground, he seemed to be a leatheworker, kind of like the ball-maker.

–”How much for it?” I asked as he inspected the rabbit fur I had skinned.

It was the first time I had done anything like it, believing it to be a rather sloppy job of mine, but…

–”I'd say... about two silvers, give or take a copper.”

–”Really?” I was pleasantly surprised by the pricing around here.

Looking around the street and not finding anything of interest, I decided to try my luck.

–”Would you happen to know of any spots here to make some money quickly nearby?”

–”Hmm…” I wasn't expecting much, but the merchant went into deep thought.

–”Well, now that you mention it, the ore coming out of the mines outside the walls.”

–”Mines?” I dumbly repeated after him.

–”Yeah, but you oughta fetch a decent amount, but…”

–”But…”

The merchant looked up, gazing back at me.

–”Ever since the first Wave came, it's become home to a bunch of dangerous monsters. These days nobody wants to go anywhere near that place.”

–”I see… And nothing has been done about it?”

–”Uh-huh.” The merchant replied with a nonchalant hum.

He seemed genuinely bothered by my last statement though.

–”I don't know what our summoned "heroes" are doing, but if you ask me, it isn't much.”

I wasn’t exactly sure how to reply to that. I was one of those heroes he was talking about, but…

I really wasn’t inclined to justify nor defend them…

Well, there wasn’t much that I could have done in the past few days about it…

But I can do something about it now.

–”Thank you for the information.” I thanked the merchant as I stood up, Raphtalia followed behind me.

From what I could see, this town was rather a modest one. Not too many people, but not desolate. It doesn't seem to have any specialty attached to it, it was just that, another town.

I haven't been scoffed or glared to shreds around here, and the merchant that mentioned the heroes didn't mention anything about the ‘blasted Shield Demon’... yet… It didn’t seem like those rumours had spread around here. 

How long will that be though?

In any case, we now had an idea of what we could do to get some money.

We trekked through the town just to get an idea of what was around and what not, however, what we were here for was clearly obvious now.

The mines.

So after renting a room and leaving there any items that wouldn’t be of use to us during our time in the cave, we went straight to it.

I was worrying about how we could get some pickaxes and tools to work with, so I decided that we could first make a small detour to scout the insides of the mines a little. I would be pleasantly surprised to see that, at the entrance to the mine, the makeshift warehouse that was now abandoned still had some functioning tools, albeit a little rusty.

“Don’t eye the teeth of a gifted horse they say… consider me blind then.”

I grabbed one pickaxe and some rope and, when I did, I felt how my shield yearned for a piece of them.

I couldn’t give it the pickaxe, we needed it and I don’t quite… think it would absorb it? The rope was fine enough though.

And, as per how I should be used to it now…

[UNLOCKED]

[New Shield Unlocked: Rope Shield. ]

[Description: One shield roped together. Mostly unconventional for defense as it’s made from softer materials. However, it holds a ‘power that comes with great responsibility’, or something like it is what your people say.]

[ +2 DEF ]

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Rope Shield Skill: Air Strike Shield: Temporarily summons a barrier with the shape of a shield to protect from afar! ]

Well, yet another exclusive skill.

...hold on, “my people?”.

I just shake my head to brush it off. Not the time for this.

I haven’t tried all of my skills but… this one sounds different from the ones I had before.

As my shield morphed into it’s newly acquired form, I raised my hand and aimed in front of me. 

–”Air Strike Shield!” I shouted, and to lo and behold, a green “air” shield appeared.

I… wasn’t expecting something so literal to be the case. Most things have been more cryptic so far.

And this… this looked like real magic…

–”Anything wrong, sir?” I heard Raphtalia beside me, realizing how she was staring at how I stood in awe like a fool.

I broke my concentration and pulled back my arm, doing so, the shield too ceased to exist.

–”No, it’s nothing. Let’s move on.” I trekked forward, and the girl yelped to catch up to me.

She was handing the pickaxe now, and we were going straight to the mines now.

At it, the little girl seem to not want to keep the peaceful silent we had, so she asked…

–”Um… sir?”

–”What is it?” I asked.

She fidgeted, but dared to ask.

–”I was just wondering about… I mean, how should I address you?”

Address me? Like master or that?

Ugh, that sounds horrible.

–”Call me whatever. I don’t care.”

Not like it’ll change anything…

–”A-All right then…”

After that, it was just silence between the two of us.

We reached the cave without issue, and luck seemed to be on our side—we had already spotted the ore we were looking for. The soft glow of the mineral reflected off the damp cavern walls, pulsing faintly...

Not a single monster in sight so far. That was good.

–"Raphtalia."

–"Y-Yeah!" She stepped forward, gripping the pickaxe tightly, ready to swing.

But before she could, I stopped her.

–"Give that to me. You keep watch."

She blinked, taken aback. I could tell she hadn’t expected that. Maybe she thought I’d make her do all the heavy work. And I could —that was the way this world worked, wasn’t it? But this was something I had to do myself.

I wasn’t about to risk her messing it up.

I took the pickaxe from her hands, adjusted my stance, and swung.

CLINK
CLINK
CLINK
CLINK-KREH

That should do it. My arms burned from the effort, but I had managed to break some of the ore free from its stone prison. I reached out, grasping the chunk in my palm. The closer I looked, the more mesmerizing it became—glowing with an almost ethereal light, like it didn’t belong to this world.

–"Good start. While we’re at it, save this, Raphtal—"

–"No!"

Her voice cut through the air, sharp and trembling with fear.

I turned just in time to see it.

A massive, two-headed beast was slinking toward us from the darkness, its glowing red eyes burning like embers. It looked like a cerberus that had been plucked straight out of hell, its black fur matted and bristling with hunger. Saliva dripped from its twin maws, and somehow, we felt each step it made on the ground.

It had been waiting for us.

–"Raphtalia!" I called, but she wasn’t moving. She was frozen, her eyes locked onto the beast, her breathing shallow.

I barely had time to react before it lunged.

I threw myself in front of her, bracing as one of its heads crashed into me, slamming against my shield. The impact rattled my bones, my boots skidding backward against the rock. But I held my ground.

The other head, however, wasn’t so easily stopped.

It twisted its thick neck, jaws snapping toward my throat with terrifying speed. I barely managed to jerk to the side, feeling the rush of air as its fangs missed by inches. One bite—that’s all it would take. One mistake, and I was dead.

I gritted my teeth, anger bubbling inside me, raw and unrestrained.

The shield hummed against my arm, a faint glow sparking to life. Energy swirled in my chest, something primal, something furious.

I wouldn’t let this thing take us.

–"GET AWAY!"

[Skill Activation: Rejection!!]

The hound-dogs winced as they were pushed back by the force of my skill. Then, I grabbed Raphtalia and began running 

I ran while carrying her, however, it was obvious that the twindog would outrun us eventually. I looked around, to see if I could do something, but other than fight, I couldn’t come up with anything.

And with the trembling racoon girl in my arms… I don’t think that’s an option.

–”Raphtalia?! Can you stand?!”

But she didn’t reply. She didn’t listen.

With gritting teeth, I kept running, I ran as much as the ground would allow us to, as we were quickly to meet with a cliff.

I looked around for anything. ANYTHING to do. Somewhere to jump, somewhere to land, somewhere to stand, but I was out of reach from ALL of it.

I couldn’t reach there… I just couldn’t…

If only I had that–

[New Weapon Skill Unlocked!!]

[Rope Shield Skill: Tether Grab: Throws out a rope to grapple around with –

–”THAT’S IT!”

[Skill Activation: Tether Grab!!]

As if I was some arachnid hero, I managed to grapple us away from the cerberus monster just in time before it struck us down to fall to the subterranean waters around here. We swinged out, crossing the rock to the opposite mount were had been standing on.

With that moment of relief, I tried asking the girl again.

–”Are you alright?! Can you breathe?”

–”Dog... monster…” Her lips trembling.

She was speaking again.

–”It killed all the villagers-- even my… mother and father…

My eyes widened, realizing how she was probably reliving her nightmare.

–”During the first Wave?”

She didn’t answer, as only her ragged breaths came out.

I slowly but surely climbed back up to land. However, I quickly noticed how the monster was still giving us chase.

–”Is that the same monster that killed your parents?”

–”No…” She meekly answered.

I was going to ask something else, but the monster had arrived, it was now waiting for us at the other side of the rocks.

It seems that this monster is smarter than what it looks, If it jumps up to us, he’ll fall. He’s giving us just enough space for us to jump, so we can believe we can outun it again…

But that won’t happen… he won’t allow it…

I grumbled, as I turned back to the girl behind me,

–”Listen, Raphtalia!

–”H-Huh…?”

–”I need you to take that thing out here and now.

–”Wh-What?!”

I gritted my teeth, but pushed further.

–”Only you can fight here… If you do and you make me stronger… then we can fend off all of these monsters, along with the Waves of Catastrophe!

I heard her mumble something, but I didn’t care.

–”That way, we’ll make sure nobody goes through the same things again.”

I didn’t want to say this… but I have no option.

–”I can’t bring back your parents… Nor can I change the past…”

My fists tightened up as I prepared myself, changing my shield to the Small Yellow Shield

–”But we can make sure that no other kids lose their parents like you did! We can change their future! And ours as well!”

This was it, all or nothing.

–”We can do it!” I screamed, as I lunged through the rocks and landed in front of the dog monster. Who didn’t doubt to chew me down.

[Skill Activation: Reception!!]

I stayed put and my shield glew up in a yellow light. Even though I expected the shield to not be as resistant to the orange one, it’s skill definitely helped up, as it held itself very well against the bite the first head of the dog had for me.

The beast’s jaws clamped down on my shield with a sickening crunch, the sheer force rattling my bones. My feet slid back against the rock, but I planted myself firm, pushing forward with every ounce of strength I had left. The shield glowed, the yellow light flickering under the strain, but it held.

Then, another set of teeth.

The second head lunged around my defense, sinking into my exposed arm. Pain shot through me like a lightning bolt, white-hot and searing, but I gritted my teeth and bore it. The fangs dug deep, flesh tearing, blood soaking into my sleeve. My arm shook, threatening to break my guard, but I couldn't. If I faltered now, Raphtalia and I were as good as dead.

–"Master!" Raphtalia's voice cracked, panic thick in her tone.

I couldn't turn to her—I couldn't let her see the agony twisting my face. All I could do was stand my ground. Endure.

The monster tightened its bite, bone grinding against bone. My vision blurred. The pain threatened to steal the breath from my lungs.

–"I can only… protect…" My voice was hoarse, barely more than a whisper.

CRUNCH.

Another bite.

–"...That’s all… I can do…"

CRUNCH!

Blood dripped from my arm. Each time it bit me, more and more blood fell, staining the ground beneath me. The shield’s glow flickered again, weaker this time. My strength was failing—I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out.

–"Raphtalia…" I forced myself to look at her, my body trembling under the strain. "You gotta… kill it!"

She flinched, stepping back, shaking her head violently.

–"I… I can't…"

–"Then we're both dead!" I snarled through clenched teeth. The monster jerked me side to side, trying to rip me apart. My shoulder felt like it was seconds from being torn from its socket. "If I die, you're next! This thing will kill us both!"

The words barely left my mouth before—

CRUNCH!

A guttural scream ripped out of me as the monster’s jaws clamped down harder, the pressure unbearable. My vision darkened at the edges. I could feel the last of my strength slipping.

–"Raphtalia…" My breath was ragged, my voice desperate. "That’s… an order!!"

The slave crest flared to life.

Purple electricity crackled around her, forcing her body to comply. She screamed, her small frame writhing in pain, but—even then—she didn’t move.

Even as the curse tore at her, she refused to lift her sword. To even move…

I saw it then. It took me all this time, but I did.

The sheer terror in her eyes.

The pain.

The suffering.

The wish for it all to be over.

And her unshakable will to defy the magic forcing her hand.

She was sold to me as a slave.

She was from a fantasy race. A racoon girl for god’s sake!

But she was still… human.

Human like me…

And I was forcing her into this. Treating her like a mere tool.

I clenched my jaw, tightened my fists and… while closing my eyes, I decided to give in onto the fate that I was being given.

–"...Raphtalia." My voice was barely audible now. "Stop… just stop."

The magic faded, the glow dissipating. Raphtalia collapsed onto her knees, gasping for breath, her whole body trembling. But she still looked at me—pleading, desperate for an answer.

–"If you can't fight," I said, my voice hollow, "then just get the hell outta here."

She sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide with disbelief. 

–"B-But what about you, Master?"

"I'll—"

CRUNCH .

The monster bit down again. My shield flickered—then the glow died completely.

One more… just one more bite, and I was done.

–"...buy you time to escape…" My words slurred, the pain overwhelming now. "You gotta run… I don't… I can't…"

She shook her head frantically. 

–"No… Then that'd be just like my parents…"

–"Just GO!" I roared, using the last of my strength to hold the monster back. "HURRY UP AND RUN!"

I felt my grip weaken. My fingers began losing strength… soon, it would be my arm next, and the dog would have free reign on me.

That was it, wasn’t it? The sign that it would all be over soon.

I turned to face the beast head-on, staring into those glowing, predatory eyes. The other head was still feasting on my arm, the wet sound of tearing flesh making me sick to my stomach. Even with the Shield’s defensive bonuses dulling the pain, it was unbearable.

At the very least, if I died, it would all be over.

No more struggling. No more suffering.

No more being hated.

No more failing.

To meet my end here… after everything… would that be so bad?

Even hell would be better than this…

I deserve it anyway.

The monster growled low, sensing my weakness. Its jaws tensed around my arm, preparing to rip away whatever was left.

I didn’t resist. I just stood there, letting it happen. My body trembled, but not from fear—just exhaustion. My legs felt like they were about to give out. My mind was numb.

I’m giving in.

I’m giving up.

Let this torture end… I want it to end…

But… Raphtalia hasn’t moved yet… I haven’t heard her since…

Why…

Just…

Why?!

Why  is everything I do pointless?

Were…

All of my struggles…

In… 

vei–

–”HYAAAAAAAA!!!!!!” I heard a scream.

Raphtalia’s scream.

The air split with the sound of metal cutting through flesh.

The beast jerked back, howling, blood spraying into the air. Its head snapped away from my arm, releasing me, reeling from the force of her strike.

I barely had time to process what happened before I saw her—Raphtalia, her sword buried deep in the monster’s flank, eyes blazing with a determination I hadn’t seen on her before.

She wasn’t running.

She wasn’t giving up.

She was fighting.

For me.

The monster roared, both heads turning toward her now, ready to tear her apart, and my instincts took over.

–"Air Strike Shield!"

[Skill Activation: Air Strike Shield!!]

A translucent barrier materialized between Raphtalia and the lunging jaws, intercepting the attack. The impact sent her skidding back, but she quickly regained her footing.

But I wasn’t done.

The beast recoiled, shaking off the stun, and I knew the shield wouldn’t hold for long. I reached to it, my shield morphing into the Rope Shield—

–"NOT YET!!"

[Skill Activation: Tether Grab!!]

The rope shot out like a striking viper, wrapping around Raphtalia’s wrist and yanking her toward me just as the monster’s fangs snapped down where she had been standing.

–"Go!" I shouted, using all my strength to throw her into the air—above the monster, right between its two heads.

She understood immediately.

Mid-air, she twisted her body, gripping her sword with both hands.

A single moment of stillness.

Then—

With only one stab, she plunged her blade deep into its chest. Plunging hard to stab it’s heart.

The monster howled in agony, its body convulsing violently—then, with a final twitch, it collapsed.

Silence filled the air, as I stood watching how the beast fell…

I saw how Raphtalia fell on her butt as she landed in front of the monster, breathing hard, covered in blood.

I could barely stand, barely breathe. But I was alive.

She saved me.

We were alive.

Because she chose to fight.

I swallowed hard, my voice weak.

–"Raphtalia–"

–”Don’t…”

She turned, her expression breaking, as her eyes filled in with tears..

–”Don’t leave me, Mater!”

I had to blink to process it, and before I knew it, she was right back with me, clutching tightly and fierce.

–"I won’t let you die! Not ever, Master Makoto!"

I exhaled, a shaky breath escaping me. It hurt, but… It wasn’t a bad thing…

Maybe… just maybe…

I didn’t deserve to die after all…

–”For… For as long as we fight… like how we did just now…” I breathed out, patting her head.

–”Then we won’t die… I won’t… let you die either, Raphtalia…”

Her sobs overcame her, and she cried on my shoulder.

–”Yes! I’ll fight, Master Makoto! I’ll fight!”

–”That’s… Good…”

I felt weak. Weaker than even before. Perhaps it was my low health points, perhaps I was bleeding out, or it was just the adrenaline leaving my body as I relaxed with Raphtalia on my arms.

My world… became… black…

–”M-Master Makoto?”

–”MASTER MAKOTO!”

I gasped, feeling my lungs burn as if I had been drowning, my heart slamming against my ribs. My body lurched forward on instinct—I had to move, had to stand—but the second I did, I realized something was wrong.

Raphtalia was gone.

The mines were gone. So was the beast and… everything.

I was… nowhere.

A never-ending black void stretched infinitely in every direction. There was no up, no down, no sense of balance. Just emptiness.

Had I died? Had my body finally given out? Was this what REALLY came after?

I took a step forward, but my feet found no ground—only the sensation of movement. Then, a voice cut through the silence like a blade.

–"What did you do?"

Cold. Accusatory.

I turned, my stomach knotting in recognition before I even saw her.

Kyoko Kirigiri stood a few feet away, her back facing me.

I blinked, my breath catching. She was here. Why was she here?

–“…Kyoko?” My voice wavered. “What’s going on? Where are we?”

She didn’t answer right away.

Slowly, she turned to face me.

And my blood ran cold.

Her eye—

Just like before. Just like that day.

Purple. Swollen. Corrupted. Ruined.

Poisoned.

A fresh bruise stained the skin around her eye, raw and dark, as if time had never moved past that moment. As if it had never healed.

No—this wasn’t right. That injury had long since faded. Hadn’t it?

I swallowed, trying to force words out. 

–“Kyoko… your… eye… Its–”

She tilted her head slightly, as if mildly surprised that I had even noticed.

Then, she smiled.

Not her usual, unreadable smile.

A mocking one.

–"Oh? You just noticed?"

The way she said it—like she was amused at my delayed realization—sent a shiver down my spine.

“I—" My throat felt dry. "What happened to you?”

Her expression didn’t change. 

–"Isn’t it obvious?"

I shook my head, not making sense.

–“No… this isn’t right. You were fine before. Why does it look fresh? Why do you look—?”

–"Like this?" She gestured vaguely to herself.

I nodded hesitantly.

She let out a quiet, bitter chuckle. 

–"I wonder…" She looked at her wrist.

Something was wrong.

Kyoko wasn’t like this. She wouldn’t toy with me like this. She was… always calm, always rational. But now…

There was something in her gaze.

Something sharp.

Something hateful.

A lump formed in my throat.

–“…Kyoko, just… tell me. What happened?”

For the first time, her smirk faltered.

Then, her voice dropped.

–"You happened."

The words landed like a punch to the gut.

I flinched. 

–“W-What…?”

She sighed, as if she were tired of explaining something obvious. 

–"You still don’t get it, do you?"

She took a step closer.

I stepped back.

She took another step.

I stepped back again.

There was nothing beneath me, nothing holding me up, and yet I felt like I was being backed into a corner.

–"No matter how many times you screwed up." Her voice was steady, emotionless. 

–"No matter how many times you failed. No matter how many times you stood around and did nothing —you still walked away. Unscathed."

The cold accusation sent ice through my veins.

–“That’s not true—”

–"Isn't it?"

I opened my mouth—but nothing came out.

Because I didn’t have an answer.

Because she was right.

I had survived.

Again. And again. And again.

Even when I shouldn’t have.

Even when others didn’t.

I clenched my fists. 

–“That’s not … Y-You know I never wanted anyone to—”

–"And yet… they all did."

My breath hitched.

Kyoko sighed again, like she was disappointed. 

–"You were never good for anything."

The words cut deeper than any blade.

–"Yet so many fell before you did. You kept walking forward while others were buried behind you. Beneath all your rubble… Guess you really were lucky after all."

I shook my head. Clutching it. 

–“No… No, I—”

Her lips curled into that mocking smirk again.

–"But even luck eventually runs out."

Before I could process it, another voice tore through the void.

–"What are you?! Some goody-two-shoes bitch?!"

I barely had time to turn before the impact came.

BLAM

Mondo’s fist connected with my face.

It was just like before—just like when we first “met”.

And my world turned dark once more… Like it always did…

The dull sting on my face pulled me back to consciousness.

I groaned, my body feeling heavy, my limbs sluggish. Everything ached, my arm pulsed with a deep soreness, and my face—

–“Ughhh…” I grumbled, wincing at the throbbing pain. It stung like hell.

I shifted slightly, only to realize just how exhausted I was. My body begged me to stay still, to sink deeper into the soft comfort beneath me.

Soft?

That was when it hit me.

Where was I?

Blinking a few times, my vision adjusted to the dim light. Wooden walls. A familiar window to my left. The scent of slightly aged linen.

…Our room.

The same inn we had checked into before heading to the mines.

I exhaled, relieved, but as I tried to sit up, something held me down—a small, warm weight pressing against my chest.

Confused, I looked down.

Raphtalia.

She was curled up against me, her tiny hands gripping my shirt tightly, as if letting go would mean losing something precious. Her breathing was slow, steady, her face peaceful despite the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

Did she… carry me all the way back?

The thought of her struggling to drag me—injured, unconscious—back to this room made my chest tighten. She must’ve been terrified.

I hesitated, then gently raised a hand to her head, running my fingers through her soft, slightly messy hair. She stirred at the touch, but didn’t wake.

Then, I noticed it.

A faint dampness against my side.

Ah….

I knew exactly what this was.

I didn’t react. Not with disgust, not with frustration—just… quiet understanding.

I knew this feeling. The shame. The helplessness. The silent, gnawing fear that someone would find out and shame you for it.

Carefully, I continued stroking her head, my fingers threading through her hair in slow, comforting motions.

–“It’s… alright… It will pass…” I murmured softly.

Her ears twitched, and slowly, her eyes fluttered open.

For a moment, she looked disoriented, blinking up at me in sleepy confusion. 

–”M-Master?” She asked, and I didn’t know if I should’ve laughed or not.

It was cute seeing her fight her sleepyness, however she quickly regained focus and smiled with relief.

–”I-I was… I was so scared master, I thought you died… I carried you here as fast as I could and then I–”

Her words died on her throat.

Then, I saw it—the flicker of realization, the way her tiny body tensed as she became aware of her surroundings...

Shame flooded her fragile gaze and red filled her every feature.

But I didn’t let her sink into it.

Before she could recoil or shrink away, I gave her a small, reassuring smile.

–“Don’t worry… It won’t be like this forever…” I said, my voice steady, certain. “Things will get better…”

Her lips parted slightly, as if those words were foreign to her. As if she didn’t quite understand how someone could just… say that.

I let my hand rest lightly on her head, warmth in my touch.

–“You’ll see.” I continued brushing her hair.

For a long moment, she just stared at me. Confused, disbelief, as if a third head suddenly had grew on me.

Then, slowly, her grip on my shirt tightened again—not out of fear this time, but something softer. Something… desperate in a different way.

She didn’t say anything.

But she didn’t need to.

And I didn’t let go.

I’M SO SORRY!

MAN! THIS ONE TOOK A LOT MORE THAN I WOULD HAVE LIKED IT TO… YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WANTED TO UPDATE THIS STORY. In any case, I’ve had enough holidays for… a while. I’m back into writing in full force!

Red to Z chapter 2 had my full attention after I posted the first chapter, i kept this story on hold until I “published ONE chapter” but that never came to be, so I decided to end this chapter as I was actually closer than I realized to do so and… yeah. In any case, if you read this, thank you for reading. I hope this was to your liking and… probably not but, worth the wait.

Thank YOU for reading!