The Rising of the Shield Hero Volume 01 Page 5

  I wasn’t able to see what lay on the other side of the forest, but if I didn’t try to pick an appropriate path to stronger monsters, we’d never level up.

  “Well, you can’t see it on this map, but I was thinking of heading to a village on the other side of the forest. It’s called Lafan.”

  “You don’t say…”

  “On the outskirts of town, there’s a dungeon suited to beginners.”

  “A dungeon…”

  This whole thing was like a dream! Online games normally just started off with hunting monsters and leveling up. But a dungeon!

  “We might not make much money there, but it would be a great place to level up.”

  “I see.”

  “I have new equipment. While we will depend on your defense, it should not be too difficult for us.”

  “Awesome. I’ll consider it.”

  “Oh, no problem at all. Oh, hey, don’t you drink wine?”

  The restaurant had given us wine with our meals, but I had yet to touch mine.

  “Nah, I don’t really like alcohol.”

  It’s not that I can’t drink. It’s sort of the opposite. I never really end up drunk, so I guess I have a high tolerance. Whenever I went to social events in college, I’d drink with other people. I’d see them all end up drunk—which never happened to me. I ended up developing a distaste for the stuff.

  “Is that so? You could just have one glass?”

  “No thanks. I really don’t like it.”

  “But…”

  “No thanks.”

  “Oh… All right then.”

  She looked upset as she retracted the glass of wine.

  “At least we were able to get a plan together for tomorrow. Let’s get to bed early tonight.”

  “Sure. See you tomorrow.”

  We finished eating, and I turned my back on the loud restaurant to go to my room.

  I remembered my chainmail. I’d have to take it off if I wanted to get any sleep.

  I slipped out of it and flung it over the back of a chair.

  “…”

  I then put my money pouch on the bedside table.

  200 pieces of silver… and we had to pay up-front for the rooms, leaving me with just over 199 pieces. I felt a little anxious about my finances, but I suppose that had always been my way.

  Just like a typical Japanese person going traveling, I took 30 silver pieces and hid them on the backside of my shield. That settled my anxiety, if only just a little.

  It had been a busy day.

  Now I knew how it felt to battle, and defeat, a monster. I’d felt it yesterday as well, but I really was in another world.

  I was so excited. It was hard to calm down. The curtain was rising on a new, shining adventure. I might be a little behind the others, but there was a path just for me. I had no specific goal in mind. I could do whatever I wanted.

  I was suddenly very sleepy. I could hear the sounds of revelry coming from the restaurant. Some people, they looked almost like Motoyasu and Itsuki, were talking down the hall. I thought I saw them walk by my doorway. I wonder if they were staying here too?

  I reached out and extinguished my lamp. It was still a little early, but I wanted to get some rest…

  Rattle, rattle.

  Hmmm? What was that? People yelling at the bar?

  Snore.

  Whisper, whisper… Something was pulling at my clothes.

  “Heh, heh, men are fools. So easily tricked… Can’t wait until tomorrow.”

  Who was that? Was it… a dream?

  “Hm?”

  It was so cold…

  The sun was on my face, telling me it was morning already. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, still very groggy. I rose from bed and went to the window. I guess I’d slept later than I’d intended. The sun was already high in the sky.

  It must have been somewhere around nine.

  “What?”

  I suddenly realized I was only wearing my underclothes. Had I slipped out of my clothes in the night?

  Whatever.

  I looked out on the town. People were running around in the streets, bustling about just like any other day. There were merchants selling their wares, shops cooking up breakfasts, and horse-drawn carriages clattering down the road. It really felt like a dream.

  This new world was so wonderful.

  I noticed different kinds of carriages on the streets. There were big birds, like ostriches. They looked just like cho**bos, you know, from THAT game. It seemed like horses denoted a higher class than the birds. And I even saw some carriages being pulled by cows.

  “I’d better get some food in my belly and be off.”

  I looked around for my clothes. I looked through the bedding.

  … That’s odd, I couldn’t find them.

  The chainmail I’d placed on the chair… It was gone too.

  And my money pouch was gone too! Even my original clothing that I’d set aside was gone!

  “What the…”

  Could it be true?! Had I been robbed? Who would steal from a sleeping person?!

  This inn… couldn’t they take some basic security measures?!

  Anyway, I’d better find Myne. And quick.

  Slam! I flung open the door and ran to Myne’s room, which was next to mine. I banged heavily on her door.

  “Myne! It’s terrible! Our money and equipment has been…”

  Bang, bang, bang!

  No matter how hard I knocked, no sounds came from within.

  I heard footsteps approaching quickly. I turned. Castle knights were running up to me. They were a veritable light in the darkness. I would tell them about the robbery and enlist their aid in finding the thief!

  Besides, what kind of an idiot would steal from a hero?

  “You’re knights from the castle, aren’t you? Please, listen to me for a second!”

  I turned to them and begged for their attention.

  Myne, come on out already. This situation is getting worse by the second!

  “You are the Shield Hero, yes?”

  “Well, yes, but…”

  What the hell? They sounded oddly aggressive.

  “The king has summoned you. You will come with us.”

  “He’s summoned me? Okay, whatever. But before that, I’ve been robbed! We need to catch the…”

  “You WILL come with us. NOW.”

  One of them grabbed my collar and pulled me forcefully.

  “That HURTS! Listen to me!”

  But they held my arms tightly and pulled me along with them.

  I was basically in my underwear. There was no dignity in this! Why was I being treated this way?

  “Myne! Please hurry!”

  But the knights would not listen. We left Myne in her room, and they dragged me back to the castle.

  The carriages I’d seen before were apparently prepared to bring me back to the castle.

  And so, without ever understanding why, I came to be seen as a criminal by the town.

  Chapter Seven: False Charges

  They dragged me down the street, and soon enough we arrived at the gate to the castle. I was still in my underwear. The knights kept their spears trained on me as they led me to the audience chamber.

  The king and his retainer were there, both looking very grave.

  And then…

  “Myne!”

  Ren, Motoyasu, Itsuki, and the rest of their parties were also there. When I called out to her, Myne ran behind Motoyasu and made dagger eyes at me from behind his back.

  “What the hell, Myne?”

  Everyone was glaring at me like I was some sort of criminal.

  “You mean you really don’t remember?”

  Motoyasu stepped forward and interrogated me.

  What were they talking about?

  “What do you mean? Remember what… HEY!”

  Motoyasu was wearing my chainmail.

  “So it was you… you thief!”

  “Who’s a thief? I didn’t know you
were such a scoundrel!”

  “A scoundrel? What are you talking about?”

  With my outburst, I realized that the audience chambers were beginning to feel rather like a courtroom.

  “We will now hear the charges against the Shield Hero.”

  “Charges? But… but I!”

  “Sob… sob… The Shield Hero drank too much, and he came bursting into my room. Then he… He held me down, and…”

  “What?”

  “He held me down and said, ‘The night is still young, Baby.’ Then he started to rip my clothes off…”

  Myne was sniveling behind Motoyasu, and she pointed a shaky finger in my direction as she spoke. “I screamed as loud as I could and ran from the room. That’s when I found Mr. Motoyasu, and he saved me.”

  “Huh?”

  What was she talking about?

  Last night, right after me and Myne split paths, I’d gone straight to sleep. That was why I didn’t remember anything.

  I felt bad, watching her cry. But I was too confused to make sense of what was going on.

  “What are you talking about? I went to bed right after we finished eating!”

  “Liar! If that were true, why would Myne be crying like this?”

  “Why are you speaking for her? And just where did you get that shiny-new chainmail of yours?”

  They’d all just met yesterday, right?

  “Last night I went to the bar for a drink. I was sitting there, alone, when Myne came running over. We had a couple drinks together, and she gave me this chainmail. She said it was a present.”

  “Say what?”

  I could tell that it was my chainmail.

  Granted, Myne could have had her own chainmail and given it to Motoyasu. But it seemed suspicious, at the very least, considering that my own chainmail had gone missing at the same time.

  Talking to Motoyasu would get me nowhere. I decided to speak to the king, directly.

  “That’s it! Your Highness! I’ve been robbed! My money, clothes, equipment—everything but my shield has been stolen! Please bring the person who did this to justice!”

  “Silence, Scoundrel!”

  The king ignored my plea.

  “Any act of sexual aggression committed against the people of my kingdom, whether by barbarian or Hero, will be punished—immediately—by death!”

  “But this is all a mistake! I didn’t do it!”

  “I had an inkling the first time I saw you. Of course you would sully yourself, you little wretch!”

  “Wretch?! What did I do?”

  “Of course things turned out this way. I felt it immediately, that you were a little different from the rest of us.”

  “Me too. Even at that though, I never thought you’d stoop so low. You must think you’re somehow entitled to whatever you want!”

  “This isn’t all about you! Show some respect!”

  All of them were already assuming that I was guilty. I felt my blood rising hot up my neck. What the hell was going on? What the hell? What the hell?

  I didn’t even know what they were saying! I never did these things! Why was I being punished? I looked over at Myne in desperation. Apparently she thought that no one else could see her, because she stuck out her tongue and mocked me.

  Then I understood what was happening.

  I glared at Motoyasu. I could feel hate, black and hard, churning in my guts. I jabbed my finger in his direction, and found my own voice booming out over the room, louder than I ever expected myself to sound.

  “You! You had your eyes on my money and equipment, and so you made all this up to get your hands on my stuff!”

  “Who would believe the words of a rapist?”

  Motoyasu stepped forward, hiding Myne from my view, and stuck out his chest. He was playing the role of the brave hero, protecting a defenseless and victimized woman.

  “Liar! You had your eyes on my money and equipment from the start! You and your little friends had a meeting about it, didn’t you!”

  Here’s what happened: Motoyasu had whispered all of it to her when we first met at the castle. He told her I was a weak class, sure to lose. She convinced me to buy her good equipment. After she got what she wanted, she’d steal the remaining money and equipment, and run to the castle as a victim in an invented story. They’d have me killed off, and then they’d get away with everything.

  … That was their plan.

  Besides! Myne always called me, “Hero,” but she’d called Motoyasu by his name. If that wasn’t proof enough, I didn’t know what was.

  In this world, I guess one hero was enough.

  “You come to another world and treat your companions this way? You’re trash.”

  “I agree. It’s very difficult to sympathize with him.”

  So Ren and Itsuki had no qualms with throwing their lots in with Motoyasu.

  Of course… They had all been in cahoots from the beginning. The Shield Hero was weak, so they wanted to get rid of me, and increase their own standing in the process.

  They were disgusting.

  Could they be any worse?

  Thinking back on it, it seemed like no one, not even the people from this world had shown any desire to trust me.

  But why? Why should I have to fight to defend the rats?

  I hoped the whole place burned to the ground, the whole damn world.

  “… Fine. I don’t care. Just send me back to my world, and call yourself a new Shield Hero. That’ll do it, right?”

  Another world? Ha! What a joke. Why did I have to spend my time in such crappy place?

  “Things don’t go your way, so you decide to turn tail and run away? How weak.”

  “I agree. You have no sense of responsibility or justice. You ignore the task you’ve been entrusted with, only to attack a poor girl… Just terrible…”

  “Get out of here then! Go back home! We don’t need people like you here!”

  I was glaring at Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu as if I could kill them with my eyes.

  This was SUPPOSED to be FUN. But they had ruined it all.

  “All right already! Send me home!”

  The king simply crossed his arms and frowned.

  “I would very much like to send you home, but the waves of destruction will not allow it. New Heroes can only be summoned once the original four have all died. This is what the researchers say.”

  “Wh…What?”

  “But…”

  “That’s… you’re kidding, right?”

  Finally, the three of them seemed surprised by something.

  There was no way to send us home?

  “You mean we can’t go home?”

  Give me a break.

  “When were you planning on telling us that?!”

  I broke free from the knights and their spears.

  “Plan on running, eh?!”

  “I’m not running.”

  One of the knights hit me.

  It made a good sound, his fist. But it didn’t hurt. It didn’t even irritate me. The knight, rather, seemed to have hurt his fist. He was cradling it like a baby bird as he stepped away from me.

  “Well? What’s it going to be, Your Majesty? What’s my punishment?”

  I swung my arms to get the blood flowing again.

  “At the current moment, you are our only defense against the coming waves, and therefore will not be punished. However, your crimes are already well known to the people. That will be your punishment. I doubt very much that you will find work or help in our country.”

  “Ah, thank you so much!”

  So I was to level up and fight back the waves of destruction.

  “We will summon you in another month, when the waves approach. You may be a criminal, but you are still the Shield Hero. Do not shirk your responsibilities.”

  “Got it! I’m weak, is that it? Better hurry up!”

  Clink…

  Ah, yes. I remembered the stash I had hidden in the back of my shield.

  “Check it out!
This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

  I removed it from its spot. It was the last 30 pieces of silver I had. I threw it forcefully at Motoyasu.

  “What the? What are you doing?!”

  I didn’t expect him to deride me for filling his pockets further.

  I left the castle through its gate, and as I made my way down the street, the crowds on either side of me pointed as they whispered among themselves.

  Gossip moved fast here. Better be careful what I say, and to whom.

  The whole world looked awful to me then. Hideous.

  And so I lost respect, trust, and my money. Just as my adventure began, I lost it all.

  Chapter Eight: Ruined Reputation

  A week went by. I stayed relatively close to the castle.

  “Hey there, Shield-Guy.”

  “Huh?!”

  It was the owner of the weapon shop. I’d been walking around town in my underclothes, and he called me over when he saw me.

  Granted, I’d been passing right by his shop, but what could he have wanted?

  “I heard that you tried to take advantage of your friend. Come over here and let me give you a hard smack.”

  It was like he had no intention of listening to me in the first place. Hatred was on his face, and his hand was curled into a tight fist.

  “You too?!”

  No one wanted to listen to me. No one believed me. Granted, I was from another world, and the common sensibilities of this land were a mystery to me. But even then, I was not the type of person to force myself on a woman. No way!

  Ugh…it was making me sick. Even the owner of the weapon shop started to look like her.

  I could probably kill him with a well-placed punch. My hand was also curled into a fist. I glared at him.

  “… You…”

  “What? Weren’t you gonna hit me or something?”

  His hand relaxed, and he didn’t seem as on-edge.

  “Uh… well, never mind.”

  “Gee, thanks a bunch.”

  Right then, even though I was weak, I thought I could punch everyone I met.

  But I stopped myself. What good would that do? I needed to focus on leveling up, and on making some money. If I focused my anger on the balloons, it would at least do me some good.

  “Wait just a second!”

  “What?!”