Rising of the Shield Commissar

by To_be_decided_TBD

Summary:

As Cadia dies a Commissar accepts his fate but the emperor of man has other plans for him

Chapter 1: Last Moments Before Summoning

Commissar Naofumi Iwatani looked up with his old withered violet eyes and saw it. The end of his home world coming from the sky. That bastard Abaddon had decided that if he couldn’t destroy the pylons on Cadia keeping the eye of terror closed, then he would just destroy the planet instead. Commissar Iwatani looked down at his right leg which had a piece of shrapnel logged in it making it so he couldn’t stand letting alone walk. But the other guy that gave him this ‘present’ was in worse shape, what with the traitor missing his head.

 

Commissar Iwatani in his last moments thought for a moment about his life in the Emperor's service. He became a Commissar at the age of 20 and served for about 100 years now, a few days before news of the 13th black crusade came, he was having a party to celebrate his 120th birthday with his unit, those crazy Felinids. He was going to miss them. After they got word about Cadia, he immediately got reassigned to help protect his home and had a tearful good-bye with his unit before coming home.

 

He helped all he could and now at the end here he was in an old bookstore with a fucked-up leg and his left cybernetic hand gone awaiting the end and for him to be taken to the Emperor’s side. From what he could tell he had an hour before the end and since he can’t go out swinging with his leg and with him being in a bookstore, he decided to read to pass the time before he died.

 

The book he chose fell onto his head and then into his lap. ‘Record of the 4 holy heroes’ huh? After reading the first few pages he deduced that this was a fantasy adventure novel aimed for young people who still had a sense of adventure before time took it away. The book was a collection of stories about 4 heroes with magical weapons: a sword, a spear, a bow, and finally a shield. The old Commissar knew for a fact that a shield can be a great thing to have given his years of combat.

 

The Commissar's opinions about the first 3 heroes weren't great. The Spear hero was someone who trusted his comrades, but the Commissar could tell from the subtleties of the text he was reading that the ‘friends’ he trusted were in fact the worst kinds of people, that manipulated him into doing many terrible deeds. The Sword hero fought great beasts, but Naofumi knew that some beasts, while dangerous to people, can actually be keeping the worst things at bay. And lastly the Bow hero fought for justice but didn’t stick around to help with the aftermath often resulting in the problem getting worse.

 

But in the background of the other heroes fuck ups, he noticed that every time they did something stupid, the Shield hero would fix it and clean up the mess. With each mention of him in the background the Commissar grows to look forward to the Shield hero’s section. But as he turned the page to start that section, he heard it. The Blackstone Fortress had made landfall and Cadia was doomed. Naofumi, while disappointed that he couldn’t finish the book, was content with his end. But what he didn’t expect was for the book in his hand to start glowing golden nor the voice that he heard: “It is not yet your time to come to my side. Go forth, Commissar Naofumi Iwatani, Hero of the Shield.” As he was enveloped with light and disappeared, the world of Cadia ended.

Chapter 2: The Heroes

Summary:

Meeting the heroes

Ren suddenly found himself in a room with a few other guys when the last thing he remembers was getting stabbed by that crazy guy. Priests: “Please save our world, brave heroes!” Ren knew this. This was the starting cutscene to Brave Star Online, which means he was in the game world now and he got his favorite weapon too, the sword. He would have lost his mind if he got the shield or any of the other weapons for that matter. Speaking of which, Ren looked at the other Heroes.

 

They all looked around his age. The Spear Hero looked like a cliche pretty playboy who would probably get stabbed. The Bow Hero gave the feeling of him being the quiet type who would look right at home with an instrument in his hand. As for the Shield hero… Naofumi: “By the Emperor…”

 

At first Ren thought he may have been a cosplayer from his outfit, but that thought died when he saw all the scars on his face and the eyes, he had reminded him of his grandfather who fought in World War 5, the eyes of someone who has seen a lot of terrible things that they wish they can forget. For some reason, he was looking at his left hand like it's been years since he had last seen it and after he noticed the Shield on his arm and adjusted it to see his reflection. Naofumi: “By the Throne world…”

 

He looked at his face like it was the face of a man he hadn’t seen in decades. If Ren and the other heroes, who had just noticed the Shield hero, had to guess they would say this man had just turned 20. The Priests look at the Shield hero with a look of disdain for a brief moment that was missed by the other Heroes but not Ren and with a look of fake concern asked: “Is something the matter, Sir Shield Hero?”

 

Realizing where he was, it took the Shield Hero only a moment to recompose himself, stood up and spoke in a voice that to everyone felt like he was used to giving order: “You have my thanks for your concern, Priest. But I was merely shocked because of the situation I was in previously. I can assure you I am alright.”

 

Ren and the other heroes were shocked by his old way of talking like he was from the Middle Ages. Naofumi: “I would like to speak with whoever is in charge of this place to get the situation so that these young men and I can know what we are getting into before we help you.” The Priest took a moment to adjust himself before saying: “Of…Of course. Follow me and I shall bring you 4 to the king.”

Chapter 3: Meeting the King, First Night and First Party Member

Summary:

Aultcary meets the Heroes, the other heroes start to question if this is their games and Naofumi gets his first party member

Before king Aultcary stood the 4 heroes, the Holy Sword, Spear and Bow heroes and the accursed Shield hero. Aultcary spoke to them in a regal voice: “So, these 4 children are the 4 holy heroes? My name is Aultcary Melromarc XXXII, and I rule these lands. Now, Present yourselves to me, brave heroes!”

 

The first to present himself was the Sword Hero: “My name is Ren Amaki. I am 16 years old and a high school student.” Aultcary had seen people like Ren before. People that acted stoic but in reality, were desperate to prove themselves. They were usually the first to die on the battlefield.

 

The second to present himself was the Spear Hero: “All right, I’ll go next. My name is Motoyasu Kitamura. I’m 21 and a college student working on a literary degree.” Aultcary can already tell this guy was a bit of an idiot even though they just met. He was the type of person to date multiple girls at once and end up stabbed to death… if they were luck. Overall, Aultcary knew right away that Motoyasu was going to be easy prey for the woman in court.

 

The third to present himself was the Bow Hero: “Okay, my turn. I’m Itsuki Kawasumi. I’m 17 and like Ren here I’m still in high school.” When Aultcary looked into the eyes of Itsuki, he could already see a darkness inside of him. Aultcary had seen this kind of darkness before in so of the other soldiers during the war. The darkness known as Justice. But not the righteous kind, no it was the kind of Justice that someone would use to justify torturing children just because they were demi-humans. Aultcary had no love in his heart for the demi-humans, but he drew a line at torturing children. He hoped that he could at least guide this child down a better route before this dark justice consumes him.

 

The fourth and final hero to present himself was… the Shield Hero. He stood at attention with his hands over his chest roughly in the shape of a two headed bird spreading its wings before saying: “Sir! I’m Commissar Naofumi Iwatani! Part of the Astra Militarum, Commanding officer for the 189th McConnellian Hellcats! As for my age, well…” He slightly falters before saying: “Your Highness, may I ask, are there accounts of this so-called ‘summoning’ you performed reducing the age of the person summoned?”

 

Aultcary rested his hand on his chin and thought for a moment before answering: “It is rare, but it has happened in the past.”

 

This was true as Aultcary had heard about this a few times back when he was in his despicable homeland. This made the king wonder how old this devil really was.

 

Naofumi nodded his head before saying: “I see. Well, my body seems to have regressed to the age I first entered my service to my Holy Emperor, being 20 standard terrain years. My age before I was summoned, my true age if you will, is 120 standard terrain years.”

 

Aultcary’s and everyone else in the room eyes bulged at the information that this man was over a century old and apparently, he spent most of it in the military.

 

Aultcary composed himself quickly and started to judge this devil before him. From the scars on his face and the look in his mismatched violet and green eyes, Aultcary knew this man would be a dangerous foe to have but maybe a useful tool… if he was one of the other heroes. It was a shame he couldn’t be one of the other heroes instead because Aultcary knew at an instinctual level that a battle of wits with this man would not end well for either of them. Aultcary can only hope the Church of 3 Heroes can keep their lust for the Shield’s blood in check… The King decided that he would call the pope to tell him to keep his flock in check but he knew already that that probably wouldn’t happen.

 

Aultcary: “Well then, Sir Ren, Sir Motoyasu, Sir Itsuki, Commissar Iwatani,” he said the commissar’s name with a face that looks like he just was forced to eat something sickening. “Allow me to tell you of the plight plaguing our world.”

 

Aultcary explained to them what the waves of catastrophe were and asked for their help. The Sword, Spear and Bow heroes asked for compensation which Aultcary was more than happy to give them, but the Shield hero remained silent before nodding his head in agreement to help.

 

After asking them to open their static magic, which only Sir Ren seems to understand, the heroes were told they would need to level up separately because the weapon’s prevented the acclamation of EXP of their wielders when in close proximity to each other. They were then informed that the King would secure party members for them before telling them to rest before they set out tomorrow on their journey.

 

Later after dinner…

 

Motoyasu was checking his menu and sure enough everything was as he remembered it from Emerald online. He was so excited for tomorrow. He would be getting his party. He was seriously hoping that it would have cute girls so he could maybe make himself a harem. He looked at his fellow heroes doing the same as him checking their menus.

 

To him, Ren seemed like an okay kid who was just trying to be cool, Itsuki, to Motoyasu at least, seemed like a guy who was probably bullied a lot. As for Naofumi… Motoyasu thought he may have been a cosplayer at least until he talked. There is no way anybody still talked like that and then there was his supposed age. It all got him curious so he decided to just ask him.

 

Motoyasu: “Say Naofumi, are you really 120 years old?” Naofumi looked up from his menu with a look that Motoyasu had once seen on his grandfather when he asked him a question once.

 

Naofumi: “I was… until coming here. I have had 3 rejuvenation treatments, so it’s to be expected that I would reach this age.”

 

Motoyasu tilted his head at the unfamiliar term. Motoyasu: “Rejuvenation treatment?”

 

Naofumi nodded his head and said: “Yes, it’s a process that regresses the body’s age by a few decades. It is only given to nobles and people like me that have proven themselves in the God Emperor's eyes. The Imperium preserves what it finds useful.” Motoyasu and the other two heroes were a little confused by this, as this treatment sounded like something out of a science fiction yet him mentioning that only nobles and people found to be useful to this ‘God Emperor’ made it sound like he was from the dark ages.

 

Ren: “Naofumi, what year is it where you're from?”

 

Naofumi put a hand to his chin. Naofumi: “Given that look of confusion when I spoke of the God Emperor and you asking me that as well as the existence of this static magic, I believe we all may be from different dimensions. But to actually answer your question Ren, where I am from it is the year 999 M.41.” The heroes were floored. This guy came from a sci-fi world that for some reason seemed to be going through a second dark ages. But the first half of his statement shocked them even more.

 

Motoyasu: “Okay then to confirm Naofumi’s theory, let's ask each other common knowledge, but first. Ren, Itsuki, where I’m from, it’s 2014. Is it the same for you guys?” They both nodded. Motoyasu: “Okay then. First question: Who is the current prime minister?”

 

And like Naofumi predicted they all gave different answers for each question. After confirming they each came from a different version of their world, the Heroes started discussing what happened before each of them were summoned. Motoyasu was a little embarrassed that Ren was able to figure out that he was stabbed to death by two yanderes. But he was sympathetic when Ren told everyone he was stabbed saving his friend from a serial killer and Itsuki was run over by a truck on his way home from cram school.

 

The Heroes all look at Naofumi, wanting to hear his story. The now young Commissar shrugged his shoulders and said: “I was called back to defend my home world from the Despoiler’s 13th Black Crusade. Towards the end of the battle, my leg and cybernetic arm got wracked and the bastard decided if he could have the planet, he would just destroy the planet instead. With my leg broken and my weapons destroyed, I decided to read a book to pass the time before I died and as the planet was about to explode, the book started to glow and next thing I know I’m in that room with you kids.”

 

The heroes didn’t know what to say. This man had just lost his home and was now in a new world, but he still had this kind of fire in his eye. After that revelation, the heroes ask Naofumi about his Imperium.

 

Naofumi: “Well life in the Imperium depends on the world you are born in. Your worlds’ sound like Civil worlds, but there are also Farel worlds that are still in their stone age, Feudal worlds that are in what you would call Middle Ages, Hive worlds which have cities that can hold your worlds’ populations. There are also Forge worlds which are planets turned into factories. Then there are Dead worlds which are just rocks with next to no life and Death worlds which are horrible to live on.”

 

After that Naofumi described more about the Imperium. The heroes decided to not ask any more about where Naofumi comes from after he mentioned something called a servitor.

 

Motoyasu decided to ask about the book Naofumi was reading. Naofumi: “The book was called the record of the 4 holy weapons. It was a collection of stories about the 4 heroes of the Sword, Spear, Bow and Shield.”

 

The other heroes nodded at that as during Naofumi’s explanation of his Imperium, it seemed like the only two video games that were recently rediscovered were something called ‘Horizon's Edge’ and ‘Craft Miner’ so it made since that the most popular forms of entertainment was reading, and the three heroes also thought as one: “If those games are what I think they are, it’s not all that surprising that they survived into the 41st millennium” (Author’s note: Yes, these two games are Skyrim and Minecraft.)

 

Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki didn’t like how this book portrayed their favorite weapon’s heroes. It made the Spear hero look like an Idiot that was blind to the motives of others and did whatever this evil princess said without question. It made the Sword hero seem like a glory hound. And lastly it made the Bow hero look like a shortsighted fool who just made problems worse.

 

But the 3 of them did kind of like how it made the Shield hero a kind of background character who helped the other heroes without asking for praise or acknowledgement. After all, in their games the shield was kind of forgotten but it was stated to be a mostly support based role as a combo tank and healer, so the Shield sticking to the background seemed right to them.

 

Naofumi: “By the way, I was looking through my menu and discovered this thing called power up methods. But two are missing. Is that normal?”

 

Motoyasu and the other 2 looked shocked. Ren: “No it’s not. Tell you what, read the ones you still have, and we will tell you what's missing.”

 

Naofumi nodded his head and said: “I would appreciate that. So, the first is…” What Naofumi said shocked the other Heroes and made them realize that maybe this world wasn’t a one-to-one copy of their games after all.

 

Naofumi’s first power up method was called ‘Sharing’, it explained that each weapon had its own unique power up method and that each hero can share what that method is with each other allowing them to add it to their weapons. This was a big game charger for the three as the second they heard it this power up method was added to their menus. They decided to share their own power up methods after hearing Naofumi’s second method. Which was called ‘Bonds’ and it was basically the classic anime power of friendship BS, where the more you trust your party members and they trust you back the stronger you both get.

 

After sharing their own power up methods with each other they told Naofumi some other things about the games they played like feeding items to their weapons to make them stronger. After hearing that the Commissar pulled out an iron symbol that looked like the salute he gave the king earlier, a 2 headed bird, most likely an eagle, spreading its wings.

 

Before feeding it to his Shield he brought it to his face and offered a prayer: “Holy Emperor, Lord and Protector of Humanity, please give on to me but a fraction of thy might, so that I may smite thy enemies with holy light.” He placed the symbol onto the Shield’s gem and let it be absorbed, the gemstone glowed gold for a brief moment and shot into the other heroes' weapons before dissipating. When they all checked their weapon menu’s the three of them were shocked to find weapons not from their games.

 

Spear of Fenris

Required level:75

ATK: 155

Skills (Locked): Howl of the Wolf King, Executioner's strike

 

Sword of Baal

Required level:75

ATK: 145

Skills (Locked): Wing’s of Baal, Bloody Blade

 

Bow of Ultramar

Required level:75

ATK: 150

Skills (Locked): Logistical Miracle, Indominus Arrow

 

Shield of Inwit

Required level:75

DEF: 175

Skills (Locked): Fortified Position, Hidden Rage

 

The three of them were shocked, these weapons were not only not in their games but were also clearly high level end game tier weapons. After that, they decided to all hit the hay. But as Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki lay in their beds they all wondered one thing: “If the power up methods were different from my game, and these amazing weapons were not in it as well then what else is different from my game?” With this thought in each of their heads they drifted into slumber.

 

The next morning, Naofumi woke up before dawn as was to be expected of a military man such as himself. He decided to head to the training hall he saw last night and prepare himself for the start of this journey. On the way, Naofumi thought about his impressions about the other heroes and the king and this country. Naofumi’s impressions on the other Heroes is that they are kids in way over their heads and are most likely the Heroes he read about in the book and that he would do all he could to keep them from ending up like their book counterparts. Naofumi thought the king was doing a poor job of masking his hatred for him as it was plain as day that King Aultcray had some kind of grudge against him. As for this kingdom, it was clear to Naofumi, from the priests crosses and the way they looked at him, that this kingdom’s main religion worshiped the other three heroes as saviors and viewed him as one would view the Arch traitor.

 

On his way to the training grounds, Naofumi ran into what looked like a high-ranking priest. Not wanting to cause problems, he moved out of the way and gave the holy man the sign of the Imperial Aquila while bowing his head.

 

The priest stopped in front of him and asked: “May I inquire as to what you are doing, Brave Shield Hero?”

 

Naofumi looked up and said: “It is customary to give a member of the cloth where I am from the sign of the Holy God Emperor as the pass.”

 

The Priest nodded his head before asking: “I see and who is this Holy God Emperor you speak of?”

 

Naofumi: “Long ago, he led humanity out of the darkness of a long night, reunited the lost tribes of our race and brought fire and death to those that sought our destruction. Even after his death at the hands of the Arch traitor, Horus, long may his name be cursed, the Emperor still stands guard over humanity’s soul as our bulwark against the darkness even after 10000 years.”

 

The Priest nods his head. Pope Biscas T. Balmus: “Thank you for sating my curiosity. You can go about your way now, don't let me keep you.” Naofumi nodded and started walking again. Balmus watched him go before saying: “I guess even a Devil like you has a god he answers to.”

 

At the training grounds, Naofumi discovered after his stretches that he could not wield any other weapon other than his shield which made sense as he was the SHIELD hero. The second he touched a sword, he got an electric shock. So he began working on battle plans for when he and his squad or ‘party’ as it was called here were in the field. He decided that the best strategy was for him to be in the front and take attacks meant for his ‘party mate’ while they attacked while the foe was distracted, it was a simple strategy but sometimes simple was best. After that he went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast with the other Heroes, where Naofumi asked for eggs and bacon for protein.

 

After the meal, the 4 Heroes went to the throne room where they would get their party members. Naofumi after seeing the selection did not have high hopes for most of these people. Only about 4 or 5 of them seemed competent and the rest were clearly nobles trying to get in the good graces of the Heroes so after this calamity they can maybe marry the other heroes or in the case of a few of them, like the big guy in the armor, use them for ill reasons. When the king said that they would choose what hero they would go with, Naofumi knew that the chances of him getting any party members was nonexistent for two reasons. 1. The country’s religion and 2. The King’s hatred for him makes him believe that he told the people here not to party with him. And the Commissar was right as not a single person chose him.

 

Naofumi began to think about his options and decided that even if it made every fiber of his being throw up, he would have to get a slave. Naofumi’s views on slavery were shaped mostly by what he had seen during or in the aftermath of Drukhari raids. The things he wishes he could unsee. He shudders at the memories.

 

But while he was thinking all this, one of Motoyasu’s party members said: “If no one wants to go with Sir Shield Hero then I can do it.” Naofumi looked at her and squinted his eyes. She was beautiful with red hair and green eyes and looked to be about 19 years old with a seductive body. Naofumi could only think one thing: “I don’t want this thing anywhere near me.” It was the look in her eyes. She may try to hide it under that sweet face, but he had seen eyes like hers before: When a Drukhari raider was skinning one of his Felinids alive to make her into a new pair of boots. She was a sweet girl too, her youngest had just turned 6.

 

Naofumi was about to say no when…

 

Melty: “That won’t be necessary sister. I shall be his party member.” Everyone looked to the entrance to see a young woman about 17 years old with blue hair tied into pigtails with blue eyes to boot. She was wearing what most would consider mage gear that did a pretty good job of hiding her body but somehow Naofumi could tell she was more developed than her supposed sister.

 

The King was the first to react: “MELTY!!! What are you doing here and did I hear you right because it sounds like you just said you were joining the Shield’s party!?”

 

Melty: “Yes father I did say that, as mother asked me to join the Shield Hero's party and if I can, offer myself to him as his wife. Also, mother has given me a message for you and sister: ‘Get ready because when I get back you two are in so much trouble’.” The King looked like someone just told him he only had till lunch to live.

 

Naofumi on the other hand just thought: “Got it, So the red head and this Melty girl are the king’s daughters and while the red one is a monster in human flesh, this Melty is the golden child.” This makes Naofumi briefly think of his brother, his family's golden child, who was made into an Astarte, an Imperial Fist, before continuing his thought. “This Queen is also most likely the main ruler of the kingdom with the king being an adviser of sorts. As for me marrying this Melty girl… she’s cute and seems to be kind and gentle unlike that thing she calls sister and at least she was up front about her motives for joining me.” Naofumi made his decision.

 

He bowed to Melty and said: “I would be honored to have you in my party and as for the marriage part, let’s get to know each other better.”

 

Melty gave a smile and said: “That was always the plan and thank you for having me, Naofumi.” They collected their funds from a still dumbstruck Aultcray before leaving the hall.

 

After they left… Malty: “What just happened?” Her small stupid brain couldn't keep up and when it finally did it took every fiber of her rotten self not to scream in rage at the fact that her plan to ruin the Shield Hero was itself ruined by her younger, smarter, kinder, sexier sister. Not that it would have worked anyway as Naofumi saw right through her in an instant by she was too stupid to see that.

 

While all of this was happening, off to the side the Pope simply said: “Well, play your Highness, well played.”

Chapter 4: Bonus: descriptions of the Primarch weapons

Summary:

Just explaining the weapons, the heroes got in the last chapter

Spear of Fenris

 

The spear head resembles a wolf with a bone-like blade coming out of its mouth. The whole thing looks like it was made from the bones of a great beast and ice. The Spear’s gem is in the wolf’s eyes.

 

The skill Howl of the Wolf King summons a spectral wolf that releases a sonic wave attack by howling. The skilled Executioner's strike is a guaranteed critical hit to the opponent's vitals, but the tradeoff is a half hour cooldown period making it impractical for long battles with multiple foes.

 

Sword of Baal

 

A sword with a red blade, winged cross guard and a golden hilt. The sword’s gem is in the sword’s cross guard where the wings meet.

 

The skill Wing’s of Baal grant the user a pair of wings capable of flight for 5 minutes, it has a 10-minute cooldown period. The skill Bloody Blade is a ranged slash attack that deals more damage the more wounded the user is.

 

Bow of Ultramar

 

A blue bow with the Ultramarines’ logo around the bow’s gem.

 

The skill Logistical Miracle is a passive skill that allows the user to get more for less when crafting items with their weapons. The skill Indominus Arrow is an unblock able attack that when fighting a group of enemies will always hit the person the group considers their leader.

 

Shield of Inwit

 

A yellow gold tower shield with the mark of the Imperial Fists on it. The shield’s gem is located in the fist’s grasp.

The skill Fortified Position gives the user's defense stat to all members of his party in exchange for not moving. The skill Hidden Rage halves the user’s defense stat and moves it to their attack stat and can only be activated when in extreme rage.

Chapter 5: The girl in the cage, gearing up and the first battle

Summary:

Getting a slave, getting equipped and the team's first day of fighting

The shield hero and his one- and only-party member, Princess Melty, exit the castle and the commissar turns to look at her with appeasing eyes.

 

Naofumi: “From your build, I take it you are not a fighter but most likely something akin to a combat psyker.”

 

Melty gave him a confused look and said: “I don’t know what a ‘psyker’ is. I am what is known as a mage.”

 

Naofumi nodded his head and replied: “A psyker is my people’s word for mage.” Melty nodded her head in understanding. Naofumi's face took a hard look at her and asked her in a very serious tone: “Do you often hear voices when you perform your magic?”

 

Melty looked confused again and asked: “No, but what do you mean by voices?”

 

After hearing her reply, the commissar’s face slackened, and he told her: “Where I am from, people born with the power to become mages are considered a very dangerous asset as their powers are tied to something called the warp. I can’t say most of why they are viewed that way for certain reasons but let’s just say that most end up going completely insane and in mild cases wear their friends' skin like suits.”

 

Melty looked horrified at her teammate's explanation of why he was, at least in his world’s case, justified suspicion of mages. Melty looked at him and said: “Don’t worry we don’t have anything like that here. Most mages become adventures or join the military and are usually taught at special school to help them better control their magic.”

 

Naofumi nodded his head before saying: “That’s good, I guess. But that means we are without a front-line attacker. Do you have a way of rectifying that?”

 

Melty went into deep thought for a moment before saying: “I do have a way to fix that, but I need to ask you two questions first, okay?”

 

Naofumi nodded his head. Melty: “The first question is how you feel about demi-humans?”

 

Naofumi gave a look and asked: “Is that what you call Abhumans in this world?” Before Melty could ask what that was, Naofumi answered the unspoken question: “An Abhuman is someone whose ancestors were human but were changed in some way either naturally or artificially. An example would be my own unit in the imperial guard, the Felinids, which are half human half cat.”

 

Melty nodded and said: “That is pretty much what a demi-human is. Most of them are half human half animal to varying degrees with some more animal like, therianthropes, while others are more like humans with animal ears and tails. And I take it since you lead a group of them you are okay with them.” Naofumi smiled thinking about those crazy cats and nodded.

 

Melty exhaled and got herself ready to say her second question. Melty: “This question is a little bad, but what are your thoughts on slavery?”

 

Naofumi scowled and replied through grit teeth: “In the Imperium of man, the act of owning another person is looked down upon unless it is serving a productive end like farming or mining. Mostly it is treated as a form of punishment for criminals. But I mostly figured that a feudal world like this one still practices it, in its original disgusting form. And from your previous question I assume that these ‘Demi-Humans’ are the ones that are victims of this practice, am I correct?”

 

Melty nodded her head with a face of shame. Melty: “Yes you are correct that that is how it works here in Melramarc as this country is human suppressant with Demi-humans being considered closer to monsters than humans.”

 

This made Naofumi raise an eyebrow. He just saw them as Abhumans which were just a different kind of human like in days of old terra where people had something called ‘Ethnikity’. He remembers how a sister of battle reacted to this thought, she nearly bashed his skull in on the spot, with a candlestick.

 

Naofumi: “Why is that?”

 

Melty explained: “Well when Demi-Humans level up as children, their body’s undergo rapid maturity both physically and mentally.” This piqued Naofumi’s interest, imagining the possibilities of having an army trained and ready to fight in, he was guessing, half a year when they were just children before. Melty continued: “The only other creatures that have this quark are monsters, so most religious people in this country see them as just that, monsters in human form that are as smart as us.”

 

Naofumi scowl deepened at this misuse of such a valuable resource, but he could understand why people would think that even if the very idea made him want to kill whoever made this a thing. He takes a deep breath to recompose himself and asks Melty: “You mentioned Melramarc is like this but are there other countries with different views on this?”

 

Melty nodded and said: “There are. Like Silvelt, which is Demi-Human supremacy and enslaves Humans. It is seen as the archnemesis of Melramarc for centuries now and is the opposite to this country in almost every way, from how it's run to its religion.” Naofumi wasn’t surprised that there was a country that was the complete opposite to this one.

 

Naofumi decided to ask about more of this world’s countries and religions later and focus more on the task of getting a front-line attacker. Naofumi: “I will ask more about these subjects later. For now, let’s get us a frontline fighter.”

 

Melty nodded and said to the Commissar: “I would be happy to teach you. Now let’s go to the slave trader and get this over with. I don’t like the slave trader family one bit.”

 

Naofumi gave Melty a weird look. Naofumi: “The slave trade in this country is run by a single family?”

 

Melty shakes her head. Melty with an exhausted tone said: “More like the most ‘trustworthy’ slave trading business in the world that is known for their reliable ‘products’ is run by one family. And to make things weirder, ALL the men in that family look the SAME, even the one that runs shops in Demi-Human countries who are themselves Demi-Humans. It is super creepy.” From the way this family sounds it reminded him of this one Rogue Trader he knew.

 

Later…

 

Beloukas: “My, My Princess Melty and the newly arrived Shield Hero! A pleasure to meet you by the way, my name is Beloukas, Melramarc’s top slave trader. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

 

The man standing before the two was Melramarc’s top slave trader, Beloukas. He was a very short man only coming up to Naofumi’s waist and he was also noticeably obese. He wore an outfit that would look right at home on a circus ringleader with him also sporting a pair of tiny glasses and the look was complete with a fine handlebar mustache. The way he acted seemed to tell everyone that not only did he love what he did for a living, but he also got off on the looks of disgust people gave him for his occupation.

 

Naofumi’s face was stern and serious but, on the inside, he was screaming: ‘BY THE EMPOROR’S MUMMIFID TESTICALS!!! THERE IS A VERSION OF HIM IN THIS WORLD TOO!?’

 

Remember that Rogue Trader I mentioned that Naofumi knew? Yeah, Beloukas was the spitting image of him in looks, mannerisms, the way they moved, their voice… Hell, even their names were the same. It really freaked the Commissar out more than any monstrosity he had ever fought could, and that was saying something.

 

Naofumi was doing a good job of hiding it because the first thing out of his mouth was: “The pleasure is not mine. Now show us your products. I want to get this over with.”

 

Beloukas shuddered in delight from the look of disgust Naofumi was giving him and happily said: “Of course follow me.” And guides them further into the show.

 

As they are walking, Naofumi leads closer to Melty and whispers in her ear: “You weren’t kidding. This guy is super creepy and to make it worse he looks JUST like that Rogue Trader I mentioned on the way here.” Melty gave Naofumi a sympathetic look that told him everything he need to know that she too felt the same way about the man they were following.

 

The first cage they were led to has a wolf girl with sun kissed skin and black hair with white tips inside of it that according to the slave trader was a former adventurer and was worth 19 gold pieces. Naofumi looked into the beast girl's eyes and after a few seconds, she sat down obediently.

 

Baloukas whistled and said: “I am impressed, I have trouble getting her to be quiet.”

 

Naofumi glanced at the trader and asked him: “She doesn't seem to be all there in the head and judging from her behavior, I’m guessing her previous owner pumped her full of mind destroying drugs for some reason. Am I correct?”

 

Baloukas nodded ecstatically and answered: “Yes indeed, good sir! Her previous owner pumped her full of drugs and released her onto his estate woods with other Demi-Humans to hunt them for sport with some of his friends. It was a hobby of theirs. Unfortunately for him and his fellow hunters, despite destroying her mind, she kept enough of her mind together that she turned the tables on them and killed them to the last before a party of Adventures who she was friends with before captured her and gave her to me in hopes I could maybe fix her or give her to someone how could.” Naofumi and Melty were disgusted by this story but were thankful that it had a happy ending for her before she was brought here.

 

Naofumi thought for a moment before stating: “Thanks for showing me one of your best products but if we were to buy her we wouldn’t have any money left to equip myself or her, so I will pass on her for now,” The wolf girl looks a Naofumi with a look that says she wants to serve him, so he added: “but I will want to buy her later as she seems to have taken a liking to me.” The girl's face didn’t show any reaction but she did wag her tail happily at the commissar's statement.

 

Baloukas grinned evilly before saying: “I see, I will keep that in mind, indeed. So, what is your price range then?”

 

Naofumi looked at Melty then the trader and said: “I would like a slave that is cheap so we can get them equipped and close to level 1 so I can train them properly.” Baloukas smile widened, it honestly grossed out Melty and Naofumi. Baloukas: “I have 3 slaves that fit that bill. Follow me.” He led them deeper into the shop.

 

At the back, he showed the 2 his 3 cheapest slaves. A rabbit man with a bad arm since birth, an insane lizard man who had homicidally fits, and lastly a small raccoon demi-human child with an illness, suffered from nightmares and whose former master liked to torture her daily. Right away the lizardman was out, too unstable, too unpredictable. The rabbit man at first seemed like the best choice but the commissar knew just from the look in his eyes that the rabbit man was done living and the second he turned his back, would kill himself. As for the girl, even if she was sick and had eyes with a similar look to the rabbit man hopelessness, she still had it just like the wolf girl from before, the will to stand, fight and live. With all this in his mind, the choice to Naofumi was obvious.

 

Naofumi: “We will take the raccoon girl.” Naofumi and Princess Melty left the slave merchant’s shop with the Raccoon girl, who said her name was Raphtalia, being held in Naofumi’s arms. This was how Naofumi met the girls who would become his 2nd and 3rd wives, Raphtalia and Maria, alongside his first wife, Melty.

 

Half an hour later, Melty led Naofumi to the best blacksmith in the capital, a man by the name of Erhard.

 

Erhard: “Welcome, how can I help you?” Naofumi’s first impression of the smith was that he would fit in perfectly in the salamander’s chapter of space marines, strong, kind and talented in the forge.

 

But the shield’s party wasn’t the only one there… Motoyasu: “Hey, Naofumi! Who’s the cutie in your arms?” The Spear Hero, Motoyasu was also here getting his own equipment. He was wearing a chainmail shirt under some padded armor. From behind, Naofumi could see the Drukhari in human skin standing behind Motoyasu looking at both her sister and him with a face that was a perfect mask for what she really is but her eyes full of scorn.

 

Naofumi answered his fellow hero: “This is Raphtalia, she is a slave me and Princess Melty bought to serve as our frontline attacker.”

 

Motoyasu’s face turned sour at the mention of her being a slave and he gave Naofumi a questioning looks before saying: “I know the place you come from is pretty backwards, but please tell me slavery is not something your people do regularly.”

 

Naofumi, sensing Motoyasu’s apparent hatred for slavery, answered honestly. Naofumi: “Slavery in the Imperium is only for criminals and is only for productive purposes like mining or farming. The idea of using it for anything else is seen as heresy.”

 

Given what Naofumi told him about how much his Imperium hates anything heretical, Motoyasu lets it go but not before saying to the commissar: “If I find out you treated her terribly in any way, I will free her from you myself. Even if it is illegal.”

 

Naofumi can see just how much Motoyasu will go to help a girl in need and says to him: “Don’t worry, Motoyasu. I just want to make sure she can live strongly, on her own two feet.” Raphtalia blushes at her new master’s words and Motoyasu says: “That’s all I can ask for.” and with that he and his party leave the shop.

 

After that Melty helps Naofumi and Raphtalia get their equipment together. Naofumi asked Erhard to look after his Commissar uniform and maybe incorporate it into new armor when he brought the blacksmith the materials for something custom. But for now, Naofumi grabbed himself in a chainmail shirt similar to the one Motoyasu was wearing under his armor. As for Raphtalia, she first was given a bath by Melty and changed into a worn red and black dress with some leather armor over it for protection.

 

As for Raphtalia’s weapon… Naofumi stared at Raphtalia as she was being taught how to use a sword by Erhard when he said: “I think she would be better suited to a slim curved sword rather than a straight sword.”

 

Naofumi had to admit she had some latent potential with the sword but he felt she would be better with one like he just mentioned rather than the kind she was using right now. Erhard, Melty and Raphtalia looked at him for a moment before Erhard decided to humor him and said: “Okay then. Let’s see if you are right, shield gramps.” and went back into the store and came back with a short katana. After finding out how old he really was Erhard started calling him that, not that he really minded it. If he was called kiddo, THAT he would have a problem with. After she was handed the katana, Raphtalia picked up on how to wield one better than with a normal sword like she was born to wield one. Erhard and Melty were impressed by both Raphtalia’s natural talent and Naofumi being able to tell at a glance that she would be better with it then what they had first given her.

 

Melty standing next to him asked: “How did you know she would be better with a katana then a normal sword?”

 

Naofumi just shrugged and said: “I have lived a long life and have helped train a lot of different regiments, so it’s just something you kind of pick up after a while.” Melty understood that Naofumi didn’t really know how to explain it and just left it at that.

 

After leaving the Erhard’s shop, Melty took them to a magic shop instead of the fields to get their magic checked. The store was run by an elderly woman in a witch outfit not that Naofumi knew that. Witch: “Why if it isn’t Princess Melty. To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from one of my favorite students?”

 

Melty: “Good to see you again, Miss Magie. I came to get these two’s magic checked.”

 

Naofumi still didn’t understand what they meant but from what he gathered magic in this world was very different from his world in that it didn’t rely on the warp. Naofumi was checked first.

 

Witch: “It appears you have a very rare affinity for both healing and supporting magic.” Naofumi assumed that his shield is what gave him those affinities or maybe the shield picked him because those were his affinities or thirdly, he was just overthinking things.

 

Next was Raphtalia turn. Witch: “The girl has affinities for light and dark magic, so she should have great talent for illusion magic. Makes sense given she is a raccoon demi-human.” Naofumi assumed it was a cultural thing that raccoons were tricksters that used illusions to deceive people, not that he assumed that about Raphtalia, from what he had seen so far from her she seemed like an honest and hardworking girl. Melty used some of our funds to get basic books about magic for Naofumi and Raphtalia and then they finally went to the field to ‘level up’.

 

The first monster they encountered was a living orange balloon, which confused Naofumi as to how this thing was alive at all. It bit him but given how high his defense stat was its fang couldn't pierce his skin let alone his armor. He held it down and let Raphtalia finish it off. +3 exp . Not what Naofumi expected for his first battle in this new world.

 

They continued this until the sun started to set and Naofumi looked at the girls and asked Melty: “Do you think we should head back or camp out for the night?”

 

Melty thought for a moment before answering: “Given how far we are and how long it would take for us to get back, I think camping out is the best idea.”

 

Naofumi and Raphtalia blinked at Melty for a bit, making her ask: “What?”

 

Raphtalia nervously said: “Forgive me, Princess Melty. But I would have thought that a lady of your standings would have been repulsed and offended by the idea of sleeping outside.”

 

Melty looked offended by the accusation and said: “Do I look like that monster I have the displeasure of calling my sister?! I will have you know that occasionally my father and I would sneak out of the castle for father daughter camping trips all the time when I was around your age, Raphtalia.”

 

At the rise of Melty’s voice, Raphtalia ran behind Naofumi shaking like a leaf. Raphtalia was still nervous around nobles after what her last one was like. Realizing she frightened the girl, Melty said in a soft tone: “I am sorry for my outburst just now. I thought you were comparing me to my monster of a sister, and I got very defensive about it.” Raphtalia snuck out from behind Naofumi and nodded her head, accepting one of her new masters’ apologies.

 

Naofumi noticed a shaking in the bushes and out leapt a monster… Rabbit. The rabbit lounge for Raphtalia thinking she was the easier target, but Naofumi blocked it in time.

 

Naofumi: “Raphtalia! Stab it!”

 

He looked back to see that Raphtalia’s face went pale at his order and before she could say anything, he figured out that…

 

Raphtalia: “No… If I stab it… It will bleed… I…I…I hate blood!” Her refusal triggered the slave crest, shocking her. If Naofumi had to guess, her parents were killed in front of her when she was taken as a slave.

 

Naofumi: “In that case we will give you back, then.” Raphtalia looked in horror at what he just said.

 

Melty: “Naofumi! What are you-”

 

Naofumi: “We have to fight the waves, Melty. We can’t do that with an attacker that is afraid of a little blood.”

 

Before Melty could protest… Raphtalia: “You two are fighting the waves?”

 

Naofumi saw a spark in Raphtalia’s eyes and realized his theory about her was only half right. She lost her parents to the waves and was enslaved after it.

 

Naofumi: “That’s right. Me and Melty are going to fight the things that killed your parents. Are you going to just sit there and let other kids go through what you did? Or are you going to stand and fight against it and save others from that fate!?” This was the push Raphtalia needed. She grabbed her katana, stood up and held her blade in steady hands before thrusting it into the chest of the rabbit biting her master.

 

Naofumi smiled at her as she said: “If I can save other kids from what I went through… Then I will stand and fight, Master Naofumi!”

 

Naofumi: “Good, Me and Melty will be counting on you.” Melty just watched on and realized he was just giving Raphtalia some tough love and smiled that they weren't getting rid of Raphtalia.

Notes:

The wolf girl was inspired by a different fic called the rising of the paramecia heroes. this version is named Maria and will return soon after the first wave.

Chapter 6: First Night of the Journey

Summary:

Naofumi gets to know his party members better as well as the girls getting to know him better.

Notes:

I know it's been a loooong time since I last updated this fic but don't worry it's not dead. My plan for this fic going forward is to make new chapters for it whenever I want a break from my main thing of Re:Zero smut. The next update for this will probably be a while from now so I hope you enjoy what I'm giving you. And without farther delay, enjoy.

Melty and Raphtalia were currently bathing in the river to clean off the blood from the rabbit while Naofumi set up the camp by the riverside. Melty was at first very shy about a man she just met seeing her partially clothed, but Naofumi told her: “I have served in the guard for almost a century, I have seen women naked because of needing to take a bath out in the field. Just focus on getting Raphtalia clean.”

After that discussion, Melty complied and took off most of her clothes to help Raphtalia get all of the rabbit's blood cleaned up. Melty: “HOW IS THERE THIS MUCH BLOOD!? That rabbit was not that big!” (Author's note: Phat dog studio's Shield Hero Abridged joke)

Raphtalia: “Sorry, princess Melty…”

Melty’s face softens as she says to the young raccoon girl: “You don’t have to apologize, Raphtalia. I’m just shocked at how much blood you got on you. I mean seriously, that rabbit wasn’t that big, so how did it have that much blood in it?”

 

As they are having their conversation while getting clean, Naofumi had finished setting up camp and was now preparing the rabbit Raphtalia had killed early for dinner. The commissar was a daft hand in the kitchen if his troops, and friends from the scholar, were to be believed. After he had finished making the rabbit into skewers, he once again looked himself over in his reflection in his shield.

It surprised him every time he saw his face now, he was back in his twenties, no he was exactly 20 years old, when before because of his rejuvenation treatments he looked like he was around the age to be Melty’s father. But he did notice one major change from the face he knew from his youth and that was his eyes. While his right eye was still its normal shade of Cadian violet, his left eye was now the same color as the gem in his shield, a dark green. If Naofumi had to take a guess, he would suspect that whatever made him a young man again had also cleaned some of the wrap taint that comes with being born on or being descended from someone from Cadia. Naofumi thought to himself: ‘I guess this means that if my ancestors were from any other planet we would have had green eyes… neat, I guess?’

 

He exhaled and moved that issue to the side and got back to making himself and the girls' dinner while also mixing some medicine for Raphtalia. He was by no means an apothecary, but he did enjoy using his hands plus this would also be a way of them making money with the excess. Given that the waves of calamity destroy villages and injure many people, Naofumi figured that medicines of all sorts would be flying off the shelves. So, with that logic, it would be more profitable for him to make and sell medicine in the long run than to just sell the ingredients.

Plus, there was what the other heroes taught him about their weapons making medicines if you have the ingredients and while Naofumi did try that along with making it by hand, he discovered that making it with the weapons always gets you the same low to mid-grade medicine. On the other hand, making it yourself with the same ingredients gives you a chance to make something better or worse, so the commissar decided to make the healing items his party needed by hand and use the weapon’s crafting feature to make the stuff he would sell.

 

Just as Naofumi was finishing both the first skewers and medicine, Melty and Raphtalia returned to the camp site and judging from how Raphtalia was drooling as she approached, they must have been hungry. Naofumi gave them a kind smile and said: “The first of the skewers should be done by now. Help yourselves.” Naofumi handed both girls each a skewer of rabbit meat.

They accepted it gratefully and sat down to eat them. The second they sank their teeth into the skewers they felt like they both got hit by an artillery shell of deliciousness as the juices hit their tongues. They immediately started wolfing their skewers down like they hadn't eaten all day, making the commissar chuckle to himself, thinking about how this was the reaction everyone seems to have when they try his cooking.

As he ate one of the skewers, he didn't have the same reaction as his teammates. It wasn't that he didn't like the taste, it was just that he was used to it at this point and didn't think his cooking was anything special. But apparently that wasn't the case for the pair of girls with him who were shoving it down like it was the last food in the world. It was honestly pretty cute to Naofumi.

 

After eating for a few minutes, Naofumi handed something to Raphtalia. Naofumi: “Raphtalia, drink this. It's medicine for whatever it is you have. Just know that it's pretty bitter, but you wouldn't get better if you don't take it.” Raphtalia nodded her head as she took the bottle and drank the medicine. From the look on her face afterwards, she hated the bitter taste with a passion and immediately took another skewer to get rid of the lingering taste of the bitter medicine. Naofumi chuckled seeing Raphtalia’s reaction to the bitterness of the medicine as it reminded him of when he was a young boy on Cadia.

Remembering his home and childhood and wondering about his companions' own, Naofumi decided to ask his new companions: “Raphtalia, Melty. I’m kind of wondering, what were your childhoods like?” The princess and slave turned to the commissar confused.

Seeing their confusion, Naofumi clarified: “Well, seeing Raphtalia with the medicine reminded me of my own childhood on Cadia, so I was wondering what both of your childhoods were like.”

Melty and Raphtalia looked at each other before Melty said: “We can tell you if you tell us about yours first.”

The commissar gave them a smile and said: “Fair enough. So, what do you want to know about my childhood?”

 

Melty put a hand on her chin to think before saying: “How about you tell us about your home first?”

Naofumi smiled at the princess and said: “A reasonable start. I was born on the fortress-world of Cadia to a former soldier and a medic. At age 6 my parents had a second child, my younger brother Daisuke, who later on went on to become an Imperial Fist. I spent most of my childhood as a member of something called the white shields, which were a youth military training unit.”

Melty asked in mild shock and confusion: “You were in the military even as a child?”

Naofumi scratched his cheek bashfully and explained: “Well… Cadia’s biggest export was soldiers, and we live next to a rift in space called the ‘Eye of Terror’ that is constantly releasing very dangerous monsters, so everybody on the planet had to have military training growing up.” Melty and Raphtalia both looked terrified at this revelation as Naofumi continued talking.

Naofumi: “Anyway, I showed great promise at a young age and at age 11 I was induced into the Schola Progenium, a special military school for the best in the imperium of man. From there my school life mostly were more training and schoolwork with a fair number of sports. All told my time there was fun and enjoyable for the most part.” From the peaceful smile and sincere look on his face, the girls could tell that Naofumi meant every word of that sentence.

 

As they were processing this, Naofumi said: “Now could you two tell me more about your own childhoods, girls?” Realizing that now she had to uphold her own end of the deal, Melty cleared her throat and began to tell of her own childhood.

Melty: “Well, my childhood could best be described as strict. The reason for that was my sister.”

Naofumi interjected: “How does that monster have anything to do with your childhood being strict?” It was a good question and Melty had an answer for him.

Melty exhaled exhausted before continuing: “Well, even as an infant my sister displayed her strange love of making others' lives miserable at a young age. Add in the fact that Father spoiled her rotten and you can already know how she turned out.” Naofumi nodded as he could tell at a glance what a monster Melty’s sister was, while Raphtalia didn't interact with Malty at the weapon store, she did feel a strange sense of fear and terror when she looked at the first Princess.

Melty continued: “My mother tried multiple times to correct her behavior, but she kept weaseling her way out of it. The last time mother tried was to send her to a foreign boarding school, that was well known for being very strict with its students, in the hope that they could fix her behavior. Unfortunately for us, the only things that changed were that she wasn't a virgin anymore and she that she learned could use her body to get what she wants.”

Naofumi could only think to himself: ‘That freak really is a Dark Eldar in human form!’ And Naofumi wasn't wrong. Loved making others miserable for almost no reason: Check. Was immensely beautiful: Check. Was willing to sleep her way to the top: Check. All she need was some pointed ears and she could easily be mistaken for one of those Bastard Knife Eared Assholes.

Oblivious to what was going on in Naofumi’s head Melty finally started talking about her own childhood. Melty: “My mother had given up on sister rather quickly and put all her hopes on me as her successor. For as long as I can remember, my mother brought me along on all of her diplomatic missions so I could learn from her example. All the while, sister kept on being a massive disgrace to the royal family until finally, after her return from that boarding school, mother had decided that enough was enough and stripped her of all rights to the throne.”

Naofumi cracked a joke: “And I bet she was understanding of your mother's reasons for doing so and took it with grace. Right?”

Melty, catching on to the joke, replied: “Yes. If you consider throwing a tantrum that destroyed half her room, drinking herself into a two-day long coma and starting to plot a way to get back her rights to the throne without having to change her horrible personality her understanding Mother's reasons and taking it with grace then, yes, I suppose she did.” Naofumi wasn't shocked about this as he had heard about similar stories involving Hive Noble families.

 

Raphtalia on the other hand asked: “Wait, what's to stop that meanie princess from trying to kill you to get her crown back?” Naofumi was a little shocked that Raphtalia had even thought to ask that question.

Melty was shocked too but recovered quickly and answered her: “Well, she did try at one point, but mother told her to stop if she didn't want to get executed or worse, end up as one of the Pig King's brides.” Raphtalia shuttered at the mention of the Pig King while Naofumi just gave them a look of confusion at this unfamiliar person.

Seeing this, Raphtalia told him: “He's a character I heard in fairy tales. He is supposed to be this really evil monster king that takes bad girls away to marry and then eat them alive afterwards. But I just thought it was a story to keep girls from misbehaving but if princess Melty's mom threatened her meanie sister with him then…” Melty finished for Raphtalia.

Melty: “He's real and that isn't far off from how he actually is in real life. The Pig King is a nickname for the king of my father's homeland of Faubrey. He is honestly a terrible person who kills most of his wives during their wedding nights because in his view, girls feel better when they are close to death.” Naofumi was disgusted by what he had just heard but Raphtalia was too young to understand what that meant. Melty continued: “Being married to him has become a way of keeping young women of good birth in line but I didn't know that his reputation had extended to the common folk.”

Raphtalia told her: “Like I said, it's mostly a fairy tale and I thought that he wasn't a real person, but he was based on some bad kings who lived a long time ago. I didn't realize he was a real person and that he was still alive.”

Melty exhaled before saying: “Oh he’s real alright. And a really old creepy guy too.”

Author’s note: This is an actual real character in Shield hero and is Trash’s older brother and he is just like as I wrote his description. The part about the common folk having Fairy tales about him though is something I came up with myself for this fanfic.

 

After saying this Melty turned to Raphtalia and stared at her for a bit. It took Raphtalia a few seconds to realize that it was her turn to talk about her childhood. Even though she was still a child, Melty and Naofumi for that matter wanted to know more about her.

Raphtalia blushed before saying: “My turn, I guess. Well, before the waves I lived in a small fishing village with my parents and their adopted daughter Sadena. She was an Orca Demi-Human. I don't know what happened to her after the waves, I didn't see her during or after it happened but I'm sure she's fine. She was very strong and a very strong drinker. She is always saying that she will only marry someone who can out drink her.” This made Naofumi think about looking for this elder sister of Raphtalia’s to add to their party. Although, that only marrying someone who could out drink her was concerning for him, as he once did something that was supposed to be impossible for a mortal man such as him and that was beating a member of the Vlka Fenryka (Author's note: Vlka Fenryka is the other name for the Space Wolves) in a drinking contest. How? To this day he still doesn't know.

Not noticing her master’s look of deep thought, Raphtalia continued. Raphtalia: “Other than that, nothing really happened until the waves came.” Raphtalia’s tone took a dark turn. “During the wave, I saw my parents get eaten by a dog monster. Then a week later, as we were trying to rebuild our village, some knights that weren’t from the neighboring village run by our lord came and attacked. They killed all the adults and forced me and my friends into cages…”

Naofumi was disgusted by this. Surviving such a terrible event just to have the very protectors of your lands kill your community's surviving adults and sell you into a life of slavery… Despicable, if this was the Imperium, Naofumi would have had them killed or turned into semi-conscious servitors that’s whole purpose was to clean all of the Felinid’s litter boxes for the rest of time.

Melty on the other hand was horrified. She couldn’t believe her kingdom’s knights would do such a thing but at the same time she knew that there was a deep hatred for Demi-humans among the upper crust of her kingdom. After gathering her thoughts for a moment, Melty turned to Raphtalia and said: “Raphtalia.” The raccoon girl turned to the second Princess as she then said: “When we return to the capital, I will gather the knights on stand by and ask you to point out any you recognize from the attack on your village.” She then takes Raphtalia’s hands into her own. “I swear to you, I will bring those traitors to justice. You have my word.” Raphtalia starts to cry before hugging Melty all the while saying: “Thank you” over and over again into Melty’s large soft chest.

 

After Raphtalia finished crying into Melty’s bosom and had calmed down enough, Raphtalia then asked Naofumi a question, mostly to change the somber mood the conversation had taken with her life before she had been bought by them and to avoid talking about what her other masters were like. Raphtalia: “Master Naofumi, you mentioned that your younger brother was made an ‘Imperial Fist’, what does that mean?”

Melty was curious too, so Naofumi answered the child slave’s question: “The Imperial Fist is a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, or Space Marines as they are commonly called, who are the swords of the God Emperor’s Imperium, some of his mightiest warriors. They are his Angels of Death, some of his finest soldiers and they know no fear. And my brother was chosen to become one of them… Me and my family couldn’t be prouder of him.”

The girls were floored; his brother was made into an Angel or something like that and given how religious Naofumi seemed at times it was no wonder he was so proud of his brother. If any of the other 3 Heroes were present, they would have realized that Naofumi’s brother was chosen for some kind of super soldier program, and that ‘Angels of Death’ was probably a codename or something that normal people called them given how religious their society was. But they would all agree one thing and that was that that name, Angels of Death, sounds badass as hell.

 

After that reveal, dinner progressed mostly quietly. The party talked about this and that, some of what Naofumi did during downtime between missions, some of the stupid things Melty had seen in noble society (mostly caused by her sister being a braindead idiot), and what games Raphtalia played with her friends. Eventually, the moon had risen in the sky, and the sun had set, in short… Naofumi: “I think it’s time to hit the hay. I will take the first watch; you too get some rest.” The girls nodded at the Commissar’s instruction, mainly because 1. He had spent most of his life in the military, so he was used to this sort of thing and 2. Both of them had only just started traveling and weren’t used to this lifestyle yet.

As Melty and Raphtalia were getting ready to sleep in separate sleeping bags, Naofumi called out to the pair. Naofumi: "Actually, Melty would you mind if you and Raphtalia shared a sleeping bag for a bit.”

Melty and Raphtalia looked at the Shield hero in confusion for a second before Melty walked over to him and said: “I don’t but why?”

Naofumi gave them a look of an old soldier that showed his true age of 120 before saying: “Given that Raphtalia had suffered so much trauma that she suffers from night terrors, the best thing for her to get a good night's rest is to sleep next to someone. It’s a common practice for older soldiers to bring their younger troops to pleasure houses to help them forget the horrors of war. But sleeping next to someone else works just as fine and we can’t exactly bring a child to a pleasure house, so…”

Melty blushed at the Commissar’s explanation and had to agree with him, there is no way in hell she was bringing a child, especially a little girl at that, to a brothel. Naofumi continued: “If it makes you feel better about this, we could take turns doing it. You do it for my shift, and I do it for your shift. Sounds good to you?”

Melty nodded her head and went over to where she and Raphtalia had set up their sleeping bags. Raphtalia for her part didn’t know what they were talking about except that she was going to be sleeping with Princess Melty tonight. As the pair settled into Melty’s sleeping bag, Raphtalia fell into a deep slumber and much to her shock she didn’t suffer any of her night terrors that night. It was the best sleep she had gotten since the wave took her parents away from her…