Ch 9

What the fuck was that Ryou!? Is everything else not enough for you people, now you are trying to get me killed?!"

In the total sum of his short life, Ryou had only been grabbed by the collar twice, and both times ended badly… The first for the other guy, the second, Ryou, and the other guy ended making a mess out of each other's face. This once, Ryou tried to resist the knee jerk reaction for a slight moment, however he failed miserably. Later he could have blamed the adrenaline still running in his system, yet that would be a lie… In reality this was something that had been brewing inside him since coming to this world, Naofumi's crap being the push that broke through the last wall. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the bridge, yet instead of hitting someones face, Ryou felt like he had just punched a concrete wall. However it had the desired effect, because the Shield Hero was forced to let him go, taking a few steps back almost falling backwards, immediately his hand flew to touch the abused cheek, now sporting a lovely red hue.

Ryou had honestly expect the Shield Hero to follow through, and launch himself at him, yet Naofumi just stood there looking at him in complete disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what had happened. Whether the disbelief was from the punch, or the fact that it hurt, Ryou didn't know, but at the moment he also didn't care.

"The fuck is wrong with you?! I just saved both your life, and Raphtalia's, yet the first thing you do is accuse me of trying to get you killed?!" Ryou snarled at the Shield Hero. Naofumi finally broke out of his reverie, throwing a nasty glare at Ryou, rubbing his cheek.

"It wouldn't be the first time you people try to screw me over!" He hissed, voice laced with venom.

Ryou straightened himself, and glared back. "Get the fuck over yourself Naofumi! I know this world is set in the Medieval Age, yet, I bet they have already found out that the sun doesn't rotate around the earth, but apparently you missed that one!"

"The hell is that suppose to mean?!" Naofumi demanded, taking a step towards Ryou.

Ryou also took a step towards Naofumi hardly intimidated, before deciding to elucidate the Shield Hero, firing back with the same amount of heat, "It means, that not everything is about you, you egocentric bastard! And guess what? Not everyone is out to make your life miserable, I for one have far to many things on my plate to even entertain the idea of screwing with you! Do you honestly think if, I wanted the both of you dead, I would have grabbed Raphtalia, and warned you?" Hearing that appeared to take at least some of the aggression from Naofumi, though he maintained the glare, and after a second he let out a sound of disdain.

"Even if that's the case, we were making quite the bit of progress, and you ruined it!" He complained still with a bit of heat.

"Ohh for god sake's, now you're just grasping at straws… Cry me a river, or two while you're at it will you. However if that's the problem, then excuse me, if the fact that, I was running for my life, ruined you're perfect day!" Now was Ryou's turn to scoff, finishing with heavy sarcasm. Naofumi apparently just wanted to be a douche for the sake of being one, and honestly Ryou was already at wits end, with the whole 'the world is bad, so I have the right to be a bastard to everyone's', routine.

"Why were you running in the first place? Aren't you one of the great three heroes?" Naofumi questioned after a second or two, with a mocking tone.

This guy! Ryou though bristling, before answering.

"Last I checked I'm not part of any secret group called the three great heroes, even calling us four Legendary heroes is a stretch as it is… So don't associate me with random things just to feed your martyrdom… But that aside, from my point of view you were also running quite fast weren't you?" Ryou fired back at the Shield Hero who looked indignant hearing the accusation.

"You stole the only thing, I have as a weapon you idiot!" Ryou gaped looking completely incredulous, and both his hands went flying to cover his face, before 'exploding'.

"Ohh my god… Are you actually listening to yourself! You're the idiot! Your weapon is a waist high little girl with a pocket knife! And just look at her! She's shaking more than a tree in the middle of a Hurricane! If you had stayed back there the both of you would have been turned to shreds!" Ryou shouted, and the poor demi-human girl was still very much afraid, although she had moved to stand at her master's side.

"Well perhaps it would have been better to stay back there! At least I wouldn't have to look at your stupid face, and listen to some half baked excuses!" Naofumi shouted back, and Ryou clench his fists, and teeth's.

Calm down Ryou, deep breaths... Take deep breaths, if you kill him, you will only screw yourself… Ryou thought, and after a few deep breaths he tried to forced his body to relax.

"You know what? Screw it! I can tell that the only thing you want to do here is vent your frustrations… Anything I say to you falls on deaf ears. But don't worry Naofumi next time something like this happens, I'll just grab Raphtalia, and leave you to be wolf food." Ryou finished, before turning his back, and walking away. Honestly he had actually liked Naofumi as a character, however his real counterpart was just as stupid as the other heroes, or even more so at this point. Just because the world was screwing with you, didn't gave you the right to be an ass to everyone.

"Excuse me Yuusha-sama…" The man that approached him was a guard, in a full suit of armor, just like all the others, yet the most defining characteristic was the absurd amount of facial hair he had. Honestly if you were going to work in the 'military' the least they could do was look the part, although the idea behind it was probably to look rugged, and intimidating.

"Yes..?" Ryou almost drawled, far to tired to deal with anymore drama.

"I couldn't help but to have overheard your "conversation", if you can call it that, however you mentioned wolves, did I hear that correctly?" The man almost seemed amused by the entire thing, before turning slightly more serious.

"Yes, you heard correctly we were chased by a pack of 'big ass' wolves, you can ask that idiot he also saw them." Ryou replied waving towards Naofumi. The guard sent a scathing look at the shield hero before coughing in his fist.

"Hmm well yes, but, I don't think I can take his testimony into consideration…" The knight said emphasizing Naofumi, who for some reason had approach him yet again, and was in hearing range if the murderous look towards the knight was anything to go by. It was probably shitty from Ryou to feel slightly satisfied hearing that, but at the moment at least in his mind, Naofumi deserved it.

"Yeah well than take mine in consideration, it was multiple wolves, 'big' ones..." Ryou emphasized the word big, because he was one hundred percent sure there wasn't anything like that in his old world.

"Hmm... That sounds like Mountain Dire Wolves, but that's impossible… In all my years as a knight, I never saw them coming down from the mountains, much less coming this close to town…" The knight explained, a hint of skepticism present that made Ryou huff in annoyance, the day had been a goddamn emotional roller coaster.

"Okay fine… I don't know if they were Dire Wolves, or whatever but here's what happened…" Ryou recounted the events from hunting in the forest, to the point where he reached the clearing where he found the blade.

"...and they came out of everywhere, from every side besides the direction, I had come from…"

"A trap?" Naofumi wondered out loud, and Ryou came to a stop. He hadn't connected it, but now that Naofumi had mentioned it, it did made sense, however…

" You accused me of telling 'half baked excuses' just a moment ago... So answer me this... Why are you still here, Naofumi?" The said hero just crossed his arms, before explaining himself.

"The wolves are still out there, and I want to know what I'm dealing with…" With a completely unimpressed look Ryou let a moment pass, before supplying.

"How prudent of you…" Ignoring the glare, that at this point might has well be permanent on Naofumi's face, Ryou looked slightly down in thought.

There was no other sound… Just silence, like everything nearby had been scared away…

The silence should have tipped him off, after all his gut had told him there was something wrong, yet Ryou ignored it, and then realization hit him. The wolves had been there from the start, they had laid a trap, and he felt for it.

"Since you mentioned it, it sounds plausible, the hand, the waiting, and then the ambush from all sides... They were hunting, and I was the prey…" Ryou concluded, realizing how lucky he had been, though his survival could also be credited to his agility, thinking back he had never been able to run that fast in his old world.

"I know wolves sometimes hunt in packs, but these ones sound a lot smarter... I didn't think they could mount such an elaborated trap…" Naofumi commented.

The knight took another side look at Naofumi, eyes narrowing again. "Yes, but the way you're describing it, it sounds like they were working together, Mountain Dire Wolves are solitary creatures from what, I heard…"

Ryou contemplated that, hand reaching for his chin, "Well they had a leader... I think…"

"A leader?" The knight asked incredulously.

"Well yeah, the normal ones reached up to my chest, but there was another one, on four legs he was taller than me…" Ryou explained suppressing a shiver, the goddamn monster had been honestly terrifying, like staring at a lion in the face, or muzzle.

Only difference was, this one was bigger then a lion, and was not in a cage...

"That sounds like a Great Dire Wolf, Yuusha-sama, but that only makes your story sound even more unbelievable, you see Great Dire Wolves are even worse than normal ones, they are far more vicious, even experienced adventurers would thread carefully around such a beast, and they would sooner eat the smaller ones, then hunt together, much less act as a leader..."

"Well, it was only for an instant, but it looked like it gave an order, and the others obeyed it..." Ryou implied, before recounting the rest of the events, from the strange protective behavior between them, to the wolves leading him into thinking he had been in the clear, to meeting Naofumi, and Raphtalia along with their mad dash to the gate.

"That's not like any other monsters I have seen, you're saying one of the wolves took the hit for another..?" Naofumi asked in clarification, and Ryou gave a nod.

"Yes, like it knew, I was going to finish it off, and got in the way to prevent it…" Ryou hesitated slightly, because the entire thing was still tripping him off.

"That, doesn't even sound like animal intelligence, it sounds like it moved to protect his pack mate, but with that, the trap, and making you think the left before attacking the moment you turn your back, that sounds like primates levels of intelligence, or worse…" Naofumi trailed off hesitating to finish his reasoning but Ryou had reached the same conclusion.

Almost like humans… And wasn't that a terrifying thought…But he couldn't measure this world by the same standards of his old one … Fitoria, and Filo had been monsters, yet they had also been quite human…

"It all sounds too unbelievable, but if its Yuusha-sama's word, then I have no option but to believe it." The knight stated ,nodding his head as if agreeing with himself.

How reasonable of you… Ryou thought in distaste. If it had been anyone else, reporting these events besides a noble, or the three heroes, the knight would have written it off as a fabricated story.

"Well, in any case, I will contact the adventurers guild, and the rest of the guards to see if anyone has gone missing in the area... I will also issue some patrols to search the forest, if they are this close to town, then it will be dangerous for merchants, and civilians to be out, and about. I bid you farewell Yuusha-sama, and thank you for your report, it will certainly help save a lot of lives... " The Knight finished with a bow, completely ignoring Naofumi.

"Well that's enough excitement for the day, lets go Raphtalia." The demi-human moved to follow her master, and was thankfully back to normal.

Ryou watched them go, before following in a slower pace. He had done his job, the rest was up to the knights, crossing paths with Naofumi, and Raphtalia had been an unexpected accident, so had been the following argument.

The four heroes have to work together... Fitoria's words, whispered in his mind. He couldn't remember all the details of her conversation with Naofumi in the story, but the message was clear... Things would only get worse, much worse probably beyond even what he knew was coming… Ryou already knew that much. If they were to have any chance of making it through the waves, they had to stand together, even if the other heroes, (Naofumi not included) would turn out useless for the most part, or in Motoyasu's case, just make things worse. However from his understanding the four legendary heroes were the beings in this world with the biggest amount of raw potential, so there was that. In the depths of his mind he also knew he would have to work together with Naofumi, and that included playing nice. But he had a very hard time following through.

He knew what had happened, and was still happening at this moment... Ryou had an idea of how much Naofumi suffered daily... He knew all of that, but there was just something aggravating about the Shield Hero. Not only was Naofumi condescending, he just refused to listen, preferring to lash out at everyone.

Ryou tried... He really did.. But every five seconds in his presence, the Shield Hero did something to piss him off, and he would go back to fighting the urge to strangle Naofumi, or at least introduce him to his fist once more.

Naofumi is fated to be the most competent of those three idiots, so eventually we will have to work together but that day won't be anytime soon, that's for sure…

Ryou would love nothing more than to stand on the side-lines, and let all the drama unfold without getting mixed in it, however that was just a pipe dream. This world wouldn't allow him that for sure, and if he had to pick a side, well...

There really isn't a choice is there... Hopefully with time Naofumi will chill a little, just like he's counterpart...

With that Ryou made his way into Castle Town surveying an establishment where he could get some food, lunch hour had long since pass after all…

After eating, and taking a breather, Ryou decided it was finally time to hit the magic store. Magic while it was something that made no scientific sense what-so-ever, still existed, and was a fundamental part of this world, as such it was something worth exploring. His recent brush with death had taught him something… His normal arrows were not going to cut it, and since he had yet to unlock anything resembling a combat ability, there was no other alternative but to look into magic to widen his arsenal.

Unfortunately his trip to the magic store, while informative, had proven to be almost useless in terms of acquiring new abilities. He had already theorized it, but it still brought his spirits down a little... Magic simply wasn't something he could chant, and 'bam', instant fireballs.

The way the old witch, owner of the store had explained magic was that it worked, by pulling on his own magic power or also known as MP, and make it do what you wanted. The process of making it do what you wanted, was made easier by using an incantation. He had potential to use magic, he knew that, both the fact that Naofumi had been able to cast spells in the story, and the fact that the old woman could sense it in him proved it. The main problem was something different…

How do I pull on something, I never knew existed… Ryou thought with annoyance.

Apparently someone attuned to magic, could feel it inside someone else, but Ryou had been pretty hopeless in that regard. The advice of the old woman had been for him to spend time with a magic user, and eventually he would develop a sense for it. However Ryou didn't knew anyone in Castle Town that could use magic, or at least no one he wanted to be involved with...The old woman had the store to run so she couldn't help him, and he wouldn't go to Aultcray to ask for a favor, the less he owed the man the better.

So it was a dead end in that regard, not even mentioning that, besides his lack of magical sense, most of the spells, and theory involving them were locked behind another wall… letters, and the alphabet… Most knowledge had been recorded in books written in Melromarc's language. There were apparently some items that allowed to cast spells, without needing any understanding, although from what the owner had explained, those would cast nothing more then a 'water-downed' version of the real thing, but as luck would have it they were sold out.

The only positive thing had been the fact that he learned his own affinities. The old witch had tested him, and turned out he had a strong affinity for lightning magic, with a small one for support magic. But even that had a downside to it... Lightning magic would be the hardest to learn, only second to illusion, and healing magic.

Departing from the magic shop, Ryou had been so deep in thought, he actually missed the figure standing a few meters away until it spoke.

"Hey it's Ryou! Still going solo, I see!" The annoying loud voice almost echoed in the streets, and Ryou couldn't stop the tired sign that came out.

First Naofumi… Then I almost get turned into shreds… Then Naofumi yet again… And now this… It's definitely one of those days, isn't it..?

Turning around he saw him, clad in red metallic armor, blond hair still in its ponytail with a wide smile, and spear on his shoulder.

"Motoyasu…" Ryou greeted inclining his head.

"Haven't seen you in a while Ryou, what have you been up too these few days?" The Spear Hero asked, and Ryou noted that he still carried his harem around, Malty included who was standing quite inside Motoyasu's personal space, if the guy even knew the definition of such a thing.

"Been around killing monsters, leveling up, getting gear, almost getting eaten by a wolf, things like that…" Ryou answered with a shrug, he decided to omit his meting with Naofumi for obvious reasons, one of those being the present company.

Motoyasu raised an eyebrow at that. "Almost getting eaten by a wolf? That's kind of lame isn't it..?" Ryou felt his face twitch in a bad way.

"In my defense it was bigger than you…" The eyes of the Spear Hero actually widened at that piece of additional information, before relenting.

"Okay slightly less lame… Actually never mind that, why didn't you come to the emergency meeting?! I know that you were informed of what Naofumi did!" Motoyasu demanded, and Ryou shrug again before turning to the side.

"Had better things to do, what Naofumi does, or doesn't do as nothing to do with me. He committed a crime, and the King handled it, my presence was hardly required." Ryou finished, and Motoyasu was looking like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, before gesturing towards Malty.

"He committed sexual assault! And your acting like it has nothing to do with you! Do you know what kind of horrors Myne suffered at his hand?"

No…But I do have an idea to what kind of horrors that idiot would love to inflict on her… Ryou thought with dark amusement looking at the mentioned woman. Up until that moment she had the same pleasant smile on her face, but the moment Motoyasu had mentioned the incident she immediately hugged her body, closing her eyes with lips quivering, and started shaking like a leaf.

Weren't you just the happy bee a few seconds ago, now you're a terribly traumatized victim? You my lady, would make a fortune in Hollywood…

"Motoyasu here's reality, this world isn't going to save itself. I'm suppose to be a hero, or whatever, not a jury or judge, I'll leave that to those who have the qualifications for it, they will do their job, and I'll do mine." Ryou answered, however most of his attention was on the first princess… How desperate could Motoyasu be to not notice this...? Ryou didn't even need his foreknowledge to be suspicious of her, just a little thinking, and observing had been enough.

Are… Are those actually tears in the corner of her eyes..? Ryou questioned not really believing what he was seeing. And indeed after hearing his response she actually started forming tears in her eyes.

"That's really cold of you Ryou…" Motoyasu commented disappointed.

"Sorry, but, I really didn't think my presence would have helped with anything…" Was his answer trying appear apologetic. There was no reason to get on Motoyasu's bad side, annoying, and a idiot he might be, but Ryou had no need for another enemy… There were already enough in the shadows as it was.

"I suppose you are right… Even so, as heroes we have to show our support to the people, and even if Naofumi's horrible actions were his own, we have to take responsibility if another hero screws up!" The Spear Hero exclaimed clenching his fist in front of himself.

Ryou almost choked in laughter, doubling over, even then an ugly snort escaped him. Ohh my god! The irony is just too much! The fact that Motoyasu actually said that, and truly believed it, only made the entire thing funnier.

"What?! Why are you laughing?!" Motoyasu demanded, and Ryou who had already cover his face with an arm, shook his head, and waved his hand.

"Its.. Its just... You really sounded like a hero just now..." Small miracle he had been able to keep a more or less straight tone while saying it. Motoyasu at least looked appeased, a smile returning to his face.

"Well of course! I am the Legendary Spear Hero you know!" Motoyasu declared proudly, slamming the bottom end of his spear into the ground to emphasize it.

More like the Legendary Idiot… This made his day slightly better, Motoyasu really was an air headed simpleton, there was no escaping that fate either in the story, or here it seemed.

"Motoyasu-sama… I don't feel so good, let's leave this place… It's giving me bad memories…" Malty finally made her voice heard, a whimper, and she actually looked distressed.

Motoyasu looked down at her with a worried look on his face, every inch of him the portrait of a knight in shining armor, he was just missing his horse.

Well there's Filo, but she's much more likely to send him flying then to let him ride her for sure… Oh Shit... Well that sounded really bad in his head… Horrible, and very disturbing. Shaking his head of anymore disgusting thoughts, before he traumatized himself with a mental image Ryou focused on the conversation before him.

"...that guy, one day he will have what's coming to him, mark my words Myne!" They were back to bad-mouthing Naofumi, so nothing of value was lost. Motoyasu looked at Ryou, his mouth set in a more serious frown.

"Sorry Ryou but we have to go…" He apologized, and Ryou inclined his head.

"Of course... I don't want Myne to feel any worse…" I should also pursue a career in acting one of these days… Even if his voice had come out far too sympathetic, completely forced, if one had been paying close attention.

The first princess took a peek at him, batting her eyelashes a small smile on her face, "Ahh, Ryou-sama is an understanding man after all…" She stated softly, voice honeyed, that almost made Ryou recoil, but he managed to send her a small shaky smile, and a nod.

Gahh! Don't praise me! I don't want your praise! I don't want your anything! What I want is you far, far away from me! Ryou shouted inside his head.

"Yeah even if he's slightly cold, and a bit weird, Ryou is a good guy, unlike that bastard.." The last part had a hint of venom in it but with that they finally bid each other goodbye.

When they were finally out of hearing range, Ryou released a snort, Motoyasu was an idiot but a really amusing guy. Ryou had thought, a reunion with one of his fellow heroes would degrade into an argument, like what had happen with Naofumi, yet the whole thing had been reasonably pleasant, lifting his mood a little

"Ahh... I'm surrounded by idiots on all sides, it seems…" Ryou commented out loud, earning him a few curious glances from the passing villagers.

Looking up at the sky, Ryou took a deep breath. He was still wary after his encounter with the Dire Wolves, but he couldn't let fear control him, he had to get out of his comfort zone, and go out there again, and again, or he wouldn't be able to survive.

With that in mind he decided to take the western exit this time, that would put him at least a few kilometers from where he had met the wolves.

The gates had been mostly deserted, something that he found strange, and decided to approach the stationed guard. Apparently according to the guard, the knight had done his job. Most of the other guards, and knights were scouting the eastern side, both hills, and forest in search of the wolves. Word had also gone out that a party of three adventurers had gone missing for two days now, their fate was now common knowledge thanks to Ryou's testimony, most of the other adventurers in town were also out there, hoping to avenge their fellow comrades.

That problem had really been taken from Ryou's hands, between the adventurers, and the knights, the wolves would be hunted down. He could go back to hunt monsters that were actually smaller than him. One day soon he would go against bigger, and far more dangerous things. Today however he would only take on monsters that couldn't tear off his head in a single bite.

A positive note, Ryou discovered, had been a level up, probably thanks to the monsters jumping into the river. He didn't realize it back then, far too busy running for his life.

Another positive point had been the increase in overall agility, that didn't just increased is movement speed. The help menu had explained it, however truly feeling it was a different story. Agility increased everything, he could now take aim, and fire faster, not an amazing difference but definitely noticeable. Even his reaction speed had increased.

The problem with leveling so close to Castle town was that killing Balloons was quickly outgrowing its efficiency, even when adding Usapils, and Mushes to the mix. Perhaps a trip to Lute village was in need, there were stronger monsters around, and not as deadly has the wolves… Well as long has he stayed clear from the mines that was.

Ryou had been ready to call it a day, after finishing another group of mushes. Looking up he saw ugly clouds gathering in the sky, and the wind was picking up, no doubt a storm in forming stages. Ryou didn't want to be caught in a storm while in the forest, not when he had a cozy Inn to take refuge in.

Making his way in the direction he thought Melromarc's Capital was located, he climbed a slope that stretched higher then the trees just to make sure he was in the right direction. His Mini-Map ability was amazing inside Castle Town, especially with the ability to bookmark stuff… Out in the wilderness however, it was completely useless having a very limited zoom out option, it hardly showed any details

At the very least it could have the bookmarks on the borders of the map… That would help…

After getting to the top that ended in an almost straight decline, he saw Castle town in the distance, covered in shadows because of the clouds. Looking at Castle Town Ryou thoughts begun to wonder.

I really should look into getting a party member… Honestly, now that Naofumi had Raphtalia with him it would be mostly safe to go to Slave Owner. The foremost reason Ryou avoided the place, was Raphtalia, herself… He couldn't trust himself not to grab her on sight…

With Naofumi being a dick, and with the way he treats her, maybe it would have been kinder… Well what was done was done. There was another reason however… Almost nobody would bat an eye, if he had a slave with him, but Motoyasu was sure to throw an hissy fit if he knew…

Besides what are the chances that I would even get one, half as good as Raphtalia anyway… Ryou was under no illusion that any slave he got would be as strong, and as loyal has the raccoon girl…

And I can't even begin to imagine myself forcing that loyalty into them… Especially if they are children... Waves or not, there are limits one should not cross...

A small drop of water hit his nose, startling Ryou, who raised his hand, watching the small drops hitting his glove, however something else on the corner of his vision caught his attention. Looking into the mini-map, eyes narrowing slightly, he saw a big red dot appearing near the border of the map, slowly getting closer to his position.

Turning around, Ryou's body froze almost in middle movement, mouth opening, and eyes widening in shock, he took in the sight before him.

At the base of the incline, slitted blue eyes were locked on his person, and a snarl could be heard over the sound of the rain that was rapidly turning into a storm. The colossal wolf gave one step forward, and Ryou gave one backwards, but caught himself in time, his foot meting the end of the slope. Looking down, it was almost a straight fall, deep enough that if it didn't kill him it would certainly break a lot of bones.

The creature had now advanced a couple of meters, slowly making its way towards him, and Ryou could only look almost frozen solid at almost literal death given a physical form, that was inevitably coming for him.