Chapter Four: The Volunteer
“So yeah, this weapon shop is one of my favorite places in town—I give the guy all my business. You remember it, right?”
“Yes.”
“Hey kid, think I could trouble you for an explanation?”
“A bunch of stuff happened, and I’d like to borrow your shop for a meeting.”
“I don’t really care what happened. But this is my place, not yours. Do me a favor and find another place for your meeting.”
The weapon shop was the only place I could think of where we could speak undisturbed, so after all the drama in town I marched everyone straight there.
“There aren’t really any other places. Like what else? The monster trainer tent?”
“C’mon kid. The monster trainer is really…”
The old guy knew. He knew what really went on in that tent.
“If you’re going to take a bunch of kids to a place like that then I guess I have no choice but to let you hang out here.”
“And so there we have it: the owner’s permission. Now then, who are you? Your name was Melty, right?”
“Yes, I am the first heir to the throne of Melromarc, the second daughter of the royal family, Melty Melromarc.”
“Huh?”
Let’s see, the Bitch is the oldest child, right? So why would the second daughter be the heir to the throne?
“My older sister has had personality… issues… for many years now. After causing problem after problem, it was decided that I would be the heir to the kingdom.”
Normally that would sound crazy, but when I thought about just how awful the Bitch really was, it started to make sense. Even still, something seemed off.
Could Melty really share blood with that crazy Bitch? How did the Trash king produce a daughter like her? It was hard to believe.
“Filo.”
“What?”
“You can’t hang out with this girl anymore.”
“Mr. Naofumi. Why are you acting like her father, yet saying such awful things?!”
C’mon, she’s the Bitch’s sister! If she’d managed to become the heiress before her sister, she must have been good at manipulating people. At that young age, she might be even more manipulative than her Bitch sister.
Was she after Filo? Or, even worse, was she working for Motoyasu?!
Had she coordinated this whole run-in just so that she could swoop in and earn my trust? She could have!
She might have had her eyes on us since that eastern village with the epidemic. She earned our trust and infiltrated our group, and she’d been planning on capturing us when we delivered her to the castle. If Raphtalia hadn’t caught up, who knows what might have happened?
“And…”
“Sorry, but I think that’s enough talking for now. I simply cannot trust you. Or I should say that I can’t trust you ANYMORE—now that I know who you really are.”
“Please listen to what I have to say!”
“Have you heard the things your own father and sister have said? I’m sorry, but there is no way we can talk. I can’t trust you.”
Even if I told her the truth, there was no guarantee that she’d believe me.
Just think about it—she was the Trash king’s daughter! I couldn’t just tell her to believe me.
“I’ll accept the help you just provided us in the street as payment for bringing you back to Castle Town. Now get out!”
“But you…”
Before the second princess could get angry, a knight opened the door to the shop and poked his head in.
“Ms. Melty. The king has summoned you. Please come with us.”
“All right.”
I thought she’d throw a tantrum, as children do, but the younger princess instead gripped the frills of her dress, took a deep breath, composed herself, and followed the knight out the door.
“Bye then, Filo.”
“Okay. Later!”
There would be no “later” though. I wasn’t going to give Filo away to some princess, or to Motoyasu.
I swear! Everyone in this whole damn kingdom drove me nuts.
“Mr. Naofumi, shouldn’t you have at least heard what she had to say?”
“Yeah, kid, she’s right.”
“Sorry, but I just can’t trust the royal family.”
“Shield Hero…”
“What? Oh, you guys are still here?”
I thought they’d left with the young princess, but I turned to see that the soldiers who’d chased me through the streets were still there.
Just how many tricks would I have to put up with? These soldiers were in on it too, no doubt!
I waved them away but they didn’t budge.
“Get out of here! We don’t have anything to talk about!”
“I’m not moving until you hear what I have to say!”
Oh come ON… All they were going to say was,“Give Filo to the princess,” or something like that.
“Fine. Spit it out.”
If I didn’t let them talk, they’d never leave.
“Um… When the waves come… When the wave is here, I’d like to fight with you.”
“What?”
What was he saying? I stuttered in disbelief and stared at the young soldier.
“Myself, and many other lower-ranking soldiers, were very impressed by the way you conducted yourself during the last wave. Also, I come from Riyute, and I feel the need to repay all that you’ve done for my family and friends there.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And, well… A number of us were impressed with your actions that day. We came to realize that if anyone fought to protect others, it was you, the Shield Hero. We formed a group—we want to fight with you.”
“With me? I don’t think your commanding officers will be too excited about that.”
The knights and leaders of the kingdom had never shown any desire to cooperate with me on anything. Once, during the first wave, I’d been fighting off a hoard of monsters when they decided to rain fire down on me from afar.
“You’re right. They won’t be happy about it. But you protected us when we needed it. We want to follow your example and help others.”
“And so you came looking for me?”
“The guards posted around town are all in agreement. We’ve all talked it out, and we agreed that whoever found you first needed to stop you and tell you how we all feel.”
“You don’t say.”
“We aren’t supposed to fight against the wave directly. That’s not our role in the battle. Even still, we believe our number-one priority should be protecting our citizens from harm.”
What a refined philosophy to have. If only the other stupid heroes shared it…
“So please, Shield Hero. When the next waves comes, let us fight with you.”
“If you just want to fight against waves, I don’t see why you need to fight with me.”
There had to be some other reason they were offering me their services.
There was probably some system of advancement within their military so that soldiers that proved themselves in battle would earn promotions quicker than their compatriots. If that was true, then battling side-by-side with a hero against the wave was sure to improve their standing.
And even if we were heroes, no one could hope to face down a wave by themselves. They knew that I needed whatever help I could get.
In the status magic bar there was a category under “party members” called “Battle Formations.” It probably referred to something we could use during the wave.
It would make sense if we used it when battling the wave. It seemed like the proper way to go about it. It was probably something similar to online MMORPGs, where guilds and clans could fight one another. In this situation the enemy wouldn’t be another guild, but it seemed like they were talking about a similar set-up.
If not, how were one person and their immediate party supposed to face down a whole wave of enemies? That would be about as reckless as a person could be.
Sure, when we got to the boss monster, the high-level ace players—in this case that would be us heroes—would have to step up and defeat that monster. But what about the rest of the other, weaker monsters? You’d think that plenty of normal people and soldiers could take care of them easily enough.
The last wave pretty much proved my theory.
The last wave occurred near a village named Riyute, and the knights and soldiers were able to arrive quickly. That settled it easily enough.
But the country was big. If the wave occurred somewhere far away, the damage would be incalculable.
If that happened, there would only be a few of us there to protect people.
Whatever. Setting aside the actual battle formations and strategy for a second, I wanted to know why these young soldiers wanted to fight by MY side. Was it because I was the weakest of the heroes? If there was a lot of competition to get in with a hero during battle, it only made sense for them to come to me first.
Either that, or it was all a big lie. Maybe they just wanted to arrest me when the wave arrived, and I was transported to the area it was occurring. Or they’d make me count on their participation and then leave me there when the time came just to spite me. That could have been it.
“We simply want to fight with you to protect our citizens.”
Of course, he could say whatever he wanted—that didn’t make it true.
“Are you trying to get a promotion or something?”
“Not at all.”
He shook his head in response so quickly it was clear he expected the question. Then he turned and waved to someone standing behind me. It was a young boy in robes like a wizard. I say, “Like a wizard,” but his robes were nothing like the purple robes I’d seen at the magic shop. They seemed cheaper, shoddier. They were yellow. The two young soldiers lined up before me and bowed deeply.
“I… I am from Riyute. You saved my family, so I… I want to help you if I can.”
“Ah, I get it now.”
So he felt obligated to me because I’d saved his family. If he really was from Riyute I could probably trust him.
“I’m sure you’re right—that there are plenty of people that would use you to secure a promotion. But I just want to help you.”
“Huh, I guess there are some curious people in your group.”
“Um… Shield Hero?”
The young boy dressed like a wizard raised his face.
Looking closely, the boy was a demi-human.
Melromarc was very obvious about its preference for humans over demi-humans, so how could this young demi-human survive, much less become a soldier for the Crown?
His robes were much shabbier than the wizards I’d seen during the last wave battle. Could it be that there was a reason for that besides his age and rank?
“This little guy is a real fan of the Shield Hero. Long ago, in a different country, there were legends of other Heroes appearing. This one as always looked up to the Shield Hero.”
“Huh…”
It seemed like there really was a small group of people that believed in me and wanted to help. This kid hadn’t mentioned it directly, but it seemed like all the while I’d been peddling my wares and saving villages, there were people gathering to support me.
I could give it a try.
There was a bag in the back of my carriage that was filled with accessories I’d yet to sell. I pulled it out.
“150 pieces of silver. If you can pay for that, I’ll think about your offer.”
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong? If you guys buy this off me, I’ll trust you.”
“Mr. Naofumi…”
Raphtalia sighed and looked a little worn out. I suppose it did sound like I was demanding money when all they wanted was to help. Normally it would be the opposite. It was just my nature. If they were after promotions or money, then they’d turn their noses up at this.
My real concern was that they might be connected with the younger princess, in which case I couldn’t trust them.
“Very well. We will go meet with everyone and collect the money you require. Please wait for us.”
The young soldier I’d been talking with made the declaration and ran off.
“Kid, I tell you—you’re awful.”
“If something sounds too good to be true, it is. I have to make sure they aren’t lying.”
The young, wizard-looking boy was still there, just standing around.
“You disappointed in me?”
The young wizard-boy shook his head.
“I believe in you.”
“Heh.”
Curious little kid. I was mulling it over when the soldier came running back. He was out of breath.
“Huff… Huff… everyone chipped in. Here you go.”
“That was fast.”
“I was just going to run around to the knights, but I stopped by the dormitories on the way. Everyone chipped in.”
Hmm… So I guess he’d asked quite a few people.
I had purposefully asked for a lot of money. He passed me a heavy pouch, and I looked inside.
“Each person could only give a little bit, but it should all be there. Please believe us.”
“Sure. Okay. How many people are you representing?”
“Let me think. Including me… five.”
“Huh.”
I took five items from the bag and gave them to the boy—along with all the money.
One of those items was a necklace that would absorb a certain level of damage. It was imbued with a special effect, making it a very convenient piece of equipment to have around.
I was thinking of testing it, and I’d just made it on accident, so I felt like I could give it away.
During the wave battles, you never knew when you were going to die. If they were going to fight with me, it seemed fine to let them have it.
“Um… This…”
“I asked you to get the money—I didn’t say I was going to take it. I just wanted to get a feel for your sincerity. Because of this little test, it must have made it easier, even among your own group, to tell who was in this for real— and who just wanted to get their hands on money, or on a better position.”
Granted, the money was minted by the crown, so there was a limit on how much you could trust it. But they’d been polite enough. So I’d trust them for now.
From the battle formation menu, I chose a formation leader and set it to the young soldier in front of me.
The party status was set so that I was the leader, followed by Raphtalia and Filo. Underneath that I was able to set the formation leader authority to the soldier.
What it meant was that the solider had authority to give commands, but that authority was subject to my judgment. Basically, it meant that I could decide whether or not he would receive experience from our battles.
“This is…”
“You understand?”
“Sure.”
“If you don’t want to be the leader, then give the authority to that guy. You just need to get together a group that wants to participate. But don’t misunderstand me. If you try to use us, or try to pull something sneaky, that authority will crumble, and the whole formation will break.”
“Understood! Thank you!”
The two of them lined up and bowed deeply before leaving the room.
There were plenty of holes I could poke in this situation, but it seemed like, just maybe, people around here were actually starting to believe in me.
Except that, just like I’d warned them, if they crossed me I’d show no mercy.
“All right then, let’s go do the class-up thing.”
“Hey, kid. You don’t have the nicest methods, but you are starting to act like a real Hero.”
“So you really were just trying to see if they were lying or not?”
“It’s like I said: they could have been in it for profit. I had to see that they were willing to sacrifice.”
We left the weapon shop and went on our way.
We might have run into some trouble, but now I could return to my immediate goal: class-up.
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