Chapter 3: chapter 3
Naofumi, right now, was very annoyed. He finally got some way to improve himself as he has bought a slave girl two days ago and the girl was a handful in his honest opinion. She would have night terrors, disliked fighting, and he needed to spend all his cash on her to make sure she was even useful. But, she was improving slowly if anything else.
Raphtalia Lvl 6
Naofumi Lvl 11
He had gained three levels in two days while before he took a week to get to level 8, considering that each new level would need a higher amount of Exp and he had spent some of the time of the last two days looking for medicine for the girl and needing to care for her, you could say that this was many times more efficient by comparison.
However, despite seeing that he was progressing quickly, he still was showing an irritated face.
"Naofumi-sama, is there something wrong?" Raphtalia asked worriedly.
Naofumi turned his eyes to her and she jumped a bit in fright of his eyes. Noticing this he forced himself to glare less before speaking.
"Nothing much," He said. "I am just debating if we should go back to the capital now or not."
"But, didn't you say we have enough camping supplies to not need to go back for a while to the capital city?" Raphtalia asked.
"Well, yeah it is true that we don't need to go back for supplies, but it just dawned on me that today is the day my brother was to be released from prison." Naofumi said, his tone showing his anger at this. Not to his brother, who was completely right in his appraisal of that trash on the throne, but at how his brother was put in jail for no reason as he couldn't have 'stolen' something from the cane or be an anomaly or anything like that. But, Naofumi was madder at himself for not having thought harder to let his brother be free instead of letting him go to prison, believing the king when he said it would be just for a few days.
The supposed time period for him to be free was today but Naofumi didn't quite trust the king to keep to his words in the slightest. But, if his brother is truly free he would want to see him. He was the only person in this entire rotten world he knew intrinsically that he could trust, everyone else is an enemy on his eyes.
"Naofumi-sama, do you have a brother?" Raphtalia asked in wonder, Naofumi rarely spoke anything about himself beyond the fact that he is the Shield Hero and his name so hearing him talk of a family member was news to her.
"Yeah, he is an annoying guy." Naofumi said, but despite his words, his voice lacked any heat or actual insult. "He is hotblooded and quick to anger, he would likely not hesitate to enter a fight if it presented itself to him, and he was quite great at games as well as being quite creative. He and I only have two years separating our age, I am 21 and he is 19, and we both trust each other more than anyone else in the world bar none. I can't help but imagine how he would have reacted if he was there with me when, when..." After that Naofumi got silent as he didn't even want to talk about that day, of that moment.
Raphtalia, noticing this, decided to change her angle.
"So, why is he in prison?" She asked, but deciding that she had enough rest she started swinging her knife around despite it looking more like a short sword in her hands.
"Humph, because, after he was summoned with me despite not getting one of these cursed weapons," Naofumi pointed at the shield "he managed to have the king's cane fly to his hand the moment the two of them got closer. The king got pissed and threw him to jail for 'thieving', but I can't see how this could even count as thieving, it is not like he wanted the damn thing, it just flew to him." As Naofumi finished explaining he noticed that Raphtalia was oddly quiet so he turned towards her and what he saw was her gaping at him in shock.
"D-D-Did that really happen? The Cane Vessel chose another wielder?"
"The what now?" Naofumi asked.
"The Cane Vessel, one of the seven Vessel Weapons." Raphtalia explained.
"Sorry, never heard of them." Naofumi said, but his eyes almost screamed 'explain' to Raphtalia.
"Well, the Vessel Weapons are one step below the Cardinal Weapons. There are seven of them and basically, anyone can wield them, either from this world or another, as long as the wielder is accepted by the weapon in question. The only way for a Vessel Weapon to leave a host is if the host dies or if someone else is chosen as better suited as the current hoster is unsuitable. The king is well known for his power as the Cane Hero so hearing that someone else was chosen as the Cane Hero while the king should still be strong is a mystery to me." Raphtalia said but Naofumi's eyes widened as a picture was being formed on his head.
One picture that, if correct, would explain so much and would also explain exactly how badly this whole dammed nation really is.
'I guess I get it, the Cane Vessel summoned my brother to be its new wielder because that trash isn't suitable anymore. I mean, if he is supposed to be so strong then HE should be fighting the waves instead of sending us 'heroes' fight for him while we have nothing to gain from this shit and are so low level while he might be super high level. If so it is no surprise that he is pissed at Kaito, he is living proof that he doesn't deserve to be a Hero anymore, and considering how the people of this world seems like the cutthroat types that prey on any weakness he no longer being a hero must be taking its toll on the bastard.'
"I see, I guess we will have to fight some more, Raphtalia." Naofumi said, standing back up.
"Huh?" Raphtalia sounded in doubt. Hearing the doubt in her tone he explained, his face contorting to a huge grim.
"We will need a lot of cash, I will buy my brother the best damn mean and drinks I can pay for this! Hahaha, this is the happiest I felt since getting in this world!"
////////////////////////
Raphtalia's P.O.V.
It was about two hours since me and Naofumi-sama restarted our training. It was hard, I felt like my arms would fall out from how heavy they felt, but I kept going.
However, I noticed something after a while. There are fewer enemies than normal in this forest.
I was about to ask Naofumi-sama when we heard loud noises coming from the forest in the direction of the capital. I could not recognize what this sound was but Naofumi-sama widened his eyes at it.
"... A motorcycle?" He said/asked, I don't know what he meant by that but I did not have the time to ask as something big came our way.
It looked like a vehicle of sorts, it had one front wheel and a back one, it was all black, and the person on top of it looked distressed to even be ON this thing. However, this all meant little as I moved to defend Naofumi-sama. Positioning myself in front of him with my knife I prepared to face this thing but before I could slash at it Naofumi-sama pulled me away and we rolled out of the way as the vehicle tried to brake but it tool a bit too long and if not for Naofumi-sama I would be a smear on the ground by now.
Thank you, Naofumi-sama.
"Aniki! It is good to see you again!" The loud voice of the person on top of that vehicle sounded and I took a closer look at him when I saw the recognition in Naofumi-sama's eyes.
The man in front of Naofumi-sama has short bluish-black hair, black eyes where the iris is small and doesn't completely cover the vertical axis of the eye, has sharp curves in the face, is a bit more muscular than Naofumi-sama, and in a bit taller as well being about 177 centimeters tall compared to Naofumi's 170, he also wears a white button-up with the sleeves pushed to his elbows, a loose black tie, black pants, black, fingerless gloves, and a suspenders/belt combo with a long stretch of the belt dangling loose from the buckle. Overall, he looks different.
I also could notice some small tears in his clothing but it didn't seem to bother him as much as he hugged Naofumi-sama in what I can only describe as a brotherly hug. The two with eyes slightly glistering with unshed tears as they smile brightly.
"It is good to see you are alive, Aniki."
"I feel the same, Kaito." This is probably the most gentle tone I ever heard of Naofumi-sama.
The brother of Naofumi-sama then turned to me, his eyes looked dangerous but after a moment he looked a bit more gentle before turning back to Naofumi-sama.
"Aniki, I always knew you were a lolicon deep down but I did not expect you to actually fall this low."
Naofumi-sama got mad and started shouting.
"You know I would never do that! She is a kid for fuck's sake."
"Yeah, yeah, just know I believe you, lolicon that you are." Naofumi-sama's brother said with a cheeky grin before turning his gaze to me. "Hello little one, my name is Iwatami Kaito. I am the younger brother of Mr. Grumpy over here, it is nice to meet you. Now, if there is no problem, could you tell me your name and what is your relationship with Aniki?"
"M-My name is Raphtalia, Kaito-sama. And I am Naofumi-sama's slave." As I said that I saw Naofumi-sama facepalm as his brother turned to him.
"Bro, what the fuck?"
////////////////////////
Kaito's P.O.V.
In the end, Aniki explained to me his situation. As I suspected he had not touched the woman who his aptly nicknamed bitch at all, he was falsely accused after having everything besides the clothes on his back and the shield in his arm. The 'news' of his 'crime' traveled the entire city in a matter of hours or less, which honestly is absurd if you think about it, and everyone without exception started treating him badly, which also is absurd if you think about it.
"Aniki, what are your plans for the future?" I asked, wanting to know what he has to say about our future plans.
"I will train hard, fight the waves, and when I get strong enough I will make them all pay." Aniki said and I sighed.
"Aniki, this is not a plan, this is a dream." I said, making him scowl. He was about to say something but I interrupted him. "If you want revenge we will need to have more people and do we even really need to fight the waves?"
"Of course we do if we don't fight how are we supposed to get back to our world? It is only after we defeat them that we can get back." Aniki said and I felt like rolling my eyes at him.
"Aniki, I did not say we will not fight the waves, I meant we don't NEED to fight them right away." I explained. "We only arrived in this world and even if we were to go all out in training do you really think only the four legendary heroes who will probably not be that high level or have that many weapons be able to actually defeat one of those waves? And, if in case we ARE able to defeat them, do you really think the military which is well trained and probably higher level and better equipped can't do it for now while we train?" I countered making him speechless as all I said should be obvious if you think about it.
Expecting us that will probably only be about level 30 or so to defeat the waves while saying that their military where most soldiers ARE level 30 to 40 and counting on the hundreds, if not thousands, is simply ridiculous.
The kingdom probably just wants someone else to take care of this problem for them.
There is also the fact that we do not yet know if this is a problem exclusive for this country if there are any real rewards for us if we fight here and if we can even survive. Heck, from what I see the kingdom didn't even give my brother proper armor nor did they liberated proper funding. And, considering how the king acted and the fact that he actually lost his rights to be a hero I can only assume that he HAD the power to fight but refused to, the reason I don't know but that despite being a hero himself he sends others to fight just like that proves to me that there is no merit to help this place.
Overall, fuck the king and fuck this kingdom.
"Now that you tell me, I don't even know how I am supposed to fight the waves in the first place." he admitted.
"Isn't that true. Also, while we are at it I think we should get more companions." I said, just the three of us is too few to my liking, I would like at least one archer and one magic caster for us.
"No." Came my brother's immediate answer. I looked at him and raised one eyebrow. Noticing my glance he explained. "I don't trust anyone of this world if they are not my slaves, only slaves are sure to not betray me." He said.
I would scoff at his words, but seeing his face I relented with one condition.
"Fine, but no abusing them or making them have sex with you by force. I hate rapists after all." I said as an ultimatum. I know that brother would not back down about this, he has that look on his eyes that he does when he refuses to listen to anything besides agreement.
I don't really like this, slavery is wrong in my honest opinion and I hate slavers in general, but in the end, I care more about my brother than I care for someone I never saw before. Just the three of us (me, Aniki, and Raphtalia) are too few and too weak to be able to be sure of our survival.
Until we face the wave we can't know how strong it actually is and the matter of fact is that we need numbers and considering how the nation's populace seems to buy into whatever the fuck the king says I can't trust my back to them. Thus, while it does leave a bad taste to my mouth, slaves are a viable option.
"Fine by me, I just want them to be able to help, if they do their part I won't hurt them in the slightest and I will protect them instead." Aniki said, making me sigh in relief.
Phew, this is one less thing to worry about. Now I just need a few basic pieces of information.
"Okay, I have a question then, Aniki. How much did Raphtalia cost, how is the regular price for a slave?" I asked while noticing that my MP is nearing zero now as the Rider Class Card- Sakata Kintoki is still active in its INCLUDE form, I am starting to feel my head pumping with a headache but I power through this regardless. I need to get used to this sensation and the longer it is out the more the Mastery increases, right now it is at 9% and the Rider skill reached D class, whatever that means.
"Raphtalia? She cost 30 silver coins." Aniki admitted. I made a quick calculation in my head before speaking.
"Okay, we will probably need two more days then." I said.
"... You do know I have no cash, right?" Aniki asked, but that honestly made no sense.
"Aniki, what do you mean you have no cash? Don't you defeat monsters?" I asked incredulously.
"Yeah, but the materials from them aren't that great when it comes to cost so I don't have that much money." He said.
... This doesn't make any sense.
"... Don't you get drop items and money?" I asked in doubt and he looked at me as if I was crazy.
"No, why would I get such a thing?"
"Well, it is just that my cane has that function. I have drop items and every few monsters give me some copper coins so I guessed you would be able to have it as well." I said it should be a no brainer that if the world works like a game you would get drop items and money from monsters, this is how every game works after all. At least I believed that and it worked well enough for me.
"Huh?" He said before thinking it over and nodding his head. "Kaito, if it was anyone else I would not believe it one bit but since it is you I will believe it." As he said that we turned around as we heard a sound, a wolf appeared from the woods and started walking towards us.
I don't know how strong Aniki is but I want to show off to him regardless so I undid the Rider Class Card INCLUDE to get my Cane Vessel to normal. Using it I spun it around before hitting the approaching wolf while activating Rocky Impact to make the effect that much greater. A resounding crack sound sounded in everyone's ears as most of the wolf's lower jaw was smashed away by my attack.
"Aniki, finish it." I said, giving the kill to Aniki. He nodded but instead of doing it himself he turned to Raphtalia who moved forward and stabbed at the wolf's head, killing the beast.
I honestly do not know WHY he put Raphtalia to actually do the killing. It should have been easier to he himself do it but just as I was about to ask him for details I heard him whistling after the approached the said wolf and absorbed the wolf much like what I do with my Cane even if I didn't really do it until now since I was freed from prison. Too excited to see my brother and test out these Class Cards (both were great experiences by the way).
"Would you look at that, you are right. I got a wolf's pelt and 2 coppers just like that. With this and some work we can get the funds to buy more slaves as you want." Aniki said before turning to me. "I guess the weapon's functions are only revealed when I actually believe in them, so I have an idea. You are the better gamer between the two of us, explain to me everything you know that could potentially work for me in as many details as possible. If we are going to get strong we are going to do it right." He said and grimed at me.
I did the same while answering.
"Sure, just tell me what you know and we can start working on how to improve your and my weapons."
"Speaking of weapons, what was that all about that you had a motorcycle of all things at one moment and the next it became a cane?" He asked.
"Well, let me tell you some more about Class Cards." I said before noticing Raphtalia being a bit covered in blood and dirt, something I also had quite a bit on my clothes and Aniki also had dirt on him. Naofumi noticed it too after following my gaze and opened his mouth.
"Let's go to the nearby river first, we could all take a quick bath after all."
Nodding my head I followed as Aniki and Raphtalia walked ahead leading the way to the river as I am not sure where it even is. I noticed how Raphtalia, despite still being quite nervous, would stay as close to Aniki as possible and sometimes move her hand as if she wanted to hold hands with him only to pull back.
Oh, she likes him, as an older brother or father probably but it still is great to see. It is extra blackmail material against Aniki and his claims of not being a lolicon.
Hehe, this journey is probably going to be fun.
////////////////////////
AN:
First things first, Kaito does not like slavery but he will not fight his brother against it as long as he does not abuse the slaves or order them to do something that they don't want to and is not really necessary. Treat them fairly and like actual people instead of objects, so to say.
Second, Kaito knows a lot about RPGs and his knowledge will let Naofumi get WAY ahead of the other heroes since much earlier.
Third, Kaito does not know what each Heroic Spirit can do yet, he is just fumbling around and trying to find out what each one can do, especially if any of them is a healer since he knows how healers are vital for survival in the long run.
And fourth, it always irritated me how the king and his ministers got out of the whole thing with Naofumi with so little punishment. I know that it made sense for the story as a whole and a way to show Naofumi's growth as a person, but I just don't like it.
This fic will be different, very different indeed. Let's just say that he will change Melromark completely whenever it likes it or not and by the end of it things will turn out VERY differently.
Also, I am thinking on adding some elements of Arifureta and Death March to this fic, mostly th dundgeons and some of the characters to be the slaves as there are not that many characters for it and I want Naofumi and Kaito with a full party, which means three more people. Maybe even more as there is still the whole system that lets people into extras for the party, like the soldiers that they can transfer for the waves together.
They could abuse this to make more people be part of this extra party and those people would still get the bonus EXP, just that they would need to kill others themselves and not get the party EXP or share it with others. This can be abused SO well if you know how.
Anyway, I will leave a pool open for the slaves they will be obtained in the near future, it includes characters from Rising of the Shield Hero and other works as well, please vote.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone