#l’arc x naofumi

[eli-elien]

7 larc x Naofumi

7) To shut them up...

They sit across from each other, feet both dangling from the balcony, looking upon the intricate brick roads and dotted buildings of L’arc’s people. Everything is quiet except for the sound of bugs and the wilderness surrounding the kingdom, the only light being the warm orange of windows and the moon.

L’arc swirls his glass, wine, for the advisor told him off about doing paperwork drunk again; but its always such a pleasure to have these late night talks with Naofumi.

Maybe it was the drink or perhaps the mood, but he takes delight in the way moonlight shines on the ravenhead’s hair, how the stars reflected in those emerald eyes.

“What are you staring at?” Naofumi looks him in the eyes, curiously.

“The moon’s quite bright tonight, but so are your eyes.” Something playful tugging at L’arc’s lips.

Naofumi blinks from that, “Really? Been told they were dull,” he chuckles, “like a villain’s.”

L’arc frowns slightly at that, the way Naofumi looks away from his view, trying to shrink away.

“Whoever made up that narrative is an idiot. I think emeralds, given enough time and effort, would shine brighter than any diamond. You should know that better than anyone, right jeweler?”

Naofumi’s face reddens from the way L’arc’s brow raised and the smirk he gave, god that smirk was something to be wiped off by a slap to the face. Naofumi laughs again slightly, nodding.

“I mean given your skills, your actions, I’d say you’re the perfect hero.” 

Naofumi purses his lips, breath quickening for just a second after turning back and seeing those ruby eyes. Those ruby eyes that almost took his life that day during the wave.

“And all the rest of those jerks can go fuck right off if they know what’s good for them.”

His face heats up more, feeling the hand that sets down the empty wine glass firmly on his. The foot dangling a feet from Naofumi’s own, touching the them.

Naofumi takes a breath, “I think you’ve drunk enough, I mean I don’t need all this praise and-” He’s taken, back against a column of stone with ever reaching ivy, another’s body heat melding to his own. L’arc’s hand still planted on his, he pulls his lips away from Naofumi’s, which are still parted after the touch.

“No I’m not drunk, and you do deserve this, so shut up and take it kiddo.”

[moontheoretist]

I want mlm RPG game isekai, please 😫

I once again tried to look for isekai with queer protagonist that is not written as BL (don’t take me wrong, I like BL, but what I am looking for is not BL isekai, but rather isekai that has queer male protagonist, because if you google “BL isekai” the results you get are mostly “porn without plot”, while I’m looking for a lot of plot instead - I don’t care how many sex scenes is there as long as there is plot that isn’t short and is intriguing so I can enjoy both the story and the romance that is going on, but sadly “BL isekai” is mostly not that) and like usual I found nothing, because apparently nobody came up with the idea that having a gay protagonist transported into isekai world in which he is surrounded by beautiful women, but has literally 0 interest in any of them and falls in love with that one guy he meets, is a great setting for a comedy. [EDIT: 14.10.2023 Why nobody told me about Kyo Kara Maoh? This is literally a mlm isekai that I looked for!]

Anyway, failing in finding male x male themed isekai that has romance as part of the story instead of the focus of the story, once again made me realize how much more interesting Raising of the Shield Hero would be if Naofumi and L’Arc were the endgame ship. Typical isekai RPG story with side romance that also falls into the drama territory due to the fact that L’Arc and Naofumi are technically enemies due to the fact that their worlds are currently fighting for survival with each other. Isn’t it thrilling when your love has obstacles similar to Romeo and Juliet story? That your love is forbidden or impossible, but you still end up having it in the end, because we are positive and don't want them all to die for the sake of their love, because hell they have to survive to save the world. Also harem just simply doesn’t fit this story.

Anyway, there is also an isekai manga that I was reading Ansatsusha de Aru Ore no Status ga Yuusha yori mo Akiraka ni Tsuyoi nodaga (My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero's), and tbh this manga would also greatly benefit from mlm romance, because as far as I noticed the protagonist is treated very well by the Hero in this story, to the point that I got some fruity vibes from the Hero in regard to his Assassin classmate (the MC). Due to the setting in which the MC discovers that the Kingdom that summoned them is not to be trusted and gets driven out by the Royals, the love story between Hero and the Assassin would really complete the picture. Hell, Akira could date both the Hero and Amelia (elven girl he meets) as far as I am concerned. Polyamorous bisexual isekai, let’s go!

(I dunno how you, but this is either very good friendship or gayness).

[iwatanis-bitch]

Matching lovecore Naofumi x L’arc icons!! Free to use with credit!!

[fireburn-572]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25746052

Finish product

[rot-shield-hero]

Hanahaki disease rarufumi

Haven’t posted in a while but I’m now thinking of a Hanahaki disease for Naofumi when he met L’Arc. How long had they been in Cal Mera? I don’t know but it was love at first sight.

So with Naofumi’s advanced healing, it’s making this all the more painful because it does not actually go away.

Maybe during the fight when they betray him, his healing gives out and the flowers come in tenfold. L’Arc talks about having to kill him and Naofumi just smiles with blood on his lips and a petal on his chin and says “You already did.”

Next, the flowers overgrow his lungs and everyone watches as he collapses and blood flowers burst through his chest.

[rosesinbloom7love]

Thoughts?

what are ya’ll opinions on giving Naofumi a harem?

Cuz, I have an Au in mind that involves giving him a harem.

Like i’ll be really transparent here, before L’arc & Therese were a thing, I kinda shipped Naofumi with the other three heroes (mostly motoyasu). don’t ask me why cuz i honestly couldn’t tell you.

i think it was just the fanart and fanfic were really good. also they were the only ships i liked at the time as the only other ones were Naofumi x Raphtalia. which i have made VERY clear i only see them as a father-daughter relationship.

and the other one was Naofumi x Myne, which i avoided like the plague for obvious reasons.

anyway, Naofumi in a harem with L’arc, Therese and the three heroes. 

thoughts?

[shieldherostuffs]

I think I came up for a Ship name for Naofumi x L’Arc x Therese... 

TheRuFumi

I don’t know if anyone likes it, or even this Ship, but I do and I wanted to share that with people. 

[serpenttailedangel]

Do you know any good Motofumi fics out there? AllI see is L’arcfumi ones (tbf, L’arc is awesome).

At the risk of crushing your hopes and dreams, most of the Motofumi content seems to be in Japanese. Motoyasu and any ship to do with him are tragically underrated in the English fandom. Like, I’ve been less active in the fandom the past few months with focus on an original story project instead, but last I checked the most popular FFN story about the Spear Hero was still a self-insert that cut Motoyasu out completely. I think there’s maybe ten fics I’ve seen total with some semblance of the pairing, and some of those are Naofumi x Everyone or a physical pairing with no romantic relationship, implied Motofumi down the road but the author stopped updating before that point, etc.

On the flip side, while Raphtalia is certainly the star of a hefty portion of the series Japanese fanart, she’s in like 1% of all the doujins you can find. The Shield Hero doujinshi are overwhelmingly Motofumi. There’s straight up like 100 of them and I can’t read any of it and it’s not fair.

...

So anyway here’s some recs for artists who draw Motofumi, since I don’t have a lot to offer you for fics.

https://twitter.com/hamoru_07/media

https://twitter.com/karashi_Minamin (this one’s my favorite, the art style is really close to the art in the light novels)

https://twitter.com/mokum09

https://twitter.com/segawaseki/media (does more Siltvelt-loop stuff)

https://twitter.com/yamori84

[sindri42]

Oh hey, since Shield Hero is growing in popularity I feel like I should say something.

Don’t lewd Raphtalia. She’s like, twelve years old at the most, more likely 9-10. Judging by the latest episode, she literally does not even know where babies come from. Just don’t.

Same applies to Filo obviously; she looks like she’s about eight and she’s actually less than one so even if you assume monsters mature faster that is absolutely not okay.

Melty, despite being crown princess and one of the most responsible people in the series, is definitely a child. Nope.

Ren is 16 and Itsuki is 17, so smut is not allowed but some light shipping is fine with other characters in the same age range. They’re still in high school at the start of the series, though they might grow up as time progresses.

Rishia is also 17 when we meet her. It’ll take at least a year for her to make her move on Itsuki at this rate tho...

Keel, Atla, Fohl, and all the other kids Naofumi adopts are definitely off limits, no matter how hot they are or how much of a furry you are.

S’yne is a little hard to tell because her personal timeline is messed up and she doesn’t talk much but she looks like a teenager at most so to be on the safe side don’t.

Acceptable targets for lewdness:

Myne/Bitch, though I shudder to think about the contents of fanworks centered on her

Motoyasu is 21 years old and canonically sexy as hell

Naofumi is 20; he’s currently sex-repulsed but whatever

[Motoyasu x Naofumi actually almost happened in canon, so go wild]

Weapon Shop Guy. (he has a name but it isn’t revealed until like book 13 and then forgotten immediately. Point is he’s hot for an older dude.)

Glass is definitely an adult. Be aware that she’s a lesbian though, so no pairing her with men.

Fitoria looks young, but she’s been around for thousands of years and definitely has kids, probably millions of them.

Therese

L’Arc Berg

Eclair

Ost

Kizuna

Nadia/Sadeena

Ratotille

[iwatanis-bitch]

Lovecore Naofumi x L’arc moodboard because they make my heart go 💓💓💓

[iwatanis-bitch]

Don’t mind me,, jus obsessing over them🥺💞

[fireburn-572]

Writing a L’arc x Naofumi on Archive of our own

Alternate Universe - High school

[rot-shield-hero]

Can you do L'Arc x Naofumi? It's ok if you can't, I'm just asking.

Colors

It seemed as if everything was going in different speeds.

The colors he saw flashed by his eyes.

Colors full of beauty and melancholy.

Those viridian irises filled with darkness and an untrusting heart underneath.

The sky filled with an array of colors—blues, pinks, oranges, purples, and blacks. There was a red tinge to it as well but that red was more the color of blood and it was revolting.

His eyes and hair—red. It resembled the red in the sky he thoroughly hated.

With the shield hero—the one who he had believed to be a devil at first—he saw an array of colors that were not just a reminder of blood.

L’Arc grinned widely upon seeing the faint smile on the man’s face. “Kiddo! You actually smile?” He pouted when it slipped—he noticed. The flicker of emotion in those beautiful greens. He noticed.

Was he not supposed to?

It wasn’t hard to miss.

A glance to Therese.

She missed.

He didn’t think much. He was probably imagining it.

That wasn’t the only time.

Just the first.

Every time he complemented the man or pointed out an emotion other than bitter hatred or anger, he would see a flicker of emotion.

Fear? Panic?

Why? What was there to fear? To panic?

Disgust? Hate?

Why? Where were those emotions coming from?

L’Arc threw an arm over the man’s shoulders and he earned a flinch. Shattered green stared with hate and disgust, pain and fear.

Colors.

He never knew colors could come in different shades, especially the color of this man’s eyes.

Dark.

Light.

Milky.

It was all there.

All there and filled with negativity.

“Naofumi?” Flinch—not of panic or fear, but of surprise. Naofumi? Not Kiddo? A joke. Strained and forced. “Why do you look disgusted and hateful with every complement I give you?”

Tension. Scared. Fear. Panic.

“I don’t know what you mean, L’Arc.”

A frown. “Nao—“ he reached out to touch him but the man—the colorful man—pulled away. “What is wrong? Why must you pull away?”

“I don’t believe what you say.” A whisper. Breathy and almost inaudible, thrown to the wind for it to be carried away. “No one ever says that—not unless...” Green eyes—dark and cloudy, resembling a hurricane of anger and hate. “...they want something. Why must one complement me if all they use it if for their own gain? No. I wish none of it. Do not make those comments.”

Who had brought such pain to this male? “I don’t—Kiddo, I’m not wanting anything from you but your attention.” Red meet green. Complementary colors. “I want nothing in return but your attention and smiles, you have such beautiful smiles.”

Dark. Negative. “No. You want something else. I’m not going to give you—“ Red—no, pink. Pink on pale cheeks. Beautiful. Colors that were nothing but beautiful.

Pink on pink. Lips locked.

Shock, embarrassment. Unmoving.

“As I said, I wish for nothing but your attention and affection.”

Those colors—vivacious and emotional. They were there and then ripped away.

I’m sorry, Kiddo. If only there was another way.

Betrayal. Hurt. Pain. Pain! Pain! Stop! It hurts!

Red.

Horrible, revolting red.

It sprayed the salty air.

Don’t. No!

Sacrifice. Blood.

Blood.

What have you done?

Naofumi! Why?

What have you—?

“No!”

Glass jumped away, getting out of the way of the jaws of the dragon. The trio vanished.

Colors. They meant nothing.

Everything but red slipped away.

They returned not until meeting the green. Dull and bland, faded green. Unfocused.

“Kiddo?”

“L’Arc.”

“Your eyes—“

“Hideous.”

“Beautiful.”

Colors returned. Brighter green—resembling the grassy fields around. Pink on pale cheeks.

“Why? What do you want? My head on a silver platter?” Anger. Dark and stormy. Hate. Hate. It hurts. No.

“Just your attention and affection.”

[rot-shield-hero]

Can I get uhhhhh extreme angst

Yes.

The moment Therese heard about the Shield Hero being held captive, she grew concerned. The Shield Hero was extremely strong, how did anyone manage to get the drop on him?

L’Arc has been adamant in finding the Shield Hero—whether to kill him or not was lost on the Gem Hero.

Glass was helping, but she planned on killing Naofumi.

The location was given to a frightened servant. Underground, a rich aristocrat had bought bounty hunters. Sick and twisted the man was, afraid and manipulated, he set out to purify the Demon of the Shield—if not, torturen him to break him. Glass had no qualms in killing the man. It was on accident to begin with, but she didn’t have any problems or guilt.

Following the path of stairs, the air musty and thick with the scent of copper. They descended into the underground cells and walked around. The cells were empty except for the last cell. Therese was the first one to spot him.

Hanging by his wrists, was a horrific scene. Pale skin bruised and cut open, blood—old and fresh—stained and dripped onto the ground. A puddle was under him. It echoed in the cell, ringing in her ears as the scene burned itself into her mind. Despicable. How could anyone do this? Streaks of dried blood slid down his cheeks coming from the blindfold. Infection had set in on some of the deeper gashes all over his body. His back was the worse. Whipped. He had been whipped. The man was underfed, his ribs and chest poking out. His stomach was basically concave. No muscle or fat anywhere to be seen. It was sickening to see his hips and collarbone jutting out.

“Therese, have you found him?” She heard L’Arc but it sounded as if she was underwater. She was frozen. “Therese?” Footsteps. They were moving closer to her. “Hey, what’s—? Oh kiddo,” he whispered. He sounded sad, horrified. “Glass, can you help me get him down?”

“L’Arc, they—he—“

“It’s okay, Therese. You’ll have to heal him. He will be okay.”

Glass opened her mouth but promptly closed it. She had been going to remind them of their mission, but she knew now was not the time. To be fair, it enraged her to see the only competent hero be treated like such.

The moment L’Arc touched Naofumi, the hero jolted. Even without looking at his eyes, they knew he was awake. His breathing pattern changed and his frail and underfed body was tended. No one said anything, Naofumi kept his mouth closed, not once speaking.

“Kiddo?” That sparked a reaction.

Naofumi seemed to choke, his mouth moving but no words came out. He thrashed, kicking his feet. His voice broke out, choppy and hoarse, signs of dehydration and sore throat leaked out. “N-not ah-again. Please! I know . . . re-eh-al! St-ah-p!” His voice cut out, coughing and clearing his throat. Due to how bad his throat was, he spat out a glob of blood.

“Kiddo, it’s okay! You’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you.” L’Arc attempted to reason with Naofumi—reaching up to remove the blindfold.

“Kill me.” The words—soft and delicate, different from a few moments ago—froze everyone in the room. “Please. Kill me. I can’t—“ His entire body was relaxed, but he was awake. “Can’t—I don’t . . . wanna live.” He was begging for mercy. He was begging for death. What had they done to him?

Glass glanced at L’Arc who nodded. She cut the man’s chains and L’Arc caught the frail man. He let out a grunt in pain, hissing as he fought and struggled against the Scythe Hero. The Shield Hero was set down on the ground, but held down by the king. L’Arc took the blindfold off. “Kiddo, look at me. I promise, im not going to hurt you. Open your eyes please.”

“You’re a fake!” Croaky, raspy. Naofumi winced at talking. “Linus, stop. Please, kill me. You wanted this! You wanted to see me like this! Please, I can’t anymore. Are you happy?” It hurt him to talk and it was apparent with how quiet his voice was.

“I’m not Linus. Naofumi, please. I’m real.”

“The—the re-eh-al L’Arc would—would . . . kill me.” He spat more blood out. “If I can’t see, it’s not real,” he whispered, repeating it as his hands came up and grasped his oily hair.

“L’Arc,” Glass finally spoke. “He’s traumatized. Illusion spells. He’s begging for death. Put him out of his misery.” The Fan Hero wasn’t happy about saying this. She liked honorary battles—having hoped to kill the Shield Hero in battle and not like this.

The man shook his head, hugging the other man to his chest. “I can’t. You know I can’t. Naofumi, please. Please, look at me. Open your eyes for me. We’re going to get you help. They’re not going to hurt you. No one will ever hurt you again. I promise. Please.”

The twenty-year-old opened his eyes to look at them.

Horror. Disgust. Therese wanted to throw up. She hadn’t moved from her spot but now she couldn’t even stomach her food. Silence.

Naofumi stared at them with empty black sockets.

He had no eyes.

[rot-shield-hero]

A little writing suggestion/headcanon thing for you: What if the heros, naofumi & l'arc were all fighting a common enemy that was too strong for all of them to win against, so naofumi had to use blood sacrifice just to make sure it died & everyone else got out alive. What would L'arc's reaction be to such an awful spell, the aftermath & the implication that THIS was how much naofumi had to suffer in order to make up for the incompetence of the other heroes.

Angst. Beautiful angst. Sorry for the late reply.

Warning: blood, gore

It was too strong. Hours on the same monster. L’Arc and Therese had arrived later but they still couldn’t bring the life down. A common enemy to the different heroes. It didn’t matter if they were enemies themselves, this was life or death. They had set aside their differences to fight—Naofumi being able to team up with them without any hardships. He was better in working with them than the other cardinal heroes. It was a sad thought. The three couldn’t help but feel jealous. How could Naofumi work with the enemy better than with them?

Answer, they had trusted each other.

Had.

Filo cut up the monster with her talons, but she went down and took Motoyasu down with her. The monster had landed a blow, sending her flying and she hit Motoyasu along with a wall. A piece of debris fell and bonked her on the head, knocking the poor bird creature out.

Ren and Istuki worked together. Raphtalia helped Ren and L’Arc with close combat. Istuki and Therese worked on long range. Naofumi was in between, he protected them and took blows if needed with his shield. It was apparent that they were getting tired and the monster was getting the upper hand.

“Raphtalia!” he shouted with anguish, watching his sword fall. He activated the Air Strike shield and kept her from getting hurt but it was apparent that she was unconscious as well. The monster blew them away. Everyone hit the debris and rubble. Naofumi got away with little damage due to his advanced protection.

Rage. Use your hate, child! Kill the beast and then slaughter everyone else.

No. He knew he had to use the curse series. I will not kill anyone but the beast. Lend me your power!

Very well.

L’Arc scowled, attempting to get his foot from out of the rubble. He watched red sigils appear on Naofumi’s skin, his armor transforming from a dragon appearance to a demonic appearance. It’s similar to then. He remembered Cal Mira and the fight when they betrayed him. To his left, Raphatalia stirred as did the two conscious heroes. Therese is trapped under rubble, but she could see and breathe. A gasp. “Naofumi-sama, no!”

Too late. Purplish aura starts to form from the shield. “Foolish sinner,” everyone shuddered at the tone of voice Naofumi used, “I sentence you to cast your screams unto the heavens.” Raspy, dualed, echoey. It was not his voice but at the same time it was. “Within the dragon’s jaws born from my flesh, become an offering to the gods as you howl in pain! Blood sacrifice!”

L’Arc watched as everyone’s eyes widened in horror. His did as well. Blood sacrifice? What is he thinking?

The energy traveled from the shield back and enveloped Naofumi. Then it died. A second. Two. Nothing. What? A dud?

“No!” Raphtalia’s scream came a second after blood bursts from her master’s body. The red liquid painted around him, gushing out as he knelt on one knee. It pooled and traveled a good distance away from the twenty-year-old.

Pain etched into the man’s face as he scowled, gripping his shield and glaring up at the monster who stared in confusion. Lacerations appeared on the green-eyed man’s body. Horrifying. It was apparent that this would cause scarring. The man cried blood, his nose dripped with red and he coughed the red liquid.

It was quiet afterward. A second. Then two. Then rumbling.

L’Arc’s red eyes widened in surprise and realization. He’s losing too much blood!

A mechanical dragon burst out of the ground, grabbing the creature in its jaws and crushing it with its teeth. More blood.

Dark in pigmentation—purple and not red. It was clear to see which belonged to the kiddo and to the monster. How? This is apart of the curse series! It shouldn’t be activated unless—no. Kiddo, no. You—? Who would cause you such despair and rage?

Red eyes found the culprits who were getting to their feet. Of course. Of course!

Anger bloomed but quickly smashed down by worry and concern. The sword hero pushed the boulder off and he rushed to the pile of debris. “Therese!” He helped his companion up and they looked over where Raphatalia was screaming and crying over Iwatani’s motionless body.

The two otherworlders glanced at each other then ran over. Therese helped staunch the bleeding while L’Arc comforted the raccoon girl. It was bad. So so bad. Naofumi wasn’t looking at them, but he was looking past them. Green eyes, pale and unseeing, stared up at the sky. Red trickled out from them.

Red. It was everywhere. It painted the ground, the man’s face, and their hands and clothes. L’Arc felt sick. How could all of this happen?

These so-called heroes drove a good man to the curse series. They would soon regret it.

A month passed.

L’Arc regularly visited Naofumi who lied on the bed. Ashy gray skin and sunken face. He had stolen the man from his world—as well as his two daughters. Raphtalia and Filo day at either side of Naofumi and waited for him to wake.

He showed them off to get their food and a quick bath. In that time, green met red. And a promise was made.

/end/

Whelp, that was short and not as gory as I hoped.

[rot-shield-hero]

Poisoned

The drink tasted off, that was something that Naofumi had noted. It held a bittersweet taste but he didn’t think much about it. The bartender did say that the berries used would give it a slight bitter taste and that he would have to add a certain ingredient. with this information, he never really thought anything was off.

He hadn’t really listened and took the drink. He was leaning against the railing that looked out to the sea. He had his drink beside him, but his focus was elsewhere. When he took that sip, he almost spit it out at the horrible taste. How could anyone stomach this? It’s horrible.

“Not good?” Naofumi turned, seeing L’Arc standing there with a grin. He laughed gently at the disgusted face he was making. “I figured not.” The scythe wielder leaned against the railing, hands interlocked as he stared out at the view. The sun had set a while ago, leaving them with the light of the moon and stars and the fire of the torches which surrounded the town.

“It’s more bitter than sweet.” Despite this, he took a longer drink of the liquid and pushed past the taste. He listened to L’Arc judging him. Why drink it if you don’t like it? “Because why not?” There was nothing else to it, he was thirsty after a long day of grinding.

“You’re odd, Kiddo.”

“I’m twenty.”

“Yes, but you look like you’re—are you okay?” L’Arc frowned, seeing how pale the man got in couple of seconds. Something was wrong. He placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder, looking at him with concern as he inspected him closer. The male’s head dropped, looking down at the ground. He noticed the tight grip on the railing, the swaying. What’s wrong with him? “Kiddo?” Naofumi looked up at him, his green eyes dull in color before he collapsed. “Kiddo!” He caught him, trying to figure out what was wrong when the male started convulsing. The scythe wielder placed him down, unsure what to do. “Naofumi!”

One of the heroes—he didn’t care enough to recognize them—came and placed the man on his side, telling people to move anything sharp or hard out of the way and to steer clear. Behind him, the two girls who are in the shield hero’s party came rushing.

“Naofumi-sama!”

“Master!”

“Stop! Stay away.” The hero started to loosen the man’s clothing, taking off the cloak he wore and made it into a makeshift pillow so that he wouldn’t hit his head. He recognized the blond hair and knew it belonged to the spear hero, Motoyasu Kitamura. The male seemed to know what exactly to do, so they backed away. 

“What’s wrong with him?” whispered Raphtalia who was holding Filo. She felt so useless.

“It’s a seizure, but I didn’t think that Naofumi would have them,” he answered, mumbling the end of the sentence. The spear hero looked thoughtful, for a second, counting the minutes as they passed, waiting for the seizure to calm down.

When the convulsions calmed down, Naofumi was unconscious.

“Take him to a healer.”

He didn’t waste any time. L’Arc picked the man up, taking him to healer while Therese and the two girls from Naofumi’s party followed. He had his attention on getting the male to the healer that he didn’t notice the grin one shadowed figure was wearing.

The healer looked him over and gave a small potion to slow the poison down. “I can’t do much but keep him stable. He’s been poisoned.” The healer went into detail of what it could be, seeing as the symptoms had yet to show up. The seizure narrowed things down but not enough. More should be present in the morning, then they’d get the list of ingredients out to the members of the journey.

“It would be best to start getting ready for a journey. Choose who is going to stay and watch over the Shield Hero.”

His squad and the two foreigners raised their hands. “Raphtalia,” L’Arc said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You and Filo should go. They might need the two of you. Therese and I can stay and look for who attempted at Kiddo’s life. Therese can keep the poison from spreading too much.”

“But—I can’t.” She was desperate. She didn’t want to leave his side, not at a time like this. “Naofumi-sama, he—I have to stay. He cured my illness, I want to do the same.” Her ears were pressed against the top of her head, staring up at L’Arc. Fillo looked determined and ready to fight him, despite there being tears in her eyes, he could see the fire in her heart.

His gaze softened, placing another comforting hand on her shoulder. “And you can’t if you stay here. Find the ingredients for the antidote, then you can come to cure him.” He smiled at her. “I promise we will stay and keep him safe.”

The other three heroes were waiting outside when Raphtalia and Filo came out with the two newcomers. “Kiddo’s been poisoned. Something that bypassed his own healing and protection magic. Tomorrow Raphtalia and Filo will go on to find the ingredients. Any of you going?”

“What about you?” questioned Itsuki, narrowing his eyes. “Who are you anyway?”

L’Arc gave a gentle smile, lifting his hands up. “I’m L’Arc Berg. I helped the Kiddo today grind levels. I’ll be staying to help protect him if the need arises, whoever poisoned him might catch wind of all of this and attempt to take his life.” 

Motoyasu sighed, rubbing his face. “I kind of owe him for how I had acted. I’ll go.” If it means I get to spend more time with my Filo-chan. And I do owe it to Naofumi. 

The two youngest of the Four Cardinal heroes glanced at each other. “I’ll go too,” they said in unison. Not trusting the Spear Hero to do it on his own.

We might get the chance to kill the Shield Hero now. I’m sorry, Kiddo. This is for our world.