It's been a day since the wave and Naofumi has been forced to stay within the city until the banquet being for the victory over the wave was over. He was able to level up in the balloon fields near the city, but couldn't risk going any further.

'Why can't I just get my money and leave? They don't even want me at the stupid party. If I were the one who was injured, they would have gladly given the other heroes their payments!'

His reward was currently being withheld from him as the king said, "It is unfair for the hero who did the least amount of work, if any at all, should get their reward before the true heroes of the wave." Regrettably, he couldn't go very far from the capital or else he would most likely be forfeiting his reward.

"Mr. Naofumi, are we heading to the weapon shop?" He looked to his right seeing Raphtalia smiling next to him.

"…Yeah. We can't leave our gear there. I plan on leaving as soon as that stupid banquet is over."

As soon as he was denied his reward, he went to the old man's shop to repair their equipment. Well, maybe repair was exaggerating it, but the old man agreed to clean up the singes and burned materials gained from the monster, Ainz Oool whatever, that attacked them after the wave. Remembering the 'battle' did bring a smile to Naofumi's face.

'I wish I could have seen their faces when Motoyasu was thrown into Ren.' He noticed Raphtalia make a pouting face.

"You're thinking about how the other heroes lost to the skeleton guy again, aren't you?" They were approaching the blacksmith's place as Naofumi responded.

"Yeah, so what! They got what was coming to them, being overconfident like that. About time they got smacked in the face!"

"Mr. Nao…!" Just as Raphtalia was about to scold him, the weapon shop's door suddenly opened, almost hitting her.

"Oh, excuse me." A dark knight loomed over both of them. Two greatswords flanked his back, both having strange symbols along the blades. A red cape covered his right shoulder bearing a large insignia neither Raphtalia nor Naofumi recognized.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The knight stared at Naofumi intensely for a moment before responding.

"I apologize for almost hitting your… slave." He gave a slight bow before leaving down the main road. Naofumi watched him leave.

Naofumi had met plenty of knights during his short time in this world, but none were like the man he just met. He apologized for almost hitting Raphtalia and even treated him with respect, well, more than the other knights ever did. But on the other hand, the way he stared at him… It was like how the slave trader looked at him, only seeing Naofumi as a thing to exploit, but different, colder.

"Umm, Mr. Naofumi, do you know that guy?" Naofumi shook his head and turned to Raphtalia whose tail was puffed out as she held his arm. She seemed to be trying to hide behind him.

"Never seen him before, but Raphtalia. What are you doing?" Raphtalia quickly jumped back with a burning red face.

"I'm sorry ! I don't know what came over me!" She looked toward the direction the knight went and shivered.

"Something about that guy made my body want to run away or hide." Naofumi looked at her again trying to figure out why she hid behind him.

'Ah, I understand, that guy would be pretty scary to a child. Hell, any normal adult would feel intimated by that guy.' He rubbed the top of Raphtalia's head.

"He's gone now so you don't need to be scared." She wanted to retort his statement but decided to ignore it and simply enjoy the moment.

After that, he entered the weapon shop with Raphtalia close behind him, who was starting to calm down.

As soon as he walked in, he was greeted by the owner.

"Hey, kid! I thought that was you I heard yelling." The owner was a decent guy in Naofumi's eyes, he was one of the few people who didn't believe the allegations against him and helped him get his bearings.

"So, I'm assuming you're here for your gear, right?"

Naofumi approached the counter. "Are you done with it?"

"Yeah, I finished it up a few hours ago. You should take better care of it you know? It's brand-new and you already damaged it."

"It's not my fault! Here." Naofumi threw down some coins on the counter. "This should cover the cost." The shop owner handed the equipment over before collecting the coins.

"Thank you very much. We really appreciate your quick work." Raphtalia thanked the owner.

"Ah, no problem lass. You two are my regulars, I would hate it if you stopped giving me business." The owner gave a huge grin.

"Of course, we would shop here. Everyone else in this country would just try and scam me." The shop guy sighed hearing his response.

"Speaking of which. You should probably head over to the magic shop when you get the chance. She mentioned how she wanted to reward you for what you did in Riyute. Apparently, she's got family over there."

"Thanks for letting us know. We should be able to stop by before we leave tonight. Right, Mr. Naofumi?" Naofumi, who was already on his way out, looked back.

"Sure, let's just get this stupid party over with first."

The owner started to wave goodbye, but his gaze suddenly got much more serious as they neared the exit. "Hey! I know it's none of my business, but when I heard you yelling earlier, you weren't yelling at that guy in the black armor, were you?"

Naofumi turned around annoyed from being stalled even more, but calmed down as soon as he saw how serious the owner was.

"Yeah, I was. Why? Is he a big shot around here?"

"No. I have no idea who the guy is. But he's been visiting all the shops asking about the legendary heroes, including you, kid." Naofumi furrowed his brow.

"What? Did you sell me out?!"

"Of course not kid, calm down. Just stay away from that guy, alright? He kept asking about the accusations against you, and from his tone he clearly didn't like what he heard from some of the other shops."

'Oh great! Another person that wants me dead because of Bitches' lies! Just add him to the fucking list!' Naofumi glared at him.

"Does it matter?! Everyone already believes I did it. What's one more going to matter."

Naofumi started walking out of the exit. "Come on, Raphtalia!"

"But…"

"Kid, wait!" By the time he called out, he was already gone. "Sorry!" Raphtalia quickly ran after him. " !"

The shop owner was left alone once again. He grabbed the back of his head and grumbled "I should've known he would react that way…"

He turned around and went into the back room. Unlike the front of the store, the back was a complete mess of different materials and equipment strewn throughout the room. That was except for a table in the corner that only had a small ornate chest resting on its surface.

"I hope that kid listens to me. The guy wasn't malicious but… something about him is just wrong." The shop owner stopped in front of the ornate chest and pulled out an similar style key. As soon as he unlocked the chest, a chilling cold escaped from within.

"It's not like I followed my own advice. Why the hell did I accept his request?" The owner opened the chest where a single blue ingot and dagger were resting inside.

Author Note:

This chapter is a little shorter than my last two, but don't worry the next one will make up for it. Thanks again for all of the support/comments/follows/favourites, now to the QA.

Q: Nazarick?

A: Nazarick/NPCs/New Worlders will never travel to the Sheild Hero world.

Q: Has Ainz gotten stronger over his 50+ years in the new world?

A: Stat-wise, No. Finding new and creative ways to use his magic/abilities, Yes.