Siltvelt gave us their full support after that. We loaded up onto one of their ships and set off for Q’ten Lo. After some time had passed, we dropped anchor at the port of a small country to the east. I registered the spot as a portal location and we returned to the village temporarily. “Oh! Welcome back, Shield Hero!” Imiya exclaimed. She and the other villagers welcomed us back when we arrived at the village. “Thanks. It took a while, but we’re back,” I replied. “We were all worried,” Imiya said. She updated me on how things had been, and I looked around at all the villagers. S’yne was there too. As far as I could tell, not much seemed to have changed. “S’yne was a bit on edge a few days ago,” Imiya said. “Ah, so you saw that?” I asked S’yne. She’d probably wanted to help but resisted the urge to come since I didn’t call on her. It didn’t feel like we were in danger of losing at the time. We weren’t even really struggling. “S’yne’s familiar gave us periodic updates on what you were doing, so we have a pretty good idea of how things went,” Imiya continued. “I———” S’yne began and then cut out. Hmm, I wasn’t sure whether that was convenient or if I should feel like I was being spied on. But I guess S’yne was kind of like my bodyguard, after all. It only would’ve been a problem if I got accused of a crime and S’yne served as a witness to testify against me or something. But judging from her behavior so far, it was probably safe to assume that wouldn’t be an issue. “Were there any attacks on the village?” I asked. “Several,” Imiya replied. “Ah, so there were after all,” I said. There’d even been an attempt in Siltvelt too, apparently. The guards there were really sharp, though, and they took care of the Q’ten Lo assassins before they ever reached us. Sadeena jumped in the water and started firing off lightning several times while we were on the boat earlier, so I knew the assassins were still coming. But they hadn’t made any more large-scale attempts yet. Q’ten Lo probably couldn’t risk making any big moves against a powerful country like Siltvelt.
“We were able to successfully fend them off with the help of the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero. But the attacks were smaller in scale than the first one,” Imiya explained. “Oh yeah? Where are Ren and Itsuki?” I asked. “They’re training in the neighboring town at the moment,” she replied. That meant they were with the old lady. “Mel-chaaaan!” Filo exclaimed. “Hey, Filo. If you’re going over to the town, let Ren and Itsuki know that I’m back,” I told her. “Okaaaay!” She was energetic as usual. I think she might’ve enjoyed playing with Melty a bit too much, actually. But they were good friends, so I guess it was fine. Not long after, Ren, Itsuki, and Rishia returned to the village. “We heard you were back, Naofumi. We came to check in,” Ren said. “Yeah. We pretty much resolved any issues with Siltvelt,” I replied. “I heard you got tangled up in some pretty messy stuff. Maybe we should have gone, after all.” “Nah. It probably would’ve made things even more complicated if you guys had been there.” I was sure the Siltvelt leadership would’ve treated us quite a bit differently if Ren and Itsuki had been there. That lion bastard would’ve most likely spouted off something about not being able to trust a Shield Hero who’d established amicable ties with the heroes of a hostile country. “Everything went smoothly, thanks to me,” Atla said. “. . .” She sure chose the perfect timing to gloat about her performance. The fact that I couldn’t say she was wrong was really depressing. It really came down to that powerful attack in the end, and it was thanks to Atla’s and Fohl’s performances that the Siltvelt leaders finally gave in too. So I couldn’t really argue with her. I shrugged it off and ruffled Atla’s hair before telling her to settle down. “Atla! Ugh . . .” Fohl moaned begrudgingly. It was the truth, so he’d just have to shut up and deal with it. I wasn’t sure if taking them had been a good or bad decision, because now I really owed them one. I’d have to think about how to settle the score.
“I hate to admit it, but . . . I can’t deny that Atla did play a big part,” Raphtalia agreed reluctantly. “It sounds like you had a lot to deal with. So how long until we’re able to get into Q’ten Lo?” Ren asked. “If everything goes as planned on the water, they say we should be able to get there by the day after tomorrow,” I said. “Oh? Is that you, kid?” The old weapon shop guy showed up out of nowhere for some reason. “How are things going so far?” he asked. “We were just discussing our progress. But what are you doing here?” I replied. He’d gone back to the castle town last I knew. “I never heard back from you after that mess, so I closed the shop down temporarily and brought Tolly to come check on you,” he explained. “Ah, I see. Sorry about that. I’ve had my hands full,” I said. After we got everything settled in Siltvelt, thanks to Atla, I’d been pretty busy with other things. After looking into the Jaralis thing and searching his house, we rushed around getting the ship ready and then set sail for Q’ten Lo. I hadn’t had time to return to the village, much less stop by the weapon shop to give the old guy an update. “So you’ll be able to reach the country you’re headed for by the day after tomorrow?” he asked. I pointed at the map. “Oh, so that’s where it is. That’s perfect. Do you think I could tag along? There are some materials around there that can’t be found anywhere else. If you’re heading into Q’ten Lo, I’d like you to take me with you,” the old guy pleaded. He clasped his hands together for dramatic effect. When I didn’t say anything, he pulled out the assassin’s broken weapon that I’d given him after the attack. “Tolly and I took a look at this weapon and I think we figured something out,” he said. “Oh yeah?” I’d asked him to check the weapon out. Did that mean there had been some kind of development? “It seems like our master is the one who crafted it,” he continued. “What?”
I remembered hearing the old guy and Imiya’s uncle talk about their master a little bit before. “You’re telling me your master is the one who forged Q’ten Lo’s mysterious weapons?” I asked. “There’s a good possibility he did. So could you take me with you? I’d like to look into it some more,” he replied.
“But . . .” Even if that were true, did I really need to take the old guy with me? I would’ve preferred to have him stand by at the village or go do some work in the neighboring town while he waited. Then again, I did owe him after all he’d done for me. “It’ll be dangerous,” I said. “I’m aware of the dangers, kid. I can hold my own in a fight too, you know. I won’t go down easily,” he replied. Hmm . . . This was a request from the one-and-only old weapon shop guy, after all. I was still thinking about it when Ren raised his hand. “I think he should be fine. He’s even given us a few lessons while we were training over in the town,” he said. “Now that you mention it, he’s the one that taught me how to use a sword too,” Raphtalia said. She stood there reminiscing for a moment. “Only the most basic of basics,” the old guy said. “I’ve been teaching her a little something too, lately,” Sadeena interjected. “Yes, I’m finally starting to understand how to use a katana properly,” Raphtalia replied. “I’ve noticed that, now that you mention it. You’ve become a rather troublesome opponent,” Atla said. “I don’t plan on losing to you, Atla,” Raphtalia replied. Now that they mentioned it, I did notice Raphtalia training with Sadeena while we were on the boat. Sadeena had been giving her a detailed explanation of how to use a katana. Sadeena was most proficient with harpoons and spears, but she seemed to know how to handle a variety of weapons. Was there anything she couldn’t do? “What’s your actual level?” I asked the old guy. “I used to be an adventurer, you know. I’m level 87, give or take,” he replied.
That was higher than I expected! In that case, he would probably be fine. I guess. It still made me a bit uneasy, though. “Hmm . . . Alright, then. But I’d prefer to bring you once we’ve landed in Q’ten Lo and made sure things are safe,” I said. “Oh, come on. I could use a little bit of adventure every now and then too. Besides, you or the little miss might end up killing the master if he happens to be on the enemy’s side for some reason. That would defeat the whole purpose, right?” the old guy replied. He had a point. All I knew about their master was that he was a swordsmith. Checking the identity of every enemy we fought probably wasn’t feasible. I could always take Imiya’s uncle instead, since he knew their master’s face. But considering their levels, the old guy made more sense. “You better not do anything crazy. And I want you to stay close by,” I said. “I know all of that! You sure are a worrywart, kid,” the old guy replied. Well, yeah. He’d done so much for me. It was only natural that I’d worry about him. “Naofumi has a sharp tongue, but generally speaking, he’s always thinking about protecting others. It only makes sense that he would worry,” Ren said. Ren spoke up on my behalf. Why was he acting like he suddenly knew all about me? I had a feeling commenting would only cause trouble, though, so I kept my mouth shut. “And what about us? Should we go with you too?” Ren asked. “I was planning on having you stay here to deal with any attacks on the village. I don’t want to leave the place without anyone to fight back,” I replied. I mean, it wasn’t like the villagers were helpless. But they still needed someone here to fight alongside them as their leader. And when all was said and done, Ren and Itsuki were pretty much a dream team. The two of them together would basically be considered OP, or overpowered, in gamer terms. It would be nice to have them with me when I invaded Q’ten Lo, but that would mean neglecting defense back at headquarters. It helped that there hadn’t been many attacks so far. But it would be a real problem if the enemy managed to capture the village while I was gone and then held the residents hostage.
“Of course, that’s only until we make it into Q’ten Lo,” I continued. I could teleport back and forth with my portal skill, so I could return to the village at any time. I figured things would work out if I used that advantage to keep the village defended. That was why I had S’yne keeping tabs on me at all times from a distance, after all. “Besides, we’re still traveling by boat, so we have to think about fighting on the water. Putting you in a situation like that could be dangerous, right?” I told Ren. “Ugh . . .” he groaned. That’s right. Ren couldn’t swim. On top of that, there was a good possibility we would end up facing enemies that were like mass-produced Sadeena clones. Putting Ren in a situation like that would be too risky. I couldn’t have him getting killed in battle right after we’d finally gotten him on our side. “Why don’t you try working on your swimming if you have some spare time? Luckily for you, some of the weapons you can unlock using sea monster materials have adjustments that make swimming easier,” I said. “Okay, I’ll do that. Still, it will take time . . .” he mumbled. “Of course. I realize that. That’s why I want you to watch over the village and town for me. I’ll use my portal to call for you if you’re needed,” I replied. “Okay. Sorry I can’t do more,” he said. Ren was always so serious now. My opinion of him improved with each day. “Don’t worry about it. More than that, I really wish you two would hurry up and go to the Cal Mira islands to get rid of those curse effects,” I said. We were on high alert and didn’t have time to go register the hot springs as a portal location. But it would still be a while before they fully recovered from their curses, and that was a problem. I wasn’t sure what to do about that. “Itsuki, you can swim, right?” I asked. “Yes. I can swim,” he replied. Itsuki hadn’t changed. He always responded, but he still seemed to lack any emotion due to the effects of the curse. That made him far easier to deal with than before, but the complete absence of emotion was kind of creepy. “If I’m going to take one of you with me on the way there, it would be better to have Itsuki, since he can make ranged attacks from the ship,” I said.
“If those are your orders . . .” Itsuki replied. Hmm . . . Deciding what to do with Itsuki wasn’t any easier than it was for Ren. Having him there during the trip would be nice too, of course. But even more than that, if something were to happen upon our arrival in Q’ten Lo . . . I had to consider the possibility that we might end up having to fight as soon as we got there. In that case, it definitely made sense to have him with us at that point. I couldn’t expect Ren to help fight while we were on the boat, but Itsuki could still prove useful. He came as a set with Rishia too, and the two of them together were pretty formidable. I was worried about the Q’ten Lo equipment that weakened attacks made by heroes, but that would be an issue no matter where we were fighting. “Hey! Hey! Little Naofumi!” Sadeena called out. “What?” I asked. She spoke up as soon as I finished talking. “Considering what lies ahead, I think you should take Gaelion with us too. Being a dragon, he should be able to sense when we approach the water dragon,” she said. Was that because of dragon territorial marking or something? If that were the case, I wanted to say that Filo could probably do the same thing. But then again, Gaelion could fly too. That might come in handy if we got into trouble. “Fine. It’s starting to look like we’ll be invading with a pretty big group,” I said. When I really thought about it, taking the whole village to invade was a possibility too. But the villagers were busy peddling our wares and taking care of routine operations. We needed money. I could probably get a substantial amount of support from Siltvelt if I asked, but I didn’t want to rely on them any more than I already had. Doing so would probably just be digging myself into a hole. And seeing them all lined up like a bunch of pigeons bobbing their heads and praying to me was super creepy. “It doesn’t matter, either way. We set sail tomorrow morning, so be ready,” I told everyone. “Understood!” And so time marched on.
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