The Substitution of the Shield Hero

Libertas. That was the name of the nation founded by the former Shield Hero.

A land of miracles. One wrought by a man who could have burned the world to ash but chose to prop it up instead.

Former slaves, both human and demi-human alike, walked beside former citizens of Melromarc, former nobles, and even former merchants from Zeltoble.

Eclair Seatto, the daughter of the lord who once governed the district in Melromarc designed for coexistence between humans and demi-humans...

Brushing her hand through her strawberry-blonde hair, she swept her clear blue eyes across the horizon. With a stern face, and with her noble features, she looked like a baroness observing her territory. But in truth...

'This is everything Father envisioned and more.'

...She was just a young woman marveling at the bittersweet sight of her late father's dream being fulfilled without him their to see it.

A vast green expanse with rich soil that seemed to grow crops to maturity as soon as you planted them while keeping them fresh. Clean roads and neat buildings made from stone, glass, and steel that were perfectly temperature controlled. Food readily available at kiosks all over in machines that you just had to press buttons to dispense...

It was paradise- No, a utopia.

So much so that...

"Lord Naofumi is freedom! Freedom is good! Lord Naofumi is good!"

"Yeah!"

"We'd do anything for our lord...!"

...Even the most staunch followers of the Church of Three Heroes in the past had been converted to praising Lord Naofumi instead.

And the funniest thing was...

'...He is not even a lord.'

Lord Naofumi... A title he only accepted after gritting his teeth with great reluctance.

He was a man who simply set up Libertas because he was annoyed at how the world was oppressing others. And because he disliked people fighting over resources, he made sure everyone had their fill, enough to where wanting more was just pure greed.

There wasn't a need for peasants or serfs to grow crops, since they were grown and collected by automatons and magical spells of mysterious origins.

There weren't merchants because there were stalls where trades and exchanges could be done automatically and enforced by magical contracts.

There weren't nobles because Lord Naofumi had explicitly stated that everyone below him was equal and that he was only temporarily above them in status until after the other countries were handled.

Demi-humans praised him as a true saint... until he told them that he was far from it since he would absolutely kill people who were bad.

Humans praised him as a god... until he started explaining the process behind his magic and that anyone could eventually learn how to do it.

And while, to them, Lord Naofumi was a miracle who granted them all salvation...

He continued to insist that it was all just because it bothered him and that it didn't mean much. And to not expect him to be around to save them either.

Eclair was quiet and shifted her gaze to the plaza where a statue of Lord Naofumi had been constructed by avid citizens, and where citizens were still kneeling in gratitude... if not prayer.

Of course, since Lord Naofumi had told them to not pray to him, they would never admit if they were praying.

But Eclair had a sense there were more than a few people who were.

"Hm?" A gruff male voice echoed from behind Eclair. "...Ah, you're Lord Seaetto's daughter, aren't you?"

Eclair looked over and smiled. "Yes. And you are... Sir Erhard, are you not? Your work is quite remarkable."

Erhard rubbed his shaved head and said, "I'm flattered. But..." He shifted his gaze towards the statue and said, "...This must be hitting you pretty hard. Seeing what your father couldn't achieve done by someone from another world."

Eclair shook her head. "No. If anything, this has me motivated."

Erhard blinked. "Motivated?"

"Yes." Eclair turned to look at Erhard, passion and fury in her eyes with equal measure. "Lord Naofumi showed it. This world is rotten to the core... I knew it. But I lacked the strength to resolve it. But he has it." She swept her arm out and said, "And he used that strength to build instead of destroy. For us. For Libertas."

Erhard slowly nodded. "...Yes. That's right. That kid always said that this world was wrong. And he's probably going out to fix it right now."

"Yes." Eclair nodded again. "...But why should we rely on Lord Naofumi alone?"

"What?"

Eclair looked back at Naofumi's statue. Then she looked at the various demi-humans and adventurers who had come to Libertas. She watched the people who had lost so much to the oppressors, slavers, and abusers.

And she thought of the ones still waiting to be saved out there in Four Bray.

After that, she turned to Erhard and said, "Sir Erhard."

Was it the intensity in Eclair's eyes?

Erhard flinched and stammered a bit when he responded. "Y-Yes?"

"...How many weapons can you make?"

===

"...You know." As I looked around the peaceful greenery and the distant mountains, I said, "For a world supposedly on the brink of collapse, it's awfully peaceful."

Rishia, fussing a bit over Bahamut's clothes nearby, looked over and smiled. "That's because of the efforts of people like you, Lord Naofumi. I'm sure that the Seven Star Heroes and the other Legendary Heroes are doing their best to prevent the people from panicking."

I paused to think about that. "Mm... I guess that might be true. But... I wonder how true that is."

Rishia tilted her head and raised the visor on her helmet to look at me. "What do you mean, Lord Naofumi?"

I didn't respond right away.

Mostly because I was checking on Mina and Nina. Both still asleep, by the way.

But after that, I glanced off in the distance.

Since the main combat party was going to be Lia, Sylvia, Mein, and S'yne going forward... at least regarding mobs, they were up ahead clearing the way of monsters.

As far as I could see it was more just them having girl talk though since they were all ridiculously overpowered...

Lia and Sylvia were both level 45 still, but due to the various corrective modifiers on their level up growths since they joined my party, their functional stats were definitely in the 200s. Maybe more.

Mein... Well, it looked like she was getting multiple stacks of corrective growths too? I couldn't see her status screen, but I noticed how she was keeping up with Lia and Sylvia. Not only that, but she was also casting magic without chanting at all... which should be the norm for how to use magic in this world.

And S'yne...

Well.

I was confused at first about how a sewing kit could be a legendary weapon.

At first, I thought it would be just her fighting with her giant shears and carving apart enemies. That, or magic. Maybe flying around with aerial attacks.

But nope.

Just pure, gruesome, and visceral gore as she dismantled monsters into parts live before turning them into equipment.

...I was pretty sure that hooking her up to <Parallel System> broke her status a bit. The monsters she killed wasn't giving her or the party any experience, but we did get experience when she finished tailoring a piece of equipment.

Which was interesting because that implied that experience could be gained other than just murdering things. That, or experience was a tangible resource that could be shifted around to be accrued in various ways-

Oh.

Wait.

'I completely forgot about that.'

Experience had broken for me already. Since my levels weren't tied to combat anymore, I kept getting experience, but it wasn't leveling me up. It was just a number that kept going up next to my name.

Instead, it had turned into a system more like enchantment levels in Minecraft, where I could spend it in Synthesis to make various things.

And if I thought about it...

'...Isn't S'yne basically the Crafting Hero...?'

Killing mobs, grabbing their parts, getting experience when she finished making things...

I watched S'yne defeat a wolf rushing towards her by instantly snipping its head off. Then I watched my status messages and saw how the experience message popped up only after she processed the wolf into pelts, meats, and bones. And then how additional experience messages popped up after she made a pair of gloves and handed them to Lia, who let out a happy squeal and immediately put them on.

"Lord Naofumi?"

I blinked and realized I'd left Rishia hanging on her question. I shifted my gaze back towards her and said, "I wonder if it's true that the heroes are stopping the people from panicking... or if they just don't know that the world's collapsing."

Rishia blinked. Then her green eyes widened in understanding. "That's... true. The people in the capital know about the waves. But the people out in villages or remote territories..."

I nodded. "Right. They'll probably just think there's an uptick in monsters even if a wave does break out." I paused. "Well, the whole sky breaking and turning red like the last wave might make them panic. But I wonder about if people actually know or not that the waves are happening. The other leaders probably don't care as much about their people as Mirellia does, you know?"

Melromarc as a whole had seemed pretty informed about the wave. But Melromarc as a whole... well, if you ignored the rot beneath it. In general, the populace was at peace and the nobles at least informed the general population about what was going on.

At least, even the people of Riyute Village had heard about the waves before it struck.

But Melromarc was also smaller and not as powerful as the other nations.

"Hm... Adventurers might be carrying the news about the waves. But I don't think there's a system message or anything informing the populace about the waves. And even if a system message goes out to the world, like with the Legendary Shield vanishing, something or someone stopped it."

Bahamut, just quietly listening until now, nodded and said, "Hacker."

"Right, Boy. There's a hacker. Maybe multiple. Something or someone benefits from information blackout." I idly shifted Nina on my back to be more comfortable. After that, I looked at Rishia and said, "Hey, how do people in this world usually get information? I mean like, normal people. Not the nobles or royals."

"Um..." Rishia furrowed her brow and said, "Well I usually just wrote letters. Maybe if I had enough money, I would pay an adventurer to deliver a message too, but you never know with them."

"Mm... I see."

I thought about it a bit more.

...This world's state of technology didn't make sense. At least, if you assumed normal development.

Considering the influx of 'legendary heroes' summoned from other worlds, there should definitely have been advances in technology.

Even if a nation hoarded it like Four Bray with its guns and planes, the world as a whole would benefit from communication increases.

Just sheer supply and demand would make merchants have means of transmitting information or getting information from the populace.

And I didn't mean like Beloukas, who could get intel because of his underworld connections.

General merchants should have created advances too.

But they hadn't.

And considering those Otherworldly Vassal Heroes who had definitely been here from the start and who tried to assassinate us all...

As well as the fact that there were definitely people actively sabotaging or intercepting the Status Magic System...

"Hm." I chuckled. "I didn't intentionally set out to do this... but now I will. Since there's a group that seems to have benefited in keeping this world in the dark so that they're not united or prepared for the wave... I wonder what will happen when I forcibly raise everything's level?"

Rishia tilted her head. "...Lord Naofumi?"

Bahamut's blue eyes sparkled when he looked at me, clearly understanding. "Father. The entire world... power leveling."

I laughed and ruffled his green hair. "That's right, Boy. It's a bit early... but after we settle Four Bray and Siltvelt. I wonder what kinds of people will pop out when I start raising the baseline of existence for people living in this world. And if I start seeding things that operate on different rules entirely and are strictly here to protect this world's inhabitants."

I paused, remembering the 'Miracle Seed' that I'd been using to make plants and crops with <Synthesis>.

"Wait. Seeding... Plants. If I take the principles of bioweapons but turn it into a bioplant instead, then since they originally lack a consciousness... and if I program a general protective algorithm that's hooked into the local Status Magic System and encrypt it with a one-time pad that's verified with the unique code that Beloukas mentioned each person has when he was showing me how the Slave Crest worked..."

I smirked. "...If the world wants to fight back, why don't I help it?"

"...L-Lord Naofumi? That expression is kind of scary..."

Mina stirred in her harness on my chest and murmured, "Papa. Fighting... yay..."

Nina stirred a bit too on my back and mumbled, "World... heroes... world tree... yay..."

As for Bahamut...

He gave me a thumbs up and said, "Father. Yggdrasil?"

"Boy." I pointed at him. "You get me. Love you."

Bahamut grinned.

===

Mein swung her staff, causing invisible blades of wind to tear apart the boars in front of her. After that, she stared at the staff in her hands and said, "...Daddy had this the whole time and he sat back to play king instead?"

S'yne idly stitched together a cute pig onesie from some boar pelts while she walked beside Mein. "Power makes good men complacent."

Lia sheathed False Mercy after torturing- 'training' against a two-headed wolf for a bit. Then she put it out of its misery with her katana before walking over with a smile on her face. "And powerful men never get complacent to begin with! Like Naofumi-dono!"

Sylvia walked over, idly wiping down her blade and said, "That's right. Some men are definitely beyond good or evil... mostly because they don't care about how they're viewed. Like Master."

Mein glanced back at Naofumi, who was idly tapping his fingers into the air while walking with Rishia and the kids. "...Master Naofumi is plotting again."

Sylvia nodded. "He is always plotting. I've realized this in hindsight..."

Lia nodded too and said, "Yes. Like when he came to rescue me." She let out a warm smile and said, "Naofumi-dono knew I'd be there. And that no one else would save me. So he chose to save me himself."

Mein watched as S'yne walked around to process the monster corpses and then looked back at Lia. "That's right... you talked about that earlier." She frowned. "...Then does that mean the entire plot I did was just amusement for him? That he knew what we planned the entire time and just... let it happen?"

Sylvia finished cleaning her sword and sheathed it on her right side. Then she said, "Probably? Master is the kind of person who seems to wear a lot of different faces. I think he mentioned something about going by a script before when talking with the other heroes..."

Lia's eyes lit up and she nodded. "Oh! Yes, Naofumi-dono mentioned that his world saw this one as a story. And that the 'ending' is supposed to be against a goddess."

Mein paled. "A goddess? The final enemy of the wave is a goddess?"

S'yne finished processing the monster parts and walked over. "Likely multiple deities. I've been to a few worlds briefly before arriving here. The technology and powers that the Army of the Waves were able to utilize... only divine beings could do so."

Mein looked even more worried after S'yne said that... but then she paused and looked back at Naofumi. After that, a thoughtful expression crossed her face.

Lia noticed and tilted her head. "What are you thinking, Mein?"

"Well. It hasn't crossed my mind until now. But..." Mein pointed at Naofumi and said, "...Don't you think Master Naofumi kind of looks like a gambler who knows everyone else is cheating and is just waiting to see how blatant they'll cheat before flipping the table over?"

Everyone turned to look at Naofumi... who was furiously tapping the air. Almost like he was tinkering with the fabric of existence itself.

S'yne watched him for a bit. Then she slowly said, "...Mister Naofumi made a comment about joining the party to kill a god. Um. Do you... think he was serious? And that he's done it before?"

Lia and Sylvia shared a look.

Then Lia shrugged and said, "It wouldn't surprise me?"

Sylvia nodded. "Master has always seemed far too calm about this world... and in hindsight, when we were small, he was definitely putting on an act just to make sure we understood how serious things were..."

Lia nodded. "Naofumi-dono definitely didn't need us. But he picked us up anyway to keep us safe." She paused, furrowing her brow. "...And Naofumi-dono definitely must be a god or saint." She looked at Sylvia and said, "Didn't Naofumi-dono say he made the elixirs he gave us?"

Sylvia slowly blinked. Then she frowned and said, "I forgot about those. And the elixir he gave me to heal me too... With how bad off I was, it should have been impossible. But..." She tilted her head. "...Why didn't Master make something like that for himself?"

Mein blinked, parsing what Lia and Sylvia said. Then she laughed and said, "That son of a bitch. He was just playing the entire time... No. He's STILL playing."

Naofumi's voice echoed from the distance and he said, "I heard that, Mein! And while my mom would agree with you calling her that and laugh at it, on principle, I have to disagree!"

Mein rolled her eyes.

Seeing more monsters popping up, she twirled her staff and said, "Let's keep going. The baby girls look like they're having a good nap, so let's keep it that way."