Night had fallen on Castle Town. Residents scurried back to their homes. Some stayed in alehouses enjoying their spirits, some stayed in gambling dens betting every last coin they could give. Gas lamps lined the streets offering as much light as they could.

Naofumi stayed close to the light as he made his way to the main gate. There was no need to stay here any longer. After his chat with Rachel, he just wanted to get out of here and sleep. He didn't have enough coins to stay at an inn, and he didn't want to ask Old Man to stay in his shop. There was enough pride in him to not ask for help at every weak moment.

Any normal person would've opted to sleep in a dingy inn but Naofumi was sure he would get turned down by the innkeeper. And with only two balloon monsters left, he didn't want to risk anyone killing them.

Wilderness it was, then.

It was a long walk to the gate but he made it. The guards saw him approach and began opening the gate. Naofumi didn't miss the animosity they shot at him. Ignoring them, he walked past until his feet touched the dirt road.

He found his way to a small grove of trees and flowers. He removed his cloak and draped it over himself like a blanket. Turning to his side, Naofumi attempted to sleep but stared at a lily close to his face. His plan to recruit – or blackmail – Rachel ended poorly. It should've ended with Rachel joining him, not a kick to the crotch.

Maybe this is what he deserved. Not that he didn't care about morality at this point. If one is supposed to survive in this world, one must bite first, not be bitten. He was both bark and bite. Rachel, on the other hand, had more bark and bite than him if she was strong enough to take him down.

Nothing has been going his way ever since he got here. Being ignored by the king, having Malty trick him, the citizens being scared of him. Was this some sort of karma? Did he piss off the wrong god somehow? He knew the answers to them was no. He did nothing wrong. So why be treated like scum?

He would show them. He would show all of them. Starting with Malty.

Adjusting himself, Naofumi closed his eyes only to open them.

The grove was quiet. No cicadas sang their songs. Pushing himself into a sitting position, he peered through bushes and the grass. No enemies in sight. No creature growled. All was silent.

"Heh."

Jumping to his feet, Naofumi spun until he saw three men standing a few feet away from them. Their weathered faces and scars on their arms showed they were bandits. There was nothing peaceful about them.

Two of them were twins with the difference being the left one had a scar on his forehead and the other one wore a bandana. In front of them was man slightly shorter than the twins but still intimidating in size. In his hand, he held a sword stained brown with dried blood.

"Look what we found here," the swordsman said. He laughed and his companions chuckled.

Naofumi put back on his cloak and put his shield in front of him.

"What do you want?" Since they were bandits, they only wanted to steal his things.

"Word on the street is," the swordsman said, "that the Shield Hero was known to sleep here."

"Look at him." Bandana man said. "Nothing but a leech. And a poor one at that."

"If I'm so poor, why come here?" Naofumi challenged.

"Well," the swordsman waved his sword. "If we kill you, we might get that shield of yours. Wouldn't hurt to try."

The twins took out their weapons. Curved sickles.

"You think the three of you can take me down?"

The swordsman laughed. "No. But thanks for confirming how stupid you are."

Naofumi didn't understand what he meant. Stupid?

Before he could ask, an arm snaked around him. He didn't have time to react before a vial was placed under his nose. Using his shield, he knocked whoever was behind him. He tried to run but his vision started to blur. He collapsed to the ground. The feeling of the grass against his nose what the last thing he felt before his vision darkened.

"Naofumi, what do you want to do?"

Naofumi paused the game and turned to his little brother. They were in his room playing their third round of Smash Bros. It was the weekend and their parents were out of town for their jobs. It was just him and Akito.

Looking at him, Naofumi was reminded of how similar they look. Same hair color (after he stopped dyeing it) and eye color. The only difference being that Akito had a bit of a baby face. Often he would be mistaken for a first-year student.

"What do you mean?" It was a strange question, coming out of the blue like that.

"I mean what are you going to do when you graduate? Do you have a job you want to get?"

"Why are you asking these questions?"

"Well…" Akito toyed with his controller's analog stick. "Mom and dad give you an allowance and you sometimes buy figurines and games. You even spend the money you get from your part-time job. Do you have any goals?"

… How should he answer this? Being an otaku isn't bad. It may be looked down upon by some people, but it did give him happiness to buy figurines and video games. And with his allowance and work money, he could get by.

At least, until he graduates.

By no means did he consider himself a bad student. He passed his courses although he did put his hobbies first instead of his studies. But he was still passing. He knew he would work in an office at some point after he graduates. Which office, he didn't know. And quite frankly, he didn't care.

Except that might not be a good thing to say to his brother. It wasn't that long ago that he made sure Akito didn't go the wrong way growing up. So, he decided to take him under his wing and eventually turned him into an otaku as well.

Probably not the best thing to do. But the damage is done.

Here he was now, twenty and playing video games with his brother without a care in the world.

"I don't know, really." He answered honestly. "Just work in some office and maybe get a small apartment."

"Really." Akito sat back on Naofumi's bed. "Mom and dad have a good job and they get a lot of money. Do you want to do what they do?"

Not really, but he didn't want to reply with that. Naofumi did care about his future, just not like how other college students do. Which did bring down his mood here and there.

At the end of the day, what did he want to do?

"I'll do whatever I want when the time comes. Now come on, we still got three more rounds left." He reached over and ruffled Akito's hair.

"Stop that!" Akito swatted his hand away, laughing. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"Bring it, little bro."

They started their new round. Naofumi smiled when his character had the advantage.

This was nice. Just him and his brother enjoying video games.

"Shield Hero."

Huh? Did Akito's voice always sound like a girl?

"Shield Hero!"

No, it wasn't his brother's voice. Someone else was calling to him. His mother?

"Wake up!"

A blow to the shoulder startled Naofumi. Blinking away the blurriness, he looked around. Across from him was…

"Rachel?"

"No, the queen. Yes, it's me. And be quiet."

Naofumi realized she was whispering. When his grogginess went away, he got a good look around him. They were in a wagon of some sort. Crates holding who knows what pushed him and Rachel into the back of the wagon.

Peeking over a crate, through the open flaps at the front, he could see the driver and the horse.

"Where are we?" He asked as he settled back down.

"Hell if I know," Rachel responded. "I can't see shit through the cover."

Naofumi moved his hand-

Or at least attempted to move it. He was tied up. The same with Rachel. So how did she wake him?

"Did you kick me?"

"It was the only way to wake you." She didn't even sound sorry. This made him pissed.

"Oh quit with that stupid pissy face," Rachel said. "It's not gonna work on me."

She was right. Now was not the time to get angry. They were in the back of a wagon heading somewhere.

"What happened?"

"We got drugged. The fuckers who got us concocted something to knock us out. And it worked."

Just perfect. Huffing out a sigh, Naofumi leaned back. How was he going to get out of this mess? And to top it off, the girl who kicked him in the crotch was right in front of him. Did fate have it out for him?

"Hey." Naofumi looked up to Rachel. "Can't you use that shield of yours to break us out?"

There was a good idea.

Looking at part of the shield that wasn't covered by the rope, he accessed his skills. Looking through the ones he has, he couldn't find anything to set them free.

"Sorry." He closed the browser. "Nothing."

Rachel sighs. "Guess it's up to me, then."

Intrigued, Naofumi watched as Rachel pushed herself back against the wagon and used her feet to push herself up.

"Dumbasses shouldn't have left my ax here." She whispered.

She was right. Near the entrance of the wagon her ax was sticking out of a crate.

Instead of going there, Rachel stared at the driver. Naofumi looked back and forth wondering what she's doing. She stared at him intently as if she was going to burn a hole in the man's head.

Naofumi was about to ask what she's doing when he saw it.

In front of Rachel, green lines began to appear. They connected together to create some kind of sigil. What kind? He couldn't tell.

The sigil glowed slightly brighter. Rachel smiled.

"Enjoy."

The sigil broke apart like glass shattering. Naofumi looked back at the driver and he was coated in a light green aura. The driver didn't seem to notice he was glowing green.

The glow died down and nothing happened.

Then the driver stopped the horse. He groaned, holding his stomach.

"What the…" The driver got off the wagon and continued groaning.

Rachel stood, went to her ax and moved up and down, using the blade to cut the ropes. Once she was free, she grabbed her ax and stepped outside.

Naoufmi heard a loud thump.

A few seconds later, Rachel came back in.

"Good news," she says, "he won't be bothering us any time soon. Let me help you."

She knelt down beside him and cut the ropes. Naofuim stretched his arms, relieved to be free.

"What did you do to him?" He asked.

"Just knocked him out with my ax. And yes, I used the blunt end." With Naofumi free, Rachel went about going through the crates.

"Come, it has to be here somewhere." She moved crates and removed their contents.

Naofumi stood there awkwardly, not knowing if he should help or leave. He did owe her for saving him, but she did kick him in the crotch. This wasn't his mess to be dealing with.

"Found it!" Rachel pulled up her satchel from a crate. "Thank the gods." She opened her satchel and dug through it. "Looks like everything is still here. Even my coin pouch."

She shouldered her satchel and placed her ax underneath her shawl. Making her way to the front of the wagon, she looked behind her.

"You coming or not?"

For his part, Naofumi ignored the bluntness of her tone and joined her.

The first thing he saw was the crumpled body of the driver. He was still breathing but had a nasty bruise on the side of his head. The second thing he saw was a sea of trees on the side of the road. The path they were on was leaning upward to a steep incline.

They were far from Castle Town. Very far.

"Where the hell are we?" Anger coursed through his center, spreading to every part of his body. Fuck these bandits.

"Were about a half-a-day walk to Castle Town," Rachel said. She was looking at the horse. "I came through this path to get to the city. There shouldn't be any problems if we just follow the path."

She moved forward to pet the horse's snout. The horse in returned snorted but allowed her to pet him.

"You think we can ride the horse back to town?" Naofumi went and stood beside Rachel.

"Hell if I know. He seems friendly now but cut those ropes and he could go ballistic."

It was either walk back to Castle Town or ride the horse.

"Cut the ropes."

Rachel side-eyed him but did as she was told. Using her ax, she cut the ropes connecting the horse to the wagon.

When the horse was free, he took a few steps forward.

"Right, now we should-"

The horse neighed and galloped ahead, leaving them behind in a trail of dust. The two stared at the path the horse took.

"Well, that could've gone better." Rachel said.

Fucking perfect. Guess they were walking. Correction. He was walking.

"You know the way back?" Rachel calls out to him when he stepped past her.

"You said to follow the path back, right? That's what I'm doing. I don't need your help."

"Are you sure?" Naofumi didn't miss the teasing tone. "There are different paths that lead to other villages. You have looked at a map of the country, right?"

… he didn't.

"And," Rachel continued. "The creatures out here can be pretty dangerous."

Balling his hands, Naofumi resisted the urge to shot back a sarcastic response.

"Oh, and can you even read the signs? I doubt it since you were summoned here from a different world. Looks like you need my help."

Fat chance.

"I told you." He spun around to face her. "I don't need your help. Not anyone's."

"Kid, drop the lone wolf attitude. You're lucky I even decided to help you. I could've left you back there in that wagon until the driver woke up. For all we know, you could've been sold to someone and become their slave. Unless that shield of yours can do more than just block attacks?"

This is not happening. Every fiber in his being wanted to disagree with her. She could betray him the way Malty did and leave him here for dead when she gets the chance. There was no guarantee she would help him get back to Castle Town.

Although, she did free him. She didn't have to, but she did. And she was strong enough to wield an ax. Speaking of which.

Naofumi looked at her stats.

Rachel Addlehart.

LV. 28

28! She was levels beyond his. She made his level 3 look like crap. Do all apothecaries have high levels? Didn't they just travel around curing people? Then again, they were ambushed by bandits. And Rachel did say she has killed before. Maybe apothecaries aren't so defenseless.

A level 3 stuck out here in the wilderness with creatures that could be beyond his level. What choice did he have at this point?

Sighing, he extended his arm. "Lead the way."

Rachel smiled and patted him on the head. "Thanks."

"Don't do that. I'm not a kid. I'm 20."

"Well I'm 22 so that makes you like a kid to me. And quit your scowling. It doesn't work on someone with a cute face like yours."

Cute?

He stared at her in bewilderment as she ambled on ahead.

This was going to be a long walk.

The sun was beating down on their necks but it wasn't that hot. A gentle breeze cooled them down and the trees did offer shade when they passed ones that were tall enough.

For the most part, their trip was in silence. Naofumi wasn't in a talking mood. They were about two hours into their walk and his legs were beginning to get tired. Being tied up earlier didn't help much either. But he didn't want to take any chances with the creatures out here if they decide to rest.

"You doing OK?" Rachel asked. Her bluntness was gone and her voice showed actual concern.

"A little tired, that's all."

"Hmm…"

Ahead of them, on their right, the trees ended and grass stretched out for miles.

"Let's rest here for a bit." Rachel broke from the path and sat down on the grass. Naofumi, following suit, sat a few feet from her. Rachel dug into her satchel and pulled out two apples.

"Here." She tossed one at him.

Taking a bite from his apple, Naoufmi leaned back a little and took in the view. Compared to the city, this was a fresh of breath air. No car fumes or crowded sidewalks. This must be what the countryside looks like.

Only he wasn't in Japan.

He was in some field with a foul-mouthed apothecary who can make people sick.

"What did you do to the driver?"

Rachel stops chewing and raises an eyebrow.

"That sigil you drew. What did it do to the driver?"

Swallowing, Rachel wiped her mouth. "It's a spell I learned before I started traveling. Helps a lot when you need it."

So then a person can draw sigils with their minds. That's… pretty cool.

"What was that spell?"

"It's a poisoning spell. The person would feel sick all of a sudden and their health decreases. It goes away but it leaves you weak."

Very helpful, indeed.

"So you've used that spell before?" He didn't know what else to talk about so he continued with that.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah. Bandits or creatures, you name it. It got me out of some tight situations before. Traveling the country has its dangers. You gotta protect yourself somehow. Otherwise, you're dead meat."

"And you've killed, right?"

"My ax isn't for show. There were a few times when I did have to kill some bandits. It was either me or them. Kill or be killed. Not that I go around hunting bandits. I just try to avoid them as much as I can."

Naofumi couldn't help but admire that. She's a woman who could protect herself and earn a living selling medicine. He was wrong to think she was an easy target to manipulate.

Even more so when he saw her give that nobleman the wrong medicine.

It wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Back at the medicine shop. Do you do that with most of your patients?"

Rachel tossed her apple core behind her. "Sometimes. Most of the people I help are nice. They're very generous when I give them medicine. But then there are some people, noble or not, who are not so nice."

"Why do it though?" He was curious about that.

"Well, I spend my days traveling to villages and cities offering my wares to people who need it. I have to gather a lot of my ingredients either from nature or buying them at medicine shops. Then I spend the day making tonics and salves which takes a good chunk of the day. Only to have some jackass completely disregard my hard work."

There was her bluntness again.

"And it's not that I don't put in hard work," she continues. "I do. Which pisses me off to have someone ignore the hours I spend making medicine. I'm putting my life on the line traveling and picking ingredients. They could at least show some gratitude to apothecaries."

The way she was going on, she must've held these feelings back. Naofumi remembered the times when Akito would come to him and vent about how mom and dad were expecting a lot from him.

"And that's when you decided to poison them?"

"I don't poison them. I just give them medicine laced with powders that have side effects. Like if someone has a fever and they're being mean, I give them a tonic that'll cure them but make them sick again and pretend that the medicine I have for them requires special ingredients and charge them even more."

Smart. It's a scam, but a smart one.

And she did all that from mixing plants.

Naofumi plucked some of the grass. They probably don't have any medicinal purposes to them. Out of habit, he infused the grass to his shield.

He didn't expect much to happen. Only for him to nearly do a double take when his selection menu expanded. New shields.

"What the…" All just from grass?

"What's up?" Rachel leaned closer to his shield. "Something happened?"

He didn't know how to answer her.

Only one way to test it out.

Holding out his arm, he concentrated on his shield.

"Leaf Shield, Go!"

The center of his shield glowed and a drawing of a plant came into focus. The drawing spun until it came into itself. His shield glowed and transformed right before his eyes.

The shield took the form of a leaf with metal plating. The green core was still there but other than that, it was still a shield.

"So that's what it does." Rachel reached out and tapped it. "These weapons are no joke."

Naofumi withdrew his arm. "Don't touch."

"Relax, I just tapped it. Don't get your hero undies in a bunch."

Scowling, he ignored her and plucked a blade of grass. If he added more, would he get more modifications?

Turning the blade of grass, a notification popped up. He didn't read a single word before the blade of grass glowed. When it dimmed, it became darker, richer.

"It improved the quality?"

"Give me that!"

Rachel swiped the blade from his hand. She peered at it and back at him.

"You did this?"

"Uh… yeah."

Instead of responding, Rachel dug into her satchel and pulled out a type of plant. "Here, try it again with this."

Taking the plant from her, Naofumi held it and it glowed. The plant stood a little firm and the leaves curled at the end.

He held out to Rachel who took it from him with excitement in her eyes.

"Holy crap! This is amazing!" She held the plant like she was holding a gold bar. "Guess you aren't as useless as I thought you were."

She didn't need to say that. "Thanks," Naofumi said through gritted teeth.

This was like watching a kid getting a gacha prize.

"Is the plant health-"

Rachel held out her hand. He stopped speaking. She wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the path they had taken. They stared at the spot. That's when he heard it. Thumping sounds.

Horses.

"Shit." Rachel shouldered her satchel and pulled Naofumi up. "Let's go."

Instead of taking the path, they dove into the forest. Naofumi did his best to not lose his balance as Rachel pulled him along. She's stronger than she looks.

"There!" Rachel pointed to a rocky cliffside. The mouth of a cave was barely visible through some bushes.

She tugged him along until they were inside the cave.

Unbeknownst to them, something inside sensed their presence.

It let out a growl.