"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
"Just give in and experience this." Teal offered.
"Never. I don't need anything from Filo." He said as if he was somehow independent and not holding everyone's bedding in his hands.
Teal just rolled her eyes. "Suit yourself."
Leon set up his pillow fort of toasty warmness and he liked it.
...
The following morning Filo woke up to find herself surrounded on all sides by her family. She was trapped and if she moved, she'd wake up everyone... Everyone except Leon who was in his full form half covered in blankets, tail wagging in delight.
He had done nothing to her, but now Filo was mad at him and wanted revenge. It didn't make sense and she didn't care. She took a deep breath... And screamed.
"LEON RUINED ALL THE BLANKETS AND PILLOWS!"
And that was the start of everyone else's morning.
...
Later that day
...
After dealing with the loud wake up call and wrestling their blankets and pillows from Leon's desperate grasp, the party had breakfast and was back on the road again. Leon was more than a little mad. He apparently has been cold a lot and the sheet he'd been forced to wear left him really uncomfortable, but he didn't want to say anything. His pride was definitely more of a hindrance.
For their part, both Naofumi and Raphtalia were feeling ashamed for not realizing one of their claimed kids were to the point of shivering several times and never noticed.
They did what they could to wrap him up a bit more. Not only for the obvious reasons, but also to show Leon that if he lets them know about a problem he is having, they will do what they can to help. They hoped this showed him not to keep it to himself next time.
Surprisingly Filo didn't make fun of Leon when he finally complained about the cold. She actually understood not to tease him now. However as soon as Leon was in his new thicker sheets, Filo began making fun of the way he looked.
So she was still swinging, but knew when to pull her punches.
Naofumi assured Leon that once they returned to the capital, he'd get nice thick clothes and Monti began to tell Leon about the tailor and how talented she was.
The party had been traveling on the most central and well maintained road in Melromarc for several hours now. They were not long for the capital. The whole cart was bustling with half-baked plans of what they'd do once they got to the capital. Naofumi made sure there were some ground rules.
"I glad you are all excited, but the capital isn't all fun, it's dangerous too. I'm not saying you have to be with your mother and me every minute, but if you go somewhere, don't do it alone. Take someone with you."
They all nodded. Teal smirked, coming up with a plan. Melty felt it was out of line to call her home dangerous, but as a guest she also felt she shouldn't argue.
Lunch time came and went, they kept going without stopping. That was because they were close, the capital was near.
The kids wanted to be excited and they were, but they also picked up on a growing nervousness in Naofumi and (to a less extent) Raphtalia. They kept that in mind.
Melty also picked up on their nervousness. She saw they were truly concerned and Naofumi's comments prior were from the heart. She was left to wonder what happened to have caused the savior of the heavenly fowl to avoid the capital.
...
The Capital
...
As they approached the gates of the capital Teal and Leon were wide eyed at the size of it. Naofumi and Raphtalia were no longer inticed by that paper thin charm and were discussing something a bit more important.
"Should we leave the cart outside the city? I swear if the king figures out it's ours he'll try and take it..." Naofumi spoke.
"But if we leave it outside the walls and they find out, then they might burn it or steal it and blame nameless faceless bandits..." Raphtalia shot that down
"I say take it in then. If he or his bitch daughter does find out and either of them do try something, we'll at least know where it is and have the chance to get it and go..." Naofumi reasoned.
Raphtalia reaffirmed "Filo loves this cart and it's been like a home for us, they wont have it."
During this short exchange Melty was listening in shock. "They really think dad would do such a thing? Why? And sister... What kind of history do they have? Mother spoke highly of him, yet he hates dad and sister... He might hate me too, if he knew..."
"Hmm?" Raphtalia noticed Melty's reaction. She leaned down and placed a hand on her head.
"Don't worry. We wont drag you into our problems. As soon as we get through the gate please make your way to your family. I'm sure they miss you desperately."
Melty was somehow hurt by her words. This party that calls itself a family had been very nice to her. She'd seen each member of this group interact with one another like a genuine family. They traveled around improving the lives of others and being happy... And yet they hate and fear her father with just as much certainty as they call themselves family...
Melty was quite disappointed. While she had said nothing, she had this quiet idea that she might be able to get away with traveling with these people at some point. With her mother's approval of the savior and the obvious security these powerful children brought... She thought the idea had merit, but it wasn't going to happen.
"There must be some kind of misunderstanding between them. If I can speak to father, I can find out what it is and mend this relationship. Even just the optics were bad. 'A life saving medicine man on the run from the royalty'. It makes us sound bad."
"Mel-chan? Are you okay?"
Melty snapped back to reality to see Filo in human form. While she was off in their own little world, they'd made it past the northern gate with a simple flash of the merchant pass and rented a storage spot for the cart.
Just in case, Naofumi put the name down as savior of the heavenly fowl, not his real name. He was tempted to use one of his old usernames from the MMOs he use to play, but he realized just how cringe and edgy they were. Slight shame cloaked his face.
"Huh? Oh! ...Sorry, I was just lost in thought, I guess." Melty had been slipping. She was suppose to keep up with things, child or not. A lot was expected of her, but here she was loosing minutes at a time.
"It's okay~... Does this mean you're sticking with us?" Filo wanted any reason to spend more time with her best and only friend.
Melty wore a small frown.
"I'm sorry Filo-chan... My father is probably really worried about me. I need to go to him now."
Filo was disappointed, but was not obnoxious about it. In fact, she showed one of her moments of growing maturity.
"That's too bad..., but I know how needlessly dads can worry." Filo smiled at Melty to let her know she understood.
"Oi! My worrying is not needless." Naofumi said in a fake upset sort of way.
Naofumi turned to Melty, "We'll be in town until the wave. If you wanna play with Filo at all just come to Erhart's Blacksmithing. If we aren't there, he'll point you in our direction."
Raphtalia and the kids gave parting words to Melty and waved her off. Naofumi had his arms crossed and he was turned to the side. He liked the kid. Most well behaved child he'd ever dealt with, but he knew not to get attached like he did with literally everyone else. She had a family, he can't just start grabbing kids up.
"Okay kids we have a lot to do, but today is nearly done. We're going to Erhart's today. After that, Your mother and I are going to get her something for her injury. This is very important. So, you can't explore today, sorry."
There was even more disappointment, but they knew Raphtalia was hurt and need treatment. They nodded in agreement.
"I swear that Melty girl has been a good influence in such a short time."
...
Erhart's Shop
...
"Thank you for this Mr. Erhart. I know that the numbers have been very high, yet you still beat the due date by a whole week. Lady Grimald will be most pleased, ah."
The man pulled a large pouch from his coat.
"The other half of the payment, 20 gold pieces as promised."
Erhart counted the coin. "This has been good business..., but I find it odd. Usually I receive commissions for many lesser armors or one or two fully customized armors. Requesting 40 sets of armor of greater quality... What does she need with them? The finery on them is not what you give a common soldier, not even a run of the mill knight. And 40?"
The man chuckled, "Well I know I shouldn't let it slip, but Lady Grimald is putting together a strike force of her best men. They are to help rid her region of bandits and respond to a wave if it hits in her lordship. She's tasked them all with reaching level 40, upon which she promised each of them a class upgrade. That's right. Once it's official, every member of this group will be class upgraded."
"Is that why you have this weapon commission on hold?" Erhart was sounding impressed.
"Indeed. She wishes to gift them with better weapons upon reaching that point... Truly, Lady Grimwald and Lord Langiva are the only nobles that understand that military might is very important right now. Without Lord Blackcrown, we are in need of a new spearhead."
Erhart cared more about the armor and weapons, not the politics. That said, his pockets were to be filled at this rate.
"As you say then." Erhart needed to get back to work.
The door opened with a ringing of a bell. Erhart looked up to see Naofumi, Raphtalia and now as many as four kids. instead of the previous two.
"Hey, kiddo! You're back in town a bit earlier than I thought. How has life been treating you?" Erhart was truly glad to know Naofumi was okay.
"Well I went to sell some medicine and somehow got two more kids, saved two villages, fought a tree bigger than a tower of the castle and an army of skeletons... not at the same time."
Erhart was already laughing, but his previous customer heard 'saved two villages' and had a guess who he was.
"Did you at least get paid? I'm not a charity you know."
"Dad made a whole whole bunch!" Filo said.
Monti began his praise "That's right and he even got a cool title from his efforts, it's-"
The previous customer interrupted, "The savior of the heavenly fowl?"
The family gave this man a bit of attention.
"How fortunate I am to find you, savior. I heard that my lady wanted to collaborate with you at some point." The man seemed decent enough.
"Collaborate? On what?" Naofumi was always game, for money.
"My Lady Grimwald is a famous poison expert. She alone created all the poisons we used in the last war. She wishes to see if she can make a poison that even someone as gifted as you couldn't cure." That was unexpected.
The idea seemed disgusting and barbaric, but Naofumi knew not to screw up a relationship Erhart had with another customer.
"...I mean no disrespect, but I want to cure and save people, not compete over a life." Naofumi could only hope the hypothetical test subject was a dumb animal and not a demi human.
"Ah, that's fair. Of course that'd be a healer's perspective. Well, if you're ever in need of coin, please consider coming to Lady Grimwald's estate in the west." The man took the opposition well enough.
After that, the man left. Naofumi waited until he was a bit away.
"Alright. Introductions. This is Mr. Erhart. He's a talented blacksmith and the one that made my armor. Erhart, This is my daughter Teal and this is our youngest, Leon."
"...Just how many more are you aiming for kid. At this rate you're gonna run outta monsters to adopt and start putting the poor lass through the ringer." Erhart laughed and Teal soon joined.
Raphtalia buried her red face in embarrassment of the suggestion, while the other three kids looked clueless.
Naofumi lightly jabbed him, "Oi, no dirty jokes in front of the kids... except Teal, she thrives on that kinda thing."
Teal nodded to that.
"So, what can I get you?" Erhart stopped chuckling.
"There's a lot I need actually, but first Raphtalia needs strong holy water for... a curse she sustained. Can you watch the kids a bit?"
"The hell kid, I ain't no babysitter." He argued lightly.
"I have the materials and the coin for that gift I want made, Raphtalia needs a new weapon and possibly armor. I also need my armor upgraded. I'll also get the kids a weapon if they want. Either way you're getting a lot of gold from me over the next few days, so work with me here."
"Fine, fine. I'll watch em."
Naofumi and Raphtalia hugged them before departing. As soon as the door was closed, Filo spoke.
"What are we going to eat? I skipped lunch. I'm really hungry."
Monti sighed, "Of course you are."
...
Three Heroes Church
...
Naofumi and Raphtalia entered the church quickly and quietly. They made it to the next set of doors before being stopped.
"Is that-Yes, the shield hero... Might I ask why you're here?"
"I need high-end holy water and I wanted to ask about class upgrades."
"...Follow me."
They traveled in complete silence for a few minutes. Once they reached the room with the hourglass, she spoke again.
"For the services we provide we ask for tribute."
"...How much?" Raphtalia asked, hoping it wasn't too much.
"For our best? 1 gold coin." She spoke in an even tone.
"Tsk, fine... two of them then." Naofumi handed over two gold coins.
"But Naofumi-sama... That's too much, I'm fine."
"Stop it, I didn't sell you for 35 gold, but you think I'd let you suffer for two gold? You know you're more important than money to me."
The nun took the coin, "I'll be right back."
She ran off. After another moment who should arrive, but the pope.
"Ah, the shield hero. How odd that you've come here again after registering at the hourglass, yet the other three have yet to revisit."
There was a strange power about the pope. Not a literal power, but still a power to be wielded against enemies and to strike down those chosen. The power of presence.
"Ah, yeah... you're... Pope Bal-mus, right?"
The pope ignored the fact that Naofumi struggled to recall his name. Though he was slightly surprised he knew it.
"Yes. Might I ask the nature of this visit?"
Just then the nun returned with two holy waters.
Naofumi used [Inspect] to make sure they were worth it... They were not.
"The hell? I paid two gold and you try handing me this? Forget it, return to me my coin, I'll-"
"Why did you bring such lowly items to one who paid that much? You must treat him fairly. He paid the price for our best, so give it to him." The pope reprimanded her.
The nun bowed and apologized profusely to them both and left in some haste.
"I'm sorry that one of my faithful was less than courteous with you."
Naofumi felt the pope was full of shit, but playing along costs nothing...
"Apology accepted. Sorry for the rude display."
The pope wasn't expecting that. The nun ran back in with two more. Naofumi used [Inspect] again.
[Holy Water (Pure)]
He took the two bottles and pocketed them both.
"...Thanks. Now the matter of class upgrade, how much?"
"Fifteen g-" The nun went to say, but-
"Unfortunately, we legally can not. Normally it's 15 gold, but the king has barred any member of your party from class upgrading."
Naofumi was very angry now, but he knew what would happen if he went off. They were in the middle of dealing with the consequences from the last time his angry reigned.
"Let's go then..."
As Naofumi and Raphtalia left, the pope turned to the nun.
"He knows some of it." The pope said aloud.
"He knows my name and plays nice... How much does he know?"
...
Erhart's Shop
...
When Naofumi and Raphtalia returned... it was about as expected.
Monti had behaved himself and kept re-reading his grimoire. Leon was testing weapons, while Filo made fun of him for being weak enough to want a weapon and Teal and Erhart were sharing a laugh. Likely at Naofumi's expense.
"Alright kids, listen up." Raphtalia called.
The kids stopped what they were doing and turned to face them.
"I know that you guys are probably really hungry. Give us a bit and we'll get something in town." Naofumi said looking at Filo.
Naofumi had several things to discuss with Erhart. Naofumi began to empty his good raw materials, some of which were pretty valuable. That attracted Leon to Naofumi's side.
"Raphtalia's sword upgrade and my armor needs an upgrade too. I need you to test an idea I had for transforming metal and if that works out, the kids may need some armor additions..."
"Slow down kid, transforming metal? What's that about?"
"Well I've learned quite a bit since the last time I was here, one of those skills being the ability to place magical effects on accessories. It's done by first placing your mana into an object, then basically casting a spell from within it."
"Yeah I know about that. Sometimes I work alongside people with those skills in my line of work. What does that have to do with metal?"
"Well, I know how to place mana into material and you have my crystal ore stored here, so what happens if instead of using the crystal ore to imbue mana into something else... What if I use the enchanting method on the ore itself?"
Erhart brought a hand to his chin, "I see... Then if you blend it with another metal and the crystal ore should imbue it... That actually sounds like a fantastic idea. Let's try it on something quick to make sure, like a ring first."
Naofumi was pleased that Erhart didn't shoot him down. For all he knew there was a reason it wouldn't work that he was unaware of. He started moving things on the counter around, trying to find a small piece of light metal to offer, but then Leon seized something.
Leon reached out and grabbed the larger of the two crystals that was next to Gaelion's bones after they beat his zombified form. Naofumi reached out and stopped him. There was a struggle of strength.
"Leon, what are you doing?" Naofumi saw Leon's eyes were a bit more animistic at the moment.
"I... I need it. I don't know why, but I have to have it, have to eat it."
"Dammit, I said we'll eat in a bit!"
"No. It's not hunger. Just let go, I need it."
Monti and Flio pried Leon off the stone and held him back. Naofumi was more than a little off put, Leon was a little stubborn, but never went against him so directly. He used [Inspect] on the crystal.
[Dragon Emperor Shard]
[A small piece of a mighty guardian beast. Each shard is said to be carried by a pure dragon which proves their lineage and grants them strength]
"...Monti, Filo, let him go."
They did and Leon was upset. He wanted that rock more than anything, but didn't know why. Naofumi saw his frustration.
"Listen Leon. This thing is apparently something that will grant you strength, so I'll give it to you..."
Naofumi walked up to Leon and took a knee, meeting his eyes. He was clearly upset.
"But you are never to do something like that again, do you understand me? Don't you dare act like that again."
Leon realized how much strength he'd used to try and take the stone. He held back, but not by much. He had used force on family and even worse his father. His father had already shown before that if asked, he'd provide them with whatever they wanted. Leon had crossed a line none of the others had crossed despite him being the youngest.
The shame actually brought a tear to his eye, "...Sorry father... I don't know why I acted that way. Sorry, sorry."
Naofumi gave the boy a hug. He knew the boy meant nothing by it, but using force on family will not be tolerated and he had to show that.
Erhart watched the little hug moment with a smile, trading glances with Raphtalia. After a moment Naofumi let go and Raphtalia went to Leon's side as he swallowed the crystal.
"Sorry about that."
"Nah, it's fine kid... Let me grab some weak metal and a piece of that crystal ore."
While Erhart went to the back Leon held his head low.
"Leon. You don't need to look down. It's fine, it's over."
"But I really shouldn't have. You've given us anything we've asked for and I ruined it."
"Huh, 'ruined it'? Leon it's not like that... Just talk with us when you want something. We'll do whatever we can for one another, no?"
"... I kinda wanted..." He spoke to low for Naofumi to hear like mumbling.
Raphtalia got low at his side, "Come one, just say it. You can trust us to provide. We're your parents after all."
"Mmh, it's just that. it sounds kinda selfish, none of my siblings have weapons. So if I asked for one, it'd be an extra expense..."
Indeed it would be, but they wouldn't mind. Moreover they wanted to be able to earn the trust Leon had withheld from them for some reason.
"What kinda weapon did you have in mind?" Was all Naofumi had to ask.
Leon valued things as a dragon should. Gold, then silver, the copper. He valued things that would grant him power and protection. It took him until this moment to realize that other's didn't value things the same way he did. That Naofumi and Raphtalia seemed to value this family a lot more than they valued gold. That they valued him a lot more than gold.
Now knowing that, he began to value the rest of the family more in turn. Yes, even Filo.
Leon explained that he was stuck between wanting a spear for range or a staff, as he wanted to do good with magic.
'Why not both?' was all Teal said and the idea grew from there.
Erhart returned from the back, "Sorry bout that, I had things stored on top of your crystal ore."
Naofumi helped Monti pour mana into the crystal ore just as Hickwaal did for him. Over the next 30 minutes Erhart was able to blend the ore with copper and make a ring from it.
"Now Monti, when you transform, do it slowly." Raphtalia warned.
The results?
Monti fully transformed and the ring with it. Complete success!
While everyone was thinking this was a great moment and being quite happy for Naofumi's success, Naofumi was thinking of how best to use this for his family's sake. He started writing somethings down, then handed it to Erhart along with 10 gold. Then he had each member of the family imbue 5 pieces of ore and had Erhart separate and tag them. Then he handed over his armor.
"We have four days until the wave. I'm sure I'll have more on your plate tomorrow. Keep the materials for now. Work on the armor upgrade and Raphtalia's sword first, then the present... We'll be back tomorrow, don't pull an all-nighter on us."
After some parting words, they left to eat and get rooms.
Of course the food was fine, but they were all spoiled of Naofumi's food and so, Filo complained.
They'd need to visit Beloukas, the witch and the tailor tomorrow. Possibly more. It wasn't until Naofumi was about to pay for rooms that he realized they'd need multiple rooms, there were six of them after all. He settled on giving the kids a two bed room, they could hash out their sleeping arrangement. He'd get a one bed room with Raphtalia.
Things between them had both progressed and also not at all at the same time. They were closer and Naofumi had begun to see her as an adult in ways other than physically. She really stepped up for him and the kids..., but they didn't kiss often and only really held each other when sleeping. He enjoyed this slow progression. Appreciating any and all interaction he had with her. She was the largest factor in him still not giving up and he'd thank her endlessly for that.
Contrastly, Raphtalia was a bit frustrated. Having far less life experience than Naofumi led her to having skewed expectations. She wanted to be able to walk around with Naofumi's arm wrapped around her, she wanted to be able to kiss him whenever she wanted and for no reason at all. Having shot straight past puberty had also left Raphtalia with way too many sexual feelings. Even before she knew what they were, they were a bother. She was all but forced to repress them for Naofumi's sake, but she'd never resented him for it.
Monti was handed their key and Naofumi put a hand on his shoulder, "Try your best to keep Filo and Leon from... doing what they do."
Monti gave a look of 'I promise nothing' and led the others to their room next to Naofumi and Raphtalia's room.
This time Naofumi didn't dawdle and entered their room right away. He began to get everything together to soak some wrapping in the holy water. Raphtalia shut the door behind her and watched Naofumi a moment.
After everything was set up he opened the second bottle and poured it into his shield
.
[Holy Shield]
+1 sp, +1 def, +1 mdef, + 10 light resistance,
[Ability: Cleanse] Can remove weak curses or binding, requires physical contact.
.
[Paladin's Shield]
+4 def, + 4 mdef, +7 shadow resistance
[Ability: Anoint] Place a random buff on a target other than yourself for 1 hour. It must end before a new one can be placed on the same target.
.
Naofumi was hoping for a boost to holy water, but maybe using [Cleanse] alongside the holy water would more or less be as good.
"...It's ready." Naofumi said not turning around, but switching to his new [Holy Shield].
Raphtalia wordlessly removed most of her clothing. She walked across the room to Naofumi's side and gave her arm and shoulder that was cursed and burnt to him.
He pulled the holy water soaked cloth out and began to lightly wash the area, all while using [Cleanse].
They both sat there, red faced and quiet as Naofumi did this for nearly 40 minutes. While not sexual, they were also both new to intimacy in general and this small taste had them in wildly different head spaces.
"This is nearly unbearable. He's right here, tending to me gently, touching me. Healing me. That's what he does, he heals. I just want to show him how much I appreciate him. That I cherish and forgive him..., but when I try to push further, it only pushes him away. I have no way of showing him that he fills my life with joy and purpose. To tend to Naofumi as he tends to me."
"She's was so hurt by me. Look at this... and yet she trusts me completely. I'm always so scared that I'm going to screw up and lose her. Lose the best thing in my life right now..., but maybe I shouldn't? Maybe she has as much faith in me as I do in her? Maybe I'm being cautious to no benefit?"
He had only used a third of the first bottle of potion, but the curse was reduced by over 40%. At the current rate, the curse would be removed with what they have in two more days.
After he was done, he placed the cloth down and they both stared at one another for a bit. They'd worked themselves up unintentionally.
Raphtalia made the first move as always. She leaned towards him, wrapped the hurt arm around him then kissed him lightly.
"Thanks, it's so much better... We need to sleep or else we'll be unable to match the kids' energy tomorrow." She rose and made her way to the bed.
Naofumi was a bit surprised and honestly a bit disappointed that she was controlling herself so well, because internally he was fighting off a lot of thoughts...
"Yeah... you're right. We have a really busy day tomorrow." He got up and started preparing for bed.
As they laid in bed, his arm around her. He thought of the waves. Protecting this world and all the people of this world certainly sounded important, but Naofumi had come to think of their time on the road as a family and moments like this with Raphtalia as his world. Something as vast and impersonal as the whole world was far less important to Naofumi than making sure he'd have another day with the kids or another soul soothing rest beside Raphtalia. To him, that was what he was fighting for now.
He leaned into her and caught the scent of her hair and like each time before, it comforted him and gave him the peace he needed to sleep.
.
[Author's Notes]
Poor shivering Leon
Melty seeing Naofumi's honest feelings of her father before she knows he's the shield hero
Leon ate the dragon emperor shard...
Couple more shield, they might be useful
Naofumi and Raphtalia get another moment, but they handle it better than the last time. Maybe they are becoming what each other needs?
Might be your last chance to tell me what Monti, Teal, and Leon's accessories will be. I'm still not sure yet.
Next chapter, Teal and Leon get clothes, Naofumi and Raphtalia might get in on that too.
Please leave a review.