With the introduction of our future companions…
Ren: 5 people.
Motoyasu: 0 person.
Itsuki: 4 people.
Me: 3 people.
“Huh!? Why did nobody come to be my companion!?” complained Motoyasu, the Shield Hero.
That’s strange. He should have been the type to leave a good impression, bringing many companions to his side. With him being well-informed about this world, he’d likely become stronger much faster than me, after all.
“Damn it! As if ending up with the useless job wasn’t enough. How am I supposed to become stronger with no companions!?”
Then, one of the girls who wanted to be Itsuki’s companion raised her hand and followed Motoyasu. The King seems to have given Motoyasu a generous amount of money, and he’d surely be able to get more companions with that face of his.
—
Early the next morning.
While I was resting at an inn with my companions after getting the gist of fighting yesterday, soldiers came into the inn and summoned me.
I was led into the throne room and made to wait. When I looked behind Itsuki, the girl who had become Motoyasu’s companion was crying.
Then, Motoyasu was taken to the throne room in his underclothes.
“Huh? What’s going on? Myne!”
Hmm? I feel like he doesn’t really know what’s going on, either.
“Huu… Hic… The Shield Hero suddenly entered my room in a drunken state and forcibly pushed me down.”
“Huh? Well, Myne offered me some alcohol, and yeah, I got drunk before I realized it, but… Huh? Huh!?”
Oh, he got drunk and got too ahead of himself, huh. That’s a common story.
“I got scared… and screamed as I barely managed to escape out of the room, asking Itsuki-sama for help.”
Hearing the story of the beautiful woman known as Myne, Motoyasu’s face turns pale.
“What an inexcusable act of barbarism! To have forced yourself onto my unwilling citizens! Had you not been a hero, you would have been sentenced to execution immediately!” the King yells at Motoyasu.
“No matter how drunk I was, I don’t remember doing anything like that at all!”
“I already had an inkling that you were already up to no good ever since I first saw you! You’ve finally shown your true colors, you demon!”
“De-demon!? Why!?”
“Of course things turned out this way. I had a hunch that you were someone who had a mindset different from ours. Your good looks must have gotten into your head,” Itsuki said.
“Yeah. To think he’d be someone who’d commit such a crime… contriving a privilege that didn’t exist,” Ren continued.
“Um… It’s not out of the ordinary to not remember the things you’ve done while still drunk, right?” I brought up a few points to Motoyasu in a way that wouldn’t cross any boundaries.
I wouldn’t really know, considering I’ve never been drunk myself, but I’ve at least seen a friend who drank to the point of having no memory of anything that happened.
When I said that, Motoyasu’s pale expression began burning bright red.
What’s going on? It would seem like his anger had burst forth after having looked at Myne… who was behind Itsuki.
“You! So you made up the false charges to get your hands on my money and equipment, didn’t you!? ” Motoyasu pointed at Itsuki and yelled.
“The words of a drunken rapist mean nothing!”
What followed was a series of back and forth of questions and answers that were not good for my mental health. In the end, Motoyasu got angry and left.
Looking at his back, one question still lingers in my head:
Did he really rape her?
—
A few days later, after taking a rest in the castle town, I split up from my companions and walked around the shopping district alone. There, I saw a homeless-looking guy in ragged clothes.
It’s Motoyasu. Looks like he’s aiming for the store’s items. Only a few days have passed and… his face is seemingly filled with malice.
Just right when he was about to start dashing, I grabbed Motoyasu by the collar.
“I don’t know what you’re planning on doing, but you better stop.”
“You are… Naofumi!”
He then glared at me with an intimidating set of eyes. If looks could kill, his gaze alone could do it.
Hmmm… it’s easy to imagine what he had gone through. I bought some food from a cheap food stall and handed it to Motoyasu.
“Y-you’re giving it to me…?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, you can eat it.”
Motoyasu snatched the food out of my hands and scarfed it down. It looks like he hasn’t eaten well in the last few days, so he considered shoplifting as a last resort.
That was a close one. He already had a criminal record after all…
“Phew… I can finally calm down.”
“So? You really don’t remember?”
“Yeah, the people in this country decided that I was a villain from the start, and nobody wants to have anything to do with me!”
“Indeed… that’s strangely harsh of them.”
Their attitude and treatment of me was pretty normal.
I even added one more companion into our group, since I expected that three people might not be enough.
Even if there are suspicions that he’s a criminal… It’s strange that they’d be so harsh on a hero who fights for the sake of the world.
“Hmm?”
I suddenly noticed a demi-human looking at Motoyasu from afar.
I walked away from Motoyasu and talked to her.
“You were watching us back there, weren’t you?”
“Y-yes.”
Ah, she’s a plainly cute girl. I don’t know what kind of animal she is, but she has animal ears and a tail.
It feels like the archetypical animal girl that’s classic in otherworld stories.
And she appears to be worrying about Motoyasu, from the looks of it?
“Did I make you feel uncomfortable? I can take my leave right away if you want.”
“N-no, that’s not it.”
“Really?”
The demi-human girl looked around her restlessly and softly whispered at me.
—
“Don’t worry about it” I told the girl to come along before returning to Motoyasu.
“What happened?”
“You know, Motoyasu, apparently this country is persecuting you just because you’re the Shield Hero.” I sensed a conspiracy in this country from the contents of the story I heard from the girl, and told Motoyasu about it.
“So… that’s why…!”
Motoyasu’s eyes were filled with anger. Of course. Only three days had passed, and he’d been treated so badly.
“Sir Shield Hero, please come to our country.”
“… Okay. Also… I’ll make that woman suffer the consequences of trapping me and making me live like this!”
Motoyasu stands up in gusto.
Seems like him having seriously attempted to rape a woman while being drunk… wasn’t a thing that actually happened.
Apparently, the princess hid behind Itsuki and provoked Motoyasu…
Certainly, I thought it was strange back there too. This country could be dangerous in more ways than one.
“Well then… let’s get along from now on.”
The demi-human girl prepared clothes for Motoyasu. She said they’re going to another country.
“Then let’s go, Motoyasu-sama.”
Two demi-humans who are friends with the girl come out and shake hands with Motoyasu.
“Sir Spear Hero, thank you for your cooperation.”
“No, I didn’t do anything.”
“Please stop being humble.”
“Naofumi…Thank you. I swear I’ll make this up to you. See you.”
Thus, Motoyasu set off on his journey. How nice for him to have a pretty girl accompanying him.
However, he kept declaring that he would have his revenge until the end.
The heroes are objects of faith, and the demi-humans said that Melromarc would never be forgiven for doing something like this. And from what I’ve heard, there are many details that remain hidden.
This country is kind of dangerous. I’ll talk to Ren and get out of here as soon as possible.
As for Itsuki… the princess likes him, so that’s probably not going to be possible.
—
Conclusion: The situation resolves much sooner, but it would definitely lead to war.
