While Rino was trying to figure out why her heart had started beating faster, Chazon was attempting to get his bearings straight by determining where they are in relation to the carriage. Looks like we're still heading south. It's just going to be more dangerous than walking up on the cliff with all these monsters around. Closing out of his map, he looks at Rino. "Are you good to keep going?"

Rino squeaked in surprise before checking herself. "I think I should be good to- my sword is broken!" Sure enough, her iron sword was little more than a hilt with some broken metal sticking out of it. "Did it break from the fall? Oh no…"

That got a grimace out of Chazon. He does genuinely care about her now, but it will be difficult to travel if his party member was constantly at risk with no way to defend herself. Times like this I wish I got random weapon drops from monsters, then I could-

Equipment Inventory unlocked

Chazon blinked twice at that. "What… just happened?"

"Chazon-sama, what's wrong?" All Rino could see was Chazon staring into nothing, which she presumed to be his status magic at work, only for him to look surprised.

He went into his inventory and found a third tab; the aforementioned Equipment inventory, which already had a few weapons in it. Chazon sucked in some air and let out a constipated groan. Seriously, world? Did you just not unlock it for me until I ABSOLUTELY needed it?

Letting out a sigh, he looked at the weapons he did get, which numbered 3 in total: a Cyclops Mauler Bow, Dual Dire Wolf Blades, and a Scavenger Rat Dagger. Remembering Rino's stats, he figured all three were viable for her."I might have a replacement for you, but I checked your stats. Agility was your biggest stat, so I feel any of the three I have would suit you nicely."

Rino pouted again. "I still want to see if I can become a mage, though…"

"I'm not saying that route isn't going to be viable, but for the time being these weapons are best suited for you… in my humble opinion." Chazon chose and extracted the dual blades before handing them to Rino. "All I ask is that you try them out and see how you feel. Who knows, you might actually like the feel of the dual blades in particular."

She looked at her new weapons before nodding. "You're right, I shouldn't be whining about this. How do I put the dual blades on, though?"

Chazon hummed as he thought. "Well you do wear the dual blades around your waist like your iron sword, so let's get those on first." He helped Rino equip the dual blades, since she was a bit awkward in keeping the belt with the sheaths on her waist and tightening it.

"Got it. I'm good to go!" Rino had a confident smile on her face, happy that she got the chance to get new weapons for herself and grateful for Chazon's generosity. With that, the two set off in the direction motioned.

Throughout the walk, Chazon kept an eye out for chances to try out his new spears. When two Dire Wolves appeared and attacked them, he told Rino to take one out while he dealt with the other and switched to his Stone Golem Spear.

It was the same dark brown color as the Golem's main body with the same brick look, but what he found interesting was how it was designed. The spearhead was divided into 2 separate right-angle triangles, while the hilt looked bulky. In addition, a rather wide shaft guard spanned the entire spear, save the head.

Chazon also noted how sluggish he felt when he took hold of the spear. He could still keep up with the wolf, but he certainly noticed how slow he became. Definitely not the spear to use if mobility is paramount. The wolf managed to bite him in the leg, but all he felt was a slight stinging pain, thanks to his magic iron plate armor and the sizable defense bonuses given by the Stone Golem Spear.

The attack bonus was sizable too; one strike was all it took to take out a wolf now when the Cyclops Mauler Claw Glave took at least two strikes. Or it could be that I'm high enough leveled that these wolves are no longer a threat to me. How's Rino doing?

"Chazon-sama, I'm done over here!" Rino apparently had handily cleaned up the other wolf. "Let's carve them and keep going!"

"Right. Wolf meat is edible, so it'll be good to take as much meat as possible to your village, while the pelts can fetch some money when we sell it. How do the dual blades feel to you?"

Rino looked at them with an astonished look on her face. "They felt so… natural. Sure, I have no proper training on how to use them, but they just feel right to use, even more so than a regular sword."

Chazon snorted in laughter at that. "We've got plenty of time for you to adjust to your new weapons. I'd personally recommend getting someone to train you in the basics before heading into more serious fights." The duo quickly carved the corpses and continued on.

The next monster encountered was a Blue Treant, which Chazon decided to test the skill exclusive to the Stone Golem Spear as he managed to get close to the monster. "Guess what, buddy? You've just volunteered to be the guinea pig for one of my new skills. Spear Drive!"

Nobody was prepared for what happened next. A large explosion erupted out from the gap of the spearhead, which absolutely demolished the Treant before it even knew what happened. Chazon, on the other hand, went skidding back 5 meters from how much recoil the skill produced. Even after stopping, he could barely move because of the severe shakes he got.

Rino immediately came over worried, completely ignoring her level up to 12. "Chazon-sama! Are you alright?"

"I'll live… just wasn't expecting that kind of kickback." Using his spear, he was able to keep standing, but he kept leaning into it due to the tremors refusing to go away. "Note to self: use that skill as a last resort."

Not only does it have an absurd cool-down time of three hours, but that recoil wreaks havoc on my body. I'm going to have to check on the skill's description later.

Another Treant appeared, a Black Treant, prompting Chazon to try out the Golem Core Partisan. The partisan had a glowing orange blade with two smaller side blades sticking out of the hilt. The shaft was made out of the Golem stone, but there was an orange light running through it.

Chazon was almost floored by how fast he could move. While it wasn't as big of a difference from his normal speed, he had just come out of the high agility penalty incurred from the Stone Golem Spear.

Chazon managed to test out the Charged Skewer skill at the same time; it was a charging skill that drained his SP as he held it. The longer you hold, the more powerful the resulting strike, something discovered when the Black Treant, initially distracted by Rino, was on the receiving end of a strike that used 75% of his recovered SP. Both of them actually felt bad for it.

Chazon thought of something about half-way to their destination. "By the way, Rino… I hate to drag up old wounds like this, but… was there a reason given to you on why people didn't want you to join them? I know you mentioned your red-hair being one and that strikes me as odd."

Rino let out a small sigh. "I'll be honest… I don't know exactly why either. The closest I got to an answer was when one guy muttered something about "Red-heads, rape accusations", and something about an execution…"

Chazon thought briefly before his eyes widened as he connected the dots and a small snarl escaped his throat, startling his party member. "You. Can't. Be. Serious." If what Erhard told me about how serious rape accusations are in Melromarc is true, then congratulations, you daft fucking cunt of a princess, you've turned all of Castle Town against your red-headed kin. Are you fucking happy- no wait of course you aren't because you went and did the EXACT SAME THING TO NAOFUMI!

"C-Chazon-sama! Please! your face is scary! You don't need to be mad for my sake!"

That brought the Spear Hero out of his thoughts and saw the fear behind Rino's eyes. He not only immediately felt even more guilty than before about treating her the way he did, but also for scaring her. I forgot there's a reason why I tried to train myself to kill my self-confidence instead of getting mad. Shaking his head, he gave Rino an apologetic look. "Sorry, it's just… some people don't seem to know when to quit."

That piqued Rino's curiosity, though she was uncertain if she should be picking at brambles right now before deciding to take the plunge. "Do you know something about it, Chazon-sama?"

"Let's just say a dear friend of mine, who you might have heard about, was accused of rape and had his entire life ruined as a result."

"The Shield Hero?!" Rino gasped. She had heard the rumors, but when she was in Castle Town trying to find someone to help Lerno Village, she would have tried to ask him if she found him. "You mean… he was accused by a red-head?"

"If my theory is correct, it was by the very same red-head who these adventurers are afraid of, and why they don't want to take any chances with other red-heads including yourself." Chazon did his best to calm down, not wanting to scare his party member anymore.

Rino was almost afraid to ask, but she wanted to know so she could avoid such an individual. "W-who is it?"

Chazon knew that she wanted to know and, as much as it enraged him to say, he told her, "The supposed princess of Melomarc herself, Myne- excuse me, Malty… something-or-other. I forget her last name, though I do recall it being pretentious."

"The princess is behind it?!" Rino knew Chazon had no reason to lie to her, but the revelation shocked her to her core. "Then… sir Shield Hero also suffered from her." He really is innocent then… but to think of how much he suffered, it makes my troubles look like nothing.

"I shudder when I remember that she tried to join my party initially… and that I was the one who let her join him." Chazon let out a sigh at that as he looked at the sea of trees in front of them. I wonder if Naofumi will ever truly forgive me for that blunder. I doubt it, but I can try to make amends. He saw Rino's worried face and quickly patted her head. "Don't worry. I know I can trust you. And I want you to know that I believe the Shield Hero is innocent of anything you might hear from rumors. He is my friend after all." She hummed in joy at that.

After some time traveling and fighting monsters along the way, which resulted in Rino reaching level 13 and Chazon reaching level 16, the sun had begun to set, but they were able to reach the carriage that brought Chazon to the area. The carriage driver looked surprised when Chazon called out to him. "Chazon-sama, you're alive and with company to boot! Did you actually…"

Chazon nodded. "We cleared the dungeon, though we were delayed getting back when the clifftop we were walking on collapsed and stranded us in the forest. And before you ask, this is Rino, a resident of Lerno Village who had come here to try and save her village." Rino bows to the carriage driver.

"I suppose the whole "being dangerous to all but Cardinal Heroes" thing doesn't apply to party members of the heroes in question."

"Actually, it's very feasible for anyone to clear that dungeon… if they can get past some very dirty tricks."

That got the Carriage driver's attention as he had his filolial start walking back to Lerno Village. "Dirty tricks? Are you, perchance, referring to how everyone who has visited that cave before ran from it screaming for their lives?"

Rino nodded with a sad look. "Because of monsters known as Voice Gengars. They force you into hearing how your friends and party members are going to back-stab you or leave you to die." She shuddered until Chazon patted her on the shoulder with a concerned look. "Thankfully, Chazon-sama wasn't fooled and even helped me recover from the damage they were doing to me."

"So that's why that always happened… full glad am I to see you are still party members. I'll be sure to spread the word about what goes on in there; perhaps the adventurer's guild can properly catalog the place now that we know what to expect." The driver nodded at the two. "We'll arrive back in Lerno Village by tomorrow afternoon. We'll stop for the night once we get out of the forest."

Chazon pondered his options before saying, "I was going to suggest that. I have some experiments to do regarding this "miracle seed" that we found."

"Chazon-sama, what do you mean by that?" Rino gave him a questioning look, hoping he wasn't going to do anything reckless.

"You'll see. But I'm going to need you on standby as well; if this seed really sprouts a monster, we'll need to subjugate it on the spot, especially if it senses our intent." He noted the concerned look on her face and patted her on the shoulder again. "Don't worry, we'll be alright. I promise." She nodded at that, hope in her eyes.

After exiting the forest and getting a good distance away, the driver decided to stop for the night even though the sun hadn't completely set. "If you're going to be doing something with that monster seed, I beg of you to do it a fair distance away. I don't want my filolial to get hurt…" His filolial cheerfully chirped at him, which prompted him to stroke her feathers.

Chazon nodded at that. "Wouldn't have it any other way. Let's go Rino; even if we don't do what I want to do today, we've got time before we get back tomorrow." She nodded with determination in her eyes and they walked out into the plains.

Withdrawing the BioPlant seed from his inventory, he dug a hole and buried it. It instantly grew into a tree with fruit already apparent on it and a giant bud on its front. Rino gave it a confused look. "This is dangerous?"

"Very much so. Watch this." Chazon approached it, switched to his torch spear, and ignited it to set the tree on fire. The bud opened up to reveal an eye as its center and screeched at the duo. "Told you it would be dangerous! It already bore fruit with more of its seeds, so let's kill the tree first."

The BioPlant was only level 15, though Chazon suspected that its level would grow the longer it remained alive. It spawned some Madoragoras and PlantRiwes to help it fend the duo off, but because they were only level 10 newborns, they could barely do a thing to them. Rino cut them down with ease thanks to her dual blades giving her a movement speed bonus.

Sadly, when she jumped at the tree intending to cut the eye-flower down, the BioPlant spawned some vines to grab her. They grabbed her normally, concerning Chazon greatly… only for one of the vines to accidentally brush up against her groin, which caused her to squeak in embarrassment.

Chazon went tomato red when he realized why she squeaked before slapping himself. Goddammit man, don't lewd the pure girl who earned your trust earnestly! He corrected his thinking and knew that he'd get caught the same way, even if he used High Jump. "Time to test out the last skill I obtained today." Changing to his Golem Core Partisan for agility, he wound up for a throw. "Air Strike Javelin!"

The partisan disappeared after it left his hand, only to reappear above the BioPlant to dive right into his intended target: the eye-flower. It screeched in pain and let Rino go. "T-thank you, Chazon-sama. That was very embarrassing for me…"

"Forget about it. I don't think we're done just yet!" The eye-flower regrew and looked at them with hate in its gaze. "I think that's just an appendage. We need to destroy the main body to kill it."

"How? We have your Torch Spear, but you need to get close for it. The only other way I can think of is to use herbicide, but that also requires getting close."

"Simple: by using Air Strike Javelin with a different spear, thanks to a certain cool-down being done." Rino gave him a confused look, only to switch to shock when she realized what he was doing. He switched to his Stone Golem Spear, used Air Strike Javelin to embed the spear into the bottom of the BioPlant, and finally snapped his fingers. "Spear Drive!"

The detonation split the entire BioPlant in half, killing it completely while preventing the fruit from scattering too far. The spear went flying into the distance due to the recoil, only to reappear in Chazon's hands with a red flash of light.

Rino looked at Chazon with surprise in her eyes. "What made you think to do that?"

"Well I initially thought to use the Torch Spear to set it on fire, but we don't have access to water right now and I'm not causing a grass-fire. When I remembered that Air Strike Javelin can use any equipped spear, I figured I would try and combine it with the Stone Golem Spear, which is the only spear with access to Spear Drive, as a way of delivering heavy damage without forcing all that recoil on me." I'd like to call it my missile-strike tactic, though she won't know what I'm talking about.

Surprise changed to wonder and Rino followed Chazon to the BioPlant's remains. Leave it to a legendary hero to think creatively!

After both of them gathered the 21 fruits that the BioPlant had spawned, Chazon fed one to his spear.

BioPlant Halberd

Equip bonus: ATK bonus (medium), DEF bonus (medium), MDEF (medium)

Special effect: 'Plant Modification'

Good lord, what is even this?! Are BioPlants that dangerous? Chazon wasn't expecting the stats of his new Halberd to be so high, to the point where he had to compose himself just to keep from freaking out over his massive stat increase. M-more importantly, perhaps 'Plant Modification' will give us the answer to the famine after all.

The initial attempt failed due to Chazon having no idea what stats are on the seeds, or what he was increasing or decreasing. The first seed he modified proved this, though thankfully the BioPlant wilted before it could become a threat. "That was disappointing… how the crap am I supposed to know what I'm doing?"

Rino hummed a bit. "Does this mean we need blind luck to get what we want?"

"I do NOT trust my luck enough, so I'm going to have to leave it alone for now." Chazon let out a sigh before noting that they did gain experience from killing the first BioPlant. "Still, this would make for an interesting way to power level. Just grow the seeds that the plant spawns, quickly kill it, then plant more seeds. All without potentially killing the environment."

Rino shuddered. "I'd rather save that as a last resort… but you aren't wrong." She gave Chazon the materials from the Madoragoras and PlantRiwes that were spawned there. "I know you feed at least some of every material you get from monsters to your spear, so try absorbing these for now."

Chazon did so while they returned to the carriage. While the PlantRiwes Glave didn't unlock anything spectacular, the Mandoragora Spear gave him the 'Plant Analysis' skill, which made him widen his eyes. "Could this be…?" He held another BioPlant seed in front of him with his BioPlant Halberd equipped and he saw a list of manipulable attributes appear on his status magic.

Jackpot.

Looking at the attributes, he knew that Mutation and Intelligence had to go; those were the most likely suspects in making the seeds sprout into monsters. He decided to dump the points gained from pushing those attributes down to 1 into growth speed and production; the exact ones he felt would be key to ending the famine in Lerno Village.

"Chazon-sama? You've been staring at that seed for a while. Is something the matter?" Rino gave him a concerned look, wondering if he's going to be alright.

"Just doing something quick before night falls proper." The sun was almost completely below the horizon. While monster repellent will keep anything from attacking during the night, Chazon didn't know how it would affect the seed he was about to plant. As such, he walked a distance from the carriage to plant the modified seed before returning and retiring for the night, his own tent set up.

The driver did have a spare tent for Rino to use… but she insisted on sleeping in Chazon's tent, much to the spear hero's embarrassment. While she was going to sleep in her adventurer's gear, it didn't do much to quell his panic. I-I've never slept with a girl in the same room that wasn't my mom… please oh please don't let my sleeping body do anything stupid!

Much to Chazon's relief, he didn't find himself in a compromising position with Rino the next morning; he knew about his habit of rolling around in his sleep and that was what he hoped wouldn't happen.

Ensuring not to wake the sleeping girl, he quietly got up and headed towards the tent's exit, though not before looking at her adorable sleeping face. She really is precious… Shaking his head, he exited the tent only to see the driver staring in bewilderment. "What's wrong, sir?"

"Was that there last night?" He pointed and Chazon followed his gaze until he realized what it was.

The seed he had modified and planted last night had become a medium-sized bush full of red fruit that looked like a hybrid of a red pepper and an apple. After grabbing a fruit and taking a bite, he knew what it meant. "Looks like my experiment was a resounding success," Chazon said, pride filling his heart for the first time in a long time.

"That is your handiwork, Chazon-sama? If you only planted it last night, then you've truly created a miracle seed!"

Rino exited the tent rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What's... *yawn* going on?" When she saw the modified BioPlant bush, she was instantly awake and jumping for joy. "It worked? It worked! Lerno Village is truly saved! Chazon-sama, you're a miracle worker!" She gave him a joyful hug which he, while beet red, reciprocated while the driver let out a hearty laugh.

I guess I lied when I said I wasn't a miracle worker. This world never ceases to surprise me with what I can do as a legendary hero. Still, I hope I made the alchemist who made this seed proud and that they can rest in peace. Their wish finally came true.

They gathered all of the fruit off the bush and stored it into Chazon's inventory to eat on the way before packing up and continuing to Lerno Village. Rino couldn't contain her joy and exuberance the entire trip, much to Chazon's amusement. I can't blame her. This means that her village will have a chance at surviving to see many more dawns to come. There's still the issue of the river to be taken care of, but I doubt that'll take long.

Chazon took the time to make sure that 17 out of the remaining 18 seeds he still carried had the same modifications as the one he already planted. He made sure to triple-check them with Rino's help just in case he missed one; he didn't want to gloss over a seed and have an out-of-control BioPlant ruining everything. The reason he left one seed alone? To give to Naofumi for the enormous stat boosts that unlocking the BioPlant weapon provides.

True to what the driver said, they arrived back in Lerno Village in the afternoon. When they entered, it wasn't long until a middle-aged man with red hair and a bushy mustache came running up. "Rino! Is my darling Rino safe?!"

"Papa!" Rino leapt off the carriage and rushed forward to give her dad a hug. "I'm sorry for leaving you without saying anything, but I couldn't sit around and do nothing."

"It's okay. I'm just happy you're home safely." Breaking the hug after a while, Rino's father bowed to Chazon. "Thank you ever so much for looking after my daughter, sir Spear Hero. My name is Damalus and I'm the humble apothecary of Lerno Village."

"Chazon. A pleasure to meet you." Chazon decided to tease Rino in front of her father. "Besides, your daughter was invaluable during our time in the Alchemist's Cave. Without her, I probably wouldn't have gotten the seed at the end." Rino turned red-faced at everyone suddenly praising her, much to Chazon's amusement.

Glenn had arrived in time to hear what Chazon had said. "So you managed to get the miracle seed after all?"

"It was touch-and-go, but we did. However, apparently the seed we found sprouted a monster rather than a fruit tree." Everyone except for Rino blanched at that. "Don't worry, I fixed that last night before bedtime. Here, try testing the "fruits" of my labor!" He brought out the remaining BioPlant fruits with a chuckle at his own pun while giving them to some of the townsfolk.

"It's tasty!"

"I can tell there's good nutrition in it!"

"Sir Spear Hero, you've really outdone yourself!"

Chazon brought out the 17 modified seeds. "Here are the seeds for you to plant! However, my job isn't done yet." He got confused looks before clarifying, "The river that feeds your village remains a problem. Until I discern the problem, I'd recommend against planting these seeds; they are hardy, but better safe than sorry."

Glenn nodded at that. "Very true. No matter how hardy the plant, it will ever need water to sustain itself. The river is out the northern entrance; follow it upstream and see if there is a problem."

"Chazon-sama, I'll go with you!" Rino piped up. "After all, we've come this far together!"

Chazon nodded at that. "Then let's go!" the two made a beeline for the northern exit, only for Chazon to stop in his tracks. "I almost forgot! We gathered more meat from some of the monsters around the Alchemist's Cave. It's not much, but it'll help!" After unloading the meat, he continued on his way out to the cheers of the villagers.

Glenn gave Damalus a pat on the shoulder. "I'm certain you're proud of your little girl. Not only did she help save our village, but she's in a party with a legendary hero."

"I am. I'm so deeply proud… and I'm sure my dearly departed wife is as well." Damalus looked at the direction the duo went, a smile on his face. "Rino… you've grown to be such a fine young woman… and a fine adventurer to boot. You make your mother prouder than you could ever know."

"Chazon-sama, slow down!"

"Whoops! Sorry about that, forgot I had my Golem Core Partisan equipped." Chazon rubbed the back of his head as Rino pouted cutely at him. "We should still hurry as fast as we can; the sooner we discover the problem, the sooner your village can plant their seeds. As such… want a lift?" He bends down with his hands stretched backwards.

"A-are you certain? I hope I'm not too heavy for you…" Rino put her hands on his shoulders and allowed him to grab the underside of her legs.

Chazon lifted her with a surprised squeak from her. "Come on, you barely weigh anything! Let's go!"

She let out a small scream of fright before it changed to one of joy as he ran with her on his back. "This is fun! I never knew how fast you could go!"

"Neither did I, apparently! I see a forest upstream the river, let's check it out."

Chazon eventually put Rino down so that the two can advance with weapons drawn. Along the way, they found a woodcutter's axe, a pickaxe, and a shovel in the middle of the forest. "That's random. Well… hopefully nobody will miss them, because I want to try something." He managed to absorb all three tools and unlocked the respective spears. The pickaxe would have been nice earlier for those magic crystals. Oh well.

They eventually found the problem; just as Chazon suspected during his first visit to Lerno, the river was dammed and the water was going everywhere except its intended course. And of course, those are beaver monsters in there. Just need a loon monster now. They were all level 14, which made him snort in amusement.

Rino drew her Dual Dire Wolf Blades with confidence. "So this is why our river dried up! Let's get rid of these pests and unclog our river!"

She's really brimming with confidence. It's kind of infectious, actually… Chazon drew his Partisan and rushed forward with his party member.

It could hardly be called a fair fight. Despite it being 7 against 2, the duo made quick work of the beaver monsters, which were aptly named "Wood Gnawlys", leveled up to 14 and 17 respectively, and made sure to carve them for more meat and materials. Chazon noted that the teeth unlocked a spear that enhanced his Woodcutter's Halberd, which he tried out on the wooden dam.

Removing the bottom-most log had the effect of causing the whole thing to fall apart and start flooding the river. Shitshitshit I think I made a mistake! I think I- okay the village and its fields are far enough away from the flood, panic over!

Apparently, using the Woodcutter's Halberd on logs had the effect of turning them into perfectly cut lumber. What astonished the two even more was when Chazon could easily store it in his materials inventory as well. Knowing that, he made sure to turn all of the logs used in the dam into lumber and made sure it was still viable construction material before putting it away. "The village can use this wood to complete their irrigation systems as well. All in all, a fruitful day!"

Chazon had returned to the entire village cheering for him and Rino, much to their chagrin and embarrassment. Glenn notified him that the seeds were planted and watered the moment the flood from the river passed and the water levels were back to normal. Chazon made sure to give the Gnawly meat and the lumber from the dam to the villagers.

Damalus smiled at his daughter and the Spear Hero. "You two will probably be regarded as our saviors for quite some time! Especially you, Chazon-sama."

Chazon rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment again. "I just did what any hero should do: help those in need."

"And humble too! I'm sure you're already a great hero, regardless of your weapon!" Damalus let out a hearty laugh as Chazon smiled.

"Chazon-sama… can I ask something?" He looked at her and noted the thoughtful look in her eyes. "I know you said I was a temporary party member back during our time in the cave, but… I would like to officially join your party!" She bowed as she made her request.

Chazon stood there in shock for a minute before snapping out of it. He thought for a moment before he knew what to say. "Rino, I want to ask you one thing: are you absolutely sure?"

"Chazon-sama?"

He sighed. "Don't get me wrong, this isn't me rejecting you at all. But I need to know the answer to that question because…" Chazon looked at the sky. "Joining me means you'll be joining a very difficult fight. I've heard about the devastation the first wave wrought and they're only going to get tougher from here on out." He looks back at Rino. "It may very well be an unwinnable fight, one that we have no chance of escaping.

"However, unlike many of the people of this world, I'm required to fight the waves as the Spear Hero. There's no running from them no matter what I want and, as such, I cannot guarantee your survival if you join me. You have a choice here and you have your entire life to live... to look forward to. I may be a legendary hero, but I'm nowhere near perfect; I'll make mistakes and people will most likely die from them. Knowing all of that, do you still wish to join me?"

Rino looked a bit stunned as she tried her best to reply. Chazon shook his head. "I want you to think deeply about it, Rino, so that you don't make a choice you regret. I'll be leaving for Castle Town tomorrow morning, so you'll have all night to think it over."

Damalus was secretly grateful to the spear hero for making his daughter think about her choice, even though he knew what the end result would be. "In the meantime, Chazon-sama, would you like to stay at our place? It's the least I can do for you for looking after my baby girl."

"P-papa!" Rino admonished her father in embarrassment, much to the amusement of the two men.

What a day… Still, I'm glad I came here in the end. Not only did I unlock some powerful weapons and get even stronger for the waves, but I was able to save these people from starving to death… one of the worst ways to die.

Chazon's thoughts turned to Rino as he lay on the guest-room bed of her house. He didn't know what her choice would be; certainly she had no shortage of optimism and determination, but he made sure she knew how dangerous joining him would be.

Then again, with how I treated her in the beginning, I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't want to do anything else with me… I suppose it was nice while it lasted, having a party member-

There was a knock on his door, which brought him out of his thoughts. "Come in." The door opened, revealing Rino in her nightgown. "What's wrong, can't sleep?"

"Kind of… I've been thinking about what you said." Chazon motioned for her to take a seat beside him, which she did. "I'm very much… aware of how dangerous the waves are, but I haven't told you about my mother." Chazon nodded slowly, which told her to continue.

"My mom was an adventurer like I am right now but she was a very well-known one; many people sought her out to party up for difficult quests or for going through dangerous areas. However… when the first wave struck she was in the Seaetto Region, which was the location of said wave."

Rino let out a shaky breath. "She… died that day. She was one of many adventurers who fell to the boss of the wave, though not before doing her best to save as many of the Seaetto residents as possible. The ones who brought news of her death said she died a hero." Chazon patted her shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort her, which she smiled at. "But… as much as I miss her, I wanted to keep looking forward. I knew she died doing what she loved and what she thought was right in the end. That's why I became an adventurer myself in spite of my father's protests: I wanted to live up to my mother's name as a great adventurer."

So that's why… to think she kept holding onto hope even after all this time… and why she wanted to help so badly. Not just to help her village, but to become someone her mother would be proud of.

"Of course… you know how it went for me. Because of my red hair, my low level, and my inexperience, nobody wanted to party with me in Castle Town. I did my best to make due with what the adventurer's guild allowed me to do, but you saw how far I had come before I met you." She looked back at Chazon. "But to answer your question from this afternoon… my mind hasn't changed at all."

"Is it because… you want to make your mother proud?"

"More than that. You said so yourself, Chazon-sama; the waves are only going to get more difficult from here on out. But even so… I want to help fight them. I want to save people the same way my mother once did." Rino puts her hand on her chest with a determined look. "I want to do what you're doing: protect the good people of this world. And I'm not going to say anything about sacrificing my life to do so; I'm going to fight the waves and survive to keep fighting them off!"

A stark contrast to me, who thought sacrificing his life would ensure less people would suffer…

Rino Breathed deeply before opening her eyes, a fire lit behind them. "I wish to ask you again, Chazon-sama: Can I officially join your party?"

Chazon closed his eyes for a few seconds. You really did think this through. You have a strong will and a pure heart, Rino. Opening his eyes with a soft smile, he nods. "After all of that, how can I say no? Welcome to the team, Rino… for real this time."

"I won't let you down, Chazon-sama!" She got up and bowed to him.

"First of all… I actually lied about having more party members back at Castle Town…" Rino widened her eyes at that. "Call it another result of my hardassery back in the Alchemist's Cave, but… you are my first true party member… because I figured nobody would want to party with me."

"That's not true!" Chazon looked at her in surprise. "You are a good man and a great hero. I can tell that you were only reluctant to let me in at first because of your past trauma, something I'll never hold against you. You came out to help my village even though you were supposed to level up for the waves and gave everyone here hope. You're better than you think you are, I know this as fact!"

God… damn... it… Rino, what the hell am I supposed to say to that?! Doing his best to fight back the tears, he nodded at her. "Thank you. The plan tomorrow hasn't changed; we leave in the morning for Castle Town to make our final preparations for the wave as well as any extra exp we can get." He smiles at her. "You'd best get ready to leave and say goodbye to your papa. You might not see him for a long time"

"I know and I'll make sure to do so. I made my choice, I'm not turning back!" Rino smiles as she bowed to him again. "I look forward to working more with you, Chazon-sama."

"Hang on, that's something I want to address right now!" Rino gave him a confused look. "If we're going to be going forward as party members, we're going to do so as equals. As such, calling me "Chazon-sama" is unnecessary."

That made Rino shift awkwardly. "Then… is "Chazon-kun" okay?"

"If only you're fine with it, Rino-chan" Chazon gave her a coy smile as she started blushed before chuckling. "Mind you, I'm not used to using honorifics like that, so forgive me on that front. For now, get some sleep; we have a long journey ahead of us starting tomorrow."

Rino nodded and left his room. As soon as she closed the door, she silently slid down it, blushing furiously. He… he finds me cute?!

Damalus spotted his daughter blushing furiously in front of the door to Chazon's room, much to his amusement. He had just gotten done turning all of the medicinal herbs the spear hero gave him into HP potions, fully intending on giving them to the pair for their trip home. Rino had already told him her answer before going to Chazon, so he knew that she had been accepted… and got embarrassed by her new companion.

You really are your mother's child. I pray you continue to grow strong and healthy under Chazon-sama's watchful eye.

I should probably address whis now since we're getting into more Japanese honorifics. Barring the ones used by Naofumi, who is a bona fide japanese man, the honorific system will work slightly differently in the world of my story than how they work in real life. For one, it doesn't matter if the first or last name is used with the honorific and for two, they are typically used between close companions with the sole exception of sama.

Sama: Generally the one used for someone in a perceived higher position of power. I.e. being a Cardinal Hero.

Kun: Typically attached to a male's name by close friends of either gender. Can be a form of endearment as well.

Chan: Typically attached to a female's name by close friends of either gender. Can be both a form of endearment or being used on those who are perceived to be cute (hence Rino's reaction to Chazon calling her "Rino-chan")

Dono: Used by someone in a position of power when referring to someone else in a position of power, but of a lower tier (i.e. the king calling the heroes by this honorific).

Hopefully that explanation will suffice. I apologize for not strictly adhering to how they are used in Japan, but remember that Chazon is from Canada and that they are in another world entirely; The new world is going to use honorifics differently than the old world.

Also, those of you who know what the Stone Golem Spear and the skill Spear Drive is a reference to, you get all the cookies.