The Substitution of the Shield Hero

There was a lot to sort through.

After dropping off the information packet for Mirellia, I immediately warped back to Libertas.

Specifically, to my house in Libertas.

It wasn't anything *too* fancy. Just a small mansion with a courtyard, a gated fence, some automated turrets...

...Okay, I was paranoid.

Since the first wave consisted of undead, I was mildly concerned the second wave might involve bio organic weapons.

Not to say that it was likely...

But just in case.

Anyway, I warped back using a portal and reappeared in my office.

The current time... well, I still needed to get around to making a clock, but it was probably close to midnight? There abouts, at least.

But even though it was late, I couldn't sleep. And the reason for that...

"Thank you for saving us, Lord Naofumi."

"Yeah. Thanks for saving me and Atla, Lord Naofumi. And thank you for healing her."

...Were these two.

I looked at the pair of demi-humans and slowly nodded. "You're welcome. But don't get confused. I didn't save you out of selflessness. I saved you to remove a risk. Your mother, she was the former king of Melromarc's sister, wasn't she?"

Fohl Fayon and Atla Fayon.

I had confirmed these two existed after sorting out everyone we saved from Zeltoble.

...But because I confirmed these two existed, we had a major problem.

Atla, a young girl with tiger ears and black and white hair... she nodded and said, "Mother did not talk much about her past... but I believe that should be correct if we consider the circumstances."

Fohl, a young teenaged male with similar tiger ears and black and white hair... He nodded and said, "Mother mentioned she was a noble who eloped with Father during the war. Although I don't know the full details... it seems to be the case. I've heard some servants mention Four Bray and Melromarc before when talking about her."

"Right." I nodded. "In that case... Let's make a trade offer. You stay here in this country, I give you whatever you two need, and if anyone from Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, or Four Bray shows up, you tell them to shove it."

Fohl blinked. "...Really?"

Atla stared at me with her clear blue eyes. Once hazy, after I healed her with Restoration, they were now sharp. "...All that you want is for us to remain in this country? Nothing else? Not as servants or-"

"First of all, I think this world is definitely in need of fixing if the common sense is for demi-human children to offer their bodies in exchange for things. Second of all, children in general shouldn't need to offer anything to live well. Third of all... You two are a political storm waiting to happen. And I would not rather have to kill you or attempt mind wiping. I have the theory for it, but it's VERY much untested."

Fohl's eyes sharpened and he quickly moved in front of Atla.

But Atla just stared at me. After a moment, she slowly nodded. "You... are not good. But you are not evil either. You are fair." She tugged at Fohl's sleeve and said, "Dear Brother. It should be fine."

"...Are you sure, Atla?" Fohl looked at Atla. "...He isn't another noble who just wants you because you're beautiful?"

"Hey." I frowned. "I reject that statement. Mostly because there is absolutely no way to answer it without painting me in a bad light."

Atla giggled and said, "Yes, Dear Brother. I am sure. Did you not see the others? Lord Naofumi here has no lack of beauties... but." She smiled at me and said, "...He feels more like a stern father or older brother than anyone seeking a lover."

"...Was that an insult? I think that was an insult."

Atla smiled. "It could be, Lord Naofumi... What are you going to do about it though? Kill me, after you've healed my life-crippling disease?"

I sighed. "...Whatever. Anyway. For now, you guys stay here. I'll help you guys settle in somewhere tomorrow. The guest bedroom is downstairs... you know where it is since you were shown them already, right?"

Atla nodded. "Yes, Lord Naofumi. Then, if you will excuse us... Come along, Dear Brother."

Fohl followed Atla, but he still stared at me as they left.

I didn't blame him.

Atla was his entire world, and Fohl knew with absolute certainty that he couldn't do anything to stop me if I wanted to hurt her.

That look reminded me a bit of Uncle Chris, actually...

But anyway.

After they left, I sat at my desk and opened up <Parallel System> and then <Solaris> to access my private notes.

A lot had happened, so I needed to organize information...

First of all...

The main points from 'canon' that I wanted to check and secure were finished.

Atla and Fohl were safe. I rescued Lia... Or rather, Raphtalia. And Filo... well, it seemed like she had turned into Nina under my care instead of the Filorial Queen that looked like Flone from Disgaea.

Either way, I had confirmed the presence or absence of the ones I wanted to save from the NovelFire.

Next...

'The main story line, huh?'

I needed to properly sit down with Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren sometime soon and sort through the information we had.

Right now, they were heading off to confirm things on their end too, last I checked. But instead of like in the NovelFire, they were verifying what they knew instead of running like it was gospel truth.

At least, that was what Beloukas's informants mentioned.

That was also another thing.

Beloukas was scarily good at running an intelligence agency.

That man was morally bankrupt and would ABSOLUTELY get killed by karma in the future whether I intervened or not... but until he did, at least he was giving useful information.

I didn't judge him for it... mostly because morally bankrupt wasn't quite the same as active malice in my book.

It was lower on the list of priorities to deal with when this entire world consisted of actual monsters wearing human skin for all the sins they committed.

I mean, it was bad enough that I had managed to hatch Bahamut... or at least something that fit that name.

I definitely did NOT miss the incantation that my dear adopted dragon son mentioned before he cast megaflare.

But anyway, Beloukas was a useful resource. And from his information, I knew that Four Bray's prince had declared war... and that his name was Takt.

Wasn't sure if it was the same weapon stealing guy that I knew, but I would put that as a risk to mitigate.

I also confirmed that said prince apparently had invented airplanes, guns, and turrets and would definitely be flying in to attack with those.

If he did, something REALLY funny was going to happen whenever that invasion happened...

But that was for later.

For now...

I glanced at one of the reports Beloukas handed over regarding the Dragon Hourglass in Melromarc.

"I forgot about those things."

Apparently, they showed how many days were left until the wave. And we were all supposed to register at it to get teleported to the nearest wave... but considering recent circumstances, I was sure it was compromised somehow.

Either because of the Church of Three Heroes, because of whatever had enthralled Malty, or those assassins, the hourglass had swept us all up to the wave anyway.

Which meant I couldn't be certain that it wouldn't warp me with the other heroes still... though it was a non-issue with my Portal Shield.

In fact, it was probably a plus if it did, since I could summon allies to my side now...

But I'd put a pin on that.

Since I had been delisted as a Legendary Hero, it apparently counted as a Legendary Weapon wielder dying.

Because of that, the waves were now every three weeks instead of every month-

Wait.

A month was four weeks...

There were four heroes.

'So that's how it works.'

Every hero who died dropped the counter.

Since there were three heroes now, it was three weeks between waves.

And it would tick down with every death until there were no heroes left, in which case the waves would be non-stop.

But...

"Hm." I paused to think about that. "...What happens if that's the case but there's something that can beat the waves who isn't a hero?"

I was still alive, but the timer for the waves had ticked down.

The main danger was probably the recovery time between each wave. If the waves were non-stop, the world would get exhausted and crumble beneath the hordes of monsters.

But there was me here.

[My Body as a Shield] was a cheat-like skill that protected whatever I targeted and forced the enemy to attack me.

And while my current loadout didn't allow for completely ridiculous shenanigans... at least, not quite. I should be able to make something like Mirror Force or Magic Cylinder to reflect all attacks back.

Even if not that... I had <Solaris>. I hadn't used it as anything more than a sandboxed personal computer... but I would definitely be able to scale up to at least a world-level threat if push came to shove, and more if I had a bit of prep time.

Which I was absolutely already doing.

But that aside...

"Hm..." I tapped my fingers on my desk and murmured, "Should I try to take advantage of the wave to go world hopping? No, before then, should I get off-planet?"

<Synthesis> was basically the ultimate 3D-printer.

I had plenty of blueprints of various tech in my head, and even if I didn't, I could design a few and field test them since magic existed here.

This world was still focused on... well, worldly affairs.

But considering everything I had access to...

"A dyson sphere absolutely isn't out of the question..." I rubbed my chin to think about it. "The question is if there's anything out there that could murder us all if I piss it off..."

Mein's status effect confirmed that gods existed in this world.

But the question was if the gods were composite conceptual beings bundling up energy by accumulated faith or if they were living mortal entities that just happened to be able to control massive amounts of energy.

If it was the former, I could easily no-sell them. Those sorts of beings could be killed by a logical proof of their nonexistence or by superior understanding of their authority, usurping their title completely.

But if it was the latter... Like literal star eaters...

'Hm. I might need a bootstrap conceptual weapon...'

Not just a 'you die now' conceptual weapon, but a logic bomb built from self-proving axioms that exploded like a chain reaction until even a being with control over a star's worth of energy was forced to fold.

That, or I needed to find a way to split space.

Having existence fight for you through leveraging physics was always handy.

I put a pin on it for now though.

Heading across the multiverse could come after I secured this world from interdimensional invaders.

And the first step for that was making sure that all of the beings living here were united under one banner... or at least weren't warring with each other.

The second step then would be finding the root cause of the waves and ripping it out.

Then I could make whatever plans came next.

'Alright. So those are the overarching goals then...'

The look on everyone's faces when I returned to Earth with an interstellar army...

And me being able to blame it on Dad, saying I wanted to one-up him...

No, no. Can't get ahead of myself.

I saved the list and then got up. Because there was another major thing to deal with.

===

A makeshift prison in Libertas. One I had constructed specifically to hold one person: Idol Rabier, the fat noble who had made Lia's life hell after the first wave occurred.

I walked inside it, and I saw that two people were already there in the waiting hall outside the cell.

Lia, who had a hand on the blade sheathed on her left like she couldn't wait to swing it.

And Sylvia, who had her hand on Lia's right shoulder, keeping her calm.

Idol Rabier was behind the door up ahead, and wasn't visible right now. Or audible, since the room was soundproofed.

...That probably meant he would die if we left him in there for too long since there wasn't any airflow. But that wouldn't be too much of a loss.

I looked at Lia and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Lia glanced over, her crimson eyes glowing in the dark cell. She put on a bright smile and said, "It's no problem, Goshujin-sama. I could wait until the end of time if it means that bastard dies a miserable death and sent to the depths of hell."

Sylvia winced and looked at me. "...As you can see, Master. It's... pretty serious."

"...Yes." I looked at Lia.

It wasn't like her.

...No. That's not true.

This darkness had been festering in her since I first rescued her. While it was put in the background because we were all focusing on survival skills... since I never properly addressed their pasts or got to know them, it only intensified.

Sylvia was fine since her mind had clearly removed the details of what she went through as a coping mechanism. Even if she wanted to remember, she couldn't now.

But Lia was the opposite. It seemed like she remembered it too clearly. Like, even now, she was seeing the ones who died for her sake and the ones who harmed her.

Lia looked at me and said, "...Is there a problem, Goshujin-sama?"

"Hm... Well. I should be saying that you shouldn't cling to revenge and that killing someone to vent your frustration and malice is bad. But that would make me a hypocrite. And it's already gotten to this point since I missed you bottling this up, so it'd be patronizing too. Instead..." I opened up <Parallel System> and did some thinking.

There was an excess of dubious carbon remains and other minerals from the... ahem. 'Reclaimed' resources from Zeltoble. There were also other proper resources since I pretty much stripped the entire country to the ground for resources.

So it should be possible.

===

> Designating materials for Synthesis.

> Compiling inputted parameters...

> Replicating logic modules from [Homeostatis Shield Mk IV]

> Replicating logic modules from [Shape]

> Synthesis complete.

> [False Mercy - UR] synthesized.

===

Pale blue light shone in the waiting room before a beautiful golden sword with a pink jewel in the center emerged.

Sylvia looked concerned. "...Master?"

I turned it over and handed it hilt first to Lia. "Use this. No matter how many times you cut him, or where you cut him, he will never die. But he will feel every wound you give. Vent your heart out until you're sick of it."

Lia took the sword, a blank expression on her face. Then she looked up at me.

I stared back.

In the corner of my eyes, I could see that Sylvia definitely wanted to say something. But she realized it wasn't her place, so she just sighed instead.

Lia stared at me some more and then said, "Goshujin-sama... You are a bad man. Aren't you?" She tightened her grip on the sword and said, "...A hero wouldn't tell me to torture a man until he begs to be killed."

I shrugged. "I'm not a hero. I'm someone who saves people when I feel like it, kills people when they hurt what I care about, doesn't balk at death... Honestly, I've had bad role models growing up. Still." I patted her hand. "It's important to draw the line. It's a bit late to get rid of that festering darkness in you. So just vent it until you can control it. Then, we can make the good in your heart outweigh that darkness. Probably."

Lia laughed and said, "Probably? Shouldn't you be saying 'definitely,' Goshujin-sama?"

"Well, considering you added 'until he begs to be killed' when I just handed you a sword and told you to vent until you're sick of it... I think that ship has sailed."

Lia smiled. "...Yes. I think so too." She turned the blade over in her hand and murmured, "The kind young girl who wished and prayed to be saved disappeared the day her friend died in her arms. And the person here... the 'me' that Goshujin-sama saved and trained." She smiled at me and said, "I'm not a good person either. But that doesn't mean I have to do bad things. Right?"

"Right." I nodded. "You get it."

Lia's smile widened. "Then... I will be back, Goshujin-sama- No. Naofumi-dono."

I patted her shoulder. "Try not to get too much blood on you. It's hard to clean."

Lia laughed.

Sylvia looked VERY concerned.

But then Lia walked over to the door and opened it.

The moment she did, Idol Rabier winced at the sudden light. Then he saw Lia and laughed. "Sending a demi-human? You pitiful- GRK!?"

A flash of gold. A spray of blood.

But no wound.

Lia looked at her stained sword. Then at the pristine skin on Idol's neck where she had just slashed. After that, she giggled and said, "Naofumi-dono. I love you."

"Platonically, right?"

Lia hummed and swung her sword again, splitting Idol's head in half... At least, it should have. But although blood splattered and some hair was cut, his body itself was fine.

"Wh-What? I'm alive- HEEE?!"

Lia's blade carved through Idol's manhood, making various liquids along with blood spill. She wrinkled her nose at that, but looked delighted at seeing Idol squirm. After that, she glanced back at me and said, "Mm... I don't know what platonically means. But... I think you're like a big brother or uncle I never had?"

"I'll take it." I nodded. "Teenaged hormones overpowered by bloodlust... I think that's a success."

Lia giggled and idly swung her sword at Idol again. "You're a terrible human being, Naofumi-dono. But... you care. So that's fine by me." She paused and looked at Sylvia. "Sylvia. Do you want to help?"

Sylvia hesitated.

Idol looked at Sylvia. Then he laughed and said, "Oh. The fox demi-human lived, I see? Did that man decide to heal you after we finished using you?"

Sylvia froze. Then her eyes flashed with ominous violet light and she walked forward. "Give me the sword."

"Of course!" Lia giggled. "We're sisters, right? And sisters do things together."

"...Yes." Sylvia smiled, although it didn't reach her eyes. "Sisters do everything together. Like making sure disgusting men like this are so tattered that they can't even pass into the yellow springs."

I nodded and said, "I'll let you girls have fun then. Try not to make too much of a mess. I'll come in the morning to clean up."

"Hai~"

"Understood, Master. Have a pleasant evening." Sylvia smiled, staring at Idol with cold eyes. "I know we will."

As I walked away, a thought came to mind.

'I am so going to hell for enabling this... But meh. That just means I get to try and be a literal devil, right?'

Dad did mention a strange incident he was involved in at Japan where he met some people who said they were devils...

Didn't know if he was being serious or joking like usual, but if he wasn't I at least had an in, right?

...I need sleep.

Yeah, I'm just... gonna go crash.

I could deal with the rest of this in the morning after some proper rest for once.