Chapter Forty-Nine: Filo's Trial
"No, absolutely not."
Naofumi was cooking breakfast over a fire. Surrounding him were at least a dozen Filolials of varying colors. All of them looked up at him with wide, pleading, hungry eyes.
He, Ren, and Itsuki had returned a couple of hours before sunrise with Fitoria. They'd had the chance to rest while Eclair kept watch, but after waking up, Ren and Itsuki said they were heading back to Seaetto to grab their parties. They'd be back by breakfast, hopefully. And after Fitoria was done with Filo, and if Van and the town were still safe, they'd make plans for portaling to the Waypoint the other Heroes had set near the Capital.
They still weren't back yet. So Naofumi was passing the time making everyone's breakfast. But now, these gluttons were begging him to make breakfast for them too.
"Didn't you hear me? No means no." Naofumi said to the Filolials again, shooing them away from him.
"Don't be so mean to them!" Melty defended the Filolials from where she sat. "They have as much right to eat as you and me!"
"You shut it, Second Princess!" Raphtalia and Filo were out fishing. There was no one to stop him from calling Melty by her annoying title now!
Melty's face turned a brighter red. Then the Filolials crowded around Naofumi again. Their eyes were even wider and more adorable than before.
"No, back you glutton! Back I say!" Naofumi tried to defend the meal cooking over the fire. "Go to the forest if you're that hungry! I'm sure there are plenty of monsters to eat there!"
…
The Filolials pulled their last resort. Their wide eyes filled with tears. Pitiful gwehs came from their beaks. It looked like all of them were about to cry. His cooking just smelled so, so good. And they felt so at peace around this human.
Naofumi's face was twisted. Damn it, why did their sad faces break his heart in ways he didn't think possible?! Was this some secret weapon the Filolials used for survival?!
Filo must never learn this trick. Ever.
"Alright! Fine! Have at it! See if I care!" Naofumi threw the meat he'd been carefully prepping up into the air.
"Gweh! Gweh! Gweh! Gweh!" The waterworks turned off. Filolials excitedly ran around after all the meat Naofumi had been cooking. Catching it in the air or tearing it to pieces when it landed on the ground.
Melty was smirking widely at him now. "There, was that so hard now, Naofumi?"
Naofumi grumbled something like "Stupid Second Princess." Under his breath. He started throwing chunks of barely cooked meat at the ravenous Filolials while cooking more ammunition to appease them.
An unknown amount of time later, Raphtalia came back. She and Filo were both carrying a line with at least dozen 2+ foot long fish hanging from it that Naofumi didn't recognize. She was smiling widely. "Look what we caught Naofumi!"
"Huh. What kind of fish are they?" He asked.
"They're Lurone Trout! They're really tasty!" Raphtalia said happily.
"Good job," Naofumi said dryly. "Maybe we won't starve after all." He offhandedly tossed the last chunk of barely cooked meat at the Filolials. They lazily chomped it down.
Finally, they rested contentedly on the ground.
Good thing too. He was out of monster carcasses to cook with. Between using [Item Enchantment] on his shields, cooking Filo's all-you-can-eat buffet, and now this, his supply of stored monsters in his Shield had been exhausted.
"Awwwww, Filo wants some too!" She complained. Seeing the Filolials resting with full stomachs on the ground made her jealous.
"Didn't you eat enough fish in the sea?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"Yeahhhhhh, but Filo's hungry for Daddy's cooking now," Filo whined.
"You'll get breakfast when everyone else does," Naofumi said dryly. He'd already given her her reward yesterday. There was no way in hell he was putting himself through an all-you-can-eat round with Filo again!
"Boo!" Filo pouted at Daddy.
"How about you go play with Mel while Naofumi cooks?" Raphtalia suggested.
Filo continued pouting, but then she ran towards Mel. After all, she needed to make sure the tasty morsels resting on the ground hadn't corrupted her! "Let's play Mel!"
"Alright!" Melty excitedly got up and ran after the blonde girl.
"So, do you know why they're still staying around?" Raphtalia asked as she started gutting the fish so Naofumi could cook them.
Fitoria was outside the village at the moment, preparing an area for Filo and herself. Naofumi didn't get all the details about the trial from her. But it sounded like it'd involve fighting of some kind. But he hadn't told his party yet.
"Fitoria wants to give Filo some kind of trial since she's a Filolial Queen," Naofumi said. Raphtalia gave him six of the fish, which he absorbed into his shield. The rest she laid out on a table. "She's just getting it ready."
"Huh." Raphtalia sliced off the head of a fish. "Mel explained to us last night after you left what a Filolial Queen was. To think that's what Filo has been all this time."
"Back in my world, some Fathers liked to claim that they treated their daughter like a princess," Naofumi said sarcastically. "I never thought I'd end up having to raise a princess."
Raphtalia finished gutting the first fish in record time. She handed it to Naofumi, who began seasoning it in preparation for cooking. "For some reason, I doubt that's going to make you treat her any differently." Raphtalia said sagely.
"You're damn right I'm not," Naofumi said. Melty was a very good example of how much he cared to treat royalty.
Now, if Raphtalia was royalty, that would be a different story. But what were the odds of that happening? "I'm glad she's at the point where she listens to us both. The last thing I need is for her to become snotty and spoiled again by learning she's royalty." Naofumi commented dryly.
"I doubt she'd become snotty and spoiled learning that. Besides, was she really snotty and spoiled a month ago?" Raphtalia asked.
… As she beheaded and gutted the rest of the Lurone Trout, Naofumi had to think about it. Sure, Filo complained about being hungry a lot. But she never really asked for much. She loved pulling the wagon. She loved collecting random shiny stuff. She loved receiving attention from him or Raphtalia. She sometimes had a problem with listening.
But honestly, what young kid didn't have that problem? Even he had struggled with it when he was ten.
It wasn't until Raphtalia was finishing the last fish that he spoke again. "... okay, so maybe she's not as spoiled as you were as a kid," Naofumi said.
"See, I told you-" Raphtalia was saying happily, glad that Naofumi was taking her side when her mind caught up to the rest of Naofumi's sentence. "Wait! What is that supposed to mean?!" Raphtalia asked, hands on her hips and tail bristling behind her.
"Well. Between the ball and other toys that I made for you. 'Your' childhood gluttonous appetite. Your demand for sweets. Peeing all over my cloak, -"
She blushed a bright red at that. "I, I only did that once! And I was growing quickly! I couldn't control my appetite-"
"- Oh, there were also all the nights you climbed into my sleeping bag because you couldn't sleep. The hair brushing. And your constant need for headpats and hugs." Naofumi finished. "You were definitely far more spoiled."
"... You're so rude Naofumi." She said, looking away with a pout, and her tail wagging poutingly behind her.
Okay, so maybe she had been a little more spoiled than their daughter. Was it her fault she liked receiving head pats when she did something good?! "And after I brought all these trout for you-"
Naofumi laid a kiss on her cheek, much to her surprise. "You turned out great though." He said with a smile. "So maybe Filo will turn out okay too." With that, he got back to cooking the trout Raphtalia had gotten ready. Whistling happily to himself as he did so.
Yes, this was good payback. Another point for the otakus!
...
Raphtalia's cheeks reached a new level of redness. She gripped the sides of her head. Her tail wagged fiercely behind her.
"MMMMMMMMMMMM!" How was Naofumi so infuriating, yet so DAMN KISSABLE at the same time?! It was a phenomenon of incomprehensible proportions!
She had to walk away to calm herself down. She was torn between yelling at him or throwing herself at him! But why did she want to throw herself at him!? She didn't know what she'd do after that!
Why were hormones so damn complicated?!
'Ha. I'm glad she's feeling better.' His cheeks had a light dusting of red on them. But he smiled in victory. As long as he embarrassed her more than she embarrassed him, he'd be the victor.
Eventually, after separating the trout into six-inch long strips of meat and seasoning them, he was done cooking. The smell attracted Filo and Melty, as well as a still slightly flustered Raphtalia. It was just in time too for Eclair to arrive from sword training. Along with Itsuki, Ren, and their parties.
Maybe it was a good thing the Filolials ate his original breakfast. By the time the others would have gotten there, it would have been cold.
"Has the trial happened yet?" Itsuki asked as they all sat down.
"Not yet. Fitoria should be back soon." Naofumi began handing out plates to everyone. Ren and Itsuki were slightly surprised to be having fish for breakfast, but Naofumi wasn't going to take complaints when the contented Filolials sleeping nearby had cleaned him out.
The next few minutes passed with everyone eating their breakfasts. The parties didn't say much to each other, but they had a lot to say when they got a taste of Naofumi's surprisingly good cooking.
"I would die if it meant eating food like this every day!" Bakta was in heaven.
"Sir Naofumi, have you ever considered opening a restaurant?" One of Ren's mages asked.
"I'd work there. Like, seriously! Sign me up!" Crystal said ecstatically.
"That would be my favorite place in the world if it existed." Rachel, who was normally calm and composed, was moved to tears by the good cooking. She couldn't even see a trace of magic in the food. How was it possible for it to taste so good?
Maybe this was why Naofumi was accused of being a devil. He could probably sway whole countries to do his bidding with his cooking.
Itsuki and Ren looked at each other worriedly. Was Naofumi's cooking really good enough to steal their party members away from them?...
Not that they could complain. If their weapons didn't keep them from getting experience when partied together, they'd travel around everywhere with Naofumi just for the sake of enjoying his cooking.
Ren looked at Wyndia, who was struggling not to drop her utensils and revert to how she'd eaten her meals when living with her Father. The food was good enough that she had a happy smile on her face.
The fact that he couldn't think of many times where the dog girl had smiled since joining his party only served to make Ren feel more guilty than before.
"Axie? Why aren't you eating?" Maya asked curiously when she noticed Itsuki's tank had as of yet to partake of the delicious meal before them.
"Urgh... I'd rather not talk about it." Aksel murmured as he shifted uncomfortably away from everyone else. For some reason, he was eating some jerky he'd had resting in his pouch.
"Eh, suit yourself." Maya shrugged as she took Aksel's plate and began plowing through the food on it too.
Naofumi groaned. Why did he get the feeling that he could never escape being everyone's chef now?
Oh well. The fish tasted pretty darn good in his opinion. Like chicken mixed with pork. It was unlike any fish back in Japan he'd ever seen or cooked with, but its meat had been softer and easier to cook with than Monster meat. And it had been more enjoyable to cook this time around since it was closer to what he liked to make in Japan.
If Raphtalia caught more fish, he definitely wouldn't mind cooking it.
Wyndia glanced at Ren every now and then. But the girl was remaining silent, happily enjoying her food.
Rishia, the other quiet girl, was taking glances at Itsuki. But then Maya noticed and gave her a thumbs up and a wide grin.
Rishia silently "fuehed" before focusing on her plate. Her face glowed a bright red.
It was when they were about finished with their meals, wishing there was more to eat, that Fitoria finally arrived.
The others became silent. Even after Ren and Itsuki had described Fitoria to them, they were surprised at how small she looked. In human form, she really was only as tall as Filo. Maybe a little taller, but it was hard to tell.
"Good, everyone is here." She said. She looked at Naofumi. She then looked at Filo, who was confused about why the boring lady from yesterday was focusing on her.
"What does Fitoria want-"
Too quickly, Fitoria rushed forward through the air, grabbing Filo by the throat. The gust of wind almost blew everyone off their seats.
"You," Fitoria answered.
Before Filo could realize what was happening, Fitoria spun and threw Filo high and far in the air. Towards the area she'd had prepared outside the village.
"Filo-" Raphtalia was caught so off guard. She almost stumbled forward trying to stop Fitoria, but Naofumi hugged her close right as Fitoria used a wind spell to launch herself in the direction she'd thrown Filo. The wind knocked everyone out of their seats and sent utensils flying everywhere.
It also startled the sleeping Filolials awake.
"Gweh! Gweh! Gweh!" They stood up, scattering in a panic.
"What the hell!" Itsuki and Ren stood back up, as well as their parties.
"What's going on?! Why is Fitoria suddenly fighting Filo!?" Melty asked worriedly.
"We have to find them!" Eclair said, drawing her sword.
"Was this what Fitoria meant by trial?" Raphtalia asked Naofumi worriedly.
Naofumi didn't answer and instead got up and calmly followed behind everyone. Gripping Raphtalia's hand in his.
Filo impacted the ground hard. She rolled over and over, before slamming into a random boulder.
One of the hills outside of the village had been leveled. Forming a battlefield of sorts. As Filo stumbled to get up, a magic barrier appeared around the area. Making a dome.
"What's going on?! Why is Fitoria doing this to Filo!?" Filo angrily demanded.
Fitoria floated in the air in front of her with the strength of her wind spell. She looked calmly down at the little girl that had the potential to take her place in the future.
She looked disappointed.
"How can someone as pathetic as you be raised by a hero?" She asked, her tone of voice not changing.
"Pathetic! Filo will show you pathetic!" Filo concentrated and tried to transform into her Queen form.
However, the transformation didn't work. After a few seconds, she looked down at her hands in shock.
"The spell I've put over the area keeps us in our human forms. If you want to beat me-" Fitoria moved from the air to behind the surprised Filo. "-you'll have to fight me in this form."
Filo was turning her head and raising her hand in self-defense when Fitoria backslapped her away. Filo was sent flying, a shockwave bursting out from the place of contact.
"Filo!"
Melty and everyone else crested the hill by the village. They got the chance to have front-row seats for what was going on down below. And it did not look pretty.
Filo backflipped in the air, and then dug her feet into the ground, stopping just short of slamming into the barrier. "Fine! Filo doesn't have to be big in order to beat Fitoria!" She had little to no experience fighting in her girl form. But that didn't mean she couldn't try!
She burst forward in a blaze of speed. Bringing her hand back to ready a punch.
Fitoria sidestepped at the last second. Filo flew past in surprise. "You're too slow." She raised her hand, and in a chopping motion, slammed Filo into the ground in front of her. A wave of dust burst out from the point of contact.
She then raised her foot back and kicked Filo away effortlessly. Another shockwave burst out from the contact as Filo was thrown into the air.
"Filo, no!" Raphtalia yelled in terror. What was happening?! This couldn't be what Naofumi had meant by trial!
"Fitoria! Stop this!" Itsuki yelled.
"This is insane! You're going to kill her!" Ren yelled in agreement.
If there were any doubts about how strong Fitoria had been before, she was washing them away with how she was beating the hell out of Filo with hardly any effort. In just her human form to boot.
"I cannot. Either she gives up, or she proves she's worthy of her status as a Filolial Queen. It will not stop until that point." Fitoria said calmly.
Filo struggled with getting up out of the ground. Her eyes widened, and she barely jumped to the side, avoiding the next attack from Fitoria.
"We have to stop this-" Ren ran into the barrier and flew back over his party. "Oof!"
"Yeah, I don't think we'll be penetrating that anytime soon," Naofumi muttered. "Filo! Remember, you don't have to just fight with your hands!" Naofumi yelled in support. "Use your magic!"
"Listen to Daddy, Filo! You've got this!" Raphtalia yelled alongside Naofumi. It was like a set of parents encouraging their daughter at a sporting event.
Only this one was a hundred times more deadly.
"R… Right!" Filo stood up, putting her hands in front of her. "As source of thy power, I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature, and blow my target away in a fierce tornado! Fast Tornado!" A funnel of wind burst from her hands, traveling towards Fitoria.
"Yes, you've got this Filo!" Melty cheered.
"As source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature, and blow my target away in a fierce tornado. Anti-Fast Tornado." Fitoria calmly uttered.
Filo's wind tornado suddenly died. Becoming just a small gust of wind that slightly raised Fitoria's hair. Filo took a step back in shock. "What, but-"
Fitoria appeared behind her again. "You're wide open."
She punched Filo, hard, in the gut. The poor blonde girl was launched up into the air.
Fitoria appeared in the air in front of and above her. "Zweite Tornado." A strong, powerful burst of wind erupted from Fitoria's hand.
"Fast Gust!" Filo, in a panic, tried to cast a wind spell to protect herself. But the Tornado easily burst through it and grabbed her in its clutches. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
"No, Filo!" Mel cried out in terror.
Eclair tried the same thing Ren had, but she was sent flying much farther away than Ren had. She disappeared over the hill. Crystal and Aksel both tried the same, but unlike the other two, they were pinned to the ground by some wind before they had the chance to strike at the barrier.
"Please. It is not my wish to harm you." Fitoria said to them. "This is the trial that must be performed for any Filolial Queen." She said calmly, as Filo struggled to lift herself to one knee. "They cannot afford to be weak. If they are to assist the Holy Heroes. If one is to take my place one day, he or she will have to be strong enough to fill my seat."
"Urgh…" Filo swayed where she stood.
Fitoria let out a sigh. "Perhaps this one is not strong enough for it."
"Naofumi… is there nothing we can do for her?" Raphtalia asked.
Despite knowing it was a trial, Naofumi had already tried to use Fast Guard to help Filo. But the barrier, whatever it was, had blocked the spell. It was keeping anyone out and everything in.
"I guess it's time for me to end this." Fitoria breathed in, and then a light green glow filled the air around her.
"I… I don't believe it," Melty said in shock. "She's sucking the mana out of the air around her."
"She's what?" Itsuki said.
"It's something even the most adept of mages like my Father struggle to learn!" Melty said. "It allows them to draw mana from the environment around them to power up their attacks!"
"She must be charging up for one hell of an attack then," Ren said, grimacing. There really wasn't anything they could do but watch.
Filo swayed in her spot. Almost falling to one knee again. "No..."
"I will make this swift, for your sake-" Fitoria was saying.
"Filo!" Naofumi yelled.
"Daddy?" Filo called back unsurely. Should she give up? It hurt to continue fighting. Especially when her efforts seemed meaningless. Fitoria was just so strong-
"I believe in you!" Naofumi yelled. "We believe in you! We know you can do this!
Fitoria gasped in recognition.
"I believe in you, Fitoria. You can do this."
"Remember, no matter what happens, Daddy and Mommy will still love you!" Raphtalia yelled to her encouragingly. Now it was like she was cheering up her own kid at a sports event.
"So don't just stand there and take a beating! Fight back with everything you've got!" Naofumi yelled, forming an angry determined fist in front of him. "And use your head! You're not going to win unless you think about how you're going to beat her!"
Filo looked surprised, and then she nodded determinedly. "Got it!" She faced Fitoria again. She couldn't give up now! She had her parents to think about! They were still cheering for her! They still believed in her! She'd watched them go through many difficulties recently, but they were all the stronger for it! So maybe, she could press on and believe in herself and get stronger for them!
She took a wide-legged stance and breathed in, similar to Fitoria. Green lights, fewer than what Fitoria had surrounding her, started flowing into Filo. Even though she was pretty badly hurt, she had been paying attention to Fitoria during the fight. Enough to recognize how she had sucked in mana.
The others were surprised by it. "Filo… can do it too?" Melty asked.
"Where did she learn to do that?" Raphtalia asked in surprise.
"Hmmm." Their daughter had always shown a little too much proficiency in quickly learning magic just by watching others.
Naofumi smirked. Was that what Fitoria was looking for? A quick learner?
"Hmm, maybe you do have some potential. Even if it is a little." Fitoria said. It was in the same tone of voice as before, but there was a hint of something else in it.
Yeah, Naofumi was certain he'd gotten it right.
Filo didn't wait to have Fitoria finish charging up whatever her attack was. She decided if she was going to win this, she herself would have to go all out!
The green lights finished absorbing into Filo. "Haikuikku!" In a blaze of speed faster than the normal eye could follow, Filo burst forward. Punching and kicking all around Fitoria.
Fitoria for her part held her own pretty well. Blocking each attack with ease. "Don't attack recklessly. Use your speed to focus on breaking your opponent's defense."
"Is she… helping her now?" Eclair asked.
Naofumi smirked more widely. "Yes. Yes, she is."
The trial wasn't supposed to just be a one-sided smackdown. It was supposed to be a learning experience for Filo, to show her how much she had to learn. If Filo showed potential like she was now, she would learn from the master.
It was another classic anime trope. He should have seen this coming a mile away. Then again, it could have also been the classic OP character beating down weak character trope.
But those normally ended in one punch. And the weak character generally underestimated the OP character. Filo was long since past underestimating Fitoria.
A simple jab was enough to send Filo back. But then she almost immediately closed the distance again. This time, the girl focused the attacks of her Haikuikku on what she judged to be Fitoria's weak points. More specifically, her left elbow.
After a second of fast-paced blurs, it worked. With a powerful kick to the left elbow at the right angle, Filo knocked Fitoria off balance in the air. Fitoria barely avoided the punch after that, but part of the hair on the right side of her head was shaved off from the attack.
"Good." Fitoria unleashed a blast of wind, knocking Filo away again. "But not good enough." She raised her hands in front of her again as she chanted. "Zweite Gust."
Filo landed on the ground more gracefully than before and raised her own hands and said the same chant. "Anti-Zweite Gust."
The burst of wind Fitoria had formed dispersed before reaching Filo. She hadn't just learned to suck in mana. "Haikuikku! AssourceofthypowerIordertheedecipherthelawsofnatureandblowmytargetawayinafiercetornado!ZweiteTornado!" Using the speed granted to her by the first spell, Filo sped up her chant exponentially. Her counter-attack instantly formed and headed right for Fitoria.
"Zweite Tornado." Fitoria, instead of trying to use an Anti spell which would require her to say all of what Filo had chanted, decided to use her own spell to intercept Filo's. The two tornadoes slammed into each other in mid-air, and if it wasn't for the barrier, Naofumi, and the others would have been blown away by the force of the impact.
A haze of dark cloudy tornadoes obstructed Fitoria's vision. However, after a few seconds, her tornado won out. Filo's tornado dispersed, and her tornado flew on to strike the ground Filo had been standing on with a harsh Crack!
"You should have known even if you got magic off, it wouldn't be powerful enough to beat mine," Fitoria said calmly.
"I did!"
Fitoria looked up in surprise. Filo wasn't standing in her original spot. She had instead used the force of the wind to fly up into the air. Using the dark clouds of the tornadoes as cover to get her in close. "And now, you're going down!"
YES! This was what Naofumi meant when he told her to think! He'd never been more proud of his daughter than he was now!
Filo punched down, and Fitoria quickly formed a barrier above herself. Filo's punch connected with the barrier, but she didn't stop pressing down. Her fist glowed as mana became inserted into the punch.
"Good job Filo!" Raphtalia yelled happily.
"You can do it! Just a little more!" Melty cheered alongside Raphtalia. The others started yelling encouragement to the little girl.
"Your attack is still pathetic. You'll never break this barrier." Fitoria said calmly.
Filo yelled. She had to go farther. Faster. Stronger! She had to push herself for her mommy, her daddy, her best friend! Everyone she cared about and wanted to-!
Her hands became covered in a weird claw-like construct made of wind. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"
The barrier above Fitoria cracked. She stared, shocked at Filo's determination.
It was like... she was seeing herself from so long ago. "I'LL BEAT YOU! I'LL DO IT!" Filo yelled. "I'LL BEAT YOUUUUUUU!"
The barrier shattered.
The burst of wind from it almost sent Filo entirely off course. But as she flew past, her wind claws left a slight, bleeding scratch on Fitoria's still stunned cheek.
BOOM!
Filo crashed to the ground. Leaving a billowing storm of dust around her.
…
…
"Filo… can't give up… Filo has to beat you..."
Filo stumbled forward out of the dust. "Filo has to get better." She stumbled a step towards Fitoria, who alighted on the ground. "Filo has to get faster." She stumbled another step forward. "Filo has to get stronger."
Fitoria watched, Filo gradually stumbling exhaustedly closer. "Why?" She simply asked.
"So Filo can protect them. Mommy, Daddy, Mel, and everyone else." She stumbled forward the last step, crying softly. "Filo cares about." She pressed a tired fist against Fitoria's chest. Still crying softly.
The Heroes and their parties watched in stunned amazement.
…
"You did well, Filo." Fitoria softly patted the blonde girl on the head. "I admit defeat."
With that, the barrier over the area fell. And Filo collapsed in a tired heap.
Filo had to be carried back to the village after the trial. Fitoria used healing magic on her to help her recover.
It was still very much a surprise what Fitoria had done. But now, Ren, Itsuki, and their parties realized Fitoria was only testing Filo, so Filo was being showered with congratulations for passing. Especially by Melty, who couldn't stop beaming.
"You were so amazing! You were like swoosh, and she was like whoosh! And when your attacks combined in the middle, it was just so, so, eeeeeeeeee!"
Melty was totally fangirling it out now.
Naofumi almost wanted to ask if she actually was the President of the Filolial fan club.
"Are you thinking of something rude?" Raphtalia asked. They were a little ways away observing Filo.
"Never." He lied with a straight face as Melty hugged Filo tightly. Filo eventually managed to disentangle herself from her best friend and ran up to Naofumi and Raphtalia.
"Mommy! Daddy! Did Filo do good?!" She asked excitedly.
Naofumi patted her head. "You did amazing." He said honestly. "Good job."
"Ehehe!" Filo's face brightened exponentially. It was almost too adorable.
"You were wonderful sweetie." Raphtalia looked over the moon with joy.
"Congratulations, Filo. You have passed my trial." Fitoria said, smiling warmly at the blonde girl as Naofumi stepped back. The Filolials from earlier were now surrounding them. "You have more than earned this reward."
Her carriage necklace glowed, and a small box appeared in her hands. She opened it and inside rested a small tiara.
"That looks like something a princess would wear," Melty said curiously.
"Indeed. This will mark Filo as my heir." Fitoria said. "Wear this as proof of your strength and courage."
"So cool!" Melty's eyes beamed. She was now going to be best friends with Fitoria's heir!
AWESOME!
"Hmmm?" Filo looked it over curiously, and then she put it on. She hoped it wouldn't get lost in a fight or whatever. But then, it glowed with a bright light and vanished. "Huh?"
Then, much to everyone's surprise, a cowlick grew out the front of her hair. "Ahhhhh! What's up with Filo's hair?!" Filo cried.
"It is a sign of royalty. Wear it with pride, Filo." Fitoria said, smiling warmly.
"No! Filo didn't ask for this!" Filo pulled the cowlick off, crying in pain as she did so. Then, another one grew in its place. "No! No no no no no!" She pulled it out repeatedly. Even though it hurt her to do it.
Some of the people couldn't help but laugh as they tried to get her to calm down and stop.
"You will only gain more as you grow more powerful. They never go away. So I'd get used to it if I were you." Fitoria said. Indicating the three cowlicks she had on her head.
"Nooooooooo!" Filo fell to her knees in anguish. She'd only been born over a month ago, and now she had to deal with cowlicks for the rest of her life!
As ridiculous as it looked, Naofumi couldn't argue with the stat boost it gave Filo. 'With her stuck at level 40, this will be a huge help.'
In a way, he was also proud of Filo. She'd learned more in that short bout than she had any other time fighting in her life. And she'd learned skills that'd make her a pain to fight, whether she was large, or small form.
Some of the Filolials burst out from behind Filo and threw her into the air cheering. "Ahhhhh!"
"Of course. We must celebrate." Fitoria said to her friends.
"Awww! They want to celebrate Filo's coronation!" Melty said happily.
"No! Filo doesn't want this! Stop it!" Unfortunately, no one paid Filo's complaints any mind. Ren and Itsuki's parties were all for it. It had been hard and difficult for a while. And they were going to the Capital soon. So they eagerly took the chance for a celebration.
And with that, the rest of the day melded into a blur.
Fitoria summoned the Tyrant Dragon Rex corpse using her weird spell. Naofumi finally noted it was similar to the skills Ren and Itsuki used to portal their parties around. However, he didn't pay it much thought after that since Fitoria summoned it and gave it to him to cook for the celebration.
He was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
For once, he didn't complain about cooking. In fact, he very much enjoyed it, since it was for a celebration, and since he didn't do it alone. Ren helped him slice the meat off into cookable portions. Bakta and Aksel gathered wood for the fires. Wyndia, and surprisingly Rishia, used fire magic to light them. Maya and Raphtalia helped to gather seasonings and other herbs Naofumi requested from the forest.
Overall, it came out really, really good! And there was so much of it, that he didn't have to worry about running out! Even with the Filolials, Filo, and Fitoria, who had quite the appetite herself, feasting on it!
As for what the three parties did, Rachel showed off cool tricks with her magic. Welt pulled out a violin and provided what sounded like country music to Naofumi. He'd never heard it before.
It was fast-paced like a folk dance. And he was actually fairly decent at it. Crystal, Maya, and some of the others danced to it. Bakta and Aksel had a personal dance-off between each other to see who was better.
It seemed like those two had to compete on everything.
The dance-off only peaked higher when Itsuki pulled out a violin of his own. Naofumi's first impression of the blonde boy when they were summoned was that he looked like one of those kids who spent their time practicing on a piano. The way his fingers were built and everything. It turned out the assumption was very much correct.
The blonde teen not only played the tune Welt had been playing, but he played it almost better than he had. Rishia watched as if mesmerized. And Itsuki ended up playing other songs for the rest of the celebration.
Some of them sounded oddly like anime theme songs to Naofumi.
At one point, Melty begged Fitoria to show her how large she could become. And the Filolial Queen grew into a 100-meter tall GIANT!
NO WONDER SHE CLAIMED TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ON THE TYRANT DRAGON REX! SHE COULD LOOK DOWN ON THAT THING IF IT WAS ALIVE!
And she only made the girl happier by giving her a ride on her head behind her crown of feathers up top. Melty couldn't have been happier.
The only one who seemed even slightly unhappy was Eclair since she couldn't go away and do some sword training. However, she eventually became happier when Ren and Raphtalia attempted to spar against her together. Only for her to majorly kick their butts.
Ren tried to claim she cheated, but Wyndia slapped him and told him not to act so childishly. Much to his embarrassment, and the laughter of everyone else there.
Naofumi didn't mind that he spent most of his time cooking for everyone. He was content with just watching everyone have fun.
And thus the rest of the day passed.
The carcass of the Tyrant Dragon Rex was nothing but bones. The entire thing had been stripped of meat. It had been feasted on until it was gone. All that was left was for it to be absorbed to be used to power the Hero's Strengthening Methods.
'Wow… now that was a lot of cooking.' Naofumi cleaned the last of the pots he'd used in the water source Melty had made. 'But that was satisfying cooking.'
Said princess was now asleep next to Filo amidst Fitoria's Filolial friends. All of them looked plump and fat from the day's feast. Ren and Itsuki, as well as their parties, were also sleeping amongst the Filolials.
Rishia was curled up near the Bow Hero's violin, almost as if she was safeguarding it. And Wyndia had fallen asleep behind the Sword Hero. During her sleep, she'd turned over and hugged him from behind.
Even Fitoria was asleep in the center, though the Filolials had given her space to rest.
She'd mentioned she was traveling to the sight of a wave tomorrow. Naofumi was glad she was resting. She seemed like the type who pushed herself too often. And call it the Father in him, but Fitoria looked like she needed the rest.
He finished putting the rest of the pots in his inventory. Then he absorbed a third of the bones from the Tyrant Dragon Rex. The rest would go to the other two heroes.
It was time for him to go to bed too. But first, he'd noticed that Raphtalia wasn't sleeping with everyone else. 'Where would she be now…'
…
He walked around for a little while. Looking throughout the village. Eventually, he decided to look at the cliffside.
He arrived at the cliffside, and sure enough, Raphtalia was there. Unlike before though, she was on her knees. Holding her hands reverently over the graves. A set of fresh flowers had been laid over each one.
This wasn't the broken girl he'd found here before. But he felt worry spike in him again. He had to make sure for himself.
Her ears flicked on her head, listening to his approach. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "You know you didn't do this to them, right?" He asked her worriedly.
"... Yes, I know." She said quietly.
He was still worried and wanted to say more. But she looked up and smiled at him. "Naofumi, would you kneel next to me?" She asked. "There's someone I need to introduce you to."
Naofumi looked surprised at her smile, but he listened and knelt on the ground next to her. She took his hand off her shoulder, and set it at the foot of the grave on the right. "Momma, Pappa, this is the great Shield Hero you told me so much about in your stories." Raphtalia smiled happily. "I'm sorry. I would have introduced him last time… but you know what happened."
Naofumi gulped. Raphtalia looked strangely vulnerable in a way he hadn't seen before.
"I've gotten to fight side by side with Naofumi for the last couple of months. It's been interesting. He's so brave. He tries to act cold at times, but he's really caring. We've already saved a village from a Wave.
"We're raising a little girl, her name's Filo, together. We've gotten to…" Raphtalia continued. Telling her parents and Rifana the story of what they'd been doing.
It felt personal. Almost too personal. Naofumi almost thought he should leave to give Raphtalia and her parents some privacy. But her hand gripped his gently. Keeping him there.
Raphtalia looked over the graves. Tears leaked from her eyes, yet she was still smiling. "I… I wanted to tell you… I'm going to do what you told me to do… I'm going to smile. Even when things get hard. I'll do my best. I'll be strong so I can smile for everyone, and help them to smile." She said.
The sacredness of the moment wasn't lost on Naofumi. Japanese held their ancestors sacred. His parents had been complete jerks. But his grandparents hadn't.
They'd taken Naofumi to shrines when he was younger. Those places held a sacred air about them, much like what Naofumi felt here.
When his grandparents had passed, he'd paid a visit to those shrines occasionally so he could feel close to them again.
Raphtalia was quiet. As if she was listening to someone.
Naofumi felt that he should speak.
"You have an amazing daughter." He said. "She's strong. Stronger than she gives herself credit for. She won't kill because of revenge or hate. She wants to protect those around her and help them to be happy..." He looked down at that. "She'd have been better suited to be the Shield Hero than me."
She looked at him in surprise. He then looked at the graves determinedly. "I haven't been doing my job as the Shield Hero. Raphtalia and everyone else I care deeply about shouldn't have to be going through these difficulties because of me." If he hadn't run away that first night, if he hadn't chosen to keep running, if he had chosen to do a multitude of other things differently, the problems they'd been dealing with would have never escalated to what they were now.
They probably would have never had to deal with such difficulties. Raphtalia deserved a lot more. "I promise, I'll make things right. So your daughter won't have to struggle to smile ever again."
Raphtalia sniffed. Naofumi looked at her. She looked… really happy. "I'm… I'm happy Keel and the others survived…" She looked at him with tears in her eyes, and then she hugged him. He reciprocated and allowed her to softly cry into his shoulder. "I'm happier to have you with me."
Naofumi held her close for a few seconds. But it felt like an eternity. And eventually, they separated and looked back down at the graves. "It's okay mother, father, Rifana." She remembered what her friend Rifana had said way back when. "I'll be happy with the Shield Hero for you, Rifana. I'll protect his smile with my sword. I promise."
"Good. Kiss the Shield Hero for me, Raphtalia. He looks like he needs it."
Raphtalia lightly blushed. Naofumi helped her up. "We should rest now. We're going to have a long day tomorrow."
She looked at him, smiled, and kissed him on the lips. Much to his surprise.
She separated after a few seconds. "Alright. Thank you for this, Naofumi."
As they walked back to the camp, Naofumi was blushing a brighter red than Raphtalia. Her tail wagged happily behind her too.
The score between them was tied once more.
Damn it.
Hero Clips!
Item Enchantment
"Come on. Just give me a good enchantment, please."
He used some of the Tyrant Dragon bones to enchant a shield. It gave him a -4% Damage from balloon monsters Lvl. 1 enchantment. His right eye twitched in agitation.
"I swear. I'm only going to do this one more time. And if you give me one more useless enchantment, I'm going to break you."
His Shield gave him a zap. Ha, you can't break me unless this world ends. The text appeared on his HUD. So good luck with that.
"Screw you!" Naofumi chose the enchant option on one of his Chimera series of shields. He almost hoped it'd be worthless, so he'd have a good excuse to destroy the damn shield.
+1% Damage dealt by Snake Venom Fang (large) Lvl. 1
…
Naofumi blinked several times in astonishment. "Did… did I just…"
He had to look it over from several different angles. Including, strangely enough, from under his Shield.
"YES! I DID IT!" He screamed in victory. It was only a 1% increase, but it was an INCREASE!
"What did you do Naofumi?" Raphtalia asked curiously.
"I FINALLY FOUND A WAY TO INCREASE MY DAMAGE!" He was bursting with happiness. He grabbed Raphtalia by the face and kissed her several times in excitement before running around in excitement again. "WOOHOOOO!"
Sure, it was only damage from a specific skill. BUT IT WAS DAMAGE NONETHELESS!
As he ran around again, Raphtalia clutched her face in embarrassment. The kissing had just come from out of nowhere. And then-
"Wait, I can't just stop at level 1!" Naofumi stopped running around and looked at his Shield excitedly. Suddenly, it was like he held all the power in the world. He had an evil grin on his face.
Was it any wonder why his Shield didn't trust him with an attack stat?
"I'll increase this enchantment to level 10! Then, I'll be able to do some serious damage with this counter of mine! Yes, I can see it now!"
Granted it said the counter itself did more damage. It did not imply the poison it released would do more damage. So it was basically 0 x 0.01 mathematically. But what did Naofumi really know?
He clicked the option to upgrade the enchantment. The chance of success was 99%.
He was so going to enjoy upgrading this-
Enchantment Failed!
The enchantment reset. Getting rid of the damage enchantment.
…
…
...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naofumi had the expected freak out. Bashing his shield into the ground again and again.
Lol, how's that low attack stat treating ya? The Yandere Shield's text appeared on his HUD again.
Raphtalia sweatdropped, seeing Naofumi switch to the Shield of Rage II to try and burn the Shield against the ground and destroy it. "Oh, dear. Here we go again."
"I'll ^%$#$%& end you! YOU HEAR ME YOU STUPID YANDERE SHIELD! NOT EVEN YOUR DUST WILL REMAIN WHEN I'M DONE PULVERIZING YOU!"
Raphtalia went to grab Filo. Before Naofumi really lost it again.
"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Till Next Time
Allen