Chapter 04 – Banishing the Darkness
Capital Town, Melromarc, Raphtalia's World
4 Zinat, Springtime
Lovely string music played throughout the large royal ballroom Naofumi found himself in the night after the Wave attack near Riyute Village. Above the enchanting tune, dinner guests spoke throughout the room, their voices nearly overwhelming the melody. Naofumi sneered as he looked out the window he was sitting on the ledge of. 'I really do not want to be here, surrounded by all these pompous nobles and self-righteous 'heroes'. Even the horrid king is in attendance. The reward better be worth it for wasting my time.' Outside the window, clouds covered the night sky, blocking out the light of the stars and the two moons. Below, the lights of the city stretched out away from the castle. Looking at the peaceful scene at night one would never guess that the darkness covered a city full of vipers and vultures masquerading as people. Still, he would rather be out there than stuck inside the castle's ballroom with a bunch of treacherous backstabbers.
Tantalizing scents from the buffet tables drifted over to his position. The food smelled amazing, yet Naofumi knew that should eat any of it, it would be just as tasteless and bland as filtered water. Ever since his second day after arriving in this accursed world, he had not been able to taste anything. Nor had the feeling of warmth from the soulbond returned. That, more than anything else, was the thing he longed for the most to feel again. The physical assurance that somewhere out there was someone that was destined for him. Someone that hopefully would not betray, hate, or despise him as the rest of the world did. Someone that would believe in him despite all the rumours and false acquisitions.
Naofumi knew that just because the two of them were destined for each other did not mean that the other would not hate him too. Yet, Naofumi was a romantic – always had been. He could not let go of the fairytale that his soulmate would be wonderful and perfect. Perhaps he just wanted to believe someone like that was possible to keep the bleakness of his situation from devouring him even more.
'It doesn't matter now anyway,' he thought, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the cool windowpane. 'The bond is gone. Sometimes, even though I know otherwise, I can't help but wonder if it was ever there in the first place.' He was exhausted. Not just physically from the battle the day before and the long walk back to the capital in the morning, but also emotionally. He just wanted to rent an overpriced room at the inn and hide under the covers for a week.
"Master Iwatani," Raphtalia's childish voice said.
Naofumi opened his eyes and looked over. Raphtalia was so young still, despite her skill with the blade. She looked a lot healthier than when he first saw her – a small, dead-eyed, half-starved little girl in the slaver's tent. Now she looked healthy with crimson red eyes that shone with life and a ten-year-old frame that was strong and lithe. He eyed her critically as she stood before him holding a plate of food and a fork. Hopefully whatever weird growth spirit she was going through would stop soon. She kept needing new clothes and armour despite not having grown any. He squinted slightly as he examined her form. She did not appear to be growing outward, so where was all that growth coming from? Were her cheeks slightly pudgier?
"Have you eaten, Master? There are so many delicious-looking dishes I have never seen before." Raphtalia said as she excitedly held out her plate to show him the contents.
Naofumi barely looked at the plate. The selection did look appetizing but the thought of actually eating any of the bland food turned his stomach. Logically, he knew he needed to eat. He knew that he had lost an alarming amount of weight over the last month, but he simply had no appetite to try. The entire situation with the flavourless food made him think about a book he loved enough to have read several times. Only in that story's case, the food in that world was bland due to refinement – with 'coarser' foods having more flavour. The food in this world was tasteless no matter where it came from.
"How can you even stomach eating anything? Nothing in this world has any flavour." Did the food he ate on the very first day of his arrival have any flavour? Naofumi could no longer remember.
Raphtalia cocked her head to the side like a confused tanuki puppy. "What do you mean, Master?" She took a small bite of something on her tray and her fluffy brown tail began to wag as she chewed. "This is delicious!"
"Eat up then if you like it. Might as well take advantage of the free food."
"We should eat together," Raphtalia said, looking hopeful.
"No, thank you," Naofumi replied, looking away out the window to the darkened world beyond.
Not to be deterred, Raphtaliatook a step closer. "Just one bite?"
Naofumi turned back to look at her and scowled. "No."
Raphtalia smiled and held her fork out with a sliver of some sort of cake on the prongs. She looked so hopeful with her childish eyes, puffy cheeks, and wagging tail. Naofumi sighed and opened his mouth to accept the offered bite.
"There! Isn't it good?" she asked.
Naofumi finished the bite and looked her straight in the eyes. "No."
Her expression fell slightly and Naofumi sighed, suddenly feeling a little guilty for his behaviour. "Look, Raphtalia, thank you for trying but I don't like the way the food in this world tastes."
Raphtalia looked away from him. "I don't understand," she answered, her tone downtrodden and blue.
Naofumi sighed again. He reached out one hand, took one of hers, and squeezed it. She looked back to him, her eyes wide. "Maybe I can try something else?"
Her expression brightened. "All right, Master." She started to select another bite of something to offer him when Motoyasu's voice rang out, sounding furious.
"Iwatani!"
Naofumi closed his eyes briefly in a bid for strength before he stood and faced a fuming Motoyasu who was quickly approaching. "What do you want, Kitamura?"
Motoyasu stopped next to Raphtalia and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the contact and frowned at him. "Raphtalia is your slave."
'Seriously? He's not even asking.' Naofumi looked over to Mein by his side. She was still pretty, her red hair done up in a fancy doo for the night's event. All of her prettiness could not disguise the ugliness lurking behind her green eyes though. 'I bet he heard about it from her. It's true in this case, but he really believes anything she tells him without question.' Naofumi sneered at Motoyasu. 'Despicable.' "She is. What's your point?"
Motoyasu's orange eyes flashed with disgust and anger. "Human beings shouldn't enslave others. It's not right."
Naofumi reached out and gently pulled Raphtalia away from Motoyasu and to relative safety behind himself. "Listen to yourself. Talking about right and wrong. Go tell that to the king. Slavery is legal here, in case you were blind enough not to be aware. Bring it up with him. Or better yet," Naofumi's eyes darted again to the redhead standing beside the blond man and back, "bring it up with Princess Malty S Melromarc there so she can talk to her dad about it. But guess what, Motoyasu: She won't. And do you want to know why? Because she has too many personal slaves serving her. Were she to free them, not only would she would have to provide them with wages, she would no longer be able to whip them if they displeased her or when she was having a bad day." Naofumi did not know for certain that Mein owned slaves but he figured it was a very safe bet. She was a princess after all. In a country that endorsed slavery. When he had learned of her true identity three weeks ago, several things had started to make more sense.
"How dare you!" Mein exclaimed, doing her best to look affronted. "I don't' whip my slaves."
Motoyasu had been looking at Naofumi in disbelief with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Now he turned those wide, disbelieving eyes on Mein whose eyes also reflected her shock. Likely by what she had inadvertently revealed.
"You have slaves, Mein?" Motoyasu asked, his tone begging her to deny it. He blinked. "Wait. You're a princess?"
'Really?!' Naofumi thought in surprise. 'Even I learned of that and everyone hates talking to me. How did he not know?'
"Of course I don't have slaves!" Mein exclaimed. She turned her hateful green eyes Naofumi's way. "We aren't talking about me. We're talking about him. Heroes should not own slaves."
Naofumi sneered at her. "Double standards, much?"
"Enough!" Motoyasu growled at Naofumi and pointed his spear at Naofumi's chest. "She's right. Iwatani, I demand that you free Raphtalia this instant!"
Naofumi reached up and knocked the spear away. "No. Want to know what would have become of her had I not bought her? She would have died. She was so sick, she was coughing up blood. I saved her life! Another person would have let her die. She is safer with me than out there in a country that hates demi-humans."
"You think I am going to believe a word you say, you rapist?"
"Master is telling the truth," Raphtalia spoke up, her childish voice firm in her belief. "Master saved me. He gave me medicine and fed me good food. He has never hurt me."
"Poor thing is delusional," Mein announced. She raised one hand to signal the knights nearby. "Challenge him to a duel, Motoyasu. You can free her after you win."
"She's not a 'thing'," Naofumi said, with a glare.
Motoyasu once again pointed his spear at Naofumi. "I challenge you to a duel, Iwatani!"
Naofumi looked back and forth between Mein and Motoyasu. He noticed that Rein and Itsuki had approached at one point and were standing back, watching the drama unfold. "Are you her lapdog? Do you do everything she tells you?"
The knights began to move in upon Mein's signal. Fortunately, none of them were ones Naofumi recognized. To see Captain Sazama or bright-eyed Eiku stand against him now would be too much. Naofumi reached back and tried to tuck Raphtalia more firmly behind himself. He raised his shield to ward the approaching knights and Motoyasu off. "I'm not going to fight you, Kitamura."
"Yes you will," a new voice commanded. The crowd and knights parted to make way for the king. King Aultcray Melromarc the Thirty-second was decked out in opulent robes of white and gold, and a purple cloak with a fluffy, white fur collar. His silver hair was adorned with a thick crown of gold and amethyst and his cold-green eyes were the same shade as his daughter's.
"I heard everything. For a hero to purchase a slave – you really are a heinous criminal. Rotten all the way through. I will allow this duel."
"It's not a crime for me to own a slave unless you make it illegal for everyone to own slaves!" Naofumi exclaimed, his deep voice threaded through with anger.
"Using slaves to fight for you. Pathetic." Itsuki said from the side.
"I thought you could not stoop any lower," Ren added.
Naofumi glared at them. "Stay out of this." He looked back to the king. "Well? Are you going to make slavery illegal?"
King Aultcray ignored him and gestured to the knights that had paused in their advance. "Grab the poor young lady. The slave crest will make her want to obey and defend her vile master's commands. Sadly, we must lock her up for now until the crest can be removed."
"No!" Raphtalia exclaimed from her position behind Naofumi. "I want to stay with Master Iwatani."
The king ignored her protests, his face magnanimous. "Don't worry. Once the Spear Hero wins the duel, you will be freed from your curse."
Naofumi soon lost the thread of the conversation as he turned all of his attention to the overwhelming task of defending. There were eight knights and Naofumi did not want to harm any of them. Or any of the party's guests that were watching the proceedings like well-trained sheep. Harming any of them, even accidentally, would further mar his reputation. That left him with very few options. He focused on his defence, keeping all of the knights and their weapons at bay while he did his best to maneuver Raphtalia and himself towards the exit on the far side of the room.
"Master, let me help," Raphtalia said as the two of them rounded a table. Naofumi called up another Air Strike shield to deflect an attack from the left. Just another fifty meters, if he had to guess. His defence just had to hold long enough for them to safely make a break for it.
"No, Raphtalia. We just need to get to the exit. We don –" Naofumi's head was suddenly ringing with pain. He could feel moisture run down the side of his head as he swayed and his vision blurred. Behind him, Raphtalia screamed as Naofumi lurched to the side far enough for one of the knights to dart in and grab her. He pulled her away from Naofumi's side as Naofumi struggled to remain standing even as the floor swam and swayed beneath his feet. His stomach climbed into his throat as he suddenly felt as if he was falling and he had to clasp a hand over his mouth and close his eyes to keep from vomiting.
Knights were quick to move in, taking advantage of Naofumi's disorientation to pull his hands back and bind them together. Naofumi struggled, but his head swam and his legs threatened to buckle. To the side, Raphtalia continued to scream for him and struggle against the knight's larger frame, his larger arms containing her with great difficulty until she too had her hands bound behind her back and a gag shoved into her mouth.
Naofumi looked widely around, doing his best to see with his blurry vision where the attack had come from. His eyes lit upon Itsuki as the blond unstrung his bow and returned it to his quiver on his back while Ren clasped one of his shoulders. "Nice shooting, Itsuki."
'Shooting? Itsuki fired an arrow into a room full of defenceless people?!' "What were you thinking?" Naofumi slurred. His vision split and darkened and he felt again as if he were going to be sick. "You could have shot someone."
"I did shoot someone. I shot you," Itsuki replied with a shrug, completely missing Naofumi's point.
"Take him to the sparing ground," the king ordered. "He will duel the Spear Hero there."
The knights holding Naofumi tightened their hold on him and dragged him through the room towards the exit. He could still hear Raphtalia's muffled screams as he was pulled through the group of sycophant nobles. Not a single one tried to help him.
Naofumi shut his eyes and let the darkness take him.
BREAK
When Naofumi next opened his eyes, he found himself lying upon the hard stone floor of an area that was surrounded on three of its four sides by beautiful arches and columns. There were lovely benches to sit upon, beside finely trimmed topiaries. Evenly spaced around the courtyard were lit torches, illuminating the area in soft yellow light. Far above, the dark sky was still covered by clouds, blocking out the light from the moons.
Naofumi slowly sat and groaned as his head swam. He reached up to clutch the side of his head and his hand came away wet. He stared at the blood on his hand and felt anger boil in his chest. 'We almost got away!' He clenched his hand into a fist. 'I was so focused on the knights around me that I failed to pay attention to Itsuki and the rest of them.' He struggled to his feet as the anger boiled inside, along with frustration at himself. 'Sloppy,' he chided. 'I let my guard down by narrowing my vision to only what was in front of me. I know better than that!' He looked around the large courtyard and at the bloodthirsty spectators lining the space on three sides. The king and princess along with their retinue, and a man wearing white robes and a tall, peaked hat, were seated on elaborate chairs on the remaining fourth side. Naofumi sneered at them all. "Come to enjoy the show?" he called out.
They, of course, ignored him.
"Are you going to abolish slavery after this?" he called out, his voice sounding clearly through the large space and making his head ache. Around the courtyard, the spectators shifted and murmured amongst themselves.
"Now that the Shield Hero is awake," a man standing to the king's side announced, continuing to ignore him, "we will commence with the duel."
On the far side of the large, square courtyard, Motoyasu walked through one of the arches amidst cheers from the observers. They called his name as he waved cheerfully at them while crossing the space until he stopped three feet away from Naofumi.
"The duel between the Shield Hero and the Spear Hero will take place in the presence of His Highness, King Aultcray Melromarc the Thirty-second, and the Pope of the Three Heroes Church. It is thus legal and legitimate."
"How's your head?" Motoyasu asked with a smirk as the announcer proceeded to list the conditions and rules of the duel.
"Fantastic," Naofumi bit out. His head pounded with pain and a headache, and he just knew he had a concussion. He wondered if Itsuki used poison arrows. "How long do I have left to live?" he asked.
"Huh?" Motoyasu asked brightly, not following Naofumi's leap in logic.
"Begin!" the order rang out.
Motoyasu immediately leaped into action, his spear curving through the air in an arch to crash upon Naofumi's shield as he raised it in time to block. They danced about the courtyard, Motoyasu's spear hitting repeatedly upon Naofumi's shield. Naofumi grit his teeth and sweat beaded upon his forehead. His vision continued to darken and splinter and he keep blinking to clear it. His head pounded and the noise from Motoyasu's spear clanging upon Naofumi's shield rang in his ears. Despite his obvious disadvantage, Naofumi managed to keep Motoyasu from landing a hit. Even when he had to start throwing up shields to protect the bystanders from Motoyasu's wild attacks.
"Watch what you are doing!" Naofumi called out as he switched his shield to the Rope Shield and tried to tie Motoyasu up with it.
Motoyasu neatly dodged the rope and sent out another attack with a call of, "Thunder Strike!"
"You are going to hurt someone!"
"The only one hurting people here is you!" Motoyasu replied as he sent another thrust of wind towards Naofumi. It went wide and Naofumi barely managed to throw himself into its path in time before it took out three people. Naofumi may hate the world and nearly everyone in it, but he was not going to stand by and just let them get killed by his incompetent 'colleagues'. He needed to end this quickly!
Motoyasu darted once more into range and Naofumi turned his shield into the Fire Shield. Motoyasu quickly jumped back to avoid getting caught on fire. Next, he switched to the Ice Shield and touched it to the ground to coat the small distance between them in a sheet of ice. Motoyasu slipped and fell to his knees, nearly losing his grip on his spear. Naofumi darted in, using the ice to slide across the distance while he changed his shield into the Snake Shield. Three snakes lashed out to bite Motoyasu with enough non-lethal poison to make him slump and drop his spear. As soon as that happened, Naofumi changed the shield once more into rope and sent it out to bind Motoyasu's limbs.
Before they reached Motoyasu, however, a strong wind knocked into Naofumi's back, sending him tumbling across the ground, kicking up dust in his wake. He coughed and got to his hands and knees and looked back in time to see Mein smirk as she lowered one hand. 'Of course,' he thought bitterly as he forced himself to stand. 'That abhorrent cheater. Can't just let me win fair and square.' Naofumi suspected that she was acting on her own and wondered how often she had stooped to cheating others in her life.
His head pounded and his stomach suddenly dropped out and he vomited. He raised his hand to wipe his mouth just as Motoyasu, having gotten over the snake's venom, took advantage of Naofumi's distraction to charge him.
"Chaos spear!" Motoyasu called out. His spear moved in lightning-quick strikes. While Naofumi was able to block most of them, two still got past his defences to rip into his sides, ripping his armour and cloak and sending bright blood flying into the air.
Noafumi coughed and his knees buckled from the assault. Motoyasu did not let up. He raised his spear into the sky and called out, "Lightning strike!"
Noafumi raised his shield and called out, 'Shield Prison!" but the lightning hit first, running through his body and setting every nerve ending on fire. Naofumi collapsed forward, his entire body twitching. He could not find the strength to move. His entire body hurt. His side sang with pain and his head throbbed with it. He closed his eyes and tears of pain escaped to roll down his cheeks and drip onto the soiled ground.
Motoyasu banged the end of his spear against the stone next to Naofumi's head, causing his eyes to fly open at the sound. "I win," Motoyasu said while panting for breath.
"Victory goes to the Spear Hero!" the announcer called out. Cheers rang through the courtyard's spectators.
Naofumi did not bother trying to sit up, let alone stand, and protest the outcome. What was the use? No one would believe his claim that Motoyasu's teammate had interfered in the duel. He took shallow breaths and tried to will the pain away enough so he could sit up. His fingers merely twitched when he tried to apply enough weight to them to push himself up.
"The Spear Hero's party cheated!" a young male voice unexpectedly called out.
Noafumi's eyes widened and he found the strength to raise his head. From his vantage point, all he could see were Motoyasu's boots which did not help any.
"Everyone saw it!" the voice continued, firm and full of conviction. "Princess Malty used her magic to turn the tide of the battle in the Spear Hero's favour."
Noafumi found the strength to push himself up into a seated position. He swayed weakly with exhaustion as he looked widely around the area. He knew that voice! The young man he had met in Riyute Village was speaking up for him!When Eiku had announced his support of Naofumi, he had not fully believed the young knight. He had thought it to be a trick. While a part of him had wanted to believe, another part had told himself that Eiku was just another person attempting to gain Naofumi's trust simply so Eiku could betray Naofumi later.
"Nonsense," the king said, his voice cutting above the muttering of the spectators. "Guards, get that young man out of him. Take him to a healer. He is obviously confused. Have them check his eyes and his head." There was a scuffle and orders of, "Hold still and come with us quietly," from the east side of the courtyard. Naofumi struggled to stand so he could see what was going on, but his legs still would not cooperate.
"Let me go!" Eiku called out in protest. Then louder as he was dragged away, "Iwatani! You're not alone! I –"
A door banged shut and Eiku's voice cut off. Naofumi gritted his teeth and hate burned in his eyes as he looked to where the king sat. "Your pathetic attempts to control the truth will not work forever. Eventually, your adoring sycophant sheep will start thinking for themselves and you will be revealed as a fopdoodle tyrant and your daughter as a lying puterelle!"
Above him, Motoyasu tsked. "Such a poor loser." He walked out of the center of the courtyard to join Myne's side who smiled sweetly at him, causing Motoyasu to preen from the attention. Naofumi had been expecting Motoyasu to kick him in the side for insulting Myne. As the blond calmly walked away though, Naofumi suspected Motoyasu did not know what 'puterelle' meant.
The king, however, clearly did know the extent that both he and Myne had been insulted. As did the event's onlookers who gasped and muttered on the sidelines. The king's face was thunderous as he ordered a guard to bring forth Raphtalia.
"Spear Hero, you are the victor. Well done," the king said after several seconds, which he spent getting his face and voice under control.
"I knew you could do it!" Myne simpered to Motoyasu from the sidelines. As Mototyasu stammered and blushed, Myne looked at Naofumi with murderous green eyes.
Naofumi lowered his head as the other three conversed, smiled, and laughed together, while the audience to his humiliation tittered from the sidelines. Everyone was against him. Scheming together to keep him down. He felt his anger rise while his head pounded and his body ached, and he could do nothing but sit in the middle of the courtyard, too weak to stand.
Raphtalia's cries of, "No!" barely managed to pierce the raging darkness in his mind as she was brought forth and her slave crest forcibly removed despite her protests.
Naofumi's mind churned with hate – he was drowning in it, suffocating beneath its heavy weight. 'Why do they hate me so much?' he wondered. 'They summoned me here! I didn't come to this world because I wanted to!'
He looked up but his vision was obscured by clouds of darkness and the hate and anger he felt at everyone rose to a fever pitch crescendo in his mind. 'This world can burn for all I care!' A notice popped up that he paid no attention to: Cursed Series Unlocked. Instead, the hate he felt for everyone continued to cloud his mind with festering, dark tendrils and black, boiling clouds. 'I hate this world. I hate everyone in this world. I hate them! I hate them all!' his thoughts chanted over and over.
Long minutes passed before arms gently wrapped around him and the eddies of darkness swished and began to calm. Finally, words managed to pierce the darkness to make themselves heard.
"I believe in you, Master. No matter what, I will be by your side as your sword. As long as I am here with you, you will never be alone." 'You're not alone!' Eiku's voice echoed the female's words in Naofumi's mind.
Naofumi looked up and blinked his eyes as he saw a tanuki-looking demi-human, who appeared to be in her late teens, holding him. Her long, brown hair framed a lovely, petite face from which gentle, crimson red eyes gazed out at him. Naofumi stiffened and tried to back away. "Who are you?!"
The demi-human smiled and cocked her head in a very familiar way. "It's me: Raphtalia."
"Impossible, Raphtalia is a child! A small, demi-human cub!" Naofumi denied.
The self-proclaimed Raphtalia giggled. "I grew up some time ago. I've been trying to tell you that I am not a cub anymore. Well," she corrected at his look of disbelief, "mostly grown up. Mentally I still have some growing to do."
Naofumi took several long seconds to examine her face. Gone were the chubby cheeks and residual baby fat. Her nose had grown a bit and her face had lengthened. Her hair was layered and her chest was no longer flat. The biggest change though was her voice. When she spoke, it was in a deeper octave instead of the shaper pitch of a child. Beneath the maturity of her face, Naofumi could see the cub she used to be.
"Raphtalia?" he asked in wonder.
Raphtalia smiled gently at him and her eyes sparkled with pleasure. "Hello, Master."
Naofumi looked at Raphtalia and marvelled at how much she had grown. On the heels of that thought he flinched, expecting to feel the repulsed feeling proximity to most females had garnered in him in the past.
It never came.
Instead, he finally noticed something miraculous: In his chest, a warmth pulsed. His eyes widened and he stared down at his chest in awe. Tears came to his eyes as he realized what the feeling was.
His soulbond was back.
There the bond was, radiating warmth as if it had never left. It was threaded through with joy, and bright feelings of awe, pride, admiration, and a hint of love.
Raphtalia reached out and placed her hand on Naofumi's shoulder, causing him to look up, startled. Immediately upon refocusing on her, he realized he continued to feel fine in her presence. Even though she was half sitting in his lap. 'Is the difference because I raised her?' he wondered. He had always been able to touch Raphtalia when she was a cub and easily withstand it when she hugged him. He was relieved that that did not seem to have changed even though she was mostly grown up now.
"Master Iwatani, are you able to stand? We should find a place to rest for the night."
"With your help," Naofumi replied, refusing to feel embarrassed by his weakened state.
"Of course," Raphtalia assured him. She helped him up until he was standing shakily beside her. Naofumi gritted his teeth and forced his knees to firm. He took a step and then another and was relieved when his legs held. Though it took a lot of energy to stay upright.
They slowly made their way to where Myne and Motoyasu were still standing. Itsuki and Ren had joined them and all four of them were watching Raphtalia and Naofumi's slow approach with judging expressions. Naofumi forced himself to ignore the looks as the two of them drew level with the group of four.
Raphtalia drew them both to a halt in front of Motoyasu and glared at the blond man. "Next time you want to 'help', think twice before you take a girl's autonomy away," she told him, her tone sharp.
Motoyasu frowned, not liking the implication of her words. "I did it to free you!" He protested.
Raphtalia looked at the other three people and her eyes lingered longest on Myne before she looked back at Motoyasu, her gaze heavy and judging. "I didn't want to be freed. I said 'No'." His face paled slightly at her words. "Didn't I?"
Motoyasu opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off with another glare. "You should rethink the company you keep. All of you should. One day soon she is going to turn on you too."
Raphtalia did not stick around for any of them to reply to that. Ignoring Myne's outraged, "I'm loyal to Sir Motoyasu!", Raphtalia continued to assist Naofumi to the exit of the courtyard.
No one tried to stop them.
BREAK
5 Zinat, Springtime
The previous night Naofumi had been too exhausted and in too much pain to do more than collapse upon one of the beds Raphtalia had rented for the night. The warmth of his soulbond had curled around him like a blanket and he had fallen asleep feeling cherished for the first time since leaving his own world and the warmth of his family's hugs behind. Now though, he had time to further examine the bond as he and Raphtalia sat eating lunch on a grassy hill beneath a tree outside the city.
In his chest, the bond pulsed with welcoming warmth. The feelings of joy, awe, pride, admiration, and love he had felt the night before were still there, threading through the bond's warmth. Bright and cheerful, the bond stretched its tendrils through Naofumi's chest, seeking acceptance and entrance into his heart. He closed his eyes and mentally poked at the cluster of feelings. 'What is this?' he wondered.
The warmth pulsed back as if sensing his thoughts and the joy flared briefly. "I can still feel that joy even though we are not close together."
Naofumi's eyes flew open in shock as his brother's words came back to him. He looked down at his chest in stunned amazement. The soulbond was complete? When? How? Why was he only just now feeling it? Actually, he knew the answer to the last one. On the morning of his second day in this world, the anger and hate he felt had overwhelmed him. As a result, he had emotionally cut himself off from the world and had lost the feeling of warmth from the soulbond too. At the time he had not noticed. Nor had he cared that he could not feel it anymore. Over the following month, he had missed it from time to time the same way he missed being able to taste food. However, he had lived twenty years without a soulbond. Not having it again had been just like all those years without it. He had missed it in a vague sense but his life had not changed due to its loss.
Tears leaked from his eyes and tracked down his cheeks and he realized with some surprise that he was crying. Beside him Raphtalia continued to eat, not realizing something was wrong. The tears fell and landed on the sandwich he was holding. It was another of the ones Raphtalia had made earlier. It was just as tasty as the one he had eaten with her that morning as they had stood on the battlements after the meeting with the king to get his paltry (in comparison to the other three heroes) reward of 500 silver.
His life had changed so much in less than one day. Now, after a month, food once again had flavour he could taste. He could recognize that Raphtalia was no longer a little girl but rather, a mature-looking female with curves. Suddenly a lot of things regarding her, and other people's reactions to her, made sense. He could also feel his soulbond. The soulbond that had been completed without him knowing. What must his soulmate have thought when Naofumi had not reacted to the bond?
"He probably thought I hated him or wanted nothing to do with our connection," Naofumi whispered. His body felt numb. Inside, the bond continued to pulse cheerfully.
Raphtalia looked over at the sound of his voice and her pretty eyes widened when she saw him crying. "Master Naofumi! What's wrong?" she asked, worried.
Naofumi opened his mouth to tell her and then paused. He looked away and wiped his face with his sleeve and took several deep breaths to compose himself as he considered what to say. He trusted Raphtalia completely, yet he hesitated to tell her about the bond. He frowned at that. He had asked Myne about soulmates and they had only just met. He had known Raphtalia for significantly longer and yet he hesitated to discuss soulmates with her. Could some of his hesitation be in part due to the way Myne had twisted the sanctity of the soulbond, using it to further revile Naofumi to the kingdom? Did he fear that somehow it would happen again? Or perhaps his hesitation could be as simple as the newly rediscovered bond feeling so personal and intimate?
He did not want to lie by saying he was crying for no reason. Yet, he did not want to discuss the bond with her just yet. Perhaps a compromise?
"Raphtalia, do demi-humans have soulmates?" he asked when he felt as if he had his voice under control.
Raphtalia shook her head. "No. That is another reason humans tend to hate us so much. Not only do we grow quickly when trained for combat as cubs, but we also aren't tied to a soulmate connection. Thus, we can mate with whomever we please." Her cheeks flushed slightly as she said this last part and her eyes looked down shyly.
Naofumi did not even have the energy to feel angry at this new information. He sighed, looked into the distance, and let the calm and peaceful scenery soothe him. "Just another reason to hate this world," he said calmly. The bond with its warmth and feelings of joy and love pulsed in his chest and sent tendrils of cheerfulness around his heart and through his limbs as if to remind him it was there. Naofumi smiled slightly at the feeling – a true smile with a tiny hint of hope. "No. It's not this world that is the problem. It's this kingdom," he corrected himself. "This world has some good people in it." For the first time since his arrival, he was able to realize that.
He thought of his mysterious soulmate that he would have never had the chance to meet if it were not for coming to this world. That alone made the hint of hope grow. Suddenly he wanted nothing more than to search the city for his soulmate and make amends. He gently put the desire aside for now. He needed to finish eating first, after all. For the first time in a month, the thought and act of eating held appeal for him.
Naofumi looked over to Raphtalia and she gasped at the sight of the small, unfamiliar smile on his face. "This world has you," he told her. "It has the blacksmith. It has the knight commander and his knights and mages we met in Riyute Village." 'It has my soulmate!' He looked away and picked up his sandwich. "Maybe in time, I will discover even more good people here."
He took a bite of his sandwich. As he swallowed, he squinted up at the tranquil, bright blue sky. "I'm doing better, Raphtalia. Thank you for asking."
She nodded and resumed eating. She did not pressure him to talk more, for which he was grateful. Together, they ate in silence and when they were done, Naofumi gathered up the debris from their lunch to throw away later.
When it came time to stand, Naofumi did so slowly. He had woken that morning feeling rested but his unattended wounds from the night before had screamed in agony at him. He had done what he could to tend to them using bandages, and potions he had made while his head ached and his blurred vision swam. He had not bothered to consider the possibility of leaving the inn's room to find a healer. With his reputation as the Shield Hero, any healer in town would have severely overcharged him. As is, he had had to pay extra for the bedding he had ruined by bleeding on them all night.
He paused once he was standing to let the ground settle. While the potions had helped, his sides and head continued to ache. He still could not believe that Itsuki had shot him in the head with an arrow in the middle of a crowded room! Now he had a concussion to deal with that the potions had not cured. He knew the symptoms would be better tomorrow, but for today, and tomorrow to some extent, he was going to have to deal with dizziness, nausea, headaches and photophobia.
Once he was sure that he was not going to lose his lunch or balance, Naofumi turned to Raphtalia and held out a hand to help her stand. She took a few seconds to dust the grass off her clothing and then looked up at him. "How is your head?"
"Hurts," was his curt answer. He reached up and prodded his right temporal region and winced slightly. The area felt hot and puffy even after the healing potions that morning. "I think it is going to scar."
Raphtalia stepped closer to peer at the area. "Oh, definitely," she said and stepped back so she could look him in the eyes. "That scar will give you character though. It is proof of the various hardships you have gone through and have subsequently overcome. Our scars shape and define us. Be proud of them, Master" she said with a grin.
Naofumi shook his head. "Is that a demi-human belief?"
Raphtalia cocked her head slightly. "Yes. Do humans not feel the same way?"
"Most humans are ashamed of their scars," Naofumi confirmed as he pressed lightly against his side and winced at the answering ache.
"Well, that's just nonsense," Raphtalia said firmly. "Scars make us unique and tell stories we can share with friends and family."
Naofumi huffed gently. "I didn't say it made sense."
"Will you be ashamed of your scar?" Raphtalia asked.
"Maybe," Naofumi answered as he started to lead the way down the hill and back to the city gates. "The story behind why and how I got it will be painful to think about for some time."
"I understand," Raphtalia said quietly.
They reached the gates soon after and passed through with minimal sneering from the posted knights on gate guard duty. As they walked through Capital Town, Naofumi focused on the bond he felt, paying attention to any slight change. They would walk down a side street, only to turn around and return to the main thoroughfare as soon as he felt the bond grow a tiny bit warmer or cooler.
Tracking a completed bond was a lot more difficult than tracking an incomplete one. Now that the bond was complete, it was constantly enveloping him in a blanket of comforting warmth. There would be very little change no matter far away he got from his soulmate. With an incomplete bond, the temperature changes would have been more radical and thus easier to track. The only thing he was certain of was that his soulmate was definitely somewhere inside the city due to the degree of warmth he could feel emanating from the bond.
After fifteen minutes of Naofumi wandering the streets in silent concentration, Raphtalia hesitantly broke the silence. "Master Iwatani? What are we searching for?"
He paused in the middle of a street to distractedly answer, "Forgiveness."
"What?" Raphtalia asked, extremely confused. "What does that mean?"
Naofumi did not answer as he resumed walking, his brows pinched in concentration and his gaze unfocused.
She sighed and followed, keeping close and steering him around people and various obstacles with a light touch to the arm when needed.
After another thirty minutes of walking, Naofumi changed course and headed for the blacksmith's shop. His head was throbbing too much to concentrate. The effort to remain standing and walking in a straight line was causing him to sweat heavily and he could feel it running down his back and neck. He needed a place to sit down and Erhard's shop was a safe place to do so.
"Master?" Raphtalia asked as the shop came into view and it was obvious they were heading for it.
"I need to sit down, Raphtalia. We are taking a break," Naofumi answered, fighting to keep his words from slurring. Raphtalia frowned with concern. Naofumi could understand why. It took a lot for him to admit to feeling like he had to rest.
Naofumi pushed the door of the blacksmith's shop open and stepped into the cool interior. A bell chimed sweetly, signalling their entrance and Erhard's gruff voice called out from the back, "Be right with you!"
Naofumi navigated his way to the back of the shop, stepping around armour and weapon displays, Raphtalia right on his heels. When he got to the back, he stopped and leaned against the counter in relief. He closed his eyes and placed his head on the cool, wooden surface and took a deep breath. The counter felt refreshing on his forehead. He had not realized how truly hot and tired he was.
Booted steps approached from further inside the shop and stopped nearby. "You all right there, kid?" Erhard asked.
"Just tired," Naofumi answered. His voice may have slurred. He couldn't concentrate enough to tell.
"I think something is seriously wrong with Master Iwatani," Raphtalia said. Concern laced thoroughly through her voice.
A hand pressed against his forehead. "You're burning up, Lad. Can you walk?"
Naofumi shrugged. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on what was being said. "Maybe," he answered truthfully.
"All right, I'll help you. Come on; let's get you upstairs to lie down." Erhard wrapped one strong arm around Naofumi's waist and helped him stand. When Naofumi swayed, Erhard steadied him. "I can feel all of your bones, Lad. Have you been eating?"
Raphtalia joined Naofumi's other side and between the two of them, they easily maneuvered Naofumi's slight form around the counter and through the door that led to the back of the shop.
Naofumi had to think too long about his answer as his thoughts felt like a stream of water he could not grab onto. "No. Food had no flavour," he finally managed to say.
"Kid, you need to eat more! How are you going to protect Raphtalia if you are too weak from hunger?"
Naofumi focused on placing one foot in front of another and frowned. "I ate two sandwiches today."
"Well that's a start," Erhard said gruffly.
They ascended the stairs to the second level and soon reached a room wherein Erhard gently lay Naofumi down upon a bed. Naofumi looked up at Erhard for the first time and squinted. "Have you been sleeping?" Erhard looked worn out. His usual cheerful expression and kind, grey eyes were weighted with exhaustion.
Erhard sighed and reached up to run a hand over his bald head. "There is a very large order for the Crown that I am working on. The deadline is unreasonably short but my request to have it extended was denied. I've been spending all my spare time – after the shop closes for the day – working on it."
Naofumi frowned and tried to think through the fog in his mind. "Raphtalia can mind the shop for you until you finish the order."
Erhard laughed cheerfully. "Don't worry about me, Lad. I'll get it done soon. One way or another."
"No, Master Iwatani is correct," Raphtalia protested. "You need more rest. I know most of the prices and I can learn the rest. I'm not a pushover and I know what the average thief looks like. Let us help you!"
Naofumi closed his eyes and shivered, suddenly feeling very cold. "It's the least we can do for you letting me rest here for a bit."
"Son, you are doing more than rest. You are staying until you feel better," Erhard stated firmly. "Is there anyone you know that can help you? Do you have enough money for a healer to come and look at you, perhaps?" As he spoke, Erhard reached down to the foot of the bed and pulled up the blue duvet and covered Naofumi with it.
Naofumi started to shake his head and then stopped as Eiku's words from three days ago came to mind: "Please feel free to call on us should you ever need aid or support. No matter how trivial." Knight Commander Sazama had also expressed a similar sentiment that night. As Sazama was Eiku's direct commander, Naofumi felt confident there would be no issue with calling on the young knight and his comrades now. Was the situation so dire though?
As if sensing his impending stubbornness, Raphtalia reached out and took his hand. "Master Naofumi, you need aid. Please, tell me what I can do to help you."
Naofumi opened his eyes and looked over at her. He had to blink a few times to get rid of her double. "Knight Commander Sazama," Naofumi said and realized that the words came out as a tired whisper.
Raphtalia's eyes widened in understanding. "You can count on me, Master." She let his hand go and turned and left the room.
Erhard reached out and placed a gentle hand on Naofumi's raven black hair. "Get some rest, Lad. I'll wake you in a bit with some broth."
Naofumi needed no further prompting. He closed his shamrock green-coloured eyes and did just that.
~*~End of Chapter 04~*~