“Now, future warriors, set forth with the hero whom you desire to follow!”
Eh? They’re the ones choosing? That came as a surprise for the four of us too.
Come to think of it, I suppose it would be better to prioritize the wishes of their citizens rather than the unfamiliar bunch from another world.
We were seemingly made to line up in order before they began walking towards us, gathering in front of the hero they wanted to follow.
Ren: 5 people.
Motoyasu: 4 people.
Itsuki: 3 people.
Me: 1 person.
While the thought of there only being one passed my mind, I looked towards the girl in front of me, who was about ten years old. Her eyes are a little sharp, giving the impression that she is strong-willed. Her hair was navy blue in color and tied in twintails. She wears a frilly dress. She might be good at magic or something like that, since she doesn’t look like she could swing a heavy sword.
“I look forward to working with you, Sir Shield Hero. My name is Melty.”
“Melty–I mean, magician over there. Are you really okay with choosing the Shield Hero?” The King asked Melty with a strange look on his face.
“We have to think about balance. I’m a bit troubled about it, so I’ll also go with you,” The red-haired girl who wanted to become Motoyasu’s subordinate raised her hand.
“No, it’s fine.”
Melty hugged my arm and answered as if saying that she wouldn’t let go.
Even if it is coming from someone that young, I actually got hugged by a girl. It seems something good happened almost immediately after I arrived in this world. Okay then, I’ll be calling this girl with ‘-chan’ from now on.
I do want to cherish our relationship, after all.
“But…” The red haired girl looked like she wanted to say something.
“I want to be the only companion of Sir Shield Hero! Sir Shield Hero, please,” Melty-chan pleads with a face that looks like she’s going to cry at any moment.
“Well, okay. If you insist.”
“Thank you!”
“Lolicon,” Ren said.
I didn’t do anything! Melty-chan was the one who said she wanted to follow me!
“Grhh… fine. Now then, Heroes, here are the funds arranged for you all. Do receive them.”
—
We left the castle once we had received the funds.
I feel like Melty-chan was glaring at the king, while he looked worried about her.
Whilst thinking of that, Melty-chan stood in front of me and held out her hand, calling me over as if she was trying to tell me something in secret.
“What’s up?”
“Sir Shield Hero, I have a secret to tell you.”
“What?”
“My real name is Melty Melromarc. My father is the king we were talking to earlier.”
“Huh!?”
“Calm down. And remember this.”
“Y-yeah?”
“If you continue to stay in this country like this, Sir Shield Hero, you will eventually be caught up in some kind of trap.”
“Why?”
“This country, Melromarc, considers the Shield Hero as an enemy. Which is why I would advise you to seek asylum in another country.”
So that’s how it is. No wonder I thought that there was something weird with the atmosphere back there.
Like the soldiers being particularly friendly to the other three while seemingly giving me the cold treatment.
“It was good that I had come back around this time to see my father, especially so when my older sister was about to get involved in all of this. Come, let us be off on our journey.”
“A-alright. But how are you going to fight? Maybe I have to be the one protecting you?”
I feel like the air grew tense as soon as I discovered that this country was an enemy. Now I’m worried about the look the people in the store give me.
“I can use magic. My level is 15, so it’s higher than Sir Hero’s.”
“Ooh…”
How reliable.
“For now, let’s leave the country and get in touch with Mother.”
“D-do we not need to prepare our equipment?”
“No, it’s fine. We can just use some from my savings and the castle warehouse.”
Like that, thanks to Melty-chan, I was able to escape from this dangerous country and went straight to another one.
Melty-chan is very knowledgeable despite her young age, and good in negotiations.
This is seemingly a result of the queen of the country having drilled Melty-chan with knowledge on a variety of topics.
—
“Zweite Aqua Slash!”
The magic that Melty-chan shot instantly annihilates the monster.
In the first week of our adventure, my level had risen to 15, and Melty-chan’s to 20.
“We’ll be reaching a city in the neighboring country very soon.”
“This is all thanks to Melty-chan. Thank you.”
“What are you talking about? All I did was protect Naofumi-san’s natural rights, after all.”
At first, Melty-chan had been calling me ‘Sir Shield Hero’, but since we’re companions, I had asked her to call me by my name. When she tried calling me with ‘-sama’, I begged for her to do otherwise, which led to her calling me with ‘-san’ instead.
“If we manage to successfully escape, it’ll mean that I will have to say goodbye to you, huh…”
She’s a princess, after all. It’s really unfortunate.
“That’s… well… if Naofumi-san wishes so… it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask mother,” Melty-chan answered bashfully.
Ufufufu, could it be that she’s fallen for me? As inappropriate as it may be, that does make me very happy. I will definitely protect her even if it costs my life!
“Alright. In the event that the Queen allows us to remain together, I would like to give something to Melty-chan as thanks.”
I want to give a token of my gratitude to the girl who was willing to adventure together with me.
“Then… Naofumi-san, it’ll be lonely with just the two of us, so let’s have a bird monster known as Filolial as our companion!”
“Yeah! Let’s get one as our companion and have a fun journey!”
—
Conclusion: Melty’s assertive and childish personality fades, and Naofumi awakens to an interest in lolis.
