A/N: Alright, I'm ready for round 2, after like... 2 months.

Chapter 1: Tent of Monsters

Night falls upon the Castle Town of Melromarc. Though most at this time would be in their homes, sleeping the fatigue of the day away, that wasn't the case for the newly summoned shield hero, Naofumi Iwatani. Sure, he was pretty tired after a full day of monster grinding; even his companion Myne decided to turn in for the night.

Unbeknownst to her, however, Naofumi couldn't sleep. He was still fascinated by the new world he was in. That curiosity convinced him to take a walk through the town, filling with wonder as he passed by many shops that specialized in fields like magic and potion-making.

"Wow, this place is so cool and interesting. It's not even morning, and I can feel the life this town breathes." Naofumi peeked into one of the open buildings. It was a tavern where many adventurers gathered around the very beautiful bard. Inside were the other three heroes. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki. They all celebrated their successful hunts in their ways and even donned new weapon forms, something he couldn't do as he was stuck with the basic shield.

"I do need to find a faster way to level up. If I keep going at this rate, I'll most likely be under-leveled before the wave hits, and being useless means death." Naofumi closed the tavern door and walked off as he sulked to himself. He continued on the path through the castle town until he approached an alleyway that flashed him with a bright light.

"What is that?" Naofumi shielded his eyes as his eyes adjusted to the light. He knew better than to go down a suspicious alleyway by himself. But with his borderline unbreakable defense, he can finally give in to his curiosity and go into it anyway. And when he reached the other side, there was a massive tent set up, with a pretty foul smell coming from it.

"A tent? Did a circus happen a couple of days earlier?." Naofumi asked as he scratched his head. Many questions ran through his mind until he heard a voice behind him.

"Well, well, well, it appears that I have some business." A rather short man in a dark purple suit and top hat walked past him and opened up one of the flaps to the tent.

"Oh, don't be shy. Come in." The man smiled.

Just his vibe alone set off several red flags in his mind. But as before, his curiosity somehow got the better of him, and he convinced himself to step inside.

/~/

"I'm so glad you came. You certainly won't find anything close to this level of quality, Sir Hero."

"You know who I am?"

"I apologize if you wanted to keep it a secret, but I saw your shield and thought it would be a great opportunity to show off my merchandise." The small man chuckled.

"What merchandise? Isn't this for a circus?." Naofumi asked, being rather puzzled by the situation. They continue walking towards the back before he gets the answer.

"Oh, that's more of a side hustle; the real supply is in the back."

"Supply of what?"

"Well, there are monsters and supplies. But this is the real cash crop." The man chuckled. Pulling away the curtain, Naofumi walked inside, seeing dozens of cages full of people, all of them animal-like in appearance.

"S-slaves!?" Naofumi said with a concerned tone. He then raised his shield at the rather short man, unsure about what he'd do.

"Indeed I am; the trade of demi-humans and beast-men is legal in this country, so I decided to take this business opportunity and sell them myself! And what a good idea that was."

"Demi-humans? Beast-men? What are they?"

"Intrigued, huh? As expected from the hero of the shield,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's not important at the moment. Regardless, demi-humans and beast-men are half-human, half-monster-like creatures. Demi-humans take more of a human appearance with some monster traits, whereas beastmen tend to look more like monsters than actual humans. Some even have the uncanny ability to transform between a human and a monster form.

(Side note: Raphtalia isn't here yet.)

"Interesting. But I'm not here to buy a slave." Naofumi slowly lowers his shield.

"A shame. Might I interest you in buying a monster then? By registering them to yourself, you'll be able to command them for all sorts of tasks."

"Monsters, huh?" Naofumi thought about the offer for a moment as he fully lowered his shield.

That could be the necessary power boost I need. Naofumi gave it some thought for a moment before agreeing. "Fine, I'll take one."

"Wonderful, wonderful! Now follow me." The man exclaimed. He took Naofumi even further into the tent—this area filled with monsters the slave trader owned. There were some normal animals that might be on a farm, like dogs or sheep. And then there were other monsters mythical in nature, the ones he hoped to see when he first entered this world.

"We have the usual types of monsters you'll see during adventuring, like Frogs and Usapil. Then we have the rare creatures, like griffins and the occasional dragon. Though apologies, I sold the last flying one a while back."

"Well, there goes that option, but it's cool to know that dragons exist."

"Indeed. Now over here is the exotic section, my favorite kind since these go for thousands of silvers."

"But there's only one thing here?" Naofumi complained as he looked at a wyvern-like bird with deer with horns.

"Sadly, this section is still a work in progress. But it will be worth it in the end."

"It would be if I had the coin. I'm pretty sure almost everything here is out of my price range." Naofumi grumbled.

While looking around at the various monster cages, he spotted a table with a bunch of eggs on top. "Oh? What's that one over there?"

"Ahh, interested, I see. It's just a new thing I'm trying; it's called a monster lottery. For only 100 silvers, you can get a monster egg, although which one you get is a mystery."

Of course, there are gacha elements. There's always a gacha element. Naofumi sighed. "What is the grand prize anyway?"?

"A flying dragon. Although you are guaranteed a Filolial if you play."

"And that is?" Naofumi asked.

At his request. The man points to a cage holding two sleeping Filolials. "These are Filolial. They are the birds you usually see outside pulling the carts. They also have pretty strong kicks if you plan on using them for combat."

"How much would a fully grown adult cost then, assuming they're that useful?"

"At least 300 silvers, but both options are still on the table if you like to go for the grand prize."

"So 300 for a filolial. Or 100 for a chance at a dragon and filolial… yep, classic gacha." Naofumi sighed as he pulled out his pouch. "I don't have much to lose if I play anyway. Monsters are monsters." Naofumi sighed, trying to stay optimistic. Paying the man his sum for a roll. Naofumi reached out, picked up his future companion.

Thanks for reading.

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