FanFiction
Just In
Community
Forum

More
Wandering of a Sword Hero by A Dyslexic Writer
 Fate/stay night & Rising of the Shield Hero/盾の勇者の成り上がり Xover Rated: M, English, Shirō E., Firo, Words: 221k+, Favs: 7k+, Follows: 8k+, Published: Jan 27, 2019 Updated: Sep 22, 2019 8,517Chapter 24
Mirellia Q Melromarc watched the Hero of the Sword, trying to get a feel for the man. He seemed momentarily surprised at having seen her. Not the normal sort of nervous shock of having suddenly found oneself face to face with a powerful ruler of men. It seemed more of a bewildered expression.
"Queen? Hey Master, is this woman like Fitoria? Is she really powerful too? Is the reason she wants to see Firo to give Firo another crowning? Firo doesn't want that! Queens should just leave Firo's head alone! NO!" Now it was Mirellia's turn to be bewildered as the largest Filolial she had ever seen started to cry out and shake its head aback and forth.
"She really does talk! Oh wow!" Melty said, forgetting all of her lady-like manners and rushing forward to meet the Filolial. "You said your name is Firo, right? Please Firo, would you be my friend?"
A small smile entered the Queen's expression as she watched her daughter pure act as she reached into her pocket and pulled out some of the dried meats, she kept on hand for feeding Filolials.
It was hard to imagine that two people as manipulative as herself and her husband could produce such an open-hearted little girl. As much as the Queen hated to admit it, it was actually her first daughter that took after her parents. Though Malty had none of the sense of duty that kept her mother and father's scheming natures in check.
Or at least, Aultcray had used to put his duty and the good of the people before everything else. Now he was pointlessly tried to pursue some kind of vengeance against a man who had never commented any crime against him. Even when the Queen had sent him a letter, ordering him to stop his foolishness, he had claimed it was a fake and ripped it up. It was disappointing. Just another showing of how the man she had once loved was gone. He'd died twenty years ago, and his corpse had been slowly decomposing more and more ever since until she could hardly recognize what remained.
"Melty, how about you take Firo and her friends to their rooms. I need to speak with Fugimaru-sama." The Queen said.
"Fugimaru-sama?" The Sword Hero repeated, seeming confused for a moment before chuckling. "I forgot I said that when the King asked for my name. Sorry, but that is not actually my real name."
"…You gave a fake name at your introduction?" The Queen asked the man. He seemed to have recovered from whatever shock he had suffered when first entering the room.
"In the World I came from, there is a ritual called 'summon servant' which summons the soul of a powerful legend individual into physical form. Needless to say, to selfishly summon such a being without a means of controlling it is considered suicide. When I was first summoned into this world, I assumed that people would attempt to bind me in the same way. For all I knew, there was a form of magic in this world that could enslave a man by knowing his true name. So I lied." The Hero of the Sword informed her. "If you wish to keep calling me Fugimaru Issei, that is fine, though my real name is Emiya Shirou. I've found out that Heroes can't be bond by contracts in this world, so there is no harm in telling you."
"I see, so your name as a mercenary is your true one." The Queen said thoughtfully. "Because of your actions in Siltvelt, it might be beneficial to us to expose your mercenary identity to the delegates. However, I doubt that they will reveal it to the general population. They have yet to admit to the fact that the Sword Hero was ever present in Siltvelt at all. However, if you desire to keep your identity secret, I will respect those wishes."
"Whatever needs to be done to avoid unnecessary conflict is fine. However, I would like to make a request about tonight's sleeping arrangements and just have a single large room for my party." Emiya requested. The Queen's mouth twitched into a smile as she looked over the two pretty girls and the bird, who was said to possess the ability to turn into a young girl herself. Well, great men have great desires, she supposed. "Don't give me that look. It isn't about anything like that, so get your mind out of the gutter."
"Oh, if not for that, then why do would wish to only have a single room." The Queen asked, rather curious.
"We are in unknown territory without the means to defend ourselves in our sleep. I have to consider my charges saf…" Emiya started to say before the Kitsune girl, Rita, clapped her hands over his mouth.
"Sensei, you can't say that to the Queen!" The girl hissed in the man's ear.
"If that is how you feel, it can be arranged." The Queen said. After a few instructions, Melty and the other girls went further into the building to find their room, while the Queen, her Shadow, and Emiya moved to the Queen's temporary office study.
There was a bit of alarm from the guards when Emiya pulled a sword out of nowhere and handed it to Rita, telling the girl to be on guard against any intruder, even if it looks like him, until he proves his identity. The girl seemed worried about how open her teacher was being about his paranoia but seemed to be used to the instruction.
"Thank you for being accommodating for my cautious behavior." Emiya said as they moved behind closed doors.
"It's fine. Given what happened to Iwatani-sama, I cannot blame you for any amount of distrust you have for my family. I hope you will believe me though when I say that I had nothing to do with it, that I have done everything I can to mitigate the damage, and that I fully intent to make emends as soon as the threat of war is over." The Queen said with a short nod. She suspected that earning the man's trust would be an uphill battle.
"If I didn't trust in your intention here, I would be on the other side of the continent by now, with a new face, name, age, and occupation, and new identities for my companions as well." Emiya said with a shake of his head. "I interrogated Yami in such a way that there was no way that she could have misled me. Unless you have been lying to your own Shadows, I know that you are indeed trying to stabilize the political situation, and that you weren't involved in or covering for your daughter's crimes. That said, you are a politician, and therefore twofaced by nature. Some leaders would take hostages to force my compliance if they were in your shoes. While the kids are strong, they are still vulnerable."
Yami? She wasn't aware that the Shadow's name was Yami. She didn't even know that Shadows had names.
The Queen glanced at Yami who fidgeted ever so slightly at the mention of her interrogation. It had taken a good deal of convincing to get the woman to accept that it wasn't her fault, and that it even had been beneficial to the Queen more than harmful.
"Then I should be grateful for this one's high opinion of me, since it has managed to win me a foot in the door." The Queen said with a grateful smile. Emiya's face shifted uncomfortably at the smile before settling on a serious expression.
"Let's get down to business. You are going to be bargaining away my assistance. How are we playing this, negotiating from a position of power, damage control, or the 'get your priorities straight' talk?" Emiya asked, folding his arms in front of him.
"Damage control. Empty threats won't work when the people we are meeting with are being pressed from behind by their own populous. If given the choice between the sword in front or the sword behind, most choose the one that seems the most heroic, no matter how damaging. As for priorities, many among those still vocal against us are religious extremist who worship the Shield Hero. They don't consider anything to be of a higher priority than him." The Queen said calmly. "The meeting tomorrow morning will be discussing the progress made by the Shield Hero. So far, Siltvelt is boasting about how it was their man who assisted him. However, if you reveal yourself and calm to have been working for us, it will take the wind out of their sails and support the image that we are doing everything we can to make sure that Iwatani-sama doesn't fall behind, while still luring out the dissident factions."
"Anyone who would recognize me there?" Emiya asked.
"Your general description was circulated. But no." The Queen admitted. "Though if you would bring your companions with you, there would be nothing they could do to deny who you are. They each have what could be said to be a one of a kind appearance."
Emiya's half grunted, showing that he didn't enjoy the idea of bringing his companions into the vipers' den, but he nodded his consent.
"Alright, we will go over each of the delegates in attendance individually and cover their mentality, the factions which back them, their stance on Melromarc and their agendas in relation to the summoned heroes." The Queen said, finally taking a seat and bring out some paper. She then paused. "Are you able to read our language as of yet?"
"…I'm rather slow, but I've been practicing." Emiya admitted.
"Good, it will make this easier. Sh…Yami, how about getting us some tea. This could take a while." The Queen said, smiling slightly.
"Just how many delegates are there?" Emiya asked, sounding a bit concerned.
"Just twenty." The Queen told him, as if it was no big deal. "If we start now, we should be done in around three hours."
The Sword Hero flinched, and then sighed. "I hate politics."
Rita sat at the small table in the room provided for the party, trying to read a book on magic by the candlelight. She couldn't help but to be nervous. Her Sensei had been gone a while. He had placed her in charge of watching over Firo and Azu, and so while the other two girls had gone to sleep, Rita stayed awake, waiting for Shirou to return.
Strangely enough, Princess Melty had decided to stay in the room with them and spent nearly an hour talking to and trying to groom Firo before they finally tired themselves out and went to sleep.
That girl seemed to love Filolials a little too much. Rita preferred not to think about what the Queen would think if she came in and saw her daughter squeezed into the same lion themed pajamas as Firo in her human form. Neither girl was wearing anything inside of it, as they complained that it would have been too hot if they did.
Yes, the princess was ten, and Firo was only a few months old, but it really seemed as though they should have understood that they shouldn't be doing this. Rita had tried to explain to them why such a thing was different than sharing a bed while clothed, but Firo didn't seem to get it and Melty just wanted to sleep with Firo and won't listen.
When Rita heard footsteps in the hallway, she drew the sword she had been given and readied herself before the doorknob even started to turn. Even after seeing her sensei standing there, she didn't lower her weapon until he pulled a dagger with a large ruby in the pummel out of thin air, the signal that everything was all clear.
"What's kept you?" Rita asked as Shirou walked in and took a seat.
"I just received a crash course on all of global politics in preparation for an international meeting that will decide the future of the world. They won't about to skip out on the details." Shirou said with a tired sigh. "God, I wish Rin was here. She was better at dealing with these kinds of things than me."
"Rin?" Rita asked.
"Huh? Have I never mentioned her?" Shirou said, sounding a bit surprised. "Well, Rin is the one who pretty much taught me everything I know about how to use magecraft properly. She's also a genius when it comes to manipulation and politics. Gotten me through a few accidently scraps with big name people."
"So, she is your sensei… not your lover?" Rita couldn't stop herself from asking. She had wondered for a while if there was someone special waiting for him back home. He didn't talk about his home world much, as he was too busy helping her with weapons and magic or talking with her about the difference between right and wrong and how grey everything was. She knew that he had been involved in a disaster when he was young, and that he had a complicated relationship postmortem with his adopted father, but beyond that, Shirou's life was a mystery to her.
"…Ah… That's… complicated." Shirou said with a slight wince. "The truth is, I'm actually in a stable relationship with three women back home, and no I am not cheating. Everyone knows exactly what is going on."
"Yo…you have a… a harem?" Rita stuttered, a little shocked. While the idea of women desiring her sensei wasn't at all hard to believe, she hadn't really thought that her sensei was that kind of man. "I… I see. Well, great men have great desires, I suppose." She mumbled, starting to turn red.
"More like great women have great desires. Rin still jokingly insists that it is her harem, not mine." Shirou said with a small chuckle, though the laughter fell off into a hollow sound. "The four of us barely managed to weather a sort of war that nearly destroyed our world. After it was over, we were all together. We ended up seeing the worst parts of each of us during that war, as well as the best. Kind of felt natural that we would all be more than just friends."
"A war that nearly destroyed your world?" Rita said slowly. It did sound romantic… though wasn't it almost the exact same thing that was happening now? Rita fought down a blush at the thought. "So even before you were summoned, you were already a hero."
"…No. I really wasn't." Shirou said sadly. "I could never call myself a hero. In truth, I was closer to being a villain than a hero. I did something that no ally of justice would ever have done, and I will never regret it."
"You aren't a villain." Rita said harshly. She didn't get it. She didn't get why her sensei refused to identify himself as a hero. Why he claimed that even if people called him one, that they were wrong.
Just like all the other times, he smiled sadly and just shook his head. "I keep telling you, you can't be a pure and righteous hero unless you have nothing to lose. Everyone becomes a villain, if you threaten to take their world away from them. But being a villain isn't so bad. It's easier to live as a villain than as a hero. To fight without everything that is worth fighting for." He closed his eyes as Rita glared at him with a pout. "You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger. I refused to listen to myself at first too. It's why I'm worried about you. You'd understand better if I just told you about what happened during the war, about the choice I was forced to make."
"Why? What happened?" Rita asked.
"…It's a long story, and its late. You should get some sleep." Shirou told her.
Rita frowned. "No. If anyone should get some sleep, it's you. You're the one who has to face a room full of blood suckers tomorrow."
"We're all going to have to go." Shirou commented.
"Even if I go, I won't be expected to talk. You. Sleep. Now." Rita said, pointing to an unoccupied bed. "Either sleep or tell me your story. Which is it going to be?"
Shirou opened his mouth to object when something fell out of Jian's blue crystal orb. The small energy potion landed on the floor with the sound of a small marble falling, drawing the two's eyes.
"It seems Jian thinks that you should tell me now." Rita said, crossing her arms underneath her chest. She had learned that once the opinionated sword decided something, it was difficult for Shirou to talk her out of it. What Rita didn't know was that Jian was just as interested to hear the story as she was.
"Alright, you two win." Shirou said with a sigh, bringing the potion to his lips. The area effect of the potion caused by Jian's abilities rejuvenated Rita as well, making her feel like she had just woken up from a long rest. "Now... where do I even being? I suppose I should start by talking about the kind of people most of the magic users of my world are like. Those cutthroat and single-minded people who care about nothing but furthering their research, and don't care how many innocent lives are sacrificed in its pursuit. That's the reason it all happened. They were trying to rediscover a lost art, the Third True Magic, also known as the Heaven's Feel."
A legendary artifact containing an unbelievable lost magic power. Seven mages and the heroes they summoned to fight over it in a blooded war. The reunion of long-lost family. An evil warlock that threatened the lives of everyone by corrupting an innocent maiden. A young man who stepped up and risked it all to protect the people he cared about. A god of evil that lay in wait in order to take advantage of them all and destroy the world.
It was like the stories from fairy tales. The kind of thing told to children in order to inspire them. Only rather than the excited tones of the grandfather telling the story, there was instead Shirou's hollow voice as he recounted the events. Rather than being a story of a proud hero, it was a mortal man who understood the severity of what had been happening. Of the people who were dying without ever even knowing what was going on. Of insane, monstrous beings who stood above everyone else like gods. And of an impossible choice.
Risk the destruction of the world or kill someone you love.
Rita finally understood. Her sensei had made the choice to risk the lives of everyone in order to save the few people he held the most dear. While it sounded romantic, and like something someone from a fairy tale would do, it was not what a Hero of Justice would do. A Hero of Justice does not risk the lives of many just to save a few.
However, even though Shirou turned his back on his dream of being a Hero of Justice, he didn't regret it. Though many who knew what happened called him a mad fool, or even a monster for his choice, he still had the people he love, making their opinions no longer matter to him. Between him and Archer, he had been the much happier man, despite not having acted like a hero. Or rather, because he had chosen not to be a hero.
'Rin once said that the world is just another name for everything that matters. So in the end, I chose to save my world.'
The way he said it made Rita realize something. "Sensei, you hate this world, don't you?"
"…Hate is a rather strong word." Shirou said slowly, his eyes distant. "I understand it. I understand why I was summoned and why it's so important. I know that all the people on this planet are depending on me… But if someone had given me the option to return home, to be there for my sister and the rest of the people I love, I would have taken it in a heartbeat and worried about this world later."
An awkward silence followed before Rita's emotions bubbled up and she couldn't help but to ask what she knew was a cruel question. "And what about us? What about me and Firo and Aru. Don't we matter? Aren't we part of your world too!?"
"Rita… I…" Shirou hesitated, not able to find the words to say.
They were interrupted by a knock at the door that caused Shirou's hand to go to Jian. "Hero-sama, her Majesty wishes to inform you that it is time to begin preparations for today's meeting. Please gather your party and held to the entry hall. We will be preparing your breakfast shortly." A servant said from the other side of the doorway.
"Alright, we will be there shortly!" Shirou declared, getting up from the table. He glanced down at Rita who was still looking up at him with pleading eyes. "Don't ever think that I don't care about you all. Some choices are just harder than others to make." He said, his voice barely more than a whisper, not able to meet her eyes.
"Thank you all for coming. Let us see if we cannot move these debates along to a more productive resolution for everyone." The diplomat from Faubley said in a tone that Shirou could only describe as wheezily. Unlike the rest of the people present, this man was not a ruler of any kind, nor was Faubley the host country, and yet he was still acting as the 'Speaker' for those present. Just went to show just how much influence Faubley had.
The country was widely regarded as the strongest in the world and was considered particularly cutthroat even by the normal standards of medieval politics. This particular man earned his position by having murdered the previous two chief ambassadors, though nothing was proven.
While Faubley had not been particularly affected by Melromarc summoning the four heroes, the ambassador wasn't about to let them get away with it. Less because of indignation at the fact that they breached international treaty, and more because they wanted to see if they could get any kind of land settlement or favorable trade contract out of it.
Classic politician.
However, Faubley wasn't really pressing for war and the Queen had assured Shirou that she knew a way to make their King fold, if necessary. Though the way she said it made Shirou sure that it was something particularly unpleasant.
"Now, before we began, the Her Majesty, Mirellia Q Melromarc, Queen of Melromarc, has requested the right to introduce another party to our gathering." The man said, gesturing towards the Queen to give her the chance to speak. The Queen then in turn gave Shirou a signal to introduce himself.
She had situated him in such a way to draw as much attention as possible before his reveal, by having him wearing the same Hakuko disguise he wore in Siltvelt and sitting in the chair right next to her own, with his companions behind him, none of them hiding their real appearances at all. Like the Queen said, the girl's appearances were unique enough that most in the room seemed to have a good idea as to who they were from mere rumors. Then by having Shirou sitting right next to her, she gave the impression that the two of them were equals, further increasing the curiosity of the crowd.
"Thank you Speaker, for allowing me into this meeting. Allow me to introduce myself." Shirou said as he got up from his seat. He dismissed the long white and black wig with the animal ears, allowing it to disappear into flakes of light and revealing his much shorter red and white hair. He also changed Jian into her more standard and iconic form. There were even some gasps among those gathered as they recognized who Shirou was. "I am Emiya Shirou, the Hero of the Sword."
Rita isn't being a bitch pulling a low blow. She's 15 and an orphan. She's emotionally dependent on Shirou, so naturally she freaks at the thought that he will someday leave. How do you think you would react as a child if your parents told you that they might leave and never come back?
To save me from having to write it myself, I'm just pasting a comment from a guest.
Guest:"Have seen some comments questioning why the girls liked Naofumi. For those who have not read the light novel or web novel this is a very minor spoiler. All animals seem to like him. In his home world he talked about mean cats who clawed other kids for being close would allow him to pet them. Or as a younger kid a neighbors dog would let him ride on its back like a horse. In the new world animals/domestic monsters all like him. So no surprise a filoial or dragon seem to like him right away. Another character theorized that because Naofumi is the strongest defender of all, animals have a sense of security by him. No confirmation for sure on that last bit."
*Spoiler for the Web Novel, but funny (sort of)*
I'm not sure if they have this in the Light Novel, but in the Web Novel, Melty loses her virginity to Firo during the Spear of Lust IV incident. (Motoyasu, your perverted moron) With Naofumi's opinion on the matter being 'Better her than me.' (It was also said that they had already started practicing kissing each other before that, though that might have just been Firo licking people and counting that as kissing.)
*Spoiler for my story and not funny in the slightest.*
I think my interpretation of the Colosseum in this world is a bit darker than everyone else's. It is stated that the only way to gain experience points is to actually kill something, not just fight it. Meaning how do you think little 12 year old Fohr managed to become level 32 fighting in the Colosseum? Most of the fights aren't against captured monsters. If you assume that EXP gained from humans is a lot more potent than EXP from monsters, then it would explain why Fohr was such a high level at such a young age, as well as why Ren started trying to kill people for EXP when he went insane, and why there was the level 75 former gladiator slave when most knights seem to be around level 20.
How many of the other slaves do you think little Fohl had to kill in order to win his sister's medicine? Worse yet, the kid is a barehanded fighter, so he probably had to literally strangle the life out of his opponents.
« First « Prev Ch 24 of 50 Next »
 Review
Jump:Chapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35Chapter 36Chapter 37Chapter 38Chapter 39Chapter 40Chapter 41Chapter 42Chapter 43Chapter 44Chapter 45Chapter 46Chapter 47Chapter 48Chapter 49Chapter 50
Share: Email . Facebook . Twitter
Story: Follow FavoriteAuthor: Follow FavoriteContrast: Dark . Light
Font: Small . Medium . Large . XL
Desktop Mode . Twitter . Help . Sign Up . Cookies . Privacy . Terms of Service