Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 22 - Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Heroic Presence

Holn’s transport skill easily sent us over to the vicinity of the sanctuary. I looked around to see a river running by, swaying grass, and rolling hills.

“I’ve seen this place before,” Melty confirmed. “The sanctuary is that way,” she said with a point.

“That’s right,” Holn replied with a nod.

“My mother took me around the sites of the four holy legends when I was a kid,” Melty said. It sounded like she had been involved in researching the legends, like it or not. Eclair’s father had probably been here too.

“Let’s go say hello,” I suggested.

“Okay,” Mamoru replied. He led us off in the direction of the sanctuary. It was a lot like the filolial sanctuary in the future, a place that no one really was able to get inside. The whole place was just rubble. But in this time more structures remained and people could still go inside. It was the remnants of a country created by the first Shield Hero and Bow Hero as they took on the beginning of the waves. The world was a cycle of growth and decline, so they said, but it made me sad to see it. After we returned to our time, and restored peace to the world . . . Well, Piensa would ultimately fall anyway, even if it happened in the distant future and Mamoru’s own nation of Siltran would end up being changed to Siltvelt. I wondered when Faubrey would come into being.

I was getting distracted. While Piensa was still occupied with creating the foundations for their assault, we needed to put together some way to resist them.

As I thought about these things, we arrived in what looked like a village.

“This is V’sheel, the village that manages the sanctuary,” Mamoru explained as we stood at the entrance. I looked at the village and the people living there. There were some lizard men dressed in farmer-like outfits. They looked like bodybuilders. These bulked-up crocodile-looking therianthropes were tilling the ground with hoes. There were demi-humans with lizard tails . . . I guessed they were humans who could go therianthrope. There were also weasel-like people. They looked lean and quick. The women were doing chores, holding baskets and tubs, and children were running happily around the village.

“Ah, Master Mamoru.” It was one of the villagers, addressing Mamoru at the entryway. The villager dashed over to me, tilted his head in puzzlement, and then moved over to Mamoru. Mamoru’s allies also moved forward and started to greet the villagers. “What brings you here like this?” the villager asked.

“Some worrying news. It sounds like Piensa is going to make a move on the sanctuary again, so we came to check things out,” Mamoru said.

“I see. They’re shameless about spreading their muck on our legends, aren’t they?! You should talk with the village elder,” the villager said.

“Can you summon him?” Mamoru asked.

“Of course!”

The villager and Mamoru’s other allies went off into the village. A short while later an elderly lizard man appeared. He was walking using a cane. It looked like his eyes weren’t the best anymore. I didn’t know why, but he was looking at me.

“Well, bless me. If it isn’t Master Shield Hero Mamoru. Our village of V’sheel will never forget what you’ve done for us,” the old lizard said.

“Elder, sorry. That’s not Master Mamoru,” said someone who looked like an aide to the elder.

“What? Really? I was directing my comments toward where I felt the presence of the Shield Hero,” the crusty lizard said. “Presence,” was it? I had picked up the ability to sense such things—including murderous intent—but it seemed this old codger had a pretty vague remembrance of Mamoru.

“Over here, elder. It is nice to see you again,” Mamoru said. The elder lizard man looked over at Mamoru in surprise.

“Oh my? So who is this other individual so wreathed in the presence of the Shield Hero?” the elder asked. I wasn’t aware I gave off any such presence. This guy had the strangest senses.

“There are reasons for that. My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I’m also the Shield Hero. But the one you know is over there,” I explained.

“I see. It sounds like we do have some things to discuss,” the elder agreed. We were shown into the village and led to a large house. That said, it wasn’t large enough for everyone, so just the heroes went inside.

“So this is what his homeland was like . . .” Eclair murmured to herself as she looked around the village.

“Is this definitely the place?” Ren asked.

“Yeah, these lizard men are the same race as him, no doubt about it. They’re bigger than regular lizard men. That’s what gives it away. I’ve seen them around Mamoru in Siltran, so it’s been on my mind for a while,” Eclair admitted.

“I see,” Ren said. Eclair looked so happy, but Ren looked sad. Eclair didn’t notice at all, her eyes sparkling like they had when she met the Hengen Muso Style old lady for the first time.

“My father said it was very difficult to get his right hand away from here. He had planned to live and die here as the last of his line,” Eclair explained. Being able to visit a time when the ancestors of someone she so looked up to were alive was probably quite exciting. It looked like Ren and the others could stay outside and chat. We needed to head inside to discuss more important matters.

“How to go about explaining this?” Mamoru asked.

“Take things one step at a time, from the start,” Holn suggested.

“Okay. Let’s not say these things too loudly,” Mamoru replied. He and Holn proceeded to explain everything that had happened since we met, without hiding anything about Filolia’s rebirth or other potential crimes. Everyone in this village seemed to trust Mamoru implicitly.

“I see. From the future, you say,” the elder lizard man said, looking over at me. “I am Seidohl. I’m the elder of the tribe that received these lands from the original Shield Hero and Bow Hero, the tribe that has protected them ever since. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“I’m Naofumi Iwatani—like I said before. This is a pacifier from the future, Raphtalia,” I said. Melty, Ruft, Rat, and S’yne then introduced themselves as well.

“I’m so happy you told us your name right away,” Raphtalia said, as sensitive about names as always. “If you don’t let Mr. Naofumi know what to call you, he’ll end up giving you a funny nickname.”

“I see. And what were you calling me, might I ask? It would make me happy to know,” the elder said.

“Elder lizard man,” I replied promptly.

“A little obvious,” Mamoru jibed.

“Shut it. Can we get to the point?” I said.

“So you already have a technique that can defeat those who are causing the waves. That makes me very happy,” the elder said.

“That’s a good thing, for sure. But now that things have turned against Piensa, they’re coming to take this place. A small elite force is expected to mount an attack, so we came to check everything out,” I explained.

“The sanctuary is an important place for us and the ruins of a once great city. It’s easy to imagine what this hostile nation desires from it, but I’m not sure it will turn the tide for them,” Seidohl said, his hand on his chin as he pondered the situation. “Very well. Accompanied by one with such a powerful Shield Hero presence, I can permit your entry into the sanctuary.”

“Thank you so much,” Mamoru said. In the future, Fitoria would be managing these ruins. The Lost Woods grown up around them. It had all sorts of ways to stop people from getting inside; I wondered if that was the same in this time period.

“Allow me to show you the way,” the elder said.

“Thank you,” I said. We finished our brief discussion and headed toward the outskirts of the sanctuary proper.

As we headed toward the sanctuary, I took the opportunity to look myself over carefully.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Naofumi?” Raphtalia asked.

“Is my ‘presence’ really so obvious?” I asked. Atla had always seemed to be able to sense something, and now it extended to Cian, these lizard men, and even the weasel demi-humans. I had almost been completely mistaken for Mamoru. In fact, they had treated him like he was a cut-rate version of me!

“Well . . . yes, it kind of is,” Raphtalia admitted. “There’s a strange feeling about you. In the beginning, I was frightened of it, but with the passage of time, I’ve come to find it almost . . . appealing.”

“I see,” I replied. It sounded like Raphtalia could feel something as well.

“Fohl has talked about it,” Raphtalia continued. “How he felt something strange about you when he first met you. I think Atla was also pretty aware of it too.” It sounded like the blessing of the shield made a good impression on demi-humans and therianthropes.

“I have to admit, faced with all this, I do feel like you’ve got one over on me, Naofumi,” Mamoru said. I wondered—not for the first time—why we two Shield Heroes were so different. Mamoru could attack things! He was the better option in many ways!

“How do you feel to have me, with my jokes and making light of the role of a hero, come off more like a hero than you?” I asked sardonically.

“More jokes,” Mamoru said, shaking his head. “I don’t always like the things you say, but this is surely because you’ve got more experience than me—and you have met all sorts of other heroes.”

“We do have two more holy weapons than you,” I said. I’d struggled with resolving all the issues relating to those, including involving Ren. Counting all of those experiences . . . maybe that would make my presence more pronounced than Mamoru’s. It might also have something to do with me holding the mirror vassal weapon. I was one and a half times a normal hero, which did make me feel a little superior.

Now I was starting to sound like Takt. The less of that the better. Being “superior” also seemed to get me into a lot more trouble.

“You think that’s what all this is about?” Mamoru questioned me. “I see you as keen on tackling every problem and working hard for the sake of those who believe in you.”

“You’re starting to sound like Ren,” I chided him. “You’ve got a pretty big following yourself. That’s what I consider a hero.”

“Did you call?” Ren asked. He had been talking to Eclair—no surprise there.

“No, nothing to worry about. I was just saying that flattery will get you nowhere with me,” I said.

“It wasn’t intended as flattery,” Mamoru protested.

“Anyone who mocks you must pay the price, regardless of the cost. Nothing makes you feel better than landing that finishing blow, trust me!” I said.

“Mr. Naofumi, please control your face!” Raphtalia cut in from the side. That was easier said than done. We had faced more than our fair share of annoying punks in the future. At least they seemed to be keeping a low profile here in the past.

“Things might be better here than in the future,” I admitted. They didn’t have to deal with records from the past being completely wiped out for one thing. The people still seemed pretty smart and capable.

“I’m not sure I like where this is going. You make it sound like our hard work is meaningless,” Mamoru said, furrowing his brow.

“It’s not meaningless. You’ll lay the foundations for things that still exist in our time. But also, like Holn said, nothing lasts forever,” I replied. It was best not to let him sink into total despair. We needed him to stay on task after we were gone.

“Wise words,” Holn said. “Everything will fade with the passage of time.”

“Sure, but I still can’t agree with enjoying destroying my enemies,” Mamoru said.

“That’s the better way to be,” Raphtalia said sympathetically. “We have so much trouble with Mr. Naofumi in that area.” I didn’t care if they understood me or not.

“Even a little kid knows not to do to other people something they wouldn’t like to be done to themselves. I like to take people who haven’t learned this lesson and put them through the wringer and then laugh when they complain about it. If they aren’t prepared to potentially suffer something, then they shouldn’t do it in the first place,” I said. It was their fault for doing things they weren’t prepared to suffer for themselves. Most of them were unable to accept it, of course, and howled like whipped dogs.

“Ren. You loved it when Bitch died that time, right?” I asked, looking for some support.

“Yeah.” Ren nodded. “I guess I understand that much.” Talking about Bitch made Ren’s eyes cloud over. He hadn’t completely overcome all that yet.

“I wish she’d done us all a favor and died for good,” I added. She needed to pay for everything she’d done. Seeing as we knew she would come back . . . even though we didn’t know where the respawn point would be, I’d love to be able to camp it. Just kill her the moment she came back—as slowly as possible, of course. Her other victims, like Lyno, would be satisfied with that too.

“Enough talk like that, Mr. Naofumi,” Raphtalia said.

“You think?” I asked. I found it lots of fun to daydream about.

“I do. Your heroic presence will become more and more clouded if you continue down this path,” Raphtalia warned.

“I don’t feel that happening,” I snarked back. I had every intention of fulfilling my duties as a hero, but I wasn’t buying into this “presence” thing. I wondered if life force could be used to contain it. Life force might even be what was causing it! I concentrated and tried to contain it.

“Mr. Naofumi, what’re you doing now?” Raphtalia asked.

“Trying to contain my life force,” I explained.

“I don’t think that’s going to change anything. It’s not related to that,” Raphtalia said. That left me wondering what I could possibly do.

“What do you think a ‘hero’ even is?” Ren asked, his eyes distant.

“Don’t ask me,” Mamoru said, in sync with Ren for a moment, his eyes looking the same and staring off at the same spot.

“What’s this?” I said hotly. “You think I’m dumb, do you? Motoyasu is the dumb one!”

“I’m not denying your characterization of Motoyasu, but just feeling how unfair the world can be . . . you are reliable, Naofumi, no doubt about that . . . but that’s something strange about you that I still can’t quite accept,” Ren said.

“You’re really starting to piss me off!” I raged. “We’re going to come back to this!”

“Mr. Naofumi, if you don’t stop playing the bad guy, people are going to start looking at you like, well . . . you’re actually a bad guy,” Raphtalia cautioned me with a look similar to the one the others were giving me. I wasn’t “playing” at anything! I cursed. I hadn’t done anything to make them look at me like this.

“Your attempts to play the bad guy have been self-destructing a lot recently,” Melty chipped in, turning back from the head of our column to glance at me. That was the last straw. I needed them to shut up!

“I think our Shield Hero does a great job of lightening the mood,” Ruft said, offering a counterpoint to Melty. “It makes him more approachable.”

“That might be true, but sometimes there’s a serious mood for a serious reason. He’s even been breaking out into slap stick recently, so I hear,” Melty commented. I had no recollection of that! It was starting to feel like everyone was ganging up on me. I decided to just keep my mouth shut. I continued to follow the others with my lips firmly sealed. We did encounter some monsters along the way, but nothing the current party couldn’t handle. I almost thought we would run into the predicted Piensa elite unit, but we didn’t see anything of the sort. Maybe we had beaten them here.

We reached the sanctuary without any real trouble.

It was definitely in ruins. There were rows of worn-down stone houses and a crumbling old castle beyond them. The Demon Dragon’s castle had nothing on this place. In our time this had all been swallowed by a sprawling forest, but in this time the plants hadn’t gained much of a foothold yet.

I wondered where the spot we camped out was. The terrain was so different we’d probably never find it.

“What is here, anyway?” I asked. Piensa seemed to want this place, but I had no idea why. I couldn’t see much point to these ruins. It seemed like nothing more than a site of indigenous faith treasured by the people who lived here for pretty standard reasons. Melty and Mamoru made it sound like some kind of unknown power was still slumbering here, but I wasn’t seeing that yet.

“Piensa claims that weapons, magic, and power left by the heroes from the past still sleep here, but we’ve only ever found one thing,” Mamoru said. “We were also told not to really talk about it.”

“There might be something else, somewhere else here, that we haven’t found, but it’s just the one thing at the moment,” Holn said.

“The carriage vassal weapon,” I stated. It was an assumption based on what the past Heavenly Emperor had told me. Mamoru nodded, not hiding anything.

“If you know that much, no need to beat around the bush. Come on,” Mamoru said. He led us through the ruins, between the abandoned houses and through the bare remains of the castle—little more than walls marked out on the ground. We eventually arrived at what looked like nothing more than a pile of rubble. In one corner, though, the floor had a familiar-looking relief. It was like the one we had seen in the Ancient Labyrinth Library in Kizuna’s world. Mamoru pointed his shield at the relief, and the crystal in the center extended a beam of light. It seemed to be resonating with the gemstone in the shield. Then the floor rumbled open and stairs leading downward appeared.

“That’s quite the setup,” Melty breathed, impressed. It reminded me of the underwater temple at the Cal Mira islands.

We continued down the stairs that had appeared. They went pretty deep down into the earth. Raphtalia made some magical light that allowed us all to see.

“Why did this country end up like this?” Melty asked. “In our time it’s been completely forgotten, so perhaps you can shed some light on it for us.” She was very curious about the lost history of this world.

“They say it was wiped out in a single night by Suzaku. The creature appeared without any warning and attacked,” Mamoru said. I recalled that the Spirit Tortoise and other beasts in our time had appeared once and been sealed away. That meant they had caused damage at some point in the past. This country was one of those that had suffered. “The stories say the rulers here had become pretty corrupt. It’s even used as a cautionary folktale—purifying fire, that kind of stuff.”

“No matter the gold of the golden age, all things eventually fall . . .” Melty said. Siltvelt had done pretty well, considering what we knew from the future. The name of the nation had changed, but their descendants were still doing well back in our time. Mamoru had made a lasting difference.

“I think . . . we’re almost there,” Holn said. Then the end of the stairs came into view. Beyond that was what we were here for. It was a weapon buried in the same kind of stone plinth that we’d seen around the rest of the seven star weapons. The vassal weapon itself was shaped like a simple-looking chariot.

“This is the legendary carriage vassal weapon,” Mamoru said. His party, the lizard men and weasel demi-humans, all bowed their heads.

“I thought as much,” Melty murmured, taking in the carriage.

“You know who the holder of this vassal weapon is in the future, don’t you, Naofumi?” Mamoru asked.

“Yes. She’s stubborn about pretty much everything, so she didn’t tell us herself. So I wasn’t completely sure,” I replied.

“I see,” Mamoru said.

“It’s someone who’s also here in this time,” I continued. Mamoru and Holn both looked at me, clearly having finally worked it out themselves from that comment.

“It’s little old Fitoria, isn’t it?” Holn said. I nodded. “If you know that much, future Shield Hero, there’s something else we ought to tell you.”

“What?” I asked with some trepidation.

“There’s another reason why the filolials love to pull carriages,” Holn said. She had previously explained that they were monsters who had been created to help promote the flow of goods around Siltran. “Mamoru, can I go ahead?”

“Yes, why not? Naofumi and his friends can handle it. There’s no reason to keep it a secret,” Mamoru said. Holn turned back to me and continued.

“I’ve also told you that the carriage vassal weapon is a stubborn one, haven’t I?” Holn said.

“I do recall that,” I replied.

“Do you know which of the holy weapons—the shield or the bow—the carriage is affiliated with?” Holn asked. I hadn’t given it much thought. The reason for our insufficient power-up methods since arriving in this time was the differences between holy weapons and vassal weapons. The power-up methods that Ren’s sword could perform came from the sword, spear, projectile, staff, and gauntlets. Meanwhile, the power-up methods that Mamoru and my own shield could perform came from the shield, bow, claws, hammer, and whip. The remaining two were the axe and the carriage. The carriage was in front of us now. That meant the one affiliated with the sword or spear was the axe, which probably wasn’t even on this world at the moment.

“The shield holy weapon has the claws and hammer as its vassals. This is simply a little old fact, one that the pacifier should know too,” Holn said. I recalled that the demi-human nation of Siltvelt had been responsible for the claws, and the other demi-human nation of Shieldfreeden had held the hammer. They might have moved around depending on the time period, but this overall trend had to remain the same.

“Which means, by process of elimination, the bow’s vassal weapons are the whip and carriage,” I stated.

“That’s right. The holy and vassal weapons have formed up their own separate factions and cliques,” Holn said. The Shield Hero is with the claw and hammer heroes. Mamoru stood in the front, while Filolia raised the claws and Natalia her hammer. “I think the shield holy weapon selected these two as its vassals due to the synergy between them,” Holn explained. That made sense to me. Mamoru might have been Filolia’s superior, but he had to bow his head to Natalia. I wondered if the hammer was the vassal weapon that had poor compatibility with me. A shield was effective against cutting attacks from swords or claws but weak against opponents who used impact weapons—like a hammer. The damage might not be limited to the hand holding the shield either; I could see it being imparted inside the armor too.

“And what about the two types the bow holy weapon selected as vassals?” Holn asked. She sounded like a schoolteacher. The answer was the carriage—or, in this case, more like a battle chariot—and the whip. A whip was used for striking. I mainly had a negative image of it being used to hit animals like when a lion tamer used a whip to control the king of the beasts. The best thing about the whip was personal enhancement, which allowed the owner to not only enhance themselves but also those around them.

As for the carriage . . . it looked like a Roman chariot. It was a vehicle that allowed for fast transportation around the battlefield. I considered what it might mean to add the Bow Hero to that equation—the Whip Hero controlling the animal pulling the carriage while the Bow Hero fired arrows from the back. That would provide excellent mobility and overcome the issue of the Bow Hero having powerful attacks but preferring to stay out of close combat.

“That’s a pretty good combination,” I said.

“Indeed, it is,” Holn agreed. The carriage was all about defense and movement. If needed, it could even be used to protect those riding it. “Which brings me to my point. This stubborn carriage vassal weapon placed an order with the whip vassal weapon.”

“An order for what?” I asked.

“A monster that was born to pull a carriage. And I presume you know what I created as my response to that order?” Holn said. The answer was the filolials—monsters created from Mamoru’s girlfriend. The filolials had stood out, even in the time period I was originally summoned to. There were no other monsters that took such pleasure from the simple act of pulling a carriage. There were other monsters that could do it, like dragons or caterpillands, but I hadn’t encountered any other monsters with that desire so embedded in their basic makeup.

The role of the whip vassal weapon was to control monsters and the carriage was pulled by something. That had led to the desire for a monster that could handle a carriage and love it.

“In the past, the carriage vassal weapon always selected monsters as its hero: a dragon, a griffon, or a pegasus . . . but do you think any of these could handle a carriage?” Holn asked.

“No, of course not,” I replied. “They would be better off dropping the carriage altogether and fighting on their own. But couldn’t you say the same thing about filolials?” I’d never seen Filo use a wagon or carriage to attack, that was for sure. She loved her own special wagon and wouldn’t dream of taking it into battle. Then I recalled that she had run down Motoyasu that one time.

“Let me change the question. Who do you think could make the best use of the carriage, its skills, its magic? Who could effectively use it to defend the hero?” Holn asked.

“No idea about that. I’ve never even seen a carriage skill . . . Oh no, wait, I have,” I corrected myself. Now that I thought about it, Fitoria had used something like that on the Spirit Tortoise during its rampage. Her carriage had increased in size to match Fitoria, turned all spiky, and slammed into the Spirit Tortoise. That had to be a skill. She had even shouted “Crash Charge.”

“I remember seeing her use at least one weapon. A battle wagon covered in spikes for ramming into the enemy,” Melty said, describing the same thing I’d seen. It was a ramming weapon with spikes arranged out in front and was pulled by multiple filolials into battle. The power of them charging together could cause a lot of damage. It had been used to break down doors during sieges.

“That’s the role it plays,” Holn said. “Even without the blessing of a hero, filolials have incredible strength when it comes to pulling things around. They might not handle precision so well, but they can be powerful even without having to be a filolial queen.” I’d seen Filo pulling a wagon loaded down with heavy cargo like it was as light as a feather. I’d been surprised that a single filolial could handle such a load, but she clearly had a bonus there based on her race. “To love all forms of carriage and sometimes use them as weapons is the kind of monster that the carriage vassal weapon desired from the whip vassal weapon.”

“This one sounds like a real narcissist,” I said, looking at the carriage again.

“I’m not denying that,” Holn replied. I kinda wished she had, but if it had asked for the creation of a monster that would love it, I guess she couldn’t. “Now, I want you all to think for a moment about what would have happened if the future Shield Hero and friends didn’t show up here,” Holn continued.

“Can we skip the thought experiment?” I asked.

“You have so little finesse, future Shield Hero. But okay. If Mamoru’s attempts to revive Filolia had been less than successful, what do you think he would have done next?” Holn asked. It still sounded like her quiz was continuing.

“Why don’t you ask Mamoru?” I said, a little testily. Holn took that graciously and looked over at Mamoru. His face clouded over and his eyes went distant.

“If I’d never met Naofumi, and had faced too much difficulty reviving Filolia, I think I might have wanted some consolation . . . a child with her,” Mamoru admitted. “Through further research of her blended soul.”

“I remember what the future Shield Hero and Melty said when they first saw Fitoria,” Holn said.

“Hold on!” I exclaimed, seeing where this was going.

“I think the difference between the future Fitoria and the Fitoria in this time is the volume of soul inside her. The future one includes material from both Mamoru’s and Filolia’s souls and is sent out into the world as their daughter,” Holn explained.

“So what’s Fitoria at the moment?” I asked.

“The most stable of receptacles . . . a soulless puppet. An artificial life-form that responds to only the most basic of questions,” Holn replied.

“The Fitoria at the moment is a familiar, right?” I confirmed.

“She doesn’t yet contain what you would consider self-awareness or a soul. But she’s in a state where she could in the future,” Holn explained.

“What about Raph-chan?” I wondered immediately. She seemed to be aware of herself and she answered any questions put to her.

“Your familiar comes from a different world from this one, doesn’t she?” Holn said.

“I can’t believe it . . . That’s the truth about Fitoria . . .” Melty breathed. Everyone present from my side was stunned by this new piece of information.

“I’m presuming his desire was to have her live as a hero and live the life that her departed mother couldn’t,” Holn guessed. She had been created to use the carriage vassal weapon and in Mamoru’s grief she’d taken on the role of his daughter. If that was Fitoria . . . then what a tragic fate she had. The future Fitoria had possessed the desire to fight for the world. I wondered if that had been implanted inside her too. Her feelings on the subject had been very intense. She had been willing to oppose the four holy heroes themselves for the sake of this world. “I think the reason filolials are in principle so happy and easygoing is because of the desire Mamoru had for his daughter to be that way.”

“But now . . .” Mamoru started, but then his eyes unfocused.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Fitoria is asking to be summoned here,” he replied.

“Does she know what’s going on around you? Like Raph-chan does for me?” I asked.

“Maybe. C’mon Fimonoa!” he said, shouting a skill like C’mon Raph. With that skill, he summoned the prototype Fitoria who suddenly appeared in front of us. She didn’t say anything. She just stared at Mamoru.

“Now that you’ve got Filolia back, Mamoru, you might not need to take things this far,” Holn said. Fitoria looked at her and then at Mamoru and then spoke.

“I’m becoming this because I want to. Because we were created by someone special,” she murmured. Then she spoke more loudly. “We haven’t been born yet.” With that, Fitoria touched the carriage vassal weapon . . . and nothing happened. It just sat there, unchanged, with no sign of accepting her as its holder.

“A large-scale change is required for the carriage vassal weapon to accept me. My proposal . . . Master, make me into your daughter . . .” Fitoria requested. Everyone fell silent at that. She had said “we haven’t been born yet.” When I messed around with Raph-chan’s stats, I had changed her a lot. That had resulted in Raph-chan changing the monsters in the village into the Raph species, which was still producing consequences today.

“I think . . . I might have come too far with this to go back,” Mamoru said, giving a deep sigh as he took in Fitoria’s request. “But I’d like to decide by discussing it with Filolia first. Would that be okay?”

“Answer accepted,” Fitoria replied, moving over close to Mamoru and then stopping.

“I’ve shown you the sanctuary,” Mamoru said, moving on. “In regard to what we need to do next . . .”

“Capture the unit from Piensa coming to infiltrate this place and obtain the carriage vassal weapon to make them give up completely. It also sounds like we might be able to use the carriage vassal weapon to cross over to the world of the sword and spear and get something there to help us get back to the future,” I stated.

“First I’m hearing about this!” Melty said.

“Do you know that shrine that’s a nest of filolials in the future? It’s likely that device Motoyasu activated there has something to do with all this,” I replied.

“Yes, that does sound like a possibility,” Ren agreed. “If it isn’t here in this world, it must be over in the other one.” It was a possibility worth investigating, that was for sure. The possibility of crossing to another world seemed unlikely, but we might be able to connect back to the future from the sword and spear world.

“First things first. We need to drag the ones behind Piensa into the open and take them out,” I said.

“That’s right,” Raphtalia agreed. “I think Mamoru is going to need some time as well. Let’s head back.” Everyone nodded at Raphtalia’s proposal and we left the carriage vassal weapon in its underground lair before returning to our village.