Disclaimer: The Rising of the Shield hero belongs to Aneko Yusagi, this fic was made non-profit, I just wanted to write something about this series.

English is not my first language. If you see something with a poor grammatical structure, mistaken verbal tenses, wrong conjugations, etcetera, please tell me to correct it. For me, it is a language-development experience.

B/N: Which is why I'm here! I am the one that polishes this up, so it does better resemble the English language. Keep reading and warn if there's an issue with the grammar!

The Shield Hero who came from another world

Chapter 5

The day after, Naofumi paid a visit to the slave seller, intent on making his disappointment with the little egg surprise quite obvious, and ask (or rather, demand) either the return of the egg or a refund. Much to his shock, he got an unexpected answer.

"Sir Shield Hero, while I'm happy that you would think me to be that shrewd, I am innocent of this. Griffins are nasty creatures, who, when their eggs are near to hatching, they rob filolial eggs from farms or nests, wait for them to hatch, wound them and then let their newborns kill the filolials, so they learn how to kill their enemies. Clearly, whichever griffin's nest you took these eggs from belonged to one that had already stolen an egg."

"Disgusting," Ferrie said. Surprisingly for a filolial lover as her, the detail was something she had never heard about, and she held the black filolial a bit tighter while keeping an eye on the griffin in Raphtalia's hands.

"How do I know you are not lying to my face?"

"Easy enough, kind sir. You only need to go to Riyute, the closest village to Castle Town, and ask the breeder about the issue. He always complains about griffins stealing the filolial eggs whenever he comes around to sell me his products. Anything else I can help you with, kind sir?"

Naofumi shook his head, and he left the tent with the girls, his foul mood growing worse since he had not achieved what he wanted. He could not complain too much, though: when they grew up, they'd be able to help them move around, and if someone asked how they managed to move so fast he could easily point at the two creatures.

"What are we going to do, Fumi?"

"First, we are going to make money. I'll sell some of the balloon remains and pelts we have from yesterday. Then we're going to Riyute and ask the breeder about all the stuff Beloukas told us. And then we can check if the town can act as a base for us to use during the nearest Wave. After that, we'll see."

"What about what we talked about Rabiel?"

"I had wanted to go there today, but with the chicks being with us, I'd rather wait until they become independent, or we meet someone who can take care of them while we deal with him."

"It sounds good to me," Ferrie replied to the Shield Hero. "You changed your mind, why?"

"Frankly, after I cooled down and slept on it, I realized it would be better if we wait for the time being to train Raphtalia."

"Eh! Me? Why me, master?" the little girl asked as she played with the griffin chick.

"It's simple. You need to close that time of your life and rescue your friends. And, if you get to beat the shit out of him, I'd consider it a bonus."

Raphtalia 'eep'ed at the suggestion, while Ferrie glared at him.

"Naofumi! What are you saying? It's wrong to suggest something like that!"

"C'mon, Felicia," Naofumi replied, sarcastically slipping into the name he had used for so long. "You would have been crowing if you had had the chance to put your hands on the bastards who attacked you."

"Tha-that-that's different," she babbled.

"It's not, and don't try to sugarcoat your own feelings. I still remember what you said in your sleep, and it gave me nightmares."

"I, I, I... I really was that way?"

"Yeah. You never wondered why Shinobu stopped flirting with you?"

Ferrie's eyes grew to the size of sauces at the revelation.

"I... didn't know."

"Now you do. Wait for me, I'll sell the pelts."

Naofumi decided to go to a store he had seen a few days before being mobbed by a large crowd, which made him believe they likely had something that stood out, such as better prices when buying or selling in volume or something like that. The merchant he had been meeting, a man called Curtis, was quite good, but he had been getting a tad too friendly with the balloons he kept for ensuring traders would be fair, even calling one of them Bob. Entering the shop, he was immediately welcomed by the owner.

"Good morning, Shield Hero. What brings you to my shop?"

"Good day. I have several materials I'd like to sell and given your shop's popularity I thought about bringing my business here."

"What do you bring with you?"

"I have several pelts, a lot of balloon skins, and some white and blue mush as well."

"Oh, it is good to hear that. I was running low on white mush, actually, and I was about to seek my supplier to bring more of it, lately a lot of my customers have been buying it.

"How come? As far as I know, it's not useful for medicine crafting or the like," Naofumi said, wondering about the strange happenstance of that.

"Well, an alchemist said that it can be used to make a lotion that can make your skin look healthier, but I can't be certain if it's just an old wives' tale. Now, what are you willing to show me?"

Naofumi showed the man all the materials he wanted to sell. The shop owner was interested in the pelts, stating that not only were of great quality, but also had a smell of berries he liked but could not identify. Then the man offered a price that was well below what Naofumi knew they could be sold for in the market.

Naofumi did his best to haggle with the man to increase the price, but he realized that the shop owner was still trying to shaft him. Whether it was because he was the Shield Hero or he just wanted to get a greater benefit from it, he did not know.

Meanwhile, Ferrie let the filolial chick in the ground so he could walk around the nearby area. The griffin, at seeing this, jumped from Raphtalia's arms and rammed the other creature. Raphtalia became scared at seeing them fight, but Ferrie calmed her down.

"Easy there, Raphtalia, let them play. We'll separate them if they become too rough for each other."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Their species hate each other, it's quite normal, but we need them to get used to each other and work together in the future. Besides, this is good training for them."

Raphtalia watched, somewhat queasy as she saw the chicks fighting each other, acting and then reacting to what the other was doing. Scratches, bites and claws flew from one to the other. To Ferrie's trained eye, they were even adapting to the mistakes they made, bringing a smile to her face.

A scream rang through the street, and they were treated to the sight of a shopkeeper running out of his shop with a balloon attacking his face, while Naofumi attempted to pull it away from him.

"What happened?" Raphtalia asked.

"I think Bob got impatient and attacked the shopkeeper on his own," Ferrie replied. "Maybe it confused him with Curtis?"

"Oh! Right," was the child's answer, and she turned to look at the other side of the street, where some kids were playing with a ball that had clearly been made out of balloon skins.

Maybe we could buy her a ball so she can have fun after all the training? Ferrie thought, smiling as she saw Raphtalia's face.

"I'm ready, we need to go."

The two ladies jumped at Naofumi's sudden appearance, and Ferrie looked at him with annoyance before turning to the important issue.

"What happened there, Fumi? I saw Bob attacking that shopkeeper."

"The asshole just wanted to rip me off, offered a very low price for the pelts. I was trying to convince him to accept a better price just for the sake of my reputation, but that one got annoyed and jumped in to attack. The shopkeeper was much more reasonable after that."

"Ha! Well, I think you trained your balloons too well, Demon merchant," Ferrie replied, grinning.

"Yeah, maybe," Naofumi answered, looking at Raphtalia before getting close to Ferrie and talking in a lower voice. "You saw what Raphtalia was watching?"

"Yes. Maybe we could buy her a ball? That way she can relax after all the work and training we have planned for her."

"Maybe. Give me a minute. Oh, and try to keep those two from killing each other."

Those two? Ferrie turned her head to see the two creatures fighting even harder with everything they had. Their fight is getting too rough, maybe I should separate them.

Meanwhile, Raphtalia was watching the other kids playing with the ball. It reminded her of what she had lost just a few months before when things were simpler. When her parents were alive. When she could play hide and seek and with a ball with her friends. When she talked with Rifana about everything and nothing at the same time.

Rifana, wait for me, in a few days I will rescue you, and you can marry Master and have a lot of babies and I'll be there with the two of you... Rifana, please, hold on.

"Raphtalia, what are you looking at?"

Raphtalia was brought back to reality by Naofumi's words, and she shook with nerves, hoping her new master would not hit her for watching other kids playing.

"No-Nothing, Master."

"Are you sure? Because you seemed so happy, watching them," Naofumi replied, pointing at the children. Raphtalia shook her head.

"No, Master, I-I wasn't happy watching them play," she replied, even as her tail betrayed her true feelings.

"Oh, really? You were so concentrated; I was wondering if you actually liked one of them. Maybe I could talk to them, so you could meet them.

"NO! I wasn't watching them for that, it's just the ball, I swear, Master!"

Naofumi looked at the young girl, who was so flustered that her tail was puffing up in shame and could not help but chuckling at the sight – only to yelp in pain as Ferrie hit him in the back of the head. At least, that had the benefit of making the two chicks stop their fight, because they were so confused from what had just happened.

"Don't worry, Raphtalia, I believe you," Naofumi said, smarting his head before pulling out his hand from under the cloak. "Here, take this."

Raphtalia's eyes shone in happiness and her tail flapped side to side as she saw the orange ball her Master was offering her. Taking it with her hands, she held it like it were a baby.

"It's yours, Raphtalia. When you are done with your tasks, you can play."

"Thank you, Master," she replied, crying as she hugged the ball with all her strength. Ferrie and Naofumi stood there, waiting for her to calm down. Once she did, Naofumi decided it was time to leave for their destination.

"Now, Riyute is a bit far away from here if I'm not wrong, and we're going to walk there while we train you, Raphtalia. If you get tired, tell us and we can stop while you get your breath back, understood?"

"Yes, Master. Please, lead the way."

The road to Riyute was well used, ensuring they would not get lost on the way. What they found were multiple balloons and mushes that Raphtalia and the two chicks fought and killed with growing ease, leveling up on the way. Naofumi and Ferrie were surprised, but eventually paid it no mind and kept walking.

It was not until they were just a few minutes away from the village that Raphtalia requested a break, and Naofumi and Ferrie agreed: while the two of them were quite fresh, Raphtalia and the chicks had been fighting a lot, and deserved a rest. Looking at the latter, Ferrie realized something.

"Hey, Naofumi. We should give names to the chicks."

"I was thinking the same, Master. It's rare calling them Filolial and Griffin," Raphtalia said, and the chicks looked up, knowing they were talking about them.

"You are right... hmm, I know. The filolial can be Filo, and the griffin will be Riffin," Naofumi decided.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Ferrie and Raphtalia shouted at the same time, and the two chicks were chirping in anger at Naofumi's choice.

"Even they don't want those names," Ferrie pointed out. "Why are you so horrible at naming, Naofumi?"

"Hey, I think they are great names, and I'm not that bad. At least the names I give are better than anything Uncle Mamoru came up with!"

"Don't you dare go there, Naofumi, because you would lose. I really don't want to have to forget your name just because I don't like you."

Naofumi harrumphed but conceded the point, letting the girls pick names.

"I think..." Raphtalia said, watching the griffin girl. "She should be Aria; I think it fits her."

"Good one, Raphtalia. You have a better sense for names than Naofumi. Feel proud of that, at least," Ferrie joked, and Raphtalia shone in shyness at the idea.

"It's..." Naofumi began to speak up, only to get lost in his thoughts as he was reminded of someone else. Ferrie and Raphtalia looked at him, worried as he looked at nothing. "... It's a good name, Raphae- Raphtalia, it's a good name."

Naofumi's slip of tongue did not pass unnoticed by Ferrie, who knew quite well what was going on in his mind, but he turned to look at the filolial chick, who was looking back at him.

"Well, if the girl's name is Aria... then I think you should be called Terry," he said.

"That's a good name, Master. How do you like your names, Aria, Terry?"

Both baby creatures were happy with their new names, and they started to jump side to side, almost as if they were dancing. This kept Raphtalia distracted, keeping her from noticing how Naofumi fell into a dark mood. Ferrie did not, and she stepped closer to him, so she could find out what was wrong.

"Don't worry, Ferrie. I was just thinking in... what-ifs and what-nots."

"Fumi, you went from making a dumb name to falling into a fell mood in seconds. Of course, I'm going to worry."

A few tears escaped from Naofumi's eyes, and as Ferrie turned she realized it was the sight of Raphtalia chasing the baby monsters through the clearing they were in.

"Just... thinking what-ifs, Ferrie," he choked out.

Ferrie knew he was not going to be able to do much for a while, so she decided to give him space by picking Raphtalia up and starting to give her the first lesson, how to move in a battlefield: as rare as it was, such knowledge could be incredibly useful, helping her fight either with her bare fists or with a weapon. Aria and Terry watched and did their best to imitate what the girls were doing.

Once Naofumi recovered from his dark mood, he decided to work with making new potions, using the materials they had collected in the forest or bought from the apothecary. Thankfully, Ferrie had helped him as he started to read the books, he had bought in his first full day in the world, and he could now understand a few words – enough that he felt able to make some medium-quality healing potions, which thanks to the Legendary Shield should actually be of high quality. If he managed to make a few dozens, he could sell half to the apothecary for a nice sum and keep the rest so his party could use them when needed.

It was a while later, as Ferrie finished her part of training, that Naofumi took over, and chose to teach her how to wield a sword. However, all the swords he had were too large, so she instead got a mid-seax, a 22-inch long knife that actually looked like a sword in her small hands. For Naofumi, though, the knife had a special meaning: it had once belonged to his aunt before she gifted it to Raphaella some time before the surprise attack that had killed half of his family and caused the death of the three girls he loved.

"There are many ways to hold a sword, Raphtalia, but the best I know are Strong Edge and False Edge. Strong Edge is easier, because it's the normal way to hold a one-handed sword or a knife and it gives you the opportunity to make a strong hit, while it also grants you several perks. Now, in this position you hit the opponent with the edge facing them, or, with this knife, the cutting edge. Are you following me?"

"Yes, Master," the girl said, excited, making the hero happy that she was paying attention.

"Now, there's a basic form of attacking that I already taught you, but now you're going to learn how to use it to attack different points. When I say 'one', you attack from my left shoulder to my right hip. 'Two' for right shoulder to left hip. 'Three' for a horizontal swing to my left hip. 'Four' is the same but to my right. 'Five' and 'six' are like 'one' and 'two' but in reverse. And 'seven', you stab. Remember, when you do a stab, don't lean forward, it exposes your back, neck and head to an enemy: only move your hip and then your arm, and then return to a defensive position. When you get used to it, we'll do it with your off hand. Using that will let you improve and shake off the fears you may have at using the knife."

"Is it alright to attack you, Master? The crest won't react?" Raphtalia asked.

"No, I turned off the option last night. I need you to get used to attack living targets, they won't wait for you to come at them, and you need to get used to wielding a weapon. When you get better, I'll teach you how to attack at weak points like the head or crotch, but right now it could either be dangerous or damage your weapon. If you want to learn how to fight with an axe or a warhammer, we can still cover those two types of weapons in this training."

"I understand, Master."

It took a while for Raphtalia to get used to the new weapon and its size, but soon she was wielding it well, and after doing ten sets of attacks with both hands without making a mistake, Naofumi switched to teaching her about the second form he had planned for her.

"Now, False Edge. To use this form, you put the handle of the weapon against the joint next to your palm, close your hand with your fingers and put your thumb on the handle. If you, do it correctly, you'll notice that your knuckles are facing your opponent, and if you are wielding a double-edged sword it will allow you to slash with both edges, you just need to move the right way to make it easier."

"But... this knife only has one edge."

"I know, but you need to practice the technique first. Once you've got that down; we can switch you to a double-edged sword."

After he taught her the basic moves for False Edge, Raphtalia realized, amazed, how it allowed her to wield a one-handed sword without a problem. She could attack without having to change how her wrist moved, and a simple waist move let you attack in one way and then return to your original position and attack again at the same time.

That part of the training ended a while later, and Naofumi took some time to pull materials and items out of Storage, so he could consider whether to just sell them or feed them to his Legendary Shield. He had many ores: obsidian, pyrite, tungsten... he even found some Luminita and Komok ores, the same ones that had caused the chain of events that led to him, his family and the others to be summoned to Aztlan. Seeing he had a lot of them all, he fed them to his shield – being pleasantly surprised by the stats in some of his new shields – and stored the rest so he could use them later when needed.

There were also several pelts of animals that belonged to animals from both Aztlan and this new world, and the Legendary Shield took them in, creating shields that only gave him stat boosts or other bonuses – and to get them he still had to unlock the corresponding shield. He would have to deal with that in the future.

Now done with his business, and seeing Raphtalia had recovered her breath, they walked the rest of the way to Riyute, and they asked a local man for the breeder's house, but unfortunately the breeder was away, having left the previous day to deal with several issues the First Wave had caused to his business. Naofumi was angry, but admitted it was nothing he could actually control, so he let it go. But then he had an idea.

"Hey, could you tell me if there's any place around here where I can make some money?" he asked, making the man turn pensative.

"Well... there's the mine south from here. The ores from there used to be sought after by the blacksmiths for some reason, but we don't go there anymore."

"Why?"

"There's a monster from the first Wave still living inside. We asked the castle for help, but so far there's no answer, and we don't know what the heroes are doing."

"Thank you for the information. Now, I have these pelts, are you interested in them?"

The vendor took the pelts, which had come from a monster species called Usapil he and Ferrie had encountered a few days before, and took notice of its shine and quality, nodding.

"Are you willing to accept two silvers for each pelt?"

"Sure," Naofumi said, and the vendor handed him the money he had offered.

With a new objective in mind, the trio went to the local inn in order to get rooms, but this time there was only one available. Naofumi just hoped they would all be comfortable, Ferrie was not bothered at all, and Raphtalia remained silent, thinking she did not have the right to show her opinion while wanting to remain near the Shield Hero.

"So, new plans. I'll go to the mine and try to kill this monster the vendor mentioned. Meanwhile, you two should ask around for information on best hunting places around the town, maybe we can bring some food or kill any pests the village is having trouble with."

"Master, why will you go along to the mine?"

"Well, I can't count on Ferrie because she's got an irrational fear of dark and closed places-"

"OI!" Ferrie interrupted, irritated.

"-and someone needs to take care of the chicks. And I want you to do that, Raphtalia."

"But... what if there's still a monster? You would be in danger, Master."

"Raphtalia is right, Fumi. Why doesn't Raphtalia go with you to the cave? Meanwhile, I can take care of Aria and Terry while I ask the people if they need help."

"But... why do I have to go there?" Raphtalia was worried. If there were monsters of the first Wave there, one of them could be the one that killed her parents. But she kept quiet about the thought, still believing she should not state her opinion on account of her status.

"You don't have to. I'm not sure you're ready to fight if there are monsters in there, and Ferrie would be too scared of the place, so it's best if I go alone."

"While I wish you would not talk about my fears so casually, I agree that I would not be of much help in the mine. Though, if you just defend against the monster, you could lure it out of the cave, and then I could fight it. And if Raphtalia goes with you, it'll make things easier, help her training and ensure you don't overdo it."

"Why are you saying that Ferrie?"

"I know you, Iwatani Naofumi. The first thing you'll do is to check if there is a pickaxe around and use it to mine. Then the Legendary Shield will tell you where you can mine after it gets some special ability, and the next thing I'll know of you it'll be that you spent all the time down there until the next Wave came, you obsessive workaholic."

"I'll grant you that some of what you said is right, but why do I need to bring Raphtalia with me?"

"Because she's going to keep an eye on you, and I trust that, when she gets tired, you will come to your senses and bring her back to the inn, where I will be able to force you to lie down and rest."

"Damn. Fine, I'll dance to your tune, you blasted pied piper. Come on, Raphtalia, let's go."

"Understood, Master."

As the two walked out of the room, Naofumi pulled Raphtalia close to him.

"By the way, Raphtalia, there's no need to keep calling me 'Master'. You can call me whatever you want."

"Are you sure?" the shy girl asked. She could not understand why her new master was so different from the other ones.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure."

"Understood, Naofumi-sama."

They kept walking in silence for a few seconds.

"If you want to drop the -sama, I'd be glad."

"Understood, Naofumi-sama."

Naofumi just sighed, exasperated.

Come on, not another one, he thought, remembering Rino doing the same a few days before. Without his knowledge, Ferrie, who had heard their discussion from the room, started to laugh about it. The chicks did not know what was going on, as they preferred to spend their energies doing better things like trying to attack each other but given that stealth was not part of their portfolio, Ferrie easily stopped them.

The mine was not close, but the walk there was not exhausting, allowing Raphtalia to keep up with Naofumi without getting tired, as they arrived at an entrance in a hill with a shed standing next to it. Noticing it was sealed, Naofumi tried to open it by breaking the padlock keeping it closed, but he was annoyed as he realized he could not do it.

Fucking shield, I can't attack normal objects, either? he thought, before forcing himself to relax as he tried to remember what his aunt had once said.

When a door can't be opened, a window could be useful. And if that doesn't work then C4 is the solution for you!

FUCK YOU, SAGARA!

It had been a few days after the summoning. His aunt Natsumi had noticed he was stressed and had told him that first part, suggesting him to consider other solutions or think outside the box. Then Sagara Sosuke had shown up with a block of actual C4 in hand, making his own addition to the suggestion and stating it only needed a timer for the detonator to work. The Iwatanis had been shocked, and Chidori had shown up, pulled a fan out of nowhere, and hit him in the back of the head before apologizing for her husband's behavior and pulling him away by the ear.

Naofumi sighed. Those had been some good days. Even learning of Sagara's social dystrophia had not marred the memories.

"What happened, Naofumi-sama?"

"Nothing, Raphtalia. I just remembered some stupid advice I got once. Also, my shield's keeping me from breaking this padlock. Do you think you can do it for me?"

"I can do it, Naofumi-sama" she replied. Picking up the largest rock she could handle, she dropped it on the padlock and broke it at the first strike. She was happy that she could so easily help, but Naofumi's pride took a big hit after seeing the little raccoon girl succeed where he had failed.

The shed's door opened to reveal several mining tools, ropes, and even a cart. It looked like it was a warehouse or something similar. Naofumi grabbed a pickaxe and fed it to the shield, which glowed as he realized what he had just done. Raphtalia sniggered quietly as the Legendary Shield showed the new shield that had just become available.

Pickaxe Shield: Conditions met

Equip bonus skill: Mining 1

"Not a word of this to Ferrie, Ok?" Naofumi pleaded Raphtalia, who nodded as he grabbed a rope and repeated the move, getting a good surprise this time.

Rope Shield: Conditions met

Equip bonus skill: Air Strike Shield

Special Equip effect: Rope

Naofumi quickly revised the new skill he had gained and was initially disappointed. At first sight, it was like Hedron Shield's biggest shields, but re-reading what it did made him realize it was more useful than that. Maybe it could not be used to attack directly, but it could be summoned anywhere he wanted, could actually be used as a ram of sorts and gave him some decent mobility and versatility. It could actually become a decent skill once he practiced using it.

"Air Strike Shield!" he stated, concentrating on where he wanted the shield to show. Green light flew out of him and coalesced in the form of a large, translucent shield. Naofumi smiled. "Finally. This shield can actually cover what usefulness Hedron Shield lost."

Once inside the cave, Naofumi pulled a few things out of his Storage: a silver platter, a bottle with a brownish liquid and a rock. At least, that was what Raphtalia thought they were, surprising her since she thought he would have pulled out some torches to see in the darkness.

"What are you doing, Naofumi-sama? And where are the torches?"

"We don't need torches, Raphtalia. You see, this material is Luminita, which, among other things, can shine ten times as bright as a torch if it is wetted with vinegar. Normally it would not be so useful, but the shield I got from a piece of Luminita lets me control that." Naofumi transformed his shield into the Luminita Shield, a short, rectangular shield big enough to cover his forearm and hand. The stats were, to be honest, abysmal: just an extra physical defense point and two magic defense points. Its extra skill was quite interesting, since, by holding a shining object for some time, he could control the intensity of the light it emitted, and then hand the object over to someone else.

Placing the mineral piece in the platter, Naofumi poured some vinegar onto it, making it shine as strong as he had said, but Naofumi was quick to grab the rock and make its shine just enough to illuminate the room without hurting their eyes. For a few seconds, the cave was bathed in a rainbow, amazing Raphtalia, before it turned to a soft, white light.

"Here, Raphtalia. Hold the platter, it won't shine too bright. If you need to, leave it carefully on the ground, that way it'll still illuminate our way in."

"I will, Naofumi-sama," Raphtalia replied with a nod.

"Now, we have to go inside and see what lies in wait for us."

Entering the mine through its only way, the two quickly noticed there were several non-human footprints on the ground. Raphtalia drew closer to Naofumi in fear, while he chose not to say nothing.

The narrow passageway opened a while later into a large natural cavern that had to be connected to an underground water source, as they could see the waterfall dropping to a side. The light the Luminita shield and ore were giving gave the place a beautiful hue, as the light reflected on the walls. While Raphtalia looked, forgetting her fear for a moment, Naofumi changed from the Luminita to the Pickaxe Shield, and saw a green mark in a wall nearby. Curious, he grabbed a second pickaxe and started to dig into the wall. One strike brought down multiple pieces of rock, and behind them was a large chunk of a mineral Naofumi had never seen before.

"Damn, Ferrie was right." He grabbed the chunk, observed it, and placed it into Storage. "Alright, this is good, if we are lucky maybe we can find more of this. Raphtalia, help me find more of this."

"Yes, Naofumi-sama!"

Without losing time, both of them started to dig where Naofumi's new mining sense suggested, and in twenty minutes they had managed to find five seams similar to the one Naofumi had found before. The Shield helpfully informed Naofumi that the ore was called Light Ore, which seemed to be quite common in this mine and was also one of the most requested by those who knew how to work it.

Seeing that Raphtalia was getting tired, Naofumi told her to take a breather. Leaving the pickaxe in a safe place, she went to the small river running through the cavern and saw it was clear and fresh, so it might be drinkable. However, when she went to get a mug to drink water from, she heard steps coming from beyond the veil of light of Luminita. Turning her head, she attempted to see if she could gaze upon the sound source, but all she could tell was that it was something or someone heavy – and she could not tell if it was actually just one being or several.

"Naofumi-sama," she said, trying not to panic as she retreated towards her Master, "something is coming."

The Hero became tense as he dropped the pick and changed his shield. This could only mean one thing: an ambush. He was inside an abandoned mine, along with a little girl who barely knew how to wield a long knife, and the one person that could actually help was nowhere close enough to call.

"Raphtalia, get ready to fight. Given where that sound is coming from, it doesn't look like it's friendly."

"WHAT? I-I don't know if I can fight."

"Sorry, but it's too late. Right now, our best bet to survive is to do our best to move outside. Get ready to fight whatever comes!"

"Understood... Master," she said, trembling, as she held her mid-seax and looked for a place that could grant her an advantage.

She was not ready before it came. From a passageway nearby, a large black creature walked in, growling, its red eyes looking at the two humans with hatred and menace. And the instant the girl saw the creature, terror filled her body as she stumbled when she tried to put some distance between herself and it. The creature seemed to smell the fear pouring out of her, and jumped at her, making her scream in panic.

Naofumi moved on instinct the moment he saw the monster. He barely had the time to look at the huge two-headed dog that had shown up all of a sudden, all that mattered was that Raphtalia was in danger. Grabbing her on the run, he jumped into the cavern's lake, ignoring Raphtalia's panicked scream as they plunged into the water. Quickly, he swam to the other side of the lake, trying to put distance between himself and the monster. The moment he was sure they were out of danger, he used the Rope Shield and pulled them out of the lake as Raphtalia coughed up some of the water she had accidentally inhaled after hitting the water.

"What happened, Raphtalia?" he asked, concerned. Perhaps he had been too hasty in making her fight.

"A... a dog killed my parents."

Fuck. I can't make her fight the source of her trauma so soon, Naofumi thought, looking for the beast. It did not seem to be in sight, but Naofumi knew it might not last. We can't lose any time. I couldn't see its level, and we are going to need Ferrie to deal with it.

"Raphtalia, was that monster the one that killed your parents?"

She shook her head.

"N-no. That one had... three heads."

Oh, great, a fucking Cerberus. Before his summoning to Aztlan, he had read in his mother's books about the Cerberus, a very dangerous monster that could devour not only the body of a person, but also their actual soul.

"Rapthalia, listen to me. We need to work together if we want to survive, and the only way out may be if you fight with me. Do you understand me?"

Raphtalia looked over his shoulder and gave another scream. Quickly, Naofumi turned around and stepped between it and the girl. Now that he could see it with clarity, he was relieved that it was a level 15 Orthrus Dog. He was level 26, and between that and all of his shields, he held a clear advantage.

"This mutt can't damage me, Raphtalia! I'll hold it and let you kill it. When I give the signal, attack!"

"DON'T GO! I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"

Naofumi realized that Raphtalia was starting to panic, but he could do nothing about it before the two-headed dog attacked him. He let the creature's right head bite his shoulder, and then grappled with the other head's neck, holding it in place.

"Raphtalia! Attack it! It's not hurting me, don't panic!"

"Don't die, Naofumi-sama," she said, breathless, broken. She was clearly losing herself into her memories, and Naofumi knew he needed to do something if he wanted her to act. Reluctantly, he unlocked one of the controls over her.

"Raphtalia, calm down! It's an order!"

The young girl screamed in pain as the slave crest on her chest gave her a shock for not obeying her owner's order. Naofumi hated himself for doing it, but when he released the control a moment later, he could tell that Raphtalia had regained her senses.

"Are you alright, Naofumi-sama?"

"Of course, I'm fine, Raphtalia. My level is almost twice this one's, and most of my stats are even greater. I can actually barely feel its bite, and it cannot move at all. Though, I cannot kill it on my own. I need you to come here and do it, and then we'll leave this cave and stay at the inn."

"B-But... it will bleed! I don't like blood!"

"Yeah, that's true, but we cannot just leave this monster here, it could get out and attack the town, or kill a villager that wasn't paying attention to its surroundings. We need to kill it now. You can do it, Raphtalia."

"I-I can't, I can't, I can't!" the girl shouted. Risking a look back, he noticed that she was still shaking so hard she could barely hold the mid-seax in her hands, and she was showing despair for not being able to do the one job she was supposed to do. He decided to take pity on her.

"Well, if you can't do that, go back and bring Ferrie, she can do it. I can hold out until she arrives."

"But-it'll take me too much time to reach the village alone!"

"Well, then start running."

He heard Raphtalia's breath suddenly stop, and he feared something bad had happened to her, but another look showed that she was getting hurt by the seal – and instead of screaming in pain, she was actually enduring it, her eyes displaying steel.

"No."

"Sorry, what?" He knew what she was going to say, but he still had to ask. Raphtalia had already killed other creatures, but they had been weak monsters with barely any sentience and no actual body. The moment she killed this Orthrus, the remains of her childhood would die with it.

And it had been him who had ensured that.

"I... I'll do it, Naofumi-sama. I'll kill the dog for you! It's my job to do this!"

Standing up again, Raphtalia charged at the creature and stabbed with all her strength between the ribs. Both heads barked in pain. The one biting Naofumi attempted to turn and attack Raphtalia, but the Shield Hero quickly reacted and held the head under his armpit, applying all his strength to keep it in place.

Then, Naofumi was witness to Raphtalia falling into a spree of stabbing the immobilized creature, almost as if something primal was possessing her, her eyes and smile chaotic as she ended up covered in the Orthrus' blood that was sprouting out of its injuries. It was a look Naofumi had seen several times already: it was the eyes and the smile of Raphaela, Melissa and Atalanta when they found the men who had enslaved them so long ago and took their revenge on them.

Raphaela and Melissa had been very vindictive. By the time they had been done, the slavers were begging to be killed.

Atalanta had been worse. The one thing he had chanced to see before deciding his sanity was better served being away was her biting one of the slavers in the neck and ripping a chunk of it, as if she were some kind of predator toying with its prey. The assholes had certainly deserved death, but he was not sure anyone, even them, deserved what they had suffered.

And now, Raphtalia, a girl that had just barely become ten, was attacking the now dead Orthrus dog like she was a berserker with not a care for the world.

She's seeing the Cerberus in this monster. Damn. I hope Ferrie and I can help her, he thought, letting the necks go and dropping the body, before approaching Raphtalia carefully, realizing he now needed to bring her back to sanity before she went too far.

"It's over, Raphtalia," he said in a soothing tone, his hands low and open to show he was not a threat to her. "The monster is dead. You've killed it. There's no need to keep stabbing."

Finally, he got through to her, as the stabs became slower and less intense, as Raphtalia realized that it was all over, at which point she dropped the mid-seax and jumped on him, starting to cry from the catharsis of her first kill.

"Naofumi-sama, Naofumi-sama..." she cried out into his chest, spreading blood, tears, and others on his armor as her anger, fear, and impotence escaped through her tears. Naofumi knew he would have to clean it later, but right now Raphtalia's state was more important.

"Shh... It's over. I'm sorry you had to do it... but you did it, and now you are one step stronger than yesterday." And she was: a quick look at her stats showed that she had jumped up several levels after killing the monster. "I'm proud of you."

It took several minutes before she calmed down, and when she did, she felt purged of the fears that had clinched her for so long. As she separated from Naofumi, she rubbed her face to attempt to clear all the crusted blood and muck, without much success.

"Are you feeling better, Raphtalia?"

"Yes, Naofumi-sama, I'm fine," she said, and Naofumi saw her face turning red as she looked up at him. He thought it was just the reaction of her body from the intense crying, but unbeknownst to him, she was starting to get confused with feelings she had never had. She now wanted to be with him, and not just as his slave. She wanted to be more. She did not know what, exactly, but she wanted to be more for Naofumi.

Maybe in the future... me and Rifana could... she stopped herself from continuing that sentence. It went against everything her parents had taught her about the subject. But... Rifana needs to know how amazing the Shield Hero is.

"Ok, now that you feel better, do you want to clean yourself up, or do you prefer to wait until we reach the inn?"

"I want to clean my face now, can I do that, Naofumi-sama?"

"Well, of course. I really don't want people in the village see you covered in blood and think something false, that would be bad for business."

"Do you only care for your business, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked, pouting. "I have only known you for a few days and you keep talking about that."

"Hey, I really care about you," Raphtalia's heart leapt a little at that, "and Ferrie too. You two are part of my party and that makes you important to me."

"Thank you, Naofumi-sama," she replied, and her hug became stronger as she said that.

"Don't you want to clean up?"

"Yes... but just one more minute." Naofumi rolled his eyes and gently patted her hair. In spite of the muck between them, Raphtalia felt happy.

It was a few minutes later that Raphtalia let go and walked up to the lake to wash out everything covering her face, and Naofumi began to cut a few pieces of the Orthrus' corpse and feeding them into the shield, making him happy when he saw the result.

Two-headed Black Dog Shield: Conditions met

Equip bonus skill: Alert Shield

Special equip effect: Dog Bite

A new skill and a special equip effect in the same shield, like with the Rope Shield earlier? That's a good streak, he thought, changing to the new shield (now looking like a normal shield with two dog heads sticking out of it) and checking his new abilities.

"What does the Alert Shield do?" he wondered, and right on time the dogs on the shield started to bark like crazy at the same time as Raphtalia let out a terrified scream. He barely had a second to react before he was mauled by a large jaw, belonging to what Naofumi assumed was a dog bigger than the one Raphtalia had killed a few minutes before. This time, though, the dog biting him was actually hurting him, and that meant this one was strong. Then he saw a second head, a big red head with two long canine teeth (heh) ready to bite his head off and eat him.

He could hear Raphtalia's second scream as she begged for him to wait, followed by the howling pain of another beast.

There's more than one? Fuck! Raphtalia had enough trouble with one, she won't be able to fight more than that, I need to save her, she needs to run and survive! If there's a God up there, he'd better save her, I can deal with this myself! She doesn't deserve to suffer for my selfishness!

A second later, the second head got blasted into bloody gore as a beam of light hit him. Naofumi gritted his teeth at the painful shock he got from using Hedron Shield and as the other head shook him up before letting him go.

What the- hell, did the shock from using Hedron Shield actually affect the dog? Finally, and here I thought it was only going to be a hindrance!

Before he could move, another dog attacked him, this one smaller and one-headed. Its bite was not painful nor caused damage, but it was still really annoying.

"Fuck off, you mutt," Naofumi growled and punched it. Much to his surprise, the dog melted away, but he did not look the gifted horse in the mouth and quickly moved. Luckily, there were two large boulders that he could use to form a sort of fortress with, particularly when combined with a Large Hedron Shield planted in the open side. Now under relative safety, he quickly opened Storage and retrieved three of the health potions he had made earlier. Fortunately, it only took two of them to bring him back to full health.

That was when he stood up to look what was going on and give hell to the monsters that had attacked him and Raphtalia – and all he could see was that he was in a nightmare.

He saw an enormous pack of dogs, similar to the second one that had attacked him, all of them running around and trying to attack Raphtalia. It was not surprising to see that they were falling in droves to Raphtalia's attacks, but she was clearly afraid, which was understandable. A few of them were also trying to destroy his shield. That was when he realized one thing: all of them were identical. It was almost like they were clones of the same beast.

That was when he saw the monster that had attacked him. It was a two-headed monster, with twelve levels over him, and what he could see of its stats showed he was stronger than he was. One of the heads was looking at him, its eyes ablaze with wrath, while the other looked at Raphtalia.

Wait a second, two heads? Didn't I just blow one head?

That was when he saw the blood dripping from what he assumed was a neck, from which chunks of flesh hung.

"For fuck's sake, a bloody Cerberus?" This was even worse than he had thought. This was the beast that had killed Raphtalia's parents, and for all he knew it was the first Wave's final boss. He could understand how no one had killed it, and its strength was easy to explain: it had been running wild in the world since the first Wave, able to kill monsters, animals and people.

Another check also made him realize where all the smaller dogs were coming out: the Cerberus' blood, pouring out of multiple cuts over its legs and pooled on the ground, was where the clones were jumping out of.

"Shit, this boss is supposed to be the weakest, and it has such a broken skill? Damn, I need to grab Raphtalia and get out of here."

Undoing his large shield, Naofumi quickly began to punch his way through the pack of blood clone dogs attacking him. They proved to be as weak as the first one, meaning that the only thing they could do to him was to crowd him in numbers as he destroyed them all. It was the first time he could actually kill a monster without resorting to Hedron Shield since he arrived at this stupid world, and that made him feel powerful.

That was when the Cerberus made its move, and it chose to attack Naofumi, probably in revenge for the head it had just lost. However, he was able to notice that its movements were not as coordinated as one would expect.

Maybe that head was the one in charge of deciding how to move the body as a whole? I can work with that.

"I WILL KILL YOU, AND ALL YOUR SPAWN, TOO! I'LL AVENGE MY PARENTS AND ALL THE PEOPLE YOU ATE, BASTARD! I WON'T ALLOW YOU TO TAKE SOMEONE FROM ME AGAIN!"

Naofumi looked to his side and saw Raphtalia had become more frantic – but this time her rage was becoming focused, sharpening her moves to make her almost unbeatable. One step forward and a diagonal cut from high right to bottom left ripped several dogs apart. Another step and a quick wrist move cut three monsters apart. Another step, another cut. Another step, another cut. And at every cut, the clones fell, almost unnoticed by Raphtalia as she kept walking closer to the target of her wrath, even as the apparently infinite number of blood clones tried to mob her.

Naofumi was not impassive as this happened. Taking advantage of the fact that for once he was strong enough to do so, he was shield-bashing and punching all the dogs that came near him, both to ease up the pressure on Raphtalia (note to self, congratulate her for being able to use the training we gave her so well) and to clear himself off enemies as the Cerberus closed in on him. This time, though, he was ready for the fight. Easily dodging the first attack by jumping to the side where the dead head was before, Naofumi summoned a Hedron Shield, this time a triangular one, and had it start to rotate in the air. Focusing on the rotating shield, he waited for the right moment, and when that came, he hurled it into the central head's neck.

To its credit, the Cerberus could make an effort to dodge the attack, but the loss of its right head played against him, and Naofumi's shield managed to get through the monster's protection and slice its spine. On the good side, now the monster could not move, and the last head's attempts to do so were only making the body shake without control. On the bad side, the new wound was pouring a lot of blood, and out of that blood came even more blood clones that were trying to protect the Cerberus. It felt like a swarm trying to drown him, and as fast as he was in punching the creatures, he was starting to get overwhelmed.

Suddenly, the last head howled, howled as if Lady Death herself had decided it was its time, and it did not want to go with her. The blood clone dogs attacking Naofumi tried to move to the other side, but suddenly the howl was cut off and the clones melted away.

Suspecting something else was going on, Naofumi did not drop his guard as he looked around, but the only noise around this time was the sound of wet splashes and flesh being torn with a knife. He did not notice the notification of experience popping up until he saw Raphtalia, once again stabbing a monster's corpse multiple times, realizing that she had managed to kill the Cerberus. The poor girl was covered in even more blood than before, and her frenzy was such that she could not be awoken from it like he had done before. So, he moved behind her and hugged her. Raphtalia was startled and tried to attack him, but he gently grabbed her wrist and made soothing noises.

"Sshh, easy, Raphtalia. It's Naofumi. Everything is alright. It's dead, the monster that took your parents and friends away is dead. Take it easy, kid."

Once more, he found his arms full of a crying girl, and he did his best to hold her close and let her bawl. It was understandable: after the scare with the Orthrus dog, she had suddenly come close to see her parents' death all over again, and that was not something anyone wanted to see. He just had to hold her, wait for her to calm down and hope she would come out of this stronger than before. After that, he would get to work on the two monsters and see what else he could get out of them.

Then the shield's green gem shone bright for a few seconds, and the dead Cerberus started to let loose several balls of white energy. Fearing it was some kind of attack from beyond, Naofumi prepared to protect himself, but then the balls became creatures. Some of them monsters, some of them animals, and many of them people, humans, and demi-humans alike, armed or not: it had to be the victims of the Cerberus, now freed with its death.

Two of the balls transformed into people right in front of Naofumi and Raphtalia, and he realized who they were without an issue. The resemblance between the man and woman before him, and the young girl in his arms, was uncanny.

"Mom? Dad?" Raphtalia asked, astonished, as she got out of Naofumi's embrace. The tears had stopped falling at the sight of the two – ghosts, perhaps? – in front of them, and suddenly she ran to the two figures, hugging them and getting hugged in return. "I'm sorry, I broke my promise, I stopped smiling when that man started to hurt Rifana, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Raphtalia, dear, don't apologize. There was nothing you could do, and you are still alive," Raphtalia's father said.

"And everybody sees a reason to stop smiling from time to time. And when you do, you can always smile again, and that will bring strength to everyone that needs it, sweetheart," her mother continued.

"Never forget that we love you. You are the most precious treasure we could ever have ever had."

"Remember, if you fall once, you can stand up again, try again, like you have been doing right now. You just killed a monster that no one had been able to stop yet, and we know that you and the Shield Hero will do great things, not only for this world, but for many others."

Raphtalia's father turned to Naofumi, who was both glad that Raphtalia was finding closure and surprised at the arrival of these souls.

"In the past, our ancestors fought alongside the Shield Hero, and I'm proud my daughter is following the tradition. Raphtalia, stay with him, make him stronger, wield our family's hammer in his defense. Shield Hero, thanks to you we can rest in peace, knowing our daughter is in good hands... but break her heart and I'll show you what a member of my family can do."

"Er, em, what?" Naofumi answered.

"DAD!"

"HONEY!"

"What? I had always hoped to threaten the boy Raphtalia would marry, but I guess I'll have to settle with the god of demi-humans."

"DAD! Not in front of Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia exclaimed, beet-red under the crusting blood.

"I understand you, honey. If we had the time, I would have been telling the Shield Hero about all the embarrassing stories of what Raphtalia did when she was a little child.

"MOM! DON'T DO THAT!"

"But... we need to go. Our time here was only to let us say goodbye to our Raphtalia, and it is over." The man knelt in front of his daughter, who was crying once more. "Raphtalia, stay strong. And remember, whatever you do, whatever path you choose, we will always be proud of you."

"Y-You need to go?"

"Yes, sweetheart. I really wish we could stay here, but we don't belong among the living anymore. But even if you don't see us, we will be there, watching as you grow up into a wonderful woman."

"Mom... Dad... I miss you... what will I do now?"

"You already know the answer, Raphtalia," her mother said, kissing her brow.

"Shield Hero," her father said, looking at Naofumi. "Will you take care of our daughter?"

"I will, sir. You can rest in peace now."

"Thank you. One last warning, though. Beware of Q'Ten Lo."

The energy that made the two spirits slowly vanished away, as Raphtalia silently cried and waved her parents, and when nothing of them remained she turned back and hugged Naofumi one last time, perhaps for longer than what would have been required, but neither of them cared about it.

"Alright, Raphtalia, we need to go. We've stayed here too long, and Ferrie will be concerned if we don't return soon."

"I... don't want to return like this, Naofumi-sama."

Looking down, he noticed that the two of them were a mess. There was a lot of drying blood on them, mud everywhere, and his chest and her face full of the consequences of so much crying.

"Yeah, me neither. Perhaps we could use the lake to wash up just enough? And then when we get to the inn, we can bathe."

"Can... can we bathe together?" she asked, her voice going so low that Naofumi barely heard it.

"What? Don't you- aren't you old enough to bathe alone?"

"It's nothing like that! It's just- I took my eyes off you and a monster attacked us. I-I just don't want to be alone right now."

"I get it. Though, I don't have clean clothes of your size, you'll have to wash it up here and then we can do better at the inn, is that good to you?"

"Yes, it is, Naofumi-sama.

"Also, we'd better wait until we are done with the two monsters. I want to give some more pieces to the Shield and store the bodies, and I'd rather not get dirty after getting cleaned."

"Yeah, you are right, Naofumi-sama, let's do that now, then," the girl replied.

Soon, they were working in gutting the monsters, grabbing the different parts and seeing what they could give to the Shield and what to keep for selling. He got several shields out of it, but he did not check them at all, being more concentrated with his current work.

Once they were done, they walked to the lake. Naofumi managed to find a large towel and some clothes that would be oversized for her and had clearly not been made for demi-humans, but they would work to preserve her modesty. Finally, they took off their clothes, and began to wash up all the muck on their heads, as well as relax after such a storm of emotions.

"You know, Raphtalia, we made a lot of progress today."

"What do you mean, Naofumi-sama?"

"Have you seen your status?"

Raphtalia checked and finally noticed it: she had been level 6 before going into the cave, but now she was level 23.

"I... leveled up a lot. What does that mean for me?"

"Well, if what I learned is correct, you're going to grow up a lot soon, Raphtalia. I think we're going to have to take a break tomorrow, I'd rather not have you suffer because you changed so much that you had to relearn everything on the move."

"You know about demi-humans leveling, Naofumi-sama?"

"The day after I arrived here, I found myself talking with a nun of the Three Heroes Church who fortunately didn't know who I was, and she explained that part to me, although of course, she was all about how demis were a danger to humans. That's why I'm training you, so you can become powerful and defend yourself during the Waves. Although I wish I didn't have to take away your childhood."

"Don't be. My childhood was a good one before the Waves, and then these past two days after you bought me... they were the closest I had had to my life in Lurolona. You don't need to feel sad, Naofumi-sama. I enjoyed my childhood, and I can do it for as long as I have."

"But... soon you will be an adult. And believe me, when you become an adult, you will want to return to the time when you were a child."

"Mmm, no. I prefer to be an adult and do things I couldn't do before."

"You are a weird one, Raphtalia."

"I don't know how to take that, Naofumi-sama. Was that a compliment?"

"It is, if you want it to be."

"You are bad giving compliments, Naofumi-sama. If you don't correct that you'll never get a girlfriend. Oh, but that's good, my friend Rifana once said she wanted to marry you!"

"What? Why me?"

"Because you are the Shield Hero, and the Shield Hero protects the Demi humans. That's what Mom and Dad said."

"Just because of that? Poor girl. She's going to get such a disappointment when she meets me."

"Yes, you're right, Naofumi-sama."

"Oi!"

Raphtalia giggled, and just the sound of it told Naofumi something: she was already growing up. Even her way of talking was being affected. And he was glad he was not looking at her because he really did not want to see her growing body, particularly when she complained of being in pain.

I only met the little shrimp for two days, and I'm going to miss her, he thought. As the silence filled the room, he decided to go through the two fights, and made a conclusion.

"You know, Raphtalia, we learned something else today."

"What, Naofumi-sama?"

"Our party dynamic."

"I thought you already had one."

"I have one with Ferrie. Both of us charging at the same time, me catching the enemy's attention while she goes in... but with you, it's different, and I like that."

"And... what's our dynamic, Naofumi-sama?" she asked, flustered.

"It's very simple. I defend, and you attack."

"I... also like that, Naofumi-sama.

After that, they stayed silent for a time. It was quite peaceful, and that was all they needed at the moment. Until Naofumi decided to correct Raphtalia on something she had said earlier.

"By the way, I've had girlfriends."

"What are you talking about, Naofumi-sama?"

"You said earlier I could never get a girlfriend. Well, I had one. Or more than one."

"Oh... what happened to them?"

Naofumi told her the story of how he met Felicia first, and then Raphaella, Atalanta and Melissa. How he had loved them, how he had tried to do good for them. How he had lived with them.

How he had lost them. The pain of having to deal with the loss.

"I'm so sorry about that, Naofumi-sama."

"It's ancient history by now, Raphtalia. What matters is the here and now. Now, let's dry up and leave, the village will want to know the good news and-"

"FUMI! RAPHTALIA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"That's Ferrie-neechan!"

"Looks like. FERRIE! WE ARE DOWN HERE!"

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

"YES! IT WAS HARD FOR A TIME, BUT WE ARE FINE NOW!"

"GOOD! I'M GOING DOWN THERE!"

"WAIT, FERRIE-NEECHAN! DON'T COME!" Raphtalia shouted.

"Why don't you want her here, Raphtalia?"

"How are we dressed?"

"Good point."

It was too late, though, and Ferrie's reaction was the expected.

"AHHH! IWATANI NAOFUMI! WHY ARE YOU NAKED IN FRONT OF RAPHTALIA?!"

"Ffff-great, now I'm going to have to explain to her everything that happened here."

"Good luck, Naofumi-sama. You are going to need it."

All I need to say is that this chapter got me into a lot of trouble, and Milarqui, my beta reader is a saint.

I hope you liked this chapter, and I want to apologize for the time I need to update this story. As I said in the past, it is a learning experience to write in another language.

Comment, send your reviews, and see you later.