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A bit of a longer chapter. That queen scares me.
The Queen
âMaster!?â
Firo holds me anxiously as I was covered in blood.\n
The shield changed to the Chimeric Viper Shield by itself.
âWhat horrible wounds! Someone! Help master!â
A woman who looks like the commander of the punitive force runs towards Firo who was calling for help.
âMother!?â
Melty exclaims in surprise towards the commander.\n
That reminds meâŚâŚ. The head of the punitive force looks like the person that was with Melty in the beginning.
I couldnât get a good look because of the fan though.
âYour efforts this time were quite amazing. Hero of the Shield-sama.â
It might be because of her that the pope was trapped.
âEverybody! Treatment for Hero of the Shield-sama is top priority! This is a royal order. We must save Hero of the shield-samaâs life Without fail !â\n
âââYes Maâam!âââ
The treatment team within the punitive force gathered around me and began chanting magic.
âDoraifa ăť Healâ
Light surrounds me.\n
HoweverâŚâŚThere is no sign of the pain receding.
âAr-are you cursed?âŚâŚ For it to be so strongâŚâŚâ
The treatment team cast de-curse magic with surprised expressions.\n
ButâŚâŚ It had no effect.
âDo a thorough examination! Everyone please hurry!â
The queen issues instructions to the treatment team and Firo follows hastily.
âUghâŚâŚâ
My whole body is screaming in pain. But I will not lose consciousness here.\n
Because I still do not know whether or not the queen is friend or foe.
âY-you are the queen?â\n
âYes, I am the queen of Melromark, Mirelia Q Melromark. Iâm sorry for helping so late.â\n
(Tl note: I have corrected Merlot Mark to Melromark and removed the = since they are just spaces.)\n
ââŚâŚYou were definitely slow.â
What does it matter.\n
Do you have power? Are you the true ruler of this country?\n
Do you even see the big picture behind this event?\n
there are a mountain of things I want to say.\n
My grudge towards her daughter and trash start to surface.
âReallyâŚâŚthis time was all my fault.â\n
âMotherâŚâŚâ\n
âMama, why are you apologizing to such a person!?â
When the bitch impeached, I could see a few veins appear on the queenâs smiling face.
âMaltyâŚâŚ Prepare yourself because there are a lot of things I need to say to you after we return to the castle.â
GogogoâŚâŚ. The air trembles.\n
Though Iâm not the one that this anger is directed at, a chill still runs up my spine.\n
With the snap of her finger a shadow appears behind the bitch and arrests her.
âWait mama!â\n
âSilence this fool at onceâ\n
âYes Maâam!â
The bitchâs mouth is covered by a cloth.
âW-What are you doing to Mein!?â\n
âI am MeinâŚâŚMaltyâs mother. By my authority, the fight between heroes is finished until we get back to the castle. Letâs return to Melromarc castle and rest.â
Motoyasu and the other heroes fall silent due to the queenâs aura of authority.
âNow then, Hero of the Shield-samaâŚâŚNo, Naofumi Iwatani-sama.Your treatment is our top priority, so please rest. Everything will be prepared immediately.â
The treatment team starts bringing out various magic tools, medicines, and holy water to use on me.\n
I feel like an emergency patient in an ambulance from my world.
âButâŚâŚâ
Why did the queen come here? Various questions appear as to why she isnât in the country south-west of us.
âI know what you want to ask. Why was I outside of the country for so long, why I am leading the punitive force, why did I not come defend you sooner?âŚâŚ There are a lot of things I need to tell you. However, that can be settled after you are healed.â\n
âNaofumi-sama!â
Raphtalia anxiously runs to my side while crying.
âI thought your heart stopped! Are you okay!?â\n
âWhoâŚâŚknowsâŚâŚâ
I feel that I have suffered some grievous wounds.\n
My whole body seriously hurts, it would be too troublesome to stand up.\n
In her human form Firo and Melty come from the carriage.
âWhat terrible woundsâŚâŚHurry come over here.â
One of the treatment team members see Firoâs burnt limbs and calls her over.\n
However, Firo doesnât want to leave my side to receive their treatment because she is worried about my wounds.
âBut, Master isâŚâŚâ\n
âItâs alright Firo, Naofumi-sama will be cured by these people. Go have your wounds healed.â
Raphtalia gently strokes Firoâs head and whispers in an anxious voice.
âButâŚâŚâ\n
âNaofumi-sama would hate to see Firo getting a scar because of him.â
Will you listen, Firo? She stares at me while tilting her neck.\n
Canât be helped. Normally being so selfish and carefree, to be so anxious for my sake.
âIâll be fine, so go over there.â
I squeeze out some instructions for Firo. When Firo reluctantly left to receive healing the treatment member nodded at me.\n
The treatment team use different recovery magic that seems to be effective against the curse.
âWhat a strong curse!âŚâŚâ
Mutters one of the healers.\n
Yeah, this is certainly a strong curse.\n
It literally says Curse Series.\n
Since the itâs very effective, the price for using it is equally as high, such as directly receiving the curse myself.\n
It is very different from a mere spell.
âPrepare for Group Synthesis Magic [Sanctuary]â
Are you going to use that to remove the rest of Self-Burning Curse?\n
They arenât believers of the Three Heroes Church right? Then What religion are they following?\n
It does not seem to be the Shield religion.\n
As I think about such things my eyelids become heavy and it starts getting dark.
âNaofumi-sama!â\n
âNaofumi!â
Raphtalia and Melty shake me awake.
âYeah? Whatâs wrong?â\n
âPlease stay conscious properly.â\n
âWhat are you saying, itâs like you think I died.â
Well, in this situation I certainly might die.\n
Though I have no intention to die in such a place, I am tired in various ways.\n
I want to sleepâŚâŚjust a little.\n
But, I canât sleep yet. We are still far from the safety zone.\n
However, I am unable to do anything in my present state.\n
In that caseâŚâŚ
âRaphtalia, if something happens run away with Melty on Firo.â\n
âUnderstood. But I will be taking Naofumi-sama too. So no matter what, please wake up.â\n
âOkay. Iâll just sleep a littleâŚâŚ if anything happens wake me up.â
During this exchange a memory appears.\n
âŚâŚ I remember it.\n
The story where Raphtalia still looked like a child and would always cry and scream at night.\n
Raphtalia had to be ordered to do everything back then.
âMy bad. It looks like thereâs no breakfast this time.â\n
ââŚâŚItâs fine. Because, this time Iâll defend Naofumi-sama while you sleep.\n
(Tl Note: Referring to where Raphtalia was crying and screaming at night by the river and Naofumi defended her all night from monsters)
After the conversation was over my consciousness went blank and I started dreaming.\n
It has been two days since then.
âUghâŚâŚHeavy.â\n
âSuâŚâŚSuâŚâŚâ\n
âMunyaâŚâŚMaster~â\n
âHeavyâŚâŚHelpâŚ..Firo-chanâŚâŚâ
When I awake I see Raphtalia, Firo, and Melty all on my bed.
âWhat the hell is this! Get up!â
I wake the three of them up immediately and scold them.\n
Instead of them looking down, all three of them smiled.\n
I was told that I got urgently rushed to receive treatment in Melromarc Castle.\n
The curse caused by Blutopfer was very serious, and even specialized curse treatments couldnât remove it completely.\n
Wh en I ask how to cure it, the answer I got was it cannot be cured by magic or medicine. It seems that the only way to cure it is through time.\n
But the burns and scratches were healed and my physical fitness has recovered, I just feel lethargic.
When I check my stats, everything except defence dropped by 30%.\n
It seems until Blutopferâs curse is cured completely they will stay debuffed.\n
This is the price which I paid for meddling in troublesome things.
âSo how long till I recover?â\n
âThe rough estimate is a month for complete recovery.â
A month huhâŚâŚthatâs long.\n
Will it happen before the wave?\n
That reminds me, I was unable to go to Silt Welt after all.\n
For the purpose of Raphtalia and Firoâs class up, we ended up in a strange position.
âHow is your condition?â
While I was lamenting about the absurdity of the world, the queen came over and asked about my condition.\n
I do some stretches to show my bodyâs condition.
ââŚâŚâ
I feel that I can trust her a little since she gave instructions for my treatment even while I was unconscious.\n
The queen also asked the treatment team at the hospital how I was doing.
âI see. Then could you follow me?â\n
âWhere are we going?â\n
âWe are going to the castle.â
The queen produces her fan and hides her face, generating a strange pressure.
âMother is scary when sheâs angryâŚâŚâ
Melty hides behind my back and starts trembling.\n
I feel an unpleasant atmosphere, is that anger?
âAre you going to execute me?â\n
âI will do no such thing. Iwatani-sama.â
I feel her smiling as the atmosphere changes.\n
Does the fact that I wasnât attacked in my sleep mean this is safe?
âI just think Iwatani-sama would like to witness what will happen. Hohoho.â\n
âWhat do you intend to do?â\n
âPlease come to the castle, Iâm sure you will enjoy it. There are various things I need to talk to you about as well, shall I answer everything Iwatana-sama asks after that?â
It seems the queen has created a situation where I have no choice but to go to the castle.\n
She is necessary for me to prove my innocent, so there is no way I can refuse.\n
Well there is no reason to decline for now.
âI want to ask one thing.â\n
âI would like to talk after we arrive at the castle butâŚâŚwhat is it?â\n
âYouâŚâŚDid you send Melty to me so she would get involved in this incident?â
This is the problem I am worried about most.\n
Depending on the answer there is a possibility that all the heroes will be rounded up at the castle and gotten rid of, all according to the queenâs plan.
ââŚâŚThat concern is only a baseless fear. Would that be the correct answer?â\n
âEh!?â
Melty trembling while staring at her mother.
âMelty didnât say it, but she wanted to meet her father so much that she couldnât sleep at night. So I let her be selfish and meet him.â
Meeting that trash. I was feeling uneasy when I thought the queen sent Melty to meet him.
â There is nothing to worry about. When such a thing happened I told shadow my ideas.â\n
âIdea?â\n
âYes, I entrusted Melty to the Hero of the sHield, if he tried to murder her then he would have been arrested.â
The queen snaps her fingers.\n
Suddenly a group of assassins appear.
âWhat an annoying story.â\n
ââŚâŚI apologize to have troubled you. However, I think a lot of problems have been solved.â\n
âThatâs not it. What would you have done if Melty died!?â
I cannot hide my sympathy for Melty as she looks down sadly.
âThere were always two bodyguards following her and supporting Iwatani-sama in various ways.â\n
âI seeâŚâŚâ\n
âFor example, the one knight who tried to assassinate her.â
One of the shadows transforms into the shape of a knight, just like that anime with the phantom theif!
âVillager.â
One of the villagers who helped us in village to the east.
âMerchant from neighbouring country.â
Even the guys from the neighbouring country that thanked meâŚâŚ\n
Certainly, it was strange for a person from the neighbouring country to show up there.
âIâll explain the circumstances later. Do you still doubt me even after the shadow appeared when Melty was truly in danger?â
That reminds meâŚâŚ a shadow did appear when the Church ambushed us.\n
However, that was a really dangerous situation so I couldnât think straight.\n
Firo and I were the only ones able to nullify the Three Heroes Church shadowâs poisonâŚâŚ.
âMotherâŚâŚ did you know I might have been killed?â\n
âIt was a possibility.â
Melty hangs her head when the queen answers flatly.\n
well, as expected of the parent of bitch and wife of trash.Quite suitable to being a bad person.
âAre you people really parents?â\n
âI cannot argue about that even if I am one. There are a lot of lies that can be toldâŚâŚLetâs see. Do you understand what it takes to be queen of such a country for years?â
WellâŚâŚEven if I impeach I donât understand.\n
This fellow. I can only agree that she is trashâs wife.
âButâŚâŚI believed in Iwatani-sama. Is that a suitable answer?â\n
ââŚâŚCoward.â\n
âOtherwise I cannot protect this country.â\n
âHahâŚâŚWouldnât it be better if you didnât arrive?â\n
âNaofumi-sama!?â
Raphtalia speaks anxiously.
âIt seems you are unable to refute it. I wonât spread it. In the first place, if we were enemies I would not have received treatment.â\n
âYes, certainly, I think you would want to be present for what is about to happen.â
If we share a mutual interest, then there would be no problems in lending a hand.\n
I donât know what you are after, but if necessary I will use the Wrath Shield again.
âI brought the carriage of the holy bird here. Letâs return with the luggage.â\n
âReally!?â
At the queenâs words Firo steps forwards.
âYes of course. Itâs in front of the hospital, please confirm it.â\n
âYay~! Mel-chan! Letâs go!â\n
âOkay!â
Firo and Melty run out of the room together.\n
She really loves that carriage huh.\n
After watching the both of them run off, I stare at the queen.
âI feel disgusted.â
Although I have received some goodwill, I do not know her real intentions.\n
The queen antagonized the Three Heroes Church, and furthermore treated the devil of the shield favourably, I wish to know why.\n
I canât even think of a reason.\n
I do not believe in some noble reason such as fighting the wave together.\n
Or is there still information that I am lacking?
âI have a goal. I will use any means necessary to achieve it. Although the way we go about things is different, I believe I have the same feelings as Iwatani-sama.â
Similar feelings as meâŚâŚ.\n
I donât know why, but I feel that I somewhat understand.\n
After coming to this world, I have experienced various things.\n
At least this person is talking to me as an equal.
âI will follow your instructions for now.â\n
âI am grateful. Iwantani-sama.â
After obtaining my consent, the queen smiles.\n
The smile has a strong will mixed in.
âAuckleyâŚâŚMaltyâŚâŚ. This isnât over yetâŚâŚ.â
(Tl note: Auckley = trashking for those who forgot.)\n