blessed with a hero's heart

Chapter 4: Chains Of Morality

Izuku sighed, trying his best to see the better side of his companions, earning sympathetic smiles from the counter lady, and the pity of the waitresses; no one wanted to see the cute Druid so down at this time in the morning, but the guild was a business too, so there were no free drinks for the boy.

Just an hour ago, the two girls of his party began a heated argument, and being the good natured guy he was, he tried to calm them down…

=Flashback=
I

t all started harmless enough; Izuku had brought up a topic Megumin was not comfortable with… becoming useful.
"I'm not saying you HAVE to learn and use other attack spells," Izuku said with a warm smile, trying to convey only good intentions, " I'm just saying that a little bit of utility would benefit us all."
Megumin pouted as she tried to come up with an answer to earn victory, making an adorable sound as she tried to look menacing.
"And I'm telling you that I only love and use Explosion magic!" Megumin replied after a few seconds, as if trying to dominate Izuku through her childish display, "Anything else is just a waste of time and skill points."
Izuku couldn't help but smile at the little girl, unable to get angry at her stubbornness, but truly willing to help her get over her obsession so she could grow into a better Arch Wizard.
"A waste? Really?" Izuku asked with a tilted head, already knowing where to strike, "How many points does it cost to learn Mage Light or Produce Flame?"
Izuku already knew the answer, so Megumin's pout was a clear sign of her defeat… at least on the logic department.
"One point each…" Megumin replied in a low voice, not failing to notice the victorious smile on the young Druid's face, "BUT STILL!"
"So, you lose nothing… but gain a lot." Izuku interrupted, making Megumin look down for a moment, "Did you know that you can set things ablaze with Produce Flame? You could still make things explode with it."
Megumin really didn't want to give in, but at the same time, Izuku's logic was flawless; she could still be the best at making explosions, while being able to be useful in many more situations… then Aqua spoke…
"Stop it already, this little child will never listen to you." Aqua's words were not only mocking, but they also hit the Arch Wizard where it hurt the most, "Besides, showering her with attention only makes you look like a lolicon!"
"I'M NOT A CHILD!"
"I'M NOT A LOLICON!"
Both Megumin and Izuku slammed their hands on the table in clear disagreement, making Aqua flinch at the energetic response… then the two locked eyes with each other, as if suddenly realizing something.
"I'm fourteen, and you?" Izuku asked to the petite Arch Wizard in a slightly low voice, earning the surprise of his female companions.
"Thirteen; I'm not a child anymore." Megumin replied, trying her best to be discrete about scanning the boy before her.
"See? Same age range." Izuku added as he returned to a sitting position.
"Yeah! I'm not a loli, so he is not a lolicon!" Megumin added as she sat too, crossing her arms for added impact.
"Besides, I wouldn't hit on someone I see like a little sister." Izuku finished… unknowingly digging his own grave…

=End of Flashback=
I

zuku remembered with no little guilt how Megumin excused herself to hit the local bookstore… to think about his proposal in peace. Izuku had to admit that he should at least have explained to the Arch Wizard that it was too soon for him to talk about romance… not that he was able to see her like a woman… yet.
Aqua was so infuriating after Megumin had left with a haunted face… laughing at his lack of tact, and toying with a girl's heart; to make things worse, the moment it became obvious that he was about to reprimand her… she fled, excusing herself to go to the local church of Axis to grace her followers with her divine presence.
"Girls are so complicated…" Izuku muttered to himself, knowing that it was not his fault that the young girl had jumped to the wrong conclusion, and yet feeling somehow guilty about the whole thing.
In an attempt to distract his mind from his problems with girls, Izuku turned to his adventurer card, taking notice of the level ups he had gotten, and the skill points he now had at his disposal. Deciding to not give in to the temptation of just strengthening his current skills, he decided to check out the other skills he could potentially use, either as his own way to build up his Quirk-based skill set, or a method to better himself for the monumental task of defeating the Devil King.
"Plant Growth, Spike Growth and Dancing Lights…" Izuku muttered to himself as he read the descriptions of said skills.
Plant Growth allowed him to either ensure bountiful growth on the local plant life, be it crops or otherwise, or to make plants he could touch grow according to his needs.
Spike Growth made plants he could see grow sharp thorns of varying sizes, apparently to be set as traps or to hinder the movement of diverse creatures.
Dancing Lights produced numerous wisps of light that would take any shape he imagined, and would move according to his will, either dispersed or as a single source of light.
Izuku had a little bit of experience combining skills to create unintended effects, like his Vine Whip, which could be controlled with Plant Manipulation to make it act like a tentacle… as much as he hated the comparison; by this previous experience, he wondered if it was possible to combine more skills to create something new for maximum versatility.
"Well, only one way to know for sure…" Izuku muttered once more as he selected and purchased the three skills.
The moment he felt his changes taking place, he decided to conduct an experiment; first he created the Vine Whip, and used Plant Manipulation to coil it around his arm and hand to form a green knuckle duster… then he activated Spike Growth…
"This may work…" Izuku muttered as he watched his knuckle duster sprout sharp looking thorns, but only on the outside, keeping his hand safe.
"This will definitively work!" Izuku almost shouted as he watched the effects of Plant Growth, making the already sharp thorns take the shape of menacing claws.
Happy with the results, he spent his remaining points on Bark Skin and Spike Growth, making them better so he wouldn't have to doubt his combat capabilities if the girls were to be endangered by more giant toads… he still doubted the effectiveness of his skills on armored opponents, but he was still a low level Druid.
"BOYS! BOYS!" A blonde male adventurer entered the guild hall with quite the loud scream, earning everyone's attention, "Lady Dronya! Lady Dronya is in town!"
Murmuring quickly rose among the male adventurers in the hall, making Izuku mildly interested, just not enough to ask questions about it… even if he had been here for only a short while, he had begun to understand the inclinations and proclivities of the local population… he guessed that the bikini 'armors' that many females liked to wear influenced such unsightly behavior on the more crude guys.
"You sure about that, Dust?" One of the other adventurers, one with a Mohawk, asked the now identified blond, "It's rather early for her to come here."
Now Izuku was truly interested, as someone famous was in town, and apparently her appearance was something of a yearly event; he had to wonder though, was she a special merchant? A performer?
As soon as Dust made his way to a table, the doors of the guild hall opened, revealing a voluptuous woman with long black hair; Izuku was seriously thankful for her rather sensible dress, as it covered her entire body while not hiding how beautiful she was… her eyes were a little eerie though.
Izuku gasped when another two figures entered behind her.
One was a petite short girl, probably the same height as Megumin, with midnight black hair that seemed frozen in a specific style, just long enough to cover her ears and one eye, giving her a little of an emo cut; her arms, however, were a pair of large wings with long feathers the same color of her hair. To top it all off, her legs, from the knee down, were avian in nature, large leathery talons ending in hooked claws… The term of Harpy came to mind by looking at her.
The second one, while also female, was more like an Amazonian champion; her arms and feet were reptilian in nature and covered in thick scales, from the end of her back, a massive reptilian tail grew up; parts of her face were lined with scales, and instead of human looking ears, large fin-like structures were visible. The scales and long hair were all white, which coupled with her pale skin and red eyes, gave for quite the albino appearance… Izuku really didn't want to say Lizardman for some reason… maybe due to her glaringly female body… or maybe because she sported quite the intimidating muscles.
What made Izuku concerned about these two, however, were two facts: first, they were wearing only cloth sacs as clothes, and second, they had massive iron collars around their necks… there was no other way about it; he was looking at slaves.
"Madam Dronya?" Luna asked in mild surprise, making Izuku pay attention, "We weren't expecting you until next summer."
"I know, dear; I know my presence stresses you and all the other females in town," The woman spoke in a rather apologetic way… if only mired by how mocking her voice was, "But I assure you that I've come for a different kind of business."
At her words, most of the males in the hall voiced their disappointment. Izuku had a bad feeling about this, as he couldn't imagine why the males were so keen to see this woman… who walked around with female slaves… in a town with no shortage of perverts… oh god…
"… are you certain?" Dronya asked after a few minutes of conversation, forcing Izuku to return to the present, "This exact quest?"
"Indeed, the nobleman you are looking for took this very same quest." Luna answered with a worried look in her eyes, "Only one of his party members returned, speaking about how he was murdered by the goblin champion."
"And this party member didn't carry his belongings?" Dronya's question made Izuku frown.
"She returned barely alive and with most of her clothes torn." Luna informed, as if taking offense, "It is pretty obvious she didn't have time to recover the belongings of her companions."
"I see…" Dronya replied with a rather evil smile, sending shivers down Izuku's spine.
The woman looked at the quest board for a few seconds before turning to the tables of the hall; Izuku could see the cold calculating eyes of the woman, looking at everyone within the hall like tools in a shed… as only disposable objects.
"Slaying the goblin champion and clearing the infested cave within the forest, one million eris as a reward." Dronya loudly announced the quest and reward, not failing to notice that the adventurers gathered didn't seen all too interested, "As long as I can recover the belongings of my fellow Imperial nobleman, and his party, you can keep the entire reward, plus whatever else you can find within the cave!"
Dronya's eye began to twitch as her only answers were the occasional cough here and there, as it was obvious that her request was being ignored. Izuku knew why she was being ignored though; the quest was a truly dangerous one, as well as poorly paid for the hazards. Goblins, while being nothing more than an annoying pest in the open forest, were absolutely deadly within their nests, where they could move and ambush with absolute impunity; being led by a champion only made it worse, meaning that if the woman wanted to hire help, she would have to wait for some high level heavy hitters to arrive.
"I will also be willing to part with any of my commodities…" Dronya said with annoyance, obviously using a last resort… this time earning some hopeful stares, "… within reason, of course."
As she finished, most of the hopeful stares died down… until a pair of hands slammed into a table, and a green-haired boy stood up with a rather penetrating stare…
"Will you be willing to part with your slaves?" Izuku asked aloud, earning a surprised stare from the vile woman… and yet he felt his stomach drop at the lack of murmurs or cries of outrage at the mention of such a horrible word.
"These two?" Dornya asked as she turned to look at the now fearful harpy and the frowning reptilian woman, "Sure."
Hours later, on their way toward the center of the forest…
As they traveled on a wagon toward their destination, Izuku couldn't help but feel that everything was wrong. He had expected that the adventurers at the guild, especially the women, would be outraged at the mention of slavery, at seeing the girls in such a horrible state, but no, no one paid any mind to such a sight or crime against humanity…
Every now and then he would turn to look at the two girls in the back of the wagon, just to find that both of them would return the gesture with curiosity. They seemed to understand that he was interested in them, but even that seemed wrong in the mind of the young Druid.
"I'm going to take an educated guess…" Dronya said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence, "… and say you are not from around here."
Izuku let out a sigh, knowing that the vile woman was about to mock his lack of knowledge, and probably say that slavery was perfectly legal.
"I'm…" Izuku began to answer while thinking on how to word it as something plausible, "… from a far away land."
The vile woman let out a chuckle, as if making fun of his answer, earning a frown from the teen.
"I suppose that in this far away land slavery is illegal." Dronya's reply surprised Izuku, as that meant she at the very least was aware of the idea that slavery is wrong.
"Yes, it is." Izuku answered with some caution.
The woman smiled, widely, looking absolutely evil while doing so.
"I'm going to take another educated guess…" Dronya's tone had taken on a very somber tone, making Izuku sweat, "… your far away land is called… Japan?"
Izuku was taken aback, torn between feeling excited by finding another traveler like him, and fearful of what that could mean.
"It… is." Izuku couldn't help but to answer with wide eyes, "Are you too from Japan?"
"Do I look Asian to you?" Dronya could only chuckle at the hopeful question, shaking her head no, "I am from England."
Admittedly, Izuku felt like an idiot, of course she didn't look Japanese, he was just hoping that she was on the same page as he was. Another thought crossed his mind… what if she was from an alternate Earth?
"You must be fairly new to this world to still stick to your hero dreams." Dronya's continuation at least answered one of Izuku's doubts, as her wording meant a world of heroes, "I was like that when I first arrived, wanting to make up for being born Quirkless by becoming the most incredible heroine of this world."
Izuku couldn't help but to reel at such a revelation, and at the fact that the woman at his side had… given up…
"What changed?" Izuku asked with apprehension, not wanting to hear the typical bullshit about it being a hopeless dream, and yet not willing to be swayed from his own dream by some harsh reality speech.
"I found out that this world doesn't deserve a real hero." Dronya's answer was actually delivered with a sad voice, "So, I gave up."
Seeing the frown on her companion, she decided to elaborate.
"I started my journey in the Empire, the neighboring nation. I was fourteen and naïve, full of hope in a really sparkly city where heroes of legend were born; and with an invincible treasure in my hands, I truly believed that I would bring the Devil King to his knees, and administer justice to save the lovely world that welcomed me with open arms." Dronya's words were full of sarcasm and pain, making the poor Druid feel bad for her.
"One week later… just one fucking week later…" Dronya's words came with a face full of anger, and a hiss that was more akin to an enraged snake, "Do you know how horrible it feels to give your heart to someone, just to catch the bastard cheating with who proclaimed to be your best friend?"
While Izuku had no experience whatsoever in the love department, he was truly aware that such a pain was common grounds to turn to villainy, that's why he placed his hand on her shoulder, as an attempt to bring some level of comfort to the woman… late as it was.
"I'm… sorry." Izuku said with honest words, trying to reach the woman, maybe even return her to the path of the heroes, "For whatever its worth, I can't imagine anyone cheating on someone as beautiful as you."
"Stop it; I'm not a shotacon." Dronya's sudden answer made Izuku aware of how Megumin felt at such wording, much to the amusement of the raven-haired woman, "Besides, I think it's time I tell you what you need to know."
Dronya made a dramatic pause, conveying that the boy needed to pay special attention to her words.
"You want to own these slaves to set them free, right?" Dronya asked in a rather grave voice, earning the full attention of the young Druid besides her, "You are thinking on being their hero by breaking their chains."
"Yes, that's the plan." Izuku replied without missing a beat, earning a sigh from the imperial woman, "Do you oppose?"
"It's not that I oppose." The noblewoman answered with a heavy voice, and a little bit of annoyance, "It's that the whole world opposes."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Izuku couldn't help but to scream his incredulity, accidentally scaring the harpy in the back of the wagon.
"Slavery on this world is sanctioned by the cults of the two goddesses…" Dronya's answer earned a startled stare from the young boy, "Yes, by the very same Aqua that tricked us into coming to this fucked up world."
Izuku made a mental note to sit down with a certain goddess when all this was over, and have a very long chat about everything that was wrong with slavery… assuming he didn't get any angrier and decided to let his whips do the talking.
"Now, it's not like you can find young human girls in the slave market… at least not in this kingdom." Dronya wasn't helping to calm down her temporary employee, "Slavery only applies to demi-humans, people with animal features; Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Halflings are all considered as favored by the goddesses, and thus, it is illegal to enslave them."
"That explains why no one cared…" Izuku muttered, earning a nod from the woman.
"Slaves, such as the two you want, are branded and cursed, so they can't disobey, betray or hurt their owner in any way or form; this brand also makes it impossible for them to survive away from their master." Dronya's explanation made Izuku's blood run cold, as that made their existence rather hellish, "To make things worse… slaves of races like these two are both born and bred into slavery. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Izuku was frozen in place, unable to cope with such cruelty. Dronya graced him with a sympathetic smile, as if understanding his shock.
"The brand was made by the one of the goddesses, and only said goddess can undo it." Dronya's words gave a little bit of hope to Izuku, as it meant that maybe Aqua would be able to free them, "However, even if you somehow can contact that goddess and convince her to remove it… they don't know how to survive on their own."
Dronya didn't wait for a reaction from the boy to turn to look at the two girls at the back of the wagon, showing a smug smile and a rather evil glint, making the poor girls shrink in fear.
"Hey, scaly, feathers, do you want to be free?" Dronya's question threw Izuku for a loop, forcing him to turn to look at said girls in hopes of hearing them say that they indeed wanted their freedom.
"No! Please don't throw us away!" The harpy spoke in a raspy whisper, shaking at the very idea of being discarded. The reptilian girl at her side only had a pleading look on her eyes, "We'll work twice as hard!"
"Do you understand now?" Dronya asked to a now sickly Izuku, who truly wanted to enact violent justice against the savages that damaged these girls… and any other slave.
Half an hour later…
Izuku and Dronya arrived at the entrance of the goblins' nest, having just a few hours before sunset, when the critters were more active, getting ready to exit and attack the innocent. It was time for the woman to reveal the true nature of her mission too…
"Well, I guess it is just fair for you to know what is this all about." Dronya spoke, earning the attention of the young Druid, "What I want, the only thing I came for, is to recover my stolen treasure."
Izuku knew that something was wrong with the lady, but at the very least, it wasn't in a more sinister direction.
"Two months ago, the son of a noble I used to work with stole my divine treasure, the cursed tome known as the Tractatus De Monstrum." Dronya explained to a bewildered Izuku, "The imbecile must have thought that he would be able to use its magnificent powers to gain fame and fortune. Apparently he had to find out the hard way that such divine treasures cannot be used by anyone else except the rightful owner."
"So… he died by his own hand?" Izuku asked, feeling bad at wording such tragedy that way.
"He deserved it." Dronya answered without hesitation or remorse, "Anyway, I only care for my treasure; after I get it the girls are yours."
"Just like that?" Izuku asked, his tongue having a foul taste yet again.
"Well, we have to complete the transaction at the guild, so everything is legal." Dronya replied, making a pause when she noticed the stare of the boy, "Of course, if you feel confident on completing the goblin extermination quest, I won't stop you. I'd prefer if I could get my tome before attempting such a risky endeavor though."
"So… getting in, getting the book and getting out?" Izuku asked as he watched the entrance of the cave, wishing that his Bark Skin and newly learned Thorns would be enough to survive the attempt, "I can do that… I think."
"Before you go in, here, take this." Dronya interrupted the boy while giving him a crystal ball, "This is a sensor ball, it is attuned to this other crystal ball, which allows me to see the surroundings around the sensor. The book doesn't really look like a divine treasure, so I will need to tell you when you find it."
Izuku watched both artifacts with an eye twitching, not knowing how to word how upset he was, both at himself for thinking such dangerous strategies, and at the woman for taking this long to speak of something so useful.
"What?" It was Dronya's turn to be bewildered by Izuku's annoyed stare.
About half an hour later…
Dronya was equal parts scared and impressed, the boy before her was apparently the holder of a divine talent, because there was no other explanation for the absurd level of ingenuity displayed by the young Druid…
"That seems to be a dead end…" Dronya said as she and Izuku watched the crystal ball between them, "That sword could fetch a good price though."
Izuku had decided that no one would take any risk, so he took the sensor ball and tied it to his vine whip. Dronya had been understandably scared at the sight of the vine moving like a serpent, then she watched in morbid fascination how the druid summoned a horde of fireflies that surrounded the sensor, which then followed it as the vine made its way into the dark cave.
"Got it." Izuku replied as the sensor showed yet another vine grow and wrap around the sword, yanking it from the ground, "Are you sure the gaudy book we found earlier is not your treasure?"
As the verdant appendage continued its trek through the cave, they had been able to find quite a few good items, like a golden rod with a beautiful ruby on its tip, the silver sword adorned with diverse jewels, and a book with an ivory cover; and yet, the woman insisted that her treasure should be in another direction.
"Don't look at me as if I'm greedy." Dronya replied with an annoyed glare, and still, she kept her voice in check, she was too close to recovering her treasure, so she couldn't afford to alienate this extremely useful partner, "You are the one keeping all these expensive trinkets."
"I would like to keep these crystal balls." Izuku blurted out without thinking, as he couldn't help but to notice the tactical value they offered to his skill set.
"You like them?" Dronya asked with a raised brow, making Izuku grimace, "We can talk about a trade or a price after you get your loot appraised at the Guild."
Dronya's suggestion caught the curiosity of the young Druid, who decided to focus on the task at hand before thinking on the opportunity before him. Izuku wasn't blinded by the treasure though, because with each section explored, it became apparent that a lot of adventurers had lost their lives to this particular nest, if the amount of bones and rotten corpses were any indication.
"There it is!" Dronya shouted in rarely heard happiness as she looked into the crystal ball, looking at what Izuku could only describe as junk.
"That's it?" Izuku asked with incredulity at the sight of a rather small book with a leather cover full of stitches, and adorned with an eyeball, "For real?"
"For real." Dronya deadpanned, not wanting to lose any more time in getting her treasure back… then they heard trouble…
The sensor was suddenly shaken, and forcefully directed to look at a rather large goblin, probably the champion that led the horde. It wasn't like they hadn't found goblins during the exploration, but the dumb critters didn't react to the vines or fireflies like they were a threat, instead they just poked at them and then retreated further in… it now dawned on the travelers that they had been reporting back to their leader.
"Oh no! Not when we are so close!" Dronya was falling into despair, knowing that neither of them had been equipped to fight a goblin champion, and the ugly bastard would not let them recover the sensor.
"I don't have time for this…" Izuku said in a rather cold voice, surprising the woman.
Izuku had deemed these creatures evil, monsters that killed and destroyed just for fun, beasts that, just like rabid dogs, needed to be put down. That's why he didn't hesitate to test his new offensive skill.
Dronya watched how yet another vine sprouted from below the sensor, and as fast as a whip, it darted into the mouth of the snarling champion. Spikes abruptly sprouted from within the monster, killing him without a chance to fight back…
"What in the…?" Dronya couldn't believe what she was seeing, as the vines sprouted extremely long and sharp thorns that quickly murdered the goblins by the dozens, leaving no resistance left.
"Let's finish this already." Izuku said, sounding a little bit shaken after witnessing how lethal his new skill set had proven to be, "It's getting late, and I don't want my teammates to worry about me."
Dronya couldn't help but to think… that this naïve Druid may be able to do it, to become the hero this fucked up world needed… even if it didn't deserve him.
Guild hall, by sunset…
Izuku was actually squirming under the glare of the petite Crimson Demon, unable to deal with her adorable pout, unable to even try to defend his stance in the matter…
"P-please, don't glare at our master." The raspy whispers of the harpy only seemed to make the petite Arch Wizard angrier.
Once back in town, Izuku and Dronya had the loot properly appraised, and after all the transactions and change of ownerships had been completed, Izuku had found himself with three million eris to his name, two slaves at his command, and two crates full of female clothing and accessories. The two animal girls had been really surprised to be told to wear what they called pretty clothes, and even more than surprised when their new master had bought them real food, which they were eating at a table, and not off the floor.
"Since when do you have the money to purchase and maintain slaves?" Megumin asked in a voice so serious it was almost hilarious, and yet, Izuku was beginning to sweat.
"I got them as part of a quest." Izuku replied, getting an even harder pout from the petite girl, "And I will let you know that I can feed them regardless of how much money I have… I can produce food, after all."
Megumin still pouted, but now she directed her glare at the slaves that were now dressed in khaki shorts and green tunics, with both collars and cuffs removed, meaning that the Druid had no intention on treating them like objects or cheap help… her only actual fear was that the boy may actually be a demi-lover.
"I guess we now have some extra help at adventuring…" Megumin finally conceded, plopping herself down at the table, "You still have to treat me to dinner! You shouldn't have left without me! Not after I… I actually… wasted a skill point on learning Produce Flame."
Megumin's demand and confession actually brought a smile to the young Druid, who was quick to order a large stack of fried toad for his explosive companion. The smile and change of demeanor for the Crimson Demon felt like much needed medicine to Izuku, who really wanted to see things worth saving and protecting in this world.
"Hey! Who brought these two to my table?" Aqua's voice was what Izuku was waiting for, as he believed that this would be the best opportunity to see the goddess being useful and powerful.
"Aqua, I've been waiting for you!" Izuku's words brought a sparkly smile to the Arch Priestess, and a sour frown to the Arch Wizard.
"Really?" Megumin's voice was largely ignored, much to her increased annoyance.
"Oh! So, you are ready to recognize my greatness and praise my divine power!" Aqua cheered, as it was due time she was praised and pampered by this Quirkless idiot.
"Sure." Izuku started, earning the full attention of the blue-haired goddess, "If you can remove the cursed brand from these two."
"Of course I can!" Aqua happily answered, earning a hopeful smile from the druid, "I just won't do it!"
Aqua had been too happy to crush his hopes for this world, too willing to burn his desire to protect everyone… it was at that moment that Izuku Midoriya began to doubt his path as a hero, for no hero would align with such an evil deity as the one before him.
Magnus: Next chapter will finally include Darkness; maybe then I'll open a poll to see if Izuku ends up with a pairing.