Chapter Five: I Hate Blood

Raphtalia sat silently in her spot on the ground, looking down at the dying embers of the campfire in shame. Her ears were flat on her damp head, and her tail was wrapped around one of her legs. She was no longer covered by the Shield Hero's green cloak but was instead wrapped in a towel. Said cloak was soaking in the water of the river in an attempt to clean it. She felt chills from the memories of her dreams from last night, and shame from the mess she'd made on her master's cloak when it'd gotten so bad that her body released its control on her bladder.

Naofumi looked back at her as he finished cleaning up his medicinal area. There were dark bags under his eyes again from spending part of his night making medicine and the other part of it staying by Raphtalia's side to make sure that she was okay. He had lost count of how many times he'd had to calm her down.

'Another night with little to no sleep…' He was a Cardinal Hero, and he suspected that his shield might have had a list of things it could help him out with... but he felt so tired.

...

'Hell, just thinking about what happened…'

His mind flashed back to last night. Raphtalia had cried even in her sleep, reaching out for someone who was no longer there. She didn't stop, even though he'd embraced her in a comforting hug the whole night… and when she said anything intelligible, it was her crying out for her parents…

Naofumi clenched his hands. He swore, if it was because of this kingdom that her parents were dead, then he'd make them pay.

And to make matters worse, every time she cried out loud enough, it grabbed the attention of nearby monsters. He'd had to once again cover her body with his for the entire night so she wouldn't be a feast for Mushes, Eggs, or Balloons...

"Master Naofumi...?"

Naofumi looked up from his area. "What?"

She was still looking down at the fire. Her face downcast, and her eyes droopy. She looked even smaller while wrapped in her towel. Her clothes sat nearby to dry in the light of the fire. "I'm... sorry I kept you up last night... and I'm sorry for peeing on your cloak…" She huddled closer to herself under the towel.

"I know it's not right for a slave to keep her master awake all night worrying for her. You've been so kind to me… and I've been nothing but a burden to you." She said sadly, looking like a little child who was about to get scolded. Tears began to fill her eyes again.

…

A hand started patting her gently on her head, and she looked up in confusion at Naofumi. Though his face was unreadable, the look in his eyes wasn't. "I don't care how much sleep I lose or how many times you wet that cloak at night. You're not a burden. You've helped out in the last couple of days, no? So stop apologizing." He said indifferently.

...

Raphtalia's eyes widened up at him, but before she could say anything he looked blankly behind him and walked over to the stream. "Come on. Get dressed. We'll go deeper into the forest." He said, pulling out his cloak from the river and wringing it out. "Let's try to reach Lute Village by the end of today."

Raphtalia sat still for a few more seconds, staring at the back of Naofumi's head in wonder. He had seemed so bland, yet so caring… "Right," Raphtalia finally said, moving to get changed.

Maybe it'd be for the better to put this morning behind her.

Pop!

The red balloon popped under Raphtalia's dagger. She breathed in and out heavily as the familiar experience bar showed up in front of her face.

+15 EXP

Naofumi studied the number curiously. Even though they were at a higher level, the amount of experience they got from killing the same monsters didn't go down. 'So there's no scaling in this world… that's good to know.'

Power scaling is a gaming term, meaning you get less experience from lower-level monsters the higher your level becomes. However, that particular game mechanic didn't exist in this world. Meaning even if they reached level 100, they would still get the same amount of experience killing these monsters as they would at their current levels.

He did, however, notice that there were fewer monsters attacking them than before. He could see more balloons hiding in the branches of nearby trees, but upon seeing the look he gave them they fled.

So if they grew too powerful, some monsters would be less willing to face them... tch. How annoying.

Raphtalia looked around as well. She could see a couple of Mushes hiding deeper in the trees. But they didn't look willing to try and fight anymore. At seeing her glance, they shrieked in terror and quickly rolled away out of sight into the forest.

"Looks like you scared them off." Naofumi gave her a playful smile.

"Is… is that a bad thing?" Raphtalia curiously asked. It felt different... yet really cool!

"Of course not. It means you're getting stronger." He encouraged her. Even if he did feel somewhat annoyed that their experience grinding was going to get tougher here. Hopefully, they met some tougher monsters soon.

Raphtalia smiled brightly. She hoped she would get really strong one day! That morning already seemed like a distant memory!

Naofumi kept on walking forward, his shield at the ready. Whether it be some monster or a knight or two from the Capital, he didn't want to get caught off guard. Thankfully, he didn't spot anyone besides monsters yet during their travels. But considering how they were still relatively close to the Capital and that they stopped traveling through the wilderness in favor of walking along actual roads, he wasn't willing to take any risks.

"I guess that's our signal to continue on, let's go Raphtalia-" Naofumi was saying back to Raphtalia when the bush in front of him started shaking. Causing him to pause.

Raphtalia quickly raced forward, holding her dagger up at the ready. Naofumi's eyes narrowed, looking towards the bush. His mind went through a list of shields he could possibly use in case it was a Capital Knight. Or if it-

A cute, circular, white rabbit hopped out of the bush. It had a small red arrow pointing down at its head, indicating that it was a monster. His screen called it a Usapil. The Usapil let out a happy squeal.

"... Master Naofumi?" Raphtalia said confusedly as she lowered her dagger.

"Is that, an enemy, rabbit?" Naofumi asked skeptically as he lowered his guard in disbelief. The two both stared. He'd heard of some games that had cute rabbit-like creatures as starter enemies. But to see that happening here too?

'There's no way that's actually a monster-'

The Usapil let out a squeal of anger as it jumped for Raphtalia, baring its two large front teeth, which suddenly didn't look so cute anymore. "AHHHH-!"

"Watch out!" Naofumi yelled, trying to jump in front of Raphtalia. However, he failed to block the Usapil in time.

Fortunately, Raphtalia raised her dagger out of instinct. The Usapil impaled itself on it, and let out a dying screech as blood sprayed out from its wound, covering the shocked, little girl.

Naofumi looked down at her, sighing in relief. 'Damn it, I shouldn't have let my guard down like that. Who knows how badly Raphtalia could have gotten hurt there-'

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Raphtalia's sudden screaming caught him off guard. She dropped her dagger and backed away from the dead, bleeding Usapil. Her eyes were wide. She looked absolutely frightened.

"Raphtalia, Raphtalia?!" He tried grabbing her by the shoulder, but the girl wouldn't stop freaking out.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What is it, talk to me! Raphtalia!" Naofumi said worriedly.

Another screech came from the forest. Naofumi looked up as another white-furred Usapil came charging out of the bushes. He cursed under his breath as he caught this one on his left arm just above his elbow. His other hand grabbed the back of its head, pinning it in place. He could feel its large buck teeth trying to dig through his chainmail into his arm. If it wasn't for his high defense, this would have hurt a lot more.

"Alright, I need you to calm down and kill this thing Raphtalia!" Naofumi yelled.

"... no... NO!"

Naofumi turned his head. Raphtalia was letting out short, labored breaths mixed with occasional weak, pathetic, and high-pitched wails as she continued to crawl back. Her carefree smile from before was gone, now replaced with an expression of abject terror. The pupils of her eyes were wide and dilated and she couldn't stop crying. It looked like she was going to start screaming to the point of not responding again at any moment.

"Raphtalia?!" Naofumi raised his voice, trying to make the girl snap out of it. 'What's happening? She hasn't had any issues with killing monsters before! Not even the first time was this bad. What did that rabbit do to her? The HUD says that she didn't take any damage and she isn't under any status ailments either. What the hell is going on?' He felt angry and frustrated because of how tired he was, but more than anything, he was worried about the young Tanuki. He looked down at the struggling Usapil in his grip and grimaced in frustration.

"Raphtalia! Listen to my voice! I got it! It's not going to jump at you again, so get a hold of yourself and finish it quickly!" He desperately tried to calm her down.

"I... I...…" She began to speak, and some sense seemed to return to her eyes before she suddenly cried out. I CAN'T! I'M SORRY MASTER NAOFUMI!"

"WHY THE HELL NOT?!" The Shield Hero finally exploded, unable to hold back all the stress and frustration of the past few days.

"Because…" She began to hiccup and sniffle loudly. "Because it'll bleed again if I stab it."

...

Naofumi blinked in confusion and looked down at the first dead, bleeding Usapil. Then he looked at Raphtalia, who was covered in the monster's blood. The second Usapil was still biting down on his arm.

Raphtalia took another step back. "I hate blood." She whispered with an eerie certainty in her voice. "There was so much of it at my village… too much… it's too much. I, I can't stab it, Master Naofumi." She started to cry again. "Please, I beg you, don't make me do this!"

…

Naofumi looked down at the blubbering child in front of him and sighed. He then shifted his gaze to the angry Usapil on his arm again. He gave it a punch.

Clang!

Yep, he couldn't damage it at all...

"Raphtalia… I'm sorry if what I'm about to say to you sounds cruel, but if you won't fight for me… then I won't be able to take care of you anymore." He finally said after a long pause.

"M-master Naofumi?" Raphtalia looked stunned at his harsh and merciless words. Especially after how nice he'd been to her. She suddenly forgot about the blood around her completely while he continued.

"Believe me when I say this: I firmly believe that no child should ever be put through what I'm asking of you. Instead of enjoying your childhood and playing with your friends, I'm forcing you to live in the woods and fight for your survival day after day. And there is nothing else in this world that I wish for more than to be able to take this burden away from you. From both of us. But I can't. I'm the Shield Hero. I can't attack worth a damn!" He yelled, punching the Usapil again for emphasis.

Clang!

It didn't affect the monster again.

"I can only defend. I can only survive and grow stronger by relying on others. And you're the only friend I have out here, Raphtalia. If you can't fight for me, I'll never be strong enough to take care of you." Naofumi sadly noted and looked away.

"We may be on the run now, but at some point, I'll be forced to fight the waves of Catastrophe. And if I don't grow stronger by then, I won't be able to survive them. I won't be able to go back home to my world and see my family again." The Shield Hero looked up at the sky wistfully while the girl in front of him paid attention to every word he spoke. "And if I don't survive them, then you'll be all alone again..."

"You're… going to fight the waves?" She suddenly asked with a strange indiscernible emotion in her voice.

"... That's why I was summoned to this wretched world, apparently." He closed his eyes and exhaled. "I have to." 'It's the only way I can return home… it's the only way I'll be able to see my brother again... and it's the only way I can keep people like you and Elhart safe. The ones who are good in this world…'

…

He sighed. Maybe he should ask her if she has any living relatives and try to help her reach them. This was an insane idea from the start. He never had any right to make her-

"I understand." Suddenly, Raphtalia stood up, grabbed the dagger she'd dropped earlier, and gripped it with both hands. Her face took on a determined look. No longer did it look like an innocent little girl standing there. Rather, it looked like the face of someone who was determined to become a warrior.

Naofumi gasped in surprise at the change that came over. "Ahhhh!" Raphtalia screamed, charging in with her blade. He had to quickly move the Usapil so she could hit it.

The blade went into the monster, causing it to squeal in pain as blood came in bursts out of it. Its squeals became weaker and weaker as Raphtalia pushed, until with one last burst of blood it went limp in Naofumi's hands. Blood spattered on his face from the spectacle. It had been so quick, it surprised him.

Raphtalia breathed in and out deeply in front of him. Her blade, arms, face, hair, and outfit were covered with more Usapil blood.

+18 EXP

"Then, then I'll do it." She said. "Master Naofumi, I'll fight for you. I'll fight for you as long as you need me to. Just don't, don't leave me alone again." She said begging him at the end. "Please."

He quickly got down on one knee and hugged the shaking girl close to him. "Never."

Raphtalia wrapped her arms around his neck and cried softly into his shoulder. He continued to hold the dead rabbit while he allowed her to hug him. He could smell the rabbit's blood hanging in the air all around him.

'This is reality.' He reminded himself, looking sadly from the ground to the side of Raphtalia's hair. Even though there were game mechanics to almost everything, he couldn't deny the underlying fact that it was real. Raphtalia wasn't an NPC. None of the people he'd met were NPC's. This was a real world, with real people, and real consequences; not some fantasy novel come to life.

'I want us to live... So there's nothing we can do but fight! That's the only way we'll both get strong enough to survive the waves!'

He separated from Raphtalia. "Put that dagger back in its sheath." He ordered.

Raphtalia looked surprised at his request, but hastily did so under the look he was giving her. He took the sheathed dagger from her, placing it back into his inventory. "Elhart told me to give this to you when I felt you were ready. It's not only got more attack power behind it, but the extra reach should help you to avoid getting blood on you in the future." He said, pulling out the sheathed shortsword.

Raphtalia's eyes widened at it, and then at Naofumi as he handed it to her. "If you hate blood that much, then I'll do everything I can to make it easier for you." He promised.

Tears started to leak from her eyes again, and before he could say anything more she tackled him with another hug. "Thank you, thank you so much master Naofumi," She said. "I promise... I promise I won't let you down."

Naofumi's eyes slightly widened, but then he smiled softly while she couldn't see it. He wanted to hope that'd be true. She hadn't let him down thus far...

"Come on. Let's dissect these things for their meat, then we can continue on." He said, laying the carcass on the ground next to the other one. 'I'm sure that won't be the last Usapil that tries to attack us on our way to Lute Village.'

The sun was nearing midday on the next day when Naofumi and Raphtalia walked over a rise to look down at the valley below. In between where the forest ended and where the rocky cliffs of the mines stood was a village.

'Yes… we made it.' Naofumi tiredly looked down at the shield on his arm. It'd been slow-moving again after the first initial Usapils. He'd unlocked more shields from them, and they'd been attacked by several more before camping again the night before far away from the road. And now, after some careful traveling, they'd made it to what was hopefully Lute Village.

He moved his shield on his back where it'd be covered by his green cloak. 'Whether it's the right one or not, we need to sell the monster materials we've gathered. And above that, we need some good food and rest.'

"Raphtalia. Remember to stay close to me. Once we get to the village, I won't be able to protect you with my shield if we get separated." He said to her.

She nodded her head. "Alright." She didn't question why. Master had said he wasn't well-liked by others.

The two walked down through the rest of the forest. A couple more Usapils as well as some Egg monsters appeared as they walked, but Raphtalia made quick work of them with her new weapon. And while Naofumi noticed she still looked afraid to get any blood from the Usapils on her, she didn't hesitate in killing them as she had before. He dissected them afterward for their monster materials and meat. Using the dagger Raphtalia had fought with before to pull out meat, fur, bones, ligaments and other parts.

In a way, he felt proud of her for grabbing these bleeding monster carcasses for him…

At last, the trees around them turned to farmland, and they walked up the road that led toward the gate of the village. After spending several days surrounded by trees, it felt weird to approach buildings again. There was a village guard standing on one side of the gate. As Naofumi and Raphtalia were about to walk past, the guard stepped in front of them. "Halt." He said in a deep voice.

Naofumi did his best to keep his face and posture calm. Though his heart started to beat rapidly in his chest as the guard glared at him. Raphtalia wrapped her arms around his leg, hiding her face in the back of his cloak. 'Did word already reach this village about me? Are Raphtalia and I going to have to flee back to the forest, or worse, will we have to fight this guy-' He tried to think of a plan.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "Everyone knows you have to pay the entrance toll before you can enter Lute Village." The guard said at last.

Naofumi's racing heart returned to a normal pace. "Sorry, I'm new to the area." 'That's a relief.' He thought. "How much?" He asked in an indifferent voice.

The guard looked him over… he certainly looked new. That face of his was definitely foreign. "50 Coppers." He finally said.

Naofumi took a silver coin from his pouch and tossed it to the guard who caught it in the air. "For the next time we enter," Naofumi said dryly.

The guard moved silently to the side, getting back to his post without saying another word to them.

Naofumi looked back down at Raphtalia, who let go of his leg to stare up at him. "Come on. We have some errands to run." He said, turning to walk into the village.

Raphtalia glanced up at the guard who continued looking straight ahead at the road that led into the village. Then she quickly turned and ran to catch up to Naofumi.

If the front guard had been that scary then she didn't want to be separated from her master at all while they were here.

At first, Naofumi walked around the town, exploring it with a frown and cold calculating eyes. His shoulders under his cloak were tensed. He didn't trust anyone he saw going about their day. Raphtalia quietly pointed out what was what when he asked since he couldn't read the signs and could only somewhat tell what the shops and inn were based on the symbols used on the signs.

However, as he got more of a layout for the town, he gradually began to relax. It was becoming apparent to him that no one was searching for him here. And while people gave him and Raphtalia confused looks, they continued about their days without a second glance.

Based on what Naofumi saw, this was a poor town. It had only a couple of shops and only one inn. The inn was a Silver a night, compared to 30 Copper in the Capital. It seemed that besides the town's shops, they relied on exporting crops and other materials to the surrounding areas to make money.

Finally, Naofumi entered what Raphtalia had identified to be a monster shop. It was a small building near the inn.

"'ello there traveler! What can I do for you this fine afternoon?!" The owner leaned over a counter decorated with all sorts of skins and bones. The wall behind him featured the stuffed heads of many monsters. Almost all of which Naofumi knew nothing about.

"I'm here to trade." Naofumi took the pack off his back, setting pile after pile of various monster materials on the counter in an organized manner.

The shopkeeper's eyes widened. "That looks like several weeks' worth of materials there!" He picked up scraps from each pile and brought them close to his eye to examine them. "And they're good quality too! How long has it been since you last visited a town, traveler?!"

"A while." Naofumi deflected the question.

The shop owner looked at the materials and then at Naofumi. A cold shudder went through him. He at first thought it was a sign of danger. Was it really that rare for somebody to gather this many materials in only a few days?

However, when the shopkeeper opened his mouth again, Naofumi realized why he'd gotten that shudder. "I'll buy all this for 5 silvers."

The shopkeeper was trying to rip him off.

Naofumi gave the guy a deadpan look. "10 Silvers."

"10?! That's crazy talk!"

"Says the guy trying to undercut me at 5 Silvers." Naofumi leaned on the counter. "Give us a moment, Raphtalia." The girl looked up curiously to see her master smirking. "This is going to take a while."

What followed could only be described as the longest, funnest exchange of heckling Naofumi had had in a long time.

This had been one of his favorite things to do in the online games he played. This was familiar territory. And it turned out doing it in real life was even more fun than doing it over a computer screen.

"15 Silvers?!" The owner exclaimed in shock at Naofumi's words.

"You heard me, 15 Silver." Naofumi continued to smirk. "I can understand why the balloon scraps and Mush corpses aren't worth much. But let's face it. The Usapils are the real value bringer here. You even admitted they were good quality." Naofumi indicated to what was at least ten Usapil's worth of materials. "15 Silvers... Or should I go for 25."

"You can't be serious!"

"About as serious as I was while hunting these. How many others do you have hunting Usapils for you?" Naofumi casually asked. "Must not be many if you're surprised by me having this much."

…

"Argh… you drive a hard bargain!" The owner suddenly grinned and shook Naofumi's hand. "You've got yourself a deal!"

Naofumi felt really good. It was possible he was still being ripped off. He wouldn't know otherwise until he had a better layout of this world. But he'd managed to get three times the owner's original offer. That in itself was a win in his book.

As the owner counted out the silvers and handed them to Naofumi, he suddenly asked a question. "Tell me, are you a traveling merchant?"

"Why do you ask that?" Naofumi asked confusedly.

"You seem to have practical knowledge about business. Plus, you haggle like a champ." He laughed at that. "It's been a while since I had so much fun!"

"I guess you could just say that I'm passing through," Naofumi answered.

The two had some surprisingly pleasant small talk after that. Naofumi dodged more direct questions simply by reaffirming that he was passing through and traveling around. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Raphtalia wander from shelf to shelf. Tail wagging curiously at some of the objects she saw and staying still as she examined others.

"Is she your daughter?"

"Wait, what?" Naofumi's attention was dragged back to the owner.

"Is that demi there your daughter?" He asked again.

"Oh, um, uh-" Naofumi looked very caught off guard. "No, she isn't, I just met her a few days ago, and um-" She was only his slave. Nothing more, and nothing less. Plus, she already had parents. And he was way too young to be a Father-

"Not to worry. Whether she is or isn't, you won't have to worry about her here." He said with a wave of dismissal. "Most folks here don't mind Demi-humans much, compared to the rest of the Kingdom."

'Oh… he must think I was watching her to make sure she stayed safe.' Naofumi realized. "That's a relief to hear." His shoulders inadvertently relaxed some more.

Had he been that worried about Raphtalia?

"Be careful though." The owner suddenly sounded serious. "The monster breeder outside of town isn't very fond of demi-humans. He's a very "pious" man if you catch my drift." He put his hand to his chin in thought. "I wonder if Shieldfrieden is nice this time of year…"

Naofumi stared, trying to mask his confusion. It sounded like a baited comment, especially since it had the word Shield in it. The shop owner looked slightly confused at Naofumi's lack of response but smiled regardless. "Either way, I'd hate to see you two antagonized by that monster geezer. So make sure to avoid him when you leave."

"Will do," Naofumi replied. At that moment, he glanced and caught sight of Raphtalia looking with wide eyes at a selection of balls made from balloon scraps. Her tail was wagging so quickly that she was blowing dust through the air behind her.

"I think somebody likes what they see." Raphtalia eeped in surprise as she realized her Master and the owner were looking at her.

"Do you want a ball that badly, Raphtalia?" Naofumi asked curiously.

"Um, uh…" Raphtalia put her hands behind her back and looked abashedly down at the ground. Was it really that obvious?

The owner laughed again. "Here, how about I teach your dad here how to make them. That way he'll have something else to sell during his travels."

Raphtalia stared wide-eyed at them. Naofumi also stared wide-eyed at the owner. "But, but you don't have to do that-" He tried to say.

"It's fine, you've brought me enough materials to make at least several dozen more, and you seem like a nice guy. The materials are easy to gather too. Just got to whop a few balloons, eh?" The owner winked at him, silencing the rest of Naofumi's protests. "Besides, regardless of whether you're a traveling merchant or not, you should network where you can. And while monster materials are great, learning how to craft them into different items will make you even more successful."

...

Naofumi could not argue with that. He gave the owner a smirk. "I'm guessing next time I'm here, you'll want me to stop by your shop with all the interesting goods I've learned to make?"

"Exactly! You've got a business spirit within ya yet kiddo!"

Naofumi was impressed by the guy's cheekiness, but just this once, he figured he'd let it slide.

Naofumi proceeded to learn from the shopkeeper how to craft a ball. And, because it was a special occasion, he had Raphtalia help him in making it. Much to her surprise, and delight.

Shortly after that, Naofumi and Raphtalia left, and thus, they got to go about the rest of their errands for that day.

Naofumi sat back on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling.

'Holy hell… what a day, I'm beat.'

Their visit to Lute ended up quite a bit more eventful than he expected. True to her word, Raphtalia had stuck close to him the entire time. She didn't attempt to pull his cloak from off his back to reveal his shield or call him by his real name or anything. She had been perfectly obedient as they went around the village, selling the herbs, medicines, and other things they'd collected/crafted/compounded out in the forest. It made him appreciate her a little more. Even after his harsh words, she had easily forgiven him.

He'd visited the few shopkeepers that this town had. Thankfully, none of them noticed who he actually was. It was possible that the monster shop owner recognized him, but he was still debating that in his mind.

He'd also been able to sell off almost everything he and Raphtalia had collected. The medicine he'd made turned out to be the real breadwinner. The town was small and didn't have a proper apothecary. And while the locals didn't line up to buy a stranger's first attempt at medicine, there was, thankfully, an actual traveling merchant staying in town. He eagerly bought everything that Naofumi had at a premium. The leftover herbs sold for a little over a silver, while the medicine sold for close to five silvers a flask. The merchant explained that the demand for it was high in other parts of Melromarc due to the waves of Catastrophe starting. Even Naofumi's poor attempt at a nutritional pill had sold for 2 silvers, much to his surprise.

It had been more than enough to pay for their food and night at the inn, buy Raphtalia some more clothes, and buy a couple of sleeping bags so they'd be more comfortable out in the wild. Since he also had some funds from the kingdom that he had leftover, he also bought himself some simple compounding tools from the local apothecarian so he could make medicine more easily, you could only go so far by bashing rocks together…

He'd try those tools out later when he wasn't feeling so tired.

'The food here tastes bland too. I guess it's not just my cooking. Somehow, I can't taste anything anymore.'

That disappointed him. He'd bought a decent meal for himself and Raphtalia. The only thing that had made the meal worth it was the look on Raphtalia's face when she had an actual warm kid's meal placed in front of her. The poor thing couldn't eat with her hands fast enough and had almost choked on her food. It was a welcome change to see her being more open and happy instead of sad and closed off.

However, when he'd asked her about it after dinner, she'd said his meals tasted better. He didn't know if that was the truth or her way of buttering up to him. It made him feel good either way though.

So besides not being able to satisfy his stomach or tongue, it didn't help that the last few days had felt like one giant emotional rollercoaster for him. Alternating between being extremely angry and frustrated because of what Bitch was putting him through, to being worried about the state of Raphtalia's body and mind, and then feeling pride and relief over her overcoming her fears and quickly recovering from her sickness. He also felt guilt about what he'd said to her in the heat of the moment earlier, but he didn't regret it since it had been the truth.

He appreciated the pessimistic part of his mind for speaking the truth. He did, however, think he could have put it a bit more lightly. He didn't want Raphtalia to hate him. Even if he wasn't willing to extend as much trust to her as she did to him quite yet, it would be a lie to say that he hadn't grown attached to the girl. Every time he saw her smile, he couldn't help but feel hopeful that maybe, just maybe, they were going to get through this and that everything would work out somehow. Even if he didn't trust her completely yet, he was going to protect that smile.

He noticed some movement in the corner of his eye and even though he was tired, he got up from the bed and looked at the spot under the window where it came from. Raphtalia was peeking over the windowsill, looking at the empty street outside. It was late afternoon and the sun was slowly starting to set over the horizon but it wouldn't get dark for some time yet. Since most villagers had already finished their work for the day, it was relatively quiet with only an occasional drifter passing by.

The girl was hugging the ball she'd helped him with making close to her body and studying the street with mild curiosity. Her tail idly swished back and forth while her round ears twitched every so often when she noticed something interesting.

Naofumi sighed. Earlier she asked if she could play with her ball indoors, to which he agreed, but a few minutes later the ball bounced off one of the walls of their room, smacking the shield hero in the face. Raphtalia almost freaked out despite his assurance that he didn't even feel it and that it was her surprised yelp that actually took his attention away from studying the help menu on his HUD for anything he might have missed. He managed to calm her down and reassure her that everything was okay but after it happened again only a few minutes later, no amount of convincing helped anymore. She instead sat in front of the window quietly with a remarkable display of restraint to not bother him anymore.

She was putting on a solid brave face, but Naofumi could tell that she was bored. He hadn't been a child that long ago and he could relate. He might be the cool and collected wisecracking cynic right now, but that couldn't be any further from what he had been as a kid. Hell, he'd nearly driven his parents up the wall with his antics. As much as he liked to talk #$%^ about his parents, he was a far cry from Raphtalia's obedient and prim and proper self. The amount of trouble that he'd gotten himself into over the years could only be matched by the amount of trouble that he'd dragged his younger brother into while he was at it. The pranks that they'd pulled together were still talked about in his neighborhood to this day, and might or might not have been archived in several newspaper articles in the library.

So yes, he could tell a bored kid when he saw one.

He walked over to the window, leaning on the windowsill. "Hmm. Looks like the sun is going to set soon." He pondered out loud while examining the empty street below.

"Mhmm." Raphtalia nodded and then stole a quick peek at her master while anxiously shifting in place. "Umm…" She began to say but then hesitated.

"What is it?" He turned his head to look at her with a tired smile.

"No, it's nothing master Naofumi." She forcibly shook her head and tensed her body up, hugging the ball tighter while looking out of the window again. Her tail wagged quickly behind her.

Goodness. She was too precious.

"Still… there is some time left till sunset." Naofumi smirked and looked out the window again. "And there aren't that many people outside right now… Raphtalia why don't you take that ball and go play outside for a bit? I want to look at these new compounding tools I got and I don't want to be disturbed."

Raphtalia gave him a blank stare at first but then her expression quickly turned into a smile so radiant that it was outshining the setting sun outside. "R-really? Can I?"

"I don't know, can you?" He chuckled at her confused face before continuing. "Don't stray too far. Make sure that I'll be able to see you from this window and if anything happens, shout for me, you got it?" He knelt down and patted her gently on the head while instructing her.

"But master Naofumi, you said to not call by your name while we're in town." The girl quizzically turned her head.

"Oh, yeah… I guess I need an alias…" He rubbed his chin in thought. "Oh, how about… Jun? Yea, just shout Jun if you get in trouble, and I'll come running."

"O-Okay! Got it!" The girl nodded enthusiastically and quickly ran out of the door. Naofumi could hear her footsteps as she ran downstairs. Had she been that excited to get out?

"Careful young lady! You might trip if you run around so quickly!" The old innkeeper woman chastised the tanuki.

"Sorry!" The girl hastily apologized before going outside and into Naofumi's range of view. She immediately began to bounce the ball against the ground with her hand and run around, giggling in excitement. Naofumi briefly wondered if he should take out his compounding tools but seeing her so happy was fascinating, so he decided against it. He instead pulled one of the chairs close to the window and sat down, resuming his studying of the help menu while occasionally glancing down to see how Raphtalia was doing. He wished he had some better reading material. He was starting to miss books.

Unfortunately, he had to quickly give that up as trouble stirred on the horizon a few minutes later. He saw three boys approaching the lone girl and he tensed up, getting ready to jump out of the window if he had to.

"Hey, nice ball!" The lead boy who was the oldest and half a head taller than Raphtalia pointed at the orange toy. "Did you get it from the monster shop guy?"

"Um, w-w-well," Raphtalia said nervously. Holding the ball close to herself. It was precious to her. She and Master had both made it together.

"That's awesome! That guy gave us some balls too!" At his words, they pulled balls made from balloon skins out of their packs."O-Oh." Raphtalia suddenly looked less shy, and more curious. Her ears and tail reflected her mood.

"Whoa, and you're a demi-human too." Their eyes were wide with wonder, seeing her tail and ears. "What's your name?"

"R-Raphtalia." The girl answered hesitantly.

"Hey Raphtalia, want to play dodge ball with us? We're one person short for even teams."

Raphtalia stuttered at that, trying to refuse, but one of the other boys egged her on. "Come on, it'll be fun!"

The boys began throwing balls to each other and to her. She eeped, almost missing the first one. But pretty quickly, she was starting to enjoy the surprise playtime.

Naofumi glared out the window at the boys but soon came to the conclusion that they weren't there to cause trouble. They were genuinely curious about Raphtalia and acting like little kids. He gradually shifted back to reading the help guide. It turned out the village kids here were pretty nice. He was glad to learn that. Maybe, it was possible they could stay in this town for a few days. He wasn't being searched for here. It was possible for Raphtalia to have at least part of her childhood-

"OW!" Naofumi nearly jumped from his seat as he quickly looked out the window when he heard the Tanuki's pained yelp.

Raphtalia was on the ground, holding a hand to her face. There were four boys there now, he hadn't seen the fourth one earlier, but he looked bigger than the other kids. The other three boys were yelling at him.

"What the hell man?!"

"You didn't need to throw the ball that hard!"

"What, she's a demon! And my uncle says that demons need to be stoned!" The fourth kid, a snot-nosed brat, defended his actions.

"Your uncle's crazy! No one in town likes him!" The lead boy yelled angrily.

"I like him!"

"You're also a jerk, so your opinion doesn't count!"

The larger boy sniffed. And when the other two began yelling at him to apologize, he ran away, sniffling loudly. "You all are going to hell for consorting with demons! I'll tell my uncle all about this!" He cried loudly.

Naofumi glared at the boy's retreat. But then he looked down worriedly as he saw Raphtalia getting back up. She was still holding a hand to her face. The other three boys looked at her in concern.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to cause any trouble…" She sniffled.

"It's fine. That guy's a real jerkface. Let's just forget about him and continue playing-" The lead boy started to suggest.

Raphtalia shook her head. "No… I don't feel like playing anymore." She turned around, clutching her ball close.

The three boys were surprised at that. And then even more surprised when the door to the inn burst open as Naofumi ran out. He quickly dropped to one knee in front of Raphtalia and began examining her face. The boys were further surprised when he glared at them. "Who was that kid?" His voice said in a low, threatening tone.

"He wasn't a friend of ours sir! We were only playing around when he showed up and beaned her in the face!" One of the boys quickly said.

"Yeah, we don't hang around that guy since he and his uncle are mean!"

Raphtalia sniffled again. With her hand out of the way, he could see a bruise beginning to form over part of her face. He frowned in worry. "You three should head home. It'll be sunset soon."

"Okay… will she be alright?" The lead boy asked worriedly. "We didn't mean for her to get hurt." They looked at the ground guiltily.

"It wasn't your fault. I'll take care of her. Go home before your parents begin to worry." Naofumi said dryly.

"Alright, thank you, mister! Bye Raphtalia! Get well soon!" The boys shouted as they ran off."

Raphtalia was still sniffling as Naofumi led her back towards their room. When they got there, he had her sit down on the bed. He got some ice from the innkeeper, wrapped the ice in cloth, and then gently pressed it against the bruised part of her face. She winced at the cold feeling.

"I'm sorry, Master Naofumi, I didn't call for help when I should have," Raphtalia said guiltily.

"It's fine. You were having fun, weren't you?" He asked.

She slowly nodded. "Then stop looking down."

He held the ice pack to her face for a few minutes longer. After he was done with that, he noticed how she still looked down. Then he saw her hair, which still looked unkempt. An idea to cheer her up formed in his mind. "I'll be right back."

He disappeared for a few minutes. Raphtalia sat on the bed, still hugging her ball close. When Naofumi reappeared though, she was surprised to see him holding a pair of scissors as well as a stool. "Sit here."

Curiously, she got off the bed and did what her master asked of her. She was then surprised when he began trimming her hair. Why was he doing that? However, she didn't complain as the long, unkempt locks fell to the floor.

Naofumi had learned to cut his hair to help save money for his hobbies while in college. He found cutting someone else's hair was far easier than cutting his own hair.

After a while, when their room was only lit by the light of candles, Naofumi stopped. He examined his work, nodded in satisfaction, and led her to the mirror. "What do you think?" He asked.

…

She looked at herself in awe. Her hair looked just like it had before she became a slave. She felt at her braids, which were smoother than before. And, slowly, she began to cry as she hugged her hair.

"Th-Thank you, Master Naofumi."

"It's no problem." He patted between her ears on her head.

Raphtalia raced over to the bed, childlike energy renewed. She picked up her ball and began playing with it indoors. When she wasn't throwing it, she was hugging it and giggling happily.

He had to hold back a chuckle at the sight. As he went to clean up her hair from the floor, the gemstone on his shield began to glow. 'Huh.' Was his shield saying he could absorb her hair to unlock a new shield? Curious, he did so.

Raccoon Shield Unlocked!

Raccoon Shield? But Raphtalia's ears and tail reminded him of Tanukis back in Japan. Sure, they were somewhat related to Raccoons, but not close enough that they were considered Raccoons… huh, he'd have to think more about that later.

As he laid back on his bed again, the ball landed beside him. He looked down from his pillow at it. "Oh, sorry Master Naofumi! I swear I wasn't trying to hit you!" Raphtalia said, quickly apologizing to him.

Naofumi shook his head, having to do his best to hold back an amused smile as he gave her a head pat. Would she ever stop apologizing over every little thing? "I've already told you it's fine."

"Oh, right," Raphtalia said in relief before picking up her ball again. She went back to her corner of the room where she continued to play with it in young childlike joy.

His eyes followed Raphtalia to see her happily distracted playing with a ball.

'There really is so much more to this world than I thought.' He realized. 'Crafting items from materials. Compounding. Fishing. Gathering herbs and other rare plants. Owning slaves. Dissecting and cutting apart monsters for materials... That merchant who bought my medicine even mentioned that I could mine the ore in the coal mines if I was brave enough to face the monsters inside. There are just so many things for us to try...'

The mining part was tempting. On one hand, they could get their hands on some valuable ore. He could unlock some new shields too. On the other hand, the merchant had warned him that the monsters in the mines were stronger than the normal ones they were used to in the forest. But if they could get their hands on that ore, then they'd be able to upgrade to some better equipment. Meaning that they'd be able to get stronger more quickly. And be able to handle the next wave better when it arrived.

'Hmmm, would we really need to do that now though if we're planning to stay here for a few extra days?' He seriously considered making Lute his hideout. However, he was reminded of what Elhart had said to him, and he threw the idea away.

He couldn't be content even if he wasn't in trouble now. That was sure to get him in trouble when the King or the Church came to town searching for him.

The thought gave him a headache. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep that gave him a headache. Either way, he laid back on his own bed. 'I'll make my decision tomorrow morning. After I've caught up on some sleep.' He rolled onto his side, switching to the Raccoon Shield so he could unlock its equip bonus before he closed his eyes.

…

"Um, master Naofumi?"

Naofumi peeked open an eye. Raphtalia's ball was resting on her bed, but the little demi-girl was standing at the foot of his bed staring down at him.

"What is it?" Naofumi asked coldly. Showing his displeasure at being kept awake.

"Is, is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?" Raphtalia asked, looking off to the side. Her tail wagging slowly behind her.

Naofumi's eyebrow quizzically arched up his face at the question. Raphtalia continued looking off to the side. "It's just, I'm afraid of having more nightmares again." She admitted quietly.

...

She didn't need to say anymore. "Come here." He said, raising the blanket and scooting back to allow room for the little demi-girl.

Taking her chance, she quickly snuggled up against him. Her childish face smiling happily as she closed her eyes. "Thanks, master Naofumi." She said, sounding relieved and happy.

"Yeah yeah, just don't wet the bed again. I don't want a repeat of what happened to my cape." He said indifferently.

Raphtalia's face turned red from embarrassment. "Please don't remind me of that!" She complained childishly.

"Yeah, yeah." He said blandly. "Goodnight."

…

"Goodnight."

In the Middle of the Night

Bathump!…

Raphtalia fell back. A pair of hands, her father's hands, reached out towards her. Or had they pushed her…?

'No…'

Bathump!…

Her parents stood on the edge of the cliff face. Smiling one last time for their only daughter.

'No…'

BathumpBathumpBathumpBathumpBathumpBathump!...

The waves of Catastrophe swirled up above. She was falling, falling down the cliff's edge into a black bottomless abyss. Her eyes went wide, watching as the Cerberus Dog's heads bit down. Her Father produced a sword of light, striking at the monster. But its heads bit down on him and mom and-

"Noooooo!"

Naofumi awakened abruptly, hearing Raphtalia screaming in his ear. Her rapid heartbeat pounded into his chest where she was snuggled up tightly against him. She was crying again, eyes closed tight from the nightmare she was having.

"Mother, father." She cried.

"Hey, wake up, everything's fine." He said, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. His left hand moving through her hair in that same calming motion again.

"I don't want to be alone… don't leave me alone…"

Naofumi stayed silent, but he kept his hold on the Tanuki girl. Doing his best to help her calm down...

After another moment of soft crying, Raphtalia slowly opened her eyes. He continued rubbing the back of her head, comforting her from the nightmare.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She shook her head, too afraid and too sad to speak. He wondered what he could do to help her out. How did you help someone out with nightmares…

"Once, a long time ago, there was a boy named Jun."

Without realizing it, he began to tell her a story about his younger brother. "He had everything he could ever want. Friends, loving parents, smarts. However, everyone had high expectations for him. As the strain of it all became too much, he began to change."

Raphtalia's sniffling disappeared. Curious, she listened as Naofumi continued. "He changed his hair color. He started to ignore his teachers. He hung out with the wrong crowd. At one point, he was capable of giving a sailor a run for his money in a swearing contest." Raphtalia giggled at that. He found himself smiling as well.

"Jun's parents didn't know what to do. Had they been too hard on their second son? They went to their first, worthless son. Begging him to help his little bro before it was too late."

Naofumi thought back on the memory with fondness. "He also loved his brother, but because of how he was turning out, his parents chose to ignore him in favor of his younger brother. But despite that, he still had a connection with him that they did not. You see, he had noticed the gradual shift in his brother's demeanor. And after careful observation, he found the source of his brother's problem."

"What was it?" Raphtalia asked curiously.

He smiled. "It was simple, really. The stress of trying to live up to everyone's expectations was overwhelming him, and he had nowhere to relieve that stress. So his brother came up with a solution." Here, Naofumi had to pause. He'd introduced his brother to a dating simulator game, and from there turned him into an otaku. While that had worked, that didn't feel appropriate for a bedtime story in a world where such technology didn't exist.

"He gave him a ball to play with." He settled on that, and he felt Raphtalia's tail wag at that. "He told him whenever the stress became too overwhelming, he could come to him and they'd play together. No matter what he was doing, he'd always be there for his brother when he needed him."

Raphtalia stayed silent. Even if it hadn't been a ball, he still felt tears come to his eyes at remembering his brother. "His brother's idea worked. Jun turned back to himself. He became a star student who later got accepted into a top school for his grades. The parent's appreciated the work of the older brother to save the younger brother. However, he didn't do it to satisfy them. He did it because he loved his brother. And now, his brother knew it…"

...

Almost all thoughts of sleep were forgotten, though it pulled heavily at his eyelids now that Raphtalia had calmed again. He'd paused, trying to hold back his tears, and then realized that Raphtalia was asleep. Seeing that, he finally did allow himself to cry. 'I'm sorry I can't help you more Raphtalia.' He was only one person, suffering from mistrust and fear of betrayal. What could he possibly do to help her?...

"Sh-Shield Hero."

Naofumi widened his eyes in surprise and looked down at Raphtalia. To his further astonishment, she was still asleep. But she had a more peaceful look on her face. "Thank you for saving me, Sir Shield Hero. I know I can count on you to protect me and my family." She whispered, a smile spreading onto her small face. "Thank you for protecting us."

Naofumi continued to stare down in surprise at Raphtalia's face. Even though he knew she was having a dream, his tears came harder, and he hugged the demi-girl more tightly to him.

"Yes. You can count on me to protect you Raphtalia. Even when I don't show it, even when I act like a total $%#! to you, just know that I want to protect you." He said out loud.

Raphtalia might have been his slave, but she was helping to care for him as much as he was for her. She helped him to come back from his anger at being betrayed before it consumed him. She kept on cutting his guilt down with her innocent smile and quick forgiveness. His pessimistic thoughts never held much sway when she was around. She was the one who helped him to be a little more hopeful. The one who helped him to remain human despite feeling like an outcast.

He fell back to sleep, feeling slightly more hopeful that things would get better tomorrow.

Outside of Lute Village

A man in black robes walked up to the edge of the forest. He looked around, checking to make sure no one else was in the vicinity.

"Thomas."

The man jerked his head back and stood at attention. "Lady Altara." He said formally.

"Has the Shield Demon and that demi-human of his arrived at Lute Village?" The nun growled out as she walked out from the shadows.

Thomas nodded his head. "Aye. One of the believers living outside the town reported that a demi-human child had entered the town today along with an older man. His description matched the one you gave our branch here. They're staying at the town inn tonight. Should I rouse the people and have the devil of the shield dealt with?" Thomas asked.

"No." Altara shook her head. "Pope Balamus made it abundantly clear that the devil of the shield has to be taken down by monsters if we want to avoid contention with the other countries before we're ready to deal with them." She said authoritatively.

"But, but my lady. How are we to deal with the devil of the shield if we cannot face him ourselves?" The acolyte Thomas asked.

"Simple," Altara said with a menacing wolfish grin. "The other agent that I have planted here in advance was ordered to disguise himself as a traveling merchant. The Shield Demon would have surely tried to barter with whatever scraps of monsters he has procured and met that shadow. By deliberately overpaying the Shield Demon, he would have earned his favor and trust, allowing him to make an innocent suggestion for him to try and visit the coal mines in this town to get some valuable ore."

"After doing my research, I have discovered where that demi-human slave of his came from, and I've brought a monster here with me from the Church Dungeons that they won't be able to kill." She said, and let out a diabolical laugh before snapping her fingers. A low growl came from behind her, startling the acolyte. His eyes then widened as the form of the beast appeared behind the nun, bound by a rope made of light around its two necks.

"Ah!" The acolyte nearly fell back in terror. "What is that thing?!"

Altara smiled. "I assure you, I have it well under control." The monster tried to break free, but she simply produced a whip made of light and snapped at it. It immediately cowered in terror. "This beast is very territorial, and it won't leave the mines after it makes its home there."

"Wh-Where did you get such a beast?" The acolyte asked.

"One of my loyal knights captured it on the outskirts of Lafan Village, and had a hell of a time bringing it back alive." She said, looking down at her hand. "The Church thought keeping such monsters in their dungeons could help the Legendary Heroes with their training. Releasing them into wild areas right as the heroes are passing through." Her hand formed a fist. "But now, this monster shall be used to end the pathetic life of the Shield Demon! It shall serve a higher purpose than any other monster!"

Thomas finally began to recover from his fright of seeing the monstrous beast and bowed respectively to her. "I shall make sure that no one else from the town approaches the mines then, milady." He said formally.

"Good. That is all I shall need from you, Thomas." Altara said, looking out over the town with a hungry gaze.

At last, the Shield Hero's short blight on her world would be over. A world that should have never allowed for the creation of such a mockery to God...

She only wished she could see the look of despair on Naofumi's face as the monster behind her tore it off of his dying form. After, of course, having watched his demi-human friend get eaten by her greatest nightmare.

She turned around, making sure her white hood still covered her head, before disappearing into the darkness of the forest, the beast in tow.

Till Next Time

Allen