In the end, the king reluctantly gave Kiriko, Naofumi Iwatani, and Ren Amaki the same amount as Itsuki Kawasumi.
"Now it's even."
Kiriko verified the amount and slipped the pouch into her Dimensional Bag.
Then she stretched out her hand toward the king once more.
A vein pulsed violently on the king's forehead. He desperately suppressed his rage and forced himself to speak calmly.
"Zero Hero, what else do you want now?"
Kiriko gave him a look that clearly said, Isn't it obvious?
"The wager."
The king stared blankly at her.
This time, he wasn't pretending—he truly had no clue what Kiriko was talking about.
"Wager? What wager?"
"Are you kidding me? Didn't we clearly agree beforehand? If Motoyasu lost, his monthly allowance and reward for repelling the Wave would all go to me."
The king nearly lost his temper.
"The one who made the wager with you was the Spear Hero... no, the fake Spear Hero! If you want your winnings, go find him yourself."
"Don't joke around. You think I can't see through your tricks?"
Kiriko sneered, glancing coldly between the king and Myne, who was hiding behind Itsuki.
"I bet Motoyasu was kicked out penniless. Unless he's hiding the money up his fourth-dimensional ass, he wouldn't leave with even a single copper coin. Besides, since you've already labeled him a fake hero, there's no way you'd still hand his portion of the reward to him."
The king's face flushed red, then paled. Kiriko was completely right.
How could he possibly hand over the nation's resources to a piece of trash who couldn't even beat the slave of a Heretic Witch?
He truly wondered what method that waste had used to catch his daughter's eye.
Perhaps summoning all four Cardinal Heroes at once had exceeded the limits of the Three Hero Church?
Not only had a fifth, "Zero Hero," appeared unexpectedly, but even the supposedly godlike Spear Hero turned out pathetically weak.
"Hey, Kiriko-san, don't go too far."
Itsuki, who couldn't stand watching any longer, interjected.
"Your issue with Motoyasu shouldn't involve the king."
Naofumi spoke up in Kiriko's defense.
"Itsuki, you idiot, after what happened to Motoyasu, do you still not see clearly?"
Ren opened his mouth slightly as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
"Do you people really think this is a game? Can't you just stop already?"
"I could say the same to you, Itsuki. Are you really so eager to play the hero of justice?"
The argument between Naofumi and Itsuki quickly escalated into a shouting match between their respective teams.
"How dare you speak to Itsuki-sama like that? You're just a shield bearer—apologize now and I'll consider forgiving you."
"You sure have nerve for an ignorant human, daring to insult the Shield Hero we demi-humans revere!"
"You want a fight?"
"Come on, who's afraid of you?"
"Try moving even one step closer!"
"Move and you'll die!"
Seeing the tension in the audience hall rapidly rising, Ren quietly stepped back with his companions by more than ten meters.
The guards exchanged uneasy glances but stayed frozen in place.
The minister frantically wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Shield Hero, companions of Itsuki-sama, please calm down—calm yourselves."
At last, the king finally made a decision.
"I understand. Zero Hero, I shall grant you the fake Spear Hero's reward. I hope you'll live up to this compensation."
Kiriko smiled faintly.
"In my country, there's a saying: 'The people come first, the nation second, and the ruler last.' Your Majesty might do well to carefully consider those words."
Honestly speaking, Kiriko didn't even care about the kingdom's treasury.
With her skill Golden Rule, she could acquire as much wealth as she desired at any time.
The reason she insisted so stubbornly wasn't because she personally lacked money, but because what belonged to her couldn't be withheld by even a single coin.
It wasn't about generosity—it was about principle.
Everyone needed their own principles.
You deserved compensation equal to your deeds. Not one coin more, but not one coin less either.
Excessive generosity would just trample all over your own principles.
Though Kiriko and Naofumi hadn't slain the Wave's boss, they'd minimized civilian casualties to the greatest extent.
Was killing monsters considered active participation, while protecting civilians wasn't?
That clearly wasn't right.
Moreover, Kiriko greatly enjoyed seeing the king's expression of gritted-teeth hatred mingled with helplessness.
After claiming Motoyasu's portion, there was no reason to stay any longer. Kiriko, Naofumi, and their group promptly left.
Over the next few days, Kiriko took Raphtalia and the others out repeatedly between towns and the wilderness to continue raising their levels.
No matter which world you lived in, it was survival of the fittest.
Even modern society was no different.
Those at the bottom rung of society worked ten-plus hours a day and still worried endlessly about survival and their families.
Meanwhile, those at the top freely squandered more wealth in a single moment than ordinary people could earn in a lifetime.
Could those at the bottom rise to the top?
Of course, they could.
But in the end, those who succeeded were few, and beneath the pyramid lay countless bones of those who failed.
In this world, the law of the jungle was even more blatantly cruel.
If Kiriko hadn't possessed the ability to keep leveling up, then when Naofumi was falsely accused, she too would have been branded an accomplice…
The hardships afterward could easily be imagined.
It was precisely because her strength far surpassed the norm that she'd managed to create a completely different path.
Therefore, even if she didn't force Raphtalia and the others to fight, she still wanted them to have the ability to protect themselves.
Take Raphtalia's village, for example.
If the villagers there had the power of hidden masters, the Waves wouldn't even be a concern. They could've easily defeated the kingdom soldiers who attacked their village, avoiding the subsequent tragedy altogether.
Without power, you couldn't protect anything precious to you. The sooner people realized this truth, the better for everyone involved.
---
A/N: ...By the way, if anyone is worried about Kiriko "getting married" to a male character, you can rest assured—she won't marry anyone. (=oωo=)
Concerning previous reader comments about forcibly lowering villain IQ...
I can only say this: does the intelligence of Shield Hero's villains even need me to lower it?
Clearly, it's the original author treating us Shield Hero readers like fools. He spent several volumes relentlessly bullying the Shield Hero before finally coming up with the excuse of the Three Hero Church. Then, after Princess Bitch became a slave, she continued making trouble...
And once again, another excuse appeared: that Princess Bitch was actually doing all this deliberately to sow discord among the Four Cardinal Heroes.
You know how I felt when I first saw that?
To the author of Shield Hero, go pay respects to your honored mother!
This isn't some carefully planned foreshadowing—this is treating readers like monkeys! Write whatever you feel like, then quickly patch it up later with some flimsy explanation.
Then there's the truth behind the Waves...
If you're expecting an epic revelation similar to "The Record of Unusual Creatures," you're going to be disappointed, because the Waves in Shield Hero are actually...
Honestly, my heart really goes out to those who bought the Shield Hero physical copies, only to get this kind of plot later...
So really, stop worrying about villain IQ already. Shield Hero never had many characters with functioning brains to begin with. If you're still hoping for smart villains...
All I can say is, you might be disappointed. (｀oωo')