Chapter 12 – The Merchant

North of Capital Town, Melromarc, Raphtalia's World

25 Zinat, Springtime

Naofumi walked away from the small house and back towards the wagon. Behind him, the door softly closed. He fed his shield the coin he had earned by healing another ill individual in the random hamlet they were passing through on their way north towards Ivyred. The payment had not been much. Most folks were not able to pay more than a couple of silver. It was something though and every little bit helped. Especially as he had two girls to feed. One of whom was a growing, constantly ravenous monster.

Naofumi reached the wagon and stroked Filo's beak before he pulled himself up into the jockey box. He gathered up the reins and looked back into the wagon bed. Raphtalia and the merchant they were travelling with were sitting in the back playing cards with each other. Raphtalia's magic tome lay abandoned on the seat beside her. "You two ready to go?" he asked.

The merchant looked up from examining his cards to grin good-naturedly at him. "Yes, indeed. How did it go?" he asked.

Naofumi turned back and around and guided Filo and the cart back onto the small road heading north before he replied. "Good. The patient had a minor ailment that was simple to fix." Truthfully, the ailment had not been minor at all. Leprosy was a serious aliment that Naofumi doubted many in this world could cure successfully. The couple he cured had already begun to lose sensation in their extremities due to nerve damage. The male had been unable to flex his feet and the woman had expressed that they had been unable to conceive. The blessed shield had reversed all the damage in seconds and had even regrown some of their hair. By the time he left, they had both been in tears as they expressed their gratitude.

While he may not have taken an official oath on patient confidentiality, he had every intention of upholding the practice anyway. The full details of the illness, and what he had done to cure it, were not the merchant's business. Once again, Naofumi felt extremely grateful for all the random topics he had studied back home. All his random knowledge was now coming in handy on several occasions.

They had been travelling for five minutes when the last of the little hamlet faded into the distance behind them and untamed land stretched on before them. It was promising to be a lovely day and Naofumi was enjoying the feel of the spring breeze on his face. Inside his chest, his soulbond was a welcome comfort that was helping soothe some of the frustration that had lingered for the past few days.

He had been looking forward to arriving in Capital Town and seeking Eiku out so the two of them could spend a little time getting to know each other better. Instead, upon arriving in the city, Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo had passed through the market square and had been approached by a merchant who had offered to pay them for escorting him safely to Ivyred Territory. Naofumi had wanted to refuse but had realistically known he could not afford to turn down the job. Money, he feared was going to be a constant stressor for the foreseeable future.

Naofumi sighed as he looked at his shield. He had wanted to share his excitement regarding the fortitude shield with Eiku. Now, he was going to have to wait even longer to see the young man. It had been eighteen days since they had seen each other. To think he had gone years without a soulbond with no issue and now he was struggling to get through two weeks of being apart from his soulmate.

Hence the frustration. It was a constant gnawing against his mind and it was making him short-tempered. He was doing his best to keep his bad mood in check but he was aware that it was still leaking through his iron control from time to time. Where was a convenient group of monsters to provide an outlet for his frustration when he needed one?

"I have never heard of anyone like you," the merchant's voice called out from behind Naofumi. He had a name, yet Naofumi could not remember what it was.

"What do you mean?" Naofumi mildly asked as he continued to look straight ahead and watched the scenery pass by.

"You are travelling the land, treating the sick and injured. You are coming to them instead of making them come to you. You likely aren't charging much either. I would not be surprised if before long talk starts to follow you wherever you go."

"Folks cannot afford to pay me much. They give me what they can," Naofumi said. He accepted payment in a variety of ways. Food, information, clothing. He was not picky.

"That is going to make you well-loved," the merchant said. "A friend to the common people." He suddenly laughed. "The nobles and rich are going to soon dislike you."

Naofumi snorted without humour. "They already do," he stated. It was not a far stretch to assume that if the King hated him, then his closest noble confidants did too.

The game of cards continued behind him and Naofumi did not try to start up another conversation thread. Instead, he hummed lightly under his breath a tune from back home as he kept his eyes on the road. To the right, a tall section of rock stretched up to the sky, while on the left, a cliff plummeted down to the forest below. Everywhere he looked there were trees and growing things.

They turned a bend around a section of the mountain and there, standing in the middle of the road, was an unsavoury-looking group. It did not take a genius to guess what their purpose was. Only people up to no good would lurk around travel paths, looking menacing and armed to the teeth. Naofumi frowned as he counted fifteen ruffian-looking individuals and called out to Filo to stop.

One of the individuals in the group (a man with a shaved head and goatee and wearing a tattered brown shirt) called out to him from across the distance. "I was going to let you come closer before ordering you to stop."

Naofumi mentally shrugged and lightly flicked the reins to urge Filo closer to the group. Might as well create less distance between them to have a proper conversation. Closing the distance would also save time. When they were six meters away, Filo halted on her own and Naofumi jumped down from the jockey box to land lightly on the dirt road.

"Interesting bird you have there," the same baled man spoke once more. "Be a peach and hand it over along with the accessory merchant you have travelling with you." Then louder and almost in a singsong voice, "We know you're in there!"

"Now why would I do that?" Naofumi asked affecting a bored air.

"Because if you hand him over, you can leave with your lives," a short blond-haired man in a grey shirt and dark green overcoat answered with a confidant smirk.

"Meaning you will take everything else," Naofumi clarified.

"You're a sharp one, lad," the bald man said. His eyes flickered away from Naofumi to look at something to his right. "That girl there will make fine sport. How's about you leave her with us too?" he continued with a lecherous leer.

Naofumi looked up and saw that Raphtalia had climbed out onto the jockey box to see what was going on. Behind her, the flaps of the wagon's bonnet were open just enough for Naofumi to see the brown of the merchant's hair and his red and gold hat and vest.

"Master Iwatani, may I kill him?" Raphtalia asked in her soft voice that was still loud enough for the group of miscreants to hear.

"Not yet," Naofumi answered as he took a few strides forward until he was just ahead of Filo.

The blond man continued to smirk. "You want to play with us? We have a class-upgraded bodyguard on our team." He stepped to the side just enough for a man with black hair, wearing a navy blue coat and a sheathed blade to step forward with a smirk of his own.

Naofumi inwardly bristled. 'What is with all these confidant smirks? How irritating.' Naofumi studied the man who stepped forward and put a hand on the hilt of his weapon. Naofumi knew of class upgrades from the conversation with Eiku weeks ago. 'He is going to be difficult to deal with,' Naofumi thought and then inwardly allowed himself a smirk of his own. 'More difficult than a zombie dragon though? I doubt it.'

Behind him, Naofumi heard what could only be Raphtalia's petite frame making little sound as she landed on the ground. In a matter of seconds, she had strode forwards and was standing beside him.

"Three against fifteen. The odds are not in your favour," Naofumi called out to the group as Raphtalia started to quietly cast a spell beneath her breath. "Come back for this encounter when you have added another twenty to your 'team'."

The group of bandits chortled in various levels of amusement. "Now, aren't you confident," the blond said patronizingly.

"I warned you," Naofumi said and without him having to say anything else, Filo and Raphtalia sprang into action.

Filo knocked them over or unbalanced them with a tornado and Raphtalia somehow blended with the light and dashed forward. Seconds later, one of the bandits still standing collapsed, out cold, to the ground from a blow to the head. Naofumi quickly called upon his rope shield to tie the vagrant up. He smirked. He had just been wishing there was some way to let off steam and here a group of brigands had been delivered to him on a silver platter. He ignored his inner sing-song voice of, '~Convenient~', and sent out more rope to tie up the scoundrels Filo's wind had knocked over.

After tying up the sixth thug, Naofumi took a few seconds to access his companions. Filo seemed to be having a great time trapping the bandits in tornados. Meanwhile, Raphtalia was trying to be gentle as she disarmed or knocked her opponents out. However, she was so much stronger than most of the people she was fighting, it looked like she was beating up toddlers. Naofumi watched as one of them went down as if he had been made of paper and let out a soft, impressed whistle. His rope shot out and captured the poor sod before he had time to do more than moan pathetically.

As much fun as it was to see the once confident group of highway robbers flail around in panic, Naofumi did not want to be there long enough for the group to get their act together enough to be a real threat. As the class-up bodyguard decided that it was finally time to go on the offensive and set his sights on Naofumi, Naofumi simply leaned down and used his ice shield to cover the ground in a thick sheet of ice. The bodyguard took a step, slipped and crashed to the ground. All around him, the rest of the scoundrels did the same. More rope shot forth from the rope shield and bound the remaining eight miscreants up.

The 'fight' had lasted all of five minutes.

Definitely not long enough to work out all of the frustration he still felt. He could feel it bubble up now that the altercation was over. He strode over to the group of bound captives and as he closed the distance, he switched to the fire shield and let the flames curl and threaten menacingly. He drew to a halt, widened his stance and gave the group his best stern look.

"Who sent you?"

"Some trader hired us to mug the merchant travelling with you," the blond answered. Now that he was bound up, the smirk from earlier was gone, replaced with a look of worry. "We were told the merchant would be hauling a lot of quality stuff with him."

Naofumi heard the slightly heavier tread of the merchant approach and then the man drew level with Naofumi and looked down at the bound group.

"One of my associates sold me out?" the merchant asked.

Naofumi looked over when he heard the tone in the merchant's voice. His face looked weary, disappointed, and slightly dejected. "What should we do with them?" Naofumi asked the merchant.

The merchant considered the question for a long couple of seconds. "Usually, this would be something for the local guards to take care of."

The blond's bravado suddenly returned and he looked up at Naofumi with a scheming grin. "You're the Shield Hero, aren't you?"

Naofumi immediately caught on and looked towards the sky as he sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. "You are going to use my poor reputation to claim that I was the one that attacked the lot of you first."

"Exactly," the shaved man spoke up. "They'll surely take our word over yours."

Naofumi did not even feel angry at the suggestion of such an outcome. The sad truth of the matter was that the brigand was likely correct. What Naofumi did find surprising was that he did not care. Ever since Mirso Village where he had revealed himself as the Shield Hero, he had done so more and more often. He had had to even use the Blessed Shield to cure the last couple's leprosy. They had not cared at all that he was the Shield Hero. All they had cared about had been him healing them. The further he got away from the Melromarc's capital, the more he noticed that the common person was willing to trust and believe in him for his current actions, not the actions that came from rumours and hearsay.

Still, he could not simply let the brigands go to continue pillaging. He also did not want to deal with the headache that would come with dealing with a 'he said, she said' situation. Which left only one solution.

"You leave me no choice. I'm just going to have to kill you all then," he said, his face as expressionless and caring as granite.

The group of bandits jolted and looked up at him in disbelief as Naofumi stepped closer and raised his flaming shield up. "You're the Shield Hero! Are you really going to commit murder?" the bald man exclaimed.

"I never asked to be a hero. Especially not a hero for a country that would rather defame and ostracize me and smear my name with the use of lies than help me. I have to act in my best interests. And currently? Those interests do not include the lot of you. Besides," Naofumi continued as he called up a ring of fire that encircled the bound bandits and slowly proceeded to close in on them, "you all have likely killed plenty of defenceless travellers. Just think of this as your turn," he told them as he peered emotionlessly at them through the orange and red flames.

"Wait, please!" the blond man exclaimed as the heat of the flames caused sweat to break out upon his skin. The other scoundrels started to squirm in earnest and many of them tipped over as they tried desperately to escape from their bonds as the flames inched closer. "You can have anything but our lives. Please!" he called out, his voice a desperate, pleading wail.

Naofumi looked between the cowering, terrified brigands. "Is that a unanimous consensus?" he asked. "Do you all want me to spare your lives?"

While they didn't stop desperately and fruitlessly trying to escape, they did all begin to add their voices to the cries of, "Yes!", "Please", and, "I'll do anything! Just spare me!"

"Very well," Naofumi said and he banished the ring of fire. As the flames flickered out, taking their heat and smoke with them, Naofumi fixed the pathetic, cowering group with a hard stare. "Make no mistake that you all will be trading with me for your lives."

As one, they looked up at him in relief, fear and no small amount of hatred. Naofumi smirked coldly at them. He really could not care less what they thought about him. In the end, the only ones whose opinions mattered to him were those of the people closest to him.

BREAK

Much later, Naofumi found himself sitting by the fire, meticulously working on a letter for Eiku. He still was not completely literate and so it was taking a long time to pen one simple letter. He had been steadily working on it as time allowed for the past three days. He had not made much progress by his old standards of literacy, but here? He was proud of the several lines he had managed to complete so far. The words on the page were solid proof that he was steadily improving due to all of his hard work.

Around their little camp, Filo, Raphtalia and the merchant, whose name he had been reminded of as being Hīkuvāru, slept peacefully. Naofumi had volunteered for the first watch but truthfully, it had long since passed the end of the first watch and gone into the second watch. He was not concerned. Currently, they weren't doing a lot to warrant him needing a full night's sleep. If he was tired tomorrow he could always catch a nap in the wagon. Besides, other than the letter he wanted to work on, he had needed to finish categorizing all of the loot he had obtained from the bandits as payment for their lives. That had taken a significant amount of time.

He carefully wrote out another sentence and double-checked to make sure it was correct. 'We killed the dragon and did not get any of its hoard for our efforts.' Satisfied with the sentence, he began his next carefully written line when a whisper disturbed the air.

Naofumi looked up and just barely managed to hold back a started scream at the sight of a dark-clothed figure crouching on the ground to his ten o'clock. His heart rabbited in his chest as he quickly set his writing implements aside and stood, shield at the ready. The figure, which had dropped down from the tree above, slowly rose and flicked its hood back, revealing pale, creamy skin, pale blue hair and pink eyes. Or, at least, he thought they were pink. It was difficult to determine their colour from the warm light cast by the fire.

The woman was slight of frame and the hands she raised in a placating manner were, he could tell even across the distance, smaller than his own. "Peace, Shield Hero. I come bearing a message for you."

Naofumi did not lower his shield immediately. He frowned at her in distrust. "Who are you?"

"A friend," she replied.

"I have few friends here and I do not recall counting you among them."

She smiled. It was a gentle smile. "Perhaps, all you need to do is let more people close."

Naofumi shook his head. "Trusting blindly is a sure way to get hurt."

"Perhaps. Though in this case, you have nothing to fear from me. All I want to do is deliver unto you a message. May I?"

Naofumi hesitated. She had not given him any reason not to trust her. She could have killed him, hidden as she had been amongst the branches. She had instead revealed herself and thus far had not pushed, approached, or done anything to make him feel threatened. She seemed trustworthy and as he kept reminding himself, he needed to try trusting people more.

He slowly lowered his shield and nodded. She smiled and stepped forward into the firelight. Her steps were completely silent upon the grass, rocks and leaves of the ground.

"You made noise on purpose, didn't you?" Naofumi said as she stopped before him. She was shorter and up close, he could see that not only was she quite pretty but also that yes, her eyes really were pink.

"Yes," she answered, her voice mellow and sweet, like a brook in a meadow. "I had to work at it. People do not hear me unless I will it."

Naofumi nodded. He believed her. He certainly had not heard anything until she dropped to the ground. Even then, the sound could have been easily mistaken for a passing breeze.

The young woman reached into the folds of her cloak and her hand emerged holding a small package, wrapped with brown twine. She held it out to him and Naofumi took it and looked down to see a letter on top, secured to a small wrapped bundle. The letter was tied with green string and contained an addressee line written in elegant script, reminiscent of English cursive. Sir Iwatani Naofumi, Ivyred Territory, Melromarc. He was able to make out his name and 'Melromarc' but his reading skills were not advanced enough to read what may be this world's equivalent of cursive.

He shook his head and looked up at her. "I cannot read it," he admitted. "I am still learning how to read this world's language. This script is beyond my skill at the present."

She looked at him with eyes that held no judgment. "Would you like for me to read it to you?" she asked.

Naofumi looked down at the script again and then back up at her and nodded. "Yes please," he answered.

The woman reached out and gently took the small package back and asked, "Would you like for me to read the entire letter to you?"

Naofumi nodded and gestured for her to join him on the log he had been sitting on. She stepped forwards and sat quietly beside him and carefully untied the twine. Only once Naofumi was sitting beside her did she read the address line aloud. "Sir Iwatani Naofumi, Ivyred Territory, Melromarc." She then turned the letter over and broke the wax seal and unfolded the pages. Naofumi looked over and saw that the same delicate script lined the pages of the letter.

"21 Zinat. Naofumi," she read, "Thank you for my last two letters. I am overjoyed to know that you are doing well."

As she read the letter, Naofumi felt himself smile and the tension he had not realized he was still carrying from the day, drained away. Until the woman got halfway through, that is, and Eiku wrote of being bullied by those that should have been his fellow knights and comrades in arms. He clenched his fists and took a few deep breaths. It sounded as if Eiku was working on getting the matter resolved. Naofumi was going to have to hope for the best until he could leave to check in on his soulmate in person. Further, if he went rushing back to Capital Town now, he would be broadcasting to Eiku that he did not trust the young man to handle his own affairs. Like it or not – and Naofumi definitely did not like it – he was going to have to wait until Eiku asked for help if the situation came to that. By waiting, Naofumi would be demonstrating his trust and faith in Eiku's abilities to handle his own problems.

Naofumi forced his fists to unclench, realized that he had missed some of the letter, and asked the young lady to repeat the last few lines. As she read the last of the letter, she passed him the little bundle and Naofumi stared at it as it rested in his hands. Eiku had made him something? A warm glow of appreciation lit in his chest and twined around the soulbond until the feeling melted into it. He felt his cheeks warm as the valediction line was read, the words, 'Fondly yours,' making his chest bubble with warmth. As the lady finished reading and carefully folded the letter back up, Naofumi unwrapped the bundle and stared in disbelief at the revealed small stack of handmade paper.

He reached out and picked one sheet up and brought it up close to inspect it. It had been made of pulp and dried flowers. He could see pink, red and lavender petals interspersed across the surface. The next sheet contained the same and the overall colour of the sheet was a very pale yellow. How hard was paper to make? Had Eiku already known how to make paper or had he learned simply to gift it to Naofumi? Whichever the case, the intent of the gift was clear and Naofumi smiled softly at the gesture as he carefully wrapped the pages back up.

He looked over to the lovely young lady sitting beside him and said, "Thank you for delivering this to me."

She inclined her head in acknowledgement. "You are welcome, Holy Shield."

"Why give it to me now though?" he asked. "It was addressed to me in Ivyred."

"We wanted to ensure that you got it sooner than that," she replied. "Also, there was no guarantee you would stop by the message center. You could have missed the package completely."

Naofumi nodded as she passed him the letter and he carefully reattached it to the bundle of paper. She had a point. Whoever 'we' were, had no way of knowing that Naofumi would have stopped in to send off the letter he had been working on.

"I shall take my leave of you now. Unless you shall have me stay to pen a reply?"

Naofumi shook his head. "I am working on writing a letter. I want to write it myself this time. Although..." The passage that spoke of bullying weighed on him. That, he felt, deserved an immediate reply. "Actually, yes. A short response."

"Very well," she said. She reached once more into the folds of her cloak. Now that she was sitting beside him, Noafumi could see that she was reaching into a pouch at her side. She pulled out a sheet of paper, a small jar, a stick of wax, and a stub of a candle. She arranged everything on the log beside her and then asked, "Do you have quill and ink?"

Naofumi handed both over and the lady dipped the quill as she said, "When you are ready."

Naofumi took a full moment to carefully consider what he needed to say before speaking. "Eiku, please remember to call on me should you feel the need. The news of your current tormentors troubles me. Say the word and I will go to you. Warmly, Naofumi."

The woman finished writing and opened the little jar to sprinkle drying sand on the wet letters. She then lit the candle with help from the fire. After she rolled up the page, she sealed it with a few drops of wax. Alongside the outside of the roll, she addressed it to Eiku and sprinkled more sand on the single line of ink. She then replaced her items into her pouch and tucked the letter away as well.

Done, she stood, her movements making no noise in the silence of the night. She turned to face him. "I want to set your mind at ease. We are aware of the situation young Knight Takara is having and are taking measures to ensure his safety."

Naofumi let out a sigh of relief. "I am glad to hear it."

The lady messenger smiled kindly. "We will keep him as safe as we can in your absence." She stepped around the fire and looked out into the night for a few seconds. Her smile was enigmatic as she looked back at him once more. "My name is Hino Momoiro. I work for Her Majesty and all those that do are your friends." Then she took a step back and simply disappeared into the darkness.

Naofumi blinked as he looked at the spot Momoiro had been. She had likely used light magic to disappear as Raphtalia could. She had not waited long enough for Naofumi to enquire as to how much he owed her for the letter before she had taken off. Naofumi mentally shrugged and turned away. He gathered up his writing supplies and Eiku's gift to him and its attached letter.

It was time to wake Raphtalia for her turn at watch.

BREAK

The next few days of travel were interesting. As thanks for helping him out with the bandits, Hīkuvāru taught Naofumi how to cut gems, infuse them with his energy, and use them to craft accessories. He also helped Naofumi and Raphtalia improve their reading and writing. He even gave Naofumi mining rights to a large cave-mine southwest of Capital Town, near Lerno Village.

On the third night, Naofumi felt confident enough to try making an accessory on his own. Once everyone had settled down to sleep for the night, Naofumi walked the perimeter of the campsite and put up shielding wards. A spell he had learned that day from A Definitive Compendium of Healing and Protection. His reading had improved significantly with Hīkuvāru's help and he was learning new spells quicker as a result. Satisfied that nothing would be sneaking up on them while he was otherwise engaged, Naofumi retreated to the wagon.

He pulled materials from his shield's storage and laid them out on one of the seats. The significant haul he had gotten from the bandits contained a lot of jewelry, gems, and precious metals. Arranged before him was a selection of sparkly and shiny items that would make anyone envious. He fingered a silver and topaz necklace and wondered what he should make first.

He contemplated his companions. What accessory would work best for each of them to accentuate their skills and abilities? Should he make something for Hīkuvāru, Erhard, or Eiku's friends as a thank you for all of their help? Perhaps something for Sazama to better protect him in battle? Maybe something for Eiku or his mother? He blinked. When had the list of people he could think of to gift things to gotten so big?

He reached over and picked up a small jeweller's hammer. Maybe just start working on something and let his feelings guide him? He nodded minutely and decided to do just that. He reached out for the topaz necklace and carefully began to take it apart for its materials. When it was fully disassembled, he began to craft it into something else while he let his mind wander and allowed his hands to guide themselves.

Five hours later, Naofumi leaned back and stretched his arms above his head. His back felt stiff and he flexed and twisted from side to side for a minute before reaching out and picking up what he made. He raised it to eye level and ran a critiquing eye over it. In his hands he held a torque, large enough to go around a man's neck. It was made of silver, the length of which was braided and woven through to resemble scales. Each end ended in a dragon head which had a finely carved beard and two whiskers stretching back from the nose. The eyes were tiny, round rubies that he had infused with mana to give a bonus to dexterity.

He reached up to rub dry eyes that burned with exhaustion and looked back at the dragon torque. He had made this? It was… incredible. He turned it over and examined every detail. He could recognize pieces of what had once been other items of jewelry in its makeup. Even using parts from other items, he was shocked he had managed to craft something of this detail and quality in a mere five hours.

He put the torque down and considered it with eyes that were misting from exhaustion. He smiled. It was going to look great on Erhard.

BREAK

Ivyred Territory, Melromarc, Raphtalia's World

29 Zinat, Springtime

The next morning they all woke early and got back on the road towards Ivyred. There were only another two to three hours to go, according to Hīkuvāru and Naofumi spent it in the back of the wagon with his eyes closed, getting a bit more sleep. The motion of the wagon was soothing and he spent the journey in a peaceful doze, only waking when the cart hit a pothole and his head thunked back against the side of the wagon. He opened his eyes and reached up to rub the back of his head out of habit for the bang hadn't hurt.

With a stretch, he stood and approached the front of the cart, passing Hīkuvāru who was examining various items in his lap. Naofumi poked his head out of the flap in the wagon's bonnet and immediately saw that they had crested a hill. In the valley below them stretched a small town surrounded by forests with fields of farmland running along the eastern side. The wooden roofs, doors, and wooden beams on the houses were painted green. The village's colour scheme created the effect of blending into the surrounding trees in a very organic way.

"Well, that place looks idyllic," Naofumi commented.

Raphtalia twisted around to look at him. "Did you get enough rest, Master?"

"Yes. I can relieve you if you would like to take a break."

"I'm doing well. You continue to rest. I will let you know when we get there," Raphtalia answered with a shake of her head.

Naofumi reached out and briefly clasped her shoulder in thanks before retreating. He turned around and spotted Hīkuvāru who looked up at him with a genial smile.

"When we get to Ivyred, I will take you around and introduce you to the merchants' guild there."

Naofumi approached the merchant and sat beside him. "What do they do?"

"Well, for one thing," Hīkuvāru answered as he began to put away the various items in his lap, "they are responsible for setting and maintaining the standards for the quality of goods and integrity of trading practices. They also gather and sell information to interested parties. They have an ear to the ground in all major cities, towns, and villages."

Naofumi nodded. Having an in with a guild that dealt in information sounded incredibly useful. "I would appreciate that. Thank you."

"It is the least I can do to pay you back for your assistance with the bandits," Hīkuvāru replied with a chuckle.

"You have already done a lot for me," Naofumi said. "Speaking of which," he pulled out the torque he had made last night and presented it to Hīkuvāru. "What do you think?"

Hīkuvāru took it and brought it up to eye level to examine all of the detail and softly whistled. "This detail is incredible. Did you make this?"

"Yes. Last night."

"Impressive. If I had not taught you myself I would not believe that you were just learning how to make accessories. What did you infuse the rubies with?"

"Dexterity bonus. I'm gifting it to a blacksmith in Capital Town. He has been a great friend." Naofumi was constantly thankful that Erhard had not joined the rest of the town in their hatred and had decided to give Naofumi a chance. It was not the same as believing from the start that Naofumi had not done the terrible things the Crown claimed. Still, it was significant. Then Erhard had let him heal in his home for a day. It was not difficult to count Erhard amongst his close friends and confidants.

"Lucky man. This will make a fine gift," Hīkuvāru said and passed it back.

Naofumi tucked it away into his shield and paused. He had not shared the gift from Hina with anyone. Not even Raphtalia. It had felt too personal. He was curious about the fabric used in its making however and wanted to learn more. He darted a glance to the front of the wagon and bit his lip in consideration as he pulled a bit of the blue scarf from his shield. The raw personal feeling he had felt directly after acquiring the item had faded slightly. He almost felt ready to share the gift with others now.

He pulled the scarf from the shield and took a few seconds to just hold it and marvel once more at the feelings of soothing and relaxing security the material gave him. Just like last time, his soulbond once again pulsed with warmth, hope and affection. He retrieved the mittens and the hat from his shield and then turned to Hīkuvāru.

He forced himself to hold the items out to the man to take. "What can you tell me about this material?"

Hīkuvāru's eyes widened as he took the fluffy bundle and ran his hands along the knitted weave. "Ewango fur," he said. "It is common to gather and easy to work with. It takes dye well, as this batch did. The value of the fur lies in its ability to absorb mana in its raw form. Individuals buy it mainly to carry around with them for a time before crafting it into something for their children's or their own soulmate to wear." Hīkuvāru could not seem to stop stroking the blue hat. "Whoever carried this batch around infused it with some very strong feelings in their mana."

He looked up and his brown eyes met Naofumi's shamrock green ones. "I've never held something made from someone else's soulbond infused Ewango fur. People generally consider such items too personal to share with others. They especially don't allow others to hold them."

Naofumi could believe that. His skin was crawling with the desire to snatch the items back. He clutched his green cloak to keep himself from reaching out and doing just that.

Hīkuvāru pointed to the fluffy cuffs on the mittens and hat and the fluffy fringes at each end of the scarf. "See the raw fluff here that the creator left? As you wear it, your mana will be absorbed by the fur to join the mana already in the yarn. Your soulmate's, I assume?"

Naofumi shook his head. "I don't know. His mother made it for me," he replied. It felt strange to casually discuss his soulmate with someone he had not known for long.

"Likely his then. He carried the fur around with him and, if the feelings I can sense are any indication, thought warm thoughts of affection for his soulmate while doing so. Likely his hope to meet you, as well as feelings of protection too. The feelings are strong so he must have consciously done so for a long time before deeming the material ready." Hīkuvāru stopped stroking it in an abortive movement. As if just then realizing what he was doing. "This is mighty soothing, isn't it?"

Noafumi nodded and his voice was tight as he answered, "Yes."

Hīkuvāru chuckled again and passed the light blue bundle back to Naofumi. "My apologies. Here."

Naofumi took it. He did his best to control himself and not snatch it from the merchant but by the amused twinkle in the man's eyes, Naofumi likely had not controlled himself as well as he had wanted to. He wrapped the scarf around his neck and instantly relaxed.

"Anyway," Hīkuvāru continued, "as you wear those, do your best to think of your soulmate so that the feelings the material absorbs along with your mana are positive ones. Those feelings and mana will blend with the ones already present. Then your soulmate can wear them too and his soulmate bond should react as yours likely is doing."

Naofumi nodded. The soulbond was still giving him a continuous stream of warmth, hope and affection. While the hope was new, the warmth and affection were always present in the soulbond but the material was making them stronger.

"That reaction is unique to the two of you," Hīkuvāru said. "My bond did not feel anything when I held those."

"Oh," Naofumi replied, slightly in wonder as he held the mittens and hat. "Amazing."

"Isn't it?" Hīkuvāru said with a grin. "The soulbond magic certainly is incredible. It was thoughtful of your soulmate's mother to leave the fluff there like that."

Naofumi nodded and stroked the fluff on the hat as he thought of Eiku's smiles and his unwavering loyalty. He could not detect his mana leaving him to be absorbed by the hat but he did not doubt it was happening. He was going to have to be sure not to wear the items while fighting. He did not want feelings of aggression to tar the relaxing ones Eiku had given the yarn.

"Is there a limit to the absorption?" Naofumi asked. "Am I going to have to constantly be mindful of my feelings while wearing these?"

"In theory, there is a limit to the amount the material can hold. However, the only sure way to make sure it won't absorb more or overwrite the feelings already absorbed if it runs out of room is to finish off the raw fluff so it cannot absorb more." Hīkuvāru considered him for a couple of seconds and then reached into his shirt and pulled out a chain. At the end of the chain was a small effigy of what looked to be two individuals with their arms wrapped about each other's waist. Hīkuvāru reached up and undid the clasp of the chain and passed it along with the effigy over to Naofumi.

Naofumi took it. The effigy was soft and tightly woven in what he guessed was a crochet stitch. The little figures both had brown hair that was tightly woven into their heads. Their clothing was a simple green tunic and tan pants. They wore no shoes and there were no faces where a face would be. From the small doll pair, Naofumi could feel warm tendrils of love. He guessed the dolls had been made with ewango fur and as Hīkuvāru had said, Naofumi's bond was not reacting to the feeling of love coming from the doll.

"My soulmate made that for me as a courtship gift. I have never taken it off. As such, it absorbed my mana and a lot of my feelings for her when the doll's hair was loose and fluffy. When I deemed it time, I had her weave the hair into the doll so our feelings of love for each other would not be corrupted by other things. Such as fear for my life when up against bandits," he said with a small huff of laughter.

"I can only feel love," Naofumi said as he passed the doll back to Hīkuvāru"

Hīkuvāru nodded as he slipped the chain back on and slid it under his shirt. "We only focused on our love for each other while holding the fur and the doll. Many feelings can go into the fur or individuals can focus on just one or two feelings. Now when I am travelling, I take my wife's love with me wherever I go."

Naofumi looked back down at the items in his lap and wondered what feelings he wanted the fur to absorb. He would give it some thought. He looked back up at Hīkuvāru. "Thank you for trusting me with your necklace."

"My thanks to you as well. Experiencing that soothing sensation was a treat."

Naofumi removed the scarf and turned away to discreetly feed it, the mittens, and hat back into the shield. He did not know if Hīkuvāru knew Naofumi was the Shield Hero. While he was getting more comfortable with people knowing or finding out, he wanted to remain inconspicuous as much as possible for a bit longer.

"Do you have any fur I could buy from you?" Naofumi asked once he had turned back to the merchant.

"Sadly, no. Someone at the merchants' guild in Ivyred should have some, however," Hīkuvāru answered.

Naofumi did not know yet what he would make with the fur but at least he would have it when he was ready. "I'll ask around. Thanks for the information, Hīkuvāru."

Hīkuvāru grinned and clasped him companionably on the shoulder. "My pleasure."

BREAK

When they got to Ivyred, the dirt road transitioned into cobble as they headed towards the center of the village. After they pulled to a stop near the inn and secured the wagon near the stable, Hīkuvāru turned to Naofumi. "The guild is nearby. We can head there now."

Naofumi nodded and turned to Raphtalia and Filo who was once again in human form. "Hīkuvāru is going to introduce me to the merchants' guild here. Do you two want to come?"

Raphtailia shook her head, her expression shuttered. She had been quiet and curt with him when he had gone to check on her after talking with Hīkuvāru and her mood had not seemed to have improved. 'Is she tiered?' Naofumi wondered. 'She declined taking a break, but perhaps she needs to rest?'

"Filo and I will check out the market," Raphtalia stated.

Filo flapped her wings in excitement. "Filo wants a new dress!"

Naofumi shook his head. "You may look. However, you keep shredding your dresses and I am not made of money. We'll wait until I can figure out a solution. We will need to get you shoes too." He looked them both over briefly. "Raphtalia, check out some clothing and boots for yourself. You are due for a new pair and could use another outfit."

"Yes, Master," she responded, her expression solemn. "Money?" she requested.

Naofumi withdrew a hundred silver from his shield and passed it to her in a coin pouch. "Let me know if you need more." He looked up at the sky and judged it to be about ten in the morning. "I will meet you back here in two candle marks for lunch," he said. "If you are feeling tired, Raphtalia, rent a room and get some rest."

Raphtalia's tail bristled slightly. "I'm fine, Master," she replied, voice terse.

Filo looked back and forth between them. "Is sister unwell?"

Raphtalia tucked the coin pouch away with a glower. "I'm not your sister, Filo. Come on." She strode off down the street and Filo threw Naofumi a puzzled look before dashing after Raphtalia's swiftly retreating form.

"What is with her these days?" Naofumi wondered aloud, truly perplexed. He needed to talk with Raphtalia no matter what the next chance he had. He turned back to Hīkuvāru. "I'm ready," he said.

Hīkuvāru grinned and set off. "The United Mercantile Front of Ivyred Territory is up this way."

BREAK

Roughly an hour and a half later, Naofumi exited The United Mercantile Front with Hīkuvāru. "Will you be sticking around here?"

Hīkuvāru nodded. "Come by and visit when you have the time. Perhaps bring some business with you. It was a pleasure meeting someone possessing such a mercantile spirit."

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well," Naofumi said. "If you need to get ahold of me, send a message to Knight Commander Sazama in Capital Town."

They said their goodbyes and Naofumi headed towards where he had found out the scribes' hall was located. He had initially decided not to bother checking in as he had already received a letter from Eiku and he doubted there would be another already waiting for him. He had also decided to simply hold on to the letter he had painstakingly finished penning and hand it to Eiku in person later that afternoon. After collecting Rahtalia and Filo, they would warp back to Capital Town and Naofumi would hand Erhard his gift and then he would head over to the knights' barracks to see Eiku.

It was a solid plan so there was no reason to check-in at the scribes' hall. However, he decided it would not hurt to do so just in case. He crossed the street and stopped at a large, ornate statue of a large cat of some sort. After registering the cat statue as a return point, he continued on his way until he had gotten to the scribe's hall. It, like the rest of the buildings in the town, had a green door and a green roof with green wooden beams along the walls on the outside. He opened the door and stepped inside to see it was less busy than the scribes' hall in Capital Town had been. He walked through the room, around chairs, desks, tables, and people, until he got to the back of the room and a long counter there. A blond-haired man in a red and blue outfit looked up from whatever he was writing and smiled professionally at him.

"How may I help you, sir?"

"Have there been any letters delivered to a Sir Iwatani?" Naofumi asked.

The man turned away and disappeared into a door leading further into the back. When he returned, he was holding a letter that he passed over to Naofumi. "Will that be all?" he asked.

Naofumi nodded and took the letter to one of the free desks in the room. After sitting, he took a look at the letter. The paper was a pale cream colour and clearly handmade with yellow and blue flowers used in its makeup. It was tied with green thread and sealed with the wax star of Capital Town. Along the front was written Sir Iwatani Naofumi, Ivyred Territory, Melromarc.

He broke the seal and stared for several seconds at Eiku's fancy cursive handwriting. He could not help but smile and shake his head fondly. With Hīkuvāru's help, he had gotten better at reading this world's language. However, it was going to take him a long time to get through the letter with his current skill.

Naofumi looked towards the front of the counter and the blond behind the counter who had gone back to his writing and considered asking him for help with reading the letter. He looked away and stood up. No, he would go back to The United Mercantile Front and request help from Hīkuvāru instead.

Naofumi exited the scribe's hall and made his way back to the merchants' guild and entered the building. He cast his eyes around and quickly spotted the man sitting at one of the tables reading a parchment while he sipped from a large mug. Naofumi made his way across the room and stopped beside Hīkuvāru's red and gold clad arm.

"Hīkuvāru?"

Hīkuvāru looked up and grinned cheerfully at him. "Ah! You have returned so quickly."

Naofumi held out the letter. "Would you mind reading this aloud for me?" he asked.

Hīkuvāru placed his drink and the parchment he had been reading on the table before he reached out to take the letter from Naofumi. Naofumi sat in a chair beside Hīkuvāru as the man opened the letter and smoothed both pages out on the table. Naofumi leaned forward and looked at the letter as Hīkuvāru read it aloud.

Good morning, Naofumi, 24 Zinat

I hope this letter finds you well. I have been keeping busy these last few days since my last letter. No doubt you are still on your way to Ivyred Territory. Actually, now that you are reading this, you have made it there. I hope you made it safely. How was the trip? Is your new companion still destroying her clothing?

Reporting the bullying was a bust. It was reported to Knight-Captain Ishida and he told me that it was my own fault because of the company I keep and closed the matter. The knights broke my nose last evening. Reki set and healed it. He says it should heal straight. I'm keeping my spirits up. The instances are providing me with extra training! I know you cannot do anything about the situation but telling you about it helps.

I leave tomorrow morning to go on a quest to kill a chimera or something with Sir Amaki Ren, the Sword Hero. His entire party was killed while fighting a dragon to the east. He requested new temporary companions from the Crown and Ishida voluntold me. He told me, and I quote, "You are going so you can see what a true hero looks like." Right. I have my doubts. A true hero would not have gotten their entire party killed.

Pray for me.

Yours affectingly,

Eiku

As soon as Hīkuvāru finished reading, Naofumi reached out with hands that shook with fury and picked up the letter. More than anything else, it was the section about Eiku being assigned to Ren that had Naofumi seeing red. He gripped the letter tightly and stared down at it and the beautiful writing that covered the pages. Inside his chest, his soulbond was flooded with a strong sense of worry.

When he spoke, his voice was filled with dark promise. "If you get my soulmate killed, Amaki, then this world can burn and go to Hell from the Waves for all I care. For I will kill you myself!"

~*~End of Chapter 12~*~