Raphtalia couldn't remember a time when training felt so enjoyable. Maybe it was because right now, it was more of a game, like something right out of imaginary playtime that she thought she had long outgrown.

She swung her sword left and right, cutting balloons into scraps. EXP notifications filled her vision. It might have only been a sliver per kill, but she was eager for each and every scrap. She'd get strong again in no time!

Mouths full of teeth and slime flew at her, but her savior stepped in at the last moment.

Master Naofumi grappled a balloon monster whilst the rest proceeded to bite onto his limbs. "Come on! Take 'em down!" he ordered as he kept moving through the cloud of gnashing teeth.

Gleefully, Raphtalia charged forth, cutting the balloon monsters that bit onto her master. But there were just so many.

More balloons appeared from overhead. One in particular was looking like it'd jump right on top of her.

POP!

The balloon burst, a weasel lunging forward at the last minute, a sickle in hand.

Raphtalia bounced forward. "Thanks Rifana!" she laughed as she made another cut.

Keel appeared next to Master. He held out his spear and began batting balloons away and then poking them to death. One balloon even managed to bite his arm, causing him to drop his spear. Keel then took out his knife and began slashing like a maniac. He held his ground.

Rifana ran towards the group. She was followed by a swarm of angry balloons. She desperately to swing her weapon as they overwhelmed her.

Master Naofumi lunged inwards and picked up the pile of balloons attacking Rifana whilst dozens more kept firing on her cloak.

Raphtalia leapt into action. Frantically, slicing to bits more balloons.

Raphtalia didn't know how many more there were, but eventually it seemed the balloon horde ended.

She let out a laugh as she fell to the floor. She was so exhausted, so tired, but she felt so good about her training. She'd be stronger to protect her friends. Checking her status, she saw they made good progress.

Naofumi Lv3
Raphtalia Lv4
Keel Lv4
Rifana Lv2

Keel also let out a groan as he lay. "Ow, I think something bit my tail! … Can we please fight something else? Is there anything else? Like snails, do snails give exp?"

"Only the big poisonous ones," Raphtalia said matter of factly.

Keel groaned. "Ugh, Raph, you're almost too brave. Those things are vicious."

"You kids just take a rest, we made plenty of progress, but I think we need some… fundamentals worked out before we can really do this well." Master Naofumi reached into his pack, took out medicine bottles, and tossed them down, one for each member of the party before kneeling down to collect plants and monster remains. "Take your medicine while I finish up here."

Raphtalia pouted as she took the bitter medicine. Still tasted awful, but she trusted her Master.

Keel however, wasn't. He stuck his tongue out just from a single taste. "Bleh, how much longer do we gotta keep taking this?"

"A week," Raphtalia said proudly. "That's how long until Master felt like I was well enough." She was of course skipping over her… issues back then.

Keel groaned, but one stare was enough to force him to down his dosage.

"... I am scared." Rifana spoke up at last as she knelt.

Raphtalia crawled over to her friend. "About the monsters?"

Rifana nodded her head. "I… I don't want to be a burden, but..."

Raphtalia raised her hand, silencing her friend. "Then don't be. We have to rely on each other in this world. Master Naofumi taught me that." Master Naofumi had moved just barely out of line of sight, his trail leading him to a ditch full of plants. He didn't seem to hear as he went to forage.

Rifana placed hand on her lip. "But Sir Sword Hero said we were a burden. I am the lowest leveled one here." Slight tears formed in her eyes.

Keel growled. "Yeah, he said we were 'En-pe-sea' whatever that means. What was that about?"

Raphtalia shook her head. "No, Master Naofumi didn't speak much about it, but it was one of the things he hated about the other Heroes. It's a word from his world."

Neither Rifana or Keel seemed to be thrilled to hear that. All of them knew it sounded bad, distasteful in some manner.

Rifana whimpered. "I thought the Heroes were supposed to be… Heroes."

Raphtalia shook her head. "They tried to be, but… I think they just fell short." She recalled how originally, the others thought to do good deeds, trying to save people or solve crises, but many of their attempts ended up backfiring. Then, after the Three Heroes Church fell, they seemed to lose interest for some reason. It bothered her, especially when they just… abandoned them when they lost hope. Only Master Naofumi lived up to the stories, but even he wasn't invincible.

Keel knelt and patted Rifana on the back. "Well, we just gotta support, Sir Naofumi… somehow."

Raphtalia gave her friend a nod. "Master Naofumi works very hard. He is good at cooking, herbalism, selling, and also crafting. Sometimes I helped pick herbs, others I foraged for food. You could always do something like that!"

Both Rifana and Keel gave her thoughtful looks.

"ARGH!" Master Naofumi howled. "Raphtalia, help!"

Panicking, Raphtalia leapt and sprinted towards where he heard Master Naofumi howled. Two rabbit-like monsters were biting onto his arm. The Shield Hero repeatedly pounded on them, but to no avail. "Usapils!" she said.

Raphtalia immediately lunged and killed one, slashing it on the gut.

Keel, just as fearless, swiped at it with his spear. The rabbit creature was yanked off and promptly died on the spear.

Raphtalia smirked, turning to Keel. "Good work!"

Keel gave off an aura of false humility. "It was nothing, just a rabbit!"

"Guess we found lunch," Master Naofumi said as he picked up the two rabbit corpses. "Ow, my defense is high, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt."

Rifana gave a loud whimper as she looked towards Raphtalia.

Raphtalia blinked a few times before looking down at herself. She was covered in the creature's blood and she hadn't even noticed it. She'd gotten used to shedding blood a long time ago, but her friend hadn't. "...Rifana?"

Rifana gulped. She knelt down and cupped her face. "I'm sorry, Raph, I just… I'm not as brave as you."

Raphtalia smiled. "Rifana, I was scared too, my first time. I got used to it. You will, too. I'll help you."

Rifana lifted her gaze, mild tears in her eyes. "You will?"

Raphtalia nodded. "It's just blood, everything bleeds."

Rifana frowned, but she raised her head and looked Raphtalia in the eyes. "You're right. It's just blood."

"Blood can still be dangerous to your health. Wash up by the stream while I cook this thing." Master Naofumi ordered as he cut through and began to skin the rabbit with his knife.

"Can I help?" Keel offered pleadingly. "I used a spear so I'm not covered in blood!"

"Same here." Rifana said, though not as proudly.

Raphtalia giggled to herself as her friends grew a bit more.

The half-tanuki girl walked over to the nearby stream, a towel, soap, and extra clothing in her hands. She recalled this exact situation a while ago, way back when she made her first kill on a creature that bled. Master Naofumi ordered her to clean, for exactly the same reasons as now.

In the crystal clear waters, she saw a child, a girl with messy hair and injuries from her time as a slave. Just as she hoped Master would finally stop comparing her to a daughter, this happened.

She took her clothes off, rinsed them of blood, and jumped right in. Water cleansed off of the blood, soap removed the grime.

Yet, it didn't feel bad to be wanted. And besides, Master Naofumi was right. She was a child again. She supposed it was natural. It's just… even before, she didn't know if she'd rather be treated as a child or an adult. Sometimes, she was bothered that Naofumi wouldn't take her seriously, other times, she missed the days before.

A thought entered her mind, causing the girl to stumble in the stream.

Wait, would this mean that if Master Naofumi sometimes compared her to a "daughter" because he raised her to adulthood… What would that mean about her friends who she was helping raise? They were already close as siblings, did that mean that she'd be the older sister because of her experiences and knowledge? And what if she kissed Master Naofumi!?

Raphtalia choked out some water that found its way into her mouth. Things were so much simpler when she didn't have to think about grown up things from time to time. Maybe I should act my age more often… Would Master Naofumi let us buy a ball if I asked hard enough?

With three hours left till sundown, Naofumi raced through the marketplace, selling the small collection of herbs he had gathered and the tiny amount of average quality medicine his Shield automatically crafted during their field expedition.

Earlier he absorbed everything he could grab his hands on, gaining the Fish Shield, Orange Small Shield, Leaf Shield, UsaMeat Shield, Small Medicine Shield, Medicine Shield, Blue Mush Shield, and many, many more he just couldn't keep track of.

Usapil pelts and balloon skins were stored for later use, as the time it would take to sell them was more valuable compared to their price in coppers. There was a high likelihood that if he didn't sell what he could now, tomorrow, or the next day, the merchants would not look upon him too favorably.

Of the 600 silver Naofumi started with and the 400 Raphtalia brought with her, 300 silver went into the various tools, weapons, armor, clothing, and other gear his party now held into their possession or would soon have, 200 silver was allotted into various living expenses and supplies for until the 2nd Wave; this left 500 silver available for use.

For the upgrades Naofumi wanted to buy before the 2nd Wave, he estimated he'd need 400 silver per person he would have in his party, including himself, 2,000 silver or 20 gold. That was 15 gold more than he had, minus any other expenses he forgot to account for. If he also wanted to buy and outfit Filo, if he could get her, he'd need 400 gold on top of that. The demihuman kids were adaptive and fast growing, but whatever gear they had now wouldn't last them when when they were fully grown, if not the week. On the flipside, whatever gear he bought them then would last them well into their Class Upgrades.

"How much did we make?" Naofumi asked. He had been too busy selling to keep track of how much he negotiated for.

Keel, who held the coin purse for him, ran his hand through the coin in the bag. "Think we're up 25 silver after 4 stores."

Naofumi grunted. He had gotten so used to the money pouring in from doing much less work that he forgot what it was like early on to sell mostly raw resources. He couldn't wait until he had more business contacts, better recipes, and more tools.

Doing some quick math, he assumed he could get maybe 10 to 15 gold worth of selling materials from his trip in Lute. It might not have been enough.

Fortunately, he planned for this.

A jeweler was just ahead, a fancier place with colored glass windows that was clearly meant for the rich and powerful.

Naofumi lead his party towards the building, a plan forming in his mind. He noted that the sign out front prohibited demihumans from entering. While he could have done as he wished at a cheap, low class restaurant, he doubted he'd get the same kind of deference while inside, especially with what he planned to do.

He turned towards the children. "You guys stay out here, while I do business. Raph, you're in charge."

Raphtalia promptly nodded. "Master Naofumi, before you go… may we have a ball?"

Naofumi blinked, not knowing what suddenly brought that on, but he supposed Raphtalai wanted to have fun with her friends. He took the coin purse from Keel and handed silver to Raphtalia. "Enjoy yourselves and watch out."

Raphtalia blushed and nodded. "Thank you, Master Naofumi."

Taking a deep breath, Naofumi inside the jeweler's. The place was incredibly ostentatious both inside and out with expensive carpets lining the floor and one of the walls. Polished brass comprised most of the items there, whilst a special case held the finest gold items money could buy. A wizened old man with a high quality monocle, likely the curator, was currently assisting a man who had a staff and hood, a mage.

Naofumi recognized the man and then turned to his left to see Itsuki along with this big brawler standing right behind the mage. "Kawasumi?"

"Oh, it's you," Itsuki gave him a sheepish look. "I… hello, Naofumi. Didn't expect you here."

"Didn't expect you here either. Something going on?" Naofumi squinted.

"Oh, Welst wants to get a good accessory. I normally don't get accessories this early into an adventure, but there's only 3 of us, so it might be worth it."

Naofumi nodded. He supposed that if he only had Raphtalia with him again, he'd have made the same decision, boosting her up as much as possible with the money they had. "Sounds like a good idea in that case."

Itsuki continued to give him that scowl at him.

Was it something I did? "Itsuki, what's with that look?"

Itsuki frowned and looked past Naofumi to the door outside. "A… few things. But the thing that bothers me the most is… you've took in kids."

"And that bothers you why?" Naofumi squinted. He then realized, Itsuki probably learned they were slaves somehow. "Is it because Rifana and Raphtalia having slave crests?" How'd he even know about those? Maybe Ren told him, maybe caught a glance of it

Itsuki made an uncomfortable face. "You… seemed like a good person when we met. You didn't seem like a bad guy. I want to know why you branded them."

Naofumi took a deep breath. "They already had those. Standard procedure is to have slaves inked and the kids had them for months before I came along. This is to ensure loyalty to their masters and holders." His thoughts turned back to Raphtalia back when he first met her; defiance was removed. "Chances were, either I bought them or…they wouldn't have made it."

Right outside, a ball bounced around. Three kids played. It was good to see them care free. They didn't act like slaves from their perspective.

Itsuki's eyes faltered. "You… shouldn't need to have slaves."

"It's not like there's an orphanage, so the best I can do is to give them the tools to fight for themselves. One day, I'll be out of their hair, one way or another. Either way go back home or even if we stay, they'll have to have a life outside of us eventually."

"You sound like a parent, you know that?"

Naofumi gave an uncomfortable groan. He did raise Raphtalia to being a grown woman, but his relationship with her was complicated since she became his age. Thankfully, Filo stayed a kid. Hopefully, Keel and Rifana wouldn't act as weird. "Maybe."

Itsuki's face made an ugly impression.

Naofumi rolled his eyes. This was going nowhere. "If you feel, is there's anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"You ever heard of Zeltoble?" asked Itsuki, his expression still soured.

Naofumi rubbed his chin. Oh right, now he remembered; the other heroes went there to get high level weapon forms early using weapon copy. He wasn't invited because of a certain princess. He had to use it. "Gladiator and merchant country, right?"

Itsuki nodded. "We plan to use our abilities to exploit the region. Thought you'd want to come being a lore master and all." He still sounded bitter about Naofumi legally owning other "people".

Naofumi gave it some thought. It'd be nice to not be in Melromarc for his entire stay and to take advantage of the same tricks the other Heroes used. Further, not being in Melromarc meant not having to worry about a certain Church breathing down his back. On the other hand, it'd mean Motoyasu and a certain princess would bother him. "I'll give it some thought. I gotta raise the kids to level 25 by the Wave and I need to make a stupid amount of money to account for their growth spurts, so, I don't know."

"Sir Itsuki," the mage said, holding up a ring. "I've made the purchase. This should boost my MP recovery."

"Excellent!" Itsuki said.

Seeing as the curator was no longer occupied, Naofumi walked up to the old jeweler. "I have something that might be of interest to you." He accessed his HUD and pulled out a single item from his pockets.

Itsuki balked. "Is that what I think it is?"

Naofumi gave the Bow Hero a knowing smirk. "Sure is." He held out the item and presented it to the jeweler.

The jeweler gave him a harsh scowl before turning to the item. The jeweler took it from his hands and began to look over it with wrinkled hands. His monocled eye observed smooth, pure black and white cubes, each with different symbols. "What is this made of?"

"It's called plastic," Naofumi said. "A composite material derived from heavily processed plant matter. It's durable and lightweight, though can melt if exposed to enough heat."

"Hm, Faubrey might have something similar, though I am unsure," the old jeweler said. "There's no enchantment on it."

"No, there isn't, but it doesn't have to have one to have value," Naofumi explained with an eager faux smile, all the better to sell.

Itsuki barked. "Naofumi, you're seriously going to sell a man a 'Tokyo 2010' dice bracelet?"

"Tokyo 2010?" the jeweler said.

Naofumi explained, "The inscription was made to celebrate the New Year in the Capital city of my homeland. The reason Sir Itsuki protests is because in my homeworld, this bracelet is actually of little value because there are so many of them, but in this world…" He waited for the jeweler to think.

"...It would be unique, or near unique," the jeweler completed.

"This band isn't valuable because of its stats, but rather it is valuable because of its value as a collector's item. How much would aristocrats and nobles pay to have an item that came from another world, an item that has clear significance to any Hero?"

The jeweler's eye glinted. "It would do well at an Auction House. It would go at least 5 gold, maybe more, it would depend."

Naofumi knew the jeweler was short changing him. "I don't have the time to work that out myself. So, you can either buy it off me for 10 gold or we can negotiate a joint auction where we split the proceeds once the item is sold."

The old jeweler scowled, thinking of the potential rewards vs guaranteed outcomes. Gold coins fell across the table. "Here is your fee, Sir Shield Hero," he didn't sound happy about it.

Naofumi pocketed the money. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Itsuki looked so mortified. "What was that? Why would anyone pay that much money for a plastic dice wrist band?"

Naofumi groaned. Of course he didn't understand, console gamer. "Itsuki, if you ever played an MMO, you'd know people would pay loads of money on cosmetics, especially unique or rare ones. Looks or stats don't always matter compared to rarity."

Itsuki rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe I should have expected that, but really?"

"If you have a keychain or something, you could probably sell it for just as much if not more," Naofumi said offhandedly, not that he expected Itsuki to spend that money wisely.

"I'll… I'll be right back!" Itsuki rapidly rifled through his pockets and his pack.

And then a thought occurred to Naofumi. This was a good time to ask, on the topic of rarity. "Well, since you're about to get a windfall, I want to ask you something."

Itsuki continued searching his pockets. "Okay, shoot."

"I want to ask if there's some way to upgrade the weapons I unlocked. I'm not too familiar with the game systems of Emerald Online or Dimension Wave, so I want to know if anything there could help me."

Itsuki chuckled. "Oh, that's easy. If you examine your weapons, you'll see a rarity attached to them. The rarer the weapons, the better the stats."

"And can I upgrade that?"

"Yeah, just apply ores you find into the appropriate slots, it's easy!"

"Just like that?" Naofumi's HUD lit up. The red cross out over the "Weapon Rarity" enhancement system was lifted.

"Yeah, there's other stuff. I'll you abou-"

"Sir, Itsuki," the mage in Itsuki's part called out. "We have an appointment soon."

"Sorry, Welst!" Itsuki snapped his fingers. He pulled out a keychain that looked like a cartoon rabbit. "Apologies Naofumi, but Welst and Rojeel have other business; we can talk later. So, I have to quickly pawn off my Oswald the Lucky Rabbit keychain."

Naofumi groaned. That was a wasted opportunity, but at least he got enough to work with for now. He began to walk out. "Thank you, Itsuki. Don't do anything reckless."

"No problem!" Itsuki said back. He slammed something onto a table. "This is a real collector's item, easily worth 35 gold!"

Naofumi really wished he insisted on having Keel have a slave crest instead of opting to be merciful for once. But I suppose no good deed goes unpunished.

"Do I have to?" Keel complained from atop the stool. "I can cut my own hair!"

"No, you can't!" Raphtalia called out. "Last time you did that, you had to wear a bag over your head!"

"It wasn't that bad!" Keel shouted in defiance.

"Hold still or I could cut an ear off," Naofumi said directly.

Keel's ears twitched as the dog boy shuddered in his seat. "I… I don't want to lose an ear!"

"Then sit still!"

Keel shivered and practically turned into stone.

Sighing, Naofumi's scissors cut several locks of hair, narrowly missing the ears. He then went to pick up the fallen hair and place them into the crystal of his shield.

Dog Shield Unlocked
[Locked] Equip Bonus: dog status adjustment (small)

"There. See, it's done." Naofumi said as he patted the dog boy on the back. Between that new shield, and the Weasel Shield and the Racoon Shield, Naofumi felt like his party was boosted up as much as he could make it without additional training "Now you look like an ordinary kid."

Keel growled, clearly embarrassed. "Whatever…"

Raphtalia laughed as she sat on the floor, a grimoire in her hands. "He's just upset that the witch said his affinity was support."

"Well, yeah!" Keel complained, his shoulder hung loosely. "I'm supposed to be a man of the sea… I wanted a water affinity! I got something that can't even go boom!"

"And I'd like to be able to hit things and deal damage," Naofumi said as he swept up any leftover hair in the room. He was fortunate that the inn they found was willing to tolerate demihuman children, so he didn't want to spoil the owner's generosity. "But we don't always get what we want."

Keel frowned, looking at his stomach. "Well, if I can't have water magic, can I have something… something spicy?"

"Something spicy?"

"Keel, you know you're not going to eat it," Raphtalia scolded him.

Keel whimpered. "But real men of the sea should…"

Raphtalia turned to Naofumi. "Make him something sweet. He really likes sweets. He's just acting tough."

"Something sweet?"

"Like crepes," Keel finally said. "Can I have crepes?"

"Crepes?" Naofumi groaned. The kid was clearly upset by his magic affinity, so he was searching for something to make him feel better…as if bargaining with a parent. He supposed it really didn't cost him anything to appease the kid this way. "Sure, I can make them but only if you're on good behavior, but why are you asking for that specifically?"

"Raphtalia told me about all of the fancy food you can make!"

Naofumi turned a slight glance at Raphtalia, who quickly looked away from him.

"Oh, is that so?" Raphtalia must have shared some of the stories of what they ate when the three of them were waiting for his arrival. "Well, good news is that there's some sweet breakfast crepes I can make, but… I don't know if I can give them to just anybody."

Keel gulped.

If he's going to bargain with me like a parent, I might as well take advantage of it. Naofumi tried to remember what his dad once said to him when he wanted to purchase a specific manga when he was Keel's age. "Sweets are for people who work hard and do their studies."

Keel's eyes widened, a nervous sweat broke out over his forehead. But a moment later, his mood changed as he suddenly leapt onto the bed, holding a grimoire in hand. "Okay, I'll… I'll do it!"

"Hey, don't break the bed!" Raphtalia said as she leapt to force the boy off.

One crisis averted, Naofumi's eyes wandered towards the other member of the party, who had been keeping quiet to herself.

Rifana was busy looking into a herbalism book he had bought earlier that day. Her eyes scanned every line, as if to completely commit the book to memory.

"Rifana?" Naofumi leaned down.

The weasel girl frowned as she approached, as if ashamed. She set the book down. "Uh, did you need it, Sir Naofumi?"

"No, not yet," Naofumi said, looking into her eyes. She looked at him nervously, her eyes never drifting. He knew she still had a long way to go before she was above her issues; thankfully if Raphtalia was any indication, leveling up meant demihumans would rapidly outgrow their traumas. He then brought his hand over Rifana's forehead. Warm, but not unusually warm. "It's probably safe for us to travel now; either we're going to Zeltoble or head to Lute village. You fine with that?"

Rifana turned her gaze away, a look of clear guilt.. "I… as the Shield Hero commands, I will go."

Naofumi didn't know what to say. So, he let his hands do the talking. He shifted his hands to Rifana's head and then gently patted her head. It always felt like the right thing to do to most of his non-human companions, as if he knew instinctively that it was the most direct way to influence them.

The weasel girl's posture relaxed at his touch. She leaned back against the wall, water in her eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry, I just-"

Naofumi silenced her with a gentle gesture. Rifana had been a slave earlier today and was at risk of dying by illness; now even being freed and recovering from that life, the Sword Hero drove a dagger through her heart. It wasn't lost to him to see what happened; Rifana was scared of being useless, just like Raphtalia at her age. Ren made her vulnerable. He accessed his Shield and pulled out some items: a mortar, a pestle, and a few leftover herbs. "I find the best way to learn is by practice, trial and error."

Rifana took the tools and placed the herbs in the bowl. "So, I just got to try it?"

Naofumi nodded. He took the book and turned it towards a page on crushing herbs. "In this case, you're going to learn to make a poultice. You rub it on wounds to treat them, though it isn't as good as a potion, it is a good beginner level recipe to learn the basics. You're allowed to make mistakes."

Rifana bit her lip as she took the pestle and smashed it against the leaves. "Like that?"

Naofumi nodded. "Yes, like that. The other recipes all build upon this most basic step. If you're good, we'll get you to try to make medicinal drinks tomorrow."

Rifana seemed to cheer up at that. "Thank you, Sir Naofumi."

Naofumi patted her head and then stepped away.

The weasel girl promptly mashed leafy bundles into fine powder.

Naofumi rubbed his eyes, fatigue starting to set in. The last thing he thought to do was to absorb some of the materials and objects he brought with him to the world. Taking some of the objects from his Inventory and absorbing he gained the following:

Rubber Shield Unlocked
[Locked] Equip Bonus: electricity resist (medium)
Special Equip Effect: Bouncing, Erase Writing

Magnet Shield Unlocked
[Locked] Equip Bonus: Defense +1
Special Equip Effect: Magnetized

Communicator Shield Unlocked
[Locked] Equip Bonus: ?
Special Equip Effect: Phone Call

The first two shields were pretty typical and expected, coming from a rubber eraser and fridge magnet respectively. Overall they weren't terrible.

But the Communicator Shield which got from using his cellphone as materials… was a massive letdown. Not only did it look like an oversized cellphone with buttons and everything, the shield required him to dial someone's phone number… in a world where no one had phones. He even tried using it to call someone from his homeworld, but constantly kept getting "invalid number" warnings.

As he went to turn, he noticed Raphtalia below him, standing nearby. Her face was very red. "Master Naofumi…" her voice trailed.

"Something wrong?" he questioned. The first thing he thought to mind was that the girl was feeling a little jealous.

Raphtalia's eyes flicked towards Rifana and then to Keel. "What's a En-Pekcee?"

The entire room went quiet. Rifana stopped her herb crushing and Keel buried his face into the book, as if that was somehow better than listening. Even the people in the other rooms in the inn seemed to make less noise, as if aware of the question's importance. It was like the whole world paid attention. She mis-said it, but Naofumi knew what she was referring to.

Naofumi felt the wave of exhaustion hit him, the struggles with his Summoning, his meeting with the people that ruined his life, the questioning glances of the other Heroes, and the way that shopkeepers regarded him. Despite the question on its surface being so simple, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was not something easy to explain, especially not to people who lived in this specific world, without cheap electricity. But maybe it needed to be said. Afterall, I went through all the trouble of thinking about this. "I guess you deserve to know."

Raphtalia regretted asking that question, not only because she knew she said it wrong, but because she saw the effect it had on her master.

The Shield Hero sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes tired and weary. "Are you sure, Raphtalia? You might not like the answer."

Biting her lip, she shook her head. "I'm not terrified. I have to know."

He motioned Raphtalia to come closer, to sit at his side.

Raphtalia did so without complaint. She trusted her master, though she had forgotten how… strong his presence was up this close. She could easily sit in his lap… Keel and Rifana also joined in, both of them eager for answers as well.

"You guys really, sure?" he questioned the others.

Raphtalia tried to look away from her friends. Unlike her, the other two didn't have the experience that came from growing, not yet. She feared what they might do if Master Naofumi's caution was warranted, but at the same time, they were her friends. "They deserve it, too."

Rifana nodded. "I want to be brave."

Keel as well. "I'm not running."

"As you wish," Master Naofumi pulled a book from his pack. On it were words written in the language of Heroes and it bore a picture of… islands surrounded by seas? "In my home world, and in the worlds the other Heroes come from, there is no status magic. There are no Waves, no Dragon Hourglasses, levels don't exist either."

He opened the book, showing them a city lit up in flaming lights. Incredibly tall buildings, far larger than anything she even imagined glowed in the night. Raphtalia had to wonder how many candles had to burn to keep such structures lit. This wasn't even a painting or a sketch either, but something… more exact, more direct.

The three of them gasped, an impossibility, countered by another impossibility.

"How does that work, Sir Naofumi?" said Keel. "How is fighting done without levels? How do you fight against monsters?"

Naofumi waved a finger. "There are no monsters, though there are plenty of creatures. Imagine a world where everyone is level 10 for their whole lives. They can get stronger or improve themselves, but they just can't measure it on a single screen. To really get powerful, you just get better weapons." Naofumi turned the page and suddenly the picture shifted towards what had to be an incredibly large boat, one so big that the people on it seemed like ants. It seemed to be made entirely of steel.

Keel stared, wide eyed. "That's a ship…?"

Raphtalia felt her head burst. A world where… so much that was fundamental, essential to her world didn't exist just seemed impossible. He sounded so casual and there were the pictures. Master did not lie to her; other people, sure, but not her. She felt nervous. "Master Naofumi, what about magic?"

Master Naofumi shook his head. "In the past, it has been said there was magic, but in my time, it isn't considered real. Healing people is far more difficult than here; spells don't exist. Demihumans don't exist either. In my world, these things only exist in stories."

He put the book away and then he took out a strange object, a small white box that was smooth on every surface. "This is called a 3-D-S, it's a toy, but not the kind of toy you're familiar with." Master Naofumi opened the device, revealing two blackened windows and an array of various buttons on the device. He deftly pulled a tiny switch on the side and the windows lit up, music playing like out of a music box.

"Is it magic?" Raphtalia questioned, thinking of all of the magic globes she had seen in her journey. Then she remembered her Master's words; if there was no magic, then it was something else. "But… how?

"We just got very good at creating things, understanding the rules of the world we lived in," Master Naofumi said. The windows filled with tiny images and words, all of which were in the language her master wrote. Master pressed the buttons and this… square in one of the windows seemed to follow his commands. He navigated towards a tiny picture that had a pink ball in a forest. "This game is called 'Kirby', or more specifically, it features a character called Kirby who you play as. He doesn't exist, really, but he was created to entertain."

"Like a storybook?" Rifana offered.

Master Naofumi nodded his head. "Yes, like a storybook, but one where you could control what the story is."

Raphtalia had a sinking feeling in her guts. She… felt something unsettling would come soon. Why was her master talking about storybooks?

Master Naofumi then navigated to a different picture, one featuring several people in front with unusual hair styles. "This one is called 'Dragon Quest'. I'll load up an old save."

Lines of more of the language of Heroes flashed before her eyes, unreadable and undecipherable, for only a few seconds. When the window became clear again, it appeared to be the inside of a shop or building with some… people inside?

Master Naofumi pressed one of the arrows and one of the people moved. Master Naofumi pointed to himself. "When you play a game like this, you are a player or P. You have the ability to control the world the game is, interacting with it using the controller."

"P…" Raphtalia intoned.

Master Naofumi then pointed to the character that moved as he pressed buttons. "This guy, because you control him, he's a player character or PC. He's your… avatar, your representation in the world of the game."

"P…C…" Raphtalia murmured. She felt an unsettling chill.

Master Naofumi then pointed to the shopkeepers in the building. "These people are neither players, nor player characters. Instead, they fulfill a specific role that's dictated by whatever the game needs. These ones are shopkeepers, others might be enemies, some may even be your friends. They are non-player characters or NPC's. They aren't real in the same way that the people in books aren't always real. They do what their task in the story is."

"N…P…C…" Raphtalia said, though the energy was drained out from her.

Master Naofumi then did something, conjuring a menu just like one would see when using status magic, depicting the strengths and powers of a specific person. Raphtalia didn't need to know the language of Heroes to know what she saw.

Rifana and Keel were both silent as well, both knew exactly what they had just learned.

Master Naofumi closed his infernal device and set it aside. A heavy feeling fell throughout the room. "The other Heroes think they're trapped in a game, just like the one I just showed you. To us, your world has to be a game, because there is no other place in our world where 'status magic' would even exist. When they see all of these fantastic things, they all think it's part of some make believe story. Magic and sorcery, demihumans and monsters, there's no way any of it is real."

Raphtalia…felt lost. When the Sword Hero said they weren't children, it wasn't because they were demihumans. No, it was because he didn't even believe they were real. Somehow, that was even worse, that they were no better than figments of the imagination.

Rifana did not take it well. "But… but we're real!" she cried, tears streaking down her face.

Raphtalia leaned closer, catching her best friend and letting her shed tears over her shoulders. She knew what the Holy Heroes meant to her, how she often romanticized meeting one, perhaps even falling in love with one. To her, to learn that the Heroes didn't see her the same way was devastating. And Raphtalia knew, if she already hadn't suffered at their hands again and again, she'd be weeping alongside Rifana.

"That's…. That's unfair. I don't believe it!" Keel also wept, pointing at Master Naofumi's toy. "How can anyone believe that thing there is like our world?"

Master Naofumi's shoulders slumped, holding the 3-D-S in his hands. "Because this thing, while good, isn't the best toy of its type; it's merely the best one I could carry. Ren, if what I understand from him was true, lived in a world where toys could fake a whole reality and you might not even know it."

The other two continued with their foul moods.

Raphtalia looked up at her master. She went through everything her master said, how the heroes came from worlds without levels or magic. It had always been assumed that the Holy Heroes were great masters of strategy and war, champions who were selected and preordained due to their deeds on their world, but if what Master Naofumi said was true, then it meant that their assumptions were flawed. "... Did you fight before becoming a Hero?"

Master Naofumi looked down. "No. And I don't think the other guys did either. The Legendary Weapons give us incredible strength, but I wager none of us used weapons like them before we were Summoned, at least, not in anything actually dangerous."

Raphtalia's eyes widened. The Sword Hero was easily bested by a weaker swordswoman in a duel, all because he had never wielded a sword before becoming a Hero. It's also why they're so naive at times, they lack actual experience.

Master Naofumi continued. "Think of it this way, it's as if a baker or an apothecary were summoned to be a Legendary Hero. They might have some idea of what to do in their field, but combat and adventuring were not what they were taught to do." He pointed at himself. "I and the others could be considered scholars, people who mostly did schooling and learning, though our goal was to find ourselves in different jobs later down the line."

"But you're different, Master!" Raphtalia said immediately. He isn't anything like them.

He shook his head. "I believed I was in a game, too, up until I had my eyes ripped open. Only then did I realize that your world was just as real as mine, even if it was very strange from my perspective. But nothing I could do convinced them." He seemed to growl out that last part.

Raphtalia knew he must have been thinking awful things about them. The other Heroes were awful to her, but Master sometimes took things too far.

Master Naofumi rubbed at his temples. "I'm sorry, you kids were probably hoping for some good news."

Raphtalia smiled. She did realize one good thing about this, even if it's bittersweet. "Well, I do have some."

Both Rifana and Keel raised their heads to look at her. Naofumi, too, looked.

"If Master Naofumi said there were no demihumans in their worlds, then they don't hate us because of that. They might treat us like people because we look like people to them. They just don't see us as real." As she said it, she knew she was right. As far as she knew, the other heroes didn't seem to comment on her race. Itsuki only cared she was a slave when he tried to "free" her, Motoyasu cared that she was a woman who was Master Naofumi's slave, Ren didn't seem to care for anything save himself. It was a small mercy, but she took what she could get.

Naofumi shrugged, the mood lightened. "Yeah, I guess that's right. Honestly, Moto would be fine with anything as long as it was female and humanoid. And Itsuki just goes along with anything as long as he could involve Justice and he considers slavery unjust. Not sure how they'd react to the less humanlike beings, though."

Rifana's eyes stopped watering as she turned to Raphtalia, some of her hope restored. "So, all we gotta do is convince them we're real?"

"Easier said than done," Naofumi yawned. "But I'm not going to try to bother with that, they're stuck in their delusions. I tried telling them already and they're still too stubborn. And even if we did convince them, I don't see how they'd save the world. They said it themselves this morning, 'what's in it for them?'"

Raphtalia yawned as well, the fatigue infectious. A small smile appeared on her face, her mind wandering. Master Naofumi came back, because there was a reason for him to return. It's what made him different from the others. He said it himself, just this morning.

"So unfair," Keel also yawned. He went to lie down on the bed.

"Make room and lay down," Master Naofumi lazily spoke as he took the center of the large bed. It was meant for two people and it was the only bed in the room. It had enough room for all of them, come to think about it. He then took out that book again. "You three need to be fully rested for tomorrow."

"You're going to read us a... bedtime story?" Keel stammered.

"Unless you'd prefer to mope all night." Naofumi drawled.

Keel looked skeptically.

But Raphtalia couldn't help but smirk. Master never did this for me before. She leapt herself onto the bed and moved up until she could see the pictures in the book. "Come on, Keel, you're gonna miss out."

"I'm too old for bedtime stories..." he murmured.

Rifana edged close to Raphtalia. "...I don't mind learning more about the world of Heroes."

Raphtalia hugged her best friend. She was so brave.

Keel eventually relented and took space on the opposite side of the girls.

Master Naofumi wearily spoke, his finger pointing to a set of island that seemed almost snake-like. "This, right here, is my home country, Japan. Its flag is a red dot, symbolizing the sun."

I don't think it's ever brought up often what video games even are in the Shield Hero setting, that is to say to any of the people in the Hero worlds outside of former Otaku never talk about it. Mostly because explaining it without an example is probably impossible.

Still, I am glad I got to do this.