"Talking"

"Thinking"

[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]

…

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?

...

The next day

...

The family gathered in the downstairs area of the inn the following morning. Everyone was in a great mood. Today was planned to be really fun. They'd get all the things they paid for and even still have some fun around town. Even better, Raphtalia's burn was now completely gone and she was once again in good health.

Naofumi got their attention.

"Okay kids, listen up. We'll be grabbing the clothes first, then we'll hit Erhart's. After that, we can have some fun, alright?"

The kids all shot their fists up, ready for the fun. "RIGHT!"

Naofumi and Raphtalia couldn't help but smile at their excitement, and it'd only increase when they got the present. They just had to make it through-

...

The Tailor's shop

...

"Aaahhhh! There you are! There you are! Come inside NOW!" The tailor yelled as she practically guarded the door waiting for them to appear.

The family made it in just in time for the young knight to miss them and keep on his search.

Naofumi knew that this was the only annoying thing he had to deal with today (that he knew of) and so he and Raphtalia just had to grin and bear with it.

"Let's start off with the majestic dragon first~!" The woman all but threw the clothes at him and pushed him in the changing room. The tailor squirmed with excitement right outside.

After a moment, Leon stepped out and even Filo couldn't hide her surprise. Leon's robes came in three layers.

The inner most layer was comfortable and padded, appearing to be made of a black satin-like material. This layer was simple and covered the entire inside of the outfit, including the inside of the hood.

The second or middle layer was the bulk of the outfit. It was mostly black, with a heavy gold trimming forming a flame pattern. It had several pockets littered about, which was supposed to be for magical material, but Leon already decided that they were coin pouches. All of them. This was also the layer that the pants were in the style of, though the inside was likely also the satin black.

For the outer most layer, two cloths that started down the front of each shoulder and stopped at the waistline, with the back being one solid layer of cloth that went past the waistline a bit. The two front strips had a magic symbol on each of them, while the back had one larger symbol on it. This layer was also black with the words in gold.

The whole family marveled while Leon stood there, eyes closed, looking so comfortable that he was about to fall asleep. If not for his horn going through the hole on the hood, keeping the hood from completely hiding his face, he probably would be asleep.

"That's right! A dragon must be striking and gold is their color! The magic words on the front are 'Answer' and 'Fire', as if to say that his answer will always be fire! While the symbol on the back is the magic word for 'Slumbering'. It's so perfect I could almost die! B-but I can't die yet!"

She handed Teal her outfit and she walked into the changing room. It took her quite a bit longer, and who could blame her? She had no idea how to put it on.

"Do you need help?" Naofumi asked

"No!" Was all he heard from Teal. It almost sounded a bit embarrassed. The idea that he could embarrass Teal gave him a sense of power that his shield could never hope to reach.

After a bit longer, Teal came out with some hesitation.

Teal's kimono was a light blue at the top and slowly grew a deeper blue as it went down. Accompanying the color change was a beautiful flower pattern throughout the kimono that started off as green at the top, but slowly turned red as they reach the bottom. It wasn't just beautiful, it was elegant. It also seemed to compliment everything about Teal, from the reddest petals matching her eyes, to the greenest petals complimenting her skin.

The whole outfit was freeing and had a slimming effect that added to an otherworldly appearance. The sleeves were quite long, but Teal could simply extend her arms to easily maneuver. That went for the whole outfit though, she could adjust basically anything; the collar angle, the tightness, anything. It focused on comfort just like Leon's, but in a different way.

Like the other three kids, it gave her a look of nobility, but in an entirely different way. The last thing about the outfit was hard to place. It may be its unisex nature, but in a way the outfit heightened her beauty, not only as a girl, but as a boy. With multiple factors, it was seemingly being made better in such a way as to not take away from one another.

Naofumi couldn't put it into words, but it was like Teal looked more like a girl and a boy at the same time in an appealing way.

"Now, I don't want to hear any-"

"SQUEE!" The tailor exclaimed, but Naofumi could have sworn he heard Raphtalia make the same noise too.

"Wow. That look perfect on you sis." Monti complimented.

Even Leon opened his eyes for a moment to look at her. A moment later, he closed his eyes and gave a thumbs up. Filo ran to Teal's side and was being her usual bouncy chipper self.

"You're super cute~! Super~super~-"

"Enough!" Teal all but screamed in embarrassment.

Naofumi made sure to capture that embarrassing look of hers with his [Photograph]. She saw he had done so and turned to face him as an enemy.

"Don't you dare."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but look." Naofumi said with a snicker while he projected the image on the wall, blowing up her look of embarrassment.

"Oh, you are the worst! ...Damn I'm cute as shit, huh?" Her attitude took a heavy turn after looking at herself in the picture.

Raphtalia walked to her side and took a knee, "Language..., but yes, yes you are." She pat Teal on the head.

"Of course she is! I've never worked with such an odd style, but I've mastered it in a single attempt! ...Ignore the trashed failures... With this 'Kimono' as you call it, I've mastered the duality of a woman's graceful beauty and a man's noble spirit. Two opposites joining to create something new, something better! And that's to say nothing of the flower pattern that doubles as leaves to symbolize the change and renewal. Does she not represent nature itself!? Is she not a nature goddess made flesh!?"

Everyone had deadpan looks, but Teal and Monti. Teal turned to Monti and said, "Okay, she gives crazy good compliments. I see why you like her."

After a bit of looking over the two, Raphtalia approached the tailor.

"Thanks for such beautiful work. The kids love it... Do you perhaps have ours done?"

"Hmm? Yes. At first, I had little motivation, but seeing as you two will be walking around with these perfect beings I thought I needed to put in some extra effort. Here." She handed Naofumi and Raphtalia some clothes.

"These can be worn with your armor or without. They should give you the look appropriate as their parents."

Naofumi and Raphtalia exchanged looks before going into the changing rooms.

"After embarrassing me like that, father...Prepare yourself."

Naofumi was noticing similarities between Teal and the witch. This wasn't good. He wouldn't buckle though. Unlike the witch, Teal was his daughter. He'd out embarrass her any day of the week.

After getting changed, Naofumi stepped out ready to defend himself. Teal didn't immediately retaliate, but instead stared with the rest of the kids.

Naofumi's outfit stayed the same green color of his eyes, which everyone agreed was a good thing. The cloak remained the lightest green, while the shirt and pants remained the darkest. However, the shirt and pants now had some lighter green mixed in to form patterns that looked like vines growing up a metal fence.

Naofumi's outfit almost seemed kingly. He had a high collar that seemed to frame his head well to his body. His sleeves unbuttoned to the elbow, as to fit his thick gloves underneath before re-buttoning it. This meant his coat wasn't obscured by the gloves at all. His shirt had some frills in place of buttons or a collar, but wasn't too overdone.

The outfit didn't really have coattails as much as it had side tails. Two pieces of the upper outfit passed his knees on either side, covering where his leg armor would be. Perhaps it'd be best to attach that armor to these instead of the leggings? It'd help with movement. Lastly, his cloak was a bit longer and frilled at the edges. The fluffy material that once lined the top of his outfit near the collar was much thicker and was rather expensive looking.

Since the kids didn't say anything, he walked over to the full length mirror.

"...Shit. This is pretty good." Naofumi said to himself.

"I think your cursing is why Teal curses." Raphtalia replied.

Naofumi heard her voice closer than it should be and turned to see Raphtalia had exited the changing room while he had his back turned. The kids once again said nothing.

Raphtalia's outfit also looked like it was of a higher class. The boring khaki colored undergarment was replaced with a thinner dress-like material of a darker, flat pink color. It still puffed just a bit at the shoulders, and the part that made the bottom most part of the skirt hung just a bit lower with it ending with a stylish pattern. It also had more of a proper place for her tail to pass through comfortably.

Her long cloth boots were replaced entirely. The new boots were sleeker, with it being light faded pick and a somewhat darker flat red. It had a long crisscross lacing that ran the length of the boot, made to show a little leg, but also maximize tightness to her form. Though it was a boot, it came to a sharper point at the toes than most do. There was also a far more solid noise as she traveled with them. They had the sound of a solid, formal dress shoe, though the sole of the boots near the toes were made of a different material that sounded far quieter.

The ribbon that she wore on her collar was still present, but it was a sight larger with a decorative pattern on itself, instead of being one solid color. It also was part of a crisscross lace that formed at the chest of the dress, allowing for a more comfortable fit around the area (it also gave Naofumi just the slightest tease of her cleavage).

They stared at each other a moment. The kids all seemed to approve. After a bit, Naofumi turned to the Tailor and waited.

"What?" the Tailor asked in confusion.

Naofumi would never admit that he was excited to hear her little rant about how good he and Raphtalia looked. He did his best to hide his disappointment.

Naofumi walked up to the tailor and handed her two gold coins.

"Ah, there must be some mistake. The clothes for these four would be 50 silver and you've already paid me right?."

"No. It's easily worth this, more if we paid for what Monti and Filo's were really worth... You do great work. We're using you exclusively in the future."

The tailor brightened considerably at that. She then tried to rant more about the kids' 'superior aesthetic' and they had to find their chance to escape.

...

Erhart's Shop

...

As expected, everyone was in high spirits. Teal walked with more comfort than she ever had in that skirt, and Leon was so happy in his toasty robes that he looked like he was probably going to fall asleep standing, if not for Filo messing with him. In truth, he was reading his grimoire inside his robes and wished she'd stop.

While Naofumi tried to hide the good mood the new clothes gave him, Raphtalia was bouncing with every step. Naofumi thought about this and thought that he'd get her more clothes that didn't go with armor at some point.

As Erhart's store came into view, Filo was made more happy by seeing Melty waiting for them.

"Mel-chan~!" Filo ran ahead to the blue haired girl and nearly overtook her as she ran up and hugged her.

"It's good to see you as always Filo-chan." Melty said as she hugged Filo back.

"Here again today? Not that I mind, but doesn't your mother and father worry that you're spending too much time with us?"

Melty turned to see Naofumi and the others in their new outfits. She was told they'd have new clothes yesterday, but they truly were amazing. She almost forgot to respond.

"Y-No. It's fine... If I can be a little forthright with you, I hate the opinion that the nobles have of you AND the opinion you have of the nobles... That includes royalty. I just want to um, I want to show you that we're not all bad and that some of us see your merits."

Naofumi wasn't expecting that kind of response, but it wasn't unwelcome. He pat her head as he moved toward the door of the shop.

"I'd like to think I'm mature enough to differentiate the good nobles from the bad ones."

Melty found those words very comforting as she went up to Teal and Leon to talk about their clothes. Raphtalia joined Naofumi and let the kids lag behind a bit.

Erhart greeted the pair with a little bit of tiredness.

"Eh, Kid... and the lass. Welcome. Hey, wait! Where did a punk like you get clothes like that? And the Lass... You're not ready for clothes like that, lass."

"I'm glad our choice in fashion could wake you up a bit. Don't tell me you worked late, even though I said not to."

"Get off my back, kid, you ain't my woman. I just got a little into the work is all."

"Does that mean that you finished all that work, Mr. Erhart?" Raphtalia asked.

"Nearly. Everything is done except your armor, kid. It's a damn good step up, but the finer details are just a bit time heavy."

Naofumi perked up at that.

"So the ball is ready?" Naofumi asked and Raphtalia matched his excitement.

"Yeah, yeah, the stupid toy is ready. Kid, you realize you could've made a damn fine armor for the lass for the materials and cost this thing took right?"

Naofumi understood what he was saying. "Raphtalia has my shield and we will watch each other's back as best we can. Raphtalia will need new armor, but I plan to get that before the next wave after this. That's probably when I'll be able to afford the transforming armor additions to the kids clothes too."

"Well, as long as you're convinced." He said, not convinced.

"By the way, if 'everything' is done besides my chestplate... mind if I place one more order?"

"Kid. I know I said I can deal in I.O.U.s, but I'm going to need to prioritize other work soon or-"

Naofumi sat 10 more gold on the counter. Erhart stopped immediately.

"I thought you said you were broke?"

"We finally got some good karma. Some noble's daughter we helped brought us a big reward the other day. She's out there playing with the kids now."

"Well, I'll be damned. and here I thought life had it out for you, kid."

"You and me both..."

After that, they discussed the last item he wanted made. At its description, Erhart raised an eyebrow, but after hearing it out Raphtalia was chuckling.

"I'm sure that'll be right up his alley."

"I figured... Now we just need the kids to try their weapons, but first I'm enchanting that gift. It'll need it."

Roughly 15 minutes later, the three exited the shop to see the five kids playing. As soon as they saw Naofumi and Raphtalia, they calmed down a bit.

"Alright. Monti, Filo, Leon. Time to test out your transforming weapons."

This was an exciting moment for all of them. Teal and Melty stood beside Naofumi, Raphtalia and Erhart. Filo insisted on going first and neither brother argued against it.

She transformed into her full form and Raphtalia assisted her in putting the Wyvern Claws on. After a brief moment, she transformed into her human form. The bladed claws formed a pair of leather and metal shoes that came to a single sharp metal point at the tip. Naofumi couldn't decide which version hurt worse.

Filo seemed pleased, but it'd take her a bit to get used to wearing shoes. She had walked around barefoot until now and she liked it.

Leon went next. Leon looked at his weapon as it was handed to him. It was the staff and spear he had asked for. It stood just barely taller than himself and was made of a metal that seemed to have a faint blue hue to it. The top had a cup-like hole filled with one of the crystal ore he had imbued his mana into. Around that crystal were two large blades that formed on either side and met together above the crystal to form the spearhead of the weapon.

It really was exactly what he asked for. The clothes too. He felt kind of dumb for not just being open with his parents to begin with.

He transformed into his full form, which was a little bigger than it was just two days ago. Most of the people on the street saw the dragon and ran.

Naofumi thought to himself that maybe it wasn't the brightest idea to do this in town.

As the small amount of smoke cleared, they saw the results. In full form, Leon's robes changed into a black and gold scarf that hung around his neck, which looked cuter than a giant dragon had any right to be. His weapon, however, left his hands/claws and instead grew and wrapped itself around his horn. The weapon's tip matched his own horns tip.

He quickly changed back, realizing how much of a commotion he just caused.

Naofumi seemed to ignore the commotion and cared far more at making sure all of the weapons and clothes worked.

Monti went with a bit of reluctance. Melty was curious about Monti, as when she asked him last time, he seemed almost ashamed and refused to tell her what he was.

In a puff of smoke he transformed, revealing his Manticore form. Melty was more than a little shocked. He looked downright terrifying to her, but at the same time it didn't seem so bad as to explain why he refused to tell her. Not that she knew what exactly he was.

A few more people fled at the sight of Monti as Raphtalia helped attach the Unicorn Horn to his tail. Once she was done, she stood back and awaited his transformation.

With another puff of smoke, he returned to his human form with a smaller version of the Unicorn Horn still firmly attached to his tail.

With everything handled here, they'd need to only go to the magic shop to attune Leon's staff, but Naofumi thought that would be best left to tomorrow, before the wave. After all, he'd need another staff attuned then...

He now got to reveal the gift he had been keeping a secret. Something the kids desperately needed in his eyes. He walked out in front of the group and went to pull out the gift.

"Alright kids, I have somethi-"

[Alert! Danger Imminent!]

"NAOFUMI!" Naofumi turned to see Motoyasu coming down on him with his spear. He raised his shield to block, but didn't have time to use [Parry] or another skill. The force pushed him back several feet.

"I don't have my armor, but even still he's quite powerful."

"What the fuck are you on about now!?" Naofumi was in such a good mood seconds ago.

Before he responded, Motoyasu caught the kids out the corner of his eye and it only served to make him angrier.

"First Raphtalia-chan, and now Filo-chan and those other children too! Is there no depths you're not willing to lower yourself to!?"

He then threw his spear at Naofumi with [Air Strike Javelin], which Naofumi simply used [Parry] to knock aside.

"Stop attacking me before I beat the fucking brakes off of you!"

Melty wanted to step in, but didn't want to reveal herself. She also saw the rest of the party was about to step in.

Motoyasu used a skill called [Banner Summoning] to teleport to his spear to catch Naofumi off guard, but-

[Alert! Danger Imminent!]

Naofumi used his advanced warning to block the next strike that Motoyasu thought he couldn't have.

"H-How the hell..."

They struggled pushing against one another a moment.

"Why are you doing this, idiot!? The wave is a day away!"

"Do you think I'll overlook your cruel actions because you flaunt the waves as an excuse!? You use a party of slaves! Doing something like that to sweet little Filo-chan is-"

Motoyasu stopped himself and disengaged as Raphtalia came down on him with her sword, then swung again to force him to grow the distance between them a little further.

"Raphtalia-chan, please just a moment and I'll free y-"

"I told you before that I'll never forgive you and yet you choose to add to the list of reasons I have to hate you!?" Raphtalia words had more bite and venom than either Naofumi nor Motoyasu expected.

Suddenly, a small fireball formed above Motoyasu's head and landed on him from his blind spot.

[First Fireball]

Even the others were surprised that Leon just cast a spell with so little time to read his book, but the damage was next to nothing against the huge level gap between the two.

The small smoke cleared and Motoyasu stepped out unharmed. He looked at the kids with an oddly nice look.

"Don't worry, I know you can't help but listen to him. I'll avoid hurting you all. Wait for me Filo-chan."

He then broke some of the ground as he shot at Naofumi. Raphtalia went to swing her sword to intercept him. Motoyasu thought he'd breeze past it with time to spare. However-

[Blightning]

Once struck, he became just slow enough for Raphtalia to intercept and he was forced to stop his advance. The moment he stopped small roots came up between the bricks of the street and tried to bind him, courtesy of Teal. Motoyasu had the stats to simply tear the roots free of him as he stepped. The roots could only slow him, not immobilize him.

"I bet you're loving this Naofumi. Sicking children on me like this? How can you not see how wrong this is? Someone like sweet and cute Filo-chan should not be a man's slave."

"She isn't my slave! Why do you just assume that shit!?"

"Don't deny it.! Filo-chan told me herself yesterday that she was bought from the same slaver as Raphtalia! You can't wiggle out of this!"

Motoyasu began moving the moment the slowing effect of [Blightning] faded.

Monti tried another [Blightning], but Motoyasu was ready this time. He used [Turbine] to catch and absorb the attack. As Leon moved to get in his way, he launched the attack at him, stunning Leon.

Before he could reach Naofumi, Filo stepped between them and Motoyasu stopped his advance.

"Little Filo-chan, please move. Once I deal with Naofumi, you'll be free. I'm sure he makes you do all kinds of awful things."

"Not really. I just have to pull the cart and hunt. My chores aren't that big."

"P-Pull the ca-cart!? Like that damned bird!? Every time I learn something about you, Naofumi, the worse you are. Someone as perfect and pure as Filo-chan needs to be far away from you. I'll rescue her from your cruelty and treat her the way she should be tr-"

"I smell strong pheromones about him." Was all Teal said.

Everyone stopped. Naofumi, Raphtalia and Teal realized it. The way he spoke about Filo, how he prioritized her.

"You can't be serious!?" Naofumi ran between Filo and Motoyasu

"As if Filo would be interested in someone like you. Filo's appeal is her purity. You look like some kind of bed hopper to me. Someone as high quality as Filo requires faithfulness." Teal criticized. Naofumi would need to have a talk with her later.

"Hey, that's not true! I'm an upstanding man! I'd never-"

"I don't even know what you're saying and I can tell it's a lie."

"Ah, wh-Filo-chan no, I'm not like that." Motoyasu tried to approach Filo. In that moment, Monti and Leon finally got what they were talking about, which sent a rage through the both of them.

"He better not be doing what I think he is..." Monti managed not to yell.

"I don't have such sick motivations, I simply want to free sweet little Filo-chan and-"

"Stop talking so affectionately about our daughter!" Raphtalia yelled.

Motoyasu was now confused. "Daughter? Our?"

"Yeah. Touch my sister and I'm gonna break your arms!" Leon bellowed

The confusion only increased. "Sister? They're siblings?"

"If you do not leave right now and leave me and my family alone, I'm seriously going to kill you Motoyasu!"

"Family!? The hell?"

The seriousness of his words made the family act. They stood together opposite Motoyasu, who stood alone.

"Using kids and slaves as shields!? Naofumi, I'll-"

"There will be no further warning. Get your sick ass away from Filo and the rest of us, NOW!"

Motoyasu didn't even consider the situation or the optics. All he considered was how to deal with Naofumi. He subconsciously took one step.

"S-stop..." Melty called quietly.

That was the starting bell, it seemed.

Leon went to breathe fire, but purposely made it fail [Smog Of War], he shot out a large amount of fumes to cover Motoyasu in smoke.

Motoyasu waited for the next attack... another [Fast Fireball] came from in front of him. He smacked it aside easily, but at the same time, Monti had managed to overtake his back and used [Arc Discharge] dead center of Motoyasu's back. It did damage, but not much.

Monti remembered what Teal had said to him before and what Filo had criticized him about a few times. He held back..., but this opponent was going to be stronger than him regardless of whether he held back or not... And the way he spoke and acted towards Filo, towards HIS little sister.

Monti transformed into his full form and struck Motoyasu with as much strength as his new weapon and tail could, lightning coming off of him in waves. Now that was good damage more than twice what his other attack did and this wasn't even a spell or ability. Motoyasu was launched towards the others, where both Raphtalia and Teal were ready. Raphtalia swung with her newest sword, while Teal gave the biggest right hook she could grow her arm into.

Motoyasu dug his spear into the bricked road, slowing his advance, giving him time to counter the following attacks. He was cursing himself for not mastering many defensive skills, or really not any skills that weren't damage dealing. He had no choice but to attack back, to counter power with power.

He swung his spear as he used [Sun Spear]. His spear began to glow orange as a strong heat radiated from the head of the spear.

The two sides collided for a moment, but Motoyasu was about to overtake them both. However, Filo flew in with her favorite combo of [High Quick] and [Blow Back] to turn the tide and the three of them over powered the attack and threw Motoyasu back into the smoke.

Motoyasu quickly picked himself up and dodged another three bolts of lightning, which was hard with the smoke obscuring his vision and the roots still grabbing at him.

Suddenly, Filo appeared in front of him and he lowered his guard. If she noticed, she didn't care. She kicked him once with each new shoe in the groin before transforming and laying into him with a long string of blows. She did so while moving all around him with her [Wind Walk] to attack from seemingly everywhere at once.

Because of the way he was around Filo, they wanted to keep her from going near him, but as always, Filo just did what Filo wanted.

As the string of attacks ended with a powerful kick, Motoyasu kept himself from falling due to his superior stats, but he felt like shit. He looked around, looking for a target. His eyes landed on Naofumi.

He wasn't thinking anymore as he brought up his spear and went to shout out a skill's name with everything he had.

"Stop! Stop at once! I command you all!" Melty yelled, but it was too late.

[Triaina]!

[Sunder]!

A large beam of energy shot out of Motoyasu's spear and was met by Naofumi's only real offensive ability. They struggled against one another for a moment before Naofumi's barely overtook Motoyasu's. The result was simply a strong gust that blew away the smoke and it left Motoyasu reeling.

"How in the hell is that possible!? [Triaina] is my strongest attack! It takes nearly half my SP and Naofumi of all people beat it!?"

He looked at the ground and saw that had he not used [Triaina], Naofumi's attack would of dealt incredible damage.

"A-And wait... Was Filo-chan a bird? That bird!? The hell's going on!?"

Before he could gather his thoughts, Malty and a large number of knights came to his side.

Malty stepped forward, holding a scroll in her hand.

"What I hold here is a royal decree. The shield hero must duel the spear hero. If he loses, then he loses his slave."

Malty went to look smugly at Naofumi, but she was bombarded with the [Baleful Presence] of both Naofumi and Leon.

She nearly collapsed and stood there, seemingly unable to grasp that there was about to be blood if she didn't back off. Her blood.

"You better pick that pedo piece of shit up and haul him out of here, and take your sorry ass with him! You're not taking anything from me anymore!"

Again, Malty stood there, confused as to what exactly was going to happen. Eventually, her mood landed on anger.

The whole party prepared to wipe out the knights and Malty with them, but Melty stepped between the two groups.

"That's quite enough!" Melty said.

Naofumi and his family were confused as to why Melty thought she could resolve the situation.

"O-Oh. I had no idea that you had returned to the capital... I thought you were with mother dear sister."

The family was collectively struck with that news.

Melty turned away from Naofumi and the others, fearing what kind of reaction they'd have.

"I, the second and crowned Princess Melty Q Melromarc, declare this duel cancelled. I rescind your royal decree and demand the immediate ending of all hostile actions by all parties."

Malty and Melty began to argue, but the knights already started to leave as they were told.

Naofumi felt a little betrayed, but at the same time, Melty's concerns made so much more sense in retrospect. She was trying to mend the relationship between Naofumi and that trash king of a father she had.

He pitied her impossible task.

Another small group of soldiers came from behind Naofumi, but instead of attempting to surround them, they positioned themselves between the opposing group and Naofumi's own group. The knight that Naofumi ran from before was among them and approached him.

"Shield Hero, I'm glad you're all right... I-We would like to speak with you. Please? We promise it'll only take a few minutes."

Naofumi glanced past the knights to Melty, who still had her back towards them.

"...Sure, but not here. We're causing trouble to the local businesses." Naofumi motioned for the family and these new people to follow him, but Filo didn't want to go.

"But what about Mel-chan? We gotta wait for her. She doesn't know where we're go-"

Naofumi picked her up and kept moving.

"For now, we have to leave her... We'll figure out where we stand later... Sorry." His words were meant for himself as much as Filo.

Filo wanted to kick up a fuss, but she felt the conflict in her father and so let him carry her away.

When Melty was finally done handling her sister and handing out orders to the knights, she stood still a few seconds before bracing herself and turning to face Naofumi...

"They're gone..." Melty announced as she began to cry a little.

.

[Author's Notes]

I did my best describing the clothes, I'm very green when it comes to detailed character descriptions. How'd I do?

Whose outfit was your favorite?

Filo has shoes, unironically the most necessary upgrade I've made.

Stupid Motoyasu ruined the reveal.

He got called out for his blatant behavior.

Fun Fact: [Triaina] was a precursor or weaker form of [Brionac] in the web novels, so it's pretty strong.

And the family whipped his ass together. (Because why wouldn't they step in.)

I've been slowing down lately due to more work. I'm hoping to keep updating more than once a week, but can promise nothing.

Please leave a review.