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Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter Ep




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Epilogue: Together Again 

We went back to the castle in the country that Kizuna called home and waited for the others to return. It didn’t take long to receive word that they were back. 
“Okay, but Glass, you know what I’m trying to say, right?” 
“Oh. Um...” 
Glass was sitting seiza-style and, apparently, being lectured by Kizuna. L’Arc and Therese were kneeling behind her. It looked like everyone was in trouble. 
“What’s going on?” 
“Hm? Do you remember the stuff we heard about the waves a little while ago? I’m a little upset with Glass for just buying into it and going to your world to try and kill you,” Kizuna said, crossing her arms. 
“Kizuna, it’s not that simple. I felt I had to do it for the sake of the world...” 
“Of course you did. You heard a legend, assumed it was true, slipped through the dimensional rifts during a wave, and tried to kill the heroes you found. Is that right?” 
“Yes...” 
I could hardly believe my eyes. The stern, serious, samurai-like Glass turned her face to the floor in shame. I knew that her and Kizuna were close, but it sure looked like Kizuna was the boss. 
 
“Kizuna. I know how you feel, but don’t you want to hear our side of the story? Huh?” L’Arc asked. 
“Yes, we were only trying to protect this world that you hold so dear...” interjected Therese. 
Kizuna wasn’t impressed. She narrowed her eyes and barked, “Fine then, answer me this. Can you think of a time when vassal weapons from another world came through the waves to kill the heroes here?” 
“Well, um...” 
“Can’t answer me?” Kizuna snapped. Everyone turned their eyes away. 
They could have just lied. But they knew each other well enough that they probably couldn’t get away with it. Glass in particular looked like she’d be a terrible liar. 
“No, no, I can’t think of a time that happened. Not in this country or in another—though we are not privy to what happens in other lands.” 
Based on what I’d learned in this new world, I felt it was likely that whoever was in the world on the other side of the wave rifts was responsible for calming the waves. 
“Wasn’t it you, Glass, that said you hated the idea of peace built on the sacrifices of others? How could you say that and then rush off to murder people?” 
“I...” 
Kizuna was really interrogating her. I liked the sound of it. But they must have enjoyed their time together before Kizuna disappeared. Kizuna’s house made that much clear. 
 
“Okay, listen up. It’s true that protecting the world and extending its life is important, but that doesn’t mean you can kill other people to do it. I know that the legends are written that way, but don’t you think we should look for another option before we rush into something like that?” 
“Yes, but we did all the research we could. And yet...” 
“You couldn’t find another way, so you snuck off to murder the heroes? Is that it? If you can’t find a way, maybe you should keep looking! Even if vassal weapons from another world did come after us, that doesn’t give us an excuse to do the same thing!” Kizuna shouted. Glass looked intimidated. 
I hadn’t pictured their relationship like this at all... 
They looked like children being scolded by their mother. My cheeks flushed. 
“Mr. Naofumi, you’re smiling.” 
“What are you laughing at, Kiddo? Are you enjoying this that much?” 
Raphtalia told me off, and L’Arc joined in—but Kizuna glared at him and he backed off. 
“What’s wrong with that? You tried to kill me, and now you’re getting a lecture. What’s not to like?” 
“Sigh... Glass is tough enough, but you’re something else, Naofumi,” Kizuna sighed, slapping her palm against her forehead. I didn’t disagree. 
L’Arc nodded along with the lecture but kept stealing glances at me. 
I could see where he was coming from, but there was no need to worry. I didn’t consider myself a champion of justice. 

“At the very least, now that I’m back, I am firmly against this plan of yours to go to other worlds and kill their heroes!” 

“Um...” 
“Got it?!” 
“Y... Yes!” 
“That goes for L’Arc and Therese, too!” 
“Right, yeah. Good—I didn’t really want to fight with Kiddo. Destroying another world to save your own isn’t really our style, anyway.” 
“Very well. And luckily we reached this conclusion before we were actually able to defeat Naofumi,” Glass said. 
L’Arc looked and Therese and then at me. They both looked happy. 
If they were going to look at me like that, then there was only one thing to be said: “Then you shouldn’t have tried to kill me in the first place.” 
“Shut up, Kiddo! Stop trying to act cool!” 
“L’Arc!” Kizuna shouted, and L’Arc immediately closed his mouth. 
Kizuna could really command a room. 
We’d met by accident, but I was sort of jealous of her commanding presence. That’s how the holy heroes should be. Either that or she was too good for the job. 
“And, Glass, please think about this. You know that I can fight monsters but not people. What do you think would happen if someone with a vassal weapon from another world came for me?” 
“...” 
Glass didn’t answer. I could see why. 
Kizuna couldn’t fight people. If someone with a vassal weapon came after her, she’d have to fall back and depend on her friends. But the heroes were summoned to the waves. Was she really being summoned to her death? 
 
“Glass, I think there’s a reason that the holy heroes are summoned to the waves.” 
“A reason?” 
“Yes. We’re summoned to the waves when we might be killed there. That makes me think that we might not need to fight in the waves at all. They summon us because they need us. If that’s true, then maybe it’s because the world gets more time until the next wave if the heroes stop it, or maybe they can stop the fusing of the worlds.” 
“...” 
“I don’t know if I’m right. But based on what you are saying, if the heroes exist to protect the world, then there shouldn’t be any reason for them to fight in the waves. And yet, isn’t it the heroes’ duty to do just that?” 
Kizuna muttered that she hadn’t been fighting in the waves, because she’d been stuck in the labyrinth. Then she gripped Glass’s hand. 
“They don’t write about it in the legends. But I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that we are supposed to protect our world by destroying another. We can’t do that.” 
“... Understood. I apologize.” 
Glass turned to me and lowered her head. I couldn’t think of a reason to stay mad at them. They were clearly doing what they thought was right, and they were leagues better than the jerks that summoned me to Melromarc, only to lead me into a trap. 
 
I knew that they were good people. After Kizuna disappeared so long ago, the state of her house was enough to prove it. They protected their friends. It was clear that they cared. 
I was even a little jealous of their relationship. 
If Raphtalia had been chosen by a weapon back in our world and I had gone missing—would she have done the same thing for me? 
I looked over at her. Raph-chan was climbing up onto her head from her shoulder. 
“What is it?” 
“I can understand how Glass feels, so I won’t say anymore.” 
If it were possible, I wanted to have the sort of relationship that Kizuna had with her friends. It was nothing more than a wish, but I’d be happy if Raphtalia felt the same way about me as they did about Kizuna 
“As long as you’re not going to try and kill me anymore, I certainly won’t pick a fight with you.” 
“Kiddo...” 
“Naofumi...” 
“Great. So we can all be friends, right?” Kizuna said, holding out her hand to me. 
I slapped it away. “I’m not into that sort of thing.” I wasn’t the type to get all misty-eyed over sentimental friendship. I mean I liked that sort of thing in games and manga, but I hadn’t had enough positive experiences in these worlds to justify taking the leap of faith that sort of relationship required. 
 
“Anyway, we can certainly keep working together. I’ve got something I have to do, and I could certainly use the help.” 
“That’s right. Didn’t you want to get back the power that was stolen from your world’s protective beast?” 
“Exactly. That’s why we came here—to make the guy with the book of the vassal weapons, Kyo, pay for all the chaos he brought to our world.” 
I hadn’t forgotten. I had to avenge the Spirit Tortoise—avenge Ost’s death. 
Raphtalia nodded, and so did Rishia and Glass and then L’Arc and Therese. Everyone was very solemn. 
“Kizuna, I can tell you this without doubt: Kyo is no longer fit to hold the book. The vassal weapons that we hold have begun to demand his defeat and subjugation,” Glass explained. 
“Well, if he’s done all that you say, of course he needs to be taken care of. If your weapons are demanding it, then I won’t stand in the way. Naofumi, I’ll help you—so please, allow our cooperation to compensate for the harm that Glass and her friends tried to inflict upon you in the past.” 
“What does it matter if I forgive them? Our goals are the same. If we don’t stop Kyo, this world will be in danger, too.” 
There was a good chance that Kyo was up to something with the power he had taken from the Spirit Tortoise. He probably had to do something before he could use it as he pleased. We had to find him before he could pull it off. 

Damn... We weren’t any closer to accomplishing our goal than we were when we first went through the portal. 

“Got it, Kiddo? All that is well and fine, but look—everyone is here together for the first time in forever. Do you know how long Kizuna has been missing? Let’s go all out and celebrate tonight!” L’Arc clapped his hands, and the attendants mulling about the castle all started running around. 
It looked like they were getting ready for a party. 
The whole castle sprang into action when he clapped his hands. Just how much authority did L’Arc have here? 
I suddenly remembered the king referencing a boy. Could it be? 
“Hey, boy,” I shouted. 
L’Arc turned to me, wincing. “What? How do you know about that?!” 
“I thought they were talking about you. You’re a pretty important person, aren’t you?” 
“Not that I like it. I prefer my freedom!” 
I had only heard a little from Kizuna, so I didn’t know how she ended up meeting L’Arc. His father was the king and probably died, and the country was given over to a less-than-worthy prince. 
L’Arc seemed like the sort of person that the populace would rally behind. 
The country seemed to be doing pretty well, so maybe his reign was going well for the country. 
He probably had good people working for him. He was charismatic enough to attract good people. I wonder if Kizuna’s questing in the past had anything to do with it. 
 
“So you see, boy, I’m going to keep calling you ‘boy’ as long as you call me ‘Kiddo’.” 
“Fine, Nao... fu... mi.” 
“Hm.” 
He said my name, but looked really irritated by it. 
Then he turned and whined, “No, it sounds all wrong! You’re Kiddo, not ‘Naofumi!’” 
“That doesn’t make any sense, boy!” 
“I don’t care, Kiddo! You guys take a load off for now. I’ll call for you when everything is ready. Kizuna and Glass, you two take the time to get reacquainted,” L’Arc barked, shuffling us out of the room. 
Um... What next? I looked at Raphtalia. 
“L’Arc likes to celebrate, doesn’t he?” Ethnobalt said. He had been silent all the way back to the castle, but now he smiled and spoke up. “And yet, I think he is right. We should enjoy ourselves tonight. Kizuna, welcome back.” 
“... Thank you. It’s good to be back... with all of you,” Kizuna said, looking at everyone. She looked like she was about to start crying. 
How long had she been trapped in that labyrinth? I didn’t know exactly, but it must have been a very long time. She’d returned to a place she thought she’d never see again. If I hadn’t been so lucky, I could have ended up trapped, just like she had. 
“A party? I wanna siiiiing!” Filo yelled. 
“Rafu!” 
 
Filo and Raph-chan each happily jumped up onto my shoulders. 
I let them. Then I turned to face Raphtalia and Rishia. 
“They’re right. We should enjoy ourselves tonight. To be honest, I’m exhausted.” 
“Feh... How wonderful to reunite with old friends!” 
Yeah, they were right. 
I hadn’t been separated from Raphtalia for very long, but I had felt her absence starting to take its toll, so I could understand how Kizuna must have felt. 
Glass looked so happy to see Kizuna again. She was beaming like a little kid. I couldn’t help but smile, too. 
“For now...” 
“What is it?” 
I looked at the unsheathed katana in Raphtalia’s hands. 
“Kizuna, I know everyone is really happy right now, but don’t you think that Raphtalia should sheath the katana?” 
“Oh yeah,” Kizuna said, turning around and stepping back toward us. When she did, she left Glass standing there with her hand outstretched. Glass made a very disappointed face—it looked weird on her. 
I was starting to think she might be a lesbian. 
“Then let’s go to a shop I know and get one made. They’re really good.” 
Had we been in Melromarc, I would have had the old guy do it, but we were stuck in another world, so I decided to defer to Kizuna’s judgment. 
“Okay.” 
 
Kizuna led us out of the castle and into the town at its base. 
“Well, if it isn’t Kizuna! How long has it been?!” 
Kizuna took us to a bustling blacksmith in the middle of town. 
It was run by a very muscular, masculine woman with a red gemstone in her chest. She must have been one of the crystal people. 
Therese’s gemstone was in her forehead, so I guess different people had their gemstones in different places. 
“I heard from Glass that you’d gone missing. I was worried about you! Now Glass can finally relax a bit. When you went missing, everyone had a rough time trying to console her.” 
“Romina, maybe we can save that for later,” Glass quickly said, trying to shut down the conversation as fast as possible. I’d always thought Glass was cool and reserved, but she was starting to look more like a normal person. 
“This is Romina. She’s the best blacksmith I know.” 
“I’m Naofumi Iwatani.” 
“My name is Raphtalia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” 
“Filo!” 
“Rafu!” 
“I’m Rishia. Nice to make your acquaintance.” 
“Always nice to meet new customers. Hope to see more of you!” 

The blacksmith reminded me of the old guy at the weapon shop back in Melromarc. 
 
“If we bring you materials and money, can you make us new stuff?” 
“Pretty much—though I reserve the right to throw out obnoxious customers!” 
“You think I’m obnoxious?” 
“Hmm...” Romina scratched her chin and looked me over carefully. “Actually I think we’ll get along pretty well.” 
“Good.” 
There was something attractive to me about the profession—about the idea of finding potential in materials and then using them to make custom weapons and tools. 
“People that can understand Mr. Naofumi’s personality figure him out with a single glance. I’m a little jealous,” Raphtalia said. 
“What are you talking about?” She should know by now that I liked custom tools. 
“So? I’m sure you stopped by for something other than an introduction.” 
“Naturally. We have a lot of materials that we’d like you to look at. Also, we need a scabbard for her katana,” Kizuna said, dropping a pile of drop items onto the counter. 
“Ah, I see... Oh hey, this is pretty good stuff!” Romina said. Then she looked at Raphtalia’s katana. “Well, well... Would you look at that.” 
“Yeah, it’s the katana of the vassal weapons.” 
“I didn’t expect to ever see it! Alright then, I’ll make you a scabbard for it.” 
“Thanks.” 
 
“No problem, I’m thrilled just to see it. I’ve got new customers, new materials to work with... What more could a blacksmith want?” 
“Thanks.” 
Romina started measuring the katana and drawing up some quick sketches. 
“Naofumi, why don’t you have Romina make you some shields or armor?” 
“Good idea.” 
“Hey, that reminds me. Didn’t you have some armor from your world? I bet Romina would love to see armor from another world.” 
“Hm? Yeah, I’ve still got it...” 
She was probably talking about the Barbarian Armor +1? that had gotten all beat up in the fight with the Spirit Tortoise. 
I took out pieces of it I’d stored in my bag and dropped them on the counter. 
“Maybe she could look at your stuff too, Rishia. Maybe she can make you something good,” I said, pulling out Rishia’s Filo kigurumi and putting it on the counter next to my things. “It must have been rough for you—coping without your kigurumi.” 
“Feh...” 
Raphtalia looked at Rishia and started to say, “It’s not like she was so dependent on it...” 
She stopped and blinked. 
“Okay, maybe she was.” 
 
“Fehh?!” 
It was hard to sympathize with her surprise. After all, Rishia was the one that said she wore it so that no one could see her cry. 
“What are these? Do they do anything?” Romina said, holding up our old armor and regarding them with suspicion. 
“Hey, Filo.” 
“Whaaaat?” 
“What happened to your claws?” 
“They’re gone!” 
I sighed... It wasn’t her fault. She’d been captured and turned into a sideshow. 
She could have escaped if they left her with her claws—that is, if they were still in working condition. 
I still had the Karma Dog Claws in my shield, so I took them out and put them on the counter, too. When they hit the counter, I discovered that I couldn’t read any of the information about them. 
“These things might have stopped working when we crossed between the worlds. Think you can do anything about it?” 
“I might be able to do something with the armor here, but I’ve never seen anything like what these kigurumi and claws are made of, so...” Romina muttered to herself as she turned the articles over in her hands. She found the gemstone set in the center of the barbarian armor chest plate and pointed to it. “Fascinating! This is a core stone from the Dragon Emperor.” 
“Core stone? Dragon Emperor? What do you mean?” 
 
“It looks just like the core from the Dragon Emperor that Kizuna defeated a long time ago. There must be a Dragon Emperor in your world, too.” 
“I don’t know. I know that I got that when I defeated a Dragon Zombie, so maybe they are the same thing.” 
Actually, when I first met Kizuna, she said that she had originally been summoned to defeat a powerful monster called the Dragon Emperor. She must have been successful. 
“These have fantastic effects. You better take care of it.” 
“Well, the armor is trash, so it isn’t any good to me now. That’s why I brought it to you.” 
“An excellent point. What is this armor called? I can’t read it.” 
“Barbarian Armor.” 
“It certainly looks the part.” 
I guess I had taken the parts from a bunch of bandits... I mean—hey! 
“Stop that! That was made for me by a very talented man!” 
The truth was that the armor was really good, but its name made it come off as worse than it really was. 
“There’s potential here, so I’ll see what I can do.” 
“How much will it cost? If you can’t do it then maybe we don’t need you.” 
“Mr. Naofumi, we’re the ones making the request here. Please be a little more polite...” 

“Who cares about that sort of thing? She’s friends with Kizuna, so we don’t need to stand on ceremony, do we? If she can’t do it, she’ll tell me so!” 

“I... I suppose so...” Raphtalia sighed. 
Romina burst out laughing. “You’re quite the business man, aren’t you?” 
“Naofumi’s even better than Alto.” 
“Really? That man is a monster when it comes to business.” 
“I was starting to suspect the same, but do you really think so, Kizuna?” Glass asked, casting a suspicious glance at me. 
“Yeah, he’s better. Alto takes the long way to a secure a sale, but Naofumi can sell the same thing in no time and no effort. He’s really got a knack for it.” 
“Decide if you’re complimenting me or insulting me.” 
We needed money, and we didn’t have any time, so what other choice did I have but to play a little dirty at the soul-healing water auction? She didn’t complain about it at the time. 
Whatever. The truth was that I was pretty interested in meeting this monster of business they were talking about. If he looked anything like the slave trader, I’d take off running in the other direction. 
Raphtalia sighed and looked disappointed in me—but I really didn’t do anything wrong! 
“Well, don’t you worry yourself over the money too much. You’re friends with Kizuna, so I’ll do whatever I can to keep costs down. I get some money from the crown, too.” 
“Glad to hear it. Also, try not to destroy it too much.” 
 
I’d grown pretty attached to the armor. The old guy that made it for me was the first person to trust me. 
“I know, I know. But enough about the armor—what’s with this crazy thing?” she asked, holding up the Filo kigurumi. 
“Whatdya mean crazy?!” Filo flapped her wings, outraged at the implication. She must have thought she was being insulted. It wasn’t so surprising that she said that, though. No one in this world had ever seen a filolial queen, let alone a kigurumi that looked like one. 
“What are you mad about?” 
“Oh her? She transformed for some reason when we crossed over to this world. Back where we came from, she looks like the monster that kigurumi is based on.” 
“Ah... I see. She looks so cute and funny, but you’re saying her real form is...” Romina smiled thinly and turned away. 
I couldn’t blame her. Filo’s filolial queen form was a strange sight to behold. She was huge and imposing—far more than a normal filolial. 
“Regardless, if this is equipment from another world, I’d like you to let me study it a little. With any luck, I can make you something good.” 
“Got it. Good luck.” 
I didn’t have anything to lose, considering we couldn’t use the equipment in the state it was in. If she could make something useful with it, it would probably raise our chances of survival from here on out. 

A part of me still felt like I was helping the enemy grow stronger, but it was the best option I had. 
 
“Need anything else?” 
“I think that’s it for now—though I’d like to see what sort of shields you can make, too.” 
I would just use Weapon Copy to get my own version of whatever shield she made, and then I could sell it to someone or give it to one of my party members. 
“Sure, but with so many orders to work on, I can’t do them all at once. We should probably cut of this order here. Then I can work on other stuff when this is all done” 
“That’s reasonable.” 
“Great! I have to say I’m pretty thrilled to work on this stuff. I’ve been so bored with the projects I’ve had lately. This will really shake things up for me.” 
Who knew that blacksmiths had so many things to worry about? When we got back to the world we came from, I’d have to go pay the old guy a visit at his weapon shop. Maybe he was bored, too. Besides, he’d definitely be interested in seeing the barbarian armor after Romina worked on it. 
If she used gemstones from this world, he’d probably be thrilled just to see them. 
Isn’t that the sort of thing that craftsmen got excited about? 
We left our equipment with Romina and then left her shop. 
“What should we do now?” I asked. Before anyone could answer, the air filled with crackling explosions. Fireworks burst in the air over the castle. 
The townsfolk in the streets all looked up at the colorful bursts and smiled. 
 
“For now, let’s just enjoy the celebration they’re throwing for my return. Doesn’t that sound nice?” 
Glass squeezed Kizuna’s hand, smiled, and bowed deeply to me. 
“Thank you so very much for helping our missing Kizuna. We will do all that we can to assist you, but for now, please enjoy the celebration.” 
I wasn’t going to argue. We had to enjoy ourselves sometimes, right? 
It was hard to relax back in Melromarc, anyway, and it didn’t seem like anyone here was trying to take advantage of us. 
 
 
“Alright then, let’s take the night off. Raphtalia, Filo, Raph-chan, and Rishia—let’s go!” 
“Okay!” 
“It looks so fuuuun!” 
“Rafu!” 
“Feh... What should we do first?” 
“Look at all the food carts!” 
“Fehhh!” 
“What’s the matter?” 
“Yay! Foooood!” 
“RaFUUUUU!” 
We walked toward the festival that was filling the streets of the town. Glass and Kizuna walked behind us, as if they were watching over us. 
It would still take a while to accomplish what we’d set out to do— punish Kyo for his misdeeds. But for the moment, I tried to convince myself that there was nothing wrong with taking a night off. 
 





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