“The future Shield Hero and his buddies drove off the ones who assume the name of god for us, for the time being, but what if they go back to where they came from? Mamoru and little old me have had our hands full simply dealing with Piensa,” Holn reminded her.
“Which means what?” Natalia retorted.
“Are you really going to stand by while a hero is pushed further into the corner? If we could copy the techniques of a pacifier, one so skilled in combat, and then give that weapon to someone with plenty of potential but still lacking in technique . . . can you think of any greater boon?” Holn asked.
“That’s all you’ve got to say?” Natalia replied. She looked ready to execute Holn on the spot, but Holn just smiled as she delivered the final blow.
“The world is in crisis! Does a pacifier incapable of self-sacrifice really have the right to punish a hero in such times?” Holn jibed. Silence fell around us. I was amazed she could just come out with something so incendiary, but she was right. An observer who did nothing for the world and simply punished heroes as she saw fit was nothing but an inconvenience. Keeping to the rules didn’t matter if it meant the end of the world.
To top it off, the Whip Spirit seemed to have taken a liking to Holn and removed her from being a target for possible punishment. If Natalia ignored such comments coming from a hero like Holn who was fighting on the front lines, then her own position as a pacifier could be in jeopardy. Just forcing the elimination of Holn here would go against that role and her position as protector of the world.
“She got the better of you there. Give it up, Heavenly Emperor,” the Water Dragon said, cautioning Natalia with his chin on his dragon paws.
“I’m still not sure . . .” Natalia persisted.
“We need to be focused on maintaining the existence of this world,” the Water Dragon cut her off. “This is about more than just punishing a foolish hero or two.” Natalia sounded disappointed as she lowered her hammer and backed away from Holn. This seemed to happen with her a lot. “A pacifier must sometimes punish a hero, but also sometimes provide guidance. We can’t rely on these heroes from the future forever. It’s worth our time to help out with this kind of experiment,” the Water Dragon told her.
“Easy for you to say, water snake! You might feel differently if you were the one being copied!” Natalia raged.
“I’m no snake, and it isn’t easy for me to say either! You know what kind of creature a dragon is,” the Water Dragon reminded her. They did live a long time, that was true—especially when it came to a Dragon Emperor. It looked like the Water Dragon himself was still alive in our time. That was mind-bending, when you thought about it.
“She will create something with a copy of your personality as a friend for the Water Dragon,” I prompted.
“I’m not sure I want a friend like that,” the Water Dragon added, destroying my attempt at persuasion. We didn’t need to make Natalia’s standing any worse. If we cornered her completely, there was no telling what she might do.
“That’s my line! Am I forced to put up with your supercilious ways even after I’m dead?” Natalia retorted.
“Dafu, dafu!” said Dafu-chan, suddenly getting angry about something.
“So then, Heavenly Emperor, you’re going to help with my transcription experiment, correct?” Holn confirmed.
“I really don’t want to, but okay. I’ll take your word that this is all for the sake of our world. But if you waste my goodwill here, I will kill you!” Natalia shouted.
“Excellent. This is still a prototype, so I don’t expect it to go smoothly. I’ll need to keep making little adjustments,” Holn explained. She took out a strange-looking helmet and put it on Natalia, then had her sit in a chair. If Ren was here, he’d probably make a comment about diving into the world of a VRMMO. I’d bring him along later to take a look. We could have Holn make a sword and transcribe Ren’s personality into it.
Holn fiddled with the peculiar helmet for a while and then flipped a switch on the wall and started the experiment. There was a throbbing noise. Then light started to flow from the cables connected to the helmet and to the cables connected to the cultivation tank.
“What if it sucks out her soul or her consciousness and puts them in the hammer?” I joked.
“Mr. Naofumi!” Raphtalia exclaimed. Natalia also jumped as soon as I spoke.
“I’d never fail in such spectacular fashion! You don’t believe me?” Holn asked innocently.
“I don’t want to,” Natalia said stubbornly.
“And yet our first experiment is already finished,” Holn replied. Natalia sounded surprised as Holn clicked the switch off. The water gurgled away in the tank and the case containing the cultivation vanished into the floor. Holn touched the hammer, thought for a moment, and then handed it to Natalia.
“I can hear your thoughts when I touch it. You sound pretty stressed,” Holn said.
“Uh . . . I hear it too,” Natalia replied.
“Looks like this is working. Keep hold of that for a while, as a prototype. The transcription should gradually transfer over,” Holn said.
“Now I’m interested. What kind of voice do you hear?” I asked, reaching over to touch the hammer. But Natalia pulled back and resisted me. Her reaction was a lot like the first time I tried to touch Raphtalia’s tail.
“I’m not letting anyone else touch this! Maybe I should just break it right now!” Natalia said.
“That won’t change anything, I’m afraid,” Holn replied. Natalia sighed. She didn’t quite seem to know what to do with this troublesome new item.
“I understand how you feel, Natalia,” Raphtalia offered, placing a hand on her shoulder. I wondered where that was coming from. First Natalia had a look like Raphtalia couldn’t possibly understand, but then she followed Raphtalia’s eyes and her expression changed to one of sympathy.
“Yes, I see. I think we’re quite similar,” Natalia agreed.
“We both just have to do our best,” Raphtalia replied.
“Huh? Why are those two suddenly getting closer together?” I asked Ruft.
“No idea, but this was a lot of fun, Shield Hero,” Ruft said.
“Raph!” said Raph-chan. As Ruft, Raph-chan, and I each voiced our bemusement, the others around us looked even more assured in whatever it was they were thinking. I still had no idea what it was.
“You just wanted to boast to me that you made this?” Rat asked after watching our discussion.
“Not quite. I want you to help out. Another pair of hands would be a big help right now,” Holn admitted.
“If you say so . . . I think Mikey could help out as well,” Rat pondered.
“I knew you’d get it,” Holn replied. The two of them started swapping ideas. I decided there wasn’t anything else we could do and signaled a retreat for the rest of us. Natalia followed along behind, clutching her new hammer and muttering about never letting anyone else touch it. She had a suffering expression on her face. The Water Dragon watched her and then gave a sigh.
“I’m going to go and look for the hammer vassal weapon,” Natalia said. “By which I mean I’m going to lay low for a while.”
“That’s quite a slip of the tongue,” the Water Dragon cautioned her. “But it does seem important for our future. It should only take us a few days to find it.” With that, Natalia and the Water Dragon left Siltran Castle behind—or, perhaps to put it more aptly, ran for the hills. Mamoru sent them off to the same country where we first met them, which was also where she sensed the hammer the strongest. I decided to give it a few days and just see what happened.