The Substitution of the Shield Hero

Mein sat with L'Arc, Kizuna, and Glass at a war room in Sikul. And in the middle of the table in front of them was a live projection of the events unfolding over Raybul, a few countries away.

Absolute domination.

Bahamut and Lia toyed with Kazuki and his subordinate, Tsugumi.

Meanwhile, Sylvia calmly disarmed, literally in some cases, any men who tried to oppose her as she walked towards Raybul to help out any citizens caught in the crossfire.

And all the while, Daji just stood at the back, like a mother watching her children at play.

Silence filled the war room. And then L'Arc slowly said, "Glass. Kizuna. Is that young man with the katana and the woman wielding a naginata beside him not Sir Kazuki and his subordinate Tsugumi?"

Glass slowly nodded. "...Yes. It is he."

Kizuna nodded too. "Mmhm. I recognize him. He tried to flirt with me and Glass, so he's pretty clear in my head."

"I see." L'Arc slowly nodded. "...And is Sir Kazuki currently being toyed with by a young Tanuki woman as well as a young boy?"

Glass slowly nodded again. "...It would appear so, L'Arc."

Kizuna finally snapped out of the daze and looked at Mein. "Miss Mein. Um... Those people there. I think I saw them briefly, but they're Naofumi-san's kids and one of his lovers, right?"

Mein, who had been mid-sip of a tea cup, suddenly choked and smacked her chest. She quickly set her cup down and said, "L-Lovers?!"

Kizuna tilted her head. "Is that kitsune lady not? Naofumi-san seemed like the kind of guy to have multiple women around him... And you said he owned you too, right?"

L'Arc's eyes lit up in understanding. "I see. This Naofumi-san must be a beast in the bed. So that is why such a competent woman like Mein fled all the way to our world to avoid being dragged into bed with him..."

Mein turned a bright red. "That's not- I mean, maybe... No!" Mein did her absolute best not to imagine Naofumi naked and how he would ABSOLUTELY be the sort to bully the woman he was intimate with all night.

Glass let out a calm smile and said, "There is no need to be coy about it, Mein."

Kizuna nodded. "Mmhm!" She giggled and said, "Naofumi-san IS handsome. It'd be fun, wouldn't it?"

Glass poked Kizuna's cheek and said, "Focus, Kizuna."

"Ah! Right!"

Mein let out a slow exhale and sipped on her tea again. Then she said, "Yes. Let us focus on the current situation." She nodded towards the live projection and said, "As you can see, Master Naofumi has made his move... or at least allowed others to make moves on his behalf."

L'Arc nodded. "Yes. Are all of his forces so powerful? With the way they are moving... that child and the tanuki girl must both be at least level 100, are they not?"

Mein paused, thinking about that. "...I do not know, actually. Hm... But I would not put it past them to be at that level. Or at least to have stats equivalent to it."

Naofumi had a habit of making the people around him overpowered, after all. While he went out of his way to make sure they were protected, he also found it a hassle to always be protecting them, so he made sure they had means to protect themselves.

Like how Mein was definitely a farcry from her past self as 'Malty' considering how much more intelligent she was and how adept she had become with magic even without using the Seven Star Staff.

'...Wait. Does that mean that Master Naofumi made me smarter because it would have annoyed him having a dumb airheaded bimbo around him, even if she was kind and naive?'

Mein paused a bit to process that thought and imagined it.

Herself, still as Mein, but genuinely as the kind and naive young adventurer she played at being when she met Naofumi. Then being dragged along as his slave/servant while he did everything he had done now...

'Mm. Definitely would have broken.'

Mein was sure of it. That sort of woman would have crumbled under the implications or shattered in fear at the vast display of power and pervasive authority that Naofumi displayed.

But Mein didn't really care since she saw that Naofumi was still just an eccentric genius who had a hobby of flipping over the world's natural order for fun.

'Huh.'

Food for thought.

But in any case.

Mein focused and said, "The point is that we should begin our moves as well." She looked at Kizuna and said, "Miss Kizuna. You said that the country Mikakage was the one who originally kidnapped you in the Infinite Labyrinth, yes?"

Kizuna nodded, frowning. "That's right. Kyo was the Vassal Book Hero, and he came from that country. Although it was his idea, the country itself backed him up."

Glass's eyes narrowed. "I see." She let out a sharp smile and said, "Then shall we declare war?"

L'Arc hummed. "...It would be a direct challenge to the safety of the world. Going out of the way to kidnap not just a Vassal Hero, but one of the Legendary Heroes is actively sabotaging the world's salvation. At the least, it is sufficient cause for Sikul to wage war."

Mein nodded. "Then we should do that. The sooner we can pacify or unify the countries in this world, the less likely that Master Naofumi will come along and decide to 'liberate' them."

Kizuna rubbed her arm and said, "It's dangerous though, isn't it? I managed to escape with Naofumi-san's parents, but if we get trapped in the Infinite Labyrinth again, we might not be able to get out."

Glass frowned. "...That is true. Kyo is not someone to be underestimated."

Mein looked at the serious faces on the others and said, "...Who is this Kyo person? You said he is the Vassal Book Hero?"

The description and the words rang a faint bell in Mein's head. A casual mention by Naofumi one day while he was covering what had happened in the last wave...

L'Arc nodded and said, "Yes. Kyo Ethnina. He was a talented and intelligent hero who took full advantage of his Vassal Book Hero status, entrenching himself in Mikakage's politics as well as developing numerous strange techniques. In fact, he is the reason we learned that it is possible for Vassal Heroes to travel between worlds." He paused. "...Why do you ask?"

Mein furrowed her brow, thinking a bit more. Then her eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah! Is he a gloomy sort of person with silver hair, glasses, and a condescending expression like the entire world was beneath him?"

Glass's eyes widened. "...Yes. That is exactly him. Have you encountered him in your world, Mein?"

"No. But Master Naofumi said he did." Mein chuckled. "If I recall correctly... Master Naofumi said the man was arrogant enough to yap about all his plans and detailed all his notes about what he learned about the wave to Master Naofumi's face. But after Master Naofumi got everything he wanted out of that man, Master Naofumi offered him up to an extradimensional entity and then claimed the Vassal Book weapon for his own."

Silence. One that lasted for exactly three beats.

And then Kizuna slammed both her hands on the table and jumped to her feet. "KYO IS DEAD?! BUT I WANTED TO BEAT UP HIS SMUG FACE!"

Glass stood up as well, but in shock. "Your Master summoned an extradimensional entity- No, offered Kyo up as a sacrifice to an extradimensional entity?!"

L'Arc slowly blinked. Then he chuckled and said, "Well. It is a very good thing that we are allies then, yes?"

Mein gave a serious nod. "It really is. If I remember correctly from one of Master's off-hand remarks, he mentioned that he uses Vassal Weapons and resources to empower his own." She glanced at L'Arc, who had the Vassal Sickle, and then at Glass, who had the Vassal Fan. "...If you had fought him, he definitely would have taken your weapons and processed them."

"...Processed?" L'Arc instinctively glanced as his Vassal Sickle.

Glass quickly hugged her Vassal Fan. "...That will not be necessary."

Kizuna's eyes widened before sparkling with awe. "Naofumi-san is that powerful?! No, that makes sense. His parents had awesome sci-fi weapons too... Does that mean his weapon is something sci-fi? The people called him the Shield Hero, but does he have something better?"

Mein nodded. "He does." She paused. "...Though I'm not sure if Master Naofumi wants that public, so I won't say it."

Considering how Master Naofumi was slowly losing his restraints recently and also slowly beginning to embrace his inner chaotic nature...

Mein was very much concerned about any potential 'punishment' she might face for drawing his ire.

Especially since he had already joked once about using her as a body pillow before then proceeding to actually use Rishia as one.

...And Mein wasn't sure how she would react to being in such close and intimate contact with Naofumi.

L'Arc nodded. "Understood. In that case..." He stood up. "The plan is secured. The next steps are clear. Sikul will declare war on Mikakage for not just being derelict in their duties, but actively seeking to bring the world to its end." He glanced at the chaos unfolding back in Raybul, still projected on the table, and said, "Lord Naofumi's forces can do as they please, but we will maneuver quickly to minimize casualties and chaos."

Glass hummed and said, "Considering the way your allies are moving, Mein, it would appear that Luvar is next. Especially if your Master has defeated Kyo, as that is his homeland."

Kizuna eyed the map again and said, "Hm... we're closest to Mikakage, so we'll probably reach them first if we move. But..." She looked nervously at the projected events on the table. "...Will we be safe? I don't want to get caught up in the attack of that monstrously powerful young boy..."

Mein waved her hand. "It's fine. Bahamut has an eerie ability to see where people he knows are. It's probably a sixth sense from knowing that his father will scold him if he hurts any of us." She finished her cup of tea and said, "But either way... we should keep moving. The sun is setting, and I'm not eager to find out if the others might think it's more challenging to keep fighting through the night..."