I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero
Sadly, once again due to both health and other issues, Comrade Broseph only managed to edit this chapter all the way till Naofumi's party leaves the Inn to go to Elhard's Smithy. Although he did provide feedback as I was re-writing this chapter to make sure the chapter makes logical sense. So once again, biggest thanks to Comrade Broseph for all the constructive feedbacks and editing this chapter.
The rest of the chapter is edited by Ace-Triad, big thanks for them offering to help Beta-read this story.
Also, thank Fluffball13 for reading the first version of my script and providing feedbacks, especially a lots of information regarding the Light Novel version.
And special mention to lord Martiya for indirectly inspiring the 'Smith Demon' joke in my story. Back in chapter 3, where Elhard gave so much (unwanted) good advice to Malty on how to properly dress for adventure is directly borrowed from his story 'The Hero Melromarc Needs and Deserves'.
More author's note at the end for anyone interested to see me blabber more.
The people passing the Shield Hero's group quickly avert their eyes and move away. Some of the less cowardly passersby even scrunch up their noses and openly sneer at them.
Mein would probably cause a big fuss on the indignity, if she isn't still shaken from her near death encounter in the slum. Besides, if she saw herself as she was right now she'd scrunch up her face in disgust too. She is covered in blood and mud from head to toe after all.
All things considered, she should suggest to her Naofumi to let her take them all to a nearby river and clean up first, before they even consider going to a high-end lodging like Deidric's Inn. The proprietor is a well-known follower of the Church of the Four, but there's still 50/50 chance the owner will simply call the guards and toss them out considering how putrid they are.
Word of that… that slaughter… back in the slum alley will surely draw the attention of the city guard eventually. Even if they don't usually make a habit of patrolling in those parts it's going to be hard to ignore something on the magnitude of what occurred.
Hopefully it will all be pinned on the demi-human supremacist gang though. But for now it'd be best to lay low just in case.
Unfortunately the raccoon cub isn't the only one who is afflicted by ravenous hunger. Not after Mein emptied the contents of her stomach in the slums. And considering an inn's restaurant usually isn't very busy in a lazy afternoon... they'll just have to bear the financial burden of paying extra for the proprietor's inconvenience.
Speaking of which, Naofumi stops right in front of the capital's finest lodging establishment. He looks thoughtful for a moment before he strips off his dirty traveling cloak and gives Mein a quizzical look. "Maybe, it's better we store our traveling cloaks into my [INVENTORY]. Most of the... dirt… is on them. We can put them back on after we have something to eat and go wash them in a river."
"That's good thinking, Master Naofumi." The undercover princess quickly takes her own cloak off and hands to Naofumi'. With a slight green shimmer both sets of expensive but dirty attires seemingly dissolve into nothing to be stored inside a Hero's inventory. Well, that's certainly a helpful feature for those chosen by the Legendary Weapons. Mein has to admit she's a little jealous.
The orange eldritch abominations relax their jaws and fall down from Naofumi's body to bounce at his feet. They follow the Shield Hero inside as he pushes open the wooden door.
Mein can't help but shuffle her feet back at the sight of Naofumi's balloons again. The lizard man steps right over her and strides his way right after Naofumi. But for some reason, both the rabbit man and raccoon girl stay right beside her. The girl's eyes look unsure as they dart between the incognito princess and the inn. It's getting on her nerves.
"What are you two waiting for?"
Kyubey simply points his good arm at a sign right beside the door. Mein feels like slapping herself for missing something so obvious... and the feeling intensified after she reads what's written on it.
ENTRY TO DEMI-HUMANS AND BALLOONS PROHIBITED or NO DEMI-HUMANS OR BALLOONS ALLOWED (your choice qinlongfei).
Oh...
DAMNATIONS!
Chapter 11: A Hero's Care
There is already a stare off between the Shield Hero and the inn keeper by the time Mein barges through the front door like a gale. To the relief of the undercover princess, at least nobody's hand is on their weapon's hilt... or one of the chair legs yet.
The innkeeper, likely the appropriately named Deidric or his descendant, rubs his fingers together around his well-trimmed mustache. An action that reminds Mein of the jovial black market merchant they met not too long ago. Although there is certainly nothing jolly about the mood in the lobby, considering the deep frown both on Naofumi's and the innkeeper's face.
"A law abiding Hero such as milord surely understands rules are put into place for a reason?"
"I'm only buying food to feed my companions, not asking for handouts. Surely a shrewd businessman as you can understand the value of not turning down a customer? Demi-human or not?" Naofumi's brow lowers dangerously towards the bridge of his nose.
"Well, yes. But milord has to also understand. Your companion is highly intimidating. And he's scaring my other customers. Not to mention you have actual... you know, monsters with you, magical seals on them or not." The inn keeper points to the doorframe that leads to the restaurant with his free hand.
Mein turns her head together with Naofumi to peek inside. The inn restaurant looks like a typical hot but lazy afternoon: Some adventurers loiter around here and there with a mug of alcohol in hand or playing cards with some copper change on one of the tables. A few lower class but relatively well-off commoner families are eating out while the establishment isn't very busy.
Or at least they were. Most of them had paused what they were doing to stare at the Shield Hero.
The children among them lean into or hide behind the adults, but also silently peek out to get a look at the reptile demi-human, a rare sight even amongst demi-human communities. It's not hard to see they are equally fascinated and terrified to look at something that seems more monster than man.
"...Oh, right." Naofumi's brow rises up back into his hairline. "See, Lautrec is intimidating, but he's not actually dangerous... probably…"
"Do you want to try and stop one of the Goddess' faithful? We owe everything, include our lives to her. Standing in my way is standing in her way." The lizard man gives a lipless smirk to the inn keeper. The orange abominations seem to agree with his sentiment as they hop on the lobby desk and start hissing towards business owner.
Yep, they are definitely more trouble than they are worth. And no, she's not edging towards the door because she's scared of those demons of teeth and pain! She's... she just needs some fresh air. YES! She simply wants to have some fresh air!
"Not helping here, guys!" Naofumi quickly puts his arms onto the lobby desk to hide the cosmic spheres of doom. "I understand your concern, sir innkeeper. But can we at least buy some food and just leave?"
"M-m-my name's Deidric, Master Shield Hero. And of course you may buy some food here... although I don't know why milord couldn't buy some from a stand in the Great Bazaar. They have all sorts of food selling stalls after all." The business owner has his back against the back wall. He is no doubt intimidated by the still growling eldritch monsters, though Mein can't blame him. "And demi-humans aren't barred from entering."
"I've only seen the stalls sell something like fitters, or kebabs and I had the mind for something like stew... something easy to digest for a sick and hungry child." Naofumi quickly begins to stick the balloons right onto his armor... which sadly doesn't hide them well due to his lack of a big traveling cloak.
"A sick and hungry girl... huh." The innkeeper nods his head along in thought. Perhaps he is the charitable type? In that case now is the perfect opportunity to play the pity card!
"Yes, Sir Deidric. A sick and hungry girl. Come here, Raphtalia..." Mein pushes the front door open and waves her hand at the emaciated looking raccoon cub.
The girl slowly peeks her head through the doorway and inspects the posh looking inn. She finally steps inside after a third wave of Mein's hand, all the while looking down at her feet. A sorry emaciated figure dressed in rags and covered in filth.
Deidric's eyes visibly widen in shock and pity and he raises a hand to cover his mouth. Mein on the other hand has no sympathy towards this innkeeper who is currently standing between her empty stomach and a nice warm meal. She simply pushes Raphtalia to the front of the lobby to let Deidric have a good look at the still more than a little sickly looking demi-human child.
"Master Naofumi, the Shield Hero-" The disguised first princess of Melromarc gives a quick glimpse towards the adventurers loitering around the restaurant to exam their reaction. Thankfully, none of them seem to be interested jumping in to interrupt the conversation. "-just saved this child starving to death in the slums and he wants to make sure she can go to sleep tonight with a full belly. Surely, my kind sir isn't so heartless as to refuse such a simple request?"
"Ah... you are a darling, aren't you, little one?" It might be Mein's imagination, but the novice adventurer swears Deidric's eyes seem to instantly water and his mouth begins to quiver as he takes a good look at the pitiful state Raphtalia is in.
The innkeeper bends down to be at eye level with Raphtalia. He raises one hand towards the girl's chin like he wants to pinch her face, but the motion is unsure. A few inches from coming in contact with her skin his hand stops, frozen before it touches her sunken cheek. Instead it settles down to ruffle her dirty and messy hair instead.
It's easy to pontificate one's hatred for demi-humans in glorious Melromarc, but it does get substantially harder to preach hatred in front of a child thin enough to be blown away by a gust of wind… No matter that children have a tendency to grow up. People are simply fools like that - only seeing what's there in the present, rather than what will be there given time.
"Yeah, she is… Anyway, if the problem is my companion's intimidating presence... do you have an old unused table and maybe some chairs? Or even a big old blanket? We can set ourselves up outside your inn, or even in the side alley so we aren't in the way of your business." Naofumi quickly chimes into the conversation, providing an alternate solution to their problem.
"Yes, we do have some old tables and chairs in the back storage. They are a bit rickety so we don't have them in the restaurant to keep our image, but they shouldn't collapse under you. If your companions don't mind moving those themselves... well, my property right only covers what happens inside my inn and not outside."
The inn keeper seems to quickly take the outing Naofumi handed to him, although the shrewd business runner seems to look conflicted for a second. "The stew might take a while though, we don't serve it for lunch since not many want to buy it in a hot afternoon."
"That's alright. We can wait for your chef to make them... or I'd even be willing to cook it myself if you are willing to rent me your kitchen."
"Are you now?" Deidric's eyes open wider and he even forgets the honorifics used for addressing Legendary Hero. He quickly catches himself and hides his perceived blunder behind a cough. "I mean, if milord is willing to indulge yourself in such a menial task, we certainly won't object to it. You certainly don't hear many tales of how a Legendary Hero would stoop to cooking for his companions, but if that is what Master Shield Hero wishes I will not stand in your way. Master Shield Hero will of course pay for the ingredients used, yes?"
"Sure. And don't worry, cooking won't do anything to ruin my reputation after what already happened. Well, lead the way then." Naofumi nods his head at the middle aged inn keeper. He picks the balloons off his body and sets them onto the floor before turning to the raccoon cub. "Wait for me outside. And you three, look after Raphtalia while I'm gone. Okay, guys?"
The demi-human girl nods her head with enthusiasm and she quickly scampers outside, the three eldritch horrors jovially bouncing right behind her.
Naofumi's eyes follows them till they disappear outside. He gives a slight shake of his head and follows Deidric to the back of the restaurant, presumably to where the kitchen is. After a moment Mein and the lizard-man go after him.
"All I have is rabbit pill jerky, though it's not very fresh. Do you have some poultry lying around? Chicken soup is good for sick people." The young other worlder's eyes travel around the kitchen looking through different herbs and slabs of meat hanging from the walls.
"I have this fresh cut of filorial ribs straight from the butchery, milord. If that's to your liking?" The inn keeper points his finger towards the meat in question. For some reason, the eyes of the Shield Hero widen like a dinner plate at the inconspicuous looking meat.
"That's the rib from a chicken?" Naofumi's eyes dart back and forth between the offending meat in question and the bamboozled Deidric. "It looks as big as a prime rib roast!"
"Well... not a baby chick, no. A cut of rib from an adult bird, obviously. Are filorials smaller where milord comes from?"
"I don't know about this 'filorial'... but where I'm from, this big cut of meat will probably come from the whole chicken. Guess the saying 'Chicken Rib' doesn't work in this country." Naofumi blinks a couple of times at the inn keeper's question as he begin to mumble to himself once again. He shakes himself out of his stupor and begin roll up his sleeves. "I'll get to work cooking it up. The marrow from the rib bones should make the soup taste richer and it'll be a good source of calcium for Raphtalia. Mein, you and Lautrec set up the table and chairs while I cook us a warm meal."
Truthfully, Mein doesn't want to leave Naofumi's side and be left alone with the reptile who is more obviously unhinged than the Bow Hero in his justice funk. But refusing the request isn't a real option, not from a chef in his kitchen.
Even if the position is only temporary, the chef rules supreme in his domain. Assuming one does not want to lie in bed with a whole collection of [Poisoned] debuffs for a whole week from bad food.
"Very well, Master Naofumi. I shall make sure Lautrec does not scare more people while we set the tables and chairs." The undercover princess looks up to see another lipless smirk from Lautrec. She shudders as they follow Deidric into a storage room in the back.
The two of them takes one of the more sturdy looking tables out into the side alley. Mein gives a quick glance to the main street to look for the raccoon cub. It seems like she's fascinated with some kids who are bouncing around a rubber ball sewn together from what looks to be balloon skin.
Mein's heart leaps into her throat as she wonders if the eldritch abominations were so cleanly and cleverly disposed of by mere children when she wasn't looking, but it settles down in less than a second when she spots them next to Raphtalia. Unfortunately, the three orange horrors are fine.
She can't help but keep thinking more on the girl herself… Demi-human or not, it seems like this Raphtalia is still just a dumb kid who has no idea what a fortuitous situation she landed herself in by pure chance. She is a demi-human slave girl purchased by the Hero of The Shield, one who obviously feels very sorry for the state she found herself in.
As unfitting for the throne of glorious Melromarc as Mein think the other three Legendary Heroes are, the Shield Hero does also have one glaring weakness as a future ruler. He is too much of a big softie at heart. Someone who will be taken advantage of by a lot by his subjects if she can't correct this problem.
Oh, he certainly does have a backbone and can be determined to stand his ground. But he is too empathetic to weaklings. The immediate concern for her now is how much Her Naofumi cares for this dead weight in their party, simply because how bad the situation she found herself in.
And with such strong care, what would happen once the slave girl inevitably grows into her mature body as she leeches enough EXP from the rest of their effort and levels up? The feelings of compassion and pity would surely turn to those of lust. The ear groping could already be taken as an indication of that. And when it comes to foolish young men lust can easily be mistaken for love.
"If you finished staring at the girl how about you help set up? My lady." The unpleasant nasal tone of the lizard man brings Mein right back to reality. She turns around, and sees Lautrec holding one chair in each of his hands. His form albeit much larger is almost as emaciated as Raphtalia's, though some wiry muscles do show through his rags.
"Watch your tongue and do not presume to order me. And are you so pathetically weak that you lack the strength for a job like this? If that's the case, it's beyond me what use you could be to anyone, nevermind an apparent goddess."
Mein grinds her teeth together behind her strained smile as she spits the venomous words. It's best to establish the pecking order straight away, to not let the unruly slave get any false assumptions about the position he is in. "Now get to work, slave."
The lizard-man gives out a hiss and gives her a hard 'stare' with his milky blind eyes that forces Mein to restrain a shudder along her back. She succeeds in steeling herself however and stands her ground without giving an inch. Eventually the lizard-man spits on the alley right at her feet before going back to continue setting up the tables and chairs.
That's right, you filthy mongrel! You best listen to my orders, or else I'll have to tell Da- Naofumi! I'll tell Naofumi!
Turning her head Mein notices that Kyubey was watching the confrontation silently from a few feet away, but once she gives him a look after the proper hierarchy was re-established he immediately goes back to work right behind the lizard-man without raising a fuss.
For the next few minutes Mein watches and directs the efforts of the two adult slaves as they take the furniture she deems suitable for use from the storage room at the back of the inn and set it up next to the entrance on the side of the alleyway facing into the main street.
Once they are just about done a bout of cruel and howling laughter draws their collective attention over to the main street. The raccoon-girl is currently squatting on the cobblestone road holding her tiny hands over her ears to cover her head, while some of the kids from earlier are tossing pebbles at her.
Kyubey slowly walks towards the open street, though it's hard to tell if he'll simply collect the cub or if he's going to do something else to those children having fun at Raphtalia's expense.
Before he can do anything however, the kid's howling laughter turns into simple howling as the all-consuming toothy spheres of malevolence jump out of Raphtalia's shadow and begin snarling at them. The brats quickly scramble away as the now angry abominations with their furious triangular eyes chomp after them and give chase while screeching in their demonic tongue.
"Hmm. Kids are known to be some of the cruelest creatures out there." Mein can't help but comment. "Though they probably don't deserve to be devoured alive by those beasts." After all, she wouldn't wish those daemons on anyone. Not even on her greatest enemy.
When no response comes she realizes Kyubey is ignoring her. He is still moving towards Raphtalia who is sprawled on the ground and he isn't slowing down. In fact, he breaks into a full sprint towards her and tackles the girl who is still paralyzed with fear across the street.
The incognito princess is still wondering where this strange, downright aggressive action came from when a commanding voice booms across the street.
"OUT OF THE WAY, ANIMALS!"
Mein only manages to walk up to the opening of the side alley between the inn and a general good store as a company of beast riders storm their way past everyone on the cobblestone road. She fails to get a good look at the riders themselves, though the beasts of burden are another story.
They all have the majestic head of an avian on the lithe body of a very large feline. The lack of wings on their back signifies those monsters are the lesser cousin of the more well-known griffin – the demigryph. Though the beasts are still a symbol of status for their riders.
While lacking the long range stamina of filorials favored by the scouts, or the charging ability of raptors most commonly known as 'knight's dragon', demigryphs are unmatched in their agility and the ability to tear their enemies apart with their strong beaks and claws.
This makes them the ultimate heavy attack unit, in tandem with their riders their shock capabilities are practically tailor suited for tearing apart even the most heavy infantry formations. Their relative rarity compared to filorials or raptors makes them reserved for elite knights who are often the best of the best in any nation's army.
Mein pokes her head out of the alley and looks at the quickly disappearing knights, she catches a quick glimpse of the banner: A war hammer over a stylized wing. The insignia of house Winchester, likely with their family motto 'Freedom through Strength' underneath.
Aside from Lord Seatto who unfortunately perished during the first Wave, Mein was dimly aware of the fact that the remaining three of the 'Four Riders of Melromarc' had been recalled from their respective fiefdoms to the capital city. But it appears that now for some reason her father was sending one of them out on a quest… Just how important is the errand that needed to be carried out for it to be one of the Riders though?
Unless they are to escort her bratty sister back to the capital?
But why send out the demigryph riding Cardinal Company of Count Winchester? As much as demigryphs are the kings of land combat, they aren't known for their long range stamina. The filorial riding Greenhorns of Baron Elric 'Green Thumb' would surely be more suited for such task...
Mein feels like slapping her own head after that thought. It's actually all pretty obvious.
Out of the Four Riders, the first one, the late Marquis Seatto, was a well known demi-human sympathizer, on the verge of being considered a traitor by many. The second Rider, Count Ludwig Von Balveproven, is about as rare a find as a virgin in red light district - a Church of Three adherent who does NOT hate demi-humans simply for the fact of their existence.
The third, Baron Elric, does not care if you are a human or a demi-human, as long as you do not trample his crop field, in which case he WILL evict you from his property with extreme prejudice even if you happen to be the Pope.
Out of the four most decorated knight commanders, only Count Winchester wears his distaste for demi-humans openly on his sleeve. So given the current geopolitical climate of course father would send him out to collect Melty and return her back to the capital. No one could be more trusted to make sure that not a single demi-human goes within a mile of her little sister, hence rendering the possibility of Melty's assassination and Malty's rightful ascension nearly null.
This is just the worst! Why doesn't she get her own company of knights as an escort when her sister gets one!?
"Let's go Raphtalia. It's better that we stick to the side alley." It seems like the rabbit-man managed to recover from his dive to push the raccoon girl out of harm's way. He stands back up and brushes stray hairs away from said girl's face while the balloons bounces their way back to them.
They begin to lap at Raphtalia's face with their slimy tongues, washing away some of the dirt, however replacing it with their much more disgusting not to mention likely harmful slobber.
"I'll go check the kitchen." Mein shudders at the astral spheres of pain as they begin to make their way to them. As she enters the inn, her nose immediately picks up the rich and sweet scent of the stew her Naofumi is no doubt in the process of making, her mouth watering even without tasting it.
In the kitchen, the Hero of The Shield seems to be in a trance as he dices up vegetables and tosses them into a big pot of stew with what can only be described as practiced efficiency and grace.
A middle aged man dressed in the white regalia of the chef looks rather flabbergasted as he stands next to Naofumi. His eyes follow every movement Naofumi is making, no doubt trying to commit the recipe, if not Naofumi's actual exact movements, to memory.
Naofumi makes some stirring movement with the pot while bobbing his head up and down, probably humming some kind of tune in his mind while he cooks. It seems like in his concentration, he remained completely oblivious to what just happened outside. Good thing too, the last thing Mein needs right now is for him to feel even more sorry for the blasted raccoon cub.
He picks the soup ladle up from the bubbling pot and turns to the head chef. "I'd give it another hour... maybe two for the stew to draw out all of the flavor from the meat and the bones, and make all the vegetables soft and nice to chew. May I leave the kitchen for now to go equip my party and come back later?"
The presumed head chef of Deidric's Inn takes a half step back like he's surprised the Shield Hero would bother to address him.
"Of course, milord! I'll make sure the stew does not overflow. It'll be an honor to help assist one of the Heroes in preparing a true culinary masterpiece!"
Is it just the misconception of the First Princess, or the head chef should be more... prideful of their own territory and field of expertise? That comment is borderline bootlicking, even if it is aimed at a Legendary Hero.
"Mein!" Naofumi turns to the still distracted undercover princess when her stomach growls. "Did everyone set the tables already? Sorry, but the stew will take some time to cook. Let's go buy some more camping supplies, clothes and gear for our party and come back."
"I would have liked to taste Master Naofumi's cooking sooner, but I guess all things come to those who wait. Yes, I agree with Master Naofumi we should have our party equipped as soon as possible, so we don't get caught off guard by someone else."
Naofumi's eyes lose focus for a brief moment. The young Hero is no doubt thinking back to when Mein was almost gutted by those fanatics while he'd been distracted trying to revive one of the rats from Siltvelt.
Yes, feel guilt! It will only serve to strengthen his indebted attitude towards her!
"Yeah, that was way too close for comfort. Let's go visit the blacksmith first. We can get everyone cleaned and dressed later." Naofumi breaks out of his stupor and walks up to Mein. He takes her hand into his own, and leads her out of the kitchen.
Just like the princess in disguise wanted. It's better for her Naofumi to focus most of his attention on her and not on those replaceable slaves!
"Welcome to my shop... what happened to you two!?" The blacksmith is polishing a kite shield when Mein enters his shop with Naofumi. The brow of the Demon in disguise immediately raises up all the way up to his bald scalp when he sees who open his door. "You two look like you tasseled some slum gutter rats and lost... oh."
"Something like that." Naofumi's voice sounds a little drained at the moment. It reminds Mein of that one time where she overheard a knight complaining to his colleague about his wife taken all his liquor money. Thankfully, her Naofumi does NOT have a drinking problem.
The eyes of the bald smith falls on the three demi-human wearing tattered rags after Shield Hero Naofumi and Mein. His crosses his massive tree trunk like arms in front of his chest. His scarred face scrunches up with obvious distaste. "So what, you are into slave trade now?"
"I don't like it either. But it can't be helped. "Naofumi guides Mein to a wooden bench near the counter. He helps the fake adventurer sits down on it to stare right back into the eyes of the smith. "This country hates the Shield Hero as much as it hates the demi-human. Isn't it right? At least I can make sure they aren't mistreated."
Mein slowly raises her hand and takes off her leather helmet. The ugly thing manages to both look and smell worse than when she first gets it with rotting garbage sticking to it. In a way, Mein is almost glad the Smith Demon recommended this to her on the first day. It helped cushion her fall a little, and it blocked those unspeakable trash from getting into her beautiful auburn hair.
The smith stops locking eyes with Naofumi and stares at her intently. After a few moments he lets out a deep breath and shrug his shoulders. "I see your companion told you how glorious Melromarc works. Yeah, tough luck, shield boy. I don't care about that religious mumbo jumbo because I'm trying to run a business. Others aren't so forgiving."
Naofumi helps Mein strip her dirty leather armor off. She can't help but feel the glare of Smith Demon traveling up and down her body. Despite there is no lecherous feeling to it, the princess in disguise can't help but feels more than a little naked under his gaze.
"Hmm... I was halfway sure she'll just swindle some equipment from your provision money, and then disappear into the night. Guess I still make mistakes about people once in a while. Shame, I was enjoying my string of right on the coin predictions."
Mein begins to grinds her teeth together once again behind her mask of nonchalance managed from constant imitation of nobles in court. The condescending way this smith talk about her as if she's not right in front of him is really starting to grate on the nerve of the princess. "I'm right here, you know."
"So you are. You better not try anything to pull a fast one over Shield Boy." The rugged looking smithy owner lets out a dismissive huff at Mein's indignation. She tries her best to keep a professional smile on her face. The real Demon or not, it's never a good idea to make an enemy out of the person who supply you with equipment.
"I almost got convicted on the third day. Mein cleared my name in court. She told me about the Three Heroes Church after." Naofumi places a hand on Mein's shoulder with a distant look in his eyes, likely thinking back on what happened a few days ago.
While the trial turned into a complete joke when she refuses to condemn her Naofumi, he still endured a lots of stress, fear and humiliation when he's dragged all the way into the court room from the inn, in nothing but his underwear, no less.
There is clear affection and gratitude behind his slightly glassy eyes. The Shield Hero's sentimental nature can be rather... misguided when he focuses on those demi-human slaves, but Mein sure won't complain about it when she is the subject of affection.
"Still, how did a religion like this even start? I know this 'Shield Hero always side with the demi-humans' thing that's happened throughout history... but to antagonizing one of them, to the point you have a cult demonizing him and willing to kill him? That sounds pretty dumb, when you need all four heroes to fight the Wave."
"Heard all about it on the street. Sordid affair, that trial is. There's still rumor how you either threatened, or brainwashed your companion to clear your name." The smith huffs at Naofumi's words. He lets his arms drop to his sides.
"Sounds more like desperate ramble of Three Heroes fanatic than truth to me! If you can brainwash people, why don't you prance around with a company of beautiful girls like the spear idiot? But religion ain't rational, kid. People believe in all sort of stuff, you'll hear all kinds of outlandish rumors if you start running a business cater to adventurers like me."
The balloons pick this moment to relax their maws of abyss and fells off Naofumi. It makes Mein recoils back she almost fell right off the bench before Naofumi grabs her. The deceptively cute looking terrors flocks their way to the raccoon girl, and the cub even has the nerve to smile and pet all three of them!
Maybe the Smith Demon is right! What if this raccoon girl is being slowly but surely converted to the first acolyte of the Cosmic Spheres of doom! And the Demon of the blacksmith is trying to warn them about butting into his turf! After all, it takes one to know one.
"But it's more than just religious excuses. We had a war with Siltvelt, the demi-human country, a few decades ago." The Smith Demon continues his annoyed rant on everything while Mein tries her best to reel her emotion in, so she doesn't have a repeat of what happened back in the slum.
"The country that worships the Shield Hero." Naofumi seems to notice the weird look Elhard the Smith shot at Mein, he quickly clarified. "I met couple of demi-humans a while back. They said they were Siltvelt envoys. Their plan sounds iffy, so I turned them down."
Mein notices her Naofumi left out the part about them admitting to be Siltvelt spies. It's a good thing to see the Shield Hero also knows the art of omission in his speech.
"Hmph, not surprised they tried to steer you away. I doubt they're real envoys. We aren't best buddies with those ones." The blacksmith huffs at the mention of the Siltvelt 'envoy'. "They occupied Melromarc for a few years, did a lot of disgusting things, left lot of scars in people. Did you know those Siltvelt bastards had 'the right of the first night' when a Melromarc girl marries back in the day?"
"Right of the first night? Sounds familiar..." Naofumi repeats the name a few times under his breath. His breath appeared to lump in his throat as his mouth trembled for a brief moment. The young hero turns to look at Elhard dead in the eye and spits out every syllable. "They legalized rape."
"Our king didn't start dishing out capital punishment on rapists for no reason, kiddo. Like I said, lots of bad blood not that long ago. The wounds are still fresh in people's minds. Most can't tell civilized demi-human who's been living in Melromarc apart from those savage Siltvelt sons of whores. So they just hate them all." Elhard the smith scrunches his nose, his arms is crossing in front of his chest again.
"And I'm supposed to be the king of a country of rapists..." Naofumi squeezes his eyes tightly shut and leans his head to the wall. "No wonder everyone thought I tried to force myself on Mein."
"It's not your fault, Master Naofumi." Mein leans closer to the young man from another world. She wraps an arm around Naofumi's back and whispers into his ears. "You can't blame everything bad that happened in this world, things that has nothing to do with you on yourself. Those Siltvelt barbarians invaded us without a Shield Hero as their king, nobody should blame it on you. If you were their king, I'm sure it would never have happened."
"For once we agree, lass." The smith demon gives another one of his patronizing huff as he goes back to polish the kite shield. Mein grinds her teeth at the smith demon's jab at her. "You came here to buy something for your slaves, right?"
"I like to think of them as my companions, but yeah, I need to get them armed and outfitted. We already got jumped by some cult fanatics back in the slum. I don't want to go through that again with them in rags and without weapons." Naofumi puts one hand over Mein's hand on his shoulder. He cocks his head sideways and gives Elhard an appeasing look. "You won't sell them defective equipment because they are demi-human, right?"
"Who do you think I am!? I don't deal with slave traders and man hunter bastards! But I always sell the top quality with people I DO trade with." The blacksmith throws his wet cloth onto the counter with such force it makes a splash sound. His fist begin to hammer on the counter like he's playing a drum. "Not good for business, if my customers don't come back in one piece, or at all. Unless you start to capture slaves yourself next time I see you, I'll strangle you myself. What's your budget?"
"I see... no worry about me turning into a slave trader. I want to stop it when I'm strong enough, I'll definitely grant my companions freedom when they are higher level." Shield Hero Naofumi nods his head as his eyes look over his three demi-human slaves, his sight lingers for a precious second too long on Lautrec... and the harmless rabbit man Kyubey for some reason.
He starts taking the money pouches down from his waist and begin to count his coins. "I'm thinking about... around 300 pieces of silver? We still need to buy some more tents and sleeping bags, but we can live off the land afterwards. I been doing it with Mein for the last three days."
"Should have your party fitted for the safer areas around Melromarc and more. Anything particular you are looking for?" The Blacksmith looks at the bunny man and the lizard man standing before him. He nods at Kyubey first. "Something light and fast that'll scale with your dexterity. A rapier, or a tuck if you want some extra Attack rating, right? And maybe a bow?"
"Rapier, a tuck is too heavy for me. Messed up my balance back in the slum when I tried to use one. And no bow." Kyubey rises his bad arm to show Elhard. "Birth defect."
"I see, shame really. Heard your people are good with long bows. Although..." The blacksmith begin to run his finger across his chin. He snaps his finger and dives into a large chest near the counter and begins digging through the things. He takes out a mini-crossbow afterwards. "Had this one for a while cause most customer either want long bow for fast firing speed and range, or a regular sized crossbow for extra stopping power."
The raccoon cub leaves the bench and walks up to the counter. She begins to eye the mini-crossbow with fascination, one of her tiny little hand even tries to reach for it before she catches herself. The girl probably think it's some kind of toy.
The smith demon continues his sales pitch without stopping to address the raccoon girl. "This mini-crossbow is called a Meiyujian, which roughly translates into "The Flechette-less Arrow'. Made in Siltvelt and favored by acrobats, spies and assassins. Internally loaded with six short flechetteless bolts for short range attack. You'll need someone with both hands to load for you afterwards, but it'll be good for six shots at least. I'll throw it in for 50 silver pieces, because you look like you'll need it, and it's just gathering dust in my chest."
Kyubey takes the mini-crossbow into his hand. He turns it around to give it a good look, and line it up against his eyes to try it out. The bunny man gives Naofumi a sideway glance afterwards. "If it's not too much trouble for Master Shield Hero?"
Naofumi gives Kyubey's emotionless face a long stare. It's a very strange look on the normally kind to a fault Shield Hero. Mein wonders if Kyubey reminded him someone in his past... someone who isn't a very nice person presumably. "We'll take it."
"Good, my rapier section is over there by that hunting armor." The Smith Demon points his hand points to the gold glided ivory armor. Mein lets her gaze linger on that piece of art for an extra second longer, thinking how pretty she'll look in that compares to her hobo armor. She moves her eyes on the wall the armor is set against to look at an assortment of rapiers. "Most of them are for ceremonies or for decorating the wall, but you should find a few good ones for fighting. Go pick one yourself."
"Thank you." Kyubey gives Elhard the Smith a nod, he walks to the rapier section to try different ones out.
The lizard man steps up to face the Smith Demon. For a second, the raving lizard man locks his dull blind eyes with the angry looking scarred blacksmith. Lautrec's lips eventually part way into a sneer. "Got any curved sword, old man?"
"Have this pair of shotels here, take it or leave it." Elhard narrows his eyes at the lizard man. He takes out the weapons from his large chest again and slams them down on his counter.
Lautrec tightens his clawed hand around the hilt. He begin to wave the weapons around in front of the counter to check out their balance, much to the Smith Demon's displeasure, judging by his deepening frown. The reptile lets the weapons drop down on the floor after a few test slices. "They'll serve my goddess nicely."
Mein takes her eyes away from the two demi-humans trying out their weapons. She sees Naofumi running his fingers on the fluffy ear of the raccoon girl with a content smile. The demi-human girl in question is petting the balloons hopping in her lap in a similar manner.
The sphere of cosmic horror rolls their body left and right nudging each other, occasionally licks Raphtalia's finger. The girl is either completely indoctrinated as their first acolyte, or simply too uneducated to comprehend their true form.
It seems like the cub has resigned to the fate of being the Shield Hero's petting animal.
Mein gnaws her finger at that display. Back in the Dust District, she can't exactly tell Naofumi to leave that raccoon girl with the slave trader with her being ill. Not after she positioned herself as a slave sympathizer to guilt trip... eh, 'convince' him to purchase slaves by appeasing his infatuous sense of helping the weak and unfortunate. But keeping the damn raccoon girl in their party present its fair share of problems.
After a few days traveling with the Shield Hero, Mein is very confident she has most of the otherworldly young man figured out. His occasional quirky comments notwithstanding.
The young man is extremely lax. He is someone who stops his steps to wait for the weak to catch up, rather than leave them in the dust. That proves to be very fortunate when he does his best to protect her instead of berating her like the Sword Hero. But it's not so great when he is showing the same sentiment to other girls.
Yes, she is willing to bet on all her saving that Shield Hero Naofumi is the kind of man who is most attracted to girls who appears weak and helpless due to his compassionate personality. And who can be more feeble than a sick slave girl whose eyes are dull with hopelessness?
With demi-human's ability to mature almost overnight when they raise their level, the raccoon dog girl can seriously threaten her position given some time!
Granted, Shield Hero Naofumi's sentimental nature also means he won't easily throw away old things when he has something new. So this means he won't simply kick her aside, especially after she saved him from father's machination.
The incognito princess still doesn't like the idea of some upstart demi-human girl threaten her position. She rolls her eyes to try and figure a way to get rid of the nuisance.
It seems both her Naofumi and the Smith Demon are pointedly ignoring the fact they aren't talking about what weapon and armor to outfit this raccoon cub. The Shield Hero, she can understand for the aforementioned reason, but she'd assume the demon the Church warned everyone about would have no problem with sending a child to fight monsters. Maybe even a devil have some acts of evil he won't stoop to?
The fake adventurer's sight focuses on the Smith Demon cleaning his weapons and an idea pops into her head. "Master Naofumi, we are going to go kill monsters, no?"
"Yes, of course, Mein. Why ask?" Naofumi turns his head sideways in that curious baby chick like way that has become very familiar to Mein by now.
"Perhaps we should leave little Miss Raphtalia here with Mr. Elhard? Fighting monsters will be very dangerous for a child, not to mention she'll be teleported directly to the Wave, likely the most dangerous place on this land if she stays in our party. I think it's safer for her to stay with Mr. Elhard."
Mein's eyes quickly moves back and forth between Naofumi and the Smith Demon. The Shield Hero's face slowly dawns with realization while the bald man simply give her that long stare back from their first visit.
"You are right, Mein! That is a much better decision." Naofumi slaps the back of his head. He turns to look at the blacksmith. "Do you mind take care of Raphtalia, sir? I'm willing to play you."
"I will have you know one thing here, Shield Boy." The Smith Demon narrows his eyes and tosses the piece of cloth onto the counter. "Never, ever, call me 'Sir'."
Naofumi seems to be taken aback at Elhard's sudden change in demeanor as he sits back against the wall. Mein gives a quick glance over Naofumi to the little girl. Her face freezes up with abject terror and she almost drops the rubber terrors onto the floor.
"Aside from that... well, I'm well off enough to feed another mouth. Raccoon dogs are very good at numbers and running business. I can have her help with bookkeeping and some light cleaning so she can work to earn her keep. You'll only have to pay me for her medicine or get me the medicine yourself."
Elhard puts down the sword he's polishing a moment earlier on the counter. His eyes narrow to look at both Mein and Raphtalia. "But maybe you should ask little missy first. I don't think she likes the idea."
Naofumi's head quickly turns to look at Raphtalia. Mein can't see his face from the other side, but his voice is a note higher than usual. "What's wrong, Raphtalia? Are you afraid of uncle Elhard? He looks kind of scary, but he's a good man."
"Don't call me 'uncle' either, shield boy." Elhard walks around the counter to stand in front of Naofumi. His hammer like fist falls hard on the young man's head like a giant hammer. A loud bang echoes in the weapon shop. "I'm still young."
"Ouch..." Naofumi lowers his head and covers his scalp with both of his hands, a thin line of smoke slowly rises up from his head. Mein hangs her mouth open at the sight of the Shield Hero's insane defense being penetrated for the very first time. More credence to the idea of the true devil from her faith is this blacksmith! "Totally not helping here, uncle Elhard."
"...please...no..." The little raccoon girl leans into Naofumi's arm and begins to tear up. The three ineffable cosmic creatures of pain quickly hops up her shoulder and gently nibs at her messy dry hair. "...don't...leave me..."
"It's probably not a good idea to leave Raphtalia along with people she doesn't know. No offense to you, master blacksmith." Kyubey walks back to stand in front of the bench and gives Elhard a courtesy nod. A plain but sturdy looking rapier hanging by his pants. "She lost her parents in the first Wave, and her friend in slavery."
"Oh, right." Naofumi's hand freezes near the little girl's fluffy round animal ears. Mein bites down on her lower lips.
"Well, if the runt comes with us, give her a sword." Lautrec slowly struts his way to the group. His pair of shotels strapped to his back and the dagger he picked in the back alley on his waist. "She wants to be in the party? She fights for the party."
"But she's a kid! We shouldn't let kid do something dangerous like fighting monsters!" Naofumi throws his arms over his arm, his voice as loud as when he protested about getting slaves in the morning.
"We are going to the wild to fight monsters. We are going to be right in the thick of the Wave. She either learn to fight now, or some monster tears her apart like her parents." Lautrec crosses his arms in front of his chest, he huffs out a scowl with his reptilian face.
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Naofumi wraps his hand tightly around Raphtalia's shoulder and gives her a reassured shake.
"You are too soft, kid. Make up your mind. Either you leave the runt here where it's safe, or you take her with you and teach her how to survive the danger. You can't have both ways if you are a Legendary Hero."
Naofumi bites down on his lip and his brows twists together. It's clear he knows the reptile speaks the truth but his sentiment doesn't want to do something cruel to a child. The lizard swordsman mumbles under his breath like an afterthought. "The Goddess isn't pleased."
"...I will fight!" Everyone turns their head to look at the little raccoon girl. She scrunches her face up like one of the back alley thugs in an effort to look intimidating. Sadly with her small face and youthful appearance, she looks more like a puffed up Filorial chick, more adorable than threatening. "I will fight..."
"What a fine mess." Elhard closes his eyes and pinches his bridge. He waves at the little raccoon girl still trying and failing her best at give a back alley gangster look. "Come with me, kiddo. I'll find you a short blade... I'll throw in a set of armor for you on the house. My conscious won't take it if you die out there without proper protection."
"Go on, Raphtalia. You can trust Uncle Elhard." Naofumi gives the little girl a gentle push. Raphtalia gives him an unsure look before nodding her head. She stands up and follows the smith to the back shop, Yuzu stays on her shoulder the whole time like a faithful guard dog. "I don't like it. Raphtalia is so young, she should be a kid and enjoy life."
"We can't help it, Master Naofumi. It's better to let Raphtalia learn how to fight weak monsters, then risk losing her in the wave." Mein quickly hooks her arm into Naofumi's, she quietly whispers into the naive man's ear. "But we can still dot on her a little as you said, we should let a child be a child."
"Yes, you are right, Mein. Thank you." Naofumi gives the undercover princess a smile. He looks down to count his remaining coins. "Maybe we can give some treats to Raphtalia after we go back to the inn. Maybe buy something sweet for her."
"Too right you are, Master Naofumi." Mein's face smiles like a flower in full blossom, yet she fumes internally. The plan to leave the damn upstart animal with Smith Demon is perfect! Yet the little piglet had the nerve to foil her perfect laid plan by simply being a brat!
She pauses for a moment to wonder if that's how father feels when she went off the script during the Shield Hero's trial.
Bah! No matter! There'll be plenty opportunities to get rid of the little piglet once they are in the wild. She'll just have to bide her time and play the perfect big sister before another chance arise.
The Smith Demon choose this moment to escort the raccoon cub out of the back of the room. Mein and Naofumi manages to keep their faces straight for about five seconds. The princess in disguise begin to shake and snigger, the Shield Hero manages to fare better but he still has a visible smile on his face.
The proprietor of the Smith look rather affronted by their reaction, even if he himself has a rather obvious curve on the corner of his mouth. "Don't laugh at the poor girl, you imbeciles! That's the only thing I have that fits her... barely."
Barely fit the demi-human girl alright! Raphtalia is wearing a set of leather armor very similar to the hobo suit Mein has, but it looks decidedly different on her underdeveloped body.
The hood shaped leather helmet covers over the little girl's head like a water bucket. The leather armor on the other hand manages to reach all the way over her thigh and barely covers her knees, it looks more like a set of robes over the raccoon cub.
At least she no longer look like a starving refugee fleeing the wave, even if the raccoon girl resembles something more of a novelty act in a jester competition than an adventurer who is gearing up to fight for the realm against The Waves of Catastrophe.
"This is the smallest one I have in the stock. I don't outfit child soldiers as my regular business, you know." Elhard looks down at the raccoon girl, who is currently spinning head furiously. She's probably confused on why everyone suddenly look very happy. "Oh well, she'll grow into them once she levels up. It's well known fact that the body of demi-humans and beastmen mature as they gain levels."
Isn't that a withering thought…
"That's right, demi-human's body mature as they level up, don't they? Mein told me this..." Naofumi looks equally as solemn as Mein is feeling right now. He stands up from the bench, walks forward and kneels down in front of Raphtalia to adjust her hood up, so it's no longer blocking her eyes. The Shield Hero also brushes away a single strand of hair from the girl's face to look at her in the eyes. "I wish you can have a normal childhood. But as the Shield Hero, I have to fight the Wave."
A bit too late for that... if the cub already lost her parents and a friend.
The raccoon cub looks back into Naofumi's eyes. She grips the hunting knife on her waist firmly. "I will do my best to fight for your, Master."
"No, not Master. Naofumi is fine. I'll have to keep everyone of you as my slave for now, because I don't want to give those nutjobs in the Church of The Three an excuse to murder you. But I want all you to live free, not as slaves." Naofumi takes the bucket like leather helmet off Raphtalia's eyes to smooth out her messy hair. He puts the helmet right back on her head afterwards. "You only need to take care of yourself."
The demi-human girl simply tilt her heads sideways, obviously having a hard time comprehending Naofumi's words due to her less educated upbringing. She settles for a slow nod even if the meaning of his words obviously went over her head.
"What about you two? Are you only going to get weapons and armors for your new companions?" The Smith Demon goes back to wiping his counter as he gives Naofumi a sideway glance.
Mein gives the beautiful hunting armor another forlorn glance. She really want to have that beautiful piece of equipment on her, it'll surely be easier to attract her Naofumi's attention now they have another female member in their party.
"I was thinking about getting some heavier armor. I'm going to be our party's Main Tank... that means the main defender from where I'm from." The young man from another world quickly explains while Elhard gives him a completely bamboozled look.
"I have no attack power, so I should boost up my defense as much as possible. Some kind of heavy armor sounds best, but ideally it'll be easy to move around in when I need to reposition myself. I can pass my chainmail to either Kyubey or Lautrec."
"Something heavy set, but doesn't impede movement then..." The blacksmith scratches his beard while narrow his eyes. He seems to suddenly remember something as he goes to the back of the room. "I have just the thing, hang on."
Some more grunting and clanking noise echoes out of the back room. After a short period, the blacksmith takes a set of armor out on both hand and place it on the counter.
"This set is the Barbarian Armor - its name came from the tribes living on the Northern Skyguard tundra of Siltvelt. Most of them favor light armor for ease of mobility, but there is a specific subclass called 'Armored Hulk' who favor heavy armor and act as the clans' shield wall. They wear heavy plate near their chest, back, arm and feet with a set of monster leather underneath to ensure flexibility for the joints."
Mein tries very hard not to scoff at the idea of having er Naofumi wearing the armor of those Siltvelt savages. She gives a quick look towards the hero in question, and found himself looking rather intrigued by it. That's not good, she should direct her Naofumi away from any possible fascination towards those uncivilized animals! "Master Naofumi, perhaps a set of armor that makes look more like a raider boss isn't the best choice?"
"Why? It sounds like everything I asked for." Naofumi looks up from the armor while scratching his head.
"Is this another one of you want yourself and your hunky hunky hero man look good period, lass?" The brows of Smith Demon twist into a knot while he scoff with indignation. "Look here, lass. I'm no tailor, so I don't care if you want to wear a pretty little satin dress to some liberation day festival. But on the battlefield, functionality triumph over good looks. You can ask your big hero to buy you a pretty dress and himself a dashing suit to wear to the victory banquet after you both survive the Wave."
"It's not just about making myself, or Master Naofumi look nice!" Mein jumps up the bench and stomps her foot on the ground. Granted... the Smith Demon is right on the bet for her main motivation again, but that doesn't mean she'll keep taking his derision lying down.
"Think about it this way, what if Master Naofumi is mistaken by the knights and soldiers for a bandit in the wave when everyone's on edge? At best, we'll waste valuable time trying to sort ourselves. At worst, lots of people get hurt or get killed when they are distracted by Master Naofumi."
Both the Shield Hero and the Smith Demon run their hand under their chin with a distant look in their eyes. Naofumi manages to speak up first. "Mein does have a point. Plus, with that most Melromarc angry at Siltvelt thing... it's probably better if I don't wear their armor."
"Alright, I agree the lass has a point this time. Although it does put us into a bit of a difficult position. A set of armor that has the highest Defense rating means its heavy armor, they aren't very easy to move around. Not to mention you also want it to look heroic so people can tell you are the Shield Hero at a first glance, that's usually heavy plates..." Elhard closes his eyes and pinches his goatee while scrunching up his face heard.
He suddenly opens his eyes once again. "Wait! I know just the thing!"
The Smith Demon went back to his backroom and begin to look for something. At this point, Mein has half a mind to think he keep some kind of dimension portal to whichever infernal realm he crawls out of. After a while and a few loud curses from Elhard, the smithy owner comes out carrying a suit of heavy armor in his hand. "If this still doesn't make you both happy, I have nothing else for you."
Mein, Naofumi and even their demi-human slaves minus Lautrec moves closer to the set of armor. At first glance, it looks like a standard issued plate mail used by Melromarc knights.
But upon closer inspection, the incognito princess realizes the whole armor glows a light blue tint. She reaches her hand to hold the chest plate and takes a deep breath to heave it up... and almost trips over herself for how light it feels compared to the standard issued ones. "It feels so light in my hand!"
"Some retired veteran knight pawed this suit of plate mail to me a few years back when we got hit with a bad harvest. It was a real beaten up piece of shit back then, so I decided to experiment, figure I can't make it worse. Replace most of the plates with blue Chromezoid." The Smith Demon tries to keep his voice calm and nonchalant, but there is an unmistaken pride in his voice. Mein did trip over herself this time when she hears the word 'Chromezoid'.
"Mein! Are you okay? Is there something wrong?" Naofumi quickly catches her and drags her back up her feet.
"Master Naofumi, Chromezoid is one of the most precious metals in this world, only behind Titanite in its durability, but much lighter especially the blue ones. To think one would casually use it to experiment on a badly beaten set of armor..." Mein begins to rub a hand over her bumped head. Chromezoid armor are highly valuable, and most high lords would kill to have a set of armor made by it. "It's unthinkable."
"It's not fully crafted with the thing, I just mixed some of the ore I smelted down into the original armor." The Smith Demon shrugs his shoulder once again, his eyes take the distant look once again. "Used to be an adventurer in my younger days. Me and my buddies found this vain of blue Chromezoid near the nest of a Griffin King this one time, and we managed to steal some of those precious ore before the owner came back of his feeding trip."
"I don't have enough ore to make an armor set, so I decided to play around with it when I got that beaten up piece of crap. Want to see if I can turn junk into treasure, since I paid ten silvers for it. Now, I don't recommend this baby to just anyone entering my shop, since it's my personal project. But about the only thing in my shop that fit your bill is this one."
"That sounds very expensive... I don't think I can afford it even if I buy nothing else." Naofumi looks intently down at the suit of armor. It's not hard to see the Shield Hero is tempted by this suit of Chromezoid Plate Mail.
"Tell you what, Shield Boy. Just hand your three hundred silver pieces to me, and take everything you got so far with you." Naofumi looks like he wants to say something, but Elhard just waves his tree trunk like arm. "I'm not giving you charity. You are one of the Heroes who will fight in the wave, right? That means you are putting your life on the line for all of us."
"Think of it as a loan to you, you get your party equipped to deal with this upcoming wave, and you can pay me back once you get more provision money from the king. I'll take about... eight hundred silver pieces more after you get the coins. No point fighting over who owns a cottage if it'll burn down the next day."
The Shield Hero gives his companions a look and sees everyone nodding their head. "We would still be missing a set of armor for Kyubey, or Lautrec in that case."
The lizard man, who previously seems to be in his own little world scrunch up his nose. "You can let the grass muncher have his armor. My goddess will watch over me, her embrace is my shroud. She'll not let me be killed by a stray arrow, or the maw of monsters."
The only response Naofumi dignify the lizard with is to slowly edging away from the deranged reptile. Mein honestly can't blame her Naofumi in this case, as she too begin to slowly put the counter between herself and Lautrec in an effort to shield herself. Speaking of which, the young hero turns to look at Mein with a sheepish look on his face. "We should have gotten some upgrade for you too, Mein. But it looks like we'll end up spend all our reserve on my armor."
"It is alright, Master Naofumi. My sword is good enough for most monsters we'll face, and this suit of leather recommended by Mr. Elhard..." Mein can't looks down at the dirty leather armor that currently sit on the corner of the bench. After a few days of wear and tear it is now stretched to fit comfortably on her body, even if it manages to both look and smell worse than when it was first purchased. "...is also sturdy enough, and Master Naofumi will protect me in battle. We should spend more money to arm our new companions instead."
Well... considering the first reason Mein decided to motivate the Shield Hero to get slaves into his party is so she no longer has to fight on the frontlines all the time... it's perfectly reasonable for them to get first dibs at new equipment.
As for the first princess turned novice adventurer herself... now that she has already shown her magical aptitude in front of the Shield Hero, she's very content to stay back right behind him where it is safe and toss fireballs at whoever come after them.
Yes, that is most definitely what's most befitting the role of a noble princess on the battle field. To stand behind her protectors, gracefully firing off magical spells at hideous monsters while commanding lowly demi-human slaves to fight them in melee range.
Somehow the Smith Demon is staring at her with intent focus once again. It seems like he's still highly suspicious of her. Oh well, it's not like he can do anything about it unless he decide to close his shop and join them on the field.
"Let's go back to the inn and have our late lunch. We should still have a good few hours to level up some more afterwards before we have to camp." Naofumi puts three of his money pouches onto the counter while he begins to put on the new armor. He gives a quick glance outside the window. "We'll buy some extra camping supplies for our new members with the rest of our funds."
The chef of the inn looks very happy when Naofumi steps back into the kitchen once again. "Ah, Master Shield Hero! Right on time when the soup is almost ready! This will be one of the finest dish indeed."
"I'm glad something I made up on the fly received such high praise." Naofumi smiles at the middle aged cook and gave back a polite bow. He grabs one of the soup ladle and takes a small dip from the bubbling stew, blow away the hot air and takes a tiny sip on his mouth.
The alluring scent of the vapor rising from the pot makes Mein's mouth water, especially on the account of her completely empty stomach.
The smile on his face slowly turns down wards as his lips twist around. "The meat is greasier than I first thought... could use something to balance out the flavor."
The princess in disguise turns her head to look at the Shield Hero turned chef. Granted, she hasn't yet tasted the stew itself, but it should be very good judging from the smell alone. Probably not fit for banquet but that's more of eating stew is naturally a messy affair, but definitely fitting for the dinner table of high lords and monarchs.
The Shield Hero looks around the kitchen while she is busy thinking. He spots some big orange colored pomelo fruit and nods his head. Naofumi begin to cut the thick skin open with his dagger and takes a small bit into his mouth. "Not bitter at all! This could work."
Mein can't do anything as she stand right by the wall, watching her Naofumi taking out the mortar and pestle into a thin paste. He adds the pomelo into the bubbling stew and mix it up evenly with the soup ladle, takes another sip and nods his head with satisfaction. "This should be good for the appetite, and the body."
Naofumi begins to fill five thick bowls with the steaming stew. Mein ends up carrying one in each hand, while Naofumi manages to bring out the rest with practiced ease even as he holds one bowl on his arm instead of hand. They only just sit down on the little table they set up in the alley when they hears some rowdy yelling inside the restaurant. "Hey, Deidric! I smell something good back in there, is your chef making something special today?"
Mein shakes her head at this behavior - that is why she does not like to mingle with those so-called adventurers, even if she herself is now one of them... only due to technicality! "The Shield Hero was cooking for his companions."
"Really? I'll have one of the bowls too, if he doesn't mind." There is some more muffled voice after this loud proclamation which Mein can't hear very clearly. "Ah, you worry too much. The Shield won't poison his companions, everyone knows he can't fight by himself."
The undercover princess decide to ignore the commotion in the restaurant and digs in to her meal, just like their demi-human slaves.
Speaking of which... two out of three are already putting new meaning to the phrase 'eating like animals'.
Lautrec simply grabs out a still dripping piece of the rib and shoves the whole thing into his gaping maw of razor sharp teeth. When he pulls the piece of rib out, no meat remains on the white bones.
Raphtalia takes exactly one spoonful into her mouth before she simply holds up the bowl with her tiny hands and start inhaling it into her mouth.
Untrained animals, the two of them.
The incognito princess gives a quick glance towards the Shield Hero. To her immerse disappointment, it does not look like her Naofumi disapprove their abhorrent table manner. In fact, the naive young man is smiling at the warm reception his stew is currently receiving from his companions.
In fact, the only comment he has towards Raphtalia is a short. "Slow down, don't choke yourself. There's plenty where this came from."
Kyubey on the other hand manages to eat with some grace as he slowly send spoonful of stew into his mouth. Yes, the rabbit man will be the one Mein keeps around once she regain her birthright as the crown princess of glorious Melromarc.
The grumble of her stomach reminded how hungry Mein truly is. She takes a spoonful of stew up and send it to her mouth... and has to physically fight the urge to copy what the raccoon cub is currently doing. The slight sour but sweet taste of the pomelo fruit manages to make the rich poultry stewed with vegetable feel refreshing as it slowly melt into her mouth.
She can eat this all day long!
"Well, guess everyone like it." Naofumi takes some of the jerky made of dried up rabbit pill meat and tosses them to his pet abominations. The spheres of chaos quickly devours the meat among themselves. "Yuzu need to eat too."
"What does Yuzu mean, master?" The raccoon girl set her now empty bowl down on the table. She tilt her head to the side to look at the frolicking balloons around Naofumi's leg. "They all have it in their names."
Does the raccoon girl has a death wish? She shouldn't try to comprehend what is inherently incomprehensible! Or is this further evidence that the demi-human girl is being converted to those eldritch monster's first acolyte?
"Oh, it means pomelo fruit in my language." Naofumi's casual tone sounds like a thunder cracking in Mein's ears. Her spoon drops right on the table as her mouth refuses to close, and her fingers begin to tremble with abject horror.
Raphtalia's eyes start to water as an equally alarmed look begin to appear on her face. "I've been eating... Yuzu?"
"NO! I just named them after the fruit. You aren't eating Yuzu, Raphtalia." Naofumi quickly reaches over the table and wiping the tear away from the cub's face with his hand. He looks back at Mein and gives the horrified princess a reassuring nod. "Don't worry about it, Mein. We aren't going to eat our party members."
"Haha...Master Naofumi has a pretty good sense of humor." Mein tries to hide her fear behind a strained chuckle.
Her Naofumi has to be kidding about the true name for those unspeakable evil he keeps as a pet. Yes! He does not want to scare the raccoon cub with their real names.
Omaka: Gratification of a Slum Thief
The thief from the slums can hear the howling of a deranged man as soon as he steps foot within the castle palace. It sounded something like this: "That degenerate Shield Demon! Using monsters to threaten my sweet girl, would he?! I'll kill him! I'll kill his whole family! I'LL KILL HIM TO DEATH! I'LL KILL HIM SO HARD HE'LL DIE TO DEATH!"
Apparently the king still manages to learn the rumors despite Russell's boss, the royal spymaster's best effort to hide it. Particularly, the one about the Shield Hero, Balloon Monsters and his companion's night life.
"Restrain the king before he hurts himself!" The steadfast, but obviously fatigued command of the Royal Guard Captain Lothringen can be heard between the sound of shattered glasses, smashed china, and splintered wood. "Someone go get the Royal Battle Mage!"
The thief quickly turns his heel towards the dungeon and ignores the commotion behind him. He's not paid high enough to get involved with this.
Despite underground and only illuminated by the faint ire glow of magical lamp, the office of the Royal Spymaster still manages to have a more home-sweet-home vibe thanks to the thick carpet and the bookcase. Or maybe it has something to do with the small palm-sized sketch of his daughter standing on his mahogany desk.
Lord Noches, the spymaster himself however, spots a more disheveled look than his usual well-groomed self. Most noticeably, his always perfectly slicked back short black hair has several strands standing on the end. "I brought you some good news, boss man."
"Ah, Agent Russell. I can certainly use things turning up well for a change. Between all of us scrambling to calm down our majesty and my daughter get caught in another one of heiress Claes' harebrained plan I'm not getting enough rest. Oh, what am I telling this to you for ...? I need a nap."
The spymaster needed a good night's sleep indeed! His mouth is usually much tighter than this no doubt due to his highly dangerous profession.
Russell decides to not inform his boss that his 'sweet angel' is usually the one who come up with those harebrained schemes, despite Lady Katarina usually puts them into motion due to her... energetic nature. He simply tosses two body forward by their collar, two cloaked figure lands in front of the spy master's desk in two heaps.
"Found two Siltvelt rats snooping around, they were taking the Shield Hero to get slaves. But I bet my ass they tried to do more than that."
"Siltvelt spies, you say? I'll be, when I came up with the excuse of foreign spy I didn't expect to be tossed a soft pillow as I'm getting drowsy." The spymaster seems to gain some of his usual poise back as he stand up from his chair and walks around his desk.
"There's more, boss. Our slum contact Beloukas used one of those magical mirrors to record the conversation they had with Shield Hero." The thief takes out the foldable mirror with intricate carving out of pocket. To untrained eye, they are simply beautiful ornament on an expensive trinket. But to a highly trained rune mage, they are very complex spell circles.
Russell flips the mirror open, the conversation between the Shield Hero, First Princess, and the two as of current unconscious Siltvelt Spy in the slum begin to play. The spy master lets out a faint chuckle after listening to the well-constructed theory of Shield Hero. "If only His Majesty truly planned this well, it would certainly save us a lot of trouble."
The young thief simply chose to remain silent. It is not the place of a gutter rat like him to comment about the king of their nation. The rats seemed to also pick this time to slowly wake up as they began to stir.
"Well... as the Siltvelt saying goes: 'Bad dogs can't stop themselves from consuming feces.'" Marquis Noches turns his nose and look down at the slowly waking up rats, who are both trying their best to not scream out judging from their terrified faces. "Is there some reason I should keep you two alive?"
"We are going to bring the word of the Shield Hero back to venerated Siltvelt. If you kill us, there might be war between our nations." The female manages to keep a somewhat straight face while she repeat the some similar words she told the Shield Hero.
"Yet, there is still a chance your country might try something underhanded to nab a hero anyway. The two of you are good examples of that, no? Be that as it may... only one of you need to bring the words back. So you two better have a good reason to convince me of mercy." The spy master begins to take some strides around in the dimly lit office. Even with carpet beneath his feet, each one of his step is no doubt a thunderclap on the spies' heart judging by their quickly paling faces.
"I have two choices for the two of you. I'll keep one of you back here in my humble abode as an insurance... and let the other one crawl back to the hole you two came from, on the account of that one pass some messages of my own. Or the two of you can both return in a sack."
The Marquis takes a small box down from his shelf and open it up. A round bead as dark as moonless night sit in the middle. "This is a loyalty pill brewed our poison master. Whoever wish to return home can swallow it down your throat. My agent will meet up with you to give you an antidote to make sure it stays dormant. Or else... well, I hope either one of you enjoy the sensation of tens of thousands bugs eating you from inside out, while a thousand knives flay your skin on the outside."
The boss turns towards the young thief from the slum. "Ah, Agent Russell. I see you have gone above and beyond to complete your task. It's always a shame to lose my top agent... but such action deserves reward."
Marquis Noches walk to his shelf once again to retrieve a letter sealed with the Noches house ring seal, he hands it to Russell, who quickly takes it with both of his hand. "This recommendation from me will guarantee you a position as this year's squire. Congratulations in your first step towards knighthood."
"Thank you very much, boss. It was my honor to serve." The young thief quickly hides the letter into his leather armor close to his chest. He leaves the gloomy dungeon office, no longer caring about the fate of those two Siltvelt spies. This letter will be the ticket to get his mother and himself out of the slum, and he's not going to waste this once in a life time opportunity.
End Notes:
I admit the main reason why I'm not giving Naofumi his canon Barbarian armor is because I didn't like how he and Itsuki both share green as their primary color.
:P
That aside, we get a bit more insight on why (I made) Melromarc people are prejudiced against demi-human as a whole other than 'because they look like animals'. It's always easy to simply decry racism, but often time prejudice have some kind of reason that's rooted in two groups' subjective world view which gets progressively blow out of proportion until only hatred remains.
I just hope I didn't went the other way and excused the prejudice Melromarc has against demi-human too much.
To the Maxican Guest Reviewer:
I'm not sure if I understood you correctly, since the auto translation is a bit wonky. But since I made Naofumi lives in a world that has very similar pop culture from our own, him quoting JoJo definitely isn't out of the question. Heck, the start of his Interlude WAS originally a JoJo reference where he recount the primary numbers... till Comrade Broseph changed it into something more align with the tone of the chapter.
And speaking of Yu Gi Oh like card game... I won't be surprised if this world has their equivalent to Gwent from Witcher's world.
To Night:
I don't think your last review was demanding at all.
But yeah, both Naofumi and Malty being the less favored elder sibling is most definitely a big inspiration for this story. I can't believe the original author had this little detail but never did anything with it.
To Guest:
Canon did have the weapon copy ability where the hero can copy the same piece of equipment by holding it. Although that does mean Naofumi need to learn how to smith first if he want to make a copy of Captain America's shield (and it obviously won't be Vibranium). That being said, I'm generally not a big fan on this fandom trope where someone SI as the Shield Hero, and they find a way around the 'Shield Hero can't attack' problem.
Honestly, I think canon WN already went over the line when the story made Wrath Shield II become an instant kill Deus Ex Machina for Naofumi, not to mention by the middle point all his companions became stronger than the other three summoned heroes.