The Wrong Hero

Chapter 3 - A Different Turn of Events

Dante sat on his filolial as he gazed at Sadeena. Needless to say, it was quite unexpected.

What is she doing here? She shouldn't be here for another few weeks. I know that! That's how it happened, I know it! She meets Naofumi around the time he would have bought Raphtalia. That's what happened in the web novel. The Spear Hero web novel. That's in Motoyasu's point of view. Who was in a time loop. And is crazy.

Dante realized a very important flaw is his plans.

Okay, I need to start accounting for this sort of thing. Overreliance on a crazy person's retelling of events could lead to some seriously bad outcomes. Though this does bring up the question of which version of the story this world is most like. Light novel or web novel, or manga, or anime? Wait a second. Wasn't Sadeena just a slave in Zeltoble in the Shield web novel, not even a gladiator? I could have been waiting for help that would never come!

"Is there something on my face?" Sadeena asked, tilting her head to the side.

Right. Sadeena. She's here now, and I need to talk to her.

...I am totally unprepared for this conversation.

"Sorry about that." Dante said as he turned his filolial around. "I just wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Hmm." Sadeena looked Dante over. "I wasn't expecting to see you at all."

"Oh, right." Dante slid off the side of the filolial and held its reins. "I'm Dante MacRory, the Shield Hero." He shifted his shield from the dark violet, tanned leather of the Slaver User Shield to his metallic Small Shield, then back again.

"The Shield Hero..." Sadeena walked closer to Dante, a smile still on her face. "Well, I'm Sadeena, but you already know that."

"Ah, yes, I knew a couple things. Know a couple things." Dante couldn't get his thoughts in order. It didn't help his confusion that an incredibly beautiful woman was walking towards him.

Dammit, hormones, now's not the time!

"Oh my. I'd like to know a couple things too." She stood a few feet in front of him, arms behind her back. Her cloak was pulled back, revealing her wrapped chest. Dante had a hard time not looking, which earned him a small laugh from the woman.

He cleared his throat before he began. "Right. I have a few things I wanted to talk with you about. When we are alone."

Sadeena glanced to her side. "Are you afraid your filolial will tell someone?"

"Gweh!" The bird made a noise.

"No, not her...him?" He never asked Beloukas which it was. "I just wanted to make sure there was no one else around. That it was just us."

Sadeena must have picked up on what he meant. The smile on her faced dropped ever so slightly. "We're alone." She confirmed.

Dante let out a breath. "Good. I been worrying about that for a while. Let's have a seat, this will take a bit." He gestured over to the grasslands next to the road and Sadeena followed.

Honestly, he wasn't sure if and when he lost any shadows. If it was at Erhard's, or during his ride, or if they were ever there. Or, maybe Sadeena couldn't detect these shadows. There were more than a few things he needed to know.

"Okay, uh..." Dante didn't ask for the filolial's name either. It just came up as 'Filolial A' in his status. "Filolial, sit. We'll be here for a while." The bird complied, nestling into the grass beneath it.

"So," Sadeena started, taking a seat as well, "how do you know about me?"

"About that," Dante sat next to the filolial, reins still in his hand, "could you tell me why you were out here?"