The Kitsune's Cursed Hero

Chapter 23

A/n: Hey readers! So, I want to apologize for this being so late (by about two or three months) that's entirely my fault. I got busy with some things and didn't have as much time to write as I had hoped. I'm going to do my best to get this one back on a monthly schedule.

Y/n's POV

"My name is L'arc Berg. You can just call me L'arc, though. Oh, and this is Therese," L'arc said, looking at the woman with light blue hair next to him. She smiled as she looked at us. "Therese Alexanderite." Therese said, introducing herself. Big Brother still looked indifferent about who they were. "Nice to make it official." Big Brother said. Mom was looking between Big Brother and Therese as I looked at her. "What's wrong, Mom?" I questioned, looking at her. 

"I'm sorry if this is rude, but is Therese from a different country or something?" Mom asked. Big Brother looked at her, confused for a moment. "Because I couldn't understand what she just said." Mom added. L'arc and Therese looked shocked for a moment before looking at each other. "We forgot." L'arc commented. He turned, facing away from Therese before she touched what looks like a crystal on L'arc's weapon. The crystal glowed for a second before Therese pulled the glow from the crystal, placing it near her throat before it melded into her throat. "I deeply apologize. Do you understand me now?" Therese asked. 

"I do." Mom said, clapping her hands. Big Brother looked at Mom, probably realizing that his shield was doing most of the translating for him. "Let's try that again. My name is Therese Alexanderite," Therese repeated. 

"I'm Raphtalia." Mom said, introducing herself. Filo stepped forward, standing in front of Therese and L'arc. "And you can call me Filo," Filo added.

"Nice to meet you. And you two?" L'arc asked, looking at me and Big Brother.

"My name is Y/n L/n," I answered. L'arc and Therese nodded before looking at Big Brother, waiting for him to introduce himself. "I'm Naofumi. Naofumi Iwatani." Big Brother answered. L'arc and Therese looked at each other, shocked to hear the name. I started thinking about it and realized that if they had only heard about the lies that were told about Big Brother, it would be shocking to hear his name. "Naofumi, huh?" L'arc questioned. The two of them started laughing after a moment of silence. "Hey kiddo, if you're going to use an alias, I wouldn't recommend the Shield Hero's name." L'arc commented. I heard Big Brother let out a groan of frustration. "It's not an alias. I am the Shield Hero," Big Brother corrected. L'arc started laughing again, this time a full belly laugh. "You? You're the Shield Hero, huh?" L'arc asked, continuing to laugh. 

"It's really not that funny, L'arc. I agree with him, though. Your alias is a little too conspicuous." Therese pointed out.

"But it's..." Mom started, looking at Big Brother. 

"Shield Hero's got a reputation. He's one evil scumbag. Scams, blackmail, kidnapping, and he's got powerful friends who will execute whoever he doesn't like. A devil in human clothing." L'arc explained. I turned around, covering my mouth as I tried not to laugh about it since Big Brother had done those things to survive. "Actually, that's really not too far off the mark." Big Brother commented. A snicker escaped my lips as I heard Big Brother's comment about himself. "Master Naofumi..." Mom complained.

"Obviously I haven't known you long, but I can already tell you're nothing like that creep, kiddo." L'arc replied. He was giving Big Brother a big smile as I finally controlled my laughter. Big Brother let out a sigh while Mom and Filo laughed with each other about it. L'arc stepped closer to Big Brother. "Well, if you're going to insist on it. Nice to meet you, mister shield kiddo." L'arc said, shaking Big Brother's hand. 

"You're all going to Cal Mira? Are you headed there to level up as well?" Therese asked.

"Yeah! I'm going to slay so many monsters!" I cheered. Mom let out a sigh before she and Filo confirmed that was the case. "Well, do you wanna team up while we're there then? A bigger party is going to make things more efficient." L'arc suggested. I looked at them as Big Brother asked about teaming up with them. Before he could answer, someone knocked on the door and asked for me and Big Brother to come to the deck. "All five of us are greeting them together?" Big Brother asked. We were following one of the ship's men to the deck after he explained we were going to meet the crew. "That's right. They're going to be so excited to have the legendary heroes talk to them. I know it's really going to mean a lot to everybody." The crewmate said. He was clearly excited to have us on board and to have the rest of the crew meet us. We exited the ship, walking onto the deck with the sun blazing above us and clear skies. The wind was strong, and the air had a salty taste to it. Once we were on the deck, I rushed over to the side of the ship and looked out over the ocean. "Whoa! It's so blue!" I cheered, looking out over the ocean. As I was admiring the ocean, a groan came from beside me. As I looked down, seeing Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu all on the deck groaning in agony. Motoyasu was hanging over the edge of the ship while Ren and Itsuki looked at us confused. "Hey, wait... how are you two still walking around, Naofumi? Y/n?" Itsuki asked. I giggled as I looked at them before crouching down and poking Ren's cheek. "You guys look sick. Did you eat something bad?" I commented.