The Substitution of the Shield Hero

I massaged my temples and slowly said, "Let me get this straight." I pointed at Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki. "You guys are all telling me that, in your worlds, my mom and dad are fictional characters who have a 'will they won't they' type of relationship spanning decades that leads to nowhere. And they're from a popular post-apocalyptic franchise where zombie outbreaks occur constantly?"

Ren nodded. "Neighboring Malice is pretty popular. There's an entire VR series about it. I never played since I hate horror games, but a lot of people do." He paused and shivered. "...With mods too."

Motoyasu looked intrigued. "Mods? Like what?"

"18+ mods are common. But... Imagine being chased down by an army of Tomas the Tank Engine." Ren stared off into space with a blank expression. "...The Steem workshop was a mistake."

I held out my hand and said, "Back up." I looked at Itsuki and said, "How did you know I was Mom and Dad's child? Like, I've never mentioned my parents at all."

It was one thing if it was a guess. But Itsuki had said it like he was sure. Like, he saw the similarities.

I didn't think I looked too much like mom and dad though...?

I even went out of my way to part my hair the other direction usually since both of them did a part from their left-side to their right...

Itsuki gave me a blank stare and said, "Once you see it, you can't unsee it. Like, if you parted your hair right, and then you smirk a bit..."

Motoyasu stared at me a bit and then nodded. "Yep. He's got Leon's build when he was younger but 100% Ada's 'I know more than you' vibes."

Ren glanced at my hair and said, "Naofumi... do you usually use hair product back at home?"

"Well, obviously." I nodded. "You have to look presentable in my line of work. That doesn't exist here though, obviously. My hair's gotten a bit messy because of that."

Mirellia cleared her throat. "I do not mean to intrude on this enlightening conversation on Naofumi's origins... but I cannot help but notice that each of you heroes have said that the home world of each of the other heroes is fictional."

I paused to consider that.

Motoyasu, Itsuki, and Ren did too.

Then Ren frowned and said, "That... is a bit strange."

Motoyasu nodded. "It's not like we're all fictional. If we were... well, I guess it wouldn't matter, right? But it's weird that like Naofumi's parents are fictional in our worlds."

Itsuki nodded too and said, "Yes... and both Motoyasu and Naofumi said that Miss Railgun was from a 'light novel' series..."

Mirellia hummed and said, "This may just be conjecture... but is it possible that the entities behind the waves of calamity here... While they cannot cause the same waves in your worlds, is it possible that they have agents in your worlds that speak to each other across dimensions? And that the 'fiction' you all experience are just coded means of conveying information to any agents that happen to come across that world?"

I froze as the implications sank in.

Ren's eyes widened. "...That makes too much sense."

Motoyasu slammed his hands on the table and said, "YOU'RE SAYING WE'RE DEALING WITH MULTIVERSAL THREATS?!"

Itsuki gasped. "Like with the Avengers?!"

I paused. "You know the Avengers, Itsuki?"

Itsuki nodded. "Of course I know the Avengers! The Marvel comic series is the best! Like Spiderman! And Captain America! And Ironman too!"

I slowly blinked. "...Comic series?"

Ren paled. "Naofumi. PLEASE do not tell me you come from a world where Marvel is real."

"...What the heck is 'Marvel?'"

Motoyasu gasped. "NAOFUMI!" He pointed at me and said, "YOU COME FROM A WORLD WITH REAL LIFE SUPERHEROES?!"

"Well, kind of? I mean, superheroes don't exist on MY world. But they do on Earth-616. They're like, sorta neighbors. Dad and Uncle Chris were involved in an incident with them-"

"UNCLE CHRIS!?" Motoyasu jumped to his feet and slammed his hands on the table. "YOUR UNCLE IS CHRIS REDFIELD!?"

Itsuki's eyes widened and said, "Does that mean that Leon married Claire?! Wait, no. Naofumi is Ada's son... but then-"

"...Claire is my godmother and Chris is my goduncle."

Ren ran his hands through his hair and said, "This explains so much. Sooo much."

I gave the Three Heroes- No.

They'd clearly reverted back to being the Three Stooges...

I gave them all a blank stare as they collectively started freaking out in different ways.

A few seconds passed and they clearly weren't coming back from the revelations any time soon.

Since that was the case, I turned back to Mirellia and said, "So what's the situation on your end, Mirellia?"

Mirellia paused in the middle of pouring herself another glass of wine. Then she looked amused and said, "You mean between dealing with the very enthusiastic Shieldfreeden delegates and a few of my citizens insisting that you brainwashed their relatives?"

"Hey. I don't brainwash people. That's barbaric. I persuade them with words and actions. That way, they chose for themselves."

Itsuki gave me a haunted look and muttered, "Oh no. He's DEFINITELY like Ada..."

Motoyasu slumped back in his chair and murmured, "A guy with Leon's crazy skills, Ada's brains and cunning... and from a world where superheroes are real..."

Ren let out a laugh, sounding completely done with everything. "I give up understanding things. Welt has a point. Sometimes, you just have to accept the crazy..."

...I decided to keep ignoring the three and focused on Mirellia. "Also, if I DID brainwash people, I would have brainwashed everyone. If you're going to resort to mindcontrol, you might as well do mass mindcontrol. You know?"

Mirellia gave me a blank stare and slowly said, "That... should not reassure me. And yet, I cannot help but find myself being reassured. Simply by virtue of the fact that you would not do such a thing due to it being too much of a hassle."

I chuckled and said, "You know me too well now, Mirellia." I poured myself some wine too and said, "I'm a man of efficiency. And do you know how much hassle it is to micromanage one person, let alone an entire country or world's worth?"

Nope. I'd learned from the crazies back in my world who thought about doing that and failed.

...Though in hindsight, there were a lot of those...

I shook my head and said, "Megalomaniacs, I swear..."

Mirellia continued giving me a blank stare.

"What?" I blinked. "I'm not a megalomaniac."

Ren pointed at me and said, "Liar."

"I'm not lying. A megalomaniac is obsessed with power, wealth, fame, and grand delusions to the point of being blinded by it. I'm not obsessed with anything, I'm devoted. There's a difference."

Ren stared at me and slowly said, "So you're saying you DON'T want to take over the world?"

"Why would I want to take over the world when I can just own it?"

Motoyasu laughed. "Spoken like a true American. Why conquer when you can just stamp your name on it, right?"

"Hey, I take offense to that. ...But you aren't completely wrong."

Itsuki finally recovered and said, "Wait." He furrowed his brow. "Why DO you want to own the world, Naofumi?"

"Well, if there's anything I've learned in my time being alive, it's that possessing more resources is never a bad thing. And nobody on my world or Earth-616 owns a whole world. I heard that there's a Doctor Doom or something that owns a country, but that's kind of low-tier, you know?"

Ren facepalmed and muttered, "He just called Doom low-tier. Doom. Doctor Doom. Low-tier."

Mirellia gave me a nervous look and slowly said, "Naofumi. We are... friends, yes?"

"Hm?" I glanced back at her and nodded. "I'd say so. Your dead husband was a dick. And Malty was a bitch before I fixed her-"

Motoyasu gasped and said, "That's right! He DID fix Malty!"

"Aniki took 'I can fix her' as a challenge and actually fixed her..." Itsuki murmured. "...Sugoi. That's like if Accelerator stopped being a villain."

Ren glanced at Itsuki and said, "...He stops being one though?"

"Eh?"

...I decided to continue ignoring the Three Stooges and focused on Mirellia. "Anyway, we're friends. Why?"

"Then," Mirellia said. "As friends... you would not drag myself and my family into an interplanetary and interdimensional war, would you?"

"Nah. I wouldn't do that..."

Mirellia let out a deep sigh of relief.

"...I already own the moon, after all. And I think I saw a planet close enough to claim too. I can probably daisychain my way across the local solar system here if I set things up properly, so there's no need to worry about this planet being dragged into wars."

Mirellia paused. Then she let out an amused smile. "Well. I suppose it is somewhat assuring to hear that our planet is far too trifling in the grand scheme of things to matter."

"Well, I wouldn't say THAT." I shrugged. "It's clearly enough for 'something' to be interested in it. I mean, the wave phenomenon exists for a reason." I rubbed my chin. "Although it's a bit weird in hindsight. It's one thing if it's just an incursion. But it seems like they're trying to pick the strongest world? Maybe it's like trying to make Gu?"

Mirellia tilted her head. "Gu?"

Ren's eyes narrowed. "...You're saying it's like that ancient Chinese practice of making venom from bottling up venomous creatures? And that whatever's left is the most lethal?"

Itsuki gasped and said, "Are they cultivating worlds?!"

I paused, suddenly remembering Bahamut's mention that Sylvia's mom wasn't from anywhere he knew. And the fact that the waves seemed to only be happening in worlds where there was a 'Status Magic System...'

At least, from what S'yne had said, having traveled across multiple doomed worlds.

"...No," I said. "Not cultivating, Itsuki. Leveling."

A silence filled the dining room.

Then Mirellia quietly said, "Naofumi. Are you implying...?"

"That worlds themselves have a level? Yes." I placed my hand on my chin, lost in thought. Then I looked at Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu. "You guys are gamers too, right? Think with me for a bit. Imagine if all the 'worlds' in the waves are just guilds. And that the waves are just one giant guild war for the guilds to raise their overall guild levels. Why?"

Ren paused and crossed his arms. "...If we treat this as a Guild War... Guilds get benefits for leveling up. Either more features, or more resources."

Itsuki frowned and said, "But the person running the guild war doesn't get anything, right? Why would they want the guilds to level up then?"

Motoyasu's eyes widened. "...If the waves are guild wars... Someone's running the server. And if the Guilds are all higher level... more people want to join the server. Right? I mean, that's how I decide to join a server. How high level or prestigious the Guilds in that server are."

Another silence filled the dining room.

A thought came to mind.

Another similar premise. From a different kind of NovelPhoenix than The Rising of the Shield Hero.

I hesitated a bit. But then I slowly said, "...Have you guys heard of Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint? Or the concept of 'Constellations?'"

Ren frowned. "Constellations? I heard whispers on the internet that Kirito became known as a Star King following the Alicization incidents... Are you talking about that?"

Motoyasu tilted his head. "Constellations...? Like SSS-Class Suicide Hunter?"

Itsuki paled. "...The Watchers."

I paused. "The Watchers?"

Ren froze. "...That's right. The Celestials."

Mirellia looked between us all and slowly said, "I... do believe I am out of my depths. What are you all discussing?"

Itsuki massaged his temples, as if trying best to summarize it. Then he said, "Think... primordial beings that were there from the start of existence. The ones that lay the foundation of existence. Super powerful, build worlds, that sort of thing. And they do multiverse cycles where..." He trailed off. "Where they decide which worlds get to stay and which are destroyed?"

"...Okay. Pause." I held up my hand. "Even if that's theoretically true... which is HIGHLY concerning if it is since that implies going back home for me is going to require MUCH more preparation than I intended..."

Motoyasu let out a nervous laugh and said, "Uh. Yeah. If you're from a world near the Marvel universe with the Beyonders and all that... You need like, infinite prep time."

"...It's also highly unlikely that those guys are the same ones in charge here. Although the waves are 'interdimensional' and technically between 'different worlds,' they're all the same 'type' of world. I think this isn't that grand of a scale. If it was, then the waves would have cut into space too. I didn't see any while I was on the moon."

Ren looked at me and said, "That's right. You were on the moon... So you didn't see any signs of the waves up there?"

I shook my head. "Nope. So." I snapped my fingers and said, "You guys don't have to worry. For all intents and purposes, this world is just suffering a case of idiots high on godhood colliding parallel dimension worlds together. Not entire cosmoses."

...*I* did though.

Which meant I was DEFINITELY not warping home any time soon.

I wasn't sure if the Three Stooges were right about there being primordial beings like that which had power on the scale of multiverses, but if there WERE, I needed to do a bit more dimension hopping before stopping at home.

Just in case.

Mirellia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You say that, Naofumi. But you do realize that, for every other living being on this planet, a 'world' is already the highest scale of power there is to even consider...?"

I shrugged. "Dream bigger. You have conceptual powers. They cheat physics. Kind of."

"...Let's just finish dinner and discuss logistics for the next wave." Mirellia let out a long suffering sigh as she picked up her knife to carve into a slice of roasted meat on her plate. "...I would rather not consider the implications of a stellar-wide war existing somewhere in creation."

"Smart." I nodded and picked up a steak to put on my plate. "So, next wave is in 24 days or so, right? Any plans on what to do until then?"