I thought I should make my thoughts on the last chapter a little clearer. It's not that a Shield in this world doesn't have an ATK stat. It's that Naofumi's Legendary Weapon itself has the restriction of very low ATK stat, which is copied over every shield he unlocks/copies. So in the hands of others, ATK shields work great! But when Naofumi unlocks them/copies them, they have little to no attack power behind them thanks to his Shield. That's all there is to it. It's the Legendary Weapon Restriction/Benefit he's stuck with as the Shield Hero. Almost nonexistent Attack, but God-Tier Defense.
Again, I don't want Shield ideas. I'm not taking any right now. I like a couple of the weapon suggestions for the other Heroes, but go even more basic. I'm not looking for crossovers with Fate or other franchises for weapon forms (that just ain't going to happen, even if those weapons are depowered. Keep it IN Shield Hero for me please). As an example, I liked the Cinder Sword. It wouldn't have the Smoke Form ability as that's just overpowered no matter what cooldown you slap onto it, but it would give an equip bonus of fire damage (small). So give me ideas like that. It doesn't have to have a skill attached to it. It could even be something like improving the user's fishing ability (AKA, the Fishing Hook Sword, what it'd actually do if Ren unlocked it). So weapons for the other three, keep them basic, and (not for all of them) offer skills that'd fit them without being OP.
Chapter Twelve: Karma Rabbit, Old Traumas
"Ren, pay attention!"
The Sword Hero groaned. Weren't Wyndia, Farrie, and Tersia being a little too hard on him?! They'd just gotten back from their monster hunting marathon two hours ago!
The sun had long since set. And he was having trouble trying to focus on what his mages were trying to teach him. He could pick out the bits of the Melromarc alphabet. But trying to listen to their instructions while straining to learn magic text was really, really hard.
Facing Glass had been more fun than this...
"Sigh. I think he's stopped listening again." Tersia pinched the bridge of her nose.
It wasn't that he wasn't listening. It was that he was about ready to collapse and fall asleep from exhaustion. The only thing keeping him awake was the desire to eat. The dinner they'd had was surprisingly good, even if Naofumi hadn't cooked it. But he wanted to go back to that restaurant for seconds before he went to bed.
"Wyndia, I think he's at his limit," Farrie said.
The dog girl huffed, wrapping her arms under her chest. "Fine, I guess he's made some reasonable progress for tonight."
"Huh?" Ren said wearily.
"I'm saying that we're done. You're free to go or whatever." Wyndia huffed again and turned to the side.
"B-But isn't this important-" Ren started to ask in worry. Had he disappointed his friends with his lack of progress and-
"Just go before I change my mind, you dummy!" Wyndia yelled at him.
"Woohoo!" As immature as it was, Ren immediately got up and rushed out of the room to freedom. He could finally grab seconds from that one restaurant!
Wyndia kept her arms crossed. She didn't dare to admit that it'd felt good spending so much quality time with her favorite Sword Hero. Not that she knew of any other Sword Heroes of course! Ren was the only one she'd ever met! But that didn't mean anything special to her, or anything even remotely associated with special!
"So, did you enjoy today's special study session, Wyndia?" Farrie asked teasingly.
"Huh?!" Wyndia turned in surprise. "It wasn't special!"
"Don't bother with the act. You already told us how you felt about Ren a while back." Tersia said. The smirk adorning her face looked very unusual on the normally contemplative girl.
"Gah!" Wyndia clutched at her chest. "No, I wasn't thinking about that at all!" She shouted at them. "There's no way I'd ever do that when Ren is lagging behind the other Heroes! I was entirely focused on helping him to learn magic text! That's it!"
"Oh, so it just happened to be happenstance that you volunteered to teach him," Farrie said like she didn't believe it.
"I could have also sworn I saw you staring longingly at him whenever he was deep into his studies.' Tersia smirked.
"If I'd really wanted to spend special time with, with... that idiot! I wouldn't have asked for help from you two!"
"Oh, but we were only here to give adult supervision. Right, Farrie?" Tersia asked her best friend.
"Of course. We couldn't let you two lovebirds do anything scandalous while we're busy getting stronger here." Farrie giggled into her hand. "At least you only limited yourself to staring instead of trying to hold his hand this time."
Wyndia's face filled with red. It was hard to tell if that was out of anger, or sheer embarrassment. "I, we, um... no such thing would have ever happened!" She finally managed to yell at them.
"Oh, but do you wish something like that would have happened?" Farrie teased again.
…
…
The two girls looked surprised when Wyndia didn't respond. Her face falling ever so slightly. "Hey, Wyndia, are you, um…"
"Maybe… a little bit." The dog girl admitted.
"... … … oh," Tersia said.
…
Wyndia slowly stood up from the table after a long, awkward pause. "I think I'm going to do some magic training before I go to bed..."
"Okay. Don't push yourself too hard." Farrie said with a smile, yet some of the lightheartednesses was gone from her tone.
Wyndia quietly left the room. Her arms huddled together, this time, to try and calm her shaking body.
The two girls looked at each other. "Do you think we might have teased her a little too much there?" Farrie asked worriedly.
"No, I don't think that's the issue," Tersia said. She took a cold cup of tea from the side and sipped it. "Farrie." She held it out to her.
"Fast Flame." A flame formed under the cup. After a moment, the flame went out, and Tersia took another sip.
"Ah, much better." She sighed in relief. "No, I believe our little girl is struggling with an issue all girls fear when they're crushing hard."
"What's that?" Farrie asked.
…
"The thought that they'll never escape the friendzone."
"Wind's Torrent!"
A ball of wind formed in Wyndia's hand. When she thrust it in front of her, it was like she'd unleashed a raging torrent instead of a little ball. The tree in front of her and the slimes around it were all blasted away by the sheer force of the spell's power.
"Haaah… haaah..." Wyndia breathed in and out heavily. She then clutched at her head in frustration.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! Why can't I get this stupid magic to work!?"
Another slime squished its way on her foot. "AHHH!" Wyndia kicked it far, far away from her. It didn't survive the landing either, as the EXP notification appearing on the edge of her vision told her.
It was really remarkable how much more the Slave User Series were increasing her stats alongside the Dog Sword. Still, even though she was becoming more powerful than ever… her Dragon Vein Magic still wasn't working properly!
"Damn it!" She yelled at the night sky.
"Damn it damn it damn it damn it DAMN IT!"
She cast another dragon vein spell and collapsed to her knees.
She got up, casting another dragon vein spell, and collapsed on all fours.
She tried to settle into position once more to cast the spell. But because of her exhaustion, she couldn't get herself to focus enough for the puzzle to appear in her mind.
"... if one of my friends is struggling, I want to be able to help them in any way I can."
...
"... damn it." She muttered.
Yeah, this really sucked. It sucked even more than usual since Ren wasn't there to try and encourage her like before.
Wyndia fell back on her butt. Shoulders slumping in exhaustion.
How long had it been since he'd told her those words? Those damn, blasted words which had ruined the chance of them growing closer and becoming something… more…
Another slime bounced towards her, but she barely regarded it. Even when it hit against her arm, it didn't hurt much at all. It was pathetically weak.
"Decipher the laws of nature or whatever, and burn my target away. Fast Fireball."
The unorthodox wording still worked, and the simple spell melted the creature away. Wyndia hmphed as she rested her chin on her knees. There were no other monsters in the area around her.
Being a teenage girl truly sucked. Her rough personality didn't help either. It was hard for her to open up and confess her true feelings. Raphtalia and Rishia seemed to get along with their heroes far better than she did with Ren.
She wasn't nice like Raphtalia, or meek and shy the way Rishia was. She had a prickly attitude and a hot temper, almost the exact opposite of them.
It didn't help that both girls definitely had her beat in the assets department too. Wyndia glared down at her chest, or rather, her lack of it.
Even though leveling had aged her up to 16, she noted that her chest was showing an alarming lack of growth compared to her peers. She didn't consider herself flat by any means, but… every time she stood next to Rishia, the size difference became all too apparent...
Wait, was Ren even into that?! And why was she pondering over something so silly and stupid! Ugh! She pulled at her hair in frustration.
At least she had something to brag about in the back. Otherwise, she would have been completely hopeless if it did come down to assets.
Actually, why was she blaming herself! It's not like she considered herself small by any means! The real problem was that Ren just didn't have good taste in girls!
Yeah, she could see the way he stared at Eclair and the others whenever they trained! Why were all the girls around her so ridiculously curvy?! It made no sense!
And the real freak of nature was Rishia! Even though Wyndia was several inches taller than her, the green-haired girl's breasts were huge!
What good were large breasts for anyways?! They only get in the way of fighting! That's probably why Rishia is so clumsy and prone to tripping and falling over all the time. Her balance must be all over the place!
...
Size is relative, okay!?
...
Wyndia huffed. Her night training had been completely and effectively ruined by her thoughts once again.
"Grrrrr…" A growl escaped her lips. She'd be damned if she didn't at least pull off one last Dragon Vein spell before she called it a night!
"I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel the air and give it shape! Give me what I need to turn-"
"Wow!" An unfamiliar female voice exclaimed.
"EEP!" Wyndia jumped so high in her shock that she grabbed onto the branch of the tree that she'd been standing under with all four of her limbs. Her eyes were closed tight, and her ears were pressed fearfully to her head. "Tersia! Farrie! I swear to the Gods, if you came out here to prank me when I'm like this, I'm going to-"
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
"... huh?" Wyndia finally opened an eye and looked down. An unfamiliar, turquoise-haired girl was standing below the tree.
Just her luck. This girl was also ridiculously stacked. The dog girl glared down, even though her cheeks were red from embarrassment. "Wh-who are you?!"
"My name is Therese. I just wanted to take a closer look at that interesting spell you were casting." The girl blushed. "But then I accidentally frightened you."
"I-I wasn't frightened at all!" Wyndia denied, letting go of the branch that she'd been gripping for dear life and dropping to the ground. "You just startled me! That's all! And don't you forget it!"
"O-Of course." The strange girl agreed. Up close, she looked even more beautiful. It was like looking at a blue-haired version of Raphtalia.
It was completely unfair!
Wyndia allowed herself another moment to be angry. However, the girl's next comment struck her curiosity. "It's surprising to find someone else who uses vitality to fuel their spells."
"... what?" Wyndia blanched.
"You were pulling vitality from the air to cast your spell, weren't you?" The girl repeated.
"How would you know what I was doing?!" Wyndia crossed her arms. She didn't even know who this strange girl was! She looked like one of the adventurers from the ship, but she hadn't talked to her back then or anything! She'd been too busy caring- helping Sir Ren out with his seasickness! She didn't care about that jerk at all!
The girl didn't speak for a moment. Then, she relaxed as she held one of her hands out in front of her. "I beseech thee, power of jewels far and wide. Heed my call and come to me. My name is Therese Alexandrite. My friends, be the light that heals her wounds." As she chanted, the emerald on one of her bracelets began to glow. As well as that, her hair turned from a turquoise color to an emerald color.
Wyndia was so shocked by the transformation that she almost missed what happened next. "Bejeweled Emerald Touch!"
A burst of green light came from her hand, hitting Wyndia. However, there was no force behind the spell. Instead, it was like she was being given a warm hug. The exhaustion she'd felt creeping up on her from using Dragon Vein faded somewhat.
"Wh-what the…" Wyndia looked down at herself in shock. She looked up at this girl. Had she said her name was Therese? And had she been hallucinating when her hair changed color? It was turquoise now, but earlier…?
"My apologies for casting magic on you out of the blue like that. You weren't looking well." Therese explained.
"H-How did you do that?" Wyndia asked. A rare note of awe in her voice.
Therese smiled, though a bit uncomfortably. "That'd be a long story for me to explain. I don't know if you'd understand."
"Oh, um…" Wyndia eventually recovered and hmmphed as she turned away. "I didn't need your explanation anyway!" She pouted.
Therese giggled into her hand. Wyndia's pout continued to deepen…
…
"Therese, was it?" She asked.
"Hmmm?" Therese tilted her head curiously.
"Did you... you drew vitality from that gemstone to cast that spell, right?" The dog girl asked timidly.
"Yes, I did," Therese said.
"Could you… could you see what I was doing wrong with my spell?" Wyndia asked, biting her tongue after she'd said it.
"If I was observing correctly, you were pulling vitality from the air around you, correct?" Therese asked.
"Yes, it's just, well…" She didn't know how to explain it, or if she should explain it. Wait, why was she even asking this?! She'd barely met this girl!
But she hadn't met anyone else who could pull vitality from a source besides her dragon father. Even if what she used hadn't been Earth Vein, it had seemed remarkably similar.
Wyndia clenched her teeth and turned away. "I call upon the power of the Earth to come to me and take form. Dragon Vein, hear my petition! Earth Vein, lend me your strength! Channel the air and give it shape! Give me what I need to turn my defeat into a victory! Wind's Torrent!"
She hit a different tree in the distance, ripping it out by the roots. Therese stared in awe at the display of raw power that Wyndia had shown. To think that such powerful magic also existed in this world-
Wyndia fell to her knees, gasping heavily. This shocked Therese out of her stupor. "Are you okay?" She worriedly asked. The dog girl looked even worse than before.
"Urgh, no one asked for your concern." Wyndia snapped. However, she didn't resist when Therese helped her to stand up again. She teetered for a little while but eventually recovered.
"So you really did pull vitality from the air," Therese said in awe.
"Yeah, I did, so what?" Wyndia hmphed as she put her hands on her hips. "It's not like it's very useful in battles anyway. One spell and I'm about as useless as a newborn baby."
"But… you look fine to me? A little fatigued perhaps but-" Therese blinked in confusion.
"I've been practicing," Wyndia replied through gritted teeth. "There isn't supposed to be any physical backlash from it, since it's not my own magical reserves that I'm tapping into. I used to be able to do it right, but for the past couple of months, it hasn't been working like it's supposed to. I keep trying and trying to fix this, but I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! This sucks!"
"Hmmm…" Therese closed her eyes, seemingly thinking to herself.
"Do you, um… know what I'm doing wrong?" Wyndia asked, against her better judgment.
"... I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not sure yet. I only saw you cast it once after all. And besides, it's getting pretty late." Therese smiled at her. "You're one of Raphtalia's friends, correct? How about we meet up tomorrow evening with her after we're done building up our levels. I could give another look at it then."
"H-Huh?!" Wyndia said in shock. "How did you know I know her-?!"
"I didn't, but you just confirmed it." Therese put a hand to her chin while Wyndia blushed. "I did promise to meet up with Raphtalia tomorrow so we could go shopping. But if you're her friend, then you could join us too! I'm sure that relaxing for a bit will be the perfect thing to help clear your mind so you can focus on your magic!" She suggested.
"What! B-But tomorrow evening, I have-" Wyndia bit her tongue to cut off the rest of her sentence. She'd almost said she was helping the Sword Hero to learn magic.
"Oh, are you busy-" Therese looked disappointed as she started to say that.
"No, I'm not busy at all! My evening tomorrow is wide open! Completely barren of helping any useless boys with learning magic!" Wyndia said angrily.
"Oh, good to know!" Therese smiled happily. She held out her hand. "You already know this, but my name is Therese. I hope we can be good friends!"
"... Wyndia." The dog girl said, reluctantly introducing herself at last.
This evening had definitely turned out weirder than she'd planned. But, maybe, this was her chance to fix what was wrong with her magic.
Tersia and Farrie could have fun teaching Ren anyways. It wasn't like she had to spend all of her time around her favorite Hero.
Not that she'd ever admit that he was her favorite anyway.
"I'll see you tomorrow Wyndia!"
"Yeah, see you… Therese..."
After that, Wyndia returned to Farrie and Tersia's room to turn in for the night. Tersia was already asleep in one bed, but Farrie was still sitting at the table, waiting for her to come back.
"Hey, um, Wyndia…" Farrie started to say. Then paused, unsure of how she should apologize.
"Could you and Tersia handle teaching Ren tomorrow?" The dog girl tiredly asked.
"Oh, did something come up-" Farrie began to pry when Wyndia turned around to glare at her. "Yes, of course." The younger half of the Sword Party's mage duo decided to agree instead.
"Good. And… Thanks." Wyndia rested her head on her pillow. Moments later, she began to lightly snore.
Farrie sat still for a moment more, then she walked over, fixing Wyndia's blanket and resting a hand on the french braid on the side of her head. Her hair felt soft, fragile to the touch. With the dog girl asleep, she looked more like a vulnerable teenager than ever.
"Don't worry," Farrie said soothingly. "Whatever happens, we'll make sure that Ren doesn't try to break your heart."
…
"Otherwise, Tersia and I agreed that we'd break his legs."
Again. Girls were truly scary.
"Yawn."
"Naofumi, you should go to sleep."
The Shield Hero and his Sword were in their room at the inn. In the next room over, Filo was asleep, cuddled up with her bestest friend in the whole world. And in the room on the other side, Eclair was asleep in the bed, while Dou-Lon was curled up like a cat on the floor.
They ended up farming monsters for an hour and a half after the sunset. The boss monster spawned every thirty minutes or so. When night had fallen, it and the other monsters got stronger. But alongside that, their drops and their EXP amounts both increased too. Naofumi had even gotten a pair of Black Dog Claws from one boss that were large enough to comfortably fit on Filo's Filolial feet.
She didn't use them too much though as it made monsters she killed taste really, really awful. When they were killed by the dark claws, ugly black scars appeared around the slice cuts. It was likely the weapon had a dark attribute attack to it as well. Still, killing the boss was much easier when Filo used them. And Naofumi didn't plan on cooking the monster meat anyway.
Filo still complained somewhat about not being able to snack on the boss monsters.
Naofumi would have still been out there reaping everything he could if it hadn't been for Melty and Dou-Lon becoming sleepy. Plus, they had to have dinner too. Since he didn't want to cook, Raphtalia convinced him that they should go back, so they did.
They'd eaten at a restaurant by the pier, and then his party had decided to turn in for the night. Since Naofumi couldn't hunt monsters by himself, he opted to stay up working on Itsuki's accessory as well as to start on Therese's. The Oriekol Ore looked like it'd pair with the Star Jewel really well. He just had to give it to the right blacksmith first.
"Naofumi…"
A pair of strong, warm arms hugged him from behind. Raphtalia tiredly rested her head on his shoulder, letting one of her ears flick the side of his head.
Naofumi sighed. "I'm not that tired."
However, she didn't let him go. Naofumi eventually turned around to face his girlfriend.
She was dressed in her nightgown, and despite her bed hair, she looked incredibly beautiful and cute. Her face was also close to his. She looked like she'd just woken up.
Just how long had he been working for?
"You need your rest too. Otherwise, we'll have to spend more of our effort tomorrow protecting you." Raphtalia teased.
"Ha, as if anything here could hurt me." He laughed. After leveling up a bit and using some of the extra materials, drops, and other things that he'd gotten from the monsters on strengthening methods, he blocked a bite from another Karma Dog and watched it do no damage whatsoever. When he blocked an attack from a Familia, its teeth broke on his arm.
It was like the poor thing had tried to bite a boulder.
Naofumi, however, couldn't deny how tired he felt. And the lone bed in the room did look inviting…
Oh, yeah. Only one bed.
"Naofumi?" Raphtalia looked at the Shield Hero curiously.
"Um, just give me a few minutes to finish this. I promise that's all I need." Naofumi said, turning back to the desk to put the finishing touches on Itsuki's accessory.
Raphtalia, confusedly, stayed hovering behind his shoulder, watching Naofumi as he worked.
A nervous sweat built up on Naofumi's forehead. He didn't know if this was Mirellia's idea of a joke or whatever. But apparently, all the rooms she'd gotten for his party had only one bed in them.
It didn't matter what room they would have chosen. And since she'd gotten three for him, it was almost like she was implying there'd be two people to a room. Meaning…
He glanced over his shoulder at Raphtalia again, and then back down at Itsuki's accessory. He didn't want to mess it up. His hands felt clammy. A whole week with them in the same room.
In the same bed.
He felt himself sweating even though he wasn't wearing his armor. He was alright with it every now and then. Especially when it came after situations of life or death, or after a terrible nightmare when comfort was what he or she needed.
But a whole week together… alone... sharing the same bed...
"Naofumi." Raphtalia's hand covered his.
During his bout of nervous anxiety, he'd almost grabbed the wrong tool for Itsuki's accessory. In fact, he'd already finished it while his mind was almost consumed by terror and other emotions when Raphtalia stopped him.
The etchings in the gold bow looked beautiful. The amber gemstone in the front had a glow to it just like Itsuki's own bow.
Bow Accessory: Agility Up (Very Large), Magic Up (Medium)
Quality: Excellent
Thank goodness Raphtalia had stopped him in time. Had he ruined this creation, he would have cried himself to sleep.
"Is everything alright?" The half-raccoon girl asked, rubbing the top of his head. It reminded him of times when he'd comforted her by rubbing between her ears. He realized it'd been a while since he'd done that for her.
"No, it's nothing." He sighed. "Fine, you win. Let's get some sleep."
He needed to stop overthinking these things. It wasn't like he and Raphtalia were going to go at it like bunnies now that they were at Cal Mira.
The smile on her face brightened, and he allowed her to drag him off to bed. They rested on the comfortable mattress, and pulled the blanket over each other.
He laid on his side, facing her. And she turned to face him. She still looked happy. He liked it when she was happy. He felt like he could get through whatever would stand in his way as long as Raphtalia had a smile like that on her face.
"Thank you." He said with a smile of his own.
"Hmmm?" She hummed at him curiously, the ears on her head flicked as well. "What for?"
"Nothing. I just felt like saying it." He closed his eyes. "Good night."
"Good night." He heard her reply softly.
...
"You know, Naofumi. We're finally alone." She suddenly spoke again in a strange tone.
"... yeah, we are," Naofumi muttered.
He could feel her scooting closer to him. He opened his eyes again to look at her. His girlfriend's eyes looked heavy, but not with fatigue. It was something else. "Thank you." She spoke out again.
"For… for what?" He asked, swallowing the stone that suddenly appeared in his throat. Why did Raphtalia look so… so...
"For always being there. For caring so much. For always trying to make everyone's lives better." She whispered. "Truthfully, I felt very touched earlier today when you got so concerned over making me fight those dog monsters…and... I also lied a little." She looked down shamefully. "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Naofumi blinked in surprise. "About what?"
"About not realizing that we were fighting dog monsters." She bit down on her lower lip. "I want to say that I got tougher. That I really got over this a long time ago but... that's not entirely true. I don't have nightmares about them anymore and the dogs that we fought were almost insultingly easy but... I still felt uneasy today. I didn't want to appear weak, so I didn't show it, even though I had to make a conscious effort to stop my hands from shaking at times. Yet you still saw through me."
She looked up at him again with a smile. "I guess, what I am trying to say is: thank you for always keeping me in your mind."
Naofumi gulped. "Oh, well, it was nothing, really, I should have thought about that before we started fighting them, and, um, well, I've been jerkish to everyone lately-"
She put a finger over his lips, silencing him. She had scooted up really close to him now. She moved her mouth over his ear and began to whisper. "Even if you don't always show it, I really appreciate the times you care."
He stayed utterly silent. Was this…
Her fingers over his mouth moved away, only to be replaced by her lips.
The nervousness in his system melted away. His arms softly embraced her. Her hands moved over his rough, toned shoulders. To think that this was hers.
Naofumi suddenly became aware of how hot Raphtalia's body was becoming... and how good it felt having her hands on him.
The Shield Hero's hands moved over her back. It felt soft, yet firm. If only he could feel the skin underneath her gown. His anxiety and nervousness from earlier had completely melted away as he made out with his girlfriend. Why hadn't he done this sooner? It felt amazing!
Her hands moved over his arms. He felt himself move onto his back and her move on top of him. They were still kissing, his hands had finally reached the bare skin on her back, and then he began to feel the soft fur of her tail-
'Enjoying yourself, Shield Hero?'
A familiar female voice suddenly echoed in his head. Naofumi completely froze up.
'Ahahahahaha!' The laugh that followed sounded familiar. Like it was coming through a pompous hand.
"Naofumi-" Raphtalia started to say when she'd noticed him go completely rigid under her.
'BITCH!'
Naofumi suddenly shoved Raphtalia off of him, his heart beating a million times a minute. His breathing got heavy. His mind was suddenly consumed by chaos.
"N-Naofumi?!" She stammered in shock. "What's wrong, what happened?!" She'd felt that emotion flowing through her again. She'd felt like she should follow it to its source this time, trusting in her instincts. But… had that been wrong? Naofumi looked so scared right now, it was frightening.
"N-No! S-Stay away from me!" Naofumi stammered.
"Naofumi!" She repeated but the Shield Hero pushed himself away from her. Putting his head between his knees and whimpering in fear.
"Naofumi, please talk to me," Raphtalia begged.
...
After a moment, the chaos in his mind gradually faded. Naofumi finally remembered where he was at, and who he was with. He uncurled from his ball and looked down at himself sadly.
"Naofumi? Are you..." Raphtalia asked worriedly.
"... Raphtalia… I'm sorry... but I can't."
"... … … you can't what?"
He turned to look at her. His green eyes were like pools of sadness. "… as much as I love you, I..." He gulped.
"I don't, I…" He struggled with what he wanted to say next. His mind felt so dark, and he was struggling not to cry. "It's just… I love you. I do. But I don't feel ready to… to…"
Another image from his memories crossed his mind. He shuddered and crossed his arms. "I don't feel ready for this yet. I'm sorry." He finally said.
...
"... okay."
Raphtalia's ears fell flat on her head. "It's not your fault Raphtalia!" He said hurriedly. "I-"
"No, I understand." She smiled sadly. "You're still traumatized by what that Bitch did to you, aren't you?"
...
He stared. Surprised at how easily she'd understood.
"You've been suffering from emotional and mental trauma ever since the day you bought me. I can tell the moments when it's really affecting you, Naofumi. That's what's happening right now, isn't it? I'm sorry, I pushed you too hard, didn't I?"
She put an arm over his shoulders, and he looked down at her lap sadly. "I'm so sorry." He whispered.
She kissed the top of his head. "If you're really that uncomfortable with it, I can sleep on the floor." She suggested.
Naofumi immediately shook his head. "No, I'm alright with the floor. You can take the bed."
She stared at him, and he stared back. Silence filled the room.
…
"How about we switch off each night." She finally compromised. "That way, we both have to suffer on the floor equally."
"But…" He could already tell by the look on her face that he wouldn't get her to budge on that. He was lucky enough to have gotten a compromise as it is. "Alright." He sighed in defeat.
"And if you have a nightmare, I'll be there sleeping next to you." She added.
"Of course." He agreed. "Only sleeping."
She hugged him. His head rested just above her heart. It was calm, repetitive. "Thank you for being honest." She whispered in his ear. "It gives me hope that you'll continue to heal."
...
"Even if you still act like an %$# around other people." She added.
Naofumi huffed. "Alright. I think I've had enough love for tonight."
"No one can ever have too much love." She teased him.
"Wanna bet?"
"Just a little longer?" She asked. Her arms refusing to let him go.
He sighed, and let her hug him for a minute longer. She made sure to enjoy the feeling of his warmth, but not for too long. After she let him go, she grabbed an extra pillow and blanket for Naofumi so he could sleep on the floor.
"Just remember, tomorrow will be your turn to sleep in the bed." Raphtalia told him.
"Alright." He replied tiredly.
"And it doesn't mean that you can use it as an excuse to stay out extra late with the rest of the party to kill monsters," Raphtalia added.
"Damn it." He said sarcastically.
Raphtalia rolled her eyes but smiled regardless. "Oh, yeah, you're going shopping with Therese tomorrow, right?" Naofumi remembered. "I guess I could stay out late with everyone else if you're going to be-"
The pillow dropped onto his face. He had to pull it out of the way to see Raphtalia still smiling down at him. "Please sleep well, Naofumi."
"... Sweet dreams to you too." He put it under his head, turned over, and did his best to get comfortable on the hard floor.
Again, he was struck by how lucky he was to have Raphtalia as his girlfriend… she'd even joked with him to help put him at ease. To help make it easier for him to go to sleep...
The image of Myne laughing into her hand passed by his mind again.
…
The atmosphere that Raphtalia had made to make him relax disappeared.
His lower lip quivered. Tears of frustration gathered in his eyes. His teeth ground against one another, and his being filled with frustration. Here, he'd had an opportunity to have a special moment with Raphtalia, and he completely ruined it.
Even though she'd understood why he did it, he still silently cried to himself on the floor. He hated himself for being like this. He hated that he couldn't move past those early events in this world. He hated that he couldn't let go of his utter hatred towards Bitch.
...
If only he'd met Raphtalia before he ever met that stupid princess...
The next morning came, and Naofumi felt like he needed more sleep. However, there were monsters that needed slaying and levels that needed grinding. He'd had his pity cry last night, so now he wanted to forget about what'd happened and move on with his life.
He also needed to give that finished accessory to Itsuki. Fortunately, they left the inn around the same time, so he was able to do that almost immediately after breakfast.
"Hey, Itsuki, this is for you," Naofumi said as he held out the bow accessory.
"Really? Naofumi, you shouldn't have-" The Bow Hero bashfully tried to refuse the gift.
"Just take it. I made it especially for you." Naofumi cut him off.
Itsuki hesitated. This was a really high-quality accessory. Could the Bow Hero really accept this from Naofumi after the way he'd been acting-
"Fueh! It looks perfect!" Rishia said in excitement, staring at it in awe. "It'll go great with any of Itsuki's Bows!"
"Okay." Itsuki immediately took it and attached it to his Bow. Most of his party members besides Rishia smirked behind his back. Aksel muttered something incomprehensible as he handed Karn a handful of coins with an annoyed look. The swordsman promptly pocketed it while silently mouthing: "Easy money."
In the meantime, Itsuki was fiddling with his HUD and noticed that his agility had gone up by a lot! His magic also saw a respectable increase!
"Whoa, this is great, thank you-" He turned to thank Naofumi, but the Shield Hero was staring intently at the accessory for some reason. "Naofumi, is everything alright?"
"Hmmm…" He was frowning, was that a bad sign?! Did Itsuki just inadvertently make himself the guinea pig of some experiment-
"Oh, sorry about that. I just spaced out. I hope it makes your grinding sessions easier or whatever." Naofumi said, waving dismissively as he turned around and followed after his party.
Itsuki wanted to believe that. But he still felt himself trembling slightly, wondering if his Bow was going to explode or something.
"Fueh, Itsuki, is something wrong?" Rishia asked him worriedly.
"Yeah, you look as pale as a ghost," Aksel said.
"Do you think Sir Naofumi had some hidden intentions with giving this to you?" Rachel asked him worriedly.
"I-It's nothing! Come on! We're going to Pekkul island today!" Itsuki said hurriedly before dashing off. The last thing Naofumi needed was him doubting him!
Wow, he really had gotten faster. His party quickly rushed after him. "Wait for us Itsuki!" Crystal yelled.
Karn, who was again taking the day off, whistled while walking towards the market. The sack of coins he'd won from Aksel in his hand. "That knight better get better at recognizing love. Otherwise, Maya just might leave him for someone else."
"Why were you staring at his accessory so intently?" Raphtalia asked.
"I was wondering if its stats would change like Ren's," Naofumi admitted.
"Oh… did it?" She asked.
He shook his head. "There was no change on my HUD. Maybe what I made for Ren really was a one in a million." He shrugged as they continued on.
He still felt guilty about last night. But thankfully, it didn't look like Raphtalia was affected by it. He held her hand, even though they were out in public.
He had the Mask Shield on too so that probably helped make him comfortable enough to do that.
He'd get over his traumas later. For now, he was just thankful to have Raphtalia and everyone else with him.
Naofumi thought that he and his party would warm up on the weaker mobs on the main island first before moving on to bigger fish. But, even after walking through the forest to a ferry, they had as of yet to find any monsters. They found several downed trees and the carcasses of some slimes, but besides that, there was nothing.
"Hey, what gives?" Naofumi asked the ferryman. An old dude holding an oar. "What happened to all the monsters?"
"Hmmm?" The old man looked at him confusedly.
"Ahem." Raphtalia grabbed her boyfriend's arm, stopping him from speaking. She kindly smiled at the old man. "Sir, do you happen to know what happened to all the monsters from yesterday?"
"Oh, sorry to disappoint ya, Miss. The other adventurers finished exterminating all the ones on this island last night." The old man said happily. "Monsters normally don't roam here. But I reckon the strong ones from other islands forced them to swim for their lives. A mighty shame for them to meet their ends like this, but eh, I guess that's the nature of living."
Naofumi glowered behind his girlfriend. "So he'll answer her and not me."
"Only because she was nice while you were as rude as ever," Melty answered with a huff.
"She's not wrong." Eclair shrugged.
Naofumi crossed his arms and pouted. "Don't worry Sir Naofumi, you're far nicer than Miss Seaetto in my eyes!" Dou-Lon exclaimed happily.
Eclair karate chopped the back of his head for that one. The poor Hakuko was left with a headache for an hour after that.
Eventually, the old man took them over to the island that they chose to grind on for the day. Usuani Island.
They took only about fifteen minutes to warm up on the beginning monsters before heading straight to the center of the island. They came across Karma Rabbit Familias along the way. They were basically giant cute black rabbits that were also strong and fast.
That reminded Naofumi of a weird detail from his world. Normally, in the games he played, rabbit-type enemies would appear near the beginning and wouldn't be particularly strong. However, later on, there was a chance the developers would include other cute rabbit-type enemies that were insanely deadly if you let your guard down.
The Usapils he'd first met after being summoned were really, really weak. But these rabbits were on a completely different level! Had they started their grinding here on the first day, they might have had a tough time with them.
However, with their increase in levels and strength, they were hardly more than fodder with all of them there.
The experience gains continued to be significant.
He also unlocked another shield after absorbing their bodies.
Karma Rabbit Familia Shield: Equip bonus (locked): alert range (small), usuani status adjustment (small)
First his sense of smell, now this? Looking over the latest shields he'd unlocked, as well as past shields, it was almost like his weapon was trying to turn him into some kind of superhuman... or something...
A superhuman that couldn't beat a damn red balloon on his own.
Only an hour into their grinding session, they approached a Stonehenge-like structure, where another one of those mysterious spheres was. It wasn't long before they began facing the Island Boss.
"Hah!"
Raphtalia slashed into the gut of a large, Karma Rabbit. The Iron Sword she held broke halfway through her slash, making her spin in surprise from the force of her attack.
"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi quickly summoned a shield above her, blocking the large rabbit's counterattack. Its big floppy ears moved almost like hands and crashed down on the ethereal green shield like fists. It cracked slightly but held.
Raphtalia recovered and jumped away. Naofumi pulled out a second Iron Sword from his shield and gave it to her.
"Sorry, I swear I'm not trying to break these-"
"It's fine. I still have several more." He quickly replied, facing the Boss again.
The large rabbit opened its mouth and began squeaking loudly at them. Naofumi wasn't sure if it was cursing or something, but then earth pillars came out of the ground towards them. Naofumi quickly got in front of Raphtalia and tanked the attack with his shield.
Earth magic!? These cute rabbit monsters really were deadly! Normal adventurers wouldn't stand a chance! He was barely able to keep his feet blocking the attack!
Eclair's sword glowed brightly. "Four Cross!" Her sword, covered in light, moved blindingly fast. It was like it made the shape of a cross before slamming into the Karma Rabbit's chest. Not only did it jump backward, screeching in pain, but a burning mark that was actually in the shape of a cross was burned into its fur.
Melty, who'd been chanting for a little while, held her hands out in front of her. "Drifa Aqua Slash!"
The slash of water was bigger than anything she'd created before. It slammed into the burning mark Eclair had made, leaving behind a decent gash.
She smiled brightly. "All that time I spent studying magic under my parents is finally paying off!" She said happily.
The large monster roared and charged her and Eclair. She eeped in surprise at that. She thought her attack had done more damage!
"Shield Prison!"
Naofumi's skill enveloped the two girls, and the Karma Rabbit bounced backwards off the ball of shields. Naofumi quickly took the moment to rush forward and wrap his arms around the monster's leg.
It squeaked in anger and tried to forcibly move... only to stumble and fall on the ground.
Its little beady eyes blinked repeatedly in confusion and surprise before looking back at the Shield Hero who was effortlessly holding its foot in a vice-like grip like a man sized bear-trap. "Well well well. Would you look at that!" Naofumi announced smugly. "I got myself the world's biggest rabbit's foot! Maybe my luck will finally turn around!"
It wasn't clear if the monster had understood what Naofumi had said or not. But either way, it screeched all the same as it brandished its buckteeth and bit down on the Shield Hero's head.
"Naofum-" Raphtalia nearly shrieked when an all too familiar noise made her stop.
CLANG!
The Karma Rabbit's little beady eyes turned the size of saucers in an instant.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
…
Clang
It tried to chew on its prey's head with futility for another moment before pulling its head back, revealing that its teeth were chipped.
"Heh." Naofumi chuckled darkly.
Stats really did make a difference.
"Alright, enough fooling around, have at it, Filo!" Naofumi exclaimed.
"Okay! You ready Tiger Guy!?" Filo jumped off the top of one of the pillars nearby. The black claws she wore over her talons looked scary from below. Dou-Lon clutched on to her feathers for dear life with one hand, while the other gripped his lance.
"Hopefully!" Dou-Lon yelled in excitement. He couldn't believe it! He was about to perform a combo move with the Shield Hero's daughter-
"High Quick!" And then Filo and him blurred in the air.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Dou-Lon screamed in terror. He felt like he was being jerked around again and again. It was a miracle that he was able to keep his grip on Filo's back. Otherwise, he would have been sent flying off.
Together, the two of them appeared around the Karma Rabbit again and again while it was restrained. Filo's claws slashed, and Dou-Lon blindly thrust with his lance.
By the time Filo landed on the ground, wings spread behind her dramatically, the boss, covered in multiple gashes and stab wounds, split apart into many bloody pieces.
It'd been their easiest boss fight yet.
EXP: + 3800
"Yippee! That was fun!" Filo exclaimed.
Dou-Lon teetered off her back. "I'll be fine with it if the world stopped spinning again."
The Shield Prison disappeared from around Eclair and Melty. "Another island boss already taken down." Eclair looked down at her sword boredly. These monsters really didn't give the same excitement as facing off against a proper swordsman. "Are you alright, Miss Raphtalia?"
"Yes, I am." Raphtalia looked down at the weak sword sadly. She wished she could be of more use.
"Awwwww, I was hoping I would do more damage now that I can use Drifa spells," Melty said sadly. Eclair rubbed the top of her head comfortingly.
"Filoooooo!" Naofumi dragged out the o at the end. Everyone looked at him and realized that he was covered in the monster's blood and guts.
Filo began giggling into her wing. "Daddy really made a mess of himself, huh Mel."
"Yeah, I kind of like that look on him," Melty said, putting her hands on her hips pompously. She didn't look so sad anymore.
Naofumi scowled. He was covered in blood from head to toe, just like Raphtalia had been yesterday. And he'd put so much effort into cleaning his cloak too!
"Remember, you're the one that restrained it, Sir Naofumi." Eclair reminded him. "You could have left the splash zone at any time."
"It's only right that you suffer the consequences of your actions. Bleeehhhh!" Melty stuck her tongue out at him at the end before turning away like the pompous brat she was.
Raphtalia chuckled. "Melty is becoming more childish the longer I watch her."
"Tsk." Naofumi began absorbing the large monster while his party chatted amongst themselves. Absorbing the rabbit's foot, he actually did unlock a new shield, which he equipped.
Lucky Shield Unlocked! Equip Bonus (locked): Item Drop Rate boost (small).
Huh. That could come in handy.
Partway into absorbing the rest of the monster, he paused.
Holy hell, the new shield was already working! He'd actually been really lucky... for once!
"Hey, Raphtalia! I think you'll be able to fight again with this!" Naofumi said excitedly. He pulled out the Island Boss's drop item from his Shield. It looked to be from the same weapon series as Filo's claws.
Karma Rabbit Sword: quality: excellent. Special Effects: Agility Up, Magic Down, Attack Up, Defense Down.
It had much higher stats compared to her Magic Silver Sword that broke yesterday. Raphtalia looked it over, and gave it a few test swings. "Wow, it feels lighter, but it doesn't bend when I swing it." Her eyes sparkled. "I can definitely use this for the time being."
"Thank goodness." He sighed in relief. However, he'd also noted that the sword didn't have a Blood Coat Enchantment on it, much like Filo's claws. "You're going to take care of that sword until we get back, got it?"
"Yes, of course Naofumi!" She said happily. He smiled a little as well. Maybe this was just the thing she needed to cheer herself up.
"Alright. Let's get ready for the next boss."
With that, they continued grinding in the area for almost the rest of the day.
Thanks to Raphtalia wielding her new sword and Filo using her new claws, whether in human or Filolial form, taking out the boss monster became a piece of cake. Dou-Lon, Melty, and Eclair were able to focus entirely on the Familias while the two of them took out the boss every time it spawned. They both took a little time after each battle to clean the blood off their weapons.
Raphtalia and Filo weren't bothered by that, nor were they bothered by the stat decreases that came with the weapons. Both were already fast and high damage attackers, so it made sense. Filo's only complaint was that she couldn't eat the boss.
Naofumi didn't know why his daughter complained about that when Melty was providing her with enough monster meat to feed a damn castle.
Because no one needed any protecting besides the occasional shield skill now and then, Naofumi was even able to keep the Lucky Shield equipped so he had its equip bonus unlocked by the time they were done grinding.
When the sun was lowering in the evening sky, this was how his party looked level wise:
Naofumi: LV. 69
Raphtalia: LV. 71
Filo: LV. 73
Melty: LV. 68
Eclair: LV. 68
Dou-Lon: LV. 60*
It had definitely been a good day. He'd lost track of all the extra swords he'd gotten from that boss too. Did he finally stumble onto an actual cheat shield?
He then remembered that the boss from yesterday had also dropped those claws every time it was killed, so he connected the dots and realized the sword drop was likely what the rabbit boss dropped every time. Still, it was nice to think his Shield was actually being helpful for once.
Hopefully, Jerry would be able to take these extra swords and make something good out of them. If not, he could always give them over to Elhart via one of the other Heroes…
Wait, he was past Level 50 now!
He checked the Portal Shield he'd gotten by absorbing sand from the Dragon Hourglass a while back. The aptly named Portal Shield and its skill were both unlocked. 'Hell yeah! Now I don't have to rely on the others to teleport me around anymore! I can just see Elhart now, get Dou-Lon's class upgrade, and… and...'
His excitement quickly died down when he remembered that they were currently on the islands, which inexplicably blocked teleportation travel during the event. He wouldn't be able to use this skill here. 'Damn it…'
"Yo, Shield Kiddo, what's with the long face?!"
It only became worse when L'Arc and Therese met them after they arrived back at the main island. "What the hell?" And he'd thought he had such good luck. The equip bonus only worked for drops, apparently.
"You look like your girlfriend didn't want to sleep with you. You terrible in bed, or someth-" The grown man asked, leaning forward on his scythe. "Urk!"
Therese had just jabbed him in the side again, interrupting him. "L'Arc," Therese gave him a kind, warning smile. "Be nice."
"Hmph!" L'Arc crossed his arms and pouted like the spoiled man child that he was.
It was honestly sad. Naofumi wished Motoyasu could be here to see this. He would rejoice at the fact that he was no longer the most annoying person in the world anymore.
"Is it time to go shopping already?" Raphtalia asked Therese curiously.
"Almost. There's only a couple more girls that we're waiting for. They said they're friends of yours." Therese said happily.
"Therese, don't tell me you planned a woman's outing behind my back." L'Arc rubbed his sore side.
Therese smiled at him again. "You're not going to try and spy on our girl's night out, right?" It wasn't a happy, nice smile.
L'Arc paled and laughed it off. "Of course not! I'd never…"
He didn't sound very convincing. Therese looked at Naofumi. "Could I trust you to babysit L'Arc while I'm gone?"
"No way." Naofumi immediately refused.
"Naofumi, please," Raphtalia begged him. It made him feel guilty especially after last night, but he seriously didn't-
"Ooh, I get to spend an evening with Shield Kiddo!? Sign me up!" L'Arc said excitedly.
Shut up! There was no way he wanted that! He just wanted to drop Raphtalia off and go back to grinding or whatever-
"Ooh! Ooh! Can Filo and Mel go to the beach mommy!?" Filo begged.
"Wha- but aren't we-"
"Of course sweetie," Raphtalia answered happily.
"Yes! We can finally put our swimsuits to good use!" Melty said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yayyyyy!" Filo cheered.
What the hell?! Why was his party suddenly splitting in all directions now?! This didn't make sense!
"Don't worry, Sir Naofumi! I shall not abandon you like the others!" Dou-Lon gave him a salute.
…
Naofumi grumbled. It looked like going back to grinding had been shot to hell and back if he only had Dou-Lon and Eclair helping him out. If he could only-
"No. We're training this evening, weak Hakuko." Eclair grabbed Dou-Lon by the tail and began dragging him away.
"Ow! Hey! But I'm not weak anymore! My stats are higher than-" His complaint was cut off by her squeezing his tail. He didn't complain anymore and simply accepted his fate.
At least he'd gotten a few days' break from the nightmarish training from hell.
Naofumi groaned, rubbing his forehead. If he was partyless, then going back out to the other islands really would be a waste of time.
It'd honestly be preferable to being left alone with L'Arc.
"Hey, what's going on here?" Itsuki asked curiously as he and his party arrived on another ferry. "Are you already done grinding for the day too, Naofumi?"
"I wasn't, but-"
"Sir Ren, you know you didn't have to come back with me!"
It just kept getting better and better.
Ren arrived with Wyndia and the others. This was quickly turning into a real hoot. It looked like all of them were done grinding as well. Was he the odd man out for wanting to get back to the fields?
"This was the last ferry, I wasn't going to stay the night on some random island. And stop calling me Sir!" Ren whined.
"You could have just swam back, you dummy. It's not that far." Wyndia rolled her eyes.
Ren blanched and didn't retort as he got off the ferry.
"Are these the friends you mentioned, Shield Kiddo?" L'Arc asked curiously.
Naofumi ground his teeth. "You could say that."
Therese's eyes sparkled. "Wyndia, Rishia, great timing! We were just waiting for you!"
"Fueh!"
"Let's just get this over with already."
Itsuki waved happily at Rishia. "Have fun with the others, Rishia!"
"O-Of course Itsuki!" She said back happily. Her smile was honestly too cute and wholesome.
"Remember, if anything bad happens, don't feel afraid to-" Ren started to warn the dog girl.
"I don't need you worrying over me, you're not my dad!" Wyndia snapped at Ren. The look on her face was not cute and wholesome.
It was only a girl's outing that she was going to for crying out loud! And besides, she didn't want him dadding on her!
If he went from friendzoning her to dadzoning her, she swore she would murder him in his sleep.
"Alright, have fun Therese, but not too much fun!" L'Arc told his turquoise-haired companion, giving her a wink.
Itsuki and Ren's party members all ran off to do whatever, and Therese left with Raphtalia, Rishia, and Wyndia for their own outing. Naofumi was left with Itsuki, Ren;
And the world's most immature adult ever.
L'Arc put an arm over his shoulder. "How about we all have our own guy's night out Kiddos. I know the perfect place to grab dinner and get drunk-"
Naofumi punched him in the gut.
Clang!
L'Arc looked down in surprise at the noise. Naofumi's punch had done absolutely nothing. "Wow, your attack stat must really suck. No wonder why you fight with a shield Kiddo." He began to laugh.
Naofumi fumed, and Itsuki and Ren both put a hand on his shoulders out of comfort. "We're fine with doing whatever," Itsuki said.
"I'm not doing any studying until after Tersia and Farrie are done with their own shopping spree, so I'll be down for hanging out." Ren agreed.
Naofumi sighed. "Fine." At least Itsuki and Ren were bearable now. Plus, he couldn't remember if they'd honestly 'hanged out' before. They'd had their talks, and worked together on tasks and stuff, but to sit back and 'relax' together? He couldn't remember something like that ever happening.
Plus, having them around would be a hundred times more preferable than having to deal with L'Arc by himself. Though this meant he had to resign himself to no more level grinding for the day. "Let's get going."
"Alright, follow me Kiddos! L'Arc is going to show you how to have a great evening!" L'Arc exclaimed excitedly.
Naofumi was already regretting his life choices.
And so, the 'Heroes' went on their guy's outing, while their love interests went on their girl's outing.
Author's Notes:
Finally, the next chapter isn't going to have to mention grinding at all. Hallelujah!
Just so you know. The Clang! sound doesn't just happen when an attack isn't effective. It can also happen when you don't have the skill level to do something. Example, the omake below; I hope you do enjoy it! *Evil smirk*
Hero Clips!
If He'd Been Left Behind: Part One
"No! NO NO NO NO NO!"
"Ren, it's not that bad."
Ren and his party, minus Wyndia, stood on the beach of an island. The ferry they'd used to get there was gone.
"I knew we should have stopped grinding when Wyndia did!" Ren held his hands to the side of his head. "We're dead! We're totally, totally dead-!"
"Sir Ren, there's another island just over there." Tersia pointed out an island only a mile away. "I'm sure we could swim to it and use the ferry there to… to…"
Ren was shaking and had gone pale all over. "Ren, can you not swim?" Tersia asked curiously. Now that she thought about it, she'd never seen him near a large source of water before.
"O-Of course I can! I swam around in my VR games back home all the time!" Ren exclaimed.
"Didn't you teach us those games simulated reality for you?" Welt asked.
"Yes, I did, thank you, Welt-"
"But isn't there a difference between simulations and reality?" Welt then asked.
"..." Ren paled further and began shaking again.
"Oh, it can't be that bad." Bakta suddenly hefted him up. Ren began freaking out.
"Hey, wait, what the hell are you doing-"
"Heah!" Bakta threw Ren out over the water.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-" CLANG!
Instead of a loud SPLASH!, their ears were greeted with the sound of an ineffectual clang when Ren's body hit the water.
"Help! HELP! I'M DROWNING! I'M BLU-BLU-BLU-BLU-BLU-"
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Ren's screaming was drowned out by his head going underwater, as well as the sound of more ineffectual clanging each time his thrashing arms hit the water.
The entire party sweatdropped.
"Isn't the water only like, two feet deep there?" Bakta asked. He swore he hadn't thrown him out that far.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
He wasn't standing up. His thrashing was only intensifying. Maybe he couldn't stand up?
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sweat drops on their heads became bigger. This was almost too embarrassing to discover about their leader. To think a grown teenager could be brought low by a measly two feet of water.
"Come on, let's get him out before he drowns himself," Tersia said.
They did so and left him to dry on the beach before swimming on to find a ferry on a different island. Hopefully, they'd find one and get back soon.
"Good water… nice water…" Ren backed away fearfully from the waves of the beach.
Realllllllllllllllllllllly soon.
Till Next Time
Allen