Before he met Raphtalia, Naofumi Iwatani was considered an angry man. But he wasn't like this when he first arrived in this new world. He was filled with positivity and enthusiasm when he first arrived. Even with meeting the other heroes, he was a bit happy that he could relate with them because… they had been summoned in this world as well. Well, that was pretty much the only thing that Naofumi could think of…
But now, all he could do is despise their very existence. Why you will ask? It was because they were so full of themselves. They even believed that everything that they're experiencing now is just an MMO that they played on the PCs.
But most of all, he despises Motoyasu the most…
Because of his brain being attached to his privates, he could only flirt with women. No, he WILL only listen to women. It didn't matter if there was a matter of right or wrong, as long as a woman is there, he will only believe her. Naofumi knows this well. Ever since the moment that they greeted with one another, he always believed that Motoyasu was just a pretty boy. Naofumi didn't like the same gender, he only believed this because of Motoyasu's looks. He could tell that Motoyasu was a chick magnet. And after what happened to Naofumi, his thoughts on him was proved correct.
Naofumi Iwatani had been accused of being a rapist…
"Tch." Naofumi gritted his teeth in anger.
Just the thought of that woman only fed onto his anger. When he was on his knees with weapons at his neck, he could only watch the woman that he believed was his only partner smirk at him. She played him like a toy! She faked this entire situation to play the matters into Motoyasu's favor because she liked him. She wanted nothing to the Shield Hero. She wanted nothing to do with Naofumi Iwatani.
She only cared about Motoyasu: The Spear Hero…
When he stared at the other women that were in the castle, they only looked at him with disgust. This was the beginning of when he started to lose trust in women. They would only use him as a toy to get what they want. Just like her. He couldn't trust another one. Not another one of those… things. To Naofumi, they were disgusting and greedy. He would speak of experience with that women that he trusted before.
Never again will he lay his heart in the hands of a woman…
Never again…
He was cursed to become the Shield Hero...
This was the Shield Hero's beginning...
Naofumi stared at the brown-haired demi-human with cold eyes. Why was he even here to begin with? Why was he in the wave protecting people? With his lack of trust, he shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be risking his life for such… worthless people. Everyone despised him for being the Shield Hero. So why is he here protecting people?
The answer was simple: it's because he's human…
No matter what fueled his hatred, he still had a human heart that yearned for innocence. With his heart betraying his mind, it will only think about what's best for him. And that was to save people.
Because in the back of his mind, he hoped to prove that he was innocent…
That explained the reason as to why he's here, but for what reason is he staring at a… woman? It was because she saved his life. That was the reason as to why he looked at her. If it was the Naofumi for when he first arrived here, he would be thanking her as if his life depended on it. But the current Naofumi can only look at her with cold eyes.
He had no to reason to affiliate himself with a woman. All they would do is betray him at a certain point. He couldn't trust another woman. No, he shouldn't trust another woman.
That's why he left her to her own troubles after he was done speaking to her. He shouldn't be wasting his time speaking to another woman.
But for some reason, here he is again, letting the woman lay in his bed as she sleeps from the party that they attended. With the bags under her eyes, he could easily see that she hadn't been sleeping well. The woman, Raphtalia had a tear-stained face. She had been crying last night, not believing of the events that transpired.
"Hey, wake up already. It's morning." Naofumi shook Raphtalia's sleeping form as she started to stir awake.
"Hm? S-sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." For some reason, when she apologized, his eyebrow twitched.
"Don't worry about it. Now get up, I have some work to do." Before Naofumi left the room, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking back, he could see Raphtalia looking up at him.
"What?" He asked, with no sign of leaving the venom out of his voice. She flinched before answering.
"I-I have a question." She looked conflicted. It was as if she asked him this, he would easily be offended.
"Yeah? Say it already."
"Y-you're the Shield Hero, correct?" Naofumi raised his arm to show the shield that was on his arm. As much as Naofumi wanted to get rid of it, he couldn't. Even if he threw it away, it will only come back to him; He was cursed of its very existence.
"Yeah, so what about it?" Raphtalia stared at the shield with wonder, only for her wondrous expression to be replaced with tears.
"Hey, why the hell are you crying? I didn't hurt you, did I?!" For some reason, no matter if she was crying, it will only make him angrier. Her crying only made quick flashes of that woman when she pretended to be assaulted.
"I'm… just happy. I'm finally able to meet you, after all of these years." She had tears of… happiness? She was happy to meet him? For what reason would a woman be happy to meet the Shield Hero?! Don't they despise the Shield Hero?!
"...For what reason? For what reason would you, a woman, would you want to meet me?" He crossed his arms, waiting for her next answer.
"Because… because…" For whatever reason, Raphtalia couldn't think of an answer to say to him. Because of the constant tears, she couldn't think straight. She was thankful for him saving her from Motoyasu, but-
"If you can't think of an answer, then don't bother saying anything to me." Naofumi started to walk towards the door to leave until-
*Crack!*
"Huh? What was that?" Naofumi looked back to Raphtalia and asked this, only for her to shrug her shoulders. After wiping her tears away, she looked to the direction of where the noise came from. She looked towards the desk that was in the room.
"Pi!" What laid on the desk, was a pink little bird that chirped in happiness. This was the egg that Naofumi had bought from the slave merchant last night after he laid Raphtalia to rest. After he laid her in bed, he decided to visit a slave merchant. He was informed from the slave merchant that if he had a slave, then he didn't have to worry about fighting on his own. All he would have to do is protect the monster as they battle together.
But he didn't think that he would get a little chick…
"What is… this?" Naofumi had been the first to respond to the weird bird that had hatched from the egg. After walking up to the chick, the pink chick chirped in happiness again and flew onto his head.
"Is that a Filolial?!" Raphtalia got off from the bed and walked up to Naofumi to see the pink bird. It seemed to look happy as it laid on top of his head. Raphtalia only giggled as she saw the bird continue to chirp in happiness.
"Is that what this bird is called? I didn't expect it to be this small. I was hoping that it was going to be helpful enough to help me in battle." Raphtalia looked at with a confused look. She was unsure if he should allow a Filolial to fight for him.
"Well, you're going to have to wait for it to grow up first before you think about doing that. But even so, why would you want a Filolial to fight for you? Can't you just-"Naofumi already knew what she was going to say. He always questioned it as well, only for him to know the hard way.
"I can't use any other weapon other than the shield itself. If I use anything else, I would only experience pain. This is another curse of becoming the Shield Hero…" Raphtalia felt… bad for him. No matter how rude he was to her, she still felt some sort of sympathy towards him.
'Probably acting like that so I could get softer on her.' Naofumi noticed that her ears had drooped down with a sad look, showing that she was feeling bad for him.
"Is that so…" Raphtalia went into silence after she said this. She couldn't think of anything to say to him after that.
"Hey, are you going to just sit there, or are you coming with me?" Naofumi waited at the doorway, waiting for Raphtalia to make up her mind. For Naofumi, he didn't know why he wanted to bring her along with him. For his safety, he shouldn't bring her with him. She could easily betray him in any second. All that had to happen was for him to act softer on her, and then she would just take advantage of that soft side of him. He would admit it, he was afraid of women. His lack of trust in them proves it. He was… insecure.
"Why? Don't you… dislike me?" Naofumi's tongue clicked before he answered back.
"Why? Because you've been betrayed by that prick and that… woman. What, you want to go back to them? You'll get killed there because you're and I quote: "being controlled by me". Everyone, including that prick, would only-" Raphtalia didn't want to listen to his disrespect towards Motoyasu.
"He isn't like that! He's… in the wrong right now. I'm… sure that if I explain to him about the situation, then all will be fine. Shouldn't you do the same? I'm sure that if you explain that you didn't-"
"I already tried it. That naive thinking that you have right now will only get yourself killed. I hoped that the people could understand that I didn't do what that woman said because I'm the Shield Hero, only for it to be the opposite. It's because I'm the Shield Hero, that everyone doesn't believe me. Everyone favors the other heroes. Especially Motoyasu. He bought into what that woman said and treated me as if I was a criminal. He acts so full of himself when he has women by his side. In the end, he's nothing but a coward."
"No, that's not what he told me! He said that it was YOU, who was acting full of himself. You… almost raped my comrade!" When she spoke of her 'comrade', Naofumi gritted his teeth in anger. That was what he thought of that woman before...
"The same 'comrade' that told Motoyasu that you're being controlled?! That woman wanted nothing to do with you! She held onto her cards so she could soon be rid of you! What happened last night proves it!"
"No… maybe she was right. Maybe… I'm being controlled by you! I shouldn't had protected you from Motoyasu-sama when he had the chance to take you down!" Naofumi was started to get pissed at her own words.
"So this is what I get for saving your life? For all I could know, you could've died from that sickness! I made that for you because you saved my life!"
"Then maybe it was a mistake! Because of you, my life had turned out like this! It was all good until I met you, the Shield Hero!"
"...That's what everyone says about me. Always believing in the Spear Hero. Like hell I was always in the wrong! It was because of that trash king, that I'm in this situation!"
"Don't you dare blame the king for this! He hasn't done anything to you!"
"It was because he brought me to this shitty world, that I'm like this! I'm the victim!" Raphtalia stopped talking. She never thought she could show… such anger towards someone. It felt… wrong. She… shouldn't be acting like this. She should… apologize for what she said to him.
'Then maybe it was a mistake! Because of you, my life had turned out like this! It was all good until I met you, The Shield Hero.' The thought of what she said to him twisted her stomach.
"I'm-" She started, only for her to get cut off.
"Get out." Naofumi said, with his back towards her.
"What?" Raphtalia was in shock when he blatantly told her to leave.
"I said get out. It's clear that you don't want to be here in my protection. If you would rather want to live with that lady chaser, then go ahead. You get killed there, and that will be on you." He stood at the doorway, waiting for him to leave his sight.
Raphtalia looked at the floor for a second, pondering at what she could do next. Should she stay with him, the person that had made her life like this, or should she go back to Motoyasu, where she was happy?
What should she decide on…?
Raphtalia looked up to the Shield Hero, only to find him gone…
That was two days ago for Raphtalia. Ever since she was left there, she had decided to find a place to stay. In a nearby village, she had rented a house for a day before she leaving towards the castle again.
"Phew, I think that's enough for today's training." For those two days, Raphtalia had been leaving out into the field to slay monsters to get stronger.
'I have to get stronger, just like Motoyasu-sama said! One day, I'm sure that I'll meet the…' Raphtalia paused her thoughts before noticing that she had been with the Shield Hero two days ago. Because of that outburst from two days ago, the thought of her speaking more about the Shield Hero's stories had been left out of thought. She should apologize for how she acted. No, for Rifana, she will apologize to him. While he is a bit… insecure around people, he was still the Shield Hero. Surely he has a good side to him. All Raphtalia had to do is apologize and speak to him with a clear mind.
Wait, who's Rifana…? Raphtalia took a second to think of that name, only for it to disappeared as quick as it came up.
"Filo, it's time for some monster hunting. You in?" Raphtalia heard a familiar voice inside a stable next to her. Was that… the Shield Hero? These stables were used for houses for Filolial alike. Why would the Shield Hero be inside the stable?
"...Shield Hero?" Raphtalia asked as she looked to see Naofumi, the Shield Hero, petting a Filolial. He was seen with a smile as he continued to pet the Filolial. This was… something that Raphtalia hasn't seen from him yet. For some reason… she thinks that it would be better if he would smile more often. It'll make people think less of him then.
But then, his cold eyes… they sort of… drew her into them. She hated how they looked at her. She didn't anyone to look at her with such eyes again! If only he could smile more. With that, it'll feel more comforting to speak to him, The Shield Hero.
Because it only reminds her of her young and weak self...
"Hm? Oh, it's you again." As soon as Naofumi heard her voice, his smile had immediately dropped. It seems that he doesn't approve of her presence.
"Yes, it's me again. What are you doing here?" Raphtalia crossed her arms as she waited for his answer. This was going to take some time for both of them.
'Since when did she start acting like this?' Naofumi wondered as he let go of his Filolial's head. She was starting to act all tough all of a sudden.
"I could ask the same thing. Why aren't you with that prick, Motoyasu?" When Raphtalia heard that word, she clenched her fist. Why wasn't she apologizing? Why was she acting this way towards the Shield Hero? This was the person that she wanted to meet ever since she was… little. But for what reason did she want to meet him? For the life of her, she couldn't remember.
"You answer first. I asked first."
"Tch, you're becoming annoying. Fine, I'm here because I want to. Now then, what's your reason?" Raphtalia's eyebrow twitched when he spoke to her with such… disrespect.
"I'm here because I want to. I'll be going to Motoyasu-sama's side soon."
"Oh boy, you're a hopeless cause." Hearing that, Raphtalia wanted to raise her voice.
"What was that?!"
"I fail to see why you will be willing to go back to him. Let me put this into your head. He. Almost. Killed. You. If I hadn't been there, then yes, you'll be there on the floor, looking at 'Motoyasu-sama's' eyes, wondering why he would turn his weapon against you." Raphtalia knew that he was trying to mock her.
"That's…!" But then, was it not true? She was there, looking at Motoyasu with pleading eyes for him to believe her. But then, he only believed in-
"No, stop trying to manipulate me! I'm… not going to believe you! He would… never-"
"Would you stop it already! He used you! You're a woman, and he used you! Soon, he would eventually try to do 'something' to you!"
"And why would you care?!" When Raphtalia asked that, Naofumi flinched.
"...Do you SERIOUSLY have a 'thing' for him?! You have already been used, Woman! That woman used you, and that prick! Just stop it already!"
"No. Motoyasu-sama saved my life and I'm-"
"And I saved your life as well. Without that potion I made, you wouldn't have survived that illness." Raphtalia flinched because he was right. No, that potion that he had created was made to cure her illness. Not even Motoyasu was able to even do that. But even still, he tried and he tried and he tried.
"He… tried constantly to save my life from that illness. For that, I'm grateful." Naofumi stopped talking and looked back to the Filolial that he had been petting before.
"Gwah?" The Filolial looked at him with saddened eyes. Perhaps that it felt saddened for the argument that it had to listen to?
"Sorry Filo, I couldn't I couldn't convince her." Naofumi mumbled.
"Huh? Are you talking to that Filolial?" Too bad for him that she didn't hear a word that he said.
"Yes, what of it? Why is it any of your business? Let's go, Filo." Naofumi had unlocked the door that the Filolial was behind, and started to walk towards the door.
"Filo? You mean that you named that Filolial, Filo?" Raphtalia looked at him with astonished eyes, not believing what she was hearing from him.
"Yeah, again, what's it got to do with you?"
"You suck at names, you know."
"She likes it so it doesn't matter. And also, you suck at logic."
"Huh?! Logic?!" She hated how he acted towards her. The way he spoke to her, and the way he behaves. These were the things that she hated about the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani!
But then, those cold eyes that continued to stare at her only drew her more into more conversations with him...
"You cheated! You didn't say that you're Filolial was a tub of lard!" This was Malty speaking. She was pissed off that Motoyasu had lost the race that they were sure to win. Soon after Raphtalia and Naofumi's arguments, Motoyasu and Malty had appeared in the middle of the village, requesting that they hand the rights of the region to Motoyasu. The hotshot was so full of himself. And so, in order to stop them, Naofumi, who didn't want anything to do with the village, was forced to comply.
And now, this led to where we are now…
"The hell are you talking about! She transformed after the race, I didn't cheat! If anything, you were the one who cheated!"
"Oh? Do you have any proof of this?" Malty was sure that she had secretly influenced the race with no one noticing. With her men to sabotage Naofumi, she was sure to win…
But then, why was it that Naofumi won…?!
"The Shield Hero is right." A woman's voice had been heard from the person that bowed before Malty.
"We detected traces of magic on the course." The unknown figure spoke. When they suddenly appeared, Malty had been seen uneasy of their presence. Who were these people?
"I-It was obviously that criminal!" She pointed at Naofumi, trying to make them believe that Naofumi was the one who cheated.
"No. The Shield Hero's magic affinities are healing and support. Your… previous raccoon comrade is light and dark. They were completely different types of magic that we had detected." Naofumi was put on the edge of his imaginary seat.
'They know this much about me? No, not even that, why was that raccoon woman even being brought up? Did they think that she was with me?' Naofumi thought to himself as he continued to listen to Malty's… excuses.
"F-Fine, we shall leave for today! Motoyasu, we're leaving!" Malty had called out for Motoyasu, only for him to not be paying attention to her.
He was staring at Raphtalia as he walked up to her…
"Raphtalia? Are you the Raphtalia that I know?" Raphtalia flinched when she heard him speak to him. While she was happy enough to see him, she knew what was going on in the race.
His comrades had cheated…
Raphtalia wanted to believe that Motoyasu had nothing to do with it; he's too kind to even do that! But then, what if he was acting like nothing was happening? What if he was using her for his own gain? No, he wouldn't! There would be no reason to!
As much as she wanted to forget about the magic spells that she heard with her raccoon ears, it wouldn't hide the fact that Motoyasu had cheated.
"Yes, Motoyasu-sama. I'm here…" Her head started to hurt. When she wanted to speak to him, all that played back into her memory was the spear that he held as he was about to attack her.
"You're… not under his control… right?" Raphtalia shook her head.
"No, I'm not. I'm not under his control, and I never was, Motoyasu-sama."
"I'm… glad. Thank the gods that you aren't that rapist's control!" Motoyasu embraced her as he was happy that she was… free.
"Yes, I'm… not under his control…" For some reason, tears started to leak out of Raphtalia's eyes. Not from happiness, but from sadness.
"I'm sorry that I almost attacked you. I… didn't know what to do at that time. But… all is forgiven right?! You're here, and you're not under his control!" When she looked up at him, he wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Yes, I'm okay!" Raphtalia smiled at him, realizing that she was happy to see him again. After their embrace, Raphtalia looked to see… the Shield Hero standing there with disgust in his eyes. Was his eyes… becoming colder?
"You were right. Why should I even care about you? No, why would I even trust a woman after what she's done to me?" Naofumi gritted his teeth, not liking that Raphtalia was back with Motoyasu. He had tried to convince her constantly! But… she threw those chances away.
"Hahaha! What's wrong, Naofumi? Upset for the fact that you're mind control didn't work on Raphtalia? Everything that has happened to you was because of your poor decisions. All you do is hide while someone battles it out for you! You're such a coward!" Naofumi looked at him with eyes that started to bring fear to Motoyasu.
"Coward? You're calling me a coward? All you do is hide behind women. You think you're tough because you have the king's praises? The people's praises? The women's praises? You're nothing but a coward that-"
"And look who's saying that, Shield Hero?" Naofumi looked to see that it was Malty staring at him with a visible smirk.
Just like how she looked at Raphtalia…
"All you have is nothing, Shield Hero! You even dared to try to rape me, princess of Melromarc!" After announcing that, people started to talk.
"He… tried to rape the princess?"
"He's the Shield Hero, right? He… tried to rape the princess?"
"No… I won't believe it! He would never try to do such a thing!"
"Yeah, what would he even gain from that?!" Naofumi couldn't take it anymore. As there were people who supported Naofumi, all he could hear was that he was the one who tried to rape the princess.
'He raped the princess! He deserves no mercy..!"
"Such a wild dog. He thinks he's higher than the others because he's the Shield Hero…"
"Leave, and never come back, Shield Hero…!"
"No, shut up! It wasn't me!" Naofumi had his hands to his ears, not wanting to hear their voices. He had been sure that he was able to put these voices in the back of his head. From constant nightmares, he hadn't been able to stop hearing them. He didn't want to hear them anymore!
"What, can't handle the truth, Naofumi? This is why you're a coward." Motoyasu laughed at the state of Naofumi. But Raphtalia… she could only stare with saddened eyes as Naofumi deals with the inner thoughts.
"No… I… didn't do it! I didn't!" Naofumi was seen to have tears in his eyes, waiting to be released. For some reason, Raphtalia's heart shattered as she continued to watch the Shield Hero cry out in vain.
"Filo!" With Naofumi on Filo's back, they left in a hurry.
"Serves you right! Anyway, Raphtalia, let's go back home. I'm sure that our comrades missed you." Motoyasu said as he held his arm around her shoulder.
"Y-yes, let's go." Raphtalia looked back to see where the Shield Hero was going. But to her surprise, they were quickly gone. Behind her, were the soldiers of Melromarc. For some reason, they glared at her with hatred in their eyes. However, one soldier stood there and smirked at her.
'Raphtalia-chan!'
'Get in, brat!'
Huh? What was that she heard? Who called out her name? She swore she knew who the person was, but… why couldn't she remember their name?
"Raphtalia? Is there something wrong?" The soldiers and everyone else besides walked ahead of her, not wanting to be close to her for a second.
'That foolish Spear Hero decided on taking a demi-human has a partner. What a foolish decision. Make sure she doesn't remember anything from that wretched place. We don't want her to go... turning her back on us, do we?'
'Yes, yes sir!' Whom did these voices belong to? Why did these memories feel… recent?
As she looked up to say that she was alright, but all she found was…
A young girl staring at her with weak eyes…
'Raphtalia-chan… I wanna go home…' Huh? Who was this girl? And why does this girl know her name?
'Raphtalia-chan, do you think the Shield Hero will come to save us?' No, why was she seeing this young girl's face?! Who was this girl?!
'I wanna meet him and…' Instances of soldiers coming to a village was all that Raphtalia could see. She didn't know why, but she started to cry. Why was she seeing these things? Why?
Why did these soldiers look… familiar?
'Have him make me his wife.'
"Rifana-chan!" Raphtalia's sudden outburst had caused everyone to look back at her with widened eyes.
"Raphtalia? What's wrong? Who's Rifana-chan?" Raphtalia didn't speak to him. All she did was looked at the soldiers that continued to look at her with glares…
Why did they look like the soldiers from those memories…? No, she… lived somewhere else right? Her… parents were killed… right? She was enslaved because of the soldiers…
Right?
"I… can't do this anymore!" Raphtalia pushed herself away from Motoyasu, only for him to stare back at her with shock in his eyes.
"Raphtalia, what's wrong? Is everything... alright?" He started to walk slowly towards her so he didn't provoke her.
"Get away from me!" Raphtalia had ran away from Motoyasu as he called out for her name. She didn't want to turn back. She had to get away from them. The Shield Hero was right…
If she continued to stay by her side… then she will be killed…
Raphtalia could only hope that she will be able to find the Shield Hero once again...
(A/N)
Um... sorry for the rushed chapter. Yes, I know I did change the story a bit and I'm sorry. I... kind of lied. I had a chapter already written, but I wanted to add more to it because I've been getting some positive feedback to continue the story. Thank you everyone!
