The Substitution of the Shield Hero

Mirellia let out a soft sigh as she sat on her throne.

Despite the mess and sudden rush back to Melromarc, it seemed that things were okay.

The meeting with the Three Heroes went well.

Ironically enough, what the Church of the Three Heroes wanted came true.

The Shield Hero was gone. And those other heroes had confirmed it when they said that Naofumi wasn't listed as a hero in their menus anymore. And that the shield icon that used to be there when it came to weapon interference was gone too.

Mirellia massaged her temples and murmured, "That fool of a husband... Did he let the Church get into his head?"

That was a conversation she still had to have with Aultcray- No. With Lüge.

Because after all that he did to Mirellia's country, he no longer deserved the name she gave him.

Mirellia took a deep breath and focused. "I can complain later. For now..."

It was getting close to evening now. A few hours had already passed since her talk with Sir Naofumi, and an hour had passed since her talk with the Three Heroes.

Since then, Mirellia had just been sitting on her throne, the weight of her crown feeling unfathomably heavy.

Because it was a dead end.

...No. Not quite.

Because that foolish Pope had dared to attack the Three Heroes along with some of that Utter Trash's knights, the situation there was salvageable.

The Sword Hero, Bow Hero, and Spear Hero were cooperating now and had dismissed their more troublesome companions.

Well, mostly the Bow Hero and Spear Hero.

The Sword Hero and his party were fine, so they would continue to move as usual.

But as for the Bow Hero and Spear Hero...

The Bow Hero's party was found to be criminals of all sorts hiding under false pretenses, so they were executed.

The Spear Hero's party...

Considering Malty had been there along with one of Malty's long-time friends from Four Bray, Lesty, it had been a mess. Mostly because Lesty was just as conniving as Malty had been.

But considering the other two, Elena and Rino, were decent women, after the situation was explained, they decided to stay with the Spear Hero.

The Bow Hero had also decided to join with the Spear Hero as they adventured.

Although there was still the penalty from the Legendary Weapons being close to each other... Either because of the Legendary Shield's destruction or because of the desperate measures... probably both, it seemed that instead of no experience, the penalty had simply become 'experience reduced to a quarter.'

...Or in short, because one of the heroes was removed, what he should have had was being redistributed since the remaining heroes had to make up for the lack.

Mirellia let out a long sigh and covered her face. "...Life is quite unfair. Isn't it?"

It was hard.

Mirellia was not a weak woman. She couldn't be as the ruler of Melromarc.

But even so, having all of this occur in such a short time period...

Mirellia slowly lowered her hands and murmured, "Is this what true betrayal feels like?"

She had loved her husband dearly. Although he had gotten worse since Malty's birth, straying from the Wise King and wielder of the Seven Star Staff that she was enamored with... Mirellia still had faith in him.

That the wise man who had won her heart and saved her country still existed, somewhere deep inside.

But...

Mirellia placed her hand over her heart and murmured, "...It can't be helped."

Love could only do so much.

She had given him her heart. She had trusted him unconditionally. She had given him her everything.

And he had destroyed her everything.

Lüge had betrayed her heart when he went began to listen to that Pope and other nobles over her counsel.

Lüge had betrayed her trust when he summoned the four heroes while she was still negotiating the situation with the other countries.

And now...

Lüge had betrayed her everything by thrusting Melromarc into a dead end.

Because there was no escape.

The discussion with the other heroes and reports from her Shadows had confirmed that the message of the Legendary Shield being removed from the world had been spread all over the world.

The anti-demihuman faction had festered so deeply that the streets were literally stained crimson from the constant executions that had to be performed.

The people themselves were already whispering revolution because Lüge had allowed the nobles to abuse their power to the extent of stealing young women, mothers, and children from their homes as toys.

The Church of Three Heroes was so entrenched that there were celebrations in the streets from some of the more idiotic citizens that the 'Shield Devil' was gone for good...

And while it was still too soon for any real danger to come, Mirellia was sure of it.

Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, Zeltoble, and Four Bray... they had no reason to listen to Melromarc anymore. Or keep it around.

"...Will our country end like this?" Mirellia whispered.

Melromarc was the only 'real' country in this world. It was the one that had existed before the worlds fused. When there had only been the Legendary Spear.

Four Bray was a degenerate hell that existed only because summoned heroes from the past had abused their power and prestige.

Zeltoble grew because Four Bray had created a market for such a mercenary country.

And both Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden were foreign nations that arrived only with the advent of the Legendary Shield Hero in the distant past, forcibly seizing territory from Melromarc to carve out their own nations.

"No." Mirellia shook her head.

Her heart had been shaken for a moment at the desperate tidings and the approaching conflict.

But it wasn't at the end. Not just yet.

"...It's clear what must be done," Mirellia murmured.

The Three Heroes were all they had now. Although it would be ideal to have the Seven Star Heroes join them, those were scattered across the world.

And one of them, her trashy husband, was incapable.

But BECAUSE of that... and because Melromarc had summoned the heroes, the other countries would just want to kill them all to summon a new batch.

Meaning...

"We are all in the same boat, for better or worse."

Mirellia stood up, resolving herself.

It wasn't the end. Not yet.

Although she had been concerned that the Three Heroes would be childish fools who couldn't comprehend reality... it seemed that meeting Sir Naofumi and seeing his actions had made them realize it.

This world was not a 'game' like they believed, but a true and harsh reality.

And from their conversation, it was clear that they understood it as well: there were those who wanted them dead.

Melromarc was still dangerous and volatile due to the purge that Mirellia had to perform. But for the moment, it was the safest place for the heroes considering Four Bray, Siltvelt, and even Zeltoble would want to enslave or kill them.

...Of course, Mirellia didn't insist on them staying. And while she offered support to them, she was aware that they could very well still choose to leave.

That would be the worst case scenario.

But...

"Sir Naofumi..." Mirellia murmured that young man's name again.

The former shield hero. The one who even the world itself found was betrayed and treated so egregiously terrible that it went out of the way to punish everyone by removing the Legendary Shield entirely.

And yet, a young man who was reasonable. Rational. And who had a clear sense of right and wrong... albeit still operating with personal interests first.

'...No. IS he a young man?'

Mirellia stopped to consider that.

From how the Sword Hero, Spear Hero, and Bow Hero acted, it was clear they were still children.

But Sir Naofumi...

From the start he had moved with purpose. Played the fool and went along with Malty and Aultcray's scheme. Then he pretended to be helpless and bitter until Beloukas approached him to offer a slave.

And after purchasing his two demihuman companions, he vanished. Completely.

It wasn't until the waves that he reemerged.

Meaning-

Mirellia suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. "...It was intentional."

The raccoon demihuman as well as the fox demihuman.

Both had been beauties. Enough that Mirellia was surprised Sir Naofumi found them. And enough that Mirellia would have mistaken both for royalty from Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden.

But what if they WERE?

And what if Sir Naofumi had information that they would be sold as slaves?

No, what if he had been searching for them from the start?

Mirellia paused and realized she had been pacing around her throne room. But still, she couldn't help it. Because...

"...Is that one truly from another world?"

It was said that the Legendary Heroes could only be summoned from other worlds. And historically, all of those heroes had been from the nation of 'Nippon' or 'Japan' as some had called it.

But Sir Naofumi was not.

He was from a land called America. A place that previous summoned heroes had mentioned in historic records, but never actually came from.

Moreover...

*My name is- No, you can call me Naofumi Iwatani.*

Mirellia froze.

"...You can 'call me' Naofumi Iwatani. That was what he said."

Not 'my name is' Naofumi Iwatani.

But you can 'call me' Naofumi Iwatani.

Paired with the way he had been moving with purpose, his overt caution... and with how he had clearly 'healed' Malty of 'something' to restore her to the kind young girl that Mirellia remembered...

A half-remembered record that Mirellia had seen once in the archives while looking for alternative solutions.

A Sanctuary that existed somewhere in the world, guarded by a Queen of Filorials that could bend time.

"...No. Let us not delve too deeply into contemplation." Mirellia shook her head and deliberately cut off that train of thought.

Whoever... or 'whatever' Sir Naofumi truly was, what mattered was that he was rational. And that he still intended to discuss matters with Mirellia in a civilized manner.

So...

"...I should do as he said and rests. But before then..."

There was one more matter that she had to resolve.

Or rather, one more person.

Picking up her fan, Mirellia quietly started making her way to the basement where her former husband was waiting.