AUTHOR NOTES.

Well, back at it again with another episode. Thanks for the support and the magnificent ideas. In the end, I went with Vongola Ninja's idea...for now. I won't spoil the surprises, so you will have to keep on reading. On the other hand, I have been reading some other stories in hopes of getting some inspiration, and I got a bunch of ideas cooking up in my head. I hope you'll be pleased when I write them down.

I have not dropped my other stories, so if any of you read the other stories I have up to now, I will continue them for sure. I'm merely focusing on Shield Hero, since it was one of the first novels I read back on the days when light novels weren't all the boom they are now. I loved the tone, the story, the weapon system, Naofumi himself as a character.

Let me stop my ramblings, you all came here for the new release. Enjoy! Ryujin Maou (Draconic/Dragon Demon Lord) out!

Naofumi let the Dread Wolf bounce off his shield, knocking the creature upwards, something shooting off from the hero and hitting the wolf with a cracking blow. The lupine creature fell onto the ground like a bag of bricks, whimpering and whining. It tried to stand up and flee, but it suddenly started foaming from the mouth. The wolf trashed around for a few seconds before dropping dead on the ground, legs twitching lightly.

"Color me surprised." Naofumi declared, nursing the chick nestled atop his head. He kneeled on the ground and extended his hand at the wolf's corpse, something slithering away from it, seemingly invisible. One needed to look extra hard to spot the creature that was moving towards the hero. As it approached the Shield Hero, it made a soft hissing noise and slowly rose on his arm, wrapping itself on his arm like a long bracelet.

"You guys are leveling up quite fast, but aren't you growing a bit too quick?" He asked to no one in particular. Raphtalia chuckled and started working on skinning the spoil. Shadow apparently wasn't present, which meant she was either scouting ahead or checking her traps. The hero grabbed the chick nestled over his head, her size had grown from being able to fit inside his hand to basketball-size in less than a day.

Naofumi could hear strange sounds coming from the body of the filorial chick. The "baki baki~" sounds resembled bones creaking or breaking, making the Shield Hero somewhat worried about the chick. She seemed fine enough, happily chirping and hunting down anything she could lay her eyes upon.

She wasn't the only one with an absurd growth rate. The snake monster also had molted her skin at least five times since they had started hunting, all the skins being feed to his shield. She also had a weird, stubby protuberance growing close to her head. She had grown from her small 10 centimeters to a good 65 centimeters, and had thickened and bulked a fair bit. Naofumi was no expert in snakes, but he could say that this sort of growth was definitely abnormal.

The two monsters had bickered a couple of times, but all were settled when he lightly rose his voice, no slave crest punishment needed.

They had both reached Lv 15, their stats quite strong. Shadow herself had risen to Lv25 while he and Raphtalia stayed in their previous level.

The sun was lowering in the horizon, the forest around Ryute Village becoming darker. The hero nodded to himself, content with the gains of the day. He whistled loudly, the filorial chick chirping together with him, and waited for a couple of seconds. Suddenly, the leaves of the trees close to him shook and a low whistle was emitted. Naofumi whistled sharply and spoke loudly.

"The Shield gathers the attention so that the Shadow can do its work." At this, a cloaked individual dropped from its perch atop the trees, spinning midair and falling in a kneeled position.

"Master." Shadow said. Naofumi nodded and she presented to him a bag full of items, from herbs and grasses to mushrooms and fruits. "I acquired the items necessary for your crafts while I was scouting ahead. Please, have them."

"Thanks, Shadow. Rest easy, we we'll go back to the village." The hero took the offered bag and draped it over his shoulder. The filorial chick tried to sneak a peek into the bag, but the snake slithered her way around Naofumi's arm up to his neck, where she softly wrapped herself and hissed at the chick. The two monster started bickering once more, this time Naofumi let their little argument continue as he was amused by it.

Raphtalia ended her job and approached him, her skinned fur folded and the wolf's carcass tied to a tree, blood flowing from the cut at its neck. Shadow merely fell behind Naofumi, walking three steps behind him, while Raphtalia approached and walked by his side. They waited until blood stopped pouring from the wolf's neck, and then quickly cut it in manageable pieces.

The group made their way to the village and to the inn they were staying, many villagers waving their hands or sending their greetings at the party.

Inside the inn, the place being one of the few who was unharmed in the last wave, the group met the owner, a plump lady taking care of other patrons. The woman smiled and went to meet the group.

"Here you go, Manager-san." Raphtalia offered the woman the folded skin, inside it many cuts of monster meat. The woman took the skin, thanked the party and quickly headed to the kitchen. The few patrons inside thanked the party, many lifting their tankards in the air as a form of thanks.

Since the wave, efforts inside the village were focused on rebuilding whatever was destroyed, which meant that the few hunters the place had were busy helping the carpenters, which meant that the people were mostly using vegetables and grains as the base of their meals, meat only being added in small strips to add some taste and make their stock of preserved meat last longer.

Naofumi proposed to this particular inn where he was staying at a sweet deal. They would let him stay for a discount, and he would provide fresh meat from edible monsters and some help in their reparations. Of course, his business took higher place, but as soon as he finished his work, he would focus his efforts into helping the villagers.

So far the villagers loves the deal, and even asked if he needed anything, which they would provide for him as long as it wasn't too troublesome.

Naofumi made his way towards his room, letting Raphtalia and Shadow have free time, considering the day's activities were done. His room was close to the barns, which were close to one of the villager's water wells. The hero entered his room and immediately went to his workbench, where a great deal of books, grimores and parchments were laid out. Recipes for his potions, blueprints for simple wooden furniture, instructions for tailoring clothes, the hero had many projects he was working on.

He coughed, gathering the attention of his monsters. The two bickering creatures stopped their arguments and nuzzled into him, trying to get his affection; the hero ignoring their pleading coos and removed them from his body. The filorial chick was placed on the ground while the snakeling was put on a corner of the workbench.

"Now that I think about it, I need to name you guys, don't I?" He said, eyeing his monsters. He checked the menu and the shields he ended unlocking when he feed their discarted parts, such as loose feathers and molted skin, to his shield gem.

[Filorial Feather Shield unlocked] [Molted Hydra Skin Shield unlocked]

Filorial and Hydra, huh? What could be a good name for them? Naofumi once more looked at the menu. Besides their names a cross-like shape with a circle at the top was present, signaling that both were females. He pondered for a while, taking the time to also get started in his medicines. Filorial and Hydra, Filorial and Hydra...Firo and...Hilda? Hidera? Hydras were present in Greek mythology back in Earth, so...Ahh, fuck it, if I separate the romaji it becomes Hy-De-Ra, so how about Dera? Ahh, good enough. Firo and Dera.

Monster A (Filorial) has been named Firo. Monster B (Hydra Snakeling) has been named Dera.

"Well, your names are now Firo," Naofumi said, pointing to the filorial chick. His hand then shifted and pointed to the Snakeling. "And you shall be Dera." Naofumi then nodded to himself, crossing his arms and patting himself in the back for a well-done job.

Firo chirped with vigor, jumping and nestling herself in his lap, Dera slithering and nuzzling onto his left hand. He patted Firo with his right, stroking Dera softly with his left. The hero noticed that the nub beside Dera's head had stopped growing, but the stub worried the hero.

*Knock Knock*

"Enter." Shadow entered after his command, carrying a tray with food. Firo looked at his meal with hungry eyes, her stomach loudly proclaiming her hunger; Dera, on the other hand, merely took the chance to slither and coil her body around the hero's extended left hand. She tried to slip inside his clothes to warm herself further, but the hero grabbed her slender body and once more placed her on the edge of his workbench.

"Your meal, master." Shadow offered, making sure to not allow Firo to jump into the tray and eat the hero's food. The filorial chick glared at the rogue-like Shadow, the girl merely ignoring the stare in favor of waiting further orders.

"Thanks for bringing it, Shadow." Naofumi thanked her and took a hold of the tray. He cleaned a space on the workbench and placed the tray, taking his spoon and tasting the soup she had brought. It has more flavor than what we ate for lunch. I should get some cooking utensils for when we are in the field. He lightly tapped the spoon over Firo's head, the filorial thinking she could stealthly take some for herself. "I'll feed you, let me eat my food first. Damn gluton." He mumbled.

The hero took a few more spoons before another hungry noise echoed in the room, this time the sound caming from Dera. The snake looked at Naofumi with pleading eyes; the hero becoming surprised by how well she could do the puppy eyes. He sighed, almost standing up from his chair.

"Master, worry not, degozaru. This Shadow shall take the little ones to the forest for another meal. Worry only about finishing your meal, degozaru!" Shadow extended her hands for the monsters, both ignoring her and looking away from her extended hands. Shadow stayed with her hands like that, waiting for the hungry monsters to leave the hero's side. She expected them to leave immediately at the prospect of eating plenty, but they seemed determined to stay with him. The snakeling went so far as to hiss at her.

"You sure? I can just eat later." The hero said, looking at the girl. She stayed impassive, shaking her head sideways in a negative way.

"Master should prioritize himself. Master has been carrying most of our gear and is the foundation of our plans, considering you tank and distract the enemies. Keeping yourself healthy and strong is a must for your oncoming progress in fighting the waves. Thou should avoid spoiling the little ones too much, else they might become rebelious. Best to teach them early and avoid trouble." Naofumi had to agree with Shadow's proposition. Firo and Dera whined and hissed at Shadow.

"You're right. Firo and Dera, go with Shadow. When you come back, you're going to the stables to rest." The two monsters tried to complain and whine, but Naofumi narrowed his eyes at them. "Ohh, you are crying? Instead of obeying me, you two are crying?" His serious voice reached the two monsters and they lowered their heads. Shadow took the cue and slowly took Firo and Dera, taking them out to eat. When she was at the door, she bowed to Naofumi and exited his room.

The hero stretched his arms up a bit and returned his focus on his meal. Or so he would like to say, yet he was eyeing a blueprint on the construction of a wagon while he ate. He asked for the local carpenters to make a blueprint on how to make wagons, the woodworkers gladly helping the Shield Hero on his endeavor.

The frame seems sturdy enough, but with the wheels being made of wood and the connecting frame being so hard, it seems like it won't absorb much impact. Riding a wagon seems like it will be a literal pain in the butt. Shall I try my hand at blacksmithing? No, not enough time for me to make something resembling suspention and shock absorvers. Should I order Elhart to make me them? Ryute Village had decent enough blacksmiths, but this type of work required trial and error, currently something that the people here could not afford.

Traveling faster and farther to sell my merchandise is a must, considering we need to find higher-level monsters and new loot for my shield. Those three idiots don't seem interested in helping around as they seem interested in gaining fame, so counting on them for helping evacuate civilians during the waves is retarded.

I need to get a better map and scout the land. If we map out the country, we will have a better insight on the busier roads and the best merchant cities. Port cities are a must, considering the exportation and importation of foreign goods...Foreign goods...! Fuck! I'm really fucking dumb! Other nations! Of course not everyone will live on one nation, social cultures and ethnical differences will be a major point.

The hero face palmed ans sighed. He quickly finished his meal and settled the dish aside, crossed his arms, eyes closed as he focused on thinking. A few seconds later, he searched his table for a new parchment. Finding one in which he hadn't written anything in yet, the hero took his writing quill and dipped the tip on the ink vial closeby. He wrote his recent plans and ideas on it. The main topics were money, road routes and troops.

The hero wrote under the topics various options, excluding or adding in accord with his current funds and skills. He didn't notice when Raphtalia or Shadow entered the room, nor when did the moon get so high in the sky.

He used up all the parchment, many ideas he was eager to put into practice. He stretched once more and rose from his seat. Carefully exiting the room to not awake his sleeping companions, Naofumi tip-toed his way out of the inn too. He walked to the border of Ryute Village, close to the place where the Three Heroes had defeated the Chimera.

Time to test out a few things too. I hadn't had the time to check this shield. I need to know what I can and cannot use. This sounded a bit dangerous so I avoided it up to now, but considering our options, we need to have a trump card.

Naofumi released a sigh.

"[Shield of Anger (Wrath Shield I)]!" The hero put his hand atop his shield, the weapon changing to reveal a black shield with many red, flame-shaped marks all over it. Instantly, many thoughts invaded the hero's mind, none pleasant. Naofumi grunted as dark emotions took a hold of his mind. The hero feel to his knees, dark thoughts washing over him in waves.

Hate them.

Destroy them.

Curse their existence.

They took from you, take from them too.

Show them the power of your curse. Show them the wrathful flame that is inside your heart.

A sinister sneer contorted the hero's lips. He felt powerful. He opened his left hand, a flame spawning from his palm, reddish-black in color.

This is power. No need for weapons; they're weak before this cursed flame. With this, I can-

No!

Naofumi grunted, shaking his head. The hero felt the dark voice in his head, whispering words to him. More terrifying was the fact that it wasn't some monster or alien thing, it was his own voice. Yet...

The hero looked at his shield. The gem, originally emerald green in color, now was a deep red. The hero felt his heart thumping fast against his chest; he looked around him. The ground around him had been charred, ugly blackish-purple scorched marks dirtied the forest ground. It seemed luck was on his side, as the cursed flame didn't spread far.

Naofumi looked at his open left palm, still holding the cursed flame. It would be so easy for him to give up and let his rage take control. The flame was begging to be released, the physical manifestation of his hatred for those who betrayed him eager to please his desire for destruction. However...

This rage is mine and mine alone! It doesn't control me, I control it. Yeah, it's true that I hate these people, but I won't hand over my mind this easily!

"You want to take me mind? You better try harder!" THe hero shouted at the red gem of his shield, eyes blazing with willpower. The hero once more looked at his left hand, the cursed flame stopped flickering and became stable, no longer enticing him onwards destruction. My rage is not a mindless beast! This rage of mine, you better obey me. I created you, I can destroy it! The hero lifted his left hand, holding the flame towards the gem. "You want to burn something so bad? How about I burn you?"

Before the cursed flame could touch the gem, it flickered out. Naofumi sucked in air loudly, not remembering when he had held in his breath. After panting for a few seconds, the hero slowly lifted himself from the ground.

He looked over his shield, [Shield of Anger (Wrath Shield I)] still active. Nothing major had happened, but the hero could feel that the dark and malicious thoughts from before stopped pestering him. He could still sense it, something dark in the deepest corners of his mind, just waiting for him to falter. It settled down.

For now...

He released a sigh, surprised by such explosive power and emotions. One thing was clear though. The Shield, and most likely the other three weapons too, responded to the emotions of their user. It granted Naofumi the skill tree he had ignored up to now, the [Curse Series], right after he felt enraged by the bullshit pulled over him when he was in the Castle Town.

He looked over the unlocked skill tree branch, the [Sin of Wrath series], and viewed the only unlocked shield he had.

[Shield of Anger (Wrath Shield I)]

-Increase in Attack +50; Increase in defense +150

+Passive skill: [Self-Imolation Curse] [Physical Strenght up (medium)]

+Bonus skill: [Ir*n M #*n] [Dragon Roar]

True Power: Sealed

No wonder I felt so powerful. This could have gone really bad, couldn't it? Naofumi bitterly thought, clenching and releasing his right fist a couple of times. I better get back and get some sleep.

The hero walked back to his room, never realising that high on the treetops, one hooded figure observed him.

"It was foolish of them, trying to antagonize Master. Thanks to Master, I have regained my former strength and even more. Now, what do I do with the bodies?" The hooded figure spoke to itself, looking over the bodies of other two, equally hooded individuals. The only difference between them was that on the bodies of the dead hooded figures, a slight glimmer could be seen at neck heigth, where a rosary was worn.

Early morning

Ryute Village

"I'm not dreaming, right?" The Shield Hero asked no one in particular, straining his neck to look up.

He was in the inn's stable, looking over what was supposed to be Firo. Insted of finding the fat filorial chick, he found an enourmous chocobo-like creature looking over him. So far he had not set sight on Dera, the Hydra snakeling was supposed to be at the barn together with the filorial.

"You didn't eat Dera, did you Firo?" Naofumi seriously asked, Firo looking sideways at him. His answer came a few seconds later, something thick wrapping around his left leg and climbing his body. The Japanese considered himself in good shape, considering he carried a good amount of weight every day, but this moment he almost buckled under the weight. He looked at the source of it, the scaled face of Dera greeted him, forked tongue flickering at him to taste the air. So far, so normal.

What was bizzare was the second head that was nuzzling into his chest. Naofumi looked at the first head, waiting at face height to be patted, while the second was clinging to his chest.

"I swear I slept yesterday." The hero mumbled, closing his eyes and massaging the bridge of his nose. He opened his eyes again. "Nope, still seeing doble. Guess I went insane after all."

"Gueeh!" Firo complained loudly, bringing her long neck closer to Naofumi, also waiting to receive headpats. Her eyes were angrily staring at Dera's two heads, promissing agression to the Hydra for trying to hog all the headpats. The snake responded in kind, one head ignoring the filorial in favor of continually cuddling with Naofumi while the other opened with a hiss, revealing sharp fangs and a purple, obviously dangerous goo.

Firo huffed, sharp beak also ready to rend scales.

*Smack Smack*

Naofumi hand-chopped both Firo and the agressive head belonging to Dera. He moved his right arm under said head, tears gathering around the snakes' eyes. "On the shield." Dera opened her maw and tilted her head, letting the entirety of the poison accumulated in her mouth drop atop Naofumi's shield. The gem absorbed it easily, unlocking another skill tree for the hero. "Good girl." He patted the second head, Dera releasing a cooing-like noise.

"GUEHHH, gueehh, guueehhhhhh!" Firo almost screeched. Naofumi almost chopped at her again, but settled with patting her head too. She also cooed, eyes closing in pleasure. She opened her eyes and gazed at Dera, finding all the snakes' four eyes looking at her with smug, seeing as she was both nuzzling and receiving headpats from Naofumi.

They exchanged glares, electricity flowing between their stares.

*Smack Smack*

"Aren't you quick on your feet, huh?" Naofumi said, receiving back a stick he threw far from Firo. He patted her head, also looking for Dera. The two headed snake was currently sun-bathing. She had grown to just about one meter in length, and reminded Naofumi too much of Earth's Constrictor Boas.

Dera had backwards-facing fangs and could produce poison, but a quick peek at her mouth had revealed that she didn't have the hipodermic needle-like fangs that poisonous snakes had, and thus her apparent method of poisoning enemies would be biting prey and letting accumulated poison flow into the wound by itself.

Naofumi cocked his arm back and prepared to throw the stick one more time. "Come on Firo, one more time!" THe hero had a relaxed expression.

"Naofumi-sama hasn't shown such a refreshed smile before..." Raphtalia stared at the trio having fun from the corner of the inn. she had just woken up and found herself alone inside the inn room. Shadow always was gone before anyone realized so Raphtalia was accustomed to seeing the Hero either working on a project or reading through a grimore.

The hero heard the raccoon girl's whisper and turned to hear. "Hey there, Raphtalia! Finally out of the bed, huh?" He lightly teased.

"You rose from bed very early, Naofumi-sama..." The girl was still yawning as she approached the hero.

"Yeah, I came to check on Firo and Dera, but I found these two this big." He looked at the two monsters. While he could still carry Dera, Firo was definitively out of the equation.

"Firo? Dera?" Raphtalia was confused, but the Shield Hero pointed to his monsters.

"It would be akward and difficult to keep on calling them monster A and monster B." Naofumi explained. a low, groaning noise left the stomach of the filorial; Firo tilting her head sideways, Naofumi searched for Dera, but the Hydra had moved to lay under the shade of a tree, a noticiable bulge on her body. "They certainly remind me of a certain someone." While he didn't say any names, Raphtalia found the need to defend herself.

"My growth rate is perfectly normal!" Naofumi ignored her words.

The group would stay in their place and continue their activities, but Shadow suddenly appeared in front of Naofumi, her breath out of order and her clothes a bit messy.

"What has happened, Shadow? Here, have some water!" Naofumi went to her aid, Raphtalia following right behind him. Shadow took a few moments to stabilize her breathing and drink the offered drink, the rogue-like woman spoke out.

"Master, I recomend we vacate the premises. Let's get our belongings and set our course to another city, degozaru." The normally cool and calculated girl was rushing and worried, even forgeting to fix her mask in place. Naofumi narrowed his eyes and approached the girl, raising both hands to her face. He fixed her mask in place and patted her head over the hood of her cloak.

"I don't know what got you like this, but I assure you that we can handle whatever it is, Shadow." The hero reassured the girl. Now that he noticed, he couldn't see any villager nearby, working on something. He managed to see a great deal of people going to what could the called the city's center. He made his way over there slowly, Raphtalia by his side and Shadow dissapearing again. Firo followed the duo, Dera also slithering her way closer to Naofumi. The two headed Hydra took the chance that the villagers were distracted and coiled against Naofumi's hip, just like some sort of expensive leather belt, her two heads hidden under his cloak. He touched one of the villagers on the shoulder and asked what this reunion could be all about.

The villager, a common farmer, leaned against his hoe and commented. "Apparently, something has happenedand and the City Lord is going to be changed."

Naofumi eyed the confused people gathered here, managing to spot some knights from Melromark. All his good humor from the morning went down as he spotted a blonde man with his hair tied in a ponytail and carrying a spear, accompanied by a group of women, which the leader was a certain red haired cunt.

"I am Kitamura Motoyasu, the Spear Hero. By royal decree, I'm officially your new lord! Nice to meet all of you." The dumb, spear totting idiot known as Motoyasu was proudly declaring his status to the people as if it was God's graceful gift to this place. It made Naofumi want to vomit.

The Shield Hero immediately turned around and started walking away. Fuck this shit, I'm out! Naofumi made a hand signal to the air, and called Raphtalia. The group almost exited the place when-

"Na-naofumi!?" Motoyasu had spotted them from his mighty perch, making Naofumi groan in defeat. Out ot the crowd and surrounded by knights came out Malty. The red haired cunt smuggly smirked their way and presented a scroll towards them.

"Motoyasu-sama was recognized by the king himself for his services, so this land now belongs to him." Not that Naofumi was bothering with useless information. "A criminal such as yourself shouldn't be roaming our streets, so would you kindly leave?" Now that got his blood on simmering mood. This bitch came here to waste my fucking time...and this damn air-head that thinks with his dick instead of his head...Ahh, fuck, you lucked out I tested the [Shield of Anger (Wrath Shield I)] yesterday. What kind of recognition does this fucking wanker deserves after he didn't move a single finger to help this village.

"Now, please hold on." The current lord presented himself. He was an old man that put on the wise-type air, his head still full of hair, but all of it was grayish-white. "Pardon me, Spear Heo-sama, but I have not been informed of this circunstance..." The elder would have continued, but Malty interrupted him by once more lifting the scroll in her hands.

"I just told you that you're fired. This is a royal decree, are you against it?" Malty's intimidation worked, seeing the elder flinch and look desolated. "In first place, we are establishing a new tax rate of 50 silver coins for entering the village and 50 silver coins for leaving it." Not a full second after the words left Malty's mouth, the crowd of villagers exploded in complaints and dissatisfaction at the absurd order.

"One gold coin?! Are you mad?"

"There is no way we can survive paying such absurd taxes! Do you want to run me out of my business?!"

Many complaints like these spread light wildfire over dried grass among the crowd. Motoyasu, still comfortable on his seat atop a dragon-like creature, scoffed and loudly spoke. "It's necessary for reconstructing the village after all, why are you all making such a fuss?"

Among the noise and complaints, someone suddenly burst out laughing. Silence paired over the crowd as confusion painted the faces of the people, wondering who would laugh in such a situation. All eyes searched for the source and they found Naofumi; the hero laughing his ass off.

"W-what is so funny?" Motoyasu was taken aback and asked the Shield Bearer.

"Hahahahahahah, ohhh, you almost got me with that one, Motoyasu! If being a hero doesn't end up working out, why don't you try becoming a comediant or a bard? You sure love spouting bullshit out of your mouth!" Naofumi declared, making many be taken aback by the sudden low words. "One gold coin might not seem much for the oh so great Spear Hero, who receives privileges from the crown, but the common villager lives on about twenty copper coins a day, earned from his hard work and many hours of heavy labor. You really think that jacking up taxes like that would help out the village? How can they eat, if they are too busy working to pay such absurd tax rates? Will you bleed them dry for the sake of reconstructing something that they are already working on? How about you spend a day here, with us mortals, before you pass your almighty jugdement, your holiness?!"

No word left the Spear Hero. The people suddenly shifted in favor of the Shield Hero's point of view, many declaring their support for his actions that would greatly support the village.

Besides, jacking up taxe rates like this will create misery and monopolies of power. That is already being generous, since it could also cause damage on the reputation of the royalty, even a insurection of people. The last thing we need is a civil war on our hands, Motoyasu, you fucking idiot! How about you and this cunt don't bring one right into our laps?

"But hey, what do I know, right? I just a criminal. You go ahead and do whatever you want, not like it's my business." Naofumi scoffed and turned to leave the premise. Malty looked at him with superiority.

"Painful reforms are necessary for the good of the people." She pressed on, pressuring Motoyasu to go along with her. Go ahead and cause an insurrection of the people against the crown, I'll sweep up the gold from your valts when the people are busy chopping off your heads. Never heard of the French Revolution, Motoyasu?

Malty crossed her arms and tried to look important. Naofumi almost left the place, but his ears picked on a distinct noise. High speed shuffling, akin to Shadow's. Suddenly, a group of five individuals, dressed almost identically as Shadow surrounded the princess. Like a instant charm, color drained from Malty's face, the supposed leader of the group approaching the redhead with a fancy scroll.

"Princess, we are here on orders of a certain master. This one is assured that you know of who we speak about, degozaruka." Naofumi narrowed his eyes at the group. There was only one person whom he knew that spoke like that. He waited paciently, watching Malty's face warp from overconfidence to overwhelming fear in the span of a few seconds. Her hands trembled as she held the scroll, eyes shaking with shame, of all things.

"T-this can't be!" The redhead crumbled the scroll in her hands and pointed her finger at him "Shield Hero, we challenge you! We winner gets to decide the ate off this village!"

"Ahh? Are you retarder?" Naofumi flipped the bird to the redhead, the gesture making Motoyasu shout at the Shield. The expectators didn't know the gesture, many assuming it to be some sort of offensive thing from the heroes' worlds.

Around the village's main gate, many villagers gathered around to see the challenge. Motoyasu and his troupe were on one side, while Naofumi and his group were on the other. The village elder and many other recognizable figures from the village were surrounding the Shield Hero, begging him to participate in the race.

"This will be a race between our racing dragon and the criminal shield's bird! The first to finish three laps around the village wins the challenge!" Malty shouted to everyone. On the road, where the mounts wer staying at, the Spear Hero's dragon stared at Firo with a fierce gaze, to which the filorial also responded.

"Shield Lord, please save our village." The elder pleaded.

"Why do I need to do that? Look, I like the village and you all were very good to me and my party, but I believed I already worked hard enough to compensate any debts. Besides, I don't get anything from facing that retarded idiot and his stupid dragon." Naofumi stated his part. I wanted this place as a temporary base, but fuck, that idiot...

Naofumi's thoughts were interrupted as Motoyasu approached Firo. The Spear hero patted the filorial on her side a few times and laughed.

"It's not even a pure breed, the colors are all mixed up! Between my dragon and this dumb bir-" The blonde was cut shorp by the powerful kick delivered by Firo, leg strong legs hitting the Spear right in his crouch and launching him a good five meters up in the air, before he fell down like a bag of bricks.

"Motoyasu-sama!"

"Na-naofumi-sama, Firo just...just..." Raphtalia panicked a bit. She tried to get her master's attention, but stopped when she saw the malicious grin slip Naofumi's face from ear to ear!

"FUCK YEAH, now we are thinking with portals! Come on, I accept this retarded race!" Naofumi quickly jumped on top of Firo. She cooed happily and nuzzled into him, while the knights dragged Motoyasu over to his dragon mount. Raphtalia sighed at the childish sight in front of her.

"Naofumi-sama, please don't teach Firo such a troublemaking behavior!" The raccoon girl approached the fierce filorial while she sighed. Patting the chest of the tall bird, she exhaled. "I don't appreciate Spear Hero-sama, but..."

"Nah, fuck, that was good! Every coin I paid on Firo was worth for that very moment! I feel refreshed now, like I can win ten races. That prick deserved it and more!" Naofumi declared, patting Firo. He guided his mount to the starting line, Motoyasu slowly coming over with a pale expression.

The village elder rose his hand, "The first to finish three laps around the village will win! On your marks...Begin!" The elder lowered his hand and the two heroes shot forward.

(first reconmendation of music to listen while you read this part. Try listening to Gas Gas Gas)

*WHOoooooshhhhhHHH*

WOW! Firo is fucking fast!

The filorial immediately had a head advantage over the Spear hero, her long legs quickly striding and pushing the ground bellow her to her advantage. Motoyasu looked worried, his dragon not capable of following the explosive speed that the filorial had over him. At the sidelines, Raphtalia cheered on Naofumi, together with many villagers, complimenting Firo on her speed.

Malty clicked her tongue and shifted closer to a knight, whispering in his ears something. Both smirked.

Naofumi, on his part, was focusing on better positioning himself as to help Firo with aerodynamics. They were running quite far and their advantage over Motoyasu was almost enough that they were close to losing sight of the hero. Their speed, however, was cut short when Firo suddenly lost balance and they fell on the ground, sprawling and getting dragged a bit due to their momentum.

"What the fuck was that?" Naofumi complained, standing up and checking over Firo. He found that the reason she fell was a sudden hole on the road, too symetric to be natural. A knight was looking at the hero and laughed. Naofumi clenched his fist and ground his teeth. Prick, you want to associate yourself with them and play dirty? Two can play that game.

Motoyasu passed them on his dragon, smug written all over his face. "What a chance this is!"

Chance?! Your fucking Bitch is commanding these asswipes to blatantly cheat and you think this is normal? Firo stood up and Naofumi once more jumped on her back. They passed slowly over the guard, but first Naofumi changed his shield into [Chimeric Viper Shield] and pointed his weapon at the guard. One of the skills of this shield, besides the passive poison resistance was, [Venom bite] counterattack. The apparently decorative snake-shaped handle at the corner of the shield suddenly gained life and extended from the shield, sinking its fangs on the knight's arm. It broke through the surcoat and chainmail protecting him and bit the man, whom let out a surprised yelp.

"Enjoy your remaining thirty-minutes, the poison works fast!" Naofumi said, once more fixing his position to allow Firo to speed up. The knight looked over the bitten area, the veins instantly turning a shade of purple as he felt something cold flow through them. He immediately paled.

Let's see you fuckers try that shit again. Naofumi released one hand from its hold on Firo and rose it on the air, signaling at something. No one on the road understood, not even Raphtalia got the meaning. Naofumi had trained with them a few hand signals in case they couldn't speak or needed to relay hidden information. Raphtalia wasn't bad at remembering the hand signals, but Shadow was superb at them. The raccoon girl realized that her master must have found something amiss on the race. She directed her gaze at Princess Malty, the redhead talking with other knights, their voices but a mere whisper.

The two racing heroes were approaching the village gates for their first lap, Naofumi managing to catch up to Motoyasu, their speedy approach leaving behind large dust clouds. The masked group silently watching the heroes approach to complete their lap.

"...thy principles...slow down the enem..."

Raphtalia managed to hear one of the most discreet knights say something, a magic chant if the formal speech was anything to go by. She touched the handle of her blade, ready to draw it and render the cheater armless. She didn't have to do anything; a hooded figure droped right atop the knight, making him fall on the ground and scare the nearby watchers. Shadow was stepping on the man's extended hand, her leather boot harshly grinding the knight's hand against the ground while she had her daggers out and positioned over on his neck, drawing a thin line of blood from the now scared man.

"Go ahead and chant your magic, knight. Loud and clear, please, so that all the watchers can hear it. This one thinks that such a rare oportunity to see magic should be shared among everyone." The man was wide eyed, sweat pouring from his brow as many eyes stared at him in confusion. The shady group looked intensily at Shadow, making Raphtalia approach her and touch her on the shoulder. "Raphtalia-san."

"Shadow-san." The raccoon girl greeted the rogue-like Shadow, making the other hooded group stop their staring and focus on the passing heroes, Naofumi once more taking the lead and making Malty look pissed off.

The princess crossed her arms and bit on one of her nails, worry starting to show on her face. sweat also started showing on her brow, the shady group intensily focusing their stares at her. She pretended to not be affected by the group and glared at the knights. They almost went into panic and one took the chance to cast some magic on the Spear Hero. He suddenly accelerated, but still wasn't able to catch up completely to Naofumi and Firo.

Naofumi patted Firo on her sides to get her attention. "Looks like some cheat of theirs got interrupted! Let's take the chance and finish this in one push!" Firo nodded to Naofumi's words and seemed to get herself pumped up. She angrily stared at the road in front of her and made sure to put much more strenght on her legs.

The village elder stared worringly at the road, waiting for who would appear from the horizon. At his side, the Shield Hero's and the Spear Hero's companions also waited with bated breaths. The shady individuals that arrived also seemed to be focusing, their judging stares jumping between the road and the first princess.

*THUMP THUMP THUMP*

"Uh, what is this noise?" The elder asked to no one in particular. All eyes turned to the direction of the noise, waiting for the source. Dirt clouds were raised as something started approaching the village at an insane pace.

*THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP*

Raphtalia's ears perked up and she smiled. Shadow gave a barely visible nod.

From the dirt cloud, exited Naofumi and Firo. The duo seemed like a rider coming out of hell, Firo cracking the ground with each step she took, her speed raising absurdly and making many villagers cheer. Motoyasu was behind the hero, his dragon already showing signs of tiredness.

Malty's glare at the soldiers made them sweat like crazy. One of the bolder knights distanced himself and started chanting, more afraid of retaliation from the princess than the Shield Demon's. "As the source of thy power, I command thee, earth. Crumble, soften and make a pit to suck in my enemies. First hole!"

Naofumi was fully focused on the path ahead of him, and as such, he widened his eyes in surprise as a hole suddenly appeared on the road, large enough to engulf Firo and make sure that he would have trouble climbing out in time to win the race. Naofumi's eyes narrowed in anger, but he still directed Firo in a straight line. They appoached the earthen hole, Naofumi holding his shield out in front of him. Three, two, one...NOW!

"Air Strike Shield!" Atop the hole a magically constructed shield emerged, serving as a stepping platform for the hero and his mount. As they passed the cheating obstacle with ease, Naofumi dispersed the magic shield. He was so focused on the race that he didn't notice something moving on his hips. Suddenly, the hero's cape flipped and a two-headed snake showed her two furious faces at the approaching Spear Hero. The Hydra breathed deeply, a foul gunk accumulating inside her mouths, suddenly being spit out as a large, purple cloud. Motoyasu yelped loudly at the sight of the cloud, but didn't stop his charging ride.

Malty's face paled as Naofumi passed by her like furious thunder, Motoyasu screaming for help as he had fallen inside the trap laid for the Shield. Iwatani passed the demarked finishing line with a sharp smile, Firo also showing a fierce expression.

(End of Gas Gas Gas)

The shady group surrounded the hole where the Spear Hero had fallen, Malty sweating bullets as she tried to nurse Motoyasu. He had a pale complexion, leftover vomit on the corner of his mouth.

"This hole is the major proof of your cheating, First Princess! According to the challenge's rules, the lord of Ryute Village shall remain the same." The leader of the cloaked group said to Malty, the others already pushing her and Motoyasu's party away to follow them. The redhead was kicking and screaming, refusing to accept her defeat.

One of the cloaked individuals left the group and came towards Naofumi and his party, making the hero look at her with a scowling expression. To add to the factor, Dera had uncoiled herself from Naofumi's waist and was wrapping over his chest and shoulders, her two heads resting atop the Shield hero's messy hair. Her slit eyes focused on the approaching individual, making the cloaked individual approach slowly.

"What?" Annoyance was clear on Naofumi's voice.

"This lowly individual must ask forgiveness for such boldness, but is it possible for the gracious Shield Hero to forgive this one's selfishness and answer but one question, degorasuka?" The hooded person kneeled in front of the hero, the villagers just waiting its departure to thank the hero.

"What do you want?" Naofumi asked, feeling Shadow shift and move to stay behind him. He normally wouldn't say anything, but he felt a light tugging on his cloak. From the corner of his eyes, he managed to catch Shadow grasping at a tiny portion of his cloak. The hero increased his glare over the individual kneeled in front of him.

"This lowly self's request is for the gracious Shield Hero to please, release the human slave on your party. This one's leader has some questions that are of extreme importance." The hooded individual rose her masked face, hoping to catch a glimpse of mercy on the Shield's eyes. It was a bad mistake.

Naofumi's eyes looked normal to those far from him, but to this cloaked person, her mistake in coming so close to the shield, one thing was certain. There would be no mercy for her if she dared to speak such words again. His black pupils were promising dark, unspeakable pain, the likes which her torture resistance training could never prepare her for. There was a tiny flame inside his pupils, a dark flame that merged with his pupils and was crazy in its urge to burn at her body and her very soul.

The cloaked individual suddenly found herself be helped up by her captain. She realized that her hands were trembling and cold sweat ran down her spine. She heard gasping noises and to her surprise, found out that they were her own, her mouth opening to try and bring more oxygen to her deprived lungs.

"Shield Hero-sama, this lowly one begs forgiveness for this foolish subordinate's harsh words. We shall take our leave, with your permition, of course, Desuka." The leader of the cloaked individuals said, lowering her head. Naofumi closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

Damn, her words made me remember Aultocray's fucking words. Almost lost my cool there for a moment.

"Yeah, it's fine, just go already and make sure Motoyasu doesn't disturb me again with his idiocy." Naofumi said, turning his back on the cloaked individuals and walking to the villagers.

The village elder came and started thanking Naofumi for his help. The hero just sighed.

"No need to thank me, just give me a reward and we will be good." Naofumi declared.

The elder and a few villagers tightened their faces. The elder spoke. "Sir, if you would wait a few days, I'm sure we could reward your efforts and-" The elder was interrupted by the hero raising his hand.

"We just won a race to make sure you rebuild at your own pace. It would be counter-productive if I asked money from you now, wouldn't it? Find something else to reward me. You can begin by providing me a map of all the nearby nations." The hero gave an example, eyeing one broken wooden wagon.

The villagers and the elder smiled and all agreed with the hero, moved beyon relief by his actions. The Shield Hero had been considered a savior for Ryute Village, seeing as his help had progressed much of the necessary work necessary such as helping with collecting materials or making sure everyone was well fed and in good shape.

"How about this, my lord? With my authority, I shall grant you a Merchant's pass. It will allow you to sell your products and enter villages and cities with no need for taxes. I saw your crafted medicines and many told me you have taken an interest on crafting arts. Having a fast trasport shall allow you to make profit and you can cleanse your name from the slender that has been wrongly misplaced on you." The elder said. Naofumi crossed his arms in thought. "We shall even built you a wagon of your preference." Firo's eyes shone with light at the mention of a wagon for her. She immediately came close to Naofumi started nuzzling him, ignoring Dera, who was resting on his head.

"Yeah, seems like it could work." Naofumi said, trying to push the filorial away from him.

Afternoon came fast as Naofumi helped the group of carpenters to work on his wagon. He eventually decided to order a few springs from the local blacksmith, and as he waited for the pieces, he also worked on something else.

The carpenters worked on the wooden frame as Naofumi watched from the side, busy on a tanning rack. He had asked for Raphtalia and Firo to search for a great deal of balloons. Their leather was easier to work, and if Raphtalia's first toy, a ball, was anything to go by, he could improve the wheels. Shadow was sitting on a chair closeby, Naofumi's orders, and was watching him work on his current project.

He sewed layers and layers of balloon leather together, the shape of a wheel slowly coming about.

"You seem like you were familiar that mysterious group from earlier." Naofumi stated.

"This lowly one understand if Master wants this useless slave to go away. This lowly self deserves punishing slavery for hiding such details from Master, degozaru." Shadow said. She moved her hand with uncertainty, slowly depositing her weapons on the table close by. Soon followed her leather armor, her cloak and lastly, her crafted mask, allowing Naofumi to once more look at her features, normally so hidden away. She was now dressed on simple clothes, leather boots, brown pants and dark blue shirt.

"Shadow." Naofumi called her out, her brown, expressionless eyes setting over his frame. "Do you want to tell me about them? Not as master and slave. I'll respect if you don't want to. Just say what you feel comfortable sharing." He calmly said, green eyes focused on his leather work.

"This lowly one betrayed thy care and protection, master. Why would you listen to this one's lowly story." Emotion seeped into Shadow's voice, her eyes gaining a wet shimmer.

The hero sighed and tilted his head sideways a few times, a satisfying pop happening. "You haven't betrayed me, Shadow. I don't really care for sad stories, but I'll make an exception and listen to you. Go ahead, Raphtalia and Firo won't be back for a few hours." Naofumi placed the leathers aside and turned to pay full attention at Shadow. He even removed his cloak and upper armor and placed them close to Shadow's equipment, staying only with the lower armored parts and his black long-sleeved shirt.

Shadow was still in her place, head lowered in shame. Naofumi once more sighed, seeing a few tears drop from her eyes. "Stay here, I'll be back." The hero went to the inn. Five minutes later, the hero returned with a jar of water, a few fruits from his medicine stock and two cups, and sat back silently on his place. Naofumi used his knife to cut the fruits and squeze them inside the jar(remember that Naofumi can use and hold other things as long as he doesn't plan of fighting with them). A few more minutes and he filled the two cups with the beverage. He settled one cup for him, the other he settled in front of Shadow.

"Master?" She asked.

"Don't talk now, just drink." The hero pointed to her cup. The girl slowly obeyed, reaching for her cup. She took a sip from the drink, finding the sweet and sour taste of the citric fruit delicious. It flowed smoothly, being just right for an afternoon drink. Shadow never realized when she finished the entirety of her drink, only paying attention when Naofumi refilled her cup and paciently waited for her to drink again. Tears build up once more on the corners of her eyes.

"Master, please allow this lowly one to share a story with you. It will be a boring story, but please, listen to it." Shadow pleaded. Naofumi nodded.

(Just a tiny second recomendation. Listen to Tsubasa wo Kudasai\Give me Wings for extra feels and read it as slowly as possible.)

Once upon a time, a human nation called Melromark existed. This nation with a focus on human supremacy wished for more land and as such waged wars against the neighboring demi-human nations of Silvelt and Shieldfreeden. Melromark was allied with a powerful nation called Faubley and the state supported religion, the Church of the Three Heroes, had many warriors ready to fight and extend their land.

Wars raged between the nations, and even with all their power, Melromark lost under the might of the Shield-hero worshipping nations and their strenght.

Melromark might have lost the war, but due to the efforts of its current queen, the nation avoided losing lands and assets. Many songs and stories were spawned from the efforts of the human queen and the famous Staff Hero who fought fierce battles against the demi-humans.

However, this is not the focus of this tale.

War, no matter how heroic or noble, will always have blood spilled. Many villages and cities were consumed on the fire of these battles. One battle, in special, resulted after a particularly well fought battle by Melromark. The nation, using the strategies of the Staff Hero, conquered a rich, mining demi-human village. Many civilians were killed, the rest sold out to slavery.

Silvelt was more than enraged after the loss of their civilian citizens, massacred under human hands. Gathering an elite squad of White Tiger demi-human fighters, Silvelt used the chance to engage a surprise attack against the humans, but instead of villages or towns, the demi-humans rampaged their way until they were inside the capital of Melromark.

It was said that the Staff Hero lost his beloved sister in this attack; ever since changing his posture to full-out agression against the demi-human nations.

Before Melromark declared their surrender, one last battle occured. The human troops were stationed on one of the cities that bordered the two nations. The walled city received countless demands from the demi-human nation, demanding they stop their slavery and free all demi-human slaves. The city responded by hangind fifty demi-human slaves on their walls for the Silvelt troops to see. The next day, the city fell under the furious roars of Lionel the VII, the king of Silvelt at the time.

The noble responsable for the city had his head carried to Melromark on a pike, his own family forced to carry it by the demi-human troops until they reached Melromark's capital.

The queen of Melromark, ashamed of her failures, declared full surrender of the Nation and went to negociate with the Silvelt leaders.

When she came back, all, but one, the members of the noble house commited suicide. The last remaining member, a five year old girl was adopted by the queen and placed on secret unit that was to help Melromark avoid wars on the future. This was the creation of the infamous Shadows of Melromark. This girl, due to her trauma, shut off all her emotions. She knew where her father had wrongly acted, and thus did not recent the retribution that came. She worked hard for the queen, hoping to avoid such tragedy and loss of life again. She clung to faith and her work.

Ten years passed and a relative peace was established over the nations once more. Yet, the world was now having to face another danger. Not petty squables among nations, but a real threat against the entire world. The Waves of Destruction. Demons that aligned themselves with no nation and sought only chaos were coming.

While the queen went to negociate with the other nations about the summoning of the Holy Heroes of Legend, the proxy king of Melromark and the pope of the Church of the Three Heroes ended up deciding to summon all the four heroes together using the relics. The nation also had a plan to incriminate the Shield hero, a somewhat petty revenge against the nations that worshipped him as a God. This Shadow believed munch of the faith, but the shield being a demon was not one of them.

The hard-working Shadow tried to stop such madness. She sent secret messages to her queen and established plans to help the future Shield hero. The shadow found weird when the queen returned her messages, only stating her to watch over the pope, for she trusted the proxy king, the previous Staff Hero and a man of great wisdom.

The hard-working Shadow obeyed her queen. The plans of the proxy king and the pope ended up working and the Shield Hero fell on disgrace. All of this Shadow's work did not reach the Shield Bearer. She even observed the Hero on his first hours on this world, his eyes managing to catch her even with all her training. After his branding as a criminal, this Shadow tried once more to reach her queen, but the Church had also its own Shadow unit and they caught her desperate attempts at warning her queen. Had the queen disregarded her warning in favor of trusting her husband? Would the same thing happen again?

The shadow was brought to the Dragon's hourglass and had her power and level reset back to one, and was sold to a slave merchant as some disgraced noble's daughter. Nights passed, but the Shadow persisted, trusting that her queen would contact other Shadows and free her. Yet, none came. This Shadow had been abandoned by her queen? She passed days and nights unable to eat, the question hammering away on her mind. Her answer came by the hands of other Shadows. They came on the silent of the night and dropped a simple paper to Shadow. Her queens last words for her. "I'm sorry for disregarding your words, my love for my husband blinded me. Forgive me."

The Shadow fell in despair. Sha accepted her failures as absolute. She failed her father, her nation, her queen, the innocent Shield Hero. She failed. This Shadow accepted her end and spent her days staring up and waiting for the reaper to sow her soul.

Yet, her end didn't come. Was this Shadow such a failure that she couldn't even die properly?

Someone arrived on the Slave Shop. A shield. Was the hero going to be the reaper she so long waited and longed for? What a fitting end for a failure of a shadow.

Her end he was not. This shadow found herself a new purpose. Shadow would support the Shield, for he had saved her, even when she was the one that should have saved him. He offered her kindness. He saved her and did not corrupt himself, even with all the slander on his name, something that she could not not even with all her power before. She was no Shield Demon. This Shadow could understand why Silvelt and Shieldfreeden had opted to worship him as God. The other weapons' focus was on attacking and killing, but the Shield was a protector. He was the Shield.

Master Naofumi was the Shield. Raphtalia-san was his sword. Then, this one would be his Shadow.

(end of the second song: Tsubasa wa Kudasai\Give me wings)

(Last music of the chapter: Stay with me by Miki Matsubara. PS: Read this part slowly and enjoy the music to the end.)

Naofumi heard the entire story, crossing his arms as Shadow finished telling her tale. Silence soon followed.

He stood up and made his way towards her. Shadow was ready to receive her punishment, so many failures led up to this. One calloused hand of the hero made its way at her. She closed her eyes and waited for the incoming punishment.

*Pat pat*

"Eh?" a dumb noise exited her mouth.

His right naked hand was patting her head, the hero's facial expression neutral. He didn't seem furious or upset, he merely continued patting her head. Shadow found tears gathering on the corners of her eyes again. She tried speaking something, but her voice cracked and her throat dried up.

The hero embraced her and continued patting her head.

The tears fell by themselves.

Shadow stood up and embraced the hero's frame, finding incredible comfort on his warm embrace.

"It's okay, let it out. Nobody besides me will hear it." His words. Kind words. Something warm flooded Shadow's heart and she started crying hard. Her legs lost their strenght and she almost met the ground, Naofumi's arms holding her. He slowly lowered their bodies, letting Shadow lay her head on his chest. The sky had darkened before she knew, the starts and the moon being the only light of the place. He hummed a song to her. Maybe it was something from his homeworld.

AUTHOR NOTES.

How was that?

Just a heads up, Iwatani Naofumi's theme is: Devil Trigger.

You all can already see where I'm going with this story? kekekeke