Rise of the Sword and the Shield chapter 08: the Slave Girl
Lyall the Werewolf: Much of this chapter will focus on Naofumi and Raphtalia. Last time, I focused purely on Asuka, and admittedly, I made some bad choices for her character.
THE-Twilight-BlazeKnight and a few others pointed out how I wrote Asuka in the last story and this one. I never used the fact that she was a shinobi to their full potential and wrote her by my own standards. I focus squarely on writing her as a Cardinal Hero. I may have gotten the good parts down, but that's all I did. That's how a Mary Sue is written, isn't it?
I actually did have ideas for Asuka to use her shinobi talents, but I didn't implement them, and we know the result of that. So, from here on out, I'm going to try and strike a balance between Sword Hero Asuka and Shinobi Asuka.
As for Naofumi and Raphtalia, they barely had any spotlight compared to before. This is one of the reasons I decided t rewrite the story, so we have the best of both worlds. They are the stars of the Shield Hero canon. It would hurt the story more if they didn't have any spotlight.
Lots of people have said that Naofumi will be nicer to Raphtalia with Asuka's positive influence. Well, let's see how he fairs without her this time since now he is totally engrossed with his negative emotions.
And just so we're clear, I have read the Reprise of the Spear Hero long before I started this fic, so I know Naofumi's mental state might be different if someone is willing to stand up for him.
Also, for anyone not in the know, there's a new Shield Hero spin-off manga, set from the perspective of Raphtalia, detailing her early life and time as a slave to Naofumi. It's called The Rising of the Shield Hero ~ Girls Side Story. Bloodyredrose1994 gave me a heads up on it, and after reading the first two chapters so far, I took some inspiration from it. Go check it out if you can.
(I don't own Senran Kagura or Shield Hero)
It was a slow business day at Erhard's weapon shop. He was just tending to his wears until he heard the door open.
"Welcome!" the blacksmith cheerfully said before recognizing the familiar face of his latest customer. "Well, if it ain't the Shield Kid!" he said with a friendly grin.
The solemn Shield Hero, Naofumi entered the shop, but he wasn't alone. Next to him was his new slave, Raphtalia.
"Kid…" Erhard was somewhat surprised to see the demi-human girl. The old blacksmith knew the circumstances behind it, but it was still a surprise to see a Cardinal Hero own a slave, even one so young. And it looked like she had seen hell.
"Here's the money for the clothes you gave me," Naofumi said as he put a set of bronze coins on the counter. He then looked down to Raphtalia. "And get her something to wear, as well as a weapon. Keep it under six silvers."
Without a word, Erhard selected and gave Raphtalia a set of new clothes. It consisted of a pale cream sweater, a black and red dress, and brown boots. He also added a small, easy-to-use knife.
She was given a quick bath and shown into the changing room.
While inside, Raphtalia remembered the stinging feeling of the slave crest being branded upon. She had been through this several times before, and the pain never got easier. All it did was reaffirm the raccoon girl of her situation.
After several minutes, a newly clothed Raphtalia exited the changing room. The knife was strapped to her waist.
"Took you long enough!" Naofumi scolded.
"I-I'm sorry…" Raphtalia replied.
"Never mind." Naofumi muttered, "Show me your knife!"
Standing in front of her, he revealed a balloon monster, biting into his side beneath his cape. This gave Raphtalia a fright.
"Raphtalia, I want you to stab this thing!" Naofumi said.
"I-I can't…!" Raphtalia whimpered. She thought that if she attacked it, it might try to bite her. It would surely hurt.
"That's an order!"
On cue, the slave crest on Raphtalia's chest activated, delivering a painful shock to her. Holding her chest in pain, the raccoon girl fell to her knees while coughing due to her sickness.
"You only hurt yourself by refusing. Now, take out your knife and kill it. I'll hold it down so it won't bite you." Naofumi said as he firmly held the balloon out to Raphtalia.
Knowing that she had to comply in order to make the pain stop, Raphtalia drew her knife. As soon as she did, the crest was deactivated.
Raphtalia clumsily ran up to her master and attempted to stab the balloon, but it caught the knife in its mouth. This allowed Naofumi to push her back.
"Too weak! Put some muscle into it!"
Meanwhile, Erhard watched in silence while Naofumi got to work on training his slave.
At her master's prompting, Raphtalia got back and charged again with all her strength. This time, she succeeded in popping the balloon.
|Naofumi: EXP 1+|
|Raphtalia: EXP 1+|
"I got EXP, too?" asked a surprised Naofumi.
"Probably because when you formed the pact, you set her up as a companion," Erhard explained.
"Companion?"
Naofumi did notice something strange happening when Raphtalia's contract appeared in his HUD. It registered her as a Companion. He assumed it would have registered Raphtalia as his slave, not a party member. Naofumi wasn't about to complain over the convenience of getting EXP whenever Raphtalia got a kill, but there was an irksome implication behind it. It particularly concerned a certain woman.
"Let me guess, you didn't do that with the lady you were with before?" Erhard asked. He assumed Naofumi still had no idea who she really was. The blacksmith thought it would be best to let the Kid figure it out on his own, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Tch… damn that woman!" Naofumi cursed. He quickly realized that bitch Myne truly had no intention of forming a party with him. All the more reason to channel his rage into his master/slave relationship with Raphtalia.
He turned to his slave with a stern expression, "Listen up, you!"
Raphtalia flinched when he addressed her.
"From now on, I expect you to fight monsters for me! Even though it wasn't much, I paid a lot for you. You'd better recoup the expense by working hard." Naofumi said with a commanding voice. He paid thirty silver coins, plus one, for his slave to the slave trader. He knew the creepy man would have rung it out of him at some point.
"You know something, Kid… you're not gonna die a painless death," Erhard said in a disappointed tone.
"Don't beat around the bush! Say what you really think!" Naofumi scoffed, "Get off your butt and let's go!" he called to Raphtalia as he was making his exit.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Raphtalia sheathed her knife and prepared to follow her master.
"Hold on a second there, Kid!" Erhard called out, stopping Naofumi and Raphtalia. "You hear anything about the Sword Lass?"
Naofumi paused at the mention of a certain someone. He had a conflicted expression on his face when he thought about her.
Raphtalia looked confused. She wondered who the 'Sword Lass' was.
"You had to have heard she left the Adventurer's Guild… something about an argument with the other guys..." said Erhard. He assumed the Kid's slave didn't know about the Cardinal Heroes being summoned because he hadn't told her anything himself yet, so he left the details of the other guys vague. If the raccoon girl was going to learn about the Cardinal Heroes anyway, it may as well be from her master's mouth.
Naofumi did hear about Asuka leaving the guild due to a dispute with Motoyasu and Itsuki. He tried not to think about it since he hated thinking about anything related to the Three Heroes. What they did with their time wasn't any of his concern.
"And I'm obligated to care about them… or her, why?" asked an impatient Naofumi. He turned around to face the stoic Erhard.
"Hell if I know. Maybe it's because she's the only person in this whole country who gives a damn about you. She is going to fight a duel for you." Erhard finished.
"That's Asuka's business. I never asked her to do anything for me." Naofumi said as he shook his head, "I bet she's just acting like she gives a crap when really, she's just like that bitch! She must be plotting to set me up for something worse than-"
"I will sock you in the face if you finish that sentence!" Erhard suddenly yelled, catching Naofumi off guard. The Shield Hero saw the look of calm anger as the blacksmith glared dangerously at him. "I know you're going through a tough spot, but you and I both know she ain't like that!"
Naofumi was too stunned to respond to Erhard's words while Raphtalia was panicking.
"You can project all of your anger issues onto others all you want, even your slave. I won't bat an eye. But don't think you can do the same to someone who genuinely cares about you and has her own troubles to deal with. If you do, prepare to have your face rearranged!" Erhard said. His voice and his face were deadly serious.
Naofumi said nothing as Erhard spoke. He didn't know whether or not to feel terrified or like a child being scolded by an adult. He never expected to get a scolding like that from the old guy.
Raphtalia was scared and confused but kept silent.
The seriousness on the blacksmith's face melted in seconds as he put on a playful smirk.
"You told me to say what I think." Erhard chuckled, "And I think being an ungrateful bastard is not a good look for you."
This just made Naofumi mad enough to storm out at being played.
"Whatever!" Naofumi snapped before he and Raphtalia left the weapon shop.
Erhard sighed heavily, "Damn… can't tell if the country's gone nuts or if the Kid's been corrupted. Hope the Sword Lass is fairin' better out there..."
[-Castle-Town: Main Street-]
Naofumi and Raphtalia walked down the street of Castle-Town in silence.
The Shield Hero intended to go to the meadows so they could start hunting monsters to level up. He also wanted to take his mind off what the old guy just said to him.
Raphtalia quietly trailed behind her master. She was confused by the conversation he and that old guy were having before. The latter mentioned this "Asuka". Did this person know her current master? Did they get into a fight or something? Curious, Raphtalia opened her mouth nervously.
"U-Um… W-Who is Asuka…?"
Naofumi stopped and glared back at his slave, who flinched.
Her tail stiffened, and she looked up at him fearfully.
"Who Asuka is doesn't concern you, understand?" Naofumi growled.
"Y-Yes! I'm sorry! I won't ask again! P-Please don't hit me!" Raphtalia cried as she raised her arms up defensively. She assumed Naofumi would hit her like her previous masters did what she accidentally upset them. Or worse, they simply felt like it.
However, Naofumi's anger turned to confusion as he watched his slave cower and whimper, waiting for the physical abuse to happen.
Her whimpering quickly turned to another coughing fit.
For some reason, Naofumi couldn't stay mad at Raphtalia. He wanted desperately to imagine Myne in this position. But, looking at how miserable Raphtalia was already, he couldn't help but feel more pity toward her.
Now that he thought about it, what would Asuka think if she saw him with a slave? Would she yell at him for subjecting someone so innocent to such a degrading position, or would she be sympathetic to his decision? Or would she not care at all by this point. Naofumi heard that she disapproved of slavery, but she couldn't do anything about it. Or she just didn't feel like doing anything.
Whatever the case, what Asuka did had nothing to do with Naofumi. She could pretend to care about him all she wanted, but he would never humor her the same way he did with Myne. And one day, Myne will suffer for what she did to him, one way or another.
While waiting on her master to respond, Raphtalia spotted something from the corner of her eye. It was the sight of two demi-human children being physically punished by their master. As he yelled at them, they tried to apologize for their blunder.
"We demi-humans are hated… unlike them, I'll be forced to fight until my master's done with me…" Raphtalia thought sadly. She wondered who will suffer more, them or herself.
GROWL~!
After hearing that grumbling noise, Naofumi looked down to an embarrassed Raphtalia. He could have sworn he saw her looking at some of the food stores and vendors just a moment ago. They had a delectable aroma, so he couldn't fault her for suddenly desiring food.
"You're hungry?" Naofumi asked in a curious tone.
"N-No!" Raphtalia replied while rapidly shaking her head, "I can't beg for food, or else he'll hit me…"
This came as a slight surprise for the Shield Hero.
"Why is she lying?" Naofumi thought. It wasn't as though he'd make the slave crest shock her if she was being honest. Her previous masters probably didn't take to the idea of feeding her very well and got angry if she hinted at being hungry.
This would have been an opportune moment to imagine Myne starving, but Asuka would probably tell Naofumi to take better care of Raphtalia than her previous masters. That would include feeding her regularly.
"Dammit, stop thinking about her!" Naofumi groaned, "You can't fight on an empty stomach. Let's go get some lunch,"
"Huh?" Raphtalia looked up at her master, confused. She was surprised that he was willing to let her eat. But, she couldn't be happy about this. Raphtalia thought for sure this man was the same as the others.
Naofumi was getting hungry too. There was no point in going out to hunt monsters on an empty stomach. He wouldn't be getting any income or EXP if Raphtalia couldn't muster up the strength to fight.
A few minutes later, they enter a cheap restaurant close by. It was affordable for Naofumi's budget. Although they had a sign outside saying they didn't allow demi-humans to enter, Naofumi ignored that because he could still pay for Raphtalia's meal. Actually, he couldn't read the characters on the sign outside as he could not do so, so he had no reason to do or say anything about it.
Raphtalia thought he was going in to watch her reaction and laugh at her for it.
"Welcome… ugh!" the server grimaced upon seeing Naofumi.
Reluctantly, the server guided the Shield Hero and his slave to a far table. Gossip quickly began to spread among the other customers. Naturally, it wasn't anything nice to say about Raphtalia, who was in earshot.
Again, Naofumi ignored the whispers. There wasn't any use in getting pissed off at them. The Shield Hero had grown used this by now. Naturally, it wasn't anything he wanted, but he couldn't do anything about it. Not until he was able to go home.
"E-Excuse me, sir, we don't allow demi-humans into this place." the waiter said.
"Is there a problem with her being here?" asked Naofumi.
"Eh? He doesn't care that I'm a demi-human?" Raphtalia thought.
"Yes, there is! Including myself, everyone here hates demi-humans!"
"That's not my problem," Naofumi said before revealing the balloons hidden beneath his mantle.
The waiter turned pale upon seeing the balloons glare at him. He remembered the rumors about the Shield Hero using this tactic to coarse business owners into doing what he wanted.
"B-Balloons?! T-Then you're the…"
"I trust you'll serve us well now?" Naofumi asked with a smirk.
"O-Of course… what'll it be?"
"We'll take the cheapest meals you can serve," Naofumi said as he and Raphtalia took their seats. However, something caught Naofumi's eye. Raphtalia was looking at a family enjoying their own meal. Her attention was particularly drawn to the child's meal. It seemed like she was envious of what the child got to eat.
"Scratch that! I'll take the cheapest meal. She can have whatever that kid is having." Naofumi pointed to the child's meal as he spoke.
"Understood. That'll be nine coppers." the server said. After Naofumi paid the coppers, the server went off to prep their respective meals.
Raphtalia looked up at her master with surprise and confusion.
"W-Why…?"
"What? You looked like you wanted it. Is that not the case?" asked Naofumi.
"N-No, not that!" Raphtalia shook her head, "Why are you letting me eat, too…?"
"As I said, you looked like you wanted it. That's why I ordered it." Naofumi answered.
"B-But, my last master… and the one before him, and the one before him… They all got mad when I was even a little bit happy…!"
Naofumi quickly realized why Raphtalia was so reluctant to eat. It was a true fact now that her previous masters treated her horribly. Whatever happiness she had in the past was cruelly taken from her. More bits of pity began to form in the Shield Hero.
"Listen, Raphtalia. You probably haven't figured this yet, but I'm different than your other masters. I bought you because I needed you." Naofumi said. What he said was technically true, but he decided to leave out the part about controlling Myne through Raphtalia as a form of revenge. Somehow, it made Naofumi feel like he wasn't any different from Raphtalia's previous owners, whomever they might be. She had nothing to do with Myne.
"Huh?" Raphtalia was again astonished. When she first saw this man, she assumed she would die under what abuse he had planned for her. But, the look of sincerity in his eyes felt comforting.
"And you need to eat so fight and get healthy. I won't have any use for a blade if it's dull. Is that understood?"
"A blade…"
"Sorry for the wait. Please enjoy." the server came back with two trays. Naofumi's had left meat and vegetables, while Raphtalia's was the same kid's meal. He was surprised by the size of the beacon meat. The whole plate looked like it could be healthy for her.
Raphtalia gleamed over the whole tray. The sparkles in her eyes were very noticeable.
"I-Is it really okay for me to eat this…?" she asked while drooling.
"Do I need to order you to eat it?"
At hearing this, Raphtalia timidly dug in, using her hands to grab the food. The first thing she did was remove the flag on top of the rice and then stuffed a handful of rice into her mouth.
"Guess she forget her table manners after being a slave for so long." Naofumi thought. He shrugged, thinking it didn't matter. He still needed her to get healthy as fast as possible. Nothing stopped the Shield Hero from being curious after she froze the minute she shoved the rice in her mouth, "Is that good?"
"It's good! Really good!" Raphtalia answered excitedly. It had been for too long since she had food this good. Slaves would never get a proper meal.
"That's good to know," Naofumi flatly replied. The slave crest didn't activate, so she wasn't lying. Unlike her, Naofumi still couldn't taste his food.
Despite it being good, the raccoon girl nearly choked on what she was eating. Naofumi saved the day by giving her a cup of water to drink.
He ate using a knife and fork. Utility items like knives, forks, or spoons were exempt from the Legendary Weapon's restrictions.
Raphtalia decided to emulate his example by using the knife and fork. Her efforts were clumsy, but she continued to happily gorge on her plate.
As he watched Raphtalia eat, Naofumi suddenly remembered how happy Asuka looked when she was eating that stake from the inn. That was the last time he had a good time with anyone before he was framed. The memory of himself, Asuka, and that bitch sitting around chatting was still fresh in the Shield Hero's mind.
It all turned bitter with the delusion of the Three Heroes setting him up to fall. It was all so bitter, just like his sense of taste being numbed. It made him wonder when he'd be able to return to his own world.
[-Outside Castle-Town: The Meadow-]
After their lunch, Naofumi and Raphtalia venture to the meadow to hunt monsters. The meadow was ripe with weak monsters to kill and gain EXP from. Naofumi could also feed new material to his shield and gain new abilities.
The most common and weak monsters in the meadow and forest area were the balloon and mushroom monsters.
Before he purchased Raphtalia, Naofumi was having trouble with this red variant of the balloon monster. It was more durable than the orange balloons, and he couldn't pop it no matter how much he tried. Now with a slave and the shared EXP gain, leveling became easier.
However, Raphtalia was frightened, so she couldn't fight right away.
"I know it's scary, but you can be sure I'll protect you from the monsters," said Naofumi.
"Huh?" asked a puzzled Raphtalia.
"I don't feel pain when they bite me. At best, it's just an annoying itch I can ignore." Naofumi revealed the balloons biting into him under his mantle, to Raphtalia's surprise.
"T-That doesn't hurt…?"
"Nope!"
"Then…"
"I'll tank, you attack. Got it?"
"O-Okay…" Raphtalia nodded, before coughing again. Naofumi wondered how she got so sick.
Later, having Raphtalia slash all three netted them 15 EXP at once. Having more energy to attack might have helped as well.
Naofumi went up to level 5 in almost no time, while Raphtalia rose to level 3. He also gained new abilities for his shield.
Some time ago, Naofumi acquired the Mush Shield. That granted him the Equip Bonus skill Plant Appraisal 1. With this shield, he could appraise plants and boost their quality.
Now he had the Blue Mush Shield and Green Mush Shield variants. These gave him the Equip Bonus skills Simple Recipes 1 and Apprentice Compounding, respectively. He could blend various herbs and ingredients to make medicine with these shields.
"These will definitely come in handy," Naofumi said to himself.
He also unlocked the Egg Shield, which granted a Cooking 1 skill, and the Red Small Shield, boosting his defense by 4+.
This was exactly the kind of progress he needed.
It was starting to get late as their monster hunt progressed, as it was decided that they would camp out for the night.
But, when they moved deeper into the forest to sleep, Naofumi and Raphtalia came upon a tree that had been knocked down. The damaged tree looked to be less than recent.
"I didn't know there were monsters in this forest strong enough to tear a tree down…" Naofumi muttered as Raphtalia hid behind her master.
He didn't see any big footprints or claw marks on the tree, though. That meant it was probably something else. Still, he couldn't but feel something odd about this spot in particular. He couldn't place it, but Naofumi felt an energy in the air that was sad and oppressed. It also felt familiar somehow, but it was lonesome and miserable. Somehow, he felt his own misery paled in comparison to this.
Raphtalia felt it too. She didn't know the familiar feeling like her master, but she did feel the loneliness and despair. It was similar to her own when she…
"Raphtalia, let's find somewhere else to camp out," Naofumi said. Raphtalia slowly nodded in compliance.
A little ways away from that fallen tree, Naofumi and Raphtalia set up camp in a safe location.
With his trusty Fishing Shield, Naofumi caught some fish from the nearby river.
While Raphtalia ate the cooked fish from the campfire, Naofumi was exterminating with his compounding ability. Using the wild herbs he found, he ground them together with two rocks.
After a few minutes, he crafted his first medicine. It was a dark greenish liquid held in a cup made from a leaf. According to his HUD, it could care for light illnesses like colds.
Looking at Raphtalia now, the Shield Hero thought that her illness was similar to a cold. She seemed kind of feverish and was coughing a lot. He didn't know if it would work, but it didn't hurt to try.
After she finished eating her fish, Naofumi handed the medicine over to his slave.
"Drink this. It's supposed to cure light illnesses. It should work for you."
"Y-Yes, sir…" Raphtalia took the cup. She did as she was ordered and drank the medicine, but its nasty taste prevented her from swallowing it, and she spat it out.
"What're you doing, you idiot?! Don't spit it out!" Naofumi scolded.
"It's bitter and yucky…!" Raphtalia complained.
"Well, duh! Good medicine is supposed to be bitter! Now drink it!" Naofumi ordered, sounding more like a concerned parent than a master. It took activating the slave crest to get her to drink it without another fuss. It seemed to have worked since color returned to her skin.
When night fell, Naofumi gave Raphtalia his mantle to sleep in. The Shield Hero decided to continue practicing medicine blending. However, unlike the medicine for colds he crafted, some of them didn't come out well. It was a tricky trial and error sort of thing. If he didn't mix the right ingredients, he wound up with a failed potion.
Whatever failures came up, he fed to his shield. Surprisingly, he got new shields from absorbing the failures into his shield, such as the Smell Medicine Shield, and Small Poison Shield, respectively.
|Unlocked: Small Medicine Shield|
Bonus Equip Skill: Medicine Efficacy Up
|Unlocked: Small Poison Shield|
Bonus Equip Skill: Poison Resistance Up
Naofumi was happy with this. Not only was this kind of fun, but it was also helpful for his shield. He decided to keep blending to see what he could come up with.
While wrapped up in his mantle, Raphtalia's peaceful slumber would come to an end when the nightmares she kept having reared their ugly head.
The memory of her parents running away from a giant three-headed dog monster was the most vivid of these images playing in her head. Her parents carried their daughter to the cliff as they were cornered by the beast.
The last thing she could remember was being thrown off the cliff by her parents. They were devoured by the three-headed beast almost immediately.
The haunting sight of her parents being ripped to bloody pieces awoke Raphtalia from her slumber, "NOOOOOO!"
Her sudden cries alerted Naofumi immediately. He dropped what he was doing and went her to flailing form.
"What's wrong, Raphtalia?!" Naofumi asked in concern for his slave.
"Mother! Father! Don't leave me! Save me!" Raphtalia cried. She immediately latched onto the first thing she could, that being her master.
Naofumi didn't recoil, and she took into his arms, gently stroking the back of her head.
"They're dead! They're DEAD!"
"It's okay! I'm right here! You're safe!" Naofumi said. "So these are the nightmare-induced panic attacks the slave trader was talking about."
This could cause problems later. Her screaming could attract monsters. Balloons were already beginning to be sworn. And whatever knocked down that tree could still be around.
Naofumi had to work fast to protect her from the balloons.
However, before he could do anything, Naofumi heard swift popping noises from the bushes. The balloon monsters hopping their way out in the open also disappear after being seemingly cut in half. It happened so fast, it was as though the wind cut them all to pieces.
"Huh…?" Naofumi was confused. He still held Raphtalia in his arms, even though it was apparently safe. He couldn't figure out what was going on.
Meanwhile, from the shadows, a certain individual was watching the Shield Hero and his salve. Coincidently, they were close by but chose not to interact. But, seeing him and the raccoon girl almost get swarmed by monsters caused the person in the shadows to act. That was the only time they were going to help Naofumi for the time being. For now, they would watch over him a little while longer.
[-The Next Day-]
It was a rough night, having to try calming Raphtalia down and keeping the balloons at bay.
Seeing Raphtalia's panicked state added another layer of sympathy for her plight. She kept whimpering about her parents being dead. Naofumi assumed she saw what happened to them up close and personal if she was having nightmares. Still, he couldn't have her waking up from a nightmare every night. The Shield Hero still needed a slave to fight for him.
Thankfully, Raphtalia eventually went back to sleep while still held by Naofumi, who had to get to sleep while holding her to make sure she didn't have another nightmare. He made enough medicines anyway.
However, he couldn't stop thinking about what happened to those balloons last night. Something had to have killed them. Naofumi couldn't do it, and Raphtalia certainly wasn't in the right frame of mind to do anything. Whatever or whoever had destroyed them, they did it with little effort and quickly at that. They must not have wanted to be seen, yet they still took the risk to protect them. Naofumi wouldn't have thanked them anyway. They were meddling as far as the Shield Hero was concerned.
After Raphtalia woke up, Naofumi decided to go back into town so he could make a profit from the medicines he created.
He decided the apothecary's shop was a good place to start, and that was where he and his slave went after a light breakfast.
"I must say, these are of exceptional quality. Are you by chance well versed in the creation of medicine, Shield Hero?" asked the apothecary as he examined the medicine Naofumi created.
"Believe it or not, yesterday was my first try," Naofumi answered.
"Fascinating." the apothecary nodded. He was beginning to like the Shield Hero more. He placed baskets of his successful medicines and improved herbs respectively on the counter.
"Which is more profitable, herbs or medicine?"
"Due to the Waves impact, medicines have been flying off the shelves lately. In light of that, I'd pay more for your medicine than your herbs."
As the apothecary spoke, Naofumi looked around the shop. He spotted some unused tools sitting on one of the higher shelves. They looked like they were used to mix herbs and other ingredients to make medicines and potions. A mini laboratory of sorts. Those could come in handy.
"In total, this is worth four silvers." said the apothecary.
"Actually, you wouldn't happen to have any tools you don't use?"
[-Meanwhile: Outside the Apothecary's Shop-]
While he was doing business in the shop, Raphtalia was told to wait outside by Naofumi. Her master assumed the old man might be as much a racist prick like the rest of the people in this putrid country.
While outside, Raphtalia was feeling guilty for having inconvenienced her master last night. If it wasn't for her nightmares, he would have gotten more sleep last night. Surely, he was going to punish her later if this kept up. But, it couldn't be helped. Raphtalia felt she deserved it for her failure. Even her nightmares told her it was her fault for everything. Her mother, father, and best friend were gone, and it was all her fault.
While waiting by the apothecary's shop, Raphtalia heard two men talking as they were passing by.
"Hey, did you hear about the Sword Hero?"
"You mean about how she left the guild? Yeah."
Raphtalia was surprised to hear about the Sword Hero, "The Sword Hero… as in from the legend?"
She remembered the stories her father used to her about the Four Cardinal Heroes. This was before the First Wave and her parents' deaths at the maw of that beast. He was happiest when talking about the Shield Hero, who was the kindest toward demi-humans out of all the Cardinal Heroes. Raphtalia admired the Shield Hero for this and hoped to meet him one day. Her mother stated that she will if she was a good girl.
"Word on the street is she left because of some argument with the other Cardinal Heroes."
"Why would she fight with the Spear and Bow Heroes, though? Maybe it had something to do with the Shield Hero."
"I guess. Makes me wish he wasn't in town."
"The Shield Hero is here?!" Raphtalia thought. Without thinking, she walked up to the two men and spoke up nervously, "U-Um…"
Upon hearing her, the men turn to her, but shoot nasty looks at the raccoon girl, causing her to flinch.
"The fuck… a demi-human?!"
"Don't get any closer, you filth!"
Raphtalia back away instinctively in fear of the two men. She should have known they would react this way. What would be the use in asking about the Shield Hero? Even if she was going to meet the Shield Hero, what was she going to do? From the stories she was told by her parents, the Shield Hero was always kind to the demi-humans. Would he be kind enough to save her from her oppressive life?
Just as the racist duo was about to leave, they suddenly bumped into someone. It was someone short, wearing a hooded cloak over their head. The hood obscured their face as they spoke to the men.
"What was that for?" they asked, their soft and feminine voice indicating that they were female and probably a teenager, "She's just a child. You didn't need to act so cruelly toward her."
"You serious, missy? Demi-humans are nothing short of filthy animals! And animals without leashes should just die!" one of the men declared, spitefully looking down at Raphtalia, who shied away.
She began to form tears in her eyes at the hurtful things he said.
"That's a horrible thing to say. But, what else would I expect from truly sickening people?" the hooded girl said. She didn't hide the disgust in her tone, which angered the two men standing before her.
"What was that?!"
"Listen girly, you'd better watch your mouth! Sticking up for demi-humans is a surefire way for you to get hurt!"
The girl said nothing. She kept silent. Beneath her hood, her steely stare was focused on these two scoundrels.
"What now? Too afraid to say anything else?" one of the men smirked.
"No. I figured neither of you would be worth the effort of convincing." the hooded girl replied.
"Oh, that's it! We tried being civil, but it looks like you need a lesson in-" the first man to speak reached for the girl with violent intent, only to be shoved into a nearby wall. It happened in the blink of an eye, leaving him, his friend, and raccoon girl shocked and confused.
The girl had her small, slender palm placed against his chest as she pushed him against the wall.
The man couldn't move due to the pain in his back.
"H-Hey!" the second man was about to tackle the hooded girl, but she roughly threw his buddy onto him at the last second, sending the two men tumbling to the ground. Surprised by her strength, they look up at the hooded girl who just handed them their posteriors as she glowered down on them.
"Get out of my sight, you scum." the hooded girl growled.
Fearfully, the two men stood up and ran off.
Raphtalia looked up at the girl in awe. She never imagined someone would come to her rescue like that.
"Are you alright?" the older girl asked, taking down her hood and revealing her dark brown hair tied in a ponytail. Her large brown eyes, which were previously hardened, were somewhat soft now.
"Y-Yes…!" Raphtalia squeaked, "She's really pretty…"
Raphtalia also noticed the older girl's surprisingly large bosom concealed by her cloak. The raccoon girl remembered her mother being somewhat well endowed, but they paled in comparison to this girl's breasts. Raphtalia couldn't help feeling a little envious.
Despite the older buxom girl's beauty and inviting appearance, something about her felt distant and cold.
"That's a relief." the buxom girl sighed as she was about to make her leave.
However, Raphtalia called out to her, "U-Um! Thank you for… w-what you did…"
"… Don't mention it. I only did it because I felt like it." the buxom girl said with her back turned, "And it's not like I can help you any further than that."
"Huh?"
"You're demi-human, so you have to be someone's slave, right?"
"N-No… I…" Raphtalia mumbled, unsure of what to say. She casts her head down in apprehension.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that." the buxom girl said as she turned back around with sympathetic eyes.
Raphtalia meekly shook her head, hoping to assure her savior that she wasn't offended. There wasn't a point in hiding her slave status. She was a demi-human slave fated to die, and there was nothing to be done about it. Even this older girl's pity could be worn thinly in no time. But even before her death, Raphtalia did want to know more about the Shield Hero.
"U-Um… c-can I ask you a q-question…?" Raphtalia nervously asked.
"You wanted to know about the Shield Hero, right?" the buxom girl asked.
"D-Do you know him?!"
The buxom girl had a solemn but neutral expression on her face as she looked down at Raphtalia in pause. This made the raccoon girl even more nervous.
"I'm sorry, but it's not my place to say. I'm afraid you're on your own." the buxom girl said with a sad look in her eye.
"B-But, why…?"
"Because, once you do learn who he is, you have to decide for yourself whether or not you want to fight. Even if it's scary and there's no hope, you need to keep fighting. That's the only way you'll survive in this world!"
Raphtalia fell silent. The older buxom girl's words were harsh, but the slave girl felt the sincerity in them. The buxom girl's expression was serious, but the coldness in her eyes had warmth in them too.
Before any more could be said, Raphtalia heard her master calling.
"Raphtalia!"
For a brief moment, Raphtalia turned away to find her master entering the scene. He seemed to have concluded his business with the apothecary.
She turned back around to find the older buxom girl gone. Without so much as a sound, she vanished before Raphtalia could even see her.
The Shield Hero noticed Raphtalia looking somewhat distracted, "Did something happen?"
"N-No…" Raphtalia nervously answered, unsure of how to explain what happened.
"I see." Naofumi shrugged, "I made some good money from the medicine I made, so we should go find a hotel to sleep in. Then we can get back to work after you've had some time to cure your illness."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Raphtalia said before coughing again.
"Looks like that medicine is wearing off. You better drink more medicine before we get back to work. And I don't want to see you waste more of it, understand?"
"Yes, sir…" Raphtalia groaned. She was not looking forward to that awful-tasting medicine.
Still, she hadn't thought about it until now, but her current had been expectedly kind to her this whole time. Even when he made her drink that yucky medicine, he was mostly concerned about her health instead of being angry she spat it out. None of the other masters she has had been this kind to her, especially not her last master. But, she didn't want to think about him or what happened during her time in that cellar.
Come to think of it, Raphtalia didn't know her current master's name yet. Maybe she would ask him when he was in the mood to talk about himself.
Later On, Naofumi and Raphtalia arrive at a cheap hotel. With a little help from the balloons hidden beneath, he convinced the staff to let him and his slave rent a room.
From there, Naofumi and Raphtalia spent the next couple of days in relative peace. Naofumi decided that before they could hunt for more monsters and gain EXP, he needed to raise his funds and make sure Raphtalia was healthy for monster hunts.
Using the tools be procured from the apothecary, Naofumi made more medicines. Some were buds, which he elected to throw away or feed to his shield, but those were few and far between as he slowly got better at mixing and matching ingredients.
Of course, he was sometimes distracted by Raphtalia's nightmares waking her up in the middle of the night. Naofumi had to comfort her to calm her down. If there was one thing to get out of this, it was getting to pet her fluffy ears while she sleeps.
Raphtalia's physical and mental health was a great concern to Naofumi. Not just for his level progression. He started to care her for more than he realized.
When it looked like Raphtalia wanted tasty food, he bought it for her and even taught her proper table manners. When she had nightmares and even wet one of the beds, he comforted her. When she successfully killed monsters, Naofumi praised her.
He even decided to give her a haircut, to better manage her long hair. After a few hours, it was perfectly straight. Although, some of her hair fell into his shield. To Naofumi's surprise, it seemed to have unlocked something. Or, at the very least, it had the potential to be unlocked, but it was only a tiny portion of Raphtalia's hair, so it wasn't fully unlocked. He didn't want to cut off all of her to find what this new shield could be, so for now, Naofumi decided to keep it locked.
Naofumi didn't want to admit it, but the peaceful days with Raphtalia weren't half bad. Not once did he have a single bad thought about having her suffer the way Myne made him suffer.
However, peaceful days didn't stop him from continue practicing his compounding skills. Naofumi absorbed some of the potions he created into his shield, helping him unlock three new shields.
|Unlocked: Calorie Shield|
Bonus Equip Skill: Stamina Up (small)
|Unlocked: Energy Shield|
Bonus Equip Skill: SP Increase (small)
|Potential Energy Shield|
Bonus Equip Skill: Stamina Use Down (small)
These three shields would prove useful for these passive skills, but Naofumi wished he had something to compensate more for his lack of offense.
Of course, he knew he had to be patient. If he were to survive until the Second Wave comes, Naofumi had to use whatever means necessary.
[-Forest Outside of Castle Town-]
"Haa!" Raphtalia slashed at yet another group of mush monsters. She was slowly getting better at attacking enemy monsters. Her improved health played a part in her progression as well. Her cold seemed to be cured completely.
The latest batch of monsters netted them decent EXP, close enough to level up.
"Okay. I think we can go deeper into the forest now," said Naofumi.
"U-Um…" Raphtalia murmured.
"What?"
"I-I just wanted… to know your name…" Raphtalia said.
"Oh… come to think of it, I never did tell you my name. It's Naofumi Iwatani. I'm-" before he could say any further, the sound of bushes ruffling caught Naofumi's attention. Both he and his slave turn to see a small rabbit-like creature lurch out of the bushes. The HUD identified it as a Usapil.
"There are even rabbit monsters in this world?" Naofumi gasped.
The rabbit monster hissed, poising to attack. He launched into the air and rushed toward Raphtalia. Naofumi quickly jumped between them and took the attack from the rabbit monster.
He held it as it dug its bucked tooth into his arm. Thanks to his high defense, Naofumi didn't feel any pain. It was easy to hold the creature down as it struggled to break free.
"Raphtalia, stab this thing quickly!" Naofumi ordered. Unfortunately, this made Raphtalia freeze up. "What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and kill it like the other monsters!"
"N-No… it'll bleed if I stab…!"
"Raphtalia!"
"I hate blood!" Raphtalia cried. Her continued refusal activated the cursed slave crest on her chest. The shock caused her to wince in pain. The poor slave girl dropped to her knees, holding her chest in pain.
Naofumi knew this was going to be a problem. She was used to killing the balloons, mushrooms, and even the egg-shaped monsters. She wasn't prepared to take the life of a creature made of flesh and blood. However, he couldn't afford to let any chance slip by. The Shield Hero needed to level to meet the threat of the Waves of Catastrophe. That meant he had to toughen his slave up, no matter how harsh it was going to be.
"Listen up, if you don't fight, I'm not gonna take care of you anymore!" Naofumi said, causing the raccoon girl to look up at him in shock. "There's a Wave coming, and I have to be as strong as possible! But, there's one problem. I'm the Shield Hero, so I can't carry any weapons!"
Raphtalia's eyes widened like dinner plates. She thought it was strange that her master was carrying a shield around everywhere he went, but never in her wildest dreams did it occur to her that the man who bought was indeed the Shield Hero.
"I can't fight on my own! I can only defend! That's why I need someone to fight for me. If you can't fight, then I'll find someone else to do it in your place!" Naofumi declared. He didn't want to say any of this. He hated being a Hero, and Raphtalia hated fighting. However, there was no other option. It was for survival's sake.
Meanwhile, in her silence, Raphtalia remembered what that older girl said to her a few days ago.
"Once you learn he is, you have to decide whether or not you want to fight. Even if it's scary and there's no hope, you need to keep fighting. That's the only way you'll survive in this world."
She wasn't sure how or why, but they resonated with Raphtalia.
"The Waves of Catastrophe… you're going to fight in them…"
"That's my job as Hero."
"I understand…" Raphtalia suddenly found her resolve. It dispelled the curse, allowing her to pick up her knife and run the Usapil through with. She stabbed the creature in the belly, causing it to release a deafening howl before it expired from blood loss. Its blood splattered everywhere, even on Raphtalia's face and Naofumi's shield.
This came as a surprise to the Shield Hero. He didn't think she'd pick up the resolve to kill it so quickly.
"I-I'll fight for you, master! I'm afraid of blood… but, I'll fight my hardest for you, so please don't throw me away!" Raphtalia look both resolute and terrified, but Naofumi knew he could take her words to heart. In some twisted way, facing her fears must be better than going back into that cage.
"I'll hold you to that. Do your job, and I'll protect you." Naofumi promised.
Everything that has happened so far had made the Shield Hero realize something crucial. Something the other Heroes probably haven't figured out yet.
"This is reality. Not a game. I want to live, so I'll keep fighting!"
Lyall the Werewolf: Okay, the reason this took so long is (outside of Thanksgiving been a chore), because I was re-watch the Shield Hero and reading bits of the manga and light novel to get a better feel for the story. I wanted this chapter to feel as close to Naofumi and Raphtalia bonding in canon as much as possible.
That's why Asuka (if you hadn't realized who the buxom girl was) had only a short part in this chapter. What she was up to will be explored in the next chapter!
It will be a while yet before the Second Wave. The Rising of the Shield Hero light novels took their time before getting to the Second Wave, so we can explore some parts of Melromarc and learn how the Legendary Shield works. Naturally, a slow start should happen here. I tried to do that in the last version, but it didn't because... obviously!
I'm hoping this chapter left a good impression on you guys. See you later.
Update: I'm honestly surprised no one caught this. While briefly re-reading this chapter, I found that Erhard called Naofumi Shield Hero right in front of Raphtalia despite wanting to keep those details vague. Like, what? That created a whole mess of confusion when Naofumi reveals that he's the Shield Hero by the end, so I erased the Shield Hero part of his speech to keep the mystery for Raphtalia intact.