The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 02

  Prologue: Shared Pain

  I woke up in the castle storeroom.

  It was musty. I really hated it in there, but I felt pretty well rested.

  Snoring…

  I could hear rhythmic snoring coming from the pile of straw next to me. A young girl named Raphtalia was sleeping there.

  Let’s take a minute to review what’s happened.

  My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I’m a sophomore in college.

  I was born in Japan, just like everyone else. To be honest, I was always a bit of an Otaku.

  I was at the library flipping through a book called The Records of the Four Holy Weapons when, for whatever reason, I found myself transported to the fantasy world it spoke of. I had been summoned to serve the role of the Shield Hero.

  The world was suffering under “waves of destruction,” in which hoards of monsters and horrible disasters spilled over from other dimensions through rifts in space. Four heroes were summoned to protect the world from harm. I had a shield on my arm that I couldn’t remove—maybe it was under some sort of curse? I found myself unable to go on the offense at all. All I could do was defend.

  But I had some experience with online MMORPGs, so I focused on defending myself, and recruited someone else to attack for me.

  We set out on our adventure, and I was very excited. But I fell into a wicked trap. Someone framed me for a crime I didn’t commit, and I found myself convicted. So nobody trusted me from that point on. I couldn’t make any friends or get anyone to help me, and they ran me out of the castle without a word. I was in a really tough spot.

  I figured I would just not do anything. I thought I didn’t have to fight against the waves of destruction. I was wrong.

  The waves of destruction arrived around once every month, and we heroes were instantly transported to the site of destruction.

  I was forced to protect a bunch of people that I didn’t care a lick for—it wasn’t fair at all. I did all I could to raise money to survive, and all the while people jeered at me. They threw rocks at me.

  So that girl that was sleeping next to me, Raphtalia, she’s a demi-human slave. I bought her.

  Slavery still exists in this world, and in this particular country, Melromarc, there were people with animal attributes called demi-humans. They were sold into slavery all the time.

  When I bought her she was just a little girl, but as we leveled up she grew very quickly, until she appeared only slightly younger than myself. Apparently demi-humans grew differently than the rest of us—they developed based on their level, not their age.

  In the beginning, I thought I’d work her hard, considering she was a slave and all. But soon enough this pompous jerk named Motoyasu forced me to battle. During the fight, Raphtalia believed in me and attempted to sacrifice her own freedom to protect me. Well, there were other things too, but in the end we became close friends, and we trust each other deeply.

  Honestly, for the longest time, I couldn’t have cared less if everyone in the world just dropped dead. But now, I sort of feel like I want to help out.

  “Ah…”

  Raphtalia woke up and rubbed her eyes.

  “Good morning, Mr. Naofumi…”

  “Ah… Um… Morning.”

  Looking at her again, she really was quite beautiful.

  Her face was like a work of art. I could use words besides “beautiful,” but I’ll hold off for now.

  Her hair was brown and hung in loose curls down her back. Her eyes were big and bright. They were the color of a deep red tea. They were the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen.

  With all that she had been through, I don’t know how her eyes were still so pure and kind. They were too pure to belong in a body of her age. They really were the most charming thing about her.

  I leveled up and earned money with Raphtalia until the first wave of destruction came. It was the first wave I’d seen, but it was the second wave that had visited the world. It was a hard fight, but I’ll tell you all about that later on. The really tough stuff happened afterwards.

  “Should we go get some breakfast?”

  “Yeah. Think we can get some in the castle dining hall?”

  “Perhaps… Let’s go see.”

  So we made for the dining hall, and I kept running over all we’d been through.

  By the way, my bad name had yet to be cleared. The castle officials treated me coldly. Anytime I tried to go to the cafeteria the guards would turn me away. The knights and other heroes are still eating, they’d say. Come back when everyone else is done. If I hadn’t been forced to be the Shield Hero, if only I could have attacked, I’d have taken care of that whole crowd a long time ago.

  And I wouldn’t have let being a “hero” stop me!

  We finished eating and were led into the audience chambers.

  The occasion was to be one of celebration. We were all about to be compensated for our efforts during the wave of destruction.

  Give me a break! If they were going to make us wait a day before they paid us, they should have said so in the first place! I swear, the Trash was just trying to piss me off.

  The thought of spending another second with this group of jerks was unbearable. What if I got an ulcer?

  The person I called “Trash” was, in fact, the king of this land, Aultcray Melromarc… the Second? The Third? I can’t remember. Anyway, apparently he was the one who summoned me here.

  When I’d been framed and accused and convicted, he never even tried to find out the truth. He just let it all go and let me take the fall. Some king, right? And then, just last night, he used his authority to throw a fit and cause a big disturbance.

  “Now then, we will distribute the reward funds for your performance in the last battle, and also your preparatory funds for the next wave.”

  That’s what I really needed: money for preparations.

  The Trash had promised to give the money to all of us heroes.

  An attendant entered the room. He held a bag of money stiffly in his fist.

  “Now then, to each of the heroes.”

  I turned to look at the bags of money.

  At the very least, they were sure to provide us with 500 pieces of silver for each month.

  What would I buy with it?

  It would probably be wise to start with a new weapon for Raphtalia.

  Or maybe it was time to invest in some better armor? Come to think of it, I also wanted some new materials to use for making medicine. I could let my shield absorb them too. I could see what kind of abilities they got me. I listened to all the coins sliding around inside the bag and fantasized about what I would buy.

  The attendant held the bag open so that I could see the contents.

  I quickly counted the coins inside. Yes, there seemed to be 500 pieces in there.

  “To Mr. Motoyasu, both in recognition of his performance, and to express our future expectations for him, we present 4,000 silver.”

  Hey now!

  I was taken aback. I staggered and quickly looked over at the very heavy bag that Motoyasu was now holding. If I were to say something, it certainly wouldn’t get me anything but contempt though, so I just bit my tongue. I felt my fingers curling, involuntarily, into a fist.

  They called this guy Mr. Motoyasu, but his real name was Motoyasu Kitamura. Like myself, he had been summoned from an alternate Japan, and he was one the four heroes—the Spear Hero.

  He was twenty-one-years-old. The other heroes apparently had experience in, and knew all about, this world. They knew it from some game they had played back in their own worlds. But they didn’t share any of that knowledge with me. They framed me and kicked me when I was down.

&nbs
p; So this Motoyasu guy apparently ended up getting stabbed because of his womanizing and then woke up here. That’s just what he says though, so who knows if it is true or not.

  He only allowed women into his party. It was like he was setting up some kind of harem or something.

  Last night, thinking that I was abusing Raphtalia as a slave, and to satisfy some kind of messiah complex, he decided to try and “save” her from me and challenged me to a duel.

  Normally a duel would have to be agreed on by both parties, and both parties would need to have something to gain by it, but not this one. He forced me to fight when I had nothing to gain. Obviously I refused, but the Trash stepped in and forced me to participate. If I lost, they would take Raphtalia from me, and if I won, I got nothing—pretty damn unfair, if you ask me.

  Anyway, I had to fight him, and I didn’t want to go down without a fight. So I did what I could with what I had and ended up pinning him. It looked like I was going to win, but then someone cheated and attacked me from behind to ensure I lost.

  In the end though, Raphtalia refused Motoyasu and came to my side on her own, and that was that.

  So basically this guy is the cause of all my troubles.

  Honestly, he looks like your typical ladies man. He’s handsome enough, and entertains himself by hitting on girls all the time.

  He wore a glamorous, polished silver breastplate. He was very clearly on the winning team.

  “Next, Mr. Ren. In recognition of your fulfillment of our request, and of course to express our trust and hopes in you, your reward is 3,800 pieces of silver.”

  Him too?!

  Ren was standing there pretending to be unfazed, but he was obviously jealous of Motoyasu’s more impressive funding. He let the bag of silver hang heavy from his hand. I could hear him muttering to himself, “Just cause you’re the king’s little favorite…”

  Ren’s real name was Ren Amaki, and just like me, he had been summoned here from another Japan somewhere. He was the Sword Hero. I think he said that he was sixteen-years-old.

  Yes, he was from Japan too, but not the same Japan that I was from. In his world they had something called VRMMO, and it was some kind of system that let you enter a virtual world completely. Wherever that Japan was, it was more technologically advanced than the world I was from.

  Apparently there were many different Japans. Had you asked me a year ago, I probably would have jumped at the chance to visit his world.

  He was about as tall as you would expect a sixteen-year-old to be, and his face was a pretty little thing. A very princely swordsman, that’s him. He always played it cool, but I got the impression that he was actually very hotheaded under all the acting. He was condescending, and I always imagined him thinking of himself as the REAL hero, the one that would save the world because of what he knew about games.

  “Now for Mr. Itsuki. News of your deeds has echoed throughout the land. You truly did an amazing job in such trying times. Your reward is 3,800 pieces of silver.”

  Itsuki sighed, but seemed to consider that the compensation was just. Even still, I saw him cast a jealous glance in Motoyasu’s direction.

  His real name was Itsuki Kawasumi, and he was a year older than Ren, so seventeen-years-old. He gave of an impression of softness and delicacy. And yet, there was an emptiness and vanity about him. He carried the Legendary Bow.

  We hadn’t spoken much, so I still didn’t know very much about him. But he had the same sort of knowledge about the world that Ren and Motoyasu had, and I knew that he came from yet another Japan.

  He looked like the youngest among us heroes. But in reality, Ren was the youngest.

  Even still, what was this request that the king mentioned to Ren? It was the first I’ve heard of it.

  “As for the Shield, we hope he will make more of an effort from now on.”

  He didn’t even use my name! Who’s this “Shield?”

  I was so irritated, I felt like I might snap. After the crap he pulled yesterday?

  I reached out for my bag of money, but the attendant pulled it away before I could grab it.

  “As a fee for the removal of the slavery curse placed on Raphtalia, your support funds will be revoked!”

  The bastard!

  “Um… My liege…”

  Raphtalia raised her hand.

  “What is it demi-human?”

  “What was this request you mentioned?”

  So Raphtalia was trying to figure it out too. She ignored that our money was being taken away and approached it from another angle.

  “The problems that plague our great nation are being dealt with, on my request, by the heroes.”

  “Why hasn’t this same request been made of Mr. Naofumi? This is the first I’ve heard of this.”

  “Ha! What could the Shield hope to accomplish?”

  Damn! I really hated this guy.

  Everyone in the audience chamber started snickering.

  Oh man… I couldn’t stand it. I was about to explode.

  “…”

  I thought I was having a hard time, but I could actually hear how hard Raphtalia was balling her hands into fists.

  I looked over, and she was nearly shaking with rage.

  Okay, I think we can hold it in for now.

  “Well, it’s true that he didn’t really help much.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t see him during the battle. I wonder what he was doing?”

  “If a Hero won’t throw himself into battle, I’m not sure what he’s good for.”

  The remaining three heroes all added their ironic comments.

  Now I was getting really annoyed. I had to say something.

  “Sure, leaving all the villagers to die while you rush off to fight the boss—that’s really saving the day, isn’t it? Heroes?”

  Right, they had ignored the groups of villagers that were in trouble and ran straight for a single enemy on the battlefield. Someone had to save the people, and that job fell to me.

  “Ha! That’s what the knights are for! Isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, the problem is that the knights are idiots! If I’d left them to the knights, how many people do you think would have died? You wouldn’t even know because you were only looking at the boss!”

  Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki all turned to look at the captain of the knights. The captain slowly nodded in irritation before speaking.

  “But… If the Heroes aren’t doing all they can to suppress the wave at its source, the destruction will only grow! Stop your foolish boasting!”

  Ha! I couldn’t believe my ears.

  All he did was arrogantly lounge around the castle... And besides, was everyone forgetting that I was one of the heroes? Or what was this? Were they saying I wasn’t the Shield Hero at all?

  “All right, all right. Well, the rest of us are pretty busy, so we’ll just be getting on our way now.”

  Getting in a fight now wouldn’t do me any good. The best thing I could do was just leave quietly.

  “Wait now, Shield.”

  “Huh? What is it now? Unlike some haughty king on his throne, I actually have things to do.”

  “You are even worse than I could have expected. Leave me! And do not ever show your face here again.”

  What the?! This Trash would go to any length to piss me off!

  “Excellent news, don’t you think? Mr. Naofumi?”

  Raphtalia was grinning from ear to ear.

  “What?”

  “Now we don’t have to waste our time in this place anymore. Instead of spending our time on trifles, now we can dedicate ourselves to something of worth.”

  “Y…Yeah.”

  I was starting to feel like I could really depend on her.

  She took my hand in hers and squeezed it. She must have been angry too. It felt like we had so much anger between us, anger we couldn’t handle on our own. But together…

  “Wait just a moment.”

  Itsuki threw his hand in the air and spoke to the Trash.
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br />   “What is it, Bow Hero?”

  What was he up to? Not like I could expect him to say anything that made any sense at all.

  “About the duel last night. Mr. Naofumi was treated unfairly, as someone intervened from behind. What are you planning to do about that? That’s basically what I wanted to ask.”

  For a split second, the room went silent.

  “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  “Well, the duel was originally over Ms. Raphtalia’s freedom. Despite the clear evidence that the duel was not fair, Ms. Raphtalia’s slavery curse was still removed. Now this was supposed to be payment for losing the duel, correct? And yet, you have also revoked Mr. Naofumi’s payment under the pretext of payment for the curse removal. I’m asking if you think that is a just arrangement.”

  What’s this now? Itsuki’s eyes were sharp, and he was speaking out, strongly, against the king?

  “He’s right. I was watching from up above, and according to the rules, if it was a fair match, Naofumi should have won.”

  “I didn’t lose!”

  Motoyasu shouted, but Ren and Itsuki were not listening to his protest. Their eyes were cold.

  “Depending on your answer, we might need to reconsider whether Naofumi is even guilty of the crimes he’s been accused of.”

  “I… Well…”

  The Trash sat there, his eyes moving over the crowd, dumbfounded.

  “Oh, it wasn’t like that at all! Mr. Itsuki, Mr. Ren! You’ve got it all wrong!”

  Bitch was all decked out in fine clothes and a thick smear of makeup. She pushed her way through the crowd.

  That’s right! It was all her, the woman that framed me and dragged my name through the mud, the Bitch!

  Myne Suphia. Apparently her real name was Malty, but who cares about her stupid name?

  Like her personality, her hair was dark red, and she had an obnoxious, scheming air about her. Even still, I had to admit that she was pretty.

  When we’d first set out adventuring, nobody volunteered to go with me but her. But she ended up stealing all of the money I’d been provided before framing me for a crime, ruining my reputation, and running to Motoyasu’s side. She was pure evil.

  So I’d made up my mind to call her Bitch from that point on.