The Rising of the Shield Hero (盾の勇者の成り上がり)

After overcoming the worst of the Waves,

I was rewarded and became ruler of Raphtalia’s home,

Lurolona Village.

As we began to rebuild, new allies joined us.

Things are looking up for a change.

But when the next Wave comes, everyone will be in danger...

- - so I have to...

Whoa. Be careful, you two.

Right! Sorry, My Lord!

- Let’s go! - Okay.

- - Almost!

Try to let your ki build up in the pit of your stomach.

Y-You mean like this?

That’s it!

I knew you had a real knack for this!

You’re sure to become a master of Hengen Muso in no time.

Huh?! You really think so?

Hold on. I don’t even know

what all this ki stuff you two are talking about is.

Shield Hero!

Well, would you look who it is.

Seems like you’re working hard, Keel.

You betcha!

And by the way, don’t be going too easy on Rishia.

Eh?!

Her base stats are borderline cringe-worthy

for someone of her level.

There might be some truth to that!

I gotta say the costume’s

working pretty well,

but she shouldn’t continue to just rely on it.

Yeah.

I understand what you’re saying.

But when I’m wearing this, I can try harder,

’cause no one can see me feeling down,

if that makes sense.

I see. In any case,

this girl has a natural talent for manipulating her ki,

so it’s best to strengthen that ability of hers.

Look, I’m not trying to be

the bearer of bad news here, old lady,

but the concepts of whatever-Muso you use

don’t exist in this world.

Hey, Instructor,

so can I help fight against the Waves with the others now?

- Absolutely not. - Huh?

There’s less than a week until the next Wave.

And if you think that’s enough time

for you to learn how to really fight,

then I’m afraid you’re horribly mistaken, Keel.

Fine.

Well, then what about the Wave after that?

If I train hard enough,

you’ll let me fight that one, won’t you?!

That’s the spirit.

But you can’t learn sword skills just from me.

- -

- -

What is all that?

Follow me!

Right!

Wait! I wanna help, too!

Thank you!

Give me one second, okay?

Sure!

You two okay over there?

Master Naofumi!

Oh, hey! It’s Master!

Hmm. Looks like they beat us to the punch.

Yeah, I guess so.

Huh? What are these things?

"Familiar"?

Is it some type of dimensional monster?

No way. The next Wave is too far off.

The countdown...

What about it?

- It’s stopped. - What?

And now this blue number has appeared.

Do you have any idea what that could mean?

Not really.

What’s the matter?

Your former party members, they’re here.

You all have my thanks for coming.

I hope this urgent meeting didn’t cause any inconveniences,

but I called you here to discuss an important matter.

This is about those bat monsters, isn’t it?

I hope. Those things are giving me the creeps.

I guess that means you encountered them too.

You know something about them?

- - Mm-mmm.

No, I’ve never seen them up until now.

Even so, they don’t seem to be

dimensional monsters from a Wave either.

Oh, yeah. Speaking of the next Wave,

seems the Wave countdown stopped.

If what you say is true, then it must be back.

What does that mean?

I wasn’t sure at first, but this means

the legendary monster called the Spirit Tortoise

must have revived in the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom.

So much for our progress.

- - Spirit Tortoise?

Once every few centuries, the Spirit Tortoise is said

to bring a horrific disaster to the world.

We believe that the monsters you Heroes described encountering

are an effect of its revival.

Horrific disaster, huh?

Sounds like the Waves.

Sorry. I have something else to attend to.

- Ah, me too. - Excuse us,

but we’re a little too busy for this.

Sit down.

Need I remind you that in fact the only reason

we were summoned here in the first place

was to fight the Waves.

We don’t have time to deal with anything else.

Isn’t that right, Naofumi?

- - How’d it go?

- Doesn’t matter. - Uh...

Did you remember? To ask my mother

if she would ever consider making me a princess once again?

I’m sorry, My--

Uh, I mean Bitch.

I’ve got bigger problems right now.

- Let’s go. - Hey!

Sir Motoyasu!

Useless fool.

Huh?

Seems you’re doing well.

Um, Sir Itsuki.

Oh, by the way,

have you been keeping in touch with your parents?

Y-Yes!

I sent a letter yesterday!

Right?

Glad to hear it.

Sir Itsuki!

I want to journey alongside you to save the world!

Let me join your party again!

You’re not strong enough.

And you never will be, no matter how much Naofumi trains you.

Huh?

Sir Itsuki!

Why do you think Sir Itsuki

banished you from the party in the first place?

To keep you away from all the dangers of the battlefield?

- - Think again.

He tossed you aside because you’re weak, slow, and useless!

Stop it, Mald.

That’ll be enough.

Are you okay, Rishia?

He was a jerk.

Well, that went well.

Let me get this straight.

This whole meeting was to try and get us

to handle this Spirit Tortoise thing?

That was my intention, yes, but it doesn’t seem

like the other Heroes are too excited about that.

I think I see why.

This Tortoise thing sounds like some kind of raid boss.

- Huh? - Nothing.

Don’t worry about it.

So then, do you think you have what it takes

to handle this job for me, Shield Hero?

As long as you don’t mind my job as Hero taking a back seat.

While the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom is a vast area,

the Tortoise has already destroyed several territories

and important checkpoints as it nears the capital.

Countless people have already died.

Even though the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom

is located far off in the east, it won’t be long

before it reaches us here in Melromarc.

If that happens,

it will more than likely have to trample

through your own lands before it gets here.

You sure know how to persuade people.

By the way, is Melty doing well?

She is. She’s somewhat of a supervisor of my lands.

It was Melty’s idea actually to have the place function

as a type of bridge between humans and demi-humans.

And then, if you can believe this,

she told me to leave the place to her and go see you.

I see.

It seems the journey she went on with you

fostered her growth more than I ever could have imagined, then.

Definitely.

So for the sake of her dreams and the people of my lands,

I guess I’ll fight this weird Spirit Tortoise thing.

You really mean it?

Oh, my. That’s certainly a relief.

I can’t thank you enough. I’m in your debt.

I think it’s safe enough now to focus on the tortoise,

considering the Wave countdown has come to a stop.

Concerning. The countdown should never stop.