Capítulo 16: Chapter 13
Lyn picked up some cargo from his carriage and put it onto a ship.
"Thank's lad. I'm glad you were passing through. Thanks to you I'm gonna be a bit early and have some extra time to spend with my girlfriend."
"I don't mind helping out as long as I'm getting paid."
"Here ya go lad."
The man handed him a handful of silver coins.
"As promised, 20 silver for transportation of the cargo and the medicine. Good day to you."
Lyn nodded and walked back to his carriage.
"Alright, you can relax while I'll get some food ok?"
"Okay father~."
"Tell Raphtalia to find an inn for us when she comes back. We'll stay here for now."
"Okay, daddy~!"
Lyn patted her head and ruffled up her feathers a bit.
"Good girl. I'll be off then."
Lyn took out the accesory he made for the Spear. It was nothing fancy but who knows what kind of effects it could have. He already made one for Ren and Itsuki and was currently working on one for himself.
He started to look for a food shop when something caught his attention. Two men were talking in front of a large cargo ship with a weird amount of energy. Several souls were at the bottom of the cargo shop, some moving back and forth in what seemed like a small room, some were close together. Lyn tried to ignore it, but then he felt some energy coming from a box two men were carying onto the ship.
That's definetly a living creature. And judging by the soul and energy, a human. Are they selling slaves?
"That's the last one?"
"Yep. Let's hurry up, this town gives me the creeps. Plus my ear is still ringing from the spa one."
"Dude, that was like a week and a half ago. Stop overreacting."
"She was loud as hell! 'SiR MoToyAsU! sIr MotOyaSU!' So annoying."
"Hah, I know right? That person... Mien was it? Myne? Whatever. She sertainly didn't make her cheap. But I think it was worth it."
"Anyway, we depart in about three hours. Get everyone else ready, and pick up Fil. He probably got drunk again."
Lyn walked away. His shield inside his pocket sparked a few more times.
"Raphtalia, Firo, let's go."
A visibly pissed Lyn walked inside the room of the inn they were staying at.
"Lyn-sama, what happened?"
"I overheard some people talking about selling human slaves, and one of them mentioned that an adventurer named Myne sold them a slave. And we all know how much of a b*tch Myne is."
"Lyn-sama!"
"Who's Myne and what's a b*tch?" Firo asked with the innocence of a child.
"Myne framed me for a crime and cheated in my duel with Spear guy. And don't say b*tch. It's a bad word."
"But you said it?"
"Yeah, cause I'm an adult."
"Booo!"
Firo pounted and looked over at Raphtalia.
"Onee-chan! Why does daddy get to say bad words?!"
"Well, he's an adult."
Raphtalia answered. Over the last week Firo and Raphtalia treated each other like sisters.
"Raphtalia, let's go save some people from slavery."
Raphtalia nodded while Firo lazily got up from her bed.
"Firo I'll cook something for you if you do well."
"Food?!"
"Yep."
"Okay~! I'll do my best daddy!"
"You should spoil her so much Lyn-sama."
Raphtalia shook her head.
"I'll deal with the consequences later."
The group arrived at the docks. A few more men were standing guard as another box with a human inside was being carried on board.
Lyn led Firo and Raphtalia into earshot to listen in on the conversation. Luckily the men didn't notice them.
"So what are you gonna do after we sell them?"
"Gonna marry my son to an old friend's daughter. Niles and I both agreed to the marriage."
"I'm gonna use the money from these to get myself a better house. Maybe I'll even keep one of them as a maid. Need someone to clean for me."
Lyn walked up to one of the slave traders.
"Heya. I heard you got some slaves for sale. I'm interested in buying one."
"Slaves? No no no. You must have misheard. We are just simple filolial farmers."
"Well then, mind if I take a look? I could use a filolial."
"Sorry man. These aren't for sale. Now scram before we make you."
The man closes to him put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"I overheard someone named Myne sold you a slave from the spear heroes party."
The man's eyes went wide as he realized that Lyn overheard him. He pulled out his sword and swung at Lyn.
"[Equipt]."
Lyn equipped his otherworldly clothes and pulled out his shield, blocking the hit.
"It's the Shield Demon!"
"Get him!"
The rest of the men dropped what they were doing and pulled out their weapons.
"Firo! Raphtalia!"
"Yes!"
"Okay~!"
"[Omega Guard]."
From behind Lyn, Raphtalia, on top of Filolial Firo ran at the men with her sword out, knocking them away. She out-leveled some of the crew by more than double so this was quite easy for her. A guy pulled out a crossbow and tried to shoot Firo.
"[Airstrike Shield Bash]."
A green glowing shield fell onto the man, trapping him and knocking the crossbow out of his hand.
Lyn noticed that one of the men ran away.
Sh*t. He'll be back with the guards in a little over three minutes. It's gonna be their word over mine and I know for a fact no one will believe the Shield Devil. We gotta hurry up.
"Firo, Raphtalia. Run inside the ship, I'll cover from behind."
"Understood!"
"Okay~!"
Raphtalia jumped off of Firo and let the bird run through the crowd on top of the ship. Once she ran to a door, Firo kicked it with all her might and jumped inside with Raphtalia quickly following behind.
"[Shield Prison]."
Lyn summoned the metal ball and blocked off the entrance behind him.
Inside Lyn saw more of the crew with their swords out, but Firo made quick work of them. They continued to run past the unconscious men.
"H-hello? Is anyone there?"
A small voice rang out from the hallway. A few murmurs followed. Lyn opened the door from which the voice emerged.
Cages.
Two long rows of cages were filled with human females. Some were dressed in rags, some were still in the clothes they were sold off in.
"S-shield Demon?"
"Yeah, yeah. The shield demon has come to do whatever. Now step back, I'm gonna break the locks. [Mini Airstrike Shield]."
Lyn summoned eight tiny shields in between his fingers and threw them into the locks on the cages. This skill is a combination of a tiny [Keychain Shield] and [Airstrike Shield].
"[Combo Shield], [Airstrike Shield Bash]."
The shields started to glow and grow in size. The locks started to creak and crack until finally-
Smash!*
The locks shattered one after another until all the doors swung open.
"Lyn-sama, more men are coming!"
"Alright. Everyone who wants to leave, stay close to me."
Once everyone gathered around him, Lyn raised his hand.
"[All Omega Guard]."
Lyn covered all of the girls in a protective aura and turned towards the entrance.
"Firo, blast us a path out. Raphtalia, get anyone she missed. The rest of you, follow Raphtalia. I'll shield you from behind. Understood?"
The women nodded.
"Good, let's go!"
"Okay~!"
Firo began to run back up, kicking her way through anyone who got too close.
On top, they were blocked by a wall of sex traffickers. But Firo just muttered something and slapped her wings together, blowing everyone away.
While Lyn helped Raphtalia study magic, Firo has been curiously listening to them and reading their books over their shoulders. She picked up some simple wind magic very quickly.
"Aaagh!"
"What is this monster?
"Run while you can!"
"Oh no you don't! [Shield Prison], [one through five]!"
Lyn raised his shield and trapped the five men that began to retreat inside his skills.
Firo led the women off of the boat and onto try land, where they came face to face with the guards as well as some curious villagers who were attracted by the commotion.
"Shield Demon! Explain this at once!"
Lyn hopped of the boat, holding one of the crewmen by the collar of his shirt.
He quickly began to explain what happened, and with the backup of the females he just rescued the guards reluctantly believed him and began to round up the men on board. Some of them tried to scream about how the 'shield devil attacked them for no reason', but the guards didn't buy it. They were all gagged escorted to the local prison to be trialed tomorrow and most likely executed. Unlike demi-human slavery, human slavery was a serious crime in Melromarc.
Some villagers recognized a few girls as close friends and relatives and helped them get home. Others received some spare clothing and some money, along with food. Lyn healed them all with his skill and looked at the captain of the guards that walked up to him. He and a girl next to him were both in tears.
"T-thank you," she whispered through the tears.
"Thank you Shield Hero. My daughter went missing a few days ago, and I thought I would never see her again. If it wasn't for you, she would have been sold to Faubrey. I don't know what to make of all that the Three Heroes Church has taught me since I was a kid, or the rape charges placed on you, but I won't forget this act of kindness, so if you ever need a favor, just ask."
"Just defend your people better."
Lyn changed his shield into a mini shield and hid it in his pocket as he walked away to check on Raphtalia and Firo.
"Lyn-sama,
"Daddy, did Firo do good?"
Firo hugged Lyn's leg in her human form. Lyn began to pat her on the head, as he reached into his shield and handed her a snack.
"Yep, I'll cook you an 'all you can eat' meal later."
"Yay~!"
"Excuse me."
A woman with golden curly haired walked up to them.
"Hello, who might you be?"
"My name is Rino. I was a former member of the Spear Heroes party."
Lyn sighed.
"What happened? If you don't mind telling me that is."
"It wasn't too long after the wave. I met him at a local pub and he offered to join his party. But just two days later Myne suggested that we should all go to the spa. When while I was getting dressed, some armored men burst in and tied me up. They dragged me out of the spa and I saw them talking to Myne. They payed her and dragged me away. But the worst part is that Sir Motoyasu was nearby, but he completely ignored me when I called out to him. He definitely heard me, but he just looked in my direction, rolled his eyes, and then just walked away, leaving me to die!"
She was screaming by the end, absolutely livid. But Lyn was surprised that she wasn't that traumatized from the experience.
He sighed and shook his head.
"So what was being on the Spear Heroes team like?"
Raphtalia asked Rino.
"Honestly? Really boring. Motoyasu just did everything himself, and all the other girls just cheered him on the whole time. He insisted on doing everything himself, saying things like 'beautiful girls shouldn't dirty their hands with hard labor'. His cooking tasted like sh*t but he still insisted on cooking for us. And the one time I helped him by launching a magic attack, everyone looked at me like I was insane. I'm surprised I haven't died of boredom yet."
"And the rest?"
"All of them looked down on me from day one, especially Myne, who acted like the queen of the world. Elena was just lazy, and Lesty was almost as bad as Myne. Motoyasu turned a blind eye to any kind of harassment and didn't bother to help me when I was being sold off by that b*tch! If I ever get my hands on her..."
She breathed in and out a couple of times to calm herself down.
"Sorry, I just needed to vent."
Lyn put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about it. Everyone needs to vent from time to time."
They stayed silent for a minute before Lyn broke the silence.
"So what are you gonna do now?"
"Probably return home and live a quiet life with my parents."
"Want a lift? Me and my party are peddling goods for a living and preparing for the waves along the way."
"That would be nice."
Unlike with Myne and everyone else at the throne room, Lyn could tell that she genuinely wanted to help people, so she didn't pass up an opportunity to join a cardinal hero. But that opportunity was obliterated by Myne.
"*sigh* Rino was it?"
She nodded.
"Do you want to get stronger and get revenge on Myne?"
"Uh... yes. Yes, deffinetly."
"Then you can join my party. As the shield, my job is to strengthen and protect my companions. I can make you much stronger than that b*tch."
Raphtalia looked at Rino, who seemed deep in thought. On one hand, joining a hero would make her stronger, but on the other hand, she just got screwed over by another hero and their companions. Trusting another hero so soon was hard. However, they did just save her from being sold as a sex slave. She should at least trust them a little.
But unlike last time she was offered to join a heroes team, Shield Heroes companions weren't looking looking down on her just because she was a peasant. And from what she heard, the shield hero actually beat the spear hero.
"Despite what the Church says about you, you saved me from becoming a sex slave, something a demon wouldn't do. You did more for me than the spear ever did without even knowing me. You seem like what a true hero should be. I'll be happy to join your party."
Lyn smiled and reached his hand out for a handshake.
"Welcome to the team Rino."
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