Iwatani Naofumi – BitchSlayer

by NotSmutWithPlotFiction

Naofumi got suspicious of Myne during their dinner, and, after a heated confrontation, her scheme got unveiled, leaving Naofumi with two options: To keep hating her and to blame the Shield for everything OR To embrace it, help her become Queen, and marry her-to rule over the fools who feared and vilified him. The choice was obvious. Smart!Manipulative!Naofumi.

2. Alternate Chapters 20-25

Fan Notes: These were the original chapters before they were re-written. They have no bearing on the story, just interesting to see how the story was originally going to go. Personally, I prefer the re-write.

Chapter 20

Sorry for the long wait. Lately, I've just been a little demotivated to write for Shield Hero…

When Naofumi and Raphtalia entered the repurposed throne room, the feast was already in full swing, people in fine clothing mingling about with knights, Church members, servants, and adventurers. Most were standing, carrying glasses and snacks in their hands. Some were sitting at the long wooden tables lining the sides of the hall. Loud chattering was filling the tall room, laughter sounding here and there. A group of musicians was standing to the side and playing a cheerful tune on string instruments and flutes; a man was singing.

No one turned to look at him. There was no announcement of his arrival. It was the exact opposite of the last time he'd been here. But it made sense, Naofumi supposed. He was an unwanted guest.

Perhaps it was tradition or obligation that dictated his presence here, but the king-lounging on his throne at the end of the hall and in conversation with some of his subjects sitting below-would clearly prefer Naofumi not be there at all. He was a tolerated evil, just like he was in this country-their religion's nemesis, only summoned because of necessity, because better the devil you knew than the Siltvelts' devil.

"Such waste," Raphtalia commented, still hanging on his arm. She blushed and ducked her head when he turned to her. "Apologies, Mr. Naofumi. I'm talking without thinking."

"It's alright. You can be honest with me. And you're right, of course. This is wasteful." The hall, aside from its already impressive build with large colorful windows, paintings on the ceiling and walls, and rugs covering the polished stone floor here and there, had been decorated even more, not to mention the copious amount of food that filled the tables.

Her gloved hands relaxed against his arm. "I just…" She shook her head. "It's nothing."

She was probably thinking about her destroyed home or Riyute, of all the Demi-humans that lived enslaved or in poverty, hungering.

And while he empathized, he also understood the necessity of this. Of showing strength. Of status.

Naofumi patted her hand. "Wastefulness aside, we're here now, and I think we've earned ourselves some luxury. Especially you, after working so hard every day and your performance during the Wave."

She blushed, smiling shyly. Her stomach growled, causing her blush to deepen and Naofumi to chuckle.

"Go ahead. Indulge in the wastefulness. Eat all the food you can before it goes to waste in some fat noble's belly. I need to discuss something with the other Heroes. We'll meet up in a bit, okay? I wouldn't want to ruin the party quite yet." He smirked and shot her a wink.

"Part of your plan?"

"Yes. Go indulge. I'll get you when it's time."

"Okay, Mr. Naofumi." She smiled and let go of him, retreating into the crowd in the direction of one of the food tables.

Naofumi continued onward, aiming for the end of the hall where the King sat. He hadn't spotted Malty and the other Heroes yet, but they probably were somewhere near that spot, near the important people. Or rather, they were the important people.

Chimera Lion Shield. The majestic, golden lion head took shape on his Shield. He had no intention to hide.

Even though he hadn't been announced, more and more attention shifted onto him. People whispered, pointing and gesturing discreetly, making room for him when he passed. The singer of the musicians momentarily forgot the lyrics as he gaped at Naofumi. Perhaps they had expected him to look like the criminal he'd been when he'd left the throne room the last time. They definitely hadn't expected him to walk with his head held high, a confident smile on his face, and a majestic Shield on his arm, clad in a fine if intimidating armor and wearing an impressive, clean cloak-his engagement present. He might as well be mistaken for the King if it weren't for his lack of a crown.

"Naofumi!"

Naofumi heaved an inwardly sigh at Motoyasu's loud exclamation. Clearly, the word subtlety didn't exist in his diction. This could be a funeral, and the guy wouldn't care, not having any respect for NPCs that weren't women he could hit on.

Motoyasu stomped up to him, looking enraged, perhaps already halfdrunk. Ren and Itsuki followed behind, wearing equally irritated expressions.

Naofumi smiled. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

"What's up?! The nerve!" Motoyasu yelled. "First you steal our stuff, then you're making a no-show, and now you're coming late and on top of that act as if you don't have a care in the world. You sick bastard!"

Itsuki had a disapproving expression on his face as he stared at Naofumi. "Yeah, I'd really like an explanation for this, Iwatani."

Back to Iwatani, huh? Naofumi noted with amusement.

"What they said," Ren said, arms crossed, eyes on the Chimera Lion Shield, clearly envious and bitter. Perhaps he'd realized how Naofumi had tricked him in the inn some three weeks ago?

"Alright, alright." Naofumi held up his hands in a disarming gesture. "Let's talk. But there's no need to make a scene out of it and ruin the party for everyone else, right guys?"

They clearly had other opinions, talking all at once, Motoyasu, as always, being the loudest. It was too late anyway. A crowd was already gathering around them.

Naofumi ignored them. He only had eyes for his fiancée. She stood near her father's throne, surrounded by her usual posse of girls, all their attention on Naofumi now. As always, she looked incredible and powerful in her-his-armor, standing with arms crossed, a smile on her face that widened as their gazes met. She discretely lifted one hand and waved at him with her delicate fingers. The little gesture was enough to send his heart racing and blood surging downward.

He begrudgingly tore his eyes off her, focusing back on Motoyasu, who'd just finished another loud exclamation. "Sorry. You were saying, Motoyasu?" Naofumi smiled, enjoying their irritation.

Being in power was fun.

Eyes closed, Raphtalia let out a little moan as she swallowed the ingredients of yet another skewer with grilled meat and vegetables. She replaced the bare skewer onto the table, careful not to stain her expensive white gloves. Just thinking about the money her outfit was worth made her blush and fight with the urge to giggle.

Tail wiggling, she skipped toward the next thing that caught her eyes, dodging around a pair of robed humans that were engrossed in conversation. Perhaps the food wasn't quite as good as Naofumi's, but the cornucopia-Lucetta had taught her that word-of food was mouth-watering and kept the feeling of excitement thrumming in her tummy. There were things Raphtalia had never seen or heard of before. Vegetables and types of meat too expensive to end up in a rural village like Lurolona. Not that she had any doubt that Mom could have cooked-

Raphtalia smiled and did a little twirl as she snatched a drink off the platter of a servant that was walking by. She brought the flute to her lips and took a sip… and immediately grimaced at the taste. It was an adult drink. Not that she wasn't an adult and wasn't allowed to have it, but she should remain a clear head.

"Make no mistake, Raphtalia. Perhaps this is a feast, but it's also a battle, just a different kind. Be on your guard." She nodded. I won't disappoint you again, Mr. Naofumi.

She placed the flute onto one of the food tables and skipped toward another servant, this one carrying drinks the color of orange and in similar but round-shaped glasses. She deftly took one of them and downed it in one go, relishing the fruity taste as it washed away the residues of the unpleasant alcohol. The servant, a well-groomed, young man with neat clothing, had paused and was regarding her funnily.

Do even human servants have Demi slaves? Does he beat them up? Smiling, she used his confusion to put the empty glass back and snatch a second one, then she skipped away, sipping.

It was an odd feeling to wear a dress. To feel the air brushing against her legs. But it was also freeing… and made her feel beautiful. Her face heated up when she recalled how Naofumi had looked at her earlier. She wasn't blind toward the stares and leers she received from the other guests, specifically the ones aimed at her breasts.

Silly humans, she thought, eating some cheese and grapes, don't they see the Slave Crest? Don't they know that there's only one man I belong to? She stood a little straighter, proudly displaying the Slave Crest, warmth pulsating in her chest at the thought of Naofumi. Where was he? Standing on tiptoes, Raphtalia looked around the hall. He wasn't hard to miss. Standing near the end of the hall where the King lounged, Naofumi was surrounded by a small but growing crowd. In front of him stood the three other Legendary Heroes, arguing about something. It looked heated, but the words were drowned out by the chatter, laughter, and clinking of cutlery all around her.

Raphtalia tensed, hand twitching to draw her dagger and rush over there. She should be standing next to him, protect him. She should do something. Anything. Her gaze, in the process of looking for any threats, came to a halt on probably the biggest threat in the room. Her . Red hair, fine armor, standing next to the King. The Princess. The sole reason for Naofumi's bad reputation… probably for any of his problems in general. She looked like the kind of person who rejoiced in tormenting Demis and anyone below her… just because she could. Yes, Raphtalia would enjoy slicing her throat. Naofumi would love her for sure, if she did.

No killing . She hummed in displeasure. No attention. I can't save anyone if I'm in prison or dead . Begrudgingly, she forced her attention back on the food, doing as Naofumi had ordered. He'd told her to indulge and feast, so she would do that, even if she thought that most of the nobles' silly dresses would look better in red.

Naofumi had said he'd collect her when he needed her for his plan. She knew better than to mistrust him.

Mind set, Raphtalia set down her drink, snatched a fork, and speared a delicious-looking piece of meat. She hissed as an armored hand suddenly closed around her right wrist, pain shooting up her arm, making her skin prickle and burn. The fork fell back onto the silver platter, the clattering lost in the noise of the feast. She whirled around. Her free hand shot toward her back, intent on drawing her parrying dagger, only grasped air, and was already half-way up toward drawing the dagger in her bun before she remembered herself.

Blinking tears out of her eyes, she relaxed her posture, removed the scowl from her face, and fully faced the attacker with a smile.

"What is a filthy Demi doing here? Masquerading as a noblewoman and stealing food?" the gigantic man asked, still grasping her wrist. He was wearing an armor not unlike that of a knight, his breath reeked of alcohol, and his mustached face was set in a scowl beneath his helmet. He'd look better with two dagger handles extending from his eyes. "Who did you kill to get those clothes, huh?"

It was difficult to smile when gritting one's teeth in pain. Raphtalia managed regardless, having had enough practice, though she was unable to stop her tail from standing straight, bristling.

"Answer me, girl." He tightened his grip.

It hurt, like an iron shackle digging into her skin. Pain flashed up her arm, across her shoulders, and down her back, like the stinging hit of a whip. She winced and closed her eyes. She inhaled sharply.

I'm not a prisoner. I could kill him if I wanted. I'm not a prisoner. I'm in control…

She tore her eyes open and balled her left hand into a fist to stop it from shaking. "You're hurting me," she said calmly. "Let go, please."

The gigantic human grimaced. "It's hurting my eyes to look at you.

But someone has to do it. So, I'll ask one last time: What is a filthy Demi like you doing here?"

Raphtalia wanted to throw it right back at him, to tell him that she'd only ask him one more time to remove his hand before she would remove it. But she remembered Naofumi's words of how she shouldn't threaten people. "I'm here because I've been invited. I'm a Hero's companion, you see."

"Bah! As if any real Hero would bother with a weakling like you, not to mention a damn Demi-"

"Perhaps you should ask my Master why he bought me, then!"

Raphtalia hissed. "Now let go, human!"

He didn't. His grip only tightened, and she had to close her eyes and focus on her breathing for a moment to steady herself. Shouldn't have said that, she thought, stupid pain.

"Apologies," Raphtalia said, smiling and trying to hide the agony and hatred from her face. "But my Master gave me an order, and you're stopping me from fulfilling it. So kindly let go, please."

He leaned closer. "And who would that be? Your Master?"

"The Shield Hero, Mr. Naofumi," she said proudly, head raised to glare at the human.

His expression darkened, a sort of angry growl escaping him, and Raphtalia knew that she should have lied.

"Alright alright," Naofumi said, smiling, gesturing with his arms that they should calm down, not at all parading around the Chimera Lion Shield. "So you're saying that it was wrong from me to send my party to help you with the Boss?"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

Motoyasu and Ren looked at Itsuki with betrayal. They broke into a heated discussion among themselves.

Naofumi glimpsed at Malty, sharing intense eye-contact for a moment. She was obviously laughing, though she had a hand in front of her mouth to discreetly hide her amusement. The other girls from her party seemed equally amused. Except for the small girl with the witch's hat, who looked more embarrassed than anything.

"I… I," Itsuki said. "I mean, it was alright for him to help, but he shouldn't have taken the materials. That's what this is about, right guys?"

"Of course!"

"Yes!"

"So… why are we arguing again?"

Motoyasu shrugged, and they refocused on Naofumi.

"So," Naofumi said. "It was alright for me to send my party members to help, but they shouldn't have taken the materials? Is that why you're so upset?" It was hard to keep the gigantic grin from showing on his face.

"Yes!" Motoyasu and Itsuki said, exasperated.

"Yeah." Ren scowled, arms crossed.

"But… why?" Naofumi asked.

"Why?! Because they were our materials! You…"

Naofumi ignored Motoyasu's little outburst and looked at his fiancée again, unable to prevent his lips from twitching into a smile at the face she was making. Perhaps people were noticing how he kept shooting glimpses at her. But what did it matter? Of course, he was looking at her. As far as they knew, he either hated her for being betrayed and unrightfully judged, or he had raped her and was looking to do it again. No one could have any idea about the real reason. And even if they did, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"I don't understand," Naofumi said, frowning at the idiot Heroes. "Why do you say that the materials belong to you? They're mine, are they not?"

"You stole them!" Motyoasu exclaimed, the other two giving their confirmation about that fact.

"But my party members killed the Boss. That means the materials belong to me, no? That's how it works, right?" He was enjoying this way too much, he knew. But he didn't care. He loved this. How everyone was looking at him, though they were still unable to truly see him. How Malty was staring at him with those eyes full of amusement, admiration, and hunger. And how the Heroes were too self-absorbed and idiotic to notice how he was playing dumb. They actually believed him.

Sweet sweet revenge. Soon, he'd enjoy the look on the King's face when he announced that he'd be his future son-in-law.

Motoyasu had finished his lengthy explanation about why the materials had belonged to them and how Naofumi had only stolen the kill. "At the very least you should have waited. There were four heads, so we could have shared evenly!"

The other two nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Naofumi said. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that." He chuckled, scratching his head in a nervous gesture. "You know I'm not so good with all this gaming stuff like you are. If I'd known, I would have instructed my party not to take the materials."

Ren and Motoyasu looked skeptical, but Itsuki was frowning. "You're right," the Bow Hero said, "I should have told you about that when

you asked me for help. Though it was such a basic concept that I'd assumed you knew…"

"He asked you for help?" Motoyasu demanded. "When?"

"Some weeks ago," Ren answered. "You know, when Itsuki and I were arguing about the best route to level? Yeah, that's when."

"Huh? I don't remember that."

Ren sighed in annoyance.

"Perhaps you should pay less attention to your party members," Itsuki said, "then you'd not miss such obvious stuff. And drink less." Motoyasu looked affronted.

Naofumi chuckled. "And just for the record, I didn't instruct my party members to take the materials or anything. That's just our routine of how we usually work, and I guess they didn't see anything different in this situation. I'll make sure to tell them so that this doesn't happen again."

"That'd be appreciated, Naofumi," Itsuki said.

"Sorry again," Naofumi said. "But I guess it's done now. I absorbed it all, and I don't think there's a way to reverse it, is there?"

They shook their heads.

"Well-"

There was a sudden, deafening crash, as if one of the long tables had collapsed. Women let out shrieks of surprise. Glasses shattered. Metal serving plates and cutlery clattered loudly against the stone floor. For a moment it was chaos, people uttering loud exclamations and demands of what was going on, some even cursing or throwing insults.

Then it fell silent as everyone's attention shifted onto what had caused the disturbance. A table had collapsed. Or rather, it had been broken in half. And the cause of it appeared to be a man, who was lying in-between the two broken parts. He was quite gigantic and wore heavy plate armor, making it not hard to imagine how his weight had caused the table to break clean in half. The food that hadn't fallen off had accumulated around him, almost burying him in a small mountain of food, cutlery mixed in here and there.

A few more seconds went by, then the chatter broke out again, people speculating what had happened. Some seemed affronted by it, others laughed. Some said how the knights had no discipline. A few knights approached and dragged the collapsed man out of the food covering him. Then they hefted him up and dragged him away. He seemed unconscious but alive. Had he collapsed from too much alcohol or was there more to it? Naofumi didn't see Raphtalia anywhere.

He shrugged and turned back to the other Heroes. "Hey, Itsuki, isn't that guy from your party?"

Itsuki nodded his head, the embarrassment clear on his face.

"Shield Hero."

Naofumi had to actively control his face to not smile stupidly as he turned toward his fiancée. She'd used the distraction to approach, standing so close that he could take her in his arms if he took a large step toward her. So tempting… He yearned to feel the softness of her body in his embrace.

"I've been wondering," Malty said, arms crossed, staring intensely at him with played hatred and a confident if condescending smirk on her face. "Why didn't you accompany your party to fight the Chimera?"

"Hmm well…" Naofumi took a steadying breath. Fuck, she looked so stunning. The desire to draw her into his arms-to feel her skin against his, to embrace her, to kiss her in front of everyone-was insurmountable. He was already hard. Could he get away with casting a Shield Prison to steal a quick kiss?

He shook his head, fighting with his desire. It wouldn't do to do anything foolish. All the attention was on him now. Especially the three girls standing behind Malty were staring at him with scrutinyand perhaps suspicion-in their gaze.

Naofumi cleared his throat. "You're aware of the restrictions of the Legendary Weapons, aren't you, Princess?"

She frowned, arms crossed. "That you can't use any weapons aside from those of similar form to your Legendary Weapon?"

"No. I mean, that is correct, of course, but…" He swallowed, momentarily transfixed by the way she was lightly thrumming her delicate fingers against her bracers and by how cute the confusion on her face looked. "I was talking about the restrictions that we Heroes can't form parties and level up together."

"Oh." She stopped her thrumming. A look of understanding dawned upon her, and the hunger and lust-love?-in her gaze increased. "So your party members managed to get the full experience for the kill. Experience, which would have gone to waste otherwise because the other Heroes had been too close to each other." It was just a fact and unavoidable, but she managed to sound as if she was berating the other Heroes nonetheless. "Impressive."

Naofumi had to refrain from groaning out loud, her sexy voice making his heart race and cock twitch.

Ren was staring inquisitively at him now and looked like he was about to speak up, but Malty beat him to it. "That Chimera was quite tough and must have given a lot of experience. I hope you'll be able to make good use of that and continue to do your best in the defense of Melromarc. Your companions seemed already quite strong. What level are they now?"

Naofumi looked around, studying the people that had gathered around them. Though some seemed to be conversing among themselves, they were clearly all listening. Last time, he'd downplayed his abilities, even pretended that he was without a party. But after Kuro and Raphtalia had made their public debut, trying to deny their strength was impossible and would make him look like a fool and liar.

"My party members managed to achieve level 40 from killing the Boss," Naofumi said, enjoying the looks of surprise on the other Heroes' faces, and especially loving Malty's smile.

Chatter broke out around them. Some called him a liar, and he was sure to have heard the word "cheater" from Ren or Motoyasu's direction.

"Level 40?" Malty said, an eyebrow raised. "Have you already decided on which classes you'll want them to continue?"

This got a few laughs and giggles from the other guests, as if the notion that the Shield Hero's party would be allowed to perform a Class Upgrade was ridiculous. Nothing I haven't expected .

"No," Naofumi said. "I guess I'll have to decide once I get there."

"I see," Malty said. "As it happens, my party"-she gestured to the three girls standing behind her-"also got to level 40 right before the Wave, though we haven't been near enough Castle Town to perform the upgrade then. You and your party should come along when we visit the Dragon Hourglass tomorrow, so that I may instruct you on which classes would be the best for the defense of Melromarc."

This got a few exclamations of surprise and gasps from the crowd. The King, still sitting on his throne but close enough to follow the conversation, was frowning. Naofumi's heart was racing, warmth filling his chest. This was bold, but he guessed that Malty could always play it off, saying that she'd suggest the worst classes for his companions. Some of the nobles were laughing discreetly, as if they expected Malty's words to be an empty promise-only giving him false hope so that she could laugh in his face once they were at the Dragon Hourglass and he got denied any upgrades. No, he knew that she meant it and that she would ensure he was allowed to upgrade the classes of his party members.

He bowed his head in deference, heart palpitating. "I'd be honored,

Princess." He discreetly wiped his sweaty hands on his cloak, wishing he could run them through Malty's hair instead… and draw her into a deep kiss.

"Myne, you-"

Malty shot Motoyasu a sharp glare before smiling again, and the idiot clamped his mouth shut. "Yes, Motoyasu?"

"N-nothing."

"Good." She turned back to Naofumi. "I'll expect you in the courtyard at noon. There are rooms prepared for you in the castle." She marginally tilted her head to the side. "You will be staying in the castle tonight, will you?"

"Of course, Princess." The intensity in her gaze told him that she expected him to not only stay in the castle-but in her room. He gave a small nod, and her lips twitched into a satisfied smile. He doubted he'd get any sleep tonight, and he'd make sure to pleasure her in any way she desired. It was in wise foreknowledge that she'd put the time of their meeting at noon.

Malty turned away but halted after taking two steps. "Oh, and Shield Hero? I've been meaning to ask: How did the defense of that village go? Riyute was it called, was it not?"

"Well, it could have been better. If the knights had arrived-"

"The knights have eradicated the Wave spawn in Riyute without a problem," a loud voice boasted. "There were barely any casualties among the villagers, and my troops are in this moment helping with restoring order there." It was the knight captain with the mustache. Without his helmet, he looked a little moronic.

"And the Shield Hero?" Malty asked innocently. "Was his presence of any help?"

"Help? Bah! He did more harm than good! The defense of the people is the knights' duty! Which, I must say, we performed excellently. The Shield Hero shouldn't have left the other Heroes alone to face off against the Chimera! A coward, I say!"

Voices of agreement sounded everywhere. Some even had the audacity to applaud. Naofumi snorted. During the little disturbance, no one but him had seen the expression of triumph on Malty's face.

"Is that so?" she asked, a sheepish frown on her face. "I would have hoped his assistance had a bigger impact. After all, it was I who ordered him to help out that village until the knights' arrival." She bit her lower lip. "I didn't make a wrong decision, did I?"

The noise around them abruptly died down. The captain looked as if he'd just choked on a drink.

Malty had said the words so convincingly that it took even Naofumi a moment to recall that it was a lie-that she had done no such thing. Had anyone else noticed? Motoyasu looked on with an expression as stupid as ever. Itsuki was looking at the knight captain with disapproval. The pink-haired girl and the tall girl with the rapier were sharing a meaningful look behind Malty's back.

"Ahem well," the captain said, red-faced. "I-I…"

"You did well to send the Shield Hero, Your Highness," a new voice sounded. People turned and made room for the speaker to walk into the little circle that had built around them. It was the knight vicecaptain Naofumi had worked together with during the Wave. The horizontal scar was prominent across his face, finger-length brown hair in disarray after wearing a helmet for so long. He nodded toward Naofumi-who returned the nod-before focusing back on Malty. "When we arrived at Riyute, the Shield Hero had already managed to evacuate most of the villagers and organize an orderly retreat. I'm confident his actions saved many lives."

This got a few gasps and exclamations of astonishment and surprise from the crowd.

"After taking the gathered villagers into our protection, the captain then put the Shield Hero under my command, and we continued to evacuate the last villagers that had barricaded themselves in their homes," the vice-captain continued. "We worked efficiently and without any problems. The Shield Hero's skills had been invaluable and saved more than one life." He gave Malty and the King a respectful bow and took a step back, apparently done with his report.

"Yes, well… that is correct," the captain said, "ahem, well done, Princess. If you'll excuse me. There's something that requires my attention." He turned around and awkwardly pushed away through the crowd.

Naofumi chuckled, and he wasn't the only one.

Malty stared after the knight captain for a few more seconds before turning back. The vice-captain was still there, eyes on her. So that was how it was? Now that she was taking a more active role in the defense of Merlromarc, he was suddenly interested? Well, he was a little too late to make up his mind now. No one rejected her and got a second chance. He held no usage for her anymore, anyway, no matter how handsome he was.

Malty sniffed and turned back to her Naofumi. Immediately, her mind clouded with desire. Much more handsome. And completely mine . Her chest ached as she stared into his eyes. She wanted to close the distance between them and let herself fall into his arms. Perhaps she should just do that.

The chatter around them was now full of speculations about her Naofumi. Some were doubtful, but there were also a few voices of support. Now that he was bettering his view among the nobility, what would stop her from simply announcing their engagement? She could easily play off the whole rape thing, saying that she'd been drunk and misinterpreted it or something along those lines. No one would dream of putting a Slave Crest on her chest, after all. And Papa? Well, she doubted he would dare to speak up in such a public fashion. Either way, she was of age, and he was only the King. And after the seed of doubt she'd planted in his mind a few weeks ago, it was certainly possible he'd simply support their union.

Heart racing, her smile brightened. I'll do it! she thought, perhaps a little hysterically. Come here, my Naofumi! She took a step forward.

It wasn't like she needed to defeat the Church. They had been there for a long time and not made a move against the Melromarc family. They could continue like that for a while longer. For now, she was only the Princess, anyway. It wasn't like they would or could do anything against them. It was as Naofumi had said: the Church needed her to get to power, but she didn't need them. And Mother? She'd have no choice but to support their marriage, lest she risk alienating the Shield Hero. And once they were officially united, it would only be a question of time before Malty regained her rightful position. They'd be unstoppable, the most glorious and perfect pair to ever rule Melromarc, and eventually, the whole world. Yes, she could already picture-

Malty halted, gasping. Just a few more steps and she would have reached her Naofumi. But what was that? That… that thing that had the audacity to interrupt Malty's grand moment. And how dare it touch my Naofumi?! She glared with all her might at the white-gloved fingers on her Naofumi's arm, then at the disgusting ears atop the thing's head, her hands twitching to draw her sword and strike this abomination down for its grave insult.

"Mr. Naofumi?" it said.

He turned toward it with a frown. "Raphtalia? What-"

"How dare you," Malty hissed. "Get out of my sight, servant girl!"

It turned toward her with a scowl. Naofumi as well, though his expression softened after a moment. "Raphtalia," he said in a warning tone toward the thing.

"Apologies, Mr. Naofumi." Its posture relaxed. It leaned toward Naofumi and whispered something in his ear.

He smiled and shook his head in amusement. Then he reached with a hand toward the thing-as if to caress its cheek or to draw it into a kiss-but halted, as if realizing that he was in public, looking sheepish.

Malty didn't get any air. Her eyes were comically wide, glaring. How? What? She was hyperventilating. The enthusiasm from just moments before was gone, replaced by a hollowness in her chest, and her heart had stopped beating, pierced and shattered into a thousand pieces by an invisible dagger of betrayal.

With the way the Princess was looking at her, there was no doubt that Raphtalia's earlier assumptions had been completely accurate. No, not accurate; she'd miscalculated just how rotten this woman was. The hatred reflected in those emerald eyes was nothing Raphtalia had ever witnessed: like a sea of poison and hotly burning green fire she wanted to unleash on the world to eradicate all that wasn't human.

Raphtalia glared right back. No smiles and fake pleasantries would appease this evil woman. Her tail was ramrod straight, body tense and ready to attack. She saw all the angles of attack before her eyes, all the way she could strike down the Princess. Perhaps she would manage to dart through the crowd after slicing her throat, jump across the table in front of her, dodge the knights near the throne, and kill the King as well before they put her down. It would be worth it. Satisfactory… Momentarily. But would it change anything? Probably not.

Raphtalia kept a tight grip on Naofumi's arm to prevent herself from acting upon her thoughts, feeling the tenseness of his muscles.

She'd just barely managed to reach him before the Princess. Whatever nefarious plans she had in mind, Raphtalia wouldn't let her. She'd gladly draw the ire of the Princess onto herself if it meant distracting her from Naofumi.

The Princess's scowl vanished, and she was all smiles again, but

Raphtalia could still see the burning hatred underneath. "Nao- Shield Hero. What is the meaning of this?" Her gaze momentarily flickered toward Raphtalia in disgust before focusing back on Naofumi, intense and angry.

"This is Raphtalia," he said. "She's one of my party members. She's been invaluable in the defense of Riyute and helping me level, and she's been the one to strike down the Chimera."

The Princess's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Truly? How… disappointing. And here I was trying to help you out. But it seems you've been deceiving me, Shield Hero ." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was almost comically silent, everyone's attention on them. Raphtalia noted that the King had risen from his throne, standing among the silent crowd. That would make things easier.

When the Princess opened her eyes, her expression was one of played disappointment mixed with contempt. "I believed you, you know? Last week, when you apologized to me, I truly believed you, believed that you'd meant it, that you'd changed. But I should have known that your words had been nothing but lies!"

A few gasps ran through the tall room. Next to her, Naofumi seemed to be gritting his teeth. Raphtalia couldn't quite discern the look in his eyes as he stared down the Princess.

"I almost forgave you, almost trusted you. And this is how you repay me? By bringing her to the King's feast? Have you no shame? When have you bought her, hm?! Since when does she fulfill your every order and need? Answer me, Shield Hero. Since when?! "

Raphtalia wanted to laugh at the audacity of the Princess to wipe fake tears out of her eyes. As if anyone would believe her played concern when she'd been glaring death at Raphtalia only moments before. Not that Raphtalia had any time for laughing. Following the Princess's angry shout, life had returned to the hall, people exclaiming their outrage, hurling insults at Naofumi. The loudest among them were the Heroes.

"Is this true, Iwatani?! Is this girl your slave and forced to fight for you?"

"I knew it! You damn bastard!" the Spear Hero yelled, looking as if he was about to attack.

Raphtalia had lightened her grip on Naofumi's arm and shifted her feet into a defensive stance, ready to attack at a moment's notice, her eyes warily darting back and forth among the people that surrounded them. There was no escape route. No one attacked yet, but the knights already had their hands on their swords. Raphtalia internally cursed, wishing she was clad in her armor with weapons strapped to her hips. The thin material of her graceful shoes and the smooth stone of the floor were a bad combination for a fight.

"What's the matter?" Naofumi said loudly, making the noise die down. "So what if I have a slave and have her help me fight? What's the problem? All in the defense of glorious Melromarc, isn't that right, Princess?"

"Naofumi, you-"

"What? Motoyasu? Slavery is legal in this country. If anything, you should be mad at the King for allowing it. I bet nearly every noble attending this feast owns at least a few of them. Why, there are slaves serving in the castle this very moment!"

"That… that doesn't matter!" the Spear Hero insisted, glaring "Just because someone else does it doesn't make it right! As Heroes from another world, we have to apply our own morals and-"

"Wrong!"

"-try to… What?"

"You're wrong," Naofumi said firmly. He took a step toward the Spear Hero, and Raphtalia followed. "It isn't our place to question the workings of this world and its people. We're here to defeat the Waves! Nothing more, nothing less. So what if they have slaves? I couldn't care less! I bet there are good reasons for why it is the way

it is!"

He's only saying what they want to hear, Raphtalia thought. He does care.

Naofumi crossed his arms. "We're like guests in this world. We should be respectful toward the people who summoned us and their customs."

The Princess smiled, then her eyes flickered toward Raphtalia, anger alighting anew.

"This is ridiculous!" Motoyasu said. "Right, guys? Ren, Itsuki? You agree with me, don't you?"

The Bow Hero was frowning. "I mean-"

"The Shield Hero is correct," The Princess announced in her sickening, condescending voice. "Slavery is legal in this country. But Motoyasu speaks truth. The Heroes should act their namesake:

heroic and virtuous. Not like you, Shield Hero. Forcing yourself onto an innocent girl? Despicable! Disgusting! "

Raphtalia returned the look of utter loathing the Princess sent her way. "Lies!" she called. "Mr. Naofumi would never do what you're insinuating! He's a kind man and a true Hero! He never forced me to do anything I didn't want to-"

"Seize her!" the King ordered.

The nobles took cautious steps back; knights closed in on her, drawing swords.

I'll not be silenced! Raphtalia let go of Naofumi's arm and ducked beneath the arms intent to grab her. Before the knights could react, she'd moved behind one of them and had drawn her dagger, pressing it against the man's throat.

"Don't come closer!" she hissed, glaring while she blinked away tears of pain. Her hands were on fire where they gripped her dagger and held the knight in place. The other knights backed off, looking uncertainly toward the King, awaiting orders, building a sort of ring around them.

"Release him!" the King's voice sounded above the chaos of everyone talking at once.

Blood pounding in her ears, pain flaring across her body, chest rising and falling rapidly, a cacophony of voices clashing against her, Raphtalia looked around frantically, unsure what to do.

Suddenly, a loud roar like that of some horrifying monster pierced the air, drowning out the assaulting voices. "EVERYONE CALM THE FUCK DOWN!"

The room fell silent, and all the attention shifted onto Naofumi. He looked thunderous. Raphtalia had never seen him so angry. An involuntary whimper escaped her, hoping that she wasn't the cause or target of it.

"Is this how you treat your guests?" Naofumi glared at the Princess, then the King. "First you throw around baseless accusations, and then you try to apprehend and silence us before we have a chance to speak?" He shook his head. "I don't know why I have expected more."

"You'll order your slave to release my knight this instant!" The King was glaring, though there was also something else in his gaze. Fear.

A feeling of triumph pulsated in Raphtalia's chest. Her captive made a pathetic sound, and the corners of her mouth twitched into a grin, distorted by her grimace of pain.

"Shield Hero…" the King said, almost a growl. "You will-"

"No! I'll tell Raphtalia to release him once she's been allowed to speak."

"Whatever she has to say doesn't matter. As your slave, she can't speak out against you!"

"Funny," Naofumi scoffed, taking a step forward. "As far as I know, you use the Slave Crest to conduct your trials. To ensure that people can't lie. Quite the opposite of what you're accusing her of." He turned on the spot, looking out over the crowd, a smirk on his face.

The King was grounding his teeth.

"Naofumi!" The Spear Hero stepped forward. He held one discarded glove in his hand and threw it onto the ground before Naofumi. "Duel me!"

Naofumi turned toward him with a frown. "Why?"

The Spear Hero scowled, though when he spoke his voice was controlled. "If I win, you'll release her as your slave!" When Naofumi didn't answer, he continued, "I don't care what you or she or anyone else says. Slavery is wrong, and if you're forcing her to do anything against her will, I'll stop you! And if this is all just a misunderstanding, then she can rejoin your party once she's free, can't she?"

People whispered among themselves, clearly approving of the Spear Hero's actions.

"Surprisingly reasonable of you, Motoyasu," Naofumi commented. "And when I win? What do I get?"

"Then you get to be the sick bastard everyone thinks you to be." "Hardly seems like a fair-"

"Outrageous!" the Princess called. She stepped out of the crowd, glaring at Naofumi. "You have the gall to come to this feast with your slave and threaten a knight, and now you want a reward for your actions? Despicable! What kind of Hero are you?"

Her hostage whimpered as Raphtalia involuntarily dug her dagger deeper into his skin. She was clutching it so hard, her hands were shaking from the pain. But it was nothing compared to the hatred she felt for that woman, drowning out any other thought. It's all her fault! All she wanted was to plunge her dagger into the unblemished skin on her throat. Raphtalia didn't hear the disparaging words as the Princess kept speaking, too busy envisioning cutting out her tongue, blood pounding in her ears.

" Shut up! " Raphtalia screamed. "I'm sick of your lies! Don't think I don't know what you did to Mr. Naofumi! Don't think I didn't see how you whispered to the Spear Hero and told him what to do. If you hate me that much, then stop hiding and fight me!" Breathing frantically, enraged voices assaulted her sensitive hearing.

"How dare you speak to my daughter like that!" the King yelled. "I'll-"

"You damn Demi whore!" The Princess took a step toward her, hand on her sword. "I'll gladly show you your place-"

"Malty! Raphtalia!" Naofumi snapped, stepping in-between them. "Stop it!" He ran a hand through his hair, heaving an irritated sigh, then addressed everyone in a loud voice, "I apologize for my slave. She's been afflicted by a curse and is in pain. It's making her confused and causing her to speak and act without thought. My sincerest apologies, Princess."

She scowled, huffed, and turned her head away, arms crossed.

"There's no need to let things get out of control. I'll accept your challenge, Motoyasu. We'll duel. But I have one condition." Naofumi held up a hand, forefinger, pointing at the ceiling. "I want-"

"Perhaps you should order your slave to finally release my knight before making any demands," the King said.

"If you promise to not attack us again?"

The King gave a grunt and a nod, then made a gesture, and the knights retreated a little further, sheathing their swords.

"Raphtalia, release the poor guy. Then come over here."

She obeyed, keeping her head lowered as she stepped up to him. Her tail was hanging slack, shame and guilt running through her body, cooling the burning pain on her arms and making her shudder.

"My condition is the following: If I win, you'll cure Raphtalia's curse." "That… that's all?" the Spear Hero asked, surprise in his voice.

"That's all," Naofumi confirmed. "Raphtalia, show them your arms."

Keeping her head lowered, she discarded her expensive gloves, carelessly letting them drop to the floor. Then she unwrapped her bandages with shaky movements, not letting any pain show when the material grazed her skin while she unwound it, exposing her curse marks to the air. She ignored the gasps sounding all around her, fighting with the urge to cry. She'd failed him. She'd lost control and ruined Naofumi's plan.

But the Princess - she tried to argue but caught herself off, pressing her eyes shut. No, it was her own fault. She'd overreacted. She shouldn't have interfered without Naofumi ordering her to do so, no matter how panicked she'd been when she'd seen the Princess advance onto him with that scary smile on her face.

"You'll accept, right?" one of the Heroes spoke. "You'll meet

Naofumi's demand, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, I don't see any reason to deny it. Very well, Shield Hero, I shall ensure your slave to be cured in the unlikely event of your victory."

Would he stand a chance against the Spear Hero? Her immediate thought was a resounding Yes, but how did one win a duel without attacking? She was surprised he'd even bothered to demand anything for his win. With how Raphtalia kept failing him, she wasn't sure why he bothered with her. Perhaps that guy she'd knocked out had been right about her, after all.

"The duel shall take place outside in the gardens! Everyone, get moving!"

Phew, this chapter was a pain to write. Managing so many people all at once can get really hard.

Chapter 21

Damn. Somehow this story has managed to get 1350 followers without me noticing. Feels like only a few weeks back when it passed 1000, huh (though it was probably more like months). Thanks everyone for reading, favoriting/following, and reviewing. Special thanks to everyone who left encouraging words last chapter! :)

Naofumi glared at the back of his fiancée's head as the party left the throne room and congregated outside. Her crimson ponytail swished side to side, her gait firm. Side to side. Again and again. She didn't look back. He gritted his teeth. He wanted to rush up to her, grab her by the hair, and yell at her to stop acting so irrationally.

What was her problem? Was she really jealous of Raphtalia? Ridiculous!

Stepping outside, Naofumi took a deep breath of cool air. The sun had set a while ago, torches and braziers casting flickering light and shadows onto the castle walls and gardens.

Perhaps it's nothing, he tried to reason, perhaps it's only part of her act . He knew it wasn't. The look of betrayal and hatred in her stunning eyes had been real. He knew her well enough to see through her act at this point-flawless as she may be-and this had definitely not been an act.

Naofumi shook his head. No matter. I'll quickly win this shit, and then I'll show her just how wrong she is .

They arrived at a square stone building that was about three stories high and looked more like four walls drawn around a square courtyard than an actual building. A tall gate allowed entry into the courtyard, and though it was passable-the portcullis raised-only knights and servants entered through there, some carrying torches. The guests of the feast were clustering around the walls of the building elsewhere-around entrances that led into the building proper.

Naofumi, the other Heroes, and Malty with her party followed the knights through the gate.

"Don't worry, Myne. I'll win this duel and free the poor girl."

"Thank you, Motoyasu." Malty briefly touched his arm. "I know you can do it. I'm counting on you."

Motoyasu walked a bit straighter, and Naofumi glared.

Ren and Itsuki were talking quietly among themselves, their parties nowhere to be seen.

It's an arena, Naofumi realized as he fully entered the courtyard, which was a perfect square. The building surrounding it really was like a wall… for two stories high, then it shifted into stands. Each side's stands-aside from that of the gate-had an elevated space inside the middle: an alcove for the more important people. The one opposite the gate was the highest. Two thrones were situated there, and sure enough, the King appeared a moment later, taking his place. Faint voices sounded from above, increasing in volume as the stands filled with people.

The facility was probably used for show matches or tournaments. Public executions or plays were also a possibility.

Knights were carrying flaming braziers and setting them onto the ground in the courtyard, building a square, which would likely be the stage for the duel. It left a good portion of space toward the sides of the arena, though it was still quite the big area. Malty and, by extension, everyone else had stopped before the line of braziers.

A knight approached. "Princess," he said, "please accompany us inside. Your father is waiting for you in the royal alcove."

"Tell my father I'll not be joining him. I'd like to observe the duel from the ground. To cheer on Motoyasu and to make sure the Shield Hero doesn't use any tricks like the cheater he is." She turned toward him, glaring.

Naofumi tried to make his look as innocent, pleading, and confused as possible. Her expression softened for a moment before her scowl was back full-force.

"Are you sure, Princess?"

"Did I stutter?" she snapped.

"N-no, of course not. I'll notify your father right away!" The knight scurried off.

A trio of knights approached Naofumi, shooting nervous glances at him and Raphtalia, who stood with a dejected posture for some reason. Did she think he was mad at her for her little outburst?

"Shield Hero?" the knight in the middle asked. "We've been ordered to escort your slave to-"

"Is that necessary?" Naofumi asked. Like I'd trust them with Raphtalia's life.

"Well, the King ordered us to-"

"The Princess is allowed to stay. So Raphtalia will stay as well. She knows better than to interfere, and it's not like she can run away or anything." There were knights standing guard at the gate.

"Yes, well-"

"Ren, Itsuki," Naofumi called. "Are you going to watch the duel in the stands or will you also stay down here?"

"Actually," Itsuki said, "we'd like to watch from below, if it's not any trouble?" He looked toward the knights.

"O-of course not, Bow Hero."

"Great." Naofumi smiled, clapping his hands together. "Then Itsuki and Ren will watch over Raphtalia during the duel. Is that agreeable?"

"Whatever," Ren said with a shrug.

"Sure," Itsuki said.

The knights visibly relaxed, muttering words of relief. They shot a last wary glance at Raphtalia, then hurried away. Naofumi couldn't help but smile at how they seemed to fear her.

"The stage is set," a knight said, stepping toward them through the line of braziers. "If you're ready, you may now enter, Spear and Shield Heroes. The rest, please step toward the sides or take a place in the stands via one of the entrances."

Was he ready? Naofumi tried to catch Malty's eyes again, but she stood with arms crossed, glaring at one of the braziers, the flames casting orange light and shadows onto her perfect face. He turned toward Raphtalia. She still stood with her head bowed, curse-marked arms hanging at her sides.

"Shield Hero?" the knight prompted.

"One moment." Naofumi reached for the fastenings of his cloak. "Raphtalia, I want you to hold onto my cloak while I duel. It's too good to be dirtied during-"

"Don't bother," Malty cut in with a scornful tone. "Whoever took pity upon you and gifted you with such fine clothes surely regrets having done so, now that your true colors have come to light. It's only fitting that it should be sullied to display what kind of person you truly are, don't you think, Shield Hero ? Or did you steal them, I wonder? However else would you have come in possession of such fine material? They are certainly too good for you!"

Naofumi glared back at her. Then he smiled and made sure his cloak was secured firmly around his form, running his hands fondly across the smooth material. "You're right, Princess. This cloak was a gift from someone who is very important to me. Thank you for reminding me of that fact. I shall wear it with pride while I win this duel! I'm not planning to let it come in contact with the dirt, after all."

The corners of her mouth briefly twitched into a smile. Then she sniffed disdainfully and marched away toward the left side of the arena, the girls from her party following behind.

"Confident, aren't you?" Motoyasu taunted. "I'll not go easy on you just because you're a Shielder. I'm afraid that cloak of yours will get quite dirty, not to mention get a few holes."

Naofumi ignored him and turned back to Raphtalia. Ren and Itsuki were standing behind her, impatient expressions on their faces. "Take good care of her," he said. "Raphtalia, why are you looking so dejected? Don't you have any faith in me?"

"T-that's not it," she said, shyly meeting his gaze.

"I told you that I'd have you cured until tomorrow, and I don't plan on breaking my word. Now go with those two and watch how I trash the Spear Hero." He smiled gently at her, resisting the urge to give her a head pat.

Ren snorted.

"Yes, Mr. Naofumi!" She offered him a hesitant smile, then scurried off with the two Heroes.

Naofumi stepped onto the stage with Motoyasu, both taking positions where the knights indicated. A good distance between them,

Naofumi stood with his back facing the gate, and Motoyasu with his back facing the alcove where the King sat. A subtle manipulation to show favor, no doubt. Naofumi grinned. Malty and her party stood to the left side of the stage, Raphtalia and the two other Heroes to the right.

The King rose from his seat. The noise in the stands quieted down. He raised his arms and announced, "We've gathered here to witness a holy duel between two Heroes. In the case of the Spear Hero's victory, the Shield Hero is forced to set his slave free. In the event of the Shield Hero's victory-" He paused, putting a hand in front of his face as to hold himself back from laughing. It had the desired effect, and a wave of amusement ran through the stands. "I shall ensure that his slave's curse gets treated."

Laugh and mock me all you want, Naofumi thought, his smile never wavering. It's only going to make my inevitable victory all the sweeter.

"Regardless of the outcome," the King continued, "His Holiness, Biscas T. Balmus, High Priest of the Three Heroes Church, has assured me that the Three Heroes Church will provide the required Holy Water to cure the Shield Hero's poor slave of its curse." He nodded toward the alcove on the left, above where Malty stood with her girls.

An elderly man wearing a Pope's Hat, clearly the aforementioned High Priest, sat there. He briefly stood to wave at the crowd, a kind smile on his aged face, and a wave of applause could be heard in the arena.

Naofumi looked at him with narrowed eyes. Would he have to defeat this old man in order to achieve his goals? Kill him? He vowed not to underestimate the High Priest. After all, in a world with levels, old people had to be the strongest, right? Levels would only increase with age. Or did levels-or stats-dwindle with growing age?

"Now, are the combatants ready?" the King asked.

Motoyasu twirled his spear. "I finally get to avenge Myne. Of course, I'm ready!"

Naofumi only nodded, striking a battle stance and holding the Chimera Lion Shield in a defense position in front of him. He inhaled deeply, the smell of fire and smoke itching in his throat, and let the chatter of the spectators and the crackling of the fire become background noise.

"The duel ends if either combatant is unable to continue fighting or if one yields. Begin!" The King made an appropriate hand gesture, then sat down.

"Ready to get your ass beaten?" Motoyasu asked.

"I could say the same, Motoyasu," Naofumi said, grinning.

"Motoyasu!" Malty called in a sweet voice. "Go and defeat the Shield Hero to free that poor girl. I believe in you!~"

The other girls shouted words of encouragement along with her.

Naofumi rolled his eyes, trying to reign in the irritation and anger he felt at Malty's behavior. She should be cheering for me!

"I'll not disappoint you!" Motoyasu smiled brightly at them before focusing back on the duel. "Ready to lose, Naofumi?"

"You already said that," Naofumi called. "The duel started a while ago, you know? What are you waiting for? Need some more encouragement before you're brave enough to attack me?" He grinned as Motoyasu's expression darkened.

Yelling a sort of battlecry, Motoyasu charged, and the tip of his Spear changed forms, becoming bigger like that of a vicious polearm.

Naofumi waited for him to get closer. "Lion's Roar." The golden lion head on his Shield moved, emitting a loud, terrifying roar. Shrieks of surprise and fright could be heard from above.

Motoyasu halted, his eager and enraged expression shifting into one of apprehension.

Naofumi smirked confidently, pretending that the ability did anything more than to do a little scare. "What's the matter Motoyasu? Already giving up?"

Motoyasu scowled, tightly gripping his Spear. "Damn Bastard! Don't think your stolen materials will save you!"

"Oh, but I think they will!" Chimera Dragon Shield . Naofumi relished how the new-found confidence left Motyosu's gaze as he set eyes onto the vicious dragon head, its horns and scales glinting goldorange in the flickering light of the braziers. The arena was silent aside from the faint sound of the wind and the crackling of flames.

The time of hiding and playing the underdog is over, Naofumi thought, grinning. I'll make an example out of him, and then I'll fuck Malty so good that she'll never again consider the possibility that I could want anybody but her. He turned his head toward his fiancée and shot her a confident smile and a wink, not caring if the other girls saw.

"Eyes, on me, Naofumi!" Motoyasu yelled, charging. "Here I come!"

Naofumi waited and took the hit. With a metallic clang, the spear bounced off the Chimera Dragon Shield. He'd barely felt the impact. "Is that all you got?" Naofumi laughed.

"Take this!" Motoyasu spun his Spear around and went for a horizontal swing.

Again, Naofumi blocked, the Spear bouncing off effortlessly.

Motoyasu grunted in frustration. He took a step back, then yelled, "Chaos Spear!"

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi cast immediately. The ability formed in front of him just as Motoyasu started to rapidly strike, the Spear glowing. 20, 30 strikes impacted the Air Strike Shield, not breaking it.

Naofumi smirked. "How weak! I'm disappointed." He dismissed the Air Strike Shield.

"I haven't even started!" Motoyasu made to dash again.

"Dragon's Claim!" Naofumi announced, aiming at Motoyasu. The dragon head on his Shield opened its maw, and a gust of fire erupted from it.

Motoyasu halted and took a step back, eyes widening in shock-and perhaps fear.

More fire kept pooling out of the Chimera Dragon Shield, the heat from it radiating against Naofumi's skin. The fire sped toward Motoyasu, and as it moved, it shaped itself into a dragon with a wingspan two times the length of the Legendary Spear.

Motoyasu yelped and threw himself to the ground. He wasn't able to dodge. For a moment, he was completely covered inside the flames. When the fiery dragon had passed with a whoosh of flames and continued its flight behind him, Motoyasu looked exactly the same as before, not a trace of the fact that he'd just been engulfed in fire. His HP was still at 100%.

Seriously? Naofumi thought, brow twitching in irritation. This ability is useless as well? There's not a single hair out of place!

Motoyasu was equally as confused, frantically tapping his hair as he got up. Of course, the pretty boy would be most concerned about his hair getting burned.

There was a loud crashing sound, making them both start in surprise-releasing a girlish squeak in Motoyasu's case. Behind the Spear Hero, the ground outside the duel area was aflame. And there was a suspicious gap in the line of braziers.

Did the ability knock them over? Naofumi wondered.

Boos were sounding from the stands, people yelling at Naofumi for destroying the arena. But there were also a few complaining about Motoyasu, wondering whether the Spear Hero wasn't just a little girl playing Hero.

The King had risen from his throne and leaned onto the railing of his alcove, frowning down at the burning embers that had been strewn across the ground. Would he make a deal out of this? Thankfully not. He just shook his head and retook his place.

Chimera Goat Shield .

Motoyasu was still staring dumbfounded at the destroyed braziers-or perhaps toward the King, waiting for him to interfere.

"Goat's Bleat." Naofumi aimed at Motoyasu. The golden goat head simply detached from his Shield and flew toward the Spear Hero in a little arc.

"Ow!" A dull thud sounded as the goat head impacted Motoyasu's head and bounced off. Laughter sounded from the stands. The goat head hovered in the air above Motoyasu. Its mouth moved, and a bleat sounded, then it vanished, reforming onto Naofumi's Shield.

Motoyasu released an angry scream and charged.

Chimera Viper Shield . Naofumi charged as well. "Viper's Fang!" The ability's icon appeared in his HUD, ticking down rapidly, and there was a hiss, but nothing else happened. He bashed his Shield against Motoyasu's attack, feeling the impact of it this time, vibrations coursing through his body. The ability's icon flashed. Another, louder hiss sounded, and the two intertwining, golden snakes from his Shield enlarged and shot toward Motoyasu; he screamed as they sunk their fangs into his arms.

Finally something useful! Naofumi grinned, relishing the exclamations of surprise from the stands.

The snakes retreated and returned to their usual size and spot on the Chimera Viper Shield. Motoyasu stumbled backward, clutching at his left arm. "Bastard," he gasped, face in a grimace.

Naofumi's grin widened.

The Spear's gem glowed for a moment, and then Motoyasu was holding a potion bottle in his hand.

Naofumi considered denying him-either by charging, shooting a rope, or summoning and Air Strike Shield-but decided against it. It would be too easy if he won already, would it? Motoyasu hadn't suffered-hadn't been humiliated-enough yet.

While Motoyasu greedily downed the potion, Naofumi looked toward his fiancée with a smug smirk on his face. She stood with her arms crossed, a fierce scowl on her stunning face, and the anger seemed to be alive in her eyes, reflections of the flames dancing in her emerald irises. He was reminded of their confrontation on their first day together. He couldn't wait to push her against a wall and claim her lips again, whether she wanted or not.

Naofumi leisurely circled around Motoyasu, watching Malty out of the corner of his eyes. "Are you done drinking your little potion, Motoyasu?"

Laughter and boos echoed from the stands, most of it directed at the Spear Hero.

Motoyasu wiped his mouth, glaring. "How did you get so strong, you damned cheater! How did a useless Shielder manage level 35 already?"

How does he know my level? Naofumi wondered. He couldn't tell that when I was at the Dragon Hourglass last week. He looked at Motoyasu's HP, which had been lowered marginally, and spotted a 41 next to it. That hadn't been there before. Interesting . He idly noticed how his SP were completely full, even after he'd cast more than a few skills. Maybe counter skills replenish SP?

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Naofumi called. "By having party members and have them kill stuff for me while I shield them. This isn't a solo game, you know?"

"Oh?" Motoyasu attacked again. "You mean by forcing your slaves to fight for you?"

Naofumi switched to the Chimera Dragon Shield and blocked, the Spear bouncing off with a metallic clank. "I'm not forcing anyone to fight for me."

"Why is the girl your slave, then?"

Naofumi grinned. "That's for me to know and you to find out!" He batted aside another of Motoyasu's strikes. "Come on, pretty boy, is that all you got? I thought you 'haven't even started yet'?"

"Get ready to hurt! Chaos Spear!"

"Air Strike Shield!"

It had much the same effect as last time, the Air Strike Shield completely negating the skill.

Motoyasu dashed to the side. "Lightning Spear!" Electricity gathered around the Spear. "Shield Prison!"

An anxious whimper escaped Raphtalia as she watched the Shield Prison form around Naofumi. She had her hands clenched, pain flaring up her arms, and was fighting with the urge to rush onto the stage. Her tail stood straight.

The lighting shot from the Spear and impacted the Shield Prison. Flashes and tendrils of lightning raced across the metallic surface, illuminating the courtyard. The heat from the braziers pressed against Raphtalia's face, discouraging her from taking another step forward. The lightning vanished, and the Shield Prison burst open a moment later. Raphtalia's heart skipped a beat, panic momentarily constricting her chest, before she realized that Naofumi had deliberately canceled the skill. He was already sprinting toward the Spear Hero, an eager grin on his face.

"Dog Bite!" A bark sounded, and Naofumi smashed his Shield against the Spear Hero's haphazardly raised Spear. The two dog heads came alive and bit the Spear Hero, who cried out in pain, staggering backward.

Raphtalia smiled and took a relieved step back, clutching her hands to her chest. Her heart was still racing, but it was now filled with hope.

"I can't believe Naofumi's actually winning," Ren said.

"Well," Itsuki said from Raphtalia's left. "It's not that surprising. He does have all the Chimera Shields, after all."

Ren snorted. "For all the good it does him. The Goat Shield seems to be some kind of taunt ability, but Motoyasu doesn't need any encouragement to attack anyway. The Lion Shield was surprising but useless all the same. The Snake Shield is the only one that actually did anything… well, aside from destroying the arena."

Itsuki chuckled. "Yeah…"

The Spear Hero cried out as said Snake Shield once again bit him. "Damn you!"

"Seriously?" Ren scoffed. "What kind of amateur is Motoyasu anyway? I would have no problem against a Shielder."

I don't think so, Raphtalia thought, smiling. The two Heroes seemed to be quite young and childish, but she knew better than to ask about their age.

Raphtalia watched in awe as Naofumi battled with the Spear Hero. She didn't cringe anymore when their weapons collided with loud metallic clangs that sent sparks flying and barely managed to follow along as Naofumi switched between his Shields, shouting skills here and there to block, dodge, and attack.

"Motoyasu is getting weaker," Ren commented.

"Yeah. How often has he been bitten by Naofumi's attacks at this point? At least 10 times. I suspect that the abilities inflict some debuffs or drain stamina. They barely deal damage."

"Yes, Motoyasu isn't even below 90% HP yet. We'll be here the whole night if the fight continues like this…"

Itsuki hummed. "Well, it looks like Motoyasu is faltering. Not to mention that he's getting desperate. His movements are quite sloppy. He won't beat Naofumi like that." He shook his head in disapproval.

"Motoyasu is moving a lot more, and his attacks require a lot more strength than Naofumi's. It's obvious who will tire first."

"Quite ingenious," Itsuki said. "I'd have never thought about that. Motoyasu will simply lose because he can't damage Naofumi in the slightest. Has he even inflicted a single point of damage?"

Ren chuckled. "1 or 2 percent, I'd say."

"I mean, it's still a pretty useless class, but in an artificial, isolated one-on-one situation, it has its uses."

"I guess so."

Raphtalia wanted to argue with them, but movement in her peripheral vision drew her attention. "What is she up to?" she murmured, scowling at the Princess, who was walking away from her party members on the opposite side of the courtyard.

"Did you say something?" Ren asked.

Raphtalia hesitated for a moment. "Look there. The Princess. I bet she's planning something to make Mr. Naofumi lose."

"Really?" Itsuki frowned. "Seems a little paranoid, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Ren agreed. "What would she even do? There are hundreds of people watching. If she interferes, Naofumi will be declared the winner."

Raphtalia thought about something she could say but couldn't come up with an explanation. "I just know she's up to no good. Why else would she skulk around the stage like that?"

"Perhaps she's looking for a drink," Itsuki offered, then chuckled. "I know I could use one if this continues like that."

On the dueling stage, Motoyasu cried out in pain as snake fangs sunk into his skin once more. Grimacing, he attacked Naofumi, who blocked the attack with his left arm, seemingly batting it away effortlessly.

"Give up already, Motoyasu!" Naofumi called, smirking. "You can't win this! Don't you think you've embarrassed yourself enough-"

"Dream on," Motoyasu yelled, attacking. "I'm not leaving that girl in your clutches!"

Itsuki faced her. "Raphtalia, right?"

"Yes?" She kept her gaze on the Princess, who seemed to walk up and down the border of braziers without purpose and an irritated expression on her face.

"So you're Naofumi's slave? He bought you?"

"That's right."

"And he forces you to fight?"

"Mr. Naofumi doesn't force me to do anything!" Raphtalia stated firmly. "The Princess is a bad and lying person. You shouldn't listen to her."

Itsuki nodded, unconvinced. "So he's not touching you?"

"Touching me? How would he do that when he's battling over there?"

Itsuki heaved a sigh.

"What he means," Ren said, "is if Naofumi has touched you in an inappropriate manner."

Inappropriate manner? Raphtalia thought, unsure what would qualify as that. Was he talking about touching her in public? He's probably referring to anything sexual, she realized, recalling Lucetta's instructions. Her cheeks heated up. "N-no, Mr. Naofumi isn't like that."

"Are you sure?" Itsuki questioned. "Even if you think it might be acceptable, it could be inappropriate."

"W-well." Raphtalia looked to the ground. "We did hold hands earlier today. A-and he sometimes hugs me when I'm sad or when I have nightmares." She looked up. "Does that count as inappropriate?" Itsuki was shaking his head, chuckling softly. "I guess not…"

Ren was looking at the duel, eyes narrowed. "You may be right," he said, not turning his head. "About the Princess. It seems like she's trying to move out of Naofumi's line of sight. But he's rotating along with her while fighting, even if it's not obvious if you're not looking for

it."

Raphtalia grinned. Stupid Princess! Mr. Naofumi is much too smart for your cowardly tricks!

The Spear Hero's health had arrived at about two thirds at this point, his movements starting to become shaky from exhaustion.

"I'm not sure who I want to win," Itsuki said. "I mean, Raphtalia needs to be cured, but even if Naofumi is treating her well, I would prefer it if she's freed. Quite the tricky situation." He hummed. "No matter the outcome, we should try to accomplish both."

A pang of fear shot through Raphtalia.

"This whole thing is a waste of time," Ren scoffed. "Like, couldn't Naofumi just buy some Holy Water and cure her himself? He's just a damn showoff. Motoyasu isn't better, though he's probably regretting his decision at this point."

"Maybe," Itsuki said.

Where's the Princess? Raphtalia thought, frantically looking around the arena, not finding her. She looked toward the King… and caught a flicker of crimson hair before it vanished from view again. A minute later, the Princess reentered the courtyard through the gate, looking very pleased with herself. What did she do?

The spectators slowly grew quiet, and Raphtalia realized that it was because the King had risen from his throne.

It took Naofumi a few moments to realize that the King was speaking. He was in the process of blocking another of Motoyasu's attacks when the King once again called out, "Halt!"

Naofumi backed away, and Motoyasu, as well, seemed to grasp the situation after looking around in confusion for a few moments. He was panting, his blonde hair was in disarray, and beads of sweat were running down his face, glinting orange. Was Malty responsible for this interruption? He'd seen her leave and reenter the courtyard some time ago. Had she finally seen reason and convinced her father to declare him the winner?

The King loudly cleared his throat. "The duel has been going on for nearly an hour now. It appears that the Shield Hero doesn't have the power to beat the Spear Hero in any time period that would allow us to remain awake in our seats."

A wave of amusement ran through the stands.

"As such…" Aultrcray raised his arms to quiet down the noise. "As such, extra measures need to be taken to… motivate him. Once the duel resumes, the Shield Hero has a quarter of an hour to defeat the Spear Hero. Otherwise, the Spear Hero will be declared the victor!"

People voiced their opinions about that. From the sound of it, most were in agreement.

"Yeah?!" Naofumi called. "And how is that fair? Seeing how Motoyasu has challenged me, it should be him who should strive to defeat me! Not the other way around!" His exclamation was met with some agreement.

"Perhaps," the King said. "But the way I see it, you are the offender here. After all, it was you who threatened a knight and who is under suspicion of violating your slave. As such, my judgment remains. Is there anyone else who would like to speak in the Shield Hero's defense?" Silence.

Naofumi snorted. He looked toward his fiancée. She stood next to her girls again and had a very pleased expression on her face, arms crossed. He smirked back at her, enjoying how her expression faltered, then looked toward the King. "Fine!" he called, "I was only toying with Motoyasu anyway. Time to get serious."

The King wasn't perturbed and announced, "Are you ready to continue?"

"Yeah!" Motoyasu exclaimed with an eager grin on his face, his exhaustion seemingly vanished.

"Alright-"

"One moment!" Naofumi called, a hand raised. He ignored the King's inquisition and thought about what to do.

So far, Malty had repeatedly tried to get out of his line of sight. The only explanation he could come up with as to why was that she wanted to interfere with magic, and considering how she needed to be out of his field of view to do so, he concluded that whatever she planned to cast would be a projectile-type spell he would be able to dodge if he saw it coming. But would she really go so far as to cast something in front of everyone? He could only hope that it would be something sneaky and undetectable, like Wind Magic.

No matter what it was, he doubted very much that it could do him much harm. Motoyasu on the other hand…

"Seeing as the Shield Hero-"

"I'm ready!" Naofumi announced. "Just let me take my position, then we'll resume." He slowly walked toward the side where Malty stood, staring intently at her. He shot her a wink, then turned toward Motoyasu, back completely toward his fiancée. Motoyasu had a frown on his face but played along anyway, moving so that he stood on the opposite side of the stage. Meanwhile, Raphtalia had started moving as well, walking alongside the stage until she had a clear view of everyone, especially Malty. Ren and Itsuki were trailing her but made no move to stop her.

So she noticed as well, Naofumi thought. Good .

"Brace yourself, Motoyasu," Naofumi called, making sure to sound especially cocky. "I'll show you what a real Shielder can do and will eliminate you in a single move!"

Motoyasu barked out a laugh, but it sounded a bit forced. Apprehensive, perhaps.

"Let's begin!"

"Very well," the King said. "On my command… Begin!"

Motoyasu didn't move.

Naofumi grinned. Seems like he has some brain cells left, he thought. Although, waiting while you have the time advantage is the obvious move. So some would argue that defying that expectation is the better course of action.

Chimera Goat Shield . Naofumi aimed his Shield. "Goat's Bleat." The goat head detached from the Shield and shot forward in an arc.

"Ha!" Motoyasu struck it out of the air with a triumphant expression. Nonetheless, the golden goat head managed to appear above Motoyasu a moment later, letting out a bleat. No one laughed.

Motoyasu scowled and charged, gripping his Spear with both hands.

Naofumi charged as well, switching to the Chimera Dragon Shield.

"Mr. Naofumi!" Raphtalia's shrill voice pierced the silence.

"Dragon's Claim." Naofumi threw himself to the ground.

Still scowling, Motoyasu wasn't stopping, about to reach Naofumi in a few moments. Flames shot out of the Chimera Dragon Shield, heat washing against Naofumi's face. The flames shifted into the form of a dragon and sped toward Motoyasu. A cooling breeze of wind suddenly washed over Naofumi, ruffling his cloak and hair. The fiery dragon was about to reach Motoyasu. It distorted faintly.

A female shriek of surprise sounded from behind, unmistakably Malty.

Chimera Viper Shield . Naofumi jumped to his feet and charged blindly toward where Motoyasu had vanished in flames. A loud grunt sounded, then the crackling of the fire was pierced by repeated thumps against the ground, crunching. There was a crashing sound as the fiery dragon once more destroyed the braziers. It vanished, and Naofumi spotted Motoyasu lying on his back near the edge of the dueling stage. His HP was still above half.

"Air Strike Shield!" Naofumi placed the skill atop Motoyasu's body.

The Spear Hero, lightly dazed, tried to maneuver, but his body, from the chest downward, was firmly sandwiched between the ability and the ground. He tried to wiggle himself out, but Naofumi was already there, holding him in place with a boot on his shoulder. Spear in one hand, Motoyasu tried to swing at Naofumi. The attack was quite pathetic.

"Viper's Fang." Naofumi easily batted aside the Spear and watched as the golden snakes sunk their fangs into his opponent's throat.

Motoyasu grunted, and his movements started to slow-like every time he was hit with the skill. It wouldn't do much more than to briefly slow him, though. Naofumi reached toward his belt and retrieved the Paralyzing Potion he'd purchased for Raphtalia all those weeks ago.

Chimera Lion Shield . Naofumi crouched and moved his Shield next to Motoyasu's head, then announced gleefully, "Lion's Roar."

Eyes closed, Motoyasu shrieked like a little girl as the golden lion head let out a deafening roar.

Naofumi cringed in sympathy. He unstopped the Paralyzing Potion and thrust the opening into Motoyasu's mouth. The Spear Hero screamed, chocked, and gurgled, and with all the thrashing around, a good half of the potion got spilled onto the ground. Good enough. The glow from his medicine-enhancing ability vanished, and Naofumi discarded the empty bottle, then grasped Motoyasu's head to press his mouth shut. After an involuntary swallow, Motoyasu's efforts completely stopped. He lay still aside from some agitated breathing.

For good measure, Naofumi punched him across the face. It was intensely satisfying. He took a few deep breaths. The Air Strike Shield vanished. Grinning, Naofumi stood and dusted off his cloak.

It was eerily silent in the arena. The whole fight probably hadn't taken more than 15 seconds after resuming. People were understandably shocked, disbelief plastered across faces everywhere, jaws hanging open.

"What's the matter?" Naofumi called, unable to keep his smile at bay. "You didn't think I was bluffing when I said I would finish him in a single move, did you?"

Someone started to clap, and reluctantly, more people joined in until deafening applause sounded in the arena. More than a few people decidedly didn't participate, but the fact that he was getting applause in the first place was pretty astounding in and of itself.

He looked toward Malty. His fiancée seemed frozen in place, eyes wide, mouth agape, a hand outstretched toward him. Apparently, the realization hadn't quite set in. Victory thrumming in his veins, Naofumi was tempted-very tempted-to shoot a rope at her and drag her onto the arena so that he could hug and kiss her in front of everyone.

Instead, he smiled and patted his cloak affectionately, noting with satisfaction that it had barely gotten dirtied during his little dive to the ground.

Raphtalia stared in awe at Naofumi as applause assaulted her from all sides. Her smile must have been equally as wide as his, and her heart was racing, beating with happiness and love.

"He really did it," she murmured, blinking tears of joy out of her eyes.

The applause quieted down. Naofumi stared expectantly at the King.

"Well." The King cleared his throat, looking around the stands. "It seems the Shield Hero-"

"Cheated!" the Princess shrieked. Everyone's attention shifted onto her as she stalked onto the stage. She picked up Naofumi's discarded potion bottle and held it up. "The Shield Hero used this to defeat the Spear Hero. A non-permitted aid!"

Agitated speculation broke out among the spectators. Meanwhile, cloaked figures had entered the courtyard and were crouching beside the Spear Hero, making sure he was okay.

Anger erupted inside Raphtalia. "So what? The Spear Hero used a potion as well! Mr. Naofumi didn't break any rules."

The Princess glared. "Don't speak, you-"

"Yeah!" Itsuki interrupted. "No one said using potions wasn't allowed. And don't think we didn't see what you did, Princess!"

Ren grunted and spoke, almost as if talking to himself, "I wonder how Naofumi knew. That was almost perfectly timed…"

More shouts were filling the air. It took Naofumi unleashing that terrifying roar from his Shield to once again quiet everyone down. He looked toward the King's alcove. "Your Majesty. What do you say? Was me using a potion against the rules or not?"

Standing, the King looked deeply troubled.

"How about this," Naofumi continued. "Since there seems to be some doubt about my victory"-a few chuckles could be heard from the stands-"we can say that it was a tie. Nobody loses. We both won, and both promises will be fulfilled. I'll release Raphtalia as my slave, and you'll ensure that the curse on her arms gets cured. What do you say, Your Majesty?"

It was silent, everyone staring expectantly at the King. Eventually, he gave a nod. "That is agreeable. The result of the duel is a tie."

Triumph pulsated in Raphtalia's chest as she looked at the Princess's outraged expression. Then all the warmth suddenly drained from her body as the real meaning behind Naofumi's words set in: he was going to free her.

Why? Raphtalia collapsed, dropping to her knees. Why? Why would he abandon her now? He'd promised, but… He didn't have to settle for that tie. In the storm of voices that suddenly seemed so distant, she vaguely heard Itsuki asking whether Naofumi was sure. He was. He was done with her. And truly, could she blame him? Of course not. After failing again and again, he'd finally had enough of her. And after proving how he could beat another Hero by himself, what did he need her for? He didn't. Not even for the things the Princess had insinuated. Because he didn't love her. Not like she loved him.

Tears fell onto her hands. She felt nothing except a deep chill inside of her, darkness all around her. She was all alone again. All alone in this scary world. What would she do now? Where would she go? What could she do without her Master to guide her? Raphtalia gasped for air, all-consuming fear gripping her heart.

I don't want to be alone. Mommy, Daddy… No one answered her pleas. She wanted… anything, anyone, to tell her what to do. Even the pain of her old cell was better than this emptiness and uncertainty.

She barely noticed the hands that grabbed her and held her upwardand how her skin prickled as it was freed of any curse marks. Through blurry vision, she saw how Naofumi and Kuro's names vanished and how her symbol changed into a sword. She pressed her eyes shut and wept, crashing back to the ground when the steadying arms let her go.

Had they extinguished the braziers? Had everyone already left? She felt so cold…

"-thalia. Raphtalia."

She blinked her eyes open, staring in confusion at Naofumi's blurry face. An illusion?

"What's the matter, Raphtalia? Are you hurt? Talk to me! Raphtalia!"

The hands holding her upward felt surprisingly real, but surely, the concern and care in those brilliant emerald eyes was a figment of her imagination. "Mr… Naofumi?" She sniveled.

Raphtalia squeaked as she was suddenly pulled toward him and enveloped in a tight embrace. Her face brushed against the smooth fabric of his cloak. She inhaled his familiar scent, and feelings of safety and love spread through her, casting away the fear and coldness in an instant. Warmth raced through her body, her heart racing, and when he caressed her ears and hair, the touch was like fire-but in a good way.

"Raphtalia, tell me what's wrong. Did those guys hurt you?"

She shook her head no against him. "I'm… I'm fine. But why are you… still here?"

"Huh?" He suddenly chuckled, vibrating against her. "I should probably send you a party invite. My bad. How do I do this…" He hummed, never stopping his caresses. "There, did you get it?"

Her heart skipped a beat as text appeared in front of her eyes, and she immediately accepted. A happy sound escaped her when Naofumi and Kuro's names reappeared near hers. "So you're not… leaving me?"

"Of course not." He tightened his embrace. "I thought I've told you that often enough already."

Her cheeks heated. "I… I know, but… why did you free me? You didn't have to. I don't mind being-"

"Because it's the right thing to do, okay? Because you don't belong to anyone but yourself. You're free to do whatever you want. So, do you still want to adventure with me, though? You can-"

"Of course!" She would have thrown herself at him if she weren't already in his embrace. Instead, she just hugged him tightly, clinging desperately to his warmth. "Of course I want to be with you forever!" Her tail was wagging uncontrollably, her heart racing. She kept her hotly burning face buried in the crook of his neck.

Suddenly, Naofumi grunted, and the air was driven out of her lungs. She blinked in confusion, and it took her a moment to realize that she was lying on her back. Naofumi was on top of her, pressing her body into the hard stone ground. She felt every little gravel through her thin dress. Had someone shoved them?

He righted himself, pulling Raphtalia, who still hadn't let go, along into a kneeling position.

"What happened?" she asked.

He was tense for a moment, craning his neck to look around the empty arena. It was silent aside from some distant chatter and hurried, retreating footsteps. "Mal-" He heaved an irritated sigh, then relaxed. "It's nothing. Are you alright, Raphtalia? You must be cold."

"I'm fine." Happy . A little yawn escaped her, and she closed her eyes, relaxing into Naofumi's embrace. "Tired…"

"Yeah… it's been a long and eventful day. Let's go to sleep."

She made no move to let go, face snuggled against his fluffy cloak. A moment later, he picked her up and carried her away. The cool night air brushed against the bare skin on her legs and curse-free arms, but it did little to quell the intense warmth inside of her. Everything would be alright, as long as she stayed with Naofumi. A bright smile on her face, she fell asleep before they even entered the castle.

You may have noticed that I've changed the Shield's abilities a little. Most notably, counter abilities are now active abilities that, upon activation, only offer a brief period in which they can be triggered. If no attack comes, they go on cooldown. I think this is a more interactive, fun, and logical thing to do. I should probably go back and edit the few scenes where the Dog Bite appeared so far, but I'm too lazy for that.

Also, counter abilities tend to be Special Abilities, which don't technically need to be spoken out loud to work (though Naofumi is a showoff and does so anyway). So I've added that there's always some sound effect (a hiss and a bark, in this case) to go along with it, so that an enemy may counter the counter, lol.

Or perhaps I'll just change it so that all abilities need to be spoken out loud. After all, I've never seen one of the other

Heroes perform a silent ability. Gotta keep things fair here.

Chapter 22

This chapter was supposed to be ready for Monday, but it just wouldn't come out right. I rewrote and edited it for like a thousand times, and during that process, I also went over my outline of BitchSlayer's Part 2 (which starts in a few chapters) for like a hundred times. Well, I got some new clarity about it, but it also drew me a bit out of the mindset to write IAmBitch. So this week there's BitchSlayer on Thursday, and then we'll see.

Naofumi awoke with a smile on his face. A warm body was pressed against his, hair was tickling his face, and he had his arms wrapped around a flat stomach, his morning wood pressed against a firm ass.

Malty… He breathed in her lovely scent, then released a pleased hum. He blindly tapped around with his hand until he found hers and intertwined their fingers, his smile widening when she squeezed him back.

"Good morning, my-" He stilled, suddenly aware that the hand he was clutching was calloused and smaller… smaller than Malty's smooth-skinned ones. And the hair in his face wasn't as soft as hers and missed the flowery scent.

"Good morning, Mr. Naofumi," Raphtalia mumbled, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

Well, he thought, awareness of the small room in the castle he and Raphtalia had been assigned returning to him. I guess me and Malty making up-and making out-in her room had been a dream . Indeed, when he'd been kept awake with troubled thoughts concerning his fiancée, he'd checked her window, finding it closed, the curtain drawn.

He had the Two-headed Black Dog Shield equipped to alert him should Malty or some fanatics have funny ideas, and the window was open, allowing him an easy two-story jump into the courtyard with Raphtalia in his arms. Naturally, he'd slept with his armor on, and the thin pillow of the room's second-unused-bed acted as a cushion between his chestplate and Raphtalia's body, his cloak shielding her from the cold in addition to the blanket, which was drawn up to their hips.

She does have a nice ass, though, he thought, fighting with the desire to rub against it. Still clad in her dress, only a thin layer of fabric covered her fit body. Naofumi shook those unreasonable, horniness-induced thoughts off and awkwardly maneuvered so that his erection wouldn't be quite so obvious. It wouldn't be the first time he'd woken up from a wet dream featuring his future wife while clutching Raphtalia's form, but he'd never let things go as far as the position he found himself in now.

His immediate response was to let go of her hand, but he halted, not wanting to upset her after how she'd broken down yesterday. They'd held hands before; it didn't mean what Malty was probably thinking.

"How are you feeling, Raphtalia?" he asked.

"Good," she said. "I'm happy. Safe."

Safe, he repeated in his mind, thinking back to how scared she'd been yesterday when she'd thought herself abandoned. Malty had obviously disliked how he'd chosen to comfort Raphtalia, but she'd come around. They were engaged, after all. Throwing away all the time and effort he'd invested in Raphtalia for a meek chance to chase after a jealous Malty would have been idiotic. He closed his eyes, inhaling her scent. "Yes. You're safe. Safe with me."

"Hmmmhm…"

Raphtalia smelled of camping in the wilderness, of waking up wellrested and pleasantly sore from a previous day of hard and efficient work, of tasting the fresh morning air and hearing the sounds of the waking environment, of lying awake when the first sun rays breached the horizon to tickle his face with a mind filled with lovely thoughts of crimson hair, hungry emerald eyes, and devious smirks. She smelled of adventuring, of his time in this new world, of a place to relax and fall asleep at the end of the day. Of home.

"Raphtalia?"

"Hmm?"

"I just wanted to say… the last few weeks we've spent together… it means a lot to me. I hope you know that I'll never turn my back on you."

She made a happy sound of affirmation and shuffled a little closer. Her tail moved faintly where it was trapped in-between her back and his abdomen. Thankfully, his erection had fully vanished now, and he could spoon her without issue.

"I admit, when I bought you, I was only looking for an efficient fighter. But you've grown on me and found a way into my heart, and I wouldn't want to adventure without you anymore."

She squeezed his hand.

"What I mean to say is… You're like family to me. You're like my…" Daughter? he thought. No, I don't feel like a father . "You're like the little sister I never had."

"S-sister?"

"Yes. Don't you feel the same way?"

"I… Y-yes, of course, Mr. Naofumi."

The badly veiled disappointment in her voice told him exactly what he needed to know. She thought there was more between them. She thought she was in love with him. Good.

"Yes," he said. "My cute and super strong little sister. And I love her more than anything else in the world." He moved to press a smacking kiss on her cheek.

Raphtalia squeaked. "I… I love you too, Mr. Naofumi!"

I know, he thought, giving her hand a squeeze and holding her tightly against him.

The breakfast food in the castle was superb as always. Stacked on fine plates atop richly decorated tablecloths, hearty food was joined by sweet and salty-warm and cold-alike. Light chatter and the clinking of cutlery was filling the air of the Heroes' dining room, sparsely filled in the morning hours, more servants than guests milling about.

Motoyasu impassively stared at some pudding. The thought of putting anything in his mouth and mixing it with the bitter defeat he could still taste on his tongue made him want to puke.

Lesty, never having left his side after waking him this morning with the somber news of his defeat, squeezed his shoulder. Bless Lesty. He didn't have the heart or motivation to tell her off. Apparently, they hadn't been able to completely reverse the effects of Naofumi's potion, deciding that he'd just have to sleep it off. Waking up in a cold sweat, the final moments of their duel still fresh on his mind, definitely wasn't on the list of Motoyasu's top mornings. Far from it. But he wasn't bitter. He wasn't.

Lesty shoved a steaming bowl of honey-sweetened porridge with slices of local apple-like fruit in front of him, accompanied by a hum that managed to sound both encouraging and questioning. He appreciated her silent support. Bless Lesty. He also appreciated that she'd paid enough attention to know that this was one of his current favorites, his default when they breakfasted at the castle. She'd even added a sprinkle of cinnamon-same as he usually did.

Motoyasu wanted to tease her about it, but his mouth refused to open. He just gave a minute shake of his head and pushed the bowl away.

With a few empty spaces to distance themselves from him sat Elena and Rino, conversing quietly among themselves. Occasionally, he'd hear Rino's childish giggles or her typical hm-hmm, which would be accompanied by a bob of her witch's hat. Elena was more reserved, and you could only rarely hear her titter, always refined, always with a hand in front of her face, the noblewoman that she was. She seemed to do that more often when talking to Rino. Sometimes, Motoyasu wondered whether those two weren't secretly tasting each other's honeypots.

Wishful thinking. Yep. Definitely wishful thinking . Motoyasu shook those thoughts off and resumed to glare at an especially offending piece of pie. The urge to eat it remained absent.

Movement at the entrance drew his attention. It was a duo of adventurers from Ren's party: a burly man and a green-haired girl. Motoyasu averted his eyes, sagging with relief but also shame and bitterness. The hope that Malty would join them for breakfast was thin as it was; she'd done that less and less after revealing her identity as Princess and taking command. A part of him was wishing she'd not join them… ever again. He was afraid of the judgemental look in those emerald eyes. Malty could be scary sometimes. He'd thought she was overreacting-as women tend to do-when she'd called him pathetic a few weeks ago, but now he feared she'd been right all along.

Defeated by a fucking Shielder, Motoyasu thought, face twisted in bitterness. He'd thought this was his chance. His chance to finally prove himself, to put that smug bastard Naofumi in his place and to avenge Malty, to show her that he was more than she thought. But he'd never stood a chance. Naofumi had only played with him. How could a fucking Shielder be so strong?

He only remembered that overpowered fiery dragon, the world spinning around him, the bone-chilling roar of some beast, panic, fear, and the desperate and failing attempt to gasp for air. He'd thought he'd die.

Lesty squeezed his shoulder and had put her other hand against his arm, her thumb brushing back and forth against his bicep. It helped calm his racing heart. Motoyasu took a deep breath and shot her a thankful smile-not quite as bright as usual, but good enough. Bless Lesty. She was always smiling, always helping, always optimistic, always friendly… to everyone. A truly kind soul. He strived to be like her.

More people entered. Someone from Itsuki's party, followed by

Naofumi and the Demi-girl. He couldn't suppress the urge to wince, Naofumi's flame-cast, smirking face right before the end flashing through his mind. Motoyasu shot Lesty a look out of the corner of his eyes, hoping she hadn't noticed.

"I'm hungry, Mr. Naofumi," the girl said. "Very hungry."

The bastard chuckled. They took seats on a table opposite Motoyasu. He had a clear view of the girl's chest, of how there was no slave crest on her skin and how her bare, oddly muscular arms were free of curse marks. And yet, she looked like she wanted to be there, a wide smile on her face that seemed to radiate more happiness than any of Malty's smiles-even the real ones-possibly could.

Motoyasu looked at the shunned porridge, watching them out of the corner of his eyes. He wasn't bitter. And he wasn't jealous. Not at all. They acted like they were a couple, handing each other food, talking quietly. It was a little sickening, further quelling his appetite.

It had been Motoyasu who'd suggested that the whole situation was just a misunderstanding and that she could rejoin Naofumi's party in that case. But he hadn't meant it. Hadn't believed it. And yet, evidently, it was true.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Naofumi had said when he'd asked why she was his slave in the first place.

It was his plan all along, Motoyasu thought, scowling. Make a show, present himself as the good guy who's been wronged , then make a power move . It explained why he'd pushed for a tie instead of demanding a victory, as Lesty had explained. If he didn't know better, he'd assume that even the curse wounds had been a set-up. But if it had been all Naofumi's plan, how could he have known that he'd be victorious? How could he, a Shielder, have planned to beat any of the superior classes? Motoyasu wondered whether there wasn't something he was missing.

"Hey, Motoyasu."

He looked up, staring right into those hated eyes. He suppressed a shiver of fear and called confidently, "Yeah?"

"You look a little out of it," Naofumi said. "I hope you're not angry about yesterday. It was nothing personal. No hard feelings, right?"

Why don't you rub it in some more? Motoyasu thought. He hadn't missed how Naofumi was walking around with that golden dragon Shield. "Sure. Don't cry when I beat you the next time!"

Naofumi nodded and smirked. "I'm looking forward to it." With that, he turned back to his girlfriend with the cute raccoon-ears.

Oh, how Motoyasu hated this bastard. The way his lips curled into that insufferable smirk, as if he thought himself above everyone else, as if he thought Motoyasu could never beat him. Arrogant prick!

"Are you sure you're not hungry, Motoyasu?" Lesty asked gently.

He really wasn't. Even so, he took the proffered bowl and shoved a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. Barely tasting it, he made a silly face, and Lesty giggled. It made him feel a little better. He forced himself to chew and swallow, then went for the next spoonful.

All the while, he ignored Naofumi and his sweet girlfriend, ignored how Naofumi asked for a cloak when she said she was cold, ignored Itsuki and Ren when they joined and didn't even acknowledge Motoyasu's presence, ignored how Itsuki and Naofumi talked as if they were besties.

Thankfully, they were soon summoned by the King, and after changing into his armor, Motoyasu set foot into the throne room alongside the other Heroes. They lined up on the red carpet before the throne, their party members behind them.

The King was talking quietly with some advisor. Naofumi was looking around the room, an impatient expression on his face-as if he thought it beneath himself to wait for the King, as if he couldn't be bothered with it all. Bastard .

The advisor retreated. The King raised a hand, and the last chatter of the few nobles, knights, and priests in attendance died down. "Heroes, allow me once again to thank you for your service of fighting off the Wave. Especially the Bow, Spear, and Sword Hero did an exemplary service in defeating the Chimera during the Wave…"

The King kept listing off various achievements. Some of them were just not true, but that was how it went. Motoyasu wasn't surprised that Naofumi was never mentioned. Of course, the selfish bastard wouldn't help anyone, just like he'd said in the beginning.

"… thus, the Bow Hero and Sword Hero will be awarded 3000 silver coins." The King waved a hand, and servants carried the appropriate money toward Ren and Itsuki. "The Spear Hero will be awarded 4000 silver coins, both for his many achievements as well as his steadfast morals and valiant efforts to defend those who cannot do so themselves."

Motoyasu accepted the money, not feeling any satisfaction. He probably only got more because Malty was the King's daughter. Lesty cheered, and Elena and Rino also offered praise and words of encouragement. Chuckling, he sent them a weak smile and a thumbs-up.

"And lastly, the Shield Hero. While I'm not aware of any major achievements during the past weeks, his actions during the Wavewhich have been confirmed by multiple sources-cannot be ignored. For defending the village of Riyute from the Wave spawn until the knights arrived: 2000 silver coins. But…" The King held up a hand. "The cure for his slave's curse had been quite expensive. As such, money has been taken from his reward to cover those expenses… reducing the Shield Hero's reward to the standard amount of 800 silver coins."

Glee at Naofumi's demise blossomed inside Motoyasu, but when he looked at Naofumi-who accepted the money without an inch of irritation and a nod, as if it didn't matter anyway-that vanished immediately.

"Uhm, Your Majesty?" Itsuki spoke up.

"Yes, Bow Hero?"

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but didn't you say that the Pope of the

Three Heroes Church would provide the Holy Water to cure Naofumi's party member?"

"You are correct, of course. But that promise had been made without considering the possibility of a tie. As such, the removal of the slave curse was covered by the Church, while the removal of the curse wounds will fall onto the Shield Hero's expense."

Itsuki was frowning. "That doesn't sound very fair. I-"

"It's fine, Itsuki," Naofumi said with an easy smile. "I don't mind."

"It's not fine," Itsuki protested. "I think Naofumi should be paid the full amount. Some holy water can't even be that expensive."

Motoyasu wasn't sure whether Itsuki had a bigger crush on Naofumi or the raccoon-girl. How else could he defend that bastard and just ignore what he'd done?

The King awkwardly cleared his throat, frowning. "Well… If the Shield Hero doesn't mind, then I don't see a reason to change things."

"I mind!" Itsuki said, taking a step forward. "Yesterday, I told Raphtalia that I'd make sure she'd get cured no matter what, and I'd have been ready to pay for it myself. So, I'll cover the expenses of that. Subtract the 1200 silver coins from my reward then, Your Majesty."

Yep, definitely the raccoon-girl. Motoyasu couldn't really fault himshe was cute even if he found her defined physique a bit unsightlybut he also wouldn't forget about how she'd insulted Malty yesterday.

Itsuki and the King stared at each other for some time. Eventually, the King sighed. "There's no need for that. I shall pay for the Church's service myself. Bring the Shield Hero the remaining 1200 silver coins of his reward." He made a lazy hand gesture, and a servant brought the inquired money.

Naofumi accepted it and bowed his head. "Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty."

He's so fake, Motoyasu scoffed. How does nobody else see it?

The King waved a careless hand. "I believe that is all. Thank you, Heroes. You are dismissed."

Motoyasu didn't waste any time to make for the exit. He kept a moderate pace even though he wanted to rush, steps sounding behind him.

"You didn't have to do that," Naofumi said. "But… thank you."

"It's no problem, Naofumi," Itsuki said. "It was only fair."

The two kept talking as they walked through the castle. They passed by the intersection that led to the main staircase, the kitchen and living quarters of the servants, and finally entered the entrance hall. It was really just a tall, mostly-empty hall. Multicolored windows were spending light from one side. Stone benches were lining the walls and occupying the center of the room, mostly empty at this time of the day. Sometimes, he'd chat up the people here that were waiting to be picked up and led to the King for an audience. From all the time he'd hung around here waiting for Malty to descend from her rooms, he was more acquainted with the pictures on the ceiling and non-window wall than he'd like to admit. They were a lot more detailed than he remembered in Emerald Online.

"Hey, Motoyasu," Naofumi called.

Motoyasu halted. Ren, walking past him, shot a glance backward but didn't stop on his way toward the exit, his party following him outside.

"What is it, Naofumi?" Motoyasu asked, not bothering to hide his irritation.

"Where's the Princess?" Naofumi asked. "I haven't seen her anywhere. She didn't leave your party, did she?"

Motoyasu scowled, tensing. Couldn't the bastard leave Malty alone? Sooner or later, he was going to kill him. Lesty put a hand on his shoulder.

"Malty isn't feeling well and is recuperating in her rooms," Lesty said. "She told us to leave without her."

The fake expression of worry on Naofumi's face made Motoyasu sick… and angry. Naofumi's girlfriend was frowning deeply, probably regretting sticking with him after all.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Naofumi said. "Hopefully, she'll get better soon."

"That's rich coming from you!" Motoyasu snapped, taking a step forward.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Motoyasu's grip on his Spear tightened. "You know damn well what I mean, you fucking rapi-"

"Hey!" Itsuki stepped in-between them. "Back off, Motoyasu!"

Motoyasu stared incredulously. "You're taking his side?!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side. I'm trying to prevent a fight from breaking out. So calm down, alright?"

"Calm down?! Do you-"

"Yes! Naofumi is trying his hardest. You antagonizing him isn't helping anyone!"

Trying his hardest?! Motoyasu thought, too shocked to speak. Trying his hardest to make everybody else's life miserable, more like it! He was going to murder them both, first Naofumi, then Itsuki.

"Look," Itsuki said. "I get that you're upset about your defeat yesterday, but don't let your frustration out on others, alright? So you-"

"Defeat?! Defeat, huh? Everyone's been telling me it was a tie. But I don't remember it being a tie. Why is that, eh? It was a fucking defeat. Defeated by a fucking Shielder." Motoyasu breathed out angrily. "Fuck you. Fuck you both!" With that, he turned and stomped away.

"How immature can you be," Itsuki muttered.

Motoyasu's hand on his Spear twitched, but he just pretended to have not heard that and continued onward. A respectable distance away, he sat down on one of the stone benches near the wall with an angry huff, Spear resting against his right shoulder.

I don't believe this! Motoyasu fumed, head pounding with rage. What's wrong with everyone?! Fuck those two! Especially that furryloving cocksucker Itsuki. He's acting like I am the problem, not Naofumi. Ridiculous!

Lesty joined him a moment later, though she didn't touch him, legs and arms crossed. Normally, he'd have discreetly admired her bodythe shape of her creamy legs, the way the slit in her skirt made them show up to mid-thigh in the rare moments she sat like that, and how her crossed arms shoved her moderately-sized breasts upward, making them seem bigger-but he was busy glaring at Naofumi.

"No one's blaming you for losing to him," Lesty said. "You know that, right?"

Motoyasu didn't look at her. "Why isn't Myne here, then?"

"Because she's sick?"

"Sick of me, perhaps," he muttered bitterly. He'd witnessed how the trauma was affecting her, how she'd slowly become less and less cheerful-more withdrawn and irritated-and he tried his best to cheer her up whenever he could. Unsuccessful, more often than not, but he didn't know how else to help her.

"Hmm," Lesty said. "Well, I'm more interested in why Naofumi is so concerned for her."

"Because he's a sick, obsessed bastard, that's why. Like anyone is actually buying his crap. He's just acting to get near her again, and then…" Motoyasu tightly gripped his Spear. "And then he'll hurt her again."

"Perhaps… Or perhaps he never raped her," Lesty said quietly.

Motoyasu whirled around, staring at Lesty's innocent expression: her pink eyebrows were drawn together and raised, her lips forming a questioning pout. Was she actually saying what he thought she was?

At first, Naofumi had proclaimed his innocence, but Motoyasu knew better. He'd been there. He'd heard them. He'd seen her distraught state in the morning. He'd been to their room, had seen the way the table was standing awkwardly-the candles scattered, wax spilledfrom when she must have fought back. He'd smelled it, had seen her ripped underwear, her armor that lay strewn about, not to mention the bite mark she'd left behind while resisting. No, Motoyasu knew Naofumi had done it. Hell, he'd walked right past their room while Naofumi had taken her against her will, had heard her muffled, pained moans and the creaking of the bed… and he hadn't done anything.

Blinking guilty tears of rage out of his eyes, Motoyasu turned away, hoping Lesty hadn't seen. "No," he said, keeping his voice even, tightly gripping his Spear. "He did it. He's not the innocent one here."

Lesty laid a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good man, Motoyasu," she said quietly. "But you're also an idiot."

He faced her again. "Wow." He chuckled, perhaps a little bitterly. "Thanks."

"A lovable idiot, but an idiot nonetheless." Lesty had a teasing grin on her face before turning more serious. "Yeah…" She was now cutely biting her lower lip. After a few moments, she shot a glimpse behind herself-to where Elena and Rino were chatting, a few benches away-before focusing on him again. "You're an idiot, Motoyasu. So, you can either stay an idiot forever… you can accept it and change… or you can make it your biggest strength."

Motoyasu frowned. Lesty suddenly giggled and stood. "Anyway, I have some people to talk to." She stepped away, rejoining the group of Naofumi and Itsuki and their parties. Well, only Itsuki's party; the raccoon-girl was nowhere to be seen. He wondered what was going on but didn't feel like joining them. So he just sat there, repeating Lesty's words in his mind.

… stay an idiot forever… accept it and change… or make it my biggest strength? He thought about it. He thought really hard about it. And all the while, he watched Lesty as she talked with the people from Itsuki's party. Watched how she laughed and giggled and wasn't shy to touch people. And he watched Naofumi and Itsuki. From the odd word he picked out, Itsuki was giving some advice on Class Upgrades. It sounded all wrong to Motoyasu, but whatever. Noob advice right there.

So he was supposed to be an idiot? Motoyasu thought he ought to know if that were the case. Really, how could he be an idiot when he was the only one who could see through Naofumi's act? And even if he were an idiot, how could that be a strength? That sounded, well, idiotic. What did Lesty even know? She thought Naofumi hadn't raped Malty. How could she have come to that unreasonable conclusion? Even if Motoyasu ignored all the evidence of Naofumi's crime he'd personally witnessed, why would Malty make such a thing up? Sure, she lied to him all the time-when she told him she was fine, for example-but that was different. He saw the effects that that traumatic event had had on her. It was real.

Lesty was wrong, Motoyasu decided. He was no idiot.

A figure wearing black leather armor and a child with long, straight hair wearing a cloak approached Naofumi. It took Motoyasu a moment to realize that it was the raccoon-girl in her battle outfit, the same she'd worn when stealing the parts of the Chimera. The child was actually a small boy with black angel wings on his back and was revealed to be the Filolial she'd ridden, and Motoyasu definitely wasn't envious. Neither of Naofumi for having such a rare party member, and neither of the way everyone was awestruck by the transformation ability. It was still just a lame Filolial, after all.

Lesty approached him, idly twisting her long braid around one hand. "They're going to the Dragon Hourglass for upgrades. I think I'll tag along." She smiled, then leaned in and asked more quietly, "Have you thought about what I told you earlier?"

Motoyasu frowned deeply. "Yeah… and you're wrong. I'm not an idiot; I saw what happened. There's no way Naofumi didn't rape her."

Lesty blinked, then nodded. "You're right, of course." She giggled. "Silly me. I don't know what I was thinking. Just forget I ever said anything. Well, until later." She went for a brief hug.

"See you!" Smiling, Motoyasu waved her off, the wonderful scent of her perfume lingering in his nose. Then he stood up and aimlessly roamed the castle. He'd not seen Elena and Rino leave, but they weren't in the entrance hall anymore. If he was lucky, he could perhaps catch them in some hidden corner in a compromising position.

Wishful thinking, he thought, grinning. Yep. Wishful thinking.

Itsuki is such a gullible idiot, Naofumi thought as the group arrived in the room with the Dragon Hourglass. It had been all too easy to persuade him to accompany them to the Class Upgrade ceremony, all in the veiled pretense that he wanted the Bow Hero's sage advice. Heh.

"So," Itsuki said. "Have you decided which classes you want your party members to pick?"

"I'm not sure. I think I'll let them decide. Raphtalia, do you have a specific class in mind?"

"Not really, Mr. Naofumi." She smiled. "I'll just take whatever seems the strongest."

"Same," Kuro said.

Naofumi nodded, not having expected a different answer. "Let's get going then." He approached one of the nuns that had followed them upon entering the building. "I'd like to make Class Upgrades for my party members."

He half suspected her to come up with some excuse of how upgrades currently weren't possible, but none of that happened, and the nun only asked for the payment: 5 gold coins per person. Less than the 15 gold coins they'd wanted last time, but still quite a lot.

Naofumi waited for Itsuki to speak up to correct the price, but when he didn't, Naofumi paid up and watched how the nun led Raphtalia and Kuro toward the Dragon Hourglass.

There didn't appear to be anything involved in the Class Upgrade procedure that would warrant such a high price, but Naofumi couldn't help but admit that charging an expensive fee was smart nonetheless. It kept the Church's pockets filled and limited the people who could upgrade their class to the elite. It ensured they stayed in power.

Raphtalia was touching the Dragon Hourglass now, and Naofumi got a notification of how a party member was now performing a Class Upgrade, but since she was no longer a slave, he couldn't see or select what she did.

"Hey, Itsuki."

"Yeah?"

"I've heard Motoyasu say something about the sand of the Dragon Hourglass last week. You know if that's true or was he just messing with me?"

"The sand of the Dragon Hourglass? Yeah, that unlocks a weapon that allows you to teleport to any Dragon Hourglasses you've visited. You need to be level 50 to use it." Itsuki giggled. "Thanks for reminding me. Some of the nuns sell the sand for 3 gold coins. Be right back." Itsuki turned, but Naofumi halted him with a hand on the shoulder.

"Mind buying me some too?" Naofumi reached to his belt. "Let me just get some money-"

"Sure. I was going to do that anyway," Itsuki said. "You can pay me later."

Perhaps he finally caught on to the whole Church stuff? Naofumi wondered as he watched the Bow Hero's retreating form. Itsuki was a bit too friendly for it to not be suspicious. Perhaps Malty's behavior has made him doubt. But if so, why hasn't he said anything? And if he knew that the trial was a setup, then he'd also know I tricked him. No, he's probably just an idiot.

Raphtalia was still standing in front of the Dragon Hourglass. He was pleased that she took her time before deciding. After all, if there wasn't an option for switching classes, this would influence the rest of her life.

"She's quite beautiful, isn't she? I can see how one could be jealous."

Naofumi turned to the side where the voice had come from. It was the girl with the long, pink braid from Malty's party; he hadn't noticed her step up to him.

"Deadly too, I suppose," the girl continued, eyes on the Dragon Hourglass. "I've seen what she did to the Chimera." She shuddered theatrically, making appropriate sounds, hugging herself. "Raphtalia, that's her name, right?"

"Yes," Naofumi said. What's she doing here? I hadn't even realized she came along. A quick glance around the room confirmed that no one else from Malty's party was around. Itsuki was talking to a nun further down the room, then followed after her when she turned and walked toward a side entrance.

The girl faced him with a dimpled smile. " Yes to which of my statements?" Her features were softer than Malty's, but she was still quite beautiful, giving off a pleasant smell of some flower Naofumi couldn't place.

"All, I guess," he said.

She hummed. "I'm Lesty, by the way. It's good to finally meet you, Naofumi."

Nonplussed, Naofumi shook her hand, noting its softness. "Forgive me for asking, but why are you here?"

"Ah, well." Lesty turned back to watch the Dragon Hourglass and Raphtalia, lifted her arms-which were bare aside from some golden tube-like ornament she wore around her left upper arm-as if stretching, and sighed. "Motoyasu said we'll wait for Malty to get better, so there's really nothing else for me to do." She lowered her arms and shrugged. "I have to say it was quite smart to use the Bow Hero like this."

Naofumi considered to refute her statement, then simply said, "Thank you."

Does she know ? Naofumi thought. Did Malty tell her? Were they best friends, and Lesty was here to play matchmaker-or whatever the appropriate term was for this situation? Neither spoke for a moment, and he was left with his thoughts, breathing in her flowery perfume and watching her revealing outfit out of the corner of his eyes.

"I'm jealous," Lesty lamented.

"Of Raphtalia?"

She giggled. "No, silly. Of Malty, of course."

"Well, she is a Princess, after all. I'm sure many people envy her." Lesty faced him, full lips stretched into a wide smile. "And I bet there are just as many who desire her or…" She lowered her voice. "… are in love with her. Wouldn't you agree, Naofumi?"

She definitely knows, Naofumi thought, gaze flickering back and forth between her pink eyes, heart hammering. "Yes."

"She quite likes the attention, of course," Lesty said. "Or so I've heard."

Was that what Malty was doing? Fucking some guys-knights-in her room to get back at him? Naofumi gritted his teeth, anger coursing through him at the mental image.

A sudden outcry brought him out of his thoughts.

"What?" Raphtalia squeaked. "I… I didn't. I didn't select this!" She looked around the room, frantic, then hurried over toward Naofumi.

"Mr. Naofumi!" she cried. "I don't know what happened. I-I was about to select… and then… it just chose a class I didn't want! I-I'm sorry!" She looked like she was close to tears.

Was that possible? To select a class for somebody else? He didn't think so, but it would certainly explain why no one had tried to object to them upgrading. Frowning, he checked her stats, noting the significant increase with satisfaction. Her symbol hadn't changed. It was still a sword. Or was it a dagger? It was hard to tell.

Raphtalia was babbling some more apologies.

"Hey, it's alright," Naofumi said. He briefly clasped her upper arms. "Your stats look quite good. Who knows what happened. Perhaps it was destiny or something." He shrugged, and she finally calmed down.

"Okay…" Raphtalia nodded, breathing deeply. Then her eyes landed on Lesty-who was still standing next to Naofumi-and narrowed in suspicion.

"Hey, I'm Lesty. Nice to meet you!" Before Raphtalia could react, Lesty was already hugging her. Raphtalia awkwardly hugged her back while Lesty bombarded her with compliments, gushing about how beautiful and strong she was and how awesome it'd been how she'd defeated the Chimera. When Lesty let go of her, Raphtalia was red in the face.

"T-thank you," she stammered and ducked her head.

Lesty was beaming. Next, she threw her arms around Naofumi in a brief but tight hug. "Nice meeting you guys." She excitedly waved her hands. "I'll have to go and check on Malty. See you! Bye-bye!"

And with that, she was gone, skipping away. Naofumi stared after the odd girl, perplexed. He turned back to Raphtalia, who looked equally as confused. Kuro was standing next to her.

"Mr. Naofumi, should I do my Class Upgrade now?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

Kuro nodded and approached the Dragon Hourglass and the nun standing beside it again.

"That girl," Raphtalia said. "What did she want?"

Naofumi shrugged. "No idea."

He got a notification of how a slave was now making a Class Upgrade, agreed, and saw Kuro browse through the options when they appeared. Suddenly, the selection blurred, and a few seconds later, a notification popped up, proclaiming the Class Upgrade a success.

"Huhhh?!" Kuro exclaimed. He turned around. "Mr. Naofumi, did you do something?"

"I didn't do anything," Naofumi said with a shrug. "No idea what happened." He carefully watched the nuns, looking for any indication that they were responsible, but didn't find anything suspicious. Confronting or accusing them wouldn't help anything. So instead, he just checked Kuro's stats, finding them to be almost double of what he remembered seeing the last time.

"Kuro, your hair," Raphtalia said, pointing.

"What about it?" Kuro wondered. A strand of hair near his hairline was standing almost straight upward. It was curved despite his hair being completely straight otherwise and only a hand's length long despite his hair falling down his shoulders.

Kuro tapped his head until he noticed the unruly strand. Trying to bring it under control seemed futile and only increased the Filolial's growing frustration. Eventually, he simply grasped it and ripped it out, resulting in him holding the hair strand in his hand with a triumphant expression… which only lasted until he realized that, almost immediately, a new strand of hair had risen into the air to replace the previous one.

Kuro glared at it cross-eyed, then released a resigned sigh and held the ripped-out hairs against the Shield; they vanished in a flash of green, and Naofumi got notifications about some Filolial Shields being unlocked.

Itsuki's party had formed a ring around them, speculating among themselves.

"I think it looks very pretty," Raphtalia said, beaming.

Kuro just shrugged and didn't protest when Raphtaliap petted his hair. "As long as I got stronger, I don't really care."

"You did," Naofumi confirmed. "Almost twice as strong as before. A higher increase than Raphtalia." Kuro shot her a triumphant grin, and Naofumi enjoyed the apprehensive faces Itsuki's party members were making.

The crowd parted to let Itsuki through.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Did I miss something important?"

"Well," Naofumi said. "It seems the classes for both my party members have been decided by themselves. We couldn't choose."

"Hmm, I see." Itsuki put a hand on his chin. "I guess that can happen with important quest characters and such. Congratulations, I guess. It means your party members are probably very strong."

"Thanks." Naofumi smiled. He hadn't missed the slightly jealous tone in Itsuki's voice.

"Oh!" Itsuki suddenly brightened up. "Here." He handed Naofumi a small pouch. "I got you the sand from the Dragon Hourglass."

"Wow, thanks!" Naofumi wasted no time to pour it onto his Shield, watching with satisfaction as it vanished and the unlock message appeared. He wasn't a high enough level to use it yet, but still…

Naofumi grabbed three gold coins and handed them to Itsuki. "Thank you so much, Itsuki. You can't believe how much your support means to me."

Smiling, Itsuki let out a little giggle. "It's no problem, Naofumi. Anytime."

"I guess we're done here, then."

"Yeah. Was there anything else you need?"

"Not that I can think of. I guess I'll see you around, then."

They exchanged some more words of goodbye, then Itsuki left with his party.

Naofumi watched their retreating forms, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Perhaps things had been a little weird with the upgrades, but despite Itsuki's idiotic belief that this was some game, he was inclined to believe that this only confirmed Raphtalia and Kuro's exceptionalism.

Things were looking great. Now he only needed to clear things up with his fiancée…

"Raphtalia, Kuro," Naofumi said after leaving the church building. "I want you two to go to Beloukas's place and wait there for me. Rest or train or whatever you want. I have some business to take care of in the city and will join you later. Then we'll finally buy you some magic books." The last bit was directed at Raphtalia.

She smiled but also drew her eyebrows together in worry.

"Don't worry, Raphtalia. It's nothing dangerous. Just some shopping," he lied.

"Oh, okay!" she said, relieved, and readily accepted his goodbyehug.

Welp, Naofumi and Malty's meeting was supposed to be covered in this chapter, but things happened "a little" differently than planned. On the bright side, now they'll get a full chapter!

;)

Chapter 23

1500 Followers :3

It was quite satisfactory to see that little 1k turn into 2k.

Do you know this feeling when you update a story and it's not even been 2 weeks and you have the next chapter almost fully written? I didn't until now. It's a pretty nice feeling. Well, now I'll probably complete that chapter, finish the next

TheVillainnessQuits chapter, and then focus on IAmBitch for some time.

"Naofumi!" Erhard greeted him as he entered the shop. The man sounded almost… reliefed.

"Hey, I'm here to collect that knight's-"

"Good, you came." Erhard looked from side to side, as if confirming no one else was around. "There's someone waiting for you upstairs."

Instantly, Naofumi's heart started racing, a wave of warmth and excitement washing over him. "Ma- She's here?"

Erhard nodded.

"Alright. Thanks." Smirking, Naofumi made for the stairs, fighting with the urge to take them two at a time. He didn't fidget or doubt like the last time she'd been waiting for him here and simply barged into the room.

Sadly, she didn't immediately jump him like the last time after he closed the door. Instead, she stood to the side, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, an irritated expression on her face.

"Malty." Naofumi grinned widely and advanced toward her.

Her eyes widened, and when Naofumi saw the dark rings beneath them and the way her hair looked far from its usual perfect state, any accusations of how she'd cheated on him immediately vanished, and he was overcome with the intense desire to comfort her.

She put her arms in front of her, as if to keep him away. "Naofumi, don't-"

Naofumi grasped her bracers near the wrists and yanked her toward him. He caught her, brought a hand to the nape of her neck, and pressed his lips onto hers. Eyes closed, he released a pleased hum while satisfaction flooded him.

Malty made protesting sounds, trying to push him away, then resorted to hitting him. He barely felt it and kept kissing her, running his tongue across her lips, tasting her. His hand on her neck was firm, but he didn't have the impression that she was trying to turn her head away.

He released her, chuckling at the heated glare she sent him. "What's the matter, my fianc-"

She slapped him. Relishing the faint stinging sensation, Naofumi grinned and offered her the other cheek, which she readily slapped as well.

"Bastard," Malty spat. "How dare you!" She slapped him again. "I'll-"

Naofumi caught her hand and drew her against his form. He didn't go for a kiss this time, instead trapping her in a tight hug.

"Let go, you bastard!" She struggled in his embrace. Uselessly. "I'll fucking kill you! You smell like that filthy animal! How dare you sully my gift like that! I'll-"

"Sshhhh." Naofumi gently swayed them side to side. "Calm down. Everything's fine, Malty. Calm down."

She spewed some more insults and accusations, but the fight eventually left her, and she stilled. "Everything's not fine," she whined.

"It's alright." Naofumi brought a hand to her head and started to gently caress her. "It's not what it looks like, okay? Will you stay calm and let me explain?"

For a few seconds, the only sound in the room was her agitated breathing. Then she nodded, and Naofumi released her. It hurt to look at her sad, exhausted expression.

Naofumi laid a hand on her cheek, caressing. "I'm sorry I hurt you, my future wife. That wasn't my intention."

She offered him a tiny smile before anger crossed her face again. "Explain."

"Whatever you think is going on between me and Raphtalia, you're wrong. You're the only one for me-"

"Oh really?" She pushed his hand off her face, scowling. "Didn't look like that to me."

"Malty…" He made to reach out again, but she took a step back.

"Don't come closer," she warned, resuming her previous position, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, scabbard scraping against the wood.

"Fine, fine…" Holding his arms up in surrender, Naofumi sighed, then walked over toward the bed and sat down. It squeaked under his weight. "Well, I guess Erhard won't miss a thing." He grinned.

Malty let out a tiny giggle, then she sniffed and glared at him again. "Don't try to distract me. And… As if I wanted to do that with you after you touched that filthy animal."

Naofumi gritted his teeth. It's not her fault, he thought, trying to not let the anger show on his face. Everyone around here thinks so. She grew up that way . It would have been more surprising if she wasn't biased against non-humans. And really, it was nothing he hadn't already known. She'd get over that eventually.

"Malty… Raphtalia is just my party member. She kills monsters for me, nothing more nothing less. You have nothing to be worried about."

She pursed her lips. "Why was she wearing that dress, then? Such fabric is far too refined for the likes of her. If she was just your party member, why would you waste your- MY- money on her ?" Her eyes gleamed with rage, and Naofumi couldn't find a reason to dispute her logic.

Why had he done that? Buy Raphtalia an expensive dress? Had that really been necessary for his plan to work? No, it hadn't. He could have found another way.

I wanted her to be happy, he thought. I wanted her to feel like a normal girl after everything she went through . To make up for lost time . To distract her from the pain inside.

"I'm sorry," Naofumi said. "I hadn't considered how things would look from your perspective. I was just so focused on curing her curse wounds that I jumped on the first plan that came to mind."

Malty had a disbelieving frown on her face.

"It didn't mean anything, I swear. The reason I bought her the dress was so that it would easily draw attention to her and expose her slave crest. I hadn't really planned for the duel to happen, but it worked out anyway. It's not like I could have counted on the Church to cure her…"

"Oh really? Sounds a little far-fetched. You couldn't have thought of any other way to cure that damn animal? No? Did you think me incapable of procuring you some Holy Water?" She glared. "You should have come to me first!"

She was right, of course. Why hadn't he thought of that? Could it be that he'd wanted things to escalate? That he'd wanted to parade around Raphtalia? To mock them all with the very thing they hated and to trick others into curing her?

"And what about the way she was holding onto your arm? Did you think I missed how you wanted to touch her, how you two whispered to each other? Giggled? Mocked me? Did you have a good laugh at my expense? The stupid, gullible Princess who supports the one man she shouldn't?" She took an agitated breath, choking back tears. "Is that all I am to you? Just an easy lay and a quick way to fill your pockets while you're copulating with animals behind my back?!"

Naofumi shot up and was in front of her in an instant. He grasped her upper arms and stared intently into her teary, rage-filled eyes. "It's not, Malty. It's not, I swear." He caressed her smooth skin with his thumbs. "You're so much more, okay?"

She sniveled. "I've been looking forward to the feast all week. That was supposed to be our moment. Ours! Why did you have to bring that stupid girl and ruin everything ?"

"I'm sorry, Malty. I'm so sorry." He laid a hand against her cheek to caress her, then lifted her head, staring into her beautiful emerald eyes, which were sparkling with tears. A twinge of guilt shot through him. "I'll make it up to you, my beautiful fiancée." He smiled, brushing away the wetness on her cheek. "We're going to marry soon, remember? You proposed to me, and I accepted… and I don't plan to go back on my word. I'm sorry."

She sniveled, and her lips stretched into a wobbly smile. "Okay."

Naofumi lowered his head, and Malty tilted hers up, smiling lips meeting his in a sweet kiss. They both sighed. He gently moved his lips against hers, and when she parted them, he readily brushed his tongue against hers, humming. How I've missed this, he thought, shifting his free arm so that he was encircling her waist, clutching her tightly against him. Holding her like this . She was also hugging him, and he groaned when her body pressed against his growing erection. He withdrew his lips, but she followed, making him chuckle. Then she broke the kiss, leaving them in each other's embrace with big smiles on their faces.

"She doesn't mean anything?" Malty asked, eyes pleading. "You promise?"

"Yes, Malty, I promise," he said, caressing her cheek. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Okay, my Naofumi." She gave him a peck on the lips, and warmth spread through his chest. Then she gently shoved him away, and though he'd rather keep holding her, he released his embrace and allowed her to step past him. The sound of her metal boots clacking against the hardwood floor echoed through the small room as she began to pace back and forth.

"You'll have to dismiss her from your party," Malty said after a moment of silent pacing, not facing him. "It's bad enough people have already seen you two together, but I guess it is what it is. We certainly can't have everyone think of you as a Demi-human sympathizer, not to mention someone who speaks out against slavery. If the people were ever going to accept the Shield Hero, it would be as someone they can relate to, not someone they fear. Like Aldo. He seemed to-"

"Malty… what are you talking about?"

She halted, crossed her arms, and faced him with a raised eyebrow. "You disagree?"

Naofumi swallowed. What she said made sense, but he wasn't planning on parting ways with Raphtalia. "Isn't it a little late for that?

I've just defeated the Spear Hero for her. Do you really think people will forget that?"

Malty shrugged, face disapproving. "It's better than the alternative. Correct me if I'm wrong, which I'm not, but wasn't it only four weeks ago when you'd been declared a rapist and when you'd called everyone in the throne room a retard?"

Naofumi cringed at the memory. That had been incredibly stupid.

"Not to mention that you've basically told them to fuck themselves and that you wouldn't defend anyone." She paused. "And yet, you defended that village during the Wave, and people have all but forgotten about everything else, so much that they even applauded your victory. All thanks to me because I gave you credit for defending that village, but still." Her lips stretched into a smile, and she took a step toward him. "If you dismiss her now and publicly recruit some proper party members, no one will remember her mere existence in a few weeks. Everyone will only talk about your surprising and crushing defeat against another Hero. An impossible feat only my Naofumi would be capable of."

She'd come to a stop directly in front of him, and her eyes seemed alight and intense, mesmerizing him. The desire to just promise her whatever she wanted and take her in his arms was immense. He wanted it. Wanted her. So badly. Wished he could give her what she wanted.

"I'm sorry," Naofumi said, averting his eyes. "But I won't dismiss Raphtalia from my party. We can find another way-"

"Why," she snapped and raised her head in that haughty manner that made him want to shove her into the wall and kiss her throat. "Why won't you dismiss her?"

"Because…" He tried to come up with a reason that wouldn't offend her… and couldn't. "Because I promised her. Because I-"

"And what about the promise you just gave me? Didn't you just say that she doesn't mean anything ?" She glared. "Did you lie to me? Me, your fiancée?"

Naofumi gritted his teeth. "No, I…" He sighed. "I didn't mean it that way. I meant romantically. She doesn't mean anything romantically to me. She's just my companion, not your competition. There is no competition."

"And yet, she means something to you. Enough to act against what is best for you and your future wife. Enough to chose her over me !" She shoved him.

Taken by surprise, Naofumi crashed with his back against the wall before he managed to steady himself.

"I can't believe it! Some animal," she spat, "is more important than me ?! The Princess?! First, you let her ruin the feast, now this?! What-"

Anger boiling inside of him, Naofumi grasped her by the shoulders, twisted them around, and shoved her into the wall with an audible bang.

"That's enough," Naofumi snapped, glaring.

Malty's eyes widened in surprise, perhaps a little fear.

"I won't tolerate this behavior! I won't tolerate you calling Raphtalia an animal one more time!" His grip on her upper arms was tight, his fingers digging so harshly into her skin that anyone not the Shield Hero would have left behind bruises.

Her shock vanished, being replaced by her previous anger. "Why? That's what she is! A worthless, little-"

"Malty! I'll say this one more time, so listen carefully: Raphtalia is important to me. She's like my little sister. And she stays! Stop bitching about her. Jealousy doesn't suit you, my fiancée."

Malty held his gaze, as defiant as before. There seemed to be no change. No comprehension. She opened her mouth, but before she could spew some more nonsense, Naofumi had already leaned forward, claiming her lips with his. "Hmmm-"

He closed his eyes, sucked her lower lip in his mouth, and bit down. Hard. Of course, it wouldn't harm her, but it would trap her. It seemed no words could get through her thick, perfect skull. Perhaps it was time he simply showed her how he felt.

"Hlmm ghm!" Malty protested against him, trying to push him away.

Naofumi released her arms and reached around her. He was familiar enough with her armor that he immediately found the mechanism, unlocked it, and ripped her hip armor piece off. Next came her chest piece, hitting the floor with a bang a moment later. Malty's efforts to halt him barely registered.

He clasped her ass, and his other hand found itself onto her breasts, kneading her soft skin through her expensive crimson underwear. A long, pleased groan escaped him, and he leaned forward, ignoring the way she was trying to shove him away and was pulling harshly at his hair. He released her lip and looked at her with a grin.

Her eyes were alight with desire and fury. She spat at him. "Bastard!"

Chuckling, Naofumi licked it off where it had landed at the corner of his mouth. He grasped her by the shoulders, spun her around, and pressed her front into the wall, then surrounded her waist with one arm, grasping her throat with the other. Her pulse was racing, her breathing agitated.

"S-stop! Naofumi."

"Isn't this how you like it?" He pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"N-no," she panted. "Not when you've touched that little whor-"

Naofumi squeezed her throat. "Don't think about her. It's just us two. Just you and me. Only us, the future rulers of Melromarc. Focus on me, my beautiful fiancée. Just me." He lowered the arm that was around her waist and brought it in-between her legs.

Malty released a muffled moan when he stroked her pussy through her panties. The fabric immediately soaked, making him chuckle.

"You want it, my little Princess," he whispered. "Badly."

"N-no."

He hummed. "Didn't you tell me last week how you liked how I took what I wanted ?"

"I… I never said that!"

"Liar~ You did, and you want it. Just like I want you." He kissed her throat, sucking loudly, stroking her through soaked panties. "Only you, Malty. Only you…"

She moaned, gasping for breath. She'd stopped resisting.

Chuckling, Naofumi pressed his upper body against hers, trapping her against the wall. He fumbled with his belt and, once he got it loose, shoved down his pants and freed his cock. He ripped Malty's panties off, making her release a startled shriek, then aligned his cock with her entrance and thrust inside. Intense satisfaction flooded him as the wonderful heat of her tight pussy encompassed his whole length, and he had to close his eyes for a moment.

"Ahhhhhh…" She arched her back into him, and he reached around her torso, hugging her, one hand grasping her tits beneath her bra.

"Oh fuck," he gasped. "Malty…"

He withdrew and fully pushed inside again with a powerful thrust, bumping her into the wall.

"Fuck!"

Naofumi groaned in pleasure. "This is how you like it."

"Yes! Mmmmhh!" she moaned when he thrust into her again. "My Naofumi…"

He fucked her against the wall, panting against her throat, and soon found a steady rhythm. She was moving along with him the best she could in her position, quietly moaning his name all the while.

"Malty…"

She reached with a hand behind herself to grasp his head. "Stop! Turn me around."

Naofumi briefly hesitated, then did as told, pulling out and giving her some space.

She faced him with lustful eyes. "And get out of that fucking armor!" she snapped, undoing her bra.

He laughed and obeyed. She assisted him, first relieving him of his cloak, then haphazardly throwing away the pieces of his chest armor the moment he made them loose. That done, she grabbed the hem of his undershirt and harshly drew it above his head, making him chuckle. All the while, he was grinning, and a lovely warm and tingling feeling was spreading through him. He always felt that way when she was dominant and harsh with him.

She looked over his bare upper body with greedy eyes, then licked her lips. "Good enough."

His cock twitched, and her scrutiny and desire made him feel sexy. He mirrored her smirk and took a step forward so that their bare chests touched, then gently pushed further so she was trapped between him and the wall, his cock pressing into her skin somewhere on her hips.

Malty surrounded his torso with her arms and proceeded to run her hands over his back, the warmth of her touch a wonderful contrast to the coolness of her bracers. They both hummed in pleasure. She was so warm and soft, and her touch was wonderful, sending heat and tingles through his body. Eyes closed, he only focused on the sensations of her body and breathed her in, smelling her flowery scent and the enticing odor of her sweat.

"I missed you so much," Naofumi said and pressed a kiss onto her neck. He'd shifted his hand onto her ass cheeks, caressing them and holding her tightly against him.

"Show me," she whispered, lips so close to his ear he could almost feel them, her voice so faint it sent shivers down his spine. "Fuck me against the wall… my Naofumi."

"Yes," he said, the words coming out almost like a growl.

Malty shifted her arms so that they were above his shoulders, hugging him loosely, and Naofumi pushed her against the wall and up. It took them a few tries until they finally managed to get into the desired position, much to their amusement and frustration, but eventually, his cock was fully inside of her again, his hands on her ass, and she was hugging him with arms and legs.

Naofumi pulled out half-way, then thrust, banging her ass against the wall. "Fuck!"

"Yes!"

He found that it took him barely any strength to hold her like this and repeated the motion, picking up speed. Increasing pleasure spread through him, every thrust washing away the frustration of the past day. He made sure she knew how much he loved it, groaning and moaning.

"Yes! Malty!"

"My Naofumi!" Malty gripped his hair and brought his head in for a demanding kiss.

He hummed into the kiss and readily parted his lips, meeting her tongue when she thrust inside. His hands tightened on her ass, digging into her skin, wanting more. On his next thrust, he banged her especially hard against the wall, and a high-pitched moan escaped her.

Malty broke the kiss and bit down hard on his lower lip. "Mine," she growled, words barely comprehensible.

Moaning and fucking, Naofumi tried his best to nod.

She released his lip and claimed his mouth again. "You're mine… and mine… alone…"

"Yes."

"… you better… Ah!… not forget… it."

"Never." He was panting heavily now, his face scrunched up in pleasure. "Malty… so close."

"Stop!" she ordered, breathless.

He didn't. Couldn't. Just a little more.

She tried to push him away. Without success. Then she put her hands against the wall beside her head and pushed. He tried to stabilize, but the weight was too great, and he stumbled backward. His loosened trousers were restricting his legs when he tried to take a step back. He lost balance, and they toppled to the ground.

Of course, he barely felt the impact. He felt when his cock slipped out, though, the wonderful encompassing warmness retreating.

Lying on his back, he stared up at Malty. She was glaring, eyes shimmering with rage and lust.

"Did I say you were allowed to cum, my Naofumi?" she demanded and slapped him, a resounding clap echoing through the room. She looked sexy and powerful, arms still covered with her bracers. Her chest rose and fell as she brought her breathing under control.

"No. I'm sorry, Malty."

She smirked, then maneuvered so that she was squatting above his face, grabbed his head, and shoved it in-between her legs. "Then show me how sorry you are, my Naofumi."

He did. Not that there was ever a question, with her pussy in his face and the scent of her arousal-thick and irresistible-so intense he could practically taste it on his tongue. Then he tasted it for real as he repositioned and ran his tongue along the whole length of her pussy, parting her lips and greedily drowning in her wetness. He groaned. Malty sighed. "Yes…" She combed through his hair. "More."

Naofumi happily obliged. He brought his hands onto her ass cheeks to have better control while he licked her.

"Uhhhh… my Naofumi." Her hips rocked against him. "Go higher. Suck it. Suck on my clit. Yes!"

He chalked his success up more to Malty guiding his head than him actually being an expert at female anatomy, though he couldn't help but feel proud. He firmly ran his tongue across the little nub he thought her clitoris to be, and she released a squeaked moan, hips twitching.

Is it bigger than usual? Naofumi wondered. She must really like this position.

Her pubic hair was tickling his nose, and when she relented her hold for a moment, he pressed a kiss onto her crown, breathing in deeply, then released a pleased hum.

She giggled. "Now that's what I call an apology." She shoved his head back in place. "But you're still very, very sorry, aren't you?"

While he sucked and licked with abandon, he did his best to nod and release a hum that sounded affirmative.

"Apologize some more! Ah! Yes!" Her grip on his head tightened, and the jerking of her hips increased. She roughly banged his head against the floor, then shoved it in-between her legs again, squeezing with her thighs. She was practically riding him now, doing whatever she wanted, smearing her heavenly juices all over his face. Naofumi loved it all, enjoying the view from his position: how the plains of her flat stomach seemed to stretch on forever, undulating and shifting as she fucked his face; how her breasts-two perfect, giant fleshy mounds-bounced. He especially loved the intense expression on her face, her wild hair.

She tastes so good, he thought, humming. I could do this all day .

She'd stopped uttering any coherent words now, only moaning, breathing erratically, and her movements became rougher and less coordinated.

Then, with a loud outcry, her hips jerked one last time, and she stilled, just sitting on his head. While he kept licking and sucking faintly, Naofumi stared up at her, taking in the ecstasy on her faceher closed eyes and the wide smile-and admired how her chest rose and fell with every deep breath she took. So beautiful . And I'll marry her.

Malty snapped her eyes open and aimed a wide smile at him. "I humbly accept your apology, my fiancé," she said, gently combing through his hair.

Naofumi chuckled, and she giggled, then stood up, releasing him.

"Get up, my Naofumi. I'm not done yet."

"Of course, you aren't." He aimed a grin at her. "I know you well enough to know that you're insatiable, my fiancée."

"Hmm-hm. And she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Naofumi quickly discarded his shoes and the rest of his clothing, then stood. Malty had also slipped out of her boots, greaves, and bracers, standing naked, hair free and wild. He took her into his arms and kissed her, one hand burrowed in her soft crimson tresses, the other holding her around her waist.

There was no comparable feeling to holding her naked body like this, and he released a long, pleased hum as they kissed without restraint. Malty shifted a hand onto his ass, grasping insistently, and her other hand was on his cock, stroking.

"Malty…"

"Get on the bed, my Naofumi," she whispered.

"Okay." He did as told, then made himself comfortable on his back, pillow beneath his head.

Malty followed, slowly crawling toward him. "I want to try something new."

"Whatever my fiancée wants."

She smiled-smirked-and reached toward his thighs, slipping her hands beneath. Naofumi moved along as she lifted his legs off the mattress and continued to shove them toward him until his knees were hovering above his chest.

Naofumi wasn't quite sure where she was going with this. It looked more like something he'd do to her than the other way around.

Malty inched closer until she was squatting above his cock, her thighs brushing against the underside of his, and, seeing how her hands were occupied, Naofumi held his cock upward for her to impale herself onto and groaned as her wonderful heat slowly encompassed his whole length.

She took a moment to adjust herself, then started moving. Holding onto his ankles, she bounced up and down, the bed squeaking under her movements.

"Oh fuck," he gasped, and all the confusion had vanished now. If there was ever a position invented for a woman to fuck her man, it would be this one.

Malty smirked. "Do you like that, my Naofumi?"

He nodded frantically, moaning. "I love it. Don't stop." He didn't need to do anything, just laying on his back as she rode his cock.

Malty became more confident with each second, her movements getting surer, faster, and stronger. She released his ankles and steadied herself with her hands against his chest, fucking him like on their first day together. But better. Instead of just up and down, she started to also move forward and backward, her hips snapping back and forth, her thighs brushing his.

"Fuck," Naofumi gasped. "So good!"

Malty giggled. Moaned. She had a big, devious smirk on her face.

Naofumi was transfixed by how her breasts bounced, how the muscles in her abdomen shifted as she rolled her hips back and forth.

"Give me your hands," she ordered.

He obeyed, and they intertwined their fingers. The added support allowed her to go even more wild, and she fucked him with abandon, the bed squeaking in protest. They stared into each other's eyes, panting and moaning.

"Ah! Fuck, Malty." He grimaced in pleasure, squeezing her hands. "I can't… keep going."

She only smirked. "Then don't." She released his hands, grabbed his head, and leaned forward to press a hard kiss onto his mouth. "Come inside of me," she mumbled.

He had no choice but to obey. Pleasure flooded him, his hips jerked upward, and he closed his eyes. She was still moving against him, making him groan while he kept cumming inside of her. She tortured him for a few moments after he was done, then giggled and stopped.

Sweaty, panting, and in a state of bliss, Naofumi relaxed into the mattress. He vaguely noticed her move but just let her do whatever she wanted, too content. When his senses fully returned to him, he noticed how his legs were onto the mattress again, and Malty was lying on his chest, crimson hair splayed everywhere.

He chuckled and put a hand onto her head, caressing gently. "Malty?" he mumbled.

She didn't answer or move, breathing evenly.

She's asleep, Naofumi thought. How cute. He cringed. And it's because of me. Because she couldn't sleep last night. He just held her tightly and found that he was sleepy as well; he'd not had the best sleep either.

Naofumi awoke to the tingling sensation of fingers caressing his chest, and he released a sigh.

"I know you're awake," Malty said. "I can feel your heart rate speeding up."

He chuckled and started caressing her back with his left hand, running his fingers along her spine. His right he placed on her head, idly combing through her soft hair.

She released a content sigh. "I couldn't help but think of our first night together."

"Feels like ages ago."

"Yeah…"

Naofumi swallowed. "And… is that still the best night of your life or…?"

Malty shifted and pushed herself upward to look at him, smirking. "It still is." She put a hand on his cheek, caressing. "It's the night I fell in love with you, after all."

Naofumi sucked in a breath. "I… yeah… same thing for me, now that I think about it." He knew it was true. He just hadn't been able to put it into words then. The happy sound she made and the way her smile brightened up made warmth spread through his constricted chest.

They kissed. A slow and loving kiss. He held her close all the while, running his hands across her wonderful body, feeling the perfect curves of her lower back and ass. She shifted her hand from his cheek into his hair, combing gently.

"I missed you… so much," he mumbled into the kiss.

She hummed. "Me too."

He was getting hard again, and he doubted Malty would be able to pass up another round.

Naofumi broke the kiss and brushed some hair out of her face. "Are you alright? I mean… I didn't hurt you? And… I'm sorry if I-"

She silenced him with a kiss. "I'm fine. What about you? I wasn't too hard on you? I feel a little guilty about hitting you, and I kinda lost control there for a second…"

He chuckled. "It's fine. You know I can barely feel pain. But even so, I loved it all. I like it when you're rough and commanding."

She pressed a hard kiss on his mouth, nipped at his lips, then stared at him with a wide smile and eyes that were twinkling with happiness. "We're meant for each other. You know that, right, my Naofumi?"

"Yes," he said without hesitation. Somehow, he did know it. Like a deep feeling of rightness inside himself whenever he was with her. Or perhaps he was imagining things.

Either way, the happiness on her face made it all worth, and they dissolved into a passionate kiss. Eventually, Naofumi flipped her over, and it was time for round two.

Some undefined amount of time later, though Naofumi would guess it had been about an hour, they lay in each other's arms, sweaty, panting, and incredibly satisfied.

"I think we've given Erhard enough of a show," Naofumi said, chuckling. "Let's get going."

"Okay, my Naofumi." She was blushing, and he made sure to tell her just how cute she looked, much to her dismay.

They left the bed and started dressing. He didn't see any washing utensils and mentally remarked to visit a bathing house before rejoining Raphtalia and Kuro. The air was thick with the odor of sex and sweat, and he probably didn't smell any different, not to mention that his face was marked by his fiancée.

"Why do you always destroy my underwear?" Malty complained, holding up her ripped panties.

"Sorry. I'll buy you new ones."

She waved it off. "I'm not some poor commoner. I have enough panties." She smirked. "And I quite like it when you rip it off. Like you want me so much that you just can't control yourself."

"Yes." Naofumi mirrored her pleased expression.

Malty handed him her panties. "You can have them if you want. I took your shirt last time; it's only fair if you get something in return."

"Thank you." They were rather beautiful. A deep red like her hair and embroidered, some white here and there. They'd probably cost more than all the clothes he'd owned back home combined, relatively speaking. "I'll treasure them." He gave them a brief sniff, confirming that they strongly smelled of the wonderful scent of her arousal, then pocketed them with a grin.

Malty had a bright blush on her face, and he teased her endlessly about it while they finished dressing.

They made for the door, and Naofumi took the fact that she'd left her black cloak on the chair as a sign that he should leave first. He took her into his arms and kissed her goodbye. "See you soon, my fiancée." They hadn't really discussed how they'd continue things, which he assumed meant they'd simply keep going as before.

Clearly, Malty had other plans, and she halted him when he tried to untangle himself from her. "Naofumi? What are you doing?" "I'm… Do you want to leave first? I can wait. It's no problem." She was frowning.

"You know, people shouldn't see us leave here together-"

"No."

"No?"

Malty grasped his hands and intertwined their fingers. "People can see. We're going to marry, after all."

It took Naofumi a few moments to catch up to her meaning. "You mean, marry now? As in, not sometime in the future, but actually now?"

Smiling, she nodded.

A burst of happiness shot through him, but then it shifted into doubt. "Why, though?"

"Why not? We're engaged. And engaged people marry. You know, I've been about to announce our engagement at the feast before I'd gotten… interrupted."

"You had?" he asked, the words sounding a little panicked.

She nodded.

"But didn't you say that your father would be against it?"

She shrugged. "He was. I talked to him. He won't be a problem, trust me."

"Okay… and what about the Church? They won't like-"

"Fuck the Church!" Malty snapped. "What are they going to do? It's not our job to deal with them. I want to marry you, so that's what we'll do. You agreed to marry me, remember?"

"I… yes, but…"

"What's the problem? Last week, you said that we should just marry. And now, what? You don't want me anymore?"

"No no, Malty. I do. I do want you. And I want to marry you." He caressed her hands, staring her into her eyes. "But…"

But I think you're lying, he thought. I think you didn't actually talk to your father. And you're only pushing for this marriage because you're still jealous of Raphtalia and are acting irrationally, ignoring the real dangers. I won't risk your life-our future-like this.

"Then why not?" she asked, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Okay… let's… let's talk this through, okay? We'll marry, and then what? What happens next?"

Malty smiled. "Then we'll be together! And we can go adventuring together… or stay at the castle." She caressed his hands. "Whatever you want, my Naofumi."

"And…" He swallowed, heart racing. "And what about my party members? They can stay, right?"

"Stay?" She frowned. "I'll be your party. The other girls will join too, of course. It's time that idiot Motoyasu finally learns his lesson…"

"And Raphtalia?"

A hateful expression crossed her face for a moment. "What about her? She's no longer needed."

"I told you, Raphtalia stays."

"Yes, and you also told me that she doesn't mean anything!" She glared, lips pursed. "You can give her to Motoyasu. He seemed very interested in her. There! We'll do a party swap, and everyone's happy!"

Give her to Motoyasu, Naofumi thought incredulously. Over my dead body. "Raphtalia. Stays."

"Why?" Malty yelled. She ripped her hands free and slapped him. "Why?! What is so fucking special about her that you can't send her away?"

She made to slap him again, but Naofumi pushed her away. "Yeah!" he snapped. "What is so damn special about her? You tell me! What is so special about her that you can't stop bitching about her? That you can't accept that she's not worth your jealousy? Why can't you let it go?!"

They glared at each other, breathing heavily.

"So you're choosing her?" Malty asked. "That's it?"

Choosing her?! "I'm not choosing anyone!"

"But you'll have to," she spat, face in a hurt expression. "Do you think I'll just wait around forever? Just a pair of pretty legs and easy money, only to discard me once I've outlived my usefulness?!" "No! That's… You're wrong! How can you say that, Malty?"

She sniffed. "It's the truth, isn't it? If you'd truly care for me, you'd make true of your promise and marry me."

"I…" Naofumi closed the distance between them and grabbed her upper arms, staring into her sad, angry eyes. "I do. I do care for you. Truly, I do. And I'll marry you. But not now. Not like this. We'll-"

Malty shook his hands off and pushed him away. "Fuck you! Fuck you and your empty words! I'm not some stupid girl that just obeys your every command, that believes all your lies!" Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I won't wait any longer! You'll have to decide now. Will you pick her, or me ?"

Naofumi felt his chest constrict with pain. "I… Why are you doing this, Malty? Why are you making me choose? I don't want to choose! There shouldn't be a choice!"

"Yes!" she screamed, eyes wide, "there shouldn't be a choice! After all, how could anyone choose that stupid animal, just some insignificant Demi, above me, the first Princess of Melromarc?!" Naofumi stared. Glared. Anger was now burning inside him, pulsing in his head. So much anger like he hadn't felt since the first day when he'd pressed her into the wall with the intention to choke her. He wanted to scream at her to stop acting like an irrational bitch and that she better not insult Raphtalia one more time. Wanted to grasp her and bash her into the wall. Wanted to yell at her how their deal was over. How she, if she acted so irrational, truly had outlived her usefulness.

He could feel the hurtful words on his tongue, begging to be released. But he suppressed the anger. Bit it back ruthlessly. He wasn't the stupid guy who let himself be controlled by emotions and acted impulsively anymore. He studied her: those expressive, stunning eyes that were a mix of angry, hopeful, and resigned. He needed time to think of a solution, to make sense of it all. He needed to-

"So?" she demanded.

Naofumi lowered his head and let out a long breath. "You win." He looked at her with a smile. "I choose you. Of course, I choose you, Malty."

A triumphant smile worked itself onto her face. Naofumi opened his arms, and she jumped into them without hesitation. They embraced. She giggled happily. Then they were kissing. Passionately and without restraint, as if they hadn't just fucked repeatedly. She seemed so genuinely happy it made his chest ache.

Naofumi often wondered what other people must think of them if they'd see them kiss. He doubted the animated way they did it classified as normal: the way they nipped at each other's lips and tongues, and not just playfully like other couples without a partner with a high Defense stat would do; the way she dominated the kiss and sometimes shoved her tongue so deep in his mouth that he couldn't help but think she was trying to suffocate him; the way her hands roamed his form, groping his ass or grasping his hair, hard as if she was trying to rip it out.

If someone would see, he wouldn't care. He loved it too much. And he was going to miss it.

Eventually, Naofumi broke the kiss.

"My Naofumi," she breathed, expression ecstatic.

"Malty, you…" He removed her arms from his form and held them between their bodies, caressing. "You know I love it how demanding you can be and how you boss me around when we have sex."

She giggled. "Yes?"

"I love it, and I truly care for you, but… I won't allow you to boss me around and control me however you want, especially when it comes to things that could endanger your life and our joint future."

She was frowning now, the happy expression in her eyes shifting to doubt and confusion. "Naofumi? What are you-"

He brought a hand on the nape of her neck, the other still holding hers, and kissed her. Hard. "I'll see you in a few weeks, my fiancée. Then we'll talk about our marriage." He put a foot behind hers, released her hands, and shoved her.

Eyes wide, she shrieked and stumbled backward. He stepped back, evading her flailing arms, and she landed on her butt, crashing to the floor.

"Shield Prison." The skill formed around her, trapping her. Naofumi cast a last sad glance toward it, then hastily exited the room. He'd made it to the bottom of the stairs when her angry, muffled shout pierced the air.

"NAOFUMIII!" Metal clashed against metal. "Don't think you can just walk out on me! You'll regret this, you hear me? You'll regret this!

Aaargh!" More metallic clashes. "Good luck getting your Class Upgrades without my help!"

Naofumi, having arrived in the shop's main room, shared a truly awkward glance with Erhard. He wondered why, conveniently, no one was ever at the shop when he was here but shook the random thought off.

"Sorry you had to hear all that," Naofumi said, face flushed with embarrassment.

The exhausted expression on Erhard's face told him everything without him needing to say a single word.

"Right, sorry… See you." Naofumi dashed out of the shop, his fiancée's screams of desperation echoing from above as she fought with the Shield Prison. He gritted his teeth, chest aching, and left, forcing himself to not halt and second-guess.

She'll come around, he thought. She just needs some time to process things . Everything will turn out alright .

Half-way on his way to Beloukas's tent, Naofumi halted, remembered his words before he'd left, and went to buy Raphtalia a little present.

End of Book 1

Damn. It's been nearly a year since I've started this story. Never would I have imagined it to grow so much. Well, I, for my part, am quite excited for Book 2. It'll be a wild ride. And Raphtalia will finally get some action, if you know what I mean. ;)

Chapter 24

Btw, in this story, Legendary Heroes can't perform magic. I edited the earlier scene where Naofumi goes to the magic shop. It's something I'd always thought about doing but couldn't decide on it until now.

"Naofumi!" Malty screamed as she nearly fell down the stairs and shot into the shop's main room. It was empty aside from the bald shop owner, who was standing behind the counter, arms crossed.

"Where is he?" Malty demanded.

Her answer was a blank stare.

"Where?!" she snapped. "WHERE DID HE GO? WHERE'S MY NAOFUMI?" She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, breathing erratically.

Erhard pointed toward the door.

Malty sniffed, cursed the man in her mind, and ran out of the shop. A few people were walking through the street, some stopping to look at her. She ignored everyone, frantically turning left and right. But her Naofumi was nowhere to be found.

No… She picked a direction at random and sprinted, not caring if she bumped into anyone. All that mattered was getting to her Naofumi. Where are you? Come back to me!

She aimlessly ran through the streets until she couldn't anymore and had to steady herself with hands on knees, gasping for breath, racing heartbeat thumping in her chest and ears. She felt ill, shaking. Fragile.

My Naofumi . A twinge of hurt shot through her. Why… She sniveled and wiped her eyes. He was gone. He'd abandoned her, just like the voices had said. Why-

"Are you alright, miss?" a voice asked, and a hand settled on Malty's shoulder.

She shook it off and stumbled forward. She oriented herself, shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun. She knew where she was. Somewhere near the castle. She bit back tears and forced herself to move, keeping her head low all the while to hide her shame. Buildings and people passed by, and soon, the castle gates, then the familiar hallways.

In her haste, she'd forgotten to take a side-entrance, and Motoyasu spotted her.

"Myne? Are you- I thought you said- Is everything okay? Myne-"

"Fuck off!" she snapped and stumbled onward, evading his blurry form.

"Malty?" Lesty's voice. "What's going-"

"Leave me alone!" Malty screamed and raced up the staircase. Panting, she reached the third floor, sped past the knight guarding the staircase exit, and made for her room.

"Don't let anyone enter," she snapped at Aldo as she barged into her rooms. She closed the door behind herself and sagged to the floor, back against the door.

Her tears were flowing freely now. Why did he choose her? she thought, sobbing, head in her hands. What did I do wrong? Haven't I done everything for him? Why would he treat me like this? She rubbed her eyes. Curse that damn Demi whore!

Thoughts of that stupid girl invaded her mind, and anger built up inside of her. Just the mere thought of her Naofumi touching that filthy little thing made her want to throw up… and commit violence and arson.

Malty shot to her feet and paced the room. Her gaze fell on the mirror where they'd stood last week, admiring their reflection. With a scream, she drew her sword and smashed the glass. The loud shattering sound was immensely satisfying. For about a second.

She turned to the coffee table where she'd presented her Naofumi with the knight's armor last week. She kicked the table, rattling it, then grasped it with an arm and flipped it over, sending it flying, wood breaking as it landed awkwardly on one leg. She brought her sword down on one of the settees. Again and again. Wood splintered. Cloth ripped.

It's not fair! It's not fair! It's not fair! "WHYYY?!" She kicked the other settee, toppling it over, then she burst through the doors into her bedroom. Immediately, memories of their lovemaking swept into her mind, and a desperate sob shook her body.

Malty ran toward the bed and reached for her secret hiding place, grasping Naofumi's shirt. She held it against her face and breathed in deeply. Feelings of love and comfort-of belonging and acceptancespread through her. Then she felt the betrayal, the coldness piercing her heart.

Sobbing, she threw the shirt away, wanting to hurt. She just wanted to hurt… anything. To destroy. To see everything burn. "AAAARGH!" she screamed out her pain. Flames burst from her outstretched hand. They sped toward the shirt, lighting it and the carpet on fire, some bursting against the wall, licking at the tapestry.

After a moment of being stupified, an insane, choked giggle escaped her, then she broke down sobbing again, eyes closed, hugging herself. The flames crackled happily, the heat doing little to cast away the heavy chill inside of her.

Footsteps and voices-chanting and snapped orders-sounded nearby, but Malty just sat there, sobbing.

"First Water!"

"First Wind!"

Flames hissed and sizzled as they got vanquished. It got colder again, then Malty was enveloped in warmth.

"Malty? Shhhh. It's alright. I'm here. Everything's going to be okay."

She didn't need to look to know that it was Lesty. She recognized the smell and the particular way in which she drew soothing circles on her back and caressed her hair.

"It's not okay!" Malty whined, the words coming out barely comprehensible. "My… m-my Naofumi…"

Lesty just kept holding her, murmuring soothing words, and Malty kept sobbing, though she eventually hugged her back and buried her face in Lesty's chest.

Another pair of hands joined Lesty's, settling on Malty's shoulders, gently massaging. "We're here for you, Malty, okay? It was the Spear Idiot, wasn't it? Hmm-hm. What did he do?"

A tiny giggle escaped Malty, and she shook her head.

"Shhh, Rino. Don't talk. Just let her be for now."

"O-okay. Sorry."

After an extensive bath in one of the city's many bathing houses, Naofumi felt somewhat human again, only a little guilt gnawing at him. Thankfully, Beloukas wasn't around, so he took a few moments to admire Raphtalia practicing with her weapons. Eventually, he approached and made some especially loud steps on the hay-anddirt-covered ground to announce his presence.

"Mr. Naofumi!" A bright smile breaking out on her face, Raphtalia halted, sheathed her weapons, and darted toward him.

He opened his arms, and she practically tackled him, making him chuckle as he caught her and hugged her tightly.

"Mr Naofumi…" Resting her head on his shoulder where Malty's cloak was especially fluffy, Raphtalia sighed deeply.

Immediately, he breathed in her scent. It grounded him, reminding him of all the progress and work he'd done since arriving here. Like Malty, he loved holding Raphtalia as well. But it was different. Sure, he could easily see himself and Raphtalia being a couple, could easily imagine taking her clothes off and exploring that defined body, but why would he do that when he already had a Princess? Why would he sabotage and risk everything with Malty for some physical pleasure? It didn't make any sense, and the fact that Malty couldn't see it made him angry. Angry at her, for being so stupid.

She's not supposed to be so irrational! he thought, hiding his scowl in Raphtalia's hair. She's supposed to be smart! Beautiful. Cunning. Selfish. Sadistic… Perfect. Could it be that he'd idolized her, creating a romanticized version of her in his mind? No. I know she's not a good person. Just like me. I know she's still the same person that tried to ruin my life and laughed in my face. But that's why I like her so much. For being smart and cunning. For putting herself-and mefirst. For not being a moral-bound fool.

Then who was this person that had demanded he choose between her and Raphtalia? Sure, he'd gotten jealous before as well, but when she'd told him that he was the only one, he'd believed her. Why couldn't she do the same? It's no use wondering, he decided, releasing the hug. She'll come around eventually. She knows I'm the one who can give her the crown.

Raphtalia beamed at him, her red-pink eyes shining with unwavering faith and adoration-love. "You were gone so long, Mr. Naofumi. I was starting to worry."

"I told you not to worry. Everything's fine." He put a hand on her cheek and caressed her with his thumb. She sighed happily and leaned into the touch.

Who did he want more? A woman that tried to control him and questioned him or a woman that he was controlling and that followed without question? Now I'm thinking like Malty, he thought, shaking his head. There is no competition.

"Sorry I took so long," Naofumi said. "Everything was alright on your part?"

"Of course." Raphtalia glimpsed behind herself, where Kuro, in his Filolal form, lounged on the ground next to an empty cage, eyes closed. She turned back and grumbled, "Though Kuro could be a little less annoying. He's been constantly reminding me of how he's gotten a bigger stat increase…" She was pouting cutely.

Naofumi chuckled and couldn't help but think that those lips looked pillowy and inviting. Curse Malty for putting those thoughts in my mind… "Hey, I bought you something."

"Oh?" She grinned shyly, eyes lowered.

He reached into his pocket, presenting her with her gift.

"A ring?" she gasped.

"Yeah. Come on, give me your hand."

She raised her left hand, then the right, then giggled. "Which one?"

"Off-hand."

"Okay." She held it up, fingers splayed.

"The owner claimed it to give a small attack boost," Naofumi explained as he slid the ring onto her middle finger. "But I'm sure he was just trying to sweet-talk me. There. Do you like it?"

"Thank you, Mr. Naofumi!" Raphtalia was turning the ring around her finger, staring at it with a wide smile.

It wasn't the most ostentatious design but beautiful in its simplicity: a simple flat silver band with two thin slits running along its surface. A tiny, quadratic emerald was inlaid in the metal in a way that it didn't break the perfect roundness.

"I love it."

"I'm glad. At first, I thought about a bracelet or perhaps a necklace, but those wouldn't be very practical in combat." Not to mention that he didn't want to give her a reason to compare them to the shackles or collar she used to wear.

"I like rings better, anyway." She was clutching her hand to her chest.

Naofumi chuckled. "Yeah… perhaps the shop owner was lying about the damage increase, but I'd imagine it'll leave behind a nice imprint if you ever punch someone."

Raphtalia grinned and released a giggle that sounded as if she couldn't wait to do that. "It wasn't too expensive, though?"

"You know," he said, aiming a teasing grin at her, "asking about the price of a present is considered rude where I come from."

"Wha- Oh, I… I didn't know that!" She blushed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Naofumi!"

He chuckled. "Hey, don't apologize. I was only teasing you, anyway."

"O-okay?"

Naofumi took her hand. "It fits nicely. That's good." He nodded, then locked eyes with her. "After yesterday, I thought you'd appreciate a little gift. I made a promise, and I'm not going back on that. Ever. I want you to look at this ring and remember that. Okay?"

Raphtalia blinked, and a few stray tears ran down her cheeks. "Okay, Mr. Naofumi." She threw herself at him, and he held her close. "Thank you so much, Mr. Naofumi!"

"You're welcome. You deserve it." He loosened the hug to press a kiss onto her cheek. She giggled, sniveling with tears of happiness. "Let's go to the magic shop then. Okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Naofumi!"

It must have been over an hour now, but Malty was still crying. Lesty sat next to her on the settee she'd knocked over earlier, keeping her arms around Malty, steadily rubbing her back.

Malty discarded her used kerchief, threw it to the ground where countless others already lay, and took another from the small stack Elena had placed on the-now three-legged but standing-coffee table. Her rooms were mostly in order again. Evidently, her breakdown hadn't attracted too much attention, though she wouldn't have cared either way.

Malty glimpsed to the other settee where Elena and Rino sat, and she couldn't help but let out a little giggle when she saw the damage she'd caused. The backrest had a sizable hole near the middle, and a good portion of the cloth was destroyed around it. Elena and Rino sat a little awkwardly because of that, keeping their distance from the damage.

"Are you ready to talk?" Lesty asked gently.

Malty shook her head. What was there to talk about? Naofumi didn't choose me, she thought, sobbing. And it's not like I can tell-

"It was Naofumi, wasn't it?"

"What?" Malty snapped her head around, staring into those friendly pink eyes.

"What happened, Malty? Did you two have a fight? Did something happen between you?"

"I, I… you know?"

"Yes, Malty. Of course, we know." Lesty grasped one of her hands, squeezing it.

The gesture helped lower her panic somewhat. "You… you all know? Knew all the time?"

"Not all the time, but-"

"Does everyone know?" Malty squeaked. "Were we really that obvious?"

"No no, Malty, not everyone knows. Just us."

"Just you?"

"Yeah. I mean, we've spent the last four weeks together. We picked up on the hints after some time."

Elena and Rino hummed in agreement.

Malty sagged in on herself, nodding. "Since when… since when do you know?"

"Well," Lesty said carefully. "I suspected something to be off from the very beginning when you were suddenly not interested in Motoyasu after going through all that trouble to get his attention. And the way you kept asking for information about the Shield Hero… you know, I couldn't help but wonder."

Malty sniveled. So she knew the trial was a setup from the get-go? Maybe I've underestimated her. Or overestimated myself…

"And the way you kept disappearing sometimes… But anyway, I think we all knew two weeks ago when you told your father to consider supporting the Shield Hero. And… Do you remember that Dungeon where we fell through the floor?"

Malty nodded. How could she forget? The voices had been right all along. Probably about everything.

"When you were affected by those monsters, you cried out for Naofumi. Repeatedly. And Rino swears she heard you moan his name in your sleep the night before. That's when we knew for sure."

Malty looked up. Rino had ducked her head, witch's head hiding her face. "S-sorry."

Malty giggled faintly. "Don't apologize, Rino."

"S-sor- Hm-hmm."

"And then the thing with the Dragon Hourglass happened, right?" Elena asked with a little grin on her face. "Did you two have some fun in there?"

Malty smirked as she thought about the lovely memory: how good it'd felt to embrace there right in the open. Then she grimaced, pain and sadness shooting through her. "It was wonderful… while it lasted."

"Tell us everything," Lesty urged, gently caressing. "We're your friends, Malty. We'll keep your secrets. You can tell us, okay?"

Malty swallowed. She stared into Lesty's eyes, then Elena and Rino's.

"We're with you," Elena confirmed.

"That's right!" Rino said. "We got your back!"

"O-okay," Malty eventually said. What did it matter anyway? She'd thought herself a master manipulator and flawless actor. And here she was, having been played by three girls she'd written off as simple-minded and easily fooled. The joke was on her, truly. Perhaps she was just pathetic. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," Lesty said. "But let's start from the beginning. You and Naofumi. How did that happen?"

Malty told them everything. She cried some more and left out some of the painful details, but she told them all they wanted to know.

"And he chose Raphtalia instead of you?" Lesty asked with disbelief in her voice. The other girls looked equally as outraged. "After all you did for him? After how you lied to give him credit for defending that village?" She shook her head. "Why would he do that?"

"I don't know!" Malty whined. "Last week, he… he accepted my proposal, and now that I wanted us to marry, he refused! All because of that stupid Demi!" She broke down sobbing in Lesty's embrace, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Shhhh. We'll figure things out."

Malty nodded, not really believing her.

"I can't believe it," Elena said. She looked both angry and disgusted, rare expressions on her usually bored face. "He had the opportunity to marry you, to become a Prince, and he chose some animal instead? Despicable! I mean… Is he insane?"

"I know!" Malty cried, and a little warmth spread through her. She grasped a new kerchief and wiped her eyes.

"Hmm-hm. Well, I… I don't really mind Demis but… I'd never want to touch one of them. Or worse, make love with them. Those moving tails… All those hairs…" Rino grimaced, shivering. "Eww!"

Elena tittered-almost laughed-and put a hand on Rino's shoulder.

"You're right. It's a little disturbing to imagine."

"Hmm-hm."

"Agreed," Lesty said. "I can't believe Naofumi would be so stupid." She laughed lightly. "Anyway, where does this leave us? Malty you… do you still want him? Naofumi, I mean."

"Of course," Malty immediately said and sniffed. "I love him… my Naofumi. I love him…" So much… Her heart ached, and she hugged herself.

"Then it's decided," Lesty announced. "We'll help you get him back. Right, girls?"

"Sure."

"Yeah!"

Malty smiled sadly. "Okay," she said, simply because disagreeing would have been pointless either.

"So, what are we going to do?" Rino asked, excited. "Maybe send him a love letter and some flowers?" She giggled. "Or perhaps…"

Malty didn't listen. It wasn't that the girls' support would actually matter, especially anything coming out of Rino's mouth. Naofumi had made his choice, and he'd make the same choice again. Sure, he'd promised that they'd see each other in a few weeks to discuss their marriage, but she knew what that was. Empty words. In a few weeks, it'd be another week. Then a month. Then another. Just an empty promise to keep her interested. To keep the money coming and to keep her father off his back. Having played such games often enough, Malty saw right through it.

I guess that's how it feels to be on the other end, she thought. It's awful. And even though I know it's just a game, I can't help but play anyway. What else was there to do? Naofumi was the one for her. Her other half. Life without him was no life at all.

"Oh! I know, I know." Rino grinned, bouncing with excitement. "We'll publicly announce-"

"Rino!" Malty glared at the little girl. "Haven't you been listening? He chose her. What makes you think some empty gestures will change anything? Don't you think I've tried everything I could?"

"I, I…" Rino's expression faltered.

"Malty is right," Lesty said. "When I said we'd help her get Naofumi back, I wasn't talking about making some romantic gestures. I'm pretty sure he knows exactly how Malty feels about him. No, I was talking about what we'll do about the Demi girl, Raphtalia." Rino was making big eyes now, looking expectantly at Lesty.

"And we'll get rid of her, naturally," Lesty said lightly, smiling.

Now that's exactly my thinking . Malty grinned, her mood lifted in an instant. Perhaps it's a good thing I underestimated you, Lesty.

"Get rid of her?" Rino breathed, face shocked. "But…" She looked to Elena.

Elena shrugged. "Sure. Sounds reasonable."

"W-what?"

"The demand for Demi slaves is always high," Elena explained. "Especially young girls like this Raphtalia are always needed and will get a nice price. I can ask my mother to refer me to a slave trader. Once she's sold, no one will ever find her again."

Malty had never been so glad for Elena as at that moment and offered the girl a grateful smile.

"Sell her?" Rino asked.

"Yes, Rino," Elena said, accompanied by a sigh. "Surely, you're not so naive as to think that slavery isn't a booming business in this country?"

"I… I know that! But I just thought that…"

"Thought what?" Elena sighed again, shot Malty a meaningful look, then sat a little closer to Rino, putting a hand on her shoulder. They started to quietly argue. From the sound of it, Elena was doing some good convincing.

A squeeze of her hand brought her attention to Lesty, who stared intently at her, a small grin on her face. Malty tilted her head to the side in question, then tapped her sword with her free hand. Lesty nodded, and they shared a smirk. Yes, Malty had no intention of leaving the little Demi slut alive. It was good Lesty was catching on quickly.

Malty hugged her. "Thank you."

"Of course, Malty," Lesty said quietly. "You're my best friend. I'd do anything for you."

That was news for Malty, but perhaps it was true nonetheless. She hummed in agreement, closed her eyes, and held Lesty a little closer. Best friends, huh? Malty could actually see that now. She enjoyed the hug for a few more seconds before finally retreating. "So, Rino," Lesty said, smiling. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Rino said, sounding unhappy. "I just wished we could do things more… peacefully. But I guess I'm a little naive sometimes.

We'll do things how you suggested. She's just a Demi, after all, and this is for the good of the queendom… and the world."

"Great," Lesty cheered, clapping.

Elena smiled at Rino, who hesitantly returned the gesture.

"Let's do our Class Upgrades, then," Lesty said. "And afterward, we'll make some more plans. Sounds good, Malty?"

She smirked. "Yes. Let's do that."

"Anyone in favor of taking Motoyasu along to the Dragon Hourglass?"

No one raised their hands, and they all giggled.

Perhaps they can be real friends, after all, Malty thought as they left.

"Shield Hero!" the old woman in the magic shop greeted with a warm smile on her face. "I've been hoping you'd visit my shop before leaving the city again."

"Oh? Did you get a new magic gemstone already?"

"Why… yes. Didn't Erhard tell you?"

Naofumi shrugged. "It must have slipped his mind." Understandably.

"Hmm… I'll say. He seemed a little out of it when I visited earlier to pass on the word." She shook her head. "He said something about renovations happening in the rooms above. I heard someone scream. Must have stubbed her toe, or perhaps someone dropped a piece of furniture on her feet. The poor girl…"

Naofumi hoped the blush he could definitely feel wasn't too obvious. "I offered to help, of course, but he insisted everything was fine and that he'd let you know immediately…" The woman shrugged, sighing deeply. "Anyway… where was I? Ah yes, I have a new magic gemstone, but I'd also like to personally thank you for defending Riyute from the Wave. I have a grandchild living there, you understand."

Naofumi smiled. "I did what every Hero would have done. But thank you."

"Well, hopefully, you'll allow me to repay you with my service… and a few discounts, naturally. It's time we get the lovely Demi girl started on magic, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes. That's why we're here. But…" He looked around the shop. "Creating the magic threat… How long will that take and how much will it cost?"

"Ah… Shouldn't take too long. And I'll let you use it for free as a thanks."

"Thank you. You're too kind."

"It's the least I can do." The woman stepped out from behind the counter, showing them the apparatus with which one spun magic thread.

"Mr. Naofumi," Kuro said. "Do I have to? I don't want a dress."

Naofumi chuckled. "You don't have to wear a dress. I'm sure the tailor can make you some normal boy clothes."

"Oh." Kuro smiled. "Okay then." He readily took his place as the woman indicated, then began spinning the thread.

They watched him for a few moments before returning to the counter.

"Let me check your magic affinities before I get you some grimoirs." The old woman put her hands against her crystal ball, much like the previous times they'd visited. "I'm afraid you're still unable to perform magic, Shield Hero. And the girl… a strong affinity for shadow magic. Did you, by any chance, make a Class Upgrade recently?" "We did," Naofumi said.

"What does it mean?" Raphtalia asked, a little anxious.

The woman hummed contemplatively. "I sensed something different about you than before. Nothing bad, of course. But you must have chosen a class that specializes in shadow magic."

"But I didn't choose," Raphtalia said, frowning.

"Yeah. Her class got selected on its own."

"Hmm… curious. I've never heard of such a thing happening. Well, it is what it is. Now, I have more than a few grimoires on shadow magic. Would you like to have a look?"

"Yes, please."

"I'll give them to you for half the price, natrually," the woman said as she went to gather the books.

"Thank you."

Sometime later, they left the magic shop a lot of silver poorer, with two grimoires for Raphtalia, and more than enough magic thread for anything the crazy tailor might come up with. Kuro, the tryhard that he was, had spun magic thread until he passed out, and Raphtalia had to carry him in her arms as they left, though she didn't seem to mind, smiling gently.

Malty and Lesty held hands as they made their way to the Dragon Hourglass. Friends… Best friends… It was still so odd to think about. Malty had never had friends. Only followers and sycophants. But now that the girls had seen her at her lowest, they seemed closer than ever.

She wasn't so naive as to think that they didn't have ulterior motives. But really, who didn't? Rino was genuine, perhaps, but she was also naive. Elena and Lesty were clearly quite aware of the situation with the Church, and were probably hoping to gain privileges and power by sticking to her. But Malty also couldn't shake the feeling that Lesty just genuinely liked her.

Malty squeezed Lesty's hand, and they shared a little smile. She was glad for the continued support. It made the coldness and emptiness bearable for the moment. She almost didn't want to let go of her friend's hand when they entered the Church building and made for the Dragon Hourglass.

"Do you want to go first, Malty?" Lesty asked.

Malty shook her head. "No, you can go ahead. I need to think some more." "You sure?"

Malty nodded.

"Okay." Lesty retreated, and the other girls followed her toward the Dragon Hourglass. The nuns didn't hesitate to allow them to upgrade. She was royalty, after all. Perhaps they'd ask her father for compensation, but she and her friends didn't pay like anybody else would.

While the girls made their upgrades, Malty stood with her back against the wall, arms crossed. She'd not really thought about what upgrade she'd choose. Rino and Lesty were taking the popular classes for a wind and water mage respectively. Perhaps Malty would do the same for fire.

She'd wanted her Naofumi to be here with her when she upgraded. He was always so smart and offered insights others might miss. She'd hoped for that, then. Her gaze got caught at the spot where they'd embraced inside the Shield Prison. Longing and sadness made her shiver and grimace, the corners of her mouth drooping.

Is it all my fault? Malty wondered. Have I been too easy? Too forthcoming with the money? Demanding too little in return? She couldn't find the answer. Couldn't understand how that damn Demi whore could have enchanted her Naofumi so completely that he would turn against her.

A hand on her shoulder brought Malty back from her thoughts. She looked up and smiled at her best friend.

"Malty," Lesty said, smiling. "It's your turn."

Malty nodded, gave Lesty's hand a squeeze before removing it from her shoulder, and approached the Dragon Hourglass. She put her hands on the surface as instructed and focused.

The Class Upgrade selection appeared before her eyes. Malty looked to the symbols of her teammates. Elena's symbol was still that of a rapier. Probably some kind of fencer class. Lesty and Rino's resembled their primary element.

Malty browsed through her options, looking for the Fire Mage class. Where is-

"AAARGH!" Intense pain suddenly shot through her chest. She saw the selection blur before she had to press her eyes shut in pain. Screaming, she stumbled backward, not feeling anything aside from the hot pain on her sternum. As if someone had pierced her with a white-hot sword. She clutched her chest, clawing at it, desperately trying to make the pain stop. Her screams echoed off the walls as she felt like she was burning up from inside. Then she passed out.

The crazy tailor woman gasped and narrowed her eyes. "Shield Hero! You have some nerve coming back here while wearing that cloak of the accursed Madame Aldona!"

Naofumi smiled and stepped to the side, and, as predicted, the woman's attention immediately shifted onto Kuro, and she squealed.

"There you are, you little, cute-"

"Kuro's a boy, just so you know," Naofumi said.

"What?" The woman looked like she was about to die from shock. "Truly? B-but…" Her eyes widened comically as Kuro lowered his cloak so that it only covered his lower body. "A-an angel!" She was hyperventilating.

The woman went into one of her crazy monologues, and Naofumi retreated into his mind, ignoring her. Instead, he let his thoughts drift off toward his fiancée. He was already missing her, aching to embrace her once more. He hoped she was alright.

Have I been too harsh on her? he wondered. Should I apologize? Send her some gift to assure her of my loyalty? He doubted anything short of Raphtalia's head would appease her, but it couldn't hurt either.

The woman was finally done, a little out of breath.

Naofumi cleared his throat. "We're here to get Kuro some clothes." He handed her the bag with the magic thread. "Will this be enough? And what will it cost?"

She critically inspected the contents of the bag. "Hmm… I can work with this. And I'll do it for free. Then, every time someone sees your cloak, they'll see Kuro's clothes as well and recognize my superior design!" She giggled and pushed up her glasses.

"Okay."

"And the old hag of the magic shop asked me to do you a favor, so there's that."

Naofumi snorted. "Alright. Why don't you take Kuro, so that you may discuss what kind of clothes he wants."

"Good idea." The woman was all too eager to grasp Kuro and practically dragged him into an adjacent room.

He shook his head, then busied his time going over the Filolial Shields he'd unlocked earlier. They weren't all that impressive, some giving good stat boosts or raised defense while mounted.

"Mr. Noafumi?"

"Yes, Raphtalia?"

"About what the woman said… Didn't you buy your cloak from her?"

"I didn't. It was a gift."

"I… yes, you said that yesterday. And that it is very important to you. So who did you get it from?"

Naofumi studied her. There was no suspicion or jealousy in her gaze. Just simple curiosity. Perhaps a little concern. "Well, do you remember… when was it? Two weeks ago? When I said someone had pushed me to the floor?"

"Yes, I remember. When you didn't wake me and slept on the floor even though you shouldn't."

Naofumi smiled. "Well, the cloak was from that person. As an apology, you see."

"Oh, okay. And who is that person?"

"Just someone who supports the Shield Hero. It's better if I don't reveal their identity."

"I won't tell anyone, I promise. Not even Kuro."

"I know you wouldn't. I trust you." He gave her a head pat, and her smile brightened. Not too old for those, after all. "Now that I think about it, I probably should meet up with them now. Can you stay here and supervise Kuro? If you're done before I return, you can go to Beloukas's place, and we'll meet up there."

She pouted a little, her gaze filling with concern. "Can't I come with you, Mr. Naofumi?"

"It's better if I go alone. I'll introduce you soon, I promise," he said, and he meant it. "Okay? But not now. We have other things to focus on. Like rescuing your friends. After-"

"Friend."

"What?"

She lowered her gaze. "Only one friend… Rifana, she… she's dead. It's only Keel I've got left to look for. But he wasn't there when I left, so I don't know where he could be. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

Naofumi hugged her. "It's fine." She relaxed, returning the embrace.

"We can ask Beloukas later. Perhaps he knows where your friend is. Then we'll find him… and perhaps some other survivors from your village. And we'll pay that bastard Rabier a visit to make sure he can never hurt any other children. After that, we'll have time, and I'll introduce you to the person who gifted me the cloak. Okay?"

"Okay, Mr. Naofumi. I'll look forward to it. They must be a wonderful person."

Naofumi hummed in agreement, though he had to hold back a snort. "I'll go now. See you later."

"Be careful."

"I will."

Naofumi didn't try to hide as he traversed the streets. It was pointless. Everyone knew what to look for now, and only a few people were sending scowls his way. Most seemed contemplative or even delighted to see him.

A group of girls selling flowers paused to stare and smile at him, gushing among themselves. Naofumi shot them a wink, and they averted their eyes, blushing.

How things have changed, he thought. Let's just hope that Malty doesn't suddenly appear and try to drag me to the altar. If anything, the fact that she didn't probably meant that she'd seen reason and wouldn't actually risk everything like that. Hopefully .

Naofumi was in the process of traversing a lively marked square when a voice called out for him.

"Naofumi!"

He whirled around… and just managed to raise his Shield to block the overhead attack, and the tip of the Spear bounced off the Chimera Dragon Shield with a little clank .

"Motoyasu?" Naofumi was torn in-between bemusement and irritation. "What are you doing?"

Motoyasu swung his Spear horizontally. Naofumi blocked effortlessly. Motoyasu chuckled, grinning. "Fucking cheater."

Did he finally lose his mind ? Naofumi wondered. People had taken cautious steps back, the attention of the market square probably solely on them.

Motoyasu let out some slightly-insane chuckles, then pointed his

Spear at Naofumi's face. "I demand that you tell me your cheats!"

Naofumi blinked. "Cheats?"

"Yeah!" Motoyasu exclaimed. "I've seen your transforming Filolial earlier! That's a cheat! There are no transforming Filolials in Emerald Online!"

Irritation was slowly building up inside Naofumi. I don't have time for this shit! "This isn't a game, you-"

Motoyasu struck with his Spear, which Naofumi just barely managed to stop. "Tell me your cheats! How did you get him? Huh?! How did you get the Filolial?" He attacked again.

"I…" Naofumi blocked, then blocked the next attack. "I bought… him, you… moron!"

Motoyasu halted mid-strike. "Where?"

Naofumi was tempted to just cast a Shield Prison and run away, but he didn't want people to think that he was afraid of the Spear Idiot in any way. "From Beloukas. He…" Naofumi took a steadying breath. "He sells monster stuff and… other things."

"So there are more of those transforming Filolials? I can buy them there?" Motoyasu fainted a hit, grinning insanely.

"No, I…" Naofumi sighed. "I bought a Monster Egg. Inside was a normal Filolial. I don't know why he transformed the way he did. At least I'm not sure. The broken eggshell unlocked a Shield that could have been responsible, but I'm not sure. There! That's all I know. Will you stop harassing me now?"

Motoyasu stared at him with narrowed eyes. He was mumbling, repeating Naofumi's words to himself.

"Yeah," Naofumi confirmed.

"Alright." Motoyasu rested his Spear on his shoulder. "Don't cry when I beat your ass the next time!" he exclaimed, then turned and jogged away.

Totally insane, Naofumi thought. Judging by the expression of the spectators, they seemed to agree. He approached some random woman in fine clothes and asked for directions to Madame Aldona's shop.

Malty blinked her eyes open, groaning. Her head was pounding, and she grimaced as bright light assaulted her senses.

"Malty?"

Someone squeezed her hand.

"Lesty? Is that you?"

"Yes. I'm here."

Her surroundings became clearer. She was in her bed, clad in a nightgown. Lesty sat on her right, clutching her hand. Elena and Rino were sitting at the bed's lower end, pillows between their backs and the bedposts.

"Welcome back!" Rino waved. "How are you feeling, Malty?"

"Okay. I'm fine. What… what happened?"

"We don't know for sure," Lesty said. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"The Class Upgrade. And… pain." She cringed at the memory.

"You were screaming like crazy," Elena said. "Then passed out."

Lesty squeezed her hand. "The nuns looked you over but couldn't find anything wrong. We've convinced them to let you recover in your rooms."

"Thank you."

"Of course." Lesty smiled gently.

"What class did you pick?" Elena asked. "Your star is gone, but I don't know what the symbol means."

Heart racing, Malty looked at it. Her class symbol resembled a drop of water falling to the ground. A tear, perhaps. "Water? I didn't pick this!"

"It's not water," Lesty said. "At least not that I know of. And I've studied all the water upgrades."

"Then what is it?"

"No idea."

"We thought you might know," Elena said.

Malty frowned. She thought back to the upgrade ceremony. I'm pretty sure I didn't select any class before the pain started. She put her free hand on her sternum, absentmindedly massaging the spot where it'd hurt the most. What? Her fingers had brushed against something that didn't feel like smooth skin.

Heart racing, she pushed herself up and stared at her sternum. There, right between her breasts, was something red. It glinted faintly, like a ruby, and felt smooth and cool to touch. It was the size of her thumbnail and was the same shape as her class's symbol: a drop of water, the round end pointing downward. "What is this?"

"What is what, Malty?" Lesty asked.

"There!" She pointed. "On my chest! What is this?"

"I don't see anything."

"What?!" Malty pushed her nightgown lower. "There! Don't you see

it?"

Elena and Rino crawled toward her, squinting their eyes.

"I don't see anything," Elena confirmed.

"And you, Rino? You would tell me, right?"

Rino looked where Malty was pointing, getting red in the face. "I… I only see your p-perfect breasts, hm-hmm."

Malty squeaked and drew her nightgown upward.

Rino pushed her witch's hat down to cover her face. "S-sorry."

Elena was tittering.

Malty sat back against the headboard, feeling the tear-drop-shaped ruby in her chest with her fingertips. She met Lesty's eyes. "You really don't see anything?"

"No, Malty." Lesty grasped her other hand, caressing. "We would tell you if we would."

"Hm-hmm."

"Of course, we would," Elena said.

Lesty hummed contemplatively. "I've heard something similar happened to Naofumi's party members. They didn't pass out like you did, but they couldn't choose the classes they wanted. Apparently, it resulted in his Filolial getting a new hairstyle." Lesty reached toward Malty's head, took a few strands of hair near the middle, and raised them up in the air. "Like so. And it just stayed like that no matter what they did."

Malty was thoroughly confused now.

"Anyway." Lesty released her hair and clasped Malty's hands in hers. "What I mean to say is that you're special."

Malty mirrored her best friend's smile. Smirked. "You're right." She couldn't believe she hadn't realized that immediately. Of course, she'd receive a unique class. It only proved what she'd known all her life: that she was special, destined for greatness. She'd make sure to show everyone that fact, even if no one else could see the ruby Tear in her chest.

Malty got out of bed. "Help me get dressed, please."

"Of course."

As she stood, she suddenly realized that she felt different. As if she'd gotten lighter. Or perhaps stronger? While she moved about and let the girls fasten her armor around her body, she more and more got convinced of that feeling.

Her heart was palpitating with anticipation, and she felt good. Powerful. As if some hidden strength had been awakened inside of her, pulsing in her veins, begging to be released. To destroy those that dared defy her. She concentrated on the feeling and thought that it probably originated from the Tear.

Lesty fastened Malty's cloak around her neck, finishing the dressing process. "Oh, by the way, a package came for you."

"A package?"

"Yes," Elena said. "I put it over there on the table."

Malty immediately recognized the white cloth and gold-colored thread in which the gift was wrapped: Madame Aldona's design. She hastily untied it, heart beating in anticipation.

The white cloth fell away to reveal an auburn-colored dress. It took Malty a moment to realize that it was the dress of the Demi slut, long white gloves and shoes and all. How dare he mock me like this!

Huffing, Malty was about to let out her anger when she spotted something else among the fabric: a scroll, held together by a strap of dark-green cloth. She slipped it off and unrolled the scroll.

My dear Princess, it read. I hope you're in good health. Last time we met, things didn't go over well, and I'm sorry for hurting you. Please accept this gift (the ribbon around the scroll) as my apology. I'll be away for a few weeks on an important mission. I'll see you then. Hopefully soon.

-Your Fail-Safe .

PS: I thought you'd like to burn Raphtalia's dress.

Malty giggled. You know me so well, my Naofumi, she thought, chest warming with love. She set aside the scroll, gathered the ugly dress, and tossed it to the ground. The carpet that usually covered the stony ground here was singed and stood rolled up to the side. Good.

She pictured the little Demi slut in the dress and how she'd had the audacity to hold onto her Naofumi. Desire to burn and destroy blazed inside of her, a pang of heat shooting through the Tear, then flames burst from her outstretched hands, incinerating the offending fabric in the blink of an eye. Malty released a pleased chuckle. There was nothing but ashes left, smoking faintly.

The other girls looked at her in awe. And rightfully so. No one aside from Mirellia, the wielder of the Ruling Staff, should be capable of such a feat. But, of course, Malty was. Because she was special. It only confirmed that she was the rightful Queen.

Malty took the ribbon that had been wrapped around the scroll and untied it, grinning. The words "Fail-Safe" were stitched into it in a crimson color matching her hair. The letters were white-rimmed to highlight them against the dark-green background. She lovingly ran her thumbs across them. Thank you, my Naofumi.

"Fail-Safe?" Lesty asked, whispering for some reason. "What does it mean?"

Malty giggled. "It's our secret word." She handed the ribbon to her best friend. "Here. Tie it around my upper arm, please." While Lesty was busy doing that, Malty read the remaining paragraph of the scroll.

PPS: Your Highness, this is Madame Aldona. The Shield Hero asked me to write this message, as he seems unable to understand our written language. He's wearing the cloak you bought here some weeks ago, so I went along with his request. If he came upon its possession through illegal means and this is some unduly joke designed to mock you, then I am terribly sorry for assisting him. If not and there is some understanding between you two, then you can, of course, be assured of my discretion and silence.

PPPS: I have just received a new shipment from Shieldfreeden. Among it are some new dresses I'm sure you'd love. I'm looking forward to your next visit, Your Highness.

-Madame Aldona.

Smiling, Malty committed that information to memory and made a mental reminder to visit when she had time. She still needed a wedding gown, after all.

Malty squashed the scroll and held the crumpled-up paper in her right hand, fist clenched. She focused, then smirked when the paper vanished in a blazing flame, ashes fluttering to the ground.

"Girls," she said, relishing their awestruck expressions and the power she felt coursing through her veins. "Let's go Demi hunting."

Yandere Malty activated.

Chapter 25

I've edited a minor detail of the previous chapter. Basically, I'd played with the idea of making Mirellia the wielder of the Vassal Staff but have decided against it. It'll be canon as usual. Still, Vassal Weapons will be different in this story, in general, but it'll be a while since we get there.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a while longer?" Lucetta asked.

Naofumi shot her a smile and relaxed back into his chair with a sigh.

"I'd love nothing more. But we have our duties."

She sighed sadly. "I know. I know."

Grunting sounded from his right. "But we can come back soon, right?" Kuro asked, face smeared with the sauce of Lucetta's porcupine roast. He licked some of it off.

Naofumi snorted. "Well-"

"Of course you can," Lucetta interrupted, grinning. "How do you like my roast?"

"It's divine, Miss Lucetta."

"Aww, thank you. You know just the right words to make a woman blush." She'd put a hand theatrically above her heart. "Such a little angel. I'll warm up some leftover roast for you whenever you like."

Kuro grinned happily. Then he grimaced and turned his head away when Anette was dapping at his face with a napkin. "Hey!" "Hold still," Anette complained, "and let me clean this."

"Why?" He tried to ward off her hands. "I'm licking it clean!"

"Gross! It's smeared, so you have to clean it!"

"But that's wasting it!"

"It's not! You already wasted it by smearing it all over your face! You need to eat more slowly." "But it was so good!"

"Pssst! Now hold still!"

Grumbling, Kuro eventually allowed it. Just like he'd allowed her to secure his hair into twin pigtails-same as hers-before dinner.

"My hair is ruined anyway," Kuro had explained earlier, trying and failing to tame the unruly strand that extended upward. "Might as well let her ruin it some more."

Lucetta was watching them with a gentle smile-but also sadness. The trauma from the Wave was probably still fresh on her mind. He'd felt it, how the atmosphere was completely different in Riyute than before. The people had greeted him warmly but with dejected posture. Even the ongoing repairs didn't appear to lift the spirit much. At the end of the day, people had died, no matter how many Naofumi's interference had saved.

"Are you a Filolial… or a pig?" Anette demanded, wiping at Kuro's chest near the collarbone.

"A Filolial King, actually."

"Whatever…"

Kuro's grin suddenly vanished, an alarmed expression on his face. "There's nothing on my vest, right? Right, Anette?"

Anette squinted. Kuro was carefully patting the cloth. He'd made the crazy tailor woman craft him two pieces of clothing: loose pans that thinned near the middle of his calves and a casual vest that Naofumi doubted could be closed. Not that Kuro would even try; it seemed he was quite content with always showing his chest, lest someone mistake him for a girl ever again.

"Hmm… I think there's something…"

"What?" Kuro gasped. "Where?"

Anette smirked. "Nowhere! I fooled you."

He just sagged in relief, shaking his head and chuckling.

His clothes were a deep black like his hair but had some red-stitched highlights-like on the waistband. The crazy tailor sure had done an extraordinary job; despite its simple design, the clothes looked almost… royal. It reminded Naofumi of that Arabic fairy tale prince.

But that guy wasn't even a real prince, was he? Naofumi wondered. He married into the royal family. A real scoundrel, that one. Kinda like me. He shook the random thought off. Either way, he'd have to make sure that Kuro's ego didn't get any bigger than it already was.

Anette giggled. "You're such a girl: Getting upset about your clothes and stuff-" "Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Lucetta cleared her throat. "Help me do the dishes, Naofumi?"

"Sure." He assisted her to clear the table, then joined her by the washbasin.

Lucetta handed him a towel. "She lost her best friend in the Wave," she said quietly. "Poor little Leia. Much too young…"

"Oh. I'm so sorry." Naofumi wondered whether she'd been one of the children he'd seen carried away by the gigantic insect-like monsters.

"Hush. It's not your fault. You did what you could."

"Yeah, I guess…" He accepted a water-dripping plate from her and began drying it.

"I'm just always so grateful when you stop by. Now more so than ever."

Naofumi was silent for a moment, watching Anette braid the hair of a resigned-looking Kuro. She shot Naofumi a grin, and he returned it, then faced Lucetta again. "About that…"

"Yes?"

"I won't be returning for a while. Perhaps not ever."

She shot him a quizzical look.

"The only reason I stopped by now was so that I could tell you that. I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

"Naofumi." She sighed. "We already had this talk, didn't we?"

"This is different!" He grasped her by the arm, glimpsing toward Anette to make sure she hadn't noticed. "This is about your safety, alright? It's better if you don't associate with me anymore."

She grinned and leaned in. "If this is about your girlfriend-"

"It isn't! Well, I mean…" He sighed. "This is serious. You need to be careful. You know that the Shield Hero is disliked by many. I have enemies. Powerful enemies. They could try to use you against me. Do you understand?"

"Sounds like a confession to me," she said, grinning. "Anything more you want to tell me, Naofumi?"

He stared flatly.

Her expression turned somber. "I see. And I understand. I don't like it, but I understand."

"Thank you. And it's not forever. I promise."

"Yeah yeah…" She rigorously scoured some cutlery. "I mean, might as well be. Soon, you'll have forgotten all about me anyway. I'm just a simple country woman, after all, only good for cooking, running a household, and raising kids. Not important enough for someone like the Shield Hero, that's for-"

Naofumi yanked her toward him and embraced her in a tight hug. "Stop talking such nonsense. You know that's not true. I appreciate your friendship and everything you've done for us… especially for Raphtalia. That's why I need you to be careful."

She sighed, relaxing. "Thank you."

"You're-"

"No kissing before marriage!" Anette demanded.

They broke out laughing… and totally held the hug for way longer than they'd have otherwise. Oddly, Kuro didn't seem relieved or happy to be bereft of Anette's attention.

The door opened abruptly, and Raphtalia and Pete stumbled inside.

"Mr. Naofumi!" I-"

Naofumi released Lucetta. "Yes?"

"Ahem, I…" Raphtalia was biting her lower lip. "Nevermind." She lowered her head and made to go outside again, but Pete halted her, whispering something. She whispered back, arguing, then relented and faced the room again. "Mr. Naofumi, I just wanted to say… I finally cast some magic. Well, kind of."

"Already?" Naofumi smiled. "You must be a prodigy or something."

She blushed and averted her eyes. Her tail was swishing back and forth behind her. "I-I mean, it wasn't even a spell… I just-"

"Show me, please."

"Yes, please!" Lucetta agreed.

"Okay." Raphtalia took a step closer. Then she closed her eyes. "In the name of-"

Agitated voices-shouting-echoed outside.

"What's going on?" Naofumi demanded.

"I don't know," Pete said and raced outside.

Naofumi shared an alarmed glance with Lucetta, then followed.

"It's knights!" Pete was exclaiming. "Knights from the castle! Come on. Come on! Let's see!"

The streets were filling with people trying to see what was happening. They followed. Indeed, a few dozen knights had arrived, and they didn't look like they were here to help in the repairing efforts. Some rode on small dragons, two carriages among them. They headed for the center of the town, where usually a market was set up.

"Don't run too far away," Lucetta instructed as they made their way through the gathering crowd, trying to get a better view.

The carriages came to a stop in the center of the market square. Knights placed stepping blocks in front of the entrances and opened the doors, moving out of the way.

Naofumi watched with bated breath as his fiancée stepped outside, an easy smile on her face. Her gaze roamed across the crowd for a few moments, passing right by him, and a frown momentarily crossed her features.

She looks good. Sharp. Stunning as always, he thought with relief, warmth spreading through his chest. His heart rate sped up even more when he noticed that she'd tied his gift around her left upper arm. Malty…

She stepped to the side, and a second girl followed her out of the carriage. It was the one with the pink hair: Lesty. The two briefly conversed before splitting up. Malty made toward a wooden platform that was currently unoccupied. Normally, it was used for announcements or perhaps performances. Part of it had been damaged during the Wave. Knights flanked her, following her onto the platform.

Meanwhile, Motoyasu had climbed out of the second carriage, followed by his two remaining party members. He took a spot in front of the platform.

"What's she doing here," Raphtalia mumbled, face grim. "Are you happy about this, Mr. Naofumi?"

"Always smile," he reminded her.

"Oh. Right." She cringed, then faced forward with a forced and barely passable smile on her face while she looked at Malty. "I'm sorry, Mr. Naofumi."

"Don't be. Let's wait and see what happens." How will those two ever get along?

"Quiet!" barked one of the knights standing next to Malty on the platform. "You are honored to be in the presence of Malty S Melromarc, first Princess. Show some respect!"

The crowd's murmuring silenced. A few fell on their knees.

"Now now," Malty said, gesturing for them to rise. "There's no need for that." She said something to her knight, then took a step forward, her right hand momentarily reaching to Naofumi's gift, caressing it. He desperately wanted to kiss that delicious smile off her face.

"Villagers of Riyute," she announced. "I know you probably aren't in the mood for empty words and promises… but let me personally-and in the name of my father, the King-praise you for your bravery and perseverance in these trying times. I fought alongside the Heroes against the Wave spawn, but I can't imagine how difficult things must have been for you. And yet, it could have been worse."

She let her gaze swipe across the dejected crowd. "Yes, let's not forget who you have to thank for the fortunate outcome of this catastrophe. The knights of the castle, who drove away the Wave spawn with vigor, and, of course"-her smile brightened-"the Shield Hero."

Murmurs of agreement sounded all-around.

Did she really talk to her father? Naofumi thought, heart palpitating. He couldn't know. But he did know that should she now announce their engagement, he'd race up there and draw her into a tight embrace-consequences be damned-then never leave her side again.

Malty cleared her throat. "The Shield Hero… is he among you today?"

People twisted and turned to look, and it only took a few seconds before all the attention shifted onto him.

"I am!" Naofumi exclaimed and stepped forward, Raphtalia and Kuro flanking him. Cheering sounded.

Their gazes met, and time seemed to stand still for a moment as they smiled at each other.

A knight tapped Malty on the shoulder, and she broke eye contact. "Good. For it is the Shield Hero I am here for."

Naofumi's heart was thudding like crazy now.

"Word of the Shield Hero's accomplishments has spread far and has been the most debated topic at the court. As such, it has been decided that the Shield Hero should receive another reward." She extended a hand to her left, and a knight handed her a scroll, which she unrolled.

"Villagers of Riyute," she read, "due to his actions during the Wave, the Shield Hero has been granted the right to be appointed governor of Riyute. To accomplish this, a contest will be held. More specifically, a race, seeing how the Shield Hero is in possession of a suitable mount. The Spear Hero, Motoyasu Kitamura"-she pointed to the side, where Motoyasu stood with a smile and waving next to one of the dragons that had drawn his carriage-"will represent the crown and be the Shield Hero's opponent."

A race? Naofumi thought, bewildered. That seems a little odd. But perhaps things are done like that in this world.

"Ha!" Kuro said. "As if I'll lose to that stinky dragon!"

Naofumi snorted. He's right, though, he thought, there's no way we're gonna lose. But perhaps that's exactly Malty's plan. To let me win without being too obvious about the fact that she's supporting me. He shot her a smile.

"Do you accept, Shield Hero?" Malty asked, smirking.

"Of course!"

She turned to the side and gave some instructions. Knights sprang into motion and made to set up the course on which the race would be held. The whole situation was a bit ridiculous, but Naofumi couldn't help but find it amusing. Now with Malty back to her usual self, he was a lot more at ease.

"Shield Hero?"

"Yes?" Naofumi turned to the voice. It was the governor of Riyute: a middle-aged man with dark, greying hair and brown eyes. Other villagers were flanking him, some looking angry-perhaps betrayed.

"Are you sure about this?" the governor asked. "Not to be presumptuous, but can you spare the time to actually govern our city and manage-"

Naofumi held up a hand. "Don't worry. Even if I win and get appointed governor, you'll still be in charge and retain all privileges." The man frowned. "But… why accept in the first place then?"

Naofumi shrugged. "It would be rude to decline when the King has gone out of his way to send his daughter. As I said: If I win, nothing will change, except that I'll have a new fancy title the people at court can speculate and giggle about." And some recognition, not to mention that Motoyasu will have suffered another shameful loss.

"Ah. I see." The governor relaxed. Some of the villagers were shaking their heads, muttering about the nobility and too much free time.

"And who knows… If I'm governor, perhaps I can manage to garner some more resources for the rebuilding efforts."

"That would be appreciated." The governor bowed. "Either way, we are deeply in your debt for everything you've done, Shield Hero."

Naofumi waved it off and walked over toward Motoyasu, who stood with his dragon mount where the race would begin. "Motoyasu. I thought you wanted to beat me the next time we faced off against each other?"

He scowled. "Don't act so cocky. Everyone knows that dragons are superior to Filolials."

"Is that so? Why did you want to know where I got Kuro from, then?"

"I was just curious about your cheats. Damn cheater."

Naofumi didn't quite manage to hold back a grin.

Kuro was glaring at the dragon, releasing a low growl. "Tch! As if I'll lose against this one."

A knight stepped up to them. He gave some more information about the race: specifically, that they would have to complete the course three times in order to win. "Everything clear? Then please take your positions."

"Kuro. Transform."

"Yes, Mr. Naofumi." While in his Filolial form, his pants and vest were in the shape of black bands with red lines making them visible against his plumage. One was wrapped around his lower body, sitting in front of his legs and a little above the tail. The band from the vest went around his wings, creating two ribbons on his upper back.

Naofumi jumped onto Kuro's back and grasped the bands of the vest for stability. It was a lot easier than to hold onto just the feathers as before.

"Are you ready?" the knight asked. "Then take your positions."

Motoyasu had also seated himself on his dragon and joined Naofumi at the starting line.

"Good luck, Mr. Naofumi!" Raphtalia cheered from the front of the crowd.

Naofumi offered her a smile and a nod before turning away.

Malty was standing on the track's other side with arms crossed. "Do not disappoint me, Motoyasu."

The idiot laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Naofumi tried to catch her gaze, but the race was about to start.

"Three, two, one. Go!"

Kuro shot into motion and pushed himself off on powerful legs. Gravel crunched beneath his talons. Naofumi desperately held onto ribbons of Kuro's vest, fearing they would snap and leave him shamefully tumbling to the ground in front of his fiancée.

Coughing sounded from behind. Wind rushing past his ears, Naofumi turned to smirk at Motoyasu, who'd just emerged from the cloud of dust Kuro had left behind. The blond was glaring, urging his dragon to go faster.

They rounded a corner, and Naofumi focused ahead for a moment to not lose balance. Motoyasu appeared not long after.

The dragon was slowly gaining speed until it was nearly keeping up with Kuro's speed, but there was already a good distance between them.

Kuro did a left turn, and Motoyasu disappeared behind the house they'd just rounded. Naofumi focused ahead. Well, this will be easy . They kept increasing their lead.

It was about half-way to the start/finish point when Kuro suddenly slowed down. They were passing by the forest at Riyute's east side at the moment.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know. It's like… there's a sudden wind blowing against me."

"I don't feel any wind." Was it magic? He checked his HUD and found the symbol of a debuff next to Kuro's HP: a downward pointing arrow. Someone's interfering with the race? Hidden between the trees? On Malty's orders or not?

"Ha!" Motoyasu exclaimed from behind. "Don't celebrate too early! I'll beat you this time!" He was gaining distance and would overtake them soon if things kept going like this. Probably before they even went into round two.

"Can you go faster, Kuro?"

"I can try something…" He turned a corner, and while on a stretch of straight road, he chanted, "In the name of the Shield Hero and my friends, make me faster. First Wind Speed up!"

Nothing happened. Then, they suddenly were back to their previous speed.

"Good job, Kuro!"

"I failed. The headwind is just gone now."

"Oh."

Kuro stopped abruptly, dodging to the side, and Naofumi nearly got thrown off his back. He was about to demand what was going on when he spotted an earthen hole-that was suspiciously round-in the road next to them. Damn cheaters.

Laughing, Motoyasu raced past. "See you at the finish line!"

Idiot, Naofumi thought. It's only the first round.

Kuro shot into motion again, slowly gaining distance. More holes appeared in the ground, but Kuro was dodging them more easily now. There always was a little glow before the hole formed, giving enough time to dodge. They passed by the finish line, going into round two. Motoyasu was nowhere to be seen, already past the next turn.

"Watch this!" Kuro exclaimed. "In the name of the Shield Hero and his divine cuisine, make me faster. First Wind Speed up!" A sheen of magic shimmered across his black feathers, and they were suddenly going at least 1.5 times the speed as before, rapidly gaining on Motoyasu.

Naofumi grinned. "Good boy! Let's go!"

How is Kuro losing? Raphtalia thought, absentmindedly twisting

Naofumi's ring, while they entered into round two- after the Spear

Hero. Something isn't right. She looked around, not spotting the evil Princess. Something's going on, and she's responsible. I know it. And I won't let her!

Raphtalia made her way through the crowd and raced toward another spot of the course, hoping she'd arrive there before Naofumi.

She didn't really understand why Naofumi had even agreed to the race, but somehow, it was important to him that he won. So it was important to her as well. She knew he had only told the villagers what they'd wanted to hear. There had to be another reason.

Perhaps he'll explain it to me later, she thought, and a little heat crept across her cheeks. She shook the thought off. I need to focus! I can't disappoint him again!

She'd arrived at the other side of Riyute where a forest ran past. The course briefly exited the grounds of the village here and continued on a path in-between the trees.

"In the name of Melromarc and our way of life," a voice chanted from ahead.

Raphtalia dashed toward it. Leaves and twigs rustled and snapped beneath her boots, preventing her from making out the rest of the words. But she'd heard enough.

The moment she spotted the knight, hidden behind a tree and clearly interfering with magic somehow, Raphtalia drew her bronze dagger from its sheath on her left thigh and put it in front of the knight's throat before he had even noticed her approach. He froze.

"Don't move," Raphtalia whispered harshly. She pushed him against the tree he'd been hiding behind, the blade of her dagger tickling his throat. "What are you doing?" He swallowed. "I… let go!"

"Tell me what's going on!"

"I'll tell you nothing! Release me, and I may have mercy on you, scoundrel!"

Raphtalia tightly gripped her dagger. She was itching to slice his throat, but Naofumi was very clear about not killing unless necessary.

The unmistakable sound of Kuro's talons thundering across dirt sounded from the right, and her ears perked up. Raphtalia was frozen as they raced past, leaving a wave of wind in their wake that rustled the leaves of the trees and bushes. They hadn't noticed her or the knight.

"I know you've been interfering with the race!" Raphtalia hissed, heart racing. "Kuro would never lose to a dragon! Tell me what's going on!"

The knight didn't say anything.

Raphtalia gritted her teeth in frustration. She removed the dagger from his throat, grabbed the knight by the head, and, snarling, bashed him against the tree. Satisfaction flooded her at his pained grunt. On the second hit, his body lost tension, and she let his unconscious form drop to the ground.

She sheathed the dagger and raced back the way she'd come from, desperately deciding what to do.

Try to find more knights and stop them? she thought, passing by the barn Kuro had sometimes spent the night. Or go to the start and tell what I've seen ? Maybe"There she is! Seize her!"

A wave of hot rage shot through Raphtalia at the sound of that hated voice. A multitude of footsteps sounded all around.

Something moved to her left, and Raphtalia just barely managed to duck beneath the thrust of a sword, having to steady herself with a hand against the ground, gravel biting into her skin. She twisted and drew her parrying dagger just in time to block the knight trying to slash her shoulder with his sword. They'd locked blades, and the knight was trying to push down on her. She was stronger, but the position evened out the odds.

Raphtalia recovered her balance, drew her bronze dagger with her other hand, and rammed it into the knight's wrist, drawing blood.

He screamed, dropped the sword, and stumbled back. Raphtalia cut her triumph short and rolled backward. A sword crashed into the ground where she'd been a moment ago.

She let go of her bloodied dagger as she jumped to her feet and drew her sword.

"Get her!" the evil Princess ordered.

Raphtalia shot her a glare, then had to deflect the attack of a knight.

A dozen more closed in on her. She dodged, slashed at a knight's thigh to immobilize him, then had to block the next attack.

I can't win this! Raphtalia thought, eyes frantically assessing her surroundings. Not if I have to pay attention not to kill. She jumped out of the way of two knights thrusting at her with spears. More were streaming in from all directions, trying to surround her. Only the way where she'd come from was open.

She turned and ran.

"Don't let her get away!"

Yelling for her to stop and barking orders, they stormed after her. Chanting sounded above the noises, but she couldn't make out their words.

In front of her, the ground shimmered, then shifted into a deep hole.

Raphtalia just barely managed not to fall inside. She dashed around. When she looked up, she was greeted with an earthen wall instead of the way that'd lead her back to the forest-territory where she could fight superior numbers more easily.

The earthen wall was already taller than her and kept on rising. By the time she reached it, climbing was impossible. Other ways had also been cut off. She was trapped.

Back to the wall, Raphtalia struck a combat stand, Magic Steel sword and parrying dagger held out threateningly.

The knights slowed a little, approaching in firm ranks. She'd stand no chance against them. The ground below her glowed, and she jumped to the side before the hole could form.

"In the name of the Shield Hero and my friends," Raphtalia chanted, thinking of the people she cared most about in the world and that they were counting on her. "Help me escape. First Shadow Dash!" She pictured the spot behind the evil Princess. The by-now-familiar chill of magic coursing through her body washed over her. She closed her eyes, willing her body to transport where intended.

When she opened her eyes, a sword tip was rapidly nearing her face. She instinctively knocked it aside with her parrying dagger and jerked out of the way. The blade crashed into the stone wall behind her.

Raphtalia rolled to the side. She screamed in frustration.

Fine! You want to die, then die! she fumed, and when the next knight attacked, she didn't hold back. He survived her first strike, thoughsadly-and fell back to let others take his place.

Blocking and dodging as best as she could, Raphtalia retreated to the last space she had, then she was trapped in the corner between the earth barrier and a windowless barn wall.

I'm sorry, Mr. Naofumi, she thought, readying herself for her last act of defiance. The moment they cast another earth hole beneath her, she'd have no choice but to charge.

Suddenly, the air in front of her shimmered, and a plume of pitchblack smoke appeared, then dissipated. A cloaked figure remained in its place. The figure was holding a dagger, blocking a sword strike with it, and had stopped another sword with a bare hand.

The knights seemed frozen. Raphtalia watched in confusion and relief, holding her breath.

"What's going on? Get her!" the evil Princess's voice echoed through the street.

"S-shadow!" a knight gasped and took a step back. The others were shooting the newcomer uneasy looks, leaning backward, murmuring among themselves.

"Stay back," the Shadow instructed in a soft, female voice. "Sheathe your weapons. Now!"

One knight immediately obeyed, and others followed.

"B-but she attacked the Princess!" a knight protested. He had the signs of a leader on his armor. "She's a criminal! We need to capture her!"

"I'll sort out this matter," the Shadow said and hid her dagger beneath her cloak. "You've done your duty. Now stand down."

"Y-yes!"

Raphtalia barely believed her eyes when the knights stepped back and to the side, sheathing their weapons.

"What are you doing?" the evil Princess demanded. "Why are you-" Her eyes widened when she spotted the cloaked figure standing in front of Raphtalia, then she scowled.

Raphtalia's ears perked up; Kuro was approaching. After another few seconds, he appeared around a nearby corner with Naofumi on his back.

Mr. Naofumi! Intense relief flooded her, and she relaxed her combat stance a little.

He assessed the situation, then demanded, "What's going on here?"

The evil Princess was sobbing. "The Demi attacked me!" she shrieked and held up her hand. Blood was running out of a cut on its back.

What? Raphtalia thought, glaring. I didn't!

"My knights fought her off. She tried to kill them, then fled. She needs to face punishment for what she did!"

Raphtalia watched the knights and their wounds, not without a little pride. One was kneeling on the ground, clutching his injured leg. Another was unconscious. Many more had suffered injuries.

"She attacked the Princess with this dagger," a knight said, and Raphtalia's heart skipped a beat when he was presenting her bloodied bronze dagger.

"Is that true?" Naofumi asked, and he looked angry. Very angry. "Did you attack the Princess, Raphtalia?"

A whimper escaped her, and she lowered her weapons. Her bloodied weapons. She grimaced. Guilt was churning in her stomach even if she hadn't really done anything wrong.

"I didn't!" Raphtalia yelled, voice shaky. "I… They were cheating and interfering with the race! I tried to stop them, and they attacked me! I"

"Lies!" the evil Princess screamed, glaring. "The vicious little Demi attacked me! She said that she was going to avenge the Shield Hero and insulted the crown! If it weren't-" She wiped at her eyes with her good hand. "If it weren't for my brave knights, I'd be dead now!"

The crazy pink-haired girl-Lesty-had approached her and laid a hand across her shoulders, and the evil Princess leaned into her. They crouched while Lesty treated the wound with a spell.

"The Shield Hero's companion didn't attack the Princess," a soft voice sounded. "I'm a Shadow in her Majesty's service. I saw everything. The Demi girl only defended herself. There must have been some misunderstanding." She offered Raphtalia a nod, then walked away. The knights shot her wary glances and let her pass, careful not to get in the way.

The evil Princess was standing again, blood and injury gone. "Well."

She sniffed. "Perhaps I've not seen correctly. I'm not sure it was her who attacked me, now that I have a better look. Truly, those filthy Demis all look alike."

Some of the knights chuckled.

Raphtalia glared. What an obvious excuse! She looked around, waiting for someone to call her out on it. But no one did. The Shadow had disappeared.

Kuro dashed toward her. Naofumi jumped off his back, and Raphtalia immediately sheathed her weapons and threw herself at him.

"Hey hey, easy." He hugged her back. "Are you okay, Raphtalia?"

She nodded. A pleased hum escaped her when he settled a hand on her head and gently caressed her ears. She relaxed, letting his familiar scent and touch calm her agitated heart. Feelings of comfort and safety settled in her stomach, and her chest warmed with love.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Naofumi," she mumbled. "I couldn't escape them. I couldn't cast my spell, and I-"

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm the one who's sorry. I should have seen this coming. You did nothing wrong."

"Thank you." Happy tears were pricking her eyes.

"We should leave now. Let's quickly get our things before she tries anything else."

"Yes, Mr. Naofumi!"

Malty was gritting her teeth so harshly, she feared they might break and that she'd be again in need of Lesty's healing abilities.

Curse that Shadow! she fumed, not hiding her glare as she watched

Naofumi and the Demi slut secure the last of their baggage onto the odd Filolial. How dare it interfere like that! In the defense of some worthless Demi, no less! Damn you, Mother!

The villagers had returned to whatever menial tasks they usually performed, and the knights were readying the carriages.

Malty could still see the sickening display of the damned Demi whore embracing her Naofumi in broad daylight-before her very eyes. She'd never felt such burning hatred toward a person before, not even Mother on the day Malty had lost her birthright. It needed a lot of self-control to not walk up there and strike the animal down for her offense.

Naofumi helped up the slut on the Filolial's back before taking his own seat. He put an arm around her waist, and Malty's rage reached new heights.

A wave of heat flashed through the Tear. She grimaced and needed to focus to extinguish the flames that had coated her clenched fists without her meaning to.

Naofumi cast her a last glance, whose meaning Malty couldn't quite place, then rode out of the village on the north side.

Run away, my Naofumi , my love, she thought, staring after him. I shall find you. I shall take back the things I so generously gifted you. I shall strike down your slaves and strip you of your armor. And when you have nothing left, you will see your foolishness and beg me for forgiveness. Then I'll be your Fail-Safe, and we'll be together like we're meant to be.

"Malty?"

She started and, not bothering to hide the smirk on her face, turned toward her best friend. "Yes?"

Lesty gave her a brief hug. "I just talked- Malty! Your hands!"

Malty frowned.

Lesty grasped her hands and wiped away blood with her thumbs to reveal faint gouges where she'd dug her fingernails harshly into her palms. "Let me take care of that, Malty."

"Please."

"In the name of justice and what is right," Lesty chanted. "Help those in need. First Aqua Heal!"

Malty shot her friend a smile as the soothing magic settled over her. The wound closed instantly.

"First Water." Lesty washed away the blood, then retrieved a purple towel from the satchel she wore around her waist. "I've talked to some villagers," she said while gently rubbing Malty's hands. "Apparently, the Shield Hero and his party have been staying with a woman and her two children while in the village. Some say they sleep-"

Malty marched off abruptly. A woman! she fumed. Of course, it's a woman! She knew, of course, that the little Demi slut had not always been an adult. It'd been her who'd screamed and who'd interrupted their wonderful meeting on that day. But even before she'd aged and used her mature body to seduce her Naofumi, he'd screwed around with some common village whore.

Why? she thought and felt the pricking of tears in her eyes. Her chest constricted in pain. Why, my Naofumi?

"Malty, wait up. It's only a rumor. I don't think-"

Malty whirled around, glaring. "You don't think what?"

Lesty swallowed, then offered a smile. "Ahem. You don't even know where the family's house is located."

"Tell me!"

"Malty, it's only a rumor. You need to calm down."

"I'll calm down once I've spoken to that… woman."

Lesty sighed. "Fine. Follow me."

They walked back the distance she'd stormed off and crossed the market square. From her spot next to the carriages, Elena watched them pass, holding one of Motoyasu's monster eggs in her hands and sending them a helpless look. The Spear Idiot had truly lost his mind after his defeat against her Naofumi. Malty snorted.

A knight stepped in her path. "Your Highness."

They halted. "Yes?"

"About the race. The Shield Hero finished first. What should we do about that?"

Malty frowned. "He won, so appoint him governor. It's not like it matters." She made a careless hand gesture, then continued on her way with Lesty.

"Right away, Your Highness!"

Lesty led her through the village. "This is the house, I believe."

The door was unlocked, so Malty entered without knocking. The house smelled of spice and soap. Malty wrinkled her nose.

A woman was busy preparing a meal with the assistance of her daughter. She looked rather plain with simple clothing, dirty blonde hair secured in a braid, and soft features. Still prettier than some of the ladies at court. Malty glared and cleared her throat.

"Pete, what's-" The woman's eyebrows shot up as she spotted Malty.

"Hello. I understand that the Shield Hero has been staying with you.

Is that correct?"

"Yes, indeed."

"I see." Malty crouched in front of the little girl and smiled. "Why don't you go outside for a moment. I need to have a private word with your mother."

"But mom said-"

"Hush Anette. It's alright. Do as the Princess says."

"P-princess?" The girl made big eyes at Malty.

Lesty kneeled down next to her and took the girl by a hand. "Hey, I'm Lesty. You can come with me while the Princess talks with your mom. Wanna see a magic trick?" Unsurprisingly, Lesty was good with children. Anette cheered and, after a last look at her mother, happily followed Lesty outside.

Malty dropped her fake smile the moment the door closed. Arms crossed, she stalked around the room, inspecting the poor state of the living arrangements with disdain.

"Your Highness?" The woman did her best to perform a curtsy. "What do I owe the honor of your visit. What can I do for you?"

Malty didn't answer for a moment. "What is your name?"

"Lucetta, Your Highness."

"Lucetta…" The name left a bad taste on Malty's tongue. "Tell me, what is your relationship with the Shield Hero?"

"Naofumi? Well, he's been my guest."

Malty hummed. "And only that? I've heard that you and him…"

"Slept with each other?" Lucetta giggled, waving a hand. "It's only stupid talk-not that I haven't tried, but…"

"But what?" Malty asked slowly and took a step closer.

"He's committed to his girlfriend. Apparently, he had someone back in his world before he got summoned. It's so sad…"

"Is that so?" Naofumi had never given any indication for that.

Committed to me, she thought, and she really wanted to believe that. But evidently, the little Demi slut had him wrapped around her finger.

Malty took another step toward the woman, and she took a step back. "Despite that, you still desire him?"

"Your Highness?" Lucetta asked, and she flattened herself against the wall as Malty kept nearing her.

"You want him? Naofumi?"

"I, I mean, he saved us during the Wave. And he's always so friendly and-"

Malty grasped the woman by the shoulders and pressed her into the wall. She relished the cringe of pain the harshness of her grip caused. "Has no one ever told you that you," Malty said softly, "shouldn't lay hands on what isn't yours?"

"Your High-" Her eyes were wide with surprise and fear, then widened in realization. "It's you," Lucetta gasped. She seemed torn in-between giggling and hyperventilating. "Oh my God! It's you. That smooth-talking liar. I should have known- You're…"

Malty grinned. "I am… what?"

"You're his girlfriend," she breathed, a look of panic in her eyes.

Her grin widened. " Fiancée. "

Lucetta let out a little squeak. "I, I…"

"Yes?"

"I didn't know! I swear! A-and, nothing happened. Naofumi, he…" She swallowed. "He denied all my advances. H-he wouldn't even tolerate a single k-kiss. I swear! Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Malty stared into those panicked eyes. Drank up the terror in them.

She was almost sad that the woman was telling the truth. Of course, Naofumi's loyalty warmed her heart. If only his loyalty belonged to me alone…

"Your Hi- Highness?"

Smirking, Malty leaned forward. "You see," she whispered into the woman's ear. "Naofumi is mine . And I really, really don't like it when people try to take away what rightfully belongs to me." She relished the way Lucetta was frozen and how she was observing Malty out of the corner of her eyes, taking gasping breaths. "But you didn't know that, did you? And you didn't actually touch my Naofumi, did you?" Lucetta frantically shook her head.

Malty retreated. "Good, good. I'm glad we had the chance to chat and clear up this little… misunderstanding." She raised a hand to Lucetta's face and brushed a stray strand of hair out of it, then laid her hand on the woman's cheek. "It would have been a shame if I'd need to take something-or someone-from you in return. A real

shame…"

Lucetta was shivering, and Malty felt every little movement, reveling in the terror.

She ran her thumb across the woman's cheek, gently like a lover, and smiled. "I trust that you'll be a little more… considerate about other people's possessions in the future, won't you, dear Lucetta?" "Y-yes!" she squeaked.

"That's what I thought." Malty smirked. "I'll let you live… this time. A word of advice for this second chance you've been so generously granted: Keep this conversation-and your hands-to yourself."

"Yes! I, I mean, th-thank you, You- Your Highness!"

Malty released her, and the woman collapsed. Lucetta put her head in her hands and started to sob uncontrollably, shaking.

Malty sniffed, trying to ignore the stench of piss. "Disgusting commoner." She turned her back and left the woman with her pathetic despair.

That's my waifu. ❤