Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Oodles of Ambushes 

So we had departed, which was all well and good, but . . . that certain someone showed up, after all. 
“Nooooo!” 
“Filo-taaaaa—” 
I sighed as I watched Motoyasu fly off into space for the third time today. He must have been using his teleportation skill to get ahead of us somehow, but it was still pretty impressive. Raphtalia and all of the slaves had shrieked in unison the first time it happened. But I guess witnessing a person being kicked off into space would get a shriek out of most. 
“That guy with the spear was smiling as she kicked him. That’s pretty freaky.” 
“I’m probably going to have nightmares about that.” 
“That’s scary. Just scary.” 
Great, now Motoyasu was traumatizing all of my slaves, too. Maybe it was my fault for ordering Filo to kick him, though. 
“Just what in the world is he thinking?” asked Raphtalia. 
“Who knows?” 
I had been wondering how we should try to take the broken Motoyasu into custody, but if he was going to keep showing up this frequently then we could just try to talk some sense into him somewhere along the way. As we made our way further away from human habitation and deeper into the mountains, I suddenly noticed someone standing in our path. 
 
“Is that Motoyasu?” I asked. 
“Nooope!” 
Oh? Filo sure had good vision. She seemed to be confident, even though the person was quite far away. 
“Then I guess you should try not to hit them.” 
“Okaaay!” 
Filo continued running at her normal speed. I had planned on just passing by, but the person spread their arms out and blocked the way. 
“What does that mean? Do they want us to stop?” I wondered out loud. 
It could have been an emergency or something. Filo must have read my thoughts, because she came to a stop in front of the person. 
“What is it?” I asked the person. 
There were people that stopped our carriage like this every now and then when we were out peddling our wares. It was usually someone who had been injured or who had run into some monsters and needed help. 
The person looked like a man. I wasn’t sure how old. He was rather small, but he looked older than his size let on. Maybe he was in his twenties. It was hard to tell. His hair was brown. His face reminded me of one of those comedians who are impossible to hate, despite being a bit of a scoundrel and always telling dirty jokes. I guess he was a human, but it seemed more appropriate to describe him as a mousy fellow. He was wearing a cloak that hid his clothes underneath, and it looked like there was some kind of red liquid spattered on it. Maybe he had been injured. 
 
“Eeehehe . . . Stop the carriage, will ya?” said the man. 
“We’re already stopped.” 
He sure was an arrogant little bastard. Did he not realize that standing in front of a carriage and trying to stop it might be a little dangerous? 
“Just making sure, but the Shield Hero is in that carriage, right?” he asked. 
The queen had been nice enough to hang the Shield Hero sign on the carriage. That was supposed to be a sign that I was on board. 
“Yeah, I’m Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero. What do you need?” 
Judging by the way things were going, this is where he would ask for my help. But the man’s response was completely unexpected. Suddenly, standing before us was . . . a new enemy. 
“Oh really? Eeehehehehe! In that case . . . die!” 
The man threw his cloak open and hurled a small ball of magic at me. What the hell? “Die”? Was he a member of the Church of the Three Heroes? 
“Shooting Star Shield!” 
I cast a defensive barrier centered on me and prepared to defend against the attack. It wasn’t that I was being careless. There was only a handful of people in this world that could injure me, since the curse hadn’t affected my defense. That was my only consolation. But for someone to even try to ambush me was just ludicrous. 
At least that’s what I wanted to think, but then Murder Pierrot popped up somewhere in the back of my mind. It was always possible that there might still be someone out there unlike anyone else I’d encountered before. 
 
Just in case, I jumped on Filo’s back and readied my shield. But I never thought that this would actually turn out to be one of those cases. 
Just before the ball of magic reached my Shooting Star Shield, it began to swell up and then exploded with a loud pop. 
“What?!” 
“Whoa!” 
The explosion was centered on my shield and blew the roof of the carriage behind me right off. Hold on! Just how high was this guy’s attack power?! 
“You’re full of openings!” he shouted. 
The man swung a sword that looked like a shamshir at me and Filo. 
“Zweite Aura!” 
I quickly cast a spell to raise Filo’s stats. 
“Here I goooo!” 
With me still on her back, Filo did a flip and kicked at the man. But the man used his sword to block her kick. 
“What’s the idea, all of a sudden?!” 
Raphtalia unsheathed her katana and swung at the man. 
“Oh! I heard the hero with the holy weapon drags pretty little girls around with him, and it looks like the rumors are true! Eeehehehe! You are the harem type, after all!” 
This bastard seriously pissed me off with his annoying laugh. The man appeared completely unpressured as he drew another sword with his free hand and blocked Raphtalia’s katana. No way! Her stats may have been lower than usual, but I was pretty sure Raphtalia still had a huge amount of attack power. Her strike would have sliced right through most blades with ease. 
 
“—?!” 
Raphtalia seemed to have noticed a weakness or something, because she readied herself to use a skill. 
“Brave Blade! Crossing Mists!” 
It was her finishing move that used dual katanas to produce a cross-shaped strike. It would be really something if he could block that. 
“Oh!” 
Apparently blocking Filo’s kick and Raphtalia’s finishing move at the same time was pushing his limits, because the man took a step back. Not on my watch! 
“Air Strike Shield!” 
I produced a shield behind him to stop his retreat backward. 
“Oh! Safeguard! Earthen Wall!” 
A wall shot up out of the ground right in front of Raphtalia while she was still in mid-attack. She swung her katana down, striking right through the wall at the enemy, but the man crouched down and dodged the attack. I didn’t even think a dodge like that was possible! Producing shields haphazardly was obviously pointless. The exchange had only lasted a few moments so far, but I could already tell that the man knew how to handle himself in combat. 
“Magic Shot! Meteorite Mobilization!” 
The man rapidly formed a hand seal and cast something that seemed like magic. He was fast! Then again, that wasn’t really anything to get worked up about as there were people out there like Trash #2, who had been so proud of his ability to cast magic without an incantation. 
 
“Bubba!” 
Keel called out to me when she and the others finally recovered from their state of shock, but this was no time for chatting. A massive meteorite appeared above in the sky and was headed straight for us. And it was crazy fast! What kind of magic was this?! I’d never seen anything like it. This was just a guess, but I had a feeling this guy was from another world, just like Murder Pierrot. But I didn’t have time to think about that at the moment. I had Keel and the other slaves with me, and this guy was casting magical area of effect attacks on us. 
“Filo! Raphtalia! Restrain him!” 
“Okay!” 
“Understood!” 
“Second Shield! Dritte Shield! Shield Prison! And Zweite Aura!” 
I used my Second Shield as a platform to suspend me in the air and then cast my Dritte Shield up above me. I used E Float Shield for extra protection above and readied my shield. I had cast Zweite Aura on Raphtalia to try to buy us a little time, but . . . 
“Disarming Shot! Earth Evasion!” 
Raphtalia blocked the man’s magic, but . . . 
“My . . . strength?!” 
There was a visible decrease in Raphtalia’s speed. 
 
“Eeehehehe! Is this the first time you’ve had support magic nullified? Have you never been in a real fight?” 
I had a feeling the man still wasn’t struggling. Damn it . . . We’d found ourselves hurled into the very predicament that I’d feared was a possibility. 
“Huh?” 
Raphtalia cocked her head to the side in confusion. But at that moment I had to figure out what to do about this meteorite barreling toward us! The meteorite had smashed through my Dritte Shield and Shield Prison up above, destroying them. E Float Shield finally reached its limit and shattered, too. Now the meteorite was coming straight for me. 
“Ughhh . . .” 
I felt the massive impact hit my shield and reverberate throughout my body. I’d just barely been able to withstand it. 
“What are you doing to bubba?!” 
Keel and the others drew their weapons and began running toward the man. 
“Wait! You all stay back!” 
Keel and the others ignored me and kept running. 
“Too late! I was hoping this might be more of a challenge. Eeehehehehe!” 
“Keel!” 
Raphtalia called out to Keel. At the same time, the man must have determined Keel to be a weak link, because he turned in her direction and raised his shamshir. Raphtalia was doing everything in her power to come between Keel and the attack, but it was questionable whether she would be able to make it in time. It might have just been my imagination, but it seemed like Raphtalia was moving quicker than just a moment ago . . . but it still didn’t look like she was going to make it. 
 
Shit! Keel and the others still couldn’t keep up, even with their newly increased stats. They were nothing but a hindrance right now. I began to see everything in slow motion, and just as the man’s shamshir was about to pierce Keel’s chest, that’s when it happened! A loud clashing sound rang out as a large pair of scissors appeared in front of Keel and guarded her from the attack. 
“Huh?!” 
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Murder Pierrot was standing before the man with her scissors in hand. 
“Spider Web!” 
“Bah!” 

Murder Pierrot wrapped the man’s shamshir in thread and attempted to restrict his movements, but the man cut the thread and leapt away. 
“You ok—?” 
Murder Pierrot spoke to Keel, but her words were mixed with static like usual. 
“Y . . . yeah!” 
Just as Murder Pierrot appeared in front of Keel to protect her, the meteorite that had been looming overhead as it pressed against my shield exploded outward. Ugh . . . I’d been able to withstand the impact, but it hurt pretty bad. My armor was damaged in several places. I jumped down off of Second Shield, landing firmly on the ground, and turned toward the man with my shield readied. 
 
“Well if it isn’t the vassal weapon holder from the destroyed world. I guess you’re still alive, huh? Eeehehehe!” 
I guess they knew each other. Murder Pierrot glared at the man belligerently. Destroyed world? 
“But yikes, the holy heroes in this world sure are weak. I get to take it easy and enjoy myself this time. Eeehehe!” 
What was with this creep? The way he spoke implied that he was from another world. But . . . the impression he gave was unlike Kyo’s arrogance, Trash #2’s selfishness, or even L’Arc and Glass’s sense of purpose. 
“Are you a vassal weapon holder?” I asked him. 
“Me? That would be nice, but I didn’t make the cut. Eeehehe!” 
“This jerk———friend of the chosen heroes———another world ———” 
Murder Pierrot tried to explain. I guess that meant that the enemy was in a position kind of like Keel or Filo. Kind of like Therese, maybe. Taking a better look at the man, I noticed he was wearing a strange pendant that hung down over his chest. Maybe it was an accessory that was translating for him or something. 
“What a disappointment. I was hoping to enjoy this a little bit more. Eeehehe!” 
“Are you saying . . . we’re weak?” 
 
Raphtalia pointed her katana at the man as she replied. 
“Honestly, you’re weaker than I expected. This is easysauce.” 
“We’ll see about that!” 
Raphtalia moved at an incredible speed as she slipped into the enemy’s guard and prepared to strike with her katana. 
“Oh my! What’s this? You sure sped up all of a sudden!” 
The man’s eyes were wide with surprise. I was surprised, too. Why was Raphtalia able to move that fast? 
“You made a big mistake when you used that spell to nullify Mr. Naofumi’s support magic.” 
Mistake? I hadn’t noticed any miscalculations in the man’s attacks so far, but . . . Wait. If he had nullified my support magic, that meant he had erased a beneficial buff. In other words, it was highly possible that his spell could have similarly removed any lingering detrimental effects. 
“Your spell seems to have removed a curse that I was stuck with.” 
“Bah!” 
Raphtalia unleashed attack after attack, and the enemy could no longer do anything but defend. 
“Eeehe! Impressive! But now it’s my turn!” 
Raphtalia swung her katana at the enemy as he brought his hands forward to prepare to cast a spell. He launched his magical attack with an incantation that bordered on nonexistent, but it failed to hit Raphtalia. She continued to swing and dodge, driving him further and further into a corner. I guess he hadn’t actually been that strong, after all. But something about the fact that he wasn’t even a vassal weapon holder didn’t seem right. 
 
“Damn . . . It looks like I should probably retreat for now. Eeehehe.” 
“You think we’re going to let you do that?” I asked. 
“Indeed, you’re not going anywhere!” 
Raphtalia snapped at him as she continued to attack. Clearly not wanting to pass up a good chance, Murder Pierrot set her sights on the man, too. 
“Nah, escaping is a breeze! I’ll be back, so prepare yourselves!” 
The man brushed his hand against his pendant before forming a ball of magic and thrusting it into the ground. A bright flash of light filled the air and blinded us for a brief moment. With abilities like this, despite not being a hero . . . I guess he was kind of like a powered-up version of Therese or something. Damn it! They always managed to escape like this! Just as I was about to get pissed off— 
“Gah!” 
Huh? I blinked a few times and looked over at where the man had been standing to see Murder Pierrot holding her scissors buried into his chest. 
“I thought you might———so . . .” 
“Ee . . . eehe. You got me! That won’t work next time!” 
Murder Pierrot jerked the scissors from his chest. Blood spattered out and the man crumbled to the ground. He was dead . . . or was he? Murder Pierrot snipped her scissors shut loudly, turned to face me, and stepped off to the side, implying that I should inspect the man. 
I took a close look at the man that Murder Pierrot had killed. It was just a hunch, but I figured I might learn something by inspecting the corpse, since he had been from a different world. Just then, I noticed that there was a faint light seeping out of the man’s body. What was that? Don’t tell me it still hadn’t ended! And then, all of a sudden, the man’s corpse faded away as if it had been a mirage. 
 
“Huh? What the hell?” 
“Those guys———” 
Murder Pierrot tried to explain, but the static was terrible and I had no idea what she was saying. After a brief moment, Murder Pierrot seemed to give up on explaining and asked a simpler question. 
“You ok——?” 
“Yeah, but . . . wasn’t your timing just a little bit too good? Are you sure you’re not in cahoots with that guy?” 
“Oh, come on, Mr. Naofumi. Aren’t you being a bit overly suspicious?” 
“She’s right, bubba!” 
Raphtalia and Keel spoke up in defense of Murder Pierrot. I understood what they were trying to say, and I wanted to trust her myself, too. But her timing had been just too good. I couldn’t ignore the possibility that they had planned the encounter in order to win my trust. I realized I was being overly skeptical, but there was just too much at stake that I needed to protect. Allowing myself to trust others easily just wasn’t an option. 
“That’s not——” 
Murder Pierrot reached her hand out to my shoulder and plucked something from my armor. It looked like one of those marking pins used when sewing. 
 
“I used this to keep an eye———use it———come to you at any time.” 
“Is it like a portal skill, then?” I asked. 
My skill could only teleport to bound locations, but I guess Murder Pierrot’s skill could teleport her to wherever she had placed the pin. 
“When did you even . . .” 
“——the coliseum.” 
“Aha, so you put it on me during our fight? Wait, that means you’ve been observing me!” 
Murder Pierrot looked away, but I could see beads of sweat forming on her forehead. 
“I don’t want to see———of the holy weapons get killed. I want to help ———” 
It seemed like Murder Pierrot was trying to say she wanted to help me out, but . . . 
“I see———curse had lowered your stats.” 
“Yes. Although, that’s been taken care of now.” 
Raphtalia sheathed her katana as she responded. 
“It sure was lucky that the spell the enemy used to nullify my support magic removed the adverse effects of the curse, too,” I said. 
I doubted we’d get that lucky the next time. If there had been one enemy like this, there were bound to be others, too. I couldn’t afford to be running around with my stats lowered by a curse when there were people out there looking to kill the holy heroes. Also, I needed to find Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki fast or they were likely to get killed by these creeps. I wouldn’t have had to worry quite so much if those jerks would’ve just used the power-up methods I’d told them about. 
 
“Mr. Naofumi, it’s a fact that Murder Pierrot saved Keel and the others. Don’t you think we should at least let her tag along?” 
“Hmm . . .” 
I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the fact that Murder Pierrot had been observing us, but it might not be a bad idea to keep her close, even if she was planning on setting a trap. 
“Hey bubba. Is this girl strong?” 
“Well, her speech is always cutting out. But yeah, she seems to be on the strong side.” 
Something the enemy said had me curious: vassal weapon from a destroyed world? 
“What was the enemy talking about when he mentioned a vassal weapon from a destroyed world?” 
Murder Pierrot cast her gaze downward. Then she glanced at her scissors. 
“In my world———were killed, and the world———” 
An expression of deep regret came across her face as she mumbled quietly. I suddenly remembered the legends we’d learned about in Kizuna’s world. Glass and the others had been trying to kill the holy heroes of other worlds to protect their own world. That meant . . . Murder Pierrot must have been the survivor of a world that had been destroyed by that kind of fighting. 
Maybe the reason Murder Pierrot’s speech cut out is because her vassal weapon was beginning to malfunction, since her world had been destroyed. Perhaps she had snuck into another world and her own world had been destroyed while she was away. And then in order to stay alive, she had been traveling to different worlds using the waves ever since. It made sense. When she showed up at the village, she’d asked me to let her stay there until the next wave. 
 
I sighed. 
“Fine. But this doesn’t mean that I trust you. I’m going to keep a close eye on you.” 
“Okay . . .” 
“Even so, you really saved us there. Thanks.” 
“Sure . . .” 
Murder Pierrot nodded. I shifted my gaze from her to Keel and the others. 
“Alright then. I wanted to see how strong you all have become after your class-up, but it looks like that will have to wait until another time.” 
“That really sucks, but I totally understand, bubba.” 
“Alright. Murder Pierrot, what’s your real name?” 
I couldn’t imagine her ring name being her real name. Murder Pierrot was a mouthful, so I figured it would be best to find out her real name. 
“S’yne Lokk.” 
Hmm . . . Her first name was only one letter off from Witch’s adventurer alias. It was getting harder and harder to trust her. Witch’s adventurer alias was originally Myne Suphia, by the way. It had been changed to Whore now. 
 
“Alright then. Nice to meet you.” 
“You too . . .” 
And so it turned out that S’yne would end up staying at the village after all.