Guns and Shield (The Rising of the Shield Hero Fanfiction)

6- Rumours

Walking down the street of another place, I walked around and played with the gun in my right holster.

There have been strange rumours about the 4 Cardinal Heroes being summoned, and the Shield hero had somehow tried taking advantage of a girl in his party.

"I can't believe it! Just one day after they were summoned, the Shield hero has already done something indecent. I've always thought he'd be the worse and the weakest, but he also has a terrible personality? What is wrong with him?"

I hummed as I listened to the news.

So he was the weakest, huh?

I guess it's always been that way.

I mean their logic.

There were never many people who took up the role of being the protector because they had no way of dealing damage, but in this world too? They always think this way?

But if the shield never existed, the attackers wouldn't have defenders which makes them a lot more vulnerable.

Some people just take things for granted. Just because the shield doesn't have offensive abilities doesn't mean they're weak in any way.

As I strolled past some more people that talked about the Shield hero, I decided that I was hungry and wanted something to eat.

Walking into the restaurant, I ordered the cheapest meal.

"It'll come to your table soon, miss!"

"What are you doing here, miss?" 

I quickly nodded and he walked off.

Adryel..

I quickly slapped my cheeks to stop me from remembering those beautiful emerald like eyes.

Flinching from the pain, I saw a man in a green cloak come into the restaurant.

The atmosphere around the place began to change.

"That's him-" The people around me whispered.

"Are you going to serve me or not?" the mysterious person spoke.

"Y-yes, of course."

I watched him sit down on the side of the restaurant and once he got his food, a couple of people went over to him.

"Oh great Shield hero, we'll join your party."

I clenched my fists, knowing that they had no good intentions.

Swallowing my food, I planned to stand up and bring justice to the unknown man.

I was stopped in my own tracks, however, as he replied with ease.

"Your pay will be entirely performance based. I'm the leader, so I'll at least take 40%. The rest of the pay will be split at my discretion." He calmly stated.

I giggled while the 3 men scoffed.

As they left the place, I followed them out and paying for my food.

With a thank you from the store owner, I felt the cold breeze of the night.

Reminding myself of what I came out here to do, I walked quietly to where the men were.

Once I saw them, my ears caught onto what the shady men were saying.

"That's it, just hand over the money."

I stood there shocked behind a wall, but the green cloaked man didn't seem to react until he started replying calmly once more.

"Well, you should've said that earlier. That would've saved us all a lot of time."

The guys smirked at his response.

"What do we have here? You sure are awfully obedient." one snickered.

Readying my guns, I'm in shooting position.

As they lunged at the composed man in the green cloak, I almost pulled the trigger until they tried attacking him with a knife they had.

When they did, the man brought a shield out.

The Shield hero?

The knife hit the tough metal and a bright light shined brightly in the alleyway, making it hard for me to open my eyes.

As they ran away in fear, I breathe out.

I doubt I'd be able to hit them anyway.

"My defensive ability is there, but I lack offensive ability."

"Without offensive ability, I can't gain exp."

"Without exp, I can't learn offensive abilities."

"What an awful loop."

I snickered at him talking to himself.

"Who's there?"

I immediately stop as he was walking towards me.

As soon as he got close enough to me, I swiftly hit his head with the back of my gun.

He rubbed his head complaining about how much it hurt.

Before he could look at me, I ran away.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

I fled, and I didn't look back.

What was that, Amaya?

I sprinted to the inn I was staying at, and I ran into my room burying my face in my pillow.

That was soo embarrassing..!

Thinking back on the incident that just happened, I continued my thoughts.

"That was the Shield hero though.. I don't think he'd be the person to do things to a girl..?"

Could there have been some misunderstanding?

Someone like him didn't seem to care about girls, or anything for that matter. Just how to level up.

He seemed like an honest person.

"Ahhhh! That doesn't change the fact that I clocked him with the back of my gun just now!"

I flipped myself over, and thought about the things I've done the past few days I've been away from the village.

"I should really practice my skills with my gun. That would help me a lot in the future. I'd be able to save myself instead of being a damsel in distress."

I sighed, and smiled with the tears coming back to my eyes and my vision starts to blur once more.

"Ahhhh.. I really miss you Adryel. If I had practiced with my gun during the years I was with you guys, I would've been able to save you, right? I'll make sure to practice hard and not let anyone else up like you because of me."

The more I spoke and thought about him, the more hurt I felt in my chest.

"Chiyoko, what should I do? What would you have done?"

As I imagined Chiyoko having the time of her life having dates with her new boyfriend, I wondered about me in my actual world.

Was I dead?

Hit by a car, and died?

Would my family mourn my death? 

Nah, they'd probably be too busy to.

What about the guy with brown hair that asked me to stay with him?

Why did he say those words to me?

With a bunch of unanswerable questions lingering in my brain, I decided to shut my brain down.

"Tomorrow, I will practice and hone my gun skills. I will save everyone I can, and I will make your death worth it. I promise you, Adryel."