Chapter 81

Xiao Ming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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When Xiao Ming went to the Dragon Carved Hourglass, the receptionist sister had been replaced by a soldier.

"Where is the sister who was here?"

"She is a member of the Three Brave Sect, so we took her away."

Ah, they are still in the process of labeling her as a criminal.

Well, she was a frustrating person. Serves her right.

"So? How do I level up my class?"

"First, please tell me who you want to level up."

Following the queen's words, I looked at Raphatalia and Filo, who I wanted to level up. I used to think it was impossible to level up here, but you never know what might happen.

"Okay! I want to level up Filo first!"

Filo raised her hand, eager to level up first. When I looked at Raphatalia, she nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll level up Filo first."

"Yay!"

"Go for it, Filo!"

Filo, in her humanoid form, walked up to the front.

"Please assume a comfortable position and touch the Dragon Carved Hourglass, focusing your mind."

"Like this?"

Filo transformed back into her monster form and slowly touched the Dragon Carved Hourglass. For a moment, the sand where Filo touched it shimmered like ripples.

"I will now perform the class-up ceremony."

Following the queen's instructions, the soldiers surrounded the hourglass and poured a liquid into the grooves on the floor, which resembled a magic circle.

"Huh? Can you hear something?"

Filo strained her ears.

"Focus."

"Okay."

Filo slowly closed her eyes and spread her hands. The hourglass emitted a faint light, which spread through the magic circle on the floor. Filo stood at the center, enveloped by the light.

"Please choose the potential of your future self."

"Ah, I can see something."

With her eyes closed, Filo murmured. At that moment, a deformed icon of Filo appeared in my vision, and a tree-like structure of possible transformations appeared.

"Is this a tamed monster? Please choose, Mr. Iwatani."

"Ah, so that's possible."

Various possibilities for Filo's transformation appeared in my vision. However,

"This is something Filo should choose herself. It's not right for me to choose."

When I chose to reject, an option appeared asking if I wanted the monster itself to choose, so I confirmed it.

"Wow, I can see so many things."

It seems I can see them first. It must be due to the influence of the monster crest.

"Which one should I choose...?"

Filo closed her eyes and happily chose her potential. I could have chosen, but Filo's life is hers to decide.

Right. I should tell Raphatalia too.

"Raphatalia, just like with Filo, I want you to choose your own path so that even if the waves end and I return to my original world, everything will be fine. Is that okay?"

"Whatever future you choose for me would have been fine..."

"No, it's not."

"...I understand."

Raphatalia muttered, seemingly dissatisfied.

If I decide for her and she ends up regretting it, it would be the hardest thing for me.

Because I trust her, I want her to make these decisions herself.

Well, what will Filo choose?

As I was thinking this, the ahoge on Filo's head began to glow.

"Huh?"

The light suddenly intensified and flashed.

For a moment, my eyes were blinded.

Blinking repeatedly, I looked at Filo. There was no significant change in her appearance, except that her ahoge had become a bit more luxurious, almost like a mini-crown.

"It seems the class-up was successful."

"Really?"

I checked her status. The stars were gone, and her stats had increased by nearly double on average.

This is quite impressive, isn't it?

"Filo, you're amazing!"

Melti was overjoyed that Filo had become stronger.

However, Filo walked over with a somewhat awkward expression.

"Um... I couldn't choose anything..."

Filo squeezed out, on the verge of tears.

"What happened?"

"I wanted to be able to spit poison, but something else was chosen without my input."

"I saw your ahoge glow."

"Ugh..."

Melti tried to comfort the dejected Filo.

"Then, next is Raphatalia."

"Y-Yes."

I have a bad feeling, but we have to start somewhere.

Raphatalia touched the hourglass just like Filo. The soldiers poured the liquid, and the magic circle on the floor glowed faintly.

Again, an icon appeared in my vision.

I was about to press the reject button—

At that moment, Filo's ahoge split into two, and one of them flew into my vision.

"Whoa!? What is this!? A bird!?"

"It's not Filo!"

Not Filo! So, this ahoge is acting independently!?

Raphatalia opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

"Mr. Iwatani!?"

The ahoge that had merged into my vision revealed a possibility in a non-existent area.

The light from it flew through me to Raphatalia.

"Ah!?"

Raphatalia screamed.

Then it flashed.

Smoke billowed. It was a bit different from Filo's.

The smoke cleared...

There, Raphatalia was coughing and looking at me. Her hair seemed to have changed to a more vivid color, but...

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, but..."

What happened?

Worried, I checked Raphatalia's status.

...Like Filo, the stars were gone, and her abilities had increased by nearly double.

"What did you become?"

"I don't know. It felt like it was chosen for me... I had a bad feeling, but it seems there's no problem."

"Right, that's good... But why did it choose for you?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"Um, Filo's ahoge..."

Melti used gestures to explain the Filo Real Queen to the queen.

"Is that so? I would have liked to meet the Filo Real Queen too."

"That's not the point."

Is the queen's hobby the pursuit of legends?

No, no, that's not the issue right now.

"What's going on? I was worried that I might be labeled as a pervert, but nothing like that happened!"

"Yes, I felt like I might become smaller, but nothing like that happened!"

"Master, what are you talking about?"

What I meant was that I felt like some kind of injustice might occur in the world...

In any case, it's good that nothing happened.

It seems my luck has finally turned, and nothing bad happened.

"...Don't worry about it. How do you both feel?"

"I feel like I have more strength in my body."

"Good, that's good... But..."

"The Filo Real Queen's feather... I don't know what it means, but once chosen, it can't be changed."

The queen said regretfully.

"Apparently, during class-up, specific tools can be used to add special changes. Hopefully, something good will happen."

"Ah..."

"How much did your abilities increase?"

"About double on average."

"Double on average!?"

The queen was surprised.

Maybe it's better than usual.

It must be because the Filo Real Queen's feather was used as a medium. It's nice that the growth rate is high.

"Normally, a 1.5x increase in one area is considered good. So, you've become stronger overall."

"Wow, that's true. It's a good thing."

However, both of them looked a bit disappointed.

I can understand their feelings.

Class-up—common in games, but it's good that you can choose yourself.

"Well... do your best."

"Ugh... I feel a bit sad."

"Filo too."

"Cheer up, Filo."

The somewhat awkward class-up ended like this.

"Next is the contract."

The queen showed me a parchment with the contract details.

"Please read it."

"Okay..."

I read the contract.

1. If the Shield Hero is harmed, the country will do its best to prevent it.

2. The country will assist the Shield Hero in preparing for the waves.

3. The country will provide various privileges to the Shield Hero.

4. The country will not demand a price from the Shield Hero except for fighting in the waves.

5. If the contract is broken, the country alone will be held responsible.

In summary, the contract is quite favorable to me.

I carefully checked multiple times to ensure there were no hidden meanings, wordplay, or lies.

While it might be a bit too favorable, I even checked for diagonal, vertical, and reverse readings, but found nothing unusual.

"Well, that's about it."

"Then, please sign with your blood."

I lightly pricked my finger with a knife, wrote my name, and pressed it onto the parchment, leaving a blood mark.

The queen did the same, and the contract parchment began to glow on the magic circle.

The light faded, and a golden bracelet wrapped around the queen's hand.

"This will punish me if the contract is broken. Please understand."

"Understood. This means we can officially receive assistance, right?"

"Yes."

I felt relieved...

But still,

"I still think the personnel exchange is a bad idea..."

"Please consider it carefully."

The queen answered, addressing my concerns.

"Huh?"

"If it goes well, it can replenish Mr. Iwatani's personnel."

"Ah... So that was the intention."

This is not only an opportunity for me and the heroes but also for their companions.

"The Shield Hero is no longer considered evil. Some of the companions might be dissatisfied with their heroes."

"Still... Based on the first day's response..."

I can still complain that no one came to me.

Raphatalia and Filo are bound as slaves, so they won't be taken away, even if they don't want to.

"Mr. Iwatani might not have noticed, but the companions of the other heroes have changed. So, I think it's not a bad idea to try."

"Changed? Who with who?"

"Each of the other heroes. There are differences in personality, but they are somewhat different from the initial setup."

I haven't been paying much attention to the other heroes' companions, so I didn't notice.

They are just the companions of the other heroes, after all, and they are rather quiet.

For example, the man who was with Motokazu is gone.

At the time, I thought he was hiding and waiting for an opportunity, but he never showed up.

Well, being part of Motokazu's harem party must be a mental hell for a man.

It also seems that the number of personnel for each hero has increased overall.

Right, if you think about it normally, there might be people who join during the journey.

Adventurers, knights, mages, or even villagers with talent might join.

It's a common trope in my favorite manga and light novels.

I see. Having only slaves like me is considered the wrong way.

It's quite...

"...Sigh. I understand."

"Mr. Iwatani's character might attract people who want to follow him."

"I only trust those who can absolutely obey me."

"Oh? But you and Melti have built a good relationship, haven't you?"

Melti's face turned red and she trembled, trying to endure the humiliation.

"It was only because she would die if she didn't follow me. Filo is my best friend, but she doesn't respect me."

"U-Um!"

She nodded vigorously. So, Melti also didn't like me.

"It doesn't seem that way to me."

"Mother!"

The queen smiled warmly, which was a bit strange.

"Ugh..."

Raphatalia pouted slightly, and I noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"Hmm?"

Filo and I tilted our heads in confusion.

"Well, it's fine. We've finished what we needed to do, so let's get going."

We left the building with the Dragon Carved Hourglass, and I signaled for departure.

"I'll have various rewards prepared when you return, so look forward to it."

"Rewards? What kind of rewards?"

"Mr. Iwatani, would you prefer a crystal ball or a book to learn magic?"

Ah, that's an option.

Hmm... I might be able to request other things too.

"A crystal ball can help you learn faster, but it has power limitations. A book takes longer to learn from, but it has more power."

"Those effects are..."

I remember reading about the basics in the magic book. Books have more advantages, like adjusting power and conserving mana.

Of course, considering the time it takes to learn, there are pros and cons.

We are not in a game, but our time is limited. If we think about efficiently strengthening ourselves within that time, learning magic from a crystal ball might not be a bad choice.

However, based on the other heroes' reactions, it seems I'm the only one who can read the language of this world.

That might be an important advantage.

"A crystal ball would be good for Mr. Iwatani."

"No, I can read a bit of this world's language. If there's someone who can teach me properly, I prefer a book."

"Understood. I'll arrange it."

"Also, can you help with equipment procurement?"

"It's possible to request from the weapon shops in our country, but..."

I haven't visited the weapon shop owner yet.

If there's a good environment for obtaining materials, it might be a good idea to request materials after returning from Carmilla Island.

"For now, prepare some suitable materials and weapons. I need armor, and my subordinates need swords, armor, and claws."

"Understood. Safe travels."

"Naofumi, Filo, Raphatalia, good luck! Safe travels!"

Thus, we parted ways with the queen and her people, got into the carriage, and hurried to the town where the ship to Carmilla Island was waiting.

According to the survey results, Raphatalia received the majority of the votes and became an adult.

Good for both of you. No trials occurred.