The trip back to the castle didn't take much time. Between the speed they were going at, as well as Farries wide of the story as to what had happened in Riyute whilst Ren and the others pushed towards the boss, it wasn't long before Castle town was in their sights.

"Ren." Naofumi spoke, getting his attention.

"Do we need formal clothing for a celebration?"

Ren stared at him. "I'm… not sure. We shouldn't need them, considering we were just fighting, right?"

"That's what I was thinking. The issue is, we weren't exactly told if the celebration was going to start immediately, or if it was going to happen later."

"Well…" Ren looked to the front, with Naofumi turning as well to see what Ren was staring at.

"You could always…" Ren pointed in the direction, making it clear what he was telling Naofumi to do.

Naofumi let out a sigh as he looked at him.

"Despite being better than the other two… you still have your annoying parts." Naofumi spoke before moving to ask the question.

Ren looked down at that. Sure, he was a hero, but he could still have his bad points right?

Though, he'd much rather not have to do anything regarding large crowds. Maybe he could leave it to Naofumi to handle in the future…

Naofumi sat back down, a sigh escaping him.

"According to him, we will be going straight back to the castle, so no need for any sort of special clothing, thankfully. Means we will be in our current clothes and all that."

Ren nodded. "That's good. I don't think Erhard would be impressed if anything else happened to the armor." Ren spoke with a grin.

"Yeah yeah, laugh it up all you want." Naofumi spoke, grumbling. Despite that, there was the ghost of a smile on his face.

The rest of the ride was spent with Ren listening to Bakta giving them a basic run down on the church of three heroes.

Ren leaned uncomfortably against the wall, holding a small plate of food in his hand. On the plate was a small assortment of meats and vegetables that Ren could recognise from his world.

Looking around, he found Motoyasu moving around, almost as if looking for someone. He only had one girl with him, and from the looks of it, she wasn't Myne. Maybe it was another one of his party members?

Ren shrugged, continuing to look around. He found Itsuki surrounded by his party, all of them talking casually about something, only seeming to stop when a noble came close to them with the intent of speaking to Itsuki.

Turning his gaze once more, he found Naofumi and Raphtalia doing much the same as him, hiding away from everyone else whilst seeming to enjoy their time.

Raphtalia seemed to be enjoying the free food, whilst Naofumi picked at his, occasionally biting down on it with a disappointed look. Ren did wonder what that was about, but he'd save it for later.

The last group he looked for was his party. They all seemed to move around the area easily in a group, small smiles on their faces as they all ate the food laid out whilst speaking.

He was glad that they were enjoying themselves. Even he was enjoying it, even if he was standing in silence on his own..

Though, that enjoyment had started to disappear as more and more nobles kept trying to talk to him.

Whilst he didn't dislike a bit of praise from the people, they were laying it on pretty thick.

They kept talking about how it was 'such an honor to be in the presence of one of the cardinal heroes.' Ren believed that they were simply saying that to cover up their true motivations. Whatever they were, Ren didn't know.

But after a conversation with a noble who kept speaking about his looks, as well as trying to lay her hands on him, Ren pulled away, claiming that he was going to speak to the king.

The noble pulled away, but not before sending a smile towards Ren, wishing him a good rest of the night.

Ren let out a sigh as he finally managed to get away, slowly making his way through the crowd towards where the king was seated.

The king seemed to perk up as Ren slid past the guards.

"Ah, Sword hero. I'm glad that you're here. Are you enjoying the celebration for you and your fellow heroes?" Aultcray asked politely.

"I… yeah. It's good. But, I want to speak to you. In private, if that's fine?" Ren asked.

The king thought about it for a moment, looking around for anything else that might need his attention

"Yes, that is perfectly acceptable. Please, follow me." Aultcray spoke simply, standing up from his seat.

The knights moved with him, encircling both Ren and Aultcray.

Many of the nobles looked on as both the king and the Sword hero moved out of the main hall, but none saw it as a big deal. they most likely thought it was some sort of politics they were talking about. Soon enough chatter filled their little section of the room.

The walk to the room Aultcray was taking him to was traversed in silence. The only thing that broke it was the sound of six sets of footsteps.

Upon reaching the room, Aultcray spoke up.

"You four are to guard this room. Allow noone to listen in, and stop any who may intrude upon this location."

"Yes, your majesty!" Four separate Voices spoke up. Two immediately positioned themselves by the door, whilst the other two stood opposite them, backs against the wall.

Aultcray and Ren both stepped into the room, and Ren took a moment to study it.

It seemed to be a small room with a simple window at the back, not that Ren could see through it as of now.

In the center stood a small table, several pieces of paper and scattered books, all opened on various pages littered around it.

Aultcray himself room a seat, gesturing to the other chair, which Ren moved to sit in after pulling it closer to the desk.

"Sword hero. I take it you are here to check for any sort of progress on returning you back to your home?" He spoke easily.

Ren's mind paused at that. It wasn't the reason, in the slightest. He had come to complain about the knight captain who had shot arrows towards Riyute village, which had posed a problem to Naofumi and his companions. He had come to ask for any information about Naofumis accusation. But…

He hadn't expected there to be any sort of progress check on him possibly being able to go back to his world. In fact, over the last month, he had completely forgotten he had asked about it.

"I…" Ren didn't know how to start. "That… is not the reason I came to speak to you. I'll admit, it was for something else entirely. But… if there has been anything… please, tell me." Ren spoke, his voice cracking up slowly.

"I understand, Sword hero. It is… unfortunate that I have to tell you this then." Aultcray spoke, a small painted look upon his face.

"I have read up on what books my wife held, that may have contained information about the Cardinal heroes. I will admit, I have not searched through all of them yet, but I have read through a great majority. I have not discovered anything about the Cardinal heroes returning to their worlds once their task is complete."

Ren looked down, his hands on his lap as he clenched them. He knew it was likely that he wouldn't be able to go back. It was usually how this isekai stuff worked. Most people wouldn't want to go back to their boring old lives…

But hearing that there was nothing in any of the books, that none of the past heroes had even attempted such a thing… it still hit him hard. He just wanted to go home, to see his family, to see his school, to see her…

He bit back tears, even as Aultcray spoke up once more.

"Do not despair, Sword hero. Even if none of these books contain anything about our objective, I will soon be reaching out to the other countries in hope that they may contain the information we require. Zeltobe, Faubrey, Shildfreeden… all of them have been asked for information regarding the Cardinal heroes. So please, do not give up hope."

Ren took a deep breath, nodding his head shakily at that.

"I… Yeah, I see. Thank you for that." Ren spoke respectfully.

Aultcray didn't have to go that far to try to assist him. He technically didn't even need to read through the books he had mentioned. Just make some vague motion of even trying. But to hear that he was willing to reach out to other countries…

Even as Ren looked up, he looked Aultcray in the eyes, speaking once more.

"I… I really do mean it. Thank you, for all of this." Ren spoke once more.

"It is no problem. It's the least I can do, considering what your jobs are. Even if the other countries turn up nothing that can help, I will do my utmost to help you return to your home."

Ren nodded his head, and the pair sat there for a few quiet moments. Ren tried to collect himself, whilst Aultcray watched him.

Naofumi held the plate in his hand, even as Motoyasu stood before him. Naofumi looked around for a moment, trying to catch sight of Ren, but noticed he wasn't around.

Then again, neither was the king. Was Ren having his conversation with him now? He couldn't fault him of course, but Motoyasu had really picked the worst time to approach him.

"What?" Naofumi spoke, trying to ensure he had heard Motoyasu correctly.

"I said release that poor girl you have enslaved!" Motoyasu shouted. He pointed his spear at him, drawing attention from those that hadn't been looking at the duo.

"Why?" Naofumi asked, trying to probe for the reason. Was it Bitch who had set him up for this? Then again, he had been keeping an eye on the Spear hero the entire time, and he hadn't seen her with him. Was this his own idea? Where was Bitch in all of this?

"Because we shouldn't have slaves!" Motoyasu shouted. Naofumi had to admit, he had a point.

He shouldn't have a slave. He knew that logically, but no matter how he viewed Raphtalia… he couldn't bring himself to remove the slave seal. Even if he did believe that she would fight for him, regardless of anything, he still couldn't help that one little bit at the back of his mind speaking venomous words into his ears.

She will leave you the first chance she gets…

She's waiting for her moment to betray you like she did…

Naofumi squashed those thoughts down, even as Motoyasu spoke up once more.

"We are heroes! We shouldn't participate in slavery! We should hold ourselves to higher standards!" Motoyasu looked around, having expected people to gasp at the revelation that Naofumi held a slave in his possession. To join in with him, to demand that Naofumi release the slave he held. Instead, the Spear hero was met with silence, the nobles simply staring at the two heroes.

"And? It's legal here in Melromarc." Naofumi began to argue back. "Hell, from what I've been told, it's even safer than being independent. They have more rights as slaves than regular citizens." Naofumi argued back.

"So what? Does it make enslaving someone right?" Motoyasu spoke, ignoring what Naofumi had said completely.

Naofumi let out an angry sigh. Why was Motoyasu so stubborn about this? Was it just because Raphtalia was a girl? Even as Naofumi opened his mouth to speak, another voice spoke up.

"I have heard what you have had to say, Spear hero." The voice spoke up.

Naofumi looked past the Spear hero, seeing an old looking man wearing white robes. The necklace he was wearing stood out against his robes, and something felt wrong to him. He vaguely remembered Ren's party member speaking about the church.

"Shield hero. May I ask if it is true that you own a slave?"

Naofumi nodded his head, keeping his eyes on the man.

"Ah, I forgot you may not know who I am. My apologies, heroes. I am the current head of the church of three heroes in Melromarc, Pope Balmus. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Motoyasu smiled at him, Whilst Naofumi stayed wary. Now that he knew that he was speaking with the head of the Three heroes church, he had to be extra careful.

"I see… it's an honor to meet you, Pope Balmus." Naofumi spoke slowly. "It is true that Raphtalia here is my slave, but it is more to protect her from others."

"I see…" The pope spoke, still staring at Naofumi.

"That's a lie! You're probably going to attack her soon enough!" Motoyasu shouted.

Naofumi took a deep breath, ignoring the Spear hero for the moment.. "I would release her, but I am afraid of what people would do to a companion of the Shield hero, considering the people's dislike of me as of the moment." Naofumi spoke through gritted teeth.

"Yes… it is a shame that so many of our order reject you. We consider them to be heretics. You have my apologies for any… inconveniences they may have caused you." The pope spoke, his smile never seeming to fade.

"However, the Spear hero has a point. Heroes should be above slaves, Shield hero. But do not worry, for I also understand your fears. This is why I propose this. A duel between the two heroes. If the Spear wins, then your companion is freed. If she still wishes to remain with you after that, then I will use my influence to attempt my best to stop any harm from befalling your companion."

"And if I win?" Naofumi spoke, earning a glare from Motoyasu.

"Then she will remain your slave. Either way, I will do my best to influence the others of our church to not interfere with you. It would not do for one of the heroes to be harmed by the people they are protecting."

Naofumi thought for a moment. Whether he won or lost, he had the pope's word that he would try to stop people interfering with him. How much the pope's word was worth however, was a different issue altogether.

From what Bakta had said, the church really hated him. And if they were to duel, and Naofumi were to win? They might even arrange some sort of accident for the Spear hero, which would truly be bad.

If Motoyasu were to die, there would no doubt be plenty who would take the chance to try and kill the rest of the heroes to summon a new batch. And Naofumi could do without that.

It was a lose/lose scenario. Either he won, kept Raphtalia, potentially leaving the chance for one of the other heros to be killed by the church in an accident, or he could throw the match, and hope that he could believe in Raphtalias words enough.

He let out a sigh. He knew what he had to do, even if it did annoy him. With his decision made, he decided that he might as well try to make his act half convincing. With that, he spoke up. "If I win, I want half of Motoyasus reward money from the king."

Motoyasu huffed. "Fine! I'll take that bet. It's not like you stand any chance with what you have!" Motoyasu spoke, already determined in his own victory.

"Then it is settled. Both heroes, please go prepare. Your slave will be kept here, if th-"

Naofumi shook his head. "I'd like for the Sword heroes party to look after her."

"That is acceptable." Balmus responded, nodding his head

With that, Naofumi and Motoyasu were both led away, even as the pope shut his eyes. Now, he had to rely on the Spear hero to do his job, and prove that he could defeat the demon.

Aultcray cleared his throat before speaking once more.

"You said that you didn't want to speak to me about going back to your world. May I ask what other things you came to discuss with me?" He asked politely.

Ren nodded his head. "Yeah, sure. It's two things. The first thing I want to ask about it any progress on Naofumis supposed crime?"

The king seemed to tense at the mention of Naofumi, sitting up straighter. "I see. I will admit, we have had no further evidence come to light that goes against him. I spoke with adventurer Myne, and she admitted that she wasn't one hundred percent sure that it was the… Shield hero that entered her room that night." He spoke.

Ren nodded at that. Whilst he did find it suspicious that Myne was going back on her word, saying that she wasn't sure if it was Naofumi or not, it made things a little easier for him at least.

"Can I presume that there will eventually be something to say that Naofumi is innocent then?"

Aultcray nodded his head, sighing. "There will be. We cannot have a hero obstructed from doing his job after all." Aultcray said, looking down to his lap.

"That's good." Ren spoke, nodding his head.

The duo sat there in silence for a moment, Aultcray seeming to think about something before once more speaking up.

"Sword hero. I… what do you see in the Shield hero? Just… What made you believe in him? I understand that you claim to have not seen him under the influence of alcohol, but what pushed you to believe in him?"

Ren thought about it for a moment. What had made him trust Naofumi that day? What had made him believe his words, that he wasn't guilty of the crime he was accused of?

"Well… I suppose it began on the day we were summoned." Ren spoke slowly, looking at his lap as he did so.

"Everything was so… weird, I suppose. The other two, Motoyasu and Itsuki, already knew what to say. I simply followed along in their trail, not saying anything that might contradict them.I will admit, this world, it does remind me of a game i played back in my world, but there's been stuff that was missing as well." Aultcray seemed to think at that, unsure of how to take Ren's words, but he continued to speak.

"But Naofumi… He was looking around. He was shocked, he even seemed a little bit scared. I mean, who wouldn't be? Being taken from your world so suddenly." Ren spoke.

Aultcray was listening intently, wanting to find out the reason Ren had believed Naofumi.

"It wasn't until we actually got to where we stayed that night that we all actually spoke to each other. It was a small conversation, but it eventually turned to our weapons. And… When we got to Naofumi, the other two began talking about how… useless the shield was. At least, that's what I assume the conversation was about, with how they kept glancing at him.. Me and him spoke a bit, and he asked if I had any tips, so I… I gave him what little advice I could."

The king nodded, speaking up.

"The… other two heroes… do they believe the shield is useless?" He spoke slowly, earning a small nod from Ren.

"I believe they think it's not worth the investment. But… if it's one of the cardinal weapons, it's got to have its own strengths."

Aultcray seemed to agree with that. "Yes, I suppose it does have its own strengths… But I suppose you still haven't answered why you chose to believe in the Shield hero."

"I suppose I haven't, have I?" Ren spoke with a small smile.

"I guess, it was just his kindness and helpfulness. He thanked me for helping him out when it was just the bare minimum most people would do. He gave me stuff to absorb into my sword, hell, he even taught me a few things I didn't know. He's… he's just a helpful guy, and when I saw the panic in his eyes that morning… it didn't seem right to leave him on his own. I wanted to do something to help him out. I just didnt expect…" He waved his hand around before speaking again. "All of this to happen."

"I see…" Aultcray spoke, as if considering something.

Aultcray was reconsidering his stance on the Shield hero. It was true that he was seen as a god to the nation of Siltvelt. He was the very symbol of their people, and therefore the target of his hatred. And hearing what he had been accused of doing to his eldest daughter that night… Just the thought of it filled him with rage.

However, when the Sword hero had backed up the Shield hero, it gave him a chance to think. Sure, the evidence was there, but when it had been said by the Sword hero that he saw nothing there when he looked in the room himself, it had shocked him. He had questioned what was happening.

He had looked to his daughter, and considered the possibility that she may be lying for but a single moment, but upon seeing her tears once more, the thought of her lying had banished itself from his mind, and he felt guilt. Those tears could not be fake, surely? That was what he had thought. But it raised the question of what had truly happened that night. Aultcray let out a small sigh. He would have to think of it on his own later. He would get down to the bottom of this, regardless of what he needed to do.

"Let us put aside that topic for now. I will think about it some more later. What else was it that you wanted to speak about?" Aultcray asked.

"Well, it was about the Kn-" Ren was cut off by a voice shouting from the hallway.

"Your majesty! The Shield hero and Spear hero are preparing to duel!" The voice spoke.

Aultcray stood up suddenly, rushing past Ren, who stood up to follow.

He opened the door quickly, speaking to the person who claimed that Motoyasu and Naofumi were going to have a duel.

"Who gave permission for this to happen?" Aultcray demanded.

"It was the Pope, your majesty!" the voice spoke out again.

"Where is it being held?" Ren called out.

"Sword hero!" The man spoke out in surprise. He recovered quickly, answering his question. "It's being held in the castle gardens!"

"Follow me, Sword hero. We will take the quickest path there!" With that, Aultcray began to run, with Ren trailing behind him.

"Balmus… What are you doing?" Aultcray spoke quietly.

Naofumi stepped out of the gate, watching as Motoyasu did the same on the opposite side of the arena.

"Just give up before it's too late Naofumi! You can't beat me!" Motoyasu shouted.

Naofumi simply ignored him, changing his shield to his Light Metal shield. It was his strongest, not including the Chimera Viper shield.

That was even counting the fact that he had managed to upgrade the Light Metal from C to UC, which has raised the stats by about 10%.

It had been a good idea to use all the energy he had gathered on the weapon. It was just a shame he couldn't use it on the Chimera Viper shield yet. He got a feeling that it would certainly get a good boost from the method.

"Are you just going to keep talking? Or are we actually going to fight?" Naofumi spoke in a bored voice.

"You!" That seemed to enrage Motoyasu slightly, much to Naofumis joy.

"The fight may start, heroes!" The pope called out.

Motoyasu ran forward immediately, and Naofumi raised his shield, closing the distance between them. He couldn't let Motoyasu gain any more momentum.

Naofumi braced for the impact, only to be shocked as Motoyasu shouted.

"Chaos Thrust!"

Naofumis eyes widened as he saw the spear split into several more spears, all seeming to fly towards him.

Shit! I'm too close to actually block all of them! Got to protect my head.

With that, Naofumi repositioned his shield, covering his head with it, running towards the Spear hero.

He felt the skill strike him, but none of them seemed to do major damage to him. They seemed to have simply grazed his armor, not going any deeper. Was his defense stat really that high?

Motoyasu also seemed surprised by that, and he tried to backpedal to use his spear effectively. But Naofumi wasnt going to allow that. That was the issue with spears. It was much more difficult to fight in close quarters with them.

With a panicked movement, Motoyasu thrust his spear at him, but Naofumi was able to easily dodge it. Naofumi proceeded to tackle him to the floor, sitting on top of him even as he heard voices speaking from around the arena. He tuned them out, more focused on the Spear hero below him.

Motoyasu was struggling to push Naofumi off. Naofumi raised his shield, bringing it down onto Motoyasus face, only for a loud clanging noise to fill his ears. Of course he wouldn't be able to attack! Motoyasu realized this, a grin on his face.

With a sudden burst of strength, he seemed to push Naofumi off his body, standing up once more as he held his spear at the ready.

Naofumi did the same, holding his shield in front of him. They were back to the same position, with barely anything having changed. The only difference was that Naofumi had a small mark on his armor, which brought a realization to his mind. It was a battle of attrition, and he was going to lose. He grimaced at that. He knew he had to lose logically, but just knowing he wouldn't be able to do much to the Spear hero… It left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Once again, Motoyasu rushed towards Naofumi, and once again, Naofumi met his charge.

He felt Motoyasus spear connect with his shield, and a grin appeared on his face. The Light Metal shield changed, turning into his Two-headed black dog shield, and a pop up appeared before him.

Dog Bite: 00:30

The counter started to go down, and the dog heads got to work. They snapped viciously at the Spear hero, who was using his spear to try and block them. He was doing well, but one of the dog heads managed to get through his guard, biting into his shoulder, much like the original monster had done to Naofumi.

He let out a growl of pain as the dog heads receded back into Naofumis shield, and he switched back to the Light Metal Shield.

"Fight me like a real man!" Motoyasu shouted towards him, holding his shoulder.

That made Naofumi pause. "What? You expect me to actually fight you? With this shield? I cant do damage! You already saw that!"

Motoyasu either didn't listen, or didn't care as he ran forwards again. He thrust forwards, shouting as he did.

"Thunder spear!" Electricity arced through his spear as it hit Naofumis shield, and Naofumi had to bite his tongue.

Even if it did a lot less damage than he expected, he could feel the electricity travel through his shield into his hands. Motoyasu seemed to notice this as he leveled his spear once more.

Naofumi simply held firm.

Ren let out a breath as he and Aultcray stood outside the door. Aultcray had said that this was the right room, so why was he so hesitant?

"Sword hero, I will need you to stay quiet during this, if you would. Please do not speak unless spoken to. I am going to try and discover why this duel is happening, alright?"

Ren had to bite his tongue at that. "I will try my best."

"Thank you." With that, Aultcray opened the door, being greeted by several surprised nobles. He quickly made his way through them as they parted for him, with Ren following behind him quickly so as to not lose sight of him.

Soon enough, Aultcray reached a man who seemed to be overlooking the current duel.

"Pope Balmus, can I ask what is happening here?" Aultcray spoke. He wasn't asking a question.

"Dear Aultcray! How nice it is to see you here. And this is the Sword hero with you, correct?" Ren simply nodded at that, and the Pope, as he had now been identified as, spoke up, answering his question.. "A duel between the Spear and the Shield is happening."

"I'm aware of that, old friend. But I want to know what the reasoning for the duel is. What could be important enough to disrupt the celebration for?"

"I'm aware today was supposed to be a happy occasion, but the Spear hero confronted the Shield hero over his usage of slaves, your majesty."

Naofumi had a slave? Who-

Realization dawned on Ren's face, unaware to both Aultcray and the Pope, who kept discussing.

That's why Naofumi had said she was trustworthy. But where had he even gotten a slave?

"So, if i am to understand this, the Spear hero is fighting to free the slave of the Shield hero?" Aultcray spoke.

"That is correct. I am afraid that even if you wanted to stop it, you would be unable to. I am afraid the Spear hero would not stop until he himself is either defeated, or he has defeated the Shield hero."

Ren looked down to the Arena, clenching his hands. He could see smoke rising from Naofumi. He could see the way he was moving slower, the marks on his armor.

Naofumi let out one final breath before speaking loudly.

"I give up." He raised his hands as well, murmurs of shock circulating through the crowd.

"What?" Motoyasu lowered his spear in confusion. Much like everyone else, he hadn't expected Naofumi to give up. He expected a fight to the bitter end.

"I said I give up. That's what you wanted, right?" Naofumi spoke. "I cant hurt you much, and when i can damage you, you can heal it right up with your potions. Plus, I can't take much more of these attacks, so I give up. Free Raphtalia. Remove the slave seal on her."

Several knights surrounding the pope looked at him for a moment, and he nodded his head. One of the knights removed a small bottle on his waist, lifting it slightly. Ren's party moved from around Raphtalia, who nervously moved forward.

The soldier seemed to glare at her for a moment, as if daring her to do anything before pouring it onto her chest. With that, the purple crest seemed to wash off, and the pope spoke.

"Victory goes to the Spear hero!" The pope declared, much to the cheers of the crowd. "The Shield hero's slave has been set free, and is free to do what she may want with her life now!"

Ren watched as Raphtalia made to move towards the stairs leading down to the arena, before he looked at Naofumi, who seemed resigned to it.

After a moment, he began to follow Raphtalia down the stairs, leaving his party behind him for the moment.

Naofumi let out a small sigh, looking up to the ceilling. He knew he had to lose, regardless of what happened, but it still left a bitter taste in his mouth. The fact that he was on his own again sucked, but he was stronger this time. Maybe when he got the reward money for defeating the wave, he could go buy the rabbit demi-human and the lizard one. Though, this time, he would do things differently…

So lost in his thoughts, Naofumi didn't notice Raphtalia running down the stairs. He didn't notice how Motoyasu moved to stop her, nor the subsequent conversation that ensued. He didn't notice Motoyasu pushing forwards, telling her that Naofumi wasn't worth it.

What did snap Naofumi out of his thoughts however, was the sound of a slap. Looking forward again, he looked at the pair in front of him. Motoyasu, holding his cheek, and Raphtalia, holding her hand out.

"I was set free, wasn't I?" She spoke to the Spear hero. Before he could even respond, Raphtalia continued. "If I'm truly free, then I am allowed to make my own decisions! And I made my decision long ago, when I first met Sir Naofumi!" With that, she moved away from the Spear Hero.

Naofumi looked down to the ground again. It was probably just an act being put on by Raphtalia, right? She couldn't actually want to stay with him. That was ridiculous. He had stolen her childhood from her, forced her to fight monsters. There was no way she would keep traveling with him…

Naofumi let out a breath as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Raphtalia spoke quietly.

"Mr Naofumi… I'm still here for you. So please, don't just give up."

Naofumi lifted his head slowly, meeting Raphtalias eyes. What he saw shocked him. There was no hatred. There was no resentment. There was nothing to show that she hated him.

"Why…" Naofumi mumbled out.

"Why what, Mr Naofumi?" Raphtalia spoke.

"Why don't you hate me? I… I took your childhood from you…"

Even as Naofumi finished that sentence, he felt Raphtalias hands wrap around his head, pulling him towards her.

"Naofumi… I already lost my childhood when I saw my parents graves in my village. All you did was save me from dying in that cage. You gave me medicine, treated me like a normal person… you did everything you could to help me. So no, I could never hate you."

All Raphtalia could hear was a sharp intake of breath, as if Naofumi couldn't believe what was said. The next thing she noticed was the slight trembling of his frame as she held him.

She didn't let go, even when she felt him begin to cry, simply stroking the back of his head as he kept crying.

Ren stood by Motoyasu, the duo having watched the scene unfold.

"I… She… she can't actually believe that Naofumi is a good person, right?" He spoke, turning to Ren.

"I mean… you heard what she said as well, right? About how she was saved by him." Ren spoke with a shrug.

"But…But… Naofumi is a criminal! He wouldn't do something like that! It just doesn't make any sense!" Motoyasu shouted.

"Well, regardless of what you think. Raphtalia clearly believes it. And in the end, it's her decision on what she wants to do."

"I… yeah. I suppose so, but still… If he so much as hurts her, I swear…" Motoyasu grumbled to himself, staring at the pair before sighing.

Just where we're his girls? They had been evading him since the wave, with the exception of Elena who had stayed by his side almost the entire night.

"Still… he was much stronger than I expected for a shielder." Motoyasu spoke. "Just how high is his weapon mastery for that shield? And how much ore did he successfully smelt into that shield?"

Ren turned to him in confusion. He could put aside the Weapon mastery, it was probably just the way he referred to Mastery Level, but he had no idea what the Spear hero was talking about in regards to the ore. And he said as much.

"Ore into his shield? What are you on about?"

Motoyasu turned to face Ren, a similar look of confusion on his face. "What? You haven't been doing that Ren? I really thought you would have! It strengthens your weapon forms so much."

"What? But I've been using my Rarity method. That helps out a ton more than smelting ores ever could."

"Rarity method? Are you trying to pull some sort of joke on me? It's Smelting! You can power up a weapon by putting ores into it! It doesn't even have an upper cap!"

"But… that doesn't make sense." Ren spoke quietly. Motoyasu simply waved him off.

"Believe what you want. I know what's real. Now I need to go find Myne and the others, I'll speak to you later. Make sure to actually use Smelting, alright?"

With that, Motoyasu walked off, leaving Ren confused. Motoyasu seemed so certain that it was a way to strengthen your weapons. And as far as he knew, the spear hero didn't lie for no good reason. It made no sense!

Ren let out a breath. What if he just believed him? Motoyasu wouldn't lie to him. He has no reason to. So the obvious conclusion was that Smelting was-

Rens eyes darted to his help menu. It had just changed!

There it was! Smelting! It existed, right there in front of him. But how? It just appeared there once Motoyasu had told him about it!

"Wait…" Ren spoke to himself quietly. "The same thing happened to Naofumi. They didn't show up until I told him about it."

Ren's mind was racing as it tried to figure everything out, thanks to the introduction of a new method.

Did all the legendary weapons have their own strengthening methods? Did they each have four, or were there more of them? and if they could be shared, why didnt they have all of them from the start?

Question after question was thrown at Ren as he tried to figure it out, but he shoved it to the back of his mind. He would sort it all out later. When he could discuss it with Naofumi.

He looked over to the shield hero, seeing him slumped against Raphtalia, speaking up quietly.

"Is he okay?"

"I think so. Hopefully he will be doing better when he wakes up. I think he's just had to let everything out." Raphtalia spoke, still stroking the back of his head.

"It's good that he let everything out. He… he said he was angry. At everything for a period." Ren spoke.

"I don't blame him." Raphtalia spoke. "With the way everyone has treated him since he was bought here, I would probably snap under the same circumstances."

"Yeah, I agree with that. Are you going to need help moving him?" Ren spoke with a smile.

Raphtalia looked down towards the shielder before nodding her head.

"Yes please. I would appreciate that, Mr Ren."

Woo! Chapter 12 in only… Checks notes… Just under a month!

Sorry about that. I've just been kinda writing down a plan of action on where I want this story to go, talking to some others about changes that might happen, all that stuff.

Oh, also, I have started another story, titled A Gem in the Rough. If you wouldn't mind checking it out, I'd be super happy!

Anyways, I'm not sure when the next update is because still not 100% done with a roadmap for the near future of this story, but I've got a few things laid out.

Anyways, thanks for reading, have a good day/night!