Author's Note:
Double chapter this week! Mostly because the next chapter and beyond might take more time as I prepare for them to tackle the Lute Wave. This chapter will be the actual start of Naofumi's adventure, with him having to come to terms with Raphtalia, Rifana and Keel. There's plenty of hijinx and humor and maybe even the beginnings of some romance while Naofumi has to deal with that. Notwithstanding the fact that demi-humans age as they level up and that they require massive amounts of food to do so. We see them grow as a group and individually and even start the process of healing as Raphtalia has one of her episodes. We also get the start of their journey as they leave Castle Town to begin leveling.
Responses to reviews:
To Krieger Techpreist: That's what I was going for, not for Naofumi to be able to somehow change everyone's mind at the trial (he would have been found guilty regardless because of Malty being Aultcray's daughter and his blind hatred to anything to do with Siltvelt, the Shield Hero included) but to put doubt in the minds of at least Ren who might have the smarts to see past the BS and hopefully Itsuki who might be more willing to listen to him in the name of justice. Moronyasu on the other hand, well, you'll see later on in later chapters.
To BLACKSERFT98: I'm glad you liked it, I always felt like Naofumi could have better handled things in regards to the trial. In canon, he didn't even really proclaim his innocence or even try to defend himself and even after, decided to lean on his bad reputation and gave up on the Three Heroes thinking they were useless. A lot could have been avoided if Naofumi was just willing to try and sit down with Itsuki and Ren at least before they started screwing up after the second wave with the northern territories by Itsuki and Ren killing Gaelion. You'll see how I handle that as things go along. The shield, again, I'm not going to really make up many shields as it's a huge hassle and I really don't want Naofumi to be much stronger than he was in canon as it'll disrupt plans that I have. I want him to better rely on Raphtalia, Rifana and Keel (and eventually the rest of his canon party members (although I'm debating changing up who he gets later on)). We'll see.
To Marx: Thanks for the review, I too read Qinlongfei's works and while there's a lot that I enjoy, his clear disdain for Queen Mirellia among other side characters does make me shake my head. I haven't decided how I'm going to handle Atla yet, as that is several arcs away. I will say that I may not have her be a part of Naofumi's team, let alone a romantic interest. Sadeena on the other hand, you will see soon enough.
To blueassassin996: Thank you, I always felt that Aneko used her as an afterthought and I didn't like it. She and Raphtalia will be romantic rivals like I feel they should have always been.
To guest: Keep on reading, you'll get your answers in this chapter.
To THEEBlock: Nice theory, we'll see if you're right, Raph-chan isn't coming until way later.
To MaxPrime: Oh I intend lots of deviation from canon. As to whether or not I'm going to pair Naofumi with both Rifana and Raphtalia, read on!
Finally To the guest: Probably not, he doesn't even know who Eclair is, let alone that she's locked up in the dungeon. It would be a huge stretch that he'd find that out since he has no ally that knows and could tell him.
On a side note, I'm putting a poll up, as I have forever disliked the fact that after Queen Mirellia comes back and puts Malty/Bitch and Aultcray/Trash on trial that even though she sentences them to execution, which considering all both have done, more than warrants it decides to commute those sentences because Naofumi wanted to be petty and change their names to something insulting. The poll is, how many of my readers at the end of the Three Heroes Church arc which is many chapters away, want to see Malty/Bitch and Aultcray/Trash actually executed or how many wish to spare one or the other or both to have one/both of them thrown into the dungeons in chains to live out the rest of their lives?
I want to once again thank Allen Blaster of Virtue of the Shield Hero fame for his comments, suggestions and encouragement and I urge you to read his fanfic as in my view, it is excellent. I also again want to thank Robotech275 of Crafting and Cooking Hero fame for all his help with timelines, Weapon Forms and other comments on this story. He too is a great author and I also urge people to read his and other stories in the Multi World Project like Kampfpanzer who has been and always will be a beta reader that I rely on for help in crafting this story of mine. His work Locked and Loaded in Another World is very good and the best example of a Gun Hero that isn't either far too overpowered and a Matrix/John Wick clone or else a try hard and edgelordy type loser.
22 Reviews, 17 Favorites, 28 Follows and over 1500 views and counting. Again, thanks to everyone who is supporting me, you are one of the main reasons that I write and will continue to write. As always, I will try to release a chapter bi-weekly, but it will depend on work and life. And as I said earlier, the next few chapters will likely take a while as I'm needing time to research.
Let's dive into the story.
"Speaking"
"Thinking…"
[Status Magic]
The Struggle of The Shield Hero
Chapter 4
How Can Demi-Humans Eat So Much?
"Oh, pity the poor glutton
Whose troubles all begin
In struggling on and on to turn
What's out into what's in."
― Walter de la Mare
As soon as we got about 5 feet from where we stopped, I heard three growls from three different tummies and I had to chuckle.
"Ok, new priorities, first medicine, then bath and fresh clothes and then food. We'll worry about weapons and armor after you're clean and fed or you'll never make it to Erhard's."
Raphtalia and Keel had the presence of mind to blush and even Rifana, as weak and sick as she was, seemed to have her own bout of shame and embarrassment. I had to admit, it was adorable, and it helped take my mind off of the unpleasantness earlier in the tent and in the clown show of a trial.
I used the ability of my Otherworld Device Shield and my mini-map in my HUD to find the apothecary. I walked in confidently, ignoring the dark looks some of the patrons inside had, while still carrying Rifana in my arms and Keel and Raphtalia behind me grabbing onto my cloak for protection. The owner glared at me and said in a bit of a belligerent tone.
"What do you want, we don't serve criminals here, if you're looking to rob me I don't have hardly any gold."
I stopped and just looked at him and said firmly.
"I don't know what you heard, but I am innocent, I'm here to purchase medicine for my three companions and especially Rifana here. They're very sick. I do have silver to pay for it all. And I'm willing to pay more for some spare and used equipment that you don't need and maybe a beginner's recipe book?"
He looked at me with disdain, but then his expression gentled as he looked at Rifana and the two behind me who were scared and then sighs before he starts pulling some stuff out.
"Fine, I'll sell you what you need, but this is the one and ONLY time, do you hear me? Next time you walk into my store, I'll be calling for the guards. I refuse to provide service for a criminal like you. 50 silvers for everything, have the two behind you take one bottle a day for a week and their symptoms should disappear, you'll need to give the girl in your arms a bottle at least twice a day. You're lucky I have a huge stock and I don't want to see little ones die or you'd be out of luck."
He put a small box full of medicine on the counter along with a heavy book of recipes in writing I couldn't read and a beginners apothecary set that looked worn and used. I walked over and gave him half of my remaining silver and looked at him fully in the eyes and spoke.
"I know you don't believe me, but I AM innocent, and I will clear my name someday. Despite that, thank you for this, it's badly needed and someday I will repay you for your kindness. I know you sold me this for less than it was really worth and only because of my companions."
He nodded and with that I left the shop with everyone. I stepped into an alley beside the shop and pulled out three vials from my inventory in the shield and laid Rifana down against the wall. She looked so frail and weak and Raphtalia was looking at her and me anxiously as Keel stayed nearby. I kneeled beside Rifana and said to her,
"Rifana, I'm going to give you some medicine now, I want you to drink it all. It's going to probably taste awful, but endure it, I want you well."
I inserted one spare medicine vial into my shield and it gave me not only the recipe on how to make it, but also a small boost to its efficacy as long as I administered it. Raphtalia helped hold Rifana up so that she could swallow the medicine. As I thought, Rifana made a face as the taste must've been as bad as I thought. Keel spoke up from his spot watching over us.
"Why did you buy us anyways, Shield Bubba? I mean, we're just a couple of demis from a fishing village. We're no warriors, what's your angle?"
I handed a vial to Raphtalia and said, ignoring Keel's question for the moment.
"Drink that too Raphtalia, it'll help clear up your cold and sickness."
I stood up as Raphtalia did so and turned to Keel and said gently.
"Because I couldn't leave you three there, I do need companions to help me fight. That isn't a lie, but the complete truth is… I was betrayed by my previous companion. She's the bitch princess of the kingdom and she and her father railroaded me by accusing and finding me guilty of the crime of rape."
Before I could continue, Keel got in between me and Raphtalia and Rifana and growled.
"You better not try laying your hands on my friends or I'll…!"
I cut in gently before he could finish the threat.
"I just finished saying they set me up and framed me, I didn't do it. I'm innocent, but the worst part is that the other Three Heroes believe I'm guilty just like you did just now."
Rifana spoke up, coughing, although she was sitting up on her own and the color had returned to her face. It seemed like the medicine was as effective as advertised.
"I believe you. You didn't need to buy all of us, and you certainly didn't need to buy me. I was close to death… now you've given me a second chance, I'll serve you forever!"
I blinked, and I was speechless, someone believed me. A tear fell from my eye. I might be an adult, but the betrayal of 'Myne Sophia' or as I learned, Princess Malty S. Melromarc hurt me deeply. It may not have crushed my spirit as it might have if I didn't have the life experience I did, but that didn't mean that I didn't have a few issues with trust because of it.
Raphtalia looked up to me, and put her small hand on mine and said.
"I believe you too, I asked you to save Rifana, and you're doing that. You're nothing like… like…"
She shuddered and hugged herself then and whispered out-loud.
"Lord Rabier…"
Rifana and Keel looked down and the mood dropped by quite a lot. I gathered the three of them in my arms and gave them what comfort I could, even patting their heads. I said firmly.
"He won't hurt you ever again, not while I draw breath, and I swear one day you will all grow strong enough to stand up to him and even pay him back for the suffering he gave you. I'm the Shield Hero, you fight for me, and I'll make sure nothing ever hurts you. I defend, that's what I do… that's all I can do."
Their moods improved with my words and especially the head pats. I noticed how much their tails were wagging and how their ears were especially sensitive to touch. I resolved to give them plenty of affection and encouragement. They'd need it once we were out in the forest and beyond from the town walls.
"Alright, since we got the medicine we need, and I was lucky enough to get the recipe and equipment to make it myself, that's one thing ticked off the list. Next has to be baths and clothes, can't have them wearing those rags everywhere. Then food… I don't have much money left, I'm going to need to do something about that very very soon."
Since Rifana was feeling better, I didn't have to carry her, although we did have to go slow. I made sure to feed Keel the medicine although he swore up and down that he was fine and didn't need it. It was only because Raphtalia glared at him and called into question his "manhood of the sea" that he finally gulped it all down and nearly fell over dramatically at the taste. He still drank it all down, it was cute and adorable, and he definitely was going to be the mood maker of our little party.
Now that everything was out in the open and they were slowly getting to be more comfortable with me, I could start to see their true personalities shine through.
Keel was the hyperactive, always on the move and active type, that liked to joke and desperately wanted to be just like his dad who he mentioned was the best fisherman in their village and taught him to be a "man of the sea".
Raphtalia by contrast, was the serious one, although that might be because she was still warming up to me and wasn't quite over her experiences as a slave.
Rifana clearly was the romantic of the trio, and made no bones about the fact that it was her dream to go on an adventure and marry a Hero. I was going to have to navigate THOSE waters pretty carefully in order to avoid people adding child molester on top of the other derogatory terms they already call me.
We walked to an inn, and I looked up and noticed that it was the same inn that I had stayed in last night. I almost turned away until I realized that this inn did have a bath in the room and that it was relatively cheap for its amenities. I took a breath and walked in.
As I walked into the tavern went eerily silent and the glares directed not just at me but at my party made them scurry behind me. I gave them all reassuring head pats and walked up confidently to the innkeeper who was glaring at me and who immediately said.
"What do you want, we don't serve demis and criminals here."
I raised an eyebrow and looked around, and noted that some of the adventurers here looked more like bandits and that some of them were also demi-humans in disguise as my appraisal skill looked them over. I replied to the innkeeper with a smirk.
"Really now? That's funny, I'd wager about twenty to twenty five percent of the adventurers here are criminals themselves and maybe even worse ones than I am. It's also funny because I can tell that several of them are demi-humans in disguise if you know what to really look for… you weren't aware?"
The innkeeper clicked his tongue and glared at me balefully, but it just rolled off of me as I tossed two silvers onto the counter and said confidently.
"One room for the night for the four of us with a bath and meal, you might as well give us the room I had before all the… unpleasantness this morning. And as I've said to other merchants earlier that I dealt with, I am innocent, and the princess and her trash father framed me. Believe me or don't, but a coin in hand is worth more than two in the bush, as the saying goes. We'll also take our meal in our room so that we can avoid… any sort of… complications."
I made sure to let the entire establishment know that I wasn't going to stand for any nonsense. It was a bluff, I couldn't attack, and defending myself and my companions would be an order too extreme, but I had to appear confident if I wanted to avoid anyone trying to play hero against the 'Shield Demon'. The innkeeper tried to win a staring contest with me, but I was having none of it. He finally clicked his tongue again and tossed me a key, the same key I got yesterday, and he said defeated.
"Fine, just for tonight, I'll bring your meal to your room but I want you out of here tomorrow morning and never come back. I don't want to be known as a place that serves criminals and demis and lose all my business."
I caught the key and smirked and then motioned for Keel, Raphtalia and Rifana to go ahead quickly and said then.
"Sure, I'll do that, I don't want to stay at a place where the innkeeper allows royals to unlock the doors of other people's rooms by giving them the key so that they can steal their belongings and frame them any longer than I have to. But I guess money talks, right?"
I turned and headed upstairs and led my charges to the same room I stayed in. I stopped in front of the door, and for a moment, I froze until Raphtalia looked up and grabbed onto my hand and asked.
"Master Naofumi, is something wrong?"
I looked down and then tried to reassure her and the other two even though I could tell it wasn't working.
"It's nothing, I just remembered earlier, I'll be ok."
I set my shoulders and unlocked the door and opened it up. The room was just as I left it and the mess that the knights made while 'searching' it hadn't been cleaned up yet. I sighed and then said Raphtalia and Rifana.
"How about the two of you take the first bath, and then Keel will take the second. I'm going to lock the door and go find you three some second-hand clothes to wear. They'll probably be a bit big on the three of you because you'll have to grow into them. Keel, while I'm gone, watch over the two of them for me. I won't be too far away and I'll leave the window open so if someone tries to break in just yell out the window and I'll come running."
With that, I left the three to take care of things in the room, as I headed out to find a second-hand clothes shop. I managed to haggle the merchant down to less than 20 copper for clothes for Raphtalia and Rifana that matched what I felt were their personalities, and an outfit for Keel that would allow him to be as excited and active as he wanted without too much restriction. The merchant did tell me that if I was planning to level my kids that I should buy 2 or 3 sizes bigger than what they are and expect that the clothes would need to be replaced as they level. He also mentioned that I'd probably want to get a lot of food supplies too, but didn't tell me why. I wondered what he meant.
I came back and the three were wearing towels and for some reason, were looking at Keel with a bit of embarrassment. Keel, for his part, was also embarrassed and was wearing a towel over his entire body… like the other girls while moaning something under his breath about him being a "man of the sea"
I looked at the three of them with concern and said.
"What happened?"
Raphtalia looked at Rifana, and the two of them had a silent communication and something that must have been this world's equivalent of rock-paper-scissors before Raphtalia makes the face of the loser and turns and says directly.
"Um, Keel… is a girl… it seems… surprise? Heh?"
I blinked at that, and my jaw dropped, and Keel howled in agony as he… I mean she couldn't seem to understand how this could be. I asked the obvious question as I offered them all the clothes I bought them.
"How… could h.. SHE, have not known what she is?"
Raphtalia and Rifana shrugged and Rifana took over for Raphtalia as Raphtalia pushed Keel into the water closet where the bathing area and toilet was to get the two of them dressed.
"We didn't know either, I guess her dad really wanted a son and never explained to her the difference between boys and girls. It was a shock when she walked out of the bath with just a towel on underneath and her… umm, boobs, were visible. We had her, umm, take off the towel and she literally tried to tell us that "IT" would grow when she got older."
I held my head, this was going to complicate things, I had THREE girls now to take care of, I was VASTLY outnumbered. I finally motioned for Rifana to join the rest of her friends in getting dressed and once they were, there was a knock on the door, and platters of food were brought in and placed on the table. The girls eyes went wide as they saw the plethora of food and looked at me, and I was uncomfortable with the looks they were giving me, it was the look of starving animals. I was hungry myself, but there was NO way I could say anything to them but,
"Yeah… it's all for you, go ahead, eat as much as you like. Just don't eat yourself sick as you haven't probably eaten like this for a while."
They nodded and immediately scrambled to sit at the table and there were some squabbles that I had to mediate when it came to certain meats and other dishes. It was clear to me that thanks to their captivity, whatever table manners they had, had gone to the wayside in their hunger. I didn't let it bother me though.
"Poor kids, I bet this Rabier person, lord, whatever, didn't bother to even feed them much. Or if they did, slop that would only be suitable for barnyard animals. How disgusting and cruel do you have to be, even if there was a war between races, for this to be acceptable… even encouraged?"
Within minutes, all the platters of food were empty, and only bones and some garnishes were left. I got nothing at all, but I accepted going hungry tonight as they definitely needed the food. I checked the time on my HUD and noticed the three of them looked sleepy from being full and decided to let them nap for a few hours before taking them to Erhard. I picked each of them up and gently tucked them into the bed. Keel was limp and out like a light and was lightly snoring. I chuckled as I rubbed her head and ears and was rewarded with her muttering, "Mm… fish… too much fish…" before snoring again. Raphtalia seemed to be having a bit of a bad dream and was curled up in my arms and when I stroked her hair gently, she seemed to settle a bit. Rifana on the other hand clung to me, and wouldn't let me go as I put her into bed. I sighed and was forced to get into bed as close to the edge as I could while still being held by Rifana. Strangely, all three of them moved so that I was in the center of the bed and in the center of them as they all snuggled onto me.
There was nothing I could do, and strangely, it didn't make me upset at all. Maybe it was because I had always liked animals back home and they seemed to like me. Was that one of the reasons the Shield picked me? I know from what Erhard and the Slave Trader, Beloukas, told me that the Shield Hero traditionally was beloved by demi-humans. It might not be such a stretch as I had Rifana curled up and cuddling my chest, Raphtalia burrowed under my right arm and underneath my shield and Keel curled up almost like a real dog in the crook of my left arm. The whole scene was adorable… but painful, because I was quickly losing feeling in both my arms from them.
A couple of hours later and I was in a really bad spot, I resolved that I would try to get them all sleeping bag or the world's equivalent as soon as possible, or we could be in big trouble if I had to wake up and try and defend them with my shield and my arms being as they are. I tried to nudge the girls and called out gently to them.
"Girls, wake up… we have things we need to do, and my arms are completely numb…"
Raphtalia was the first to wake up and she blinks and then yelps and jumps off the bed in shock and mortification as she says quickly.
"Oh no, I'm sorry about that Master Naofumi!"
I was about to reply when Rifana opened her eyes, looked at me, and then smiled as she murmured and snuggled deeper into my chest, inhaling my scent, making me a little uncomfortable.
"You smell good Master Naofumi… Mmm…"
Raphtalia then seemed to glare and reached up to pull Rifana off of me, admonishing her, and I swear there seemed to be a spark of jealousy in her words.
"Stop that Rifana! He's our Master! Not your plush doll to hug…" She whispers then under her breath, "You might accidentally k-kiss him and get p-pregnant…"
Rifana made sounds of protest as she was pulled off of me and onto the ground beside the bed and that was enough to make Keel open her eyes and yawn and look first at me, then at her friends with sleepy eyes and say.
"Are we eating fish yet?"
Rifana and Raphtalia looked at each other, and then started to giggle and whatever passed between them was gone as they helped Keel get off of me. I rolled my arms and tried to work some feeling back into them as I got off the bed myself and looked at the three of them. I then said to the group.
"Ok, we still have some daylight, so we're going to go to this blacksmith I know, his name is Erhard and we're going to get you all some gear so that you can fight. Do any of you have any experience doing so, at all?"
Keel started to raise her hand, then reconsidered, before saying.
"Umm, well, it's not really experience per say, but I went out fishing with my dad a lot and I know how to use a spear and a large knife. Although that's against fish and easy to kill aquatic monsters."
I nodded to Keel and then Rifana put a hand on her chest and said.
"I know a bit of magic, my mom taught me, I can make a little flame appear. With enough practice, I could probably use it against monsters, although it won't do much damage."
I nodded and patted her on the head and smiled as I assured her.
"That's fine, you'll get stronger as you level, I'm sure."
I looked at Raphtalia who looked a little sad and upset that she didn't have any experience but did mention.
"I don't have any experience, but all of us grew up in a fishing village, and learned how to dismantle monsters at least."
She shuddered and said quietly.
"I don't like blood anymore though… not after… that…"
"That? What's that? I should ask, but maybe not right at the moment and give her a chance to get used to combat first before we get to having to deal with blood. Balloons will be perfect for all of us to level on for now."
The four of us left the inn, most of the patrons ignoring us, having better things to do then harassing us. I led the way to Erhard's, pausing at the door, and knowing how the old man was, turned to the trio and said.
"Ok, so here's the plan, I don't have a ton of money so I'm going to have to get you the cheapest gear possible and we'll have to deal with it until I can make more money selling monster drops to afford better. Let's go."
I opened the door and walked in to Erhard using the anvil to hammer out dents in a breastplate. He looked up and then his eyes widened and then smirked and said to me.
"Hey Kid, I know I said you should get yourself a companion from the weird dude I sent you to, but did you have to get a harem?"
I glared at him and flipped him off as Raphtalia, Rifana and Keel looked confused as I said.
"Up yours! They were cheap, low leveled and looked like they might be useful… that's all!."
Keel spoke up then and you could hear the sound of glass shattering and the anime effect.
"Hey Shield Bubba… What's a harem?
The other two girls nodded and looked at me expectantly and I had murderous thoughts towards Erhard. I ground out as Erhard, the jerk, was laughing uproariously at me to the girls.
"Not something that you need to know right now, I'll explain it when you're older."
The three of them just looked at each other confused but ended up dropping it as Erhard still was unable to keep from laughing. I went up to him and yelled.
"HEY! I'm here to buy equipment for them! Shut up and do your job!"
He wiped a tear from his eye and nodded and then got serious.
"Sure kid, what's your budget?"
"Finally! If he kept it up, I was going to smack him a good one with my shield."
I then said to him, as I counted what little silver I had left.
"Keep it under 10 silver, I'll need to save some for camping supplies and the like."
He looked at me skeptically and said.
"It's going to be the stuff I usually just throw out rather than sell to regular customers."
I sighed and said in reply.
"I don't have a choice, I'm down to my last 45 silver and I need to go out and hunt and level before the next Wave and sell the drops I get for the money I need. Can you get Raphtalia a short sword, a spear for Keel and a staff for Rifana and 3 sets of leather armor in their size?"
I put down the silvers and Erhard looked at me funny and said.
"Might want to reconsider the armor… after only a few levels they'll grow out of it."
I raised an eyebrow, it was almost the exact same thing the second-hand clothes dealer said to me. I asked.
"Wait, what do you mean, in a few levels they'll grow out of it?"
He smirked and replied.
"Demi-humans age as they level up, until they reach the equivalent of mid to late teens and with the emotional and mental maturity to match. I hope you have enough money left to buy a ton of food… you're gonna need it…"
I raised my eyebrow again and shook my head and said.
"How much food can they eat, it can't be THAT bad?"
He smirked again and shook his own head and said.
"Well, you'll find out, I hope you can deal with it… I wish you luck."
We got the three girls kitted out in some leather armor that was big enough that they could start to grow into without it restricting them. Raphtalia got a short sword and some basic instruction in how to use it from Erhard and a few knives. Keel got himself a basic wooden spear with an iron spearhead and a long knife for backup. Rifana got herself a staff that she could use to help channel her magic, or use as a cudgel as need be. Erhard also let us know about the old woman in the magic shop and suggested that we visit her when we had the time and money. When everyone was ready we waved goodbye to Erhard and headed to the marketplace to use my remaining silver to purchase cloaks that could double as a blanket and cover my girl's ears and tail in town. I also bought enough food for all 4 of us for 1 week among other camping gear that we'd need to be able to stay outside the walls while we leveled.
As the marketplace began to close, we headed back to the inn, where I sat the girls down and explained to them that we were leaving the city early tomorrow morning in order to grind levels as quickly as we could. After that, I gave Rifana her second dose of medicine and told the girls that they could have the bed and I would sleep on the ground. They protested, but I was adamant, and we all went to sleep.
It must not have been that long before I started hearing moaning right next to me and whimpering. I opened my eyes to notice that the girls had moved to snuggle up to me where I was sleeping on the floor and Raphtalia was shivering and was making the noises, clearly having a bad dream. I was about to try and wake her before she cried out loud and yelled.
"Mama! Papa! Noooooooo!"
I immediately scrambled to enfold her in my arms as the cry and my movements startled both Keel and Rifana awake and they immediately moved to hug Raphtalia too as I soothed her, whispering.
"Shhh… it's ok, you're safe, relax, nothing can hurt you."
She was awake now and crying and holding onto me as if I were a buoy and the only thing keeping her from being washed away in an ocean of despair. She sniffled and I finally looked at all three of them who had various degrees of the same expression Raphtalia had and asked.
"Will you tell me what happened? To your village I mean?"
Raphtalia was trembling still but the other two girls deferred to her to be their spokesperson. She took a shaky breath and then began to tell her tale.
"We all lived in the village of Lurolona. It's a small little fishing village on the coast of Melromarc. We were under the protection of Lord Seatto who was a great knight and warrior and we prospered. That is… until the Wave came."
The three of them looked down and I rocked them gently, giving them what comfort I could, before Raphtalia continued.
"We had no time to escape and m-monsters attacked anyone who was out in the open. Even breaking into our houses to chase after us. I saw… I saw many of the adults killed, and even with Lord Seatto riding in with his knights could only do so much. He fought so bravely and with valor but against… against… it… he perished trying to save us."
I noted that whatever IT was, it was the reason for her trauma and I nodded to her, which gave her the courage to continue again.
"Mom and Dad grabbed me and we ran for the cliffs, but… the Wave monster… the boss… a three-headed dog monster caught up to us. Mom and Dad then hugged me and told me how much they loved me… and then…"
Here she started to cry, all three were crying together and I just listened and held them. No words of mine would help their trauma. I wasn't a therapist, I was a working adult, but talking about your trauma lessens it so I gave them the safe space to do so. Finally, after a long cry, Raphtalia finished her story.
"They pushed me off the cliffs and into the sea… but as I was falling… I saw… I saw… I saw… I saw them DIE! The monster killed my Mama and Papa!"
She fell into me and tried to burrow into my chest as if seeking out all my warmth and comfort she could and I let her as she sobbed and then slowly fell asleep against me, exhausted. I looked at Keel and Rifana and asked.
"What happened to the two of you? Where were you two in all of this?"
Keel said with a sigh.
"I was with my dad down by the docks, when the Wave hit, dad told me to stay by our boat and be ready to row out to sea with as many villagers as I could. He grabbed his fishing spear and knife and went to fight the monsters. I assume he died doing so, when we all returned to the village after the Wave ended, I found his body nearby the town square, a few monster corpses around him. Guess he truly was a "man of the sea"."
Rifana wiped a tear from her eyes and then said.
"My story isn't so exciting, I was in the forest searching for some berries, I was going to climb a tree and maybe daydream about meeting the Shield Hero when the Wave hit. I was going to run back to the village when I saw that if I did, I'd die. I hid in the forest as best I could, and prayed to God that none of the Wave monsters found me. I went back home after the Wave ended and found my own parents dead in our home, they never even left and the monsters smashed through the wall and attacked them."
I nodded and looked down at my shield as I thought to myself.
"I need to get strong, strong enough to make sure what happened to them and to Lurolona village, never happens again."
With that promise to myself made, I picked all three of them up, they weighed so little that it was sadly easy too and carried them back to the bed where I let them snuggle me as much as they wanted as we all fell into an exhausted sleep to hopefully not wake up until morning.
The next morning came almost too soon for me, I had a hard time sleeping with 3 girls who squeezed me and wouldn't let go. I managed to wake them up, get them to wash their faces and then we had a quick breakfast brought to us with the last of my coins and gave the three of them their dose of medicine again. We then got ourselves geared up and marched out into the forest outside the gates.
Once we were past the gates and a ways from the safety of the town, I turned to my girls and said to them.
"Remember, it's just balloons we're facing, they're easy enough that even children armed only with a stick could beat them. I can beat them, but with my measly 1 ATK, it takes me 20 minutes and 20 punches to kill them. It shouldn't take you any more than one or two. Keel, since you have the most range in melee with your spear, you'll be our mid guard. Rifana, you're going to be our mage, so stay behind me and Keel and Raphtalia and focus on using your spells whenever you can. Raphtalia, with your sword, you're our vanguard and I want you close to me so that I can cover you in case we draw too many enemies to us. They can't do any damage to me, so let them attach themselves to me and then pick them off one by one. Any questions before we start?"
Keel raised her hand and I pointed to her.
"What do we do if we encounter something other than balloons?"
"A good question, we might meet with mushes which are slightly more dangerous than balloons, but are slower and easier to avoid. I'll fend them off and we'll take them carefully. If we meet anything else, I'll let it attack me and see if it can damage me, if it can, we'll retreat and avoid it, if it can't, then we'll take it on. Any other questions?"
Raphtalia then raised her own hand and I pointed to her as well.
"W-what do we do if it's something that b-bleeds? I can't stand b-blood, not after seeing Mama and Papa dying."
I sighed and got down on my knees before Raphtalia and patted her on the head. As much as I wanted to comfort her, I needed to be firm and make her understand that not just my life and her life and her two friends' lives were at stake, but everyone's lives.
"Raphtalia, we're going to be fighting the Waves, and that means facing the creatures that come from them."
I paused and thought of how to word this for someone as traumatized as she was. I felt really guilty having to do this, using kids who watched their parents die, but what other choice did I have? I was essentially a slave just like them, I had to fight the Waves using only this stupid shield and nothing else and all I could do was defend.
"Is there anything I could say? She doesn't deserve this, none of them deserve this, if the Waves never happened they'd be happy and friends and playing together. Kids like them should never have to lose their parents and their innocence."
I took a breath and then spoke up.
"I can't tell you what to do, and I refuse to make this an order, because that's cruel. But Raphtalia, helping me fight, facing your fears, will help other children just like you from meeting the same fate of being orphans. Everything bleeds, just like you, and if it bleeds, it can be killed. Every monster we kill makes us stronger and more ready to face the horde of them in the Wave. I promise you, all of you, if you attack, then I will defend you, all of you with all my strength, all my power until my dying breath. Ok?"
Rifana and Keel nodded, Raphtalia didn't look convinced but nodded all the same. I asked one more time if any of them had any questions, but no one else did and so we started searching for balloons.
It didn't take us long before a couple of balloons jumped out of the bushes and bounced their way towards us. I stuck out my shield to block and absorb their charge and said.
"Raphtalia! Keel! Now! While they're stunned!"
Both of them nodded and rushed forwards a bit too stab at them with their weapons, as soon as they hit them. I got a few notifications on my HUD.
EXP +3
EXP +3
I took a look at my experience point bar and saw that it had risen to three quarters of the way to full. I noticed that Keel, Raphtalia and Rifana had leveled up and their stats had risen accordingly. Those slaver shields seemed to be incredibly useful right now.
We continued in this vein for a few hours until the sun was high in the sky and then I called for a break for lunch. I had leveled up myself to level 3 and the girls were a few levels ahead of me because of the slave shield exp bonus. I could hear stomachs groan and squeal like grumpy bears wanting to get to their dens to hibernate.
While we were waiting for enemies to come find and attack us, I had started collecting herbs and other materials that I had fed into my shield along with the corpses of enemies. Most went into my inventory to sell after we dismantled them for parts, or use for meat. I did however get a few shields that for some reason, gave me cooking bonuses.
The greedy looks I was getting from the girls as I set up our temporary camp and cook site was down right unnerving as I started a fire and began to cook a simple dish. I thought I had made enough for all four of us but they kept whining that they were hungry so I had to grab more from my supplies and cook more. At this rate, we might run through our supplies in only a few days, let alone a week.
"How much food DO demi-humans need? This is ridiculous."
I also noticed that they all had seemed to have grown about an inch or two as their leather armor didn't hang as loose on them as it did at the start.
After lunch, I had the girls clean up by the river that ran through the forest close by and then we continued in the same vein. The only notable thing was that sometime in the afternoon, we encountered a small rabbit like creature that my HUD named:
Small Usapil
I blocked its kick attack and then grabbed it and held it for three of them to stab as they were scared to do so because of the blood. I did my best to convince them and finally I had to make it a command, and I hated myself for having to break my promise to do so. Luckily, they didn't suffer too much for it and stabbed it. It bled like all creatures do and we all got covered in it. Strangely, once it was over, it seemed to have helped the three get over their fear of blood. But that could have just been because they realized that by killing it, they now had access to fresh meat and their stomachs were growling once more.
As I set up our camp site that would be our home for the next couple of days and started cooking, once again I had to ask myself the question as we got ready to go to sleep to continue leveling in the morning.
"How much food does it take to satisfy growing demi-human girls? Are they going to even leave me any food this time?"
The answer to the first? A LOT! The answer to the other? No, not much, they barely left me scraps to eat.
And there we go, we are starting to leave the confines of canon a bit while still retaining some of the events that take place during Naofumi and Raphtalia's training period between his summoning and the Lute Wave. The difference is that he started a full week before he did in canon and with 3 companions instead of one which gives him more options and makes fighting the monsters near the Castle Town almost trivial and therefore is able to level up faster. Next chapter will be them returning to Castle Town, meeting up with Nice Guy (Van Reichnott) and him offering to bring the group with him to his lands which are close to Lurolona Village where they will settle and level up and grow stronger for the Lute Wave. After they reach Lurolona, I intend to probably switch to each member's perspective for one chapter each to show how they are doing training, growing and maturing. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please feel free to write a review or DM with any questions and don't forget to vote as to what you'd like to see ultimately happen to Bitch and Trash after the trial, but anyways, as always.
Peace out.