Chapter 7: A Meek Addition

One Week Later

"Here's this week's product." Naofumi placed a glass bottle on the table, its contents being a green liquid.

"Ahh, welcome back. Were you able to get a higher quality this time?" The apothecary asked.

"Nope, still shitty, but hey, it's better than nothing."

"Indeed. Mediocre or not, you're one of the very few people who's bringing in a steady supply."

The shopkeeper reached a hand under the table and pulled out fifteen silvers. "Here you are. Good luck next time."

"Let's hope." Naofumi groaned.

Leaving the shop, Naofumi went through the streets of the castle town. After navigating the alleyways, Naofumi found himself at a stable where Sakura was. And the bird immediately tackled him to the ground as he approached.

"Damn it, Sakura, get off of me.!"

"Gaw Gaw," Sakura flapped her wings as she flipped Naofumi to her back. She had grown quickly over the week, both in size and level. She was fully grown now and level 17 to boot. Her kicks were devastating, along with her talons that slashed through most monsters that approached.

The only issue now is that she couldn't go anywhere. Inn? No large animals are allowed. Shopping district? Must be on a leash, something she hated with a passion. There were even some caves Naofumi wanted to explore but couldn't because she couldn't get through the narrow spaces.

If anything, she was more of a nuisance now than anything. But Naofumi ceased that thought as Sakura began to growl.

"Alright, chill out, mind reader. You ready?"

"Gua!" Sakura nodded.

"Then let's get a move on. To the slave traders: ten.

"GUA!" Sakura dashed off, speeding through the streets of the castle town while narrowly avoiding its civilians. Some did bump into a few, some on accident, many of which, however, were on purpose. Naofumi didn't condemn her behavior; however, he only continued directing her to the tent with a smirk on his face.

"Take a left and watch the trash cans. I'm not cleaning you if you get dirty.

"Gua." Sakura chirped. She made a sharp turn into the alleyway, and just as Naofumi warned, there were a few trash cans left out, which she hopped over with ease. Once she cleared the clan, she came to a quick stop, stopping in front of the slave trader's tent.

"I'll try to make this quick, so stay outside for this one," Naofumi ordered as he hopped off Sakura.

"Gaw?"

"I don't like this place either, so I'll be out in a minute, so keep calm," Naofumi reassured as he stepped inside.

"Welcome, sir hero, I-"

"Enough with the small talk, Beloukas; let's make this quick so I can leave."

"Quick to the point, I like it! The product is in the back and ready for purchase. We even have the egg lottery if you want to try again.

"I'm here for one thing only; if I want more, I'll come back."

Walking past Beloukas, Naofumi ignored the cages of other slaves and reached the cage that held him. Pulling off the cloth, Naofumi looked inside, cringing in disgust at its contents. A bruised Tanuki girl in tattered clothes.

"A child, this is the best you can get me."

"Sadly, yes, this is the best your budget can afford without getting too far into the mentally or physically damaged territories. Lord Raiber didn't want to get rid of his "premium quality" slaves for such a low cost, you see.

"How the hell can a person be premium?"

"It depends on the person's taste. For me, it's the high-level ones; they usually sell for the most. For the Lord, though, he loves the fresh and unbroken children so he can beat all their hopes of love and freedom away. Though it's quite the barbaric method, there are a lot more ways to break someone into obedience without damaging them. But if he wants to bring down their value, I suppose he can do whatever he wants with his products. Even if it's such a waste." The slave trader scoffed.

"...What the hell is wrong with you people?"

"Oh, you know. Hatred for Demis is pretty common. Of course, I don't discriminate myself since I play both sides... in Siltvelt, of course. The nobles love it."

"I'm going to have to keep an eye on you."

"Don't worry, I won't enslave you; besides, enslavement of a hero is impossible, sadly."

"What was that last part?" Naofumi glared at the trader.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Now where were we?"

The slave trader opened the cage and escorted the girl into the lobby. Grabbing a needle, he pricked Naofumi's finger with some difficulty and mixed the blood in with some ink, which he started to apply to the girl's chest.

"Can I use some of that ink?"

"If desired, you can buy it for 3 silvers."
"Overpricing shit as always, I'll put it in with the payment for the girl." Naofumi grabbed the ink off the counter and poured it into his shield, unlocking two new forms.

Slave Users Shield: Conditions Met:
Equip Bonus: Slave maturation adjustment (small)

Slave Users Shield II: Conditions Met

Equip Bonus: Slave status adjustment (Medium)

"Interesting; it's similar to the monster user's series.

Monster Users Shield II equip bonus: Monster maturation adjustment (Medium)

"Are you absolutely sure this is the best I can get? I don't think children are well suited for combat."

"If this isn't to your liking, I do have a beast man in the back who is currently level 75, only 60 gold pieces.

"Too expensive."

"Then perhaps I can call another shipment or another monster?"

"No second monster Sakura is hard enough as is." Naofumi sighed. "I'll take the second shipment, though."

"Then I shall start as soon as possible. Quick question, however: do you perhaps want one that's a beauty?"

"Don't imply anything!" Naofumi exclaimed. He wanted to punch the man, but he knew that it wouldn't do anything. "Just get me something that can fight."

"Will do. Oh, and one last thing."

"What now?"

"I am legally obligated to state that the child has had some issues with her last owners."

"Oh joy, what might those be?" Naofumi rolled his eyes as he read through the stats of his new shield.

"Nothing serious, just some night terrors about her home that were decimated by the first wave and a dog. I don't know much about the details."

"Shouldn't be too much of a problem then. Child, tell me your name unless you want to be called a girl from now on."

"Ra-Raphtalia." She whispered in a weak tone. Coughing a bit as she finishes.

"Sickness, that's also an issue."

"I'm sorry, this is truly the best I can do with my limitations."

"I'll just give her some medicine once we get back to the shop. Until then, try to keep any unwanted germs off of Sakura."

"S-Sakura?" Raphtalia asked as she followed Naofumi to the desk, but she got no response.

"Welp, time to go, and here's your payment." Naofumi tossed over a bag to Belokaus, which he caught.

"Good day, sir hero. I wish our future endeavors to be greater than the one today."

"I highly doubt it."

Naofumi left the tent, and Belokaus sat back in his chair, celebrating a job well done.

"Beloukas!" That was until he heard a loud shout from Naofumi and watched as the hero stormed into the tent in a rage.

"What in the hell did you do to Sakura?"

"Whatever do you mean? I haven't even gone near your filolial since her hatching."

"Then what the hell is this?" Naofumi shouted.

Coming through the gate, the once thin and slender Sakura suddenly became big and fat, growing massively in both height and width.

"My word, it's not even winter; could this be?" Belokause mumbled to himself as he marveled at the sight before him.

"Yeah, breathtaking, so what the hell did you sell me!? If you answer quickly, I'll only attempt to break 2 of your limbs."

"I can assure you, Sir Hero, this is not my doing at all. Although I can get some great marketing out of it."

"Not enough explaining!" Naofumi looked over at Sakura, the bird growling as she prepared to stomp on the tiny man.

"What I mean is that your filolial seems to have evolved into the filolial of legend. I have never seen one in the flesh itself, so it's an extremely rare occasion."

"Filolial of legend?"

"Yes, filolial royalty, or in your case, a filolial queen. Is a rare species of Filolial. Not much is known, but rumors say only one exists in the world now. Very rare, very profitable."

"You know what I said last time, so I suggest you back away, please." Naofumi threatened.

"Don't worry, sir hero; I remember your last warning. But if you leave her here while you do your errands, I believe I can examine her for."

"That's a no. And that's certainly enough for today."

"Then I wish you the best of luck, sir hero."

"Sure, Sakura, let's get out of here." Picking up Raphtalia, he leapt onto Sakura's now feathered coverback and ran off.

/~/

It was the middle of the day, and business was moving quite slowly for Elhart. He had just finished dealing with his last customer a few minutes ago and was now hanging around in his forge until the next group arrived with their daily ruckus. And a ruckus did indeed arise. Mere seconds after exhaling a bored sigh, Naofumi burst into the shop, frantically searching around.

"Yo, blacksmith, got a moment?"

"Names Elhart, but yeah, what do you need to go or something?"

"No. But I have a passenger who is pretty nauseous at the moment, among other things. Basically, I need your upstairs for a bit."

Elhart looked down at the child on the ground, her face green, and could hurl at any moment.

"Whoa, not on the floor, first door to the left, and hurry!" Ehart exclaimed, pointing towards the staircase.

"H-hai" The little girl bowed before she rushed upstairs.

"While you're up there, make sure you use the bath; I'll bring you some clothes when you're done!" Naofumi shouted.

"And try not to soak my towels when you do; I just finished drying them," Elhart shouted as well.

"So that's your new slave, huh? What happened to her?"

"Motion sickness. That and the mental trauma, scars, bruises, and whatever sickness she has. You get what I mean."

"Yeah, poor kid."

"I know. Seriously, these previous owners are living proof that some people don't have a soul. She's so passive to the point she won't say anything to improve her health. She almost fell off because she lied about not wanting a basic meal; I didn't even know lying was a punishment on this list."

Naofumi scrolled down the list of options and turned off several of them. He then lowered the punishment to the lowest setting so he didn't accidentally hurt the girl again.

"I think I'll keep that setting on, though. I don't want any Myne bullshit to happen again."

"You and your problems, kid." Elhart sighed.

"Fine." Naofumi presses another button on his screen, then closes it once more. "There, now if she lies to me twice, the crest will activate."

"Why twice?"

"I only had her for 7 minutes, and I already noticed she has a habit of denying everything. It happened at least twice on our way. Anyway, I'm going to need some new clothes and a weapon for Raphtalia."

"Sure, just choose from the clothing pile; I'll grab a weapon," Erhard said.

Naofumi went toward the discount pile of clothing and began looking through. A lot of it was just clothing for older women, but he soon found a small red and black dress made for children.

He goes upstairs to the bathroom and lays the clothes on the floor. After that, he goes downstairs to converse with Erhard a bit more. "So how much would this one cost?"

"At least 12 silvers; the clothes don't cost too much, but the dagger does."

"You have changed for gold?"

Naofumi asked. Reaching into his pouch, Naofumi grabbed a single gold piece and placed it on the table. "Throw in a map of surrounding areas too; I have some medicine that might sell well in other places."

"Sure, if you plan on leaving, the closest town next to here is Ryute. With Sakura, you'll make it in a day or two." Elhart took out a map and marked where Ryute village was. "Speaking of, where is Sakura?"

"Too big for the inside now. Long story short, Belokaus said she evolved into a queen, whatever that means."

"Like the one from the legends? You planning on starting a flock or somethin'?"

"Never. Sakura is hard enough to take care of already. But the thought of it seems pretty interesting." A picture of an army of filolials trampling Motoyasu and Myne played in his head, his face developing a sinister grin.

"Kid, stop thinking of something sinister and take your map."

"Wasn't it sinister, you mind reader? I just don't want to take care of 100 birds; it's definitely a difficult task.

"And yet you bought a child like they're easier to take care of."

"It was literally out of my control; I was expecting an adult or late teen, but no, he decided to find a child with night terrors. Where is she anyway?"

Raphtalia, after hearing his question, rushed down the steps in her new clothing. She almost stumbled on the final step, but she caught herself on the final railing.

"Sorry for being late, Master; it won't happen again!" Raphtalia exclaimed, shaking in fear.

"Calm yourself; you're not getting punished." Naofumi sighed.

This might be more annoying than Sakura. Naofumi thought as he opened the door.

"You think you can ride on Sakura again without getting sick?" Naofumi asked.

"Umm, I can."

"Are you 100 percent sure?"

"Umm."

"I'll take that as a no. We'll work on that when the time comes. Until then, you'll walk by her side, understood?"

"Yes, master." Raphtalia whimpered as she grabbed her new dagger off the desk.

"Leaving so soon, kid? I thought you had a lot of things to do."

"I have to. Sakura gets a little cranky when she is by herself for too long. I'll test Raphtalia's combat ability once we get to the field and do all the healing stuff later."

"Alright then, see you all later, and treat her well." Elhart smiled, waving goodbye to Naofumi and Raphtalia.

/~/

Leaving the shop, Naofumi walked over across the road, over to a fence where Sakura was tied too. The bird had been sleeping as usual until she heard the footsteps of her master. She then suddenly sprung awake, cheering with joy.

"You two haven't formally met, so here's the introduction: Raphtalia this is Sakura, and Sakura this is Raphtlia. I suggest you get along because you'll be working with each other until you die."

Being a little nervous, both because of Sakura and Naofumi's comment. Raphtalia meekly walked over to the bird, wishing to say hello. Though she didn't get the chance. Sakura broke free from her bindings and tackled the tanuki to the ground.

"See, she likes you; now stop being scared. Also careful, Sakura; you're suffocating her.

Sakura listening to Naofumi gets off of Raphtalia.

"gaw!" Sakura yelled as she quickly got off her new friend.

"Good, now that everyone is acquainted with each other, we're going to the forest. Any objections to this plan?"

Both Raphtalia and Sakura didn't speak a word. But the silence is interrupted by a growling coming from their stomachs. Followed by an embarrassed smile from the two.

"Fine, I'll make some food once we get into the forest; now let's go; we're wasting a lot of time," Naofumi said, looking very annoyed.

/~/

In the forest, Naofumi sent Sakura off to gather some monsters. By now, she was able to decimate anything she came across with no difficulty. So Naofumi had no issues with sending her off.

"Raphtalia, get over here," Naofumi yelled. Immediately after being called, Raphtalia stumbled over to Naofumi, struggling to carry a large stack of sticks in her arms.

"This isn't fun and games. So I need to know if you're useful, understood?"

"Yes, sir," Raphtalia replied.

"Good." Naofumi reached into his cloak and pulled out an orange balloon. When he did, however, Raphtalia fell back and did her best to put some distance between her and the balloon.

"Eek!"

"Oi, don't try to run. This is your new task!" Naofumi yelled as he picked her up by the collar.

"B-but."

"I'm trying to be reasonable here. All you have to do is assist me and Sakura with fighting monsters, and you'll have shelter and food, and your well-being will be safe. I can't help you if you don't want to cooperate. And if you don't want to go back to that man's tent, which I know you don't, all you have to do is stab the damn balloon!" Naofumi exclaimed.

"I don't. But."

"Just stab the thing and shut up. Before I make you do it myself."

"F-Fine." Raphtalia drew her knife and ran forward, thrusting her dagger into the balloon. The attack, however, just grazed the creature and hit Naofumi instead with an audible clank.

"Do it again, and this time with your eyes open." Naofumi frowned.

"R-right. Sorry."

Raphtalia got up once again and drove her dagger into the balloon this time, finally popping it. She did fall, however, when the attack was over.

"Well, your stance is pathetic, and your stabbing needs work, but I don't have time to properly train you. We'll move on to real combat after this meal, so get yourself ready beforehand."

"Yes, master." Raphtalia nodded.

"Now go grab some more sticks; we're going to need a stronger fire for what's coming."

"What's… coming?" Raphtalia asked.

Naofumi pointed towards the forest as a large pink figure got closer and closer with a book of fish and dead monsters in her feathers.

Raphtalia rubbed her eyes to see if what she was looking at was real, only to see the same sight once she opened them again.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Get to stepping!"

"Yes, sorry, sir." Raphtalia quickly ran off and began gathering sticks from nearby trees.

"Something is wrong with that kid."