The next morning, Burchard continues to lie uncomfortably on the floor but was able to at least sleep somewhat soundly, though it gets interrupted by the sound of multiple metal boots marching down the hallway while someone shouts, "this way! He should still be in his room."

Shocked awake, he quickly shoots up and starts looking around the room in a panic while saying, "wait what where who?"

While still panicking, he gets taken out of it when he gets smacked in the face by a pillow while hearing Kizuna shouting at him, "hey! I'm trying to sleep."

Finally regaining his senses, he slowly turns his sore neck and sees Kizuna lying in bed and under the covers though he feels a chill when he meets her cold gaze as she asks, "why are you being so loud?"

A bit afraid of her, he was about to say something but before he could, they both hear the sounds of multiple footsteps outside while a confused sounding guy asks, "hey! What's going on?"

Confused to hear this, Burchard continues to look at the door while asking, "What's going on out there?"

Though she too was listening intently, Kizuna didn't seem to care since she rolls over and snuggles up in bed while snapping, "don't care, right now I want to get as much sleep as I can before the morning wake up call."

Though he was still confused by everything that had just happened, he decides that she made a good point so he simply lies back down and closes his eyes, though before he could fall back asleep, someone comes walking down the hall while ringing a bell and shouting, "alright everyone! Wake up call!"

He lies there silently, though a feeling of dread slowly creeps into his heart when he hears Kizuna slowly raising from her bed while muttering, "you got to be kidding me."

Realizing that he couldn't pretend to sleep at this point, he opens his eyes then slowly sits up while stretching soundly then looks over at her with an innocent smile while saying, "morning."

All she could do was glare back at him while scratching her messy hair until finally sighing in annoyance then says, "you're lucky this place has a complimentary breakfast, or I'd make you treat me for waking me up."

Relived to hear this, he slowly gets to his feet while saying, "well I'm glad that's the case."

With something coming to mind, he says, "not gonna lie, I'm surprised you were able to sleep so soundly in a room with a guy you hardly know."

While doing up her pigtails, she simply shrugs then responds, "I wasn't worried that you'd try anything."

A bit surprised to hear this, he asks, "really? Didn't realize you trusted me that much?"

For some reason, she shakes her head in response and while stepping onto the floor, she replies, "it's not that I trust you."

Even more surprised than before, he was going to ask her what she meant but before he could, he gets an answer when she reaches under the covers and quickly pulls out a large sword which she points at his face. He was shocked and frozen in place due to the new threat but before he could properly react, she slyly grins at him while continuing, "it's because if you did try something, I wouldn't think twice about cutting you into multiple pieces."

All he could really do at this point was slowly raise his hands in surrender while asking, "uh…. Where did that come from?"

A bit surprised that he'd ask that at a time like this, she pulls it away then while effortlessly holding it up in one hand, she replies, "well this is the legendary hunting tool so it's always with me."

For some reason, her response doesn't seem to help his confusion since he asks, "but I thought your tool was a fishing rod?"

She looked back at him confused for a moment, then when something dons on her she says, "oh yeah."

With the point of the sword still in his face, he didn't have any other choice but to stare directly at it but as it starts to be consumed by a bright white light, he is forced to squint his eyes in discomfort while thinking, "why does it always have to be a blinding light?"

The light fades and Burchard is finally able to properly open his eyes but when he sees a fishing rod now poking him in the nose, he could only stare blankly at it while saying, "huh? What just happened?"

In response she nonchalantly raises the fishing rod, which seems to cause it to fold into itself then while putting it into her haori coat, she responds, "the legendary hunting tool can configure into a few different forms depending on what I need. It just usually takes the form of a fishing rod."

A bit surprised to hear this, all he could really say was, "that sounds pretty convenient actually."

After thinking for a moment, she responds, "yeah, it is."

Before he could say anything else though, she marches past him while stating, "now lets go eat! I'm starving!"

Surprised to hear this, he starts following behind her while thinking, "geez, how is she still hungry?"

After breakfast, Burchard and Kizuna step out of the inn and look around a bit. Unsure of where exactly they should be going, she looks over at him while asking, "any ideas on where we should…."

She pauses her question when she notices him not looking back at her and instead seems to be looking off in the distance with a look of confusion dotting his expression. Confused, she asks, "what's up?"

While still looking off in the distance, he gestures to the towns folk in front of them while saying, "why is everyone just standing around? And their talking in hushed whispers as well?"

Surprised to hear this, she starts looking around, only to see practically everyone in the moderately busy area standing around silently though she notices something else while saying, "is it just me? Or are they all focused on something?"

Realizing that she was right, he responds, "yeah, it almost feels like some sort of parade?"

With curiosity getting the better of her, Kizuna starts walking towards the wall of people while saying, "well we won't find out by just standing here, come on!"

A bit thrown off by her sudden movement, he quickly follows her while responding, "hey! Wait up!"

They are able to weave through the crowd until they both found themselves at the front. As they start looking around, Burchard notices everyone's attention on a lone figure which walks down the street towards them. He nudges Kizuna while saying, "over there, they all seem to be looking at that guy."

She follows suit and when she sees the lone individual, she only becomes more confused while asking, "geez, it's like their all here to glare at him…. But what did he do?"

Just as confused as she was, he replies, "no idea."

As they both fall silent, they were finally able to make out the townsfolk's whispers, though it doesn't seem to help their confusion when they hear, "I knew the shield hero was a horrible person. They never should have summoned that vile creature in the first place."

While another one adds, "right? And to think some people wanted to treat him kindly? I do hope they learn from their horrible mistake."

Burchard was shocked to hear this and thinks to himself, "the shield hero? I know the king seemed to already hate him…. But I didn't realize it was so far reaching?"

As he ponders this, he feels Kizuna nudging him, and when he looks over, she looks back at him while asking, "who's the shield hero?"

After thinking for a moment, he replies, "all I know is that he's one of the four cardinal heroes of this world."

Surprised to hear this, she looks back at the shield hero while asking, "really? But why is he so hated?"

All Burchard could really do at this point was simply shrug then replies, "no idea."

As they continue to watch, the shield hero finally passes him, though who he sees surprises him enough to say, "wait a minute…. I've seen him before."

Surprised to hear this, Kizuna looks back at him while asking, "really? Where?"

He had to think hard for a moment, but when he finally places him, he goes wide eyed while saying, "he…. He's the reason I got teleported here?"

Shocked to hear this, she asks, "really? But how?"

He replies, "he got summoned in a library and I just happened to be standing next to him when he did."

With the shield hero having disappeared from view down the road, the town's folk disperse and get back to whatever they had been doing, though Burchard and Kizuna continue to stand, now in the middle of the road, and with a thought coming to mind, she says, "so I was right, you really are just some random guy."

At this point, his head simply drops in defeat while muttering, "don't remind me."

Not really noticing this, she starts looking around while asking, "anyways, what do we do now? Can't just stand here all day?"

His head slowly raises, and after thinking for a moment, he replies, "hmm, why don't we….."

Before he could finish his response, they both get distracted by a commotion coming from down the street and when they both look, Burchard asks, "what's going on over there?"

Ironically enough, he didn't have to wait for long to get an answer when they see a large cloud of dust off in the distance which seems to be moving in their direction. Confused as to what was barreling down the road, Kizuna squints in an attempt to see better while saying, "looks like a carriage is out of control…. But I don't know what that weird blue bird pulling it is?"

Surprised to hear this, he tries his best to look down the road while thinking, "blue bird…. Could it be the one from yesterday?"

As the carriage continues down the road, it finally comes into full view at great speed and when he sees the familiar blue bird, he wanted to say something but before he could, he realizes something while shouting, "its coming straight at us!!!"

Starting to panic, he quickly dashes off to the side of the road, but when he looks back, he's horrified to see Kizuna still standing in the middle of the road which causes him to shout at her, "what are you doing? Get out of the way!!!"

Undeterred by Burchard's plea, she stands there confidently with her hands planted firmly in her hips while declaring, "ha! I understand a weakling like you cowering in fear. However I am confidant in my abilities to remain unharmed!"

Shocked to hear this, he looks back down the road at the cart which is barreling down the road and is horrified to see it on a collision course with a still proud standing Kizuna which causes him to shout, "you idiot! Your gonna get run over!!!

Again, all she did was stand there proudly. Without thinking and with his body more or less moving on its own, he sprints right at her while shouting, "get out of the way!!!"

Caught off guard by how close he sounded, Kizuna couldn't help but look over at him but when she sees Burchard running at her at full speed, all she could really do was say, "huh?"

WHAM!!!

The force of him simply running into her at full speed sends both of them tumbling across the ground which was just in the nick of time seeing as the filolial drawn carriage came barreling past right where she was standing. For some reason though, when the blue filolial sees Burchard, it comes to a stop and while it turns on a dime, the carriage it was pulling drifts hard until it finally tipped over and rolls over with enough force to break the filolial away from the carriage. While groaning in discomfort, Burchard slowly opens his eyes while muttering, "that hurt."

Remembering why he was in pain, he continues to look up at the sky while asking, "Kizuna?... you okay?"

After a pause, he hears a muffled groan, though where he hears it originating from only confuses him but when he looks up, he goes wide eyed when he sees Kizuna lying face down on his chest. He lies there frozen in place while panically thinking, "this isn't good! She is definitely going to get the wrong idea if she sees us like this! but how do I get out of this situation!!!"

While desperately looking for an answer, he was horrified to see her head slowly raise up and with half closed eyes, she mutters, "what happened?"

At this point, he just lied there horrified as their eyes meet and after a brief pause, she goes wide eyed and mutters, "uh Burchard? Am I lying on top of you?"

All he could do in response was simply nod and getting the answer she was dreading, she goes bright red while muttering, "uh-uh I uh….."

Suddenly she jumps off of him and while backing away she blurts out, "why was I on top of you?!?"

As he sits up, he couldn't help but scratch the back of his head while responding nervously, "I assume it happened after I tackled you."

Shocked to hear this, she glares at him while screaming, "SO IT WAS YOUR FAULT!!!"

Thrown off by the technically correct statement but still annoyed he snaps back, "yeah but the only reason I tackled you was because you were gonna be run over!"

Annoyed by what he had to say, she looks away with a big humph and crosses her arms while snapping, "I was in no danger at all! So you didn't need to do that!!!"

With how stubborn she was being, all he could really do was sigh while thinking, "there's no use arguing is there?"

While looking at the back of her head, he was going to say something but before he could, he was surprised to hear her say in a slightly embarrassed tone, "but since it happened while you were trying to protect me…. I can't be too mad."

She slowly looks back at him which reveals the slight flush in her cheeks but still refuses to make eye contact while she continues, "and since you technically unnecessarily risked your life to save me, the least I can do is say thank you."

He was so shocked to hear this that he honestly didn't know what to say but before he could figure it out, he gets a bit thrown off when he sees a blue filolial wearing a harness walk up to him while squawking happily, "Krah!"

Surprised to see it, he starts to smile while reaching out and petting it while saying, "I remember you."

Equally as surprised as he was, Kizuna walks over to him while asking, "you know this thing?"

While still scratching its head, he replies, "yeah, I met it yesterday."

After thinking for a moment, he continues, "I met it right before meeting you actually."

While continuing to scratch it, a horrifying realization comes over him as he mutters, "but if your hear, then that means…."

He looks over at the freshly rolled over cart, only to be horrified to see the same man from yesterday being helped out of the cart by a few of his guards. Seeing the fear in his eyes, Kizuna looks over at the man while asking, "who's that guy?"

Before he could reply, the man seems to see them and with a fiery rage in his eyes, he screams, "YOU STUPID FILOLIAL!!!"

Seeming to ignore Burchard and Kizuna, he focuses solely on the filolial while storming towards them and shouting, "do you know how much of my merchandise you destroyed! That was all meant to be sold to the crown, but it is all ruined now!"

Finally noticing Burchard's presence, he stops in front of him while shouting in his face, "and you! I'm sure you had something to do with this! But unlike last time you don't have enough gold to fix this!"

Shocked to hear this, he wanted to shout back but before he could say anything, Kizuna steps in while shouting, "hey! You're the one that almost ran us over! Don't blame him for your own damn problems!!!"

Shocked but most of all insulted, the man shouts back at her, "what did you say! How dare you talk to me in such a way! Especially a kid!!!"

The whole area goes quiet, and while the man continues to glare at Kizuna who glares back at him coldly, the only one that seems to show any amount of fear was Burchard who looks at the man wide eyed while muttering, "dear god…. What have you done?"

A bit confused to hear this, the man looks back at him with confusion while asking, "what are you….."

"What did you just call me?"

Hearing the malice in her voices causes a chill to run down the man's spine and as he looks over at Kizuna, he sees what caused the chill and as she continued to glare at him, she mutters, "I said, what did you call me?"

Though he was scared, the man stands his ground while shouting back, "I called you a kid! Now step aside so the adults can talk!"

Again, she stood there silently, though with her eye twitching uncontrollably, a maniacal grin crosses her face while reaching into her haori coat and mutters, "just wanted to make sure."

In one swift motion, she draws the fishing rod from her coat and holds it up high while screaming with rage, "NOW IM GOING TO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!!!"

In a panic, the man takes a step back but before Kizuna could charge him, she gets stopped by Burchard who holds onto the back of her collar with all his might while shouting, "don't hurt him!!! It's only going to cause us more trouble!!!"

Seeming to not care what he had to say, Kizuna desperately attempts to pull away from him while screaming, "LET ME AT HIM!!! LET ME AT HIM!!!"

As they continue to fight against each other, they both get caught off guard by the sound of a hearty, maniacal laughter. She stops trying to break away and they both look forward, only to see the man laughing hysterically. Becoming confused, Burchard lets go of her collar while asking, "what's so funny?"

Hearing the question makes him stop laughing but continues to smile maniacally while replying, "oh I just find it so funny that while you two were fighting with each other, you failed to realize the great peril you find yourselves in."

With what he said not exactly helping their confusion, but realizing that it was some sort of threat, Kizuna simply scoffs at him then responds, "ha! That's funny coming from someone who probably gets others to do their dirty work!"

To Burchard's and Kizuna's confusion, the man continues to grin while responding, "funny you would say that, since I didn't feel like getting my hands dirty."

Again, Kizuna was confused but before she could say anything, she feels Burchard tapping on her shoulder while saying in a worried tone, "kizuna! Where surrounded!"

Shocked to hear this, she starts looking around, only to see the mans guards standing all around them with their weapons at the ready. With the mans grin only growing, he tells them, "you see, while I had you two distracted, my guards got into position and now you have no way of escape!"

Terrified of this new turn of events, Burchard slowly puts his hand on the hilt of his sword while asking, "let me guess? Your gonna have us killed then take our money?"

Shocked to hear this, Kizuna looks back at him wide eyed while snapping, "what are you doing? Don't give him ideas!"

While continuing to stand his ground, Burchard couldn't help but sigh disheartedly then responds, "trust me, he already tried that yesterday."

Hearing this causes the man to grin maniacally while saying, "ah, I'm glad you remember what happened yesterday…. But now that you have no way of escaping, there's nothing else you can do."

As the guards cautiously approach, Kizuna realizes something while shouting, "hang on!"

She motions to the filolial standing behind them while continuing, "if you attack us then you could accidentally kill your property!"

For some strange reason, the mans grin remains unchanged while responding, "ha! Do you think I give a damn about that damn filolial! Ha! I was planning on having it killed the moment it caused this crash!"

With the guard's closing in, a nervous Burchard glances over at Kizuna while saying, "alright miss legendary hero! You've been so keen on using that hunting tool on me and now I can't wait to see you use that thing on all these guards!"

When he sees her face though, he is shocked to see the fear in her eyes which causes him to ask, "uh…. Kizuna?"

Hearing her name seems to shock her back to reality and as she slowly looks back at him, she couldn't help but smile guiltily back at him while saying, "well the funny thing is…. My hunting tool doesn't actually work on humans."

He goes quiet, though when she sees his eye twitching uncontrollably, all she was able to do was simply brace herself while he blurts out, "are you serious!"

Seeming to forget about the dire threat that he found himself in, he faces her completely while continuing, "you've been threatening me with that stupid think ever since we met! And your telling me you can't even use it on me!"

With a guilty smile, she responds, "hehe, uh…. I mean I've been meaning to tell you…."

With her response seeming to not help his anger, he snaps at her, "no you weren't!!! you were planning on never telling me weren't you!"

All she could do was simply nod guiltily which causes him to grab his head and while looking into the air he screams, "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!!"

With the strange sight before them, all the guards stop and look at them with confusion while the man glares at him with annoyance at the fact that he was being ignored which causes him to snap at them, "hey! Stop ignoring me and the dire fate you find yourself in!"

In an instant, a furious Burchard's head snaps towards him which causes a chill to run down his spine while Burchard screams, "OH SHUT UP ALREADY! IM GETTING SICK AND TIRED OF LISTENING TO YOUR HIGH AND MIGHTY TALK!!!

With his attention now solely on the man, Kizuna could only sigh in relief as Burchard continues, "ever since getting here, I've basically been threatened by almost every person I've met and I am so sick of it!"

He points his thumb back at Kizuna while shouting, "I'm already stuck with her and dealing with her is bad enough on its own without you guys here!"

Seeming to realize something, Burchard shouts at him, "and speaking of you! You've been the worst one of all! You've been trying to kill me ever since the moment we met and neither me nor the author even know your name!!!"

He motions to the confused guards around them while continuing, "now why don't you do the first favour you've probably ever done and take your stupid guards and ego somewhere else!!!"

The whole area fall's silent, save for Burchard who breathes heavily but as he starts to calm down, Kizuna pokes him to get his attention and when he looks back, he was surprised to see her looking back at him with a nervous smile while asking, "so…. You feeling better?"

After thinking for a moment, he becomes a bit surprised while replying, "actually, now that you say it, yeah! I do."

Hearing this causes her to sigh in relief, then says, "good to here."

She then motions to their surrounding's and continues, "I'm glad you'll be feeling better just before were killed!"

A bit surprised to hear this, he finally remembers the situation they were in and as he looks around, he says, "oh yeah! forgot about the guards."

While looking at the guards which were once again approaching them, he draws his sword and with it and his shield at the ready, he takes a step in front of Kizuna while saying, "stay behind me."

Surprised to see this, she looks at him confused while saying, "hang on! Weren't you just complaining about me?"

He stands there silently for a moment, as if he was thinking of something then replies, "I know."

He looks back at her with a small smile while continuing, "but since were stuck in a party together, that means ill protect you no matter what."

Shocked to hear this, all she could do was look at the back of his head wide eyed and with her cheeks turning flush, she mutters, "wa-wait…. Burchard, I uh…."

Before she could finish her sentence, he cuts her off by saying, "ill make a hole in the guards, you use that to escape."

Yet again, she was shocked to hear this, but she was able to snap out of it and shouts, "hang on! I'm not…."

Before she could even finish her response, she was surprised to see Burchard suddenly go flying up into the air. Confused to see this, she follows the trail of blue feathers where Burchard seemed to fly, only to see the blue filolial plopping Burchard on its back using its beak. Confused to see this all she could really do was ask, "huh?"

As if to answer the question, the filolial extends it's head out and grabs Kizuna by her collar and effortlessly picked her up. Now sitting upright, Burchard was confused to see Kizuna being held up effortlessly in the filolial's beak but before he could say anything, the filolial suddenly dashes forward directly at the wall of guards but before they could even react, it effortlessly leaps over them and then takes off down the road leaving only a trail of dust in its track. Caught off guard by everything that had just happened, the man was able to break out of the shock then screams, "THAT'S RIGHT!!! RUN YOU COWARDS BUT MARK MY WORDS!!!! YOU WILL FOREVER RUE THE DAY THAT YOU CROSSED THE SON OF LORD IDOL RABIER!!!"