The Rising of the Scythe Hero

Just as I expected — it took me four days to return to Melromarc, arriving by evening. On the way, I didn't focus much on grinding, only killing monsters that crossed my path. As a result, I gained just two levels, finally reaching level 40.

My biggest achievement was progress in learning the local language. I'd been dedicating nearly all my free time to it, taking breaks only to make potions through the Scythe's system. I still wasn't sure how that process managed to suck me in. But back to language study…

Language Comprehension (Lv. 1) acquired

That's the message I saw on day four while digging through something like a dictionary. My memory has clearly improved since I came to this world. I can feel the difference, and the skill has given me an instant boost. Suddenly, everything makes more sense.

At the moment, I'd even managed to raise the skill to level two. At this rate, I'd be able to start studying local magic in about a month. Although… I wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea.

Local magic was... defective, to put it politely. The problem? Chanting. Some spells had such ridiculously long chants that, in the time it took to cast one, I could've sliced up that spider boss three times over.

First thing I did upon returning to the city was visit Uncle Blacksmith to talk about something that had been on my mind ever since the dungeon boss fight.

A little late, I know, but I realized that blocking enemy attacks with the scythe's shaft wasn't always ideal. If that boss had been just a bit faster, I might've taken real damage. As it was, I got off with a few bruises — my defense stat wasn't bad either.

For the record, my dominant stat was Attack, followed by Agility, and then Endurance.

Life in Melromarc… well, it bustled, if you could call it that. People still whispered about the Shield Hero's "crime." Amusing, really. Treating someone who fights for your world like that? Idiotic. I hate to say it, but for saving the world, something like a basic assault accusation is a pretty cheap price. In any other country, the government wouldn't even blink at a Hero's "indiscretion." But Altcray was a special kind of moron.

"Oh, if it isn't the scythe kiddo." Uncle Blacksmith greeted me. "Been a while since your first visit. Thought you'd vanished for good."

"What, and miss out on your bargain deals?" I asked, mock offended.

"Ho-ho... You and the Shield brat are gonna bankrupt me at this rate." He chuckled. "So, what brings you here?"

"I'm hoping I've gathered enough materials for… well, something useful. Think you can make anything out of this?"

With that, I gave the Scythe a mental command to unload most of its inventory.

Spider chitin, feathers from bird monsters, reptile scales, animal pelts, metal ore, and all kinds of other junk poured out.

"Uhh… kiddo, you…" the man actually looked stunned.

"What? You think it's not enough? I've got bones and tongues too, hang on..." I started summoning another pile, but…

"No-no! Stop!" Uncle flailed his arms like a madman.

"So, it is enough?"

"I have no idea. But seriously, did you wipe out the entire ecosystem?"

"Well..." I actually had to stop and think about that. His eyes widened even more, and he started coughing. "No, probably not. Though I may have trimmed the population a little."

"Nngh... Damn. Compared to you, that Shield kiddo's barely scraping by..."

"Oh yeah, he's a hard worker."

Turns out Naofumi had recently visited the shop and, surprise-surprise, he wasn't alone. With him was a little raccoon girl. Which meant the canonical meeting had already happened, and I was officially too late to claim Raphtalia for myself.

Not that I'd really planned to. Our personalities were way too different — pointless arguments would've been inevitable. She'd definitely be more comfortable with her Shield Hero. That girl deserved a bit of happiness, honestly. If only Naofumi weren't such a blockhead...

Still, credit where it's due — his approach wasn't bad. Jumping into a relationship this early, especially with someone who's mentally still a kid, would've been a mess. Peak puberty and all. Actually, now that I think about it, I'd probably do the same. Or the exact opposite. Either back off entirely or go full assertive and set clear boundaries. But yeah… the cautious approach felt more reasonable.

Honestly, sex and relationships were weird topics. I definitely felt attraction to pretty girls, but… it was muted. Distant. It didn't cloud my thinking or cloud my judgment. Most likely a perk of my altered race. Probably the only reason I hadn't sprinted after Raphtalia the moment I saw her.

Back to business — Uncle and I sat down and hashed out the design I had in mind. We crunched some ideas, weighed the pros and cons, and finally agreed on a single blueprint.

The result was a sketch of armor that would serve me for a long time. We based it on my current gear, but shifted it from "light" to "medium" class. My stats were more than high enough to handle the extra weight without losing mobility.

The highlight was a set of special alloy plates — mixed with chitin from the spider boss — built into the forearms. With that, I could block medium-level hits using my arms alone in an emergency.

The gloves and boots had similar alloys. In the gloves, the metal was lighter and more flexible — ideal for close-quarters combat. In the boots, it was heavier — giving my kicks some serious punch. Heh.

The cloak stayed the same, more or less. The fabric was a bit stronger and better quality now. I'd have to take it to a seamstress Uncle knew, but that was a minor detail.

Overall, the armor's quality far surpassed what I had before — thanks mostly to the materials I'd dumped on him. We only had to buy a bit of extra metal — because I hadn't thought to bring a pickaxe. Not that I wanted to lug ore around anyway...

"This might be the best thing I've worked on in years." Uncle said, looking at the plans and material list.

"So, how long will this masterpiece take? And how much do I owe you?"

"Hmm… Honestly, I'm excited to work on something like this. I can probably finish in three or four days. And it doesn't feel right to charge a guy who's risking his life to save our world..."

Man, what a good guy. Now I wouldn't feel right taking the armor for free. Yes, I do have a conscience. Granted, it's mutated into something strange and borderline unrecognizable, but hey — it's still a conscience.

"Alright. We'll figure out the details later. So, four days, huh?" I thought about whether it made sense to leave the city during that time.

Turns out it didn't. There weren't any suitable monsters nearby for my level. The closest effective grinding area was three days away — same for the return trip. So, leaving town would be pointless.

What to do with myself in the city for four days? I'd figure it out later.

After finalizing things with Uncle, I headed to the herbalist next — to the shop that sold potions and herbs. On the way, I stopped by another merchant and sold off various hides, claws, and other leftovers that hadn't made it into the armor.

And when I finally reached the herbalist...

"Oh."

"Ah..."

"Uh?"

Three voices of surprise, one after the other. The last one, though, was more confusion than surprise.

"Another unexpected encounter. You never cease to amaze me, Naofumi." I was the first to recover. "And this time, I see you're not alone. When did you get a kid? Adorable..." I smiled at the little girl with the animal ears hiding behind him.

"She's not my kid!" Naofumi blurted out.

Exactly what I was waiting for.

"My goodness, Naofumi… You stole a child?"

I covered my mouth in mock horror.

"What? No! That's not…" he stammered. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep a straight face. My mask cracked. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"Well… maybe a little. You're just too easy to mess with."

"You're..."

"Charming? Charismatic? Witty?" I cut him off gleefully, making up for nearly two weeks of social starvation.

"…annoying."

"You wound me." I clutched my chest. "Anyway, you haven't introduced your precious companion."

My gaze returned to Raphtalia. Who else could it be?

A scruffy ten-year-old girl. Reddish-brown hair, matching raccoon-like ears, and wide, wary red eyes. You could tell she hadn't lived an easy life — a bit sickly, bags under her eyes, thin frame. But also clear signs that Naofumi was taking care of her.

Her hair had been trimmed neatly, her clothes were suitable for travel and combat, and her face no longer looked like a broken slave's. She was clean, too — no grime, no mess.

"This is… Raphtalia." Naofumi reluctantly introduced her. "She's… my slave."

"Wow. You've grown since our last meeting, Naofumi. I approve." I gave a few thoughtful nods.

"You're going to twist everything, aren't you?"

"Damn. You're catching on too fast. Boring guy. You could've played along, you know." I sighed dramatically, then addressed the girl directly. "Nice to meet you, Raphtalia. I'm Nott."

I crouched down in front of her. She didn't step out from behind the Shield Hero, eyeing me cautiously.

But hey, she didn't flinch at my smile. Even Naofumi did, a little. Impressive.

"U-um… P-pleased to meet you, Mister Nott. Naofumi-sama..." she then turned to Naofumi. "Mister Nott is your friend?"

"Gkh." Naofumi twitched hard. "He's also a summoned Hero. The fifth one."

"But aren't there only four Heroes?" Raphtalia tilted her head in confusion.

"Yep. That's how it was supposed to be. But something went wrong, and here I am," I answered before Naofumi could. "And hey, the more Heroes, the better, right?" I added, quieter, "Especially when three of them are useless morons..."

"Uh-huh!" Raphtalia nodded cheerfully.

That was... pretty funny, given what I'd just said.

Naofumi, by the way, had heard me — and actually chuckled in agreement. I could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Anyway, since we ran into each other…" he began, but then paused, giving me a weird look. "I wanted to say… thanks."

"Huh? For what?"

"You don't remember?" He stared at me. "What you told me. About copying weapons of the same type. And the Hourglass sand. Thanks for that, too. Though I can't even imagine reaching level 50 right now..."

"Oh. That." I paused, then had a very intriguing thought. "No need to thank me. I just did it because I felt like it. By the way, what level are you now?"

"…12. Same for Raphtalia."

"Oh. That's… surprising. Though I guess it makes sense. She joined you recently, right? So you only just started being able to deal damage."

"Right. But is that really so shocking? What's your level?"

Apparently, my reaction gave me away.

"Forty."

At first, Naofumi didn't react. Then he processed the number — and his eyes went so wide I actually felt a tiny bit of concern for him. Just a little.

"F-forty? Have you been living with monsters?"

"Pretty much. Week and a half or so." I nodded casually. "Anyway. I've got more stuff to tell you."

"What do you mean?" Naofumi still looked a little dazed.

And I started to realize how I'd be spending at least part of my four free days.

"It's time you learned the secrets of the universe, Naofumi," I said, striking a dramatic pose. "I'm going to teach you how to upgrade your weapon beyond just absorbing materials or copying gear. The question is: are you willing to believe me? Because that's what determines whether it works."

Naofumi stared in silence. Long and hard. Raphtalia kept glancing between us, visibly nervous, not understanding what was going on.

I was fine with either answer. If not now, then later — once we were on better terms.

But I didn't have to wait.

"I… alright. I'll believe you, Nott. You've already helped me once. I'm not stupid enough to forget that."

"Good." I smiled.

This time, neither of them flinched. Though my smile slowly stretched into a grin I couldn't quite contain...

"In that case, Naofumi, I suggest you make the most of my four days in the city."

"What?"

"What?"