The Rising of the Shield Hero of Peace

Chapter 10: It's time to go

"Wake up! Please! Wake up..." Raphtalia cried, shaking Yagi's unconscious body in hopes that he was still alive.

Raphtalia held Yagi's hand tightly as tears ran down her cheeks, cursing herself for being so weak, wishing she could've been of better assistance to the other heroes. To make matters worse, she saw a group of knights approaching the devastated landscape.

"There they are! The heroes!" One of the knights shouted.

"There's somebody else! Stand guard!" Another knight said.

"Don't take another step! I won't let you hurt them! I won't fail them again!" Raphtalia said in tears, pointing her sword at the knights.

"Ease yourself, child. We're not here to cause harm to anyone, you have my word." Said a female with purple hair and eyes. The feature that made her stand out so much, however, was the crown and fancy dress that she wore.

Raphtalia still wasn't sure to trust the woman, but she did lower her guard slightly, just enough to say "I'll trust you, but don't make any funny moves." without actually speaking. As she took the promise with caution.

"Bring the heroes back to the castle, they need to be healed and fast." The woman said, signaling the knights to pick them up and bring them to the carriages.

After hearing what she had heard, Raphtalia had a little more trust in these mysterious knights and crowned lady, but there was still some doubt in their claims. Raphtalia was snapped out of her thinking when she heard she was mentioned.

"What about the demi-human child?" Asked one of the knights, pointing at Raphtalia.

"Bring her along as well, she might know what happened here." the woman said.

It took some convincing, but Raphtalia complied. She got in the carriage where Yagi lays in, taking a seat next to him. Sometime later, everyone arrived at the castle where the heroes were laid in beds, followed by healing magic experts to get them in a better condition quickly. Meanwhile, Raphtalia was taken by the woman to a room for answers to the questioning. The two of them sat together, with tea on hand to put both of them on better terms.

"When did you find the heroes? We have been searching for them for months." The woman asked.

"About for a week now, when I was saved by the hero with the daggers, Todoroki." Raphtalia explained.

The inquiries continued:

"Did any of the heroes have any connections to this village?"

"A few merchants and the blacksmith. Erhard, I think that was his name."

"Where have the heroes been taking refuge?"

"It varied, though it was always somewhere in the forest."

"What did you do with the heroes the week you found them?"

"They trained me to help them with their quests."

With all those questions answered, there was only one left. The most important question at hand.

"What caused the heroes to destroy the landscape back when we found them?" The woman asked.

Raphtalia paused for a moment. "It was a monster the priest created back in the church, made to kill the heroes. The hammer hero, Deku, told me to run after we had escaped from the church shortly after. Then, I felt an impact, along with the gust of wind that pushed me forward a bit." She replied.

The woman was about to ask something else, but a few knocks on the door stopped her. "Hello? Your majesty, the heroes are fully healed. The shield hero is currently the only one awake at the moment." A man said from outside.