Chapter 12 On Our Own

So after an hour Malty, Eclair and Rishia had explained everything they needed to explain to Naofumi, the situation with the Demi-Humans which included the countries Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden and the Three Heroes church, the fact they worshiped the Heroes of the Bow, Spear and Sword but hated of the Shield Hero, when they were finished Naofumi looked shocked and drained ''Naofumi if you need a minute to process to totally understand right?'' Malty asked looking at the others, who nodded.

''T-thank you it's just…'' Naofumi trailed off.

''Yeah, I get it, it's been a long day hasn't it'' said Malty ''what with the false accusations and all and the days barely started''

''Y-yeah, so why does the Church hate the Shield Hero and Demi-Humans so much?'' Naofumi asked.

''I honestly don't know, but then again I don't know too much about Church History'' stated Malty ''Eclair, Rishia do you know anything about that?''

''Unfortunate I don't'' replied Eclair.

''Nope, sorry'' said Rishia.

''I don't think anyone knows exactly why the Church holds such hatred for the Shield Hero or for Demi-Humans, honestly I don't think they even know, the answer is most likely lost to time'' stated Malty.

''Maybe Melty knows'' Rishia suggested ''she studied the Church's history maybe she knows the answer''

''True but I don't really think we'll remember this question next time we see her, besides I don't think why they hate the Shield Hero is all that important here the important thing is that they do hate the Shield Hero'' stated Malty.

''Melty's your little sister right?'' Naofumi asked.

''Yes and she's going to be next in line for the throne'' stated Malty.

''Wait, shouldn't that be you since your the First Princess?'' Naofumi asked.

''Actually in the situation where multiple heirs are born the Queen selected the most suitable to take the throne'' Malty explained ''and I know that's going to be my little sister''

''Malty I think your falling off topic'' said Eclair.

''Yes, yes I am, sorry for that and thank you for catching me Eclair'' said Malty ''so yeah, we don't know anymore questions?''

''Well I kinda want to ask why your father supports the Three Heroes Church'' said Naofumi ''he doesn't strike me as particularly religious and I'm pretty sure its just because he hates the Shield Hero and the Demi-Humans''

''Yep that about covers it'' said Rishia.

''I would ask why he hates Demi-Humans and the Shield Hero but I think you already said that it was something to do with his sister being killed by a Demi-Human when Malty went on that long… I don't know what to call it'' said Naofumi causing Malty to look away remembering it ''so I guess I'd like to get some more details you know, get a clear picture painted''

''Right I suppose I do have some explaining to do'' stated Malty ''when we were at school in Faubrey I looked up my father and family records, because I wanted to know why my father hated Demi-Humans and according to the records she disappeared during an incident with a certain kind of Demi-Human with tiger features my father believes she was killed I don't however, since a body was never found I think its more likely she went with the Demi-Human''

''Hmm, ok then what now?'' Naofumi asked.

''We're going to have to play this carefully'' stated Malty ''after failing to falsely accuse you the church will be more determined then ever to bring you down and they'll use everything they have, so we're going to have to use everything we have to the best of our abilities and fortunately I still have the Shadows'' Malty snapped her fingers and the Shadows appeared kneeling.

''We are at your command Princess Malty'' one of them stated.

''Alright there are six of you in total, I need you to spy on my father as well as the three heroes, I trust you to decide how it will be done and who will spy on who'' Malty stated.

''Understood, should we also try to infiltrate the Three Heroes Church and find out any plans they may have?'' A Shadow asked.

''No, I feel like that's too risky and I'm not about to put any of you at risk of being captured and interrogated, so just focus on those targets for now and if anything significant comes up report it to me as quickly as you can'' ordered Malty, the Shadows nodded and then dispersed.

''Ok now that they're doing they're thing what do we do?'' Rishia asked.

''We go back to the Inn, grab the egg and we keep going'' stated Malty.

For the next week Naofumi, Malty, Eclair and Rishia were sat around a table sharing a meal, they had spent the week grinding to level Naofumi up and so far it had been going well, Naofumi was now level nineteen coming up on level twenty, they had gone to Erhard to get any supplies they may need, like everyone else in the city Erhard had heard about the fake trial and asked Naofumi if he was alright and had kindly given them a discount on anything they wanted, fortunately they didn't need to replace Naofumi's armour this time so they got some extra weapons they might need, a couple of extra swords and daggers and Malty got an axe that she wanted to try out, Naofumi also got a nice green cloak and a duffle bag which Naofumi's Filolial egg was currently sat in huddled in blankets to keep it nice and warm.

The party hadn't gone back to the palace since the day of the false trial and the Shadows had given them regular updates on the three heroes as well as the king, so far nothing out of the ordinary, which wasn't unexpected the next Wave would hit in another two weeks, now was the time to prepare before it hit, the party had been preparing not only had they been grinding but they had made sure to teach Naofumi what he needed to know to survive in this world, first thing they did was tell him everything they knew the shield could do, which included the weapon copy feature, the potion creation feature and the teleport function, on top of that they taught him how to cook and he was getting really good at cooking and they had taught him how to craft potions by hand.

Which could be considered pointless since the Shield could do that for him, but Malty was curious about something and wanted to test it.

-FLASHBACK-

''Why are you having me do this?'' Naofumi asked as he finished making another potion ''I thought my Shield could already make this stuff as long as I fed it the right ingredient''

''Well I'd like to test something if you don't mind'' said Malty.

''Alright what do you want to test?'' Naofumi asked.

''I want to see if you improving and getting skilled at this improves the quality of the items your shield produces'' explained Malty.

''Hmm, alright I suppose that would help, alright I'll keep doing this'' said Naofumi.

''Good try doing this for a month then we'll test the Shield'' said Malty.

-FLASHBACK END-

Now the month hadn't ended yet so Malty had yet to see the results of her experiment but she was hopeful and it was better the have Naofumi learn these skills in the event that they're came time to craft something the shield couldn't craft on its own, they kept most of the medicine for themselves but they did sell some to the pharmacist who gave them good money for their work and while Naofumi was struggling with the reading lessons Rishia was giving them he at least understood a little, so far Naofumi was developing very nicely.

They were having a nice time when three guys came up to there table ''oh great Shield Hero, we'd like to join your party if you'd allow us'' one of them said.

''Sorry but currently there are no openings'' said Naofumi, while it wasn't as drastic as the story Naofumi had changed a bit, he was bit more paranoid now and like the story he did keep Balloons with him and since he hadn't unlocked any of his stronger shields yet it was something Malty agreed with.

''Oh come on I'm sure the added numbers will help'' said another.

''My answer won't change, I already have a party, a rather strong one at that and I am not looking for new member so please leave us alone'' said Naofumi calmly.

''I believe the Shield Hero has refused now please leave'' ordered Malty with Eclair and Rishia glaring at the three men, the three then skulked away grumbling under their breath.

The four continued to enjoy their night until they left the establishment, they were walking down the streets when they felt three presence approaching them from behind, the four of them knew it was those three guys.

''Hand over your money'' one of them said.

''You know you could have just started with that in the restaurant, we could have just gone outside and dealt with that from the beginning, no need to beat around the bush'' stated Naofumi.

''You keep quiet and give us your money and you know what why don't you three be good girls and give each of us a good su-''

''I'm going to stop you there'' said Malty bile rising in her throat as she heard that ''look we're going to give you one chance to leave and if you don't, well we'll just kick your asses''

''Listen princess I don't think you understand the situation here'' said one of them reaching for her, but then quick as a flash Naofumi grabbed the mans arm and slammed a Balloon down on his arm, the man screamed as the Balloon started chewing on his arm.

The other two jumped in shock giving Eclair and Rishia more than enough time to spin around and deck them both in the face knocking them out and the guy who was being chewed on by the balloon was soon knocked out as well, as Malty spun around and decked him in the face too knocking him out.

A few minutes later the three men woke up tied to a post and with the Shield Hero stood over them, there were no signs of his companions though.

''If your wondering I sent the girls away so they wouldn't need to be an accessory to a crime'' said Naofumi before pulling out a Balloon which caused the three to flinch ''now I'm going to ask you a question and depending on your answer I may ask more questions, if you don't answer me Mr. Balloon here will have a thing to say to you, now then were you three acting alone or did someone tell you to do this''

''W-we were working on our own'' they cried.

''Alright then, that's all I wanted to knock see ya'' said Naofumi attaching the Balloon to his side.

''W-wait your going to leave us here!'' One of them cried.

''Yeah, but I wouldn't worry if I were you, from what I hear it doesn't take too long for knights to come and collect garbage'' said Naofumi.

''Y-you can't just leave us hear'' said another.

''I can leave Mr Balloon with you if you want'' said Naofumi.

''N-no, you know what your right go ahead th-the knights will find us'' said one of them.

''Yeah you go'' said another one.

''We'll be fine'' said the third.

Naofumi just sighed and walked away, when he turned the corner were Malty and the others were he saw them talking to a short man wearing a tuxedo with a feathered collar and who was wearing a top hat, Naofumi coughed into his hand causing them to turn, the man in a tuxedo had a big grin ''ah you must be the Shield Hero'' he said.

''I am and who's this?'' Naofumi asked.

''I am Beloukas, I'm a slave trader and it is a pleasure to meet you'' said the man giving a small bow to Naofumi.

''Slave trader!'' Naofumi said shocked ''w-what are you doing here''

''He's here because of me'' said Malty, causing Naofumi to look at her shocked, for as long as he knew her Malty had always been against the slave trade so why would she be talking with a slaver.

''W-why!'' Naofumi asked.

''Remember when I said I thought that my aunt wasn't killed by a Demi-Human, the truth is I knew because I found that I have cousins who are Demi-Humans, but they were slaves so I asked Beloukas if he could get them here and he did'' stated Malty, which utterly stunned Naofumi ''I'm sorry I didn't tell you I should of but I didn't want you to worry and I promise this is my last secret''

Naofumi was stunned for a second before shaking it off, sure Malty had kept this from him, but overall it wasn't that big a secret and it didn't really effect much and it was her family of course she'd sacrifice her principles to help them ''alright, how much do you want for them?'' He asks.

''Oh nothing, Princess Malty has already payed for them, come with me I'll take you to them'' said Beloukas.

The slavers… shop? Looked somewhat like what Naofumi expected it to look like it was a circus tent full of cages, fortunately not many of them were that full, Naofumi flinched when the slaver gave him something ''I suggest you pour this into your shield, trust me you might like the results'' he said.

Naofumi decided to do it just to keep him pacified, he didn't want to do anything to upset the man who had Malty's cousins so he poured it in and unlocked something called the Slave Shield which would give him and any slaves connected to him an EXP boost, Malty, Eclair and Rishia had explained how Demi-Humans worked, they had even taken Naofumi to Eclair's fathers domain to meet some Demi-Humans, they had even little raccoon girl who seemed to have a little crush on Malty.

As much as Naofumi hated to say it, it might be a good idea to keep them as slaves, but that would only be if they were going to join their party, as the EXP increase would defiantly help, but again that would only be if they were going to join the party and only if they accepted that term, he wouldn't make Malty's cousins become slaves for him unless they were ok with it and he doubted they would be.

Eventually they stopped at a cage with two occupants the first was a kid who seemed to be twelve years old, he had long with hair and tiger ears as well as a tiger tail, he looked shockingly healthy for a slave, but then there was the second occupant of the cage who appeared to be a girl who the boy was holding close to him, Naofumi couldn't really tell if she was a girl or another boy and he was actually wondering if this girl was still alive because she was wrapped in bandages, it was horrifying to look at 'is that mummy even still alive?'

The girls were also quite horrified, Eclair and Rishia both looked in horror covering there mouths with there hands and Malty collapsed to her knees with tears streaming down her face as she grabbed onto the bars and looked inside.

''What happened to her!'' Malty demanded.

''I'm sorry Princess that was the state I got her in, I've provided as much medical aid as I can but unfortuantly I didn't have enough, I have done everything I can to keep her alive'' said Beloukas.

''Do you have a wagon?'' Eclair asked.

''I do'' replied Beloukas.

''Load them on the wagon, we'll take them to my father's domain there we can give her help'' said Eclair.

''Wait I have a question'' said Naofumi drawing attention ''could increasing her level possibly help her?''

''Hmm, I suppose that's possible why?'' Beloukas asked.

''Make them my slaves then, I poured that liquid into my shield it gave me a Slave Shield and making them slaves would connect us right, so if say I were to gain EXP she would also gain it right?'' Naofumi asked.

''That is correct'' said Belokas.

''Then do it!'' Naofumi ordered.

Belokas nodded and opened the cage, the boy tightened his grip on the girl, so Malty stepped forwards and said ''please Fohl let us help Atla''

''H-how do you know my name?'' he asked ''and how do you know my sisters name!''

''Listen I'll explain it to you soon, but for now please, let us help her ok?'' Malty said soothingly.

The boy looked around and them and then down at the girl covered in bandages, his face scrunched up a few times as though thinking of something unpleasant before spitting out ''fine, just get it over with'' the slaver quickly got to work and drew two purple circles on their chests which formed into symbols, Naofumi noted that Fohl seemed to be in pain during the process which made him look down in shame for suggesting the process, after that the two were taken back to their cage which was quickly loaded onto the back of a carriage which they then began to ride off towards the Seaetto Territory.

So there's the chapter, I hope you liked it, I hope it wasn't too short I wanted last chapter to be the full rant and that caused the last chapter to be rather short, I don't think it was the shortest chapter but it was short, so Naofumi now has his slaves and Malty has her cousins on top of that the egg should be hatching soon.