Raphtalia and I left the castle, and once we passed through the main gate I felt a sense of excitement and relief. "Hell yeah, baby! Showed that bitch who's boss!" I exclaimed, pumping my fist.

"Mr. Maddox, don't you think that may be a little immature?" Raphtalia asked. "Sure you caught her lie, but that feels a little excessive, don't you?"

I laughed at that. "Ha! She deserves it. I'm looking forward to proving her wrong again and again until not a single person believes a word she says."

Raphtalia frowned. "Just curious, what did she do to deserve to be treated like that?"

My eyes grew dramatically dark. "You see, Raphtalia, I know things. I know she deserves to be executed on the spot. You may not know or understand, but I do." Then I immediately brightened my face up. "Let's go level up, shall we?"

Raphtalia looked like she was at a loss for words. "I mean, okay, Mr. Maddox." I smiled. Then, I thought of a wonderful idea.

"Hey Raphtalia. Do you trust me?"

Raphtalia looked up at me. "Huh?"

I smiled a devious grin. "Do you trust me?"

Raphtalia looked conflicted. "Mr. Maddox. I don't like that look on your face."

I was silent for a moment, waiting for an answer. Then, I asked again, "Do you trust me?" Raphtalia looked like she wanted to say yes, but she didn't know where I was going with this.

"Y-Yes, Mr. Maddox. I trust you, though I probably shouldn't in this circumstance."

I grinned. "All right. Close your eyes." Raphtalia reluctantly closed her eyes.

I moved behind her. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Why did you move behind me?" Her tail was swishing back and forth nervously. I got ready, then I quickly grabbed her midsection and hoisted her up onto my shoulders. "EEK!" Raphtalia exclaimed. Realizing that what I did, she bonked my head. "Idiot! You scared me!"

I laughed. "Hey, at least you got a good view now."

Raphtalia sighed. "I wish you would've asked me first. That was scary! I didn't know what you were going to do." I started to walk into town.

"Well, would you have said yes if I did?" Raphtalia was silent, then she bonked my head again. She didn't elaborate further. We walked in silence for a bit, trying not to get caught up in the bustling crowd.

While we were walking, I realized something. "Hey Raphtalia. How did you know I moved behind you? I tried to be stealthy about it." Raphtalia bonked my head again. I think she just liked doing it.

"I could sense your aura. It flared pretty brightly during that trial today. Big and yellow, like the sun."

I was still curious about this whole aura thing. "Do you think other people notice it too? Maybe it's just a you thing."

Raphtaia shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe once there is another person we can trust, we can ask."

I nodded. "Seems about right." I thought for a bit. "I wonder if it's a demi-human thing. I would assume since they are part monsters they have a better attunement to raw emotions? In that case, would El have noticed my aura as well?" Come to think of it, I didn't see El in the castle today. Next time I see her, I should ask.

We walked in silence for a bit, just wandering the streets to get a lay of the land, when Raphtalia spoke up. "Um… Mr. Maddox? Can I ask you something?" She asked.

I cracked my neck, careful not to disrupt Raphtalia's position. "Sure, go ahead."

Raphtalia still looked unsure. "If it's something you're willing to answer, will you promise to answer honestly?"

I was a little confused. "Y-Yeah, I'll do my best."

Raphtalia took a deep breath. "Well… I've talked about your aura before, right?" I nodded. "So… it's like this…" She continued. "I always talk about it like it's black and white, right? But in reality it's more like… layers. I can sense an outward layer, but if I look deeper I can sense things that are more of your true line of thinking. Most times when I describe your aura, I usually mean the middle layer." I wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"Middle layer?"

Raphtalia nodded. "From what I can tell, most times your outer layer is what you want others to see. When you were talking to that guard, it was a very thin layer of dark red, which I think signifies anger or something of the sort. In reality, the middle layer was one of guilt, like you really didn't want to hurt him."

I winced. "Yeah, I really did feel bad about that."

Raphtalia continued. "When we were in the castle, your outer layer was… it's a bit hard to explain. The only word I can really come up with was 'cool.' Your middle layer was the one that was big and yellow, as I said before, and I thought of true justice at the time. Unlike a lot of times, your outer and middle layers were kind of intertwined, like it was both on the outside and inside."

I nodded again. "I notice you are referring to them as 'outer' and 'middle' layers." I stated. "Does that mean there is an inner layer too?"

Raphtalia was quiet. "Y-Yes. And this is kind of why I wanted to bring it up with you…"

I was a little concerned now. "All right. What's up?"

Raphtalia was quiet again. "You do have an inner layer. It never has changed, not since meeting you. It's always stayed the exact same. It's… dark. Sad. Full of despair, and feeling like there is no hope in the world. A feeling of isolation, and that there isn't anything in the world that can fix this… horrible, depressing feeling. It worries me, to say the least. Are… Are you okay?"

It was my turn to be silent. I walked over to a bench, carefully lifted Raphtalia off my shoulders and placed her on the bench. I sat down next to her. I didn't speak, not for a long time.

"I… I don't like talking about this stuff." I struggled to say. "It doesn't feel good, and I hate bringing down the mood just for everyone to hear about my problems." Raphtalia listened intently, trying to take in every word. "I struggle with depression. I know it's a concept in this world, but in mine it was considered to be an extreme mental illness. Sometimes lethal."

"Huh?! L-Lethal?!" Raphtalia exclaimed.

I nodded. "The illness wouldn't directly kill you outright, but it would lead you to make questionable choices. Things that any sane person wouldn't do."

Raphtalia looked curious, but seemed reluctant to ask. "L-Like what?"

I gave a half laugh. "Well, before I answer that, just know that in my world, about 60% of people my age are depressed. Not all of these things apply to every case, but some of them get really extreme. Mild cases of depression are lethargy, sleepiness, laziness, lack of motivation, and more. However, it only goes downhill from there. Some people do alcohol and drugs, despite neither being helpful in that situation. Some people take sharp objects and cut themselves. And the most extreme cases involve actively taking life, whether that be others or your own."

Raphtalia looked mortified. "That's… That's horrible…" I nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah it is. I never attempted any harm to myself or to others. But there were nights where I wished I would not wake up in the morning, or that I would be involved in a freak accident, and not make it out alive."

Raphtalia looked distraught. "Mr. Maddox…"

I tried to smile. "H-Hey. It's fine. I'm doing a little better now. I can't just leave you high and dry, now can I?" Raphtalia nodded, reluctantly.

"But… That's not going to make your feelings just go away. I can tell they are still there, just by looking at your aura. I'm just worried that you might end up doing one of those horrible things, though I'm sure you wouldn't harm another person unless it is necessary, and I know you wouldn't ever take someone else's life. I just… I don't want to lose another person I care about." She finished.

Looking up into the sky, I thought about how I should respond. Knowing all the life Raphtalia may have to take, and knowing the allies we might lose along the way. I don't want to put her through that, but I don't have a choice. I must play my part in this story, and Raphtalia must play hers. I just hope we will be strong enough to overcome the hardship we face. Otherwise what will happen to this world? I can't just let it all go to ruin. As the Shield Hero, it is my job to protect the world and its people. Even if that wasn't my responsibility, I would still choose to protect those close to me, such as Raphtalia in this moment, and others that may come across my path in the future, such as Filo, Atla, Fohl, Ost, Kizuna, and so many, many more. I may not know them now, but I really hope I get to know them in the future.

I sighed. "Raphtalia. I won't do anything rash. I just… I know we are going to encounter much, much hardship. I… I need people by my side who will fight with me, and to support me at my low points. I don't feel right about laying that responsibility onto you, but… you are all I have right now. I rely on you as much as you rely on me. Can you promise me that you'll fight by my side, and steer me on the correct path of life?"

Raphtalia was quiet. "Yes, Mr. Maddox. I'll fight by your side. I don't want to be weak anymore. I want to grow strong in order to protect the people I care about, just as you do. Whatever happens, I am your sword, and I'll fight to the end."

I smiled. "And as you are my sword, I am your shield. If you have anything that you feel needs to be said, or any of my actions seem unheroic, I expect you to call me out on it."

She nodded. "I understand, Mr. Maddox. I'll do my best."

I sat back against the bench and closed my eyes. "That's all I ever asked for, Raphtalia. As long as we do our best, we'll… be fine…" My thoughts grew sluggish, and I unwillingly drifted off to sleep.

…

My subconscious mind is a strange, strange place. I dreamt of people that I didn't know dying over and over again. They felt familiar, though I was certain I'd never met them before, but I had a feeling of kinship with them. I couldn't see faces, just bodies of countless people disintegrating right before my very eyes. I heard voices calling out for help, so desperate, but there was nothing I could do but watch. Then, I heard one deep, booming voice above it all.

"You aren't supposed to be here! You took away a true hero's destiny! IT SHOULD'VE… BEEN…HIM!" This continued on for a while, and even sleeping I was starting to feel my physical body become uncomfortable. Then, I heard a different voice. It was faint, but I could make it out among all the other chaos.

"H-Hey! That's not yours!" An unintelligible murmuring. "I-I am his sword! That means I'll protect him at all costs. That includes his belongings!" A condescending chuckle. Then, a small scuffle. "H-Hey! Stay away from him!" I heard a big smack, and that's when I awoke. I immediately lapt up and grabbed the thief by the throat in one smooth motion, without even knowing the situation.

I asked, "Hey friend. Did you just slap my ally?" I must've had a scary look on my face, cause his looked like 'Oh shit.'" I looked over at Raphtalia, who was on the ground, and I could see a big red mark on her face. That REALLY pissed me off. Turning back to the assailant, I asked him another question. "Hmm. I see that you have harmed her. Do you know what that means?"

The guy scoffed, "Tch. You can't do anything to me, cause you're the shield hero. Now, cough up all your valuables!" He pulled a knife out of his sleeve and sent it straight towards my gut.

Now, I know that I was the shield hero, but I didn't know this guy's level. He could've easily stabbed me and been done with me. Instead of taking the blow, I grabbed his wrist, and twisted his arm so that he dropped the knife.

"Raphtalia. Mind taking hold of that for now?" Raphtalia, who was watching intently this entire time, nodded, and picked up the knife for safekeeping.

The thief was trying to wrench free from my grasp, but I held firm. "Now then, I don't believe you answered my question." I squeezed his neck tighter. I didn't know if it was doing damage, but it certainly was intimidating him. "Do you know what happens when people attack my ally?" He shook his head, afraid. "They DIE!" I snarled at him.

I slammed his face straight into the pavement, way, way harder than I did to the guard. He screamed in agony as his face cracked the sidewalk. I didn't stop there. No sir, I needed him to realize what he just did to Raphtalia. I picked him up by the collar, blood streaming from all over his face.

"P-Please! H-Have mercy!"

My face wrenched up into a snarl. "You want mercy? I'll give you mercy. I'll give you the mercy of giving up the life of a thief and sending your ass STRAIGHT TO HELL!" I slammed his face into the sidewalk again, and again, and again, until he stopped moving. Blood had flown everywhere, even getting onto my face and clothes. I could tell he wasn't dead, but he was gravely injured.

"W-What the fuck…" I realized that this douchebag had a compadre. He looked fearful for his life.

Wiping my face, I stood up and walked over to him. He looked like an inch away from fleeing as fast and as far as he could. "Hey." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. Taking 50 silver out of my shield, I passed it over to him. "Get him to a hospital. He may be in critical condition."

The other dude looked astounded, mixed between confusion and fear. He nodded, then rushed over to his friend. I started to walk away, and Raphtalia followed suit. She looked pretty upset herself.

We continued to walk down the street, and she was quiet. I didn't know what to say. I felt she needed to say something first, before I tried to make any assumptions of how she felt. This was the first time I had gotten REALLY angry, and I'm still surprised that the 'smashing face into ground' technique actually worked. She must be pretty shocked.

"Uh… M-Mr. Ma…" She trailed off.

I raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" She shook her head.

"I-It's nothing."

We continued walking in silence, out the castle gates. We were now in the fields, and I bet anything could attack us at any moment. "Hey, we gotta start leveling up. You ready?" She flinched, but nodded.

"Y-Yes… Mr. Maddox."

She drew her sword, though she didn't seem very energetic about it. I could tell the incident really bothered her.

We walked the fields for a while, and finally we encountered some orange balloons. There were 3 of them, not seeming like my world's balloons, more like an orange ball with teeth and eyes. I quickly grabbed all three and immobilized them.

"Get 'em!" I yelled. Raphtalia stood there, in a daze. "Hey, what are you waiting for? I need you!"

She snapped out of her trance and realized where she was. "H-Huh? O-Oh! Yes Mr. Maddox!" She ran over and stabbed the balloons, and we gained enough experience to level up to level 2.

"Cake." I thought. I started walking off again, and snapped my fingers for Raphtalia to follow. She snapped out of her daze again, and ran a bit to catch up. She trailed behind me, which was strange, as she usually walked beside me so we could talk. Maybe that was the reason in itself why she walked behind me as she did.

After encountering a few more groups of balloons, I realized we weren't getting anywhere, in terms of our teamwork I mean. "All right. I'll bite. What's up?" I asked after beating a balloon pack.

"H-Huh?" She said, and looked up at me. Just then, she got a sad look on her face. She started to back away.

"H-Hey, where are you going?" She shook her head, crying, then fled away through the fields. "W-Wait! Raphtalia!" She continued running. "Just come back to the rock before nightfall! Please!" I called after her.

I was definitely worried, but she was still in my party, so I could monitor her health if needed. I could also use the slave application to see where she was at any given point in time, so I figured I'd let her go. There should only be balloons in these fields anyway, and she had been defeating them with ease, so I wasn't worried too much about her safety.

"The real problem is if a group of humans come along and decide to take her. No matter their intentions, that'll be bad for both of us."

I thought for a while. I didn't know why she ran off as she did. I couldn't think of an answer for quite some time. Then it came to me. "Maybe… Maybe she's unhappy with me. Maybe she'd rather be with someone else rather than me."

I couldn't accept it at first, but then thinking about it, maybe it made more sense. After all, the only thing she probably wanted was for her parents to come back. I thought I could fill that role for her, but maybe she didn't want that.

"I'm a fool. I was being much too pushy about me caring about her. That probably scared her off." I hit my forehead.

"I'm such an idiot!" I yelled.

"Maybe… Maybe it would have been better if it had been Naofumi. I know that I care for Raphtalia so much, but by no means that she does the same for me. I'd been filling her head with promises and encouragement, but that was probably empty to her and held no real meaning."

I knew I couldn't kill these balloons on my own, so I set out for the rock by the riverbank. When I got there, I lit a fire, and caught some fish to cook for when Raphtalia came back. I was definitely feeling sad though, and I hadn't felt this depressed since coming to this world.

I sat and waited for a long time, waiting for Raphtalia to return. It was almost dark out, and I really was starting to get worried. Then, she emerged from the evening light, out of breath.

"M-Mr. Maddox…" Her eyes welled up with tears, and she lunged for me. I caught her hug, and started to stroke her hair. "I-I'm so sorry! I couldn't protect you when you needed me, and I made you do something you should have never had to have done! I-I'm sorry!"

She cried into my arms for a long time, and I was confused at first. After putting two and two together, I realized what she was trying to say.

"No no no no… Raphtalia…" She continued crying, and she incoherently babbled while she did. "Raphtalia…" I held her close. She slowly started to ease her tears. Hiccuping, she closed her eyes, and finally relaxed. I started contemplating what she said. I honestly didn't know how to feel.

"Raphtalia… That's why you ran off earlier?" Her face still buried into my shoulder, she nodded. "Raphtalia… I know you promised to be my sword, and that makes me happier than anything in the world. I know I said I want to push you beyond your limits, but I don't want to put you in a position that you don't have the skills to overcome. Earlier, that was one of those circumstances. I knew you didn't have the ability to win that fight, and I don't think any less of you for failing. In fact, I think more of you for trying to protect the ones you love, and that drive to do the impossible will be a great trait for you to have."

Raphtalia hugged me tighter, and I hugged back. "I'm sorry if I put you in a position that made it seem that I have really high expectations of you. It's not that I don't, but I don't want to be always telling you off about your failures. I want to commend your achievements too. I'll try to do better in the future."

Raphtalia finally let go, and she nodded. I smiled. "I know you are destined for great things, Raphtalia. But you don't have to go rushing at it full speed. Let it come naturally, and one day, you'll look back and see how far you've come."

She nodded again, and a little bit of a smile peeked through her otherwise downcast demeanor. I tended the fire for a bit, cooking the fish I caught earlier, and Raphtalia seemed to have mostly recovered emotionally. Now, she was hungrily staring at the fish sticks, never taking her eyes off of them. Her stomach growled intensely.

"Hungry, aren't you?" I asked. She continued to gaze at the food, but after a moment, she slowly nodded. She appeared to even be drooling now. "She seems even hungrier than last night. I'd better go catch some more fish."

Taking the skewers off the fire, I passed them all over to Raphtalia. "Careful, they're hot." She greedily took them, and was about to bite into one, but she realized that I didn't have any for myself.

"W-Wait… I can share. I don't want to hog all the food."

I shook my head. "Nah, I'm good. I'm about to go catch more anyway, so don't worry about it. Plus, from the way I saw you watching it cook, that may not be enough, eh?" She blushed a little, then nodded. She ravenously started chomping down on the fish. I stood up and headed to the river. "Yell if you need anything." I said before I left. She nodded.

Walking to the river, I wondered why Raphtalia was so hungry. It seemed almost abnormal. After a moment of pondering, I remembered that demi-humans age depending on their level, and that requires them to eat a whole lot of food. Checking my status screen, I was incredibly surprised about what I discovered.

"She's level 15?! We were only about level 4 when we got off training today!" I suppose she spent the entire time while she was gone hunting balloons. I wonder if she went into the nearby forest to find some red balloons, and maybe some usapils too.

My own level had gone up slightly, as I was now level 7. I suppose even over long distances I still received XP, though I didn't think I'd earn any since I didn't participate. Maybe it was because she was my slave. Either way, I wasn't sure.

I spent a good hour fishing, and I managed to catch a good haul. I wish it could've been a little more efficient though. As I walked back to the campsite, Raphtalia noticed me and her eyes started to sparkle.

"Hey, what's with the energy all of a sudden? It's not because I've got more food for you, eh?" I asked. Raphtalia froze, on the inside and out. I laughed. "Ahh, I got you. I'll cook it up right away."

Putting the fish on the twigs, Raphtalia watched me intensely. She openly started to drool again. "All right, it's ready." Her tail wagged as I passed over the food. I noticed even while she ate, her stomach growled even further. In no time at all, she was done. Staring at the pile of bones, she looked at me guiltily.

I sighed. "You're still hungry, aren't you?" She nodded. "All right, get up. I'll teach you how to catch your own." Nodding again, she stood up and followed me.

As we walked, I noticed she hasn't really been speaking since we had that heart-to-heart. "Hey, uh, you doing okay?"

She thought for a moment. "I… I suppose so. I'm having a lot of… internal problems."

I nodded. "I feel that. But you think you can keep going? I just noticed you haven't been talking much this evening."

She nodded. "Well… I gotta conserve energy. I need to leave as much energy as possible in my body so that I can grow."

I internally chuckled. "Heh, so that's what this is about. She's too hungry to speak. That being said, I wonder how much she'll have grown by the morning." I could tell she has already grown a good few inches. Honestly I was worried about her having heavy pains from her rapid growth. I knew she was strong enough to handle it though.

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure you're good. I want you to become strong, so I'll stick with the silent treatment until you grow up."

She stopped and looked at me indignantly. "I-It's not like that! I-I value our talks!"

I chuckled. "I know Raphtalia, I'm just messing with you. I understand not wanting to talk sometimes. Listening to your own thoughts and body is just good for your mental health." She calmed down a bit.

"W-Well… I do enjoy talking with you. It's… It's nice to have someone that cares about me. I haven't had a fun conversation since…" She went quiet. I didn't know if she was referring to Rifana or way back to when her village was still standing, but I knew it had been quite a long while. I'm glad I could bring at least a little joy into her life.

Reaching my fishing spot, I beckoned her to the waterfall. "All right. I want you to stand here, and tell me what you see." She followed my instructions, standing knee-deep in the river, and just watched the water flow down the incline.

After a moment, she said, "U-Um, what am I looking for, exactly?" I cracked my neck.

"What do you think you are looking for?"

Raphtalia looked at me strangely. "Fish, right? How am I supposed to catch fish like this?"

I decided to get myself ready to show her an example. Suddenly, a fish jumped over the falls. I lunged towards it, and easily grabbed it by the tail. I held it up so she could see. "Like that."

Raphtalia looked at me like I just did the coolest thing ever. "Wow! Can I try?" I chuckled.

"Go ahead. It's harder than it looks."

She nodded, and assumed a stance similar to mine. When a fish jumped over the falls, she grabbed at it, but she slipped into the river. I caught her by the collar of her dress in order to avoid her taking a swim downstream. Pulling her out of the water, I held her up, much like a naughty cat.

"Ulp… Water in lungs… *cough*" She murmured.

I laughed and sat her down. "I was right, wasn't I?" She nodded, a little despondently from the bit of the ride she just took. "Wanna try again?" I asked. She nodded determinedly.

Readying herself, she prepared for a fish to jump over the falls. I stood there for a while, watching her, and she never took her eyes off the river. Just as a fish jumped over, she grabbed it lightning fast, seemingly without even thinking. She looked at this fish, still flopping around in her hand, then looked at me.

"Great job." I said.

Her face grew to be one of happiness and pride. She held the fish high up in the air, spinning around and treating it like an old doll or toy. Then she brought it close to her face, with a look that only showed pure, unbridled hunger. She slowly opened her mouth and brought the fish closer.

"H-Hey! We still gotta cook that, y'know!" Her mouth still wide open, then looked at me, a little cluelessly. Realizing what she was just trying to do, her face grew red.

"A-Ah! Was I… about to…" I laughed.

"Yeah. Not a big deal, I understand being hungry. Try to wait a little longer." She nodded, a little embarrassed. "Why don't we work together in order to catch as much as possible?" I offered.

"Y-Yes please! I'll catch enough so we'll both be full!" She stated energetically.

I laughed heartily. "Hell yeah! Let's get this show on the road!"

Working together, we spent about another hour fishing and talking. We managed to catch more than double than my previous trips, and we headed back to camp with great hopes for an excellent dinner. Especially me, I hadn't eaten a scrap of food since this morning.

I laid on my back as the fish cooked, watching the sky. It was so large, so vast, yet I felt important enough to be fulfilled. As I pondered, Raphtalia sidled up next to me to watch as well.

"The stars are pretty, aren't they?" She asked.

"Yeah. Back home there was so much light in the world it completely blotted out the sky at night, so I almost never got to see them."

Raphtalia put her head on her knees. "That's kinda sad, isn't it?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

I was feeling pretty melancholic at the moment, and it honestly wasn't that bad. Since coming to this world it has been always going and a lot of happy and energetic emotions flying around. It honestly was nice to relax and remember that it's okay to be sad. Why I felt so sad at this moment, I couldn't say. Maybe it was just my exhaustion taking its toll on me. But it reminded me that coming here to this world wasn't going to fix all my problems. Whether it helps or hurts, I don't know. I looked at Raphtalia, who was looking up at the sky.

"She wouldn't want me to give up. So why should I?"

My adventure was just starting, anyway, but I felt something strange. Like a deep feeling rooted within me. I felt… really tired. Like in the sense that I was tired of life. The struggle, the pain… It felt like I've experienced several lifetimes of suffering, and it made it hard to keep going. I've felt this long before I came to this world, dreaming of the chance to start over and become anew, and above all to meet Raphtalia. Now that I'm here… it feels better. At least, it feels better because of her. I know that I arrived here, what, three days ago? But it doesn't feel much different than my world. There is a difference though, a huge difference, and it ultimately decided my course of action within this world. And that's Raphtalia.

I gazed deeply into Raphtalia's eyes, and she still looked up at the stars. I wonder what would happen if she died. Would I lose my will to live, even in this world? All I know is that I got to protect her. If I protect her, I protect my mental health. Seems simple enough.

Raphtalia noticed me looking at her. She cocked her head to the side. "What is it, Mr. Maddox?"

I shook my head. "Ah, it's nothing. Just reminiscing over bittersweet thoughts." She frowned a little at that.

I looked back at the fire. The fish seemed decently cooked, maybe a little over because I lost track of time, but I stood up, picked up the cooked food, and passed about 75% of it over to Raphtalia.

She watched me carefully the entire time, studying my every movement. She gratefully started eating the fish, much slower this time, and still proceeded to watch me while I ate. I didn't mind though, so I didn't bring it up.

Finishing our meal, I dusted myself off and said to Raphtalia, "All right, I'm going to bed. I say we wash up in the morning, I'm way too tired to do anything else."

She nodded, and moved to sit close to me. She looked a little embarrassed, but she said, "I… I know what you did for me last night." I froze. Did she feel uncomfortable about how I curled up with her in order to chase off those nightmares? She continued, "I-I wanted to say thank you. I don't think anyone alive today would do something like that for me…"

Now it was my turn to be embarrassed. "Ah, er, don't worry about it. I don't want people I care about to suffer, especially not in their sleep, where you are usually helpless and alone. It's not fair to anyone, and I wouldn't want to wish a bad night's sleep even on my worst enemy. I've been there, it sucks."

Raphtalia looked down at her lap. "W… Would you mind… Doing it again, for me?"

I was kinda shocked. "W-Well, I'd do anything for you Raphtalia. If that's what you really want, I'd… I'd be okay with it."

She nodded, and proceeded to climb over to where I was laying down. She sidled up close to me, and I hugged her in my arms. I stroked her hair, comforting her as she fell asleep. I noticed a single tear in her eye as she slipped off, and it ran down her face until it dripped onto my shirt. I brushed her face with my thumb, and then I drifted off to a deep sleep.

…

My dreams were… strange. I know I've said this before, but it's true. I often times don't remember my dreams, and that includes this one. But when I woke up in the morning, I was left with such a wide variety of feelings, I honestly had no clue what I had dreamt about. Sadness coupled with a strong feeling of love, combined with anxiety and a shaky feeling in my body.

Raphtalia was still sleeping next to me, peacefully. I'm glad that I could give her some comfort while she slept. As I said before, I wouldn't wish a bad night's sleep on my worst enemy.

It felt good to lay there with her, so I dozed for a while, waiting for her to awaken. The sun had already risen a good portion into the sky, but I figured we both needed our sleep, so I let it be. Raphtalia started to rouse from her sleep, alerting me from my dozing. She sat up next to me, and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"Morning." I said simply. She nodded, then her stomach growled. That woke her up a bit.

"Good morning, Mr. Maddox." She yawned. "Do you think I could try catching breakfast this morning?"

I shrugged. "Fine by me. It'd be good for you to practice."

She nodded, still waking up, and stood to walk over to the river. "Oww, my body…" She moaned.

I noticed she had grown quite a bit while she was asleep. She was about 4 foot 9 when I first met her, then after leveling up yesterday she grew to be a little less than 5 foot, and now she has grown further to be seemingly 5'4" or maybe even 5'5". Not to mention, her arms and legs seemed to thicken a bit, just enough for her to almost look normal again, and her chest had started to fill out a little. Not that I was looking, of course.

Anyway, as she started to leave, I told her, "Good hunting!" She nodded, and walked to the river.

I started to get the fire going, but I realized we weren't doing so well on firewood. Emerging from the rock, I called out to Raphtalia. "Hey! I'm gonna go get some more wood!"

She gave me a thumbs up, then resumed her position at the edge of the waterfall. I saw her grab at a fish, and it barely escaped her grasp. She looked back at me, and even from this distance she seemed a bit downcast. "You got this!" I called. "If you don't succeed, try, try again!" She nodded, and focused on her fishing.

"She's got this. I'll let her do her thing."

I walked a ways to the woods, and spent a while picking up good sized sticks on the ground. I let myself think for a bit, and I decided that today may be a good day to revisit a couple of things I have learned about in the past, but had to put off until a better time.

I traveled back to camp, and Raphtalia was there waiting patiently for me to return. She had a good pile of fish on the ground, and she had laid down a bed of grass so the sand wouldn't dirty them. "Nice job. Let me get this fire going."

Her tail wagged, and I could tell she was hungry. I'd like to think that she was happy about the praise too, but that was a bit of a selfish desire. I should praise her cause she did well, not because of my own enjoyment of her reaction.

The fire was blazing, and before long we were digging into our breakfast. "Hey, I see you've grown quite a bit." I mumbled around a mouthful. She hesitated, then nodded. She didn't elaborate or explain at all, just continued to eat her meal. Maybe she was trying to avoid the topic. If that's the case, I'll let her be, but unfortunately, she's going to age whether she likes it or not. That's just how demi-humans work in this world.

We finished up our meal, and buried all the bones that we've been collecting the past couple days. I can certainly say, there were quite a lot.

"Mr. Maddox? Would you like to go out leveling today?" Raphtalia asked.

I thought for a moment. "Perhaps, though I have a couple of things I want to explore first."

Raphtalia flicked her ears. "Like what?"

"Well, I have a couple of items that I wanted to explore a bit further, now that I've leveled up a bit. Speaking of items, when you went out leveling yesterday, did you happen to take any of the balloon pieces after killing them?"

Raphtalia nodded. "I did actually, I knew they could be traded in for money, so I hid them by a tree every time I killed one. I honestly forgot about it until you brought it up." I was impressed. I didn't realize how rationally she thinks, even in very emotion-high conditions.

"Great job, do you mind grabbing those for me? By the time you get back I'll have my shield stuff figured out."

She nodded again. "Leave it to me." She turned to leave.

"Hey!" I yelled out forcefully before she got too far. She jumped back around, as if she thought she was in trouble. I put a stern look on my face. "Stay safe out there."

Raphtalia looked at me for a moment, then bursted out laughing. "Ahahahah!" Now I was confused, but smiling all the same.

"Hey, I know I was joking, but it wasn't that funny." Raphtalia continued laughing.

"M-M-Mr. Maddox! Ahahah, I should know better by now you wouldn't talk to me like that in all seriousness." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I appreciate you, Mr. Maddox. Thank you for giving me a new opportunity in life."

I was still confused, but I took that as a compliment. "Hey, I'd do anything for you. You are my girl, after all."

Raphtalia blushed profusely out of nowhere. "Y-Y-Y-Your G-G-G-Girl?!"

I smiled and turned my back to her. "You better get going! If you don't bring the materials back in 15 minutes I'm gonna have to say 'no dinner tonight!'"

Raphtalia took this literally and immediately dashed off, quick as a flash. I stood up and yelled out to her. "Hey! That was a joke!" She still continued running. I sighed. "She didn't hear me, did she?" I sat back down, a little exasperated, but I had some things I needed to sort out.

First off, the vial of sealing liquid I got from the slave trader. I had been keeping it in the shield storage until I was high enough level to use it, though looking back on it I suppose it wouldn't matter either way.

I should explain this a bit. The shield storage and the shield unlock system were two completely different things. It seems I can fit anything in the shield storage, within reason, and can take it out at any time. It also seems like it has infinite space, and items within the storage could be used in the crafting system. I can take any item out at any time with the shield storage, however the shield unlock was a bit different. It consumed the item to unlock the shield, and not every item will unlock a shield. If I put a piece of dirt in the shield, I don't know for sure if I can unlock a new shield or not. It looks like the intent of the item I am putting in the shield determines if it goes into the storage or unlock category. Anyway, back to the vial.

The small bottle appeared in my hand, and unscrewing the cork, it flowed into my shield, and it did in fact unlock the slave user shield. Fiddling with it a bit, I managed to set it up so that it benefited Raphtalia's speed and agility the most, substating strength and damage, then minorly increasing her other stats.

Now, since that was settled, I took out the letter I got from El. I slit open the paper with my thumb, and the contents seemed just like what she had already told me, aside from the details about his address and the best time to see him at. However, there was one thing that was new there that she hadn't told me. It read,

"Mr. Maddox. I've already spoke to you about this, but my master drives a hard bargain. He is always willing to strike a deal, but go in prepared to give up something precious, or brave a very dangerous task. Also, if you walk in with some idea in mind, even if it is something he doesn't want, he'll lower the bar slightly, seeing that you are serious about this. Good luck, and I hope you find that person you are looking for."

A signature was written down at the bottom, two letters written in very pretty cursive, "El."

I smiled. "Thanks El, for helping me out once again. I suppose it's a 'help me so I can help you' kind of scenario, but either way, the thought matters." Putting the letter back into the shield, I looked at the item that has been bothering me ever since I learned about it.

The object with corrupted code had been weighing heavily on my mind, and eventually I decided it would be bad to not figure out what it is. Closing my eyes, I pulled it out of my shield. I slowly cracked open my eyes, but before I could see the object, Raphtalia ran up, out of breath.

"Fou- *cough* Fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds!"

I noticed she as coughing almost as much as she was inhaling, and there was a trio of small red specks on her lower lip. I looked up at her confused and a little worried.

She didn't pay any mind, and instead asked, "Mr. Maddox, what is that?"

"Huh?" I said. Then looking down at my hand, I was pleasantly surprised. "My 3DS?"

In my hand was an amalgamation of steel and wires. I call it a 3DS, cause it looks exactly like one in terms of formatting of buttons, but in reality I had commissioned a family friend of my dad's to personally build it for me. It functions exactly like a supercomputer, having basically any game that doesn't take wifi or isn't online.

Since it comprised both computer and 3DS parts, it could hold PC and 3DS games, as well as a few switch games, though those were semi-unstable at times. It was also almost twice the size of a 3DS XL, but it was still small enough to fit in my overlarged mens sweatpants pocket. It weighed a ton too, and honestly it felt like holding one of those old brick telephones when it was shut.

I went on a 3 week long camping trip to the grand canyon with it once, and the guy who built it modified it to have solar panels on the bottom of it underneath an unclapsable layer of metal. Sure it took forever to charge, several hours for just a quarter battery, but yeah, it was SUPER decked out.

Anyway, Raphtalia walked over and looked at it. "Well? What is it?" I was still stunned to find it in my shield. I guess it was in my pocket when I was summoned, and putting my clothes inside the shield had put it there too.

"Wow, uh, how do I explain this…" Raphtalia gave me a certain look. It's hard to explain with just a word, but it was the face you make when you are about to uncover something a little… sus.

"Mr. Maddox. It wouldn't happen to be anything dirty, would it?" I was sweating a bit. I admit I had a couple of… uh… questionable games on it, so I did what anyone would do. I quickly flicked it open and pushed delete on the folder with all of those games on it. I had backups of all the games, this just hid it from immediate sight.

Raphtalia got close looked curiously at the device with it still in my hands. She couldn't see the screen, only the metal back. Apparently she thought I had basically ignored her, when in reality I had taken her words straight to the heart. "Are you gonna tell me what it is or not?"

I struggled to form words. "Alright, this'll take a while. Come here, sit with me and I'll show you a bit." She nodded, and crawled to sit next to me. "So this is a device back in my world, called a handheld console."

She gazed at the white screen. "Handheld… console?" she asked.

"Yeah, in my world, these were very popular with people of all ages, but mostly with kids your age. It's… hard to explain, per se, but it lets you play a thing called a video game, which is kinda what it seems. A game on a screen."

Raphtalia looked fascinated. "I get the game part, but what does the 'video' thing mean?" I sighed.

"Well, that'll take quite a bit of time to explain. First of all, this thing is an electronic device. Means it runs off electricity, which is basically lightning magic. I won't explain exactly how it all works, but it's a power source of some kind. There are a LOT of small bits of metal and a material called plastic which make the thing usable. After it's all combined together, a perfect combination of all the materials in a very, very specific manner, it becomes this. To answer your question, a video is something you watch, which is made and watched on using these methods, but differing slightly between objects."

Raphtalia's tail was swishing back and forth. "So a video game is like a game that plays using this 'electricity' stuff you mentioned?"

I nodded. "That's the gist, yeah. This specific device, however, is incredibly rare. One of a kind, in fact."

Her eyes lit up. "Like, really rare?"

I laughed. "To the point where I could sell this off for thousands of dol-, er, I mean hundreds of gold pieces." Raphtalia stared at the device, a mix between pure astoundment and extreme excitement. Her tail swished back and forth furiously.

"This device is worth way, way more than any money could buy. Back home, I had this built by a family friend of mine. Most consoles like these are very specialized in what they do, and aren't usually built to run high-power games, not to mention having a very limited selection of games by whatever company that makes them. This baby right here, has at least 20 games from every device, some going back to even the beginning of video games in general. I have a couple of movies downloaded on here as well, which are like games but instead of you playing out a story, you watch another person. Here, let me show you."

I opened up a game I had been playing recently, Persona 5. Raphtalia had stared intently at the screen while I did so, amazed by the flashing lights and colors. "Now, watch this." Though it may be very simple by my standards, I moved the character around the room using the circle pad.

"Wh-What?! W-Wow! That's so cool!" Raphtalia had stars in her eyes. I could tell this might've been the most astounding thing she's ever witnessed in her life, which honestly is what it was for me when I first got it. "How does the character move with where you push that circle thing?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that it does. Kinda crazy, right?"

She nodded. "Y-Yeah!"

I could tell she wanted to try, so I closed out Persona 5 and hopped onto an older game, one meant for a more children-based audience. "All right, I'm gonna let you play."

She seemed to get more excited by the minute. "R-R-R-Really?!"

I nodded. "I'm gonna let you play the game that first got me into video games, Pokemon Sapphire for the Gameboy Advance."

I passed it over, and she caught it with a bit of struggle. "Woah, it's kinda heavy!"

I chuckled. "Yeah, yeah it is. Just be careful with it. It's pretty durable, just don't go throwing it around or drop it on purpose or anything."

She nodded vigorously. "I won't!" She put the device on her tucked-up knees and used her pointer fingers to push the buttons. Based on the way she was staring at the screen, I decided to put some rules in place.

"Right, we need some ground rules. You get one hour a day, at night, after we've already done our nightly routine. This way you have something to look forward to, but also don't lose track of our real goals. This is a complete side thing, and it does literally nothing for us other than provide mindless entertainment."

Raphtalia's ears drooped. "One hour? That's it?" I nodded.

"I assure you, we got plenty of things that are way more important than this. Honestly, I'm afraid this might turn into an addiction, so keep a careful eye on what's really important to you."

She nodded. "I understand, Mr. Maddox. If you ever declare something more important than this device, I'll happily do it with you or for you."

I nodded. "Good. I hope you keep up that mindset." She turned back to the screen, but she was looking at it differently somehow. Less like a hungry animal or a mindless soldier, and more detached, like she was paying careful mind to make sure she didn't get lost in it. I felt a little better.

I honestly was really regretting letting her play it, it felt too much like my horrible world was invading this ideal one, but I couldn't take it away from her now. Hopefully she'll grow out of it, and I have a feeling that she would eventually, but it may take a bit longer. Ultimately it didn't matter all too much, I was just trying to keep her pure as long as I could. I know she was eventually going to have to harden her spirit, but this was a different type of "impurity," one that could really impact our mind and bodies, if mishandled.

I let her play for about ten minutes or so, when she asked me, "Hey, what does this sparkle thing around this pokemon mean?"

I slowly craned my neck towards her. "Eh? Sparkle… thing?"

I clambered over to see what she was talking about, and I had incredibly mixed feelings about what I saw. First of all, it was a shiny Ralts, by far one of my favorite shinies. Second of all, it wasn't in the wild. It was the Wally encounter.

"Oooh boy, here we go." I muttered to myself. "Okay, so in pokemon, there are these variants called shinies. A shiny pokemon is a different coloration of the original design, and it's a 1/8192 chance of encountering one in this game."

Raphtalia got excited. "Wow! That's pretty rare! Can I catch it?" I sighed.

"Weeeeellll, normally yes. But see that green-haired fellow standing there?" She looked back at the screen and nodded. "You see, this isn't your encounter. It's his."

Raphtalia, putting two and two together, had realized what it meant. "He's going to catch it, isn't he?" She said, crestfallen.

"Yeah, he is. Worst part is, he doesn't even keep it. Every battle you fight him in he has a regular one."

"What!" Raphatlia exclaimed indignantly. "So he's gonna catch it, with me standing here, and he's not even gonna train it?! That's ridiculous!"

I sat back and sighed. "Yeah, yeah it is. Somehow you got good luck and bad at the same time. Story of my life, honestly."

She still looked a little sad. Then she suddenly perked up. She closed the 3DS. "Well, after playing, I can say it is a very neat device to use. However, it doesn't feel as important to me as getting stronger, so I think I'll play it again only after the waves are over. It also doesn't feel as important as you, Mr. Maddox."

I was kinda shocked. "Are… Are you sure?""

Raphtalia nodded, then sidled up to me and leaned against me. "Yeah… Yeah I am. I don't anything physical could make me happier than fighting the waves and growing stronger by your side." She seemed abashed as she spoke.

What's weird is that I feel the same way about her, but only her alone. All my family and friends back home didn't really strike me as more important than my own enjoyment, and even if they were trying their best to make it fun, most times I just wanted to be at home mindlessly zoning out over my computer or 3DS. Now that I was with Raphtalia, it didn't seem appealing to me at all. Kinda strange, wasn't it?

"All right, get off. We gotta go level." She nodded, and we got up to kill as many balloons as we could. Before we left, I put all of the balloon fragments in my shield, using a couple to unlock the minor buff, and the rest into storage to sell later. She managed to accumulate quite a lot too, enough for about 10 silver. We set off into the fields.