Per a few suggestions, I've formatted this chapter differently. I've separated dialog. So, all dialog is split as not to confuse the reader on who is speaking. Please tell me if this is better. Once again first fan fic so it will take me some time to get use to this.
"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…...
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
He was once again alerted by this damn shield. "Apparently, it's an alarm clock shield!"
"This is the city guard! Open up at once!"
"WHAT!?" He ran over to the door and opened it as quickly as he could, "Is there a problem? We heroes aren't strong enough yet to-" as he opened the door the guard rushed in and grabbed him.
"Shield Hero! You are under arrest! You will come with use immediately!"
…...
Naofumi was handled very ruffly as he was quite literally drug through the city, through the castle gates, up a lot of stairs and into the throne room. The whole time he demanded to know what he supposedly did, but they refused to even look at him, let alone speak to him. As he was brought before the king he was thrown hard to the ground. Naofumi tried to get a read on the situation. He looked around. No nobles, not a single one. Even his advisor wasn't present. A lot of knights, even more than he remembered. And then... The 3 other heroes and their parties.
Ren had his arms folded and was staring at Naofumi with disgust, his party all behind him none of them looking Naofumi's way themselves.
Itsuki was downright furious. He seemed angry at Naofumi, but maybe more the situation as a whole. His party was doing their best to calm him down telling him that things will be made right.
Lastly, Motoyasu. He and his team sat near the king. They were all gathered around Malty, doing their best to consul her. As he looked at Malty she was a miserable mess, crying and clinging to Motoyasu as if she'd be swept up if she let go.
"What the hell is going on here!?" Naofumi would normally try and leverage conversations for his benefit.
Not maliciously. No. He did this for the purpose of letting everyone leave the conversation happily. Now however? Naofumi was quite upset. His goals were not compromise, nor peace. If he was asked in this moment, he say he honestly had no goals at all.
"King, what happened!? They said I did somethi-"
"Silence!" The king boomed. His voice now was far louder than even yesterday. He really had the voice of a king. Even as upset as Naofumi was, he even grew quiet under that voice. "Shield hero. You stand accused of one of the most heinous of crimes." He looked at Naofumi with all the contempt he was capable of showing. "Though it may pain you, please recount those events..."
Malty looked up at Naofumi. Her face didn't betray her intention, but it still filled him with an awful feeling he couldn't really describe.
"Y-yes, if I must." She kept a grip on Motoyasu, but not as support. "It was at the Inn last night. I had retired early for the evening, but I got no sleep... Because of the loud knocking at my door not long after I entered. It was the shield hero."
"What? I retired as soo-"
"The accused will have his turn to speak, silence!" Naofumi was biting at the chance to deny this all.
She continued "I tried to ask what he wanted, but he kept demanding to speak face to face. I thought he was going to try and act on my offer earlier that morning..., but when I opened the door, he was very demanding and smelled of booze. He-he threw me on my bed and-"
"Enough of that crap! Were you even in the same inn as me!?"
"I will not repeat myself, shield hero! Not another word!" For her part, Malty was in tears. Quite the actress, that one. The king paused. "She seems to be unable to continue. This is quite a terrible act you've done. Did you think your status as hero meant you could do whatever you pleased?"
"Guess that means I'm allowed to talk? Which inn was it that such a thing happened?"
Itsuki spoke now, "All 4 of us went to the same inn, it was the closest to the gate after all..." Itsuki seemed to have none of the enthusiasm he had any other time Naofumi heard him spoke. Was it... cautiousness? Suspicion?
"Itsuki!" Naofumi turned to him in desperation. "Tell me it can read minds! Or detect lies!"
Itsuki was now beyond mad. Naofumi was dangerously close to revealing his secret, if he hadn't already. "Shut up, rapist! I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"
If Itsuki was thinking clearly, he would have seen that Naofumi wanting to use such methods clearly indicated he believed his own innocence, if nothing else. But Itsuki was desperate to keep his secret. So that lead him to throwing Naofumi under the bus. A decision that his pride would not let him back out of later, even with a clearer head.
Naofumi was now called the word in the open, it kept him from thinking things through. He was growing too angry to talk, "I didn't do it! You saw how exhausted I was! I barely had it in me to eat before sleeping!"
The king picked up on this immediately "So your defense is based on the fact that you were visibly tired, you say?"
"Yes! I fought monsters for hours and overcommitted myself! Ask anyone who was there! I ate in a corner and retired almost the moment I made it there! Ask the guards at the city gate! They would know how long I was out there!"
The king pointed to his advisor. He approached the king and they had a short, muted conversation. The advisor left the room in some haste. The king did not speak further. Likely he was waiting on something. As this happened Motoyasu began, "I cannot believe scum like you were summoned here as a hero! You're the lowest of the low. Not only did you do the unthinkable, but now all us heroes will be seen in a stained light!"
This stuck a cord with Ren. While he was doing his best to be a passive third-party observer, what Motoyasu said had some weight to it. Naofumi's actions could very well cast them all in a negative light and while the opinion of the people mattered little to Ren, it could cause him problems if he misses out on quests and gear due to reputation. "Naofumi... Do you realize what you've done? Even if you were deplorable enough to disregard her when you acted, everyone is now going to be affected by it. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"What the hell is wrong with you people!? I already said I didn't do it! Why do you keep talking like I'm guilty!?" Naofumi was running out of breath. His peripheral vision was beginning to go and his heart was racing. "This doesn't make any sense!? Princess or not!? That they all just accept it as fact like this!". "You guys aren't thinking this through! If all it takes is an accusation to take me down, then you'll be next! These laws make no sense!"
"Shield Hero!" The king boomed again "Do not insult our laws! I've yet to find you guilty fool!" Just then the advisor ran back in with a square pane of glass or maybe clear crystal. "Ah thank you" the king took the object. "Earlier I asked you if you defense is based on the fact that you were visibly tired. You then stated that it was due to 'overcommitting to slaying monsters'. You also said that you only bought food, ate it and immediately went to bed..." The stone gained a faint glow for a brief moment. "What utter lies!"
"No I-"
"We spoke to multiple witnesses that saw you and the inn staff exchanging large amounts of money. Far too much for any service they provide. Perhaps bribing them into tell you which room was hers? Either way you did more than simply eat and retire." He was growing quite angry himself, his kingly demeanor a fleeting memory. "You also say you were oh so tired" he said mockingly. "Yet upon checking your information it shows that you are still level 1 and only have 7 EXP!" "You've barely done any work at all! Status magic is not wrong! It cannot be fabricated!"
Naofumi could genuinely understand why the king was like this, but his facts were incomplete. If he had scanned his stats that meant he should see the truth, if he'd stop to think. "King my a-"
"I will not hear another poorly conceived lie!" He made a gesture with his left hand and with it his knight grabbed Naofumi and pushed him to his knees. Naofumi tried his best to force himself back to his feet while he tried to bring up his low attack stat, but neither his strength nor the volume of his voice could do much. He looked up and saw Malty stick out her tongue in a juvenile taunt.
The king Continued "If no one, other than the shield hero has anything else to say, I will pass judgement." Itsuki looked like he was about to say something, but faltered. "Very well then. I, King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII do hereby find the shield hero guilty of the aforementioned crimes. The punishment however..."
His advisor took a step forward, "In Melromarc, even an attempt alone would mean the death penalty... under normal circumstances."
The king sighed. "Indeed. You are beyond stupid to have done what you did, but you were right in thinking that your status of hero would be a bulwark against justice."
Naofumi finally found his footing and with it his voice. In one swift motion he forced himself to stand straight and the shield faintly glowed green, pushing the surrounding guards back. "Bullshit! The only bulwark against justice here is your damned royal status! I have only 1 in my attack stat! It took me hours to get that EXP! It's right there in your hands! Look at it!"
The king didn't even bother looking at the stone. "No, Shield hero. You will not force yourself on this court as you did on my daughter! You have already been found guilty. If you weren't useful against the waves, your head would be adorning a spike! May the news of your crimes and your character be spread far and wide. Let the whole country know what kind of fiend they're be dealing with. That will be your punishment for now. To have this country's people judge you because I am not yet allowed to. Now leave you devil!"
The guards went to force Naofumi out of the throne room, but he became weirdly cooperative. He made it to the doorway and thought about saying something. Maybe declare his innocence. Maybe tell them all to go to hell..., but he had already given up on this place and its people. He began moving again as he left the castle. He knew exactly where he was going. He avoided eye-contact with anyone, but everyone else did the same. "There is no way they'd know. I was the first to leave... That bitch already spread the rumors?" He also found that the 20 silver he could not store was gone. "Too bad bitch, you can't get any more than that."
As Naofumi marched along he was thinking too deeply to himself. With nothing but his own cynicism to answer him, he was becoming more bitter by the minute. Silently cursing that bitch, that hasty king, those guards, the 3 other heroes, everyone avoiding now. This whole world. He hated it.
And saving it was the only way to leave it. Bullshit.
"You!" Naofumi looked up. It was 2 of the city guard and they were approaching him in an obvious act of aggression.
"Leave me the hell alone. I'm busy doing something and then I'm leaving this shitty city." They stepped in front of him, each slightly to one of his sides.
"Hold it! We heard what you did!" The taller one said
"You heard what you were told, the truth was never a part of that whole damned mess."
"Are you expecting us to believe you over our king?" the shorter one questioned mockingly
Naofumi closed his eyes "You can think whatev-"
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
While Naofumi's eyes were closed the taller one attempted to sucked punch him dead center of his face. Naofumi knocked it away and locked eyes with them. There was a moment of silence between the 3. People moved away from them as everyone include the 3 of them were trying to figure out what they were going to do. After a moment Naofumi switched to his [Golden Shield]. While it's stats were good, he changed into it for another reason. It simply looked far more impressive than it really was.
"Tsk, leave the devil for now" the taller one said and he led his fellow guard away from Naofumi. His bluff worked.
Naofumi stopped at the closest bathroom to change into his stored armor, just in case something like that happened again. He began to think only in the negative. "If they really wanted to then, those 2 could have drawn their weapons and killed me..." Right now, he was weak. Right now, every enemy he had was stronger than him. He found himself scared. Almost too scared to open the door and exit. On the other side of this door was a world that hated him, but... Also, on the other side of this door was everything else too. A chance to clear his name one day, a chance to return to his family and leave this awful place. After a quiet moment, he opened the door and continued onward.
…...
He approached the large tents that he so deliberately abandoned a day ago. "foolish". He had no qualms now. He entered the tent and began walking down the same trail he should have followed that man yesterday. He saw creatures of all kinds strung up in various cages. So dangerous looking, some colorful and exotic. As he kept going, he saw the man, short and fat sitting at a desk full of silver and papers.
As the man heard the loud steps, he didn't even look up. He knew who it was. "Even I hate having to do business under these circumstances. I would have much preferred you parading my good merchandise around as a well-regarded hero".
Naofumi stopped a foot from the large ornate desk the man sat at. "Sorry, no free advertising. We can still do business though."
The small man looked up and met his eyes, "I thought your eyes before seemed like those of a worthwhile customer, but this..." The man began to giggle and eventually erupt into laughter. "Haha! A look that says that morals don't matter, only results! That's what I see.~"
Naofumi was glad the man was not turning him down, but the way the man talks and laughs is more than a little creepy. He needed to know some things first, "I have been told slaves can't betray me. If so, that is good to hear. Mind explaining that?"
The man smiled brightly, explaining his business was something he took pride in. "Ah~ yes. You see slaves have a special crest placed upon them. There are a number of rules or settings you as an owner can choose from. The most common? Don't escape, obey my orders, don't betray me, don't lie to me."
Naofumi was actually liking the idea of a slave even more now, but that made his opinion of himself plummet. "These settings sound very useful. What other kind of settings are there?"
The man was now motioning Naofumi to follow him as they began to walk towards his wares. "All kinds. Besides the basics, there are context clauses. For example; you must address me affectionately or you may defend yourself except from me."
Naofumi's rage took over for a moment. "I didn't do it! I don't want a slave for that!"
"Hmm? Truly? Guess I can skip the sex slaves then, but are you sure?"
His rage was rising, but he could not afford to blow up on this guy just yet. He spoke through gritted teeth. "Yes, I am sure."
"Well then, as not to offend you further... what type of slave are you looking for?"
"Cheap, obedient, easy to train into something that can fight."
"So a demi-human then?"
Naofumi was not used to that term "A what?"
"Apologies, I often forget you heroes come from another world. A demi-human is basically like a human, but they have some animal characteristics. Like tails, ears, fur, and the like."
Naofumi now heard conflicting information. "You mean Fairfolk?"
The small man burst out into laughter "Ha! You know very little of this world, but you know the polite term for demi-human? You are definitely the shield hero."
Naofumi seemed a bit annoyed by this, but said nothing. They came to a stop in front of a massive cage. Inside a mighty beast of sorts was agitated inside. "This is a demi-human?"
"No no. This is a beastmen. Beastmen are more animal than man, while demi-human are more man than animal"
Naofumi figured this was a 'truefolk' by that book's standards. Looking at this particular beastmen though... far too strong, costs too damn much. "This thing on sale or something? When I listed the criteria I was wanting, 'cheap' was at the top. Trying to show off and drive prices?"
"New to this world, but not new to business it seems~. Indeed, I had that type of motive. It was also to show you I had higher quality goods as well. To be seen through so easily..." The man began moving again, Naofumi followed.
As they walked Naofumi looked around at these slaves. Their standard of living was just terrible. Naofumi was beginning to find it hard to stay mad about his own current lot in life.
"Here we are. Each of these slaves here are the lowest I have to offer. Though they are so with good reason."
Naofumi began looking over this group. Sickly, starving, some missing limbs. The lowest of the low. As he searched through, he began moving cloth aside and using a light handed to him by the slaver. He moved a cloth from a cage to peer at its contents. He found a young girl around 9, maybe 10. She was part racoon? Tanuki? He couldn't tell. Her withered form and mangy hair made identifying her harder. The thing that really caught his attention were her eyes. Those eyes were those of someone who had long since given up on life and on this world. She probably had a hell of a lot of days worse than the day he just had...
"Hmm? That one? I'd caution against that one. She has both a mental and physical illness. She hardly eats."
"So, you would not sell her?" Naofumi asked never breaking eye contact with her.
"Of course, I'd be willing to sell her, but she's due to die any day now. I want to be good business partners and selling you a slave that lasts less than a week will give you the impression that I sell low-end goods."
Naofumi looked like he considered this, but "What is your name?" He was already sympathizing with her before that information. Naofumi held no noble intentions, but if he could rescue her while rescuing himself...
"Raph-" *Cough* "phtalia". She seemed to be slightly more aware of her surroundings now as she eyed Naofumi with fear and caution.
"Come, I have a few options over here tha-"
"No. I've decided I want her. What is her price." Raphtalia looked at him with terror. He seemed like an angry person. She felt that this man would be her last owner. This one would finish her, but all she could do is follow orders to her grave.
"Well, if you're dead set on her, 50 silver should cover it."
"Make it 40 and I'll be more understanding if she won't work out."
The man's smile was back as he chuckled a bit, "Fair, fair. Come then, let's draw up the paperwork."
…...
As they concluded their talks it was decided that Naofumi would get a basic seal. No stealing from him, no lying to him, no betrayal of his trust, and obey all orders he gives. As the seal was being set on Raphtalia she squealed in pain for a brief moment.
"Hey." Naofumi was painted into a corner and forced to use terrible means, but child torture for its own sake? Hell no.
"Be at ease sir. The pain is a passing side-effect. Give it a few moments." Sure enough, it faded and Naofumi handed the man his coin.
[Slave: Raphtalia acquired]
Suddenly Naofumi was overcome with pity and sadness "That I now own a person... Just like that? ...What a terrible world this is."
"I just realized I didn't get you name. I like to remember my business partners."
"Ah, with slave in hand you feel pleasantries can be afforded now?" He said in jest. "It's Beloukas."
"Something like that... Mr. Beloukas? I'd like some of that ink."
"Sorry the ink is only available for use by licensed slave traders. Legally I can't"
"You misunderstand, my shield gains forms and abilities based on absorbed material. I won't have the ink either, just the effects"
"Oh, that's not illegal then. Which would you like?" He had 4 bottles at his desk.
"4 kinds of ink?"
"3 kinds and a remover"
"A bit of all 4 then"
"I'll settle for 20 silver a piece"
"Come on. Take 10 silver a piece. That's as much as the girl?"
"Would you believe me if I told you the ink on her was worth more than she is?"
"Fine. 20 silver..."
[Slaver Shield]
+1 agi
[Ability: Slave Status Adjustment] Slaves gain 5% more stats upon level up.
.
[Slaver Shield II]
+1 mag
[Ability: Slave Maturation Adjustment] Slaves mature faster. They gain 5% more EXP.
.
[Slaver Shield III]
+1 atk
[Ability: Slave Status Adjustment ll] Slaves gain 10% more stats upon level up.
.
[Freedom Shield]
+ 4 agi
[Ability: Liberation] Remove any form of status, curse, or binding that impedes movement on target.
With that he turned to the girl. As he approached, she shrank back as if to hope he somehow wouldn't find her. He walked right up to her and grabbed her under each arm and picked her up. Holding her to him as he walked out of the tent. His heart sank when he did that. This girl weighed nothing at all. It made him feel like quite the bastard. He was at least going to have her avoid any physical activity until after a meal. He might even halt leveling until she's received a full night's rest as well. Though he hated to lose time as that meant more time for something to happen to him... Him living had to take priority over her comfort.
To Raphtalia, she was very confused. This man seemed so angry almost violently so, but he held her softly. Mixed signals left her wanting to hope, but scared that despair would follow after. Again. She didn't mean to, but now she was crying softly while remembering. It even got her to start another coughing fit. She was afraid her new master was going to quickly lose his patience.
And then a soft hand pat her head. It was warm. This was the same kind of warmth she felt in her father's arms. She felt herself fall easily to sleep in his arms as he carried her off to somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere better.
…...
"Raphtalia..." She heard her name said softly. She was trying to place whose voice that was. "Raphtalia". Now a warm hand accompanied the voice, softly shaking her awake. She relented and awoke. She looked around the room. She was in some type of rented lodging. She looked up to see him, her master.
"Good, I hope you've had enough sleep we can-"
Raphtalia tried to stand. "I'm sorry master I didn't mean to sleep! It won't happen again."
"Enough!" She froze. "You still haven't eaten anything. Don't burn what little energy you have left."
She remained still and quiet. Unsure of what action to take to please her master. He made no sense. So angry and yet hadn't hit her yet. What can she do to avoid that?
"Hey" he said with the soft voice of before. She met his eyes hoping that wouldn't offend him "We have things to do, so choose."
"Oh god a choice. Is one good and one's bad? Or if I pick wrong..."
"We need to eat and you absolutely need a bath. Which do you want first?"
"What?" He had to be tempting her with nice things to snatch them away..., but those soft hands... "Food first master, if *cough* that's okay." Her tail swaying behind her. She decided to say food because the bath was only for her, but the food was presented as if it was for both of them. She has to be as agreeable as possible.
Suddenly her slave crest shocked her "Uggrrhh". Naofumi was alarmed too.
"I see. You said food, but wanted a bath first? Guess lies like that count too?" He opened up his menu and altered the settings. "Sorry about that. You can now tell lies without getting hurt, as long as it is not detrimental to me." He paused. "Bath it is then. I couldn't find kid's clothes so easily, so you have to put those same clothes back on afterward. After the meal, we will get you some better clothes."
Raphtalia couldn't make heads or tails of him and simply nodded and went into the connected bathroom. As she began to undress, she heard his voice. "Try and keep it under 20 minutes, you can indulge later tonight".
She flinched. "Y-yes, master."
As Raphtalia took her bath, Naofumi was looking through his shields. Now that [Prophecy Shield] is mastered, the 3 slave shields now take priority, then the 3 coin shields. After that he might choose to get his [Glass Lens Shield] mastered. While it won't gain him stats, he'd be able to use [Inspect] without telegraphing it. Worse comes to worse he could master [Storage Shield]. That plus [Gold Coin Shield] and [Slave Shield lll] would leave him at 4 atk, maybe more if a level up gave him any. He wished for anything to make him less useless.
More annoying to him though is how bad of a deal he made on this armor. That blacksmith told him there were 2 broad categories of armor. Flat bonus and relative bonus. Relative bonus means stats are increased by a percentage, meaning the higher your stats that higher the bonuses. He was told that they are preferred at higher levels and can even be made to be improved instead of replaced. Flat bonuses were just a set amount of bonus stats added to your own. In Naofumi's case, that was a sizable +8 to both defenses. That blacksmith said it'd be a good deal, but with the bonuses from these shields flat bonus from armor seemed like a terrible idea.
"This armor will lose a lot of meaning in about a week... and that was 75 silver..."
Raphtalia exited the bath wearing the rags she had before. "M-Master I am done. I tried not to *cough* take too long".
He looked at her. Her hair was better, but still not good. All the same, she was a sight better than before. "Should have probably done this sooner". He switched shields and used [Inspect].
[Name: Raphtalia]
[Race: Half Raccoon / Half Tanuki Fairfolk]
[Class: Undecided]
[Equipment]
[Rags]
[Hp: 37]
[MP: 19]
[SP: 0]
[Atk: 6]
[Mag: 6]
[Def: 4]
[Mdef: 5]
[Agi: 7]
[Level: 1]
Naofumi saw these low stats, but was not alarmed. Of course, they're this low. If she can regain her weight, lose that cough... maybe decent. Add in the slave bonuses after that. Naofumi thought it was acceptable. After all, even as a dying little girl she had more atk than him even if he had all his bonuses.
Raphtalia noticed the morphing shield "That shield..."
Naofumi stood. "Alright Raphtalia, now we are going to eat. I need you healthy with what comes next." "So far, I've been nice to her, but once we are out there, she has to perform."
Raphtalia noticed he used her name, not 'slave' or 'girl'. She actually liked that. "But... I wonder what master's name is..."
…...
They were now sat in a tavern. Naofumi having to coax her into the building. As a waiter came over that had a look of disgust on their face. Raphtalia thought it was at her due to the 'no serving demi-humans' sign, but the disgust was directed toward Naofumi.
"What do you want?" The waiter asked with no politeness at all.
"Cheapest meal for me and... whatever that kid is having for her" Naofumi said, pointing to a kid two tables over.
The waiter left without a word. Raphtalia perked up, "W-why?" She had no idea what this new master was doing. He made no sense.
Naofumi looked at her like she was stupid. "What? You wanted it right? That's why you were looking over there."
They both stayed quiet until their food arrived. Naofumi took a bite and had to keep himself from physically recoiling. "No taste at all. Why? God dammit..."
Raphtalia simply stared at the small flag atop her food. Admiring it, remembering bittersweet promises.
"Hey, eat. I already bought it, don't let it go to waste." She regained focus. She carefully grabbed the flag and placed it beside her plate. She had no table manners and so just grabbed a hand full of food. As she put it in her mouth, she stopped.
"What, that bad?" Naofumi thought maybe it was bland for her too. She looked at him and shook her head no. She began grabbing at the food like crazy. At one point, needing Naofumi to hand her water because she was eating too fast.
"Good make sure you eat all of it... in fact..." Naofumi looked down at his plate. There was still half a plate, but he couldn't stand it. He had plenty for now. "Take the rest of my plate too, I'm full."
Raphtalia stopped questioning his generosity. If he was mean later on, then he's mean later on. Right now, she had to eat everything she could. She happily took his plate and cleaned it just as fast as the first one.
She felt full. She was clean. She wasn't hurt... If this sickness goes away, she'd be back to what a normal little girl should be. What she was before.
…...
As the two of them approached the blacksmith's business Naofumi was nervous. He'd hope the man would hear him out. "Even if he thought he actually did it, he might still sell to me... but he'll price gouge me." He stood in front of the door a moment, then entered.
"Welcome-You!" The blacksmith had an angry look about him as he came out from behind the counter. "You gotta lot of nerve showing up here!" He was closing the distance.
Naofumi didn't want to fight, but this blacksmith probably hits like a truck. "How could I get him to talk?"
The shop owner came right up to his chest and looked him in the eye. Naofumi was waiting for [Prophecy] to warn him, but it never came.
"I'm only going to ask you this once... Did you do it." The man was peering into Naofumi's very soul. He felt he could hide nothing from the man
"No." He kept his voice low. "I'd never do something like that". He never breaking eye contact.
"…"
After a moment the blacksmith turned around and began making it back to his counter. Naofumi was confused.
"That so? A shame you got accused." He said it so openly.
"Y-you believe me? Just like that!?" The man gave Naofumi a sly smile.
"Kid. You've already told me the truth when I had no way of catching you" Naofumi remembered how honest he was with the man. "Because of you, I've made quite a bit of coin. Those other three heroes all tried to sneak copies. Only you were honest." Naofumi was surprised that all three of the other heroes figured [Copy] out already.
"Besides..." He said meeting Naofumi's eyes again. "I appraised you while you claimed your innocence. I know it's not perfect or nothing, but I know you didn't do it kid." Naofumi was now realizing that feeling when their eyes met was the feeling of being under this guy's [Appraisal].
Naofumi felt a wave of relief hit him from being believed. His eyes even started to water some.
"Are you okay, master?" Raphtalia spoke from behind Naofumi as she moved to the side, making her presence known.
The blacksmith didn't miss it "Master? Kid did you-"
"Yes." Naofumi cut him off. "I have no allies and 1 attack stat. I had to buy a slave, I had no other choice. I want to live and I won't apologize for that."
"Hmm, but one so young and... was that all you could afford."
"No. I could have afforded much better..." He looked down at Raphtalia and their eyes met again. They weren't much brighter than this morning. "Maybe I chose her because she's even more depressed than me. If she can make it... then that gives me hope for myself... If I can get her to smile, I have no right not to as well?" He didn't really understand himself or his decisions.
"But I chose her and that's that... By the way, um. I don't actually know your name?" It seemed like the smith found that answer acceptable.
"Ha! It's Erhart! So, what can I get you?"
"Not me, her. I need some armor for her and a light weapon to use."
Raphtalia looked at him with a hint of fear. "Why would I need a w-weapon?" She spoke in almost a whisper.
"Because tomorrow we're killing monsters."
If Raphtalia had [Prophecy] about now is when it'd be activating
.
[Author's notes]
I tried to make the king seem more reasonable here, which is really him being sneakier in his plays. Having him pick Naofumi's statements apart in some ways to make the conclusion seem less suspicious.
I chose for Naofumi to get Raphtalia immediately so he didn't wallow in despair. Between that and the fact that Bitch's lies weren't a betrayal (they were never allies) these 2 factors will hopefully go a long way into justifying a Naofumi that doesn't always lean to anger.
So please tell me if the formatting is better.
Also, if anyone knows the canon name for the king's advisor, please tell me, can't find it. Will need it down the road.
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