A very odd welcome

Chapter 19: A very odd welcome

When you're the God of a nation, things would usually go swimmingly. This was not the case for Naofumi however. Not only were the people extremely hostile towards him, but he also didn't even get a step into Siltvelt before the shenanigans started.

At least in Melromarc, they'll try to abuse his accusations as an excuse to not give service to him. Siltvelt took no chances and just straight-up attacked his party since Ren was here.

"[Airstrike Shield!]" Naofumi shouted, summoning a shield to protect them from the barrage of flames. Even with Naofumi's abilities on full display, the guards fighting them just dismissed it as a ploy of the sword hero and continued their mission to strike them down.

"New land of opportunities. How are you liking it at the moment Naofumi."

"Not the time." An explosion goes off beside their barricade. Draco and Raphtalia were holding the line with their magic, but they could only defend so much.

"Alright, I've had enough of this. Avoid killing them but engage with force."

"You sure that's a good idea Naofumi?"

"If they want a battle I'll happily take them out. We can deal with the specifics later."

"And if they send more guards to take you down?"

"I'll cross that bridge when we get there. Raphtalia, Sakura."

"On it." Drawing their blades they both dashed into the battle.

"I'll help them out then. [Tranquil Sword]"

Approaching the main group, Sakura shot a gust of wind forward and knocked many of the guards down. Before they could get up, Raphtalia and Ren came in and slashed several of them with her blade. The enemies that Ren struck suffered no wounds, but soon got tired and passed out. The ones Raphtalia slashed however weren't doing so well. None of the wounds were lethal enough to kill, but many of them were writhing in pain on the ground.

As they were celebrating their victory over the quick skirmish, rumbling can be heard from inside the city. The steps get heavier and louder as it draws near and soon reveals itself to be a large minotaur carrying a battle axe.

"Where is the sword demon!?" The minotaur snarled in a deep voice.

Looking at the minotaur towering over him, Ren gulped as his sword burst into flames. "Careful guys, something feels off about him."

"His presence. It's similar to what Fitoria and Sakura did near the end of their fight." Raphtalia pointed out.

"If that's true, we must approach this fight cautiously. Ake, Keel. Backup Raph. Draco, keep doing what you're doing."

"I don't take orders from others. But you'll be the only exception for now." Draco drew her bow back and charged it with lightning energy.

Both sides stared each other down, waiting for the other to crack.

Sakura was the first to break and dashed at the minotaur. Midair, transformed into her monster form and performed a flying kick.

The minotaur met her attack head-on and blocked it with his battleaxe. When Sakura jumped off, he moved faster than Naofumi expected and brought down his axe over Sakura. The bird quickly transformed back and prepared to clash with the minotaur, but Naofumi got in the way and took the attack instead.

"Agh," Naofumi grunted. He was planning on deploying a shield prison-like always, but a gut feeling told him to take the attack head-on instead. He was glad that he went with his gut, as the attack was stronger than anything he felt before. He was thankful that his current methods and his strongest shield (chimera viper) were enough to take the brunt force of the hit, but he wasn't so sure about everyone.

"You dare mimic our shield hero's holy artifact with your cheap replica! You must die!" The minotaur increased brought his full weight upon the ax and slowly dug Naofumi into the ground. The shield hero struggled to keep the attack up, but he was given relief once Keel came in and kicked the ax to the side.

Draco released her arrow as Raphtalia and Ake rushed in and swung their respective blades, performing a 3-way pincer attack. The minotaur saw this attack and chuckled before splitting his ax into two. He used both ends to block both Raphtalia and Ake, and knock them away. He then got on all 4s and started to charge at Ren, catching Draco's arrow with his teeth midway through his dash.

Naofumi once again got in front of the minotaur and took his attack head-on. The attack was less threatening to Naofumi, as there isn't a blade looming over him. But he was quickly proved wrong as the charge attack still carried a much greater force than the axe. Naofumi was knocked back and skidded across the ground, watching on in horror as the pole vaulted off of one of his axes and came crashing down on Naofumi with his second.

"[Thunder Sword!]" Ren came in the nick of time and minotaur's weapon away. While the minotaur was staggered midair, Ren came back around and slashed upward with his [Flame Blade. Granted, he did wince in pain, but only a small cut was made in the skin, doing nothing but distracting the minotaur for a second.

Getting up, Naofumi had no time to breathe as the minotaur came back swinging. He targeted Ren and Naofumi specifically while ignoring the attacks from the others. They quickly found out that none of them had the strength to hurt the guy, so all they could do was minorly inconvenience him by knocking around his weapon a few times.

Ren was the only one who can actively hurt their assailant, and he was using skill after skill to get the upper hand, but all that did was just make the fight an even brawl. Naofumi was a big help in that. Constantly blocking and disrupting the attacks from the minotaur to keep him from getting a devastating hit on Ren. Even with all his effort on disrupting the attacks, Naofumi began to waver a bit and was soon knocked to the side.

"Perish you a false profit of the sword devil!" The minotaur planted his feet into the ground and reconnected his ax. Energy similar to that of Fitoria's technique soon started to flow into the power of the ax, and he quickly swung it down towards Naofumi. "[Crushing Bull!]"

The shield hero raised his shield once again and was even tempted into calling upon the power of that odd shield once again, but Ren quickly got in front of Naofumi and swung his sword.

"Consider us even after this Naofumi. [Parry Stance!]" Ren planted his foot into the ground and clashed with the minotaur. The skill Ren used would make his defense stat temporarily the same as his attack stat. Even though it was only for a few seconds at the time, this allowed Ren to take on the full-force hit from the Minotaur, and knock his blade aside before the skill ended. Once it did, Ren was already halfway through his swing, aimed at the minotaur's head.

"[Counter Stan-!]"

"Cease this ruckus at once!" A commanding voice shouted. The voice caught the attention of everyone. Even Ren decided to whiff his attack on purpose to see what the commotion was about. If it was a moment of reprieve, this was certainly a moment for them to abuse it, and catch their breaths.

"I swear. Causing terror and destruction at the gate is one thing, but to attack the shield hero and his companions is certainly unforgivable!"

The old man walked forward and chewed out the minotaur. He tall, lanky-looking young adult male with a pair of red wings on his back. To Naofumi, he seemed to be some sort of authority figure. Not only was he able to stop the reinforcements from going in and attacking, but he also was able to stop, and even command the minotaur to apologize and leave.

Ren breathed a sigh of relief as the minotaur left. He was unsure if that final attack would even work, but he was glad that he and Naofumi were able to make it out in the end.

"Lord hero, I deeply apologize for this terrible homecoming. I am lord Werner, and I ask that you come to my abode so that I may offer you some relief." Werner knelt on the floor in shame,

"You're lucky that none of my party members were hurt in this altercation. If they were, things would be going very differently." Naofumi threatened.

"I know you must be mad lord shield. I shall take responsibility for what happened today. Frederick, grab the carriage and clear a path to my estate!"

"Yes sir!" The fox demi human ran down the street and returned with a carriage minutes later. Sakura was beaming with joy, while the rest of the group was confused and cautious about the whole situation. Naofumi didn't know if Werner could be trusted, but he had little choice in the matter after they pretty much pushed him into the cart.

/~/

"I humbly apologize once again for this situation. We weren't prepared for you to escape the bounds of Melromarc so soon. Truly, the shield lord is a man of great miracles." Werner praised.

He poured both himself and Naofumi a cup of tea, ignoring Ren entirely as he sat back down.

"You need to train your men perceptiveness better. I was clearly doing things that only the shield hero can do. If Siltvelt is this rubbish when it comes to identifying their God, then I have low hopes for this country." Naofumi threatened.

"I can assure you lord shield. Every person involved in this scuffle will be properly punished under your orders."

After pouring his cup of tea, Ren jumped into the conversation. "So may I ask? What is up with all this sword devil, fake shield nonsense?"

Wener sighed. "If you must know sword. Siltvelt follows the church of the shield. All other heroes are either seen as devils who are against the shield. Or followers of the strongest, and most glorious hero. It's obvious that Siltvelt sees the sword as the former, since our hero was unrightfully accused, and left to fend for himself without any help."

Ren sighed. He opened his mouth so that he could speak of a rebuttal of any kind, but he had nothing. He's already been reminded time and time again about his failures, but this jab was the one that hurt him the most. Of course, that's excluding the few punches Wyndia threw at him after he told her had plans to abandon her.

He was at the trial and said nothing. He heard the philosophies of the church and did nothing. He called him weak during their first meeting and did nothing to help. By the time he acted, the damage was already heavily done, both physically and psychologically.

Wyndia was an example of how little he thinks about his actions. Did he truly deserve this forgiveness Naofumi gave him? Did he deserve any forgiveness from Wyndia? Perhaps he deserved this pain for everything he did.

GL###### ######

A glitched-out screen appeared in front of Ren. Constant static appeared as only two letters were revealed for a new sword series. He was going to reach forward to investigate, but the screen disappeared as he was drawn back into the conversation at the sound of a table being hit.

"Even though that's true and all. I and Ren have been working together for the past couple of days- no scratch that, weeks to stop the waves. He was the one who helped me escape Melromarc by lending me his dragon. If you want respect from me, then I demand you show some common courtesy to one of my best and only allies."

"S-s-sorry Lord. I wasn't aware of-."

"Then be aware next time. I don't want this place to be a repeat of Melromarc. And you aren't giving me the best first impression."

"Yes sir. I shall inform the council tomorrow morning. I will also do my best to adhere to your request during your stay here. We're aware of your status as a hero, but we want to make sure that SIltvelt is your go-to country if anything happens."

"I'm hoping that you can keep that promise. I don't want to be disappointed again."

"Y-yes sir."

/~/

"Well this was certainly an adventure. How do you plan on getting back to Melromarc exactly? Especially with the possible fugitive thing that could be going on?"

"I'll cross that path when I get there. Worse comes to worst, 3 heroes fight the wave off and I'll have to deal with only a slightly angry bird." Naofumi shrugged his shoulders. "By that time I'll have a waypoint in Siltvelt so no more dragon travel."

"If you say so, I guess I should head out. Just be warned, I won't be able to make it back to you in time for Zeltobles wave, so you're on your own until the end of that."

"Don't forget that you're also on your own. So don't do anything stupid that might get you killed."

Ren scowled as he folded his shoulders. "I may not be the smartest when it comes to decision-making, but I'm still strong enough to handle myself. You'll see." Draco started to take off and hover lower to the ground.

"Oh and… thanks for, standing up for me. I may not be your best companion after everything, so-"

"Yeah yeah, take responsibility for your actions or do the right thing next time or whatever. I get you're going through some things right now, but I heard all already."

Ren sighed. "Fair enough. Good luck Naofumi." Ren flipped Draco's reins, commanding her to fly off.

"So what's the plan now?" Raphtalia asked.

"Sleep and meet with the council of Siltvelt tomorrow. We need to mobilize the army, get you classed up, as well as register to the hourglass. So we have a lot of stuff to do before the wave hits."

"How much time do we have?"

"I don't know. It took us 3 days to get here, not to mention the amount of time I spent sleeping after the church attack. So in all honesty I have no idea." Naofumi leaned on a nearby wall. "The best we can do is adapt to the situation. We're in another country, so stay on guard and keep an eye out for the others. I'm 60% sure they won't try anything now that they know my status, but it won't hurt to be cautious."

Raphtalia nodded her head and unconsciously wagged her tail. "I'll do my best."

"Alright. It's getting late. I'm going to do my usual routine." Naofumi walked off and opened his status screen. All 4 of his current party members were accounted for, minus Ren and Draco who had just left. Naofumi had to keep a close eye on Siltvelt and its machinations. He's heard a lot of bad things about the country, so it was only natural that he'd be cautious.

Raphtalia must have been thinking the same thing. She seemed more aware and alert of the things around her. He also heard her chanting a few times as they walked down the hallway. Naofumi can only think that it's an attempt to detect any illusions being cast.

Looking back. He was glad that his struggles were starting to turn up. But he can save those emotions for later once he's truly in the clear.

/~/

Later that night

A harpy descends upon Werner's mansion, and stealthfully lands on the roof. She had been informed that the shield hero has finally arrived in the country, and it was now her time to get in and secure a spot in his harem. She didn't care if she was a main girl or not, a concubine to the shield hero still held prestige in the nation of Siltvelt. So no matter what she did, she would be winning either way.

Flapping off the roof, she approached the window that was suspected to be the shield heroes' room. Looking through the window, she indeed found the room to be his and smirked at her opportunity.

"Hehe. First come first serve." Carefully opening the window, the harpy flies into the room and silently lands on the ground. As she went back to close the window, she looked down to witness another woman running up the wall at an angle. She tried to close the window quickly, but the goat woman jumps in at the last moment.

"Oi, buzz off this is my night." The harpy whispered.

"Not if I have anything to say about it. The shield hero will be mine"

"You both are already too late. It's our night." Turning to the unknown voice, a girl camouflaged into the steps, along with a few others hiding on the roof and walls.

"Sooo… wanna do an orgy instead?"

"Agreed, but who will be first?"

"I call it!" The harpy jumps over the other woman and strips her clothes off midair. As she is about to land on the bed near the shield hero, another woman appeared in a puff of smoke and held her by the neck.

"Sorry. Naofumi is not taking requests right now." The pink bird tightened her grip around the neck of the harpy.

"W-who t-t-the h-hell a-are y-y-you." The harpy stammered through her breath. She never got an answer, however, as she was soon punched out of the room and knocked through the outside wall by the pink bird.

"He's waking up, scatter." The girls quickly hid as they saw the shield hero waking up.

"Ugh, Sakura what the hell?" Naofumi sleepily complained.

"Oh, just some idiot maid fell. You know how they are sometimes."

Naofumi sighed as he laid his head on the pillow once more. "Well tell them to shut up before I go out there myself."

"Don't worry. Sakura will handle it." Sakura cracked her knuckles.

Not wanting to deal with or even know of her nighttime shenanigans, Naofumi went back to sleep. After a few minutes of making sure he wouldn't wake up, the girls all went out of hiding and confronted the bird.

"So your the shield hero's main girl then. Well back off and share some for us!"

"With Naofumi. Ha, not a chance." Sakura had a good laugh before composing herself. "Alright then. Who's up first."

/~/

Waking up from his slumber, Naofumi sat up in the bed and rubbed his eyes. Excusing the maid that fell last night, this was the first time he had a peaceful, nonanxious nap. He was under Siltvelts' proper protection now, so all the shadows, church lackeys, knights, and monsters he had to worry about in Melromarc were all gone. All he had to worry about was Werner doing something that would betray his trust, but Naofumi knew he wouldn't do anything to provoke his wrath. That was his thoughts until he finally opened his eyes.

The room was a wreck when compared to what he slept with last night. Messed-up furniture, holes in the walls, and for some reason, dozens of almost naked demi-human were scattered across the room, all knocked out. Some were on the floor, others were on the wardrobe, and a really unlucky one was currently being choked out by Sakura, with her fist preparing to punch the girl in the face.

Naofumi contemplated the scene in front of him and was about to let Sakura go about her business. But the thought of something going wrong made him hesitate.

"Put her down Sakura," Naofumi commanded. Sakura even after hearing the command just stood there. Even with her whining about her orders half the time, she would never purposefully deny Naofumi's commands. Knowing something was up, Naofumi got out the bed and went over to his bird, only to find the reason for her insubordination.

Sakura stood there, asleep with a snot bubble forming from her nose. The girl she was holding had several bruises across her body, and bags under her eyes that Naofumi could only assume was from last night. Most people would be knocked out if they were choked for that long, but Sakura was doing it in such a way that she could breathe in oxygen while simultaneously bringing enough pain to keep her awake throughout the night.

The girl's mouth did move when she saw Naofumi. Even when it wasn't audible, Naofumi could tell that it was a cry for help. He didn't want to help, but he figured that causing the death of this poor girl would be a hassle.

"Hey, wake up!" Naofumi shook Sakura awake. The bird slowly opened her eyes before jolting awake.

"Huh, what, where?" Sakura looked around the room, witnessing all the chaos that ensued.

"Care to explain."

"Huh? Ohh. Sorry, Sakura forgot about this one."

"Wait don-" before he could stop her, Sakura had already drawn her fist back and planted it into the face of the poor girl. They crashed into the wardrobe, forcing it to open and revealing, even more, beat up women.

Naofumi sighed. "You can tell me what happened later."

/~/

Extra Story: Bird Up

Deep within the cover of the night, a woman shrouded in darkness makes their way into the stable. Lighting up a lantern in the dark corridor, the light soon revealed the pens of several Filolial. The birds were awake and squawking, but the woman ignored their calls and specifically headed for the one in the middle. The spear hero's prized bird.

"So you must be Freon. The idiot has caused me a lot of trouble and money with his last action. He's also been ignoring me lately and stays with you instead of me. I say that this is fair enough trade, to get him back on track."

The girl pulled off her hood, revealing the crimson hair of Malty. She then pull a cup of liquid and forced the Filolial's mouth open.

"To think he wasted a week in an attempt to raise you. You're nothing but a creature who survived breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Have a nice first drink. And while it's your first, it'll simultaneously be your Last." As she raised the bottle, a foot comes in and kicks it out of her hand. Confused, Malty looks back, only to a naked child with white hair standing behind her.

"Damn it, kid. Don't you know how much that cost!" The girl walked over to the cold and picked her up by the neck. "I'll have you and your family sold into slavery for this. And even then, it'll take you years to pay off what you just broke."

"Leave Yuki alone!" The girl demanded.

"Ha. Like some commoner who can't afford clothes could tell me… what to… doo."

Noticing the command didn't come from the child she had, Malty noticed that her lamp wasn't giving as much light as before. Looking behind her, she saw that Freon got big, and towered over the princess with an angry look on her face. Freon also wasn't the only one. All the other filolial in the stable has suddenly become large as well. Towering over the princess, and slowly backing her into a corner.

Malty attempted to run, calling off her plan. But her path was blocked as the childing she recently choked, disappeared in a puff of smoke and also transformed into a giant bird, blocking off her final path of escape.

As the filolial closed in, Malty drew her blade and swung it about to scare the birds off. The filolial however just ignored the flailing woman, and all rushed her at the same time, knocking away her blade and pinning her to the ground. The screams of Malty were all drowned out by the fluffy feathers of the Filolial, and she was pummeled into the ground by the birds she had just recently tried to kill.

/~/

Ryute Village Report

Funds: 16 Gold (-52 for supplies and Filolial)

Fighting Force: 0 (Squad recently changed territories)

Ryute Council: Motoyasu, Malty, Ex Ryute lord. (Established by Motoyasu to assist him in village building)

Repairs: 97% complete

Current Sources of income: Gems, wood.

Livestock:

Cow: 47

Chickens: 34

Goats: 39

Filolial: 8 (Freon, Yuki, Kou, Kuro, Green, Crimmy, Marine, Luna)

AN: Yes I like filolial, how could you tell? Thank you for reading, and leave a review.