[A/N: I think I may have gone a little mad with power on the POV thingie since I no longer have to carefully build sentences to make obvious who's POV it is. Also, I got inspired, don't expect updates to be this fast all the time, okay?]
Chapter 7
~ Raphtalia's POV ~
"D- -ou have an- ch—dren?" ~ I shrunk back and covered my ears as a new voice reached me.
Everyone is dead, the village is gone. Is Kiel-kun dead already? He probably didn't have a good death. No he definitively didn't, not in that place. I wonder if that man will just let him rot chained to the wall, same as Lifana-chan...
"I see that dear customer has special tastes!" ~ It was the voice of the slave trader, moving closer. I didn't want to, but if I was given an order and failed to obey, it'd hurt a lot, so I uncovered my ears.
"I really don't care for what you think." ~ It was the same voice as before
They discussed about my price, then dragged me out of my cage to a magic circle engraved on the floor, and once coins changed hands, I had a new master. The man had a complicated expression as he looked to the beautiful lady by his side and nodded towards me.
"Hello, what is your name?" ~ The pretty lady crouched in front of me and brushed my hair aside to look at my face, then cleaned it a little with a handkerchief.
"...cough..."
I tried to reply, but my throat was dry and it hurt, and all that came out was a dry cough. Thankfully, it wasn't my master doing the questions, or my slave brand would have likely activated already. I looked at her while hoping she wouldn't get angry, but she just waited patiently for me to try again.
"Raphtalia... cough cough!"
"Raphtalia? Okay, let's go."
Now that we were face to face, I could tell those feathers on her shoulders weren't a fashion accessory. Rather, she was a demihuman, same as me, so she was probably a slave, just like me. She pulled me towards her, picked me up in her arms, and made sure I was holding on to her before turning back towards our master.
"Master Naofumi, I got her."
"Alright, let's get out of here."
Our master looked at us and nodded, then started to walk. The slave holding me up didn't move, though. She was looking at the other demihumans in the cages around us... ah, this was bad, if she took any longer than this, her slave brand will...
Then our master reached for her free hand, and pulled her away. To my surprise, she didn't seem to flinch or dislike it. Could it be, our master was a kind person? He pulled us out of the tent and down the alley until we made it out into the main street.
"Lin-san, I understand how you feel, but we can't help them all. Not right now."
"Ah! Yes, master Naofumi."
"Raphtalia-chan, you are level 1, right?" ~ He finally addressed me directly. I had been preparing for it, and doing my best to swallow spit so my throat would be wet enough to give a prompt reply.
"That is correct, master... cough!"
"Hm. Lin-san, will level 1 be enough for her to make her through the trip?"
"I... maybe if she was strong and healthy, but..."
"Alright, I got it. Let's take her with us, I can at least make sure to defend her while you kill some balloons."
"Yes, master!"
"Ah, but just in case..."
~ Lin's POV ~
The Shield Hero. I'm a follower of the Shield Hero! I'm actually a believer, though. That's right, for the shusaku clan, the Hero of the Shield isn't just like a deity, he is our god. I keep waiting for morning to come, for me to wake up in my bed back at the brotherhood's grounds, and go 'of course it was a dream', but I'm still here. I'm still here, and just like I was taught, he is already planning to help us demihumans! Ah, the hardest part right now is that I can't really pray because God is right here, isn't that a delightful problem to have?
In ancient times, demihumans were seen as monsters, and actively hunted and exterminated. The Hero of the Shield put a stop to that, he helped us start out own countries, and taught us to live side by side with humanity. Well, if you compare our current situation to back then, I am sure we are much, much better off nowadays, so this new incarnation of God is like a construction worker that comes back to the wall he already built and begins to cover it in stucco before adding paint to it.
Of course, because he is God, he came back to us in our time of greatest need. The Waves of Calamity have arrived, and he's here to stop them first. It only makes sense. Why would you take the time to apply plaster to the walls of a house on fire? But, even so... even so...
"Master Naofumi, I got her."
"Alright, let's get out of here."
Holding to Raphtalia, looking at the demihumans in cages all around us, I can't help but wish God had descended sooner. Such an incredibly ungrateful thought. God has come to save us, God has come to help us, and all I can think is 'why weren't you here before?' !? I should be angry at myself, angry at the slavers, angry at my own people's impotence to help ourselves, I...!
I hadn't noticed until the Hero of the Shield reached forth, took my free hand and pulled me forth. I was standing still, and wasn't that a metaphor for the entirety of demihuman society? Are we really that helpless?
"Lin-san, I understand how you feel, but we can't help them all. Not right now."
"Ah! Yes, master Naofumi."
"Raphtalia-chan, you are level 1, right?"
"That is correct, master... cough!"
"Hm. Lin-san, will level 1 be enough for her to make her through the trip?"
"I... maybe if she was strong and healthy, but..." ~ But not with her sick like this, was what I left unsaid.
"Alright, I got it. Let's take her with us, I can at least make sure to defend her while you kill some balloons."
"Yes, master!"
"Ah, but just in case..."
We walked into a weapon shop the Hero of the Shield seemed familiar with. The clerks gave him quite the surprised look once he saw us.
"Hh. Kid, would you please explain what I'm looking at?"
"These are Lin-san, and Raphtalia-chan. Lin-san is my new companion. Raphtalia-chan is an slave we are helping escape this shitty country, but she's too fragile to make the trip, so I thought we'd level her up a little beforehand. That's why, what can you do for her clothes and armour-wise?"
"Oh? So this is a true hero's quality... alright, since the young lady is so tiny, just stand her up in the counter so I can measure her. I'll recommend you to a second-hand shop nearby for her clothes so they should give you a good discount."
"Thanks."
~ Naofumi's POV ~
Ah~ I'm sure Sakura-san would admonish me for talking too much, but oyaji has always dealt fairly with me.
"I'm going to hold her while Lin-san fights, so I'll be covering her with the shield. You don't have to worry too much about defence as such, but I think giving her something with resistance to status effects like poison would be ideal."
"Hm~ Alright, let me take a look at her first."
Oyaji measured Raphtalia-chan as carefully and gently as he could while she kept coughing against her small hand. Ah, right.
"Raphtalia-chan, turn this way, open your mouth and say 'Aaah' for me."
"Y-yes... cough"
I gave her some of the medicine I've been making on the evenings while waiting for Sakura-san to pick me up.
"Ugh..." ~ Ah, she scrounged her little face. She's kind of adorable. Well, she's a child, so it reminds me of back when my parents would give me medicine when I was sick.
It can't be helped. I have no idea whatsoever on how to add cherry flavour to medicine, Rapthalia-chan, I'm sorry. Right now, your onii-san's medicine comes in 'nasty' and 'awful' flavours, but you still need to drink it, alright? Thankfully, the Dragon's Hourglass is always there, so let's repurpose the countdown as Raphtalia-chan's medicine time. A spoonful every 2 hours should be alright... probably.
Growl
Fuck, I should have thought of this. That cage she was in was such a miserable place, I'm sure she must be starving.
"Oyaji, I'm going to take Raphtalia-chan and feed her some."
"Right, that's probably for the best, it's not as if it'll take me five minutes to make her an armour suit, so take your time."
"Alright, thank you."
I reached out to grab Raphtalia, but she flinched, and that seemed to be enough to cause her slave brand to give her a shock. Thankfully, I set the penalty at the lowest possible setting, so it looks like it was more of a poke than anything else.
"Raphtalia-chan, you don't need to be afraid of me." ~ I tried to explain, and reached forth for her again.
This time, she stood still, so I picked her up and we were off. The reason I'm carrying her is simple. She has no shoes, and these streets are just about as nasty as you'd expect from a medieval town. I wonder if we should head towards the main plaza? I remember seeing a few foodcarts around it... no, she needs a real meal, not trash food, so let's look for a proper place.
We are a little far from the inn I'm staying at, so it'll have to be a different place... aha! There's a café over there. Well, this is a main street, so of course there would be places to eat at.
"Master Naofumi, there's a sign saying that this stablishment doesn't serve demihumans by the door..." ~ Lin informs us as we get closer.
"Its fine because I can't read it."
"Eh?"
"Its fine because I can't read it, so let's go in."
"But..."
This woman is a bit too meek. I had to pull her by the hand again.
Uh hu, this place looks nice. The atmosphere is good. I don't really care about looking out the window so let's sit near the back so the girls will feel a little safer. As we walk by, I noticed Raphtalia-chan looking at the other patrons' meals with interest, but she seems particularly fixed on other children's meal. Well, that's fine. Thanks to Werner-san, i'm not short for money anymore.
Wait, come think about it, aren't I actually the wealthiest hero right now? I mean, as a grand gesture, the trash king gave us around six hundred to a thousand silver coins as starting funds, but now I have six hundred gold coins, which would be sixty thousand silver coins, right?
I lower Raphtalia-chan and look around.
"Hey, we need a waitress here."
As someone shows up, I ask for two full menus and a serving of whatever the kids were having. I also ask about the bathroom so we can all wash our hands. I already explained about germ theory to Lin-san, so she seems to understand what I'm talking about, but the waitress looks at me with a mildly confused expression. Ugh, I'm actually getting worried about the cleanliness in the kitchen... from now on, I think that whenever possible, I'll cook our meals.
Thankfully, things kept inside the shield won't spoil, so if I can get some bento-like boxes, I can prepare our meals beforehand. Let's visit a woodworker's shop next.
"Why...?" ~ Raphtalia looks like she has trouble with her words. Should I give her some medicine again? ~ "Do you...? T-the master I had before... all the masters before that... cough"
I reach into the shield's inventory and fetch her medicine.
"Say 'Aaah'."
"B-but..." ~ Ah, her slave crest shocked her again. Well, more like a poke. ~ "A-aaah... cough"
Yup, she needed another spoonful. Alright, once every hour on the hour it is, then.
"T-the other masters..." ~ Oh, she's really determined to speak her piece, isn't she? ~ "Always got so angry... whenever I looked happy."
"Uhm. Listen up, Raphtalia-chan. You are not an slave anymore. Yes, I know you still have the crest on you, bu that's only until I figure out a way to remove it. As soon as you are strong enough, I'm sending you to live in Siltvelt, where Lin-san's clan will take care of you."
"What?"
"...would it help if I explaing that I'm the Shield Hero?"
"The... Hero of the Shield...?"
"Yes, I'm the hero that is kind to demihumans, got it? So don't be afraid to ask for food when you are hungry, or anything else. As long as it isn't a tantrum and it'd make sense for you to want something, its alright to ask, understood?"
Crap, I'm not good at embarrassing crap like this. I think I just cringed at how chunii I sounded... Lin-san, why are you looking at me with stars in your eyes!? Please come back, I'm really not that great of a person, alright?
"A-are you sure its okay!?" ~ Raphtalia-chan looks like a deer in the spotlights, too.
"Do you want me to order you to act selfish, or something? Come think about it. Lin-san, please take her to wash her hands, I will go once you are back."
"Yes, master Naofumi!"
'All the masters I had'... was it? I'm terrified of thinking about the kind of people that seriously want to buy children as slaves, not to mention the sort of things that must have happened to her. Rapthalia-chan, good jod staying alive. You can trust us to take care of you.
~ Raphtalia's POV ~
As miss Lin washed my hands, I noticed my face getting wet. Lifana... the hero of the shield really came! He was real, he's here! Lifana, Kiel!
I broke down in tears. Miss Lin didn't seem to mind as she washed her own hands, then helped me wash my face and sat me on the counter to wash my feet before washing her hands again and then my face one last time before drying it off with a soft cloth.
I'm sorry, I'm sure I got your beautiful handkerchief really dirty before, didn't I?
"Miss Lin... thank you."
"Raphtalia, how old are you? Ten?"
"Yes."
"I'm eleven, so you don't need to call me miss. Its fine if you just call me Lin, alright?"
"Yes... Lin."
"Just, make sure you address master Naofumi in a respectful manner. He's the Hero of the Shield, after all. You should know enough to know he's our, the demihumans, God."
"Yes!"
"Alright."
"Uhmm... Lin. Are you master Naofumi's slave?"
"Not yet, but... hopefully? I mean, right now, whenever you do something wrong, you get a poke, and furthermore, God can always tell where you are, and if you are alright. Isn't that an enviable situation?"
"...uh." ~ I hadn't thought of that. To have god's guidance and protection at all times... I wonder what Lifana would say about that.
Lin lowered me to the floor, and we made our way back to master Naofumi, who nodded and stood up as he went to wash his hands. I asked about it to Lin, and she told me about the tiny monsters called 'germs'. She says that this is knowledge directly from God, so it must be true.
Our meals arrived before master Naofumi came back. Lin had a conflicted expression on her face.
"Lin, what is it?"
"Well, I want to give a prayer of thanks but..."
Uh. I guess it would be troublesome if you wanted to pray to god while knowing he's in the bathroom. And I think I understood the way she felt. I mean... I'm really hungry, but starting before master comes back would be...
Growl
"Uhm, the food is here already. What are you two waiting for, dig in." ~ Was what he said when he came back.
""But, master Naofumi..."" ~ Lin and I replied together.
Ah, my slave brand gave me a poke, so even though I wanted to wait for him, I had to eat... it was delicious.
After that, lord Naofumi took us to the second hand shop, took a look inside, and turned around to leave.
"Is there something wrong, master Naofumi?" ~ Lin was carrying me, by the way. She smells so nice, I can't help but feel deeply embarrassed about the way I must smell right now.
"I realized we have enough money to buy her new clothes, so wouldn't that be for the best?"
"Demihumans grow up as we level up, so she will outgrow them in a couple of days. Cheap second-hand clothes should be fine until she's done growing, I think."
"Oh! What about her armour, then?"
"Magical items will resize to fit their wearer, so it should be fine."
"Eh... than why did oyaji bother measuring her up?"
"Professional pride?"
"Uhm. I'm still going to tease him about feeling up a child, though."
With that, we entered the shop, and lord Naofumi bought me 2 sets of slightly large clothes and sandals, which finally freed Lin from carrying me around like a baby.
"Ah, these are pretty warm."
"That's good, because we will be going out at night." ~ Lord Naofumi informed me.
"Why?"
He crouched down and explained that he had a complicated situation, and was basically pretending to be much weaker than he was so the kingdom and the church of the three heroes would leave him alone. He rubbed my hair a little, and then noticed some of my hairs had stuck to his hand.
I thought he would grimace. I'm sure my hair is really dirty right now, but instead he smiled softly and had the Holy Shield eat them up, then his eyes lit up for some reason.
~ Lin's POV ~
"Master Naofumi, what is the meaning of the -san and -chan you keep adding at the end of our names?"
"Oh, its something from my homeland. There's a lot of... well..."
He explained to us about -san -chan -kun -sama and a lot of other 'suffixes' that are added to the names of people you are talking to depending on gender, social rank and their relationship to you.
"Then... then... is it alright if I call you master Naofumi-sama?" ~ I asked, hopeful
"Actually, that would be Naofumi-sama, goshujin-sama, or bocchan if you are feeling cute." ~ A voice came out from behind us, and all three of us turned around to find a beautiful young adventurer with violet hair and eyes.
"Sakura-san, did you have to do that, really?" ~ Master Naofumi... no, Master Naofumi-sama complained to her.
"But you are buying clothes for a girl as if you were buying potatoes! I just couldn't take it anymore! Did you even remember to buy her underwear? Wait, did you purposefully chose to skip on the underwear, Pedo-san? Should I go call the police? I should call the police, shouldn't I?"
By lord Naofumi-sama's reaction, it was clear that they knew each other, and sure enough, he introduced her as the Hero(ine?) of the Bow, Sakura-san. For some reason, she kept making soft, approving noises while looking at Raphtalia and myself. Then she took our hands into her own and began dragging us back into the store.
"Wait, S-sakura-san, what are you...?" ~ I tried to protest while looking back at lord Naofumi-sama, but he gave me a resigned smile and turned away.
H-have I just been abandoned by God! Have I become a lost child!?
While shopping for extra clothes for Raphtalia-chan, Sakura-san gave us a more in-depth explanation of japanese honorifics, which made me realize I should refer to Lord Naofumi as Naofumi-sama, unless for whatever reason, he happens to be coming back into a building were I was waiting for him, in which case I should say 'Welcome home, goshujin-sama!'. Also, goshujin had the same meaning as 'master' as used by a servant or an slave, so it would be correct for Raphtalia-chan to refer to Naofumi-sama as either Goshujin-sama or Naofumi-sama, depending on how formal the occasion was at the time.
I tried to argue that I, as a faithful servant of Naofumi-sama, should also be allowed to call him goshujin-sama, but Sakura-san dismissed my words saying that he wasn't paying me wages, nor did he own me as a slave, so Naofumi-sama would be enough to show our difference in status in a respectful way. When I asked why was it alright for me to welcome him into a building with 'Welcome home, goshujin-sama', she said.
"Special circumstances." ~ and then she smiled. ~ "Oh, and if you ever do so in a maid's clothes, you can go 'further beyond' and ask if he wanted to have a bath, a meal, or me."
For some reason, she looked really happy as she said so, and I think I saw a sharp black line creeping up from under her shirt's neck, but it may have been my imagination. For now, let's try and secure a maid's uniform.
Once we had acquired everything Sakura-san deemed as 'essential', we made it back out and Sakura-san handed the packages to Naofumi-sama with a smile. The smile died a little bit when Naofumi-sama simply stored everything inside his shield, though, and she said something about 'gentlemen should carry the bags'.
Oh, and Naofumi-sama gave another spoonful of medicine to Raphtalia-chan before we began our way back towards the weapon and armour shop.
~ Naofumi's POV ~
'Sakura-san, you're actually a handful, aren't you? Emiya-san really must be a hero.'
'Why, I surely have no idea whatever you may mean. Naofumi-san!'
With Lin-san holding to my left hand, Raphtalia-chan to my right, and Sakura-san holding Raphtalia-chan's remaining hand, we sort of occupied the entirety of the sidewalk(1) as we made our way towards oyaji-san's shop.
"Yo, oyaji, we're back!" ~ I announced as we walked in.
"Hm. I'm almost done, just wait for five minutes!" ~ he called back from the back of the shop.
Ee~eh, is it really okay to leave the front unattended like this? Well, on the meanwhile, let's take a look around. Not that I can actually use anything here, but perhaps I could find some new shields to copy. At the very least, I can't deny that seeing real-life medieval weapons on display like this is fascinating for a healthy young male. Ah, but let's make sure Raphtalia-chan keeps her distance from anyhing sharp.
"Raphtalia-chan, don't touch anything, alright?"
"Yes, goshujin-sama!" ~ she called out with a crisp voice, and I looked straight at Sakura-san, who was busily avoiding my eyes.
"Just... Naofumi-san or Naofumi-sama will do, Raphtalia-chan."
"Y-yes, Naofumi-sama!"
'You're a terrible, terrible person, Sakura-san.'
Funny, I had never heard Sakura-san giggle before.
Oyaji-san came out from the back after a bit. Carrying an small package.
"Oh, Shield-boy, your harem expands faster than ice onwinter, uh?"
"I'm pretty sure you already know Sakura-san, old man, so don't say that sort of stuff. Please."
"Nice seeing you, miss." ~ He addressed Sakura-san
"That... I'm married, so madam would be better?"
"Eh!? Some guys got all the luck."
He handed us the package, and both Lin-san and Sakura-san got busy seeing how it fitted on Raphtalia-chan. In the end, it looked like a green and white version of Lin-san's armor, though with the shoulderpads, arm plates and hip protectors designed to look like large green leafs, it wouldn't have been out of place on some fantasy elven princess. Is it because she's a raccoon? Do people on this world even get that reference?
"As you requested, I focused on protection from status effects, though of course it still has some physical defence, just in case."
"Hm hm. Looks nice, how much do I owe you?"
"What's your budget? It has such tiny plates, I just used leftover materials anyway."
"...I recently came into some money, so please charge me properly."
"Hm. Is that so? Then it'll be 120 silver pieces, you sure you can afford that?"
"Yes, thank you for always taking came of me."
"Oh, you aren't kidding, uh? Well, I was serious as well. If you have the money, I would be happy to upgrade the little miss' armour whenever you got the materials for it, you know?"
"That's alright, I'm not planning on letting her fight, anyway. This is a 'just in case' measure, you know?"
"Right, you said as much before. What about yourself? Shouldn't you get out of those rags and get some actual armour while you're at it?"
"Uh."
"I have a chainmail I can sell you at hal-"
"No chainmail! Never!" ~ It'd remind of that bitch, after all.
"Alright. So, what's your budget?"
Both Lin-san and Sakura-san each laid a hand on my shoulders and looked at me.
"If Naofumi-sama were to get hurt..."
"You are aware that you are these girls' only support right now, right?"
"...alright. Oyaji, what can I get for 6 gold?"
The old man whistled, and looked at me appreciatively.
"I guess you really did come into money, didn't you? Alright, let me measure you, and I'll have something by tomorrow."
"By the way, Lin-san said that magical armor will resize to fit the wearer, so why do you need to measure me up?"
"It helps to visualize the end result."
For such a vague artist-like reason, I got measured up and down and from side to side before being allowed out of the store.
~ Raphtalia's POV ~
"Ah!" ~ I was caught and lifted back into Naofumi-sama's arms ~ "N-naofumi-sama, I can walk, you know?"
"Of course you can, but these streets are filthy. You think I'm going to let your brand new boots get soiled with this muck?"
So, boots or not, I got carried anyway. I feel like Naofumi-sama is almost literally placing the cart before the filorial, though.
With Sakura-san's suggestions, we walked into a shadowy alley, and suddenly we were outside of town.
""Eh?"" ~ Lin-chan and I couldn't help but look around in wonder, but Naofumi-sama and Sakura-san seemed unperturbed.
"Naofumi-san, if I understood your plans correctly, I should head off now, correct?"
"Right. Sakura-san... I don't think I will ever be able to properly repay you for being there for me. You and Ren. Mostly you, though."
"Uhm. Just take care of these children and don't end up like Motoyasu-san, alright?"
"Ugh... that guy. I will endeavour to avoid letting my lower head do the thinking for me."
"That's great. I will check on you from time to time. How's once a week sound?"
"Thank you for your continuing care."
With that, Sakura-san smiled, and suddenly she was gone.
""Eh?"" ~ Both Lin-chan and I were surprised again. Sakura-san sure is a mysterious person.
"Alright, Lin-san, you can handle the balloons here with ease, right?"
"Yes, Naofumi-sama!"
"Then, please."
With that, we began following Lin-chan as she dashed from a balloon to the next, killing them quickly and efficiently. My level raised all the way to four before the night fell, but Naofumi-sama didn't seem the least bit inclined to going back into town.
We did stop so that he could wash his hands and cook, though. Pulling ingredients out of the Holy Shield, as well as cooking tools and tableware, he prepared a very delicious meal. I wonder if he used too cook in Heaven before coming to us, or if this is to be expected from a god?
Ah, Lin-chan looks like she's really troubled, receiving food directly from Naofumi-sama. My guess is that she's struggling between wanting to eat it, and wanting to store it as a sacred relic.
"Lin-san, eat already."
"Yes, Naofumi-sama!" ~ Well, that put an end to it right away.
Really, its delicious and warm. Uh, even though it is so delicious and warm, even though its so tasty, I'm crying. Aren't I dumb? I must be dumb, or something.
Naofumi-sama pulled me into his lap and hugged me while making soft sounds and rubbing my arms and head until I calmed down. He's warm and strong, and dependable. Naofumi-sama, thank you! But, do I still need to take that medicine? Its really bitter...
Once dinner was taken care of, I assumed we would camp for the night, but Naofumi-sama said we would be hunting until sunrise, then head back to town to sleep during the morning, and study on the afternoon. We'll be leaving the castle town tomorrow night, though.
Once Lin-chan ran out of balloons, we headed into the woods and she began taking on bigger monsters. A couple managed to make it to Naofumi-sama and myself, but Naofumi-sama simply bashed them away or let them gnaw harmlessly at him until Lin-chan came take care of them.
By morning, my total level was all the way up to eleven. Also, my tummy was roaring in such a shameful way I couldn't help but feel myself blushing red. Lin-chan said that it was normal because now that my level is higher than my age, my body wanted to grow up to catch up to it, so I would need to feed it properly. Upon hearing this, Naofumi-sama put on a considering expression, and stopped to prepare our breakfast.
"Almost all is meat, uh? A growing child will need a balanced diet, so we should look for bread, milk and vegetables in the castle town's market before we leave. Lin-san, about how quickly will she grow up?"
"Well, I made it from age nine to looking like this in about a week, once teacher began to drag me around into monster hunts, so I'd say a little over a year a day?"
"I see, a little over a year a day, uh? That will be quite a bit of food inde- wait what!?"
"What is it, Naofumi-sama?"
"Lin-san... h-how old are you?"
"Oh, that was some time ago, don't worry, Naofumi-sama!"
"Ah... thank goodness, I thought I really was turning into a ped-"
"I'm eleven!"
"Aaaaa~a!"
I wonder why it is that Naofumi-sama looks so distressed. And is that Sakura-san's laughter in the wind?
~ Ren's POV ~
Ah... ah.. I laughed so much, my tummy hurts and I think my face is frozen like this now. Naofumi-san, are you going full pedo? You shouldn't go full pedo, you know? I will seriously call the police on you. Furthermore, its a bit too soon to despair, you know? That's only half the skeleton in Lin-chan's closet...
I need to calm down, I'm sure enjoying Naofumi-san's problems like this is me being mean.
Well, Sakura-nee was right, it was worth waiting for it.
'You are so mean, Sakura-nee...'
'I felt you laugh too, you know?'
'...well, it was pretty funny. What are you going to do now?'
'I think I will linger in Melromarc for a bit longer still, I'm learning to read and write in the local language so I can read the slaver's books and track down their buyers and suppliers. What Naofumi is doing by assisting their victims is great and all, but it won't amount to more than plugging a single hole in a sinking ship unless we remove the slaver's entire network, after all.'
'You two sure sound hero-like...'
'Well, getting stronger to save the world is arguably the highest priority right now. Like how Lin-chan put it, there's not much point in painting a burning house, you know?'
'Alright, I'll keep at it, then. But please let me know if I can help in any way.'
'Will do, Ren-kun. Oh, and by the way, are you up already?'
'I just woke up, why?'
'Are you in your pajamas?'
'Well, I'm wearing pants. I couldn't get used to this world's grandpa-like pajamas, so...'
"Ah yes, this' good enough."
I turn around to find Sakura-nee in my room, wearing an elegant-looking black kimono with bright pink sakura petals, plus a shining smile.
"Sakura-nee!" ~ I literally fell off the bed from the surprise. ~ "Ouch."
"Ren-kun, it is time for doing those naughty things with your onee-san!" ~ She declared, a thin line of sharp darkness creeping up from under her clothes.
"W-what?"
"Yup!"
She reaches into her bow, and pulled out a wooden cup full of... are those mimikaki(2)?
"Just do you know, trying to run won't amount to anything, Ren-kun, so just give up and come lay your head on onee-chan's lap!"
"..." ~ I looked at her, feeling myself blush, and tried to reach for the door.
The result of a minutes struggle was me getting swallowed by shadows all over the room, before being spit back into Sakura-nee's lap. Eventually, I gave up.
'I'm not a toy, Sakura-nee!'
"But you're so fun! Just wait until the beach episode. It will be ama~azing."
'How do you even know about those!?'
~O~
Yup, Sakura is running more and more out of control, until either Rider arrives to enable her to even greater shenanigans, or Shirou arrives to give her a kiss and calm her down.
1 – Funny, my word processor kept trying to replace sidewalk with pavement, so I had to trick it into leaving the word alone.
2 – Turns out that's the name for those long ear cleaning sticks in Japan.
Galeon82: As for the Siltvelt delegation, both in the WN and LN, they approached Naofumi to try and help him, but he was too edgy at the time and sent them away without even listening to them. Werner is a character that appears in both the WN and LN, IIRC, and in both cases, tries to lure Naofumi into staying on Siltvelt by throwing women at him, since previous shield heroes all seemed to enjoy their demihuman waifu harems quite a bit. Naofumi had been traumatised by bitch so in canon he was way, way more distrustful of women, while in this version, he's at least self-conscious enough to understand that this world is real and the people around him aren't NPCs he can play with however he wants. Well, he'll still think that beautiful women are beautiful and admire them, but he won't objectify them. Thinking 'oh wow her butt is amazing' is just unavoidable when the person in question does in fact have an amazing butt. -shrug-
Drcaus: I don't know, really. My first thought was that she would get gluttony if she falls into despair and starts eating the bad guys, but Sakura has a harsh enough background I don't see how that would happen since she's basically 100% sure Shirou & Co. will eventually come to her, or for her, and its hard to fall into despair when you have hope.
Gadget Boy: Like I said before, he's a guy, he's still alive. He can admire how beautiful the girls are. I do plan on fucking with him some, though, such as by having him always conscious of Lin and Raphtalia being children inside. His modern world morals and ethics won't let him even consider anything inappropriate for years to come, at the very least.
GreenEyesOrigamiDragon: But the tilde chans are so cute!
boyrich and neverplayedmgs: Yeah the site butchered the format so badly I just decided to remove the sheet.
NotSpecialDude: Well, Naofumi will still play a big role since other demihuman groups too are going to rush to try and win his favour, and/or try to flood him with women, assassinate the other group's women, etc. I usually go as far away from 'canon' as possible in my fanfics since I really don't see the point in writing a fanfic if all that is different is that the MC has a different 'skin' and name, while everything happens exactly the same way. Well, things done by unrelated 3rd parties should still happen, of course. For example, Motoyasu will still fuck up with the modified plant, though Ren will probably dismantle and absorb the dragon so no dragon zombie.
cagrijan1904: Its an inside joke. I started by writing an overlord fanfic/crossover, and there were SO many of those at the time that I titled it 'Yet Another Overlord Fanfic'. Then I started 'Yet Another Fate Crossover' and finally 'Yet Another Fate x Shield Crossover'. This fanfic is the first one to take it an step further by adding jokes about how much Shirou gets dragged into crossover fanfics as part of the plot, though.