Chapter 4-Betrayal

The morning rays of sunlight slanted into the vast throne room, but the bright light gave no cheer to the assembled nobles, Heroes, followers and servants. The doors at the far end were violently thrown open and an ashen Naofumi dressed only in his brown pants, and tan undershirt was roughly thrown to the ground by half a dozen guards. The youth was still in absolute shock over what had happened. Last night, he and his faithful but perpetually morose mage follower had split the bed and conversed deep into the night over Takia's horrid experiences of living through three successive Incursions. It made his heart squeeze in empathy for his tormented new friend. They had finally drifted off in the wee hours of the night, only to have the door kicked in by irate palace guards. Only then had the Shield Hero taken note that his room was stripped bare and all his money and clothes were gone. To add to his misfortune as he and the luckless spellcaster were roughly dragged out of the room, he spied the exact spot where he had left the charcoal sketch of the girl he had embraced in his hometown library…except that there was nothing there now except a pile of ashes. He would have preferred a kick to his groin than seeing that priceless picture destroyed. He gasped out in complete disorientation, "H-hey king, what gives? What did I do?"

"You dare to deny your foul deeds, you utter filth," the king roared.

The guards who had been careful not to physically harm the Shield Hero were more than pleased to beat Takia into a battered and bruised mess. They threw the dazed mage onto the floor, where his wounds soon left a tinge of crimson in the carpet. He moaned softly as he outright begged, "Blame me if…if it pleases you. Spare Master…Master Naofumi."

The Shield Hero gaped in disbelief at the sight of his friends standing about 20 feet in front of King Aultcray with mixtures of scorn, fury and despair plainly visible in their features. Clint was glaring daggers at him, Charlotte was crying on Cyril's shoulder and Jerry was looking at him with distraught horror. Their followers to a man and woman looked at Naofumi with utter spite. All the nobles assembled on the balconies above cast pitiless judgment on the Shield Hero as a vile and irredeemable criminal. He finally spotted Myne in her brand new armor cowering behind Clint. He called out to her, "Miss Myne, what the hell is going on?" He grimaced as the palace guards held the polearm blades at his throat, "What did I do?"

The king rose and glared daggers at his nemesis, "Fair Myne, you will need to repeat your testimony…as much as it pains you."

Myne sobbed piteously and nodded even as she was inwardly relishing every second of her destruction of her plaything, "L-last night, M-master Naofumi and his depraved follower…they broke into my room and as T-t-takia held me down, the Shield Hero ripped off my clothes! He took my…he took my everything!"

Aultcray thundered at Naofumi, "What say you, vile swine?"

The panicked young man pleaded, "I did w-what? I couldn't have! I didn't do it! I was in my own room all night; so was Takia."

Clint fumed and snapped, "So why did Miss Myne wrapped up only in a blanket hammer on my door early this morning? How do you explain that, 'buddy'?"

Charlotte stared at Naofumi with bloodshot eyes, "How…how could you Naofumi? I thought you were a Hero!"

The Japanese youth clenched his fists as it finally dawned on him that he had been set up, "Look, what actual evidence do you actually have? Wouldn't the actions you describe have woken up half the hallway? Don't you have laws to guarantee the accused rights?"

The king's furious violet eyes narrowed to slits, "Yes we do, but this country is a matriarchy. Melromarc reveres its women. What you have done would carry the death penalty to all but a Cardinal Hero, you fiend!" He gave an exaggerated arm sweep as he barked at a guard, "Show him!"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," the terrified youth stammered as he laid out a set of torn violet women's undergarments. "T-this was found in the Shield Hero's room at the inn this morning."

"I feel so violated," Myne wailed.

"You are guilty as charged, Shield Hero. I will make sure your partner in crime is beheaded publicly by the time the sun sets." The grey haired monarch seethed, "However I will not touch a hair on your head. You will go forth…in disgrace and ruin. I will swear on my queen's honor that your unforgivable deeds shall be forthwith transmitted across the entire kingdom via our crystal communication orbs. Do you understand your situation now, boy?"

Naofumi caught Myne's green eyes meeting his own as she deliberately stuck out her tongue at him, safely out of view behind the Heroes and retainers. His despair turned to rage as he realized that bitch had robbed him, destroyed his most cherished memento, and ruined his life…for what? For a few cheap laughs? He growled, "Myne, you she-devil! You framed me…I hate you!"

"Oh, Your Majesty, please keep that monster away from me! I can't bear to look at him," Myne pleaded along with copious crocodile tears.

Jerry couldn't believe his eyes. Why had everything suddenly turned to hell overnight? He spoke in an agonized whisper, "Why?"

Aultcray nearly felt like doing a little jig. Who knew revenge could taste this sweet? "Know this, Shield Hero, you will be allowed to live, but you will live in infamy for the rest of your miserable days. Your only follower will be dead, and you will be utterly alone. We still need you for the Waves, but everyone in this Kingdom will now see you as the lowest of the lowest scum."

Just as Naofumi was pushed to his absolute limit, to everyone's shock, Cyril boldly stepped out of the line and turned to face the king, and stammered, "M-majesty, Sir N-naofumi is innocent."

The room stopped dead as all eyes were on the trembling knight. No one was more surprised than the Shield Hero himself. Why was a near stranger sticking up for him?

The king sneered at his former guard, "Kuznetsov, correct? What possible reason could you put this traumatized maiden's word over that scum-sucking Shield Hero?"

Verri cried out in horror, "Brother, shut your stupid mouth. Now!" Did her insane sibling have a death wish?

Cyril gave an apologetic smile to his treasured sister, "Your majesty, only I am to be held responsible for my actions. Can you promise me that?"

"You may lose your head, impudent lad, but yes I swear only you will feel my hand of my judgment."

Cyril closed his eyes and took a deep breath and then sealed his fate, if nothing else then to atone for his bottomless pit of guilt for his craven failures. "Myne's real name is First Princess Malty S. Melromarc and this is the fifth time in two years she had thrown false accusations of assault upon innocent men. I know this because I personally escorted the condemned to the guillotine. I saw those haunted eyes that pleaded with me as Master Naofumi's eyes do now to explain to them why the Princess could smash their lives to bits for no reason besides her own titillation. Would you trust a serial liar who can use her power to casually annihilate lives without a shred of remorse? Or do you trust the word of the Shield Hero; who has never acted without the slightest sliver of dishonor?"

The king was ready to throttle this moron with his bare hands, "Is that all you have to say, Kuznetsov?"

The guard's face was clearly displaying weary resignation, "Yes your majesty."

He seethed through a contorted expression, "Guards, seize him. I want that disgrace of a guardsmasn decapitated right next to that odious Mage Takia."

"You son of a whore," Myne roared as she sent a fireball at full power into Cyril's face, causing the guard to collapse on the ground and writhe in agony. She beamed maniacally at putting that bastard in his place. Now his family would have to pay.

"Cyril," Charlotte screamed in horror as she ran to her loyal companion and gaped at his seared face. She knelt at his side and squeezed his shoulder as the tears filled her eyes. "Is Naofumi really innocent?"

Now with his hair burned off and his skin blackened, the guard was in too much pain to do anything but nod once, as his brown eyes begged her to believe him.

The Bow Hero stood up slowly after giving her new friend a draught to heal the worst of his burns. She turned to face the harridan Myne, and snarled, "Well, your Highness, it is a pleasure to meet this kingdom's princess at last. It's a good thing you have both the names of Miss Myne and Princess Malty…it suits your two-faced nature perfectly."

The First Princess' mind reeled in shock. This wasn't in the script. Of all the Heroes, surely Charlotte would understand her story the most right? "You can't turn on this kingdom, Bow Hero. You are worshiped as an avatar of the Three Heroes God himself. You must break off all contact with the disgraced Shield Hero…the man who abused me!"

Charlotte tenderly helped her unspeakably brave retainer back up to his feet, "Maybe you should call it the Two Heroes Church now."

Jerry knew that everything had gone sideways, but he might as well go with the insane spirit. He turned to Malty, "Your Highness, what level are you?"

She sputtered in wide eyed incomprehension, "What difference does it make? He attacked me! He violated me! He needs to suffer!" Why weren't the Three Heroes sticking with the plan? They had to despise the cursed Shield Hero.

He unsheathed his sword and carefully held it straight down in front of him as its crystal pulsed with energy. He proclaimed as he read off his intangible screen, "Princess Malty S. Melromarc, Swordswoman and Fire Mage, Level twenty." He pointed it next at the prone Mage, "Takia Aliki, Earth and Wind Mage, Level four." Finally he scanned Naofumi and managed a slight smile, "Naofumi Iwatani, Shield Hero, Level four."

The king growled in frustration, "How do their levels bear any connection to the Shield Heroes foul deeds, Sword Hero?"

Jerry somehow knew that even if all his dreams of this wondrous adventure had turned to crap, at least he would face his end with honesty. It was the least he could do. "Everyone saw what the Princess just did to Cyril. How could a Level twenty fire mage not simply leave a pathetically underleveled Shield Hero and mage slain on the floor with a few judicious bursts of flame?"

The room was now deathly silent.

Jerry shook his head ruefully, "I'm sorry Your Majesty and Your Highness, but I must stand with the Shield Hero Naofumi as well."

Charlotte managed a defiant smile, "I guess we're down to the One Hero Church. Sorry."

"Make that the No Heroes Church," Clint stated flatly as strode over to his friends with a disgusted look on his face, and ire burning behind in his dark eyes behind his rectangular glasses.

Malty's temper roared out of control, "Traitors! How could you all betray me? I thought you were the Three Cardinal Heroes of Legend! I can now see that these are false avatars, Father! Let us dispose of all of them and start anew with a fresh summoning of new Heroes that will save our fair lands!"

King Aultcray was livid with rage. This was all that damn mage's fault for tainting the summoning process itself. He had allowed Malty to 'play' with the Mage Takia until the summoning ritual was completed and the curse he placed on the hourglass was lifted. Apparently that had proved to be a huge miscalculation. Now he belatedly understood exactly what the mysterious violet gemstone had done. It had summoned four stalwart allies who would always have each other's backs, instead of sending the Shield Hero to his well deserved hell. He squared his shoulders, "No my daughter, we don't have enough time remaining. Just let them go and wallow in their self-pity. Even if all the Cardinal Heroes turn on us, they are still obligated to fight the Second Wave. If they all perish, then we shall start anew." He looked at the followers with a scowl, "Servants of the Heroes, what say you? Do you wish to throw away your lives by following your deluded masters? You may depart with no repercussions if you exit through the far doors into the throne room. You have exactly sixty seconds."

One by one, the mercenaries gave each other terrified glances as they had no desire to stand against the royal might of the kingdom of Melromarc. They shuffled down the long chamber out the door as the status screens of the Bow, Spear and Sword Hero indicated that their followers were deserting them en masse. The last one to leave was a visibly sobbing Varri, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Sir Jerry, I know you can never forgive me, but I must follow my monarch and my faith."

Jerry teared up as well as he patted her arm affectionately, "Go back to mentoring new guards, Varri. It was an honor working with you."

"Be safe sis," Cyril smiled through the intense pain.

Valeria broke into uncontrollable tears as she dashed out of the chamber with a second to spare.

The king decreed with a stony face, "Let it be known that no loyal citizen of Melromarc is to aid the Cardinal Heroes as a follower under penalty of death. The Hero Naofumi is hereby guilty of the charge of assaulting my daughter. The other Three Heroes are not to be harmed but they cannot be trusted as they falsely believed their compatriot's dissembling, and thus were deluded into supporting the Shield Heroes lie."

Malty swore to see all of them suffer a tortuous death…every last one of those puny ants.

Four Cardinal Heroes and two followers were all that remained behind. After helping the bruised mage up, all of them banded around Naofumi and gave him tight hugs in turn.

Naofumi's saw his vision blur with tears, "Y-you all sacrificed your reputation for me. Charlotte. Jerry. Clint. Cyril. Takia." He broke down as he was escorted by his friends past the stunned palace guards, "All of you. Thank you."

The Cardinal Heroes spitefully upended their moneybags and let their all of their remaining coins gifted by the king spill out onto the floor as they washed their hands of their backstabbing hosts. They then briskly exited the palace gates with nothing but their holy weapons, the clothes on their backs, and their dignity.

…

Only after exiting through the massive portcullis out of the castle grounds in Castle town did the reality finally sink in. The Four Cardinal Heroes and their two followers were flat broke and regarded with fear and suspicion wherever they traveled in town. Naofumi was borrowing Jerry's dark blue cloak to protect his modesty, and Takia's shoes. The Mage had opted to go barefoot over his Master's objections as he claimed that he had experienced much worse before. They walked slowly down the street and watched merchants avert their eyes and mothers shooing their children inside. The only inhabitants that looked directly at them were the endlessly laboring servant and enslaved demihumans. Several of them spied Naofumi's silver Small shield and gave him respectful bows when no one else was looking.

Naofumi felt sick to his stomach that Princess Bitch had so effortlessly conned him and now all of his allies and new friends were suffering for his sake. He sighed deeply, "Look, it's not too late to turn around. Obviously this country hates the Shield Hero for whatever reason. I'm sure if you go back and say you're sorry-"

"Not happening, my friend," Jerry spoke sincerely as he put his arm over the Shield Hero's shoulder. "I spoke with the king last night and he seemed amenable to tolerate your presence despite the fact that many demihumans worship you, including rival kingdoms."

"Huh? You went to bat for me?"

"Yeah." The nerdy gamer nodded glumly, "For all the good it did. I tried to explain to him that were must work as a unit and support each other. That is how teams of legends accomplish superheroic feats like the Avengers, the Justice League, or the Fellowship of the Ring. They work together, play on their strengths, and support each other's weaknesses. He removed a pin from his father's medical satchel and handed it over to Naofumi with a great deal of reverence, "Here's what you stand for, Captain."

The young man wiped at his eyes and smiled shakily as he stared at the circular pin featuring concentric rings of red and white with a blue circle in the center circumscribing a white 5-pointed star. "Captain America huh? He shook his head as he pinned the symbol to his collar, "You do know I'm actually Japanese right?"

"So what, you want to give it back," Jerry replied sarcastically with a smile.

Charlotte beamed, "Looking classy there, Naofumi."

Clint grimly spoke, "Well, we're going to have to make a living somehow. Want to form a band?"

Naofumi blushed at the Bow Heroes teasing, but he still couldn't forgive himself for having them all tossed out in disgrace. "The balloon things are worth a few coppers. There are medicinal herbs I've seen in shops. If we can find them in the fields, we can heal up Cyril and Takia. Then we'll have to worry about recruiting."

Cyril grimaced in throbbing pain as the party had used up all of their potions on their followers. His burns were at least reduced to ugly burn scars. "We can't endanger lives by trying to gather forces from Melromarc. They would be put to death if captured by the crown."

Charlotte broke into a bright smile, "That's it! Remember the king's exact words: we can't recruit Melromarc citizens."

Jerry caught on, "But we can recruit anyone who is not from this country or is a demihuman servant. They can't be citizens by law."

An unexpected voice caught them all off guard. "Hey, Shield Hero! I aughta punch your lights out! I heard what you did!" The party stopped dead as Erhard the smith fearlessly stormed over and collared Naofumi.

Naofumi locked eyes with the brown-eyed blacksmith and refused to lift his arms to defend himself. Go ahead and hit me he silently thought.

"Wait. You don't have that depraved look in your eyes that I saw in the crystal transmission." He lowered his fist and sighed, "I see that the other Heroes are still with you. If they trust you then I will too, kid."

The Shield Hero gritted his teeth. So they had doctored the trial footage too? How low could King Trash and Princess Bitch sink?

Erhard noted Takia's feet, "You need shoes there, young man."

Naofumi replied, "I'm wearing his shoes actually. I was dragged out of my inn room in my underwear."

"Wait right here." The smith reentered his shop and returned with a pair of cheap leather boots, "I'm sure those Mage's undersized shoes pinch on you, so you can have this for the road.

"How much, Master Erhard?"

The smith looked conflicted, "Normally it would vend for five silvers. I'll let you have it for one silver as a thank you for your patronage. But don't sweat it."

He gratefully took the boots and gave a slight bow. "I'll pay you when I can." He turned away and left with his allies.

The blacksmith watched the weary Heroes depart and sighed at the mess the kingdom had been tossed into, "Kid…all of you…look after yourselves, okay?"

…

Working in the fields and nearby forest they had spread out and discovered that they could kill not only hundreds of the balloon beasts but they also found dozens of fierce rabbit-like critters that had soft fur pelts that could be sold. Jerry found killing them particularly hard as he owned a pet albino rabbit named Usagi back home. Yes he was a Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon fan too. As Takia took out enemy monsters with his Earth spell and his dagger, Naofumi scouted nearby and collected as many plant like specimens that he could, unlocking the Leaf shield, Yellow shield and access to medicinal concocting.

After selling off their waves to the frightened merchants who were terrified of both the Heroes and the royal edict regarding their nefarious deeds, they set up camp in a blind alleyway surrounded by stone walls and took turns resting on an abandoned cart with a broken axle. Naofumi had earlier made sure to leave a single silver coin on Erhard's shop counter. They made a primitive bonfire out of wood scraps, and sat around the fire with morose expressions. All that effort and after getting enough coin to heal Takia and Cyril fully and the very cheapest food and drink, they were only left with 57 silver among all 6 of them. The city guards passed by on patrol every hour but took one look at the group of armed adventurers and wisely opted to let them be.

Jerry munched on the hardtack after dipping it in water and winced at its appalling blandness, "Ugh. This isn't very satisfying."

Cyril seemed happy enough with the rations. "You get used to it Master Jerry."

"It tastes like Elmer's glue," Charlotte added sardonically. She took another bite and noted, "Strike that. The glue tastes better."

"Well this sucks," Clint groused as he lay on the rock hard cart platform. His dynamo magic had run out and he had no money to power it up again. So he couldn't even use his laptop to while away the empty hours.

Takia looked at his new allies with a bit of awe in his eyes permanently marked with dark bags as he was a hopeless insomniac. He had now seen three lifetimes worth of friends sacrificing for each other, and it never failed to move him. "Thank you for all you have done. I believe that you will accomplish great things someday."

Jerry tried a stab at humor, "I feel like we're a bunch of hobos. Anybody got a harmonica?"

No one laughed. Everyone retreated back to their gloomy musings.

A guttural voice broke the melancholy silence around the fire, "Ah, new patrons. What an honor!"

Everyone turned to see a short and bald wanna-be ringmaster beaming at them with gleeful avarice.

Soon enough Naofumi and Jeremiah gawked in stunned horror at the nightmare circus tent not realizing before they entered that it was full with hundreds of cuboidal iron cages containing both demihumans and beastmen. The stench was downright nauseating.

Jerry brown skin took on a paler hue as he felt sick to his stomach, "You're…a slaver?"

The short man grinned sadistically behind his opaque glasses as he gestured to the stacks of barred cages all around them, "Correct my boy! I trade in all kinds of useful commodities and since the king's edict on recruiting followers did not explicitly ban your employing demihuman of beastkin slaves, then I'm sure you'll soon be proud to own new followers that will never, ever turn on you!"

This was Jerry worst nightmare! His full name was Jeremiah Douglas White III, after his late father and grandfather. Douglas had been selected as a middle name by his great-grandmother after the celebrated abolitionist Fredrick Douglass for her infant son, and the name had been handed down with reverence across the generations. His own ancestors had been shipped in bondage from Africa to the United States centuries ago. He couldn't possibly own a slave himself! He growled out as he put his hand on his hilt and drew out his Cardinal weapon with shaking hands, "So what's stopping me for striking you down here and now, you vermin?"

Naofumi looked shocked at the situation, but he spoke soothingly to his friend as he gripped his arm, "Jerry…listen to me. We are in another world. We can't fight both the Waves and this kingdom's policy of slavery at the same time; especially in our current condition."

The slaver chuckled, "Ah, so you have reservations, Sword Hero? You are free to look elsewhere for help, although I doubt you will find any humans willing to defy King Melromarc's edict." He calmly pushed Jerry's blade aside and took a step closer, "Should that not stay your hand, know that a magic charm on my person will cause all the latches on the cages to unlock simultaneously should I be slain. The beastmen will tear the demis, and you, to shreds in seconds. What's it going to be, good sir? Hm?"

"Raaaaah," Jerry screamed impotently as he swung over the bastard's head, cropping off the top two inches of his hat off and sinking the blade into a nearby pillar supporting a cage.

A stifled gasp made the Sword Hero link eyes with a terrified girl of about twelve inside the cage he had just damaged. She stared back with terrified sky blue eyes and her rabbit ears poking out of her silken pearlescent white hair swiveled in alarm. She was dressed in a ragged brown tunic, both of her hands and her neck were in shackles, and a complex circular violet tattoo of some sort was partly visible on her breastbone.

Jerry's black eyes grew absurdly wide, "Miss…I-I know you." It couldn't be. She was the one that had walked into his store back on Earth. Although how she had transformed into a kid was beyond him. He looked over to the still grinning slave trader with a dumbfounded expression as he stupidly pointed at the girl.

"Ah, excellent choice. Although she has no voice, she is quite industrious and clever. I believe she will make an excellent mage someday. And as a wonderful bonus, she can't ever sass back to you!"

Naofumi looked similarly disarmed, "Her face looks eerily like Varri's sketch. Is that the girl you saw?"

Jeremiah nodded mutely as he returned his sword to his scabbard. He knew he was going to have his soul damned for all eternity if the descendant of slaves bought one of his own. He realized he had just transformed from the compassionate and wise Uncle Tom to the vicious slavedriver Simon Legree from the famous antislavery book Uncle Tom's Cabin. He fell to his knees and wept, his hands clutching the bars as his body hitched in grief.

The Hare demi, Usachi, tentatively reached out with her hands and affectionately clasped them over the Sword Hero's. She smiled slightly, and felt that her new master should not grieve. He should rejoice as she would serve him without blemish.

"Ahhhh, I see she is quite taken with you, Sword Hero. I'll let her be in your service for forty-five silvers."

"Oh God forgive me," Jerry wept as tears dripped onto his glasses. He knew the sin he was about to commit would be unforgivable; still he knew that he would not be leaving this tent of horrors without her.

A sound of coughing from the same cage made Naofumi peer in curiously. A terrified girl of about eight clung to the Hare's back, in between intermittent hacking coughs. She gaped up at the stern young man with unruly black hair and narrowed green eyes. She blinked a few times as suddenly the dream she had had a recently bubbled back up to the forefront of her mind. Was this the kindly master she had had recurring dreams about? She looked up at him with fearful pale pink eyes as her soft-furred tanuki ears swiveled back and forth in agitation. She was in a similar brown tunic as her new friend. Her ratty auburn hair spilled out nearly to her waist in the front and back, and she nervously squeezed her own matted tail.

Naofumi sighed in despair, "If only I had that sketch that that bi-Myne destroyed."

The Sword hero gently patted the Hare demi's head and then booted up his cell phone. He wiped the tear streaks from his eyes and opened up the photo library. He then handed the smartphone to his ally silently.

The Shield Hero peered intently at the photograph of the charcoal sketch of the girl he had met in that fateful library and back at the shivering, coughing little girl. His frown widened in incredulity as the age, and species was completely wrong, but there was no mistaking those exact features and that precise hair color and style. He murmured in stark disbelief, "Holy crap…it is her." He wiped away a stray tear himself as he tried to regain his composure, "What's your name, kid?"

The tanuki demi clung to her friend fearfully and shook her head, completely torn between trying to hide and bowing to her destined master.

He made his voice slightly harsher, "What's your name?"

"R-Raph…talia," she finally choked out between coughs.

He didn't know if the Princess' horrid accusation against him had soured him forever on women, but at least this demi girl would never betray him. He would never be betrayed again. He stood up and calmly pointed to her. "We'll take them both."

Jerry stood up with a distinct slump in his shoulders as he pocked his powered down phone again, feeling numb inside.

"Ah, but sir, considering her illness, I'd recommend an altern-"

He growled, "Do you ears work, slaver? I said we'll take them both. Raphtalia and…and what the hell is the other one's name?"

Usachi urgently nudged her new friend to speak up.

Raphtalia coughed and weakly spoke, "Master, my friend wants her new master..." She paused to cough violently and then continued, "She wants her new master to choose her name."

Naofumi elbowed Jerry impatiently, "Let's go buddy. You do want her to come with us, right?"

The Sword here started back into the here and now. "R-right! I do! You're..." He wracked his brain but under his ally's steely gaze his nerves got the best of him, "Erk! This is so hard." Suddenly as he gazed at her rabbit ears and he blurted out a familiar name belonging to his beloved pet rabbit that tumbled out of his memories, "I'd call her Usagi!" What the actual hell? Had he just called this poor rabbit demi girl 'rabbit' in Japanese? Nice going a-hole, he berated himself.

Usachi bowed politely in gratitude. It was truly a fine name. She was deeply honored.

Naofumi started the haggling brusquely, "We only have 55 silvers to our name."

"Ah, what a pity, even as a twofer…I would need more…say 65 silvers at minimum. Why not take the tanuki tonight and come back tomorrow for the hare girl?"

The Shield Hero firmly shook his head, "No, you might sell her under our noses. How about collateral then?"

Jerry felt that he must be Judas Iscariot reborn as he took off his gold cross on a chain that his grandmother had proudly bought for him when he had been confirmed as a member of his Baptist church, and put it in the slaver's gloved palm. He really was the worst. He growled, "It's 22k gold. It should cover the balance, you jerk."

After scanning it with an enchanted magnifying glass the merchant giggled, "92% gold alloyed with 8% base metals. Excellent! That will cover the balance, the branding fee, my commission, repairs to the cage you damaged plus a new hat. Capital, my fine lads! I love the way you haggle over goods. It truly warms my twisted heart!"

Both Heroes looked at the evil man with expressions of pure disgust.

After being painted with a blood seal that bound Usagi to Jerry, and Raphtalia to Naofumi, the two Heroes and their new slaves made their way back to their 'cozy' alleyway. Raphtalia looked up with wonder at her master that frankly terrified her, so she clung tightly to her friend Usagi.

Usagi had one arm around her deathly sick companion and her other hand was shyly tucked into the Sword Hero's. So that mysterious girl that had forced her former master to return her to the slave master had been right all along. She was home.