OK here's here's the third chapter of of unwavering heart, I'd like to thank everyone for your support.
I got a few people making suggestions on what I should do when it comes to companions for Audrey which I greatly appreciate but I already decided.
Disclaimer: I don't own ROTSH
Audrey felt herself slowly stir awake as the morning rays filled her room. Sitting up and stretching out for a moment she began contemplating what she was going to do for the day.
It didn't take much to come to a decision since what the best thing to do was straightforward, more leveling. Personally she was hoping that today she'd be able to obtain a skill, it would definitely be a relief to have another option available in battle especially if she had any unexpected run ins with a higher level opponent considering she wouldn't be able to rely on the teammates she was provided with. She would have preferred to end her partnership with them to look for new people she could rely on but the problem was that if she did decide to cut ties with them she'd be left on her own for a time at least until she could find others to help her which could take a short time or a long time and during that period she'd really have to be on her toes whenever she was leveling up or doing anything that would involve fighting monsters which was a scenario she wasn't sure she could bring herself to face.
After taking the next few minutes to take her boots and gear out of her bow's inventory and putting them on the bow hero figured she'd see Naofumi and remind him or more so to the point his teammate about the party system, she had a feeling if she didn't Myne would try to feign forgetting so she could just watch Naofumi fustily try to personally fight monsters himself again.
Doing so ran the high risk of her eventually leaving his party which in turn would mean Naofumi would be alone but at least he would see Myne's true colors and Audrey would be able to help him find someone who would truly fight alongside him since Audrey couldn't truly support him as much as she would have liked to since would slow down both of their progression.
Before the bow hero could leave her room she suddenly heard her fellow hero scream out from within his own room. "Where's all my stuff? Did someone seriously rob me?!"
Upon Audrey swiftly exited her room and was about to go head to the shield hero's room before the hero in question bolted out of his own wearing little more than an undershirt and thermos.
"Audrey did you see who stole my stuff? If you saw or heard anything, tell me please!" The shield hero pleaded frantically.
"Naofumi, you need to slow down for a moment and tell me everything from the beginning and get yourself dressed."
"I can't, someone took my gear and clothes while I was asleep last night."
Audrey's eyes widened at the explanation before she realized who was very likely responsible. 'I knew she was going to try something, but I didn't think she'd do anything that would be grounds have her labeled a criminal.'
"Have you seen your teammate? she might have seen something." Audrey highly doubted Myne would help them considering she was very likely to be the thief but looking for her would provide Naofumi with a chance to get his stuff back before it was all gone for good after that she'd definitely help him find someone who would truly help him.
"Oh yeah she may have seen something!" Naofumi went to the room directly on the opposite from his own and frantically knocked on the door to the room. "Myne are you there? Somebody's stolen my gear!"
"Shield hero!"
Both heroes to towards the end of the hall and saw a group of around six guards glaring at
Naofumi who didn't seem to take notice and immediately tried his hand at getting their help.
"Thank goodness you're here, someone's stolen-arrghh."
Naofumi's speech was cut short when one of the guards violently shoved the pummel of their pike into his gut. Of course thanks to his high defense the attack only took him by surprise causing him to stumble back a step rather than doubling over and falling to the ground like the guard likely intended.
Before either hero could process what had just occurred due to the sheer amount of shock it brought on two of the guards seized Naofumi by each of his arms and began dragging him away. "You're under arrest."
Finally coming out of her own stupor Audrey felt a major sense of outrage well up before she tried to storm after the pair of guards taking Naofumi away before the rest blocked her path with two of them crossing their pikes in an X formation. "What are you guys doing? Let Naofumi go!" She yelled out.
One of the guards simply smirked at her before replying. "The shield hero's been arrested and is being brought to the castle to stand trial for his crime."
Audrey stared at the guard in utter disbelief. "Are you serious, what crime could Naofumi possibly have committed? He's only been here two days!"
"You'll see when we arrive at the castle."
"We?"
"His majesty has requested the presence of all the other heroes."
"Fine."
With that Audrey was escorted to the castle by the remaining guards "Be prepared you will probably be appalled when you find out what type of man your fellow hero really is." The same guard has before said before adding "And come to your senses." Under his breath.
Audrey didn't bother replying, in her mind she was trying to figure just what was going on. What crime could Naofumi have possibly committed? He had been with her all throughout the previous day until they both went out to beginning farming experience points so there was no way he could have done anything nefarious without her being able to witness it and even afterwards he only thing he could have done was something against Myne and that was a scenario that Audrey highly doubted since when she saw the two at the inn the latter looked perfectly fine in fact the more Audrey thought about it more the idea appeared to be downright impossible.
It was not long until they arrived at the castle and from there the throne room into time see Naofumi who was now being forced to his knees try to plea to the king.
"There's been a misunderstanding I've been ro-"
"SILENCE YOU FILTH!" Aultcray roared cutting off a confused Naofumi.
Audrey scrutinized everyone in the room seeing that like the first time the four heroes were brought here was filled with members of the nobility who had previously sent brief glances of resentment at Naofumi, now they were glaring at him in plain disgust.
Also amongst the crowd was Ren who was also glaring at Naofumi along with his party who all looked oddly conflicted about the matter and next to them was Audrey's own party who were all smiling smugly at what was taking place Audrey turned her gaze elsewhere and saw Motoyasu standing beside the king with a look of pure hatred directed at Naofumi.
"I knew you were scum from the moment you were first brought here before me with the other heroes." The king continued.
Audrey's eyes widened, she already knew the king didn't think highly of Naofumi but if he was going to jump to the conclusion that Naofumi was guilty without even giving him a chance to defend himself or even tell his side of the story of whatever his supposed crime was then what was the point of this trial?
Naofumi could only stare on in disbelief at what was happening and it wasn't much different for Audrey, while she was worried thanks to most of what had happened concerning Naofumi up until now but she didn't think things would escalate this far.
"Myne?!" Naofumi suddenly called out.
Audrey was confused before hearing Myne scream out of fear. "Stay away!"
The bow hero saw Naofumi's teammate standing behind Motoyasu cowering.
"Myne why are you…." Naofumi tried to say before the spear hero stepped forward and cut him off.
"Keep your mouth shut you scum, you're lucky I didn't run you through last night."
"What?!"
"Myne came to me and told me what you tried to do to her last night!"
Last night? Did Naofumi really try something against Myne last night? Audrey wondered.
The king turned his gaze turned his gaze towards Myne. "Ms Sophia, could you explain what happened?"
"Last night the shield hero came into my room drunk saying the night was still young and tried to force himself on me, I barely escaped and went to lord Motoyasu for help!"
Upon hearing Naofumi was too shocked to process everything that was happening to him, he woke up this morning to find his gear and clothes stolen and now he was being accused of trying to rape his teammate while being drunk?
Audrey was in utter disbelief, Myne was seriously trying to make a claim like this? It was immediately apparent that she was lying since there were two major holes in her story.
"But I never did anything like th-!" Naofumi stopped in mid sentence and went silent for a few long moments as he finally realized what was truly going on which was only confirmed when both he and Audrey saw Myne stick her tongue out at him.
Audrey glanced at the King to see if he saw it but instead saw something that caused her outrage to peek. The king was smiling at the entire thing before he went back to wearing a look of resentment. Why didn't she realize it sooner this entire trial was nothing but a set up for the sake of wrongfully persecuting Naofumi.
Naofumi's expression to one rage as he stood up forcefully, he would have probably ran after
Myne if the guards hadn't used their pikes to block him. "You traitorous bitch, you set me up!"
Motoyasu stepped in front of Myne. "Haven't you done enough to her already?!"
While watching all of this unfold Audrey felt herself remember her high school days when that asshole from back then tried to come on to her with false compliments and ridiculous lines about how much of a good time he could show her.
Unlike numerous other girls who bought all of his BS Audrey knew better, the asshole just wanted her for an occasional sex toy until he either simply got board or found someone more appealing to take up his attention so it was a given that Audrey rejected his advances.
But of course because of them being at the high end of the social hierarchy he was too arrogant to accept that he was rejected and tried to insist that Audrey reconsider even going as far as to forcefully grab her prompting her to give a bloody lip finally getting the guy to finally back off.
Audrey thought that was the end of it but the asshole decided to lie to the girls that were head over heels for him about what happened and as a result Audrey found herself being assaulted by multiple fangirls the next day until her best friend Patricia stepped in and defended her.
Afterwards Audrey's reputation at school plummeted and she had next to no friends and neither did Patricia from that time onwards, but the latter didn't care, she never once regretted her decision in doing the right thing instead of simply doing what appealed to the masses in spite of what it had cost her.
Since that day, Audrey had always looked up to Patricia as something of an idol for her strong sense of justice.
'Patricia what would do in this situation?' Audrey thought to herself though deep down she already knew the answer. Her best friend would do the same for Naofumi that she did for Audrey back then, but could Audrey bring herself to do the same?
What was happening right now pissed her off to no end. That piece of shit Myne had back stabbed Naofumi in the back on an astronomical level and the King was in on it as well and likely many others but did she really have the resolve to do the right thing?
If she did then she'd likely lose the party members provided by the King and likely all other support meaning she'd have to get by on her own.
It was then the bow hero remembered the conversation she had with Naofumi the first night.
"Fair enough, but I still think you have a lot more worth than your parents believe."
"You really mean that?"
"Yeah, there aren't a lot of people like you and Patricia who are willing to go out of their way to help others even when it either cost them something or their own situation is already bad, that's why I can say without a single that you guys show the best parts of what people are truly capable of being. Honestly I hope that I get a chance to lend someone my support when they need it the most."
That's right since the time when Patricia had stuck by Audrey during the lowest point of her life Audrey didn't just admire her, the bow hero wanted to be like her, to do the same for someone else as Patricia had done for her or Naofumi had done for his brother.
'Naofumi, you said I might have my chance to stand by someone when they really needed it the most, it looks like you were right.'
Audrey steeled herself. 'I might lose my support from the crown but I'd rather have to deal with that than live with being scum who abandons their friends just to save their own skin. I'd never be able to forgive myself.'
"Just how far are you all going to go with the fake trial for the sake of fucking over Naofumi, how far?!" Audrey roared out gaining everyone's attention and leaving Naofumi in a mixture of shock and appreciation that someone was actually on his side.
"Au-Audrey you can't seriously believe that Naofumi is innocent." Motoyasu tried to protest.
"Yeah, I do."
"But he's nothing but a rapist!"
"Says the son of a bitch who's exploiting this whole thing to steal armor."
"How am I stealing armor?"
Audrey narrowed her eyes. "You're fucking wearing chainmail that was stolen from Naofumi."
"No Myne brought this to me as a gift."
"Riiiight." Audrey said sarcastically. It was painfully evident that Motoyasu had no intention of returning it.
"Lady Audrey please! We have evidence of the shield hero's guilt." The king tried to plead.
It was then a guard walked next to the king and pulled out a torn nightgown. "This was found in the shield hero's room." The guard reported.
Naofumi glanced back towards Audrey in fear that she would become convinced that he had indeed tried to rape Myne.
"See? Naofumi's nothing but a degenerate who sees woman has nothing but playthings for him to use whenever he wants!" Motoyasu pleaded hoping to sway Audrey but the only change in her demeanor was her eyes narrowing.
"I'm pretty sure that far better describes you, especially since you said you were going to get all the cuties when we first came here. So how about you quit putting up your little heroic facade since the only thing your damn ass is concerned is emptying your sperm supply inside every loose hole in sight, if anyone's a degenerate who sees women as nothing but playthings it's you." She shot back stunning the spear into silence.
The day before a part of Audrey had thought that she was being harsh in her assessment of the spear hero with how she almost immediately grew to dislike him practically upon meeting him but now that wasn't the case, the more he talked the more he reminded her of the asshole who all but ruined a portion of her life, both of them were perverted, arrogant, and manipulative though in the former's case she couldn't add the title of thief to the list.
She then turned to the King. "It was a nice try with the fabricated evidence but there was one mistake you made."
Naofumi looked at Audrey in relief and hoped that she could prove his innocence to everyone whilst Audrey continued.
"Myne said that the shield hero tried to assault her in her room, right?"
"Yes of course but how could you possibly think that'd make the gown being found in the shie-" Aultcray stopped in mid sentence realizing what Audrey was getting at.
"If Naofumi came into her room then shouldn't the night gown also been found there?"
Both the King and Myne looked like they were trying to come up with some BS explanation but
Audrey didn't feel like giving them the chance
"And there's two more major flaws with Naofumi's supposed crime."
"Ho-how? The shield hero was drunk and tried to force himself on me!" Myne tried to protest
"And that brings to the first one. If Naofumi was actually drunk last night his words would be slurred but he's alert and he'd likely have the symptoms of a hangover which he's not showing any sign of, plus the only chance he would have ever had to drink anything alcoholic was when you offered him one which I personally saw him turn down since I was sitting at the table with the two of you."
At this point Ren looked more unsure about who to believe and a few members of the crowd were whispering amongst themselves.
"And finally, if such a thing did happen there would have been a struggle leading to enough noise being made to wake up anyone who was staying in nearby rooms including Myself. In a lame man's terms, I would have heard the commotion as it was taking place."
"ENOUGH!" the King suddenly roared at Audrey in anger looking down at her with a look of contempt.
"Are you seriously going to continue insisting that Naofumi's guilty even now?"
"It is already decided."
"In that case send us both back to our own worlds. If you're going to take this false trial this far then there's no reason for either of us to stay here, Naofumi hasn't done anything to deserve this and I have no intent of going along with your schemes."
The King sighed before replying. "As much as it would delight me to send that rapist back and get rid of him we cannot return any of you to your worlds until the waves are stopped and we cannot summon new heroes unless all of the current ones die."
"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm seriously supposed to fight for your shitty kingdom after you did this to me?" Naofumi demanded.
"Of course, you may be a lowly criminal but you're still one of the heroes."
"We seriously have to fight alongside that scumbag?" Motoyasu muttered earning a snarl from Audrey whilst the king continued.
"You should consider yourself fortunate shield hero since your status prevents me from putting you to the guillotine but do not think you'll escape punishment word has spread of your deed, everyone will know of the filth you are."
Aultcray then turned to Audrey. "And as for you should you insist on defending this criminal I'll have no choice but to ask your companions to reconsider their choice in joining you on your quest and withdraw any support for you in your duty to fight the waves beyond rewards."
"Think this through lady Audrey, you're a great hero but we can't follow you if you're going to side with a criminal." Armor said from the crowd.
"I have thought it through and my decision still stands. If you're going to leave then I won't stop you."
The king's eyes narrowed. "You're certain you want to endeavor down this foolish path even knowing the consequences?"
"Yeah, you might have the spear and sword eating out of the palm of your hand, but I have no intention of letting you manipulate me."
"So be it."
"Good now that if you're done with your little shit show." Audrey walked up to Naofumi grabbing his hand in her own and began leading him out of the throne room before two guards tried to block her path prompting Audrey to turn around and glare at the King.
"You're both free to leave after the shield hero's funds have been sie-!"
In the span of under a single second Audrey had let go of Naofumi's hand, repositioned both of her own, summoned her bow from her back to her hands, and fired an arrow that lodged itself in the King's chair just inches from his head leaving him far too appalled to finish his sentence.
The entire room was silent as nobles, guards, and everyone within the crowd, and most of all the king himself had to take a few seconds that felt like an eternity to process had just happened.
Recovering from his shock the king turned to Audrey with a look of pure rage. "You dare threaten a member of the royal family?!"
"If you push this any further than yeah, you've already had his gear and clothes stolen, arranged for his reputation to be slandered so no one will want to join him; you're not taking his money to."
Aultcray grabbed both armrests of his chair. "I'll have you both executed!"
Audrey summoned another arrow and level it at the king. "Go ahead, I'll make sure we have you for company in the next life."
"You think you can fight your way past all my men?"
"I don't have to. I simply have to shoot you right from where I'm standing before any of your guards have a chance to do anything."
The king snarled at the bow hero but it didn't faze her.
"It's just a matter of loosening my fingers, I missed on purpose last time so I can assure this next one will hit."
The king continued to growl as Audrey continued. "So this can go one of two ways, you can either let both of us go and that'll be that will be the end of all this nonsense, or you can die with us. So what'll be? The choice is yours."
"I want you both out of my sight now!"
"Good." With that Audrey lowered her bow and put it back on her back before taking ahold of Naofumi's hand and began leading him out of the throne room once more, unfortunately one last annoyance just had to come up in the form of the increasingly infuriating spear hero.
"Wait Audrey, you don't have to do this, if you'd just see reason, you'll realize that Naofumi isn't someone worth being thought of as a hero."
Audrey laughed confusing everyone around her until she turned facing Motoyasu with a look that expressed pure loathing. "You know the more you talk the more you remind me of someone back in my world who I really hated."
"Wh-what?"
"You both have so much in common, you both think every woman is nothing than a potential sex partner and torment anyone you think is beneath you even going as far as to lie and twist the truth to make yourselves look like the good guys in a situation. The only person who's not worth being thought of as a hero is you, for the spear to choose someone like you is downright mind boggling."
With that Audrey left the throne room pulling Naofumi with her by his hand. Once the duo was gone everyone in the room began dispersing while a shell shocked Motoyasu just stared after the receding pair wondering what went wrong.
As far as the spear hero was concerned Naofumi was the villain, he tried to rape his own teammate and would surely do the same thing to Audrey, it was plain to see the kind of man he was.
So why was Audrey making Motoyasu out to be the bad guy when he was trying to protect her from someone who was a rapist, and how did the spear hero reminded her of someone she hated? Everything she described about the similarities between him and the guy she hated matched Naofumi much more so than Motoyasu himself.
So why was she on Naofumi's side? Why was Audrey so intent on protecting him after what Naofumi had done?
Motoyasu was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand clasped his shoulder. He turned around to see Myne standing behind him.
"Spear hero I know this is sudden, but I'd like to travel with you from this point on."
"Ok, I'll protect from any monsters along with the likes of Naofumi."
"I'll be counting on you to keep me safe."
XXXXX
Outside the castle Naofumi and Audrey were now walking through the streets of the capital whilst various people were shooting looks of disgust at former whispering amongst themselves about how he was supposedly a rapist whilst others questioned why the latter was with the shield hero and why she didn't know better than to go anywhere near him.
The bow hero felt a ping of anger well up inside of her but restrained herself regardless and ignored what the people were saying.
"Let's head to the weapons shop." Audrey suggested.
"What good will that do?" Naofumi asked
"I've got some materials I need to pick up from Erhard to unlock a few new bows and new shields for you."
"How can you be so sure Erhard will let me?"
"The materials belong to me, he doesn't get any say in whether or not you're allowed to use them."
"Alright but maybe I should stay out of sight when we arrive."
"I can't say I agree with you but if you fill the need….."
Once they reached their destination. Naofumi was looking for an ally to hide in until the duo discovered that the weapons shop owner was outside and rapidly walking towards them. Immediately Audrey became alert upon seeing this.
Erhard had an angry look in his eyes which was directed at the shield hero. Audrey already had an idea of why, it was all but a given considering what had happened earlier that day. Audrey was proven right in her internal guess when Erhard grabbed Naofumi by his shirt and hoisted him up.
"I heard about what you tried to do to your teammate." The blacksmith reared his fist back at the same time Audrey summoned her bow to her hands and manifested an arrow. "Let me punch you."
Audrey was a mere moment from taking aim and firing when she noticed Erhard hesitating. "So even you think I'm guilty." Naofumi shot back waiting for the blow. The punch however never came. Naofumi soon found himself confused whilst Audrey let out a sigh of relief when Erhard let go of the shield hero.
"Weren't you going to punch me?!" Naofumi asked.
"I suddenly don't feel like it anymore and it looked like your fellow hero was about to attack me."
"Had you gone through with punching him I'd have put an arrow in you in a heartbeat, you and the other people can buy into the king's story if you feel like it but I won't tolerate anyone hurting Naofumi." Audrey said.
"So you believe the shield kid's innocent?"
"I know for a fact he is."
Erhard simply sighed before glancing at Naofumi. "You can't be walking looking so indecent."
"That bitch stole my gear and clothes."
Erhard simply headed to the entrance of his store. "Come on I'll find some cheap gear for you."
Upon hearing this the shield and bow Heroes wordlessly followed and entered the establishment while Erhard went into the back after switching the sign to closed.
After a minute or two of waiting the blacksmith emerged with a pair of pants, a leather top and two cloaks, dark green one and a light grey one.
"How much?" Naofumi inquired.
"It's on the house."
"I'd rather pay you back. I have no intention of becoming a thief."
Erhard groaned a bit before simply saying "Five copper, pay me back whenever."
With that Naofumi grabbed all of the gear and went into the changing save for the light grey cloak which Audrey decided to take a look at.
It wasn't anything particularly special. The stats shown Audrey as much. "Is it ok if I have this other cloak?"
Light Gray Cloak: Defense up (very small)
Still considering her defense was her short coming in contrast to Naofumi even this would count for something especially since she'd be on her own for the time being. She may have had the money to buy better gear right then and there but since she lost the crown's support, she'd have to find her own way to make money, she figured she could do odd jobs here and there but she had yet to actually look into it.
"Sure, like the one the shield hero took it's some of my cheapest equipment."
"Thanks." Audrey said before securing the cloak around her shoulders whilst Naofumi came out of the dressing room now wearing the basic gear provided for him by Erhard and silently heading for the door after leaving a single silver piece on the desk.
"Wait." Audrey said causing Naofumi to stop in his tracks.
"I still have to pick up the materials I want to give you."
"Thanks, but are you sure you want to give up your resources? You haven't been framed for anything but the king said he was no longer going to support you meaning you won't be getting those monthly funds anymore so you might want to save whatever you have."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I already decided yesterday that I wanted to give them to you and that hasn't changed even in this situation."
Naofumi simply gave a silent grunt before Erhard came back with the materials from the body of the vicious rabbit which consisted of the fur, skin, muscle, and bones.
"I also got the tools you'll need to skin you kills yourself but unlike the cloak or the shield hero's new gear I'm gonna be charging you for this."
"How much?"
"Three silver."
Audrey immediately pulled out the required amount and placed it on the desk before she grabbed a piece of each material and handed them to Naofumi who fed them to his shield. "I promise that I'll return the favor."
"Alright." Audrey then proceeded to feed the materials she previously was unable to to her bow.
Vicious rabbit skin bow unlocked:
stat bonus: Dex + 1
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Vicious rabbit leather bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: apothecary + 1 Agi + 2
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Vicious rabbit muscle bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Atk + 2 Agi + 3
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Vicious rabbit bone bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Def + 1 Agi + 2
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Audrey let out a brief groan, she got stat bonuses that would further her prowess but not a single skill which is what she was hoping for. 'It's still a step forward.' She thought as she and Naofumi left the establishment after Audrey picked up the tools she bought.
Once the two were outside they made their way through the streets not bothering to respond to any of the whispering about the shield hero until both of them made their way to the city gates leading to the outer fields.
Before Naofumi suddenly stopped causing the bow hero to look at him in curiosity.
"Audrey…."
"Yes?"
Naofumi kept his eyes to the ground in front of him. "Thank you for standing up for me but….. I think it's best if we go our separate ways."
Audrey found herself stunned by the request. "Naofumi….."
"I just need some time to work out my frustrations and besides you need to level yourself up; I
don't want to hold you back."
Audrey wanted to argue otherwise to come up with a reason not to leave Naofumi alone now of all times, honestly the thought of having to do so actually pained her heart more than she could have ever anticipated.
But as much as she may have been loath to admit it Naofumi was right. She still had to make sure to strengthen her own weapon so unfortunately in the end she had to separate from Naofumi sooner or later. While she was already aware of this she still at least hoped that she would be able to stay by Naofumi's side until he found a new companion but with him pushing for their separation…..
"Are you sure this is what you really want?"
"It's for the best…...there's no reason you should have to suffer with me. So please let's just go our different ways."
"Alright." Audrey said with her eyes downcast at the confirmation she would indeed have to leave Naofumi alone but even so…
Audrey raised her head to face "But remember no matter what I'll always be on your side even if the rest of the world insists on thinking you're the scum of the earth." She said resolutely.
"Right." Naofumi said before he began walking away whilst Audrey watched on as his silhouette became smaller and disappeared into the distance.
After the shield hero was gone all the bow hero could do was bring herself to go and venture further out into the fields where stronger monsters lurked.
"If I remember correctly this should be the area with the group of monsters around my level which consisted of eggs and mushrooms are." She immediately began dispatching of them and collecting the materials in the process to feed to her bow and store away for the time being. Of course in the process she managed to unlock more bows in the process mainly consisting of the mushroom series.
After increasing her level to 8 Audrey decided to experiment in order to see just far the variety of materials that her shield could absorb went. Walking over to a nearby tree she picked up a leaf that had fallen from the branches.
She wasn't completely sure if something as mundane as a leaf would work but the possibility there without a doubt considering the help screen implied as much and the weapon did take her quarter. Still when it came to absorbing materials that didn't come from monster parts Audrey felt that she needed to confirm whether it was anything and everything or just a select number of materials such as various metals and ores amongst other things.
She soon got her answer when she touched the leaf to the bow's jewel and to her relief the leaf was absorbed.
Leaf bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: apothecary + 4
Equip effect: medicine concoction quality up (very small)
Skills: None
Aubrey smiled at this since this meant there was a greater number of bow variations that she could unlock gaining a number of stat bonuses. Not wanting to waste any time she began collecting anything within immediate reach of her.
Grass bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: apothecary + 2 stealth + 3 Agi + 2
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Soil bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: stealth + 2 digging + 4
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Tree bark bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Dex + 1 woodcutting + 2
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Wood bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Atk + 3 woodcutting + 3
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Stone bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Atk + 4 Def + 3
Equip effect: Impact resistance (very small)
Skills: none
Now that she had obtained all the bows, she was able and raising her level nearly to the double digits she felt secure enough to start facing the next tier of monsters and on top of that the current monster group she was facing was no longer provided a sufficient amount of exp anymore. Still, none of that meant she was going to get complacent or overconfident since that could very easily come back to bite her if what happened to her former team during the skirmish with the vicious rabbit was of any indication.
Continuing further away from the proximity of the capital the bow hero by some off chance managed to find a cave of all things out in the middle of the fields.
While she had some reservations about going inside the cave since there was no telling if she would have another run in with a monster that was exceptionally stronger than she was like with the vicious rabbit and the darkness inside hindering her vision she knew she didn't have much of a choice.
There were openings in the roof of the cave allowing a fair amount of light to enter but it wasn't completely illuminated.
Stepping a bit inside Audrey walked slowly through the cave before stopping at the point where there was no more light coming in. The bow hero narrowed her eyes at the rest of the cave which was pitch black. Without a source of light Audrey was highly susceptible to being ambushed which was an idea she was not the least bit fond of.
Sighing the bow hero resigned herself to being forced to give up. 'I hoped to find some kind spoil here.' If there was indeed something in the cave that could have benefited her Audrey would have to come back with a light source for the innermost part of the cave.
However, has she was about to turn around to leave she heard a growl coming from the darker part of the cave. Gazing at the direction of where the growl came from the bow hero witnessed a black leopard like creature with a pair of sharp saber teeth sticking out of its mouth.
Audrey scrutinized the monster as it began slowly stalking its way towards her likely getting in position to attack all the while the bow hero slowly backed up.
Saber tooth black leopard: level 11
Audrey clicked her tongue in frustration. She was aware of the distinct chance of there being another monster that would have the level advantage over her but frankly she really had no desire to have another fight like this, the one with the vicious was enough for her until she could find new party members.
Unfortunately, she wasn't being given the luxury of a choice; in some ways she was better prepared for this situation than the previous time in the sense she wasn't caught off guard outright and that she had more variations of her bow and therefore more stat bonuses however she may have been less prepared since this time she was on her own though it might have been debatable whether that was actually mattered since the party she had the first time wasn't exactly what anyone could consider reliable.
Regardless of all that Audrey knew she had only two real immediate options available her which were fight or flight. In the case of the former the space she was fighting in was unfavorable since in limited her ability to maneuver around but in the case of the latter the saber tooth black leopard would be right on her tail the moment she tried to flee and she wasn't confident she could actually get away however….
Audrey immediately turned around and made a mad dash for the cave entrance and as expected the black leopard upon seeing her run immediately gave chase. Audrey desperately hoped she could at least get outside before the black leopard caught up to her.
Glancing behind herself Audrey was both relieved and surprised to see that while the black leopard was indeed giving chase, she was somehow nearly matching its speed so the monster was not gaining too much significant ground ensuring her escape from the cave at the very least. For a moment the bow hero thought that the black leopard was unusually slow before realizing that on the contrary she was managing to run faster than what the average human being was capable of.
After a few moments of internally inquiring how this was even possible she recalled that out of all her base stats her agility was the highest, thinking about it now it all clicked into place, the combination of her natural agility combined with the leveling she's done so far and the bows she's unlocked so far it made sense. She was able to all but match the leopards speed because of how much she's raised her agility.
Soon the bow hero made to the outside providing her with a far vaster space the fight and right on que the leopard was following right behind her.
Quickly spinning around Audrey saw that the saber tooth black leopard had already pounced right at her. Seeing as she didn't have the time needed to summon an arrow and take aim Audrey simply decided to switch to her stone bow and wait for the leopard to collide with her whilst creating an arrow.
The moment it did Audrey stumbled back a few steps whilst the leopard had both front paws on her arms with claws and saber teeth at the ready as it stood on its hind legs. Luckily Audrey was prepared for this and acted before the leopard had a chance to either tear into both of her arms with its claws or into her neck with its fangs via letting an arrow loose in the leopard's chest causing it to let go of her and drop to all four legs.
Audrey quickly used the opportunity to jump backwards to create some distance between herself and the leopard, thanks to the stats she had Audrey managed to a little over an entire meter.
Much to her frustration the leopard was determined to get its revenge for the arrow currently lodged in its chest via lunging at Audrey with its claws poised to rip her apart.
Audrey in turn leapt to the side but the leopard managed to keep pace her with turning in her direction the moment the momentum from its lunge came to an end and swiping one of its paws at her.
Quickly raising the bow itself Audrey positioned it to block the incoming attack. While the action didn't make for a very effective defense it was the only option she had since she didn't have enough time to dodge.
Luckily that thanks to the stone bow's impact resistance she was pushed back a bit but stayed on her feet none the less. Acting as swiftly as she was able to take aim and let another arrow loose.
The leopard in response stood on it hind legs long enough to swat the arrow away with its front paw.
Audrey grit her teeth whilst breaking into a dash to try to gain some distance. She knew her previous attack wasn't going to hit anywhere that would do fatal damage to the leopard when it went to counter the incoming projectile but she at least hoped the arrow would pierce its paw but as fate would have it that wasn't possible with her current amount of attack power.
The only way she could increase it further was by switching to her silver bow the problem was that it would lower her defenses. Granted the impact resistance that came from the stone bow's equip effect was minimal at best but it made certain Audrey wasn't knocked off her feet whenever the leopard collided with her using its paws which was something she was rather grateful for.
If the bow hero was actually pushed to the ground then she'd be left in highly vulnerable position that would all but guarantee her death, it would really came down to whether she could get back to her feet in time or if the saber would manage to leap on her while she was still down on the ground. She had enough agility to relatively keep up with the leopard, but it took all of it just to keep from getting seriously injured, even if it was her best attribute when it came to her base stats she wasn't comfortable with the idea of simply relying on it by itself.
But considering what had just happened, relying on the stone bow had the drawback of giving the leopard the continued advantage of being able to parry her attacks without worry of suffering further damage.
The saber tooth black leopard leaped at the bow hero once more prompting her to jump to the side before following up with a counter attack that only grazing the leopard thanks to it using its own speed to also perform a side jump in order to avoid having a second arrow lodged in its body. Without missing a beat, the leopard made a beeline for the bow hero.
Audrey in turned jumped backwards whilst getting another arrow ready and releasing it only for the leopard to swipe out of the air with its paw.
'Dammit this is even worse than the fight with the vicious rabbit!' Audrey thought to herself as she avoided another lunge via pivoting her body to the side.
Indeed, this fight was even worse than the previous one. The vicious rabbit presented its own set of problems at the time it was encounter but at least it wasn't able to defend against Audrey's attacks.
The saber tough black leopard turned towards Audrey and made another swipe with its paw hitting her arm. Once again Audrey wasn't knocked over from the collision thanks to the stone bow's equip effect however this time the leopard managed to get her with its claws which tore through left massive gashes in Audrey's arm causing her to cry out in pain.
Audrey quickly put distance between herself and the Leopard and tried get another arrow ready to fire but thanks to the wounds in her arm Audrey found herself unable to react at optimal speed as a result the leopard was once more upon her forcing her the run to the side before she had a chance to fire.
Things only got worse when the leopard possibly sensing its newfound advantage refused to let up in its assault and made another beeline to attack Audrey and once more it was all she could do to dodge the attack with a side jump. Of course the saber tooth black leopard kept the pressure on eager to kill her and soon it became a repeated process.
Audrey felt her frustration grow even further, she was managing to at least keep her alive for the time being but it was only a matter of time before her stamina ran dry and that would be the end for her if she didn't find a way to turn the situation around in a very short time. However the only possible way she could do that was by switching to her silver bow to increase her attack which would be a risk since she'd no longer have the impact resistance.
'Like I have a choice at this point.' It might have been risky but the situation was literally a do or die scenario.
Evading another lunge Audrey decided to try a different kind of evasive maneuver rather than simply jumping back or to the side she performed a somersault along the ground.
Her arm screamed out in protest but she willed herself to push through the pain and lack of energy from it. 'I don't know if this isn't going to work.'
Forcing her body into a position where she was crouched on one knee with and arrow aim right the leopard as it turned in her direction. 'But even if it's only a one percent, I take the chance.'
The legendary bow changed to the silver bow. 'I have no intention of simply lying down and dying!'
The leopard ran after Audrey and in response she fired the arrow. As expected the leopard made a swipe with its paw to deflect the projectile but much Audrey's satisfaction the arrow lodged itself in the leopard's paw causing the monster to stumble and fall on its side.
Finally getting some leeway to go on the offensive the bow hero swiftly got to her feet and ran around the leopard while it was getting to its own and trying to get the arrow out and took aim at its hind leg.
While Audrey wasn't at one hundred percent in terms of her reflexes the Leopard's current distraction ensured that she'd have the time she needed to take the shot she intended to.
"Let's see how you like it when you have an injury slowing you down." With that Audrey let another arrow fly through the air and pierce the leopard's hind leg.
The saber tooth black leopard let out a shriek of pain and attempted to quickly turn to Audrey in hopes of retaliating however thanks to her previous attack not only was it unable to turn its body very fast anymore but it had a hard time maintaining its balance because of its injured leg so much so that it all but fell on its side.
Audrey shot off another arrow into the leopard's shoulder rending its front leg unusable since it could no longer put its full weight on the limb in question.
No longer able to use two of its limbs the saber tooth black leopard could only glare at Audrey now that it essentially went from being the hunter to pray.
Taking her time Audrey summoned another arrow and released it right into the space between the saber tooth black Leopard's eyes.
The moment the arrow pierced the target the leopard let out a final roar in agony to the sky before collapsing to the ground.
Audrey sighed in relief that the fight was finally over before wincing in pain from the wounds in her and falling to her knees and hands and panting heavily.
Now that her adrenaline was going down Audrey felt a great deal of fatigue begin overtaking her body.
Getting briefly Audrey walked over to a nearby tree and sat against it before decided to glance at her title screen.
Audrey Alethea level 10
Weapon legendary bow "locked"
Equipment: leather armor: defense up (small)
Hp: 531/897
Sp: 149
Sta: 45
Def:21
Agi:63
Dex:52
Skills: none
Audrey was surprised to see that she had went up two levels instead of just one which she could sum up to the saber tooth black leopard granting her more exp than she would have anticipated.
Another factor she noticed was that the rating from her armor's defense up rating went up from
"very small" to "small". 'Must be because of the added effect of the cloak I'm wearing.'
"Dammit someone already stole my kill? You've got to be kidding me!" A voice moaned out in annoyance jerking the bow hero's attention in the process.
Looking in the direction of the voice Audrey saw a young woman around the same age as herself with light blue shoulder length hair and wearing a leather breastplate and shoulder pads over a dark green long sleeved shirt and brown pants along with what looked like a rapier strapped to her side staring at the dead leopard with a look of dissatisfaction.
Audrey could only sigh upon hearing that. If this newcomer wanted to be the one to kill the saber tooth leopard Audrey would have happily left things up to her.
The unknown woman fell to the ground on her knees before crocodile tears appeared in the corner of her eyes. "Man, this totally sucks, I finally find a lead on a potential treasure I could sell to make some decent money but nooooo someone has to kill the black leopard and make off with the treasure it was guarding before I even arrived."
Audrey sweat dropped as she watched the gloom and drama unfold unsure of what to make out of the woman who had just arrived on the scene.
"Was mother right, Am I really not cut out to be an adventurer?"
"Um excuse me."
The lady turned to Audrey. "I'd appreciate if you didn't rub salt in the wound with your pi- Are you ok!?" The lady exclaimed seeing the bow hero's bleeding arm and running over to her.
"I'll live."
"Hold on I have a healing potion on me."
"Wait you don't have to-"
Before Audrey could finish her sentence, the lady adventurer was already holding out a glass bottle and taking the cork out.
"Drink this it'll heal your wound."
While Audrey wasn't too eager to accept a gift from a stranger since it could lead to her owing them which was a predicament she would have rather avoided if she could help it, the problem was that she wasn't able to since the injury combined with her lack of energy reduced the odds of when making back to the capital with collapsing in the middle of the field at the mercy of any potential advisory that could show up while she was unconscious.
Slowly Audrey reached and took the bottle in her hand and drank the contents within seconds. Almost instantaneously she felt the pain in her arm subside catching her by surprise. After handing the empty bottle back to the female adventurer Audrey felt her arm to discover that there wasn't even the slightest semblance of pain.
Lifting up her sleeve Audrey was shocked to see the gashes in her arm were completely gone, wiping the blood away she soon discovered there wasn't even a scar left.
"Pretty amazing don't you think? High quality potions are pretty hard to come by but they work wonders." The female adventurer said.
Audrey sighed before changing her bow to its currency form. "How much was that potion worth?"
When no answer came Audrey looked up and saw the female adventurer staring at her bow with stars in her eyes.
"How did you come across such a weapon?!"
"I...got it when I was first summoned here."
The Adventurer looked at Audrey then back to her bow.
"Wait a minute. Are you one of the legendary heroes by any chance?"
"Yeah but how did you know?"
"There were rumors that the cardinal heroes had all been "summoned" and now that I think about it back when I was younger I read depictions about how their weapons granted the heroes special powers and changed form like your bow did just now."
"That makes sense. A normal bow wouldn't be able to shift appearances."
"True but that aside are you the one who took out this monster?"
"Pretty much, I was basically trying to level myself up in preparation to fight the waves while strengthening my bow so I went into the cave that it was staying in hopes of gaining a decent amount of experience."
"Wait does that mean you haven't claimed the treasure the leopard was guarding?"
"I didn't even know there was any treasure in the cave at all, as I said before, I was just trying to gather a decent amount of experience before the wave arrived."
"Alright I go get it then."
"If you feel so inclined."
"Alright but could you please wait here until I get back?"
"Sure, I still need to strip down the leopard's body anyway so I'll still be here for a little bit."
"Good, I'll be back as soon as I can." The female adventurer said before turning towards the cave. "I'm Bluebell by the way, nice to meet you."
The bow hero glance at the adventurer who now identified herself for a moment. "Audrey, likewise."
Without another word Bluebell made her way inside the cave. Audrey was a little worried about monsters still being inside of it but at the very least the danger would be limited now thanks to her killing the saber tooth black leopard, speaking of which she needed to get to work getting the various materials from the corpse.
Producing the knife she had purchased from Erhard from her bow's item inventory she was relieved to see that it didn't shock her which she assumed was because she didn't have any intention of using it to fight.
Upon starting she immediately found out the job was going to be more grotesque than she had anticipated, once she began cutting into the body blood started leaking out which was rather cringe worthy in her opinion and another reminder that the world she was in was real. Still, she needed to get the various materials to add to her bow's arsenal.
After cutting off a small piece of skin with the fur still attached to the body she immediately fed it to her bow.
Saber tooth black leopard fur bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Agi + 4 freezing resistance + 4 stealth + 5
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Saber tooth black leopard skin bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Dex + 3 appraisal + 4
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Saber tooth black leopard leather bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Def + 2 freezing resistance + 5
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
After unlocking those three bows Audrey cut off another piece of skin before ringing it out to draining of any excess blood before storing it in the monster drop inventory. 'It gave me some good stat boost so it'll be of help to Naofumi.'
After that was done, she decided to go for the next material, cut out a piece of raw meat she fed to her bow's jewel before shaking excess blood off of her hands and was beheld with a rather pleasant surprise.
Saber tooth black leopard meat bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: Atk + 5 Agi + 7
Equip effect: none
Skills: Quick dash
'So I got my first skill.' Audrey thought to herself. Judging from the name she had a feeling the skill in question's function was probably self explanatory but she decided to see if the help screen could provide any more info or at least give confirmation to what she already suspected.
Skill "Quick dash" allows the hero to gain a short burst of speed across short distances. Recommend use for avoiding enemy attacks.
"This'll be a big help down the road." Audrey mused to herself; it might not have been an attack type skill but if it helped her out in terms of evasion she wasn't going to complain.
Turning back to the corpse Audrey continued harvesting pieces of skin and meat of store it in her monster drop inventory for the sake of selling them later and of course a piece the latter to give to Naofumi, since it provided Audrey with a useful skill she was sure it could do the same for her fellow hero.
"Alright I'm back." Bluebell said now holding what looked to be some type of amulet looked to be some of amulet in her hand.
"It looks like you found the treasure you were looking for."
"Yeah, since you already got rid of its guardian getting it was a straightforward task." Bluebell said walking over to Audrey. "Anyway here." She said making gesture to hand the amulet over to Audrey earning a raised eyebrow for the cardinal hero.
"Didn't you intend to sell it?"
"I did and that's what I would have done if I actually had the right."
"Had the right?" Audrey repeated confused by that previous statement.
"I'm not the one who took down the monster you're in the middle of stripping. In spite of my rotten luck when its comes to adventuring I'm not gonna go around stealing what others have earned."
In spite of her dramatic display when she found the saber tooth black leopard dead before she even showed up it seemed bluebell had a strong sense of justice, from what Audrey could see so far it seemed like this adventurer would make for a much better companion than her previous ones. Her prowess was unknown, but she wasn't trying to constantly suck up (or feign doing so) to Audrey at every turn and give her false compliments that were exaggerated.
"Ok if you say so." Audrey said taking the amulet.
Enchanted amulet: fire resistance (very small) slash resistance (small) Hp restoration (very low)
The amulet would certainly have a use for her. After putting the amulet on Audrey looked over to Bluebell getting ready to thank her and ask her what she could do in exchange for the potion when she heard the latter's stomach growl.
"Ooohhhh what am I going to do for food tonight? I need the last of my money to stay at the inn."
"I think I might be able to help with that if only as a way to thank you for giving me that potion after I'm done harvesting this thing."
"Are you certain?"
"Without a doubt. You helped me out and even gave me something that'll make my quest to fight the waves easier so it's the very least I can do."
"Alright, in that case I'll help you strip this monster down, it'll be faster that way."
With that the two essentially stripped the leopard of most of its skin and meat before moving to the fangs, it was a bit of a tedious task doing so since the teeth were made of a harder material than the skin or meat, but Audrey managed to cut one of the saber teeth off and feed it to her bow.
Saber tooth black leopard bone bow unlocked:
Stat bonus: apothecary + 6
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
Saber tooth black leopard fang bow unlocked:
Stat boost: Agi + 6 Atk + 3 Dex + 3
Equip effect: none
Skills: (ability locked)
Upon seeing this Audrey immediately pulled up her help screen to see what was going on. Apparently she wasn't at the required level to unlock the skill in question so it remained inaccessible until she reached the level requirement to use it which was thirty five in spite of her having the bow variant it came with. 'Well this makes things a bit more complicated.' She thought with a sigh.
Returning to the task at hand she soon removed the other saber tooth saving it for the shield hero and moved on to the claws.
Saber tooth black leopard claw bow unlocked:
Stat boost: Atk + 3 Agi + 2
Equip effect: none
Skills: none
With the last bow unlocked and the spoils from her kill harvested (and disposed of with a basic fireball spell courtesy of Bluebell) Audrey and Bluebell headed back to the capital.
XXXXX
"Alright order whatever you want." Audrey said offhandedly.
"What about you?"
"Seeing as I can't read any of this I'm just going to order whatever is the cheapest meal on here."
"You can't read?"
"Not the language here, but I can back in my world."
"So you and the other heroes really came from another world?" Bluebell inquired with her interest piqued.
"Yeah, though we actually came from four individual versions of our world." "Really?!" Bluebell asked enthusiastically.
"Pretty much, we found out when we all discussed the circumstances of how we got here."
"I see. What are the other heroes like?"
"I don't know much about two of them but I can tell you this. The sword hero has a bit of an over inflated ego making him pretty arrogant in my opinion at least though you'll likely have to meet him to see for yourself."
"And...the shield hero?" Bluebell asked this time with a tone of discomfort which Audrey didn't miss.
"I'm guessing even you heard the rumors?"
"Ye-yes….. I want to believe that there has to be something more to this entire story the shield hero is known to be the kindest of the four heroes particularly to the demihumans."
"Demihumans?"
"You don't know? Aren't there any in your world?"
"No there's no such thing where any of us come."
"That surprising, is your world different from ours?"
"In more ways than you can imagine."
"I see, to start with Demi human are people who have animal like trades like ears, feathers, or even tails."
"So basically, a person who might have dog and cat like ears instead of a humans along with a tail?"
"Yes and there are also beast men which are humanoid like animals, just think of something like a minotaur or wolfman."
"I think I get the picture."
"Good but back to what we were discussing before, what I really want to ask is did the shield hero really do….. what everyone is claiming he did?"
"It's up to you whether you believe the rumors or not, but I know for a fact he's innocent."
Bluebell's expression turned surprisingly hopeful. "You do?"
"Without a single doubt after everything that happened leading up to and during the trial."
"Is it ok if I ask about what exactly happened?"
"If you're willing to hear me out but I'll have to start at the beginning so you'll understand." With that Audrey preceded to explain how when she and the other heroes were first summoned oddities immediately began show when nobles were shooting hateful looks at Naofumi and when the king confirmed all the heroes' names how he tried to ignore the shield hero and how the next day when adventures came in no one initially picked Naofumi and the king tried to use a fabricated lie to explain it.
The bow hero went on to explain the rest of what happened from how Myne who suddenly changed her mind about which hero she wanted to join and went to Naofumi's party instead and how she tried to trick the shield hero into buying an expensive weapon for her that she couldn't even use and how when all the heroes began slaying monsters she didn't even lift a finger to help the shield hero.
Listening to Audrey's Bluebell expression became one of shock likely finding the idea that the king would do such a thing hard to take in but she continued listening apprehensively none the less.
Audrey continued telling Bluebell about how Myne tried to offer Naofumi an alcoholic drink only for him to decline and retire to his room along with Audrey for the night and how the next day all his clothes and gear were stolen and how the trials went in great detail.
By the end of Audrey's explanation Bluebell wore an expression of absolute disbelief. "Our king…...how could he do such a thing and that woman and even…the spear hero."
"So, you believe me?"
"Yes, what you've told me makes much more sense than the rumors considering this kingdom's state religion."
"State religion?" Audrey asked with her own interests now piqued.
"Yes, this country worships the three of the four heroes and declaring the other hero to be a devil."
'Don't tell me!' "The hero of the shield?"
"Yes, you see this country is one that emphasizes human supremacy over demi humans."
Audrey was about to ask what that had to due with the state religion when she remembered what Bluebell told her about what the shield hero was known for.
"Meaning the shield hero would actually be hated here because they're known for their generosity towards demi humans."
"Yes."
The bow hero sighed. "Once again I'm left wondering why the king had Naofumi summoned at all if the shield hero is viewed as the devil in this country."
"I wish I knew; I would have thought the king would be fairer than this."
"Things would be so much better if he was."
"And to think the spear hero's in on this ploy, that's one thing I don't want to believe."
"I wish I could tell you otherwise, but he was wearing Naofumi's stolen chainmail and insisting that it was "a gift" from Myne even though she had come to him for help after nearly being raped. You can see where that doesn't add up right?"
"Of course."
"Anyway, I have to think of some way to help him or at least find someone who'd be willing to fight alongside him."
"Perhaps the local demi humans might be our best bet. It might be worth looking into tomorrow."
"Alright let's meet here tomorrow morning."
Soon after the meals that the two ordered arrived and the ate eagerly with anticipation for the next day.
Audrey for what might have been the first time since she had been summoned to this was able to feel genuine happiness at the fact fact she'd be able to truly help someone when they truly needed it the most just as her friend Patricia would have done.
And that's the end of this chapter. Originally I was going to have Audrey stay with Naofumi up to the point he purchased Raphtalia but I wanted to make sure she had met her first companion (I think the interaction between her and Bluebell makes it pretty self explanatory at this point so there's no point in trying to hide it) and her first skill.
As for the reason of reason Audrey didn't get made an outcast is because trash, bitch, and the three heroes church were pinning their hopes on the trial turning her against Naofumi and they didn't have anything to falsely charge her with however this doesn't mean things will be easy for her since her support from the crown is going to be cut off now and her stance hasn't gone unnoticed by the church.
Anyway, the next chapter might take a little more time. I need to think of stuff to happen otherwise I'll have to just have to go to the point the second wave takes place.