The Sword And Shield of Shimatou Island [part 2 of 2]

“To the young lord Shiidou of house Kana, and to the hero of Shimatou, Saido Ann, we owe our lives and wellbeing. And I have gathered you here to assist me in honouring those deeds.”

The air is punctuated with shouts like ‘hail the hero Saido!’ and ‘praise to the saviours of Shimatou!’ As the buzz of the crowd dies down again, Shimu continues:

“In honour of their noble and selfless actions, I have prepared for each a gift. We may never repay the debt we owe to them, but I offer these gifts as thanks, from myself, and from the peoples of this island. I invite the great manaworker, Mahou Takumi, to present her gift.”

From the front of a crowd, a woman I recognise as the one Ann bought the staff from makes her way to the front. In her hands is a large piece of cloth, a long object wrapped inside.

“Lady Saido, I present to you the accumulation of many dozens of hours of hard work. A piece of artistry I have long considered too valuable to sell. For your actions in service of our people, I give it to you as a gift.”

Miss Takumi, the town’s artisan for magic gear, presents the object to Ann, who silently removes it from it’s cloth covering. Inside is the most beautifully crafted staff I’ve ever seen. The long wooden frame is carved with attention to detail that would put Michaelangelo to shame, and the large manastone orb at the top glistens unlike any I’ve ever seen.

“This manastone… such purity exists?”
“To remove all impurities is such a costly process that no merchant considers it worth the time. Few have ever existed as pure as the one you hold now. Even for one as powerful as yourself, you should find it unlikely to ever break from overexertion. I ask only that you use it to its fullest extent.”

Ann simply stands there gawking at the bright white orb, unable to take her eyes off it, until she remembers she’s being watched by a crowd of possibly thousands of people.

“Mistress Takumi, you honour me greatly. I will do everything in my power to prove myself worthy of such a tremendous gift.”

The crowd erupts into applause, with more cheers of ‘hail the hero Saido!’ audible amongst the loud claps. Content that her work is done, Miss Takumi gives a deep bow to the three of us and returns to her place in the crowd.

“Now, in honour of my dearest cousin, the young lord Shiidou, I call forth the great keeper of knowledge, Tosho Kanin, to present his gift.”

Shimu’s words summon a member of the crowd yet again, this time one that I recognise as the custodian of the bookstore Ann and I had visited on our date before. In his hands is a large book covered in a black sleeve, hefty enough that it looks a tad difficult to carry.

“Young lord Kana, for your bravery in the face of an insurmountable foe, I present to you the rarest and most valuable grimoire in my possession. As one who has proven himself a powerful and dedicated darkness mage, I trust you will prove worthy of the knowledge it hold.”
He follows this with a whisper loud enough only for the three of us to hear.
“Your lord cousin informed me of your desire to pursue the forbidden arts. No book on Terra will prove more useful to you than this one. Use it well, young lord.”

I look first to Shimu, who wears a small smile and quickly does a shushing motion with his hand. Then I look back to the kindly bookkeep in front of me, still holding the enormous grimoire, an expression part way between pride and gratitude on his face.

Wordlessly, I take the book from him and read the cover

KAMI ARASHI’S BOOKE OF RARE AND DANGEROUS MAJIKS

Judging by the spelling, it must be some three hundred years old, maybe more. And the name… I recognise it as that one of Shimatou’s most legendary war heroes, a darkness mage who called forth an enormous typhoon to destroy the invading ships of a nearby power. Such an artefact… there can only be a tiny handful in existence.

“Master Tosho, I can’t thank you enough. I can only hope to meet your expectations of me.”
“I trust that you will, my young lord. I see great untapped potential in you yet.”
Once again, the large gathered crowd erupts into applause, and Master Tosho gives us all a deep bow before he, too, returns to his precious spot.

A book about the rarest and most dangerous magic, written by one of the greatest mages in record history… I can hardly believe my luck. The books I pilfered from mum and dad had basic rundowns of forbidden techniques, but I had to figure out how to actually use them practically on my own. But with this? Even I’m unsure of my own limitations.

I’ll have to go back to the old man’s shop a few times, the least I can do to show my appreciation is give him a little business while I have the chance. Although I don’t think there’s enough money in the world for me to express my full gratitude.

“Now, my friends and subjects, I have further good news.”
Shimu instantly recaptures the attention of every person gathered. I have to admire the man’s talent for public speaking.

“As of this morning, several teams of scouts have set out in different directions to find fertile land with which we can rehabilitate those rendered homeless. With luck, we should be able to begin reconstruction within a fortnight. And with the graciously offered services of the lady Saido, such efforts may be completed even faster than previously anticipated.”
Ever the people’s favourite, Ann was met with even more cheers and gracious words from the still-excited crowd.

“And in the meantime, I invite you all, noble or common, to join me for festivities here in the square a week from today, to properly celebrate the acts of bravery and heroism by the young lord and the people’s hero. The event will be dubbed ‘the festival of the Sword and Shield of Shimatou island,’ and will be planned and paid for by the coin of the government!”

If the crowd was excited before, they were in outright glee now. Cheers praising myself, Ann and Shimu filled the air, so loud it was hard to make out any in particular. Nobleman and commoner alike, everyone gathered shared the same anticipation for the event to come.

“As a united people, we have suffered hardship and loss that will stay with us for generations. But as that same united people, we have overcome the worst of our sorrow, and we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!”

Rounding off his speech with the same energy and commanding attitude, Shimu beckoned me and Ann to join him as he begins to leave the centre of the square, waving to the cheering crowd as he walks.

You bastard, you really were born a leader.