The Heroes Feast

Chapter 20: The Heroes Feast

"EVERYONE MAKE WAY FOR THE SHIELD HERO!" The knight shouted.

Siltvelt was vastly different from Melromarc. Obviously, the animal-like citizens were a major change from the humans he was used to, now Naofumi was finally being treated like the hero he is. Although he refused at first, Raphtalia convinced him to do a parade around the capital.

The first reason why Naofumi agreed was just to please the people of Siltvelt, so they can move on with their plans peacefully. The other half was to get a better view of the area. And if worst comes to worst, plan possible escape routes.

"We'll be arriving at the church soon my lord. Your bird is doing a wonderful job."

"Good. Tell her to keep moving and not to hit any more potholes."

"Yes, my lord!" The bear-like demi-human climbed back to the front of the cart and started to relay his commands to Sakura. Taking this moment of respite to sit back and relax, Naofumi looks over to his companions who were also riding in the back.

Raphtalia and Keel were catching up. To Naofumi's surprise, he had had his own adventures, being traded from master to master since none of them were able to handle his rowdiness. He even heard his previous owner say he was happy to give up Keel with minimal compensation.

"I would have probably done the same if I were in their shoes." Naofumi thought as he looked at the less-than-composed Ake. Despite his new hard-to-detect disguise (courtesy of Raphtalia), he still looked very paranoid.

"You look too nervous, Ake. Pull it together."

"Sorry. But being a human in a country that hates humans is putting me a bit on edge." Ake explained.

"Ake. You are disguised as well as level 65, you'll be fine."

"For real. You're level 65!?"

"Yes, Keel. I am." Ake crossed his arms. "But for some reason, levels mean nothing anymore since Ms. Raphtalia is still stronger than me. Even then, none of us were able to do anything to that Minotaur. No offense by the way.

"None taken. It's all thanks to Naofumi."

"Yeah. Why else would you think I put a slave crest on you?"

"Because you're kidnapping a knight just to keep his bird happy."

"No… well half of that. Slaves under my jurisdiction have better growth and adjustments to their stats. Raphtalia has been with me since level 1, so the extra growth boost would make her on par with you by level 36. That does not even mention that power-up method Fitoria used on them."

"So I have a long way to go to catch up then?"

"If that's the case. I might just send you back to Melromarc." Naofumi joked. Clearly not helping ease Ake's nervousness.

/~/

The church was huge, being 40ft tall, and boasting 30,000 square feet of space. The church was filled with priests and citizens alike, all cheering for the arrival of the shield hero.

Looking around his church. Several stained glass windows and statues of various shields litter the halls. Countless rows of pews fill up the center of the building, with various doors and confessionals laying by its side.

The main attraction however came from the main stage. Behind the lectern stood a set of stairs that lead up to a higher elevated platform. It was barely visible, but Naofumi could see the golden tip of a dragon's wings on top.

"Welcome Lord hero, to your grand cathedral!" The cat priest came down from the area above. His features reminded Naofumi of a bobcat. Unlike the pope. He wore black robes instead of white and had no hat, opting to leave his cat-like ears exposed, which Naofumi assumed was for him to be able to hear.

"Is the hourglass here?"

"Why yes it is. Lord Werner has informed me of your arrival, and we have taken the necessary actions in order to smoothen the-"

"A yes would be fine."

"My apologies. I shall guide you to the hourglass now."

The cat ordered all his priests to bow as Naofumi and his party walked past. Even if he was worshipped here, Naofumi found all of this too annoying for his own good.

'Is this what celebrities have to deal with every day? What a nightmare.'

"It's not that bad Naofumi. Just keep calm." Raphtalia reassured.

"Did I say that out loud?" Naofumi thought as he looked over to Raphtalia. He decided to drop any thoughts as he reached the top of the stage.

Ascending the steps, Naofumi arrives at the top floor and sees Siltvelts dragon hourglass sitting at the back of the church. More acolytes of the shield hero all bow to the floor as he walks past, with one, in particular, stepping forward.

"Welcome Lord shield hero. I am Herthsith. I shall be your guide from now on." Herthsith did a curtsy as she greeted Naofumi. Due to her features, Naofumi quickly identified her species as a bunny. Specifically a Lop due to how her ears hung.

When compared to the other sisters in the cathedral. Her clothes were much longer, with her sleeves completely covering her hands and drooped to the floor.

"What about the bishop?" Raphtalia questioned as she pointed her thumb at the cat.

"When it comes to matters concerning the dragon hourglass. It is I who take command, being the priestess and all."

"As long as we get what we need. I don't care."

The bunny nodded her head. "I see. The dragon hourglass has already been prepared for all your needs Lord Shield. All you need to do is step forward and allow the hourglass to resonate with your very being."

Naofumi sighed as he did what Herthsith asked. Doing this once again, Naofumi raised his shield towards the hourglass which shoots a tiny beam into the gem.

Hourglass Registered

Time till next wave: 12 days or 288 hours.

'A week and five days. We have less time than I thought

"I assume the register was successful lord shield?"

"It was. Now for our second reason."

"I see. Lady and bird of the shield hero. Please step forward."

"Finally. Sakura has been waiting for a good five minutes."

"Just go Sakura," Raphtalia complained as she pushed Sakura forward.

The bird didn't stumble at the shove, and only used it to increase her walk speed towards the hourglass.

"The class-up ritual for the shield hero is now underway!" Herthsith declared.

The hourglass glowed with a bright light as Sakura looked forward. Naofumi was questioning why nothing else was happening but jumped back as he was startled by a sudden pop-up appearing in his face.

Would you like to choose the path for your monster?

>Yes No

"I see. I get to choose since I'm their master." Naofumi pondered the screen real quick before selecting no. Once he did, the screen disappeared, and the sound of Sakura getting startled filled the room as her eyes scanned over all the possible options.

"I don't see the harm in allowing them to choose their own path. As long as Sakura doesn't do anything stup-" Naofumi's thoughts are cut short as a bright light filled the room. Once the light settled, Sakura walked away from the hourglass, looking exactly the same as before.

"Huh. That was weird."

"What was weird? It was a success right?" Ake asked.

The priested shrugged her shoulders when everyone looked at her.

"Well, Sakura was planning on choosing the Blade Dancer class up. But something seemed to override my option."

"Override? How is that possible?" Naofumi asked. He looked over to Hearthsith and the cat priest. The former of whom seemed to be going through all her life choices, as she attempted to come up with an answer.

After a few seconds of panic, Hearthsith finally composed herself and addressed the party.

"Well… There are rumors of certain blessings that will force a class-up choice. So that's could be the issue…. Probably."

"Certain blessing you say." Naofumi Pondered.

"Sakura doesn't leave your side often."

"So there's only one person that could have this"

"Fitoria." Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Sakura guessed at the same time. Throughout all of their experiences. Fitoria was quite literally the only answer. The pope could also be one, but they all subconsciously agreed that he would use a curse before any blessing came their way.

"Well. No need to worry about it now. Worst case scenario, I just drop your levels with my method. Who knows, maybe it was something- holy shit!"

"Naofumi. This is a holy pla-"

"Shut up and look at your stats."

"Is it really that bad to the point you'd swear in a- what the fuck!"

"Real holy Sakura. Now what happened? Is it bad?"

"Quite the opposite. Whatever Fitoria gave her just doubled her stats. She can possibly fight on par with Motoyasu right now."

"That's insane!"

"Who knew that bird had that kind of power." Naofumi looked at Raphtalia, Keel, and Ake's stats. 'Maybe if I offer her some food. She'll extend that blessing to these three as well. Let's not experiment right now though, we don't have the time.'

"Well talk about this later. Raphtalia, you're up."

"Okay, master." Raphtalia walked up to the hourglass, and the same pop-up for Sakura appeared in front of Naofumi once again. Choosing no, Naofumi also allowed her to choose her own class-up and watched from afar. Everything seemed to be going well as he saw Raphtalia deep in thought. Once she made a decision, she went to go choose, only for another blinding light to fill the room.

The light didn't come from the hourglass, however. Instead, it was emitted from Sakura's cow lick, which immediately flew off and into the hourglass. Once it did, the same light from before now developed throught the entire room, finally settling down as Raphtalia got away from the hourglass.

Quickly checking her stat page, Naofumi saw that she also got the 2x boost that came from Sakura's class up, and assumed that the cowlick affected the choice in some way.

'Well, there goes my theory. If I can raise Keel up properly. Then maybe-'

"Master Naofumi. Why are you looking at Keel."

"I wasn't." Naofumi denied it before throwing out another topic. "Sakura, what did you do?"

"Sakura didn't do anything!"

"She's right. The cowlick overrode my choice before I had a chance to make it. It seems I also got this blessing?"

"Or it could be that the blessing extends to those in the hero's party, or maybe those in the room?" Herthsith Surmised.

"That could be it. Even though it's a very good class up, this could cause issues later. Sakura."

"Sakura knows. She's banned from all future class-ups." Sakura pouted.

"Glad to see that you're picking up. Alright, guys let's go."

"Wait wait wait. You're leaving already. Perhaps you'd like to stay for a service or two?"

"No. We have little time to prepare for the waves. You can do service without us." Naofumi pushed open the doors and entered the carriage that was still outside.

"Would you at least like to schedule another visit!"

"Send me a letter!" Naofumi slammed the carriage door as the rest of his party got inside. One Sakura was strapped in, she sped away from the church and headed towards the main castle.

"But he never told me what his address was." The priest sulked as Herthsith consoled him.

"Just be glad that the lord took the time out of his day to visit."

/~/

"Lower the drawbridge!!!" Commanded a gruff voice. Long before Sakura even reached the castle. Werner had his personal shadow deliver orders to the castle gate. The second the party got there. The gates opened up to reveal the large courtyard.

A large fountain stood in the middle as brown bricks made a path to the stables, guard bunks, and most importantly, the main building. Many of the guards and servants who were in the courtyard were lined up, and all cheer upon the arrival of the shield hero. A few of the human slaves were also in the line, but they seemed to clap begrudgingly rather than willinglfully. But that's not an issue Naofumi had to solve today.

"Siltvelt has really been going above and beyond on these welcomes," Raphtalia commented.

"It's the arrival of our Lord after he escaped the clutches of the dastardly country of Melromarc. It's only natural that we celebrate his arrival."

"It's still quite a lot. Even Melromarc wasn't this extravagant with our heroes."

"That's because we know how to treat our lord human."

"Werner," Naofumi warned.

"Sorry, my lord." Allow me to guide you to the feast.

"We don't have time for a feast. Did you forget the whole reason why i was here?"

"No, my lord. It's jus-"

"Then we should be focusing on the wave that could destroy the country, instead of an unnecessary party."

"Come on Naofumi. It's just lunch. We still have plenty of time."

"Raphtalia is right. Also, it's food." Sakura added.

"I agree with both of them. Besides, food is food."

Naofumi sighed "What about you Keel?"

"My vote is food."

"Welp, it's decided. We're going to eat!" Sakura transformed back into a human and ran inside the castle before anyone can stop her.

"Lord Shield. Should we stop-"

"No. give her a minute."

"A-alright my lord." Listing to his lord's command. Werner stopped the guards from pursuing the bird. Just as Naofumi predicted, Sakura showed up a minute later with a Ditzy look on her face."

"Hehe. So where's the dining hall Red Bird."

"Follow me." Entering the castle properly this time. Sakura and the rest of the party followed Werner through the halls. Many priceless and valuable artifacts were scattered about like a rich person's hallway. Many of them caught the eyes of the shiny obsessed bird, but the real show for Naofumi was the various shields that were displayed on the wall. It seemed that Werner caught his curiosity, and said that he would send the shields into too his room at a later date.

After another minute of walking down the hall passing by, the party finally comes upon the banquet. The room was large and carried table upon table of foods, sweets, and drinks from all over Siltvelt. The party had seemed to start awhile back, as people that Naofumi could only guess were the Nobles of Siltvelt were all getting drinks from their human slaves.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!!!" A mammoth commanded. He along with the rest of the group all looked over to Naofumi as he entered.

"A TOAST TO THE SHIELD LORD. FOR HE HAS ARRIVED!!!"

"CHEERS!!!" Everyone clinked their drinks as the party started back up again.

Instead of splitting up. The party chose a table to sit at, and waited there as several of the nobles all came up to them, to give their greetings. The party, if Naofumi could even call it one, was just a get together for Siltvelts nobility. What really tipped Naofumi over the edge was when they served him an appetizer that was some sort of beef with worms on it. The poor servant was then yelled at for serving Naofumi that kind of food, and was sent off to grab something more suitable for his lords mouth.

"I guess you were right Naofumi. This party really does suck." Ake commented. "Even the food being served to us is inedible… Well… mostly." Ake side eyed Sakura as she was digging into the meal they just served Naofumi. Despite the two of them being in a party for at least two weeks now, he tends to forget she's a monster that transforms into a human, and not the other way around.

"Say what you want. Bird food is great. Want some?" Sakura offer Keel and Raphtalia a spoonful. Both of them rejecting it immediately in order to preserve their stomach.

Their wait for food didn't last long however. Bursting through the front door was several carts of food. Many of them were Siltvets main and best dishes, along with some Melromarc dishes scattered in. With all the meals placed on their table, the party started to dig in, with Sakura directing them to the dishes that are suitable for them.

"I apologize deeply lord hero. But I am unable to furfill your request at the time." Werner apologized.

"Huh? What request?" Naofumi replied as Sakura slapped a chicken bone out of his hand, and replaced it with another.

"The request to see the council members of Siltvelt. At the moment, several have passed out due to heavy drinking, while the rest are out in Faubrey for diplomatic talks."

Naofumi sighed at the news.

"I know you're unhappy at the news lord hero, but rest assured. We will do anything in our power to assist you."

"Between the whores sneaking into my room and the constant celebrations. I say you guys are doing the exact opposite."

"Add the food as well." Sakura chimed in as she dumped the content of Keels plate, the latter trying their best to keep their food.

"Pardon? I made sure that the Melromarc food is up to par with the Siltvelt ones in order to please our lord."

"Oh no it's not that at all." Sakura took a bite out of a griffon leg before continuing. "It's just that a good majority of this food is poison."

The sound of spitting can be heard from everyone at the table as they attempted to remove the food from their mouths. Swapping to his poison frog shield, the shield concluded that the meal was indeed poisoned.

"Why didn't you tell us!" Raphtalia shouted.

"I've been stopping you from eating the poison ones for awhile. Did nobody notice?"

"NO!" The group shouted at the bird.

"Haha. Whoops." Sakura replied with a derpped face.

"Werner. Explain yourself."

/~/

Standing 10 feet away from the whole exchange was a lion. He was part of Siltvelts council, and was currently faking a blackout so he wouldn't be caught. He heard from one of Werner's shadow that a human of all beings was in the party, and his bird was protecting him from every suitor attempt they threw at him. The shield hero from legends was rumored to be immune to poison. So with some poison, he can take out 1 bird, a human, as well as test the legitimacy of the shield hero. All with one stone. Now all he had to do was blame it on some human slave while he was passed out "drunk" on the floor, and watch the death happen. Bonus point if he got the raccoon who also seemed to be working for the affection of the shield hero.

His plan of his though, failed immediately. For the whole 30 minutes the shield heroes party was eating for. Not a single one of them even ate a single piece of his carefully picked out poison. And it was all due to the birds meddling once again, as she was somehow able to detect which meals were poison and which ones weren't.

A full day of planning ruin just like that. And now the shield hero was on guard for any possible situations that may arise. The lion, was clearly no happy, and all he can do was hear the shield hero chide out Werner, as he laid in a pile of passed out bodies.

AN: Thanks for reading. Leave a review