The Substitution of the Shield Hero

“Like this, Goshujin-sama?”

Lia raised her short sword in front of her as I instructed her.

“That’s right.”

“What about me, Master Naofumi?”

Sylvia called out to me and held out her sword as well.

“You’re good too.”

It was nearing sunset now. For the past couple of hours, we had hunted down balloons and usagi near the edges of the forest leading to Ryuto village. Surprisingly, I hadn’t seen any of the other heroes or their parties, but it looked like they had already gone exploring other parts of the country already. It was the benefits of having a vanguard wielding a legendary weapon that could attack, I supposed.

Since I didn’t, at least not while I was being restrained by the shield spirit, I was forced to rely on Sylvia and Lia. To that end, I was doing my best to teach them what I knew of sword fighting.

At the moment, the two of them were standing in front of me with their swords out in a ready position. For Lia, she took more to a straightforward one with the sword loose at her side. For Sylvia, she seemed inclined towards more of a fencing position and so led with her left foot and arm.

“What do we do now, Goshujin-sama?”

Lia called out first. She looked settled down in her pose, but confused on what the purpose or following step was.

“Now?”

I reached over and casually picked up a stick from the ground.

[Error: The Divine Weapons Covenant is forbidding the usage of another weapon!]

[The Parallel System off-loads the restriction. Half of your capacity is utilized to bypass the restriction. Note: Your attack statistic is still suppressed due to the Shield Spirit’s intervention]

It was heavy but light enough to wield. Holding the stick in my right hand with the intent of attack caused the restriction to trigger. Thankfully, it looked like the fact that the covenant was already being broken by the king had allowed my system to bypass it to an extent.

Sylvia looked surprised. “Master Naofumi?”

“It’s not enough to fight, but it’s more than enough to teach you two.”

The only limiting factor I had was my attack. My speed and other stats were still fully utilized when I moved. Thus…

“I won’t let you two off easy. Get ready.”

Without another word, I charged.

“Eek!”

Lia screamed and blindly swung her sword to intercept.

“Don’t close your eyes!”

I batted it away and bonked her on the head.

“M-Master Naofumi! This is a bit-“ Sylvia started to talk, but I didn’t let her finish.

Turning on my heel, I lunged towards the fox girl with a stab.

She was startled, but unlike Lia, Sylvia didn’t scream. However, she was a bit too slow to react. By the time her sword moved to parry, I had already struck her chest.

Sylvia coughed and clutched at her chest.

I sighed.

Both of the girls were out of sorts. Lia had dropped her sword and was rubbing her head. Sylvia had dropped her sword as well and was rubbing her chest.

Just in case, I glanced at their health in the corner of my screen. Fortunately, it was as I expected. Their health had only gone down 1 hp, and as I watched, that health recovered.

“Listen up, you two.”

My stern voice caused the two girls to pause in tending to their wounds and look at me.

Lia blinked back tears, but her crimson eyes were focused on me. Sylvia was wincing, but she stared at me as well.

“I bought both of you since I thought you would be useful. I am not a saint or a kind person. If you thought otherwise, get that out of your head right now.”

The girls were quiet.

Lia looked slightly depressed, her ears drooping and her gaze settled to the ground.

Sylvia frowned and opened her mouth to say something.

I cut her off.

“This world is on the verge of destruction. To prevent that, I was dragged here against my will.”

“Master Naofumi?”

I shook my head. “They want me to fight on the frontlines of disaster. To combat waves of monsters. But I only have this damned shield.” I summoned the shield again and waved it. “Even if I manage to get my hands on another weapon, it won’t let me use it. So… I don’t have a choice but to rely on others.”

That wasn’t completely true. If things came down to the wire, I could probably create a spell or two to use, but they were still weak. Until my capacity grew more, I was vulnerable. And unless my capacity grew more, I couldn’t kill monsters.

It was a Catch-22 that I despised.

Despite having all the knowledge and skill on how to fight, I was sealed by having the role of the [Shield Hero]. If it wasn’t for this…

I shook my head and narrowed my eyes. “Do you two understand? I’m expecting results. If you work hard, I’ll ensure that you become strong, the swords that I can’t wield. But if I find you slacking… there are plenty of other people to use. Understood?”

“Y-yes, Goshujin-sama.”

“I… understand, Master Naofumi.”

I raised my stick again. “Now, pay close attention. The first round was just to test your reflexes and get you on guard. Now we’ll break it down. Every living creature has a means to attack. Some use weapons, some use limbs, others throw things. However, there are always certain tells that can inform you of what the next attack will be…”

===

Lia sighed and flopped to the ground. Not long after, she heard Sylvia lie down next to her.

“Master Naofumi is really harsh when it comes to fighting, isn’t he?”

The fox girl’s voice echoed through the air.

Lia nodded. “Mmhm. But… he… Goshujin-sama’s not that bad.”

Her last Master was much worse. With him, she had been beaten for no reason and starved. Not only that, but the fat nobleman had laughed at her pain and suffering. Compared to that, Naofumi’s stern teaching, while harsh, was much better.

Sylvia laughed. “Yes. Master Naofumi’s a bit silly like that, isn’t he?”

“Sylvia!” Lia scolded her and turned to look. Thankfully, Naofumi was too far away to hear them.

After telling the two to take a break, he had gone over to the stream to fish for dinner. He wasn’t too far, within running distance, but he was far enough to have a bit of privacy.

“It’s fine, Lia,” Sylvia said. “Master Naofumi’s too far to hear us.”

“Still… it isn’t good to talk bad of Goshujin-sama.”

Sylvia sat up and said, “It’s fine. Master Naofumi might be harsh, but he’s really just all talk.”

Lia sat up as well.

The two of them were sitting on the grassfield a bit apart from each other. Naofumi had already made them wash up and change, as well as started a fire for them to warm up afterwards.

Since there wasn’t much else to do, the girls decided to talk with each other.

“What makes you say that?”

Sylvia’s expression darkened a bit, but then she said, “I… just can.”

“Oh.”

Lia remembered how Sylvia had looked before Naofumi bought her and trailed off.

For a while, there was just the crackling of a fire.

Staring into it reminded Lia of her lost village. The screams, the roars… before she knew it, Lia was shuddering. “You don’t think… will Goshujin-sama really leave us if we don’t do well?”

“I…” Sylvia looked confident before, but trailed off. “I want to say he won’t. Master Naofumi seems kind, but… he’s also firm.”

Lia nodded.

She could see that in Naofumi. While he rescued Lia and healed Sylvia, and while he let them eat well and taught them, he was also very serious. She remembered how Naofumi had interacted with the townsfolk.

“Still,” Sylvia said. “I don’t think it will be a problem.”

“Why not?”

Sylvia smiled. “We just have to work hard, don’t we?”

“Work hard…?”

“Master said it himself. If we work hard, we’ll become strong.”

“But what if we can’t become strong?”

That was what bothered Lia.

She remembered how terrifying the three-headed dog monster was that killed her parents. She remembered how she froze when faced with that nobleman. She remembered just how weak she was.

“What if-“

“That’s not a problem.”

A stern voice cut through the air.

Lia flinched and jumped to her feet. “G-Goshujin-sama!”