Chapter Three: On The Run
The sun was just barely dawning on a new day as Naofumi assessed the front gate of Castle Town.
"No movement," he murmured, "looks like there's still time until it opens."
He could just wait it out until the guards opened for the day, but the more time he spent loitering, the higher the chance one might notice and question it. The last thing he wanted was attention drawn to him as he left. The more time they potentially spent searching the capital, believing him to not have gone far, the better.
On the other hand, he could quickly resupply before heading out, skipping the need to stop by Riyute Village all-together, thereby reducing the chance his movements would be tracked. But if he took too long, the guards could get alerted, and he'd never leave in the first place.
Decisions, decisions.
He really needed to get something sorted for his...
"Hey. I'd rather not keep calling you 'slave'," Naofumi said, startling the girl, "do you have a name?"
"I- yes. Raphtalia," she murmured.
"Raphtalia," Naofumi tested slowly.
"Yes, Master."
The Shield Hero winced.
"Don't... don't call me that."
The girl's eyes widened, panicked.
"I- I'm sorry Mr. Hero! I didn't mean, Shield, I-"
"Hey, calm down." Naofumi gently ordered, "just... don't call me by any titles. Use my name, Naofumi, when it's just us," Naofumi paused, before amending, "in public when others are near, be as formal as you like. Don't use my name then, we can't be recognised."
"Naofumi-Sama?" The girl- Raphtalia, Naofumi mentally corrected, tested.
"Just Naofumi will do."
Well, that was odd, Naofumi mused.
The Shield apparently translated native language which allowed him to understand the people of the world, but it also incorporated native Japanese. He was pretty sure this country didn't have such honorifics, if anything it seemed more Western-influenced.
He guessed she must have addressed him in some sort of formal fashion, or as a God. Which now that he thought about it, made some sense. Demi-humans seemed to worship the Hero of the Shield.
"Okay, Naofumi-san."
...That'll have to do.
"Come on," Naofumi sighed, "we need to get you some equipment."
Raphtalia meekly nodded and kept close to his side as he navigated back to the smith's shop.
It's a terrible plan, Naofumi fumed quietly, but it's all I've got.
He needed to get her geared up, with some proper clothing and a weapon she can use. His best bet was that smith, but he couldn't risk information being obtained. If he was in on it, he didn't want anything being passed on to the King or the bitch.
Thankfully there were stores open early, likely getting the wares prepared for the day.
He made a quick stop by a tailor and quickly purchased a heavy duty 'usapil' fur lined hooded forest green cloak. Whatever a usapil was, it's white fur was definitely comfy and warm inside, a great buy for twenty silver coins.
When clasped, it provided significant coverage over his body with arms kept into the side, and the hood obscured his features enough to hopefully fool the shop owner.
New cloak donned, he exited the shop and Raphtalia who was waiting outside quickly fell in step with him.
"We're going to be going to the weapons shop now," Naofumi informed her, "you'll need something to cover yourself that will actually protect you, and a dagger."
"I... okay."
"Hey," Naofumi gently placed a hand on her shoulder, wincing internally at her sudden flinch and tensing, "I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, okay?"
Raphtalia hesitantly nodded, eyes directed away.
It'll have to do.
"The shop owner could recognise me though," Naofumi continued, "which is why I'll have this cloak on with the hood up and won't speak to much. If you need to speak, don't use my name while we're in the shop, remember?"
Raphtalia nodded uncertainly.
"Yes, sir."
Naofumi gave a small smile of approval, which seemed to reassure her enough to smile back.
Naofumi adverted his eyes, lump in throat.
I don't deserve to have her look at me with anything close to trust.
Sighing, he took off the backpack, retrieving the sword and sheath within. The blade was a Magic Steel Sword, gold inlaid but magically enhanced for durability and with a Blood Clean coating to further increase durability and prevent blood from eroding the blade.
An expensive option that the bitch had chosen, but an excellent sword overall.
"I hope you understand what I'm doing." Naofumi murmured, eyeing the Legendary Shield. He could've sworn it glowed briefly.
Preparing for a sudden shock, Naofumi gingerly grasped the weapon.
Nothing happened.
The Shield pulsed warningly, as if telling him he was testing the limits. Naofumi quickly buckled it around his waist, hanging from his left side. Perfect.
Sword at hip, a shield in the other hand, he felt just like the adventurer he had imagined Naofumi would be yesterday. The thought made the world brighter, if a little.
Naofumi entered first, followed by the meek Raphtalia.
"Hey, welcome-..."
The owner trailed off, staring at Raphtalia's collar.
Naofumi breathed, and thought of the bitch. He thought of what he'd been driven to do. He thought of the disgust he could see building in the owner's eyes at the type of man who'd entered his premises.
"Dagger for the slave, clothing and cape too," Naofumi dropped a pre-counted bag of ten silver into her trembling hands, gesturing forward to her.
The bigger the distance between us, the less chance of recognition.
Raphtalia openly startled at his rougher, snapping voice, a stark contrast to how he'd been just before entering.
Good. She should know what type of man I am.
"Sure thing," the owner growled back, before grimacing as Raphtalia hesitantly approached.
Knives were laid on the counter, an orange copper, bright brown bronze and gleaming iron.
Raphtalia handled them, testing the grips, before settling on the iron.
Naofumi gave a slow nod at her when she turned from the owner to himself.
"Here girl," the owner gently handed a small sheath, "wait here and I'll get you some clothes."
With one last dark look in Naofumi's direction, he headed into the back room.
Naofumi breathed, letting the tension flow from him. It seemed he hadn't been recognised. He very nearly startled when he realised Raphtalia had quietly approached him.
"I... I'm doing...?"
Naofumi gave a small half-smile.
"You're doing just fine, Raphtalia. Once we're out of the city we'll be doing some travelling. I can't attack, I need to make sure you can."
"I understand, Naofumi-san."
"Good girl," Naofumi hesitantly patted her shoulder, discomforted by her beaming smile.
The owner returned soon enough, cape and clothes in hand, which he roughly threw in Naofumi's direction.
Naofumi grabbed it from the air with his left hand, careful not to reveal the shield on his right.
After a quick examination, he gave a reluctantly approving nod. Deep browns and reds, unlikely to stain easily.
Wordlessly Naofumi handed them to Raphtalia, who took the queue to get changed in one of the private stalls in the shop.
"I don't know if the country is just rotten, or a couple of bad apples," the owner sighed quietly, "but are we arming little girls now?"
Naofumi exhaled through his nose, trying to hide his hunched shoulders.
"If you are, then who's profiting?" Naofumi tersely retorted rhetorically, as Raphtalia exited the stall. "A few bad apples spoil the barrel."
Ignoring her questioning look at just catching the end of their brief conversation, Naofumi instead approached to examine her.
The simple boots looked like they would hold up well for travel, and the long sleeved undershirt would keep her warm. The dress seemed somewhat impractical, but he didn't have a lot of options.
Evidentially, she couldn't remove the collar or opened shackles either, possibly due to her slave status.
"Adequate. Pay the man then come," Naofumi ordered.
"You're not going to die a painless death," The owner muttered, taking the coins. He counted out eight, handed the remaining two back with a whetstone to Raphtalia.
Probably true, and deserved, Naofumi acknowledged.
"Hey... do I know you?" The owner questioned, brow furrowed.
Naofumi paused.
"We're leaving."
The Shield Hero walked out with Raphtalia quick to follow.
Once out, Naofumi relaxed.
"Uh..." Raphtalia looked around, before continuing, "Naofumi-san? The change... and stone thing."
"Whetstone," Naofumi absentmindedly corrected, taking the items to store in his pack.
Left with 40 silver and some bronze..
He paused, weighing the whetstone in his hand thoughtfully.
"We will get you a small pack, soon," Naofumi decided, "it'll do you good, to learn to take care of your equipment."
"I... okay."
"Come, we need to leave, quickly."
Passing through the gate was a weight off Naofumi's shoulders, and he almost felt like he could breathe easy now. The guards had barely spared a glance to the hooded man leaving with a slave, the one to his right's eyes briefly wandered to the good quality blade at his hip, before resuming a bored watch of the going-ons within the city from his post.
"Have you slept, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked after a few minutes of walking.
"Uh, no, mas- Naofumi-san. A little, but when you're... in a cage..."
Naofumi hummed.
"We will stop at Riyute Village to get what last minute equipment we need, then we'll be spending time in the wilds. We'll see if we can get you a couple of levels, and can sleep early."
Raphtalia nodded, then made to speak before coughing lightly.
Naofumi eyed her, brow furrowed.
"Beloukas mentioned you're ill."
Raphtalia's head quickly shot up, panicked, "I- I'm still useful, it's nothing-"
"You're no use ill, especially if you're going to get worse," Naofumi interrupted, "we'll see about getting medicine at the village, or..."
Naofumi hummed again, oblivious to Raphtalia's silent distress.
As young as she is, she'll know more about this world than I do.
"Do you know much about mushrooms, roots, good plants?" Naofumi asked.
"J-just the things everyone's taught," Raphtalia answered, "echi-echnasee-... the purple flower thingy, helps when you're sick."
Naofumi nodded for her to continue.
Will have to rely on her knowledge for now, don't think I'll get any glycyrrhiza or ginger soon, no luck with any Kampo meds...
"Don't eat the white and yellow berries, red berries are really risky, blue, black and purple should be good. Um, if you want to test p-put a small bit on your arm to see if it goes red or burns. Then try a bit of juice on the corner of your mouth, then tongue, then eat a small bit. If nothing bad happens or your tummy is fine, then its okay to eat after a day. B-but it's best to know the ones in your area, and to do this with any new ones if you need to eat," she recited, clearly something drilled into her before.
Naofumi smiled, "You're full of good information aren't you?"
Raphtalia's eyes sparkled as she grinned.
Naofumi adverted his eyes.
"What about mushrooms, or anything like that?"
"At- at my village, there were button and oyster mushrooms we'd collect..." Raphtalia trailed off, and Naofumi realised this was before she was a slave.
God, where are her parents?
A topic for later. He'd ask further tonight.
"What about shiitake or enoki mushrooms?" Naofumi hurriedly asked.
Raphtalia's brow furrowed, "Uh... sh-shit take mushrooms? Eno-"
Naofumi snorted, biting back a chuckle, "shii-ta-ke," he said slowly with clear enunciation and mirth.
Raphtalia flushed. "S-sorry. I don't um, know either of those, Naofumi-san."
Naofumi nodded, half expecting the reply. If they were more Asian in origin, he imagined a village child in a medieval-era western country would be unfamiliar with such foods.
"We won't be in towns or villages that often, like I said most of our time will be in the wild. That means hunting and foraging. It will be dangerous, but we'll keep each other safe. But I'm the Shield Hero. I can't attack, I can only defend. It will be up to you to kill any of the monsters we come across. But you won't be alone, and you won't get hurt."
Raphtalia nodded shakily.
"I'll help, I'll do my best. You're here to fight the Waves right? Then I'll do my best to help you, Naofumi-san."
"All in, I'd give 50 bronze."
Naofumi nodded, opening his money pouch to draw a silver piece to also exchange for some bronze coins. As he did, he noticed Raphtalia eyeing one of the merchant's items. An orange coloured ball.
"You're interested in it?" Naofumi asked gruffly, body turned towards her.
"I- no! I'm not, N- Master! I don't want it at all!"
Naofumi however noticed the slight wagging of the tail and held back a snort.
The tail never lies.
"One of the balls too."
"Sure thing. They're made from those balloon skins, too," the merchant said, taking the silver coin and giving one hundred and twenty-two bronze pieces back, "I'll just deduct it from your skins."
"With your cut, too?" Naofumi asked, handing the skins he had left from yesterday's training that hadn't been sold. He'd kept some back to check for prices around, the rest had been with the bitch, locked in her room.
"Naturally," the merchant chuckled, handing the ball to the excited Raphtalia, "only eight skins though, a fair amount. I need to get them from the maker up in Castle Town to sell them here."
At one bronze a skin, I suppose that's fair.
Naofumi nodded under the hood, returning the coins given to the pouch he'd set aside for the bronze.
This merchant was only in the village once every other day, having a short circuit he travelled between nearby villages and Castle Town.
"It's a good thing those Heroes have been summoned," the merchant conversed, "hopefully some more business will be returning here, heh!"
"What do you mean?" Naofumi asked.
"New adventurer from Castle Town or something, eh?"
Naofumi shrugged.
"Well now that those Heroes are here, they might clean up some of the monsters left after the first Wave of Destruction. The mine near here used to be good for the town's business, I think some Light Metal veins had been found too. 'Course with the waves, monsters have made their home in those tunnels."
Of course, Naofumi realised, we were only summoned after the first. They didn't have any heroes to deal with it.
Raphtalia didn't seem to like the conversation however, as Naofumi noted her shaking form.
Naofumi thanked the merchant and left promptly.
"We won't be going there straight away," Naofumi advised, "we're going to spend some time levelling up first then we can take a trip up once we're ready."
Raphtalia nodded shakily.
Soon, they'd left the safety of the village and were entering the nearby fields, and set upon by a balloon.
Knowing it wouldn't be able to breach his defence, Naofumi grabbed it effortlessly as it tried to gnaw on his arm.
"Raphtalia, draw your knife."
Gulping, she shakily did as ordered.
Naofumi gripped the orange balloon firmly, turning it to face the girl. Raphtalia paled as it snarled at her.
"It won't hurt you," Naofumi stated, a tad annoyed, "stab it."
"I..."
Just when Naofumi thought he might need to command her to do so, Raphtalia readied herself and charged with a frankly adorable warcry.
However the balloon opened it's mouth and bit down on the blade, trapping it between it's teeth.
"Again," Naofumi grunted, grabbing it's jaws and restraining it as Raphtalia pulled back.
The second charge popped it on the first hit, giving a grand total of 1 EXP each.
Naofumi hummed, checking his level.
Level 5, and it'll take another 106EXP points to get to level 6.
If his math was right, it was about 40% increase per level. Level 2 required 20 EXP, 3 needed 28 EXP and 4 had needed 77 EXP. While that seemed low now, that growth was quickly going to get scary.
Slowly the girl got more confident, even giving chase to one's he hadn't spotted yet, killing three of the loomush from the forest with a single swing that had attempted to pounce together on Naofumi.
He remembered Ren pulling off the same move yesterday with some balloons.
"Pretty soon, I'll have my own little Sword Hero!" Naofumi chuckled, collecting the skins and ignoring Raphtalia's blush.
Raphtalia had the energy to match her age, and continued eagerly popping balloons under the sun starting to set, while Naofumi spent time between drawing the monsters aggro and collecting herbs. Still, it was a hard day's work, he was now level 6 which small start towards level 7, and Raphtalia was level 4.
"Good work today," Naofumi praised the panting girl, "there is a river close by. You can get a wash while I'll set up camp."
After clearing a small area, Naofumi got a fire going while he examined the Shield he had gotten from the loomush.
Examination found that he could 'compound', and checking the recipes revealed a simple medicine.
Healing medicine successfully created!
Healing medicine: quality: poor, increased to slightly poor, causes wounds to heal faster when applied to the surface of the wounds.
Naofumi hummed, examining the created product.
It was contained within one of the simple vials he'd purchased from the travelling merchant.
He'd purchased a basic mortar and pestle, along with some vials and stoppers to experiment with trying to get a decent medicine for Raphtalia. He also had three doses of normal quality medicine he'd purchased, but apparently it was with a bit of a mark-up, since Riyute had a high demand after the first Wave.
Naofumi laid some of the dried meat and fruit he'd also purchased on two plates to serve as a supper for them for when Raphtalia got back.
All in all, he had about ten silver coins left and a hundred and twenty-ish bronze coins, having spent about thirty on necessary equipment and little quality of life things. Soap bars, for one and mint toothpaste with brushes.
Not much money at all compared to what he had started with, but for it he was a party member up, a monster egg, and the equipment he needed.
Raphtalia would easily recoup her cost, and hopefully whatever hatched would do the same also.
Plus, he had no fear she would betray him. She physically could not.
Naofumi threw a few more sticks into the fire, eyeing the blaze.
Raphtalia hesitantly approached, shivering slightly in her undershirt.
"I-I washed the dress too."
"Good," Naofumi praised, "I've got a little stand here, hang it over it near the fire to dry off, and take a vial of medicine," he added, noticing her slight cough.
Raphtalia sat down beside him and took a sip, wincing, "Bleh... bitter..."
Naofumi chuckled, "All the good medicine is. Best to down it in one."
Raphtalia glared at him briefly, which was somewhat ruined by her rather wet cat (or tanuki) appearance. Still, she did as bid.
"Nice. Good job," Naofumi rubbed her head, which Raphtalia didn't attempt to stop.
Her ears were so fluffy, Naofumi mused, and her tail. So different.
Raphtalia's brow furrowed, and her tail started batting in slight irritation.
"Alright, dinner time."
The meat and fruit must've been good, as when Naofumi had just finished half, Raphtalia had cleaned her plate, eyes wide and hopeful.
Naofumi sighed and handed her his apple slices, which were promptly devoured and washed down with a waterskin.
She was still shaking slightly and he was sure it wasn't down to the medicine's lingering taste. Naofumi frowned, and unclasped his cloak.
"You need sleep. Here."
Raphtalia handled the cloak gently, clearing a spot to rest it down on. It was only now that it hit just how small she was, a cloak that covered him and reached his ankles acting as pretty much a sleeping bag for her.
His stomach felt hollow, regardless of having just ate.
Would I have contemplated doing this yesterday, Naofumi wondered grimly, staring into the flames.
"Is this the sort of Hero you wanted?" he murmured, eyes locked on the orb of his shield.
The others are noble, true, superior, Naofumi acknowledged bitterly. What sort of hero am I, enslaving helpless girls? What sort of man am I now, that a look was all Beloukas needed to suggest what I was looking for was a- a comfort woman?!
"A monster," Naofumi breathed.
He was disturbed from his dark thoughts by Raphtalia tossing and turning, mumbling in her sleep.
All of a sudden, she bolted awake, screaming.
"Hey, hey!" Naofumi dashed over to her, nearly tripping in his haste, "you're okay, you're safe!"
"Daddy... Mu-m..." whatever she was trying to say was broken off by sobs, as the girl hiccupped and cried.
Her parents, Naofumi realised.
Naofumi murmured in her ear assurances of safety, gently running a hand over her head. She cried still, but was quieter.
He had been hoping to sort out their battle loot and examine his new shields closer, but that could wait. They were going to sleep in shifts, but that clearly wouldn't work if Raphtalia kept waking up and alerting monsters potentially.
Naofumi sighed, as she slowly drifted off back to sleep in his arms.
What to do, what to do.
The monsters couldn't breach his defence, and he couldn't risk her getting attacked or waking up and having to periodically kill whatever was attracted.
"One thing for it then."
Naofumi was slowly brought out of his slumber by a slight wiggling in his arms.
Grumbling, he tried to get back to sleep. He nearly did, until a few minutes later, the wiggling resumed.
Blearily opening his eyes, he was greeted by a wide red pair staring into his own.
"Oh, you're awake," he yawned, stretching his shield arm.
Raphtalia squeaked.
Did I get a tanuki or a mouse, Naofumi mused, rubbing the remainder of sleep from his eyes.
"O-oh, um... There's a balloon on..."
Naofumi looked up at his arm, and spotted a red balloon gnawing on his wrist.
"And here I thought that shield had gotten heavier."
Raphtalia wiggled out from her cloak-cocoon beside him and proceeded to start popping the four balloons attached to him.
"Fix yourself something from the packs for breakfast," Naofumi said, standing to stretch.
Damn my lower back hurts. Need to remember to take off the mail tonight.
"I'm going to get a wash."
"R-right!"
A quick wash and his head dunked under the water several times was enough to make Naofumi start to feel somewhat alive again.
"You have nightmares," Naofumi stated once he was dressed again and sat beside the freshly burning fire.
"Yes... I'm, I'm sorry if I woke you up..."
Naofumi waved her off, "Nothing like that, it's just we'd be in bother from local monsters. It's why I was covering you: they can't hurt me, and means we'd both get some sleep."
"Oh... thank you."
Naofumi shrugged uncomfortably.
"I'm going to take a quick stock of what we have and check some of the new shields from yesterday. Here," Naofumi chucked her balloon ball in her direction which she briefly fumbled, "go play for a bit, once I'm done we'll continue."
"Yay! Thank you!"
Naofumi nodded. The more eager she is, the more hard working she'd be.
I'm a selfish creature, better to just embrace it at this point rather than deny.
"Be careful of the monsters," Naofumi said as she made to leave, sheepishly stopping to strap her dagger to her hip, "and keep close to the camp."
"Okay Naofumi-san!"
So the Blue Mush Shield lets me make simple compounding recipes when equipped, Naofumi cycled through his shield menu. It looks rather like a mindmap, spanning out from each creature, item and their variants. Items... I wonder...
Some brief experimentation with medicines both recipe and from whatever Naofumi had in excess of herb-wise yielded a Small Medicine Shield and Small Poison Shield.
Also, apparently he had unlocked the ability of the Blue Mush Shield and had the equip bonus applied passively regardless of equipped shield due to having fell asleep with it as the shield on hand.
Next, he turned his attention to the gathered materials.
After Raphtalia had gotten the hang of handling the balloons yesterday, he'd equipped the Leaf Shield and put it's 'Gathering 1' ability to good use, and had a good supply of Excellent quality Aleo.
Naofumi got to work compounding, and soon enough had ten vials of Healing Medicine at Normal quality, (thanks to that Small Medicine Shield being equipped) another ten of a 'Basic Medicine' also at Normal quality that should help with her illness and five Nutritional Supplements, limited to Fair quality.
"The supplements she can take in the mornings, along with the basic medicine," Naofumi murmured, "should help get her healthier at a quicker rate. Can use the next two doses of the trader's Medicine and can use the Basic Medicine after."
It would have to do.
Emptying the leftover Slightly Poor or below vials of the contents, Naofumi washed them out and returned them to his pack. At this point, easily storable vials were more valuable than the lesser contents. He could always make more.
Aleo seemed to be a main component to most of these recipes, so he'd have to make sure to keep it well stocked. Given they'd be travelling light, he planned on discarding anything below Good quality, or he could potentially send Raphtalia into town to sell the discards.
"Later," Naofumi decided.
When she was stronger, more experienced, and trusted.
The Medicine vials were a vibrant green, the Basic Medicine was a lesser forest green while the Nutritional Supplements were more of an earthy colour. The outlier was the topical Healing Medicine, which was a vivid red. Naofumi packed them away without needing to label in a small wooden vial case.
Hefting the pack over his back, Naofumi noted it felt lighter.
Passive strength training, perhaps?
Naofumi shrugged. It did not matter.
"Raphtalia! Come! It is time we move on!"
"Yes, Naofumi-san!"
Soon, they ran into a new creature.
"An usapil," Naofumi noted to Raphtalia, examining the rabbit-like creature,"hm, could be useful. It's fur is something else."
Raphtalia seemed to be running under the assumption it was pretty weak however and had charged in, knife ready.
As the usapil leaped into action, Naofumi quickly darted in front to take the hit.
The buck teeth dug in, however just like every other creature up until now, it didn't hurt.
Either my defence rating is just that high as the Shield Hero or this chainmail is too good for them, or a combination of both.
Regardless, Naofumi firmly gripped the neck and body, holding it ready for Raphtalia.
"There. Stab it!"
"Ahh... I..."
Naofumi paused to check on her in case another had snuck up. Instead Raphtalia was frozen and looking pale.
"What is it?"
"It's alive... and it... it'll bleed!"
Ah. Of course.
Naofumi swallowed, "Raphtalia, you're going to have to do it. We're going to fight a lot of living things from here on forward, and they will bleed too."
"But... but..."
The usapil continued wildly biting away and Naofumi grunted, readjusting his grip.
"I'm sorry," He stated, "I really am. But you need to. If I could, I would."
I should've bought another one. The rabbit, or the wild eyed lizardman. Anything would've been a better option than forcing her to do this.
Naofumi sighed.
"If you can't do it, I'll have to find someone else who can."
Raphtalia's eyes widened, before she leapt into action, stabbing wildly, two thrusts landing. When she pulled out the knife, blood spurted like a fountain, causing Naofumi to drop it in surprise at her sudden action.
The usapil collapsed on the ground and rolled back and forth. Raphtalia watched it do so, eyes darting between it and the blood covered knife. She looked like she was in the middle of flight or fight.
Naofumi gripped her shoulder firmly, kneeling down to grab the usapil.
"The neck, here," he said, ignoring the blood on his hands, "it'll end it quickly."
Her arm shook, but Naofumi laid a hand on her elbow, urging her forward.
With a quick thrust the usapil twitched, before laying still. Naofumi ignored the EXP given.
"The mush and balloons were different," Naofumi said, "but most animals will bleed when they get hurt. It's the only way we're going to get EXP to level up. We-... you need to be the one to do this. The best thing way is to make it quick and painless."
Another usapil suddenly leapt from the shrubbery and charged Raphtalia, teeth out.
Naofumi dashed between them and deflected the attack.
"I'm sorry," He repeated, "I know it's supposed to be my responsibility, but like I told you before I can only protect. You have to be the one who attacks."
He ignored the usapil for now as it had aggroed to him and tried to bury its teeth with futility into his arm.
"I have to get stronger. I need you to help me to do that."
He'd been summoned for a reason, and if he wasn't prepared and strong enough, the first wave he faced would kill him.
It would be for the best.
"But..." Raphtalia trailed off, watching the usapil.
"The Wave of Destruction is coming," Naofumi grimly stated, "I need to be ready. If I'm not, it's not going to be these usapil who die. It will be people."
Raphtalia listened in silence, but Naofumi noted her shaking.
"You're... you're going to fight the Wave."
Naofumi smiled without cheer. "I'm the Shield Hero, remember?"
Naofumi sighed, grabbing the usapil by the scruff of the neck.
"I'm not doing it for the kicks. I didn't buy you to have fun killing animals. It's not what I wanted. But I needed someone to do this dirty work so I'm strong enough to do my part."
Raphtalia nodded slowly.
"I understand... Naofumi-san."
The knife was stabbed into the usapil's neck like he had showed her.
Naofumi felt sickened, and proud. Then sickened again.
The usapil was dropped beside the other, and Naofumi took his pack off, noticing Raphtalia stepping closer to the pair and correcting her grip to dissect the first with her eyes closed.
"Leave that to me," Naofumi gently gripped her shoulder, dropping the pack with the other.
She had fun yesterday popping the balloons, and had now seen the grittier side of levelling up.
Now it was time for Naofumi to face that as well, viscerally.
He grimly went to work with the dissecting knife.
Having butchered them, he let his shield absorb the parts.
UsaLeather Shield conditions met.
UsaMeat Shield conditions met.
UsaLeather Shield
abilities locked equip bonus: agility 3
UsaMeat Shield
abilities locked equip bonus: dissection skill 1
"A literal meat shield that helps me cut things up better," Naofumi murmured, examining the disgusting shield.
He then directed his attention to the ever present green orb, "I bet the others don't have to deal with like that, huh? You reserved that special brand of 'fucked up' for me?"
The orb glowed mockingly.
Naofumi rolled his eyes.
"Master, please don't... abandon me."
Raphtalia looked and Naofumi, pleading with her eyes.
When did I...of course. "If you can't do it, I'll have to find someone else who can." you stupid bastard, Naofumi...
"I'm not going to. Don't worry."
Without warning, Raphtalia threw herself into him, grabbing around his waist.
"Please, please don't... I'll fight, I'm sorry, please..."
Fuck... I really am a monster.
Naofumi swallowed down his guilt and hesitantly patted her back, murmuring reassurances.
They returned to their previous campsite for the night, Naofumi opting to leave further grinding until tomorrow.
Giving her a break, a chance to process is the least I can do.
Equipping the Egg Shield for better cooking stats, he stewed the meat with some other edible herbs and mushrooms, mixing a small portion of the Aleo in. After using his appraisal skill once it had cooked, Naofumi was pleased to not that the stew wasn't just nourishing, but would also provide some minor healing. Hopefully it would help with the cough in addition to the medicine. Speaking of...
"Medicine first," Naofumi told Raphtalia after she returned from a quick wash in the river, "then drink it down with water and then you can eat."
At Raphtalia's hesitant look and the disappointment openly emanating from her, Naofumi explained:
"It'll get rid of the taste quicker. Would you rather have it after a good meal before sleeping?"
Raphtalia assented finally, gulping down the vial and the water before quickly starting on the stew.
Naofumi poured a small portion for himself, saving the rest for her.
She's eating a lot now, he noted. Was it due to her levelling up or something?
The stew was tasteless like unsweetened porridge, but Naofumi eat mechanically regardless. He needed to keep his strength up.
At least she has no complaints.
Raphtalia was wolfing it down, already on a second portion.
The balloons were inefficient overall for grinding. It was 1EXP regardless of what colour was popped. The forests were the best option, the Mush gave a bit more, appeared more frequently in groups, and the usapil roamed too. Their skins would be worth far more than the balloons.
Hopefully it would help condition Raphtalia out of her fear of blood, too.
Forcing a little girl to slaughter rabbits, what's next Naofumi? You gonna find some kids to steal candy from?
Naofumi shook his head to rid himself of the intruding thoughts. It mattered not. There was no point to pretending what he was doing had any good purpose. It was for him, it would be easier to admit his self-centeredness.
But I don't have a choice.
Naofumi watched Raphtalia out of the corner of his eye lay down to settle for the night with his cloak wrapped around her.
A sickly child consigned to sleeping in the forest with a soon-to-be fugitive for a master.
There was always a choice, and he picked what he knew would benefit him greatest. Best to just get over it already. He didn't rip her out of her parents arms. He wasn't responsible for the heinous slave-trade active in this country.
But he benefited from it, just like the blacksmith got his coin for selling him his slave's gear.
"-but are we arming little girls now?"
Naofumi exhaled through his nose, trying to hide his hunched shoulders.
"If you are, then who's profiting?"
"Everyone but the girl. She's just a victim," Naofumi murmured to not disturb her.
Enough of the self-deprecation. There's work to do.
Naofumi got to compounding one of the recipes that caught his eye last night.
Medicine successfully created!
Medicine: quality: somewhat poor, increased to normal, helps cure sickness although not very effective on serious sicknesses.
Excellent. That's the same stuff the trader was selling, and thanks to that he also knew a good baseline for the price.
He continued making some more and eventually had a sizable portion to store away. When he was about to pour out the remaining rejects, he paused.
Might as well feed them to the shield. Thing's as hungry as Raphtalia.
Calorie Shield conditions met.
Energy Shield conditions met.
Potential Energy Shield conditions met.
Calorie Shield
abilities locked equip bonus: stamina up (small)
Energy Shield
abilities locked equip bonus: SP increase (small)
Potential Energy Shield
abilities locked equip bonus: stamina decay down
Naofumi hummed. It looked like most of the abilities were all status related. But what was stamina referring to? Was that a base strength stat or something?
Naofumi paused, then opened up the menu. He hesitated, then selected Raphtalia to examine.
The status menu was quite compact. It listed one's attack (ATT) magic (MAG) personal defence (P. DEF) magic defence (M. DEF) and dexterity (DEX).
Beside it showed elemental resistances to various types of magic: Fire, Aqua, Ice, Wind, Earth, Thunder, Light and finally Dark.
Nowhere was Stamina listed, perhaps it was some sort of background stat of some kind?
There was a lot he didn't know unfortunately, far more than what he did. His Max HP increased by 25 per level up, while his MAX MP and SP increased by 11 and 10.
Raphtalia had been at 117 Max HP and 48 Max MP at level 1, while he had been at 142 and 36.
Of course the numbers couldn't have been easy, Naofumi fumed.
He didn't know why they were that way. For all he knew, genetics played a part.
Then there was the stat increases. He'd increased by 14 in personal defence (PDEF) going from level 1 to level 2, but he highly doubted it was percentage based, as he'd be looking at over 3000 defence come level 10 or something. That was probably just points added.
"Damn this world is so confusing..."
Still, at least his time in college wasn't fully wasted, so his parents could suck on that. Economics and maths could just get dull sometimes.
Raphtalia stirred, and Naofumi sighed.
He really didn't want to deal with any nightmares and tempt fate. Who knows, she might attract an usapil which she'd then be needed to kill, and wouldn't that just be great for getting her back to sleep after a bad dream?
Naofumi stretched, then laid down beside her, carefully covering her to prevent any wandering creatures taking a bite.
God this is uncomfortable.
Still, it was necessary, and he needed to keep her safe.
