The Rising of the Shield Hero of Peace

Chapter 3: Inspiration

The next morning, the four heroes headed towards the King's throne. On the way there, Motoyasu sparked a conversation.

"Man, yesterday's training was something else, huh?" Motoyasu said. "My entire body is still aching from all the workout."

"And we fell short of time, too according to Sensei." Ren added.

"I can only guess it's about to get worse now that we have more time on our hands." A nervous Itsuki said. "But, I'm looking forward to it nonetheless."

"That's good to hear young man!" Yagi said. "But for now, you must focus on today's assignment."

"Um, what were we supposed to do, again?" Motoyasu asked.

"We were supposed to pick our parties." Ren replied, trying not to highlight Motoyasu's ignorance.

"That reminds me, Sensei? You said you wanted to seek out party members by yourself. Is there any reason for your decision?" Itsuki asked.

"I'll be straightforward with you young man, I don't have a clue." Yagi replied, shaking his head. "It was just pure intuition. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like there's something else about this ordeal they're not telling us."

"Hm...you might be onto something there, Sensei." Itsuki said. "But how so?"

"Yeah, so far they have treated us nicely." Motoyasu said.

"So far, young Kitamura, so far." Yagi said.

"Sensei's right, we can't just turn our backs and expect them to fully cooperate without planning something else behind us." Ren added.

"So what you're saying is: We should trust no one but us four?" Motoyasu asked.

"I wouldn't put it so broadly, but yes." Ren replied.

"If the situation does come to light, we must be prepared for the said situation by training our abilities with our weapons the best we can, and keep up with Sensei's training." Itsuki added.

"Like that's gonna happen, we're the cardinal heroes! Who is gonna want to betray us?" Motoyasu asked, sounding cocky.

"Don't let those ideas get to your head, young Kitamura. The most inflated egos are often the most fragile. Even with your current reputation, it's important to stay humble and be prepared for anything, regardless of how ridiculous it might be." Yagi advised.

The heroes were given no time to think further as they approached the door to the king's throne room. The door opened to see them walking towards the king with caution, after theorizing the possible betrayal planned behind their backs.

"We have gathered the greatest warriors in the land, these brave souls will fight the waves alongside you." The king said, motioning to a row of people waiting to pick who they would fight the waves with.

Yagi's danger sense activated once again when his eyes fell on a red-haired woman with green eyes, that smiled towards him when she noticed she had caught Yagi's attention. He was now on guard, questioning what she'll try to do.

"Our future champions, the time has come to begin your journey!" The king said, signaling the party members to pick their hero.

The king turned to Yagi. "As for you, shield hero, you have chosen to seek out companions on your own accord, so no one will accompany you for the time being."

The people had finished picking out who they would be with, forming a line behind them. Itsuki had three members, Ren had five and Motoyasu had four, all being women. Yagi had no companions since he chose to pick them out himself.