Alright, I hope you all enjoy it! And stay safe out there!

Chapter Four: She Really Needed a Hug

The next two days passed much slower than Naofumi was expecting. Melromarc was a massive city, and he did his best to explore as much as possible. But he was easily distracted by one thing or another.

Erhard was busy running his shop for both of those days, but he allowed the boy to stay in his home and eat with him. Because he didn't have any party members, Naofumi couldn't go outside the city to fight monsters and level up. He had seen Itsuki in the city along with his party once, but when he tried to wave him down, the blond boy ignored him as if he didn't exist.

What a jerk! Would it hurt for him to say hi!

On the third day after the trial, Naofumi was walking down the street with no destination in mind. 'Bald Guy said he'd take me out to fight more monsters later today, but I still have a few hours before he closes the shop. What should I do?...' he wondered, face scrunched up in thought.

"OOF!" The sound of wood hitting the stone pavement filled the street.

Naofumi turned around to see an old man picking himself off the ground. A wooden box was open and a myriad of different plants was strewn around him. "Ooooh, my back..." The old man groaned, holding his lower back.

The boy ran over to him. "Umm, are you okay!?" he asked.

The old man regarded him with caution. "Yes, yes I'm fine." He slowly bent down to pick up the herbs, and Naofumi began helping him.

"Let me help! I don't want you to hurt yourself by accident."

The man looked like he wanted to protest. But Naofumi wasn't pocketing any of the herbs or anything. So he sighed and allowed the young kid to help him gather the plants back into the wooden box. Then, when they were all collected, Naofumi further offered to hold it for the man until he got home.

"If you'd be so kind. I own the apothecary shop just down the street." the man said, still skeptical of the boy's intentions.

Naofumi's smile was blinding. "Of course! I was actually meaning to stop by an apotha...apthe..."

"Apothecary."

"Yeah that! The king said I should visit one so I can learn about making medicine and stuff!"

As they walked, the shopkeeper regarded the boy with a raised eyebrow. "Oh? And who are you, to be in direct contact with our king?"

Naofumi inclined his head toward his shield, holding the box in both hands. "I'm a little young, but I'm actually the Shield hero! I'm supposed to help protect people and save the world. But I don't really have anyone to protect right now, so I'm happy to just do something nice like this!"

"Is that so? Well, if it's a request from the king, I'd be a fool to not assist you myself." The apothecary said, looking to the side. "Here we are. Let me get the door for you, son."

He opened the door, and Naofumi carried the box of herbs in. On either side of him were shelves much taller than him. He stared in awe at all the cool plants on display. The old man walked behind a counter, with Naofumi following behind him. "If you could just set it up here."

Naofumi managed to set the box on the counter. As he did so, the apothecary looked him over with an upraised eyebrow. He didn't necessarily hold anything against the Shield Hero persay. He just found it odd that the Shield Hero was on friendly terms with the King.

"Is there anything else you need me to do for you?" Naofumi asked the old man happily.

"Hmmm, I am low on aello." The apothecary said, pulling out the herbs and organizing them on the counter. He set aside some aello. It was a leafy green plant with red flower petals. "If you have a bit of time, could you gather some more of these for me? The fields right outside the city walls grow them all the time, but I'm a little old to make that trip more than once a day."

Naofumi nodded with a smile. "Of course! Is there anything else I need to know before I go?" he asked, head tilted to the side like a puppy.

The apothecary shook his head. "No. Just be careful of the monsters around there. There isn't anything super dangerous besides balloons and mushes, but keep your eyes peeled just in case. When you get back, I'll show you a thing or two about making potions."

"Okay! That sounds cool! I'll be back before you know it!"

Naofumi ran out the door before the apothecary could say anything more. The old man sighed. "I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble out there. Shield hero or not, he seems like a good kid." He muttered as he got to organizing the herbs again.

Naofumi ran through the streets. He lost his way a couple of times. But, eventually, he made it back to Erhard's shop. Right as he was closing it for the day. "Alright, Shield Kid. You ready to kill more monsters today?" Erhard asked, hefting his war hammer over one burly shoulder.

"Yeah! While we're out there, I can help the apothe-guy by gathering some of that weird plant!"

Erhard looked confusedly at Naofumi. "Gather what now?"

The boy hummed in thought for a moment. "Umm, it was sorta this plant with red leaves! He said he needed some more, but he's super old - like as old as dirt, and he can't do more than one trip a day."

"Ah." Erhard knew who Naofumi was talking about now. It was actually a guy he was good friends with. Not because they were the same age or anything. He refused to admit that he was old. "Alright. We'll hunt for monsters near the forest then." Erhard said. "Come on. We don't have all day!"

"Right!" Naofumi happily followed the kind blacksmith.

Within the next few hours, Naofumi reached level 6 from all the monsters he and Erhard defeated. Well...Erhard was the one that defeated them. Naofumi just stood there as they nibbled on his body harmlessly and the hammer-wielding man crushed them for him.

Part of him still wished he could keep one as a pet, but he figured they wouldn't fetch a stick or anything. They seemed a little boring, actually. All the balloons wanted was something to chew on, and that got old pretty quickly.

Now if he could teach them to chew on other people without hurting them. That would be a funny prank.

As they walked through the forest, Naofumi found a couple of the weird plants the apothe… whatever had shown him. He bent down and picked one from the ground.

Aello: Quality: Below Average

"Whoa! More words flashed in front of me!" Naofumi said in surprise as the words appeared on his HUD.

"Yeah, it happens all the time when you're gathering this stuff," Erhard said as he picked some up himself. Words appeared on his HUD. "Below Average, huh."

'Wait, didn't Motoyasu and the others say I should absorb stuff into my shield?' Naofumi wondered, looking between his shield and the plant in his hand.

Erhard set his hammer to the side and examined the plant. "Yep, that looks like what we're looking for." A frown came onto his face. "Damn, its quality could use some work though. I feel bad for the apothecary. It's hard to find even normal quality herbs so close to the city-"

Naofumi absorbed the herbs into his Shield. They glowed and disappeared in a bright light.

…

Erhard stared at Naofumi silently. 'So his Shield doesn't just absorb monster parts and steal my stuff.' He thought. Staring enviously at the Iron Shield Naofumi currently had equipped. The one that Naofumi had 'stolen' by copying it. "That's one weird shield you've got there, kid."

"Yeah, I guess." More words flashed across Naofumi's screen. "It says if I absorb more of these, I'll unlock a new shield."

"Hmmm, the herbs around here aren't very good quality. Might as well put them to good use." Erhard said.

He watched the perimeter for more monsters while Naofumi gathered the Aello herbs. Absorbing them into his shield. After going around and absorbing two dozen herbs into his shield, a new notification appeared on his screen.

Requirements met. Leaf Shield Unlocked.

(abilities locked) Equip Bonus: Gathering Skill 1

A help guide appeared next to the notification. The gist of it was that some weapons had special abilities and bonuses attached to them. Until he unlocked the shield, he'd have to have the shield equipped in order to use the equip bonus. Unlocking the weapon was simple though. All he had to do was use it for a certain amount of time, and then he'd receive a notification for when it was unlocked!

'Cool!' He thought. It even gave him a simpler way of pulling up the shield. All he had to do was think the name of the shield he wanted instead of saying it out loud, and he could pull up the shield automatically! He tried it, and his shield switched to a shield that looked like a large dark green leaf. 'I don't know how being more skilled at gathering helps me, though. I think I'm doing it right already.'

"Hmmm." Erhard examined the new shield. "Doesn't look all that special to me." He said with a shrug.

Naofumi picked up the next Aello herb. His screen indicated it was another Below Average herb. However, when he picked it up, a glow appeared around it.

"What the hell?!-" Erhard slapped his hand over his mouth. 'No, bad Erhard! No cussing in front of little kids!' He thought to himself.

Aello: Quality: Normal

"Mr. Bald Guy! Is this supposed to happen?!" Naofumi asked, showing Erhard the herb. The man examined it closely with widened eyes.

"How'd you manage to do that?" He asked.

"I just picked it up… and then it glowed… and then, um…" Naofumi looked unsure.

Erhard sighed. "I guess that makes two of us who don't have a clue what's going on. That shield of yours is a real piece of work, kid."

Naofumi absentmindedly picked up another lower quality herb. And again, after picking it, it glowed, it's quality raising to a higher level. "It just did it again."

Erhard thought to himself. "What happens when you pick an actual decent quality herb?" Erhard wondered aloud.

They went a little deeper into the forest. Here, balloons and Mush-type monsters attacked. However, Erhard easily beat them all. Naofumi absorbed the Mush parts into his shield. Unlocking other cool shields. Finally, Naofumi found another Aello herb that was already of normal quality. He gathered it alongside some Jibal herbs. Both of which glowed when he picked them up.

Aello: Quality: Good

Jibal: Quality: Somewhat Good

Naofumi showed the herbs to Erhard. "Damn!" He exclaimed, and then he slapped his hand over his mouth again. "Forget I said that. But that's one freaking awesome shield you got there, Shield Kid!"

"Really?" Naofumi asked excitedly.

"Yeah, you'll never find herbs of that quality around here. You could make a small fortune selling those!"

Dollar signs appeared over Naofumi's eyes. He immediately got on the ground again, gathering every herb in sight. He was so caught up in his excitement that he completely forgot the 900 silvers he had already received from the king.

Erhard allowed the kid to gather until it was nearing sunset. The monsters had stopped trying to attack them, seeing how powerful Erhard was. So Naofumi didn't get higher than level 6.

However, Naofumi was able to gather and improve a whole bunch of herbs. So much in fact, that when they got back into town and Naofumi presented the stash he'd acquired to the apothecary while Erhard sold the monster parts, the poor old man almost had a heart attack at the number of quality herbs Naofumi covered the counter with by letting them fall out of his shield.

"Where did you find these?!" He asked, examining the herbs like he was being given gold.

"Out in the forest," Naofumi said happily. "There was lots to pick from!" It was almost like stealing candy from his baby brother. Except this would make him money instead of putting him in time out!

"I see…" The apothecary looked at the kid with new eyes. More respectful, and a tad more kind. "Thank you, young man. These will make excellent medicines." He pulled out several silver coins, dropping them onto the counter for Naofumi.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but you said you'd teach me a little bit about making potions."

"Ah yes I did, didn't I?" The old man reached under the counter and pulled out a dusty tome that looked like it hadn't been touched in months. "This book will teach you some basic recipes for healing potions and a few other medicines, but I'll show you the basics now using some of the ingredients you brought me."

He proceeded to pull out a pestle and mortar, along a small beaker and what looked like a bunsen burner. Erhard came in, rustling Naofumi's hair. "I don't know jack about this stuff. I work with hard metals and leather, not little plants and potions. I'll meet you back at the shop for dinner, alright?"

Naofumi nodded happily! "Right!"

The boy spent the next half hour watching the apothecary grind some of the herbs into small pieces and mixing them into the beaker filled with water. The little burner magically caught on fire, bringing the mixture to a boil. After some time, the man told him the potion was complete.

He even bottled it and gave Naofumi the potion as a gift for his hard work.

Medicine: Quality: Average

Naofumi absorbed the medicine into his shield. Storing it into his inventory for later. He also got a notification that there was another Shield he could unlock if he absorbed more medicine into his shield. With everything done, he thanked the shopkeeper before making his way back toward Erhard's shop. It was only a few streets over, but it was starting to get dark.

His mom always told him to be back home before night time because scary people do bad things at night. Naofumi never ignored his mother's advice before, and he wasn't about to start now!

...Though he could probably get away with it...No! Bad Naofumi!

He hummed to himself as he turned the last corner. The sign with two crossed swords was barely visible, thanks to the lantern outside the door providing a small amount of light. However, as he passed by an alley he was roughly grabbed by the shoulder.

"AH! HE-mmph!" He tried to scream but was silenced by a hand over his mouth. He panicked, kicking and flailing with all of his might.

"Shhh! We're not going to hurt you, Shield hero, but we have to be discreet!" a voice said quietly. Naofumi stopped struggling after a few seconds and turned to see who had grabbed him.

It was dark, so it was hard to tell what the person looked like aside from the masculine voice. A hood over the person's head didn't help, either. It also sounded like there were more people with him. The person, seeing Naofumi wasn't going to scream anymore, removed his hand from his mouth.

"Who, who are you?" Naofumi asked, still sounding a little scared.

"My name is Chang. I am part of the delegation that was sent to meet you, Great One." The hooded Chang bowed his head in respect. The others around him also bowed in the darkness.

"Wh-What?"

One of them raised their head. "We couldn't sneak past the city guards in broad daylight. This was our only chance to deliver our message." The voice was definitely feminine.

"Message?" Naofumi asked, confused.

The person nodded, before removing their hood. The others also removed their hoods. Naofumi's eyes had been somewhat adjusting to the dark. His eyes widened as he saw what looked like a person with wolf ears. "Woah, you're-!"

"Shhh! Please be silent, Great one! We are not supposed to be here! We cannot afford to be caught!" Chang looked kind of like a cat. Only his features were more refined. The animal was on the tip of Naofumi's tongue, but he couldn't remember where he'd seen it from.

"Then why'd you come if you're not allowed? Should I tell Mr. Aultcray on you!?"

Their eyes genuinely widened with fear. "Please, not that. Anything but that." Chang whispered frantically. The others got on their knees and prostrated themselves as if they were pleading for forgiveness for some great sin.

Naofumi didn't try to joke about that anymore. They looked genuinely afraid of the King, so much that even Naofumi could see it. He instead stayed silent, waiting for Chang to deliver his message.

"The council was informed of your illegal summoning and immediately sent us to retrieve you by any means necessary. If that is your wish, we will depart tonight under the cover of night." That was the gist of the message.

"Illegal? But I thought I'm supposed to save the world. How is that illegal?"

Chang looked caught off guard by Naofumi's response. "Well, that isn't illegal. We'd hope that you'd save our world, Great One." He said.

"So...why does she have dog ears? Is it like one of those headbands that girls wear because they think they look cute?" Naofumi said, completely derailing the conversation.

"You… don't know who we are, do you?"

"Hmm... Nope!"

…

Chang and the others huddled together. "A kid was summoned as the Shield Hero?"

"What are we supposed to do now?"

"He doesn't even have an idea about who we are?"

"Should we go back and tell the council?"

"But what should we tell them? That a child of all things is our savior? There would be riots in the streets."

"There'd be riots everywhere in the damn country!"

"Um, is everything okay?" Naofumi asked innocently.

The huddle immediately ended, and all the demi-humans bowed to Naofumi. "I'm sorry, Great One, but we might have been a little hasty with our request. We offer our sincerest apologies if we offended you in any way." Chang said.

"I'm… not offended… and my name's Naofumi, not Great One." Naofumi corrected.

"Our apologies, Gre- Naofumi." Chang corrected himself.

...

It was awkwardly silent for a moment.

"Hey! What's going on out there!?"

The demi-humans frantically gathered together. "If you are willing. Then meet us in Siltvelt as soon as you're able. I hope we'll meet again one day, Naofumi." Chang and the others pulled their hoods down and then melted into the darkness.

Within an instant, the group of strange people was gone. Erhard rounded the corner, warhammer in hand. When he caught sight of Naofumi by himself, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the gods it's just you, kid. I thought there was a whole group of people outside my shop plotting something sinister."

"No, it wasn't that…" Naofumi looked unsure.

"Hey, did something happen?" Erhard suddenly looked concerned. Seeing Naofumi not being his usual happy self.

"Uhh, no?" Naofumi really wasn't a good liar.

…

"Here, I have dinner ready. How about you tell me about it after we're done eating." Erhard offered.

Naofumi followed the bald man into his home.

The two ate in relative silence. Naofumi picked at his meal, something which Erhard found strange. Naofumi loved food more than anything else. Anything that was good he shoveled down without restraint. Now…

Erhard gave a weak sigh that made him seem older than he really was. "Alright, spit it out. What really happened out there? I thought I heard something like a shout."

Naofumi averted his gaze, unsure of what he should say. He eventually cracked and told Erhard about the short meeting he had. How the group had dog or cat ears on their heads and had wanted him to go with them somewhere… "I think it was… um… uh…" The word was there.

"Siltvelt?"

"Yeah, that," Naofumi said.

"Hmmm, Siltvelt, huh?" Erhard rubbed his chin in thought. "No surprise there. That's the home of the demi-humans. And I'm guessing the group you met out there was a delegation sent to find you."

"Oh, do you know why they wanted to meet me?" Naofumi asked.

"Well if I'm correct, the Shield Hero's like a God to them over there." 'Unlike here.' He thought to himself. "So it was probably related to that."

"They did call me 'Great one'. It was a little weird though."

"I'm with you there. There's nothing all that great about you."

...

Naofumi fumed at Erhard, who couldn't keep a straight face and busted out laughing. "Relax, kid. I'm joking! You're not too bad once you get past the whole 'ruined my entire shop for a day' thing."

"At least I'm not bald." Naofumi folded his arms and pouted.

"You're gonna need a new insult soon! That one's getting older by the minute!"

"Soon, it'll be as old as you Mr. Bald Guy!"

"Hahaha! You have a sharp tongue!... I like it." Erhard looked more relaxed, and Naofumi didn't look so down anymore. "Anyway, back to demi-humans. You know how they came at night, right? That's because demi-humans aren't very popular here in Melromarc. There was a war a long time ago between humans and demi-humans, and people still hold some nasty grudges to this day."

Naofumi sat attentively and listened. "The other thing about it is that Melromarc worships the Sword, Bow, and Spear. While over in Siltvelt, they worship the Shield."

"Is that also why I'm not well-liked here?" Naofumi asked.

"That's part of it, yes." Erhard agreed.

"But you like me, right Mr. Bald Guy."

"Of course! I'm also a lowly bald shopkeeper who can't afford to discriminate against his clients!" Erhard jabbed a thumb into his chest with a proud smirk, despite the demeaning comment about himself.

"Do you know why they came here?" Naofumi asked.

"I reckon they came here. Thinking you were in some kind of danger thanks to being illegally summoned and all that."

"But I'm not in danger. And I don't think saving the world is illegal… at least I don't think it is." Naofumi said, looking confused as he tried to think it over with his ten-year-old mind.

"Nah." Erhard waved a hand dismissively. "I don't know the details about the illegal summoning stuff. Just that Siltvelt is supposed to summon the Shield hero themselves, but King Aultcray beat 'em to it. I figure they're pretty upset about it."

"Does that mean I should be in Siltvelt instead of here?" Naofumi asked sadly. He didn't want to leave poor Bald Guy and Mr. Aultcray all alone here.

"Well, you can do whatever you want, kid. At this point, you're the hero. If you want to go there, be my guest. You'll definitely be treated a lot better, but it might be a little..." He trailed off, unsure of how to carefully word his next comment. "... much."

He wasn't about to say harem sex or anything like that. Not to a child!

Though he wondered if they would try and do that to a kid… it was likely. Siltvelt was infamous for getting as many kids from the Shield Hero as possible. The fact that he was young meant it was even better. They could have his sperm around for a longer period of time and get even more kids from him if they raised him to think of himself as a breeding bull.

His old master would be drooling at the thought. The old pervert.

Naofumi looked down sadly. "But I don't want to leave. I just got here, and you and Mr. Aultcray and the old Apothe-guy have been super nice to me!"

Erhard put his hands up in a hurry. "Whoa, I'm not saying you have to leave Shield Kid! If you want, you can just tell them next time that you'd rather stay. They'll obey whatever you say no matter what."

"... really?" Naofumi asked. Looking excited at that.

"Yeah, but don't let it go to your head," Erhard said seriously, realizing he'd need to do a possibly major ego curb stomp. "You're a Cardinal Hero. That comes with certain privileges and the like. But you can't abuse them. Otherwise, you won't be seen as a hero for very long." He said seriously. "Here, or in Siltvelt."

Naofumi nodded. "Okay. So all I have to do is tell them nicely that I want to stay next time I see them, and then they won't try and ask me to leave again?" Naofumi asked.

Erhard nodded. That made Naofumi feel relieved. "Good, because I like it here."

The blacksmith gave a soft smile. 'I'm starting to like having you here too, kid.' he thought, before shaking his head. "Alright, let's get off to bed. We have another busy day ahead of us tomorrow."

The following week passed like normal. Erhard was busy most days with his blacksmith duties, but that was okay with Naofumi. He'd leveled up to 9 now. Allowing him to have Erhard's better/cooler Steel Shield he'd copied equipped whenever he went out into the forest to gather herbs. He'd long since unlocked the equip bonus from the Leaf Shield. Along with a lot of the other shields he'd gotten from the monsters Erhard defeated. So his defense stat was higher than ever! And he was able to do all sorts of cool things like gather herbs without having a big leaf attached to his arm!

Another cool thing of note was that he'd recently made use of one of Ren's suggestions. Resetting shields he'd used previously after fully mastering them to get the energy to awaken his current copied shield to make it stronger. That guy was seriously the coolest! His shield even looked a little cooler now than before! There were still methods the other two heroes had told him about that he had as of yet to use. But he had as of yet to find or copy a rare shield as Itsuki had said. And he still didn't know what ores Motoyasu was talking about to upgrade his weapons.

Boy, the help guide really helped a lot! He just wished it'd help him out a little more with finding what he needed to get even cooler.

Anyways, after he'd be done gathering herbs on his own, he'd arrive at the castle gates covered in monsters trying to gnaw on his body. It freaked out the knights posted at the wall the first couple of times. But they eventually got used to it. They made sure to pop/kill every monster on Naofumi for him before he reentered the city.

Although it was for the citizens' sake, they couldn't deny that they started to enjoy the small amount of stress relief. Along with the entertainment and joy Naofumi brought with him whenever he came by. By the end of the week, it reached the point where the Knights pulled straws to see who'd be lucky enough to be posted at the Southern gate in the evening to assist the Shield Hero when he arrived with monsters covering him.

Naofumi also got the chance to watch the apo… apothe… apotho-whatever dude (he still couldn't pronounce the term) make more medicines. The old man seemed to enjoy having Naofumi over a lot. It got to the point that Naofumi would walk in and find the old man already behind his counter. Compounding tools out and ready to show Naofumi how to make a different potion and/or medicine. Either from herbs Naofumi had gathered, or with herbs he had already on stock.

Along with the small amount of silver the old man paid, he'd gifted Naofumi his own little beginner's set of compounding tools. It was brand new and polished. Erhard had translated the hand-written note that came with it. Handle with care. The blacksmith did try to teach him how to read and write the language, especially since Naofumi had a book from the apothecarian to read, but Naofumi didn't pick it up very quickly, if at all.

Learning was so… boring...

Still, despite all the activity, Naofumi couldn't help but feel alone at times. Whenever he was out in the woods with the monsters. Whenever he was wandering the streets (and occasionally getting lost). The people had stopped whispering and glancing in his direction whenever he walked by. They'd stopped noting his unusual presence. It was like he was just… there.

Besides Erhard, the apotho-dude, and Mr. Aultcray, he hadn't met anyone else that really stuck out to him. It'd been a while since he'd last seen the other Heroes too. It made him wonder how they were doing… besides that Itsuki guy. He was a jerk!

"Nooooooooo!"

Naofumi stopped in his tracks. He was in the middle of a busy street again. He'd just finished another fun session with the apothecary and was on his way back to Erhard's shop when someone yelled.

"What?" Naofumi looked around. But the people weren't really reacting. After a few seconds, he started to walk on. "Maybe I was just hearing things-"

He was walking by the alleyway. The same one next to Erhard's shop when a small body slammed into him. Sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Oof! Hey, watch where you're goi-" Naofumi was yelling, more annoyed than anything else since his high defense stat kept him from feeling much pain, but then he stopped speaking.

A girl around his age looked down at him, her tea-red eyes wide with fear. She was dressed in nothing but rags. Her auburn hair was long and knotted. She looked thin and sickly. Tears fell down both cheeks as she backed away from him into a crate.

"Hey-" Naofumi tried to raise a hand, but the girl immediately bundled up into a ball against the crate. Whimpering in fear. It was then Naofumi also noticed the ears on her head along with the bushy knotted tail behind her. 'A demi-human!' He realized.

"Where did that mangy raccoon go!" A voice echoed down the alleyway. At the sound of the voice, the demi-human curled up even further. Whimpering fearfully.

Her chance of freedom was gone. She didn't know what to do now. She'd only been returned the day before and brought here. Then, this strange person had opened her cage earlier and erased her slave crest, showing her which way to flee. She thought she'd have a chance. But now her master had caught up to her. There was no way she could escape now. There was no way with how weak and useless she felt...

"Hey, are you okay?" A hand gently touched her arm, making her whimper. But it wasn't a rough touch. It was soft, curious. It made her peek open her eyes.

A black-haired kid looked down at her worriedly. He was dressed in a leather chest plate several sizes too big for him. He also had a strange shield attached to his arm. One that looked almost too big for him. "Hey, are you okay? You look awful." He said.

Before she could try and say anything. Before the thought that she should say anything could come to mind… "There you are." Her master's voice sounded behind the crate.

"Eep!" Raphtalia jumped forward, clinging to this strange, yet nice boy.

Naofumi almost fell over again but managed to stay upright. The girl shivered in fear, not wanting to turn around.

Naofumi looked shocked. A girl was clinging to him. A girl! But he didn't have much time to think about it as a figure walked out of the darkness. He was… dressed in the strangest get-up Naofumi had ever seen.

The man was short, almost as short as he was. He had a thin mustache and glasses that obscured his eyes from view. His clothing reminded him of the people at the carnival, with flashy colors and top hats. Only wayyyyyyy more creepy. The strange grin on his face only made the man look more unsettling.

It was rude to think so, but Naofumi found the man revolting. "Oh good! You caught her for me! Thank you for holding on to it, yes sir."

"... What?" Naofumi asked. The girl continued to shiver against him.

"It managed to sneak out of its cage a little while ago. I've been trying to recapture it ever since, yes sir."

"Capture? But she's a person! It's mean to call her an 'it!'" He had a feeling if Motoyasu was there, he'd strongly agree.

The creepy man looked taken aback at Naofumi's response. "My boy, do you not realize that's a demi-human you're holding onto-" He tried to politely ask.

"But she's scared! I don't care if she's a demi-human or a human!" He said angrily. "You're scaring her!"

He had no idea who this girl was. But she was obviously afraid of this creep. Very afraid actually. He couldn't just stand by and let this creep drag her off to who knows where!

The creepy man looked less cheery than before. "It doesn't quite matter what you think about it, Sir Shield Hero." Naofumi's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes, I know who you are, young sir." Beloukas was still talking in his same cheery voice. "I know everyone who walks the streets in this town. Yes sir, I do. It's part of my job to know these things, hmmm."

The young girl was still shaking. Gripping onto Naofumi like he was her only lifeline left in the world. "I'd suggest you hand 'it' back over to me young sir." The creepy man suggested. "I don't think it has much time left in this world anyway, no sir. It's got a screw loose in its head, and-"

"Then I'll fix her!"

"... Come again?" The creepy guy asked, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

"I'll fix her! I'll make her healthy again! I'll help her even if it means fighting you to keep your grubby little hands off of her!"

…

"Hohoho! You have a bit of bite to you! Quite unlike the hero I expected, yes sir!" The creepy man said with a laugh. Much to Naofumi's surprise. He felt more scared than he ever had in his life. He didn't know how he wasn't peeing his pants already from terror.

"Alrighty then, I guess I can't refuse such a generous offer, no sir. If you'd rather take care of it, that would save me quite a bit of trouble! You see, she is sick in mind as well as body! But I'm sure I won't have to spare you the details, no sir. A hero such as yourself could save such a girl with ease, yes?"

Naofumi was caught off guard by the man's turn around. "Um, well, I guess…"

The creepy man let out another laugh. "Good, then. I'll just be on my way. Yes, good sir. I have other slaves that actually deserve my attention, yes sir." He walked back down the alleyway, disappearing out of sight.

...

The girl was clutching him tighter than ever, seemingly terrified of what he would do next. Naofumi shook his head. Deciding not to think about the weirdness of the situation. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked. The girl shook her head but said nothing.

"It's okay. I'm not going to let that evil man hurt you anymore." Naofumi hugged the girl. His hand moved through her hair comfortingly, idly smoothing out some of the knots.

He didn't understand it. Girls were supposed to be cootie territory! But maybe it was because she was terrified, or maybe it was because she was a demi-human. He wasn't sure. Either way, for the moment, he didn't mind hugging her.

It looked like she really needed a hug.

A few seconds later, Erhard came out of his shop. "Hey, Shield Kid, why are you lollygagging here again? Did somebody else try to-" He stopped, seeing the girl he was hugging and the bad shape she was in. "What the hell hap-" He slapped his hand over his mouth at saying the word hell. "Forget I said that. What happened here?"

"Please..." Naofumi pleaded, tears brimming in his eyes. "She's really scared. I… I don't know what to do."

Erhard looked between the two children for a moment before sighing and scratching his bald head. "You're gonna be the death of me, kid... Alright, bring her in and we'll get her checked out."

Naofumi tried to walk, but the little girl clung tightly to him. Not allowing him to move very well. "Hey, it's okay. You'll be safe now. Don't worry." Naofumi started to say reassuringly to try and ease her fear.

She whimpered, still clinging onto him. Afraid to let go in case her master changed his mind and came back for her. Suddenly, she broke out into a fit of coughs that wracked her body.

"Hey, what's your name?" Naofumi decided to ask, hoping that'd help.

She coughed again. Staying silent for a moment… "Raph… *cough* Raphtalia." She whimpered out quietly.

"Raphtalia…" He tested the name out on his tongue. Then, he patted her on the head, much to her surprise. "Don't worry, Raphtalia. I'll keep you safe from that creepy dude." He smiled brightly. "I promise! After all, I'm a hero!"

…

Raphtalia didn't understand… but he seemed nice enough. It'd been a while since anyone had shown kindness to her. She nodded and took his hand, allowing herself to be led into the bald man's house with the nice young boy.

"So, did I do well, hmmm?"

"I daresay, you played your part marvelously, Beloukas."

Deep in the alleyway, the creepy guy from before watched with a wide grin what had just occurred. Standing next to him was a woman, garbed in black robes. Her face was hidden behind a mask.

"And my payment?"

The Shadow dropped a sack of coins into Beloukas' outstretched hands. "Your cooperation has been noted. Her Majesty will be most pleased, I daresay."

Beloukas giggled. "Her Majesty is most generous! Business with her is always a pleasure, yes sir... Though I do think this is the first time the business involved freeing a high valued slave such as that girl." He'd had to buy the slave back early from her former master and compensate him for it. He also looked at his thumb, where he'd had to prick it so the Shadow could not only free the girl from her cage but get rid of her slave crest at the same time too by using a potion with his blood in it. Those types of potions were costly. Even more so than slave ink.

"You may find the coins in that pouch to be more than sufficient compensation for buying and releasing the girl."

Beloukas pondered to himself. He had no doubt about the small fortune he was now holding. "Pardon my rudeness, but why that particular demi-girl? What made her so special compared to the rest I could have freed to help the Shield Hero out, hmmm?"

The Shadow glanced down at him questioningly. "Just curious, yes sir." the man clarified.

"Her Majesty knows of the prejudice and racism that runs deep in her country here." The Shadow answered. "I daresay, she knows how difficult it'll be for the Shield Hero to acquire party members the King will approve of. Especially since he's only a child. He needs not only those who are strong but those he can relate with. Those that'll motivate him, and be brave enough to help him to fight off the Waves of Catastrophe. A human child would never be allowed to adventure with the Shield Hero due to our laws... A demi-child, however, would not face the same judgment. I daresay, it might even bring his Majesty back to his former glory that much sooner."

"Hmmm..." Beloukas hummed in thought. "He has spunk, that one. Yes sir. He'll make a very fine hero indeed." He chuckled to himself. "Though I must admit, if you're saying that spunk will rub off on that mangy raccoon, then I can't wait to see how he'll turn that little raccoon into a spunky, healthy little raccoon girl." He said, grinning widely and rubbing hands together in anticipation. Not out of creepiness. But rather out of eagerness to see the power of a Cardinal Hero at work.

"Yes sir, I can't wait."

Author's Notes:

Allen Blaster: Welp, Final's Week is next week for me. We'll have to see if the update comes as scheduled next Friday or not. But oh, the world so ain't ready for the cuteness and trouble these two are going to unleash.

RLTygurr: Four chapters and we're still rollin'! Now that Kidtalia has joined forces with our resident troublemaker, the world ain't ready. Stay tuned and I hope everyone's staying safe!

Till Next Time

Allen and RLT