Thank you for all the helpful reviews in the last chapter. I'm glad you reviewers took the slavery discussion seriously. Seriously, I'm glad you all listened. Pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.
I have a new poll up on my profile. Some of the answers on it will help me to know which couples you've loved so far, and which couples you might want me to flesh out more/work on down the road (like possibly Cal Mira?). If you could pull that up and vote after reading this chapter, I'd really appreciate it.
Chapter Two: A Hakuko's Wish
"Huah!"
Raphtalia's sword slashed a LV. 42 Wolf monster in half.
"Make way!" Filo jumped from a thick branch up above, her Dragonbone Claws glistened in the sunlight that breached the forest. "High Quick!" She appeared and disappeared repeatedly, her claws slicing several of the LV. 38 bird type monsters in the air around her to bloody pieces.
"Haaaa-" Dou-Lon thrust his lance into the belly of a LV. 40 frog monster. However, the creature didn't die from the strike, and it retaliated with a swing of its tongue. "-ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" He screamed as he flew back through the air.
"Got ya!" Filo suddenly appeared behind the Hakuko and caught him in her wings. She alighted on the ground gracefully.
"Many thanks," He gave the Shield Hero's daughter a polite bow after she set him down on the ground. Dou-Lon had shaved the fur off of his arms because of the burns he got before. Thankfully, they were healed up now thanks to Lord Shield using an ability from the Shield of Hope.
It'd still take a while for the fur on his arms to regrow, but at least he wasn't cursed anymore.
"Ribbit." Despite it's chest wound, the frog monster propelled itself through the air. Dou-Lon quickly raised his gauntlets, ready to defend himself and Filo from the surprisingly lithe strong monster.
"Hmph." Halfway through its jump, Raphtalia appeared under the frog monster. It never had a chance to croak in surprise as its momentum slashed itself in half on her sword.
Amazing! He hadn't even noticed she'd gone invisible! Her mastery of magic was truly astounding-
The rest of Dou-Lon's thoughts were cut off as a half of the monster slammed into him, covering him in blood. The other half landed next to Filo. "Mmmm! This looks yummy! Thanks for the food!" Without a second thought, Filo began feasting messily on the carcass.
On their HUD's, EXP notifications appeared for all the monsters the group had killed.
Raphtalia: LV. 46
Filo: LV. 47
Dou-Lon: LV. 54
"Hmph." Raphtalia slashed her blade. The blood from the monster flew off it like water. She gave Dou-Lon a look of disdain. To think he was actually a higher level than her and yet it took him several hits to kill these monsters.
She wasn't very impressed with the Hakuko's strength.
"Oh, thank you for taking care of-" Dou-Lon began to thank the Shield Hero's companion when she walked past him.
Slash!
A second frog monster he hadn't noticed fell to the ground in two pieces. Staining the ground around it in blood. "Hmmm?" Filo looked up from her meal curiously.
"Come on, Filo. I think some of those bird monsters flew off in that direction." She gestured deeper into the forest with her sword. It'd taken them a while to find an area rich with higher leveled monsters. But now that they'd done it, she wasn't going to pass up this opportunity.
"Okay mommy!"
Filo and Raphtalia rushed away. Leaving Dou-Lon where he'd been standing.
"Oh, um, alright! I'll just gather up the monsters we killed here!" He offered. However, the two had already dashed off out of hearing range, or, which was more likely, ignored him outright.
Raphtalia was definitely nowhere close to forgiving him.
...
'Well, I'm not going to be useful if I just stand here!' Dou-Lon began gathering the monsters' carcasses in a pile in the center of the clearing. It took him a little while, and he had to climb a few trees to grab the remains of monsters Filo had killed up there. But he worked with a smile. And eventually, he had all the monsters they'd killed in this area of forest in a large pile.
When he was done, he washed his hands and arms off in a nearby pond that'd been home to the frog monsters.
"Lets see. Lord Shield said he didn't need all the parts of a monster. He just needs a part from each one, as well as any useful monster materials that he can craft with and the like." The Hakuko muttered to himself.
Fortunately, he was one of the best hunters in the Siltvelt Royal Guard. He had plenty of experience skinning and cleaning all kinds of monsters. A pile of this size would be no issue for…
Crap, where had his hunting knife gone?! Had he forgotten it?!
He opened his pack, trying to find where the blasted thing was. He pushed aside bandages and the other various contents of the bag, but eventually, he remembered that he never actually replaced his old hunting knife after he'd lost it during the events at Bellona Village.
He groaned internally at his blunder. Lord Shield would be so disappointed...
No, he couldn't give up! He hefted his lance and examined the tip. It was sharp, but it didn't look like it'd do very well with cutting up a monster.
Hell, it was far more likely to create a giant mess. His gauntlets were meant for blunt attacking. So they didn't have a knife attachment or anything like that either. What was he supposed to do now?!
If only he could store hoards of stuff inside his weapon like Lord Shield and the other Heroes!
Eventually, Dou-Lon decided to just pick up as much as he could and carry it to Lord Shield's home. He was strong enough to sling a few of the carcasses over his shoulders, and when he shifted to his therianthrope form, it felt even easier to carry. So if he took only a couple of trips, then Lord Shield would be able to absorb all the monsters they'd killed so far.
That was a simple fix to the problem, right?
...
It turned out there was a major flaw with that plan. They'd gone pretty far out into the forest to grind these higher leveled monsters. And the limp wolf, frog, and bird monster carcasses were heavy.
He reached the treeline and paused to take a short break. He could barely see the village between the hills in front of him. What had he been thinking taking such a heavy load?! He'd be of no use to Lord Shield if this one trip tired him out! He could feel sweat on his forehead even though it was currently covered in fur!
After a few minutes, he hefted the monsters on his shoulders again and continued forward. He walked through the hills, coming alongside the cliff bordering the ocean. Sweat kept on falling into his eyes, forcing him to blink a lot. But eventually, after a little while of walking, he finally reached the homes of the Four Heroes.
He dropped his first load near the door of Lord Shield's house and shifted back to demi-human form. He fell to his knees and breathed in and out heavily. Sweat trickled down the sides of his face. He'd carried far too much weight for that one trip. If he wanted to be able to make it without exhausting himself, he'd have to make at least five or six trips to bring all the monsters they'd killed to Lord Shield.
"Heh, heh, heh, heh." He worked on steadying his breathing. It was fine. He could do this. This was a good opportunity to train his endurance. And he would happily do it since it was for Lord Shield!
Or would it be smarter to ask Lord Shield if he had a spare hunting knife he could borrow-
No! That would be blasphemous to consider! He couldn't just use his great God's hunting knife! Asking to use what was the Shield Hero's would be like walking into a castle to ask to wear the King's crown! Preposterous! Criminal! Irreverent!
However, it was only a mere minute later, around the time when he was finally feeling good enough to pick up the monsters so he could bring them in, that he heard footsteps approaching.
"Oh- Huhhhhh?!" Dou-Lon exclaimed in surprise.
If it wasn't for the two pairs of legs, one with a thick tail hanging between them, and the other looking like a large bird's, Dou-Lon would have never realized it was Raphtalia and Filo, carrying an impressive pile of monster carcasses between them. Like, wow! He'd probably carried a good two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds. That pile was HUGE!
Their strength was truly impressive! How he wished he could be as strong and useful to Lord Shield!
"Filo, I'm not sure how much farther I can carry this." Raphtalia groaned.
"Filo sees home! It's only a little further mommy!" Filo encouraged.
Dou-Lon stared at the two with stars in his eyes. He wanted to be that strong someday!
"Are we taking these inside, mommy?" Filo curiously asked.
"Let's carry them around back so we don't cause a mess inside the house." Raphtalia suggested. Holding back a groan at the thought of having to carry this monstrous pile a little further.
"Okay!"
"Hey, do you need any- whoa!" Dou-Lon approached to offer a hand, but he barely avoided it when the pile shifted directions and almost knocked into him.
"Careful, Filo! We don't want the pile to come apart!" Raphtalia chastised.
"Sorry Mommy!" The two continued past the surprised Hakuko. Eventually disappearing around the side of the house.
Dou-Lon stared for a moment, looked at the small pile of monsters he'd brought, and groaned to himself. And not because they'd taken away his chance at endurance training.
He should have realized the potential mess the monster blood could have left on the wooden floors! Many thanks for arriving in time to give that piece of wisdom, Raphtalia!
He slung the monsters he'd brought over his shoulders and carried them out back. He arrived just as the two were setting the pile on the ground in the middle of the backyard. Raphtalia wiped a bead of sweat from her brow before going into the house via the backdoor.
That made Dou-Lon wonder. Why had she and Filo carried all these monsters back? Didn't the Tanuki girl have a hunting knife of her own-
"Naofumi, can I borrow your hunting knife?!" He heard her yell. "I forgot mine in our room!"
"Sure."
… Whoa. Raphtalia was on another plane of existence entirely. For her to be able to so casually ask the Shield Hero for something of his. If Lord Shield was a King, then she was his Queen. All the nobles of Siltvelt would be jealous of her position.
In a way, he was jealous too. But jealousy was a bad emotion to harbor, so he had to work to expunge it from his system!
Dou-Lon set his monsters on the pile, and Raphtalia eventually reappeared with the Shield Hero's hunting knife. She said nothing as she began expertly skinning some of the larger monsters. At times, she pulled out fangs or claws with the tip of the knife. Some of them she examined, a few of which she cast aside with a frown. Dou-Lon picked one up to examine it. He didn't know why she'd cast it aside at first. He eventually found a small crack in it. Poking a claw at it, it gave way, showing the inside of the fang was coarse and brittle.
It seemed like that monster hadn't practiced good tooth hygiene.
The speed at which she did all of this was amazing. She must have had plenty of time to practice. He stood there awkwardly, waiting to see if she needed help or not.
When Raphtalia was done stripping a monster of its useful parts, she made sure to slice off a small portion of the monster for Naofumi to absorb into his shield. Then, she tossed the rest of the carcass to Filo, who happily feasted on the monster meat. Dou-Lon continued to awkwardly stand there, not sure what to do.
"Um, is there anything I can do to help-" Dou-Lon asked.
"We're fine." Raphtalia's reply was curt and short.
"Oh, alright then." … ... He perked up after a moment. "Are there any more monsters you need picked up from the forest-"
"No. We got them all." Raphtalia said. "We'll be fine without your help."
"..." Dou-Lon did his best to keep a steady smile on his face as he walked towards the house.
He couldn't take it too badly. He did feel that he somewhat deserved the treatment from the Tanuki girl after the trouble he'd caused her and Lord Shield in the past. Maybe she hadn't implied that they'd be better off without him in the party. And if she had, then he'd just have to atone and make up for it so he could get on her good side!
Yeah! Go about this positively for Lord Shield!
Ah! Speak of the angel! Lord Shield was at the table with the old Apothecarian. They had two sets of compounding tools between them, and it looked like Lord Shield was paying furtive attention to the man's words. He must really love to seek out knowledge from different people!
"You mean, I've been doing this part of the compounding process wrong the whole time?" Naofumi asked incredulously.
The old man nodded. "I'm surprised that your way even works. There's no doubt in my mind that it's part of the reason why you have a fair amount of failed creations, Sir Naofumi."
"But, but how was I supposed to know that?!" He asked.
"Did you ever ask for help learning how to use your tools?" He asked back.
How dare he!? Lord Shield was incapable of such mistakes! This old man should show him more respect-
"Well, er…" Naofumi rubbed the back of his neck.
The Apothecarian sighed. "Let's get to work fixing the mistakes you've been making then."
Naofumi nodded. Dou-Lon stared in surprise! His God was seriously-
Oh, Lord Shield! What a humble hero you are listening to the counsel of your elders! There's so much this lowly Hakuko could learn from thee!
They were preparing to start when Dou-Lon snapped out of his religious reverie and remembered what he'd wanted to ask about. It was, after all, the biggest reason Filo and Raphtalia were so strong. "Lord Shield!"
Naofumi turned to look at him as he got down on one knee. "This lowly Hakuko was wondering if you'd given any thought to me becoming your-"
"No, not now, Dou-Lon." Naofumi looked at the Apothecarian, and back to him. "Ask me about it later."
"But, Lord Shield?" Was it just him, or had Naofumi briefly clenched his fist?
"Don't make me repeat myself, Dou-Lon." Naofumi dryly said. "I still need time to think about it. Go and do something else in the meantime."
"... Yes, of course!" Dou-Lon bowed again. When Naofumi didn't address him, he quickly rushed out the front door so he wouldn't be in the way.
Raphtalia and Filo didn't need his help. Lord Naofumi was busy. But he'd been ordered to do something else! And there was still something he could do to assist!
Herb gathering!
Lord Shield would obviously need more herbs to compound stuff with the Apothecarian! So he could make himself useful by gathering a large amount of herbs for them! Yes! It was the perfect way to help him out right now!
He was really glad he'd learned about various types of herbs from Chen before they'd joined the Royal Guard together. She always pointed out what herbs to look out for whenever they were patrolling the wild. It'd been annoying at first, but then it became somewhat of a competition whenever they felt bored patrolling the roads for bandits.
He was happy that he could still recognize most of the herbs they'd discovered together.
Aello, a green plant with bright red petals. Those were perfect for Healing Pills!
Cordota, a small white flowered herb. They were used to make Antidotes!
Coriadan, jackpot! That was one of Chen's favorites! They're plants with dark-blue petals on them, and have a wide variety of uses. They're another ingredient for Healing Pills, as well as Normal Medicine, Antidotes, and a rare potion to restore MP with: Magic Water.
Lord Shield would love these!
A couple of hours passed, and his pack was almost full of the various herbs he'd found. He was somewhat worried about the quality, but there was nothing he could do to fix that. There were a couple of times he had to use his lance on monsters he ran into, but thankfully, they weren't very strong. He was able to deal with them by himself.
He wouldn't be fit to call himself a warrior if he couldn't handle a few monsters! But he still wanted to become Lord Shield's slave so he could become a more useful warrior. Surely, he'd be more useful if he could power up like Raphtalia had, right?
Right?!
…
The sun was gradually setting in the evening sky, and he was close to calling it a day when he came across one last bush.
It looked like Coriadan, except the petals were light blue. If he remembered correctly, Chen had called these herbs Tonmin. Her nickname for it had been; "Hero Bush."
It was used to make a potion that was only useful for Heroes. Soul Healing Water. Outside of that, it had no other use, meaning it was almost worthless. Soul Healing Water did nothing for non-Heroes, and whether it did work for Heroes was unknown to him.
Still, Dou-Lon took several herbs from the bush, just in case the legends were true and they were useful for Lord Shield.
After that, it took nearly an hour to get back to the village. In his haste to gather, he'd lost track of where he was in the forest. By the time he finally reached the road back to Lurolona, the sun had disappeared below the distant horizon, and stars were starting to appear up above.
His stomach growled loudly. He'd only been gone for a couple of hours, right?
Oh no. Maybe it'd been more time than he'd thought! Hopefully he hadn't worried Lord Shield with his long absence! What if he'd needed him for something!? What if he'd been attacked and he hadn't been there to protect him!? What if-
Dou-Lon forgot about his hunger and rushed back home as quickly as possible.
When he burst through the front door, Lord Shield looked up from the table. The Apothecarian was still with him, and there was a myriad of medicines and potions beside them. Raphtalia and Filo were in the kitchen, getting ingredients ready for dinner. Eclair was also there, sitting in the rocking chair with her legs crossed and reading what appeared to be some sort of fencing manual, most likely in preparation for the Sword Hero's and his party's next training session. She raised her eyes at him with a thoughtful expression for a moment before shifting her gaze back down at the text.
"Ah, there you are Dou-Lon." Naofumi spoke out. He sounded… relieved? "I almost thought I'd have to go out looking for you."
"Looking… what?" Dou-Lon asked.
"I'm about to make dinner, and Eclair and everyone else are already back-"
Dou-Lon hadn't been paying attention because of the thoughts running through his mind. Oh no! Had he interrupted something important again?! How could he have messed up like this?!
The Hakuko prostrated himself on the ground. "I'm sorry! I'll try better to control myself in the future, Lord Shield!" He should have realized there'd be no need to worry! Lord Shield would have known he was in trouble because of the party Status Magic! He was an idiot!
"No, that's not necessary, ugh…" Naofumi facepalmed. "Please stand up, Dou-Lon! You're embarrassing me! And don't call me Lord Shield!"
"Ah! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Dou-Lon nearly burst into tears as he prostrated himself further.
"Stand up, damn it!" Naofumi yelled.
"No no, I'm enjoying this." The Apothecarian smirked in his seat. Naofumi glared at the old man.
Eventually, Dou-Lon managed to calm down somewhat and stand up. His tail flicked behind him in embarrassment. And he almost wanted to hobble off to his room without dinner out of shame. However, he remembered what he'd spent a good portion of the day doing.
"I gathered these for you, Lord S-, I mean, Lord Naofumi!" Dou-Lon quickly corrected himself as he set his pack on the table.
"Hmmm…" He opened it, and his facial expression didn't change as he looked the various herbs over. Raphtalia and Filo watched from the kitchen. If Dou-Lon didn't know better, he would have thought Raphtalia was glaring holes in the side of his head. Filo looked between the two of them with an unsure expression on her face and briefly opened her mouth, before closing it again, seemingly changing her mind and just shook her head. The rose haired swordsman peeked over her book again as well, but once more, her expression was impossible to read. At least it didn't seem to hold any resentment.
Dou-Lon's ears lowered on his head. He really hadn't meant to interrupt Lord Nao- Shield's medicinal training. He was unworthy to call his great Hero by name. But his great Hero wanted to be referred by his name. So what was he to do-
"A lot of these are low quality." The Apothecarian noted.
Dou-Lon instantly felt like he'd been punched in the gut.
The Apothecarian picked up a few of the herbs to examine. "Some of these are worthless. They'd make horrible quality medicines."
URK!
"I wouldn't even bother picking most of this. What a waste."
...
HURGHHGHGHGHGH!
Dou-Lon dropped to his knees. That was it! He was a disappointment! A failure! An unworthy demi-human!
The shame was too much! He wasn't even worthy to call his Hero by Lord Shield! He'd be better off walking out the door and off the cliff to fall onto his lance-
"Even with my Leaf Shield's equip bonus, I've noticed a lot of the herbs around here are low quality, so it hardly changes much." Naofumi interjected. "They'll still be useful for compounding normal quality medicines inside my shield."
"Really now?" The Apothecarian put a hand to his chin in wonder. "If you could make normal quality medicine from this… that is a very useful shield indeed." He said in amazement.
… eh?
"As well as that…" Naofumi pulled out the Tonmin herbs from the pack and smiled. "These are good quality. They'll be very useful. I didn't even know they grew around here."
Wait, could Lord Shield take these worthless herbs and make something useful out of them?! Just how far did his powers extend?!
Naofumi stood up, and, much to Dou-Lon's shock, rubbed his hand between the tall Hakuko's ears. "Good job, Dou-Lon. You did well."
…
Was this… the FAMOUS SHIELD HERO HEAD-PAT FILO HAD TOLD HIM SO MUCH ABOUT! IT FELT AMAZING! HE WAS RECEIVING THE ULTIMATE PRAISE FROM HIS GOD! MAYBE HE WAS WORTHY AFTER ALL!
Oh no, WHAT WAS HE THINKING?! HIS HEAD WASN'T WORTHY OF BEING TOUCHED BY HIS GOD! "Please, forgive me, Lord Shield!" Dou-Lon dropped to the floor, slamming his forehead into the wood. "This Hakuko is unworthy of your glorious touch!"
"Oi, what did I tell you about calling me that?!" Naofumi yelled in agitation down at the Hakuko. "And stop with the damn worshipping!"
"Oh ho ho, now things are really getting interesting." The Apothecarian laughed to himself.
"Shut up!" Naofumi yelled at the laughing old man.
"I'm sorry!" Dou-Lon slammed his forehead into the wood again and again. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! I promise to do better Lord Shield!"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"
"I'M SORRY!"
Eclair closed her book with an annoyed click of her tongue and walked away to seek a more quiet place to refresh her knowledge of squad formation drills.
Raphtalia sighed in the kitchen as Naofumi continued to yell and Dou-Lon beat a dent into the floor with his forehead. Hopefully he wouldn't get brain damage from doing that. It was starting to look like it'd been a good thing that Naofumi opted for wood floors instead of stone.
That would have hurt to beat your head against.
"Mommy, please tell me we'll be having dinner soon." Filo said beside her.
Raphtalia rubbed her hair in comfort as the agonizingly comedic scene stretched out far longer than it should have.
Dou-Lon sat on his meditation mat in the middle of his room. His legs were crossed, and his arms rested on them. His mind, however, was far from calm. Instead, it was filled with shame, self-loathing, and doubt.
When the entire goofy exchange earlier had ended, he'd felt like he'd bruised his forehead, and the Shield Hero had a twitch in one eye. One that wouldn't go away even as his faithful companion massaged his shoulders as he made dinner for them all.
The food had felt subpar despite the work his God had put into it. He'd barely been able to stomach it out of shame.
Now that he was alone, Dou-Lon quivered on his mat. Even with his eyes clenched shut, tears still escaped, falling down his cheeks onto the floor.
"We'll be fine without your help."
Hearing that sentence from Raphtalia earlier honestly hurt. She was right. What good was he? It wasn't like he was any good himself. He'd done some terrible things in his life. Some more recent than others.
His mind thought back to two months ago. Where would he be now had he and his friends actually succeeded in capturing Lord Shield while he was at his weakest? Would their God have actually listened to them? Would he have been persuaded that the Raccoon whore was using her magic to influence him?
Would Dou-Lon have brought his foot down to stop his allies from executing "that raccoon whore" in front of Lord Shield?
…
No. Back then, he wouldn't have. That was a scary thought.
He wouldn't have personally driven his lance through her heart, but he would have cowardly watched as the others did it for him.
And what of the Shield Hero himself? Would he have gone completely insane, overtaken by his grief and anger to turn into the terrifying shield demon that Dou-Lon had only seen a glimpse of almost two weeks ago?
How ironic that it turned out the Three Heroes Church might have saved the world through their timely intervention while he would have stood and watched it helplessly unfold, blindly following the will of the pack to the bitter end. Even now, he was sitting where he was because he'd blindly followed the faith and dogma of the Shield Hero, the faith and dogma that was beaten into him by the same council that had disgraced his race. The council whose orders he'd followed without a second thought for his entire life until Victoria shattered his delusions and forced him to act by himself for once in his damned life.
Yet here he was again, trying to shift his pain somewhere else for the sake of continued comfort. Is it even true what he said to the Shield Hero? Does he really want to help him save the world? Or is he a rat seeking to make a nest next to a lion's den for the sake of comfort and protection?
He didn't know. He couldn't find peace. Was it any wonder that Raphtalia didn't trust him at all?
...
Knock knock knock!
"Come in." Dou-Lon quickly wiped the tears off his face.
He wondered if it was Lord Sh-, Naofumi, coming in to give him a talking to for what had happened earlier.
His great Hero had finally managed to hammer that into his mind. Whether he was unworthy or not, he wanted to be called by name, not by some fancy title or whatever. The fact that Lord Naofumi had to explain that to him was a bad sign.
He was probably here to tell him that he couldn't be trusted, and that it might be for the best if he were to-
The door opened, and the Hakuko was surprised to see the rose haired knight poke her head in. "Dou-Lon, do you have a moment?" Eclair politely asked.
He breathed a sigh of relief. For once, he was thankful it wasn't the Shield Hero coming to see him. "Yes." She walked into his room, and he quickly wiped the remaining tears from his face.. "What is it, Eclair?" He asked.
She looked around curiously. "I'm surprised. With how late it is, I would have thought you'd be in bed by now."
Dou-Lon chuckled, trying to hide his hurt. "I'm training my mind to become stronger." Well, he was trying to. It was hard with the mental state he was currently in.
The comment piqued Eclair's interest. "How does sitting in the middle of the room help you become stronger?"
"It's called meditation. This position is called the Lotus." Dou-Lon explained. "I learned this from a Genmu, who was my mentor of sorts. He picked it up from a distant country. The position is almost unbearable after a few minutes, and it's even worse when done it's done in the morning after waking up or in the evening before going to bed. But it's meant to help you find balance, and to block out all outside thoughts." At least, it was supposed to.
The memory of first learning it did make Dou-Lon smile fondly for a moment. "When I tried it at first, it felt like I was slamming into a tree over and over again. But then, after a while, doing this became sort of natural. Now, I use it to not only strengthen my resolve, but to think about events troubling me from a fresh perspective."
Eclair thought to herself about that. "A fresh perspective?"
"... Have you ever had things that bothered you before, Eclair Seaetto?" Dou-Lon asked, secretly voicing his own pains in that moment. He closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears as he tried to focus on his own inner turmoil again.
...
He heard nothing at first. And then, there was shuffling in front of him. When he peeked an eye open, he saw Eclair sitting in front of him. Trying to copy the same position he was in.
Fortunately, she was flexible, and it didn't take her long to achieve it. It also didn't take her long for her to match her breathing to his. That was more than what Dou-Lon could say of his first time. Lord Naofumi really knew how to pick his party members-
No, he wasn't trying to think about that now. He was trying to clear his mind of his problems. Focus, Hakuko! Focus!
They sat in silence for a while. The room lit only by the low light of Dou-Lon's meditation candles, and the only sound being that of their deep breaths, and their long exhales.
...
Surprisingly, Dou-Lon did feel all the negativity and emotions from before drain away. He didn't know if it was because he had someone else there doing this with him or not. But now it was… easier to follow his own advice. To think about events that had happened from a fresh perspective.
The inner turmoil he'd been experiencing gradually calmed down. He realized, what was the point in thinking about that past? It hadn't happened. Whether it was because of fate or some other grand being out there, he'd been spared from experiencing the pain and anguish that route would have caused him.
He hadn't been spared the hurt of watching his friends die to keep it from happening. But he'd already come to terms with that. To let it trouble him now would only shame their memories.
His mind needed to be stronger. For their sake. For his sake. And for Lord Sh- Naofumi's sake. His mind really was a fickle thing. He was supposed to be a follower of the Shield Hero! He had to do what he asked of him! Otherwise, he wouldn't be worthy of being a follower!
Unfortunately, though Eclair was flexible, she wasn't one for sitting still for long. Her muscles twitched, yearning to hold and swing a blade once more. To perform a kata, then two, then a thousand more. Her face twitched in frustration, and it showed. Even her breathing became impatient. She felt like a caged animal yearning for release.
With his inner turmoil finally calmed down, Dou-Lon spoke. "That Genmu elder also advised me that meditation wouldn't work for everyone." Now that he could focus outwardly again, her twitching and shuffling was becoming very distracting.
Eclair immediately broke from the position. "He was right about that." She stood up and stretched herself out. Just like that, she was back to moving in place. Dou-Lon nearly chuckled, but continued to hold his own position, even though his legs yearned to get up and stretch as well.
This was all there was to it. Mind over body. Even if his body wasn't as strong as he'd like, he could still train his mind. And it allowed him more time to think about his behavior today without the past getting in the way.
He could see where he'd taken things too far now. Lord Naofumi had clearly expressed his dislike for worship to him before. He didn't want to be treated like a God. He had to make efforts to forget what the Council had taught him and try to treat him like a normal person.
Though that would be extremely difficult for someone like him to do. His faith was still one of his defining traits, and he didn't want to be rid of it. He might also be a major fan of the Shield Hero.
However, he could acknowledge he'd been more than awkward at one point or another in his interactions with others today. At the least, he was glad he could acknowledge his problems. And besides that, he was glad he felt guilt for his past actions. Hopefully, this guilt he'd experienced tonight would help motivate him to become a better person down the road.
This was a very fruitful round of meditation for him.
He finally noticed Eclair still stretching in place. She hadn't said a word since standing up. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" He curiously asked, now that he felt better.
"Hmmm?" Eclair responded.
"You asked earlier if I had a moment. I don't think you planned on receiving an informal lesson about meditation." Dou-Lon blushed in embarrassment.
"Oh. Well…" Eclair put her hand to her chin in thought. "I was… curious, about how the royal guards of Siltvelt operate." Eclair finally said.
"Oh. Is that it?" Dou-Lon asked.
Studying her face, he couldn't glean much. It seemed she was being guarded, like she didn't fully trust him yet. But he wasn't sure. Maybe that was her typical face whenever she talked to someone? It was what he'd seen from her thus far. "Is this… meditation, a part of your training? If so, did you also receive physical conditioning, religious training, swordsmanship training?"
Ah, so she was just curious about a group assigned to protect Siltvelt's leaders. She'd be curious since she had been a knight whose duty had been to the Queen of Melromarc.
The musclehead was also in love with her sword. But no one dared to say that to her face, including Dou-Lon.
"Meditation came later in my training." Dou-Lon admitted. "It was hard for many of my friends to pick up, and I think I was the only one who really took to it. But we did go out on plenty of monster hunts together to get stronger…"
Eclair stood, listening attentively as Dou-Lon explained what it'd been like back then.
"When we were finally accepted into the upper ranks of the warrior caste, one of the things emphasized to us was the importance of getting stronger. As warriors of Siltvelt, it was our duty to level up and grow as fast as we could. Me and two of my friends didn't really have much growing up left to do, but there were a few like Chen who grew to adulthood over the course of our steady leveling...
"I remember we also had to become proficient in two weapons. I'd already been training with the lance because of its long reach, so I decided to pick up gauntlets for when enemies crept past it. It seemed like the perfect combo for me, since I could use both in a fight. Though, to be honest, I also took them up because I couldn't handle weapons like swords or shields very well..."
Eclair continued to remain silent. Dou-Lon chuckled as he talked about other facets. How they received training to recognize illusion magic. He'd also done some magic training, but he wasn't very proficient in magic, he could only cast a couple of low level first spells at best. He'd also had to memorize maps of the Siltvelt palace and city so he'd know the best route to evacuate the Council in case of emergency.
He was reminiscing over a fond memory of him and Chen discovering a great view of the Capital city on one of their patrol routes in the palace when Eclair asked him a question.
"Why did Naofumi accept you?"
...
Her sudden question caught him off guard. "Huh?"
The rose haired knight had a serious look on her face. "The Shield Hero is a man whose trust is very hard to come by, and very easy to lose. He is suspicious, cautious and mistrusting to a fault. He hates being worshipped. And he hates being looked at as something bigger than he is. Yet, for some reason, he accepted you into the party without a second thought."
Dou-Lon stared. Eclair looked frustrated as well as angry. "What did you tell him? What sad sappy story could have possibly convinced him to trust you if that's what your life was like before?"
The Hakuko looked uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"
"Sir Naofumi didn't trust me at first. I had to explain much to get on his good side. And I doubt he would have kept me around if I… if I hadn't saved Raphtalia at the Capital…" Eclair trailed off, her mind going to a memory of a moment. A harsh, critical, defining moment that'd cemented her remaining in the party. Even if she really wasn't useful for much besides training people...
The look soon vanished. "Tell me. Why are you here?" Eclair asked seriously. "Why did Sir Naofumi accept you so easily?"
It took a moment, but at last, Dou-Lon understood. This was what she'd wanted to talk to him about. His earlier observation about her guarded expression had been right after all. He should have been angry, but he sighed, thinking over that moment himself.
"I just… got on my knees, spoke from my heart, and begged him to let me help him save the world."
…
Eclair looked at him in disbelief. "Just like that?"
He nodded. "That's all I did… well, I had to explain who I was before I asked again. He was confused who I was and why I was there. But that's all I did…" He twiddled with his fingers. "Looking back, it's hard to believe Lord Naofumi accepted me into the party at all. I felt so unworthy then, and at times, I still don't feel worthy of it now..."
His tail laid against the ground, and his ears fell on his head. Eclair stared at him as he contemplated for a moment.
"Maybe it's because I helped Raphtalia face Victoria, but Lord Naofumi didn't seem to put much emphasis on that besides a genuine thank you." He said. "I'm sorry. I really wish I knew why he accepted me."
Eclair sat on the ground in front of him again. He remained in his meditative stance. The both of them were thinking.
Finally, Eclair shrugged and frustratingly said: "The Shield Hero continues to be an enigma to me... but I'll trust in his judgement. Whatever it was, he saw something in you that made him believe your intentions." Her face visibly relaxed as she said that. "Whatever it was, it means he didn't find you unworthy of joining his party. So don't go thinking that about yourself anymore, Dou-Lon."
"Oh… well, I, um…" He felt embarrassed. He didn't know what Lord Naofumi had seen in him. It couldn't have really been that great if his joining was so… controversial.
Hell, it was plain as day that Raphtalia didn't approve of him being there at all! It couldn't have been more obvious unless she spoke it to his face!
"However, I'm still curious about why you wanted to join so badly." Eclair continued in a more relaxed tone.
"Oh, that?" The Hakuko chuckled. "Well, I wish I could say the main reason was because of how the Hakuko are really treated in Siltvelt. But the truth's kind of embarrassing... it's been my dream ever since I was a child to help out the Shield Hero." He answered.
"You t- ahem, is that so?" Eclair asked, hiding her surprise.
"Oh yes, I remember playing Shield Hero with my friends all the time as a kid." Dou-Lon continued. "He always seemed so great and powerful in the stories the elders would tell us. Standing unmoving against foes far greater than we could ever imagine! Being nice and kind to everyone, even his enemies! I wanted to be just like him when I grew up!"
Nice and kind were terms that were up for debate to describe the current Shield Hero.
He blushed. "That's the reason I trained with gauntlets, actually. I tried to train with shields when I was rising through the ranks of Siltvelt's warrior caste, but they were too big and bulky for me. Gauntlets seemed like the next best thing to defend with." He admitted.
Eclair smiled at that. "I remember the kids playing those games in Seaetto too. They were always fun to watch, as well as the stories that the elders would tell me." Eclair reminiscenced. She knew now those stories had probably been more imagination than reality. Still, they were good memories regardless. "Though I don't think I ever tried training with shields."
Dou-Lon blushed more heavily at that. Was it that bad that he'd really wanted to be able to fight like the Shield Hero at one point in time? "Did you ever hear the story of the Shield stopping the unstoppable mountain?" Dou-Lon asked to try and forget about that embarrassing part of his life.
"Yes. The elders normally told that after the story of the Shield using his powers to save a village from marauders…"
The two of them chatted for some time after that, with Dou-Lon finally relaxing from his Lotus position to a more comfortable sitting position. It looked like he was finally connecting with one of Lord Naofumi's other party members now. It felt nice, really. He didn't just want to be part of Lord Naofumi's pack. He wanted to be a friend the pack could count on. A person that they could come to whenever they needed help or peace of mind.
Thinking Eclair's statement over in his mind, he was given yet another fresh perspective on the whole matter. If the Shield Hero had let him join his party, maybe he really wasn't as unworthy as he thought.
Or maybe the Shield Hero was right and he was human and thus made human mistakes- no! That line of thought was blasphemous! Inconceivable! His great God was perfect, and no one could change his mind about it-
Oops, there he went again. He really had to fix that problem sooner or later.
Eventually, Eclair stood up. "Thank you, Dou-Lon. I feel I know you much better than before now." She admitted.
"I feel the same, Eclair. To be honest, I was feeling kind of lonely with the way things have been lately." He admitted.
"Is it because of Raphtalia giving you the cold treatment?" Eclair asked.
He nodded. So she could see it too. How many others could see it? "I understand that I deserve it. But it wouldn't hurt if she'd at least lend me suggestions to help Lord Naofumi in some way or another." He said sadly.
"... sorry if I'm ignorant of something important that happened in the past. But I don't think you deserve to be treated like this now. I believe Miss Raphtalia owes you an apology." Eclair said.
He honestly had no response to that. Just hearing it from another of Lord Naofumi's party members floored him. "As for suggestions, you can feel free to ask me."
"You'd probably suggest training until my arms fell off." Dou-Lon replied with a chuckle.
"Hmmm, that doesn't sound like a bad idea." Wait, was she joking? Dou-Lon couldn't tell if she was joking or not. The swordswoman did look more relaxed though.
"Again, thank you. Your meditation didn't help me at all, but talking with you has helped me to obtain… a fresh perspective, about recent events." She smiled.
"Oh, really?" He said in surprise. He wanted to be the person the party could rely on for spiritual help. But he hadn't realized he'd been doing that now!
But she'd given him a fresh perspective by talking. So maybe there were other ways besides meditation to help out one's mind. "But, I didn't remember you mentioning anything-"
"I didn't." Eclair interrupted his train of thought. "And I'm not going to mention them. Not to you, to Sir Naofumi, to her Majesty, or anyone else." An image of an old destroyed study passed through her mind, as well as an image of the inside of an arena. "However… I think it'll be easier for me now. So thank you."
Dou-Lon mumbled something to himself. He swore, he really hadn't done anything there. Or maybe he had done something by giving her someone to talk and talk and talk to.
How long had he been rambling about the Royal Guard? He hoped it wasn't too late-
"I could help train you, you know." Eclair mentioned. "Raphtalia complained to me that your reflexes while facing monsters are... dull. If I could help with that, she'd have less to complain to me about."
Ouch. He knew that was true. He'd been brought back from the brink of death by that old lady. He'd spent weeks unable to leave a bed. That was bound to have detrimental effects on his abilities. "I'm already proficient in my weapons, thank you. Besides, I've seen what Lord Ren and his party look like after you're done with them. There's no way I'm going to subject myself to that." Dou-Lon joked, crossing his arms in front of him. "Maybe some other time. We should be getting to bed now."
"Hmmm…" Eclair looked him over. That look made the fur on his body stand on end. "I think you've been meditating for too long."
"What do you mean? I'm not meditating right now- EEK!" Eclair suddenly picked him up by the scruff of his neck.
"Your excuse for lazing around isn't going to cut it anymore." There was a scary, predatory look in her eyes. No, over her whole face! How had he never seen this side to her before?! "Now that you've told me about them, I'm curious to see what Siltvelt's royal knights are made of."
All of his hairs twitched. This went beyond scary, this was absolutely terrifying! It wasn't often, but in that moment, Dou-Lon felt less like a hunter and more like prey. Was Eclair actually human?! "Hey, I've been out of practice! Surely I wouldn't pose much of a challenge!?"
"And here I was thinking Siltvelt's finest warriors were more than a bunch of cowardly cubs trying to hide their heads behind their tails."
…
DID SHE JUST COMPARE HIM TO A CUB!?
"I cannot allow this dishonor upon me and my friends! I will stomp you into the ground to defend their honor, Eclair Seaetto!" Dou-Lon exclaimed.
"Oh. So the royal knights of Siltvelt do have some backbone." Eclair smacked her lips. "It'll be great to see how much it takes to beat you down."
"We'll see who kicks who's &^% after this!"
And then, over the course of an hour that night, fighting under the light of torches, Eclair promptly kicked his &^%, several times over.
In one of the last rounds, he tried to crawl away, begging for mercy. But she dragged him by the tail back into the arena for more training, or as he came to call it, punishment.
Crying out uncle did not help.
It wasn't until he promised to spend an hour or two training with her and the others every day that she finally let him go.
The rest of that night was spent with him nursing his wounded pride... and &^% in bed.
She really had kicked it hard. Poor guy.
"Raphtalia, is everything alright?"
"Huh?" Raphtalia looked up at Naofumi curiously. She was in her night clothes, and was currently doing one finger push-ups next to her bed while he worked on an accessory at his desk.
"It's not often that you work out before going to sleep. Is something going on?" Naofumi asked.
"Oh, um, it's nothing." Raphtalia said. She continued with her workout.
"Hmmm…" Naofumi didn't press it and focused on his latest project.
It'd been agonizing getting through yesterday and today thanks to that Hero meeting. But now, Naofumi felt a little bit better thanks to his work with the Apothecarian. It felt like he'd finally gotten something checked off of his endless list of tasks to do. And as he carefully etched the silver design into his latest work, he felt all of his worries draining away into the ocean next to them-
"Actually..."
Urk! His fingers jerked at Raphtalia's voice, ruining the perfect etching on the gold bracelet! No! After all the hard effort he'd put into it! Why did this have to happen?!
"Don't you think it was too trusting to allow Dou-Lon into the party?" Raphtalia asked.
Naofumi turned in his chair, trying to keep the agitation off his face. Now he'd have to start over with a back up if he didn't want to end tonight with a low-quality accessory! "What?" He asked.
Raphtalia was sitting on her bed now. She clasped her hands in front of her on her lap. "I'm concerned… about where that Hakuko's true loyalties lie." She said, a determined look on her face.
Naofumi remained oddly silent at that, and she took the opportunity to speak. "I don't know what it is but… I can't trust him. He seems a little too eager to be around us. He isn't exceptionally strong or talented, yet I can't help but feel that he's trying to get on your good side. Like all of this over the top hero worship is just his way to earn your trust and make you lower your guard."
"... Raphtalia, where is all this coming from?" The Shield Hero narrowed his eyes.
The Tanuki girl stopped speaking in surprise. Naofumi didn't look angry, but his gaze was so focused and intense that it made her avert her eyes. "It's just... it doesn't add up. Everything about him either makes no sense or is too convenient."
"How so?" Naofumi's expression softened somewhat.
Raphtalia took a deep breath before speaking out again. "When we first met, he had no qualms about killing me and kidnapping you against your consent.
"We barely escaped that situation thanks to nothing short of a divine intervention. And then, weeks later, he pops out of nowhere at the most critical point in our battle against the pope, all smiles and waves, ready to throw down and back me up against Victoria. He's right there after it's over to dig me from the rubble and earn even more of your favor.
"He has no reservations about fighting his countrymen, even though he was ready to fight you when we first met. Then, when his connections to the Council are brought up to deliver a message before the battle, he has a convenient excuse of being executed as a deserter to make sure he stays close to you.
"He then volunteers to go with you to meet with their council in person, despite the fact that it would guarantee that someone would recognize him and possibly put his friends and relatives in danger of retaliation as a result. Oh wait." She frowned and looked to the side.
"That's right. He's conveniently an orphan and his only friends were killed by Victoria. But this puts him in the perfect spot to pull you back when Jaralis taunted you into activating your wrath shield so you wouldn't be able to cause any grievous harm to the members of the council. And then he used the cursed burns he got from that to garner even more sympathy.
"Finally, to top it all off, one of the highest-ranking members of the Siltvelt council asked you to give him a sealed letter." She exhaled sharply.
"... … … … Huh." Naofumi rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression. "When you put it like that, he really does seem awfully suspicious, doesn't he?"
"I know, right!" She exclaimed, thankful that she actually managed to get through to her boyfriend.
"So what do you suggest we do then? Boot him from the party and our town on suspicions of being a Siltvelt spy?" The shield hero gave her a quizzical look.
"Well..." Raphtalia sounded unsure. Frankly, she hadn't expected that Naofumi would be convinced so quickly. Some of what she said could be factored as coincidence or a long shot. But that didn't sound like it'd be a bad idea. Would Naofumi be willing to go through with it though?
At seeing her actually thinking about it, Naofumi frowned. "Raphtalia, I'm surprised."
"Huh?" The half-tanuki looked at him again.
"Out of everyone, the last person I expected to hear this kind of talk from was you." Naofumi said with a twinge of disappointment. "Don't you remember how you accepted Melty and Eclair into our party without question, even though I wasn't completely all for it? I'm surprised you'd harbor such doubts about someone more than me. I'm even more surprised that you'd consider exiling someone based on a theory that's based on too many long shots for anyone to take seriously."
…
Raphtalia's head hung low and she looked to the side again. "But, neither Melty nor Eclair tried to hurt us. He did."
"... Yes, I haven't forgotten." Naofumi replied with a sigh. "But that doesn't make it right. That's like saying I could kick Melty out for being Bitch's sister."
He moved, and knelt in front of her when she didn't respond. "You remember the story I told you about my little brother, right?"
Raphtalia looked up, expecting a hard look on his face, but instead, there was a softness to his green eyes. "When he was going down the wrong path. When he was hurting me and our parents with his choices. Would it have been right for me to give up on him?"
"... no." Raphtalia sighed. "... does he, remind you of your brother?" She asked.
"Well, not exactly, but..." Naofumi looked thoughtful. "You weren't there to see it, but when we spoke eye to eye after the battle with the pope, I got the feeling that he was on the same path my little brother had been on. That he was lost, that he was hurting, and that he was looking everywhere except the places he needed to for helpful advice. I couldn't turn him away when I realized that... Maybe it is because I see a bit of my little brother in him, or maybe it's something else, regardless, I don't plan on turning him away anytime soon. Even if his antics annoy me at times."
Raphtalia said nothing to that. Naofumi stood up in front of her. "A lot of your suspicions about him are well-grounded and I can't refute them outright. Maybe you're right and we should cut our ties with him on the off chance that he really does have some sort of agenda." He took a deep breath. "Distrusting people and giving up on them is easy." He walked to the window to look outside.
"You know, Ren and Itsuki could have chosen to not get involved, and I could have chosen not to listen to either of them. But because they reached out to me, and because I listened, my time in this world ended up being far less crappy than it could have been. So I want to try and give that same chance to others." He admitted before facing his girlfriend again.
"Raphtalia, I appreciate that you're worried. I'm thankful for it, actually. You're voicing some of the same doubts I've run through my mind." He then smiled softly, making Raphtalia's heart skip for a moment at such a rare sight. "However, our situation has changed. We're no longer in constant danger, nor are we hated by everyone around us. Approaching every situation with a fight or flight attitude is just not going to work anymore."
They didn't have to run from place to place. They had a place to call home, and family and friends to back them up. As such, they should be building it up instead of chasing everyone away. Even if there was always the risk of someone having nefarious plans, they couldn't let that sole thought guide them.
"I… I get what you mean." She blushed before nodding in defeat, unable to stand up to the sheer purity of Naofumi's winning smile. "I'll try to give him a chance then, Naofumi."
This was downright unfair! It was like trying to win a staring contest with the sun! How was she supposed to stay calm and rational when Naofumi was looking at her like... like...
She briefly peeked up at him again and immediately looked back down.
GAH! He was still looking at her like that now! How shameless can one man possibly be! It should be illegal to look at your partner with such love and adoration!"
While Raphtalia struggled to not melt under his loving gaze, Naofumi gave her an approving nod. "I agree that we shouldn't grow complacent and that we should always keep the potential risks in mind, but I don't want to let that paranoia lead us down a path where we won't trust anyone until we're left all alone and defenseless." He looked down, his smile dropping. "I understand that better than anyone since it almost happened to me."
"... I think you're wrong there, Naofumi." He looked up at her to retort, but she was already hugging him. "I certainly wouldn't have left you alone."
He sighed, but rubbed his fingers through her soft, auburn hair. "Hey, I'm the one lecturing here. You're not supposed to turn it back on me."
"I'm supposed to point out when you're wrong, aren't I?" She asked with a playful smile and Naofumi felt her tail rub against his leg.
He groaned this time. She really did point out when he was wrong, almost on a daily basis. However, he could honestly say he deserved it most of the time. It seemed a quote from a friend in his world held more truth than he'd realized before.
75% of the time, the woman is right. The other 25%, the man is wrong. The sooner you accept that fact, the happier off you'll be.
Not that it'd work in every relationship, but it seemed this was the kind of relationship he'd been talking about. Though he wondered what that same friend would say if he realized he was living every furry's dream come true?
"You're thinking rude thoughts again, aren't you, Naofumi?" Raphtalia coldly asked.
"Hey now, who says I'm doing that?!" Naofumi backed away, his hands held up in a placating gesture.
Raphtalia crossed her arms. A very cold aura surrounded her figure. "Your face always gives it away." Even her voice was dry and cold! He thought he was the one who was supposed to be dry and cold!
Scary!
"You must be imagining it. And you better not be saying that to make me forget about what we just spoke about." He said seriously.
"No, I… I won't forget." Raphtalia said, less enthusiastically than before.
"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I should be getting back to this damn accessory. Otherwise, I'm going to be staying up all night working on it." Naofumi muttered.
"Alright." Naofumi inwardly sighed in relief as he moved back to his desk. "Oh, and Naofumi." He tensed up, his hand on his chair. He slowly turned around to face her.
She was smiling a warm smile again. "Thank you for listening. Please don't stay up too late." She said lovingly.
He nearly melted, just as she had under his smile earlier. "No promises there."
She got under her bed sheets. "Good night. I love you." She said, closing her eyes to drift off to sleep. "I'll see about talking to... to Dou-Lon about this. I'll try to see what it is you see in him."
"Thank you, Raphtalia. I love you too." He said back. He sat down and got to work. He'd fortunately had a back up mold ready in case he messed up on the first one.
It was only a few moments later when he was preparing to etch a design on the second gold bracelet that he heard her soft snores going through the room. He paused to look back at her.
Her ears flicked on her head in her sleep. Damn it. Did she always have to look so adorable?! He smiled fondly, rubbing the wood of his desk soothingly. "I love you too." He whispered under his breath, this time, with more meaning.
He was glad that despite technically being his slave, Raphtalia was willing to be her own person and to speak her mind around him... If only he could guarantee that others who took on a slave crest from him down the road would be their own person too…
He really hoped she did follow through and talked with Dou-Lon. As much as the Hakuko annoyed him, he did want to help him. If he could just put him on the right path, he could turn into a valuable ally for his party down the road.
He pushed those thoughts aside and began etching a new design on the bracelet. He couldn't wait to finish it so he could enchant it and see what effect it had next. If he was lucky, it'd have a really good effect and then-
"HUAHHHH!"
Urk!
Raphtalia's loud unexpected snore made his hand jerk once more. He stared in shock at the crack he'd put in the gold. Somehow, he'd pressed down with so much force at just the right point that the whole accessory cracked down the middle.
Screw the previous mistake. He couldn't even make an accessory out of this anymore! His back-up plan was ruined!
DAMN ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!
Author's Notes:
Let's face it. Dou-Lon is the best. He's up there alongside Aksel and Maya in terms of my favorite OC's to write. He's not perfect. He's definitely a fanboy of the Shield Hero (which I find hilarious). But he's definitely showing promise as a character.
Remember to pull up that poll. Also, feel free to offer suggestions for relationships you want to see.
Hero Clips!
Stop Worshipping Me
"I gathered these for you, Lord S-, I mean, Lord Naofumi!" Dou-Lon quickly corrected himself as he set his pack on the table.
"Hmmm…" The Shield Hero opened it, and his facial expression didn't change as he looked at the…
"Dou-Lon, what are these?"
"What are they?! How could you have forgotten?!" Dou-Lon began spinning on the spot, and all of a sudden, he was dressed in a lavish tuxedo and a ridiculous bow tie. "These are the exclusive, special edition, limited print, Shield Hero action figures!" As Dou-Lon announced it, the words appeared in bold above the two of them.
Naofumi pulled out a box. Inside was a figure of him. "... wha…" Naofumi had been in some weird omakes before. But this?!
"They come with full-range motion and a replaceable shield with over twenty different variants! Including the Light Metal Shield, Chimera Viper Shield, Shield of Hope II, and other popular favorites!" Dou-Lon continued in an announcer's voice as he showcased one of the stuffed toys in the box and the various shields. The face on the figurine… kind of looked like Naofumi's? And the shields were cartoonishly small. How was Dou-Lon handling them so well?
If anything, the scowls certainly matched right now. "Dou-Lon-"
"They're officially licensed by Siltvelt and personally approved and signed by Sir Shield Hero himself-"
"WHAT?! I DIDN'T SIGN ANYTHING-"
"- and of course, all the proceeds will go directly to Sir Shield Hero to fund his campaign to save the world!" Dou-Lon continued enthusiastically. "Special thanks are to be given to the respected and trusted member of the Siltvelt Council, Jaralis, who will personally be in charge of the production and distribution process!"
The Apothecarian who'd been sitting to the side started laughing. "Please, allow me to get popcorn so I can enjoy this fully."
Naofumi put his face in his hands. "If there's truly a God or Gods out there, I have to ask, why?"
"Ridiculous, Lord Naofumi! You are our God!" Dou-Lon exclaimed. "And if you order now, we'll throw in the Shield Hero's sword free of charge!" He pulled out a second box from the pack. The Raphtalia doll was almost as recognizable as Naofumi's. Pulling a string behind it made it say: "I love you, Naofumi-sama!"
"Dou-Lon, I'm going to kindly ask that you stop with this worship business before I-"
"And soon to be future Queen too! I personally can't wait for the wedding!"
"... that does it." Naofumi equipped the Shield of Rage II.
"Hurry and get it while supplies last!" Dou-Lon yelled as he ran out the door.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A rage-filled Naofumi barreled out after him.
And thus did the new nation prosper thanks to how well its Shield Hero figurines sold amongst the Siltvelt populace. And the Cardinal Heroes never had to worry about money ever again.
Till Next Time
Allen