Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Holn’s Research Weapon

After returning to the village, I gave Keel and the others orders to disperse before heading over to where Fohl, Ren, Eclair and the others were training. Natalia was there with them too. We arrived at the training ground to hear—

“Hah! Eight Trigrams—” It was Natalia, swinging a hammer with all her might.

“Dafu!” said Dafu-chan, otherwise known as Raph-chan II, and the intended target of Natalia’s attack. Dafu-chan dodged easily to the side and then countered by whacking Natalia on the head with a mallet.

“Bah! What is this creature?! I can’t believe how capably it evades my attacks!” Natalia fumed.

“Because you still overcompensate for everything . . . but that doesn’t seem to matter in this case,” the Water Dragon admitted with a sigh. “I’m willing to state that this creature is more powerful even than your own father.”

“Dafu!” said Dafu-chan. I took in the whole scene. Dafu-chan was clearly having fun toying with Natalia.

“Raph!” said Raph-chan, noticing our arrival and rushing over to me.

“We’re back,” I said.

“Welcome back,” Ren said, noticing us, stopping the training, and coming over. “You’ve got quite the party together. Any reason?”

“A few things did come up,” I replied.

“What’s this?” Natalia came over. “Surprised to see me losing?”

“Not really,” I replied. “I don’t even know how strong you actually are.” Mamoru and his allies seemed pretty concerned about her, so she had to be pretty powerful, but with Dafu-chan giving her the runaround so easily, she probably wasn’t all that strong.

“Dafu!” said Dafu-chan.

“There’s something with this little critter! It’s like she can read every move I make!” Natalia complained.

“I mean, I’m not surprised,” I said with a shake of my head. Dafu-chan was powerful enough to take Sadeena on and beat her too. If she got totally serious, there were only a handful of us who could hope to match her technically. Raphtalia had been hard-pressed to land a single blow, and that was when Dafu-chan had been holding back. Shildina had had trouble too. That’s how strong she was. In her Raph species form, she faced no impediments. She was really something.

“Dafu!” said Dafu-chan. I didn’t see any reason to hide it. But Dafu-chan was hopping about, making it clear she didn’t want me to let the cat out of the bag. I wasn’t sure why. It seemed pretty unfair for Natalia. There was a whole load of stuff she didn’t know now, including all of Mamoru’s secrets.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if this creature had some Q’ten Lo technology embedded inside it. Like a Dragon Emperor core, perhaps,” the Water Dragon hypothesized. Close, but no cigar. “It sounds like there is all sorts of strange technology sealed away in the future. Q’ten Lo must be secure, if they have access to it. It’s certainly running rings around you.”

“I don’t think we need the extra hassle of Natalia getting any stronger,” Mamoru muttered, mainly to himself. It would be a bit of an issue if she got any stronger. It hadn’t looked like she was holding back when fighting Dafu-chan.

“This seems like an opportunity for you to learn some new tricks,” the Water Dragon suggested.

“I don’t especially like it, but very well. I might pick up something useful. Before we start that though . . .” Natalia said and looked over at Filolia. “Didn’t you die in battle? How can you be here now, and with a strange pair of wings?”

“Me? Die in battle?” Filolia retorted with a cackle. “That was all misinformation, pacifier who espouses justice!” Her tone was full of life, and she struck the same kind of pose as when she introduced herself to me, the one with her hand covering one of her eyes. “I fight while feeding on the power of evil, but sometimes it resists and weakens me. Expecting just such a situation, I worked with Brave Whip to create a dummy that could fight in my place. That dummy is all that was destroyed, nothing more!” She had probably worked out this explanation with Mamoru ahead of time.

“I see,” Natalia replied, looking highly suspicious but seemingly letting it slide for now. Natalia probably found dealing with Filolia a pain too.

“As for these wings, pacifier, do you know everything about my race? One of the secrets of my race is being able to absorb the strength of a particularly compatible enemy! This is the power of Suzaku itself! Watch my future ass-kicking and despair!” Filolia crowed.

“So you’re telling me you have the power of Suzaku in your body now. Okay then. I’m hardly an expert on races from other worlds. I will admit that,” Natalia conceded. It wasn’t such a crazy story as to clearly be a lie, after all. There was no way Natalia could know much about Filolia’s race. To top it off, Filolia was hyperactive and a pain to interact with. It was like trying to handle a child looking for some attention, and so she always spouted stuff that might be true but also might just be made up. “Did you need me for something?” Natalia asked. It looked like she had given up on getting to the bottom of Filolia’s return already. I understood that feeling. I wanted as little to do with her as possible myself.

“Do you know anything about the hammer vassal weapon? Mamoru is looking to boost his fighting strength,” I explained.

“The hammer is a vassal weapon of the shield holy weapon. It plays a role in activities like forging and also in providing advice to the shield. Think for a moment about what would happen if someone with a shield fought someone with a hammer,” Natalia quizzed us. “You can consider the compatibility of claws and hammer at the same time.” I took a moment to consider how someone equipped with a regular shield, rather than myself as Shield Hero, would approach that situation. A hammer would likely be used as a blunt, smashing weapon. I considered what it would be like using a shield to defend against a hammer and against claws. Claws mainly dealt with slashing attacks. Punching would be more the role of gauntlets. Scratching attacks could be effectively deflected with a wide-surfaced shield, making it easy to repel and withstand them.

A hammer, meanwhile, would employ hitting attacks. Even if the shield or armor being struck could take the hit, the impact would still be imparted into the hand or body behind them. That suggested a shield-bearer would have trouble fighting someone with a hammer. If there wasn’t someone around who could use it, we needed to find someone and fill that spot.

“Enhancing your fighting strength. I see where you are going with this,” Natalia said, nodding as I pondered the problem she had presented. “The hammer vassal weapon’s whereabouts are currently unknown. It apparently departed after the previous holder was killed. This might be a good time to look for it.”

“You can track it down?” I asked.

“Within certain limits, yes,” Natalia replied. So she had that kind of ability too. I would very much like Raphtalia and Ruft to learn a bit of that. With that thought, I looked over at the pair of them. They seemed to have read my mind, because Raphtalia gave an understanding nod, and Ruft’s eyes were sparkling. “I will need a little time, but I will start at once.” Natalia moved to leave, and then Holn—who had been silent until that moment—stepped forward.

“Wait a moment. If a pacifier affiliated with the force who defeated one who assumes the name of god starts making some big moves, we don’t know what kind of trouble it could stir up,” Holn said, voicing her concerns.

“I can handle any trouble I might ‘stir up,’ I promise,” Natalia shot back immediately. She really didn’t like Holn.

“Oh really? I only have the best intentions, and you don’t even want to look at what I’ve invented?” Holn replied, one eyebrow raised.

“What have you done now? You don’t give up, do you?!” Natalia said, exasperated.

“This is little old me you’re talking to here! This isn’t going to be bad for you, I promise. If you’re heading out anyway, just swing by and take a look. No hassle for you at all,” Holn taunted provocatively. Natalia gave a sigh.

“If you insist. Just because I’m going out anyway. Tell me, what is this fresh madness?” Natalia asked, still with some trepidation.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out! Which means Mamoru, Naofumi, Filolia, and the Heavenly Emperors need to join us in heading right back to Siltran,” Holn stated.

“I might need to do some cooking first,” I commented. Natalia frowned over at me—and then noticed the villagers and the expectation in their eyes.

“I’m not one to tear people away from their plates! My inventions aren’t going anywhere either—and maybe the food will lure out my descendant, letting me drag her along too!” Holn said. It was therefore decided that I’d make some food right away, and we’d set out after eating. Natalia seemed to enjoy eating together with everyone in the village.

“Hmmm, this is so delicious I’m not sure I could go back to Q’ten Lo cooking,” Natalia told me.

“If we catch some fish, I could prepare some seafood dishes. I spent quite a while in your country. It was just in the future,” I told her.

“That sounds like an excellent plan. Don’t you think so?” the Water Dragon said and was chowing down pretty impressively. I wondered why all the dragons around me seemed so similar. They all loved to eat so much. The same went for the filolials—and everyone else in the village.

“How close do you think you could get?” Natalia asked, sounding interested in my idea. If she had been away for a long time, maybe she wanted a taste of the flavors of home.

“Q’ten Lo dishes made by the Shield Hero? We had some effwah recently. It was pretty much the best I’ve ever tasted, just sublime,” Ruft cut in, jumping at the chance to bring up the names of food from home. This one was like a fluffy dish made from eggs, which dated back to the Edo period in Japan. When prepared at home, it could end up being a little bland. You needed to be careful of various aspects when preparing it, such as the stock and the state of the eggs, but it was essentially a pretty easy dish to make, involving simply warming the stock in a pan, whipping the eggs a little, and then pouring them in and hardening them up. Altering the stock that was used allowed for various different flavors to be enjoyed. Of course, if I mixed in some life force when preparing it—a little culinary doping—I could create something on a completely different level. “His sashimi was delicious too. It dances on your tongue. It’s so flavorful.” Ruft was giving Natalia a rundown of my entire repertoire. Natalia did not reply.

“Natalia?” Raphtalia asked, making the Heavenly Emperor’s ears prick up.

“Yes, sorry?” Natalia replied.

“I’m glad you seem to be enjoying Mr. Naofumi’s cooking,” Raphtalia commented.

“That’s not really my point . . . I think I’m just missing Q’ten Lo flavors,” Natalia said.

“I think I prefer the food that the Shield Hero makes for me. It’s nicer than the food I was served when I was Heavenly Emperor,” Ruft continued.

“You don’t sugarcoat things, do you, Ruft?” Raphtalia commented. “I feel sorry for the people in the castle who made your meals.”

“Maybe . . . but Shildina told me the people in the castle all learned from the Shield Hero anyway,” Ruft replied.

“We do get a lot of cooks coming to poach Mr. Naofumi’s cooking techniques,” Raphtalia admitted. “He even spent some time as a cooking-specialist Mirror Hero in another world, where he stuffed enemies and allies alike.” That sounded bad, but I was only doing it to enhance my allies.

“The more I see, the more dangerous that sounds,” Natalia admitted.

“Another talent of the Shield Hero, surely,” the Water Dragon said, trying to quell Natalia’s unrest. “Sharing meals together is one way to earn the trust of allies.” Everything seemed suspicious if you started looking for trouble.

“Mamoru! The food on my plate vanished in front of my eyes! What happened to it?” Filolia suddenly squawked.

“You just scoffed it down!” Mamoru replied. “Don’t you even remember?”

“What? I don’t remember a thing! It was delicious!” Filolia replied, instantly contradicting herself. She must have eaten it without thinking.

“You got so carried away you don’t even remember! Your appetite is definitely intact,” Holn commented. The three of them almost looked like a happy, smiling family. Over to the side of them I spotted Fohl and Cian eating more quietly.

“You’re pretty lucky, Fohl, getting to eat like this every day,” Cian commented.

“I guess so. No one can really beat Brother’s skills in the kitchen. He re-created a dish my dear mother used to make, just from me describing it,” Fohl said.

“Food from your homeland, Fohl? I’d love to try it. Will you make it for me?” Cian asked.

“Ah, no . . . you should ask Brother to do that,” he replied.

“I could do that, but would you be okay with it?” Cian queried.

“Let me think about it,” Fohl finally managed.

The lively village banter continued until we were all done eating. Keel and her cronies got up to their usual antics, of course. I was getting pretty sick of them by now.

“I can’t believe how incredible that food was! I almost want to start research into how you can make it taste so good,” Holn commented. We had finished our meal and returned to Siltran castle.

“Mamoru,” Filolia groaned, “I think I might throw up I’m so full!”

“Just don’t do it here,” Mamoru warned her. I thought maybe S’yne, R’yne, and Filolia ate the most. Maybe that was some characteristic of their race—like these people called skywings from a different world were unable to control the pace at which they ate. It was like starting to see the roots of where the filolials got their appetites from.

“Was this invitation just to pick up some cooking tips?” Rat asked, a little pointedly. She seemed to have trouble dealing with Holn. She still hadn’t forgiven everything Holn had done to her precious Mikey.

“Do the monsters like the food?” Holn asked. So we were still on that topic.

“Lots of them want to eat the Duke’s food, that’s true,” Rat admitted.

“I don’t feed it to them all that often,” I added. Those monsters that could turn into a humanoid form, such as the pesky filolials, sometimes launched a raid on the refectory, but I rarely went out of my way to cook for the other monsters. They mainly ate things like bioplant vegetables. But I was inclined to give the Raph species some treats on the side. Rat’s precious Mikey had even tried some recently, perhaps after hearing all the talk about my culinary skills. I’m sure he was just trying to express how much he loved it by using his body. But I had mixed feelings about him choosing to melt. I didn’t need to see the Raph species melting before my eyes; it wasn’t good for me.

“We’re here to show the pacifier my latest inventions. I want you to get your opinion on them too, descendant, that’s all,” Holn said innocently.

“Okay then. I guess I can help with that,” Rat replied cordially.

“Where exactly are you taking me?” Natalia piped up.

“Right here,” Holn said. With that, she led Holn down into Mamoru’s underground laboratory. After all the effort taken to hide it, she let her in pretty easily. If they just called it “Holn’s lab,” then Natalia probably wouldn’t get suspicious. Holn was a cunning one. They’d been keeping their dangerous research completely hidden for days now. The path Holn was leading us down was different from the one into Mamoru’s lab. Raphtalia had a worried expression on her face. But it was nothing serious enough to tip Natalia off.

“Raph!” said Raph-chan.

“Dafu!” added Dafu-chan. The two of them were up on Raphtalia’s shoulders, looking around. They were so cute! I was holding hands with Ruft.

“I already knew this about you, but you really do like your secret labs,” Natalia commented wryly.

“Every evil alchemist should have at least one or two!” Holn cackled, puffing herself up.

“That’s nothing to boast about,” Natalia shot back, exasperation in her voice. Holn had made one secret base underneath our village already. Kyo had done something similar. I wondered if Holn was right. Maybe it was something alchemists felt compelled to do. “You do seem keen to show me something,” Natalia continued. “What exactly have you got in store for me?”

“You’ll find out soon. This is the room,” Holn reported. She opened a door located deep in the facility and ushered us inside. At a glance, the room we came into looked a lot like the one in the facility under our village where she had been planning to modify Keel. There was a cultivation tank at the back of the room, which had a hammer floating inside it. That definitely caught my attention.

“Dafu!” said Dafu-chan, as surprised by the hammer as I was. I looked at it more closely. I was pretty sure I’d seen it somewhere before.

“What is this? Some kind of modification of the old weapons we found in the filolial sanctuary that you took from our village?” I asked.

“Nope, this is something completely different,” Holn replied. “This one isn’t even finished yet.” I gingerly moved over to the hammer and checked it out.

 Hammer of— 

quality: ?

 Imbued effects: ?

“It certainly looks unfinished to me. I thought you were more the type to keep things secret until they’re complete,” I commented.

“What is it?” Natalia asked, a frown on her face.

“There’s certainly something strange about it. All these surprises are getting to be a bit much,” the Water Dragon said. I didn’t have a clue what it was either.

“I’m not a fan of explaining things by starting with the conclusion, but okay. I was wondering about making something like this, thinking about future generations and filling in the gaps left by losses in battle,” Holn started to explain.

“I think I understand,” Rat said. She seemed to have worked out what was going on. “You just keep on making incredible things, don’t you!”

“You are my descendant, after all. I thought you’d understand what this is,” Holn replied.

“I’ve seen others making similar pieces. There are always alchemists and blacksmiths who seek to make weapons equal to those made famous by legends,” Rat said.

“And this is one of those? Equal to what, one of the holy weapons?” I asked. I wouldn’t say no to having a powerful new weapon at our disposal, but Holn had said it was incomplete. It felt strange that Holn, an alchemist, was making weapons. She wasn’t a blacksmith. Then there was the fact that repairing ancient weapons fell under modification, not invention.

“That’s almost the correct answer, but not quite,” Holn replied.

“R’yne mentioned that prior to coming here she visited a world where weapons could take on human form. Are you trying to re-create that?” Mamoru asked.

“That was very interesting too, but also not the correct answer,” Holn stated. That sounded like a crazy place. Of course, there were worlds where gemstones turned into people. Therese was one such person. What a big universe. So many strange races in all these other worlds.

An unfinished weapon that was a hammer, the same as Natalia’s weapon. She was a pacifier, not a hero, and used techniques unique to Q’ten Lo. Then there was Holn, an alchemist with skills that would be impressive even in the future. This hammer being based in alchemy suggested an emphasis on more than pure function as a weapon.

I was still thinking about that world where people could turn into weapons. I wondered what might happen if a gemstone like Therese was polished up and placed in the middle of such a weapon. Weapons that could become people meant weapons that had minds of their own. I looked again at the weapon floating in the cultivation tank. It reminded me of an old game I played once.

“Hey, Shield Hero. This looks like the hammer Shildina used,” Ruft said.

“Now that you mention it . . .” His comment reminded me of where I’d seen this hammer before. It was the hammer the past Heavenly Emperor had been using! Shildina had used its latent memories to trace the awareness of its owner. If this weapon was completed and then ended up in Q’ten Lo . . .

“What would the term for this be? Personality transcription?” I asked.

“Bingo! You hit the nail on the head, future Shield Hero! This invention of mine can transcribe the personality of those with skilled techniques into the weapon and then re-create their moves,” Holn revealed. That would definitely re-create powerful residual memories, especially if they were there from the start.

“I thought as much,” Rat said. “But even if you have the technology to give life, is such a thing as ‘personality transcription’ really possible?”

“Turning the impossible into the possible is what I was born to do,” Holn said, being as humble as ever. Pretty much none of her work had made it to our time—likely due to interference from the ones who assume the name of god. But she was going to follow up on Mamoru’s research and create the filolials as a result, so it seemed safe to expect big things from her.

“It should turn out to be a pretty powerful weapon, capable of copying techniques and reducing magic casting time. Unlike my other work, this isn’t a living creature that looks like a weapon,” Holn said.

“I get what you’re trying to say . . .” I trailed off. The difference there was difficult to pin down. Kyo had made some pretty suspicious weapons too. I wondered if the only difference was whether they were alive or dead. If it allowed access to the techniques and magic of the person it was modeled on, that was something different, but I wasn’t ready to simply accept that and move on. “If you’re going to perform this personality transcription, whose personality are you planning on putting in there?” I asked. I certainly didn’t want it to be me. I’d rather die than have a copy of my personality going around in a weapon.

“If I’d never bumped into you guys from the future, I was planning on having the pacifier help me out. Q’ten Lo already has this kind of technique, I believe, so it should match well with her, and she’d definitely make a good copy,” Holn said. She was talking about the oracle powers that Shildina had used—the ability to draw the intent out of something and trace it.

“You must be joking!” Natalia raged. She gave Raphtalia a run for her money when she got mad. Her hair and her miko priestess outfit were rippling with magic.

“Human curiosity is an incredible thing,” the Water Dragon said. “I’m a dragon, a creature formed from a core, and this is still amazing to me.” He certainly sounded intrigued, but I wondered if that wasn’t dangerous too. Natalia, meanwhile, was swinging her hammer and closing in on Holn.

“Oh boy! Mamoru, are you going to let this happen?” Filolia asked.

“I’m sure Holn has something up her sleeve,” Mamoru stammered back. He seemed willing to just let Holn handle everything rather than get involved and maybe blow things up.

“Why do I have to take part in this experiment?” Natalia asked. If Holn said the wrong thing here, she was going to get hammered into a stain on the floor—if not by the authority of the Heavenly Emperor, most definitely by Natalia’s personal indignation.

“The future Shield Hero and his buddies drove off the ones who assume the name of god for us, for the time being, but what if they go back to where they came from? Mamoru and little old me have had our hands full simply dealing with Piensa,” Holn reminded her.

“Which means what?” Natalia retorted.

“Are you really going to stand by while a hero is pushed further into the corner? If we could copy the techniques of a pacifier, one so skilled in combat, and then give that weapon to someone with plenty of potential but still lacking in technique . . . can you think of any greater boon?” Holn asked.

“That’s all you’ve got to say?” Natalia replied. She looked ready to execute Holn on the spot, but Holn just smiled as she delivered the final blow.

“The world is in crisis! Does a pacifier incapable of self-sacrifice really have the right to punish a hero in such times?” Holn jibed. Silence fell around us. I was amazed she could just come out with something so incendiary, but she was right. An observer who did nothing for the world and simply punished heroes as she saw fit was nothing but an inconvenience. Keeping to the rules didn’t matter if it meant the end of the world.

To top it off, the Whip Spirit seemed to have taken a liking to Holn and removed her from being a target for possible punishment. If Natalia ignored such comments coming from a hero like Holn who was fighting on the front lines, then her own position as a pacifier could be in jeopardy. Just forcing the elimination of Holn here would go against that role and her position as protector of the world.

“She got the better of you there. Give it up, Heavenly Emperor,” the Water Dragon said, cautioning Natalia with his chin on his dragon paws.

“I’m still not sure . . .” Natalia persisted.

“We need to be focused on maintaining the existence of this world,” the Water Dragon cut her off. “This is about more than just punishing a foolish hero or two.” Natalia sounded disappointed as she lowered her hammer and backed away from Holn. This seemed to happen with her a lot. “A pacifier must sometimes punish a hero, but also sometimes provide guidance. We can’t rely on these heroes from the future forever. It’s worth our time to help out with this kind of experiment,” the Water Dragon told her.

“Easy for you to say, water snake! You might feel differently if you were the one being copied!” Natalia raged.

“I’m no snake, and it isn’t easy for me to say either! You know what kind of creature a dragon is,” the Water Dragon reminded her. They did live a long time, that was true—especially when it came to a Dragon Emperor. It looked like the Water Dragon himself was still alive in our time. That was mind-bending, when you thought about it.

“She will create something with a copy of your personality as a friend for the Water Dragon,” I prompted.

“I’m not sure I want a friend like that,” the Water Dragon added, destroying my attempt at persuasion. We didn’t need to make Natalia’s standing any worse. If we cornered her completely, there was no telling what she might do.

“That’s my line! Am I forced to put up with your supercilious ways even after I’m dead?” Natalia retorted.

“Dafu, dafu!” said Dafu-chan, suddenly getting angry about something.

“So then, Heavenly Emperor, you’re going to help with my transcription experiment, correct?” Holn confirmed.

“I really don’t want to, but okay. I’ll take your word that this is all for the sake of our world. But if you waste my goodwill here, I will kill you!” Natalia shouted.

“Excellent. This is still a prototype, so I don’t expect it to go smoothly. I’ll need to keep making little adjustments,” Holn explained. She took out a strange-looking helmet and put it on Natalia, then had her sit in a chair. If Ren was here, he’d probably make a comment about diving into the world of a VRMMO. I’d bring him along later to take a look. We could have Holn make a sword and transcribe Ren’s personality into it.

Holn fiddled with the peculiar helmet for a while and then flipped a switch on the wall and started the experiment. There was a throbbing noise. Then light started to flow from the cables connected to the helmet and to the cables connected to the cultivation tank.

“What if it sucks out her soul or her consciousness and puts them in the hammer?” I joked.

“Mr. Naofumi!” Raphtalia exclaimed. Natalia also jumped as soon as I spoke.

“I’d never fail in such spectacular fashion! You don’t believe me?” Holn asked innocently.

“I don’t want to,” Natalia said stubbornly.

“And yet our first experiment is already finished,” Holn replied. Natalia sounded surprised as Holn clicked the switch off. The water gurgled away in the tank and the case containing the cultivation vanished into the floor. Holn touched the hammer, thought for a moment, and then handed it to Natalia.

“I can hear your thoughts when I touch it. You sound pretty stressed,” Holn said.

“Uh . . . I hear it too,” Natalia replied.

“Looks like this is working. Keep hold of that for a while, as a prototype. The transcription should gradually transfer over,” Holn said.

“Now I’m interested. What kind of voice do you hear?” I asked, reaching over to touch the hammer. But Natalia pulled back and resisted me. Her reaction was a lot like the first time I tried to touch Raphtalia’s tail.

“I’m not letting anyone else touch this! Maybe I should just break it right now!” Natalia said.

“That won’t change anything, I’m afraid,” Holn replied. Natalia sighed. She didn’t quite seem to know what to do with this troublesome new item.

“I understand how you feel, Natalia,” Raphtalia offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. I wondered where that was coming from. First Natalia had a look like Raphtalia couldn’t possibly understand, but then she followed Raphtalia’s eyes and her expression changed to one of sympathy.

“Yes, I see. I think we’re quite similar,” Natalia agreed.

“We both just have to do our best,” Raphtalia replied.

“Huh? Why are those two suddenly getting closer together?” I asked Ruft.

“No idea, but this was a lot of fun, Shield Hero,” Ruft said.

“Raph!” said Raph-chan. As Ruft, Raph-chan, and I each voiced our bemusement, the others around us looked even more assured in whatever it was they were thinking. I still had no idea what it was.

“You just wanted to boast to me that you made this?” Rat asked after watching our discussion.

“Not quite. I want you to help out. Another pair of hands would be a big help right now,” Holn admitted.

“If you say so . . . I think Mikey could help out as well,” Rat pondered.

“I knew you’d get it,” Holn replied. The two of them started swapping ideas. I decided there wasn’t anything else we could do and signaled a retreat for the rest of us. Natalia followed along behind, clutching her new hammer and muttering about never letting anyone else touch it. She had a suffering expression on her face. The Water Dragon watched her and then gave a sigh.

“I’m going to go and look for the hammer vassal weapon,” Natalia said. “By which I mean I’m going to lay low for a while.”

“That’s quite a slip of the tongue,” the Water Dragon cautioned her. “But it does seem important for our future. It should only take us a few days to find it.” With that, Natalia and the Water Dragon left Siltran Castle behind—or, perhaps to put it more aptly, ran for the hills. Mamoru sent them off to the same country where we first met them, which was also where she sensed the hammer the strongest. I decided to give it a few days and just see what happened.