A/N: SORRY everyone, I know it's been a very VERY long time, and I had all sorts of things happening to me (not all of them good, unfortunately). But I'm not going to abandon this story, so you can expect more chapters in the future ^ ^ Although I can't write fast, so it may take quite a bit of time :/

This chapter was actually sitting half-finished in my laptop for a couple months, but I didn't know how to continue up until a couple days ago -_-

Hope you'll enjoy it!

CHAPTER 6

"Help yourselves!" Telica put two large bowls of stew on the table and threw her thick golden braid over the shoulder, smiling as both Demi-humans' tails started to swish back and forth.

"Hey, honey! Bring me 'un more cuppa!" bellowed another customer, a burly man sitting two tables away.

"Comin' sir!" She called back and hurried to get the drink.

Keran and Raphtalia dug in with gusto, finishing their portions almost instantly and asking the girl for seconds, to which she laughed merrily and shouted their order into the kitchen.

When another two bowls appeared in front of them, they took to eating again, albeit this time more slowly.

"Hmmm," Keran studied the food in his spoon before putting it in his mouth and starting to chew thoughtfully. "Are you thinking the same thing?" he asked after swallowing.

"It's very good, but not really as tasty as Master's cooking, is it?"

"Uh-huh," the boy nodded. "His cooking skills are really something. I wonder if he's ever thought of opening a tavern or maybe even a restaurant after, you know…" he gestured with his free hand.

"We have to survive it all first," Raphtalia answered, biting her lower lip as she glanced in the direction of their new room, given to them by Rork the innkeeper as another gift. The man explained that the previous occupants vacated it just an hour ago, and now they could use it instead of their original room, which was smaller and less comfortable. When they asked why he was proposing it, the innkeeper explained that both his brothers were miners and had trouble providing for their families, because their main source of income had become home for the monster. With the beast gone, they'll be able to live well again.

Now their master was there, sleeping, though it looked more as if he simply passed out. When they first entered the room, Keran and Raphtalia didn't even have any time to look around, because the Shield Hero suddenly swayed and almost fell to the floor. The youngsters helped him to the nearest bed, exchanging a worried glance.

"Are you alright, Naofumi-sama?" the girl enquired anxiously.

"… …yes." His slow answer only made them more anxious.

"Can we help you with anything, Master Naofumi?" This got the man's attention, as it was only the second time that Keran called him by his name. He looked himself over, and sighed.

"I guess…. I need to check my shoulder and leg."

Together the three of them peeled away the fabric of his cloak and shirt, revealing reddened skin and half-healed bite marks, smeared with dried blood. After sending Keran down for some water, Naofumi took out the salve for infected wounds, some bandages and a rag with his good hand, and passed the items to Raphtalia.

"I'm back!" The cat boy announced, opening the door with a small bowl in his hands. Carefully, he carried the bowl over to them and placed it on a stool that Raphtalia put beside the bed. The girl soaked the rag and began cleaning her Master's shoulder area slowly.

When she was done, the water in the bowl was red from all the blood. The Raccoon girl glanced at the Shield Hero, noting his tightened jaw. With an apologetic look, she took the healing paste and started to coat the bite marks with it.

The young man inhaled sharply and closed his eyes, but didn't give any other sign of distress, although both Demi-humans were sure that the treatment was rather painful. When Keran put his palm on top of his master's in support, though, Naofumi started and looked at it for a moment, then shook his head a little and closed his eyes again without a comment.

Keran looked at Raphtalia with a small grin, who smiled and gave him a nod of approval.

When the girl was done, she bandaged her Master's shoulder and kneeled on the floor to examine his leg. Fortunately, the gashes there had already healed, so she just took care of cleaning the skin.

"I'm going to rest a bit," the man spoke up finally, "you go down and eat, and have some rest too. Tomorrow we're returning to the mines for materials."

"Yes, Master!" Their simultaneous answers, which were rapidly becoming a habit, evoked only an eyeroll from the Shield Hero now, and he waved his hand in a shooing motion, trying to hold back a yawn.

"Off with you two..."

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. The two Demi-humans exchanged a look and quietly left the room, descending the steep staircase that led to the first floor, which served as a tavern.

And that's where they were sitting now, munching on their late lunch.

"I… umm… Sorry I wasn't any help today," Keran turned to look in the same direction briefly. His golden eyes then found Raphtalia's pink ones as he tried to express himself. "I really wanted to… I wanted to go inside 'cause I just felt that something wasn't right, but…" He lowered his head in shame. "I was scared."

Keran's grey ears drooped as he thought about what the older girl would say. Would she hate him? Call him a coward? A nuisance?

"It's alright."

His head snapped up in surprise, and Keran was met with a sad smile.

"It's alright to be scared. I know I was absolutely terrified earlier when the monster appeared and decided to attack us. I'm actually glad that you stayed outside – that beast was very fast and strong, and I couldn't even move from fear. If not for Master…" she shuddered. "I would have died."

"Can you tell me what happened there?" The boy asked quietly. "I only plucked up the courage to go in after I received lots of experience points, but I don't think Master will tell me everything."

Raphtalia nodded and proceeded to describe their encounter with the two-headed dog, trying to not give too much detail about their Master's abilities, seeing as they were in a public place.

"Your master is a good man." A familiar voice spoke above them.

"Aaaaah!" Both teens jumped in their seats, turning to its owner, who put two plates with cake on the table and twirled a small tray in her hands with a cheeky grin.

"Telica-chan!" Raphtalia exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "W-when did you come?"

"Oh, don't worry, I only caught the part about your master bravely telling you to run as he held back the monster, and you protecting him in return. Aw, I think I wouldn't mind having such a master myself." The girl winked at Raphtalia, who blushed heavily and hid her face in her hands with a groan.

"Oi, stop it, Telica," Keran defended his fellow Demi. "Don't make Raphtalia uncomfortable. Besides," he added, "our Master isn't some womanizer, and he will never use Raphtalia like this!"

"Alright, alright!" The young waitress relented with a shrug. "You seem to respect him a lot, I see."

"Well, he may own us… but he doesn't treat us as 'things', y'know…" the Raccoon girl mumbled, still a bit pink from embarrassment.

"And, by the way, you're quite friendly to us too," the boy narrowed his visible eye slightly at the cheerful girl.

"That's because we have quite a lot of Demi-human clients. Dad has had this tavern for as long as I can remember, and your kind has never treated us badly. We simply return the favor."

Keran couldn't feel anything dishonest in her words, so he just nodded and got up.

"Thanks for the food, then. I think I'll go upstairs now."

"Me too, thank you, Telica-chan," Raphtalia smiled and hurried after the retreating boy.

The owner's daughter watched them go, then turned around and began wiping the table that had been occupied by the pair moments ago.

Take care of your master, she silently wished. If he really is the one, he's going to need all the help he can get.

Something bright was shining him in the face. Naofumi groaned slightly and tried to cover his eyes, but his hands were weighed down by something. Puzzled, he raised his head to see what it was, and discovered his slaves sleeping peacefully on both his sides.

With a sigh, he leaned back on the pillow. So, am I a human pillow now? Looks like they got a bit clingy… Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He inhaled deeply, and –

"YOU SLEPT THROUGH YOUR NIGHT SHIFT!"

The effect was immediate.

"WHAAAAAA!" the teens screamed, jumping up and off the bed, looking around wildly.

"Finally. I was getting pins and needles in my arms already."

Hearing their master's voice, they turned to him, still disheveled and wide-eyed.

"B-b-but, Master! We're at the inn, we don't need to do night shifts!"

He kept his face straight.

"Get dressed. We're eating and moving out to the caves today."

"Umm…"

Naofumi looked at the Raccoon girl impassively, as she clutched at her sleeping shirt nervously.

"Er, shouldn't you be resting, sir?" Keran spoke up quietly instead, cringing slightly under the man's stare.

"My health bar is full."

"O… Okay." The teen looked like he wanted to say more, but thought better of it.

After getting ready and having a quick breakfast they left the village and walked the sandy road to the mine. As they were trudging behind their Master, Keran exchanged looks with Raphtalia, silently agreeing to try and keep the Shield Hero from overworking himself.

Several days passed in a similar fashion – they worked in the mine till lunch, had a short nap after eating, then did some grinding in the nearby forest, and got back to the inn for a hearty dinner. Then the teens stayed down with Telica, while Naofumi was either making potions in their room, or selling them at the market area.

Then, as their fifth day of the established routine was nearing its end, Naofumi addressed the Demi-humans on their way from the woods:

"Tomorrow we will return to the Capital to sell the materials and, perhaps, get some new equipment from Old Man."

Raphtalia cheered loudly, and Keran smiled too, infected by her good mood.

With each passing day, he liked the energetic girl more and more. He knew by now what had happened to her and how she got bought by their master. In return, Keran shared his story, and the two of them tried to piece together any facts about their master, but there really wasn't a lot to say. They couldn't deduce much from his habits, and the man never talked about himself. Not that he actually talked about anything else.

And today wasn't any different – Raphtalia was chattering about different weapons she wanted to try, Keran added his thoughts here and there, and the Shield Hero was just walking silently a few steps behind them, seemingly deep in thought.

Though when the nearby bushes suddenly rustled, he was in front of the teens in an instant, his shield at the ready.

The creature that appeared from the foliage had them tense a little.

It looked like a medium-sized bear with extremely long claws, and immediately swung one paw in Naofumi's general direction with a low growl. He blocked it with his shield, and had to duck a millisecond later to avoid the second one.

There was a barely audible swish above his head, and the monster roared with pain caused by two knives embedded in the thick fur – one in the chest, another one in the right shoulder.

The beast's right paw hung limply, which was a clue for Raphtalia, who dashed forward to the bear's unprotected side and struck it down with her sword.

The fight ended in less than twenty seconds, and all three of them exhaled with relief.

"Good job on your teamwork." Naofumi said almost absent-mindedly, squatting down to examine the bear. He took out a knife and started cutting.

"Thanks, Master!" the teens grinned, pleased at the praise, and stepped forward to help with the dissection.

Later in the evening, when they were sitting down to have dinner, the Shield Hero went to the kitchen and spoke with the cooks for a moment. Even with their keen hearing, neither Keran nor Raphtalia could make out any words, but the mystery was unveiled very quickly when Telica brought them their food.

"Whoa, Master, is this all for us?" Raphtalia exclaimed, staring at the assortment of plates filled with steaming meat and fresh vegetables.

"Eat. You did well today, and we have enough money to afford it." The man's voice was dry, as usual, but it still made both youngsters almost glow with pride. They tucked in happily, cleaning the table within ten minutes.

In the excitement both failed to notice that their master barely touched his food at all.

The following morning met them with bright sun and pleasant freshness as they set out for the capital, stopping to pick up some fresh herbs here and there. By the time they stepped foot inside the city walls, it became hotter and very crowded, and Naofumi kept his shield covered to avoid any unpleasant confrontations.

Fortunately, they made it to the apothecary without incident, and the young man almost sighed in relief upon entering the slightly cool building.

He greeted the owner curtly and took something from his pocket. The apothecary raised an enquiring eyebrow at him.

"It's a letter from your niece in Lute. She asked that I bring it to you the next time I go here."

Taking the letter, the older man read it quickly and put the paper away, his face adopting a nicer than usual, almost eager, expression.

"Are you here on business? I have to say, I missed the quality of your stock."

Naofumi stared in suspicion for a moment, but thought that perhaps he didn't really want to know the reason for this sudden change and opened one of his bags instead.

"Here, take a look."

A pleased hum from the other man later, Naofumi decided he would probably have to ask his niece Medo about that letter at some point. Only business mattered at the moment, though.

An hour later they left the place with a pouch full of coins and a grimoire with basic potions. Maybe things are finally starting to look up, Naofumi thought, following the path to Erhard's shop, at least not everyone here treats me like I'm the lowest scum.

Unfortunately, he was very soon reminded of the usual treatment he got.

"What. Did. You. Say."

They've just finished equipping Raphtalia and Keran with more expensive weapons and some armour, and the blacksmith was very surprised to learn that Naofumi didn't know the day of the next Wave.

"Sorry, kiddo," Erhard winced in sympathy. "I was sure they'd at least tell you about the Dragon Hourglass…"

"Obviously, they didn't." Naofumi tried to suppress the cold feeling of hopelessness rising in his stomach and concentrate on the matter at hand, "And where is this hourglass?"

It looked like visiting the church had soured his mood considerably, both Raphtalia and Keran thought. Well, actually, everything was going more or less fine until the other three Heroes showed up and proceeded to insult him without shame. The Spear Hero then noticed Raphtalia and, after a flashy introduction, tried flirting with her, but Keran slapped his hands away with a low growl, and the girl quickly hid behind her Master.

"R-raphtalia-chan!" cried out Motoyasu, surprised at the obvious hostility. "Isn't it better for you to join my party instead of being with this… this… animal?!"

Half the people around facepalmed, including the Shield Hero who drawled in annoyance:

"You know, she's kind of half-animal, so instead of insulting me you're actually insulting her."

The Spear Hero gaped at him like a fish, and Naofumi didn't wait for the idiot to come back to reality.

"C'mon," he muttered, "let's leave this wretched place." His slaves dutifully followed, but not without throwing back some dirty looks.

Together they made their way to a tavern for a late lunch, both Demi-humans sharing a nervous look at a dark cloud that seemed to hover over their Master.

The meal passed in silence, and only later, as they were heading to the city gates, Keran mustered enough courage to ask:

"Umm, so, how much time do we have before the next Wave of Destruction?"

The man's heavy gaze was unnerving, but after a few moments the Hero answered:

"Twenty-six days and fourteen hours."

"Oh, there's still some time to train," piped in Raphtalia.

"Yeah… some," their master grudgingly agreed. "We'll travel around more, too."

"I like it. I've never travelled before, except in a cage when the slave hunters got me," Keran said. "What about you, Raphtalia?"

"No," she shook her head. "I haven't travelled anywhere of my own free will. But," the silent understanding between them felt really sad, so Raphtalia hurried to continue, "We often walked around the nearby forests with Sadeena onee-san, and…"

The conversation flowed between two Demi-humans, leaving Naofumi to walk quietly, remembering his own last time spent travelling. There, in his home world, it happened a year ago.

He'd finally saved enough money from his part-time jobs and dragged Yutaro on a trip around the nearby cities, finishing with a glorious three-day lie-in at the beach. On the last day, sitting on the sand and watching the sun set, they decided to make it their annual summer tradition…

Naofumi grit his teeth painfully.

They would have gone about six days ago, if only he hadn't been kidnapped to this shitty world. Right now, he and his brother could be walking around the streets of Amakusa after a long day spent swimming in the sea and playing beach games-

"-fumi-sama?"

"…what." He turned to his slaves, who actually cowered a bit. Shit, he tried to smooth out his face, no need to scare them.

"N-naofumi-sama, where are we going now?"

Naofumi stared blankly at Raphtalia for a moment, and then looked around. Ah, they were already passing the gates.

"Let's head back to Lute for the night. Tomorrow I'll speak with Brayden about the closest villages and we'll make a plan. There's also one place we need to find, but I think either Brayden or Medo will be able to help with that."