CHAPTER 6.

There were so many possibilities, so many ways for this to get worse, that he could see no easy solution.

He tried to think of something, feeling almost absurdly guilty of spending the last night contemplating his weapon rather than the Shield Hero, but they reached the large doors before he could think of a good plan.

He shook his head, trying to refocus, now was not the time for distraction. He would have to figure something out later.

His second look at the room just confirmed what his first look had informed him off. Very elegant and a show of power. He didn't waste a second more on it and took a look at the future party members arranged in front of the throne. He recognized none of them save for Malty who was quite obvious thanks to her uniquely red hair. She was quite beautiful but his knowledge of her tendency to manipulate and ruin men just made that beauty one of her weapons and all he felt when he looked at her was a desire to run his sword through her.

The remaining members of the group looked very well dressed. He could tell little to nothing about them, save for some general information which was supplied by his Status magic. Adrian felt on edge as they stared at him and began to slow his breathing deliberately in an attempt to calm down.

Adrian and the others bowed to the King, and the man spoke after he nodded in acknowledgement to their bow, "As we discussed yesterday, I have called for other to assist you in your journey. My call did not go unheaded and these future heroes of our nation have agreed to join your cause."

Adrian wanted to laugh, he would not pretend to be able to guess all the interests gathered here in the form of these twelve people but he could at least make vague guesses. The Church, the Royal family and some noble houses, either those favoured by the Church or the King would certainly be here. If the Adventurers guild was powerful enough they too could have a representative as could any powerful merchant families.

"Now then, brave adventurers, go forth and choose the Legendary Hero you will travel with," Aultcray concluded.

They all moved forward in unison, and for a moment there was a little bit of chaos, but the aftermath was just a little different from what Adrian had expected.

Malty Melromarc was standing behind him rather than Motoyasu.

The rest of the distribution was similar to the story, no one stood behind Naofumi, Motoyasu had five people, Itsuki had four and I had three including the Princess.

Adrian frowned wondering why she had chosen him, was there some difference between this story and canon, did he simply look to be a better target than Motoyasu? Perhaps on account for how much Motoyasu had spoken of yesterday regarding the world while Adrian had pretended ignorance.

This was a massive deviation from his expectations, clearly, he would have to be a lot more careful with his assumptions if he was already seeing deviations from his expected events.

"Sir!" said Naofumi after looking around in despair," This is…"

Aultcray looked nearly completely apathetic, and simply turned to his advisor and said," I did not anticipate such a thing," his voice reached us loud and clear.

The minster simply shrugged and said," He is not very popular, is he? Perhaps it is due to those unfortunate rumours."

Naofumi looked stunned as the murmurs and short laughs began all around them. Adrian couldn't help but think that Naofumi might just be better off with none of these people, after all, at least he wouldn't be surrounded by spies or scum.

"It seems that there are whispers around the castle. They are saying that among the four heroes, the Shield is without a doubt the weakest." said Aultcray, sounding quite sympathetic," It seems to have influenced the selection process."

Naofumi seemed to be stunned, Motoyasu poked him in the side with an elbow and whispered something to him, which moved Naofumi out of his surprised state and he turned towards Motoyasu fully and said," Don't you think this is horrible?!"

The spear wielder shuffled a bit awkwardly but said nothing, Naofumi read him loud and clear and turned towards Adrian," Black, come on man, I mean you can see I need some help right?"

Adrian frowned but nodded, there was no simple solution here, for reasons that Naofumi simply wasn't aware of, so he turned to his potential party members and said,"I would be grateful if one of you would join Naofumi, any rumours spread about him are merely rumours and nothing more, I am quite ignorant about this world myself and you were kind enough to join me, so I would request that one of you join him so that he can grow faster and the Waves can be fought more efficiently."

Their reactions were quite interesting but what was truly surprising was how Malty looked away from meeting my eyes, and gave no indication of moving towards Naofumi. Adrian had a sinking feeling as the other girl in his party looked a little startled but looked towards the balcony and didn't move while the male simply looked away from him. But Malty's lack of movement was the stunning factor, Adian had made that little speech for a number of reasons but the main was to simply get Malty out of his party for the moment, it was a convenient opening and he had been certain that she would take it if she wished to start her plan to frame Naofumi but she had ignored it.

Naofumi cursed and then turned to Itsuki," I suppose it would be fair to split them evenly, with each of us getting three. But then again, it's not gentlemanly to deny them once they've made their decision." the boy said, and most of the room, some of which had been glaring or looking surprised at Adrian after he had spoken, nodded at once.

Naofumi looked like he was going to cry, he was looking at everyone in the room, his face slowly becoming more and more desolate. Adrian felt a small fury build up as the whole court seemed amused at his humiliation, these people truly were scum, they had summoned a man from his home and then saw fit to insult him in such a manner for no reason save for petty discrimination.

"Are there any here who would throw their lot in with Mr Naofumi?" asked Aultcray.

The whole room was still as if simply moving would condemn them to become the Shield Hero's companion.

"Very well. I suppose there is no way around it. Mr Naofumi, you'll have to recruit others to accompany you while you are travelling. Each month, I will supply all of you with the necessary funds for your journey, though in compensation for today's events, Naofumi's first payment will be higher than the others. He shall receive 800 silver while the other Heroes shall receive 500 silver."

We received the funds and the King said something, Adrian answered almost on auto pilot while his mind ran forward, trying to figure out why there had already been a deviation. For some reason Malty had chosen to join his party and stay there, why had she avoided going to Naofumi to frame him? Adrian had always assumed that the whole rape accusation had been a plot between the Church and the Princess where she would frame the Shield Hero and ensure that he was ostracized in exchange for their support, or perhaps a favour from her to maintain her relationship with the church.

And yet if that was the case and it truly was a plot then it would not have been derailed due to his presence. The plot was to accuse the Shield Hero, as he was meant to be the Shield Demon, and the whole avoiding Naofumi during this party assignment indicated that the bias against he Shield Hero was alive and well, so this was not an alternate universe where there was discrimination against the Sword Hero and Malty planned to frame him instead.

Which meant that for some reason he was the better target for Malty's goals and if the church was working with her or using her then he was a better pawn for the church.

Suddenly all his plans needed to account for this new factor. This world truly was hell, but perhaps this would lead to a kinder outcome for Naofumi, the question was whether that was worth his destruction.

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As Adrian and his party members walked out of the castle into the sun, he couldn't help but feel confused and more than a little worried.

Malty Melromarc was a manipulative, cruel and petty little monster in the Light Novel, Adrian supposed that things could be different here. This world could be some sort of alternate universe where she wasn't utter scum but he was not going to bet on it. In all likelihood, the woman who had been the doom of both Naofumi and Motoyasu in the original story, had decided that he was her first target.

He would not pretend to understand why she had chosen to ignore Naofumi, who should have been an ideal target, but the result was that Adrian wasn't certain what to do anymore. His initial thought towards his party had been to simply use them for the moment and then simply ask them to leave, after all, they were unlikely to cause too much trouble if he kicked them out once he had levelled enough and had tested his Sword out to the point that he was confident in his survival. After that, he could simply find party members of his own who were not guaranteed spies or people with conflicting loyalties.

But Malty was a bloody princess, and even worse she was a doted upon by the petty little usurper who sat on the throne, Adrian would not pretend to know the precise consequences of kicking her out but if he did not do so from a position of power, he may very well end up dead.

Being the Sword Hero should be a protection of some form but if they were willing to demonize Naofumi and risk several other nations, who worshipped all four Heroes or the Shield specifically, declaring war on them in the middle of a planetary scale disaster, then he was not going to bet on rational action from the Church or the Royals.

So here he was stuck with a psychopath for at least a few weeks, worse these were the most critical few weeks that could make or break his future. Adrian shook his head as he realized that he had utterly ignored the other two.

He took a look at them as they walked behind him, politely silent, for the minute or so as they left the castle grounds. Once they left the gate he started a conversation, "Alright, I suppose we should discuss our plans for the day. But before that, I'd like to have all your names and your specialities in combat as well as why you choose to join me."

The only male of the three, nodded immediately, "Understood sir, I am Bellamy, a member of the Holy Order of the Church and I specialize in Light Magic and healing. I am considered a prodigy by the order and was fortunate enough to be permitted to join the Legendary Heroes on their quest to save the world." He bowed deeply here," I am truly honoured to be in the presence of the Saint of the Sword."

Adrian had to blink at that, the implications of what he had said and the opportunity it provided, "I apologize for interrupting," he said, raising his hand to ask Malty to stop as she had just been about to speak," But are you saying that the Four Heroes are worshipped in Melromarc."

A small moment of hesitation was obvious, as the man considered how to answer, then he said," The Heroes are indeed worshipped sir, but only the three Saint Heroes are worshipped. The three heroes are those who are blessed by the one true Lord that watches over us all and protects us from harm. As such you and your compatriots are those who are closest to the true Lord."

He bowed again, "As I said, it is truly an honour to serve with an Avatar of the Lord himself."

"I highly doubt that I will be able to live up to such a lofty vision Bellamy," Adrian said, feeling very, very odd as the older man in front of him looked at him with utter reverence,"I am many things but I very much doubt that I am the avatar of a God."