Five. Fucking. Hours.

Five hours of having to go from Lute Village all the way to the great forest. And they weren't even in the village yet! If it took five hours to get here, who knows how long it'll take just to get to the village.

Naofumi's legs were on the verge of turning to dust or collapsing. He couldn't tell. Maybe both.

The sky was a mixture of blood red and orange with pink bleeding into both. It won't be long until the moon rises.

Sweat dripped off of Naofumi's nose. His clothes clung to him like a second layer of skin. If he twisted them, no doubt he'll fill a bucket with his sweat.

"Five…minutes." Panting, he got down to his hands and knees and settled himself on the soft earth beneath him.

Rachel and Mina joined him by sitting in front of him.

"Not much of a walker, huh?" Rachel's voice was light with a hint of amusement.

"Fuck… off… you…" Naofumi couldn't finish his sentence.

"Haha. Here." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a canteen.

Uncorking it, she dumped most of it onto his face.

The water was cold enough to cool him down from all the heat he built up from walking. He must've been too hot because steam was actually coming off of him.

He didn't care if he drank it or if it was dumped on him. He just needed water.

And an hour of rest. Maybe five. Or ten. Or twenty-four.

Fuck it, an entire week just so his legs could function normally.

Their journey had been simple enough. From Lute Village they followed the map and at some point, they hitched a ride on a wagon. The merchant was kind enough to let them ride with him until he got to a small village. From there, they continued walking while taking the occasional break.

Seven days they had to find an animal. Time may be on their side at the moment, it'll dwindle down. And there was no telling if he'll even win the race on account of not knowing what animal to pick from. If this beastmaster is just as good as his teacher, then they'll be back in no time to participate in the race.

The beastmaster was just within their reach.

"We're almost there," Mina said. "The forest is known for having all kinds of monsters. It'd be best if we do not stray from the path. Even so, we better keep our eyes and ears open at all times."

From his place on the ground, Naofumi turned his head until he saw trees. Nothing but trees for miles and miles.

Before they left, he looked at the map the Lord had provided them. He knew nothing about cartography, but the forest looked larger in real life than it did on paper. He had to ask the girls to give a good estimate of how large the forest was. Rachel had only ever gone here a few times but kept close to the outer edges of the forest to get berries. And Mina said it was too dangerous for her and the other dancers to enter on account of wild monsters

They said the forest went on for miles until it ended with rocky cliffs and beaches. Beyond that was the ocean. The forest housed many villages and though at first glance they may seem isolated, they are very populous with a city housing over more than 700,000 people while the rest was mainly regular sized villages.

Naofumi was glad to have Rachel and Mina give him enough information about this place. Being a suburban and city boy, he'd never encountered a forest like this one. The closest he ever came to a forest was when he was in middle school and his class went on a field trip to the countryside to visit a farm. Beyond the farm, just on the horizon was a forest. He spent most of his time looking there instead of the animals wondering what lived in there.

Now, he was finally getting the experience.

He should be happy. Except he was fucking tired to move even a centimeter.

"Do not worry, Naofumi," Mina soothed. "The village shouldn't be far. We'll check at an inn and find this beastmaster. That gives us six days."

"And it's only a five hour walk from here back to Lute Village," Rachel added. "Plus, the village might lend us a wagon and that'll cut our travel time in half."

It all sounded good to Naofumi. But there was that small part of him that always believed something wouldn't go their way. That hadn't been the case since he met Rachel and Mina, but there was always something out there to stop him from advancing. Being hated by half of the country does that kind of thing.

Would these villagers even help him? The beastmaster?

From the way the girls talked about speaking with the beastmaster, they sounded like things would go their way. The conviction in their voices eased some of the apprehension he felt. If Elhart and the villagers of Westbrook and Lute Village were kind to him, the same thing might happen with Haven Clove.

Or they could hate him and want nothing to do with him.

It was 50/50.

Nothing about this world was easy.

After about thirty minutes of resting, he pushed himself up back to his feet.

"Alright. Let's get moving."

When they neared the entrance, a sign was posted on a tree with bright paint.

Mina translated for him. The sign said to be on the lookout for any monster lurking in the shadows. To stay on the path and not venture beyond unless you are with a full party. They stopped a chimera, what could possibly be in this forest that could attack them?

With the sun setting, they were blanketed by the shadows of the trees. What little light there was left slipped through the canopy of leaves and branches.

It was a beautiful sight to behold. Naofumi wasn't one for forest aesthetics, but there was no denying how beautiful this place was without the sound of city life. Birds chirped, cicadas sang, squirrels jumped from branch to branch. It was all… peaceful. A tree with low hanging branches came into view and he reached out and let his fingers glide along the leaves. He breathed in the scent of the forest.

What was surprising about his place what that it could very well be a forest back in his home. Melromarc and his world are vastly different. But what they had in common was the beauty of the earth and its animals.

Minus the fact this world had monsters and chimera wandering about.

A rabbit scampered across the path before disappearing underneath a bush. A bird flew by above them before settling into a nest.

For a moment, he could forget all the weight that was on his shoulder and just enjoy the serenity of the forest.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

He didn't even hear Mina as she walked by him.

"It is a beautiful sight to behold. Especially in the autumn and winter where it feels like you're in a fairy tale."

Naofumi almost laughed at those words. Technically, he is in a fairy tale. A nightmarish one.

"Yeah. I've never seen anything like this before."

"That so?" Mina commented. "I'd figured you must've gone to a forest at some point in your life."

"Not really. The closest thing I came to a forest was looking at one from miles away."

"What were you doing?" Rachel asked.

The girls eyed him with curiosity, smiles on their faces.

… it wouldn't hurt to tell them about his life.

And so, he told them about his field trip to the countryside which earned him a lot of questions.

"What's a bus?"

"Did you see any monsters?"

"Is the plant life dangerous?"

"Did they have any kind of berries or tree bark I can use?"

He explained what a bus was. (To which Mina compared it to an electric carriage. He'll have to ask her about that.)

No, there are no monsters in his world. (At least not in plain sight.)

Some plants were dangerous though it wouldn't surprise him if this world had man-eating plants.

And yes, the plant life did have medicinal factors as well.

Finally, after walking for who knows how long (their travel banter seeming to make them lose track of time), they came across a fork in the road. A sign was posted between the fork.

Rachel pointed to the right and said it would take them to Haven Clove.

Thank god he had them to translate everything for him.

When they turned a corner, they saw the entrance of a village.

From the outside, it was very large. A huge section of the forest was cleared, leaving cabin and stone houses scattered throughout the village. Naofumi expected it to be small but from the looks of it, it was big enough to have so many homes.

When they entered the village, it was booming with activity. Shops were set up at the village center with merchants shouting out their wares. Children ran around playing with different kinds of toys. Just beyond the center, there was a large patch of land growing fruits and vegetables. Men and women were either gathering fruits and vegetables into their basket.

A man was herding sheep with the assistance of a border collie as they guided them to an enclosure with other farm animals.

Everyone was dressed very casually like the people in the lower parts of Castle Town instead of the fancy clothes nobles wore. Some even had bows, hunting knives, and hatchets on them. Hunters, no doubt.

"Wow." Rachel's eyes widened at the sight before her. "I never knew forest villages were so… big and… plentiful."

"Yes," Mina said looking at the people carrying baskets. "This is fascinating."

Naofumi shared their amazement.

Compared to Castle Town, Haven Clove was more open and freer for people to wander about. No bumping into each other or crowded homes and buildings clustered together.

As much as he wanted to look at the village life, he needed to rest. It had been a long day and he was tired and hungry.

"Come on. Let's ask around for the inn."

He stopped a man who pointed them in the direction of the inn which also acted as an alehouse. Once they paid for their room, they came back downstairs and went to a table in the corner of the room.

When their waiter left, Naofumi looked around to make sure no one was listening in.

"Now that we're here, how are we going to go about this?"

"Easy." Rachel leaned back on her chair. "Gareth is a legendary hunter, so his apprentice must be well known also."

"I have heard of his exploits," said Mina. "Gareth is well known around Melromarc as being a hunter who does not shy away from hunting the most fearsome of beasts. Even our neighboring countries have asked for his help to hunt monsters."

"He's that good?" Naofumi asked.

"The best there is. Melromarc and the other countries have monsters that are too powerful to stop. That's where hunters come in."

"Gareth always gets the job done," Rachel added. "Once, a few months ago, he took down a leftover Wave monster. Just him and his apprentice. The Queen paid them handsomely for bringing back its head. I've never seen him, just heard about him. But I believe the stories."

The way they spoke of him with admiration made the guy sound like he really was good at his job.

"And his apprentice?" Naofumi needed to know more about him.

Their food and drinks arrived and Mina took a sip of her ginger ale.

"He is Gareth's one and only apprentice," Mina set her mug down. "Like Gareth, he is a skilled hunter as well as a beastmaster."

"What kind of beasts does he control?"

The door to the alehouse opened, distracting Naofumi.

A young man close to his age walked in. He had messy light brown hair with a red and black feather tucked behind his right ear. He wore a black vest over a dark red long-sleeved tunic with black pants and dark brown boots with fur lining the collar of the opening and black fingerless gloves. What looked like a fur sleeveless shawl was wrapped around his shoulders. On his back was a bow with a quiver attached to one of his belt loops and a hunting knife strapped to his right leg.

Naofumi glanced at him for a second before picking up his mug-

-only to almost inhale his drink when something else followed the man.

In walked a spider. Not a small spider. A BIG spider. Big enough to be the size of an adult dog. He could see hairs on its legs as it followed the man. No one seemed startled to see it, nor did Naofumi hear any cries of help coming from outside. Nobody thought it was odd to see a big freaking spider crawling around!

He looked back to the girls and they were just as surprised. Rachel stopped mid-bite of a lamb leg while Mina stared with wide eyes.

The man went up to the bar and ordered a drink. The spider stayed at his feet.

"Y-you don' think…" Naofumi couldn't finish his sentence. Turns out, seeing a giant spider does that to a person.

"Probably Rowan," said Rachel. "Well, go on. Ask him."

"Me?!"

"You're the one who needs to talk to him. You are the Shield Hero. He'll probably listen since you're a Cardinal Hero."

"Or he'll ignore me completely."

"Now now," Mina reached over and patted him on the shoulder. "This is our only chance to procure an animal with his assistance. I'm sure Rowan will help."

He didn't want to do this. Especially with a giant freaking spider just sitting there!

But, as usual, everything fell onto him.

He left the table and went up to Rowan.

The spider noticed him and rubbed its abdomen against the beastmaster's leg.

Rowan looked down at the spider before looking up at Naofumi. Up close, his face was youthful but his dark green eyes were the eyes of someone who never let their prey get away from his sight. Those eyes traveled up and down his body before they noticed the shield.

Rowan's eyes widened and he stood straight.

"Hello, Shield Hero." His voice was light but deep enough to match his face. "I-is there something you need of me?"

He acted timidly, but those eyes stayed true to their target. Beside him, the spider stood close. Naofumi could practically see his reflection on its eyes.

Creepy.

He suppressed a shudder and tried to ignore it. (He failed.)

"Your name is Rowan, correct?"

The hunter nodded.

"Good. There's something I need to ask of you."

"Anything!" Rowan nodded, a little too enthusiastically. "Are you acting on behalf of the Queen?"

Queen. Not the King.

"Kind of. Look, it'll be better if we explain it to you." Naofumi turned went back to the table. He heard Rowan (and the spider!) following him.

Rowan looked somewhat nervous when he saw Rachel and Mina, but the girls smiled which seemed to have eased some of his nervousness.

He sat opposite of them. The spider hopped up and sat (stood?) beside him.

"First off, these are my party member. Rachel and Mina."

Rowan nodded at them.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," Naofumi placed his arms on the table. "We need your help with finding an animal."

"What kind?" Rowan asked.

"One I can ride on."

When the hunter looked confused, Naofumi explained the ordeal of what was going on in Lute Village.

"I see…" Rowan rubbed his chin. "That is rather difficult considering the Spear Hero is riding a Tyrera. Those are known for their great speed and agility. It's rare to find one in Melromarc."

"You know about them?" Naofumi asked.

"I know plenty. They're native to different countries but not in Melromarc. My master and I would sometimes hunt them in Faubley if they were messing with farmers' livestock. I've seen how fast they can go. You're going to want something to match its speed."

"Is there an animal around here we can find."

"Well…" Rowan scratched the back oh his head. "There are some. But they live farther north in the forest. And I don't think that will give you enough time to get back to Lute Village. Except for Silver Moose."

Silver what?

Naofumi's baffled expression must've shown on his face because Rowan began talking again. "Silver Moose are different than regular moose. As the name implies, they have silver fur. And they are twice, if not, thrice as fast as regular moose when running. They live around here, so it'll be easy to catch one."

The grey storm cloud hanging over Naofumi began to dissipate. Maybe this wouldn't be that hard.

"You'll get us one, then?" The weighted question hung in the air between them.

"Of course. I've hunted them ever since Gareth became my master. You'll have your Silver Moose in no time." He looked out the front windows of the alehouse. "Though I suggest we start tomorrow. Silver Moose are more active around noon and from the looks of you all, you guys seem tired."

Tired was an understatement.

"We thank you, Rowan." Mina dipped her head in thanks. "We are sorry if this interrupts any of your upcoming hunts."

Rowan waved a hand. "It's no problem. I haven't been busy that much since my master…" he paused. A look of uncertainty danced in his eyes. "Since my master has left for a hunt."

Naofumi could tell there was more to the story, but it wasn't his business to ask.

"I don't know about you all," Rachel said, stretching her arms. "But I'm tired and there's a bed calling my name upstairs." She stood from the table, Mina following behind.

"Yeah, I need the rest." Naofumi followed them and looked over his shoulder at Rowan. "Meet us here tomorrow at noon."

He didn't wait for the hunter to reply. Timid as he may be, he didn't look like the type to break his promise.

He took one step on the stairs when the sound of shuffling feet came from behind.

"Shield Hero!"

Rowan.

Turning, Naofumi looked down as he was a step higher than he was.

"Yeah?"

Rowan opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked to the ground, his twiddling his fingers.

"Uhh… I umm…" He took a deep breath. "I don't believe all the things the people have said about you."

For a second, Naofumi's heart skipped a beat.

He didn't?

"I know what it feels like," he continued, "to be lonely. To be judged by others. That's why I don't think you're bad. I think you're… good."

His gaze shifted up until Naofumi got a good look at his eyes. "I was lonely too. I didn't know what to do. But my master came and I felt less lonely. I grew more confident in myself. The same can happen to you."

His words held conviction in them as if he was so sure of them like they could become reality. The power of words has no meaning in a world that deemed Naofumi a monster.

Why should he believe him? Very few people even believe in him unless he helped them out. That was the sad reality of it. The world hates him, he does something to help them, then they love him as if their animosity was a thing of the past.

Except it wasn't. It never will be. It shouldn't have to be like that. He doesn't expect people to love him automatically, but they shouldn't hate him either at first glance.

But this hunter, this hunter with his green eyes saw the good in him.

He turned and went back up the stairs.

Tomorrow he'll talk to him. Just not now.

When Rowan stepped out of the alehouse, he released a breath of relief.

Gods, I can't believe I spoke with a Cardinal Hero! And it went well! …kind of.

When the Shield Hero – Naofumi – had spoken with him, he almost spat out his drink from the sudden realization he was the Shield Hero.

He wasn't what Rowan thought he would be. The rumors of what he did to the princess ran rampant throughout the country like a plague. With Gareth gone, Rowan had to hear about this when he was away from Haven Clove on a hunt.

The village he was staying during his hunt was near the capital and news of the Shield Hero's crime arrived like a sudden wind storm.

Rowan heard every word tossed and thrown about the hero. Scum. A leech. Rotten. Criminal. Monster.

Rowan has hunted monsters, and the Shield Hero was not one.

The day he was to depart from the village after hunting down the monster who was eating crops, the Lord of the village jokingly said, "Why not hunt the Shield Hero while you're at it?" He and the villagers laughed at the Lord's joke.

All except Rowan. The Lord stopped laughing when he caught the hunter's gaze. Hard like steel and fierce as a wolf. It made the lord shrink away from his intense gaze. Rowan politely thanked him and left with 30 silver coins.

That was a few days ago. Now, he finally got a good look at the supposed monster.

He was far from a monster. He was… lonely.

Don't I know that feeling, huh?

The spider next to him tapped the ground with one of her legs.

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't mean to air out my dirty laundry." Rowan reached down and petted the spider's abdomen.

"Let's go home. We have a big day tomorrow."

When they got to his cabin, Rowan didn't go to the front door. Instead, he went straight for the mailbox. The flag was on display. He got mail.

He took the contents out of the box and entered his home.

His hand holding the letters was trembling.

Please please please please please please.

He sat down on a chair and went through the letters.

Please please please please please please.

There were three of them.

The first was from the village lord who thanked him for saving the crops.

The second was a letter from Castle Town of beasts roaming the northlands and that any hunter should be careful should they hunt them down.

Finally, the third letter.

Please please please please please please.

With his trembling hands, he opened the envelope.

His world crumbled, the floor swallowing him whole.

It was an advertisement for new bows and arrows.

The letter dropped him his hand, fluttering to the ground.

No letter from Gareth. Absolutely nothing.

Rowan dumped the rest of the letters on a coffee table and rubbed his forehead.

None of this made sense! Why hadn't Gareth sent him any letter? The times when he alone was called out on hunts and Rowan stayed behind, he always made sure to send a letter detailing how he was and when he'll probably be back.

Not once in their fifteen years of knowing each other did Gareth fail to send a letter.

This only made Rowan all the more worried.

To him, Gareth was never one to go back on his promises. He'd always send a letter should he be gone for more than a week. Not once did he fail to meet that task.

Until now.

Tap-tap-tap.

Rowan took his hand away and saw three of his spiders looking up at him. Two of them were common house spiders while the third one was a jumping spider.

They had heard his thoughts. It was hard to keep his thoughts and emotions away from his spiders. They knew everything about him just as he knew about them. During his training on mastering his beastmaster skills, Gareth said to always leave your mind open for your animal to hear you. Kind of like leaving your front door halfway open to invite them in.

It was difficult, at first, but he got the hang of it. Now, whenever he was feeling down (which was what he's been feeling the last two months), his spiders were always there, ready to comfort him.

The jumping spider hopped onto his lap. Smiling, Rowan patted him on his head.

"Thanks. I needed that."

From around the house, to the small crevices, could hear the other spiders living in his house reaching out to him telepathically.

He really was lucky to have them.

Outside, night had already settled in.

Time for dinner.

Settling the jumping spider back onto the ground, Rowan made his way to the freezer box in the kitchen. The box in question was wooden with the left side covered in a soft light blue mist while the right was covered in a darker blue mist.

Thank you, Innis, for your magic.

Opening the left door, he pulled out some rabbit meat along with a few vegetables. He put some logs into the wood stove and while he waited for it to warm up, Rowan went to a closet in the living room.

Upon opening it, he stepped back as a large animal (a moose) was wrapped in several layers of spider silk. This was from yesterday and the moose was still slightly fresh. Thank goodness the silk traps in the odor.

Next came the birds. Freshly caught this morning, he skinned them and laid them out on the floor next to the moose

Several minutes later, the rabbit meat and vegetables were well cooked and ready to eat.

"Dinner time!"

As he took a seat on the dining table, spiders crawled out different parts of the house and descended on the moose. Followed by tarantulas going straight for the birds.

"Enjoy!" Rowan called out to them.

After dinner (and disposing the leftovers of the moose), he went upstairs to his bedroom.

Once he was changed into soft pajamas and in bed, Rowan turned off the oil lamp on the nightstand and settled comfortably under the sheets.

Tomorrow would be a busy day.

A day of helping the Shield Hero.

A day of hunting.

A day without his master.

A day of not knowing where he is.

Despite this thought, Rowan slept peacefully.