2:21:34:11
In business negotiations, you have to look like you're ready for the task at hand. If you looked like a bum, no one would take you seriously even if you were the best in your profession.
If Naofumi Iwatani was back in Japan and was put in the position of a powerful executive, he imagined he would be required to wear a business suit with an accompanying necktie. A briefcase should have been in one hand while the other featured a gold wrist watch. The goal would have been to look like he was "ready for work" or could accomplish the goals the corporation set. This was the sort of thing his parents wished he would wear.
However, he was not meeting executives, committee members, or salarymen. Instead, he had three reincarnated stubborn wannabe heroes fully deluded into believing they are inside an actual video game and that there won't be real consequences for their actions… Naofumi instead had to look like a successful adventurer who could handle himself in a fight. At the very least, he liked being a bandit chief more than being a monkey in a suit.
Barbarian Armor
Defense Up, Shock Resistance (small), Slash Resistance (small), Magic Up (small)
Naofumi's new barbarian armor was not the same armor that he had received from Erhard originally. It resembled it mostly, but with some slight texture changes on the armor's material. The stats were impressive, the abilities superb for his current level; it felt like a distinct modification of his old armor, an upgrade to the original suit with rarer materials, familiar yet new. Even if it was still mostly made of animal products, those animals were a grade above the low level field monsters near Melromarc.
Nearby, Raphtalia and Rifana were both standing at the ready. Both young women looked like something out of a military recruitment poster.
Keel meanwhile was adjusting her new collar, the same one that they had looted from the light metal mines. It went well with the leather armor that she wore. "How much longer do we have to stay here?"
"Up until they come," Naofumi answered back. He had set up a place and time, a large if cheap tavern at the very edge of Melromarc around the 3 o'clock mark, past the lunch rush and in the slump before dinner. Earlier, he had sent a message through the local Adventurers Guild for the other Heroes to meet him. He expected Motoyasu to come, at the very least.
"And if they don't?" Keel asked again. "What do we do if they don't?"
Ren and Itsuki did not have a positive relationship with him, so them coming at all was uncertain. For Motoyasu, well, as long as no women start aggressively flirting with him on the way here, Naofumi was sure he would come. "Then, we just have to make up for them during the Wave."
"It'll be fine," Raphtalia urged.
Naofumi nodded. Back then, he and Raphtalia took care of Lute and kept the casualties to minimum. With Keel and Rifana, they should do a better job.
Truth be told, he didn't know if the next Wave would be in Lute, but if it was, it would mean his knowledge of the next Waves would be consistent.
2:21:14:31
Then, as the time ticked down, Naofumi and his party spotted a large group walking towards them. It was not only the other Heroes, but also their accompanying parties. There were quite a lot of people.
"Back firm, shoulders square, look straight ahead," he could hear Raphtalia coaching Rifana.
Naofumi actually paid right attention and adjusted his own posture. In a negotiation, the appearance of competence was just as important as the competence itself. He had to make it clear that they should take him seriously.
Ren had five people with him, including that Armor guy. Motoyasu's party consisted of six girls, including someone who had yet to be legally renamed "Bitch", but also Beryl, who did look taller and better dressed than when they last met. The one who had the biggest change though was Itsuki who had four people; two of which were his original party members, but then in addition to this complete stranger who wore a full body suit of armor, there was also Rishia….Was Rishia in Itsuki's party this early and he had never heard of her back then?
Naofumi put these thoughts aside as he noticed the three Heroes looking right at him as they approached. No, wait, that wasn't right, they were looking right behind them, at the girls. Unlike last time, all three of them got to see Raphtalia and her friends as the kids they started as. He could imagine the before and after, flashing before their minds.
Ren, in particular, just stared at both Raphtalia and Rifana. Back then, they were just weak little kids; but lo and behold, they "evolved" to look older than him, definitely wiser, too.
He turned to the girls, both taller than the Sword Hero and definitely more mature. Keel wasn't as tall, but she wasn't a wimp either.
"You're thinking something mean, aren't you, Master Naofumi?" he could hear Raphtalia whisper as he looked at her.
Raphtalia! He internally shouted. He wanted to finally show these losers something he had that they d-
"Uh, hey, Beautiful!" Motoyasu broke the monologue as he walked right up to Raphtalia. "You're uh… very nice looking."
Naofumi blinked.
"And you, too," he said to Rifana.
"Sorry, not interested, Sir Motoyasu," Raphtalia replied back.
"...Uh…" Rifana blushed and turned away.
Naofumi felt a pang of annoyance. For all of Motoyasu's changes to his party, he still thought of beautiful women first. He was such a moron, Raphtalia wasn't interested in that kind of thing! "Kitamura," he said flatly.
Motoyasu stepped back. "Oh, uh, Iwatani… they're with you?" Apparently he didn't see him.
"They're Raphtalia and Rifana, you know, Beryl's friends?" Naofumi questioned. Keel by the way seemed very glad Motoyasu did not notice her, so he kept quiet about her.
Motoyasu blushed. "I mean, I saw Keel, but uh… wow, these two ladies were those country bumpkins?"
"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Raphtalia shouted indignantly.
"Sir Motoyasu," a woman whose name Naofumi still cursed said, "It is not the appropriate time or place. And please consider the targets of your attention more selectively." Naofumi was pretty sure she meant that demihumans were not appropriate, especially with the looks most of the other girls in Motoyasu's group gave.
"Sorry Myne, I got carried away." Motoyasu rubbed the back of his neck.
"Those girls… grew big…" Ren sputtered awkwardly.
"Yeah, what have you been feeding them?" Itsuki demanded. "I heard about them… growing up, but that's a bit ridiculous."
"What haven't I been feeding them? Demihumans while growing through leveling up have something like five times the food intake," Naofumi replied plainly. Granted, Beryl hadn't grown up as much as even Keel. It likely came down to her not leveling up as much.
"Master Naofumi, you make it sound like we're pigs," Raphtalia said.
Well, they ate like pigs until they outgrew it. Except Keel; she still ate like one. Naofumi turned to the other Heroes, pointing at the tavern. "Either way, this place is available to us. It should have enough seats for all our parties. We can talk about deals there. Order drinks if you want them."
The other Heroes all gave him and his party a double take, as though none of them were expecting him to have the money to afford good gear. When the four of them met for the first time since the Summoning, he had looked barely competent while they had well adorned outfits that were custom made. Erhard had done his best, but his budget at the time meant only the most common of materials were at his disposal. Now, this time, he stood as their equal due to his political connections and deal making.
"Did you guys bring materials?" Naofumi barked as he picked up his oversized backpack from a nearby bench.
"We have some," Itsuki said back, turning a glare at Motoyasu. "But someone didn't say anything until the last moment."
"I do have plenty of gold due to all of the quests I've undertaken," Ren admitted.
Motoyasu gave an awkward grin. "I've been preparing."
"Gold is good enough, Ren." Afterall, Naofumi's own coffers were running dry to his spending spree; if Ren had plenty, he'd want it. "So, we'll go in and do some preliminary trading. Afterwards, if you guys want to stay, I'd like to see how your parties are shaping up. There's a training ground that's empty at this time of day nearby."
"That's… acceptable," Itsuki replied back. Though he did have a small backpack.
"Beryl, why don't you go talk to your friends?" Motoyasu recommended to the fox girl. He also took a small wooden crate from her back.
"Yes, Master Motoyasu!" Beryl replied firmly. She seemed confident, so thankfully Naofumi's talk seemingly improved her working conditions.
The Shield Hero stepped in and guided the parties inside the tavern. The time of day was chosen precisely for the fact few customers would be here. The tables inside each could hold five or six different people, so as it was, Heroes would take one table, whilst each party took a table of their own.
It just so happened the Heroes were at the center table.
Naofumi took a seat and invited the others to come with a firm hand. Posture was important, it defined the relationship. "First, I recommend we start with a few updates. I'll go first since this whole thing was my idea. Anyone opposed?"
Everyone gave him pensive looks.
"Okay, so you can clearly see I've raised my party members. Rifana and Raphtalia both entered young adulthood, Keel is somewhere in her mid-teens and before you ask, she had always been a girl."
Motoyasu raised his hand and then lowered it at that preemptive answer.
"I've been learning about compounding medicine, learnt how to make accessories and the basics of enchanting, along with mining for the raw materials, engaged in the sale of food, and formed contacts with a select number of merchants and individuals I've been doing business with, mostly between Melromarc and Lute." Naofumi then took out a small crate from his backpack. The plan was very simple, to really drive the point of how much work he had put into getting where he was now, whereas the others mostly had everything given to them on a silver platter. Explaining the source of the resources stopped them from coming up with idiotic delusions, and having something for each of them to request at the beginning puts him in a better position while negotiating. He was not the "useless Shielder", not by a long shot.
The Shield Hero gently set the small box onto the table and lifted its lid. Inside were the highlights, the proof of what he had done. Nothing in the box was below "excellent" quality; not the various status recovery potions, not the artwork inspired accessories, not the exotic Siltvelt materials, even the box itself was well made.
He let the other Heroes grab from the box and marvel as their appraisal skills would let them.
Motoyasu was the first to ask. He wasn't nearly as bothered, after all, Naofumi had already shown him this on a smaller scale. "Gee, you had to have a business degree or something, right?"
"In fact, I was studying for one," Naofumi stated. He always did love business, especially from the seller's side; that's why he tended to play merchant in the MMO's he did play. He was sure that even if he ended up in Melromarc without having to go through Bitch's accusatory barbs, he'd probably still have taken time to learn to become a traveling merchant just to see if it'd be something he liked.
Ren and Itsuki fidgeted in their seats, both out of their element. It made sense, they were the youngest and probably hadn't had responsibility of the sort Naofumi had shown them.
Naofumi waved over to Motoyasu. "You came prepared, so what have you been doing?"
Motoyasu gave a big grin. "Well, you all know I've been doing quests and all that, especially if damsels in distress need a knight."
Naofumi tried his hardest not to see the man in front of him as the same clown who wronged him so much.
"Because of that and because Naofumi told me about this meeting, so I've been getting extras of materials where I could." He took out his box and opened it. It wasn't nearly as well made as the Shield Hero's presentation, but it was very practical since it contained a wide variety of monster items. Also, there were … bars of soap?
"What's that?" Naofumi pointed.
"Oh, uh, you see, Beryl used to live on a farm. And well, one of the things she liked doing was making soap because," Motoyasu frowned before changing topic. "Anyways, she apparently said the other kids did not like her because of the smell when making it. It sometimes stuck to her."
Naofumi gave that a thought. Demihumans did tend to possess keen senses, it was reasonable to assume bad odors tended to bother them even more than humans. Some traditional soap making methods did result in an awful stench, especially if animal fat was used. If Beryl lived on a farm, there'd be plenty of animal fat whenever a butchery happens. He'd have to ask Raphtalia about it...
"But you don't smell," Ren pointed out.
Motoyasu made a face. "Well, yeah. After the girls complained about the odor, I just started throwing animal fat and plants into my Spear to make it. Average quality soap isn't as good, but it's better than no soap at all."
Naofumi gently took a bar of soap in his hands. It was decent looking and it did smell faintly of fruit. He had to hand it to Motoyasu to find a reasonable compromise. He wondered if he could try doing this, too. It might make loads of money.
"Anyways, I'm thinking of taking up tailoring because there's this nice girl around here who makes lots of pretty outfits…" Motoyasu continued. "She's adorable. She made clothes for all of my girls!"
Naofumi would wager he knew who that woman was, but said nothing. He hadn't met her yet. Sensing Motoyasu was done, he waved to Ren.
Ren made a face, but spoke. He took out a sack of coins and placed several gold onto the table. "I only really did monster hunting. Motoyasu had not informed us of your little plan, so all I have is gold to buy things."
"That's fine, I'm always on the lookout for more gold."
Ren gave Naofumi a look. "Either way, I fought loads of monsters and picked up some of the items they dropped. There were quite a lot of them that had beast specific gear."
"Hm, oh, that's a thing too?" Itsuki spoke up. "There are some items that I got that would only provide their benefits for things like 'bird', 'mount' or even 'subterranean creature'.
Ren nodded. "I had quite a few of them, but obviously, I didn't get anything that matched up with them. So I sold them since I didn't know we'd be having this meeting."
Naofumi frowned, but understood. It sounded like Itsuki and Ren both were caught completely off guard. "It appears those items work on demihumans if they match up," Naofumi offered, turning to Keel as she chatted with her friends on something out of hearing range. "Keel has a dog collar that boosts all stats, but I think it'd apply to normal dogs, too. I imagine the bird items would boost filolials. Same with the mount drops. For the last, there are demihumans who can live underground, like the lemo."
"What's a 'lemo'?"
"A demihuman race that look like giant moles," Naofumi said plainly. The emissary was very well versed on the matter of talking about the other races and would stay for the remainder of the week; Naofumi asked quite a few questions on Siltvelt and races he hadn't met yet.
Both Ren and Itsuki gave a thoughtful look, while Motoyasu seemed very interested. "So," the Spear Hero began. "I guess this means you're going to be the one buying these things from now on."
Itsuki made a face.
Naofumi glowered. He supposed it was true, his whole party was currently part animal and he was looking into getting a giant bird soon. "Beryl can probably equip fox specific gear. And there's probably some human specific items we just haven't found yet."
"Yeah, but you're clearly going to be the one who's obviously going to have a wide variety of demihumans or monsters equip them!"
"I heard of items that can change someone's type," Naofumi responded, recalling a certain penguin shaped kigurumi he had obtained. "I don't know if those would work for those items, but if they worked together..."
"That's enough," Ren said back. He seemed quite…annoyed. "Either way, I just have money, plenty I can use to trade in. Next time, I'll bring more materials and drops."
Itsuki scoffed. "I suppose I am next then!" He stood up, pulled out some items from his backpack, and set them on the table. Most of them consisted of various feathers, though the occasional shred of animal fur was inside as well. There were also some weapons, but Naofumi's party didn't use any of them.
"Because I have a bow, I always have the ability to take down flying monsters; this is what I got!" Itsuki showed proudly.
Naofumi looked over the materials. Most of them were probably from Zeltoble or some other place, since he hadn't seen them before. Though again, Itsuki had very little that was new to offer him.
Itsuki glared at Motoyasu, as if blaming the Spear Hero.
"Okay, so, with introductions out of the way, I'd like to make a single offer to all of you," Naofumi asserted his control over the conversation. He didn't want to be team leader to those bozos, but he needed to act the part while they did not resent him for being a "Shielder". He didn't want a repeat of that failed Heroes Meeting before Cal Mira; Queen Mirella was well meaning, but she did not understand them. "Having spoken to Motoyasu and Itsuki about the games that they played, I've come to the conclusion that the world we are in isn't quite like the games you have played."
Naofumi had their attention. He doubted he could make them see this world wasn't a game; Ren especially. So he had to double down on their perceptions.
"For starters, I've learned the power up methods from Itsuki and shared them with Motoyasu." Naofumi explained.
Motoyasu gave a smirk.
Itsuki for his part looked both offended and curious. "Wait, you gave my secrets to him!?"
"You were far less concerned when you were trying to pawn off a keychain," Naofumi scowled. Impulsive dealers were prone to having regrets like that. But that didn't matter.
Both Ren and Itsuki gave Naofumi a look of concern. Neither of them had full faith in either the Shield or Spear Hero.
"So, what's the Shield's powerup method?" Ren asked plainly. "Did you tell Motoyasu your secrets?"
Naofumi shook his head. "If I knew what it was, I'd sell it to you for details on yours." After all, he wasn't going to give that information for free; now it being on sale, on the other hand, that was another thing entirely.
"Maybe it's something like trust? Trust in your friends and the people around you," Motoyasu suggested. "You know, like in a good Shonen?"
Naofumi let out a laugh. That was truly ridiculous! The other Heroes had powerup methods based on video game systems and mechanics; "trust" was something that couldn't be quantified unless it was on a relationship bar. On the other hand, the fact that I was summoned from reading a book means that the possibility of a narrative based power system fits...and I hate it. "I'm pretty sure it's not that, Motoyasu."
Motoyasu gave a look of disappointment, but it seemed that his suggestion was half-hearted to begin with.
"So, wait, if you don't have a power up method, what exactly are you offering?" Itsuki asked.
Naofumi then reached into a pocket of his backpack and went for his grand gameplan. "This is a common leaf. Do you know the value of a common leaf?" He pulled out three, freshly picked leaves from off a tree.
None of the other Heroes, not even Motoyasu even knew what he was going on about.
"See, for a good while I crammed things into my Shield to find out how this world even worked. I didn't come from a video game that looked anything like this place, so I was walking blind," Naofumi said truthfully. This technically was his second "playthrough" but he knew that his knowledge of the world was fundamentally lacking and worked to expand it. "One of the first things I did was put random leaves and rocks in my Shield. The leaf ended up being the biggest contributor to me, because it gave me a skill called Absorption 1, which boosts the quality of all collected items by 1 step."
"You're extorting us… using leaves?" Ren asked incredulously.
Naofumi laughed. Oh, they had no idea of the power of "first one is free". He passed the leaves around. "No, this is a freebie. If this works, you'll get that same ability, too."
Each Hero took the leaves and placed one into the gem of their weapons. Eyes lit up. It worked.
"How the hell did you know that?" Itsuki said.
"You enjoy being ridiculous don't you?" Ren asked.
Naofumi brushed them off. He dug into his pack and retrieved three of the amber leaves he got from Siltvelt's shusaku. "These are leaves I got from my contacts. You are not going to find them. And they upgrade Absorption 1 to Absorption 2. Tell me those powerup methods of yours and I'll give you one."
Motoyasu gave him a nervous look.
Naofumi understood, from this position Motoyasu had nothing to offer him because he had already given away his power up method. But actually, Motoyasu did very much have something to offer him, namely, control of the conversation. "Here, Motoyasu, this one's for you." He handed over a leaf.
"Sweet!" The Spear Hero promptly absorbed the leaf.
Naofumi felt a surge of pride. By doing this, he had essentially set the terms of their relationship; the other Heroes had to pitch in or he and Motoyasu would leave them in the dust. He could practically feel Raphtalia glaring at him for all of this social arm twisting, but this was great.
Itsuki cracked easily, likely from having most of his secrets already in Motoyasu's hands. "Fine, give me one. My last one is called Item Enchant and items absorbed into a weapon can be consumed to boost various stats by a percentage."
Naofumi saw that unlock in his HUD and then handed Itsuki his own leaf before turning a glance at the Sword Hero. "So, how about you?"
Motoyasu gladly and eagerly started talking about the enhancement bonuses from Emerald Online and how he got so much stronger he was becoming, though in a quiet voice that Ren wouldn't be able to hear. Itsuki to his credit seemed to be following along, though he did give a harsh glare to Motoyasu at times.
"What's the point of this?" Ren asked. "Why are you so interested in our secrets?" Realization dawned on his face. "Wait, you can use the other's methods, is that it? You at least think that."
Sharp. Ren was always sharp. That was both good and bad, because now the Sword Hero knew the value of what was being offered. "Good guess. We can share power up methods amongst each other. You could be a part of that, too. We'll all get stronger."
Ren did not seem enthusiastic. "What are you even doing this for? You're… not hoarding the knowledge for yourself?"
"Hoarding knowledge is something you do when you want a leg up against your opponents. But from where I stand we're not really opponents, so it's pointless to keep that away from you." Naofumi glared back. "The reason I'm giving you my Absorption ability? It's because whatever you pickup from now on will be worth more and thus will be more valuable and worthwhile to have during these exchanges. Everyone benefits."
Ren groaned. "Then what do you want? Do you have a goal?"
That was an interesting question. What did he want? At least, what did he want that the other Heroes could comprehend with their videogame addled brains? He took a glance over at Raphtalia and her friends. All of them came from the same place and had lost so much. I will build a home for her, for when the Waves are over. "Territory. Land. That's all you need to know."
Ren wasn't satisfied. "I'll consider your proposal…" The reply was noncommittal, but it was better than an outright rejection.
Naofumi shook his head. He sent the last amber leaf into his backpack.
Motoyasu twiddled his thumbs. "Well, if Naofumi is done with his pitches, does anyone want to buy soap?"
Suddenly, Naofumi felt very aware of his own stink. He had been using soap of course, but he had always been using the cheapest ones… and he had always preferred to let his party members use the same bar for efficiency's sake. Maybe he could afford to splurge on this… "I'll take six." One for each party member, Filo if he could find her, and his Shield.
Motoyasu promptly responded and Naofumi fed a soap bar into his shield.
Soap Shield Unlocked
[Locked] Equip Bonus: Cleaning Efficiency (Medium)
Special Equip Effect: Skill: "Foam Splash"
Foam Splash:
Can create bubbles and an explosive amount of foam based on the amount of magic put into it
The Shield was basically a giant bar of soap. The defense values were garbage, but the skill seemed very neat. Also, cleaning efficiency seemed like it'd mean he'd consume soap less often.
"Thanks, Motoyasu."
Ren and Itsuki balked, neither of them expecting that. Motoyasu seemed rather embarrassed. "Uh, don't worry about it."
"I'll take six as well!"
"Give me eight!"
Both Itsuki and Ren promptly did what Naofumi just performed, gaining Soap Bow and Soap Sword respectively. They seemed oddly perplexed that it actually worked.
The rest of the negotiations seemed rather bland in comparison.
Ren bought the majority of accessories Naofumi had in stock as well as some materials from everyone else. Itsuki primarily focused on medicinal supplies from Naofumi. Motoyasu focused on accessories as well… one for each of his girls. Naofumi didn't like that something he made would be given to Bitch, but decided to not make too much of a fuss.
Naofumi ended up getting monster materials and plenty of gold from the exchanges. Most of the shields he unlocked were rather bland on inspection, but every stats increase added up overtime. One of the feathers from Itsuki however had a very useful skill.
Zephyr Shield Unlocked
[Locked] Equip Bonus: Skill: "Wind Shield"
Wind Shield:
Create a barrier of wind that deflects projectiles. Smaller creatures cannot cross the shield, while larger ones may be blown away.
Naofumi recalled Itsuki had a Wind Arrow. This must have been his shield's equivalent.
As the deals started to close down and everyone started to feel satisfied with the occasion, Naofumi wondered how much better his original journey might have been if sessions like these were planned beforehand. Maybe the other heroes wouldn't have turned out so rotten? Nah, who was he kidding? He was a rapist to those three Fools.
It was two hours past from when the meeting originally started. Now, the others were talking about… anime, manga, video game things? It was hard to tell.
"So, before we move onto the sparring practice, did everyone bring a cellphone with them?"
There were glances from the other three.
Naofumi turned his Shield into the Communicator Shield. "Because I fed my cellphone to my shield and this is what I got."
Everyone just stared at the ugly contraption that was his cellphone derived shield.
"You mean a commlink?" Ren questioned. "...I do have mine still, but it's empty. You're saying that that thing works?"
"I can't be using the Guild all of the time," Naofumi commented. After all, there was a very high possibility his enemies would turn on him after the Wave.
Motoyasu dug into his pockets and immediately threw an oversized cellphone into his spear. It now looked like a radio antenna. "Like this?"
"Yeah, so what's your number?" Naofumi smirked. Motoyasu proved to be very eager to please.
Ren and Itsuki both gave aggravated looks.
Itsuki sputtered, "... This is a game, why would items from our worlds work?"
Ren just shook his head. "There are some games in my world that use RFID tagging to scan items into them to unlock functionalities or features. This is common in fashion games or anything operating off of collectables."
Itsuki sighed. "I'll have to see if I can find my cellphone. I should still have it."
Naofumi wanted to beat it into their heads that this world was not a game, but Ren's comments made him think that wouldn't work. Was his Japan so twisted that the real and virtual worlds blended so often? Would anything he could do tell Ren this was reality even work? Or would he just label him an NPC? "Can you log out?" he asked.
Ren frowned and turned his head away.
So much for that.
Naofumi handed out pieces of paper with his contact information; the other Heroes responded in kind. Apparently, despite coming from alternate versions of Japan, they still used the same phone-number layout. Maybe that was a good sign. Though, given last time nobody had the creativity to just… insert a cellphone they already had, Naofumi had to wonder how many problems could have been solved if they had that.
In the end, the meeting was… mostly a success. Naofumi couldn't break them free of their delusions, but at least got to the point where they were going to work together instead of selfishly guarding their knowledge.
Naofumi almost wondered if this meant the future waves would be a cakewalk…
Yeah, right. In fact, he was sure that he might have made things worse since now if the others went after him, they'd be much harder to fight.
Raphtalia took a seat at the table, prompting the rest of her friends to sit down. Master Naofumi was currently busy with his own issues, so they were on their own.
Rifana's face turned red. "I can't believe… that happened… Sir Spear Hero…"
Raphtalia wrapped an arm around her friend's back. She knew Rifana had envisioned being a Hero's companion before, and while the Sword Hero shattered her dreams, she still had lingering sentiments about it. "Sir Motoyasu does this with every girl," she reminded her.
"I know, but it's so embarrassing… " Rifana turned away. She frowned and then turned to the fox girl nearby. "Even you?"
"Hm? Not really." Beryl, the fox girl, was not as small as before, having grown somewhat. She was under Keel's height, but was taller than the 10 year old she had been originally. It was obvious to see that her level and maturation went up, but not by the leaps and bounds as Raphtalia and Rifana experienced. She seemed to carry herself with more purpose than before. She was however dressed in a maid dress. "Though he does say I'm cute when he dresses me up like a doll… it does make him happy though."
"It does look cute on you," Rifana offered.
Raphtalia studied the situation a bit more. It seemed that Motoyasu did not try to force himself onto her distant friend. Though, that could have been due to her apparent age or it could have been that Beryl was his slave. Beryl to her credit wasn't the trembling child from a month ago.
Beryl then frowned. "Master Motoyasu is eager to meet girls. Sometimes the girls are really nice, and I'd rather those stay, but they generally don't because of all the mean ones."
Oh, that's right. That… woman was right there. Raphtalia turned a glance towards the one who had wronged not only her, but her master on numerous occasions. She was too busy laughing at something to notice. She could imagine Beryl suffered. "Is the princess bothering you?"
Beryl nodded. "Not as much as before. Master Motoyasu and I found this nice lady called Rino." Her bush of a tail wagged. "She keeps the princess busy."
Rifana turned to Raphtalia, "You know her?"
Raphtalia shook her head. She had never met Rino; she might not have met Motoyasu at all in the previous world. "No, I don't know her."
Beryl gave a perplexed look, but shrugged. "Well, either way. Rino somehow got captured and put into a… adult building?"
An adult building? Raphtalia… had an idea of what she might have been referring to. She had heard of some slave masters abuse slaves in that particular way; mercifully, her owner was more interested in the lash of a whip.
Beryl continued. "I told Motoyasu that Rino was held captive and we saved her. Rino was very thankful after that." The fox made a nervous expression. "It was a bit of a mess."
Keel brought a plate full of glasses of sweetened tea and put them on the table. She eyed Beryl up and down. "You smell… different, Beryl."
Beryl fidgeted in her seat, uncomfortable.
Oh, right. It had been so long that Raphtalia forgot exactly why people her age didn't like Beryl. She didn't carry that odor that smells like moldy cheese about her. Raphtalia did not question that just yet. "Are things going better with you and Sir Motoyasu?"
Beryl gave the girls a sheepish look. "Much better, Master Motoyasu and I, we've been learning to read and try magic." She raised a hand and a sliver of frost formed in her palms. "But I can only do this much."
It was frost magic, beginner frost magic at that.
"You need to do a chant," Rifana supplied. "Your magic is weakened if you don't do an incantation."
Beryl frowned. "But, that might get the other girls upset if I do it too loud." She put the ice into one of the cups Keel brought. She drank her tea. "...Plus, I have to do so many chores that it's quite hard."
Raphtalia shook her head. Beryl was fine for now, but her growth was stunted entirely by the fact the other women Motoyasu had tagging along. "What are your chores?"
"Cooking and cleaning mostly, but I often have to serve refreshments and snacks constantly," Beryl explained. "Master Motoyasu does some of the work himself, too, but he and I had to take care of at least four or five others. It's at least better than things were at Flintbrand's."
Raphtalia nodded. Motoyasu despite his faults wasn't actively malicious, nor did he care to treat demihuman girls the same way as many humans here did. "What do you think about him?"
There was a blush from the fox's face. "... I thought he was going to be really mean, but he isn't like that-"
Rifana gave a knowing smirk to a certain tanuki. Raphtalia tried to keep her face straight.
Beryl looked interested in the hidden conversation, but said nothing. "Master Motoyasu… was concerned when I offered to butcher a monster. He said that a cute girl like me shouldn't do something so gorey, but let me cut it up after I told him I'd take a bath after… He really likes to make sure the girls in his group remain cute, but I don't know if I'd call myself that…"
"You are cute," Raphtalia commented.
Keel laughed. "Sir Naofumi wouldn't hesitate to make us do work like that! We had to carry slimy frogs the other day! And our parents all showed us fish guts." All of them were village kids and were very used to the idea of dirtying themselves up or seeing things city people might call gross.
Beryl nodded. "After that, I tried to make soap using the fat. He apparently didn't know that's where soap came from." She then blushed. "It… didn't turn out too well, especially since it made a big stink. After that, Motoyasu said that he'd take care of soap making becau-"
"A couple of demihuman kids don't have any place in the noble act that is fighting against the Waves of Catastrophe," the conversation came to an end as an interloper in flashy armor and goofy mustache
Raphtalia gave the man a scowl, whilst Rifana and Keel barred their teeth.
"You heard me," said the knight. "You might have gotten big, but you're still just whiny brats."
"Mald, was it?" Raphtalia narrowed her eyes. She remembered the knight who was with Ren earlier this month. "Do your poisonous words have a purpose? This entire meeting exists to foster cooperation between the Heroes."
"I do what I please, girl," Mald said cleanly as he leaned over the table. "You got all grown up; big deal. You raised your levels, but has anyone ever given you formal training?"
Raphtalia wanted to stab the man for suggesting that, but she knew that as far as the world was concerned, she had only just become an adult over two weeks. She turned a glance over to Rifana and Keel, wordlessly asking for their approval. Mald, back when they first met the Sword Hero, had clearly shown his disdain for them because of what they were. Both of his friends gave nods of approval. "Master Naofumi wants our groups to have practice sparring. You're welcome to face us in the field."
"Do you think you could even hope to scratch my armor with those thin arms?" The armored man spoke with a laugh.
Raphtalia gave the man a focused stare. She did not know how powerful Mald was at this point in time, only that she was stronger than when she had just become an adult originally. "If you're so confident, then do you agree to fight?"
Mald grunted. "Sure lady, and when I win, I'll collect a prize from you."
"That's… I am not able to just give you something!" Raphtalia spat back. "I am Master Naofumi's subordinate. If you want to gamble, gamble with him."
Mald chuckled. "Coward. I know you're not a slave; you're his personal whore!"
Raphtalia stared. She wanted Master to see her grown up to acknowledge her, but… not like that.
Mald on the perceived weakness. "Did he get tired of looking at you and forced you to grow so you'd at least be good at warming his sheets?"
Raphtalia felt a tension in her snap. She wanted to throw the man into the wall, but knew that doing so would disrespect and shame her Master. So, as his representative, she took on one of his traits. "If I win, what do I get?"
Mald stared back with fiendish eyes. "You? Win? Give me a break. You aren't going to win."
"If I am so beneath you, it costs you nothing to state how confident you are," Raphtalia said back.
The knight laughed. "Fine. Loser pays for all the drinks that the Heroes' parties have ordered during this meeting. Maybe we can throw in dinner, too." It was simple enough.
Raphtalia shrugged. She estimated it would have been a fair amount of silver; nothing too critical, but it would be a bad mark if she lost. "Any rules?"
"Whoever falls to the ground first and fails to stand on the count of 10," Mald suggested. "But don't pull any tricks, you dirty raccoon."
Raphtalia narrowed her eyes. Obviously, the man was saying that she couldn't win without an illusion even if he didn't actually say it. "Fine. We'll see you when the Heroes are ready."
Mald grunted and turned his back and walked away to rejoin his party. "See you then, pipsqueak."
"... That was scary," Beryl frowned. "I wish I was as big as you, but I don't know if I could have faced him down even if I was!"
"Raphtalia is very brave. There was no way she'd take an insult to Sir Naofumi's honor lightly." Rifana spoke.
At around this time, Raphtalia sensed something coming from Master Naofumi's table; she didn't know what it was, but she could practically see it in how he moved. He was probably thinking something very rude again.
Keel snorted. "Yeah! And the best part is…. Now we get to humiliate Sword Jerk. It's a win-win!"
Raphtalia sighed. "Just because I'm good doesn't mean I'm perfect. There is a good chance I'll still lose, especially if his stats are higher overall. Master Naofumi would be ashamed of me if I lose."
"I… have a question," Beryl asked abruptly.
The three older demihumans turned towards the younger looking one in their midst.
"Why do Keel and Rifana call him 'Sir Naofumi' whilst you use 'Master Naofumi'?" Beryl asked.
Raphtalia felt a wave of nervousness reach into her guts. "Well, that's because Master Naofumi does own me."
"But why do Keel and Rifana use something different? Aren't they owned by him, too?"
Rifana made an uncomfortable face. "Well, we didn't want to call him that because that feels like that's a special name for him."
Keel nodded. "I'm thinking if I want to call him like Big Bro or Shield Bro."
Raphtalia blushed. Once again, her friends were embarrassing her.
Beryl blinked a few times. "Oh, like pet names?"
"Yeah!" Rifana answered.
"That makes sense! Master Motoyasu says that lovers use them for each other…"
Raphtalia froze. Does that mean we're lovers? Does Master Naofumi need to give me a special name, too?
Beryl made a face. "Though, I do recall the head maids saying something about people also using 'Master' when they did… adult things."
Rifana suddenly turned red, too. "Uh… uh…"
Keel, left out, looked at both of them. "Wait, what's so embarrassing about that?"
Raphtalia bowed. "I'm sorry about this Master Naofumi, I know you didn't want to make a scene."
The Shield Hero looked ahead.
It was an hour before sunset and the empty training grounds were in use. Each Hero's party had taken up a bench around the area, whilst the Heroes all sat in the middle on their own bench. Mald, the armored knight, stood in the center of the space, trying to decide between a broad two handed axe and a sword.
From what Raphtalia could remember, this place hardly saw any traffic and most used it as a park.
Master Naofumi gave a stony faced look to the field. "I'm not upset, if that's what worries you."
Raphtalia winced. Though she often knew what he was thinking based on his facial expressions or body language, right now it was hard to guess.
Master Naofumi gently brought a hand close to her head, his face more relaxed as it turned. "I trust your strength and your judgment."
Raphtalia froze as the hand moved over her head. Master's hands were always so warm and inviting as they moved across her head, yet he often used them when she was feeling ashamed. "But what if I lose?"
"Then I lose 20 silver paying off the bar's tab. It'd be annoying, but it's not a major setback." Master Naofumi said with a laugh, as though that was somehow funny. "Besides, you were called out by Armor over there."
Taking a deep breath, Raphtalia stepped forward. She gave the Shield Hero her best smile. She would win this for her master.
Keel and Rifana waved shouts of encouragement as she stepped by, each talking about how she was going to wound the contender's pride. Raphtalia wanted to agree.
The tanuki demihuman stepped at the opposite end of the field from the armored knight and drew her sword.
"Armor", as Master Naofumi called him, stepped forward with his own two-handed sword in hand; he wanted to make this a contest of sword skill. "Ready to lose, little raccoon?"
"Only if you're prepared to lose to a 10 year old demihuman." Raphtalia surveyed her opponent. Heavy armor generally impeded speed yet provided high defense on most locations. Even with a direct hit, she wouldn't be slicing through it with her current attack power. Instead, she made note of the various weak points and joints around the armor, where the plate was thinner or replaced by chain. She would need to strike those to damage him. She could also force him to drop to the ground and pin him to win on the clock, but that would be much harder at first glance.
A man dressed in a suit of light blue full-plate armor stepped between them. As far as Raphtalia knew, this was a complete stranger; whoever he was, he was from Itsuki's party and thus an impartial observer. "Ladies and gentlemen, Heroes and followers, I am Donut," the voice that came out was very high, however, perhaps the man was actually a woman?
Raphtalia squinted an eye. Donut was an odd name; it was the name of a pastry that Keel heard about from Master Naofumi.
Donut continued, "The rules for this duel are very simple. Whoever is unable to stand for 10 consecutive seconds is the loser. Incapacitation is also a valid way to win. Magic is disallowed."
The armored warrior raised a hand to the tanuki woman. "This is Raphtalia, of the Shield Hero's party."
Raphtalia steeled herself and brought her sword into a fighting position, blade forward.
And then a hand was raised towards the armored knight. "This is Mald, of the Sword Hero's party."
Adjusting his posture, Mald brought the sword ready to swing with an overhead chop.
Donut stepped back and raised a hand. "Three…"
Raphtalia and Mald stared at each other.
"Two…"
Both fighters looked at each other's feet and determined where their most natural movements would be.
"One…"
Muscles became tense, hearts raced.
"BEGIN!" Donut hollered.
Raphtalia darted forward with her higher speed, closing the gap with her footwork.
Mald did as he hoped and brought his two-handed sword into an overhead slice; he wanted to end this quickly with a single, decisive strike.
Raphtalia, knowing this would have happened, had prepared accordingly. She lunged towards the side whilst bringing her sword up to strike away the offending blade, diverting away by mere inches from its intended target. Even still, striking the blade, the raccoon felt a fraction of the force of the blow. That was not something she wanted to do again.
Mald tried to reassert control of his sword as it veered off course. Raphtalia, having a lighter sword, pulled away faster and followed up with a quick stab.
The blade thrust towards Mald, aiming right for the gap for his armpit, but the knight turned on the balls of his feet and had his armored chest take the stab.
Clink!
If there was any damage dealt to him, the raccoon couldn't see it; his defense was so much higher than her attack. Raphtalia tried to back away, but the knight used the momentum of his quick defense to slam a fist into Raphtalia's midsection.
The raccoon girl fell back, an uncomfortable feeling in her guts. It wasn't a major injury, far from it, but it was the first injury of this battle. If she were allowed to use illusion magic, she could have won very easily if he couldn't see through it, but she wasn't a sore loser.
"Uh, is Raphtalia going to be okay?"
"Don't worry, she's had worse."
"First blood is first blood."
"I don't see any blood there."
She could hear the Heroes commenting on the fight, but she couldn't tell them apart with her focus all squarely on her opponent.
The armored knight this time went for an attack, a wide angled sweep of the legs with his sword.
There was far too much telegraphing on the attack. Raphtalia fell backwards, evading the swing by mere inches, before lunging forward yet again.
Mald met her lunge with a charge of his own, slamming into the woman with his armor.
Raphtalia, not expecting that, took a wild stab.
She fell onto the ground, knocked aside like a rag doll.
Donut counted. "One…Two…Three…"
But she didn't falter or let her daze define her. Mald's sword came crashing down on top of her.
The racoon rolled away from the blade and came upon her feet with a swift motion. The sword meanwhile split apart the dirt where it had landed and thrust into ground by several inches.
"Is that even legal!?"
"It wasn't disallowed…"
The knight had difficulty pulling his sword out from the ground. "I betcha the only reason he likes you is because you're a pretty face," the knight sneered.
Raphtalia didn't strike at him as he spoke, only stared coldly at the man as he lashed out at her honor and of the faith Master Naofumi had placed on. Her gaze instead focused on the trickle of blood escaping from the man's gauntlet. Her own sword was coated faintly in red.
Mald took the sword out from the dirt. "It would have been so much less painful for you if you went out right there."
"I don't know what to tell you," she gave a devilish smirk, the kind Master Naofumi performed. "But Master and I, we're used to pain."
With a howl of frustration, Mald came in for another swing, but with the injury in his forearm, there was something clearly strained in his actions.
Raphtalia stood her ground, aiming an attack at the man's other arm.
Mald's wild sweep made another attempt at ending the fight then and there.
Raphtalia ducked below the swing and made a stab at the man's other wrist. Blood splatter fell upon her as she struck.
Grunting, Mald returned the favor by bringing the pommel of his sword into Raphtalia.
The raccoon felt her left arm crack as the weapon's opposite end wounded her; the pommels strike lacked the full force of the weapon's weight, but it still stung. The level of injury would not make her falter.
She was nothing if not persistent. She dove and cut a hamstring, exploiting the gap in the armor.
Mald fell onto his knees, pain evident on his face.
Raphtalia stepped away. She was not going to stoop as low as the man before her.
"One… Two… Three… Four…Five…"
Mald rose to his feet, pained, but his anger and pride let him fight through his suffering. "You won't beat me, you damned demi…"
Raphtalia squinted an eye. She had heard it all before; if anything, she was tired of their lack of creativity.
"I bet Mald's level is much higher than hers."
"She's fast… How are her stats so high?"
"There's special weapons that provide bonuses to stat growth to slaves and demihumans."
Mald's motions were pained, but still dangerous. He was much slower now than he had been moments before. Was he slow enough however?
Raphtalia knew she had the upper hand, but if she was reckless, she'd lose it faster than Mald. She dove in and took another quick stab. Mald, still actively defending, deflected the attack, but not as well as he could have in the past.
Raphtalia twisted and turned her blade at a precise angle, maintaining her momentum and moving the sword into another attack. The raccoon no longer aimed for the elbow, but rather at the mailed fists of the main. Her blade might not have been able to go through the plate, but it didn't need to.
The sudden pain at the right moment, caused the sword to fall from Mald's hand. It clattered onto the dirt.
Mald, seeing this, attempted to reach down and pick it up, but Raphtalia kicked it aside, far and away out of his reach.
She brought her sword to his neck.
The knight stared, an expression of utmost terror upon his face.
"Win by incapacitation!" Donut proudly declared.
"I can still fight!" Mald's terror subsided, frustration and rage in his voice.
Raphtalia brought the sword closer.
The man looked down and it seemed like he was debating the odds of fighting unarmed.
"You lost your weapon and you were on the backfoot," Donut promptly declared. "Letting you fight further might mean you'd be recovering when the Wave hits."
The knight grumbled something under his breath, probably a curse on racoons.
Ren, the Sword Hero, approached and looked at the defeated knight with a frown.
Raphtalia turned her back and made her way towards her friends. She could practically feel the disappointment the Sword Hero had for his favored companion.
For her, Raphtalia found Keel and Rifana running towards her with smiles on their faces. "That was so cool!" Keel flared. "The way you cut him a piece at time!"
"I definitely couldn't have done anything like that without magic." Rifana's smile was far more reserved.
"Yeah, but if you had magic, you'd blinded him and cooked him in his armor," Raphtalia replied back. After all, that armor did not look like it could stand up to fire magic. And Rifana had other spells could have used.
Master Naofumi then approached. "Raphtalia!" he called. "Are you hurt?"
Raphtalia looked down at her wrist. A trail of blood spilled out from the side of her hand, where the pommel strike pierced her defenses. She took off her gauntlet and revealed a ugly tear in her that the adrenaline had left her, she realized how painful it was. "Ugh, this seems to be the worst of it."
Master Naofumi uttered a short incantation. "...First Heal!" Master's spell manifested as a glowing light. The injury on Raphtalia's arm knit itself before closing. All that remained was a faint coating of drying blood. "Even still, we have to take your health seriously."
"...Master Naofumi." She looked into his eyes… and a pang of worry set in as Raphtalia suddenly recalled this sort of scene from a story she read once upon a time. Oh, no, is he going to kiss me isn't he?
"Wait, you can heal that much?" came out an interruption from the Sword Hero. He had come alone.
Raphtalia for once was glad he interrupted the moment.
Master Naofumi's face twisted. "Yeah, of course I can. If I couldn't, it wouldn't be a good healing spell, wouldn't it?"
"But I thought magic was weak in this game!?" Ren said. "Did you unlock a special skill?"
Raphtalia frowned, not liking that the other Heroes would think of her world as a simple game. She understood now why that was, but it still hurt.
"It's not a skill, you have to learn it," Master Naofumi said with an exasperated expression on his face. "It's just like reading, or really, it is basically learning to read."
Ren looked frustrated. "Then where can I find a skill tutor?"
Master Naofumi looked bothered. "Doesn't anyone in your party know how to read?"
The Sword Hero turned away, frustrated.
"He didn't like to hear that," Raphtalia muttered. She hoped this wouldn't be a repeat of last time, when the Heroes just… left.
"He probably doesn't like the idea of having to go school," Naofumi replied back.
Raphtalia turned to Keel and recalled how hard it was to get her to study. Only the promise of a buffet course of sweet breakfast food made her read the entirety of a magic book.
Keel seemed to understand what she was thinking. "Hey, I'm not that unreasonable!"
Master Naofumi's gaze then turned towards the loser of the duel, who was now currently sitting on a bench with a number of bandages wrapped around his extremities. It appeared that no one was giving him healing medicine or using healing spells on him.
A nasty grin fell upon Master Naofumi's face.
Raphtalia scolded. "You're thinking about how badly I wounded Mald, aren't you?"
"... You gotta stop doing that." He seemed less annoyed than usual whenever she would guess his thoughts. "You could have made it worse for him when he thrusted his sword into the ground and attacked him that way."
Raphtalia shook her head. "I wanted to prove a point." That she didn't need to use clever tricks to best him.
Master Naofumi let out a frown. "Maybe I can make Ren pay for the medical bills."
"Ah, so I hurt them and you heal them for financial compensation. I think that's called extortion," Raphtalia rolled her eyes. After all, her master could easily heal the wounded knight, yet he wasn't going to lift a finger for the man for free.
Master Naofumi smirked, as if to confirm. He then strode away to negotiate on how much it would cost to heal the man.
Rifana chuckled. "He was about to kiss you, wasn't he?"
Raphtalia groaned. "Maybe, I think so. He did kiss me once before, but it was on the cheek."
Rifana's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, wait, really?"
Raphtalia nodded. It was the day when Master Naofumi had finally realized she had grown up; and the first thing he did after learning that she had been the small slave girl that he bought was to kiss her on the cheek.
"That's awful!" Keel muttered. "We're lucky that you didn't get pregnant!"
The thought horrified her. What would have happened to them if she did!? She wouldn't be able to fight his battles and… she'd be a burden again."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Beryl commented, reminding the three older demihumans she was there. "...Kissing doesn't make you pregnant."
Three sets of eyes blinked on the smaller fox girl.
"It… doesn't?" Raphtalia sputtered.
"No, of course not!" Beryl said back. "Like, lots of animals get pregnant and they don't kiss!"
"Wait, how'd you know all that?" Keel asked.
Beryl sank down. "Well, you see it in the barn all the time. Animals… they get really close and all. Especially the rooster with all the hens…" She turned very red. "...like in an adult building…"
Raphtalia did not understand but apparently Rifana did. "Ooh…." Rifana uttered out. "So, that's what those books were talking about!"
"Wait, what books?"
"...Really?" Someone spoke. Before Raphtalia could ask further, there was a gasp from behind her.
The tanuki-raccoon turned to find Donut standing right behind her, her posture… shaken. "I… I… you wouldn't expect someone so small to know all that stuff…"
"...Technically, we're all still 10 years old." Raphtalia felt a nervous sweat. "So, certain things weren't taught at the appropriate time."
"... I don't have such an excuse," Donut said in a very, very small voice. "...I also thought kissing made one pregnant."
Beryl was the only one who was giggling. The smallest one in earshot and she was the only one who understood how babies were made. How embarrassing.
Raphtalia blinked. Wait, it wasn't just them, was it? She tried to change the subject to something less embarrassing. "Uh, is there something I can help you with, Lady Donut?"
"Oh, I merely want to request a sparring match!" Donut cherrily replied. "The other groups are going into sparring practice, so I figured I might as well try you. We can also see how your friends compare." She offered a hand.
"I'd be honored," Raphtalia said eagerly. Now that she had regained her breath and her injuries were taken care of, another fight wasn't out of the question.
"We should probably train, too," Keel said as well. "Come on, Rifana!"
"We can rotate and take shifts," Donut obliged "But first, I think I would like to spar against the young lady here." She took a fighting position, drawing a thin rapier.
Raphtalia lunged forward. Unlike with Mald, this was not a truly serious fight, but something much simpler, much more enjoyable.
They swung their swords at each other, trading blows. The tanuki could however feel that the swordswoman was taking it easier on her rather than using her full skillset.
"Who taught you?" Donut asked in between swings.
"A blacksmith in Melromarc and a friend gave me lessons," Raphtalia said plainly. Granted, that was in a lifetime that didn't happen; the Erhard of this world would think she just knew automatically, whilst Eclair would no longer be there to give her lessons. "Other than that, I'm mostly self-taught
"Hm?" the swordswoman muttered. "I heard you were only an untrained child until very recently; your aptitude and situational reflexes are very unusual."
"Uh…" Raphtalia had no idea what to say. "Is it really?"
"Most novices tend to rush in without regard for posture. And it takes quite some time to instill proper footwork," Donut said plainly. "Also, you seem to know some of my moves already."
Raphtalia blinked. The sparring they were doing was very casual, the two of them exchanging blows and retaliating with simple counters or interrupting; there was no victor, only practice. "I am?"
"Yes, it's very strange…" Donut muttered. "You know how to counter my strikes and your stance seems prepared to receive my own responses."
Raphtalia frowned. Yet, she knew Donut was right. She would swing in such a way to avoid a riposte or adjust her footing to meet Donut's motions. This whole scene felt too familiar, despite the fact the knight was a total stranger. Come to think of, aside from the armor, Donut felt like… someone else. Her height and her choice of sword felt too familiar. "Maybe it's just because of the mood," she hoped. "Either way, it's clear that you're better than me at the moment."
"That is true," Donut agreed. "But if this is how fast you learned, you'll be very good with a sword as long as you keep training."
Narrowing her focus, Raphtalia decided to take a risk. She had to know. "There's a technique I heard about, one where you can imbue magic into the sword. Do you know it?"
Donut brought her other hand to the blade of her rapier. It glowed brightly. "You mean like this?"
"Ooah! Awesome!" Keel barked out.
Raphtalia's eyes widened. She was just like Eclair…Or maybe, it was safe to assume, Donut was Eclair. Come to think of it, what could Master Naofumi and I have done that could have gotten her killed? But that just begged the question of why she was here at all, with Itsuki no less!
Donut twirled her rapier for a bit before she discharged the magic. The knight's faceplate lined up to her face. "I… could show you the technique."
Raphtalia saw bright, blue eyes piercing through. She trembled. She wanted to say something, to ask questions about what happened, but Eclair, Donut wouldn't know who she was just yet, beyond being the Shield Hero's companion. "I'd… like that," she managed, but there was no time for that.
"Attention everyone!" a voice shouted out. It was the wild looking man that followed the Bow Hero. "Sir Itsuki has a major announcement!"
Everyone stopped fighting to turn to the man.
"Thank you, Rojeel!" The Bow Hero took several steps to stand upon a bench. "I, the Bow Hero, Itsuki Kawasumi, hereby state my intention to challenge the Shield hero, Naofumi Iwatani, to a duel!"
There was a silence that fell before mutters rose, questioning why this was even happening. Even the other Heroes looked like the Bow Hero had gone insane.
"You cannot be serious, Itsuki!" came Master Naofumi's exasperated shout.
But the Bow Hero did not respond to him. Instead he pointed a finger at Raphtalia and her two friends. "Heroes should not have Slaves. If I win, I will free your slaves!"
Not this again! At least now, Raphtalia understood why the Bow Hero was being so ridiculous; after all, for the Heroes, in their world slavery was accepted as an absolute wrong. She just wished that the Heroes would stop fighting over her.