After their meetups in the morning, Naofumi borrowed out a cart for travel to Lute village; the driver was already planning on going there, and Naofumi figured that he and his party could hitch a ride for cheap. Again Filo would have been helpful, but unless he wanted a second gluttonous bird, he'd have to wait to get her back. With this arrangement, he could shave off an entire day's worth of travel and hiking. Unfortunately, there was a complication.

Naofumi held Raphtalia close to him, making sure the girl could stay still as the wagon jostled and heaved its way up the dirt road. He, along with the others, sat in the back seat with their luggage in tow.

"I'm … sorry Master Naofumi… ugh…" the half-raccoon girl muttered, leaning towards the Shield Hero's side. She put her hand close to her mouth, though she didn't vomit. "I'll… get used to it."

"Should we stop?" the driver called out. The old man urged the two filolials in front that pulled the wagon.

Naofumi turned to Raphtalia.

"Keep going, I'm not going to be a burden," Raphtalia insisted.

Of all of the issues that would re-emerge when they traveled through time, Raphtalia getting motion sickness again was something he forgot to prepare for. He supposed it made sense, Raphtalia grew to tolerate motion sickness, but that was when she was older; she wasn't older right now.

At least Keel and Rifana seemed fine.

And besides, it took two hours before Raphtalia succumbed to her motion sickness, rather than immediately. She wasn't as ill as she might have been.

"So, how'd the meeting with Sir Motoyasu go, Sir Naofumi?" Rifana asked eventually.

"I worry about Motoyasu, but I think he'll do his best with Beryl." Though, I hope his best is much better than what I've seen before.

Raphtalia choked out a laugh despite her illness. "I hope things work out well for them…"

I hope so too, especially regarding a certain Bitch hovering near them. "I gave Motoyasu some advice regarding her, but that's all up to him now." A part of Naofumi wished he pressed on with the attempt on convincing Motoyasu to hand Beryl over to him, but after the… trust the Spear Hero put in him, it didn't feel right to force the issue. This wasn't part of the plan. He didn't know what to do with the Spear Hero now.

Rifana spoke up next, "Do you think Sir Motoyasu would let her fight with him? Or even just stay in his party while they fight and share their experience?."

"The latter is more likely than the former, knowing him." At the very least, the Motoyasu he met today would do everything in his power to keep the girl safe. The question then becomes whether or not her leveling up was safer than the alternative. Of course, everything about Motoyasu in particular just bothered him.

Naofumi shook his head. There was little they could do about it now. And besides, he had his own kids to care about. He gently patted Raphtalia on the head, causing the half-raccoon girl to settle down. She seemed to recover from her illness, or at least got better at hiding it.

At this point, it was clear she wasn't going to get used to it on just this one ride. Naofumi dug into one of the packs and brought out some ginger. Without a portable heat source, his options for cooking were limited, but that's what the shield's autocrafting was good for. He inserted the ginger along with a water skin and selected the appropriate recipe.

"Think she'll end getting tall." Rifana asked again. "You know, like Raphtalia?"

Raphtalia groaned, still sick.

"She was worse off, but she turned out okay."

"What about us?" Keel said. "Well, do you know about… me?" He wanted to know what he ended up with.

Naofumi pursed his lip. When Keel joined his party months from now, he had Filo grind him up as much as possible. That Keel was significantly higher level than the one right in front of him, but he was nowhere near as matured as Raphtalia at much lower level. "I don't really know enough about the mechanics of demihumans aging through level ups so I can't say for certain. Do you?"

The kids both shook their heads.

It figured, their parents likely never told them before they perished. Or more likely, their parents grew up the old fashioned way; after all, if demihumans had to level up to hit maturity entirely, the Wave that destroyed Raphtalia's home would have been averted by the adults who'd by default had to have been all level 20.

The old driver said, "It's not really consistent, even within subspecies, most demihumans reach mid-teenager status by level 30 under normal circumstances, but some tend to reach late-teenager."

Naofumi turned his attention to the driver. Keel was still mostly a boy by the time of… whatever it was before he and Raphtalia were sent back. He recalled Filo brought him up to at least Raphtalia's level when she was fully grown, but Keel didn't mature past 13. "You know a thing or two about it?"

The driver grunted. "I may not look at it now, but I fought in the War."

A hint of worry hit Naofumi. There was only one war he could have been talking about, given the context: Siltvelt-Melromarc. "You were a combatant?"

"Soldier for the Church of Three Heroes," the driver said gloomily.

There was a wave of worry among the party upon hearing of this. While Naofumi didn't know what a "zealot" was per say, it wasn't hard to assume that rank was similar to that of a common soldier. Perhaps that was the official name for the church affiliated soldiers he fought in the future. But then, comes the question: why was he here driving this cart for him?

"But anyways, during the war, Siltvelt recruited children as young as eight and they spent around three months training up to a combat ready state."

Naofumi gave that a thought. While the game-like world he was in followed game mechanics to infuriating degrees, perhaps sometimes those mechanics had to bow to sense and reason. Perhaps then, leveling up too quickly might accidentally skip a boosted growing phase in demihumans? Or maybe it had something to do with the fact he had Filo fight on Keel's behalf? "Anything about having others share experience with a weaker member to boost growth?"

The driver gave a thoughtful sound. "Hm, not that I am aware of, but usually, at least in my day, cohorts of children of similar age were put together and trained together under a superior. The superior would lead a hunting troupe with the recruits doing most of the hunting. It doesn't really change anything, I think."

So maybe that meant that in order to hit maturity, he should have had Keel work instead of having Filo give it to him? Of course, maybe Keel did develop fully and he just couldn't remember what he ended up as; everything past "spend time in the mountains with an old martial arts master" was a blur. Or maybe Keel would just be short perpetually.

"Of course, it could just be random; I once fought one pair of twins who matured into different ages. But the rule that's known is that the demihuman's actual age is the floor. If the demi's was artificially aged in some way, but then undergoes level reset at a Dragon Hourglass, their maturation would revert to what their actual age is. Some theories exist that has to do with diet or with emotional maturity, but that's all conjecture."

"That's quite a lot more than I know," Naofumi said as he went through his advice. If he had an adult demihuman familiar with this topic, he'd have a much better grasp on what is and what isn't possible. Which did beg the question, why did this random cart driver know so much on his one specific topic? "Why do you know this stuff?"

"Well, I said I was a soldier, right? That's enough for you." There was an awkward pause from the driver before he answered. "You don't need to know more beyond that."

Naofumi frowned. He could already imagine what wasn't being said. The man that drove the cart he rented likely needed this information as a centerpiece of some larger military stratagem; given what was said so far, the Shield Hero had to conclude the man had to destroy training facilities or combat maturation boosted demihumans frequently. This could explain why he was no longer a zealot but a simple cart driver. Or he could just be a zealot who blew his cover and wanted to hide it. "Have it your way."

Then as the timer clicked, Naofumi pulled out the waterskin filled with heated ginger tea from his Shield and handed it to the nauseated raccoon girl.

Raphtalia accepted immediately. "Thank you, Master Naofumi."

It was past midday by the time the group arrived at Lute. The sun was just past its peak.

Instead of running and leaping into the air, Raphtalia had to be carried out of the wagon by Master Naofumi. How embarrassing!

"There, can you stand?" Master Naofumi said as he set her down.

Raphtalia clutched her stomach and steadied her movements. The tea she drank helped quite a bit. "I can stand."

Master Naofumi shook his head and then moved to carry most of the luggage off the cart. Their driver, the former zealot, then went off, without a word.

Bags were divided up amongst them. Master Naofumi took with him the very large backpack he brought from his homeworld, whilst Raphtalia and her friends donned bags full of various tools and equipment for the things that needed doing: Keel had cooking supplies, Rifana took the medical equipment, and Raphtalia took everything else.

Raphtalia felt much better as they walked into the village. She bore an odd sense of nostalgia, walking into the town at the same size as she did the last time around. At the same time, a creeping dread swept over her; most of these buildings would need to be rebuilt if the wave hit Lute again.

Master Naofumi eventually went into a building. He had ordered the three of them to stay behind while he went to negotiate for something.

Once Master Naofumi was gone, Keel let out a chuckle. "You know, ever since that day, you've always seemed to be so… invincible. I didn't expect you to vomit like back when you and I wanted to see my father work up close."

"I'm not invincible," Raphtalia groaned. That was an embarrassing memory.

"Sure, you aren't Miss-Sword!" he laughed again. His laughter turned into a frown. "But, Raphtalia, sometimes I have to remind myself who you were. You're so different from how I remember you."

Raphtalia felt the light chuckle escape her belly. She supposed it was true, after waking up in Rabier's dungeon, not as the child who was whipped to tears, but as a warrior, her friends might have been somewhat concerned. She looked like a young girl, but inside, she had changed almost overnight from their perspective. "It's called being grown up, Keel. People change as they get older. It'll happen to you, too."

Keel frowned, kicking away dirt. "You really think?"

"I can see it!" Rifana added, poking herself into the conversation. "None of us are the same as we once were." She hefted up her sickle. "Can you imagine the kids who played pretend heroes actually fighting for the Holy Heroes?"

Raphtalia smiled at the weasel girl; she hadn't quite forgiven her yet for that embarrassing moment with Beryl, but she was right and she was still her friend despite everything. "If I wasn't forced into it, I'd never have gotten to where I am now; you two chose to be here."

Keel lifted up his curved blade in its sheath. "I… don't know if I would. Balloons were scary at first. I can handle them now, but I was so scared of being bitten when we first started. I guess that means I wouldn't have traveled with a Hero if I was me before the Wave."

Raphtalia nodded. "Would the old 'us' have such a grown up conversation?"

Tears lightly fell from Keel's eyes. "No, I guess not."

Raphtalia slightly smiled at the dog boy. "The good news is, you're one step closer to being that 'great man of the sea' your dad said you'd be."

Keel smiled. "I guess you're right."

Eventually, their master stepped out of the building, an exhausted expression on his face. "I got us a small house we can rent until going back."

Raphtalia smiled. "We didn't do that before."

"We're going to need as much space as we need for all the work we're going to do," Master Naofumi explained. "Lute might or might not be my permanent base of operations in Melromarc, but we still need to make money. The building even comes with some tables and a stove."

"A stove!" Keel cheered. "Yes, we can make crepes!"

Master Naofumi answered back. "Hey, I can't make crepes all the time. We had enough."

Keel grunted.

Raphtalai smiled. Of course, Keel wasn't grown up just yet.

A thought occurred to her, about long ago, something that needed to be resolved, something important. "Master Naofumi, can we go to the mines? There's something there we have to take care of."

Master Naofumi gave her a thoughtful look. He knew what she had in mind. "... If you're sure, but first, we have several things to do. You guys hungry?"

Raphtalia felt her stomach groan at the mention of food. Maybe her illness on the trip suppressed her hunger for a time, but now she had embarrassed herself. Did she really have to eat so much? No wonder Master Naofumi compared her to a pig!

Master Naofumi continued, as if that was normal. "After that, we'll shop. Then, I'm going to need to see if I can argue the 'mine clean up' job into a merchant's pass; I don't think Motoyasu is going to race us over Lordship again."

"Wait, what's so special about some mines?" Rifana asked.

Raphtalia smiled. The mines were a truly special place for her, where she truly became Master Naofumi's companion. It was where the "old Raphtalia" faced her demons and won. The same will become true for her friends. "Because, you two need to face what's there, just like I did."

Rifana knew she was supposed to be dead.

It was the first thing Raphtalia told her when she awoke that day, when she became … more.

Her sickness almost made it a surety that Rifana would die the same death as her friend's dreams.

Only because of Raphtalia, she was allowed to live.

Because of Raphtalia, she was allowed to meet the Shield Hero

Because of Raphtalia, she was allowed to fight back.

And yet, despite this, Rifana felt as though she couldn't see eye to eye with her friend.

Technically, Raphtalia was right there, sitting on the opposite end of the table, whilst Sir Naofumi placed bowls of soup and bread right in front of her. The two of them could catch each other's case and physically make eye contact.

No, instead, Rifana felt humbled by her. Raphtalia was a grown up now, even if she didn't look like one. She was brave and strong, clever and smart. Rifana… was not like that.

The difference was plain as day and night; all one needed to do was look at the difference in table manners between the two of them. Whereas Raphtalia ate like a grown up with clean motions and rarely made a mess, Rifana still struggled, spilling food and drink as an uncoordinated child.

The fact of the matter was, her friend literally grew up without her; Rifana was struggling to catch up.

"Pst," Raphtalai whispered to her.

"Hm?" Rifana leaned closer.

"I'll forgive you about what you did in front of Beryl, as long as you don't mention what happened in front of Master Naofumi," Raphtalia whispered.

Rifana let out a chuckle. Maybe she was overthinking it; an adult surely wouldn't be like this over childhood gossip, right? Crushing over a Hero was one aspect where Rifana had grown past and Raphtalia hadn't. Then again, Raphtalia wasn't in love with the Shield Hero. She was in love with Master Naofumi, who also was the Shield Hero.

It still bothered the weasel girl to think that the Heroes were really just ordinary people, rather than living legends that walked the land. They came from another world, one very different from her own, but they used to be ordinary people. Rifana wondered if she was thinking about it the wrong way, and if perhaps that was actually a good thing.

Keel followed gloomily as Sir Naofumi went between stores. He had been told to follow along, carrying items.

He wanted to fight, to train, and grow stronger, not to follow around doing… merchant things.

"The quality is higher than average and I know how hard it is to get better than average quality pelts of this type…"

"You really ought to study your prices, the guy next to you is going to drive you out of business if you're that many coppers over the standard fee…"

"Demand for these medicines is going to increase soon. You can either buy these from me at this price or wait until they're more expensive…"

Raphtalia took Rifana trailed behind, doing window shopping and occasionally running back with a recommendation on purchases.

He also… felt off being near them. Somehow, the girls were already an inch higher than him; they hadn't noticed it, but it was an inch nonetheless. His arms, too, weren't bulking out as he thought they should, he just kept being skinny, soft in some places.

Sighing, Keel had little else to do other than watching the Shield Hero make deal after deal, selling, buying, and exchanging items for seemingly no purpose and somehow walking away from the store richer. His family wasn't very religious, but the semons never covered this. Sir Naofumi seemingly enjoyed it, especially those times when he had that scary grin on his face, when he threatened people.

"Do you take me for a fool? Get me the actual price…"

How does a man who has no ability to attack threaten people with nothing but really big words like "foreclosure"? Keel did want to not know.

"Keel…"

Keel raised his head. He hadn't realized Sir Naofumi was talking to him until just now. They were walking away from a store, having just done one more deal for… glass bottles? "Uh, yes?"

"You're bored, aren't you?" Sir Naofumi asked directly.

"Yes," Keel didn't deny it. "I don't understand what's going on. You just… walk into a store and somehow come out richer."

Sir Naofumi nodded. "Supply and demand, Keel. It's the basics of economics."

Keel blinked. Those words meant nothing to him.

"The very basics of it is this. If there's a demand for something, the more expensive it becomes; similarly, the more of something that exists, the cheaper it becomes. These two forces combine to dictate a price. But nobody has a complete picture of where the supply and demand actually are. I made money by targeting existing demands with my limited supply and arguing for favorable exchange rates."

Keel frowned. The explanation went… mostly over his head. "Does that mean you're… stealing?"

"No, Keel. My prices are fair; I'm not going to scam the people of Lute with shoddy merchandise," Sir Naofum shook his head. He drew a stick and started writing into the dirt. He created a small cup of water. "Imagine if you will, you're very thirsty and there is only a single cup of water you can reach. You have plenty of money, and you know that if you don't drink that cup, you'll die. The price for the cup is incredibly high. Do you buy the cup?"

Keel thought of the puzzle. It seemed like he was forced into buying a cup of water. "If I have to, I have to."

"Good." Sir Naofumi then drew several more cups of water. "Now imagine that after you spent an outrageous sum of money, more cups of water appear before you. Unlike before, you aren't as dehydrated, and there's more cups of water than just one. Would you still pay the same price for that water you don't need?"

It started to click in his mind. "No, because why would I? I don't need it as much, but maybe if they were cheaper… I might take one or two. I guess I'd like more if I was still thirsty."

"If you find a niche in the market, you can exploit it to make a profit on your investment; if you know what the prices actually are, you can figure out who will pay for that price. Money that I should note pays for all of the food you eat, the water you drink, and all of the gear I give to you."

Keel gulped. He saw where this was going. "So, it's really necessary?"

"We don't have infinite money to train all of the time; and we need to make as much money as possible to afford more. So I have to ask, what'll you do? Rifana wants to specialize in medicine and Raphtalia has a bunch of other skills. How will you earn your keep?"

Keel gulped. He may have not have a slave crest, all the same Sir Naofumi had the right to command him; he didn't want to be useless to his friends. After all, he wasn't going to be a boy for much longer. Men, real men, made money. He steeled his heart. "Well, if Rifana wants to go into medicine, maybe I can cook or try selling."

"You can cook?" Sir Naofumi questioned.

Keel nodded vigorously. He would be useful! "Yes! Fried fish, boiled fish, steamed fish." He deflated, realizing how limited his menu was. "... I do want to learn to make those crepes you made. They were so delicious."

Naofumi rubbed at his temples. "You… really loved those crepes, didn't you?"

Keel nodded. Those crepes were by far some of the best things he ever ate; he wished that he could have them for every meal.

Sir Naofumi snapped his fingers. "Tell you what, if you can make a good profit selling some medicine, I'll teach you how to make crepes."

Keel's eyes widened. Truly, the Shield Hero was a saint. "Yes, yes! Teach me how!"

Sir Naofumi wagged a finger. "Then you gotta learn how to sell. Watch closely."

Rifana dreaded the mines. Broken mine tracks and cliffs featured heavily in the cave, a sense of desolation lingered.

Even with a lantern in her offhand, it was like darkness was swallowing the light. She didn't know why Raphtalia chose this place, but it gave her the creeps.

Sir Naofumi was right behind, a pickaxe over his shoulder while his shield had become a strange contraption that had two pickaxe heads. "You find it yet?"

"No, not yet, Master!" Raphtalia said without fear. She practically waltzed right to the edge of the light.

Rifana wondered what could have ever made her friend so brave against the unknown, how she treated this dangerous situation as… an exercise.

Rifana set down the lantern and examined the iron sickle in her grasp. It was the traditional favorite weapon of weasel-kind, bestowed by a Shield Hero some time in the distant past to a companion weasel. Though her faith in the Heroes has declined in recent days, she still found the weapon a comfort, especially here.

Keel took out the fishing spear he had obtained when this adventure began, his eyes twitching left and right. "So, what are we looking for?"

The Shield Hero scanned the surroundings. He then struck the earth and pulled out a chunk of metal. The Holy Shield changed into a shining square like configuration.

Raphtalia turned to face the light. "Okay, so, just in case you didn't overhear, these mines have a monster from Waves that came here. It's a dog monster."

Rifana felt the tremble in her grip, her heart shuddering at the thought. "A-a dog monster?"

Raphtalia nodded.

Keel took a step back, his face stone cold.

Rifana felt the chill down her back. She remembered Raphtalia, the old Raphtalia, as she constantly wept tears as her dreams were filled with dog monsters. Sometimes, she would even be scared of Keel just for being a dog demihuman. The Raphtalia in front of her was a far cry from the girl who she shared a cell with; that girl grew up. The weasel wasn't nearly as affected by the destruction of her home, but she knew there was something that lingered in her heart.

Raphtalia answered a question that wasn't asked. "We're here to kill it. I was scared of it, terrified, back then. I froze in front of it and almost died. Master Naofumi almost died saving me. I only got better because Master Naofumi and I beat it together. And you're both braver than I was back then."

Rifana felt her hands steady, the words of encouragement seeping into her heart. The reason why they were here gave her a sort of grounding, a certainty that gave purpose. They were here to overcome their home being destroyed.

Keel, also affected, reacted the same. "Really?"

"Yes." Raphtalia said firmly.

Rifana could imagine it now. The girl who saw her parents dying, paralyzed with fear and crying. She heard Sir Naofumi had been more grouchy back then, too, but couldn't imagine that. Together, they overcame the monster and Raphtalia became… more.

A growl reverberated along with heavy footsteps. Two sets of eyes glinted as the lantern light bounced off of a hidden shape.

"If we want to defeat the Waves, we have to learn to fight the creatures that come from them!" Raphtalia shouted, her sword already in hand.

Rifana drew on her sickle. If the girl who shared a cell with her and cried to bed dreaming of a destroyed home could learn to become as fearless as Raphtalia was now, the weasel girl knew that she could rise beside her. Rifana wanted to be like her; she wanted to stand up with her friend as her equal once again.

The creature charged, tearing up the floor and mine cart tracks as it went.

Sir Naofumi darted into view, intercepting with his new shield. He bashed the beast away.

Raphtalia charged in as well, sweeping the legs with her blade and drawing blood. The half-tanuki was truly fearless against this monster.

Rifana shivered, her fear half forgotten, but she stepped forward, a sickle in hand. The wounded beast stumbled with its bleeding legs. She swung, cutting an injury into its left lower chin. She could practically feel the frustrations she endured relieved. It wasn't the creature that destroyed their home, but it was a good enough substitute.

Keel, also charged forward, spear in hand. He lunged and dove the spear right into the creature's chest. "Yes! Take that!"

The dog monster howled. Its right head letting out a gurgling noise. With injured legs it darted forth directly into Keel. Its claws swiped, cutting something. Keel screamed.

Rifana lunged further to draw its attention.

The beast howled and swept its claws at her.

Rifana, seeing the attack, twisted on her ankles and barely avoided it.

The beast however had claws and went in for another swipe.

Sir Naofumi intercepted the next attack with two words: "Airstrike Shield!" A shimmering barrier in the shape of a shield intercepted the blow, causing the creature to reel back in frustration.

Angered and outraged at her friend being hurt, Rifana swept her slice once again. One of the creature's heads took a massive cut, blood rapidly spewing out.

"As source of thy power, heed my words and speed my target! First Boost!" Keel shouted. Though he bled, he swept forward, drawing on his curved blade hitting the right head and tearing out an eye.

Raphtalia plunged a sword into its backside.

Sir Naofumi bashed his shield against the beast's belly, forcing it away before using his skill to draw its attention to himself. "Hate Reaction!"

Rifana lunged deeper once more, the left head bled more and more.

The monster made one more desperate lunge, swiping at random. A swipe tore a gash along Keel's side.

Keel screamed. He retaliated by driving his sword right through the beast's right skull.

Rifana swung once more, her sickle cutting half of its left jaw.

The beast stumbled, fell, and twitched in that order. The light went out of its eyes all at once.

Blood covered the whole party, most of it monster blood.

Keel stumbled onto his rear. "We really did it?"

Rifana smiled. "We did…"

"Congratulations!" Raphtalia cheered. "Today, you've become just like me!"

Rifana wept tears of joy. Just over a week ago, she had been a sickly child, waiting for her last moments of suffering to end; now she wasn't, she conquered a monster with help. This must have been exactly what Raphtalia had gone through to become as she was.

"But before we celebrate, Keel's injured," Sir Naofumi ordered. He then took off his cloak and handed it to Keel. "We'll stop the bleeding and then properly treat the wound at the house."

Rifana smiled. She took out a set of bandages from her pack and did as she was taught to do. Disinfect the wounds, stem the bleeding by sealing off the injuries. Odd, this close to Keel and with his shirt torn, there was something off about his chest… and his waist that wasn't from strictly bleeding.

Keel groaned, his shirt torn in along the side with a large deep mark. A deep cut bled at his waist. "It looks worse than it feels," he tried to sound tough.

Rifana smirked.

Keel limped gloomily as they went back to the house, sunset turning the sky orange.

Sir Shield Hero currently had his Shield in the form of a two-headed dog, while Raphtalia seemed very amused by it. Rifana walked with pride.

Keel, behind them all, did not have such a cheery mood. It wasn't just the physical injury that ached, though that was still a concern. Instead, the dog boy was forced to reevaluate his position.

Keel was too slow. Keel was too weak. And because of that, Keel was injured.

In the fight, Keel saw that Rifana could barely dodge the beast's attacks. Where Rifana would have avoided injury, he could not. His thoughts flashed towards his meeting with the Shield Hero, just a week back. He was so afraid of being a slave back then, he didn't trust Sir Naofumi to brand him. He thought he could make due without the power the seal would have given him, but now he had second thoughts.

They arrived at the house that they were staying in, a small little place with only two large rooms. It was split down into a room with four single beds and the other being a general living and work room with tables and a stove. Apparently, it was made for adventurers.

Earlier, they dropped all of their luggage plus the items Sir Naofumi wanted to shop for. Nothing but the cooking supplies were unpacked.

"Haul yourself into bed, Keel," Sir Naofumi ordered. "We'll change out the bandages for something fresh."

The dog boy frowned, but did it as he was told. Besides, the bandages were itchy. He went into the bedroom, laid down on the nearest bed, and set his weapons onto the floor.

Sir Naofumi moved over to him. He tore off the blood soaked bandages and applied a stinging solution onto Keel's injuries. New bandages were put on after that.

The dog boy winced.

Sir Naofumi looked down upon him with a dark look. Even the girls seemed mildly anxious.

Keel worried that it was a sign that his injuries were worse than he feared. All because he had been a coward. "... I want to get a slave seal."

Sir Naofumi stared. Maybe he was annoyed that Keel only wanted one after going so far and away from the slave trader.

Keel steeled himself. "I didn't want to be a slave then, but I now see the difference. I want to be strong on top of everything else. If I have to give up my freedom to do that…"

Sir Naofumi grunted. "I can relate. Alright, at the earliest convenience, we'll go back and get you marked."

Keel blinked. He expected more anger, more frustration from the Shield Hero, especially since the trip by cart took multiple hours. "Really? Just like that?"

"The extra stats are worth it," Sir Naofumi said plainly. "That and we need to return there on account of… complications."

Keel stared. Was his condition really that bad? Was he going to die? His HP wasn't even that low!

Rifana whispered something to Sir Naofumi.

Sir Naofumi took a deep breath. He looked like he was ready to saw something damning. "Keel, I'm going to need you to strip… in front of the girls."

Keel's widened. Then it was something else. "Wait, isn't that inappropriate? I…what about you?"

Sir Naofumi cupped his head. He turned his back. "Keel, we have to double check something."

Raphtalia, who had been by the sidelines, all of this time moved close. She quickly stole his shirt.

Rifana and Raphtalia both gasped.

Keel, not knowing what was going on, tried to resist. "Hey, wait, what're you doing?"

Raphtalia asked very sternly, "Keel, have you ever noticed your chest starting to feel tight?"

Keel didn't know where this was going. "Yeah, my chest has just swollen recently. It will get better soon! I think it's because I put on some weight because of all of those crepes yesterday."

"Strip his pants off," Naofumi ordered before disappearing out of the room.

Keel raised his hands. "Wait, don't I'll… I'll do it." He slipped off his pants. He didn't see what they were wanting to see.

The girls both gasped.

Rifana turned away.

Raphtalia shouted. "Keel, do you know the difference between boys and girls!?"

Keel, flustered, pulled his pants back up. Obviously, the girls didn't realize he already knew about this. He afterall saw his own body constantly. "Of course I do! 'That' will grow when I become an adult!" After all, he had seen his father.

Raphtalia groaned.

Rifana eventually turned back, she seemed very red. "Keel… 'That' won't grow even if you become an adult. I had a feeling that you were different from the other boys, but to think it's actually like this…"

Keel stared. What were they saying? "What? Are you saying I'm wrong?"

Raphtalia looked directly at him. "Keel, what we're saying is, that you might be a girl."

Keel's eyes widened. No, that can't be right. He was a boy. He knew he was. "Wait, no, maybe it's the monster that did that, I can't have… I'd have known about this!"

Raphtalia frowned. "Keel, I don't think any of the other kids knew about this. In the future, you weren't fully grown, so I didn't know then."

Keel felt like the world should swallow him up. Or maybe it was "her"? Keel didn't care; Keel just wanted to be beneath the floor. "...I'm a man of the sea…" he whimpered. How could he be like that if he was a girl?

"It's fine if you want to be a man of the sea, but you have to at least know what you are," Sir Naofumi said from outside. "It's better we found out now rather than later, when it would have been more problematic. You only just started growing."

Keel felt a whimper. Today was just a string of disappointments, one after the other. All because he should have gotten that slave crest!

"Hey, don't feel too bad, Keel!" Rifana encouraged. "Just because you can't be a 'man', doesn't mean you can't be 'of the sea'."

Keel gave her friend a perplexed look.

Raphtalia went close. "Yeah, that's right. Just because you aren't exactly like your Dad, doesn't mean you can't be cool. You can be like Sadeena."

Hm. Keel thought of that. Sadeena was very cool and awesome, no one could deny that, especially since she saved his… her life more than once. The whole "being a girl" thing still felt weird, but the idea of being compared to Sadeena made it less bothersome. Besides, Sadeena was always in therianthrope form, which was something Keel wanted to do. "... So, if can't be a 'man of the sea', should I get a new title?"

"Try 'sea dog'," Sir Naofumi encouraged.

Keel accepted with a laugh. It was direct and to the point. Yeah, he could try "sea dog". Besides, he was among friends. "Are there any other things I have to worry about? Is one of you secretly royalty?"

The two girls laughed. It was cruel when the Sword Hero said it, but when she said it, it brought smiles to friends.

"Try 'sea dog," Naofumi shouted into the next room.

He could overhear the kids, or rather the "girls", trying to figure out what to do now. He tried not to pry into it, mostly because he felt it would be better for Raphtalia to sort the new "girl" out. They were poking fun at her, but nothing too serious.

How Keel went through life not knowing what he… she was, Naofumi did not know.

Thankfully, Keel's injuries were cosmetic rather than anything serious.

Hopefully, when she recovered from his pride being crushed, she could take the item the two headed dog had dropped.

Cerberus Collar
Canine species All Stat Increase (Small)

Hopefully it worked on demihumans and did not require a dog monster.

Naofumi went to his bags and pulled out his laptop. It was something he had mostly because of his business degree, requiring the use of a laptop in classwork. Ironically, now, he'd be using it for the real thing rather than just studies and hobbies.

Naofumi opened spreadsheets and typed in some numbers. While he could have used paper ledgers, the laptop's use was relatively free because he brought a solar charger. That plus, in a spreadsheet program, he didn't need to calculate things manually.

Assuming Motoyasu could convince the other heroes to go to that meeting, he had roughly 3 weeks left to prepare. 3 weeks to farm the gold and materials that he'd need. Not only did he have to have enough to buy 4 sets of armor and new weapons, now he needed to have enough materials and loot to make the other heroes take him seriously. The prices and the estimated earnings were… reasonable.

His plan was simple; the other Heroes thought they were in a game and in their own little fantasies. Motoyasu despite being… a trusted associate, still shared this delusion. Naofumi did not feel like he could break them free, nor did he want to waste effort. Instead, he reasoned that the best thing to do was to capitalize on it.

So, what if I introduced the idea of a perfect score? All I have to do is say that civilian casualties degraded the loot rewards. Maybe even that "AI" soldier deaths also cause a loot penalty; it's not like there's a wiki out there that could contradict me. All I have to say is that I found some books or heard rumors about this "game mechanic".

He scrapped that thought. There was every chance they'd catch on and then disregard the instructions; or be stupid and try to exploit it.

What if I encouraged them to think that the Queen was the most important character for the purposes of story progress? Queen Mirellia was an ally to me and had the right mindset going about things. All I have to do is say that all of the best loot and story routes are tied directly to her and her allies. Just to protect her, say an automatic gameover would result from her death.

A better strategy, but in need of refinement.

Naofumi then opened another tab on the sheet and listed where the other heroes stood. By not being a novice pariah, he has earned their consideration, which has completely derailed his plans of accepting being the punching bag once again. Just not getting accused was enough to change all of that.

Ren did not outright hate him, but clearly took pity on him. He probably also thought Naofumi was wasting his time.

Itsuki tolerated him. He liked fairness and justice, thus backed Naofumi when he said the Church of Three Heroes hated him, but similarly he clearly was displeased by his opinions on slavery. A real wildcard.

Oddly enough, only Motoyasu was on obviously good terms with him, because of their talk earlier today. He had a Bitch over him, but he, himself, would be willing to listen to Naofumi's advice.

Given his class as a "Shielder", it was likely none of them viewed Naofumi as a threat to their prestige or personal glory just because he couldn't directly kill anything. Whether or not that was going to change, he did not know.

A part of Naofumi wondered if the other Heroes were like this in the original timeline. He hadn't really checked on them since he broke ties with them entirely back then after day 2; maybe they were normal until the constant praise and adoration of the Church of Three Heroes changed them. Like how did this Itsuki become so warped he almost made Rishia drown from a broken heart?

Dropping that topic, Naofumi thought on a plan. What if he let them have their glory, but only they would be useful to him? Motoyasu trusted him and Naofumi saw no harm in giving him some extra supplies, especially as long as Motoyasu followed his instructions. This Motoyasu would gladly do it, too. But that'd probably make the other two jealous, which might lead to them wanting his help or maybe doubling down on stupidity again.

Naofumi heard footsteps approaching before he could continue planning.

Raphtalia was right behind him. She stretched.

"You need something, Raphtalia?" he asked directly.

Raphtalia pursed her lip. "Nothing really." she then pointed at the laptop. "Is that another 3-D-S?"

Naofumi shook his head. "It's called a laptop. It's significantly more powerful and flexible, but is harder to use. I'm using it to do some financial planning."

She laughed, as if she already knew that. "I see you're hard at work, Master Naofumi." She took a seat without prompting.

Naofumi looked at the girl up and down, realizing something important. All of this talk about aging and growing up today and he forgot that because of that, the kids near him were going to change very soon. He didn't properly… appreciate Raphtalia back then, up until she had nearly been taken away from him. By then, she had grown.

"Is something wrong?"

Naofumi shook his head. "No, not really. I'm just thinking, maybe we should remember this occasion. You girls went through the mines today."

Raphtalia snickered. "Yeah, us girls."

Naofumi closed the spreadsheet program and activated the internal camera on his laptop. The screen showed his face, with Raphtalia right behind him. "We can take pictures using this."

Raphtalia jumped into view, the small girl poking her head right by his seat. "So, like a crystal ball, right?"

"Yes, it'll save a portrait of us." He brought the mouse over to a button on the program. With a single press, it was saved. He then brought out the picture for reference, the first and only picture he had of Raphtalia like this.

Raphtalia frowned.

"Something wrong?" Naofumi asked.

"Back then, when we did this the first time, we didn't keep much about from that time."

Naofumi nodded. He was dead broke and barely made any money to keep living, luxuries were unthinkable then. Now, he was different. "I wanted to make your life here comfortable because I know what you've been through." After all, Raphtalia had it far worse that he had it; and his problems added to hers.

Raphtalia gave him a smile back. It wasn't something he felt he earned. "I appreciate it. And I'm glad I got to spend this time with my friends, especially Rifana."

"You missed her, didn't you?"

Raphtalia nodded. "Back then, I had dreams of her saying how jealous she was that I got to travel with you."

"Is that so?" It wasn't hard to imagine; kids with literal hero worship, coupled with losing so many of their own, wanting to dream about loved ones.

"It's good that we finally got to grow up together, but… it also makes me very sad, for some reason."

Naofumi did not have much to say. He let his body talk for him. He brought his hand to the girl's head and gently patted her. She did not cry.

But all things must come to an end eventually, even childhood.

A necessary chapter as it establishes Rifana and Keel more directly.

Demihuman aging isn't... well explained. I thought it was tied to Q'Ten Lo, but then there's outliers like Fohl, granted Fohl was 12 rather than 10 like most others. Also, Raphtalia's sudden growth would have been remarked upon by Erhard as impossible if cases like her's weren't documented. So I am at a loss.