Chapter Fourteen: Official Request
After we got back to the village, S’yne wandered off to a little nook and started sewing. It was probably best to just think of her vassal weapon as a sewing set. From the looks of it, she seemed to be making a stuffed doll. What was she up to?
It had become apparent that it was about time to really focus on finding Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki. I couldn’t imagine those three winning a fight against an enemy like the one we’d faced earlier. Motoyasu had been ambushing Filo repeatedly, but even he hadn’t shown up for close to a week now. I’d been on high alert watching out for new attackers from other worlds ever since our encounter with that man. S’yne always seemed to be keeping an eye out at the village, too. The whole . . . not knowing when they might show up thing was just creepy. I didn’t like it.
Other than that . . . bandits running wild within my territory had become an issue, too. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been doing anything for the past week. I’d been busy with everything from training Keel and the other slaves to traveling around selling our wares to make some money. I couldn’t just sit around on the lookout all the time.
“Hmm?”
I was walking around mulling over how to deal with all of these problems when I came across two familiar characters. One was a nervous girl that gave off an aura of misfortune, and the other was a stubborn woman in a plain set of armor. In other words, it was Rishia and Eclair.
“We’re back,” said Rishia.
“Greetings, Mr. Iwatani.”
I’d heard that they had gone off somewhere recently to do some more serious training with the old lady.
“Hey. Did you two finish your training?”
“Not yet. I was told to come back and give you a hand for now,” Rishia replied.
“Me too.”
Give me a hand? What was that all about?
“Have you noticed any results from your training?”
“I think Rishia and I are supposed to be back to get some experience in actual battle. Our training is probably going to continue after that.”
So the old lady sent them to me to have them experience real combat before continuing. That made sense, but that old lady sure wasn’t making things any easier on me. The real problem was Eclair, though. What did she think her job was, anyway? She was supposed to be deputy governor, but whenever she had a spare moment, she’d run off to train with the old lady. It was so bad that even Melty had been complaining. I guess she just intended to let me and Melty take care of all of her duties.
“But I’ve only really learned the Hengen Muso style on a superficial level,” said Eclair.
“I’m in the middle of learning the style in its entirety.”
“Superficial level?” I asked.
“Anyone can learn the style on a superficial level, but only those with a special aptitude for the art can master it at a deeper level.”
“Hmm . . .”
I stared at Eclair.
“What is it, Mr. Iwatani?”
“Is that really okay? I’m afraid if you only learn the style halfway, you’re just going to end up being the underdog that gets bitten.”
“Ha! Who do you think I am? I was the one who continued sparring with the teacher when Rishia here ran out of energy and collapsed!”
“You’re comparing yourself to Rishia, though . . .”
“Fehhh . . .”
Rishia had probably gotten stronger to a certain degree, but I was sure she still had no stamina—from a rudimentary stats perspective, anyway.
“The style emphasizes fundamental movement patterns and the flow of magic and life force over skills or techniques. Getting the hang of it has been difficult,” Eclair explained.
The old lady was crazy strong, so I trusted her skill, but I didn’t really understand the style very well. You could apparently cheat by using life force water to help you get the hang of it more easily, though.
“I’ve gotten the hang of it for the most part,” said Rishia.
“Oh? Does that mean you’ve unlocked that mode that you could only use against Kyo before?”
“P . . . probably. I’m starting to be able to recreate something that feels similar.”
“Now that’s something to get excited about, right?”
Rishia had a puzzled look on her face. Was her awakened mode already her new normal or something? Was she one of those characters that keeps powering up to ridiculous levels of strength? Maybe she could take me out in one hit now. I knew a manga where something like that happened. That would suck if that actually happened, though.
“What about you, Raphtalia? You haven’t been able to train properly since you’re always running around with me, right?”
Raphtalia looked at me with a troubled expression on her face.
“Umm . . . I told you this when we were training with Glass, but I can already use the style to a certain degree. I just can’t use the same kind of techniques that Eclair and Rishia can because of the vassal weapon.”
“Oh? The old lady did mention being able to enhance skills or something, though.”
“That’s true. Focusing your power can make them more effective.”
So I guess Raphtalia could already do something similar. I remember being just on the verge of managing something similar, too. I think they had mentioned Filo could already do it. That’s just what Raphtalia and Glass had told me, anyway.
“I probably should spend some time training seriously, though,” she said.
“Right now, we can’t be sure when there will be another attack. Of course, we’ll never get anything done if we’re too busy watching our backs,” I replied.
Sending Raphtalia to train might be an option, but it wasn’t one I could choose in our current situation. I really needed to spend some time training myself, too, but . . . I just didn’t have the time.
“What does the old lady say?” I asked.
“She said that Raphtalia still has a lot to learn since she’s your most trusted companion,” Rishia replied.
“I see . . .”
Having Raphtalia around was a big help. We’d been together forever, too, which made coordinating with each other easy. Still, spending some time training wasn’t a bad idea. For her, and for me, too. We had to be wary of attacks, so I’d have to give the timing some thought.
“What do you plan to do now, Mr. Iwatani?”
“We can’t just stay cooped up here watching our backs forever. We have an overgrowth of dangerous monsters and they’ve started showing up near the villages, so I’m thinking about going to take care of that. Melty asked me to do something about the bandits that have been active in the area, so we can do some bandit hunting, too, while we’re at it.”
“Ah.”
“What’s that response? You realize both of those are things you’re supposed to be taking care of, right?”
“Ugh . . .”
I’d hit the nail on the head and Eclair fell silent. Oh well . . . I’d been thinking I should do some leveling of my own before long, and a periodic monster cleanup could provide me with a regular source of experience. My stats may have been decreased, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t raise my level.
“I . . . I’ll go with you, then. Rishia will, too, of course.”
“Perfect. You can show me how much you’ve improved.”
So . . . me, Raphtalia, Rishia, Eclair, and . . . Filo for transportation. We should be able to face pretty much any enemy with that lineup. If we did end up getting defeated somehow, it’d be safe to assume we had no chance of winning to start out with. Anyway, S’yne would probably come running if anything did happen. She still had one of her marking pins stuck to my armor, after all.
“Also . . . Atla.”
“Yes, what is it?”
Atla showed up as soon as I called her name. She’d been so quick that it made me wonder if she had just been hiding somewhere waiting for me to call. To think she’d started out as the token sickly girl . . .
“What?!”
Fohl glared at me with a vexed look on his face. These two were actually pretty active around here. They were still far from being able to class up, but I wanted to see what they could do. But what was up with Fohl’s reply, anyway? All I’d done is call Atla’s name and that’s the response I get.
“We’re going to level and I want you two to come help out.”
“Understood. I’ve been looking forward to accompanying you, Mr. Naofumi.”
“Atla! You don’t have to—”
“Save it, Brother.”
Fohl was about to make a fuss, but Atla gave him a sharp jab to the chest with her finger.
“Guh . . .”
That was all it took for Fohl to hug his stomach and fall to the ground. Huh? It seemed like Atla was the stronger of the two.
What was that move, anyway? She must have hit a pressure point or something.
“Mr. Iwatani, according to the master, there is no need to teach Miss Atla here the Hengen Muso style. Apparently, being blind has greatly increased her aptitude for the art,” Eclair explained.
I guess that meant the old lady had already taken a look at the new slaves of the village. She was kind of like my combat adviser, so she did stay in the village, after all. Judging whether someone had an aptitude for the style was supposed to be a specialty of hers. This was before I’d bought Atla, but I remembered her mentioning that Filo and Sadeena were particularly adept.
So Atla was adept, too, huh? Even more than her lively big brother, Fohl? But I guess when I thought about it, she had been going about her daily life normally, despite being blind. So she must have had a good sense of life force and all that. She might have actually been a better purchase than her brother.
“Umm . . . I guess she should be fine if that’s the case. I’m counting on you, Atla. Alright, let’s head out.”
“Mr. Iwatani, where have the bandits been showing up?”
“Apparently they’ve banded together in a certain area of the mountains lately and are building a stronghold there.”
I unfolded a map and showed Eclair where the bandits had been active. It was a prime location for ambushes.
“Heh heh . . . Sure was nice of them to gather up all in one spot for us, right?”
“Why do you look so excited, Mr. Iwatani? I’ve never seen you smiling like that before.”
Eclair seemed a bit creeped out. Had my expression really been that odd? Bandits were good about stockpiling all kinds of valuables. They were perfect for robbing. Plus, this was an official request, so there would be a reward. It was killing two birds with one stone.
“Mr. Naofumi seems to enjoy hunting bandits,” said Raphtalia.
“It’s a lucrative venture, after all. And we get to make the territory a safer place at the same time.”
Eclair eyed me suspiciously. Whatever. Someone that prioritized training over running the territory had no room to speak.
“Apparently there’s a new bandit chief that’s risen to power lately, and we’ll be wasting our time unless we capture him.”
These new bandits were supposedly well organized, which was going to be a hassle. I’d captured some bandits yesterday while we were out selling some goods and I heard them whispering about it.
“Chief?”
“According to some of the bandits we captured, the guy recently became the boss of a nearby group of bandits. They say he’s really combative.”
The slaves had been ambushed while out vending but managed to turn the tables on their attackers. It was comforting knowing that they had gotten a lot stronger.
“And this guy is fleeing despite being combative?” asked Eclair.
“That’s the thing. I don’t know all the details, but apparently the boss is really distrustful and rarely makes appearances. But he’s also supposed to be strong enough to pick off even the toughest of adventurers one by one without a problem.”
“It doesn’t really make sense . . .”
I couldn’t argue with that. It sure didn’t sound very boss-like. You could make it sound good by calling him a strategist, but you could also say he was being petty. Either way, the type made for a really annoying enemy, and that’s exactly why it’d fallen on us to get serious and go take care of him.
“The bandits do exactly as the boss says. He targets a group and the bandits cause a disturbance. They force the members of the group to separate in the confusion, and then the boss picks them off himself, one by one. That’s their strategy.”
Still . . . why were they using such troublesome tactics? It was hard to tell what they were really after.
“That’s why even if they manage to round up his subordinates, they can’t capture the boss. Our job is to catch that chief.”
“Hmph. What a troublesome bunch of bandits.”
I couldn’t argue with that, either. They were definitely troublesome. As long as the boss was alive, he could always get more subordinates. And if they were using such elaborate tactics, they would probably have more than one hideout, too. But that meant more bandit hunting profits, too.
“Either way, the plan is to head out to where the bandits have been showing up and do our monster hunting there.”
“Okay.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
Just then, Raph-chan came waddling over.
“Rafu!”
“Oh? Hey, Raph-chan!”
It’d been too long since I’d last given Raph-chan a good petting. She was in charge of keeping stress levels low among the slaves, so she hadn’t been spending any time with me lately. Raph-chan kept her distance when Raphtalia was around, probably to try to keep Raphtalia happy. That polite restraint was one of the things that made Raph-chan so cute.
“Rafuu!”
“Yeah, you’re a good little girl, aren’t you?!”
“Mr. Naofumi? Why do you look like you’re enjoying yourself so much?”
“Because I am.”
Raph-chan was so cute. She really was the best. I hadn’t had much time to play with her lately, so if I had a chance to pet her, I wasn’t going to pass it up.
Raphtalia sighed.
“You want to come bandit hunting with us, Raph-chan?”
“Rafuuu!”
Oh? It looked like she wanted to come, too. I guess I would take her along. I was really starting to look forward to this.
“Mr. Iwatani . . .”
Eclair sighed.
“Don’t give up, Raphtalia.”
Eclair seemed to be trying to encourage Raphtalia for some reason. Did something happen?
“Rafu?”
“Alright! Filo is over in the next town with Melty, so somebody go fetch her. We’re gonna go clean up some monsters and hunt some bandits!”
I gave the order and everyone quickly began making preparations.
“You’re moving so much better. I hardly even recognize you.”
Rishia took the lead and went straight to stomping out monsters. It must have been a result of the old lady’s training. Anyone that knew the old Rishia would probably think they were seeing some kind of illusion. Actually, that’s exactly how I felt.
She was using a short sword—the Pekkul Rapier—as her primary weapon along with a whip and a throwing knife with a rope attached to it. She would throw the knife while using the whip to grab a monster at the same time. As soon as the knife hit the target, she’d pull the monster in and skewer it with the Pekkul Rapier. That final stab was a Hengen Muso attack known as Bound Thrust or something. The name of the skill was a bit simplistic. It sounded like something made up by a teenage otaku stuck in their own little fantasy world. Other than that, I was impressed.
Plus, she was fast. Even before, Rishia got really strong when she got overly emotional, but she had surpassed that and become even stronger now, as far as I could tell. She was really good at throwing objects and hitting her targets, too. Add in some defense penetration or something and she’d be hard to beat.
I really needed to start taking my training seriously. I’d put it on the backburner after establishing an amicable relationship with L’Arc and Glass, but . . . considering the kinds of enemies we were going to be facing from now on, it probably wouldn’t hurt to be able to pull off some similar moves.
Rishia was level 70 now, by the way. It looked like she would hit the next level quicker than she’d gone from 69 to 70, but she still had a long way to go. I thought she might experience some kind of awakening when she hit level 70, but there hadn’t been any big change when it happened. Even so, she was a lot stronger than her stats would have implied. I was really surprised, honestly. This was just a guess, but I bet if Itsuki saw Rishia now, he would ask her to come back. Although, he was an exceptionally proud person, so he probably wouldn’t actually say the words.
“Really? I don’t really feel much different . . .”
So she hadn’t noticed the difference. I guess even if she had gotten stronger, the fundamentals remained the same. As I mulled over the thought, I noticed Eclair cut down a monster. It was a pretty impressive attack, although not quite as impressive as Rishia’s. She’d definitely become stronger than before.
“That was amazing, Eclair.”
Raphtalia complimented Eclair, clearly impressed.
“I still can’t compare with you, Raphtalia, but I am one step ahead when it comes to the Hengen Muso style. You better catch up soon.”
“You can be certain I will.”
It seemed like Raphtalia and Eclair had become friends. Completely disregarding their exchange, Atla came over and called out to me.
“Watch this, Mr. Naofumi.”
“Okay.”
Now to find out what Atla could do. I wondered if she was stronger than her brother.
“Atla! This is my mon—”
“You’re in my way, Brother.”
“Oof!”
Atla jabbed Fohl. He fell forward onto the ground and she climbed up and stood on top of him. A huge wild boar monster called a razorback was barreling toward them, but Atla stopped its charge head-on with just one hand. All she had done is place a single finger on the tip of the razorback’s nose. The razorback appeared to be trying to charge forward with all its might, but it didn’t budge an inch. Huh? It was like she had superhuman strength or something.
“Forgive me.”
Jab !
Atla leapt toward the razorback and poked it in the forehead. That’s all she had done and yet . . . the razorback’s eyes rolled back into its head as it began foaming at the mouth and fell over. Huh? Was it dead?
Received 70 EXP
I’d gotten experience. It was like some kind of assassination technique or something. For some reason, it seemed like it would do more damage than defeating the monster normally. Had she gouged out its brain or something? It hadn’t looked like she’d done anything but poked the thing.
“I did it!”
“N . . . nice . . .”
Genius is a scary thing. Atla appeared light-years stronger than Rishia or the lady knight. And barehanded?! I’d just realized I hadn’t given Atla a weapon. No, wait. I was sure I must have given her one along with the rest of the slaves. I guess she just didn’t use it.
The monsters here were . . . around level 40, on average. That was child’s play with this group. I poked Fohl, who was still lying on the ground with Atla standing on top of him. I felt kind of bad for the pitiful brother.
“Yah!”
Filo was in her filolial queen form jumping around and kicking monsters left and right. Like usual, it was clear she knew how to handle herself in a fight.
Anyway, we were mowing through monsters without any need for me to use my shield. I probably should have been doing something, but I just felt redundant. Everyone had gotten so strong . . . I was starting to feel a bit alienated.
“Mr. Naofumi, is something wrong?” asked Raphtalia.
“Nah.”
“Raphtalia, bring us some more monsters so Mr. Iwatani has something to do. Otherwise, Sadeena is likely to steal him away from you!” Eclair quipped.
“Understood!”
“I wasn’t asking anyone to worry about me! And why are you nodding so vigorously, Raphtalia?!”
What the hell was Eclair talking about?! And why the hell do I have to end up with that drunkard?!
“Oh, whatever. If it’s going to be like that, I might as well use this. Hate Reaction!”
I’d just use Hate Reaction to draw nearby monsters to us as we made our way to a location with monsters that were a bit tougher. We made our way deeper into the mountains, and before long we started to see some monsters with dragon-like characteristics.
Ah, that reminded me . . . Dragons lived in really remote regions. I guess we had left the area the bandits had been active in. But that was fine since it was a chance to see just how far we could go. Besides, I could absorb the materials into my shield to get some nice little stat boosts. Or at least that’s what I figured, but for some reason I hadn’t been able to unlock any dragon-related shields. The Demon Dragon Shield had been really slow to appear, too.
“Mr. Iwatani!”
“Mr. Naofumi! You’re needed!”
“It’s finally my turn, huh?”
There was finally a monster that they needed my help with. I held it down, and the others attacked it. The rest of the monsters were weaklings, and everyone went about clearing them out on their own. We’d all leveled up after a while, but one person’s growth had been particularly remarkable. The instant her level changed from 70 to 71, all her stats shot through the roof.
Her name: Rishia Ivyred.
Was it because of her training? No, I was pretty sure increasing physical fitness wouldn’t affect status magic, so that shouldn’t cause a sudden rise in stats. Since we hadn’t run into any bandits that day and just ended up fighting monsters the whole time, Rishia made it to level 72 and when she did her stats shot up another thirty percent or so. Her stats had already reached about half of what Raphtalia’s were before being chosen by the vassal weapon.
That may not have seemed like much since Rishia’s stats had been a measly one-third of that to start out with. But if Rishia kept improving at this pace, she should catch up to where Raphtalia was by the time she hit level 75. Apparently the awakening of Rishia’s abilities started when she hit level 71. I guess I could finally really look forward to her making a significant contribution on the combat front.
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