Alright. Let's dive straight into some more sweetness.
Chapter Seven: Sword and Shield
As promised, Aultcray started to give Naofumi and Raphtalia magic lessons each day in the evening. After they came back from monster grinding and herb gathering, and before Erhard would have dinner ready for them.
'Come on Naofumi. Just imagine you're fighting a dragon. A large, epic, fire breathing dragon!'
…
…
"UGHHHHHHH!" Naofumi laid his kid head against the alphabetical table of the Melromarc language. "THIS IS SO BORING!" He complained.
"Now now. I know this must be hard for you young Naofumi. But you are making better progress than most people around your age in this world." Aultcray encouraged with a smile.
It had been a few days since these daily lessons had started. And Naofumi was beginning to wish he hadn't been summoned to protect this world. "Why do I have to learn this? Why can't everyone else learn to write Japanese?!" He'd already had to go through this torture once in elementary school. Why did he have to go through it again to learn a second language?
This was so unfair!
"It may not be exciting, but it is necessary. Look at your friend here." Aultcray said, pointing to the demi-girl a few feet away.
Raphtalia already had a step up on him since she knew Melromarc's written language; thanks to her parents. She laid on her stomach, staring cutely down at an open grimoire.
"Mr. Aultcray. I still can't make sense of any of this." Raphtalia complained. "It's like a bunch of words puked over the page."
Aultcray laughed at the description. "Of course. These grimoires hide their secrets deep within their pages. You have to sift through the mess until you discover them."
"You mean like hide and seek?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"Exactly!" Aultcray's proud look caused the demi-girl to smile, and for her tail to wag fiercely behind her.
Naofumi pouted at them. He was definitely in jealous territory right now. 'I'm starting to wonder if Mr. Aultcray is just pulling a massive prank on me, getting me to learn all this useless-'
"Hey, I see it! I see it!" Raphtalia started to say excitedly.
"Yes, what does it say, young Raphtalia? Quickly, speak before you lose your place!" Aultcray said encouragingly.
"As source of thy power, I order thee." Raphtalia read. "Decipher the laws of nature. And hide me from my target. First Hiding!"
Naofumi blinked in surprise. One moment, Raphtalia had been lying a few feet away. The next moment, she was totally gone! 'Did she portal away?!' He thought in shock.
That was so cool!
"Mr… Mr. Aultcray," Raphtalia said nervously. "I-I can't see my hands anymore! Mr. Aultcrayyyyy!?" She said in a frightened voice.
Aultcray's booming laugh filled the study room. "Why of course! You just learned a spell to hide from everyone around you!" He said happily.
"I... I what?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"My dear, your whole body's invisible to the naked eye!" Aultcray informed the clueless little girl.
"Wha- AH!" Raphtalia screeched in terror. Seeing that her whole body was invisible and not just her hands.
"Wait, so Raphtalia's still right there?" Naofumi asked Aultcray. Poking at the air curiously. His hand felt hair, and it followed it up to the head.
Invisible head pat. Who would have thunk? He smiled, feeling like he was petting an invisible puppy.
"Why of course. I can still see her because she's using only a beginner's spell to hide. As the witch you met before explained, your friend's affinities are Light and Shadow. Right now, she is bending the light around her to conceal her presence. And since I'm such an awesome hero, I can see where it is the light bends irregularly." He said, rubbing the boy on the head. Much to his delight.
Raphtalia moved away from Naofumi's hand. Being head patted while invisible felt so embarrassing!
"So, you mean you can see where she's moving-" Naofumi reached around some more for his invisible friend, and his hand gripped something in the air. Something incredibly soft-
"EEP!" Raphtalia suddenly reappeared from the illusion spell. Clutching at her tail with a major blush on her face. "DON'T DO THAT!"
"How was I supposed to know!?" Naofumi jumped back.
Aultcray laughed again. "Well, that was quite impressive, young Raphtalia. Hopefully, young Naofumi will follow your example and focus on his studies. Maybe if he does, he will learn some cool and awesome magic of his own!"
Naofumi's eye twitched as the man emphasized the words he knew he wanted to hear. Learning magic was such a pain! None of these stupid letters made sense! Regardless, he practically shoved his face into the beginner's language book and read like his life depended on it.
'If this is what it takes to become cool, so be it! I can't let Raphtalia be awesome and leave me behind for being a loser who can't read!'
…
He just wished it wasn't so boring...
It was an eternity later of only a few minutes when the doors to the study open. "Papa! We're back!" Exclaimed a redhead.
She was beginning to show up way more often than she was wanted.
"Your Majesty, I have returned to help Leruno out with its famine. To do this we need- Oh! Hey Naofumi!"
At the voice, the little boy turned to see Motoyasu and his party, all smiles and waves as they entered. "Moto! You're back!" Naofumi cried, all too eager to leave behind the boring book in favor of running up to his friend.
His life had been saved! He got to take a break from LEARNING!
Unseen by everyone except one raccoon girl, the princess's face twisted in frustration at the Shield Hero's familiar nickname for her man. Raphtalia became nervous and moved behind Mr. Aultcray.
This woman looked dangerous. She'd better stay clear of her.
"Ah, Sir Motoyasu! My Dear Malty! Welcome home!" Aultcray said happily.
Motoyasu grinned in the King's direction in acknowledgment before focusing on the kid Hero again. "So what have you been up to little guy?"
"Oh, it's been awful, Moto! Mr. Aultcray told me he'd teach me magic, and I got super excited! It was gonna be super cool and stuff! But then he told me I had to learn how to read, and that's boring! Like MEGA boring!" Naofumi complained.
"He's been teaching you to read! That devil!? Who do you think you are!?" Motoyasu yelled at Aultcray, taking Naofumi's side in a heartbeat.
"Now now, Sir Motoyasu, don't be so nasty." Aultcray waved his hand dismissively at the blond man. "Learning magic from crystal balls is nice and easy, but learning it from grimoires allows you to naturally cast higher-level magic with far more power than a spell learned from a crystal ball."
"Oh, really?" Motoyasu asked.
"Yes. I'm doing him the best favor he could ask for." Aultcray said. The king sent a half-hearted glare at the boy. "If only he would take it seriously instead of complaining the entire time! Melty would have taken to this like a fish to water!"
Naofumi pouted and Motoyasu shrugged. "Huh, I didn't know that. If being able to read grimoires can boost my magic power, maybe I should give learning the language a try." Not to mention, it really sucked not being able to read all the signs around him and everything. His poor girls shouldn't have to help him with such a simple task if he could learn to do it himself!
'No! Not you too Motoyasu! You were so cool before! Don't go towards the light!' Naofumi cried internally. 'I have to win him back to my side! Before-!'
"Sir Motoyasu. Reading is such a bore." The redhead exclaimed. "Surely you wouldn't want to waste time on such trivial things when there are far more important matters worthy of your attention."
'... on second thought, maybe we should learn.' If the scary red-headed soul-stealing lady was taking his side, he did not want to be on it. At all.
"If it gives me an advantage, I should try it out," Motoyasu said happily. "Maybe that'll help Naofumi here, too. Knowing you're not the only one suffering from the learning curve definitely helped me back in the day." Motoyasu said while rubbing the boy on the head again.
Malty glared at the Spear Hero. But when he looked at her, she forced a smile on her face.
Naofumi also smiled. "Thanks, Moto! And get this: Raphtalia already knows how to cast her first spell! I'm super jealous!"
"Who's Raphtal-" Motoyasu was saying. Then he finally saw a little girl peeking out from behind Aultcray. Her little tail was puffed out in fear behind her.
The Spear Hero smiled before kneeling down. "Hey there. Your name is Raphtalia, right?" he asked softly. The girl hid behind Aultcray's robes even more when she saw Malty's glare in her direction from the group. Though it didn't look like Malty recognized what Raphtalia was yet.
She was just jealous that Motoyasu was focusing attention on this worthless peon and his little friend.
"Mmm… mmhmm." Raphtalia mumbled scaredly.
"It's okay! You don't have to come out. My name's Motoyasu the Spear Hero, and it's nice to meet you!" the blond man gave a dazzling smile that caused the women behind him to swoon.
"... you're… you're the Spear hero?" Raphtalia asked.
"Yep, that's me! It's my job to help save the world as well as the fair maidens of this land!" Motoyasu gave a wink back to the girls of his party. All of whom swooned more, with the exception of Malty. Odd. That girl normally fawned over everything he said.
"Sir Motoyasu, are you sure you should be wasting your time with such little brats-" Malty was saying quietly.
"Wow." Raphtalia stepped out from behind Aultcray. She was smiling widely. "So you're a hero too!? Just like Naofumi!?"
"You bet I am! I taught this kid everything he knows about this world!" Motoyasu showed Naofumi off.
"You did not!" Naofumi said poutingly.
"Don't go lying to your friend! Do you know what happens to liars?!" Motoyasu began giving Naofumi a nice, good-hearted noogie in his hair. "THEY GET NOOGIES!"
"Ah! Moto! Stop it! Uncle!" Naofumi cried out in boyish laughter as his already messy hair got even messier than before.
"Awwwww!" The rest of the girls in his party swarmed forward. Surrounding both Naofumi and Raphtalia. Raphtalia almost freaked out at first, but Naofumi managed to move next to her and he started patting her head. Helping to keep her calm instead of retreating away from the swarm of girls that made up Motoyasu's party.
As they continued their introductions, Malty walked up to her father and crossed her arms impatiently. "Papa, we need some money to help with Leruno's famine. 500 gold pieces should be plenty." This was the original reason why they'd come here. And it looked like her boy toy and the airheads with him weren't going to stop playing with Naofumi any time soon.
"500!?" Aultcray raised an eyebrow. "It would be cheaper for me to send a caravan over! Malty, dear, do you have any idea how much you're asking for? I know the famine has worsened over the months, but that is going far overboard!"
Malty made a puppy dog-like face. "Please papa? The people there are starving, and could use the food! If we send a caravan, they'll surely be attacked by bandits!"
Aultcray grimaced at the puppy dog-like face. It almost looked like he was about to give in.
"Why don't you have the Spear Hero protect a caravan then?" Raphtalia suggested. Even in the midst of everyone else, her ears had still caught the King and Princess's short discussion. "If it's protected by a Cardinal Hero, you could send a lot more without having to fear bandits trying to take it."
Aultcray turned, smiling brightly. "Why, yes. That does sound like a good idea. Thank you, Young Raphtalia. Sir Motoyasu, would you be interested in spearheading this quest? I promise that you will not go unrewarded."
"To help out all the fair maidens in Leruno? It would be my honor!"
From behind Aultcray, Malty glared with eyes of hatred at the smiling demi-girl. Whose cute tail was wagging behind her. And- her eyes widened in shock. 'What's Papa doing listening to a filthy demi brat over me?!' She thought incredulously. And he had thanked her too!?
Raphtalia smiled cutely, and Malty glared all the harder. It could only take someone truly evil to not like the smile of the cute smol girl.
"Marvelous! The next time you return, I would be more than happy to teach you how to read and learn magic. Just like these two have been doing-"
"YOU'VE BEEN TEACHING THAT DAMN DEMI MAGIC!?" Malty screeched hysterically. It was so shocking to hear that she blurted it out without thinking.
…
…
Raphtalia sniffed. She looked like she was on the verge of crying. Tears were filling her wide, tea-red eyes. It was a disaster of EPIC proportions!
"Hey! You leave her alone, meanie!" Naofumi yelled, standing between the two females. He hugged the smol Tanuki girl protectively. "That's what I'll call you from now on, Meanie!"
"Wh-What-" Malty looked offended that a child was speaking back to her! She was the First Princess! She was royalty! This little brat and his damn demi could rot in hell-
"Dear daughter." Aultcray's tone was sharp. "That was too far. Apologize to young Raphtalia this instant."
"B-But I-"
"Apologize! Now!" Aultcray ordered.
…
"Hmph!" The redhead stubbornly folded her arms and shook her head, but when she saw the king's glare she relented. "Fine. I'm..."
"Do it..." Aultcray threatened.
She sighed. And forced herself to face the two kids, Motoyasu, and the rest of the party. "Fine. I-I'm...s-s-s-s-...s-sorry, or whatever." It sounded like she really had trouble saying the S word.
It was probably the first time she'd ever had to say it in her life.
"That's..." Aultcray sighed weakly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That'll have to do."
"That'll have to do?!" Malty yelled at him.
"You could have at least sounded like you meant it there, Myne," Motoyasu said with a shrug. He started head patting Raphtalia, just like Naofumi. "It's okay. I'm sure Myne didn't mean anything bad."
Raphtalia smiled brightly up at him. Her tail wagging happily at the head patting. "No, not you too, Sir Motoyasu… ... ahhhhhh!" Malty turned and ran out of the room.
What the hell had happened to her Father to have him make her apologize to a damn lowly demi!? And why was Sir Motoyasu not taking her side?!
…
"Um… that was awkward," Motoyasu said with a grimace.
"Indeed," Aultcray said with a sigh.
It was true. His daughter was still moody! He was starting to think he pampered her too much when she was a child.
No wonder Mirellia made Melty the crown Princess. His daughter needed to be taught a lot more in terms of etiquette and human decency if she ever wanted to become Queen! Though now he had plans to groom Raphtalia for that role when Naofumi would replace him as King.
Had he mentioned relations with Siltvelt had vastly improved? Apparently, they were really happy about how well he was taking care of their Shield Hero and his demi-human friend. His latest meetings with Siltvelt ambassadors had shown they'd already heard about him defending the two kids from a merchant and were teaching them both magic, so tensions between the two countries were running at an all-time low. Lower than what they were before the waves even!
That was definitely going to win him some special time when his wife got back.
"Anyway. I'll prepare a caravan filled with goods at once. Stand by until it's ready, and escort it to Leruno. I'll also send one of my scholars to help you learn the language on the way there." The king said to the Spear Hero. "And please...keep my daughter in line, Sir Motoyasu. That's a request from me not as the king, but as a father."
Motoyasu grinned. "Don't worry Your Majesty! I'll make sure to continue to take good care of her."
"Psst! Moto!" Naofumi whispered loudly.
Motoyasu leaned down so Naofumi could whisper in his ear. "Be careful around the redhead. She's a meanie."
Motoyasu chuckled. "I'm sure she'll come around. But don't you worry. I'll keep an eye on her for you Naofumi." He said with a wide smile. If he was serious about doing it or not, it was hard to tell. But he was nice, so maybe he'd put in at least a little effort.
Naofumi smiled back. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Motoyasu put his hand into his spear's gem, and then pulled out… hunks of rock?
He handed them to Naofumi. And Naofumi looked them over. "... am I supposed to throw them at monsters?" He asked.
His Shield shocked him in response to thinking of the rocks as a weapon.
'STUPID UNCOOL SHIELD!'
"No no no. These are special ores Naofumi. It allows you to use the smelting method I told you about to upgrade your shields! You remember it, right?" Motoyasu asked.
"What's the smelting method again?" Naofumi asked.
...
Motoyasu almost did an anime-style faceplant instead of a facepalm. "It's the one I told you about where you use special ores like this to refine your weapon to make it stronger." Motoyasu simply explained.
"..." Naofumi's help guide automatically brought it up for him when he spaced out. "Oh yeahhhhhh, now I remember." He said with a goofy smile.
"Good. I found these in a mine not too long ago, and I had some extras. Sooooo happy birthday, I guess!" Motoyasu shrugged with a smile. "Anyway, I'll see you around okay? Stay cool, little dude!"
"Bye Moto!" Naofumi waved goodbye as the Spear Hero walked away while giving him the double finger guns.
Motoyasu's party was slow to follow. Finding little Naofumi and Raphtalia so adorable. But eventually, they left too, leaving him, Raphtalia, and Mr. Aultcray in the room.
Naofumi looked at the ores curiously and absorbed them into his shield. They didn't unlock any new shields, but instead, they appeared in his inventory. The option also appeared to refine the Shield he currently had equipped.
The Pillow Shield.
'Hmmm…' Naofumi shrugged and decided to refine the Pillow Shield. His HUD pinged, and the refining was a success! 'Whoa!' His hand felt the stronger shield. It felt a lot poofier than before.
'This is awesome! Thanks, Moto!' He'd have to make sure to pay him back someday. This would be even more comfortable to relax on! His Help Guide also pinged. Adding in information Motoyasu had said about where to find these ores. They weren't a monster drop, but they could be found in mines.
That was useful to know. If he wanted to make his Pillow Shield even more comfortable, all he had to do was visit a mine!
The only problem… he didn't know where to find a mine!
"Eh-hem." Naofumi looked up. Aultcray stood above him. "I do believe I have another thirty minutes with you, Young Naofumi. I suggest using your time wisely in learning the Melromarc language."
He groaned but sat back down on the floor to look at his archrival - the textbook. 'I'm going to take you down! Mark my words: one day I will find the biggest fire and toss you in! And when I do, I'll be the one with the last laugh!'
Outside, hidden from sight, Malty glared hatefully at the double set of doors leading to the study. 'That brat… is getting in the way of me becoming Queen!'
She didn't care what it took. She would get that little brat in trouble if it was the last thing she did.
The next day came around. Naofumi and Raphtalia found themselves leaving with Erhard, who carried a large pack along with his war hammer. They were traveling to someplace named Boot Village.
The name was so short that even Naofumi could remember it… at least he thought the name of the place was Boot. Mr. Bald Guy only said the name once. And that they were going there to deliver weapons to a customer or whatever.
Naofumi honestly hadn't been paying attention. He'd only heard that they were going somewhere and the thought of adventure had made him too excited to pay much attention after that.
But now that they had been walking for what felt like forever...
"Are we there yet?" Naofumi complained.
"No," Erhard responded flatly.
…
"Are we there yet?" Raphtalia asked.
"No!"
...
"Are we there yet?" Naofumi asked again.
"Urgh, how many times do I have to say it?" Erhard asked.
...
"How about now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"Da- darn it, NO!"
…
"Now?-" Both of them asked at the same time.
"We'll get there WHEN WE GET THERE!" Erhard yelled at them both.
"Aww, but we've been walking foreverrrrrrr," Naofumi whined, slumping over as he walked. "Why can't we just have a car or something to drive there? It would be so much faster."
"... um, kid, what's a car?" Erhard asked.
"... Oh yeah, I forgot. This world sucks." He moaned. "No cereal, no cars, no phones, no morning cartoons, no games, nothing! I hate this place!" Naofumi pouted, crossing his arms. "I wanna go home!"
"Hey, you're talking about my world," Raphtalia said sadly.
...
"Okay, I don't hate everything here." He gave the girl a head pat as an apology. She smiled cutely at that, and her tail wagged happily behind her. "But some things still suck! Like walking!"
"Well, you'd better get used to it kid. As a hero, you're going to be doing a lotttttttttt of walking." Erhard made sure to rub that part in.
"Not when I reach level 50 I won't!" Naofumi said with a pout.
"And why the hell is that Short Stack? Do you think people are going to treat you like royalty when you get that high?" Erhard sarcastically asked. "If you remember, I'm level 90." He said, puffing out his chest with pride. There weren't many people in the kingdom that were a higher level than him. But he didn't get much extra treatment for it.
"No, it's because I'll just teleport myself everywhere when I unlock the hero ability at level 50!"
…
…
"WHAT?!" Erhard stopped and turned to look at the kid. "YOU MEAN YOU CAN JUST TELEPORT WHEREVER YOU WANT!?"
"I mean...That's what the other Heroes told me on my first night here… I think." Naofumi thought to himself. 'Was that what they said to me?… I forget…' His helpful help guide pinged, bringing up the information for him. Again. "Yep, my weapon says I can unlock the ability when I reach level 50!"
…
Erhard slumped. "Life's not fair..." He groaned. "If I had a power like that, I'd be filthy rich...and retired… and not having to worry about my master's debts." He mumbled the last part under his breath. They started walking again.
"Don't worry, Mr. Bald Guy. It says I can teleport me and the rest of my party when I unlock it." Naofumi said with a smile.
…
"Let's pause here for a moment." Erhard stopped at the side of the roadway. Looking in the direction of the trees.
"But aren't we supposed to deliver those weapons-" Raphtalia was asking.
"Shh!" Erhard silenced her with a finger to his lips. "So… let me get this straight. You're saying all you have to do is get to level 50, and you can teleport us around, right?" Erhard asked quietly.
"Why are we being quiet?" Naofumi asked.
"Just answer the question, Shield brat."
"Hey, I don't know everything! Don't be so mean! That's just what the other heroes told me! I've never done this before!..."
He trailed off at the smirk that appeared on Erhard's face. "Oh no. He's got the same creepy look on his face like Mr. Aultcray." Raphtalia whispered to Naofumi.
"Why do all the adults keep doing it?" Naofumi whispered back to her.
"I don't know. It's so scary when they do it though." Raphtalia said, her tail wagging nervously behind her.
Erhard stood up, dusting his hands off. "Well, kid. If all it takes for you to be able to teleport us around is reaching level 50." He hefted his war hammer. "I'LL BE HAPPY TO OBLIGE YA!" He charged into the forest. "RRAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" He let out a loud war cry.
The forest was filled with the sounds of maniacal laughter along with the vicious bludgeoning of innocent(?) woodland creatures. Or were they monsters?
Either way, Ponic the Hedgehog would have been sad. After all the work he went through to save them from Dr. Eggplant, too.
"What just happened to Mr. Bald Guy?" Raphtalia asked in a scared voice. The hair of her tail was on end in fright.
Experience started churning in on their HUDs. It came in so quickly one notification after the other that they took up the entire right side of Naofumi's vision.
"AH! I CAN'T SEE! AM I GOING BLIND!?" Naofumi freaked out.
Raphtalia patted him on the head in sympathy. "Maybe we should keep going while Mr. Bald Guy does his thing."
"Y-yeah...Okay."
They kept walking for a short distance while blind in their right eyes. It was actually becoming quite annoying, but they had both gained almost an entire level in minutes. It was hard to argue with results like that.
After about a mile, the experience finally stopped coming in. Naofumi had risen to level 15, and Raphtalia was level 12. "Do you think that means he stopped?" Naofumi asked.
"Maybe we just walked out of his range," Raphtalia said unsurely.
…
They stepped back a few feet. And sure enough, the experience started raking in again. It seemed even faster than before.
Just how many monsters was Mr. Bald Guy slaughtering out there?! Did he discover a nest of them or something?!
"I CAN'T SEE! I CAN'T SEE!" Naofumi charged forward back out of range again, swiping in front of himself to try and clear away all the experience notifications.
If Mr. Bald Guy had been in One Punch Dude, the Monster Association would have filed so many lawsuits! If they were brave enough to face him that is.
Is this animal cruelty!? Naofumi didn't think this should be legal!
"Awww, look over there Naofumi!"
Naofumi's HUD finally cleared of the excessive experience gauges. A large, white, floofy ball of fur bounded out from the bush. It let out an adorable squeak and looked up at the two of them.
"What is that?" Naofumi asked curiously. It looked similar to an animal from his world. Only more floofy. He imagined cuddling with it, rubbing his face in its thick fur. It looked so soft. 'Awwwwwww!' Its little squeak was so adorable! Naofumi wanted to pinch its chubby little cheeks and-
"I want to pet- AHHHHHHHHHH!"
Raphtalia's shriek of terror snapped him into action. He jumped in front of her and swung his shield to knock away whatever monster was trying to attack her.
His Shield missed, and he felt something bite down on his arm. He looked down, and, to his surprise, it was the cute bunny! At the same moment, the familiar red arrow appeared over its head. Identifying it as a monster.
Of course it was a monster. It just tried to take a bite out of his cute friend!
BAD BUNNY MONSTER!
"It's okay, Raphtalia. I have it now." Naofumi turned.
Raphtalia backed away in fear. Naofumi noticed that she hadn't pulled the dagger out. "What? Aren't you going to kill it?" Naofumi asked curiously.
Don't get him wrong. This creature was probably the most adorable monster he'd encountered yet. And it's fur felt really soft in his hands. But this thing had just tried to hurt Raphtalia. That was a big no no in his book.
The little girl looked so scared. Her tail was puffed up behind her with fright again. Her breathing was becoming heavy.
This bunny definitely deserved to die for frightening her like this!
"I… I…" Raphtalia looked very scared.
Was there another reason why she didn't want to kill it? Maybe she wanted to keep it as a pet? But then why did she look so scared?
"If I stab it… it'll bleed." Raphtalia finally said.
Naofumi grabbed the beast with his other hand and held it in place. "But we have to do stuff like this. If we don't, people could get hurt! At least, that's what Erhard tells me!"
Raphtalia trembled fearfully. And shakily pulled her dagger out of its sheath. The creature hissed at her, and she almost dropped it in fright. She tried to step forward, but she was starting to breathe in and out harder than before. Like she was going into a panic attack.
"I-I can't!" Raphtalia started to cry. "I can't do this! I can't do it!" She broke down, falling to her knees and bawling. The dagger dropped to the side. "Mommy...Daddy...!" She cried, plunging her hands over her eyes to try and stop the tears from flowing.
Naofumi looked sad and put the bunny on his side under his chest plate so it bit down there and held on. For some reason, monsters liked to nibble on him like some kind of chew toy. Even if he left them alone, they seemed to enjoy staying there.
"Hey, it's okay." His free hand started to rub Raphtalia between her ears.
"I'm… I'm sorry I'm so useless Naofumi." Raphtalia cried. Feeling like she didn't deserve the hand rubbing her head.
"Don't worry, Raphtalia. Just tell me what's wrong. You know you can trust me, right?" He asked. "No matter what's wrong, I'll protect you. I have this stupid shield for a reason."
His hand started fluffing her ear. And she giggled and blushed at the cute combo move. "It's not stupid to me." She murmured quietly.
"Huh? I couldn't hear that."
...
"It's nothing…" Raphtalia looked down in shame. "I'm just... scared of blood… I saw so much of it when my village was destroyed. When my parents were…" She sniffed. And Naofumi rubbed her head more in comfort.
He would have hugged her. But he still had the angry bunny attached to his side. He didn't want it letting go during the hug and taking a bite out of her. So he made up for it by rubbing her ears some more.
"It's okay. If you don't want to do it, I won't force you to. I can always have Mr. Bald Guy do it." Naofumi said.
She sniffled again, wiping the tears from her eyes. "But...what if he isn't there to protect you? Who would stop the monsters that can actually hurt you?" She asked timidly.
"Um…" Naofumi didn't know. Apotheguy seemed pretty nice. But he was so olddddd. He probably wouldn't be much help in stabbing things. Mr. Aultcray probably could. But he wasn't allowed to leave the castle very often. There were those knights at the gate or the other Heroes… but they were always busy with whatever they were doing.
"I… I don't know... But I'll find a way!" Naofumi said, smiling in an attempt to cheer her up. "I'm a hero you know! And heroes always find a way to win! At least, that's what I got from reading a bunch of manga back home!"
"M...Manga?" Raphtalia asked.
"You know. Stories about heroes with cool images and everything!" Naofumi said excitedly. "In them, there are so many times where the hero has to face an unstoppable bad guy! But then they find a way to go beyond and beat them! All Fight's protege Sucku did it all the time! So if I'm a hero, I'll do the same thing!"
The bunny screeched on his side angrily. He didn't know if those manga heroes had found a bunny unstoppable since they actually had attack stats. But he thought it still sounded cool!
…
With one last sniffle, Raphtalia grabbed his hand off of her head. "Then...I'll do it. I'll be the one to fight beside you. I'll be your sword, as long as you'll be my shield."
She picked the dagger up. And before Naofumi could realize what she meant, she thrust the dagger into the bunny. Its teeth let go of his side with a screech, but it was too late. Raphtalia thrust the dagger deeper, tearing the bunny apart.
When the deed was done, the two found themselves covered in blood. The carcass laid in a pool of it on the ground. Raphtalia was breathing heavily, doing her best to calm her beating heart at the sight of so much blood. 'I… I did it.'
"Ewwwww!" Naofumi tried to wipe off his leather chest plate in disgust. The blood had gotten all over it!
It helped that Naofumi was looking so grossed out by what had happened. The adorable sight made her want to giggle ten times over. 'I did it… mommy, daddy, did you see that?' She thought happily. 'I helped Naofumi.'
"This is so gross! Blech! You could have warned me!" Naofumi said.
"Eep, I'm sorry!" Raphtalia bowed in apology. "I just, I, um-" She looked really nervous. Had it been that bad that she didn't warn him.
"Hey, it's fine. Here." Naofumi started laughing and rubbed his bloody hand between her hair.
"Ewwwww!" Raphtalia batted his hand away and wiped at her hair. "What was that for?!"
"Fair is fair," Naofumi said with a giggle.
Raphtalia pouted at him. But his giggling and smile made her fall into giggles herself. So they settled down and giggled together for a moment.
…
"Thank you, by the way," Naofumi said, looking shyly away while picking at the grass.
"For what?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"Mr. Bald Guy isn't always able to help," Naofumi said, looking sadly at the ground. "Apotheguy isn't very good with monsters, and Mr. Aultcray is always busy in the castle…" He turned and smiled for her. "I'm happy to have you by my side Raphtalia! If you'll really be my sword, then I promise I'll always be your shield! That way we'll be able to defend the world together!"
… Raphtalia sniffled. And then she hugged the cute little boy. She didn't care if he was covered in blood. He was too cute and sweet! "Thank you! I promise I won't let you down!" Raphtalia said happily.
"Wait, but I'm covered in blood!"
Raphtalia pat him on the head. At first, he thought it was like what he did for her. But then he felt his hair was sticky, and realized Raphtalia had just done the same thing to him that he'd done to her! "Hey, no fair!" Naofumi backed away, wiping at his hair.
Raphtalia giggled into her hands, surprised with herself. "Fair is fair," She parroted Naofumi's earlier words. It'd been such a bold move with blood of all things. But it was so funny to watch! And Naofumi had such an effect on her psyche.
Again, the two devolved into another round of giggling at each other's antics.
Oh, the trouble they could get into in the future. Naofumi could already envision it-
"Hey, Shield kid, Little lady, where are you?!"
Raphtalia and Naofumi jumped in fright. "We-we're over here!" Naofumi shouted.
In the midst of what had happened, they'd completely forgotten why they were so far away from the Capital.
"There you are. I've been looking all over for ya." Erhard appeared out of the forest a moment later, his warhammer covered in blood and gore.
The two children paled and covered their mouths at the sight, while the blacksmith raised an eyebrow at their bloody appearances. "What happened to you two? You're both covered in…" He saw the bunny carcass next to them, as well as the bloody dagger. "Ah, I see. How are you two holding up?"
The two were silent. Naofumi nearly vomited, and Raphtalia actually had to swallow some of her own before it came out. Erhard sighed. "Yeah, I guess I can understand how you feel. It ain't pretty when you do it the first time, but it's gotta be done. You two are tough kids, so I'm sure you'll get used to it eventually."
He thought they looked sick because they had to kill a bunny monster. What they were actually getting sick from was Erhard's bloody war hammer. It was covered in so much blood and things Naofumi didn't want to know the names of! It had probably killed at least a dozen of those innocent(?) bunnies! If not more!
"Well hey, I brought a little something for you!" Erhard went back and dragged a pile of blood leaking monster carcasses behind him. Some of the parts looked to be twitching in agony.
Naofumi and Raphtalia stared in shock. It was bigger than Mr. Bald Guy! And he was massive!
"What do you think? Did I kill enough monsters to get you to level 50 yet?" Erhard said with a proud laugh.
Raphtalia and Naofumi turned green. But the blacksmith didn't notice. "Heck, I killed a lot more than this. But some of them implode when you hit them too hard. I've never seen so much blood splattering everywhere in my life! Why it almost makes me want to go back out and-"
"Mr. Bald Guy..."
"Yeah, kid?"
"Can you...please not drag a bunch of dead things around like luggage at an airport?" Naofumi queasily asked.
He normally had a stomach of steel. But Mr. Bald Guy was about to make him lose his lunch.
...
"... what's an airport?" Erhard asked.
Raphtalia and Naofumi couldn't take the sight anymore. Both of them ran behind a tree before they started emptying their stomachs.
Erhard chuckled at them. "Eh, kids these days. You two okay over there?" He asked.
Their response was a pair of painful retches as they vomited some more.
"Alright, alright. I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to get more of those monster parts for you to absorb, kid. Gotta make sure your Shield gets strong enough to teleport a big strong guy like me around." Erhard laughed as he flexed before he turned around and ran back the way he came. Leaving the large pile of monster parts behind.
'That kid must think I'm cool now!' He thought happily. He'd killed so many monsters in this part of the forest that it'd be a long while before there were enough to cause trouble for travelers again!
The two stayed behind the bushes for a moment. Their stomachs cramping in pain. "I… I don't want to deal with monsters anymore." Naofumi moaned out.
"Me… me neither..." Raphtalia said, breathing heavily, trying to recover from the stomach cleansing she'd gone through. "Let's just hope most monsters don't bleed so much. What Mr. Bald Guy brought… was so gross." She thought her stomach didn't have more to throw up. But it turned out, it did.
Reluctantly, Naofumi went back out to the pile and absorbed it into his shield as fast as possible. If only to get it out of their sight so they wouldn't have the urge to vomit.
Though the sounds his shield made as it absorbed the large pile would haunt his nightmares for days to come.
He hoped Erhard would take it easier in the future. If a Monster Association did exist in this world, they'd be terribly sad about the massacre that had occurred here.
Erhard eventually met back up with them. Lugging more monster pieces with him, which were swiftly absorbed into Naofumi's shield before they could cause Naofumi and Raphtalia to vomit more. Erhard said there was more they could go back for, but the two insisted that they should continue on.
Walking looked a hell of a lot better now than killing more innocent(?) monsters.
They finally arrived at the Village by the time the sun was in the evening sky. Tired, exhausted, but glad to have finally made it.
As they walked through the gate, Erhard promised to show them around Lute the next day after they ate and rested up at the inn.
'Oh, I guess it was Lute, not Boot.' Naofumi thought. Him and Raphtalia following Erhard.
Stupid short-term memory struck again!
Author's Notes:
Allen Blaster: This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I like how both Raphtalia and Naofumi are so adorable! Even Motoyasu and his party of girls love them! Except for Bitch. Only a truly evil person could not think these two smol kids are cute!
RLTygurr: We've got a double omake for you this chapter! We ended up both having ideas and figured we'd throw them in together just for fun. Naofumi and Raphtalia start to learn magic, but our little hero can't focus enough to learn the language! Hopefully, he'll figure something out!
Hero Clips!
Prank War
Aultcray dragged himself into the washroom, bags under his eyes. He yawned, tears forming on the edges of his eyes.
"So tired..." He groaned. It was far too early to be a human. Or a demi-human, or anything for that matter. Being a king was great sometimes, but having to wake up first thing in the morning to do boring paperwork was such a bore.
He cracked a small smile as he brushed his teeth absentmindedly. At least he would get the chance to teach the two kids more about magic. Raphtalia was learning the basics quickly, and Naofumi would surely follow her example.
Once he actually understood the language, that is.
'Maybe I need to try a different approach. Mirellia had advisors teach Malty and Melty what they know, but I don't trust them to do the job properly with young Naofumi. There's still so much discrimination that I fear one of them would teach him the wrong thing on purpose.'
He hummed in thought, splashing a bit of water on his face that came out of a royal faucet. 'There's got to be something I can do better, but I-"
"BOO!"
"AHH - *PING* - owwwwwwwww..."
The king screamed and jumped, but his head hit the faucet of the sink on the way up. He groaned, rubbing the back of his head as he heard giggling off to his side. Turning around, he came face to face with none other than Raphtalia. Naofumi stood at the door, barely containing his laughter.
Odd, he hadn't seen either of them enter!
"Young Raphtalia, young Naofumi, what are you two doing here so early!?" He asked.
"Ha! We got you, Mr. Aultcray! C'mon Raphtalia, let's get outta here!" Naofumi said, scurrying off into the halls of the castle. The giggling raccoon swiftly followed, leaving Aultcray to stare at the door in confusion.
It didn't take him long to realize Raphtalia had used her invisibility magic to prank him. The great King of Melromarc!
He growled. "Oh, it's on now, you little brats."
Naofumi and Raphtalia were enjoying some time outside, playing with their ball. They'd gotten used to their new strength, so they didn't end up throwing it into any unsuspecting cabbage merchants.
However, one time the ball got thrown behind him so Naofumi had to turn and run to go get it. When he turned around, his eyes widened.
"R-Raphtalia!?" He cried, looking back at her.
"What?" The response was ten Raphtalias standing next to one another. As soon as they spoke, all of them jumped and turned to the others in shock.
"Why are there more of me!?" They all cried simultaneously, panicking. "Naofumi, help me!"
He ran up to them, but couldn't discern the real one amongst the fakes. "Raphtalia, which one is the real you!? I can't find you!"
"It's me!" All of them yelled, tears in their eyes. "Can't you recognize me!?"
"No, I can't! You all look the same!"
One of the Raphtalias hugged Naofumi closely, causing him to blush a bit. "I'm the real one, I swear!" She said. Another one gripped his sleeve and said the same thing.
Before he knew it, Naofumi was surrounded by little raccoon demi-humans who all wanted him to believe she was the real one. "Naofumi, you can touch my tail!" One offered.
Naofumi immediately knew that wasn't the real one.
The real Raphtalia would never let him touch her tail willingly.
"I-if you really want to, you can touch mine..." Another offered. The nervous attitude fit Raphtalia much better, so he couldn't tell if it was the real one or not.
This continued for thirty seconds, and Naofumi had an entire hoard of fluffy tails presented to him for grooming. Steam poured out of his ears, and he didn't know what to do! There was no way he could figure this out!
Who would be so evil!?
All of a sudden, nine of the Raphtalias exploded into water, drenching both the real one and Naofumi. They were soaked from head to toe, and the water was freezing!
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
They turned to the side to see Aultcray, rolling on the ground, and laughing hysterically. The two pouted at him.
"Mr. Aultcray, what did you do that for!?" Naofumi cried. "That was scary! I didn't know which Raphtalia was real and I got really scared!"
"And this water is so cold..." Raphtalia shivered, ears flattened to her head.
"Hahahaha!" Aultcray picked himself up before brushing the grass off of his robes. "Let this be a lesson to you both! Be more careful about which battles you pick, or you may find yourself completely outclassed! Pranking a king with powerful magic is just begging for retaliation!" The King walked away, still laughing at how enjoyable his morning had become.
Both of them decided never to use their magic for pranking ever again.
At least...not on Aultcray. Mr. Bald Guy was fair game.
Hero Clips!
The Indestructible Textbook
"AHAHAHA! AT LAST! YOUR END HAS COME STUPID TEXTBOOK!" Naofumi yelled hysterically, holding a textbook labeled 'Melromarc Language for Dummies' in his hands.
In front of him was a nice, big, bonfire! "I wasn't joking when I said I'd do this!" The little kid laughed like a mad scientist. "Begone, THOT!"
"Um, Naofumi, what's a thot?" Raphtalia interrupted curiously.
"I'm not sure. It's something I heard it on the Internet once and it sounded funny." Naofumi said.
"What's the Internet?"
"It's, um. I'll tell you about it later." Naofumi grinned evilly down at the textbook. "Anyway, BEGONE!" He chucked the textbook into the fire.
He turned around, laughing hysterically to himself. "Yes! Finally! I am rid of my archnemesis! I am free-"
Bonk!
The textbook was thrown back out of the fire, hitting Naofumi in the back of the head. "What the heck!?" He turned around, seeing the book lying on the ground. Without a single burn mark or scratch on it.
Raphtalia found it so funny that she started giggling.
"GET IN THERE!" Naofumi threw the book into the fire again.
A second later, the book came flying back out into his hands. "NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Naofumi threw it in again and again, only for the same thing to happen again and again.
"I don't think it wants to leave you, Naofumi." Raphtalia giggled cutely.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Naofumi ran away from the bonfire. Running towards a dock that reached out into the large lake while carrying the textbook.
"Naofumi, what are you doing?" Raphtalia asked.
"If I can't damage you with fire, I'll destroy you with water!" Naofumi yelled determinedly.
Naofumi chucked the textbook with his immense strength far out into the lake. He laughed as it hit the surface with a large splash!
And then he watched in stunned shock as the splash was of the book bouncing off the lake. Launching itself high up into the air, before it landed right in front of him on the dry dock!
The pages weren't even wet!
"COME ON!" He tried slamming it down into the lake, only for it to slam up right into his face. "Wah, wahhhhhh!-" KERSPLASH!
He was knocked off balance, and he fell off the dock into the lake.
"Naofumi!" Raphtalia cried worriedly.
He resurfaced again. Coughing up the water he had swallowed when he fell in.
The book laid on the dry dock. Still not the slightest bit wet. Naofumi in childish anger tried to splash water on it, but the water bounced off like it was hitting a shield.
"No, I will not lose to you! I will destroy you!" Naofumi climbed onto the dock. "I will-"
The book suddenly lifted up off the ground. And then it started thwacking the back of Naofumi's head again and again.
"AH! OW! OW! STOP IT!" Naofumi fled in terror.
"Naofumi! What's going on!" Raphtalia ran with him. Her face full of fear.
"I don't know! But it's trying to kill me now!" The little Naofumi cried.
The two ran off, screaming their heads off as the essence of LEARNING chased after them. And maybe it was just them, or maybe it was a trick of the wind, but it sounded like it was chuckling evilly. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Behind a large rock, Aultcray laughed to himself as he watched Naofumi and Raphtalia running around in fear. "Maybe this will teach him to treat his textbooks with a little more respect." He said, manipulating the wind around the book to continue chasing the little kid and to protect it from other elements.
He also manipulated the wind to make it sound like the book was laughing evilly.
Part of him wondered if that was going a little overboard. But the back of his head still stung from their prank earlier this morning. So he didn't feel too bad about teaching KidFumi a lesson in respecting the greatness that was LEARNING.
Textbook: 1. KidFumi: 0
Till Next Time
Allen and RLT