Chapter Fourteen: A Filolial Egg and a New Language
The next morning
"And these are the letters of the Melromarc alphabet in order Master Naofumi."
"Uh-huh."
"I did my best to think of how to teach it to you so I hope your shield is able to translate the finer details for me."
"Right."
"I believe this first character here represents your language's A."
"Uh-huh."
"And this one represents your language's B."
"Right."
"And this one represents your language's C."
"Uh-huh."
…
"You are paying attention to what I'm saying, right Master Naofumi?"
"Right…"
…
Naofumi snapped his head from staring at the thinning forest around him to look at Raphtalia. She did not look very happy with him. 'Uh-oh, I might be in trouble.' "I mean, of course, I'm paying attention. Why wouldn't I be?" He asked.
Raphtalia rested one of her hands on her hips while giving him a light glare. "What was the last thing I said?" Naofumi opened his mouth. "Before asking you to pay attention, Master Naofumi." She clarified.
'... Damn, she's good.' He struggled for an answer. "Um, uh. Well, now that you mention it..."
Raphtalia rolled her eyes at him and continued walking. Holding on to the wood tablet that contained the letters of the Melromarc alphabet that she'd scratched onto it. "If you're going to be too busy looking around at our surroundings, it'll be pointless trying to teach you Melromarc's written language right now."
"Hey, it's a habit of being on the run, okay?" Naofumi defended himself. "One of us has to watch our backs for pursuers."
"And you couldn't have told me that before I put in all the effort of preparing to teach you this morning on the way to the village?" Raphtalia asked.
…
"To be honest, I was still feeling groggy from sleeping for so long. So I didn't hear everything that you'd said earlier." He admitted.
He'd had to pop his back and neck several times after falling asleep while sitting on a log. He'd also struggled with grogginess that morning because he'd gotten too much sleep from sleeping through the whole night. Something he honestly wasn't used to. But the fact that he'd cuddled with Raphtalia had made it all worth it. Even if he hadn't paid much attention to what had been said for a while after waking up.
She could have asked if she had permission to run him through with her sword and he would have given it without realizing it.
"Master Naofumi!" She complained.
Naofumi shrugged. "If you don't like it, maybe I could go back to spending half the night compounding medicines again," Naofumi said indifferently. "I'm usually more awake when I don't get a full night's sleep."
Raphtalia harrumphed. "Fine then, I'll just go out hunting today while you find a monster tamer," Raphtalia said, tucking away the alphabet board she'd made with a grumpy look on her face before storming off into the forest.
Naofumi groaned to himself. "Wait, I was only kidding! Raphtalia!"
He groaned to himself again when she ignored him and disappeared from view.
'Why do I have to know next to nothing about girls… You'd think that all the dating sims I played would help, but that's clearly not the case.' He turned and continued walking towards the village. He pulled his hood over his head again. Elhart had made an adjustment to it so that it was also lined with pill rabbit fur. Not only would it keep his head warm at night, but it'd help with hiding more of his face.
He felt guilty for accidentally ignoring Raphtalia when she'd been trying to help him. 'It'd be so much better if girls came with walkthroughs too…'
…
Just in case, since he still had a few minutes before he reached the town gates, he tried searching through the help guide for knowledge on how to handle demi-human girls that were in love with you. His help guide would normally update itself as he came across new information. But... 'Figures, it has nothing on girls. Not even an entry for demi-human girls who grew up in the span of a few weeks. Just my luck… …'
An uncomfortable thought went through his mind. 'Wait, did her parents ever manage to teach her anything about being a grown-up before they died… or…' His face paled. 'No, there's no way in hell! I can't be cursed with that much bad luck!'
Maybe Elhart was right before. He might, at some point, have to give Raphtalia the talk on the birds and the bees.
'No! Hell no! Why did I have to think about that now!? It's not like I'm planning on making things progress that far between us!' He thought hysterically in his mind. 'Besides, she seems to have an idea about what rape implies! So maybe I'm just worrying over nothing!'
Then again, he didn't know what Raphtalia knew about rape. Nor did he know how far Raphtalia wanted to progress with him. He didn't know if she knew what the boundaries of a normal relationship were or not. Hell, he hardly knew what the boundaries of a normal relationship were. He was stepping where no otaku had stepped before.
And what if demi-humans were more connected to their baser instincts than normal people? Or- 'Wait, calm down. Maybe I'm just overreacting a little bit. I mean she did grow up and everything, so maybe she learned about the birds and the bees as a natural ability from leveling up…'
Honestly, when he thought about it that way… it sounded really stupid to him. 'I hate this…'
He hoped he could put it off for a while, but if her body really had matured and she got to try to follow her instincts and emotions… he shuddered at the thought and crossed his arms to warm himself from the chill running down his back.
'Maybe I should consider having Raphtalia meet another adult demi-human. Maybe he or she would be able to explain that stuff to Raphtalia so I wouldn't have to... if she doesn't know about it… aw hell, am I going to have to somehow check with her to figure out if she does know or not...'
Fortunately, he did not have to think about it for much longer, because he found himself walking up to the ruined gates of the village. And, fortunately, Elhart's friend was at his post. He put those thoughts away in a mental compartment in his mind.
You know, the one that had the word Raphtalia on it alongside a large bold question mark.
"Halt!" The guard commanded.
Naofumi did so, already pulling out the silver coin needed for entry. "Ah, it's the Shield Hero." The large guy recognized Naofumi. "You don't have to pay the toll, Sir Naofumi. You're welcome to enter and leave at your leisure." The guard said, giving Naofumi a small bow out of respect.
Naofumi gave the man the silver coin to the man regardless, along with a few extra. "Take them. The town needs the money more than I do." He said calmly. He was being nice. But he was also making sure no rumors would spread about him not paying a toll to help rebuild a town.
The man looked down in surprise at his hand and then nodded. "Yes, I'll make sure it goes to the reconstruction funds! Thank you!" He said gratefully.
Naofumi gave him an affirmative nod. "I can't stay for long. I was wondering if there's a monster tamer that lives in Lute?" Naofumi asked.
The man looked at him confusedly, until Naofumi pulled the monster egg out of his pack. "Ah, I see. You went to old Beloukas in the Capital and took a try at his egg lottery." He said as he examined it. "I tried it once. Got this weird caterpillar creature. But it sold well after I raised it." The guard examined the egg a little while longer. "There aren't any monster tamers living in town… but I do know someone who lives nearby that specializes in different monsters…" He gave it back to Naofumi. "Wait over in the long grass. I'll get someone I trust to take over my shift and then I'll escort you there."
Naofumi walked over to the area of long grass the guard had pointed to and waited. He crouched there to wait…
'You know, I just realized I still don't know his name.' He wasn't very good with names in general. If people never introduced themselves, he'd just slap a nickname to them and call them that. Pawn Shop Owner. Idiot Mustached Knight Commander. King Trash.
Alright, he did know the King's name was Aultcray. But he preferred calling him Trash. Sue him.
Regardless, if that guard didn't introduce himself soon, he might just resort to calling him Elhart's Guard Friend.
He mentioned that he was bad with coming up with nicknames, right?
While Naofumi waited, he used the time to watch the road to the Capital. Just to make sure there were no knights in the area. It was strangely empty though. Huh...
…
After a moment, he saw three people come out of the town. One of them stopped to take up the post at the gate. The other two approached the long grass where Naofumi was hiding. He recognized one of them as the guard. He was surprised though to also see the Lord of Lute Village accompanying him.
"Shield Hero? Is it true that you're here?" The Lord asked. He couldn't see Naofumi hiding in the tall grass yet.
'Well, he doesn't sound hostile... yet.' Naofumi took a risk and stood up. He hoped Raphtalia was nearby in case he was mistaken. It'd been a while since he received an experience notification.
Fortunately, the Lord looked delighted at seeing him, so he optimistically took it as a good sign. "Oh, thank goodness Shield Hero. After I heard about what happened during the celebration, I was afraid you wouldn't risk stopping by our village." The Lord said with delight.
"Yeah, well I wanted to see if the town was faring well and find a monster tamer before I went somewhere else," Naofumi said dryly. It was more the second than the first. But the people here were somewhat alright, he guessed.
The Lord bowed his head. "Everything is going very well, thanks to the efforts you and your friend put into helping with monster cleanup after the wave. I figure we should be back to normal within two weeks, maybe one if there aren't any unexpected difficulties."
"That's good." Naofumi said. The Lord raised his head. "Is that the only reason you came to see me though?" It seemed suspicious that someone as important as the village's leader would come out just to thank him.
The guy pulled out what looked like a metal tablet from his robes. "Of course not. I wanted to reward you for your efforts. It isn't much, but this should help you on your travels." He said, handing the object to Naofumi.
Naofumi looked it over. "What is it?" He asked. Upon examination, the tablet was bronze-colored and rectangularly shaped, yet curved along the edges. There was writing in the Melromarc alphabet on the bottom portion and a sideways symbol with a hole in the center of it on top. Was it some sort of magic artifact?
"It's a merchant's pass." The older man answered.
Naofumi looked up at the Lord with a look of skepticism. 'Merchant's pass? How the hell is that going to help me?'
He opened his mouth to say just that when the Lord continued. "I figure you'll probably have to stop by towns every now and then to get supplies. This will help to keep the knights from suspecting that you're a wanted fugitive. It'll also allow you to enter and leave without having to pay a toll."
...
Naofumi looked down at the merchant's pass in surprise at this helpful information. Now that he thought about it, going around as a cloaked individual might draw suspicion to him and Raphtalia. However, if he and Raphtalia went around as cloaked individuals with a merchant's pass, they could pass off more easily as night merchants from some of the games he used to play.
Night merchants were the type that appeared mysteriously in people's towns at night to peddle their wares. With the tools and book that the apothecarian had given him, he figured he'd be able to make some of the types of medicines that type of merchant was well known to carry.
"But if I'm found out, wouldn't you be suspected by the Church for giving this to me?" Naofumi asked.
"How can they suspect me? I've never spoken to the Shield Demon before in my life Sir Shield Hero." The Lord said, giving him a knowing wink.
…
Naofumi smirked back and put the merchant's pass in his pocket. 'You know, I'm starting to like the people here more and more. They really have some great ideas.'
"Yeah. The Shield Demon doesn't sound like a pleasant guy. He's the worst of the worst." Naofumi agreed with the Lord.
"I see. Then we'll have to make sure to spread the news of the Shield Demon's whereabouts to the neighboring towns. After all, we can't allow such a criminal to remain loose on our lands." The Lord said, turning around to walk back towards his village.
'I went all the way out to Mirso Village in the Northeast. If the Church or the Capital aren't morons in their investigation skills, they might think I'll go to parts I'm more familiar with to hide out in...' "Make sure to let everyone know that he's traveling Northeast," Naofumi said to the Lord's back. "I heard he's planning on raping and pillaging a few towns on his way to Mirso Village so he can level up for the next wave."
The Lord stopped to consider it. Then he looked back with a smile at Naofumi. "It shall be as the Shield Hero said." He then continued walking towards his village. Whistling happily to himself as he did so.
Naofumi chuckled to himself. "You know, your Village's Lord isn't half bad." He said to the burly town guard.
"There was a reason the Queen appointed him to be the ruler over this area." The guy agreed. "He's smart. And the people love him."
Naofumi stopped chuckling to look in confusion at him. 'You mean, it wasn't the King who made him the Lord here? But I thought-'
"Anyway, you wanted to see the monster tamer?" The guard asked him.
Naofumi nodded his head. "Of course."
"Follow me then." He walked off the main road, heading east, away from the village. Naofumi followed along behind him.
Naofumi and the Captain walked down a well-trodden path through the forest. It wasn't so much a road as it was a path since it obviously looked like it received frequent use, yet it wasn't paved or marked out.
In making small talk with the guard along the way, Naofumi figured out a couple of things. One, the guard was the Captain of the guards in Lute Village. Two, he and Elhart were old drinking buddies, which was how the kind blacksmith met him. And Three, his name was Albert.
He almost wanted to call him Town Guard Captain since that sounded so much cooler than Albert.
Besides that, he learned knights from the Capital had already gone by the village earlier that day looking for him. They weren't royal knights though, as they had the insignia of the Church's rosary on their chest plates. They'd just left for the next town when Naofumi arrived. Albert mentioned that if he'd been planning to go Southeast towards the Pritze Domain, which he hadn't been planning to do since he had no idea where the hell that was, it'd be best for him to avoid going that way.
He also learned the monster tamer he was going to see was named Firo. He specialized in all sorts of monsters and monster eggs. His favorite creature to raise being Filolials.
That led to Naofumi learning what the hell a Filolial was. Which was what they were talking about right now. Based on the physical description Albert gave him, they sounded very similar to chocobos. Long necks. Strong bodies. Capable of pulling a lot of weight. And..
"So you're saying that they really love to pull carriages that much?" Naofumi asked skeptically.
Albert gave him a shrug. "Nobody's really sure why. They just really love pulling carriages for some reason. If a Filolial doesn't pull a carriage for a while, they get very depressed, and some have been known to die if they haven't pulled a carriage for a while."
Naofumi thought about it. "Almost like they lose the purpose they're bred for in life." He muttered out loud.
"Yeah, that's one way of looking at it." Albert agreed. He started to smile as the pathway opened up in front of them. "Ah, here we are."
Naofumi looked around and was surprised to find they'd walked right into the middle of a field of monsters. However, none of them made any move to attack him.
Of those he could recognize. He saw Porcupines, a few larged sized Usapil, and some balloons. He barely recognized the Filolials because of the brief glances he got of them on roads he and Raphtalia had traveled on. They really were like multi-colored chocobos, only bigger, and they looked surprisingly more regal.
Outside of that, he didn't recognize the large caterpillar-like monsters or the large worms that popped out of the ground every now and then. Along with a few other ones he didn't feel like describing.
"Hmmm, it looks like Firo lost some of his stock in the last wave," Albert said to himself as he walked towards the large wooden house that stood in the center of the large clearing. It had several other buildings around it. Including a stable that had several carts and wagons. One of which had a Filolial at the ready to pull it. Though the poor thing was strapped to the wagon. Looking at it, Naofumi finally made the connection of when he'd last seen one. Jerry had one that had pulled his wagon from Dragon Village to the Capital. What had taken him and Raphtalia several weeks of travel by walking had taken Jerry's Filolial maybe a day.
'It doesn't look like he lost a lot of it.' Naofumi followed behind Albert. It already seemed like there were a lot of monsters here as it was.
'I hope Raphtalia realizes these monsters are tame.' When they stopped in front of the door, he felt something rubbing against his ankle, and looked down to see a porcupine rubbing its head affectionately against him. Oddly enough, it made him think of it more like a dog.
A large, barbed dog with needles sharp enough to pierce metal. But it wouldn't have looked that out of place barking excitedly and chasing after a ball.
That was weird to think about.
Albert knocked on the wooden door. "Hey, Firo! I have a customer here for you!" He bellowed loudly.
"Hold on hold on, I just need a moment." An impatient sounding voice said behind the door.
After a moment, the door opened, and a short plump man dressed in a rough shirt and overalls appeared in the doorway. "Yes, what is it, Albert?" He demanded.
Albert pointed to the hooded Naofumi beside him. "I brought a passing trader here who wants to have his monster egg checked out."
Naofumi pulled out the monster egg from his inventory. "I bought this off a Trader in the Capital, but I don't know what type of egg it is. I'm planning on a long journey, and need to be prepared just in case I don't know how to care for the monster." Naofumi said dryly.
The plump man put a hand to his chin in thought. "You look familiar for some reason…" He muttered to himself.
Naofumi was about to speak when Albert cut him off. "He's just a traveling merchant passing through town Firo. Show him the credentials you showed me, good sir." Albert said to him.
Naofumi confusedly did as Albert asked and pulled out the Merchant's Pass he'd been given. Firo looked it over. "Ah, I see no issues. I'll appraise that fair monster egg of yours for 15 Silver." He said.
'15 Silvers!' Naofumi thought incredulously. He'd already paid 100 for it! This scumbag was already ripping him off!
"Deal." Naofumi handed over the 15 Silver Coins. Oh well. It could be worse. He could have paid hundreds of Silver Coins for the appraisal.
He just hoped Raphtalia would be okay with the 15 Silver cost. He figured she'd be okay with it... Hopefully.
A few minutes later, Naofumi sat in a chair next to Albert. The two of them observed Firo, who was busy examining the monster egg on his table. "Hmmm, this has strong magics on it to prevent appraisals. However, they're not enough to hide the egg's secrets from a tamer like me!" He said excitedly, whispering words under his breath.
'He seems... really into monsters.' It was almost strange how into monsters the guy was. He had monster skin furniture, and monster skull lanterns hanging to light up the place. There was a skull of a dragon with its mouth open to roar right above the fireplace.
That honestly creeped him out.
"Albert?" He whispered to grab the burly Captain's attention. "Why did you say I'm just a passing merchant? Isn't he also part of the village."
Albert put his fingers to his lips in a shushing gesture and then gestured above where Firo was working. Naofumi glanced up from under his hood and saw what looked like a decoration on the wall. It was right by a hunter's trophy of… what looked like a giant frog head? He focused on the symbol and blocked out the weird monster trophies. It took his eyes a little bit to get the finer details.
'Okay. It vaguely reminds me of the Legendary Weapons. But what the hell is that supposed to mean-'
"Firo is a diehard believer of the Three Heroes Faith," Albert whispered.
...
Naofumi's eyes widened in realization. With that information, he was finally able to tell that what he was seeing was a symbol of the Spear, the Bow, and the Sword put together. The rosary of the Three Heroes Church.
'Okay. What the hell?' Naofumi glared at Albert.
"He was here with his monsters during the wave. But I have a feeling even if he saw what you did for us he'd turn you over to the Knights, or worse." Albert said quietly.
Naofumi pulled his hood down a little lower and made sure his shield was well hidden under his cloak on his back. Firo was still in the middle of doing whatever he was doing. "So you're telling me you took me to a monster tamer that wants me dead?"
"He's the only one that lives near Lute, and he's one of the best." Albert clarified. "If anyone can work around the anti-appraisal spells Beloukas puts on his eggs, it'd be him. Besides, he's never met you before. I figured you should be safe." Albert whispered.
"Yeah, sure. Like he hasn't seen all of my wanted posters either." Naofumi said sarcastically.
"Not in Lute at least." Naofumi stared at Albert, waiting for an explanation. "Every time they're put up in our village, they disappear mysteriously right after the Knights leave." Albert smirked. "I guess a lot of bounty hunters like having your picture on hand."
It took a moment, but Naofumi eventually had a small smirk as well. It really was too bad he was a fugitive. Lute didn't sound like a bad place to stay at all.
…
"Ah yes, now I can see it!" Firo yelled cheerfully at his desk. Naofumi and Albert stopped their quiet conversation to glance at him.
"Well, what is it?" Naofumi asked calmly.
"At first glance, it seems like a normal Filolial Egg," Firo said, studying the egg's surface rather curiously. "If I were to guess, this came from a Filolial raised to be slaughtered for meat. The egg is only a few days old. The texture of the shell is what indicates it. Normally, these kinds of eggs would hatch in several weeks."
"Ok-" Naofumi was starting to say.
"However." Firo continued. "This one is growing faster than normal. In fact, according to one of Belouka's spells, it will hatch by the end of the week! The number keeps on going down to, so it could possibly be sooner! Interesting." He eyed the egg some more.
Naofumi suddenly felt uncomfortable. Crap, was his status as a Hero doing something to the egg? He hadn't accounted for that. "Well, I've never owned a Filolial before." He coughed into his hand. "How do you raise one?" He calmly asked.
"For the first couple of days, it's best to feed them crushed food, preferably beans. After that, they tend to eat whatever they want until they reach maturity. By that time, they'll need to be hooked up to a wagon otherwise their health will take a turn for the worse." Firo said, his voice was sounding more excited for some reason.
The creepy feeling he was getting was enough that he finally stood up. "Well, thank you for everything. I have all the information I need to take care of my future Filolial. Now I'll be taking my property back and leaving-" He was saying calmly.
"Oh, couldn't you stay for another moment?" Firo asked.
"... excuse me?" Naofumi asked.
"Well, I'd just love to figure out why this egg is reacting the way it is to the Devil of the Shield."
…
Naofumi's blood ran cold. This time, when Firo the Monster Tamer turned to face him, he had a crazy glint in his eye and an evil grin on his face. "I'm not mistaken, am I? You're trying so hard to hide your face in your hood it's hard to tell."
Naofumi gritted his teeth and brought his shield from his back onto his arm. 'Damn it, I thought Albert said this guy wouldn't recognize me.'
He heard the sound of a sword being drawn and looked to the side to see Albert was now facing him. His sword was pointed towards him. The large man's body shook in fear. "Y-You mean I was w-with the, the Shield Demon!?" He asked nervously.
Naofumi's eyes widened. 'What?!'
Firo started to laugh. "Oh, tricking the Lute Captain with a false identity too. That's just the underhanded trick I'd expect from the Devil of the Shield."
Naofumi stepped back. His face scrunching up from the sour turn this situation was taking. 'That damn traitor!' "Do you really think you two can stop me when the monsters of the wave couldn't touch me?" Naofumi asked.
"You'll stay back if you know what's good for you!" Albert yelled angrily.
Firo laughed. "Oh, I'm not one to pick up a weapon Shield Demon. But I have some rare monsters out back that might be able to do the trick of overcoming your devilishly high defense stats." He raised his fingers to his lips. "One wrong move and I can call them with a whistle. We wouldn't want that now, would we?"
Albert backed away from Naofumi, pointing his sword at him. Naofumi was feeling so enraged, that he was about to yell at him to call him out for the traitor he was. But then he finally saw the look in Albert's eyes. His body was scared, but he was glancing at Firo. It was then Naofumi noticed his backward movement was more diagonal, putting him on a path to get behind Firo.
He got Albert's hidden message. 'Play along.'
Naofumi inwardly sighed with relief. It wasn't a setup. Albert hadn't turned against him. He was doing damage control. "Fine, what do you want with me?" Naofumi asked, forcing himself to calm back down. He might as well distract Firo by getting him to talk so Albert would have an opportunity to take him down from behind.
He really wished he had tried to run after Raphtalia now.
"Oh, what I want is nothing personal. All I want is to please God and rid the world of his number one adversary." Firo answered.
Alright. He knew that. Time to dig for some more info. "Why is the Shield his adversary? Didn't he see me defending a town of his believers? And don't tell me it's because of what I 'did' before because we both know that's a bunch of bull." Naofumi said angrily at the end.
Firo laughed in delight. "Why of course. Even if you hadn't been accused of trying to rape our princess we would still think of you as a devil. The Shield has always favored demi-humans over regular humans you see." Firo started to explain.
"How does supporting demi-humans make me a devil!?" Naofumi asked angrily. That answer sounded dumber than horse crap.
"Why, because humans are our Gods' natural creation for the world. But demi-humans aren't of our Gods." He explained simply. "You see, when humans laid with monsters and animals, the filthy demi-humans were created. A vile abomination indeed." Firo snorted in disgust. "In the past, the Bow, the Sword, and the Spear sided to protect humanity against the waves of Catastrophe and the cursed demi-humans. But when it came down to it, the first Shield Hero not only betrayed humanity, he allied himself with the demi-human, the most unholy of all creations in this world!" He shouted in fanatical glee.
"To them, the Shield is like a God! Blasphemy! Because of his transgression, he has forever lost the title of hero! He will never be anything more than a devil to God's chosen people!"
Naofumi scowled. He couldn't tell if Firo was speaking of himself as the current Shield Hero or the Past Shield Hero, or if the answers were true or just indoctrinated into him, but the more this little plump man talked the angrier he found himself getting.
He had to stay calm though. Albert was almost in position. Albert was almost-
"Even now I've heard you've proven your loyalty to them. Falling in love with an ugly whore of a Tanuki demi-human! Why if I had my way, I'd feed her to my pet dragons right now-"
And that was when Firo stepped over the line. He didn't know if he was in love with Raphtalia or not. But calling Raphtalia a whore brought him over the edge.
"Air Strike Shield! Change Shield! Bee Needle Shield!"
Naofumi thrust his hand out, and a green shield with the bee needles of the waves on it appeared. It thrust into Firo's plump gut. Launching him over his desk into the back wall. Naofumi breathed in and out heavily at the amount of anger coursing through his veins. He was dangerously close to going to that dark place in his mind. But damn that had felt good. That hit probably hurt too with the spikes added to it.
However, he gasped in surprise when Firo got back up far more quickly than Naofumi had thought possible with the small guy's bulk. While there were holes in his outfit, none of them were bleeding. His HP bar hadn't dropped at all!
Right, his abysmal ATT stat. Naofumi mentally groaned at the mistake he'd made. He couldn't have poked holes in a balloon even if he'd tried. "Wrong move... Devil of the Shield."
'Damn it!' He frustratingly raised his shield to defend himself. Firo raised his fingers to his lips. Albert stood frozen in his spot, shocked at Naofumi ruining his chance of escape.
"Time to call the dragons-"
Whack!
A form jumped from the rafters in the ceiling and brought one foot down on Firo's head, knocking him out. Naofumi stared in surprise. But when the girl landed lithely on the floor, Naofumi recognized her immediately.
"Master Naofumi!" Raphtalia said in worry as she ran up. "Are you okay?!"
"Raphtalia, how did-" He tried to ask how she'd been hiding in the ceiling. But was enveloped in a tight hug from the Tanuki girl. She was shaking slightly as if she'd been genuinely afraid for him. 'Actually, it can wait.' He decided as he hugged the girl fiercely back. 'If she hadn't arrived, things would have seriously gotten ugly here.'
…
"I wouldn't stay long if I were you," Albert said calmly. The two looked to the large burly guard. "Knowing Firo, if he really did know it was you, he would have signaled the Knights for backup. Unless you want to be knee-deep in Knights and his dragons, I'd suggest leaving now."
Naofumi grabbed the Filolial Egg off Firo's desk. "What about you?" He asked.
Albert shook his head. "Don't worry about me. I'll handle everything here." He said, looking down at Firo's form. "I've handled worse."
Naofumi gave him a nod. "Okay Raphtalia, we're leaving!" He ordered.
"Right!" Raphtalia sheathed her sword, and the two of them ran for the door.
Albert watched them leave, and then looked down at Firo. He was just starting to wake up. "Urgh, what happened?" He groaned in pain.
"Do you remember anything?" Albert asked.
"Ugh, I… I remember the Shield Devil trying to trick me by passing himself off as some passing mer-"
Pow!
Albert hit Firo over his head with the pommel of his sword. Firo slumped to the ground from the second concussion he had just been given.
It took him several minutes to come too again. And when he awoke, he groaned once more in pain.
"Do you remember what just happened?" Albert asked again.
"Whet're yu tolking ibaut?" Firo asked in a slurred voice. "End whi er yaou en me hause Elbarf?" Firo asked, his tongue trying it's best to speak properly.
Albert smirked. 'Ha. Now that he can't remember anything, I'll be able to come up with whatever bull crap I want.' Hopefully the two concussions the man had received wouldn't affect him too badly down the road… hopefully. 'Good luck Shield Hero.'
Naofumi gripped the reins of Firo's Filolial, which was pulling Firo's former wagon down a dirt road. The surrounding forest passed by around him surprisingly fast. 'I hope he doesn't mind me borrowing this since I've been told a Filolial needs to pull a wagon to live.' Naofumi thought to himself.
He didn't know how good Filolials were at fighting. But If the Filolial in the egg could grow up to the point where it could pull a wagon quickly, then he and Raphtalia wouldn't need to walk around everywhere. He could easily pass himself off as a night merchant in case the situation required it. And he could also take a chance to study or compound while riding! Even though he'd almost been captured and turned into dragon food his 2nd day out of the Capital, he was feeling oddly hopeful about the future.
"Master… Naofumi..." Raphtalia groaned behind him.
"Yeah?" Naofumi asked without looking back.
"Can't we... go a little... slower?"
Naofumi looked back. Raphtalia's face was slowly starting to turn green. Naofumi was a little confused as to why she was sick at first... then he remembered what she'd told him on their impromptu ride to the Capital. "How about you sit with me up front. It's less bumpy up here." He suggested.
Raphtalia did as he said, and sat down next to him. Even with sitting up front, she still put her head over the side to empty her stomach a few minutes later. Naofumi grimaced at the sight and sounds coming from her.
"I'll take it that you're still not a fan of cart rides?" He asked.
"This is even worse than when we were hiding in Jerry's crates." Raphtalia moaned in agony. "And worse than the time I was on that prison carriage." She hurled over the side again after saying that.
Naofumi sighed. She was already well past the point of being able to focus on something to help relieve her of her nausea. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a vial of medicine from his inventory. One he'd learned to compound two weeks before the wave accidentally. "Try this, it should hopefully help out until I feel it's safe enough to stop the cart." He said seriously. If it wasn't for him wanting to make sure they were safe, than he would have stopped right then and there so Raphtalia could recover.
Raphtalia weakly grabbed the medicine from him and took a tentative sip. Her face darkened at the bitter taste, and she put her head over the side as she heaved again. "I thought you said it was supposed to help Master Naofumi!" She whined.
"Are you wasting my medicine!?" He yelled at her.
"I can't help if it tastes bitter!" She complained.
"Good medicine's supposed to taste bitter!" He reminded her. "Now drink it up or it won't work!"
"Aughhhhh!" Raphtalia complained.
…
The sun was setting in the distance when Naofumi finally had the Filorial pull the cart off the trail into a clearing. The clearing was on a rise in the forest, so he could see the walls of Melromarc standing up tall in the distance. 'Wow, to think we've already traveled this far in four hours on a carriage.' Naofumi thought.
He released the Filolial from its bindings to the carriage. "There. Thank you for-" Naofumi started to say to it.
The Filolial rushed off into the forest. A blast of air from its speed swept back Naofumi's hair. He stared into the darkening forest where it had disappeared. "I guess it wasn't as attached to this wagon as I was told." He muttered to himself.
"It might be because this wasn't its original cart."
Naofumi looked over at Raphtalia, who was weakly prepping the fire for Naofumi when he started cooking. She looked better now thanks to the medicine she had taken along with the fact that the cart had finally stopped. But she definitely was nowhere near full health territory. "What do you mean?" Naofumi asked.
"Filolials are known to pull carts. But some are also well known to become attached to the ones they love to pull the most. I think there were three other wagons by that stable. So the Filolial is running back to the one it's attached to now." She explained.
Naofumi looked back at the forest. "Then why did it have bindings attaching it to this one?" He asked.
Raphtalia shrugged. "Maybe the monster tamer you met was trying to train it to pull other wagons and not become so attached to its own." She suggested.
Naofumi didn't think too much more about it. "Well, at least we'll have a spare wagon for our Filolial Egg to bond itself too." He said, setting the egg nearby. He then got next to Raphtalia who had finished preparing and started to cook.
Raphtalia watched Naofumi as his hands moved. Cutting up the various vegetables and meats for the dish he was creating this time. "Master Naofumi?" She asked.
Naofumi didn't respond for a few seconds… "What is it Raphtalia?" He asked.
"Were… well..." She trailed off. She then shook her head and moved away to sit on a log. "I'll keep the first watch after dinner." She said sadly while looking down at the ground.
Naofumi stopped cutting the vegetables to finally look at her. He stared, not thinking of anything for a few seconds, and then he got back to what he was doing. A frown was on his face. 'She must be feeling guilty about abandoning me this morning. If she hadn't intervened when she did, that Firo guy mentioned something about pet dragons…' How could he help her to feel better?
…
Naofumi sat down next to Raphtalia, handing her her plate of food. "Thank you." She said quietly, moving to grab it.
"Naofumi moved it out of reach. "On one condition." He said seriously.
Raphtalia was taken out of her original thoughts. "What would that be?"
He smiled for her. "Let me have first watch with you so I can start learning the Melromarc alphabet."
Raphtalia looked shocked for a few seconds... and then she started to smile as well.
"Deal."
He handed the girl her plate of food and set his own on his lap. At the same time, she pulled out the wooden tablet from her pack and held it up for both of them to see while they ate in the light of the campfire.
"This symbol represents your language's A." Raphtalia started.
"Uh-huh."
…
Raphtalia glared at Naofumi. "What, I'm paying attention this time!" Naofumi defended himself.
He was, honest!... probably.
West of the Capital
Itsuki never thought he'd see himself back to doing this again so soon after the last wave. He'd been plenty strong in the battle with the Chimera Monster and thought he wouldn't need to level up again for the next short while. Leaving him free to be a hero for the people.
Yet here he was. Sitting up in a tree. Observing the actions of his party members in the forest down below while helping to keep them safe and efficient in their level grinding. Lanterns and balls of magic fire floated in the air, allowing him and the others to see what was going on even though it was dark.
That was one of the perks about being the Bow Hero. He had superb vision and could see very well even in the low light up from the thick branch of the tree about fifteen feet up from the forest floor.
"Karn, Crystal and Armor need help with a Frog Monster to your right!" Itsuki yelled down below to a swordsman who'd just finished dispatching a large porcupine.
"Got it!" Karn ran into the bushes to help out the struggling party members.
Itsuki moved along the branch and released an arrow, calmly dispatching another frog monster he saw in the distance. Nearby, he saw Marx send a blast of water magic at a round furry bunny, slamming it into a tree. The familiar experience notification appeared again and again near his face as his party around him grinded the monsters in the area.
Itsuki: LV. 47
Rachel: LV. 42
Karn: LV. 41
Crystal: LV. 23
Marx: LV. 24
Armor: LV. 22
'These low-level monsters won't help me much. But we don't have a choice since Crystal, Marx, and Armor need to level up.'
After talking with Naofumi and Raphtalia back in the Capital, Itsuki had immediately sought out his party members: the noble knight Mauld/Armor, the party's frontline noble fighter Moudor, the versatile swordsman Karn, and Rachel and Welst; the two party mages. He'd thought after they'd all gotten their class-ups that they'd be all for this grand adventure. He'd thought they'd be up for saving the country's poor abused slaves.
Boy had he been surprised.
Two days ago
"Are you insane!? You actually want us to save a bunch of damn demis!?"
Mauld looked extremely angry, and Itsuki couldn't understand why. He'd just said they were going to rescue slaves from their evil nobles. Hadn't Mauld been one of his strongest supporters for administering justice to those who deserve it?
"Why would anyone want to help out a bunch of worthless demis?!" Mauld continued angrily.
"But… but aren't they being mistreated?" Itsuki asked.
"Who cares about those damn creatures being mistreated or not?! We have that job request from the guild about toppling a government that's overtaxing its citizens!" Mauld angrily responded.
The other party members were silent, watching what was going on between the two. He knew they'd taken that job request before heading to the celebration. But… this A.I. "Don't you even care about the great evil going on in your kingdom? Don't you care that some of your own people are being oppressed?" Itsuki asked.
Leaving to help topple a corrupt government while there was plenty of corruption in Melromarc didn't feel right.
"Demi-humans aren't people! And mistreating them is more than they deserve!" Itsuki gasped at that, and Mauld haughtily put his hands on his hips. "In my opinion, they're less than the monsters we fight day in and day. And if I had a choice, I'd line them all up, chop off their heads, line them all on pikes, and then… then..." Mauld trailed off.
Itsuki was giving him a very, very dark look. His A.I. suddenly made a lot of sense.
Mauld could come off as a bully sometimes, but he'd disregarded it because of all the support and admiration the man gave him. Now though, he could see Mauld's A.I. was even more monstrous than a normal bully's.
"How can you say a person is worse than a monster?" Itsuki asked, his voice barely holding back the anger he was feeling. "No, how can you say a race of people are worse than monsters!?" He angrily demanded. Poking Mauld's armored chest plate hard. Mauld backed away from Itsuki in surprise.
"Sir Itsuki, I'm only stating a fact-"
"No! That's wrong and you know it!" Itsuki angrily said. He knew he should have been roleplaying this better. But the fact that a member of his party genuinely believed that abusing and bullying people was a fact of life! "I'm not leaving while people are suffering here! And that's final!"
...
An angry look came onto Mauld's face. "If you do this, you will make yourself an enemy to the people Sir Itsuki. Please reconsider-"
"I'm not doing this for money or recognition. I'm not doing it to try and seek anyone's approval. I'm doing this because justice requires me to. Whether you like it or not, Demi-humans are people too, and they don't deserve the treatment Melromarc is giving them. Now you can choose to join me, or you can go and topple that government by yourself." Itsuki said.
"Just know if you don't, if you go back home, and if I hear of you killing even one demi-human just to spite me, then I'll dispense justice on you..."
…
Mauld harrumphed, and without another word he turned to the door and stormed out of their private room in the inn. Itsuki then saw as Mauld left his party on his HUD almost immediately after.
He frowned at that. Some role playing that had turned out to be. But maybe it'd be for the better. Mauld really was a jerk. Who knew how things would've turned out a month or two from now if he'd decided to stick around.
…
"I'm sorry, Sir Itsuki."
Itsuki turned to the rest of the party. Welsh had been the one who'd spoken. At the same time, Welsh's name and Moudor's disappeared on his HUD too. "We'd love to help, but our Faith in the Three Heroes Church keeps us from helping out demi-humans, even if you do say that they're being treated unfairly." Welsh said apologetically.
Itsuki had to force himself to take a deep breath. No, he'd at least had the foresight to expect one party member to leave. But he hadn't expected three, much less, the normally reserved Moudor and Welsh to leave his party. They supported him greatly, almost as much as Mauld.
"... It's, it's fine. You can go back to your families. Just don't mistreat any demihumans... I'd hate to have to go after either one of you." Itsuki forced himself to say.
Welsh and Moudor bowed to Itsuki, and then left the room. Despite their more polite departure, Itsuki felt lower than before. To think that their faith required them to stand for something wrong.
That didn't ring right with Itsuki. The Three Heroes Church was supposed to worship him, Ren, and Motoyasu. So why would they encourage something he was so against?...
He turned and looked at his last two party members. He braced himself for the worst. Maybe this was a part of the storyline Naofumi's NPC party member helped him to discover? It required the whole party to abandon him, and then… what was he thinking? This sucked. Even if these were NPC's, being abandoned and criticized for his choices sucked. Would these two turn on him too? Would he be left alone, given a painful reminder of his past life experiences, or-
"Sir Itsuki, sir Itsuki?"
Itsuki shook his head. "Yes, what is it?" He asked a little more angrily than he'd meant to.
"I'm sorry, forgive me for interrupting your thoughts." Rachel said. "I was just asking you where we're going to start?"
...
Itsuki blinked in surprise. "You mean, you two aren't going to leave me?" He asked.
"Course we're not." Karn said, raising his fist up high as he smiled. "This country has a slavery problem, and we want to help fix it!"
"Also, I can't say I'm mad those three bastards finally left." Rachel moved some of her long black dyed hair from covering one side of her face. "They were beginning to get on my last nerve."
Itsuki blinked again. "But, but those three..."
"They're nobles, Sir Itsuki. Of course they're not going to want to help." Rachel said. He hadn't noticed that Moudor and Welsh had also been nobles. Then again, that could explain why they'd been so close with Mauld.
"Karn and I were on the verge of leaving like Val did since they don't like us commoners," Itsuki was a little more surprised by that revelation. Had those three been mistreating his party behind his back?! Why was he only learning about this now?! Freaking NPC's and their need for a certain action to happen before information was given!
Rachel smiled. "But now that those buffoons are gone, we can finally do something, right Karn?" She asked the swordsman.
"Hahaha, indeed. I've been around my fair share of nobles in the past. But those three were more annoying than any of them combined."
"Alright, but why do you two want to help me?" Itsuki asked. He figured now that this scene was happening, he should get more information while the two were talkative.
"It's simple. My fiance is a demi-human I rescued from a group of slave traders a year ago." She said calmly, yet with a fiery fierceness backing her words.
Okay, Itsuki wasn't sure how to respond to that. Rachel barely looked as old as he was. And she had a fiance?!
"As for me, my parents raised me in the faith. But all that nonsense about mistreating inferior races as well as all those loud-mouthed nobles drove me away. Personally, I have no qualms sticking it to those hypocritical bastards!" Karn said with a wide grin. It was hard to tell if he was joking, or serious.
"So… you'll both help me?" Itsuki asked.
"Of course. We'll follow wherever you go, Sir Itsuki." Both of them said simultaneously.
Itsuki was a little shocked at first... and then he found himself wiping tears from his eyes. His whole party wasn't abandoning him. They weren't real friends. They were only NPC's. Yet somehow, it felt good that they chose to help him. That he still had two 'friends' who were willing to back him.
"Thank you. Both of you." He took a moment to try and calm down.
"Not that it'll be easy of course. No offense, Sir Itsuki, but it'll be hard to free all of Melromarc's slaves if it's just the three of us." Karn pointed out. "Some of these nobles are corrupt, fat, old, and all shades of ugly. But they're strong, and many of them have guards. We'll need more party members if we want to take on some of them."
"Wh-where do you suggest we start?" Itsuki asked.
Rachel smiled. It was small, but it was there. "I know a few people who might want to help."
Itsuki smiled as he took out a bat in the trees above him with a normal arrow. 'Why couldn't she and Karn have joined my party at the start?' He'd originally had four party members, then six when he met those two a few days after being summoned.
It was a couple of weeks before the Wave when Val, a blonde-haired martial artist, left his party. He'd thought Val had left because she wasn't very strong, and feared dying in the Waves. But thanks to those two, he now knew it was because of Mauld treating her like crap for being a noble of lower station.
That was stupid! What the heck was wrong with that NPC's A.I.?! Was it on the same wavelength as the Princess's or something?!
Besides that, Rachel pulled through on her promise. Not only did they save time finding three new party members, but they also wanted to help Itsuki on his new grand quest.
Crystal was a silver-haired girl whose weapon of choice was a spear. She was a stoic girl, and didn't talk much.
Marx was a young blonde haired mage who had an affinity for Water magic. He wasn't very outspoken, but he did what he was asked to do.
Last was a black-haired knight named Aksel, who he thought about nicknaming as Armor. He was almost as big as Mauld, but surprisingly nicer, yet just as bloodthirsty with an axe.
All three came from the Commoner class, and had demihuman friends. Up until their friends were kidnapped by slavers and sold to various nobles. They wanted to find and free them, along with all the other slaves who were suffering.
The only problem was... the three of them weren't very high leveled. Even after a couple of days of constant around the clock grinding, they were barely in the 20's. That was a big problem. He didn't want to wait around for a week to get them up to speed. He wanted to get a jump on this quest as soon as possible, and that required getting to the Reichnott domain first...
"Sir Itsuki."
Itsuki looked down at the base of the tree. Rachel was at the bottom. "My MP is getting low. I don't know how much longer we can continue grinding for."
Itsuki released another normal arrow, killing a porcupine that had been sneaking up on Armor. "How is everyone doing?" Itsuki asked.
"Exhausted. I'm surprised they're still standing." Rachel answered.
Itsuki calmly looked in the dimming areas. It looked like the lanterns were running low on oil. "Gather the others and set up camp." He summoned another arrow. "I can keep hunting in the dark."
"... Sir Itsuki, are you sure you'd rather not rest?" Rachel asked unsurely. "You've stayed up far later than us every night since we left the Capital."
"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Itsuki said, killing another monster that had been trying to hide in the shadow of a bush. "I'm the Bow Hero, after all."
"... Just because you're a hero, doesn't mean you can be reckless."
"Did you say something Rachel?" Itsuki asked.
The mage sighed, but shook her head. "Just make sure you get some rest. I don't want to wake up to you falling onto my tent because you got tired while grinding."
"Sure, thanks, mom," Itsuki joked.
Rachel rolled her eyes and went to gather the rest of the exhausted party to find a campsite. "Goodnight, Sir Itsuki."
Itsuki stayed up in his tree, hunting the monsters that were all around.
Figures. He was going to spend another long night with only his bow to keep him company. He honestly felt tired. Several days of not sleeping much wore down on his eyes.
'But I can't sleep now. I need to help them level up so they'll be useful. It'll be worth it.' He pinned another frog monster in the distance to the ground with an arrow to the head. 'By the time they're ready to class-up, those evil nobles will have no idea what hit them.'
The idiot. He was still thinking of all of this as a game. If he could only raise their levels enough, they'd be able to take down any noble they came across. It would all be easy.
But he was soon to learn that it wouldn't be as easy as he thought.
Hero Clips!
The Unhelpful Help Guide
"Let's see, is there anything in here to help me understand demi-human girls," Naofumi said as he sat by the fire after making dinner.
His status magic took physical form in front of him, showing a large several inch thick book with the title Help Guide on the front in English. In typical anime fashion, he flipped through the thousands of pages and had a eureka moment as he stopped on the right one. "Jackpot! How to understand demi-human girls!"
He quickly got to reading it. "Step One: Just ask her…? Ask her what?!"
The line of text updated. "Step Two: Don't be… don't be dense? What is that supposed to mean?!"
The page updated again. "Step Three: Realize that understanding girls…" His eyes widened comically. "Is impossible! How the hell is it impossible?!"
His magical help guide updated itself with more information at his question. "To understand any type of girl would overload the world's status magic?!" Naofumi yelled indignantly.
The book updated again with just one word. Yes.
"Come on! They can't be that hard to understand!"
More words appeared beneath the yes. "Wow, looks like someone is forgetting about Step Two-" Naofumi didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he angrily got up, gripping the help guide in his hands. "Screw you! I don't need your help to understand Raphtalia!" He yelled before throwing it on the ground and stomping on it in typical anime fashion.
More words appeared on the page. "How's that ATT stat treating ya?"
"Gahhhhhh!" Naofumi continued jumping up and down on the book anime style. Even though the covering wasn't receiving any damage whatsoever.
"Um… Master Naofumi…" Raphtalia called out from the side. Unsure of how to intervene in this situation.
Naofumi continued jumping up and down, cursing the stupid magic help guide for the stupid piece of crap it was. Raphtalia sweatdropped and faced the forest. "Maybe I should give Master Naofumi some time to himself."
She disappeared off into the forest again. Naofumi continued his childish tantrum on the Unhelpful Help Guide.
Hero Clips!
Pet Monster
"Who's a good boy?! Who's a good boy!"
"Master Naofumi, what's going… what the…" Raphtalia stopped in shock.
Naofumi was stooped over a porcupine monster. The thing was laying on its back, tongue lolled out in happiness as Naofumi rubbed its belly. "That's right, you're a good boy!" Naofumi said in a voice very much unlike him. "Yes you are, yes you are-"
"Master Naofumi! What's gotten into you!?"
"Oh, hey Raphtalia." Naofumi called out to her. "I got us a new pet!"
"But, but that's a monster!" Raphtalia whined.
"Are you kidding me? This thing's just like an animal from my world… only with needles on its back." Naofumi admitted. "But anyway, watch this!"
He excitedly stood up, and the porcupine got on its four legs. "Sit!"
The porcupine sat. "Lay down!"
It laid down on its belly. "Roll over!"
The porcupine rolled over several times. "Ha, way to go Pokey!" Naofumi gave Pokey a treat, and Pokey yipped in delight. Odd, it almost sounded like barking.
"How was any of that supposed to help us get stronger?!" Raphtalia asked incredulously. None of what she'd just watched made any sense at all!
Pokey sniffed sadly, hiding his face under his paws. "Hey, don't yell at Pokey! He's really nice once you get used to his needles!" Naofumi defended the sad porcupine monster.
"Master Naofumi, we don't have time for… did you seriously name a porcupine monster Pokey?" Raphtalia asked.
"Well duh." Naofumi said. "There's no better name in the world for a cutey like him!" He picked Pokey up and cuddled him, needles and all. Pokey's tongue lolled out again in happiness. It was only because of Naofumi's DEF stat that he could hold Pokey like this.
Raphtalia stared, stupefied for a moment more. "Maybe I gave him too much time to calm down…"
And that's why you shouldn't leave someone alone after they have a mental breakdown in the previous omake.
Till Next Time
Allen