The Wrong Hero

Chapter 33 - Othil Wave

Dante wasn't quite sure how to file this new information. On the one hand, no Takt gave him a lot of options. On the other hand, he didn't know that Takt wasn't around. For all he knew, the only real difference was when Takt would make his move. Then again, that brought a bunch of questions about him. Was he super egotistical, needing to be around his harem of women? Was he more cunning like Malty, waiting to carefully make his move? Did some other reincarnated kill him already?

Well, Dante had a new source of information right in front of him. He might as well make use of it. His party members were a bit on edge with the mentioning of Lloyd being the Whip Hero, so now was a good time to clear the air.

"It's good to meet you." Dante said, extending his hand. "I'm Dante, the Shield Hero."

"Ah..." Lloyd had raised his hand, but he let it hang limply. "The Shield Hero?"

"That's right." Dante confirmed, still holding out his hand. "I take it you heard some rumors about me?"

"Er, yes." Lloyd said, finally shaking Dante's hand. "I heard a few. They said...you raped your first companion. Or, was it the first princess of Melromarc?"

"Same person, and it was a lie." Dante told him. "I suppose I can't really prove that, but I can point out that Melromarc's religion is against the Shield Hero, and the king doesn't view anything relating to demi-humans in a positive light."

"That's true..." Lloyd, at least, seemed to understand the optics of Dante's situation. Shaking his head, he continued. "Well, if you're here to fight the wave, that's all I really need to know."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Dante said. "Let's talk strategy."

Over the next hour, the two groups discussed how they would handle the wave. The volunteer knights and adventurers' main goal was to protect whatever village or town was nearby when they were transported to the wave. They had the numbers to evacuate and hold out for a time. As Lloyd mentioned before Dante's group showed up, his party would search out the boss. He trained a number of griffins and would be sending them out. Dante's group would handle as many monsters as they could, then join Lloyd and his monsters in fighting the boss.

Lloyd also gave Dante a bit more information. His idea was right, being that he had to be within a certain distance of an hourglass to be teleported automatically to the wave. Rather, he would get teleported if the hourglass with the wave was the closest one to him, regardless of whether or not he registered to any other hourglasses. Lloyd didn't know if he'd get transported after the wave started, assuming Dante was out of range and then came closer during it. Also, a portal marker would be available at the hourglass starting 24 hours before a wave.

Once the bulk of the preparations were done, he sat down with the man, alone. They went to where Lloyd was staying until the wave, a small ranch just outside of town. Dante asked him for some different information. Lloyd had been the Whip Hero for less than a year. He was chosen by the Whip while he was in Faubrey, raising the level of one of his monsters. That already didn't sound right to Dante, who seemed to recall the Whip originating in Shieldfreeden. One interesting fact about Lloyd was that he's a noble, though an eighth child. He had little hope of inheriting anything substantial, so being chosen as a hero was a huge boon for him.

Of course, being a noble gave Lloyd a reason to know a fair number of things. Specifically, he knew about the royal family and a number of noble houses.

"So, you've never heard of Takt Faubrey?" Dante asked.

"Sorry, I can't say that I have." Lloyd shook his head.

"How about a genius? Someone making a lot of technological advances? Guns and flying machines?" Dante tried again.

"I did hear about someone doing some strange work with monsters, but that was a while ago. As for mechanical stuff, there are a few alchemists with some new ideas, but nothing like what you're talking about." Lloyd said.