"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
…
Naofumi held a bag of 50 gold pieces. More coin than he'd spent the whole day. They were now richer than before they entered the capital.
The whole family wore huge smiles and were all laughs as Melty and them went off to have a great meal and enjoy their day!
...
At the tavern
...
The family and Melty sat down for a meal at a restaurant that Naofumi and Raphtalia had visited before. They found a large table and seated themselves. Of course, Melty sat next to Filo.
After they ordered their food, Melty tried to begin her conversation with Naofumi. It was important that she find out what the savior and her father fought about.
"So savior. I had a question..." She was a little nervous about screwing this up.
"Hmm? What is it? Don't be so nervous. You're a friend of the family, right?"
That encouragement was sweet to her and just reinforced the idea in her head that he would listen and forgive her father.
"You said yesterday that the king would try and do something against you, but I think the king would be quite grateful to you. I mean, you've saved so many people in this country, right?"
Naofumi saw why she was nervous. She thought the question might sour the nice family mood they had, but the trash king wasn't enough to ruin this family moment.
"Maybe..., but luckily the king doesn't know I'm the savior of the heavenly fowl. If he did, then this whole thing would be a waste of time."
His response confused Melty greatly. So he and her father had history from before he was the savior of the heavenly fowl?
"What kind of history would a foreigner like you have with the king?" She didn't say it in a rude way, more cluelessly. She knew their last names were 'Iwatani'. It was obviously a foreign name of some kind and the savior's looks were not quite normal, though his different look was quite charming. Now that she thought about it, she found the savior was quite handsome.
Upon having that thought, Filo tapped on Teal's arm and whispered something. Both Filo and Teal gave Melty a look that told her to not pursue those thoughts.
Naofumi liked Melty and he could see why she'd be confused, but even he hesitated to answer truthfully. He looked up to see Filo staring back at him. It held a quiet determination and a promise that it was okay. It was her way of telling her father that Melty was someone trustworthy.
Before he could respond, they brought out the food and Naofumi gave her an apologetic look.
"Let's eat a little first, okay?" Naofumi was offering her an answer afterwards? She'd wait then.
A few tables away from them, Ren and Itsuki were discussing their round of bad luck. Both had completed jobs for the guild, but were not paid. They were feeling a little sour and discussing what they thought was going on.
As they began to eat, Naofumi had to micromanage the whole table.
"Filo, don't take food off Leon's plate. Teal, stop teasing Monti about his little crush. Leon, stop trying to snag the silverware. Filo, just because I said don't take from Leon's plate that doesn't mean take from someone else's plate. Monti, watch your tail, it's wagging. Melty, don't give Filo anything from your own plate. Leon, don't spill your drink. Raphtalia, help!"
Ren and Itsuki turned to watch the scene in complete confusion. They both sat there stunned at the sight. Naofumi was acting like a dad to five children, the same former slave at his side acting as the mother.
As they kept watching him, their confusion only grew until finally they stood and walked over to their table.
"Hello Naofumi... what's going on here?" Itsuki started.
Naofumi stopped and looked over.
"Ren? Itsuki? ...I'm just eating, is there a problem?"
Now this was bad. Not only have the heroes been a pain in a number of ways, but his whole family was here too. He'd not allow anything to happen to them and so he'd respond with full force... if it came to that. The worst part right now was Ren. He killed Gaelion and the moment Leon finds this out, all hell may break loose.
Ren started. "Just had a couple questions for you, but first... what the hell? Why all the kids?"
Naofumi gave a sweeping look to the kids that told them this could get serious. Melty was more confused. Had the savior more enemies?
"They're mine. Believe it or not, but they all came from monster eggs. Raphtalia and I have been raising them. In fact we were in the middle of a family meal, so-"
Itsuki cut in, "Ren and I were just discussing something I believe you'd know about..."
"... and what is that?" The room,s mood was being brought down.
"We've both completed big jobs for the guild and yet we've received no payment. It's almost like someone else turned them in first. Would you know anything about that?"
"Are you accusing father of doing that? Father is still not registered with the guild, so he couldn't claim any rewards, let alone yours." Teal said, a sour look on her face.
Itsuki and Ren looked at her, then turned back. Waiting. Naofumi was getting frustrated.
"What? You heard her. It wasn't me, nor have I experienced that happening myself because I don't do quests through the guild."
Something he said sparked thought within the both of them.
"Is there another system for gathering quests that bypasses the guild?" Ren asked.
"Well, I could give you the same old line about game knowledge..., but forget it. There's no system that I am aware of that functions as a quest system. We've been doing it organically."
"Organically?" Itsuki asked in disbelief.
"Yeah. After what happened with the king, I made the decision to get out of here for a while. As we traveled, we just went from place to place and sometimes there were people in need of assistance. So yeah, organically."
Ren and Itsuki looked at one another.
"An event system then?" Ren asked.
"Sounds like it. He just visited a lot of places to maximize his number of potential triggers." Itsuki concluded.
Everyone at the table except Naofumi was confused by their words.
"I guess you could say that in game terms, but you know this world isn't a game, regardless of the weird game-like systems of power the four of us have."
'Four of us.' Melty caught that.
They promptly ignored that.
"Another question. All these 'kids' are super unique looking. Is there a way to get better NPCs?"
Naofumi looked at Itsuki like he was the second coming of Motoyasu.
"What the hell are you talking about? There are no NPCs. This isn't a game! These are people! How have you spent this much time in this new world and not realized that!?"
'New world.' Melty was starting to piece the truth together and she had to hide her shock.
"Have you really gotten that into this?" Ren asked in concern.
"I get it now." Naofumi said in a low voice.
Naofumi turned to Leon, "Promise me that you will sit there and do nothing."
Leon felt confused and called out, but after a moment he nodded his head, "Yes, father."
After getting the affirmation from Leon, Naofumi stood up and turned to Ren.
"It's no wonder you act the way you do. You don't think any of this is real. That Raphtalia's pain and life are just part of a story? I see now why you cut down Gaelion without even considering common sense!"
Leon went from confused to a fiery mess. Monti's tail wrapped around him and Filo placed a hand on his shoulder. He wanted so badly to go off on Ren, but he promised his father he wouldn't. He sat there, shaking in frustration.
Ren noticed that, "What's his problem?"
"His problem is you! You killed Gaelion, the dragon that sired him. You killed a monster that had been around for 100s of years and lived peacefully beside humans. You cut him down without even considering the fact that he could have flown away! Do you know why he didn't fly away!? It wasn't some scripted event bullshit! It was because he had a demi-human adoptive daughter! After you killed her father, the villagers came and kidnapped her and sold her into slavery! They destroyed the home they made together and sold whatever else they could steal from it. You didn't 'slay a mighty dragon' like some hero, Ren! You killed a father so some scumbags could sell off his little girl! You destroyed a family!"
Ren was stunned. Regardless of his beliefs about others being NPCs, even he thought Naofumi was a player. So for him to be so worked up through him off a bit.
"But-I... It was a quest though. An official request from the guild!?" Ren started off confused, but found his way while talking.
"Yeah. A quest issued by the Lord of Mirso Village. That's why the quest told you to leave the body, they wanted to steal everything of value from Gaelion, but Gaelion had his revenge."
"Wh-What? How?" Ren was now even more confused.
"His body began to rot and fester rapidly. It caused a plague that ravaged the whole village. Over 100 people died. Dammit Ren, don't you see!? You have too much power to just go around doing what others tell you to! Don't be Motoyasu! You need to-"
Itsuki interrupted, "Shut it, Naofumi. We don't need behavioral advice from a rapi-"
Raphtalia stood up and placed a hand on her sword. She was absolutely ready to draw it.
Itsuki had no doubt in his mind that he could take Raphtalia easily..., but he didn't want to.
"Well, that little story would explain Ren's quest not paying out, but what about mine?" Itsuki pushed.
"I don't know and I don't care. I haven't heard of you screwing up, or really of you doing anything at all. I'm talking to Ren, not you."
Being dismissed put Itsuki in a foul mood. He bit his tongue for the moment.
Naofumi met Ren's eyes. "What are you going to do about this, Ren?"
"About what?" Ren asked, half-dumb.
"About your screw up! I have his flesh and blood right here and after I track down and buy that little girl, I'll have Gaelion's daughter too. I'm making sure some part of his family remains. What are you going to do Ren?"
Ren was being put on the spot. He glanced over at Leon, who now had all the kids, Melty included, holding him as he shook in anger, tears going strong. His enemy less than 3 yards away.
The sight was almost enough to make Ren doubt the falseness of the world. Almost.
"What do you want me to do? You seem to have handled everything well enough. I...I can't take it back and there's not really anything I can do about it."
"Wait! Ren. You actually believe him?" Itsuki was surprised.
"...I do. He's not getting anything out of lying about it..." Ren turned to Leon and stared a moment.
"I'm so sorry."
Leon's shaking stopped at once, as did his tears. Their eyes met. Ren then turned and left.
Most of the kids thought that Leon was at least the tiniest bit satisfied by the apology and that was why he stopped. Only Filo knew better.
Ren said 'sorry' with zero feeling behind it, Leon knew it. While this was not the intention it told Leon that Ren was a cold, emotionless piece of shit. Nothing more. Leon didn't calm down. He was focusing on Ren. Remembering every detail of his face, his clothes, his weapon. That Ren led with his right foot and wore his sword on his left side. In this moment he was a predator, and he was studying his prey.
Itsuki wanted to talk a bit longer, but had more business with Ren and so took his leave as well. After they left, Naofumi went to the other side of the table and placed his hand on Leon's head.
"I'm sorry I tricked you. I made you promise me before you knew that Ren was the sword hero. I know you want a crack at him, but we can't fight him right now..."
Melty slammed her hands on the table. "Heroes shouldn't be fighting at all!" Melty yelled.
Naofumi looked up at her. She figured it out, but that wasn't the worst thing. After all, she hadn't left. That she hadn't stormed out upon learning his status was good enough.
"...So you know... Sorry for keeping it from you. I was debating telling you about it, but now that you know, I guess there's no decision to make... So, now what?"
Melty was stiff and confused.
"Why... Why would you being a hero be a bad thing?" She asked genuinely.
"Because... I'm the shield hero." Naofumi said with just the hint of shame.
"Um, and? I fail to see why that would-"
"I guess you didn't hear about it. That explains why you haven't left yet... Listen Melty, I've been declared guilty of a very nasty crime. One that bitch of a princess accused me of... It might not be the best idea to be seen with me, but please find the time to play with Filo. My problems shouldn't deprive her of a friend. The others seem to like you a lot too."
"I...None of this makes sense. You're a hero. Not just in name, but you've actually done a lot for the people. Sh-Surely the king would understand your character better if he knew of your deeds?" Melty was skirting dangerously close to revealing her identity...
Raphtalia was the one that responded.
"That man. The one you call your king... He's a thug at best. Melromarc knights killed the elderly of my town and sold the rest of us as slaves. M-my... best fr... He forced Naofumi-sama to fight for his right to have me. He finds any reason he can to threaten him... So if nothing else, please don't let Naofumi's identity as the Savior reach the king."
"Yeah... If he were to find out about that... I'd have all kinds of extra problems on my hand. They may even drive me from this country." Naofumi finished.
Melty was clearly upset, but all she said were the odd mutterings of 'this can't be' and 'he'd never'.
Internally, Melty had already concluded that Naofumi and Raphtalia were mistaken. That they had to be wrong about something. She wanted to ask her father about this, but she'd not want to reveal too much to him and do the one thing they asked her not to do.
"Mel-chan, let's just eat, okay?" Filo said to pull her out of her thoughts.
"...Yes." Melty replied happily.
While Melty was a good influence on Filo, the same was true the other way around. Melty had to be so serious for a child her age that having someone like Filo around was a boon to her mental health.
Melty stayed with them through the meal and socialized with the kids well enough. Naofumi was rather grateful for that.
The rest of the meal was uneventful and eventually both Melty and Leon lost their hidden stress. Once that happened, Filo's concerns were gone as well..., but she still tried to steal from everyone's plate the whole time.
After the meal, Monti brought up Leon's earlier question.
"Dad? Leon was asking mom earlier about us exploring... Is that okay?"
Naofumi thought a moment. He looked to Raphtalia, who nodded.
"That's fine, but there are rules. Rule one, never travel alone. Rule two, return to Erhart's before dark. Rule three, if there's trouble, avoid killing."
That last rule sent about 20 red flags off in Melty's mind, but before she could comment, Filo grabbed her.
Monti and Teal exchanged looks and then they went to leave.
"We're going to look around the shops." Teal said.
Leon frowned. That could only mean one thing. He was stuck with Filo. AGAIN. Melty picked up on the animosity between the two and knew the filolial/dragon dynamic and so she decided to grab Leon's hand and act as the buffer between the two for the rest of the day.
"Where are you three going?" Raphtalia asked with concern.
"We have no idea!" Filo exclaimed with excitement, Melty and Leon's deadpan looks accompanying her glee.
With the kids gone for some time, Naofumi and Raphtalia had some free time to themselves. Something rare since they started picking monster eggs up. They both stood there until all the kids were out of sight. They both didn't know what exactly to do now.
"Naofumi-sama. I have a request." She spoke nervously.
Naofumi figured she wanted to spend a little money, but that was fine. They had plenty now.
"I... Um, I'd like to go on a, um..." Raphtalia hated having to take the lead like this. She really wished Naofumi could take the lead, but knew he wasn't ready himself.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Naofumi asked cluelessly.
"A date. I want to go on a date... with you... Right now in fact." She just spat it out.
Naofumi stood stuck for a moment. Of course he was all for it, but a small part of him had to congratulate himself on a girl asking him out. Sure, they were already in a relationship... of some kind, but he had to mentally high-five himself in that moment.
Raphtalia was a little concerned about the moment of silence that passed after she said the words, but then Naofumi smiled and spoke.
"Absolutely! ..., but I have no more experience with this than you do... So, what the hell do we do?"
Now they had to openly discuss their ideas, because they just had no clue. Neither had thought this far ahead. They'd just ate, so the most obvious destination was off the table.
...
With Monti and Teal
...
As they walked they were discussing what to do and Monti began doubting his actions.
"I agree giving Mom and Dad some time to themselves is good and all, but was it really a good idea to split us up in this way? Filo and Leon shouldn't be together without us there, poor Melty won't be able to handle them... Though Filo will probably hold back with Leon after what happened." Monti was second guessing his decision.
"Yeah. Leon's anger is focused on that Ren bastard, so he'll probably let Filo slide a bit more. And like you said, Filo will hold back too. This is probably their best chance to get along. Stop questioning it. It was the right decision."
"I glad someone has confidence in my choices. I just hope-"
Something hit Teal wrong. She had something to say and now was the time to say it.
"Why don't you have confidence in your decisions? It was the right one. No one questioned it, but you. Literally everyone else agreed." Teal said in a huff.
"Um, what's your problem? I'm just a bit concerned." Monti now thought he screwed up again.
"Monti, why do you act like this sometimes? You have no reason to second guess yourself over things that are both small and that you are very much right about." Teal was sounding more concerned than annoyed now.
"Oh, sorry, I just-"
"And stop apologizing to me. You don't owe me one... It really annoys me how you seem to lack confidence sometimes. Like when we're together, there's no problem, but the moment you aren't busy, you scrutinize everything you've ever done. Why?"
Teal's way of addressing the issue was less than optimal, but Monti still answered.
"...I mean... How am I going to make decisions better than the rest of you? Mom and Dad are much older, you're way smarter, Filo can literally just know what people are like at a glance somehow, even Leon knows perfect information on valuables... I don't have any of that."
"You have our respect!" Teal spat. "You're my big brother, OUR big brother. You work harder than the rest of us and give more thought to any of our decisions than we do. Everyone agrees. If Mom and Dad aren't around, you're in charge. And that decision was all of ours. Mom and Dad thinks that's wise, I think it's smart, Filo feels it's the right thing to do, and Leon sees the value in your words."
There was a pause after she spoke in which neither spoke, before Teal continued.
"You have any idea how frustrating it is to see someone you respect disrespect themselves? Stop it."
Certainly Teal was still terrible at communicating with others and her emotions messed her thinking all up, but she got her point across. Monti let her words sink in a moment. After which, he wore a big grin.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
"So now what should we do?" Monti asked, realizing he was now asking her to make a decision right after she told him to have confidence in his decisions.
Teal didn't notice that context or if she did, she didn't care. Her lips formed a cruel smile.
"How about I help you seduce that tailor woman?"
Monti half fell, but caught himself with his tail. His face was several shades more red and he began to sputter.
"N-No! Abso-Absolutely not! And that's t-the final decision!" He managed.
"Oh, what do you know? C'mon, I bet she's into younger men just like Sophia is."
Teal didn't even notice how hypocritical her words were based on what they were just talking about. Monti was still recoiling in embarrassment.
"C'mon. The worst she can say is no. She might think it's cute and give you a little kiss at least. Personally, I got the feeling that she's a real freak, you could probably-"
Monti wrapped his tail around her neck and pulled her face to his hand that promptly covered her mouth.
"Stop, stop, stop! I'm a kid! She is not! The answer is NO!"
"And there's that confidence in your decisions." Teal thought as she gave up her plans... for now.
She decided to let Monti decide what they did for the rest of the day. Maybe agreeing with him a bit more would help?
...
With Filo, Leon and Melty
...
After walking a good distance away from Naofumi and Raphtalia, the three had to think of what to do. While Melty was trying to make suggestions, Filo and Leon kept walking, resulting in her being dragged along helplessly.
Melty wanted to ask Filo a few questions about Naofumi, since she felt that Filo was probably with Naofumi early enough to know more about what happened. She just didn't know how to start the conversation off.
Filo and Leon suddenly stopped when they heard singing from a bar nearby.
"That's not a normal tavern, we can't go in." Melty was still of the mind that they were kids and only children, but Filo was too stubborn and Leon too prideful to follow any rule they didn't like. They were royal beasts.
They went to the door and Filo saw a few people singing on a small stage only a foot or so higher than the rest of the place. Leon saw as a few people dropped a coin or two in front of the singers.
Filo and Leon looked at each other. Without a word between them, the plan was made. Melty wanted to give up at this point.
Filo and Leon started to walk into the bar, but an adult spotted them and stepped into the door-frame.
"Sorry kids, this place has nothing for children." He tried to say, but-
"I wanna sing~." Filo disregarded the man and went to squeeze around him.
He tried to grab her while saying, "Now hold on, I said-"
He stopped himself from touching Filo as he felt Leon's eyes on him. Indeed, Leon also had [Baleful Presence] inherited from his biological father and had good control of it as well. He gave the man just enough to tell him to not touch his sister, but no more. He knew the man meant well.
Leon and Melty followed Filo's lead as they entered to establishment. Melty wore a frown. It wasn't very clean, there was a lot of smoke and the adults were more unsavory than she'd like. Filo either didn't notice or didn't care. The moment the current singers left the small stage to get a drink, Filo stole the spot and began to sing.
Leon had to hear Filo sing a lot on the road. She honestly sang more than she didn't. And with only her as a reference, he ignorantly thought she was about average, maybe worse. However, the sudden change of mood in the small bar had to make him change his opinion on that. The audience was unhappy with the child for all of two seconds before they heard her little songs.
These men worked as manual laborers and so the type of songs she was singing (the type you sing to yourself while you stay on task) was right up their alley. It was almost amusing to see these grown burly men start to nod and sway to Filo's words.
Filo only knew about ten songs and one was a lullaby, so she couldn't really sing that here. Even while singing, she began to realize that she was going to need new material. She'd prioritize that more than her new super duper magic... maybe.
While Leon posted himself up to receive donations, Melty was floored by Filo's natural talent. As the donations came in, the three shared a look that told them they knew exactly how their day was going to be spent.
...
With Naofumi and Raphtalia
...
They both decided that they didn't like the idea of staying in town with that young knight running around looking for Naofumi, so they decided to walk around outside the town. Slowly walking along the streams, sitting on the cobblestone walls, posting themselves against a well-placed tree and watching the sky and fields. All while they opened up a bit more.
They'd done their best to present themselves as parents to the kids when it was needed, but they were far from fully grown themselves, emotionally speaking.
Naofumi shared more about his former life and former world. Telling Raphtalia a few embarrassing things hoping that it would help her do the same. He heard that she was about to say something to Melty, but stopped herself. He felt she had some other terrible pain and that he'd want to tend to that as well, if she'd let him.
Raphtalia had far less time behind her than Naofumi, so she focused on talking about what she wanted to do as opposed to what had already been done. About places she wanted to visit, foods she'd like to try, things she'd like to do. While she never said it, in her mind Naofumi was there too. Right next to her doing all these things with her. Living life with her. She knew Naofumi would not hesitate to make her aspirations his own.
As they kept talking, Naofumi found himself not holding her hand and instead having his arm around her waist, holding her closer, and Raphtalia began feeling less self-conscious and so stopped trying to act more mature than she really was. She sometimes had some of that child-like excitement escape while she described things.
Their day was therapeutic for the both of them. They both began to have similar thoughts about their relationship. That it wasn't about big dates or sweeping gestures or any of that. It was about living life comfortably beside one another. It wasn't exciting, in fact, some might call it boring, but it felt right to the two of them.
Their goals were the same as they were that night Naofumi fell asleep in her arms. They'd seek happiness in all its forms. It's just that there were a lot more ways to achieve happiness than they thought and it'd take a lifetime to explore them at least.
At one point, Naofumi leaned in and kissed Raphtalia on the cheek. It wasn't much, especially considering the french kiss she gave him before, but Naofumi initiated it. Which was a big deal to the both of them.
...
With Monti and Teal
...
As the pair walked from shop to shop, Monti thought it would be a great opportunity to get Teal's input on the spells he was working on. He explained the loop magic she didn't know about and used that and what the Nue did as a reference for his ability he was calling [Overdrive]. He was hoping to generate enough electricity to not only power his spells further, but shroud his body in lightning to power it up like the Nue did.
Teal already decided she was going to respond positively to whatever he said, but this was truly praiseworthy in her mind.
"See? This is what I was talking about. Even stuck riding in the cart, you found a way to get better! That'll be a much needed boost in the wave... and if you do it right, it might even help your stamina in the short term."
"Thanks, but I bring it up because I have hit a roadblock. The electricity doesn't leave my body without me expressly wanting it to. So coating my body would need my full attention and that isn't very useful... Thoughts?"
Teal was confused by that, "Won,t leave unless you expressly want it to... That doesn't make sense. From what I've read from my book so far, magic moves freely and it's you, the caster, that has to tame it."
"See, my book says the same, but... Wait, how far are you into the book? You only got them this morning?"
"Not far, I skimmed it a bit, but I'm not diving into it like Leon has yet. Still, I think I have a feeling about the problem."
Monti was relieved she hadn't shown him up yet.
"Oh? Just like that? Please tell me."
"... You hold back."
"W-What? No. I try really hard, you said so yourself."
Teal stopped before entering another shop and met his eyes, "It's just something Filo and I talked about once before. She said she hated that you held back so much during your sparring. Filo is under the impression that you're stronger than her. As in physically stronger than her... and I agree."
"That makes no sense. I'm not holding back, Filo is a beast and just-"
"Uses full force?"
"Yeah..."
Teal gave him a smile before continuing into the next shop. "I get holding back on family, but Filo can take it. Like you said, she's a beast... Actually, I don't think I've ever seen you use full force. I'm sure you would have against Gaelion's corpse, but you never had the opportunity..."
Something just came to mind.
"Monti, can I ask you something?" Teal asked evenly.
That was the biggest, reddest flag that Monti had ever seen. Teal doesn't ask questions like that. She always acted like nothing was off limits...
"Sure..."
"Do you... hold back because you're afraid you'll hurt someone? Or that we won't see you the same? Maybe your strength being inconsistent and you not letting that lightning run free is you controlling yourself too much."
"Well... Discipline is important. It's helped me a lot."
"I get that, but you don't have to be a tight ass all the time. No one would think ill of you if you did... Tell you what. Tomorrow, you should step out of town and just try hitting something, anything with all you might. I think you don't understand what full force is."
They exited the last shop on the main street and headed back to the Erhart's.
"Fine, fine. I'll absolutely end some poor rock or balloon tomorrow, just to satisfy you."
Neither bought a thing the whole day, but they mapped out all the shops and what they had. Perhaps later they'd return to them with the others and make a purchase or two.
...
With Filo, Leon, and Melty
...
The three of them traveled to their fourth venue so far. They had made a fare bit of coin, which Leon was all about. Filo got to sing and get free food every once in a while, so she was more than happy. Melty was enjoying herself too, but remembered her real reason for traveling with them.
During the travel time or when Filo was eating, Melty found moments to ask Filo about what happened between the King and Naofumi. She was disappointed to find out that Filo had never seen the man. She did, however, recall some nasty business with the princess shortly after she was born. Unfortunately, Filo had forgotten. She told Melty that she'd need to ask Monti for any more details.
As Filo started to sing, the whole tavern perked up and just as the last three times, the place suddenly had a nicer atmosphere.
There was one major difference though. Sitting with most of his party was Motoyasu himself. The moment he heard the singing, his neck nearly snapped as he turned to its source. The idiot marveled at Filo, telling himself that she looked just like one of his favorite characters from one of his favorite games.
His party could only sigh as he got up and went towards Filo. He saw Leon and Melty next to Filo. He needed to know more about this perfect angel (as he described her), but didn't want to interrupt her singing.
The moment she was done with the first song, he went to asked, but Filo began the next one right away.
Leon absolutely hated the look he was giving his sister, but he could also sense that this man had a lot of coin, A LOT. He'd tolerate the looking at his sister as a piece of meat. Besides, Filo could handle herself. Motoyasu hung around annoyingly, but donated a gold coin, so Leon was satisfied. Motoyasu still threw money around, not understanding its value.
Once Filo had sung her last song, she went to walk towards the server, hoping to get a snack for free as she did from the first three places they went to. Motoyasu tried to call out to her, but the crowd gave her a small applause and it drowned his voice out.
Filo was happily eating her free snacks when Motoyasu finally made it through the crowd to her side. Motoyasu took this opportunity to bend to one knee and ask:
"Oh sweet maiden, please grace me with your name."
Melty and Leon both looked rather annoyed, but said nothing. Filo tilted her head in confusion. As if reading his intentions were a little harder than usual. She stared at him for a moment. She had snacks to eat and couldn't talk and eat at the same time, she was corrected on that behavior a few times already.
So she decided to finish all of her snack before answering Motoyasu. After all, snacks are more important. While she ate, she stared at Motoyasu. It took her a moment to remember him from the race she won.
"Does he want a rematch? Imma win again!"
Once she was done, she turned to him still on one knee.
"Filo is Filo Iwatani~." She said with a smile.
Motoyasu's face went from happy to have received her name, to twisted in shock.
"Iwatani...?" Motoyasu asked again, hoping he misheard.
"Yup, Filo is Filo Iwatani, like how Leon is Leon Iwatani." She said, pointing to Leon.
Motoyasu was not wanting to believe this. Here was this perfect little angel, a flawless, cute personification of all his preferences... And she had some connection to Naofumi!?
Melty saw Motoyasu's reaction to the last name and figured it was one of the people that Naofumi had issues with. She didn't want to cause more trouble for Naofumi and so walked up to Filo with Leon at her side.
"Hey, Filo-chan? We need to get going. We have to get back before dark or Naofumi will be angry."
She said this on purpose to gauge his reaction. It was one of deep worry and then anger. As the three went to leave, Motoyasu tried to stop them. His teammates came to his side and let him know that it was time to meet up with Malty. Motoyasu was frustrated and after a moment he called out to Filo.
"Filo-chan, don't tell me Naofumi bought you from that slaver!?"
Just before they were out of view, Filo turned back in confusion. All she said was, "How'd he know that?"
Which confirmed it for Motoyasu. In his mind, he was thinking of why Naofumi would need such a cute girl. The thoughts nearly threw him into a rage.
"I'll free you from him, just wait for me!"
...
With Naofumi and Raphtalia
...
They'd nearly fallen asleep beneath the tree they stopped at. To avoid that, they began the walk again, following another stream a bit.
Raphtalia asked something out of the blue.
"Naofumi. Would you think ill of me if I told you there was someone I wanted to kill?"
Now that certainly woke him up. He never imagined Raphtalia would say something like that, but given her past, it was foolish to think she didn't have someone she hated that much.
"Of course not. Your enemies are my enemies... Is it the king?"
Raphtalia smiled. Naofumi didn't just say he didn't think less of her for it, but actively accepted it.
"No. I hate him and he deserves to die, but the one I hate the most... is my last slave master. He was about as evil as I believe a human can get. In so doing, I don't recognize his person-hood."
That was her way of thinking about things to not make herself sound like a hypocrite.
"I don't even want to imagine... There's something I want to tell you, but please don't get mad."
Raphtalia was interested. As if he could say anything to anger her right now. She gave him a look and he continued.
"I know something else you'd want to kill, but I kept it from you at the time... That wave boss, the one that... I got information on where it is right now. We didn't have the time to fight it, then, but I promise after the wave we'll-"
Raphtalia ran into him and hugged him. She was so very relieved.
She was afraid telling Naofumi about her less savory thoughts, thoughts of revenge and hate, would push him away or even worse have him pursue his own too early..., but he was perfectly aware that she was just as flawed as everyone else and had already planned some revenge for her, while keeping her safety at the forefront. She didn't need to pretend to be more mature or more kind than she was.
"Thank you." Was all she said, but there was a lot in those two words.
He returned her hug and whispered to her. "We have a life ahead of us and kids to raise, but if there's anything behind us that is keeping us from moving ahead, we will deal with it together. I promise."
Without any more words, they resolved to slay the other's enemies if it offered them the peace they needed.
...
In front of Erhart's shop
...
All parties met up, Monti and Teal talked about them mapping out the stores, while Filo and Leon surprised them all by making nearly two gold off of Filo's singing. Naofumi and Raphtalia kept their day to themselves and focused on the kids.
Melty had to leave and gave her politest parting words before running off.
They all agreed that since one group mapped all the shops and the other group made the money, they'd all go spend some of it the next day at those shops. Naofumi considered having another whole day for just Raphtalia and himself, but thought against it. Tomorrow was the day to receive his armor, the present, the weapons and the clothes.
It'd be a good day, right?
.
[Author's Notes]
So I've implemented the heroes meet up scene in a different way thoughts?
Leon legit wants to kill or at least heavily beat the crap out of Ren and his cold cool persona is doing him no favors.
Melty knows Naofumi's secret, but not the other way around yet. How can she reveal this correctly.
Got some more interactions between Monti and Teal, with Monti and Teal's negative traits being on full display
Filo has made her debut as a singer, Leon may have a future as her producer lol.
Naofumi and Raphtalia got some slow moving alone time. I didn't use much dialogue then because the chapter was already long and to be honest, what was said was less important than that it was said.
So this is how 'Lord Simp Motoyasu' finds out about Filo being in Naofumi's party.
Naofumi and Raphtalia talk about some of their later goals a bit.
Tell me, whose section did you like the most?
Please leave a review.