I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero
This chapter is SPAG edited by Ace-Triad who is now working with me as my editor. Here's the hope I don't jinx it in saying we worked out our scheduling.
Big thanks for Fluffball13 for reading my first draft and give me a lots of ideas. The egg yolk shampoo in this chapter for example is pointed out by her through out PMs.
After half a week spent in the wild living like a vagabond, the princess in disguise finds herself more appreciative of civilization's amenities. Being able to enjoy properly made food like a bird rib soup marinated in rich vegetables, pomelo fruit, and spices, for starters. Sitting in a real chair and eating off a real table is much better than sitting randomly on the grass and finding a somewhat flat boulder to hold her bowl.
It does not even matter both the table and chair creaks and wobbles a little under her weight. Kyubey, the rabbit man is cleaning up the table with almost graceful efficiency despite only with one useable arm. Now, that's a good slave who both knows his place, and is helpful to his master. After all this is over, maybe she'll keep him around her castle as a butler. Queen or Duchess, she can't be bothered to do all the menial tasks herself, of course.
"Everyone's satisfied?" Naofumi is currently running a finger through his last half-empty money bag. The shrewd otherworlder is no doubt feeling a bit restless with how little coin he has left. He gets a wave of everyone nodding their head. "Good, let's pay the innkeeper and leave for the field. We still have some time for EXP and loot farming."
The undercover princess find it rather strange that her Naofumi compares monster killing to that of farming. She can't help but breaks into a faint smile when she's reminded of her childhood playmate Katarina Claes.
The noble heiress - or wild monkey, depending on who you ask - of House Claes has been fascinated in this unbecoming activity since the First Princess implanted the idea of developing Earth affinity by cultivating a field. The incognito princess won't deny that she's rather proud of that little scheme to knock the Claes heir out of competition to challenge House Melromarc for the throne.
Yet apparently, she herself has become a farmer. At least she's farming EXP to build a foundation for her eventual succession.
Mein lingers for a second more on her rickety wooden chair before standing up just like the demi-human slaves. She gives one last forlorn look to the luxury inn before ducking her heads down and follows Naofumi's lead.
Goodbye, warm bath, soft bed, and civilization. Back to the life of jumping into a river to bathe in, sleeping underneath the sky and living the life of a wild man she goes.
"Mr. Innkeeper, how much do I own for using your kitchen?" The sound of Naofumi bartering with Deidric snaps Mein out of her inner drama.
"Do not worry for it, milord. Your cooking was a success with my customers, I made more off your stew than what I'd get for renting you the kitchen." The inn keeper has a professional smile on his face as he rest a hand on the Shield Hero's shoulder. "If adventuring doesn't work out for milord... you are always welcome to work in my kitchen."
Naofumi simply chooses to stare at the jolly-looking business owner right in the eyes without saying anything. His smile seems to freeze right on his face as the weasel realizes how much of an insult his joke can be taken by someone who is clearly his better.
"Yeah... I would like that."
Wait... wait … WHAT!?
Chapter 12: Farming Life in Melromarc
Mein has to bite down on her finger once again to stop herself from jumping on her feet and throw up a fuss. All this time when she suffers the humiliation of being talked down by those who are nothing more than mud beneath her boots, when she goes around like a glorified errand boy for the Shield Hero, or when she's threatened by rats from Siltvelt... she bade her time through it all for the goal of become the next queen of glorious Melromarc!
Or if failing that, at least being a duchess with her own duchy to rule.
She certainly didn't not plan to become a cook's housewife!
Is it so bad to not have to always look behind your back every waking moment, plotting to undermine even your childhood playmates for the fear of them usurping you? A life where you can be free to be yourself isn't bad, is it?
No! How can she live a free life when she isn't herself? This 'Mein of Samphor' is nothing more than a fake identity she takes like those actors in a play, all to make it easier to get close to manipulate the Shield Hero and mold him into the perfect king to rule by her side!
The undercover princess only know the Shield Hero for less than a week, but she likes to believe that she has him figured out. And as much as Mein hates to admit it, there is no way her Naofumi, as he is now would accept the real first princess of glorious Melromarc.
The incognito princess is ready to grab Naofumi, maybe whisper some words into his ear to change his mind. Her feet stops when she hears the young other worlder's dreamlike murmur.
"...I don't have to kill another man in the kitchen."
Mein finds herself unable to continue her previous thought as her mind wanders right back to the dingy alley filled with dead and dying bodies. It didn't occur to her at the time when she was losing whatever she ate in the morning, but her Naofumi was right there with her. Those deadbeat squatters aren't his fellow countrymen, and they are trying to kill him and his companions.
But they are also men like him. Not animals, not monsters, not demonic Wavespawn. The Three Heroes' Church decries the Shield Hero to be a demon in disguise, but Naofumi Iwatani is a sentimental man.
"Are you going to forsake the duty bestowed upon you by the goddess now, hero ?" Lautrec stops picking his razor like teeth with the piece of Filorial rib bone he's holding the entire time. His jaw split open into what looks like a reptilian sneer. "That wasn't what you bought us for."
Mein and Deidric both edge away from the tall lizard man. Naofumi simply stares at the offending slave without breaking eye contact. "Lautrec is right. I can't give up my duty, because I'm the Shield Hero."
"Tough luck, milord." The middle aged inn keeper gives Naofumi's shoulder a firm shake. "Well, come to my inn again next time you are in the capital. I'll be sure to save you the best rooms."
Mein is still thinking back on Naofumi's solemn expression when she hears the voice of the Shield Hero. It sounds more even than before, a good sign that the young man manages to regain control of his emotions. "We have three more companions now, we need to buy some more tents and sleeping bags. Let's go check that stall, they sell general goods, right?"
The undercover princess rises her head in an absent minded manner to look at the street merchant Naofumi is pointing at. It's a rather unassuming stall where different items from children's toys, household items like storage pottery, to adventuring essentials like rolled up tents either hanging from the wooden frame, or resting on the stall counter.
Although for some reason, it look a little familiar to Mein.
The realization hits her like a lightning bolt when she sees the fat merchant with mousy mustache and sunken eyes. This is the same guy she just extorted- borrowed money from in the morning.
Oh...
DAMNATIONS!
"Master Naofumi! STOP!" Mein reaches over and snatches the Shield Hero by his wrist so suddenly, the young man almost tripped over.
"WH-! What's wrong, Mein?" Naofumi manages to upright himself after a few moment of wobbling around, before spinning his head to face Mein with that clueless baby Filorial look again.
"I don't want to sounds presumptuous and shallow, but... doesn't that merchant look like someone untrustworthy?" Naofumi turns to look at the merchant minding his own business behind the stall. The Shield Hero nods his head along, a good sign he isn't outright dismissing Mein's suggestion. "Street merchants aren't always most reliable with their wares. And we don't want to get low quality wares while little Raphtalia is still sick. Let's go to one of those reliable big merchant companies, like Hickwaal and Sweed Company."
"That's a very good point. We don't want Raphtalia's flu become even worse if we get bad quality tents and sleeping bags." Naofumi continues to nods his head while thinking over Mein's suggestion. The frown on his face deepens as he tightens his hand around his last money bag. "But we are running very low on funds, will we have enough to go to a store run by a high end company?"
"Master Shield Hero." Kyubey, the quiet rabbit man steps up and inclines his head forward. It's not quite a full bow, but it's still much lower than a simple nod. "I used to run a general goods store before Harp's destruction for over ten years. I can examine the quality of the goods. We can go to Hickwaal and Sweed if this street merchant tries to con us."
Mein takes everything she thought about keeping the damn bunny around back, he's as bad as the other two animals trying to get her!
Naofumi stares at Kyubey with the same unreadable expression when he first learn the expressionless rabbit man's name. He finally gives in and nods his head after a short delay. "I'll put my trust in you."
And so the first princess of glorious Melromarc can do nothing other than tag behind the Shield Hero as they approach the same merchant she robbed in the morning. She does try her best to channel her inner fire through her eyes, either to somehow make the rat bastard of a merchant spontaneously combust into flame, or in an admittedly slim hope of scaring him into not reveal her dirty secret.
"Welcome to my humble stall..." The fat bastard slowly rises his head with a monotone voice, no doubt thinking this transaction will the another run-of-the-mill dealing he no doubt makes a few dozen times a day. His beady eyes quickly widen into saucers as he sees the young man in full armor, a shield on his arm but no weapon. "L-Lord Shield Hero!"
He remembers. Of course he remembers! Mein just revealed her identity as the companion of the Shield Hero this morning.
"Ehh, I'm not a lord yet, although thanks for making me feel welcomed." Naofumi looks away while scratching his cheek with his finger. "I was thinking about browsing some camping supplies you have. Tents, sleeping bags, water skins... all of that."
"Yes, yes! I will provide you with top quality wares! Lord Shield Hero!" The shady merchant gives a quick glance at Mein who is still channeling her inner fire. His sickly yellow face seems to grow even paler. He begins to pull some rolled up fur tents and sleeping back out of the back storage with such ferocity and speed, one can be excused to think this ratty merchant is a retired Zeltoble arena champion. "And I AM definitely thinking about giving a fair deal to Lord Shield Hero and his companions, yes siree, I am!"
"Okay... thanks." Naofumi's eyes linger on the fat bastard for a few moment. He looks down and run his hand through the fluffy merchandise, probably trying to check if there's any hole in any of them. "I can't really tell their quality apart, Kyubey?"
The former shop keeper begins to slowly spread out the rolled up tents and sleeping bags on the counter to better examine. Mein chews her leather glove the whole time as she looks from the shady merchant, to the Shield Hero, and the rabbit man. After an agonizingly long moment, Kyubey looks up and gives a nod to Naofumi. "They are of good quality - it's just as he says."
"They will come to a total of one hundred- NO! Fifty copper pieces!" The lecherous fat man meets Mein's eyes for a brief second before he jumps on his feet and hacks down his price.
"Not trying to look at a gift horse in the mouth... but are you okay?" Naofumi's question makes Mein's heart leaps right back into her throat once again, but the Shield Hero is oblivious to her anxiety as he turns to look at the sweating merchant. "You seems a bit... I don't know, jumpy?"
"EVERYTHING IS FINE! Yes SIREE! I'm just excited… no, HONORED to help the Shield Hero and his party. Of course!" The merchant makes a grab for one of the towels hanging over one of the horizontal wooden beams. He knocks down a balloon skin ball down in the process. It's one of those toys that's popular with kids, and the same thing those kids bulling the raccoon cub was playing.
Thankfully, Naofumi's attention seems to shift to the bouncing rubber ball instead of the nervous shopkeeper. He grabs the toy with his right hand and turns to look at the demi-human child in the party.
The cub is more interested to keep her eyes on the bouncy toy, instead of trying to puzzle out the strange behavior of adult it seems, as her eyes keep following the rubber ball while Naofumi holds it leveled in front of her face. "Do you want one of these, Raphtalia?"
Raphtalia's eyes slowly tears away from the toy and meet Naofumi's. Her eyes seems to twinkle with expectation before a few sad whimpering noises draws her attention away.
A little distance away from her feet, the orange toothy terrors are also looking up at the unassuming toy. Except their normally beady eyes are big and watery, and their lips quiver with a look of sadness. They slowly turns to face the raccoon cub and Shield Hero, with a look that can only be described as pleading.
It seems even eldritch spawns of the Wave would find items made with the skin of their kind too morbid.
Raphtalia gently pushes the toy away. She bends over and gives the balloons a big hug with a bright smile that seems to split her face. "I have Yuzu."
"Good girl." Naofumi runs his hand through the girl's hair, making sure to give her ears another flick in the end to reminds her of her place. He hands the balloon skin toy back to the nervously chuckling merchant. The Shield Hero lowers his head and peers inside the stall for one last time and points his finger to the corner. "How much for that?"
Mein just want the Shield Hero to get away from this dreadfully dingy stall before its owner manages to reveal her dirty laundry. She squints her eyes hard to look at the item that catches Naofumi's fancy, maybe find a way to quicken the barter process or dissuade Naofumi from buying it. To her utter surprise, it's a big brown-colored fur bag with a small woodsman's axe hanging from the bottom. "Master Naofumi, what do we need the bag for? Don't you already have your [Inventory] for storage?"
"Well, yes... but I was thinking about using it for something else." Naofumi shuffles on his feet while scratching his head. His awkward posture makes Mein try extra hard to bite down her lips and not blurt out the first thing in her mind.
Yes, Master Naofumi. It is in fact, a bag. You use it to store things to carry on your back while you are on the move and nothing else. Something your legendary weapon's [Inventory] is already doing better than the bag.
"That'll be 30... I mean 20 more copper pieces!" The merchants hops on his feet once again when Mein shoots him a withering glare.
"Are you okay, sir? Not that I'm ungrateful for all the discount you are giving me, at least not when I'm hurting for funds..." Naofumi's voice trails off into a whisper, which Mein only manages to catch due to her standing close to the Shield Hero. "But why are you looking so on edge?"
"On edge? No, of course not, Lord Shield Hero. I'm just trying to give our savior a fair price after all! Want you to properly fitted to defend us from the Wave! That's it!"
Naofumi simply stares at the jumpy stall owner with a slowly rising eyebrow. It doesn't take a decade worth of reading court behavior to tell he doesn't believe a single word. Mein can slowly see half a week's worth of careful manipulation go up in flames as the observant Shield Hero slowly piece together everything and figure out she's been extorting different small- time merchants in the capital to gain their funds instead of doing honest trade.
The reason she chose to stick with the Shield Hero, cutting herself from father's support and luxury life of a princess is because of her Naofumi's superior intelligence compared to the other three legendary jesters. But now, his very strength is going to become her very downfall since the young otherworlder manages to uncover the greatest plan father and mother laid down together through nothing more than scraps of second hand information. And surely, the Wise Sage King and the queen of glorious Melromarc would have put more thought and planning than her when they were pulling the gambit of all time by summoning all four heroes.
"As you should, meatloaf." Lautrec's nasal voice brings both Mein and Naofumi back to reality. The lizard man's lipless sneer becomes much more intimidating now that he has a pair of shotels strapped on his back to complete his exotic bloodthirsty warrior look. "We are on a quest from the Goddess herself! We will not be deterred from mere material inconveniences!"
The incognito princess suddenly sees a bright light at the end of her dark tunnel. She quickly leans closer to the Shield Hero and whispers into his ear. "Let's just take this kind trader's deal and go, Master Naofumi. Remember what the slave trader said about Lautrec's race? I think the stall owner is clearly intimidated by Lautrec."
"I see..." Naofumi looks between both Mein and Lautrec, he nods his head along in a non-committal manner that makes it hard to tell if he believes the lie of the first princess or not. "Thank you for the deal, I really do need it now I'm low on fund after equipping my party. I'll make it up to you in the future."
"I'll be very grateful if you and your party don't come back... I MEAN! Thank you very much for your patronage, Lord Shield Hero!"
The Shield Hero gives the fat merchant one last look while putting everything into his Shield's [Inventory]. It seems like he's either fooled, or choose to let the matter drop for now.
Just as Mein thought from before, that woodsman's fur bag is a total waste of money. At least they are finally leaving the lecherous stall owner behind them. Mein just hope there will be further chances to manipulate... no, persuade the Shield Hero to see things her way before he learns the whole truth.
The walk to the plains doesn't take nearly as much time as they spend getting their camping supplies. Or maybe it just feels much shorter now Mein's past actions are no longer under threat of exposure. Naofumi sits down on the grass and begin to take everything out of his Shield. He starts to organize his things into several piles, and then takes some of the heaviest objects and carefully places them into the bag.
Mein can't help but raise one of her eyebrow at this strange behavior. Considering how easy Naofumi moves around, it's not hard to guess he doesn't feel the weight of his collection of items when they are in his [Inventory] space. So why get a bag, and more importantly fill it up with heavier items?
"Master Naofumi, what are you doing now?"
"Turtle school training. By carrying a heavy weight behind my back, it'll help train my stamina and strength when I'm moving around. I don't have a weighted shell ... but I thought this bag looks sturdy enough. Hope this'll work just as well." Naofumi picks up his neatly folded otherworldly cloth and gives it a long stare. His face slowly turns into a nostalgia filled smile.
Mein begin to search her memory along important words like 'Turtle School' and 'Weighted Shell'. Come to think of it... didn't the Ebon Turtle clan from Siltvelt had some warrior monks who make their students wear weighted shell on their back? It seems like whatever text he read from before his summoning mentioned this method.
Shame the Shield Hero ends up resorting to the method of those animal barbarians. But she's willing to let this one slide if it'll help him grows stronger and more competent. He'll be able to use his newfound strength to better protect her. Not to mention, a more competent Shield Hero will make her claim to the throne stronger, especially if the other three heroes make some foolish mistakes.
It would have worked better if she can sabotage their effort in some way. Sadly she lacks the resources of manpower to make it happen, especially with glorious Melromarc worshipping the three weapon wielding heroes. Well... supposedly anyways.
"Wow, heavy." The Shield Hero already finished repacking both his bag and Inventory. He heaves the thing up his shoulders, takes a deep breath and stand up. It seems like the weight is greater than Naofumi's initial anticipation as he almost overshoots himself and tip over again. Mein quickly holds his shoulder to keep him steady on his feet. "Thanks, Mein. Does any of you have any experience fighting?"
His last sentence is aimed at his three newly acquired demi-human slaves. The raccoon girl simply shakes her head while Kyubey gives a faint nods after a moment of total silence. Lautrec lets a snort blow out of his nose as an answer. "Don't let my level fool you, Shield Hero. I am still a son of Mara. That's why the Goddess has chosen me as her Champion."
Naofumi lets his sight linger on Lautrec for a moment too long. "Alright... here's the formation we'll go with: I'll take point and draw the monsters, Mein stays right beside me to kill them while I aggro them. Kyubey and Lautrec, each of you takes about twenty feet on either side of me. Clear monsters on your own if you have no trouble with the low level monsters. Pull them to me if you are about to be overwhelmed by a mob, or a stronger monster. Raphtalia..."
The Shield Hero turns to the little raccoon. She does her best intimidation look by scrunch up her nose and holding up her short sword. Mein almost give her some point for effort, before the hood shaped leather helmet falls down Raphtalia's head and covers her face like a bucket once again.
This certainly brings new meaning to the phrase 'trying to wear daddy's armor'.
"...Stay behind us, and pick herbs. I'll have Yuzu follow you around to protect you. Watch over Raphtalia, but also keep yourselves safe, okay? Screech at us if something bad happens." Naofumi rubs his hand on the wobbly body of the rubber terrors, they collectively lets out a rumble noise as an answer. It's hard to see if they understood the Shield Hero, but the young man seems to accept it as he turns to Raphtalia once again. "Do you know what herbs look like, Raphtalia?"
The raccoon girl shakes her head on reflex, she quickly freezes still and begins to furiously nods her head. After staying quiet for a few more moment, she tentatively begin to move her head left and right once again.
The cub's desperation to please her new master despite her uselessness looks almost cute... if her mere presence doesn't threaten Mein's very position in the party.
"I still have some samples. Look at these, those are the herbs I can use. Like your cold medicine, or that healing potion you fed to Rosat... that was the man with us back in the alley." The Shield Hero kneels down in front of Raphtalia and moves her leather helmet up. He takes the herbs out of his pocket and show the girl. The demi-human girl gives a long look at the herbs in Naofumi's hand. She slowly reaches out with her tiny hand and touches the dried up plants before giving Naofumi a final nod. "Good girl. We'll all be busy fighting monsters. You be very careful, okay?"
With the plan clearly laid out, the two demi-human slaves begin to spread out to the sides as Mein takes her place right beside her Naofumi. The monsters on the plain close to city typically consist of different colored balloon, loomush and egg up with an occasional rabbit pill roaming out of their forest home. None of those monsters should give anyone around level 5... or a well-equipped level 3 in Kyubey's case any trouble unless one encounters a big swarm of them.
Mein cast a few glimpse towards the rabbit man in question between killing the monsters her Naofumi draws in. It seems like the expressionless bunny is holding his own just fine. He's currently making some sweeping motion with his one good arm, cutting one mush in half with his wild flailing.
The princess in disguise has to concentrate on the effort to not let a derisive snort escape her nose. To call the rabbit man an amateur would do the word a disservice, as it implies he had some formal swordsmanship training to begin with. It's clear the savage animal can't tell the difference between a finely crafted rapier from a crude machete, and is just making whatever random wild motion that comes to him.
As for herself...
Mein twirls her wrist around, almost drawn a flower in the air as she stabs her long sword out and catches a loomush between its eyes herself, instantly killing it with finesse of an elegant duelist.
The first princess has always put more effort into honing her magic ability, considering how easy it comes to her thanks to her strong affinity with fire. That being said, she hasn't neglected her training with a sword either. Her fencing instructor Zellus, the vice captain of the royal guard is a master of multiple styles of swordsmanship. The style he chooses to teach Mein and her childhood playmates is the Aldori style passed down from the free city of Restov, a fighting style that leverages one's dexterity and agility to deflect, parry and repose one's enemy rather than overpowering them with brutal strength like most garden variety adventurers.
The incognito princess takes great pride to know that she is the best student of the vice captain, remaining undefeated to this day in her sparring with her childhood playmates. That is even after all of them left her in the dust in term of sheer level, while she remains a measly level 3...
"Mein! Watch out!" Naofumi quickly stands in front of her, blocking a wild balloon's angry chomp while she is still thinking about the unfair treatment mother gave her. She quickly thrust her sword out to end another one of the blight from the cosmos. The Shield Hero turns back and gives Mein a look of concern. "Are you okay? You seemed lost for a second."
"Sorry, Master Naofumi. I was... thinking back on Mother, whom I left at home." Not a complete lie, since Mein really was thinking about her mother when that wild balloon was about to give her a reminder on why they are the most fear inducing monster of them all. Although the queen of glorious Melromarc certainly isn't anywhere close to home right now.
"Ah... I see. I can't blame you. I also left my parents back home, haven't I?" Naofumi's eyes becomes downcast once again, his lips trembles a little but no sound comes out.
It seems like the Shield Hero is caught in one of his more sentimental moments yet again. Mein quietly moves closer to the young man till their heads meet together, and one of her arm is locked with Naofumi's. "Master Naofumi, do you miss your home and family? I'm right here, in case you want someone to listen to you."
"No, no. Sorry, now I got distracted. It's a shame my family won't know what happened to me... " Naofumi shakes his head and start to look around in alert. "Honestly, they probably figured I fall over a ditch and died, or something. Probably won't even spend time to look for me. Well, maybe Takeru will feel sad for a few seconds, but that's it."
Wait... WHAT!?
Mein doesn't know who this 'Takeru' character is, but from the casual way Naofumi mentioned them, it's clear they are not his mother or father. And what kind of parents does her Naofumi has, if they won't even care he disappeared off the face of earth, possibly even died? The first princess doubt even mother will completely brush her own death away like it hasn't happened.
Granted, knowing mother's usual attitude... she'd probably make the death of her first daughter some public event to leverage the situation to the most. But at least mother would still do something in the event of her death.
The undercover princess realizes she has underestimated her Naofumi's previous comment. His parents may not literally force him to sleep on the floor in front of their hearth, but it's clear their relationship is strained to say the best.
"I guess it's better me than my younger brother. He's the one with a bright future ahead of him. He'll take care of father and mother for me." Naofumi's next sentence grabs Mein's gut like a demonic hand with very sharp nail. She can't help but think back on her own family... if one can call the royal house of glorious Melromarc a family without any sarcasm behind it.
And the whispers among both servant or nobility when they believe there's no one listening. By the heroes of old, the whispers... about how the first princess inherited none of her parent's strength while the second princess had them all.
"I don't know about Master Naofumi's younger brother... but it sounds like Master Naofumi's parents aren't very fair. Because you are special, Master Naofumi. You are brave, kind, just and wise. We are very fortunate to have you as the Shield Hero." Mein slowly pries Naofumi's tightly clenched fist open to wrap her fingers around his hand. She rest her head on Naofumi's shoulder, and feels his tremble slowly becomes still.
"Thank you, Mein." For a second, it sounds like the Shield Hero wanted to say a lot more. Ultimately, he simply stays quiet while letting Mein lean into him. The princess in disguise has to admit that she prefers the silence, as it reminds herself in a twisted way how true her past comment about living the life of a romance novel this ends up being.
"KKKYYYYAAAAA~!" The piercing scream of a very familiar voice jerks her eyes wide open. A brown colored blur rushes right pass the princess and the hero as they watch on with dumbfounded eyes. The voice belongs to the raccoon cub. She is currently running in circles while shaking her head like it's some kind of musical instrument. All three Yuzu chase after her in a skewed line while screeching loud gibberish, trying their best and failing to help her out of her predicament.
As for the reason of her panic? An egg up, commonly referred by adventurers as 'eggy' attached on her hair. The egg monster is obviously not doing any real damage to the little raccoon girl, but it's still enough to push her into a complete terror induced frenzy.
Mein briefly wonders where the helmet of Raphtalia has gone to. Naofumi on the other hand is quick to act. He immediately runs towards the little girl and catches her in an embrace to stop her from running and hurting herself by accident. "Lautrec! Get this thing off Raphtalia!"
The lizard man charges towards them like a heavy cavalier. He brings his shotel down on the eggy hard, instantly shatters it into almost a hundred pieces. The frothing foul yolk instantly splashes all over both Naofumi and the little girl. He lets out a huff that reminds Mein of the devious Smith Demon. "You are a bother, runt!"
"So, sorry... Sorry!" Raphtalia almost jump right out of Naofumi's arms when she notices the mess covering the Shield Hero. She begin to desperately run her hand through Naofumi's cloak trying to wipe the spoiled egg yolk out. Sadly she manages to rub the yolk all over Naofumi in her state of panic.
"Don't worry about it, Raphtalia. I'm a guy, being dirty is just par for the course. See?" Naofumi lets out a shaky laughter, he even wipes some of the yolk onto his face to show the little raccoon girl not to worry. "Where did your helmet go, Raphtalia? Uncle Elhard told us it's dangerous to not wear protection for our heads."
"I think it fell off, Master Shield Hero." Kyubey walks back to the group, Raphtalia's discarded leather helmet in hand. The hideous thing looks at least one size too large for the girl, it wobbles around on her head threaten to tip right off when it's not completely covering up her face.. "It doesn't fit her properly."
"This is the smallest size Uncle Elhard has." Naofumi ruffles his own hair with frustration, getting some of the yolk into his already messy hair in the process. The young hero dangles his tongue out after he finally noticed the smell. "He didn't expect to sell armor to children in the first place."
"It can't be helped, Raphtalia will just have to grow into it." Kyubey exchanges a brief glance with the little raccoon girl.
Mein wonders if her eyes, or head is playing trick on herself. The little raccoon's pupil seems to dilate a little like her panic attacks when Kyubey mentions her growing up. She quickly dismiss it as the girl still has not recovered from her pitiful blunder.
"That's a long way to go. We'll see if we can get something custom made for her later." Naofumi shakes the foul slime off his hand and ruffles the little girl's hair affectionately, not unlike how Mein's own father used to comfort her when she is down. "But we all smell. Let's go to that river and clean ourselves up first. Mein, can you look after Raphtalia? It's a bit... awkward if us guys do it."
"Of course, Master Naofumi. I'll look after Raphtalia and make sure she doesn't get into any other trouble." Mein puts on her best fake smile and nods at the Naofumi. She really doesn't want to play babysit for the little demi-human girl, considering she doesn't even want to bother for another hero. But the incognito princess also knows one need to pick which battle to fight, and this is definitely a fight she is going to lose in some way in the end.
The odd group makes their way to the river in the distance, they all stay close to Raphtalia this time to make sure she isn't getting jumped by another wayward monster. Naofumi points to an open area near the river bank for the girls to take their bath, while he moves down stream with his two male companions. The Shield Hero does his best to reassure Raphtalia they are still within shouting distance, and will come straight for her aid if they are attacked by monsters. He even leaves the three Yuzu to act as guard dogs for the little girl before leaving.
Mein briefly entertain the fantasy of pushing the bothersome little girl into the river. But she knows it's a surefire way to oust herself in front of the Shield Hero. Raphtalia washing down the steam will be pretty damning evidence even if she manages to kill all three orange terrors in one fell swoop, and offs Naofumi's pet before she can cry for help.
So she once again puts on her best fake smile to help the girl stripe bare, and begins to help Raphtalia wash her now sticky hair. She tries to ignore just how below her status this action is by humming the traditional battle rhyme of Melromarc, trying to imagine herself leading a company of glorious Melromarc's best knights against the Siltvelt barbarians. Maybe with a hypothetical adult version of the little raccoon girl leading the opposite army.
Huh... somehow that fantasy lost its luster when her mind wanders back to that damn dust district back alley once again, where her fellow countrymen lies dead or dying not unlike the monsters they hunted on the open plain.
"Ouch..." The muffled crying of the little girl brings Mein back to reality again. She realizes she's scrubbing Raphtalia's head a little harder than needed, maybe she ends up pulling the girl's hair a little.
"Try to bear with it, Raphtalia. You don't want Master Naofumi to hate you because you still smell of rotten eggs, even after bath, right?" The fake adventurer's voice is so sweet it practically drips venom. Luckily neither the little demi-human girl, nor Naofumi's pet monsters can tell it.
"No... NO! I'll bear it." The raccoon girl blinks her tears back into her eyes. She shuts her eyelids and grits her teeth. Mein's smile grows a little wider at this.
So what if she ends up scrubbing the girl harder than needed, it's practically as juvenile as pulling another girl's hair? She's the first princess of glorious Melromarc forced to live like a dirty commoner, who constantly having her thunder stolen by a dirty little demi-human slave girl. And now she's forced to also be the little girl's glorified nanny. The little slave girl should be grateful a princess is washing her hair in the first place!
Mein bites down her gloved finger so hard she can practically taste iron. Wait a minute, she really CAN taste iron. The undercover princess got so angry she just bite through the leather glove she is wearing.
The reason for her unintentional self-harm came from Naofumi's damn upstart pet once again! Somehow her hair is practically sparkling under the afternoon sun after Malty gives her a thorough scrubbing down! It's putting Malty's own red hair to shame even in her best hair days!
To say this is a major blow to the pride of the red princess is an understatement.
Is this some kind of super secret demi-human ability she never know about? Come to think of it... isn't the Raccoon Dog race a low tier of a race of demi-human that's very good at transformation and shape shifting? What's the name again... it has a very funny sounding name. Was it Gumball Damn Nook-Key (Gyoubu Danuki) or something?
How did her life sink so low again? First her little sister shows her up in everything she does. And now a damn slave girl completely steals her thunder! Even Master Naofumi is brushing the damn raccoon girl's hair with a faint smile on his face.
"Ah, it's like washing with shampoo." Naofumi's word makes Mein almost chock on a deep breath of air. She doubles over with loud coughing, feeling like her throat is on fire. At least this finally brings the Shield Hero to her side. "Are you okay, Mein?"
"Master Naofumi's people washing their hair with... poo?" The incognito princess tentatively asks the question while looking at the young otherworlder. She wonders if it's some kind of native monster from his world that produces... waste that can be used to wash one's hair to make them look better. Come to think of it... doesn't some part of the world like Cal Mira Island uses slime monsters to keep their sewers clean? Still, that's some AMAZING monster.
Naofumi blinks his eyes a few times, seemingly confused at her words. His eyes suddenly widens and he begin to explain by waving his hand around. "No! Not poo! That's disgusting! Shampoo is... well, it's kind of hard to explain. It's a name for a kind of... kind of like potions you get at the store. You use them to wash your hair, make them look much cleaner and healthier."
"Oh, I see. Wonder why anyone would name it after poo."
Naofumi slaps a hand on his face with exasperation. His hand slowly slips down to his chin as the Shield Hero assumes his thinking pose, gently rubbing a finger across his chin. "It's not named after poo. I think it might be the yolk from that eggy all over Raphtalia's hair. It certainly look like shampoo from my world, even if it smells foul."
"It didn't work for me that last time." Mein narrows her eyes at the little raccoon girl. She looks quite clueless as she simply looks back and forth between the two speakers of the strange conversation. The girl seems to be living the good life now, she even starting to grow some baby fat around her cheeks. Mein hates to admit it, but even she wants to pinch the girl's cheek a little. "All I got was a bad odor for two days."
"Maybe it was all that shaking before we smashed the shell? The yolk was frothing this time." Naofumi runs a finger across his chin to adopt his thinking pose again. "Worth experimenting. I bet we can make a killing with it."
"All the ladies of the court will kill for hair like Raphtalia has now." Mein runs her hand through the little raccoon's hair once again. Her hair feels smooth as silk on Mein's along fingers, instead of dry as hay. The undercover princess sees Naofumi giving her that long stare again, so she quickly adds some more to cover her tracks. "Or so I heard. Nobles in this land had done some strange things. There's even rumor the lady of House Amelia bathes herself with milk to keep her skin smooth. We have to do something about that smell though. Nobody want to buy it, if it smells rotten."
"Good point. But that's neither here or there. Let's focus on our levels to prepare for the coming Wave first. We can think of business when we have more time." Naofumi nods his head along while picking up some wood around him. "Let's make camp."
"I'll start another fire, Master Naofumi." Mein quickly begin to pick up some rocks to make the protective barrier again. Naofumi start dropping fire wood into the little circle, and the novice adventurer tosses a Faust Fireball to start the fire up. She watches Naofumi drops the heavy bag down his back, it makes a small thud sound as it hit the ground. "Is all this stamina and strength training really needed, Master Naofumi? You'll tire yourself out."
"I was out of breath after that fight in the slum, so I need to build up my speed and stamina more. " Naofumi wipes some sweat off his face. He begins to take cooking tools, and dried up herbs out of the bag. "My shield and high defense rating is no good if I can't get into position to defend anyone. This isn't like playing a MMORPG where all I need is click a mouse, so I have to do it the old fashioned way of putting in the sweat and work."
Mein briefly wonders how powerful the force of habit is. She barely even bat an eyelash when the young hero from another world start to spout more strange phrases about his world now. In fact, she even begin to look forward to listen more about his strange world as the two of them prepare food together. "Master Naofumi spoke about this a lot. What is it?"
"Oh, it's an acronym for 'Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game'." Mein blinks her eyes at the word of 'role playing', she almost cut a piece of her finger off with the knife while prepare some more rabbit pill meat. The word definitely has a different meaning here in Melromarc... usually pertain to activities a noble does in their bedroom that's better left in privacy. Hell, she even hears rumors about how some nobles gets off dressing themselves in rags, and make their slaves act as their masters while them as the slave...
Nope, not thinking about it anymore!
The very idea of her Naofumi into something like that makes her shudder in fear. Then again, considering the behaviors of those three other legendary clowns... shouldn't she excuse the Shield Hero for some of the less savory habits he may have? And considering his direct predecessor... there's no way her Naofumi is worse than the King of Rape... right?
Yes, perhaps it's a blessing in disguise that they got some female demi-human slaves in their party. Those degenerate animals can satisfy whatever carnal desire he may have in the privacy of bedroom.
"Eh... not that kind of 'Role Playing'." Naofumi stares at Mein's face that must have frozen in a state of awkward terror. He begins to wave his arms around trying to help him demonstrate... something. "Right, so it's kind of make-believe where you make some avatar in this made up world, and you go on adventures in a fantasy world pretending you are the hero saving it from something. That's where the other three heroes got their knowledge of this world from, I think. Their world each has a made up fantasy game like here."
"I see... so it's kind of like the novels we read here?" Mein bobs her head along as she start to getting into a good rhythm at dicing up the meat into small chunks.
"Sort of, but depends on the game you can actually see it, not just imagine it in your head. I mean... there are some really old text adventure where the game is only in text. You enter some command, or pick different options and then it shows the next part of your adventure depends on your choice. But most games have very good visuals now." Naofumi points his finger at Raphtalia who is also listening to him intently. "For example, in a game you can be like Raphtalia. Like, try to imagine if you become her and control her moves by pushing a bunch of little buttons, and you can go on adventurer while you sit in front of a window that follows her every move. That's what a video game is."
The raccoon girl points at herself with an unsure look. Mein on the other hand begin to think her current predicament. So in a way, a Vee-Dio game is just like what she's doing now. Pretending to be this novice adventurer called Mein of Samphor, instead of the first princess of Melromarc. "I see... so it's like some sort of illusion magic where you become someone else in the window."
"Yeah... that's close enough. I guess." Naofumi dumps some wild vegetables they pick together into his iron wok. He lets Mein throw in the meat she diced up in there and add some salts and herbs into the mix, and begins to roast them over the fire. "A MMORPG is a Video Game where you play with over thousands and more people in a shared world. Those games made some of the businessmen back in my world very rich."
"That must be some impressive illusion magic! To let so many people play together, and making money of it."
Mein try to imagine magic described by Naofumi, the scale itself sounds unreal even for the most impressive ceremonial magic of Melromarc if it can affect thousands of people. But to have them experience as if they are living in a shared world? The degree of control for illusion that complex is unbelievable. Yet not only is it achieved in Naofumi's world, but it has become trivial enough to be used as a sort of entertainment business rather than warfare like what ceremonial magic are usually for?
The world the legendary heroes are summoned from must be full of powerful warriors and magicians! No wonder the weapons would choose people from those world as their wield, even if some of them can act very quirky and lack common sense.
"It's not as grand as Mein thinks... we have machines to do the most complex things for us." Naofumi looks down from Mein's eyes to stare intently at the food turning color in his wok. He flips the food up into the air, and catches them again using the cooking pan. Maybe he is showing off his skills, or perhaps some kind of cooking techniques?
Using machinery to help enhance magic output rather than honing one's own magic ability is an emergent method in Faubley. Even in that case, it is still incredible the world of the Shield Hero manages to achieve something like that. The undercover princess wants to say something else when her attention is diverted by the ruffling sound from a nearby bush. She takes her sword to point at the direction of the noise, ready to defend Naofumi while most of his attention are taken by cooking. The novice adventurer lets out a sigh of relief when the lizard man Lautrec emerges instead of a monster.
Actually, she stands corrected. The blind beast man is holding a flailing rabbit pill in his arm. The lizard man walks in front of Raphtalia. He is either unaware of the little girl's backward recoil due to his blindness, or he is willingly ignoring it. "Kill it."
Mein can hear the venom dipped dagger behind Lautrec's icy voice. The little raccoon apparently is also aware of it as she falls backwards on her behind and tries to crawl away.
"Isn't that too cruel!? To force a kid to kill a living thing?" The Shield Hero takes his iron wok off the campfire. The inviting fragrance of finely cooked food fills the air, but nobody seem to notice it.
"In case you forgot, Shield Hero. We aren't out here playing happy little family. We are out here rising our levels to prepare for the next Wave." The lizard man's word is unyielding even against someone holding his slave contract, therefore can easily kill him by uttering a single word. "Unless you kick the runt out of your party, she'll have to get over her fear. I won't have her panic in the middle of the wave and kill us all! I won't have her stay useless in our party!"
The lizard man's words seems to trigger a dormant memory deep underneath Mein's conscious, she slowly allows her mind to drift away from the river bank to the courtyard of Melromarc castle.
A burly knight is holding a flailing rabbit pill in his tree trunk like arms. The monster struggles and screeches as if it knows its life depends on it. She is holding a short blade while staring at the tiny thing trying to wrangle its way to freedom. Her much tinier hands shake, and can barely hold onto the blade without dropping it.
"Do it, you had no problem popping the balloons. Why do you hesitate with this pathetic creature?" Mommy's voice sounds even colder than when she's brought back to the castle after her escapede.
"I... I can't do it, mommy. Please, don't make me do it!" The short blade drops down from her hands, it bounces up a little on its hilt and lies in the grass besides her feet.
"Even a princess, or a queen will have to lead her men in battle. I won't have you stay useless if you are going to be my daughter." Mommy leans lower to glare into her eyes. "If you don't kill that pathetic monster, I will not waste my knights' time to have them catch monsters for you again. You'll have to raise your level like the common adventurers, kill them in the field by yourself."
"Mein! Back me up here!" Naofumi's urgent cry brings Mein back to reality. The Shield Hero has one hand on the little raccoon's shoulder. His arm with the legendary shield extended out towards Mein like he wants her to pick him up. He also looks toward the bunny man who walks to them after hearing the commotions. "You agree with me right, Kyubey? You care for Raphtalia."
The bunny man's eyes slowly moves from the Shield Hero to the raccoon girl and stays for a few seconds. He turns his head to look at the scowling lizard man, somehow his red eyes feel extra beady in Mein's mind. "It's tough to say, but Lautrec has a point. Raphtalia doesn't want to be left behind, that means she'll fight in the Wave. If she's afraid of blood, she'll die."
Naofumi seems to be biting his lips at this betrayal. His mouth moves a little, seemingly muttering something only the Shield Hero himself can hear. His eyes quickly moves between the bunny and lizard man before giving a quick look to the still quivering little slave girl. He finally settles to looking at Mein expectedly like he wants Mein to support him.
Mein herself on the other hand also has her mind in complete flux. She can't make up her mind on the right decision, and unlike the night when she's trying to choose the hero, she has neither the time nor the parchment, quill and ink to start writing and crossing all the options.
On the one hand, supporting the Shield Hero will definitely put her more into the good grace of Naofumi. Not to mention, if the upstart little animal is unprepared for the wave she'll likely die in the wave and leaves Mein once again without competition to Naofumi's heart. In fact, her death will no doubt cause some distress in the sentimental Shield Hero's mind, which gives Mein an opportunity to take advantage and further manipulate him to suit her purpose.
But on the other hand, it is also highly dangerous if the damn little animal has one of her panic attacks during the Wave. She'll most definitely draw the Shield Hero's attention away to protect her, instead of the one he should be protecting. It's simply the worst outcome either the Shield Hero, or Mein herself become hurt or worse due to her outburst.
"There is truth in both Lautrec and Kyubey's words..." Mein finds her lips seem to move on its own, and her voice flowing out like a small stream before her mind can be made up. Naofumi's face fall at her seemingly agreeing with both demi-human. "...but I can also see the point from Master Naofumi. Didn't Raphtalia lost her parents from the last Wave? Pushing her too hard may break her, and that's the opposite of what we want. There is still time before the next Wave, maybe we should take a slower pace? And if she's not ready... well, we can always take her out of our party and leaves her with the Elhard the smith, and go back to take her back to our party after."
"Yes! Mein has a good point. I don't study psychology in college, but Raphtalia is clearly suffering from trauma. We don't want to break her even more!" Naofumi furiously nods his head at Mein's argument while glaring at Kyubey and Lautrec. To the bunny man's credit, he looks down at the ground clearly thinking over the merit of the Shield Hero's word. Lautrec on the other hand simply scowls harder.
"You are too soft on her, Shield Hero." The lizard man's unseeing eye moves to the direction of the little raccoon. He stays still for another few seconds before shaking his head. "Very well, if it is the Goddess' will. I'll kill this damn pest. But you watch, runt! You have to get used to the blood one way or another!"
"Y, yes... YES!" Raphtalia nods her head and gives a determined stare on the lizard man. She still recoils back on instinct when Lautrec's dagger pieces through the rabbit pill's fur and skin to kill it, but she manages to hold her tears back and not blink during the process.
"Now, try to stab it yourself with it dead, for your practice. You must always face the beast while locking eyes with it even if you are afraid. Monsters can smell your fear and weakness, and you are dead before you fight it if you give in to your fear..."
The Shield Hero gives a resigned sigh and walks away from Raphtalia's toughness training. Mein quickly follows him as he sits down on a boulder facing away from the scene. The incognito princess quickly sits down beside him on the grass, she grabs Naofumi's slightly trembling hand. His hand is cold with sweat rather than radiating the usual warmth. "Master Naofumi, do you want to talk?"
"Did I make a mistake back there, Mein? I mean... I'm still their master. I could have commanded Lautrec to stop. But it feels so wrong... no matter what I do. Back in Japan, we don't have to worry about fighting for our lives. Especially not as young as Raphtalia." The young hero covers his lower face with his free hand. His eyes is unfocused and distant.
"Master Naofumi wasn't wrong. You listened to everyone's word, and picked the best option out of all. And you convinced Lautrec to see your way, not forcing him because you have power over him. Master Naofumi is a kind man with a heart of gold... but this world is cruel. You'll be forced to do bad things in the future, you can't keep blame everything on yourself." The undercover princess stands up and envelops Naofumi in a firm embrace, she let the young otherworlder rest his head on her shoulder while running a hand through his still damp hair.
If her more impulsive instincts made the choice for her, she'll just have to roll with the punches and make the best of the situation.
No, she was not trying to look after the dirty little raccoon at all!