The Rising of the Scythe Hero

We chose to enlighten ourselves in a clearly and unanimously designated place, resolutely dubbed our meeting point. Namely...

"No, I get it, but… Why did you all gather in my shop?" Elhart asked us with a tone of quiet resignation. By the way, did I ever ask his name?

"Hm…" Naofumi genuinely pondered that. "It's the only place I know where we won't get kicked out… unless you prefer the slave trader's tent?"

"Uh…" the blacksmith glanced at little Raphtalia. "You know what, kiddo? Just stay here. I don't get many customers anyway. I won't be offering tea though, I've got enough work thanks to a certain someone." Followed by a very pointed look in my direction. Not accusatory, though.

"Heh. I even stayed in town for four whole days just for this. I'm really counting on that order, old man."

"Order?" Naofumi blinked, glancing between me and the blacksmith.

"Order." I nodded. "A very specific one. I asked him to make me armor with certain traits suited to my combat style." I watched Elhart's back disappear into the forge, then turned to the Shield Hero."Custom-made armor…" Naofumi muttered thoughtfully. "I heard that's pretty expensive…"

"I provided most of the materials. Elhart just charged me for the work and a few things from his own stock. And, well… I've got a little trick for getting discounts." I gave a modest smile.

"And what might that be, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You." Seeing his confused face, I added. "I overheard how you bargained with him once. So when I met him, I told him I'd rather check with you about the price first. Since then, I've been getting stuff just a bit above production cost. I mean, I don't want to completely devalue the work of a true craftsman."

"You… seriously? That's your… trick?"

I honestly couldn't say what emotion he was trying to express. He probably didn't know himself.

"Eh." The sigh came out on its own. "You see, Naofumi… I'm just that kind of person." Or not quite a person…

"What kind of 'that'?"

"Well… I could threaten, blackmail, extort… but I'm just not built for bargaining or begging for discounts." I shrugged.

"…"

Naofumi just stared at me with an unreadable expression. Things were getting tense. Even Raphtalia pinned her ears back, shooting us confused looks.

"Right. Let's begin. Now then, Naofumi, listen closely and absorb the truths of this world…" His face shifted from confused to laser-focused almost instantly. I wasn't planning to disappoint him. "The truth is, my dear friend…"

"…!"

"…Lolis are the best!"

"…What?" Naofumi blinked, baffled. "You…"

"Allow me to explain." Seeing his confusion, I decided to clarify my stance. "You see, Naofumi… The concept actually splits into two branches…"

"Wait, wait!"

"The first and most common branch is the depiction of children. Underage little girls. Pure, innocent, naive. That's the classic perception of the archetype. But I believe that's fundamentally wrong." I put on my most serious expression. Can't even describe Naofumi's face at that point. "Because that's just… kids. Actual kids. But a loli? A loli is a woman with a petite build. An adult, developed personality in the form of a small, fragile girl you want to hug and protect. Lolis are multifaceted. They can be tsun-, dere-, hime-, dan-, kuudere — you name it! Their charm lies not just in their appearance, but in the fact that they have actual character! And they only break their trope when you reach their heart!"

"Just stop! Psycho!" Naofumi flailed and, half-panicked, moved Raphtalia behind his back as if shielding her from me.

"Gods… uncultured, Naofumi. I made my stance clear right away." I glanced at the girl. "Raphtalia is a sweet kiddo, sure, but… that's it. She doesn't move me at all."

"You… brought me here for this?!"

Geez. This guy is exhausting…

"Ugh, fine." I rolled my eyes. "If you're not in the mood for serious talk, let's go simple. Legendary weapons can be enhanced through Reinforcement, Enchantments, Mastery progression, Class upgrades…"

"Wait-wait-wait!"

I stopped and gave him a sharp look as he flailed again.

"Now you're interrupting me. What's your deal, Naofumi?" He looked too stunned to even form words, opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish.

"My deal?! What about yours?!" And then he rudely jabbed a finger at me.

"Lord Naofumi?" Even Raphtalia looked at him in confusion.

But nothing could stop the Shield Hero now…

"First, you go on a heartfelt rant about how lolis are amazing…"

"Please note I put genuine soul and emotion into that speech…"

He completely ignored me.

"…Then you casually start explaining how to enhance Legendary Weapons! And what about before?! Do you just enjoy messing with people?!"

"Well… yeah." I nodded with a perfectly straight face, silently asking, "You're only realizing that now?"

"…I give up." Naofumi sighed deeply and raked a hand through his hair.

"Lord Naofumi…"

"Don't worry, Raphtalia. Your master's just having a minor cultural meltdown. It happens." I reassured the girl.

"Let's forget it. What were you saying about Enchantments and the rest? I've never seen anything like that in the system…"

So he chose to ignore everything. Sensible. Ineffective, but sensible.

Explaining all the upgrade methods took a while. I even told him about my own tricks — skill acquisition and development. I decided not to mention Life Absorption, at least because it'd be useless for him.Once I finished…

"Weird… I haven't seen a single one of those options. Even now, the help menu doesn't show anything…"

"Well. That's a very interesting point, my dear companion. And also… a very slippery one." He kept frowning at me. "Sigh… The thing is, Naofumi, all those options do exist. Even if they're not in your system menu. You just need to… believe."

"Believe? In what?"

"In their existence, of course."

"Are you kidding me?" My companion was clearly starting to get irritated. I could practically see the disappointment spreading across his face.

"No. Strangely enough, I'm being serious right now. I didn't tell you before because, at the time, you simply weren't capable of believing in anything."

There was no humor in my voice anymore, only indifference. The sudden change was especially noticeable to Raphtalia. Kids are sensitive like that. Even if they don't get the details, they pick up on emotional shifts. Or the lack thereof.

Still, I continued.

"The question is, are you ready to believe now? I figured you were." My gaze shifted to the well-groomed Raphtalia. "Now I just need to see if I was wrong."

"So you weren't joking…" I didn't respond.

"Decide, Naofumi. Are you ready to rethink your worldview to become stronger? Or would you rather cling to your petty hatred?"

That last part clearly struck a nerve. His face twisted as the words sank in.

"Petty? Petty?! Those bastards framed me! That scumbag king, that slut Malty… Even the other Heroes who were summoned just like me to a foreign world! They didn't even try to believe me! And you want me to just forget it all?!"

"Clearly, you still don't get it." I shook my head. "I'm not asking you to forget, Naofumi."

"What?" He faltered, losing steam.

"On the contrary — never forget it. Always remember that every joy has a dark side."

And with that, the conversation faded out. I'd said enough, and Naofumi had a lot to think about.

And he did. He sat there thinking for a good long while, staring between me and some invisible point in space. Probably poking around in his system window.Closing his eyes, opening them, repeat. Over and over for like… twenty minutes.Until...

"…!" His eyes shot wide open. "It worked…" he whispered in disbelief.

Then he excitedly began jabbing at a screen only he could see.

"It's working… They're all working… Tempering, Mastery, Enchantments, Rarity… Though I still can't open the skill tab."

"Hm. Maybe my weapon falls outside the usual framework of the Four Legendary Weapons."

"Still, it's incredible. Weapon power that depends on belief… Even the concept sounds absurd. But now I've got another question…" Naofumi looked at me.

"Hm?"

"How did you find all this out?"

"Oh."

That was… a bit of an awkward question. But I'd gotten what I wanted, so I figured I could mess with him a little.

"Let's just say… I've got my secrets." I smiled. "I've told you plenty. Gotta keep something to myself, right? Besides, that info won't give you anything but a satisfied curiosity."

"Hm. Fair enough. You've already helped me a lot. I still don't get why you're helping me, though."

"Well… there's no special reason. We're both Heroes, even if neither of us wanted to be. I'm not exactly Hero material, either." Naofumi snorted. "Let's just say it's for our shared craft. After all, we'll have to fight the Waves together. I'd feel a lot better knowing I had a top-tier tank by my side."

"Fair point…"

After that, seemingly accepting my motives, Naofumi tested all the enhancement methods he'd unlocked. He dumped most of his resources into his strongest shield.He tried to go all-in, but I stopped him.

Too early. None of his current shields were strong enough to justify that kind of investment. He accepted my logic, though I could tell he was itching to dump more into upgrades.

As I watched him, my eyes wandered to Raphtalia. The girl was visibly bored, with nothing to do.

Huh… Since I was already helping them grow stronger, why not go a step further? I had nothing better to do anyway…

Once the idea took shape, I moved to put it into action.

"Why did you bring us here again?" Naofumi asked, skeptically eyeing the clearing around us.

"Honestly, it's more about Raphtalia." The girl's ears twitched in surprise. Adorable.

"You're not…"

"Oh, come on." I rolled my eyes. "I made my stance clear. I meant her combat skills."

"Combat skills? You're gonna teach her how to fight?" His look turned even more skeptical.

"Look. Right now, I could kill both of you without breaking a sweat. Even with your new upgrades. And it's not just the level gap."

"…"

Naofumi didn't argue. Just got a lot more serious.

Truth be told, I couldn't teach her much. My skill was literally called Scythe Mastery. But my words weren't empty.

The trick was in how the skill system actually worked. I didn't just magically gain the ability to wield a weapon — especially one as niche as a scythe.

Each skill came with a sort of intuitive knowledge pack. I felt when I made mistakes. I sensed how to adjust my movements for better efficiency.

A skill was like a download of reflexes and instincts straight into my body and brain. Sounds absurd. And it is. But it works.

Because of that, I had a solid understanding of how weapon handling worked in general. Center of gravity, movement efficiency, even breathing and mental state. All of it affected combat.

So, I started training Raphtalia while Naofumi fiddled with his shield and brewed his usual suspicious potions (which, let's be honest, I did too). Eventually, he joined in. It's good practice for him to fight something more human-like.

That went on until evening. Would've gone on for all four days, probably, but…

At some point, a totally ordinary Orange Ball bounced into the clearing. Raphtalia, excited to test her new skills, charged right in.And then it happened.

"Huh?" Naofumi's eyes went so wide it actually unnerved me.

"What happened? Did my training blow your mind with how much she improved?"

"What?" Naofumi barely registered my words. "No! That's not it!"

"Then what?"

"I… Who the hell are you, Nott?"

All that surprise came from a single line that appeared in front of him. A line that made me stop and think about a lot of things. About what I really was to this world.

The line said:

[EXP: +1]