Ch 19-20

Something unfolded inside of him, and he saw , before he even heard the raw scream that escaped his mouth, turning around, flames danced from the tip of his bow, and, with rage that he didn't knew he had he released the projectile eyes lock on the smile in her face.

"You bitch!"

The flaming arrow flew straight aimed at the Shadow Maid's head, the skill once again illuminating the forest, yet even fire-made projectile failed to remove the small smile from her face. Raising her hands in front of herself she exclaimed.

"Zveit Water Orb!"

Similar to Rishia's preferred attack but three times larger, a great globe of water formed in front of her hands and she kept it there. Ryou watched as his arrow hit the orb, and pushed the entire thing along with the maid back, her feet sliding a few meters. After a few moments of clashing, his arrow detonated expanding in the form of a dome made of flames that merged with the water orb turning the entire thing into steam, momentarily obscuring vision.

A few moments later the maid became visible and she dusted her hands as if cleaning them out of invisible dust, before placing them on her waist, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Got that one out of your system, Yuusha-sama?"

Ryou snarled at the indifference in her voice and posture, "I thought the Queen of Melromarc was actually a decent person, but it appears the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now does it?" The smile on the maid's face finally disappeared, replaced with a far darker expression and suddenly the whole clearing felt a few degrees colder.

Moving faster than even Motoyasu had moved, she came at him hand pulled back, before releasing a palm strike directed at his midsection. However among the Four Legendary Heroes he was the one who specialized in speed for a reason, eyes following the movement he deflected the strike to the side, the Maid's momentum throwing her out of balance, before Ryou followed through with a kick to her waist that sent her rolling into the ground.

Placing a hand on the ground she twirled herself around, before landing in a crouched position.

"I won't allow anyone to bad mouth her Majesty in my presence, not even you Yuusha-sama…" The Maid hissed.

Ryou just tilted his head to the side, completely throwing caution to the wind. "Why? Afraid you'll find that your Queen is as big of an whore as her eldest daughter?"

With an almost inhuman growl she took out a short sword from where Ryou couldn't even begin to guess, and jumped into the air.

"Rapid Shot!" The Bow Hero released his skill upwards, however his arrows were deflected to the side by the Maid one after the other. As she finished deflecting the final one, she brought her sword down on him, and Ryou responded by pulling on another arrow, but instead of releasing it, he swung his bow to meet the bladed weapon with every bit of strength he had. The arrowhead met the sword, sending sparks everywhere, but the action worked as intended, since the sword was deflected upwards.

Just as her feet met the ground, Ryou threw yet another kick to her midsection, however this time she grabbed it under her arm. Gritting his teeth, Ryou jumped on one leg lashing out with that same feet, hitting her in the chest, and sending her crashing backwards.

Dropping on the ground Ryou raised himself into an half crouch, turning around to face the Maid, arrow already pulled back, and was forced to stop.

The arrow on his bow, was now aimed at the center of the Maid's forehead the arrowhead almost touching it. The woman had recovered in record time from his kick was also almost on top of him, her sword inches away from his neck.

Neither moved... The only sounds for a few moments were the heavy breaths from the short skirmish. It was the Maid who eventually broke the statemale.

"What happened was of my solo design, without her Majesty's consent, so don't you dare blaming her…" The statement came with some heat, however hearing it did nothing to abate his own anger.

"Why?! Do you have any idea what you did?! Three people died because of that! Hell I almost died! Not only that but you even endangered both Naofumi, and Raphtalia!" Ryou screamed, and her shoulder dropped a fraction, her hair falling slightly over her face.

"I truly feel sorry for that, but it was a necessary evil… Sacrifices have to be made to win a war…" She almost whispered, but the determination in her voice was undeniable.

Ryou's eyes widened in disbelief, before voicing it, "Necessary?! Sacrifices?! What the hell are you talking about?! How the hell does that even justify what you have done!"

"Because you were hesitating!" The Maid finally raised her voice, shouting back at the Bow Hero.

"What?" Ryou couldn't make heads or tails of what he was hearing.

The Maid let her sword fall to her side, and away from his neck. "You are the wisest, and the most prudent of the Four, there's no doubt about it, but you were poking the ground in front of you with a stick before stepping on it!" She explained heatedly taking a breath before continuing, "I saw you, I'm almost always following you! You were even afraid of stepping out of Castle Town! You have the potential to be an amazing ally, and the strongest among the four of you for sure, but there's a fine line between being cautious and being a coward, and guess to what side you were leaning towards?! How can we trust a hero to save us, if he's even afraid of his own shadow!"

Having the unmistakable raw truth thrown in his face, Ryou gritted his teeth and almost smashed his face against the Maid's.

"I never asked for any of this! I never asked to be force to fight in your fucking war! Or to be herald as some stupid savior! Or to try and save a world that isn't even mine!" He screamed in her face, the Maid also responded in kind smashing her forehead against his with a snarl.

"Well tough! We never asked for the waves either, yet here we are! Do you think the people whose houses were destroyed, and whose families were slaughtered asked for any of this?! Yet fate as saw fit to curse us, and the only thing we can do is either fight or perish!" Ryou could understand where she was coming from, but he couldn't help but growling.

"That's horrible I understand that much, but get it into your heads already, I'm not a goddamn hero, and that wont change no matter what pretty title you slap on top of me! The only thing I care about is my own survival!"

"Are you trying to convince me of that, or yourself..? And be that as it may, if you want to survive you will have to fight, I know that you understand that much at least..." She leaned back, and took a deep breath.

"Perhaps the way I went about it was wrong, and rest assured that her Majesty already made her displeasure known to me… But you can't deny that you got stronger, both physically, and mentally… It definitely shows. I heard you fought admirably during the wave, and without your intervention Lute village might have perished. Not only that but no matter how many times you deny it, your actions were heroic in the eyes of the people…" Ryou released an huff, before taking a seat on the ground. He couldn't deny anything of what she was saying. He had also reached the conclusion that the incident with the wolves had been the push that he needed, however he didn't appreciate having the rug pulled from under him, and the way she went about it also let a lot to be desired.

"What about the whole thing in the Northern Region? Was that just me cleaning up for you guys before the situation escalated?" Ryou inquired, and the Maid finally smiled again shaking her head.

"I have been trailing you for almost half of the past month, and I have yet to figure out where you get your information from…"

"People talk, between keeping an ear open, and using your brain you can normally get a clear picture of what's going on, or at least a reasonably accurate one…" Ryou shrugged as he finished. That was mostly a big fat lie, but it was usually how these things worked.

"Very true. but It is as you say, although that one was slightly personal… Gentlewood had to be stopped, and using you was the only way we could make it happen without arousing much suspicion…" She explained, and Ryou chuckled humorlessly.

"And yet again I was left without a choice, and went in completely blind I might add."

"And once again, you got more out of it than your troubles worth, after all you now have a party member with amazing potential. With some time and experience she will truly be a force to be reckoned with…" She stopped momentarily, and Ryou saw her smile turn slightly sly, "…Besides she as been good to you. You changed a little, and you're quite protective of her… Not allowing the Spear Hero near her, and that heartwarming moment in the middle of Castle Town at night…" She finished laughter clear in her voice, that turned into a small chuckle when Ryou lowered his head.

"Shut up, you goddamn stalker…" He mumbled, and still chuckling lightly she shrugged, before shooting back

"It's not a crime if your boss is the one who makes the laws…"

Touché… Ryou allowed mentally, however he once again couldn't deny her words, even if the price had been getting under the eyes of the Church, he wouldn't trade Rishia for anything. Hardly two weeks had passed since he met her, and already she was an irreplaceable part of his team… Even if there were only two members at the moment.

"It was in a roundabout way, but as you can see we have been helping you Heroes, though our efforts are mostly on you and on Tate no Yuusha-sama, since the others are making good use of the King's grace, maybe a little too much… ." She offered.

"You have been helping Naofumi? Really?" Ryou asked with a doubtful tone, there was nothing indicating such a thing.

"Yes of course, where do you think he got the money to acquired that Demi-human girl?" She questioned with a small secretive smile.

Now that she mentions it… Ryou hadn't even thought about it back then, but it was true that Naofumi would take forever to kill anything, so that wasn't a feasible way to raise money. The only way he could have bought Raphtalia would have been by selling medicine but that also wasn't the most profitable way of making money by any means, so it would have taken ages to raise thirty silver, however he couldn't also picture the Shield Hero accepting money from anyone at that point. As if reading his thoughts the woman in front of him released a small laugh.

"You should have seen him! We had to drop the bag of coins three times in his path for him to see it, and when he did he spent the next five minutes glaring at it like it was a cursed item!" She explained with amusement shaking her head.

Now THAT sounds about right… Ryou allowed with a snort. He could almost picture Naofumi glaring at the bag, before looking towards the sky waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"We also worked with the slave trader, so that he would approach him without arousing suspicion." She added as an afterthought.

They think of everything, but that begs the most important of questions…

"You guys work for the Queen, and I know for a fact that she is the biggest power in this country, so why are you going about it in such a manner?" Ryou asked in confusion.

Releasing a sigh the Shadow Maid, leaned back,"The Church of the Three Heroes has Shadows of their own, they keep an eye on the Heroes, though Tate no Yuusha is by far the one they use most of their manpower on. For now they are only watching but if we make a more visible move, they might respond in kind. Besides you should also take into consideration that even if Mirellia-sama is the absolute ruler of this country, she is only one person, and not only is she not present, but if she were to put her foot down out of nowhere in a country where everyone was taught since birth that the Tate no Yuusha was evil, it would give rise to discontentment, add to it the current shaky political situation, and Melromarc would turn into a perfect storm. "

This country is a mess no matter how you look at it… Ryou concluded, realizing that the Queen's hands were tied at the moment before remembering his current situation.

"Gentlewood was a member of the Church of the Three Heroes…" The Bow Hero pointed out in a mumble.

"We knew…" She admitted, and Ryou scratched his head before continuing.

"The Pope knows, I was the one who dealt with him… He was subtle about it but he warned me to thread carefully…" She frowned at the additional information, shifting slightly.

"A lot of the money Gentlewood was making was being 'donated' towards the Church. I have no doubt cutting off that support might have made him a little angry…" Ryou suppressed the shiver that threaten to come out, having confirmation that he had indeed pissed off the Pope without meaning too.

"Should I expect visitors at night? You know the kind that don't just climb through a window, and start flirting with the victim?" He threw that one out there, mostly as a very small olive branch and was rewarded with a snort.

"As I recall, the one who started flirting was you Yuusha-sama, and to clarify, I didn't climbed through your window as you put it, I jumped... Well, jokes aside, the answer to your question is most likely a no. You are still popular with the public, and he can't justify getting rid of you, and yes as crazy and suicidal as that notion is, we can't discount the possibility at all, the Pope isn't the most sane of individuals you see… However I would take care while in Castle Town, and try to stay clear of it for a while just to be safe…" She cautioned, and Ryou nodded in response that was his plan for now.

Watching the woman in front of him for a moment, Ryou released a sigh at how complicated everything was becoming.

"Listen… I hate to be played, I really do… But I can't deny the results even if the execution came out being really shitty…" He sent her a pointed look, and she at least had the decency to look ashamed, before he continued, "However I doubt that was the last time you people used me to clean up your domestic messes… If we are doing this… If you guys are going to use me as the Queen's personal enforcer, then I expect to be rewarded for it. Not only that but I, want to know beforehand, what I'm going to be doing, and why I'm doing it… The entire situation with Gentlewood only worked out by a paper thin margin, and I refuse to go in blind like that again, got it?" Ryou wasn't stupid, he knew the political situation was bad out there and the last thing he needed was a goddamn war breaking out because of some stupid reason, but he also refused to be put in another troublesome and potential dangerous situation blind.

"We also have no choice but to agree to those terms Yuusha-sama, and I will let her Majesty know that she can consider you an ally." She replied and Ryou huffed yet again, feeling far older than he was.

Rising to a standing position, he offered a hand to the maid who took it with good graces. He was still pissed at everything, but he was heavily lacking in the allies department, so he would play nice as long has he could profit from it in anyway he could.

"Haa that's right! I completely forgot why I came here in the first place!", The Maid exclaimed in an excited tone, along with a snap of her fingers that completely contradicted her normal demeanor

"Wait here Yuusha-sama!" She ordered before vanishing from sight leaving a dumbfounded Ryou in her awake. After half a minute of waiting she came back with her hands behind her back, and a far bigger smile on her face.

"When we first met, I told you, I couldn't offer much besides information… Well this time, I actually brought you a gift as a job well done for dealing with Gentlewood, and for clearing the wave! I would also hate for you to be jealous of Tate no Yuusha-sama!" Ryou slowly, very slowly raised an eyebrow at her.

"Present? Don't you mean a bribe? And since when do I get jealous of Naofumi? If anything I feel sorry for all the bullshit he as to put up with." The woman pouted at him yet Ryou didn't bought the feelings behind it for a second, and narrowed his eyes in response.

"Bahh so mean, and little old me went through so much trouble to get it... Here take it!" She finished thrusting the object into his stomach. Ryou quickly caught it, and took a good look at what he was holding before his eyes widen.

"An egg?" It was a monster egg if the slave seal on it was any indication, it was inside a big glass capsule that probably served as an incubator.

"Not just any one is a very special one…" She trailed off playfully shaking her finger at him, looking far to smug.

"What kind is it?" He questioned observing the mentioned present. The first thing that came to his mind was a Filorial, but those were common so that probably wouldn't be the case.

"That's… a secret!" She looked far to happy for someone who had tried to cleave him in two just a few minutes ago.

"Ohh for fuck's sake woman just tell me, because with my luck it will be some kind of demon!" Ryou shouted, and she put her finger on her cheek, eyes turning upwards.

"With that temper, I'm sure a demon would fit Yuusha-sama just fine, but no it isn't one…" He glared at her again, but decided against calling her out on her hypocrisy. One bad word about the Queen, and she flew into a murderous rage.

"Fine whatever, I'll just wait until it hatches, although fair warning if its something weird, I'll sell it…" He warned.

"Selling back a present is really bad manners... Well I'm sure it won't come to that." She stated with confidence.

Ryou didn't knew what to make of the certainty in her voice, but he didn't like it, however this was the moment the Maid turned around before stopping, and he already knew what was coming.

"Before I leave let me tell…" She started but Ryou beat her to it, and raised one hand in a stopping gesture.

"No…" He ordered.

"No?" She questioned tilting her head to the side.

Shaking his head Ryou repeated himself, "No! Whatever is coming I don't care! It's going to be trouble! At least give me a few days before you start throwing shit at me again!"

"But it's nothing bad this time, I promise Yuusha-sama!" Ryou mouthed 'this time' in disbelief, before resigning himself.

"Fine… Shoot, but I swear…" He allowed with a warning tone, and she nodded before continuing

"As I was saying, since the next wave won't happen for a few months, that actually gives you time to visit other countries… I would try to avoid Shieldfreeden but more importantly Siltvelt. In Shieldfreeden they might not be as hospitable to a hero that's not the Shield Hero, but in Siltvelt they might just try to kill you on sight, especially since you fought in the Wave to protect Melromarc… I however recommend that you visit Zeltoble at least..." She raised her finger as if making a point, and Ryou frowned.

"Why..?" No one could blame him for being suspicious after everything.

"Well…" Ryou found himself feeling even wearier at the pause. "...The other heroes went there, because Zeltoble as some of the most powerful weapons available. I honestly don't know why, since they can't use anything besides their Legendary Weapons, but whatever it was they did there worked, because they came back far to pleased with themselves…" Ryou already knew the answer to that one.

The weapon copy system… Its worth checking it out… Ryou pondered on that for a while, before shaking himself of his musings, and realizing the maid was still present

"Wasn't that it? Isn't this where you make your dramatic exit?" He questioned, this would normally be the time where she disappeared without trace.

"There's another thing…" She trailed off softly, being immediately awarded by a groan.

"Of course there is, why wouldn't there be? I knew it… I called it…" He stopped voicing his internal thoughts, before taping his feet expectantly on the ground.

"...There is someone that your Majesty wants you to meet at Zeltoble… You weren't suppose to know this part, I was only to encourage you to go there, but since we are being truthful to one another I thought you should know…" She explained herself, and Ryou had to question the logic behind it.

"If I wasn't supposed to know, how in the seven layers of hell would I even meet this person?" She smile looking a little sorry.

"He will find you…" She Immediately waved her hands, at the nasty look Ryou sent her.. "No! No! It's nothing bad, or dangerous, I swear on her Majesty's honor!" Ryou continued to glare at her.

"What did I say about going in blind..?" He asked slowly as if talking to a child.

"Not too..? Well now you have my word that its safe Yuusha-sama, so problem solved... Bye!" With a wave she vanished, and Ryou looked at the direction she was standing for a few moments before moving his eyes upwards towards the night sky. Closing his eyes he took a very deep breath, his chest moving with the intake, before exhaling quite audibly.

"I don't care anymore, I really don't… I'm done for the day. I just want a bed… What about you?" He asked, raising the egg to eye level, before shaking the incubator gently in a manner that seemed affirmative.

"Yeah thought so… Come on let's go…" He finished, slowly making his way towards Castle town, now with a mysterious egg against his chest.

In the following morning, Ryou woke up, to a knock on his door. After assuring Rishia that he was indeed back and well, he got ready for the day before grabbing the egg, and making his way towards the room where breakfast was being served.

The room was almost full of adventurers that had fought in the wave, thankfully the green haired girl had reserved him a seat. Making his request for some pastry and a glass of milk Ryou dropped on the chair still half asleep, before placing the incubator on the table, and letting out a yawn.

"Ryou-sama why do you have a monster egg with you?" Rishia asked eyeing the new member of their party, or soon to be.

"Some whore gave it to me, and I thought it looked nice." The entire room fell into awkward silence almost instantaneously, the occupants turning to look at him with varied levels of incredulity.

Rishia's face went completely red at the statement before she stammered, "Fuee! W-Whore?! I-I-I know Ryou-sama said he w-was going to v-vent his frustrations, b-but I d-didn't think he meant t-that!"

Blinking slowly, Ryou tried to understand what exactly his partner was saying, before running the statement twice in his head. Eyes went completely wide when he realized it.

Oh shit! Abort! Abort! Abort! Rising abruptly, the chair fell on the floor, and Ryou waved his hands in the air.

"No! No! That's not what I meant at all!" Ryou exclaimed in panic, and Rishia shook her head vigorously, face hidden behind her hands.

"No! I'm sorry, I-I know that R-Ryou-sama is only h-human a-after a-all.." She added embarrassed, receiving a groan in response.

Ohh for the love of God, in a few hours there's going to be weird rumors all around town, I just know it..

"Rishia, I swear I just went out of town, to hunt a few monsters. Whatever your thinking, didn't happen, got it?!" Ryou almost hissed. The last thing he needed was this.

"But Ryou-sama you mentioned a w-whore…" Picking up the chair, Ryou got back into his seat before explaining.

"Listen I went out to kill some monsters, and I met an old friend who gave me the egg, thats all…" He explained, however he could spot the skepticism on her face a mile away.

"A friend? Really? And you call her a whore?" The doubt in her voice, made Ryou scratch his head.

"It's a term of endearment.?" He stated hesitantly, almost as a question…

"Yuusha-sama, I'm sorry to interrupt but I don't think that word means what you think it means…" The man that was seated at the next table interjected, and Ryou dismissed him with a wave, before returning his attention to Rishia.

"Look… I went out, killed a ton of monsters, then she appeared and gave me the egg as a present , thats everything that happened, I promise…" For the most part… Better not mention that we almost killed each other...I did promised Rishia I wouldn't do anything too crazy and yet…

"Yet you still call her a whore..? Ryou-sama is weird sometimes..." She concluded, before her eyes finally moved back to the egg, and he released a breath he didn't knew he was holding.

"Hmm did she say what type of monster it is?" She inquired, bending forwards over the table to get a better look at it.

"Nope…" Honestly the day that woman answers anything completely, it will be the day the sky cracks open… horrible pun intended… Ryou thought half amused at his own dark humor, half annoyed.

"We can go to the monster trader, he should be able to tell…" She supplied. Ryou thought about it for a moment, before dismissing the idea..

"Meh let it be, I'm also curious but we will see when it hatches." There was no point, they would soon find out what was it.

"But this is exciting! I wonder what it will be?!" Chuckling Ryou shook his head in mirth, she looked like a kid wondering what was in one of those surprise chocolate eggs.

"Well I now know for a fact that it isn't a demon, so with my luck it will probably be a Magikarp…" Ryou concluded, before snorting at his own joke.

"What's a Magikarp Ryou-sama?" Rishia asked intrigued. In the next moment Ryou put on his best poker face before answering seriously.

"Its a stupid fish that does nothing but splash around… Although if you give it time to grow it will eventually turn into a very violent, and nasty sea dragon…" He watched with a blank face as her eyes went wide, and her face paled slightly.

"S-Sea Dragon?! Y-You had those in your old w-world?!" She asked in horror, much to his amusement and he couldn't stop the corner of his lips from twitching.

"In a manner of speaking…" He trailed off as Rishia placed her hands on her cheeks, a hint of apprehension in her face.

"Ryou-sama's old world sounds like a very scary place…"That finally broke Ryou, and he started laughing at the poor girls expense.

Really Rishia, there are so many dangerous things in 'this' world, yet you are afraid of a Gyarados?!

"Fuee! How can you laugh Ryou-sama?! Sea dragons a-are s-serious business!" She admonished him, and the Bow Hero completely lost it after that.

"Fuee… Why do I have to stay here?" Rishia asked with a pout.

"I'm going to meet Motoyasu, and I don't want you anywhere near him, his stupidity might be contagious…" She hummed in thought clapping her hands on her lap.

"I don't think that such a thing is contagious Ryou-sama…"

"You would be surprised…" Ryou muttered lowly closing the door to her room behind him.

Exiting the Inn he went to track down Motoyasu, he was not leaving town without the information he needed. The reason he hadn't let Rishia come with him, was a simple one. He didn't want his party member to see what he would have to pull to get the information he wanted.

I'm going to get what I want even if I have to lie through my teeth, and drag my pride through the mud…

Tracking down Motoyasu hadn't been that hard, he was staying in the single most expensive Inn in Castle Town. The Inn that looked like a five star hotel even had hot springs, a pool, and some sort of medieval casino. Ryou didn't even knew there was gambling in Melromarc.

Thankfully it wasn't Malty who answered the door, but another petite girl, with auburn chin length hair and green eyes a few shades darker than Rishia's, fully dressed in what could only be mage gear, along with a witch's hat.

"Yes..?" She questioned nervously her eyes widening slightly went she realized who he was.

"Is Motoyasu here? I need to speak with him…" His question if anything made the girl look even more nervous then before.

"Yes… but Ryou-sama, you're not here to pick a fight with Motoyasu-sama, are you?" She questioned in apprehension, and Ryou put his best smile to reassure her.

"No, nothing of the sort, I really want to just talk to him." She eyed him for a moment before nodding slightly, moving backwards to let him enter.

"Motoyasu-sama is in his room, through that door." The petite girl said, pointing towards the door on the other side of the room.

Ryou couldn't help but to marvel at the glamour the entire place had. For one their room, looked more like a VIP apartment then anything else, far bigger than his own. The other thing that jump to his attention was that everything shined, from the tableware, to the wood itself. He also noted that besides the small girl there was no one else in the room.

Making his way towards the door he grabbed the handle, but her voice interrupted him before he could open the door.

"Ryou-sama… Can I ask a question?" He turned his head towards her, and raised a eyebrow when he saw her fidgeting in place, her eyes roaming every inch of the floor.

"Sure, what is it?" He allowed.

"Yesterday… Why did you defend the Tate no Yuusha?" She questioned eyes finally stopping on some spot on the ground in front of her feet.

What's with that question..? Ryou wondered eyeing the girl suspiciously, however unlike Malty he couldn't find trace of deception on her, she looked like she was truly confused by his actions.

Turning to look at the wooden ceiling that also sparkled to his disbelief, Ryou pondered on the question.

"Well you could say I did it on a whim and you would be correct, or you could also say it had a purpose behind it and that would also be correct…" He trailed off looking back towards her, and she was no longer fidgeting, but paying complete attention to his words, even if she still looked mostly confused.

He took a moment to observe her before comparing her to the rest. Malty and the other girls either carried themselves like prom queens or damsels in distress, but this one was different for some reason, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he could almost call her more transparent, or even honest.

"What's your name?" Ryou questioned after a moment, and the girl jumped a little, her hat almost falling from her head, and she quickly readjusted it.

"Ahh! Me? I'm Rino." She offered with a slight bow.

No seriously… How did she end up in this party? How does she even fit? He wondered nodding slightly before giving voice to his thoughts.

"Rino huh? How do you like being in Motoyasu's party?" Her face turned more excitable at the question and so did her voice.

"Its very exciting, and Motoyasu-sama takes very good care of all of us! He is always asking what we want to do, or where we want to go, and he also buys equipment for us. He doesn't cook very well, but he tries his hardest too! The only bad thing is…" She answered in an happy manner but trailed off at the end, her expression dropping slightly.

"Yes?" Ryou probed, and she shrink a little, hesitating slightly before responding.

"Its just… I joined this party to fight the waves, but Motoyasu-sama doesn't let us fight for some reason." She mumbled

Doesn't let them fight? Isn't that a complete waste of manpower? Ryou questioned mentally. He knew that Malty at least could carry her weight, so why not let them help? It took only a few moments before his own eyes widen as he realized the reason.

Ahh so your white knight mentality isn't just for show… It wasn't like the Bow Hero couldn't understand the feelings behind it, he himself tried to protect Rishia as much as he could, but he also knew he couldn't do everything alone, and the only way she was going to get truly strong was by experiencing some hardships and fighting.

"Err... Have you tried to tell him that?" He questioned, and Rino nodded slightly.

"Yes, but I don't think he understood it…" Scratching his head Ryou thought about the situation before proposing a solution.

"Well, you have to tell him seriously when you explain it to him, or he won't understand since he can be a little dense…" Understatement of the fucking year, "…If you don't come out and say how you truly feel he will only think of you as someone to be protected."

Rino raised her head hugging her staff tightly against her body, her expression showing a hint of hope.

"Will that really work?" She questioned, and Ryou scratched his head again looking to the side. Getting inside Motoyasu's head, and understanding his thought process was not an easy feat.

"I think so… At the very least if you're not honest with your feelings, and motivations then its bound to create confusion." The Bow Hero supplied. That was something he now knew from experience having learn it when dealing with Rishia.

Rino at least looked more determined after hearing him, and nodded seriously, her lips forming a thin line. "Then I'll try my very best to convey it once more!"

Smiling lightly at her determination, Ryou nodded, before turning towards the door and gripping the handle.

Well at least Motoyasu as someone with a good head on her shoulders with him, God knows he needs it, and she kind of reminds me of Rishia a little... Almost makes me regret not taking anyone with me at the beginning though… He pondered before shaking his head.

Opening the door, he went inside before closing it behind him. Looking around it took only a moment for him to locate the Spear Hero. Motoyasu was lying in a double bed, eating an apple, his status window open above his head.

"Motoyasu…" Ryou greeted, and the said hero released a sigh, before closing his status window, and taking a seated position.

"Ryou…" He greeted back, although his tone came out monotonous, and there was some apprehension in his eyes.

Okay different approach, he's still pissed about what happened yesterday… Scratching his head, Ryou took a couple of steps until he was next to the bed.

"Look… I came here to apologize…" The Spear Hero's eyebrows went up a couple of millimeters, and Ryou threw him an apologetic if completely fake smile.

"Listen… During the wave I fought side by side with Naofumi and with Raphtalia… If they weren't there the number of victims would have been far higher, and I might not be here, so when I saw all of that yesterday, I flew off the handle, and ended up taking it out on you… So yeah sorry about that…"

Bullshit... Ryou couldn't help but to add mentally, but if it got him what he wanted it would be worth it.

With another sigh Motoyasu passed a hand over his blond mane before addressing the Bow Hero.

"Yeah, guess I should apologize too, I should have went at it differently… Although I still don't discount the possibility that he is brainwashing her…" Ryou didn't knew if he should laugh or cry, however in reality he shrugged.

"To tell the truth, I don't really know what kind of powers the Legendary Shield possesses, although I'm pretty sure brainwashing isn't one…" Ryou commented lightly.

"Well his Highness, and Myne seem to think that is the case so there has to be some truth to it." Motoyasu reasoned with a slight frown.

Okay that is slightly funny, so if the King and Malty say so then its the same as an irrefutable fact..? Ryou thought amused. Now that he had vented most of his anger, he found Motoyasu's naivety amusing, even if he knew that kind of mentality would come back to bite them all in the ass for sure.

Ryou took a seat on the ground refusing to take a seat on the bed.

I don't even want to know what happens in this bed at night...

"On another note, where's Malty and the rest of your party?" Ryou asked, since his least favorite female and her minions were nowhere to be found.

"Myne? She's in a meeting with her father, something about an emergency state meeting or something, she took Lesty and Elena with her..." He answered with a shrug.

More like a 'How to screw with Naofumi next time'' kind of meeting I bet… Although Ryou thanked every deity whether they existed or not, for that small miracle.

"Hmm pity, I wanted to see how she's doing. If I don't see her, tell her I send my regards." Motoyasu threw a smile in his direction, but waved his finger at him.

"Hey! Hey! I know she's hot and all, but no funny business with my party members, besides you already have Rishia don't you?" Ryou lowered his head, his hair and the difference in the height hiding his face from sight, so Motoyasu only took it has the Bow Hero being embarrassed, if the following chuckle was any indication. In reality Ryou did hide his face, but it was to prevent Motoyasu from seeing him gagging at the thought.

Gods no! Jesus no! I'm not even religious, yet I'm praying that I never have a nightmare where that happens… Just the mental image was bad enough, sure the girl was beyond beautiful, but not even if she was the last woman on the planet would Ryou consider such a thing, not even counting what diseases he might get if such a thing was to happen.

"Don't worry, I honestly just want the best for her, and no funny business from me, I swear!" Ryou promised, and Motoyasu just threw his head back and laughed. It seemed then that the Spear Hero was back to his normal self, so it was time to go on the offensive.

"By the way can I ask you a favor? In return I'll teach you something awesome?" Ryou questioned expectantly.

"Yeah sure what is it?" Motoyasu probed and Ryou's shoulder's dropped slightly, trying to look as miserable as possible.

"Back at the wave I had a really hard time, and I heard how you took out every monster with no problem, so I was wondering if you could explain to me how you power up your weapon." Motoyasu tilted his head, before changing his spear from what looked like a toothpick above his ear to its original form.

"You mean this thing?" Following Ryou's nod, the Spear Hero's expression changed to a slightly more hesitant look.

"Well..."

However Ryou was not having any of it, and all but pounced, "Come on Motoyasu! You're the only one I can count on, besides in exchange, I'll teach you how to access your inventory!" Ryou enticed.

The Spear Hero released a snort looking quite smug, "I already know how to do that."

Ryou looked floored at the revelation, "Y-You do?"

With a smug smile he closed his eyes before shrugging, "Well yeah obviously, how would I use the Items the monsters drop otherwise?"

Items that monsters drop, interesting…

"Well that's a shame, although it makes sense you would know about it, you were pretty pro when it came to MMORPG's, and whoever heard of one that didn't have an inventory?"

Ryou had actually thought that it didn't exist in the main story, yet apparently he had been wrong, it was only Naofumi who didn't knew about it.

"Well yeah, although this one is pretty stupid… I mean what kind of inventory doesn't let you store items at will?" The Spear Hero complained.

Wait? What..?

"What do you mean doesn't let you store items at will?" Ryou questioned confused. Motoyasu for his part, sent him a look as if he was stupid.

"Like… It only lets you store items that monsters drop, or that you craft using the crafting system. It doesn't accept anything else…" Ryou blinked at the Spear Hero who blinked back.

"Ahh… Yes it does..?" Ryou stated confused.

"No it doesn't…" Motoyasu argued back lightly, and slowly like if he was talking to a child.

Ryou took a look around him, before reaching for the plate full of apples on Motoyasu's bedside table, and taking one while ignoring Motoyasu's annoyance at him for stealing a fruit. Eyes focusing on the inventory icon he opened the window, then he shoved the apple inside, taking his hand out he showed it to Motoyasu who's jaw almost dropped at the sight, before reaching into it and taking out the apple. With a side throw the apple landed on the plate, and Motoyasu's mouth opened and closed a couple times trying to comprehend what he had just witness.

"W-What?! How?! Mine doesn't do that! How did you do it?"

This time the Bow Hero couldn't stop his face from showing his feelings, as a small victorious smile made its way into his face.

Well... Well... Well… Look who's back into the game all of the sudden…

"Nah! Nah! Fair is fair, you teach me, and I'll teach you. How does that sound to you?" Ryou questioned shaking his finger at the Spear Hero, and the said Hero launched himself at him hooking his arm around his shoulder.

"Yeah sure no problem! Leave it to Big Brother Motoyasu! I'll make a pro out of you in no time! In exchange you teach me how to put items in the inventory, right?"

Ryou just smiled at the Spear Hero although trying to suppress the almost evil laughter that threatened to come out.

Sucker! Well this time at least I'm grateful that your this naive Motoyasu...

After leaving Motoyasu's Room, Ryou was on cloud nine. Now it was only a matter of putting everything in practice, and he would be able to grow stronger. The information he had just acquired was probably worth far more then any amount of gold, and what had he traded it for? How to access the inventory. It was such a bad trade he couldn't help but to laugh. He had thought about trading Naofumi's upgrade system for the others, yet he had almost immediately discarded that notion. Motoyasu would already be a pain in the ass to deal with, and Ryou refuse to give the other Heroes any more power, power that could actually come back to bite him in the ass. Besides even if he did tell them they would probably not believe him since they looked like they had everything figured out already.

In reality the only reason why Motoyasu even believed me in the first place was probably because it was something I could show in real time…

After that thought, he took to track down Ren immediately. The Sword Hero proved to be a little bit more elusive. He eventually found one of the Sword Hero's minions in the Adventure's Guild after looking around Castle town. Said minion easily gave up the location of his 'Guild' leader.

Back here again huh… Ryou thought looking at the gates of the castle, not a moment later one of the guards came to meet him.

"Good Afternoon Yuusha-sama! Is there anything you require?" The guard saluted.

"Yeah can you take me to Ren? I know he is in the Castle…" Ryou asked casually.

"Just give me a moment to find someone to escort you, I can't leave my position…" The guard stated, but a voice interrupted them both.

"If it isn't a problem, It would be a honor to escort you, Yuusha-sama…" Ryou face the owner of the voice with a raised eyebrow. The figure had her hands clapped in front of her, a complete image of a common maid, yet Ryou knew better.

"The honor would be mine, to be escorted by such a beautiful lady…" He was in such a good mood he even threw in a small bow, getting a embarrassed laugh from the maid in return.

"Such a gentleman, please follow me Yuusha-sama." The Maid motioned for him to follow, and Ryou fell in step with her.

During the walk Ryou observed his 'companion'. She had plain brown long hair along with matching eyes, the only thing that jumped to his attention was the beauty mark under her left eye. Just attractive enough to hold one's attention, yet not going overboard to be able to blend if needed.

She's probably using Illusion Magic, this woman truly is good at what she does…

Crossing into a empty hallway, she finally broke the silence in an hushed tone, "You seem pleased since yesterday. Care to enlighten me on what you are plotting Yuusha-sama?"

Ryou sent her a sideways look, "Who says I'm plotting anything? I just woke up on the good side of bed this morning that's all."

She snorted softly, "Please… When you are in this business for as long as I have been, you can smell when someone is planning something from the other side of Melromarc. So are you going to tell me, or do I have to stalk you some more?"

"Are you going to tell me who I'm meeting in Zeltoble? Or what's in that egg?" He shot back at her, and she released another amused sound but didn't offer any more comments. Finally at an intersection she stopped, and pointed to the door at the end of the hall.

"Ken no Yuusha-sama, is in that room. I really don't know what he does in there, only that he spends a lot of time inside. If I didn't knew any better, I would say he wants to be left alone…" She commented crossing her arms slightly annoyed.

Can't even find it in me too blame him… With the amount of crap going on, I wish I could do the same sometimes…

Going forward he stopped at the door before knocking. After a moment a voice that was unmistakable came from the other side.

"Come in…" Ryou opened the door, and leaned against the doorway crossing his arms, eyes meeting the Sword Hero's ones.

"Hi Ren…" Ryou greeted with a happy tone, that borderline on being creepy.

The Sword Hero, eyed him for a moment before shaking his head in confusion

"Ryou?" He half greeted, half asked in hesitation.

Ryou's smile grew a little wider, "Wanna learn a new trick that will make your grinding experience one hundred times smoother ?" He enticed, and was on the receiving end of a very pointed raise eyebrow, yet the Sword Hero motioned for him to enter.

Closing the door behind him, Ryou approached Ren with a smile still on his face, all the while thinking…

Hook, line, and sinker... Idiots...

Closing the door behind him, Ryou approached Ren still with a smile on his face, all the while thinking…

Hook, line, and sinker... Idiots...

"That's about it. It's a pretty straightforward system. Does that answer all your questions Ryou?" Ren asked, sitting on a wooden chair, both arms and legs crossed.

"Yeah, that's just about everything…" Ryou murmured, trying to keep everything in mind, on the inside though he was cackling.

"Okay, so now I actually have a question of my own. Why were you the only one with access to this type of inventory in the first place?" The Sword Hero questioned, a frown present on his face, and Ryou could almost hear what was going through his mind.

What's so special about you..? In reality Ryou didn't have an answer to that. He didn't knew why he had a complete Inventory Ability, while the other Heroes only had a limited version of it, sans Naofumi who had none to begin with.

Shrugging, Ryou answered honestly, "I don't know, maybe it as something to do with my legendary weapon, I just know it was right there from the start…"

The Sword Hero narrowed his eyes slightly, the frown on his face getting more pronounced, "I didn't have it, however the moment you show me, I get access to it…That's really suspicious…"

He is sharp... At least more than Motoyasu… Ryou affirmed mentally watching the Sword Hero contemplate that information.

Ren shook his head after a moment, "Another suspicious thing is you giving me access to it, in exchange for mostly worthless, and basic information…"

Shows what you know, the one who got scammed here was you…

"Well, I played some RPG's back on the other side but nothing compared to you, so I'll take everything I can get. Besides helping a fellow hero will insure that the waves go much more smoothly…"

Ren's narrowed eyes changed in a look of almost pity, " That's a really naive outlook you have there Ryou. Knowledge is power here... The fact that you were a casual shows, the inventory is exactly the kind of information you shouldn't give anyone…"

Well the Sword Hero wasn't wrong in one aspect… Knowledge was indeed power… But Ren's perception of it, was inherently different from his own..

"Your saying that but didn't you answer my questions anyway?" Ryou challenged, and the Sword Hero smiled condescendingly, oozing with superiority, a smile that made Ryou remember why exactly he had almost hated Ren in the beginning.

"Like I said, worthless information. Besides I don't care about trading it. Even with it, someone who only played games here and there can never catch up to a pro, that's reality."

The statement had it been true would have sent Ryou off the edge, as it was, it only made it more difficult not to laugh in Ren's face.

That's a challenge if I ever heard one… Well let's see who's running circles around who, in the next wave…

"We'll see about that." Ryou threw the challenge out there, smirking, one that Ren mimicked before shrugging.

"Have it you.."

Knock… Knock…

"Yumi no Yuusha-sama, Ken no Yuusha-sama, I'm sorry for interrupting but the King requests your presence…" A familiar voice came from the other side of the door however it sounded meek and submissive, a complete contrast to the normal tone Ryou was used to hear from the woman in question.

"Fine…" Ren commented almost irritated.

Wonder what that douche wants now… Ryou thought, before rising and opening the door. The Shadow Maid, still in her Maid mode was looking at the ground, head bowing.

"Do you know what this is about?" Ryou questioned, while stepping out, the Sword Hero trailing behind.

"Yes, It's time for you to receive the war funds, along with a reward for defeating the wave…" The maid commented, before motion for them to follow.

Right free money, well more or less, I guess I can endure it for now…

Entering the throne room, Ryou was honestly surprised to see both Motoyasu, and Naofumi there along with Raphtalia by his side.

Well I guess at least in this, we think alike… Ryou thought, holding a snort at how bored Naofumi looked, or maybe it was a look of pain for being more or less forced to attend to the meeting.

Ryou came to a stop on the left side, next to Naofumi, with Ren coming to a stop between himself, and the Spear Hero.

Well isn't this a telling sight… Going from one end of the spectrum to the next, from the most loved to the most hated hero. It wasn't even on purpose.

Naofumi threw him a quick and mostly blank side look, one that Ryou mimic, their gaze meeting for a moment, Raphtalia however sent him a small soft smile, one that almost made Ryou winced. In her mind, she probably thought that Ryou had been the only one to stand up for them, yet in Ryou's own mind that was actually just a big failure, with something he wanted to avoid coming to pass anyways.

Banishing the thought, Ryou looked towards the front. What was done was done there was only forward now…

"Now that we are all here, let me begin by congratulate you all, on your victory against the wave." The King's voice echoed in the room, however Ryou saw Aultcray's' eyes moving coming to a stop on the Spear Hero for a moment.

How nice, your playing favorites with the guy that's sleeping with your daughter… Hmm wonder if you know about that… In Ryou's mind that was a fact, because he refused to believe Motoyasu went to such lengths for her, without getting any action in return, and he didn't wanted to sound prejudiced, but she definitely looked, and acted the part.

"As a reward for your brave efforts, I shall grant Motoyasu-dono a total of four thousand silver coins…" The Bow Hero almost shook is head, that was an insane amount of money, there was no doubt in his mind that the King was truly playing favorites among all the Heroes.

"...Ren-dono shall receive three thousand, and eight hundred silver coins…" Ren took the bag of money, with a mostly blank look on his face.

"...Ryou-dono will receive two thousand silver coins…" Ryou grab the bag, resisting the smile that almost showed, however his lower lip still twitched a little in humor.

Ladies, and Gentlemen, there it is! The dreadful, if expected, slap on the wrist… One subtle enough not to arouse suspicion, but direct enough to get the point across, 'If you lay with dogs'...

"…and you Shield, you shall receive no funds since we are discounting the amount from freeing the girl from the slave crest." Ryou sent another side look towards the Shield Hero noticing him clenching his fists, before snarling at the King, however Raphtalia, put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"We have made due up until now, and we will continue to do so, lets leave this place Naofumi-sama…" Naofumi almost argued, however the words didn't came out, finally with a "tsk" he turned around, and went for the exit along with Raphtalia, a stride in his steps.

Ryou was deep in thought watching them go, before coming to a decision…

"Well that's my cue to leave too, have places to be, and things to get done, this world isn't going to save himself after all!" Ryou stated, before also turning around, and going for the exit, stooping when Ren made his own voice heard.

"Pretty big talk… For a casual…" The Sword Hero commented almost casually, but the smirk on his face revealed an hint of mocking, however it quickly turned into a confused frown, when Ryou turned his head and sent him a small smile along with a wink, before exiting the room.

"Goddammit that Trash King, this was a complete waste of time, I should have never left Lute village!" Naofumi vented, after leaving the gate. Raphtalia, walked next to him her face also showing some anger, however she did not offer any more comment.

"Next time they try to invite me, I'll just tell them to shove it…" Naofumi finished however a voice from behind made him stop.

"Naofumi! Catch!" The Shield Hero turned around, and was greeted to a pouch to the face. Snarling he was about to throw the offensive thing back before he heard a metallic sound from it. Opening he saw countless silver coins inside.

"I don't need your damn charity Ryou…" Naofumi said with a frown, holding out the pouch, however the Bow Hero made no move to take it, hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"That's cool because I'm not offering any. Think of this as me paying my debt." Ryou offered, as if commenting on the weather.

"You already did that. You said it yourself back at Lute Village." The Shield Hero argued, yet Ryou shook his head.

"Yeah to you. Now I'm paying my debt to Raphtalia for saving my life, she also played a part. However if you still think of it as charity, then you can pay me back when you can." The bow Hero explained.

Ryou came to the decision of splitting his reward fifty/fifty the moment the King had pulled the rug from under Naofumi. Not only was Ryou not hurting for money since one thousand silver coins were more then enough to cover his and Rishia's expenses, but he could also hunt monsters for more profit especially now that they would drop items, not to mention he was going for the Mithril Mine soon enough.

Besides its mostly investment, and maybe I want to appease my conscience a little too...

"Thank you for your generosity, Ryou-sama, and thank you for always being there for us…" Raphtalia offered with a deep bow, and this time Ryou did winced.

" Don't thank me for that…" Ryou almost hissed. He had given Rishia justifications for his actions, and they were pretty logical, however human feelings were not so simple.

"Ryou-sama..?" Raphtalia inquired taken aback, however Naofumi cut them off.

"Its always like this with you…" The Shield Hero muttered before his voice gained in strength, "Goddammit Ryou its always like this with you, just wha… Mphh!" The rest of Naofumi's tirade was cut off by Ryou who had almost slapped his hand against the Shield Hero's mouth.

"Naofumi shut up! This place as ears everywhere!" Ryou hissed. The Bow Hero had a pretty good idea where Naofumi was going with the way he was shouting, and that definitely was not a conversation to have, twenty meters from the Castle gate.

"What do you mean!" Naofumi hissed back in a more hushed tone after slapping the hand covering his mouth.

"Look... Your going back to Lute Village right? Ryou questioned.

"How do you kn…" He was cut off by Ryou yet again.

"I'll meet you there tomorrow, we'll talk then…" The Bow Hero turned around, and walked away his pace slightly faster than normal, leaving behind yet another confused hero.

"Weren't we going back to visit father, Ryou-sama?" The green haired girl asked, from her spot. She was seated against the wall that surrounded Castle Town, the Mysterious egg besides her.

"We are, but only tomorrow or the day after, it depends…. We're going to meet with Naofumi in Lute Village before that…" Ryou explained, taking a bite of a sandwich that Rishia had made. Darn things were pretty good to, and he was hungry after spending so much time lying through his teeth, and dealing with so much crap.

"Fueee! You met with Naofumi-sama, and Raphtalia-chan?! Were they alright?" She asked, in a fast if slightly worried manner.

"Yeah, they were actually, definitely better than yesterday that's for sure…" He reassured, and Rishia released a breath in relief, her hand resting against her chest. Ryou made a sound that he agreed with the feeling. He had stopped for lunch before hitting the monsters again, he wanted to test out the whole Proficiency System, and monster drops thing.

"Fuee…" Raising an eyebrow at Rishia's normal verbal tick, Ryou looked at her inquisitive wondering was going in her head.

Her attention was on something else, her face thoughtful, before she caught sight of his expression and abandoned whatever thought she was having looking slightly embarrassed.

That only added to his curiosity, and he couldn't help but to ask, "What were you thinking so deeply about just now? You seemed completely out of it…"

Her face flushed a little, before she waved her hands in the air. "I-It was something s-stupid!"

Ryou frowned before replying, "Well I still want to know, unless you really don't want to share…"

She shook her head rapidly before explaining, "I was just wondering if Ryou-sama could use that, since it looks similar to his bow…" She trailed off.

Ryou turned to look at what she was referring to, before catching sight of it and he tilted his head pondering on it.

"That my dear Rishia, is a very good question…" Ryou commented, not even noticing the effect his words had on the girl, before rising himself and moving towards the object.

I was going to try it anyway, no time like the present I suppose, not sure if it will work on something like this though… Ryou thought, gripping the lever on the object with one hand, before repeating the process on his bow with the other hand and closing his eyes.

I already believe it, I saw it after all, I probably only need to will it… Copy it… Ryou willed imagining his bow taking the shape of the object besides him. Opening his eyes he saw a yellow light emanating from his hand, and his bow turned into a Ballista, an exact copy of the one on the wall, the only difference being the yellow jewel now on the front.

[Ballista - Rarity - C - Status - Sealed - Mastery - 0/100 - Equipment Bonus - +5 Attack - Special Effect - Attack Bonus (Medium), Penetration Bonus (Small), Movement Speed Penalty (Great), Attack Speed Penalty (Medium)

Before he could even uttered a word, a literal torrent of spam appeared in his field of vision completely covering his Status Window.

[Copy Weapon now unlocked]

[Proficiency now unlocked]

[Energy Grant now unlocked]

[Rarity now unlocked]

[Tempering now unlocked]

[Spirit Enhancement now unlocked]

[Status Enhancement now unlocked]

Holy Shit! Ryou could only released a gasp at the sheer amount of info that was dumped on him, multiple entries being unlocked on his Help Menu. He hadn't meant for this to happen at all, sure he believed in all the upgrade systems, but he thought he had to unlock one by one, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"Ha...Haha...Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Ryou started laughing gaining in last time he had been this hyped was back when he had first discovered his Divine Protection...

"Who's the casual now pretty boy!" Ryou almost roared into the skies, shaking his fist towards it.

"Ryou-sama... Is everything alright?" The green haired girl asked hesitantly, before releasing a, "Mep!".

"Rishia, lets go!" Ryou ordered before grabbing the girl by the hand, and pulling her along with him, the girl almost tripping on her feet before righting herself.

"Fueee! S-slow d-down Ryou-s-sama, and your leaving the e-egg behind!" She almost shouted, being pulled along by the Bow hero.

"Oh shit your right!" Ryou shouted startled, before running up the stairs to the wall, and picking up the egg, then he was gone, the green haired girl running after her party leader, who made a beeline towards the exit of Castle Town.

Once again even if she tried not to, Rishia had to question what was going through the mind of the Legendary hero in front of her. He had told her they were going to visit her father, they also needed to fight stronger monsters, to level up, and for him to unlock new bows. Now she could only look, as he took down anything moving in the vicinity with impunity, like every living being around them had committed an inexcusable crime against him.

"I see so that's how it works…" Ryou commented, watching as the proficiency bar went up a little.

Taking another look around, he noticed that there were no more monsters to found near them and releasing a deep exhale he took a seat besides Rishia. Opening the Status Window, he begun working his way through the new entries on the help menu. Even if the other heroes had explained it to him, now that the excitement had died down a little, he couldn't help but to feel an headache coming.

How the hell did Naofumi keep track of all of this..? It was murder to his head, just thinking about everything, and it only became worse because of how much information he needed to keep track of.

Motoyasu main line of upgrades was the most straightforward. Ryou had played RPG's with the same upgrade system, it was just a matter of gathering ores, and use them to level up a weapon, there existed however the possibility of failure, one that would revert the weapon back to level zero. According to Motoyasu although some monsters dropped the ores needed, the best way would be to either directly gather them or just straight up buy them. At first sight Ryou had concluded, that unlike what Naofumi had been doing where it paid off to get as many weapons as possible and master them, Motoyasu system was entirely based on picking a small group of weapons and specialize in them.

At the time the first thought Ryou had was that when comparing the two, was that Motoyasu's system while nice, had been far inferior to Naofumi's, if he were to compare them as stand alone systems even if he had the other enhancements to offer further customization. Motoyasu could in theory get a spear with three hundred attack, however if Naofumi unlocked one hundred shield's with plus three attack, or defense, then at the end of the day the Shield Hero would be in a far better position, because regardless of what shield he used, he would always have those stats giving him far more freedom on what to use, even if it would take much more time to unlock such a number of shields.

It had been so inferior in Ryou's mind, that he couldn't help but to ask Motoyasu, if there wasn't something in his system that allowed him to stack up stats or bonuses. To his slight surprise Motoyasu had indeed confirmed there was such a such, although he mostly ignored it for how small the boost was. Ryou however had all but pounced on it the moment he heard it, finding such a notion as idiotic, as the one who had thought about it.

As it turned out while tempering weapons, once you reached a certain level, they would add a straight passive bonus to one's stats, the bonus would then increase at certain milestones. That had destroyed his notion about Motoyasu system being one that focused only on specialization, it wasn't, not completely at least. The best way to go about it was- Yes specialize in a couple of weapons, but he should also go out of his way to temper others, maybe with lower level ores just to inflate some of his numbers.

Ren's system had also been interesting if also very straightforward, so much so that Ryou actually had to ask himself what kind of games did the Sword Hero play on the other side.

Calling me a casual, and then turns out that the way he upgrades his weapon is the most casual, grinddy thing ever…

Ren's main line of upgrading was a mastery based method, one that increase the proficiency of a weapon with usage, also increasing its stats. Apparently one could also awaken a weapon once mastery reached level one hundred, this process would unlock new hidden skills, and would convert those levels into energy points. The awakening process was the deepest part of Ren's system, since it not only took time to reach full mastery in order to awaken, but one could never be sure what skills would appear from the process, even crappy weapons could have amazing abilities hidden in them, and that presented a problem.

With so many bows that I already have at my disposal, awakening them would take forever, and that's not even counting the ones I will acquire from this point forward, so I guess I just have to go with my gut on what to awaken…

Energy grant, was basically a currency system that used energy points, the points gained from resetting a weapon's mastery, these points could then be used to raise the rarity of a specific weapon, increasing once again its overall stats. Energy points could also be acquired by converting the items that dropped from monsters into them.

With an huff Ryou let himself fall back on the grass, looking at the blue sky above him, his thoughts wandering. There existed a lot of power to be gained with these systems, but there was a lot to learn too while really simple, when put together the entire thing was incredibly complex, and allowed for a lot of customization.

But it's only normal that its like that, since it's just a mix of different game mechanics, but when put together…

"Fufufu, unlimited power…" Ryou uttered in amusement quoting Emperor Palpatine. It probably was… Mastering all the bows in the tree would take years, maybe even decades if Ryou didn't focused on just that, and that was just using Naofumi's way. If one was to try to shoot for one hundred completion if such a thing was even possible, then it would probably take more than ones life expectancy, so as far as they were concerned the legendary weapons offered limitless progression.

"I-I think Ryou-sama as finally lost it this time, don't you think so?" Ryou almost looked affronted when he heard it, before noticing the girl had been addressing the egg.

"Fuee! Ryou-sama..?!" The girl questioned with a slightly higher pitch, confused. The hero had shoved her lightly in the shoulder, and she had swayed a little before righting herself.

"Hmm... Calling me crazy are you?" He huffed, before sending her a small smile"...Want me to explain what's going on?" He asked, and her gaze lowered but she bobbed her head.

"Let me explain then…" Ryou begun, turning to face her, and crossing his legs, "... You know how I use materials to unlock new bows, right?" She nodded again. With a focused look Ryou opened his Bow Tree, and showed her. Rishia couldn't help but to feel amazed at the sheer amount of bows displayed there.

"This… Is the basis for Naofumi's upgrade system… Every Hero as an upgrade system or Strengthening Method granted by the Legendary weapons that lets them strengthen their weapons and themselves. However any Hero, can learn to use the other's upgrade system. I already knew how Naofumi's worked, but I didn't knew about Ren's, or Motoyasu's." Ryou explained, and something click in the girl's head.

"I-Is that why you went to speak with them?" She asked, and Ryou confirmed that had been the case.

"Yes… Focusing on only one system is however the wrong way to go about it. You certainly noticed that I'm slowly getting stronger right?" Rishia nodded at that, she had been present when the hero unlocked a new weapon, and she couldn't help but to marvel at how each one increased his power a little bit every time.

"Well believe it or not, I'm actually much stronger now then I was when I started, and this is only using one system… Now that I have all of them, my potential to grow will increase by a lot more, probably two fold or even higher than that." Rishia let out her verbal tick in an amazed manner, however the girl realized she shouldn't feel surprised, there existed a reason why the Heroes were called Legendary, and tales of their strength reached the four corners of the world.

" I understand now, Ryou-sama went to trade information on this upgrade system with the other heroes…" Ryou looked sheepish averting her gaze, while rubbing his neck.

"Well, not exactly…" He trailed off, earning him an inquisitive look.

"I might have fooled them, into giving it to me…" He admitted, and the girl released a tired sigh.

"I'm starting to think that Raphtalia-chan is right…" She mumbled, however the words did reach his ears, and the Bow Hero couldn't help but to wonder if Naofumi had any idea that, their party members were talking about them behind their back.

"Why couldn't you trade them, why go about it in such a way..?" She asked after a moment, and Ryou decided to explain himself.

"Because I don't want them to know…" He raised his hand, stopping the interruption he saw coming, "...Rishia, I might share it with them in the future, but that will be somewhere very down the line. There is a lot of power to gain from this knowledge, and I don't trust them to use it with responsibility."

"But the waves…" Ryou's face turned a little sad at that, knowing she was mentioning their conversation from the night before.

"I know, and I agree with your point of view… The waves are the enemy, however I believe that me, and the other Heroes will come to trade blows, and butt heads before we can actually present an united front…" If such a thing would even be possible.

"More fighting between the heroes…" She managed to sound both depressed, and exasperated, and Ryou couldn't help but to mirror her feelings about the whole thing.

"More than likely yes... I would like to avoid it, but it might not be possible…" Ryou muttered.

Not with them being idiots, and believing this world is their playground, like children...

"Motoyasu is an idiot… He is more likely to cause trouble then he is to solve it, but for now he is manageable, that might not be the case if he gets a lot stronger though… You saw what happened in the castle, the guy just doesn't listen…" Ryou released a breath, before continuing voicing his thoughts, "Ren's sharper than Motoyasu, the problem is that he doesn't care about anything as long as he is allowed to do what he pleases, and that way of thinking is just asking for trouble…"

Not only that, but if a fight emerged Ryou had no doubt the Sword Hero would align with the King, he was the one supporting him after all.

"What about Naofumi-sama..?" Rishia asked. The girl knew that Ryou favored Naofumi over the other heroes.

What about Naofumi indeed… Ryou questioned mentally before pondering on the entire thing. Of all heroes Naofumi was the only one he could actually give the information to, and trust it not to bite him in the ass. However Ryou couldn't help but to feel like he shouldn't. He had went to a lot of trouble to get this information even playing the fool, and to just handed over like that left an empty feeling inside, that made him wonder if it was just his own pride speaking.

Knowledge is power… Ren had been right about that, yet Ryou almost felt disgusted with himself, because that line of thought was almost similar to the other heroes, and that had been the reason why they were as weak as they were in canon.

However there was another reason why Ryou didn't want to share it with Naofumi at least so soon, and this one actually had logic behind it.

The Shield of Wrath… It was another common thing in a lot of stories. The dark yet overpowered mechanic that would rise to the surface every time the Main Character was in over his head. Naofumi having access to it would be a good safety net during the waves.

With access to every upgrade system, I want to try and at the very least be able to match Glass during the next wave, however I might not be able to… Glass had been truly overpowering when she first made her appearance, and there was no proof that her strength was still the same, so Naofumi, and the Shield of Wrath were his insurance.

Another thought crossed his mind. the Bow Hero wasn't sure if that kind of shield was unique only to Naofumi, but everything pointed towards the contrary and that was an ominous thing in his mind.

Every time Naofumi used it, it almost looked like he was being possessed... Ryou liked his ability to think straight, and make rational decisions, so he wanted to stay clear of that kind of cursed power, even if a small part of him found it enticing, before shaking his head.

It took Naofumi to think he lost Filo to get angry enough to unlock the damn thing, though he pretty much raised the little rascal from birth, and he hardly had enough people who would stay by his side, losing one was no doubt an horrible experience… Ryou took a peek at the girl beside him, who was still waiting for him to reach a decision. He couldn't even stomach the thought of losing Rishia, just as Naofumi couldn't accept the thought of losing Filo, no matter for how brief of a time he had her with him.

In that particular moment, lightning struck inside Ryou's head, making the hero jump to his feet.

"Ohh my god! I'm an absolute idiot!" Ryou threw his hands on his face, remembering a very important detail. Naofumi had gotten Filo when he went to replace the slave seal on Raphtalia, and Ryou had almost blew the entire thing.

"R-Ryou-sama?" She asked hesitantly, however the bow hero offered no answer, to busy chastising himself.

No Filo! No Shield of Wrath! No canon! Ryou had already accepted the fact things were different, and would change, but for now everything still appeared to be going more or less according to the story, and he still wanted to maintain the time line as close as possible, to get full advantage of his foreknowledge.

I almost screw Naofumi over big time, and shot myself in the foot at the same time! There was no certainty that the Shield Hero would survive until the Queen arrived if he didn't have Filo with him. Ryou had tried to do right by him, and Raphtalia, although there as a small part of him that just wanted to screw with Malty, and Aultcray.

"Road to hell is paved with good intentions indeed, learn to heed your own advice once in a while won't you, Ryou!" The bow hero reproached himself, before forcing to calm himself. Like before what was done was done, hopefully things would stay the same more or less and Naofumi would use the money he had gave them, to put the seal on Raphtalia, and would still buy a egg, if not then, he would have to think of a way to do some damage control.

"I'll tell Naofumi about it…" Ryou finally allowed, and Rishia sent him an approving smile, however Ryou wasn't finished. "...but I'll probably only do it, after the next wave…" Once again Ryou stopped Rishia from interrupting, already knowing what she was about to ask, "...I have my reasons to do so Rishia, honestly Naofumi is the only one I actually trust to use everything with responsibility, but just trust me on this, okay?" She looked a little confused before conceding.

"I know that R-Ryou-sama cares about them, and I know you wouldn't chose to wait without a reason, after all Ryou-sama is always thinking about everything, and p-plotting." Ryou for his part was grateful to her for understanding and leaving it at that, however he couldn't help but to realize another thing from what she had said.

"Sorry about that. It's not like I'm ignoring you, it's just that I lived alone for a while, so I spent a lot of time with just my thoughts, apparently that's still a bad habit of mine, to just zone out, and let my mind go to places…" Ryou apologized slightly embarrassed, and once again Rishia took no offense, having spent some time with the Bow Hero she had come to understand it was indeed an habit of his.

Tomorrow they would met Naofumi, and hopefully he would confirm if he had bought a Filorial egg, and after the next wave he would also confirm if Naofumi had access to the Shield of Wrath. Immediately after the wave would be a pretty safe period to share information with the Shield Hero, time-line wise, it would also give Naofumi some time to power up, and hopefully that would make the fight against the Pope go more smoothly...

Seems like I have a plan if everything goes according to the time-line, but we'll see, if worse comes to worse I'll just have to improvise… It was his partner that brought him back to reality.

"Ryou-sama can I ask you a question..?" Ryou raised an eyebrow wondering why she was even asking permission, before voicing it.

"Rishia, you don't need to ask permission to ask a question, I'm not some tyrant, I told you already we're partners…" The girl almost looked smaller then she was, but still sent him a shy smile at the wording, before collecting herself.

"I-If R-Ryou-sama is using N-Naofumi-sama's system, then what does your s-system entail?" Ryou opened his mouth, thinking for a second before closing. It was the same as Naofumi, because there had been no notice, and it had been the one he knew better after all.

Wait a minute… If that's actually the case, doesn't that mean that just by existing I removed an entire layer of power? Ryou questioned in apprehension. By replacing Itsuki had he made it so that the Bow Hero's upgrade system was just a copy of another one?

Shaking his head now understanding the situation Ryou refused to acknowledge such a thing.

The Legendary Weapons are based on the power of belief, Naofumi said so, and I have already proven it… If that's indeed the case then I should be able to add something if I believe in it enough! Ryou concluded determined, before closing his eyes, and focused on a game that he used to play, and was most familiar with. He tried to picture what he wanted, and then just like the copy system he tried to will it into reality. Not even a second later a sound broke his line of thought, and forced him to open his eyes.

Thwing!

Ryou surveyed his Status Window with a blank look on his face, though his fingers did twitch a little… He knew he should be happy, he knew he should be jumping in joy but he couldn't help himself.

"Fuck you! You goddamn trolling piece of shit!" Ryou raged, ripping of the bracelet in his arm, and throwing it off into the distance, sailing over the trees, after a moment it just reappeared in his wrist as if mocking him.

"Fuee Ryou-sama you can't treat a Legendary Weapon like that!" Rishia screech horrified.

Ryou turned to glare at the offensive object in his arm, "Legendary piece of crap is what this thing is!"

Ryou wasn't really sure, he had no basis for it, but somewhere deep down he knew that there was sentience in his weapon, and it was laughing its ass off at him, he just knew it, he feel it deep inside.

Taking a deep breath. he look again towards the Status Window.

[Passive Skill Tree now unlocked]

"Apparently my own upgrading system is a passive skill tree of all things." Ryou muttered before opening his Help Menu on the new entry. After a quickly look, he just let out a sigh.

This would have been nice to have before, Ohh I don't know?! I almost gotten eat by wolves! Though thinking about it, this one is really because I'm an idiot who never considered it to be this easy to unlock... Ryou conceded. Apparently he got one skill point per level, and his Strengthening Method also intercepted with Ren's since he could also convert energy points into skill points, though the cost would go up every five points, starting at one thousand energy points each.

"Lets see if it is exactly what, I think it is…" Ryou muttered, throwing a side glance at Rishia who was sitting now right next to him, apparently the girl was also curious about it.

"It doesn't really look like a tree…" His partner commented much to his amusement even if that observation had been pretty accurate.

"It's mostly because of these lines between every icon, they are supposedly like branches, and the entire thing branches off…" He explained to her. The girl in question just hummed in understanding, before pointing to an icon.

"W-What are these little circles with the weird s-symbols where t-the 'branches' converge?" Ryou focused his attention on the one Rishia had pointed at, an the little node expanded.

[Attack Speed with Bows Increased by 2%]

"These are nodes, they increase a lot of things, from Agility, to my Health, even Magic and Spirit Points regeneration, this one in particular increases my Attack Speed as you can see…" Ryou explained, and she looked in awe at the system.

"Fuee! But there are so many of them!" She said, leaning a little back to have them all in her field of vision.

"I told you didn't I? There's an amazing amount of power behind these systems, and this is just one of many…" Ryou concluded. He then noticed the zoom out icon at the corner, and he focused his attention on it. The tree, zoomed out, and zoomed out some more… He heard a gasp from Rishia, and by the time it stopped zooming out, Ryou was left looking at the colossal monster in front of him in astonishment.

Isn't this way bigger then the original? Like a hundred times bigger?

Another think caught his attention, in the middle there were four images inside big circles, like hieroglyphs carved in stone. The one he had focused before had a bow, but the rest of the Legendary weapons were there too as starting points, but no path ever touched another, meaning that no hero could access the nodes from another. There were also other smaller circles between the four big ones, two between each, and these ones shared the same initial path as the heroes, eight in total, but six of them were blank.

"Is that a wagon?" Ryou asked confused, crossing his arms, and tilting his head from side to side. His attention was on the image of one of the smaller circles between the bow and shield image, though this one was closer to the shield.

"It looks like a carriage..." Rishia murmured, squinting her eyes at the small image. .

"Why is there an image of a carriage in here of all things?" He wondered out loud, before shaking his head, and focusing on the one right next to the carriage, and closer to the bow. The image while not blank, was flickering for some reason, and he tried to make out what was in it.

Is that a knife..? No, its a kunai isn't it..? He realized. Ryou couldn't understand the meaning of what he was seeing. He knew what the big circles represented, it showed his, and the other heroes starting points, but he had no idea what the other smaller circles were, or why one of them was flickering.

Deciding it wasn't worth pondering on at the moment, he focused on the Shield Image, and began to go through the nodes that branched from it.

Defense, defense, defense, more defense… Ohh look this one increases Health Points… Heh this is going to be Naofumi's starting point, no doubt about it… He concluded amused, before continuing going through the rest of the nodes, and a few clusters randomly.

"This has everything here!" Ryou exclaimed after a minute. From boosting ones Defense, to Attack, or Agility. If he wanted to focus on Magic, there were clusters for it, so were there some that increased Elemental Damage, and Defense, even Medicine effectiveness and Healing, along with Support Magic upgrades. There were also some that were grayed out, and couldn't be read, showing only a message that he didn't possess the knowledge required to access those nodes. That wasn't the only thing he discovered though.

This thing is really made from belief… The Bow Hero acknowledged, because why else would there be a few clusters that increased slaves parameters near Naofumi's starting point.

Focusing back on his own path, and going through his nodes he expanded one that made him take a glance at Rishia, before lowering his head, a soft smile appearing on his face hidden from view.

[Party Members Magic Attribute Increased by 2%]

Guess its to be expected, I do want her to grow strong, and I guess this in some ways reflects what's in my heart… There were a few more clusters full of nodes like that, just like Naofumi Slave One's, however there were none that concerned party members near Motoyasu's, or Ren's starting points.

"I-Its strange..." The green haired girl commented after a moment, with a weirdly serious expression on her face.

"What is?" Ryou questioned confused, wondering were she was having difficulty following.

"Its just… I can't read it, but I can understand the numbers, and that last symbol… That's percentages, everything is in percentages…" She explained, and Ryou took another look at a few of the nodes before realizing he had missed that particular fact.

She's right! This crap is not about status increase, its a goddamn multiplier for base stats! The realization made the Bow Hero lean back in shock. It served to multiply status, attributes and everything in between. It almost looked overpowered, if it wasn't for the fact that the percentages were really low, and the cost for skill points would go up every five.

No, not overpowered, but its definitely far more useful in mine, and Naofumi's hands then in the other's possession that's for sure... It was then that the Bow Hero felt a shiver coursing his body.

Increasing your base stats, and gaining skills by mastering different weapons already makes a really big difference, in two weeks I went from being a munching toy for Dire wolves, to completely overpower them, and if that's the case then… He wondered just how strong would he become, especially when you could add so many layers of power on top of each other, an those were only the ones he knew about.

In some countries we are herald as gods… I thought it was an exaggeration but now… Ryou knew that the Legendary Heroes were symbols of power, the Shadow Maid had said so herself. Obviously it wasn't just because they were Heroes, but because of the potential they all possessed as wielders of a Legendary weapon.

An Image of Naofumi blocking an attack from Glass after she got power up by what he now knew was a potion called the Soul-Healing Water came to mind, an attack that had split the sea in two. Ryou had seen, back in his old world as Naofumi went from a loser, to someone that could stop such an attack. The entire thing lost some impact because even if he disagreed with the other heroes, defense was hardly something one could call flashy, even if it was extremely important. Now though, he realized that somewhere down the line, it would be very likely that he would be the one splitting the sea in two.

And someone decided that the best people to use such insane powers, were a teenager with attitude problems, a guy that wanted to play white knight and build an harem, a anti-social guy with the subtlety of a bulldozer, and the laziest bastard around who is prone to over-think everything… Brilliant! Shaking his head at the idiocy of it all, he focused once again on his Status Window.

Wait a goddamn second! Ryou glared at his own Legendary Weapon once again when another thought reached him.

Bow and Shield… One attacks, the other defends… Even the way we upgrade things complement themselves… One focuses on increasing your stats by a straight flat amount, and the other one multiplies it… Like a match made in goddamn heaven, isn't it..?