Progression of the Hourglass

by Musaki Dratonen

Homura has once again failed in her quest to stop Walpurgisnacht and save Madoka, but this time when she tries to reset instead of awaking in her hospital room she wakes on an alter with 3 others. What's more, her shield has been replaced with one not her own. How will she survive long enough to return to Madoka? Based off the Shield Hero Light Novels! Check my profile for updates!

12. Final Preparations

Chapter 12

Final Preparations

Homura stirred to wakefulness slowly. Blinking slowly, she huddled deeper into the warmth of her fur lined cloak as a cold morning breeze came through the ruined walls of the village.

Looking around, she saw Sakura huddled up near where the fire had been lit the night before, along with several other filolial of various colors. Not seeing Raphtalia or Rishia, she searched for their familiar signatures in the thick cloud of magic that hung over these ruins. She found them pretty quickly, cuddled together based off of how close they were in the back of the wagon that she was leaning against.

Out of the wind. Smart brats.

Sighing softly, she rose from where she had fallen asleep after her conversation with Fitoria. Stretching to try and work out the sore muscles from the uncomfortable position, she huddled back into her cloak while shuffling around to get a small cooking fire going. It was entirely for her to cook breakfast with, and certainly not for warmth.

Keeping as close to the fire as she dared to keep her cloak from getting damaged, she started preparing breakfast. Thankfully, they had a large stockpile of usable monster parts from their brief farming of the dragon lands before they had been summoned to the Wave. Looking up at the timer in the upper field of her vision, she saw that it had changed back to the Melromarc hourglass.

[ 6 : 05 : 37 ]

Less than a week before they had to repeat what they had just experienced yesterday. And no one knew exactly how long they would have to keep fighting. Sighing softly to herself, she let her eyes drift over to the sleeping bird form of Sakura and then to the covered carriage.

A part of her was tempted to try and convince her party to not fight, worried for their safety. But she knew that they had each decided for one reason or another that she was the one they wanted to follow. That she was the one worth risking their lives for.

Turning her attention back to the large pan filled with cooking food, she thought not for the first time that she wished she could do more in return than just protect them with her shield and cook meals. It just seemed so paltry in comparison. She had spent years of her life repeating the same 6 weeks, risking her own life to try and save the girl she called her Best Friend. She knew the devotion required, how damaging it could be to people that had never suffered life and death battle.

"Momma?" Sakura muttered softly as she started to stir. "Do I smell food?"

Giving the large bird a small smile, she still felt weird being called a mother at her age.

"Yes. Do you mind waking up Raphtalia and Rishia? Breakfast will be ready soon and we need to figure out our plans going forward." The magical girl answered as she set about pulling the food off of the fire and divvying it out based on experience on how much each of the girls eats.

Watching Sakura do as she asked while rubbing her eyes tiredly with her wings, Homura reminded herself that she had to just deal with one thing at a time. While her goal was to return back to her own world and save Madoka, she honestly had no idea what any of the girls wanted in the long term.

No. To be truthful to herself she doubted any of them besides maybe Rishia had put any idea to a possible future than 'help the Shield Hero with the Waves'. She would have to see about bringing it up to them. Preferably no later than after the upcoming Melromarc wave.

Taking a seat on a nearby piece of collapsed building, she huddled against the wind in her cloak as she started to eat her food.

She was grateful that between the shield helping and the sheer amount of experience she was getting cooking, that her meals were tasting better almost by the day. She was doubtful that she'd ever be able to go back to living largely off of takeout and microwave food ever again.

After a moment, the other three girls in her party eventually joined her. Grabbing their own plates, before finding a place as far out of the wind as possible. The four of them ate in a comfortable, companionable silence.

"Six days." Homura said after they had all eaten a good portion of their food, having given them all time to wake up a reasonable degree. Raphtalia and Rishia both stilled for a moment, slowing down momentarily as they turned that short statement over in their heads.

"I…" Homura took a deep breath to center herself. "Before we continue planning, I do not wish to force any of you to fight. Yesterday was merely a taste of what we can expect from the Waves. I feel like we did admirably, but I understand if none of you wish to participate in another one."

She slowly looked over her party mates, trying to judge their reactions. Raphtalia looked…offended? Sakura just looked confused. Rishia seemed to be the only one actually thinking over what she said.

"This will be the last time I will offer the chance to leave, though I will not stop you if you decide to leave at a later time. It is a large thing to ask, for you to risk your lives. If you choose to leave, I will make sure to deliver you to a safe place and give you a generous monetary reward for helping me yesterday. If you choose to stay with me…well, I will continue to do my best to ensure we all survive to see the end of this calamity."

"Mistress…" Raphtalia muttered softly before sighing and standing up. Making her way to the seated Shield Hero, she stopped short before kneeling down on one knee, placing her right fist over her heart, and burying her left fist into the ground in some kind of reverent salute.

"You saved me from that hell that I had been forced into after the first Wave destroyed my home. You purchased me for seemingly no reason, cured me of the illness that claimed the life of my best friend, then gave me the weapons and teachings to fight. But on top of all of that, you freed me and gave me the choice to fight or hide. I have seen how much you care about others despite how much you try to keep us all at a distance. That's why I have decided that despite being free that Mistress Homura is the most deserving to command and wield me as she so chooses. I am the Sword of the Shield Hero, please never forget that Mistress. Even…" Raphtalia paused here, swallowing thickly before soldiering on. "Even if you return to your World, I will find a way to continue to help you."

Homura sat there, staring wide eyed at the heartfelt confession from the girl. There were several heavily loaded facts in that declaration that Homura didn't even know how to begin to address. Not giving her a chance to process it, Rishia's face firmed while looking at the younger girl. Assuming a similar position as Raphtalia, Rishia bowed her head slightly.

"You saved me from a fate that likely would've led to my early death. You helped save my village and my family, asking for no real reward besides some paltry information. You've seen worth in my useless assistance, given me a purpose, something I can do. I've seen so many wonderful things in the short week I've been in your company. Gotten to do things I never thought possible. If all it takes to be of worth to someone as wonderful as you, Dame Akemi, is my worthless life, well then I shall gladly offer it to you."

Turning her wide eyes stare to the green haired girl, she saw even more of her old self in her. Was…was this how Madoka would have seen her? This discomfort at the earnestness of devotion these two showed? The lack of self-worth that Rishia displayed?

"Risk our lives? What's momma talking about? I thought we were all just playing games with our food?" Sakura asked, her head tilting to the side in confusion. Homura turned to look at her now in disbelief before she started chuckling. Steadily she descended into an almost kind of broken laughter.

It was just too funny. It was also kind of painful in a way, even if it was understandable. Sakura was a monster after all. Fighting and killing things was probably pretty natural, and she had been doing it literally since the hour she was born. It was little surprise thinking it through that Sakura most likely really did see it all as a game.

Wiping the tears from her eyes as she slowly calmed back to normal, she took a deep breath before looking at her confused party members.

"I am sorry, it is just…" Homura started to explain, "It is just that here I was, thinking I was putting you in danger. How foolish I am, of course you all are smart enough that if I were you would leave."

Homura looked down at the ground, memories of when she first contracted. How her conviction hasn't changed, just grown stronger after seeing all of her friends die over and over. Yes, it was terrifying, fighting for her and her friends' lives, but it was still her choice. It was one, every time she had been offered an early out would have been left alone by the Incubator. But still she had insisted on staying with her friends until she had finally made her wish.

How stupid of her to think that she was forcing these girls to fight for her.

Turning her attention back to the fire, she poked and prodded it with a tending stick to make it flare up a bit to beat back the still chilly morning air. Raphtalia and Rishia both picked up that the serious portion of the conversation was over with, so they took up spots near the fire as well for some extra warmth.

"So, Dame, what do you think we should do next?" Rishia asked, rubbing her hands together near the fire.

Homura glanced at her, thinking over several things. While she wasn't an expert, she knew that the word choice Rishia used earlier was indicative of several underlying issues that should be addressed sooner than later now that they've been brought to light. But it was also a good question that had just been asked.

"I would like to get back to the Castle Town before Melromarc's Wave. I would also like to try and to get Raphtalia and Sakura both to level 40 before then so they can undergo [Class Up]. After that, we should make a serious push on syncing with the various hourglasses. At this point, I feel like the bulk of our leveling and material gathering are going to shift to being focused on the Waves." Homura outlined her basic planning.

"I think I can plot the most optimal route to known hourglass locations, while hitting some well-known monster nests and dungeons." Rishia offered. Raphtalia chewed slightly on her lip like she was thinking about something.

"Mistress?"

"Yes Raphtalia?"

"Do…do you think it would be possible to look into a couple of selfish requests for me?"

"If it is in my power, I certainly do not mind. You have been such a big help in my goals it is only fair. That goes for you as well, Rishia." Turning to look at the shy girl as she added that last bit to the end, getting the usual sound of surprise from her, she turned her attention back to Raphtalia.

"What would you like to do?"

"I want to visit my hometown on the ocean, and…I want to save the slaves held by the asshole that caused Rifana to die." Raphtalia ground out the last half, obviously barely able to control her anger.

'Rifana must be the name of her best friend,' Homura thought, remembering that she said her best friend had died from the sickness she had treated apparently only three weeks ago.

"I will keep those in mind and do my best." Homura nodded. She mentally made a note to keep an eye on her for any lingering problems.

"Pardon me Shield Hero, but it sounds like you and your party are making plans for the future?" Fitoria asked as she approached.

Homura twitched slightly at having such an absurdly powerful being sneak up on her. Rishia's loud sound of shock while clutching at her suddenly racing heart, and Raphtalia's matching jump and bristling tail also indicated they weren't happy with the sudden scare either.

"Yes." Homura bit out, doing her best to keep her own shock at being startled to a minimum.

"Before you and your companions leave, I would like to test your Queen Candidate." Fitoria explained her simple request. Homura was more than aware of the not-so-subtle command it actually was.

"And what do you mean by test, Fitoria?" Homura narrowed her eyes. No matter how outclassed she currently was, Homura was feeling a burning fire of protection in regard to her new 'daughter'.

"You need not worry, Shield Hero." Fitoria advised, sensing the ire building in the magical girl. "I merely wish to see if she is worthy of continuing on as my successor. No permanent or significant harm will come to your filolial. I simply wish to have her spar with me in her human form. Since she just recently transformed for the first time, it will be a good way to test her adaptability."

Homura mulled over the explanation quietly. She could tell Fitoria wasn't telling quite the full story, but she couldn't see why Fitoria had any reason to lie. There just was something else that she was wanting to test but she didn't know the Filolial Queen well enough to even begin guessing.

"You will have to ask Sakura herself." Homura finally responded. "She has the right to choose if she wants to participate or not. I just ask that you respect her decision."

Fitoria looked her in her eyes, seemingly weighing her statement before giving a short nod.

"Sakura, can you go change into your human form and put your dress on? Then I need you to come back when you're done." Homura instructed, getting an enthusiastic nod in return.

"Okay momma!"

With that cheerful exclamation, Sakura ran off to do as she was asked. A minute later had Sakura running up to Homura and Fitoria excitedly in her torn to fit black dress.

"Good girl." Homura said, petting her hair. "It is up to you, but Fitoria would like to spar with you in your human form."

"You mean Lady Fitoria wants to play with Sakura?" Sakura asked excitedly, her eyes growing wide and seeming to sparkle. "It always looks like so much fun watching momma play with the others, but Sakura couldn't join in cause Sakura would hurt them."

Homura couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Did Sakura really think that her training the other two was her playing with them?

Actually, thinking about it, since she saw hunting monsters as playing a game it was very possible.

"Yes, Fitoria wants to play a game with you. I want you to give it your best to impress her, alright?"

"I can do that momma!" Giving the magical girl a big hug around her midriff, Sakura was quick to run off to the mostly open remains of the town plaza where she had cooked their meal last night. When Homura looked down at Fitoria, she thought she saw a small smile for a moment but Fitoria's face soon was out of view as she walked calmly over to the eager pink haired girl.

"The rules are simple Sakura. Stay in the plaza and do not transform into your filolial form. Do either of those and you lose, otherwise we will play until I say you have won." Fitoria instructed.

"Got it Lady Fitoria!" Sakura declared, pumping her fists excitedly.

"Very well then. Whenever you are ready."

"Sakura has deciphered a law of Nature.

Cover Sakura in Wind.

[ Faust Wind Aura ]!"

Sakura incanted a spell that Homura had never heard before at a pretty fast speed. Had she blinked, she likely would've missed Sakura rocketing towards Fitoria as soon as she finished her spell.

"Not bad, but you are too slow." Fitoria flatly intoned even as she blocked several consecutive punches with her bare open hand.

Homura was barely able to catch the sound of [Damage Cancellation] over the loud beating sound from the colliding punches. It appeared that by covering herself in an aura of wind magic, her speed was greatly increased but it also acted to increase the damage of physical attacks to a degree. But it still was nowhere near enough to overcome the sheer difference in stats between the two.

In response to Fitoria's taunt, Sakura appeared to try and pull the wind in tighter to her body, increasing her speed a bit more.

"Better." Slipping down and punching Sakura solidly in the solar plexus, sending her back a few feet. "But not good enough."

Sakura paused for a second, coughing roughly as she did her best to recover her breath.

"Tell me Sakura, why do you fight? It can not be just because the Shield Hero asked you too. There has to be something you want in your life." Fitoria asked, waiting patiently.

"Sakura wants- Sakura wants to help momma save mommy!" Sakura declared loudly before assuming a stance like a Runner's position.

" [ High Quick ]!"

Even though Homura had been paying attention, she missed the moment when Sakura moved. To her it had seemed as if Sakura had disappeared and then reappeared with her kick stopped and held in position, her wings spread to help her balance on one foot.

Then she processed the statement that Sakura had made. Help her save 'mommy'? Who was 'mommy'?

A flash of pink hair tied up in pigtails with the ribbon currently in her hair. Those caring pink eyes and that dorky smile.

Was Sakura talking about Madoka? How did she even know about her?

" [ Faust Tornado ]!" Sakura incanted without the full chant, flapping her wings firmly while Fitoria's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Leaping backwards while shoving Sakura away, a small but intense whirlwind sprung up where the two had been standing, cutting a sharp groove in the ground before dissipating.

"Who is this 'mommy' of yours?" Fitoria asked curiously as she smoothed out her dress.

Sakura skipped around a bit before catching her balance and steadying herself.

"Sakura doesn't know much honestly. It was back before Sakura was awake and momma named her. Sakura saw some of momma's dreams, and saw momma's goal, why momma keeps fighting. There's a girl that looks like Sakura that momma loves very much back in her world that needs momma to save her. So Sakura wants to help momma save mommy!" Sakura declared; fists clenched in front of her chest like a little kid arguing why they're right.

Fitoria stared at her for a moment, processing her statement before suddenly she was wrapped in a far denser aura of wind magic without an incantation of any kind. The next thing Homura was able to actually process was what sounded like a boom as Fitoria appeared with her fist extended over Sakura's shoulder.

"If you wish to aid the Shield Hero in a task as monumental as that, you still have a long way to go."

What followed was a series of simple but powerful blows, just fast enough for Sakura to be unable to dodge, but not fast enough she couldn't adapt. Steadily, Sakura began launching her own blows while trying to activate magic, but every spell that was cast with any sort of incantation was canceled out with interference magic.

"Mistress, are we not going to help Sakura?" Raphtalia asked with a pleading edge, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly.

"No." Homura was quick to answer, getting a shocked look in return.

"Watch closely. Fitoria is not seriously trying to hurt Sakura. No, she is trying to train her." While Homura felt conflicted about the ferocity, she had done similar to Sayaka and Madoka in timelines when Mami died early, and she had managed to gain some level of trust.

It was far better to suffer in training than to die on the battlefield.

Suddenly Sakura gave a loud yell, lashing out with a clawed hand as the dispersing tornado she just tried to conjure condensed around her fingers. Seeing the wind claws heading straight for her face, Fitoria's eyes widened slightly, only managing to back away just far enough to be grazed.

Homura's eyes widened at seeing a bead of blood well up on Fitoria's cheek instead of the damage cancelation sound that had been occurring so far.

"Enough." Fitoria declared, slapping Sakura's follow up blow down and into the ground. With a small wave of her hand, she dispelled the following eruption of dust as it formed.

"That is enough for now Sakura. You did good." Fitoria said, walking over to the downed and panting pink haired girl.

" [ Zweite Heal ]!"

Holding her hand out over Sakura, Fitoria cast a mid-level healing spell, recovering the damage that had been done and relieving any pain she might have been experiencing.

"You did exceptionally good Sakura. I would be proud to declare you my successor." Fitoria offered a smile, reaching down and helping her up.

"Eh? Sakura is what now?" Sakura responded confused.

"Hold out your hand."

With a very confused expression, Sakura held out both her hands. Reaching up, Fitoria firmly grabbed one of her cowlicks before pulling it off like it was just a regular feather. Before Sakura could make a sound of surprise, it was set in her hands where it then condensed into a ball of light.

"Fueh?!" Sakura made a loud sound of surprise, sounding almost exactly like Rishia when she startles. As soon as the light faded, Homura had to blink in shock as Sakura suddenly sprouted a cowlick.

If she were being honest, it was kind of cute.

"Eh?" Feeling the new weight on her head, she reached and grabbed the cowlick. "What's this?"

Giving it a small tug resulted in pain, but Sakura gave it one hard jerk and ripped it out with a small cry. Then blinked in shock when she felt it suddenly grow back.

"I would stop trying if I were you. You are unfortunately going to have it for the rest of your life, so I would just get used to it." Fitoria advised. "Think of it as a mark that I am now a close friend."

Getting a nod from Sakura in understanding, Fitoria pulled yet another cowlick out while walking over to Homura.

"And as a reward for you…Homura. Please hold out your shield."

Narrowing her eyes, but deciding to trust her again, she held out her shield. When it was extended, Fitoria dropped her cowlick on to the jewel which gave one of the brightest glows she had ever seen.

[ High Quality Offering received. ]

[ Filolial Series forcibly unlocked! ]

Eyes widening in shock, Homura watched her [Weapon Menu] as a large list of shields became visible. Looking them over only maybe two thirds were lit up as being usable, the others she was currently too low of a level. The sheer strength of some of the shields, and their bonuses ranging from small to large in things like status up and growth, was insane. There were even some skills like [Power Up While Riding], which just would serve to make Sakura even more of a powerhouse.

This kind of reward was honestly insane.

"Thank you very much Fitoria." Homura finally got out through her surprise, bowing respectfully.

"However, I have one more favor I would like to ask if it is not too much trouble." Homura asked.

Fitoria merely tilted her head to the side with a slightly puzzled look on her face.

P-*-*-*-H

Homura blinked and looked around as she stepped out of Fitoria's Carriage. No longer did they seem to be in the deep wilderness of territory unclaimed by man, but instead in the distance of the large hill they appeared upon, she could see a road in the distance. Or, at least, what passed for a road as far as she had learned in Melromarc.

"This is the closest teleport I have registered to the city you call Melromarc." Fitoria informed her as her entire party filed out behind her. The white-haired girl gestured towards one direction the road wandered off in.

"I believe that the closest human settlement is off in that direction. They can provide you with more direction from there Shield Hero."

Homura nodded in understanding at the words. After helping get Sakura's carriage disconnected and said filolial connected, Homura turned to face the filolial queen and bowed respectfully.

"I thank you for your aid Fitoria. I promise that I will talk to the other heroes. I…even have some ideas that I believe may work." Standing up straight after a moment, Homura looked into Fitoria's eyes.

"Please take care of yourself Fitoria. I will do my best to raise Sakura into a successor we can both be proud of." Turning around after finishing that statement, Homura missed the slight widening of Fitoria's eyes as she climbed up into the driver's seat.

"Oh yeah, one last—" Homura started saying after getting situated when the Queen disappeared into a cloud of mist. Feeling her eye twitch at the sudden and slightly rude departure, she shelved the question she had wanted to ask for later.

"Go whenever you are ready Sakura. Just follow the road in the direction Fitoria pointed." She finally instructed.

"Got it momma!" Sakura chirped happily with a small salute before heading off down towards the road.

Knowing from experience that Sakura was going to be fine, even if listening to a talking egg-shaped bird was strange even by her standards, Homura turned her head around so that her passengers could hear her better.

"Do you have any idea of where we are Rishia?" she asked. It might help if they had an idea of where they were in advance.

Rishia poked her head out of the front of the wagon, holding on tightly to the frame to not fall over as she got a more detailed look around. Her eyes went over everything, the various hills, the position and movement of the sun, the alignment of the road and a few other things that Homura could only begin to guess at.

"If I had to guess right now Dame, I would say we're roughly a day or two south of the castle at Sakura's pace. But I can't say for certain until we hit the town Fitoria mentioned." Rishia finally answered.

"Two days of traveling at worst?" Homura asked out loud as she started thinking. Rishia nodded in response.

"As long as nothing major happens, that should leave us with plenty of time in the capital to finish preparing for the Waves. I just hope that the others are there, otherwise I am going to have to try and catch them after the Wave and that will just be a waste of time." Homura muttered, mostly to herself but loud enough that Rishia and Raphtalia could both hear her. The raccoon girl and former noble both looked at each other, not for the first time wondering exactly what the Shield Hero was thinking.

Rishia had tried to ask once before, but what followed was a long rambling of tactical babbling that even the bookworm herself had issues understanding most of it. It was just such a different line of thought than what she had experienced growing up and learning in Faubley that it just served to drive home the fact that Homura was from a different World and chosen as a Hero.

Raphtalia had just been completely lost.

Waving off the conversation, Homura corralled everyone into the carriage so that they could finally get on the road. While they had received a large amount of help and answers from Fitoria, after so long she hated to waste valuable time.

Especially since it no longer answered her command like it used to.

P-*-*-*-H

It was about an hour from nightfall, the sun just starting to dip below the tree line, when they saw the town approaching at the end of the road.

"Ah, that should be Riyute Village." Rishia told Homura while rubbing soothing circles on Raphtalia's back.

"Hyurk!" Raphtalia choked down at a sudden small jostling.

"Sorry big sis!" Sakura called back, slowing down a bit between seeing the village and the raccoon girl's discomfort.

"It should only be another forty minutes or so Raphtalia. Then we will be taking a significant break from the carriage." Homura encouraged, getting a smile whine in response.

"Halt carriage!" a simply dressed guard stopped them as they neared the gate. Pulling gently but convincingly on Sakura's reins to give the image of directing her to stop, Homura turned her attention to the guard.

"Yes?" Homura asked in slight confusion, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"I am sorry, Madam Adventurer, but there is a 10 copper fee to enter or leave Riyute Village for nonresidents. Times have been hard on the town, so the village elder has had no choice but to introduce a small tax." The guard explained simply. Homura made a small sound of understanding.

While she acknowledged it could possibly be wrong, the amount was so small to her it honestly didn't even put a noticeable dent into their funds. And if they thought they could rough house her or her party, they would learn quickly just how wrong they were.

"That is not a problem." Homura replied, reaching to the small hip pouch she kept some spare change in. Grabbing a good pinch of coins, then counting out 10 from that amount, she offered out her hand.

The guard looked relieved, presumably at how little fuss she's caused. Taking and double counting the money, he nodded before depositing the coins into a nearby lock box.

"Pardon me guard, but can you direct me to the inn? It has been a long trip for me and my companions and we would like to rest in an actual bed."

Blinking a few times, he scrambled around the gate and pointed to one of the large buildings visible down the road.

"That there's the tavern. They'll be more than glad to accommodate you and your party Madam Adventurer for a reasonable price." He quickly answered. "Nice folks, the owners. Good cooks too if you're interested in a proper meal as well."

Homura nodded gratefully before ushering Sakura onwards. Parking and tying up their carriage was a simple matter. Getting Sakura into the stable long enough to listen to the fact she was not going to be forced into sleeping there if she'd transform in there away from prying eyes was a bit more complicated. But Homura managed it in the end.

Somehow.

P-*-*-*-H

'Hot. Why is it so HOT?' Homura screamed internally as she fairly quickly comes to wakefulness. She immediately began to cough and choke on feathers. In a mild panic, she conjured a quick barrier between her and where she sensed the heat source was, ejecting her quickly from the ball of feathers and heat that was Sakura.

Gasping and sputtering as she tried to catch her breath while her sweat drenched nightgown clung to her uncomfortably. Looking up she glared slightly at the drowsy and confused looking filolial.

"Momma? Is something wrong?" she asked drowsily.

Homura bit her tongue to keep from snapping, but it was oh so close. Taking a deep breath, she did her best to calm down. She had to take several more seeing the tattered remains of the black dress Sakura had been sleeping in.

"Sakura, why did you transform?" she asked, working on peeling off her nightgown. She was going to need a bath, but unfortunately this inn was one that only provided wash basics so that was going to have to wait.

"Huh?" Sakura responded in confusion, slowly becoming more and more awake. Looking down at herself, the pink filolial blinked several times before twisting this way and that way, almost disbelieving.

"Why did Sakura transform? I was just sleeping with momma, dreaming of what it would be like to sleep with momma and mommy both. Heh heh, Sakura would get double pets then." Sakura chuckled happily at the thought of so many pets and head pats.

Homura could only heave a massive sigh while blushing slightly. It had taken her a moment, but then she had remembered 'Mommy' was what she called Madoka. Shaking her head to bring her thoughts away from such dangerous thoughts, she just rolled her eyes at her still daydreaming filolial.

"Well please transform back. Then you can put this on and go make sure Raphtalia and Rishia are awake and ready to go." As she said this, Homura pulled out a second dress that they had made for Sakura just in case. "I will meet everyone downstairs for breakfast shortly."

"Okay momma!" Sakura agreed readily even as she was covered by a thick poof of a cloud. Helping her get dressed before pushing her out the door while making sure to not be seen, she finally let out a breath at getting some peace for a moment.

However, some instinct was telling her she wouldn't have as much time as she would like to get ready before Sakura showed up again. She cared for the little bird girl, she really did, but she was very draining to deal with for extended periods of time. Taking a deep breath to try and relax from her rather unpleasant start to her day, something told her today was just going to be one of those long days.

A few minutes later, Homura headed downstairs to the tavern area, not wearing her actual plate armor for a change. Raphtalia tilted her head to the side in slight confusion at seeing her in only the white shirt and purple petal skirt. When Homura turned her attention to Rishia, she saw that she was the only one that hadn't put on her armor.

"Are we not going to go hunting today Mistress?" Raphtalia asked as she approached, her confusion evident.

"We will, eventually." The magical girl answered as she took a seat at the table across from them, next to Sakura.

"But probably not until after lunch. I am interested in selling some of the stuff we have recently acquired, on top of seeing if there is anything we can do to help out this town." Getting a look of understanding from Raphtalia, she turned her attention to the green haired girl.

"Fueh?" she made her usual sound of surprise at having attention focused on her. "Y-yes Dame?" she asked, stuttering only slightly.

"What can you tell us about Riyute Village? Any idea what might be causing their recent issues?"

"Umm, the only thing I can really remember about Riyute is that it's home to a rather lucrative mine and one of the primary providers of [Light Metal] to the country." Rishia answered after thinking back.

"And this [Light Metal] is that valuable?"

"Very. It's one of the primary metals to alloy for things like [Magic Steel], which is one of the best materials available to non-Classed Up individuals."

Homura nodded in understanding as she thought it over while eating her breakfast.

"So there is most likely something wrong with the mine in this region. Either it has run dry or something is preventing the workers from mining the ore." The magical mused. "If it is the former, then I doubt there is anything we can do to help. But if it is something like a monster infestation, then that we can handle while possibly gathering new materials."

All the girls nodded in understanding.

"After everyone finishes eating, I want to head to the market to see at least about buying a temporary dress for Sakura. Then we should see about selling or trading some of our supplies to help out around here. While we are doing that, we can ask about the mine. Where it is and what is going on. See if there is anything else going on that we can help with. Afterwards we can hunt around the local area before returning to Castle Town."

Another round of nods and general agreement with the plan. After that, it settled into a relatively peaceful meal, enjoying the taste of food not made over a campfire for a change.

After everyone finished eating, Homura agreed to wait outside while Raphtalia and Rishia went upstairs to drop their armor off in their room. But as she neared the door, she was struck with a small idea. Turning around, she made her way to the innkeeper who was currently wiping down the counter of the bar.

"Excuse me sir, would you mind answering a couple questions for me?" Homura asked politely.

"Heh?" the older man made a small sound of confusion at suddenly being addressed. Blinking a few times as her question processed, he glanced down to Homura's side where Sakura stood waiting patiently. Making a face somewhere between disgust and dismissal he turned his attention back to Homura.

"Yer that adventurer that came in last night with yer party, yes? What kinda questions ya got?" Homura felt her eye twitch slightly at the kind of thick accent that her shield translated his speech with. It was impressively seamless if she was being honest, but a small part of her wished it was a more flat translation at times.

"Would you be able to provide me directions to a clothing store then to a place I can sell or trade some monster parts? My party member here needs some new clothes after her last ones got destroyed, and I would like to see if I can provide any help for your town." Homura asked.

"Hmmm, for clothes I would recommend going to Lillian's place just up the road. Lotsa dresses hanging up on display, hard ta miss. As for monster parts, I'd say Richard might be willing to work with ya. If ya go north a couple of roads, then turn west, he'll likely be about 200 meters down on the left side. That's where he usually sets up shop. Fair warning lassie, we aint got much in this town since the Wave that destroyed Seatto Territory to the East. So don't be expectin top dollar or high quality trades." The innkeeper warned her. His information basically matched what Rishia told her.

She also filed away a mental note to look into the Seatto Territory if that was where the first Wave hit. It might be possible to find some remaining monsters or monster parts, along with whatever was left by the destroyed villages.

Homura did her best to not frown as she remembered Raphtalia's home would be among that rubble.

Instead she gave a small but respectful bow to the innkeeper.

"Thank you for the help sir." Reaching into her coin pouch, she pulled out a small pinch of copper to set on the table.

"Payment for the information. And please accept my small prayer for your situation to improve."

With that soft statement, she turned and left, missing the raised eyebrow and shrug from the keep even as he grabbed the coins.

Leaning against the wall by the door, Homura watched Sakura flit around, looking at various shiny things she could find. It amused Homura for some reason that she couldn't quite place, so she just decided to enjoy the pleasant feeling in her chest. It didn't take much longer before she was joined by the other girls.

"It's so nice to not have to wear our armor while walking around." Rishia groaned, stretching with her arms over head.

"I can only imagine how Mistress feels about it. Our's is at least only leather, so it actually breathes and moves easier than her plate does." Raphtalia seemed to also agree with Rishia's feelings.

"It is admittedly nice to be safe to not wear it for a while. While it weighs almost nothing thanks to the enchantments, it is a bit cumbersome since I have never worn armor before I was summoned. While I may not normally require the extra protection, it is probable that I would have been far more seriously injured by that strange man with the tonfa had I been without it." Homura tossed her two cents into the conversation as they walked up to her.

"Sakura! Come on, we are ready to go!" she called out to the filolial who quickly returned back to her momma's side.

Making a quick stop at the tailors that really was as close as the innkeeper said, they left several coppers lighter and Sakura now wearing a non-torn to fit dress. This one was a fairly simple two-toned green dress that Homura felt went well with Sakura's eyes and hair.

Double checking directions with the tailor, they then made their way to a small little booth that was set up in conjunction with some other ones.

"Excuse me, but are you Richard?" Homura asked as she approached the booth. The man behind the counter looked her up and down with a dubious eye.

"I am." He eventually answered. "Why you asking?"

"We are adventurers, and we have some materials that we were looking to sell or trade." Gesturing toward the counter, Raphtalia stepped up and set a moderately sized leather bag full of their lower grade, but still useful, materials.

Watching him start to sort through the supplies with an appraising eye, Homura decided now would be a good time to probe into the problem a bit.

"Would you mind if I asked what exactly has this town in such dire straits?"

"Monsters have infested the Mine." He answered with a huff. "We tried to flag down the Spear Hero when he passed through a few weeks ago, but he left before anyone really could. Supposedly some requests have been put forth to the Adventurer's Guild, but we don't really have enough money to pay for a group strong enough to handle it."

"The best I can offer is 1 silver and maybe some items if I have anything you need." He cut her off before Homura could ask another question.

"Do you have any ingots or ore that would make suitable tools or armor?" Making a sound he crouched down behind his counter.

"It looks like I got a bit of Light Metal ore left, and some Quicksilver ore. I'd be willing to give you what I got and 75 copper."

"That is fine, if you do not mind telling us how to get to the Mine?"

P-*-*-*-H

A few hours later found the group fully equipped back in their gear a while after eating lunch, standing outside a small shack outside the entrance to the mine. Homura was frowning slightly at the shack and it's padlock.

"Is something the matter Dame?" Rishia asked.

"No. I just was not expecting to have to break into the shed to get some tools to make a trip into the mines worth it." Homura explained to the noble girl.

"Break into? What do you-" Rishia almost bit her tongue in shock as she watched the Shield Hero grab hold of the thick iron padlock. With a relatively small flare and sharp twist of her magic, Homura felt the internal mechanism of the padlock fall apart. With a bit of shaking, she got the tooth to disengage from the latch, allowing her to remove it and enter the shed.

So nonchalantly that it was obvious she had done similar hundreds if not thousands of times.

"Hmmm." Homura looked around the dark shed, only roughly half the shed lit by the daylight streaming through the open door. Spotting a couple of lanterns in the lit corner, she walked over and knelt in front of them. On a small hunch, she decided to absorb one of them into her shield.

[ Lantern Shield conditions met! ]

[ Lantern Shield

-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Dark Vision Up(small)

Equip Effect: Torch Light ]

Transforming her shield to her newly gained shield, it was fairly small, not much larger than her buckler back in her World. The back of the shield was a fairly thin metal plate with a cage in front of it. In the center, a small flat disk sat perpendicular to the cage, and centered on that was the green jewel of her shield.

"[Torch Light]." Homura commanded the Shield. Immediately after she finished speaking, a small but fairly bright light bloomed over the jewel, lighting up the area around her to a decent brightness.

"Well, this is certainly going to be useful in the mine." She mentioned, mostly to herself.

"Fueh! D-Dame Akemi, you can't just go stealing things from the villagers!" Rishia squeaked out, shocked by the suddenly exposed side of the Shield Hero.

Tilting her head to the side in slight confusion, Homura stared at Rishia. After thinking it over, Homura realized Rishia didn't know that her shield didn't consume the items she absorbed for weapon forms.

Holding her hands over the jewel, she willed the lantern back out.

"It is fine Rishia. I am not stealing the equipment, but I am gathering things that we will need or will be useful." With that statement, Homura went around collecting some miscellaneous items and equipment she didn't have in her shield. Several new and interesting shields were unlocked in the process.

[ Pickaxe Shield conditions met! ]

[ Rope Shield conditions met! ]

[ Pipe Shield conditions met! ]

[ Pickaxe Shield

-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Mining Skill +1 ]

[ Rope Shield

-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Agility +2

Equip Effect: Rope ]

[ Pipe Shield

-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: skill "Shield Prison" ]

"Shield Prison?" She muttered, reading the strange skill name.

"Mistress?" Raphtalia asked.

"Hmm, Raphtalia, would you mind if I try out a skill on you?" Homura asked. Looking around the small shed, she remembered the size of her Air Strike Shield.

"Probably should test it outside however." Making her way out of the shed after grabbing a few more pickaxes for her party members, Homura transformed her shield once again, cutting off the constant light it had been emitting. This time it was a fairly flat, small rectangular shield that had a motif of a latticework of pipes on the face.

"Whenever you're ready Mistress." Raphtalia told Homura once they had put some distance between them and the raccoon girl. Homura gave a single nod.

"[Shield Prison]!" Homura commanded.

Raphtalia squeaked loudly as she found herself suddenly encased in a sphere of several shields reminiscent of her Air Strike Shield all bound together by chains. Counting down from the casting time, the shields vanished after exactly 15 seconds, shorter than some of her other skills.

"That…was not what I was expecting." Homura stated. "But I can see how that skill would be useful for locking down enemy movement or protecting a small group of people. Next question is how much damage can it take?"

"Alright Raphtalia, I am going to use it on me this time. Please attack the shields until they break or time runs out."

The relatively quick testing seemed to show that it had overall more durability than her Air Strike Shield on top of a technically wider range in exchange for the shorter skill time. Definitely a skill that she could see becoming an important part of her arsenal.

"Alright girls, our primary goal is to clear out whatever monsters are infesting this mine, preferably down to the last. After we have done our best to confirm that all the monsters are dead, then I want us all to work on gathering materials. We will consider that our payment for helping the villagers so that they do not feel the need to pay us. Any questions?" Homura explained the situation.

Receiving a universal round of no's and nods of understanding, she led the way into the mine as they fell into a diamond formation with Rishia bringing up the rear.

Near the entrance to the cave were monsters that resembled porcupines and a few other rodent type monsters. As they made their way deeper into the mine, small humanoid reptile monsters that stood roughly around a meter in height began to make appearances.

"Kobolds? This close to the Capital?" Rishia voiced her thoughts out loud.

"Kobolds? Is that what these things are called?" Homura asked, nudging one with her boot to make sure it was dead. Wrinkling her nose as the foul smell hit her nostrils.

"Whatever they are they reek." Raphtalia complained, covering her face with a rag to try and block out the smell. Sakura who was in her human form with the relatively small space nodded in agreement while also covering her face. Rishia also nodded in agreement.

"Kobolds usually live in abandoned mines and some natural caves. But they also don't like humans, so they usually live far enough away from settlements and only claim long abandoned areas. So there being any, let alone this much, this close to the Capital is more than a bit strange." Rishia explained.

Homura frowned slightly at the explanation. It made sense with what tiny bit of information she could recall from her world about the monsters. But the explanation itself made a feeling of discomfort grow in her stomach. Almost as if she had stumbled upon something she shouldn't have.

Again.

Pressing on they continued to make fairly short work of the kobolds. Most of them attacked with claws, however some would attack with pickaxes that had been left lying around or even crudely hewn daggers. Even those without weapons weren't allowed to be dismissed after one had landed a hit on Raphtalia with it's claws and she had ended up poisoned. Thankfully Homura had a decent stock of antidotes on hand from her shield.

When they stumbled across the first dog type monster however, Raphtalia froze and started shaking. Losing one of their strongest fighters made the fight take longer than the others had up to that point, but Sakura and Rishia were quick to cover up the sudden slack.

"Raphtalia? Raphtalia what's wrong?" Rishia asked worriedly as she approached the shaking girl. Homura kept an ear on them even as she swept her gaze around searching for any nearby enemies that they might have missed.

"D-dog monster. Ju-just like what k-k-killed my p-parents…" Raphtalia managed to stutter out even as she latched tightly onto Rishia in desperation. Sakura was quick to hug Raphtalia as well, even if she didn't completely understand why she was scared.

"Raphtalia…" Homura muttered softly, approaching them all after judging the area safe enough. Kneeling down in front of them, she looked the scared girl in the eyes. It struck the magical girl that even though Raphtalia appeared and normally acted 16, she still was mentally 10 in some ways.

"Do we need to turn back?" she offered. She didn't want to force an issue like this unless it was necessary. It was possible for her to leave Raphtalia there, but she wasn't comfortable with just leaving someone like that.

Raphtalia slowly took several deep breaths, steadily bringing herself under control. After several deep breaths, Raphtalia shook her head.

"No Mistress. I'm fine, just…I wasn't expecting for them to turn up here. I should be fine from now on." Raphtalia said, her voice growing firmer and closer to its usual confident tone. Giving Rishia and Sakura one last squeeze she stood back up.

"I'm ready to go, Mistress." Raphtalia said.

Homura stood at her for a moment before nodding and gathering up the remains of everything.

Not long after they encountered their first dog monster, the mine opened up into a massive natural cavern filled with shining outcroppings of what appeared to be crystals. Off to the side where it looked like a ravine, Homura could hear the rushing of water at the bottom, probably a river.

"Keep your attention up. Stay close. An open area like this is dangerous." Homura directed, keeping her voice just loud enough to be heard by her party, and not much louder.

Getting acknowledgement in the form of their formation tightening up, she led the way slowly into the open area. It wasn't long before they were attacked by a couple more dogs and some Kobolds that were wielding whips this time.

"Tamers?" Homura asked, vaguely recognizing the popular trope reference in her world.

"Dame, if these kobolds are trying to breed and tame these dog monsters that might have come from the Wave…" Rishia trailed off.

"Something tells me that normally the kobolds are not usually that intelligent." Homura frowned. It almost implied that something or someone was teaching them. That definitely made her feel uncomfortable, because that would mean even more stuff that she would end up having to deal with.

Sighing softly, Homura came to a decision.

"Kill them all. We can not allow the possibility that they are raising a force to destroy the villages in the area." She hated having to make such a cold decision, but ultimately, she felt in this case that it would be nothing but problems if they achieved their goals.

Raphtalia and Rishia both stilled, taking several deep breaths. While the decision might not seem that different than their goal when they first entered, there was now a different gravity to the situation.

Looking over her team, Homura nodded when she saw everyone was ready.

Then they began the extermination.

Steadily, they hunted down every last kobold and dog monster they came across in the massive cavern. Even when they tried to flee deeper into or out of the mine, Homura made sure to cut off their escape while Sakura and Rishia finished them off at a distance.

Making their way deeper and deeper into the mine as it transitioned into something the more so resembled a natural cavern. Homura stopped as she spotted something on the ground that stood out.

A paw print. One almost as wide as she was tall.

"Girls, I think we found the source of the dogs." Homura whispered, unsure of how close the apparently very large dog was. Glancing at Raphtalia, she addressed her directly.

"Prepare yourself."

Raising her shield, she led the way slowly into the massive cavern opening. She had never really played video games of this sort in her world, but she was starting to understand what Sayaka would say about it being obvious a big fight was about to happen.

Hearing a low but deep growl from the side, she whirled around just in time to see a Cerberus lunging at Raphtalia from the shadows.

"[Air Strike Shield]!" She activated her ranged defense skill as quickly as she could. She frowned when the ethereal purple shield cracked as soon as it hit. That alone was a sign that this monster was definitely in a different league than the other monsters they had been fighting up to this point.

Thankfully, the Air Strike Shield provided just enough time for Raphtalia to gather her wits for her to evade before it broke.

Charging in, Homura changed her shield into the Ebon Fae Heart Shield. Despite such a foreboding name, it was shaped like a stereotypical Valentine's Heart with two cartoonish fairy silhouettes, one on each side, with their backs facing each other to frame the heart. Slamming the shield firmly into one of the heads as it lunged to attack her, it was knocked back from the solid blow as a loud heartbeat sound rang out from her shield.

In the corner of vision, by her health bar, she noticed a heart symbol with a "1" over it appear next to her name as she felt a small boost to her speed. Frowning slightly, she swiftly blocked a follow up swipe of the Cerberus' claws. The "1" ticked up to a "2" and she felt her speed increase a bit more.

Dismissing the distracting thoughts from her head, she focused on blocking the attacks from the giant three headed dog even as they lashed out with claws and fangs at her and the girls as they got in close. Even with such a strong shield and her speed increasing until the heart counter stopped at "10", she was finding herself hard pressed to keep up.

"Get away from my Mistress! I won't let you take another person from meeee!" Raphtalia screamed as she launched herself at the Cerberus, driving her sword through the temple of the outside head that was closest to her. Wrenching her sword out even as that head went limp, she lashed out angrily, managing to catch the center head's eyes in her slash as the other head bit down on her leg.

"Damn it!" Homura growled to herself. Struck with a sudden idea, she focused on the head biting Raphtalia.

"[Air Strike Shield]!" Casting her skill in the dog's mouth, she managed to force its mouth open long enough for Sakura to grab Raphtalia before the shield broke.

Tossing a high-level healing potion their way, Homura rushed in to lock the dog in place.

"Rishia, kill it now!" Homura ordered, doing her best to physically push the monster back and away from her injured friend.

"I am the Mage of a Hero, and I have deciphered a Law of Nature. Protect my Hero and my Friend with a blazing bolt of Fire!

[Zweite Fire Lance]!"

As Rishia finished her incantation, Homura felt a large spike of magic and a matching burst of heat. Jumping backwards and to the side, she shifted her shield into the Salamander Magma Shield C which offered her the highest fire resistance skill just as the Cerberus was consumed in a huge blaze of fire.

Lowering her shield after a minute when she saw the light from the firestorm fade. Almost unsurprisingly, the Cerberus was still alive, but only just. Laying there on the ground, only the head that bit Raphtalia was still alive and the rest of its body was covered in third degree burns.

"Raphtalia…" Homura started as an idea came to mind, "would you like to finish it? To avenge your town, your friends, your family?" She was a bit hesitant to offer, considering how many stories she's read about how vengeance gets you nowhere in life. But this didn't feel like offering vengeance, but instead offering closure.

Raphtalia looked uncertain for a moment. But eventually nodding as she made her decision. Making her way over, Homura helped her up before fireman carrying her over to the Cerberus. It and Raphtalia made eye contact even as it growled deeply.

"I don't know if you're the same monster that ate my parents…But I can't allow you to kill even more people." With those softly spoken words, Raphtalia drove her sword once again into its skull.

[ Level Up! ]

[ Level 42 ]

Blinking slightly at the fact that she had just gained almost 5 whole levels from clearing the mine, she looked up to the corner of her vision. She had been so absorbed in clearing the mine that she had been ignoring the level notifications. Raphtalia and Sakura now had stars next to their levels which seemed to be locked at 40 while Rishia had reached level 36 between the Wave and the mine.

A part of her wanted to beeline straight to the Capital to class up as to not waste experience. But she doubted that there would be much more combat between now and the next Wave. Her party deserved some kind of break after everything.

Helping get Raphtalia to a nearby outcropping, she left her in the more capable hands of Rishia while providing whatever supplies the noble girl needed. Meanwhile she set Sakura to start mining the various materials for her even as she started separating the Cerberus for parts.

A part of her was disturbed at just how normal and routine being wrist to elbow deep in monster had become normal.

P-*-*-*-H

A few days later, after spending some time helping out around Riyute, the girls finally arrived back at the Castle Town around mid afternoon. Homura glanced to the corner of her HUD to get a better sense of the exact time and date.

[ 1 : 21 : 48 ]

Just under two days left before the next Wave, which meant if she was doing her math correctly landed exactly at noon on the 28th day of her summoning.

Four weeks.

Two thirds of her loop time.

So much had happened in that time it boggled her mind slightly. She had made two good friends in Raphtalia and Rishia and had a devoted daughter of sorts in Sakura. She had been falsely accused by the princess of the country that summoned her and saved from a potentially horrible fate by what might as well have been a fluke. She had almost seriously died without realizing it before she had been saved by a being that she would swear was only a step or two away from being a God.

If she were back in her old world, Mami would likely be dead, and Sayaka would be descending into despair if she had made her wish. Kyoko, well she'd either be busting Sayaka down or wasting her time at the arcade. Madoka…

Well, if Homura were going to be honest with herself, Madoka would probably have long since contracted without her there to stop her.

Turning her gaze upwards towards the sky, Homura tried to remember what exactly she would be doing? Stockpile runs from JSDF bases? Grief seed hunting? Munitions making? Furrowing her brow, Homura tried to separate her usual routine out of the years worth of loops she's lived.

Had she really fell into such a chain of sameness? Doing the same thing over and over that it all became so jumbled together that it was hopeless to try and separate?

A part of her had been hating all the new. New was always dangerous. New couldn't be accounted for. New meant even more variables she had to juggle. New had become bad long ago.

So she had stopped letting things become new. She did her best to change as little as possible as slowly as possible.

No. Thinking back on the last several timelines, she doesn't think she changed a single thing of value.

That sameness she had unconsciously leaned into more and more ended up being a barricade, preventing her from her goal. That was unacceptable.

Taking a deep breath, she forced down the sudden surge of irritation and desperation she felt rise from her soul. She might hate it, but Madoka had to come first.

Saving Madoka was her one true goal in life. Nothing else mattered.

Unbidden, she heard Raphtalia and Rishia laughing about something in the time she had zoned out in her own thoughts.

No, her new friends also mattered. They were helping her save Madoka in their own roundabout way that they didn't even know of. The least she could do was return the favor, and she had a great idea on something to do in that direction.

She just hoped the girls would be appreciative.

Getting through the gate in fairly short order, they made their way to Erhard's place. While Homura doubted he'd be able to get anything done in time for the Wave in two days, having more time now meant that he might be done after whatever meeting with the King she was expecting afterwards.

She was hoping that it wouldn't be necessary to return here until maybe a day prior to the second Wave to see about upgrading their gear. But a part of her was feeling that after the debacle that her first month here was, she doubted she'd be that lucky. Whether that meant she'd be able to return here or not was debatable.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts as they rolled up to the familiar shop front, Homura leaped down from the front of the carriage.

"Momma, what is Sakura doing?" Sakura chirped while ruffling her wings slightly. This unfortunately drew the stares of everyone within earshot.

"Sakura," Raphtalia hissed softly while leaning closer to the filolial, "Mistress told you to keep quiet as a filolial when we're in town!"

"Oops, I'm sorry big sis Raph!" Sakura answered, quickly covering her beak with her wings when she realized her mistake a moment later.

Homura just let out a sigh and set her hand on Raphtalia's shoulder, cutting off the tirade before it could really get started. Rishia likewise seemed to calm down at seeing the raccoon girl settle down.

"It is fine for now Raphtalia. But please Sakura, remember better in the future." Homura gently reprimanded. "It can cause all of us issues if it gets out that I own a talking filolial. Possibly get people to try and take you from me. Is that what you want?"

Sakura went wide eyed and quickly shook her head in the negative.

"Then remember when in town in your filolial form, no talking or transforming without my permission. For now, please just guard your carriage. I do not expect us to be here long. We are just here to pick up and drop off some items. Hopefully also get some more information about getting you some clothes that will let you transform." Homura explained as patiently as she could once again.

She cared for Sakura; she really did. But she was such an airhead.

Or would it be more accurate to say an actual bird brain?

Shaking the thoughts from her head she reached up and started petting and gently ruffling the feathers on Sakura's chest that she could easily reach.

"Please just wait here for me, quietly. We will be back shortly." Sakura opened her mouth about to respond verbally before remembering what she was just told and nodding enthusiastically.

Nodding once in return, Homura turned around for the shop trusting Sakura to find a place out of the way but nearby to wait.

"Welcome to- Shield Lass! And friends! Welcome back." Erhard greeted them with a large grin.

"Hello Mister Erhard." The three girls chorused in near unison, earning a laugh from the blacksmith.

"So I take it you girls are here to finish getting ready for the Wave? I hear it's coming up soon." Erhard asked, leaning against his counter.

"That's right, in two days. Mistress said she also had some business to conduct with you before trying to find the other heroes." Raphtalia answered. Erhard gave a smile turning his attention to Homura.

"I take it you're here about the pieces you commissioned from me then Shield Lass?" he asked casually before reaching under the counter and pulling out two items.

The first looked like a fairly standard round shield with the body of it being made from wood with a metal banding wrapped around the edge. What made it stand out from standard round shields was the six inch (15 cm) X shaped spike extending from a dome in the center.

The second was also a shield, but much different in shape. This one was oblong and fairly tall, roughly two thirds as tall as Homura was, and had two defining features. The first was the central ridge bulged out of the center that ran the entire length, the second was the sharp spike that terminated at the bottom of the shield. It's overall construction seemed to be wood planks with a steel banding that was sharpened on the spike with a layer of purple dyed leather covering the wood. A design that reminded Homura of the one on her [Air Strike Shield] was sewed into the face of the leather as well.

Both of them looked to meet the exact requirements Homura had suggested to Erhard. Not bad considering that they were from a memory of an early timeline when she was researching various shields and combat techniques used with them. She was doing her best to temper her expectations, but she was hoping that these shields would provide an additional avenue for at least some offensive capability so that she could further support her friends.

"May I?" she asked, gesturing towards them. To her sides, the other two girls looked extremely fascinated at the unique designs. Not that she blamed them. From how Erhard had reacted when she had described them, shield designs were rather limited. They were used to defend or for ceremony and that's about it.

"Go ahead lass, they're technically yours after all." Erhard answered her question.

Reaching out, Homura set a hand on top of each shield and closed her eyes. Hoping, praying, that her ideas would work for a change. Several moments passed and just as she was starting to lose hope, a sense of acceptance seemed to glow from her shield. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by the message she had been praying to see.

[ Weapon Copy Activated]

[ Iron Spiked Targe conditions met! ]

[ Steel Pavise conditions met! ]

[ Iron Spiked Targe

Shield, Thrusting Weapon (light damage, piercing)

-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Attack +5 ]

[ Steel Pavise

-Abilities Locked- Equip Bonus: Defense +5, skill "Barricade" ]

"It worked…" she breathed out.

Well, alright. It had only partly worked how she had hoped. Only one of the two shields had provided an actual means of attacking, and if she were being honest it wasn't the one she had been wanting. She had hoped that a shield with a sharp edge would be classed as a slashing weapon.

A part of her even remembered reading that it would be possible to do so online in her own research. But then she remembered that the pavise was originally a modified tower shield meant to act as a portable wall for archers and crossbow men to have a mobile defense as they moved about the battlefield. Maybe that was why? Because though it could be used as a weapon, the spike was meant to dig into the ground?

Was that what this [Barricade] skill was? It would make sense. Probably something like [Air Strike Shield] but required her to drive her shield into the ground to activate. If that were the case, she hoped it was stronger than [Air Strike Shield] since it would leave her immobile and in a possibly compromised position.

"So little lass, what do you think?" the blacksmith asked after she had apparently stood silent for too long.

"Ah. They are great Mister Erhard, even if only the targe provides an attack boost." Homura answered.

"Oh? I thought the idea was that a sharp edge at the bottom would be great for stabbing and cutting?"

"I did too, but I had forgotten the pavise was originally designed for archers."

Stepping back from the counter, Homura transformed her shield into her new [Steel Pavise]. Holding the handles firmly, she pressed the point into the floor but did her best to keep from damaging it.

"The idea is that the sharpened spike makes it easier to drive the pavise deeper and more firmly into the dirt and such." Here she mimed raising and driving down the shield. "To create a mobile wall for an archer to hide behind so that they had a safer place on the battlefield to fire and reload."

Making a sound of understanding he folded his arms in thought as he looked down at the shields in front of him.

"Hmmm. We'll call this commission even for providing me with new shield designs." He finally said.

"However, any shields after this that are of these designs, you're paying at least labor costs. Got it lass?"

Homura nodded in response.

"Before I go, I do have another request. Well two actually I suppose." As she said this, she deposited the Unseelie Knight's plate and leather armor, chainmail, and a decent collection of items from the familiars of the Wave.

"Do you think you have enough material here to make armor for Raphtalia and Rishia? Use more of the plate for Raphtalia and more of the leather for Rishia, split the chainmail, and then use whatever you need or want from the rest of the supply. I will be able to drop off more after I talk to the other heroes."

Erhard leaned back slightly in surprise as the large pile of materials appeared on his counter next to the two shields. Blinking his eyes a few times as he remembers who he's dealing with, he starts sorting through all the material, appraising it as he goes.

"Ebon Steel? Ebon Leather? Ventus Feathers? I've never even heard of this stuff lass, but it's all super high quality. I can definitely make some grade A stuff out of this." The blacksmith muttered, loud enough to be heard, but not directly addressing anyone.

"Plate for the raccoon girl, leather for the shy noble…" he continued to mutter. Glancing up and down between the materials and the two in question, he started separating out materials and arranging things in a way that Homura couldn't even begin to make heads or tails of.

"What about weapons? I should have enough left for at least a single weapon." He paused in his planning to address the Shield Hero.

"Actually, I have another source of what did you call it? Ebon Steel? I have another source of Ebon Steel you can use, but I want to talk to Amaki-senpai first." Homura explained.

"The Sword Brat? Why do you need to talk to him first?"

Homura figured it was a fair question. But honestly, she personally respected the Sword Hero a bit more than either of the other two. Dismissing that thought for later, the magical girl pulled the great sword used by the faerie knight from her shield.

"Amaki-senpai has the same ability with swords that I do with shields. Even if he does not actually use this sword, it should provide him with a substantial boost to his abilities. But after he ends up copying it, I have no issues with it being smelted down into raw material."

Making a face at being reminded that the other heroes had come into his store, copied everything with barely a word, then leaving, he conceded the point. Even if he personally did not care for the other heroes, they were heroes summoned to save his World. Some concessions could, unfortunately, be made.

"So when were you wanting these made by?" he asked as he began moving the materials into the back. "Cause if you want them done by the Wave, sorry to pop your bubble. I'm good, but not that good."

Homura shook her head.

"No. For now, repairs on their current gear should suffice. After the Wave we may require some simple upgrades to keep up with our levels until you finish. I just hope that the armor is done by the time of the following Wave of Melromarc. Which from my understanding should be about four weeks."

"Four weeks, eh? Yeah, that should be plenty. Do you think you'll be back before that Wave hits?"

"I am unsure. My current plan after this Wave to go down to Zeltoble, then start sweeping through a couple of countries for a couple of weeks to collect materials and link with hourglasses before returning here."

"Zeltoble? Hmmm, if you do mind doing a couple of things for me while you're there lass, I can provide you with some locations that provide top tier monster parts and other items. Even point you out to a couple of Dragon's Hourglasses that I remember from my days as an adventurer." Erhard offered.

Homura blinked in slight shock, not having expected the offer. And judging from the surprised whine from Rishia, she hadn't either. The old blacksmith had definitely been nothing but helpful, so if all he was asking for in exchange for information that was a near godsend was a couple of errands? Homura would have to be stupid to not take up the offer.

"I do not mind Mister Erhard. But before you give that information to Rishia, can you tell if there's someone in town who can make transforming clothes?"

It was Erhard's turn to blink in confusion.

P-*-*-*-H

A brief explanation, some mended armor and a bunch of written notes later, Homura left the shop a bit mentally drained. She wasn't used to talking so much, and even if she did like the blacksmith, that didn't change the fact she was an introvert by nature.

In comparison, the other two girls were both gushing over their freshly repaired and slightly upgraded armor. Homura couldn't help but smile slightly at the exchange.

"Come on girls, we still need to go get thread made for Sakura's dress." She waved them on to the carriage. She was ready to get today over with so she can sleep in a nice and comfortable bed. Even if she had to go bother Amelia to acquire rooms in the Castle.

Thankfully Erhard's directions were easy to follow and they managed to find the Magic Shop that would allow them to have Magic Thread made. Finding a hidden and out of the way place for Sakura to transform and get dressed prior to entering was a bit more difficult but they managed.

"Welcome to Grand Old Magics!" a kind looking elderly lady greeted them as they walked into the store.

"Is there anything I can help you lovely ladies with? Potion or spell books?"

"Not today, but maybe here in a few days. Actually, we were told you can make magic thread?" Homura took the lead, gesturing for Raphtalia and Rishia that they were free to browse while she kept Sakura nearby.

"Magic Thread? Why certainly, but may I ask why? That's not a normal thing for people your age to need normally." The old lady asked while stepping out from behind the counter, gesturing them towards the back of the shop.

"Sakura here actually uses transformation magic, and we are trying to prevent her from tearing any more clothes." Homura explained as she guided Sakura to the back.

"Transformation magic at such a young age? The little lady must be quite the genius!" she chuckled warmly, setting up what looked like a spinning wheel but a bit different.

"Well if Sakura can sit right here and then slowly spin this handle while holding this, it should only take about 15 minutes or so."

Sakura was eager to do so, but she made a face almost as soon as she started but didn't stop.

"Momma, Sakura feels tired all of a sudden." She complained.

"That's because the magic wheel is pulling out your magic and turning it into thread. Bear with it until you're done and I've got a pastry in the back you can have for being such a good girl." The magic shop keeper comforted with a smile befitting of a grandmother.

"Food? Okay!" Making a face of intense concentration, even sticking her tongue out a bit, Sakura cranked away steadily. As she did so, a bright green shimmering thread appeared and slowly spooled itself on to the bobbin.

Homura stood to the side, watching. While she didn't expect anything to happen, she wanted to keep an eye on the filolial.

"Say young miss, would you mind if I asked what your affinities are?" The old lady asked as she tended to a few things around the back of the shop.

"My affinities?"

"Oh? Do you not know? Forgive me, you have such a potent and strong magical aura that I figured you would know. Hmmm, would you like to find out? It will help whenever you look into buying grimoires."

Homura tilted her head slightly at the offer. Thinking it through, it wasn't uncommon in fantasy stories for people to only be able to cast magic of certain alignments. Glancing down at her shield, she had a feeling of what her affinity would be back in her world, but she didn't know if it had changed since coming here.

"What would I have to do?" Homura asked.

The old lady clapped lightly before moving around and setting up what looked like a crystal ball in the center of a circular table. Taking a seat, she gestured at Homura to sit across from her.

"I simply need to send a small amount of magic into the Crystal Ball here. Then it'll be a simple matter for me to divine your affinities from what appears."

Nodding at the explanation, Homura reached out and set her hand on top of the crystal ball. Grabbing a small flicker of her magic, she sent it into the ball until she felt it was 'full'. Pulling her hand away, she looked up at the witch who had apparently been about to speak.

"Such great control over your magic at such a young age. Maybe Sakura's not the only genius in this shop." With a chuckle she leant in closer to the crystal ball as it began to fill with swirling clouds.

"Hmmm?" Slowly the clouds began to turn into a deep pulsating purple that had wisps of green and white occasionally making appearances.

"I've only ever heard of something like this. Time magic is an exceedingly rare affinity, but yours is so strong it almost overpowers your healing and support affinities completely. That'll be a problem, the few Time grimoires in existence are normally under very tight lock and key. But whenever you're interested, I do have grimoires on healing and support magics." The witch explained.

Homura opened her mouth to reply, but was suddenly interrupted by a sharp cracking sound followed by something falling apart. Turning her attention back to Sakura, she saw the pink haired girl was looking at the pile of red powder in her hand. The one that she had been given to hold while spinning the handle.

"Oh? That's odd. I was expecting several more uses out of that crystal before it broke." The witch reacted very calmly, heading off Homura's frustration.

Standing up and making her way back over to Sakura, the witch looked everything over.

"Well the good news for you two is that there appears to be just enough thread here, and it's of such high quality. I guess young Sakura's magic was just too much for that worn out crystal." The old lady gave a laugh even as she took and got rid of the crystalline powder before handing the bobbin of thread to Homura.

"Here you go little lady. Now shall we go up front and check on the other ladies before talking payment?" the old lady offered.

Homura managed to convince the witch to take a larger payment for the thread to help cover the cost of a replacement crystal since she had expected to get several uses out of the one that had broken. She was also unsuccessful in convincing Rishia to not buy any books.

Thankfully the seamstress that both Erhard and the witch had recommended was close by and made fairly quick work of converting the thread into fabric then the fabric into a complete dress. Apparently, she was 'completely struck by inspiration upon seeing such a cutie'. Honestly, Homura was a bit uncomfortable around the seamstress as she kept eyeing her intensely as well. But several gold pieces, a lot of discomfort for everyone besides the seamstress, and one white dress with a green over dress and matching bow later, Sakura finally had clothes that would change with her.

P-*-*-*-H

Considering how late it had been by the time they had finished, they had called it a night afterwards. Despite the desire otherwise, Homura didn't go bother Amelia in the Castle and instead settled for finding a nicer inn that was willing to cater to adventurers and most importantly demi-humans.

The next day, Homura walked into the grand cathedral that stood near the center of town, doing her best to ignore all the symbols and crests displaying three of the four holy weapons.

Everyone but the Shield.

Behind her, her party followed closely behind, Raphtalia and Rishia both on guard after the…minor altercation that happened here the last time they had been here. Sakura was still admiring the brilliant green dress that she now wore, twirling this way and that while giggling.

Spreading out her senses while they waited to be approached by a member of the Church, Homura was glad to note that she sensed both Ren and Motoyasu approaching near the Church. For a moment, she was confused at why that would be, but then figured it was probably for the same reason as her.

It was time for some [Class Ups].

Seeing a nun approaching her with a slightly disgruntled look, she waited patiently for just the perfect time.

"Nice seeing you two here, Amaki-senpai, Kitamura-senpai." Homura said from what seemed like nowhere to her party and the surrounding nuns right as the church doors opened once again. The conversation that had been going on between the two people in the lead, the Sword and Spear Heroes, cut off as soon as they heard her addressing them.

"Oh, Homura. I wasn't expecting to see you here." Ren was the first to recover from his surprise.

"Little Homura! What a nice surprise!" Motoyasu spoke a moment after, finally processing who had called him.

Before Homura could say anything else, the tall blonde's eyes zeroed in on Sakura, growing wide in surprise.

"An angel?!" He exclaimed, dashing towards the small pink haired girl.

"[Air Strike Shield]!" Homura intoned almost instinctively, summoning her purple ethereal shield between Sakura and Motoyasu, causing the speeding Spear Hero to run face first into it. Ignoring the interested look Ren gave her, she scowled at the blonde who was currently rolling around holding his nose in pain.

"I would appreciate it if you did not touch me or my party mates without our permission." She growled out.

Motoyasu stopped and stared at her, blinking a few times before finally realizing what his actions probably came across as, while his eyes grew wide.

"I'm sorry Homura! I just think angels are cute, and I'm totally jealous that you have an angel in your party, and I just wanted to hug her, and I'm sorry!" He babbled, bowing repeatedly to her from his position on the floor. Homura just rolled her eyes at the overdramatic response.

"Momma, who's the funny man?" Sakura asked.

"This is Motoyasu Kitamura, the Spear Hero." Homura sighed, before then gesturing towards Ren.

"And that is Ren Amaki, the Sword Hero. Amaki-senpai, Kitamura-senpai, these are my party members, Raphtalia, Rishia and Sakura." Homura introduced, gesturing to each girl in turn.

"Sir Ren, Sir Motoyasu, what can we help you with today?" the nun that had been approaching finished her walk to the group and completely dismissed Homura.

"We're here to Class Up my party before the Wave." Ren answered.

"Same here!" Motoyasu chimed in.

"Two of my part members are also ready for Class Up." Homura added in before the nun could stop her. Now that Ren and Motoyasu knew, they wouldn't let her miss out. She hoped.

Turning and scowling at her, she eventually nodded.

"If you will all follow me to the Dragon's Hourglass." Bowing slightly, she turned completely and made her way to the back of the church. Following behind the others, they all followed the nun to the antechamber that contained the hourglass.

"Who is going to go first?" The nun asked, not even looking at Homura.

"Ladies first, right Ren?" Motoyasu half joked, jabbing the Sword Hero in the ribs when he looked like her was about to disagree.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Ren agreed, crossing his arms with a huff.

"Raphtalia, go ahead and go first then. Sakura, you can go after." Homura instructed, eyeing the nuns around the chamber distrustfully.

"Yes Mistress."

"Got it Momma!"

Watching Raphtalia walk up to the hourglass, Homura approached her fellow Heroes.

"Would you two be willing to meet me at my inn for dinner? I have some things I would like to talk about before the Wave tomorrow. And if you know where Kawasumi-senpai is, he is more than welcome to join." Homura asked.

"Sure, I don't-" Motoyasu was cut off by a blindingly bright light that shone from the hourglass.

"Eh? It didn't let me pick?" Homura heard Raphtalia mutter to herself as she looked down at her hands. Homura frowned slightly at that.

"Did it work though?" Homura asked, unsure if the Church had just done something or if it was something else. Watching her intently, Raphtalia's eyes widened in shock when she looked at her stats.

"They've…doubled?" The raccoon said in shock. Hearing her words, everyone made faces and sounds of shock.

"B-but that's impossible!" Ren said, slamming his hands on the wall behind him as he pushed himself forward.

"I don't know what happened!" Raphtalia snapped back. "All I saw was a glow from Sakura's cowlick that the hourglass matched when the menu closed on me."

Hearing that, Homura turned and eyed the cowlick, remembering what happened with her Shield when Fitoria had given it hers. Was this Fitoria's fault?

Homura scowled slightly at the idea of the Queen of Filolials interfering like that. But eventually sighed, it was still too early for her to try and stand up against the Queen like that.

"Amaki-senpai, I think I know what happened. I will be willing to talk about it at dinner." Homura offered in consolation.

"Fine, but it better be a good answer." He responded after deliberating to himself for a minute. Homura nodded in thanks and understanding.

"Sakura, go ahead and have your Class Up. Then we will stay around until everyone here is done." Getting a nod of understanding, Sakura ran up to the hourglass and experienced similar results.

Keeping Sakura close to the hourglass, only one person from each of the other Heroes parties experienced similar results.

'That…might be both a good and a bad thing…' Homura thought to herself. Hanging around just long enough to make sure Ren and Motoyasu both had directions to the inn, Homura quickly left so that she could make sure she had everything ready to go.

Tonight was going to be a long night of discussion. Why couldn't she just get away with not dealing with the other heroes?

Oh yeah, because a tiny big murder bird goddess told her she couldn't.

What had her life become?

OMAKE

Inspired by the request of a friend of mine for her birthday a few weeks ago!

Adventures of Catmura – When Heroes Need to Class Up

Homura looked up at the Dragon Hourglass as Motoyasu and his party all went through their Class Ups. Outside of the flashes of light the floor and hourglass gave off with each one, you wouldn't be able to tell that anything special was going on.

"I still can't believe they added a level gate. It's so frustrating having my progress stopped suddenly." Nearby she heard Ren sulking, arms crossed over his chest in frustration.

"You mean that it was not like this?" Homura asked, tilting her head slightly to the side in confusion.

Ren jerked slightly and zeroed his gaze on her at her sudden question before glancing to the side, trying to maintain his aloof demeanor.

"No. I asked Motoyasu when I ran into him on his way here and he also was complaining. In both of our games, the Hero was free to level and only had to ungate his followers. Having this stupid mechanic dropped on us while we were both far away from the castle. So much time and experience, wasted." Ren scowled in frustration.

"And how long were you stuck at level 40?" she asked. "Me and most of my party personally only hit level 40 a couple of days ago."

Ren blinked in slight shock at that.

"Hmm. Not terrible for a newb that doesn't really know better. My party members hit level 40 at about the same time from what they were telling me. Personally I hit level 40 almost a week ago. I had to cut my level grinding short and make a bee line straight back." He explained.

"You hit level 40, in three weeks?" Homura asked shocked. Was that the difference in capability in being able to attack versus only defending? But then wait, how did he hit level 40 two weeks ago when his party members only hit it two days ago.

"Hey Little Homura, sorry about Malty demanding to Class Up first, you and your cute party members can have a go at it now." Motoyasu called out as he walked over, spear slung over his shoulders. She had to admit that he did feel significantly stronger now that he's had his Class Up.

"Yeah momma! It's your turn now! Hurry, hurry, Sakura wants her turn!" Sakura cheered excitedly, getting a weird look from her two fellow heroes and a mocking laugh from the princess.

Ignoring the taunting from Malty and the chewing out that Motoyasu delivered, she approached the Hourglass. Reaching out, she set her hand out on to the glass. When she did a window like one of her status screens popped up in front of her, but something strange happened before she could process anything.

In a flash, her shield changed itself into the Ebon Fae Shield while the ribbon in her hair also began to glow brightly.

"Wha-?!" Everyone exclaimed in shock, covering their eyes at the blinding light. Homura tried but it felt like her hand was glued to the hourglass, even as she felt her body changing.

"Homura are you-?" She heard Ren start to ask before suddenly cutting off as she rubbed at her eyes, trying to get the spots to disappear.

"Little Homura looks so much cuter now, what the heck?!" Motoyasu declared almost as Ren even cut himself off.

"Mistress?"

"Momma?"

"Dame?"

Homura heard the girls asking, confusion filling their voices.

"What just happened?" She asked, a small growl rumbling in the back of her throat. Homura stilled when she realized how cat like she sounded.

The strange weight that lashed under her skirt against her legs didn't help.

"Momma is a kitty!" Sakura cheered, clapping her hands happily.

'I'm a what?!' Homura screamed in her mind. Reaching up to pat the strange new feeling in her hair, she felt what were unmistakably animal ears of some kind. Probably a cat judging by Sakura's statement. Reaching behind her, she grabbed at the weight she felt hanging under her skirt, jerking at the new and very sensitive tail.

"Little Homura is a very cute kitty!" Motoyasu cheerfully agreed with the exuberant pink haired girl.

Growling again and without thinking, she lashed out with her hand at his stupid laughing face. Homura couldn't stop herself from staring at her claws, *her claws*, even as the Spear Hero started rolling around on the ground while holding his face in pain.

"Do you want to say anything Ren?" she growled a bit as she turned to glare at the Sword Hero who had been staring in shock the whole time. Unknown to her, her purple eyes were now slit and seemed to glow slightly.

"Not at all." He answered, almost seemingly transitioning back into his usual aloof persona. Almost. But there was no way he, the social coward, was going to admit to the fact he thought she absolutely adorable. Nor that he, like most otaku, had a thing for cat girls. And it was all certainly not because he found her scary as hell right now.

Anyone that said otherwise was a filthy liar.

Ren did his best to not get distracted by her fidgeting, or the lashing of her tail that would part the petals of her dress. He did his best to pretend she didn't exist, but having such a cute cat girl next to him IRL was proving far more distracting than he would admit.

It helped a bit that her two party members that were ready for Class Ups were almost as flashy as her's, even if not as jarring of a transition.

"Sir Ren, would you like to go first?" one of his party members asked. He honestly wasn't paying enough attention to catch which one. Taking a moment to process the question, he nodded and stepped up to the hourglass.

As he reached up to touch the hourglass, a stray thought flitted through his mind.

'Maybe it would be worth it if the boost is that good?'

Just as the menu to select his Class popped up, it too immediately disappeared in a glaring flash of light. Coming from behind him.

Exactly where Homura was standing.

He didn't have a moment before his world was consumed in light. Swaying slightly as the light cleared, he rubbed at his pained eyes roughly.

He stilled when he heard Motoyasu sputter and start laughing as if he had just witnessed the funniest thing in existence. He couldn't stop himself from growling at being laughed at, his tail lashing against his leg in his irritation.

'Wait. My tail?'

Reaching down hesitantly, he felt his backside. Sure enough, stuck inside his pants without anyway to get out was what felt like a cat's tail.

Growling even louder as Motoyasu doubled over laughing when he realized what Ren had just figured out.

"Shut! Up!" he growled, lashing out at Motoyasu's pretty boy face, giving him a matching pair of claw marks on his face. He felt smug satisfaction at the stupid pretty boy's face having the anime trope of an X of claw marks that he helped contribute to.

"I'm gonna go outside so I don't have to deal with his stupidity." He growled out to his party, stomping past the Shield Hero who was just looking at him curiously.

---

A/N: So many exciting things, both in this chapter and IRL.

For the PMMM readers, that announcement of the new movie that was dropped on the 25th? Walpurgis no Kaiten? Am HELLA hyped!

I'm also moving halfway across the US in the next few weeks, so unfortunately that means the next chapter is most likely not going to happen until maybe July.

But the fact that I've officially broken 100k words and I've just now hit the "First" Wave? Insane. I've got a lot of ideas that I'm interested in doing that I look forward to seeing everyone's reactions to. The last several chapters have been tasters of me trying my hand and custom bits of story and I've received pretty positive feedback on everything.

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I hope everyone has a great Summer!