Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Heroes

Fog covered the shoreline, overhead seagulls squawked as they flew against the wind, the sight making them look almost suspended in midair. Beneath them on the cliffside leading out to the sea sat a lone figure on wet stone. He was young, as young as the age of 22 could be considered at least, but the forlorn expression on his face was that of someone older, someone who missed home and yearned for just one more day there. He was tired, he didn’t sit down to wait for a nice view, he sat because the past few days had been the strangest, exciting, but above all else worst days of his life.

Wrapped around him was a evergreen cloak, the same color as his eyes. His triangular face stretched as his hand ran down it, passing over the stubble around his mouth and cheeks. The dark hazel hair matching his hair that was messily combed back to try and at least be presentable, his pale skin almost looked ghostly with the surrounding fog, and wasn’t too far off with how he felt.

The sound of the crashing waves at the shoreline below roared over him, as the sound faded away however he heard the impact of plastic. Looking over his shoulder, he saw a small ball bouncing down the rocks towards him. Taking a deep breath, he let it out through his nose, he couldn’t let her see him like this, he needed to be strong. Standing up, he walked over in the direction of the ball and caught it as it’s small owner climbed down the rocks after it.

As the seagulls screeched once more overhead, he closed his eyes.

‘It’s hard to believe this started out as just a regular day…..and it went so out of control so fast.’

The forest green eyes opened to the sunlight shining on them through his window, the abrupt and unwelcome light being met with a groan as he turned over in bed to try and block out the sun. However after minutes laying in bed he sat up and yawned. Looking down at his feet, the young man smiled at the occupant at the end of his bed, “Ok Copper, if I get up, you have to.” he said, reaching out and rubbing the head of the black lab curled up at the end of his bed between his feet. The cat dog yawned and turned over, showing it’s belly to it’s owner as he slid out of bed and stood up, Matthew Daniels had been in quarantine for what felt like years when it had only been little over six months.

Getting up from bed, Matt walked across his room to his closet and got out his clothes for the day, while most of his days were spent indoors partaking in online classes for his college, today he had been sure to get all his assignments done and turned in as well as not having any virtual classes to attend. During the start of the global pandemic, he had been let go from his job at a video store since it was a place people frequented, though if he was being honest he was surprised people still rented movies instead of streaming them.

However Matt had been smart and saved up his money, living at home cut down on expenses compared to living at a campus. And it let Matt stay close to his family, though six months in and being forced to stay indoors was really testing how much he could handle.

Thankfully, people were adjusting. Looking over to his desk where his computer and monitor were set up, he saw he had accidentally left the chatroom open last night from his D&D session with his classmates from campus. Getting dressed in a pair of jeans, a grey sweater, and a button up hoodie that was green plaid, he walked over to his computer and closed down the window of the chat and revealed the long lines of coding he had been working on for his new job, making a video game with friends.

Hopefully it could get him some money when they finished it, but it still required some work before it was anywhere close to being sold. Matt smiled to himself, it was slow going but if it meant making something he was proud of he didn’t mind in the slightest.  One problem at a time. he thought to himself before turning off the screen. After making his bed, and giving Copper a kiss between the ears goodbye, he grabbed his mask on the doorknob to his room and walked out.

Walking through the house, Matt passed by his brother’s door who was still asleep before entering the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up for the day. Their dad having already left for work earlier this morning. Passing through the living room, he approached and exited the front door of the one story house. Walking across his driveway that divided the house from the garage, he walked to the dark blue Jeep parked outside.

Pulling the scarf mask over his head be entered his car and buckled in before turning the ignition.

Tugging his mask up over his nose, Matthew entered the comic book shop he frequented weekly. It was technically a bookstore since it did in fact sell novels but comics took up most of the wall space. Not to mention there was a simple ‘Comics’ sign above the storefront of the plaza. To be honest he was surprised that in the middle of nowhere Michigan there was a comic book store so close to where he lived. Not that he was going to complain, walking past the front counter he walked along the wall towards the back where the books where.

And by books, he really meant strategy guides and player manuals.

Let’s see, Warhammer, Call of Cthulhu, Risk, wait you need a manual to play Risk? Matt thought as he walked to the back of the isle, scanning for the player manual he was looking for. Ah here we go! Cyberpunk 2020…..man with how the actual year is going, I think the post-apocalyptic one where we’re all part robots looks pretty nice compared to what we have going on. he thought to himself as he reached for the manual, pulling it out the book next to it fell over to the side.

However the college student was too absorbed in the book he’d chosen to notice, Oh hey it’s on sale too! Lucky me. Hmm, let’s think here, I set aside forty for spending money, this is cut to twenty, so what else can I snag? he pondered as he looked up from his book and saw the one that had fallen aside. Unlike the other books that were overly large, this one was an average sized hardcover. Picking it up he inspected the cover and quirked a brow. Wait the hell? he asked himself upon seeing there wasn’t really a cover to the book, just the title.

The Four Cardinal Weapons? he read to himself in confusion. Flipping open to the first page he was surprised to find a swash of color on the inside with a small text box in the upper corner. Huh. Graphic Novel? Don’t think I’ve ever heard of this one. he mused to himself as he began to read the contents. ‘In order to save the world from the waves of apocalyptic catastrophe, four heroes will be summoned from another world.’ Wait world as in dimensions, or actual planets? Oh wait is this like that one Fate anime where they’re like heroes from different time periods? he wondered as he turned the page.

The next page showed the four weapons, the designs of which were basic, a polearm spear, a knightly sword, an odd looking bow, and a small shield. ‘Each hero wields a distinctive weapon, a sword, a spear, a bow, or a shield.’ Huh, you know normally I wouldn’t consider a shield to be a weapon but I’m pretty sure that’d get a bunch of Captain America fans angry. he thought mirthfully to himself. Plus Paul has that one D&D character who uses just a shield, he pretty much carried our group. And made me respect my wizard to a cleric…….god I’m a nerd.

He continued reading, Ok art is pretty good, story is basic start, lets see now. Blah, blah, blah-princess? he asked himself open seeing a panel with a female outline in front of a window. Oh god no love triganles. Or wait, would it a hexagon if there’s five of them? Ehhhhhh if this is a team book this might be a pass depending on how well it goes. he cautiously thought as he flipped to the next pages that outlined the Spear, the Bow, and Sword hero respectively. Wonder who the leader is? My first guess would be sword since that’s usually what the case is. he assumed before turning the page and seeing it was blank for the shield hero, only showing the shield from the front perspective.

It was hexagonal in the body with the lower half extruding out and meeting at a point, in the center was a emerald colored gem. “Wait where’s the-“ he began to ask before the pages began to flip as though a breeze blew over them, a golden glow emanating from the pages of the graphic novel, before he could react the isle around him stretched apart towards the ceiling and down towards the earth below, his footing loosing any solid ground whatsoever to stand on”-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Matt screamed as he fell, his arms flailing out for something to grab onto like the selves before his vision was blinded by a blinding yellow light.

Squinting his eyes, the light disappeared as quickly as he faded, “Huh!?” he grunted before he fell forward and hit the ground as though he had simply tripped. Instead of the basic carpet of the comic book store however, the ground beneath him was hard stone. Around Matt’s hunched over form was a green light cascading up from the ground, a sigil glowing on the ground beneath him slowly fading away.

“Fantastic!” a elated voice said, “The summoning was a success.”

Looking up from the ground, Matthew found himself surrounded by a large number of people in dark robes, the light of the sun pouring in through a window behind them. One of the men in robes bowed their head slightly, “Brave heroes, won’t you please save our world from pure evil?” he asked, Matthew couldn’t fully see his face but the sound of his voice was almost desperate.

“What??!” Matthew said in chorus with three other voices, upon hearing the simultaneous question he turned his head to the source of the voices and saw he wasn’t alone in his confusion. Standing up from the ground were three other figures, each of them male and each of them holding weapo- Wait…... he thought upon seeing what they were holding. In each of their hands were a weapon. A sword. A spear. A bow….

Looking at his own hand he saw his forearm now had a familiar shield on it, “What the hell??!” he exclaimed as he stood up and looked over the shield. It wasn’t overly large, covering his forearm to the back of his hand, the strange part however was that there wasn’t any strap around his wrist to hold it in place.

“Please oh brave heroes, our world is in dire need of saving.” the man in front of the group of robed people asked of the four.

Matthew was briefly stunned before shaking his head, “I’m sorry, could you…..you run that by me again, did you just say our world?” he asked in disbelief, glancing over at the other three beside him. The first beside him was a guy about his age, he had long blonde hair and bangs that were tied up in a ponytail, he wore a red button up shirt that was undone with a white shirt underneath it. He wielded a spear, that he let lean against his shoulder.

Beside him was a boy that looked younger, he had black hair that was cut short around his head but went down around the sides of his face. He wore a blue jacket and looked down at the sword in his hands, finally at the end was who looked to be the youngest among the four. He had a lighter shade of blonde than the spear wielder but it was much more maintained and wavy than the one with the sword, he pulled the string on his bow as a test. What got Matt’s attention was the uniform he was wearing, which looked like something a boarding school would mandate.

“What do you mean it’s in need of saving?” the bow user asked curiously.

Matthew turned his attention to who he assumed was the head of this group of robed people as he replied, “The story behind it all is long and complicated, but sufficient to say you are the Four Cardinal Heroes, and you were summoned here using an ancient ritual.” he briefly explained.

Matthew shook his head in disbelief, “That’s…..yeah does sound complicated….” he admitted in shock.

“Our world is in a most fragile state, and tetters on the brink of destruction.” The group’s leader said before clasping his hands together pleadingly, “So we beg you oh brave heroes, lend us your aid.” he asked, bowing his head to them before his followers followed his example and bowed their heads as well.

Matthew was understandably uncomfortable, “I…..I’m sorry this is a lot to take in, could we have a minute to-“ he began.

“Forget it.” Matt turned his head to the sword user in surprise at the abrupt answer.

“I also refuse.” the boy with the bow added.

“You can send us back to our home world right?” the young man beside Matt asked with an almost impatient tone asked. “Do that and maybe we’ll talk.”

The one with the sword stepped forward and leveled it at the man standing in front of them! “You brought the four of us here without our consent, don’t you even feel the least bit guilty about it?” he asked, Matthew stepping out and walking between him and the robed man.

“Woah! Woah! Let’s calm down, maybe not point the sharp things at one another?” Matthew asked, his hands raised up in a calming manner. He didn’t know what was going on but threatening the people who brought them here with weapons didn’t seem like the most sound idea. The swordsman looked him in the eyes sharply but Matthew remained calm, He’s just waving a sword around, it’s dangerous sure but he doesn’t know how to use it like the rest of us…..then again a sword is pretty simple to use. he thought.

However he lowered the weapon as the bowman spoke, “Not to mention if you throw us out as soon as we restore piece, we’d have done all that work for nothing.” he added, Matt frowned under the scarf mask he wore. That wasn’t the most altruistic reasoning, not to mention who was to say they’d keep anything from here when they were finished with their work?

“How willing are you to accommodate our requests? Depending on your answer, we may end up as your enemies instead of your allies.” the spear wielder added assuredly.

Matt looked at them in disbelief, Are you guys serious?! The fate of a world is at state and your making demands?! Christ did they mess up with summoning us? I mean it’d explain a few things. he thought to himself. “You….your all taking this surprisingly well……have….have you guys done this before??” he asked.

The spear user shook his head, “Not at all. but if we can’t get home then what reason do we have to fight?” he asked. Matt pursed his lips together, there was reason to his words, he wanted to go home NOW if he could but……if people were in trouble and he could help? Wasn’t he obligated to? Especially if he was one of the only people who could?

“Good sirs, before I say anymore we’d like you to have audience with the King of Melromarc.” he said, slowly approaching the four summoned heroes, “You can negotiate your reward with him directly, so please….” he offered.

Matt waited on baited breath for the other heroes to answer, the sword wielder was the first to respond, “Fine.” he simply said.

Matt let out a breath, “I suppouse we’ll consider their offer.” the bowman added.

The spearman shrugged, “Sure, doesn’t matter who we talk to, our demands won’t change.” he said confidently as he walked past Matt along with the others. As they passed him, he pulled the mask down off his face and bunched around his neck, this whole thing felt like some sort of lucid dream, magic? Kingdoms? Other worlds? His head was spinning from all that he heard within the last what? Five minutes? “Hey you coming?” the spear asked, looking back from the staircase where light came into the room from.

Matt turned around and let out a breath, “Yeah, sorry I just…..this is a lot to take in.” he admitted as he turned and walked after him.

Walking up the winding staircase, a barred window where the light shone through was on the wall, looking outside it, Matt gulped when he saw a medieval-like town outside, “Wow look, this really is another world huh?” the bow user commented as he looked outside as well.

Taking a deep breath, he noticed something, “Woah….even the air is different.” he said in amazement, “Well guess that makes sense, no pollution and all.”

“Does that mean you’ve never traveled out of Japan before?” the bowman asked.

Matthew however did a double take, “Uh, I’m not from Japan.” he said, taking the other three heroes by surprise, “I’m from the U.S.A. Michigan.” he explained with a bit of pride in his voice.

“Really? Well your Japanese is surprisingly good.” the swordsman asked.

Matt’s brow creased, “Um….I’m not speaking Japanese…..and neither are you. Your speaking English.” he told them, making the trio’s eyes widen once again in surprise at his statement.

“That would be your weapons.” the priest (?) said, making the four look at him. “The four cardinal weapons translate what you hear into what language you understand through magic.” he explained. Matthew looked down at his shield with awe, he had assumed the weapons had properties that made them superior to other weapons but they had magical capabilities?

As they exited the staircase and walked through a courtyard, Matt asked, “When we meet your King, is there some form of greeting we should show?” he obviously had never met royalty in any form. From movies and TV he knew that they expected their subjects to bow or kneel, but given that they were Heroes he didn’t know if there was a certain form of etiquette he needed to do.

The priest looked over his shoulder to him, seemingly taken aback by the simple question. “A simple bow will suffice when meeting the Highness.” he answered. Matt nodded his head as thanks.

“How do you greet people in the United States if you don’t bow?” the bow hero asked amusingly.

Matt fought the urge to frown at the tone but shrugged it off, “Well for first greetings we usually shake hands. But nowadays it’s….well everyone is rethinking it.” he explained, a year ago they didn’t need to worry about shaking hands but now you had to be careful of getting within spitting distance of someone. The other three heroes looked at each other in confusion as they entered the keep, continuing down the hall a ways, they soon entered a throne room.

Approaching the throne, the king sat alone beside a empty throne while citizens of the kingdom lined the walls as an audiance, “So, you young men are the four cardinal heroes of ancient legend.” the deep voice King noted. He wore a set of elegant clothing that was royal purple in color. The tunic he wore had a white stripe down the middle with golden accents on the side, on his shoulders was cloak with a white fur trim, keeping it in place around his neck laid a large golden necklace that matched the crown he wore atop his head. He was older in age than any of the heroes, with white hair that was combed back on his head but cut just above his shoulders, along with beard on his chin that matched his hair. “This is the land of Melromarc, and I am her King. Aultcray Melromarc the 32^nd. Welcome brave heroes, please identify yourselves.” he requested.

Matt automatically bowed to the King, the three others seeing his action and following suite before standing up straight. The sword wielder lifted his blade into his hand, “Ren Amaki, I’m a high school student and 16 years old.” he introduced.

The spear hero stepped forward with a smirk, Motoyasu Kinamura, College Student 21.” he introduced.

The bowman, if Matt could really call him that, lifted his bow, “I suppose I’m up next. Itsuki Koizumi, still in high school and I’m 17.” he introduced.

Matt cleared his throat, “Matthew-“

“Good-“ the King started as well, the two stopping at the sound of each other.

Oh way to go dumbass! Matt quickly bowed again, “Forgive me your Majesty, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” he said respectfully, the King observed the Shield hero with a raised brow, and a small mutter went throughout the room, Matt feeling even more embarrassed than he already was. He also heard Motoyasu chuckle beside him, but was more focused on his current issue than that.

“It’s fine sir…Shield Hero.” King Aultcray replied, Matt looked up and say him gesture.

“I’m Matthew Daniels sir, I’m 22 and like Sir Motoyasu, I’m a university student.” he introduced, trying to use the proper phrasing that he was picking up from the local inhabitants. The crowd’s whispers seemed to stifle after that little blunder but Matthew still felt a little mortified, Can’t believe I made an idiot of myself.

“I suppose I need to explain why we brought you here.” the King began, “My beloved country of Melromarc and the entire country surrounding it are heading down a path to certain ruin.” he went onto explain the situation to the four heroes.

The King explained to us that there’s a prophecy of a coming apocalypse, one that’s hundreds of years old. As it turns out, a series of incursions from another world onto this one with a destructive force beyond imagining. They’re referred to as Waves, and if they’re not stopped, this world will end. To this end, each country of this world contains a Dragon hourglass which fortells the coming wave, telling the people when the next wave will arrive.

The first wave just washed over Melromarc before we were summoned, and with it countless lives of the country’s citizens were lost. Thankfully the local knights and adventures managed to fight back against the wave and fend off the monsters it spawned. That’s the good news, the bad news is that each wave is stronger than the last, and the only hope the country, the world really, has is the Four Cardinal Weapons. When we were summoned, we had little less than a month until the next one hit.

Saying it now though…..I don’t believe in fate, or destiny, or any of that. If that was the case then every wrong committed, every atrocity, every single bad thing that humanity had done, in my world or another was just…..justified. How many people, innocent people would parish because ‘destiny’ willed it? Every killer, every criminal, every horrible person, did what they did not because they were responsible for it but some omniscient force willed it to be?

I didn’t believe it. I still don’t, but what I did believe……and what I try to keep telling myself is that my fate is my own. Where I am now, is because of what I’ve done. I HAVE to believe that because if not……and fate has willed me to go through what I have…..then why bother going forward?

“We underestimated the potency of the waves.” The king admitted, his grasp on the arms of his throne tightening, “Once we experienced the first one and barely survived, we realized only the Four Cardinal could counter them. So we followed the legend and summoned you four, but now we have no time to loose.” he explained direly.

This sounds just like the book I was reading…..so that was the prophecy, if that’s the case then how would we even go about stopping them? If there were only so many waves then that’d be one thing. But if there’s not and they just keep coming? Then we can’t keep fighting forever. Matthew thought to himself. The concept of the Waves themselves were a nightmare, army after army of monsters descending upon a world to just kill everything? And what if it didn’t stop here? What if they couldn’t stop it here and the next was Earth? His Earth!

Ren lowered his sword to the floor, “Ok, I think we get the gist of it. Anyway I’m sure you didn’t bring us here thinking we’d save you for free.” he replied, Matt was shocked by how brazen he was.

This stupid kid has that as his priority?! Who knows if we’re even going to survive this!!? he asked himself in disbelief.

“Of course not.” a man standing beside the king replied, Matthew assumed he was an advisor. “Once you repel all the waves I can assure you we will reward you most handsomely.”

Th spear hero raised a brow with a cocky smirk, “Yeah? Well it seems we have no choice but to take you at your word.” he replied, Matthew looked at him from the corner of his eye trying not to glare. Motoyasu seemed overly assured with himself, Matt had dealt with people like that before, though not all of them were bad, he preferred people who were a little more humble.

“As long as you don’t re-neg, we’ll work with you. But don’t think for a moment you can tame us.” Ren answered.

Tame? Really? We’re not a set of circus animals…although…  he thought, glancing at Motoyasu briefly due to his hair. Not to mention we do need them if we want to get home……at least as far as we know. he thought.

“Exactly, we won’t look put up with you looking down on us.” Itsuki added in as well.

Christ these guys are full of themselves. They’re either brave, or kind of stupid….ok that’s a little mean, they could just be putting up a front. Matthew looked to the king and pursed his lips together, “I just want to help. If we can save lives then….well I’m obligated to, so where do we start?” he asked. The king gave him an even look, looking him up and down almost suspiciously, most likely due to how he spoke to him compared to the other three heroes.

“If I can trust we have reached an agreeable arrangement, I would ask you brave heroes to check your statuses.” he the king asked. Matt looked in confusion, status?

“I’m sorry your majesty, our what?” he asked politely.

Motoyasu and Itsuki looked just as confused as he was, “Um, yeah?” the bow user asked, mirroring the shield hero’s confusion.

Ren looked at the others with annoyance, “Are you guys dense? It should have been the very first thing you noticed when you got here.” he retorted.

Oh I’m sorry I was a little concerned with waking up in Elder Scrolls than- he thought before he noticed something. In the lower right corner of his eye was a blinking light. What the, I thought that was from when we were summoned….what is- he thought as he focused on the small light that looked like three little dots inside a circle. Suddenly in front him appeared a slightly transparent dark screen with a number of statistics about….him?

“Right, like that, just focus on it.” Ren noted as Matthew looked at what was in front of him in surprise.

This is like a character sheet for a video game, there’s HP, MP, SP, EXP, Attack, Defense, even my age is listed here! he thought in surprise as he scanned over the information. There was even a level he was at, no surprise it was lvl 1.

“Level 1 huh? Well that’s disconcerting.” Itsuki said, looking over to the other heroes with a grim expression.

Motoyasu cupped his chin in thought, “Yeah no kidding, who knows if we can even fight like this?” he asked with concern. With starting at such a low level, it seemed dangerous to try and fight anything at the moment.

Matthew raised his hand slightly, “What exactly is this?” he asked the advisor to the king.

“It’s called status magic, an ability exclusive to the heroes.” the advisor explained simply.

Matt looked down at his shield in intrigue, it could translate languages and keep track of how strong he was like in a video game. “So where do we go? What’s the first step?” Ren asked.

“You must set out on an adventure to develop and upgrade these legendary weapons you have been equipped with.” he explained. Matthew hummed in understanding, it would be nice if the weapons were already maxed out, considering their legendary, but that could also be dangerous. Depending how strong they could become it could mean the difference between giving someone a gun, or an atom bomb.

Beside him, Motoyasu pointed the spear forward, “Can’t we use other weapons until these are useable?” he asked, giving the spear an experimental twirl.

“Suppose we’ll have to figure that out as we go, regardless it looks like we have a lot of training ahead of us.” he reasoned.

Itsuki nodded in agreement, “We’ll have to level up hard and fast.”

“Then we should probably stay together, if we learn how to work together than hopefully we can-“ Matthew started.

“One moment brave heroes.” the four turned their attention to the advisor, “I neglected to mention, you must each recruit allies and adventure separately.” he said, causing the four heroes, Ren included, to look at one another in confusion.

“And why is that?” Itsuki asked for them.

“It is said that by their very nature, the legendary weapons repel one another, if you try to work together, it will apparently hinder their development.” he explained, causing the four of them to look at their weapons and saw a message pop up confirming the advisor’s words.

Well that’s kind of stupid, we’d stand a better chance if they actually leveled up faster by us working together. Matt thought to himself.

“Since the sun is about to set, rest here for the night and begin your quest tomorrow. In the meantime we’ll gather the best of the best to form your party.” the King said to the heroes wisely.

A young woman in a gown approached the heroes from the right, bowing her head in respect she looked up with a welcoming smile. “We have quarters prepared for you all, please sirs, right this way.” she said, gesturing in the direction for the heroes to go. As they left the throne room, Mattheew felt a sense of relief wash over him, standing in front of so many people always threw him off, it didn’t help that he had interrupted the king.

Well, hopefully things will go better tomorrow after some rest. Matt thought optimistically.

After having a small feast in their honor, the heroes were escorted through the castle to their quarters, the four heroes all gathered in Itsuki’s room to discuss the events of the day. The quarters was small but comfortable, it almost resembled an apartment from the world Matt was from, “Well I guess when your heroes of legend, you get special treatment.” Motoyasu said smugly as he sat down on the end of the bed.

Itsuki and Matt sat at a small table in front of the bed with small goblets of water poured along with a container of more. Ren meanwhile stood against the wall of the rom with the sword slung over his back like Itsuki’s bow. Oddly enough Matthew couldn’t so much as remove his shield from his body, but could move it around, and now had it against his shoulder, acting like a pauldron.

“The girl who showed us here was cute too.” the spear user added happily, Matthew smirked. He had noticed as well but he opted not to say anything.

“And though it did taste unusual, our dinner was quite sumptuous.” Itsuki added.

Matt nodded, “You noticed it too? I thought it was just me.” the American said in relief as he looked over his status again. “God this seems like a video game. They even have Experience here as a stat, not like legitimate experience.” he noticed as he closed the screen, something he had discretely practiced at dinner.

Motoyasu grinned, “That’s because it IS a video game.” he replied, causing Matt’s face to morph into confusion, “This is exactly like Emerald online.”

The shielder tilted his head in confusion, “Sorry, I’m not familiar.” he apologized. He wasn’t big into MMO’s like some of his friends but he was familiar with the popular ones, World of Warcraft, Everquest, Finial Fantasy 14, The Old Republic, but he hadn’t played one in a while. But what he was concerned with was that he thought it was a game, these were people, maybe not their people but people nonetheless. However it made sense to equate it to a game considering what was going on, “Is it new?” he asked.

Motoyasu’s brow rose in surprise, “Oh yeah it’s huge! Maybe they don’t have it in America?” he suggested, Matt shrugged in acceptance, there were a lot of games that were locked to certain regions for stretches of time. It could be a Japanese game he just hadn’t heard about because there was no English translation?

“What are you talking about? This isn’t an online game, it’s a new console game I’m playing. Called Dimension Web.” Itsuki said with his hands folded together properly in front of him. He turned to Matt for confirmation, but the older boy shrugged again, “Do they have any good games in America?” he asked with a little concern.

Ren looked up, “Your both wrong, everything about this place is identical to a VRMMO called Bravestar online.”

……I’m sorry a what??? “I’m sorry, I think I might have misheard that, did you just say a VRMMO?” he asked in confusion. He had to have misheard that, the only online games that had VR weren’t anywhere close to being an MMO. Off the top of his head the closest one he knew was VR Chat, but that was just a chatroom!

Ren shook his head, “No. I said a VRMMO.” he said confidently.

Matt looked at Itsuki and Motoyasu who looked just as confused as he was, Three games, which none of the others have ever heard of. But all similar to this…..wait. “Ok, really quick, what’s the first video game console you guys ever owned?” he asked curiously.

“Startplay.”

“Omisphere.”

“GameBolt.”

“PlayStation One.”

The four blinked at the answers they heard, “Wait, what?!”

Ren stood up from the wall in surprise, “Quick, what year are you all from?”

“2020!” was the unanimous reaction. Ren deflated a little at that, “Quick what’s the buzzword of last year?” the bow hero asked.

“The what?” Matt asked in confusion.

Itsuki frowned, “Right, sorry. Japanese thing. Uhh….whose the first Superhero?” he instead asked.

“Superman.” Matt replied.

“Grey Ghost.” Ren answered.

“Invincible.” Itsuki said.

“Karma.” Motyasu replied as well.

The multitude of answers led to a single conclusion, “There’s only one explanation, we’re all from different versions of Japan….and America.” he added for Matt’s sake. The shielder ran a hand over his face, making Itsuki notice the mask around his neck, “IS that why your wearing that?” he asked in confusion, drawing the attention of Ren and Motyasu.

Grabbing the fabric he looked down at it and nodded, “Yeah uhh….there’s a global pandemic going on in my world that’s infected over 40 million people.” he explained, causing the other three heroes to each back away from him. Matt held up his hands, “It’s fine, I’ve been in quarantine for two weeks, if I had it I wouldn’t even have gone outside today.” he added assuredly, making the other three relax. “God I wish that’s the worst thing that happened this year.”

Itsuki gave him a look of disbelief, “It’s worse?!”

“Oh yeah, california’s on fire. There’s been protests across the US, we’re in the middle of an election year. What else? Oh yeah there’s a depression because of the virus going around. Russia is trying to interfere with the election……yeah it’s been a sucky year. All we can do is stay inside, work from home if we can and…..yeah.” he finished with a shrug. The other three heroes looking at him in shock from what the state of his world was currently.

“That’s….depressing.” Ren said simply.

Matt smiled, “On the plus side this whole thing pretty much confirms multiverse theory!” he pointed out excitedly, “I mean come on, that’s pretty cool.” he said, sitting down on the couch beside the table. “What’s really amazing is that there’s games that seem to mirror this world.” he noted, seeing that the other three were still looking at him. “What?” he asked.

“Well we just sort of assumed you knew, since you’re the shield and all.” Itsuki explained vaguely, making Matt raise a brow.

“Ha! You too?” Motyasu barked in amusement.

Ren closed his eyes, “I mean yeah it only makes sense.” he added in a monotone voice.

Matt cleared his throat, getting the attention of the three other heroes, “I’m sorry is there something I’m missing here? I’m a support class right?” he asked, he knew full well that a shield wasn’t exactly a primary weapon but every good game had a reason for them being a part of it. Overwatch for example had Reinheart who was a key support character, he had a gigantic energy shield that both blocked attacks and allowed allies’ to attack.

Motyasu approached with a smile, “Well I suppose so but in my experience the shielder class is….well, it’s pretty much useless.” he said, his voice filled with amusement as he leaned over the chair in front of him and looked at Matt.

“…..that doesn’t make sense.” Matt replied in confusion, making the spear hero lean back in confusion. “I mean, if we compare this to a game? Each class needs to have a reason for the playstyle otherwise a developer wouldn’t bother.” he looked at Ren and Itsuki, “For example a Bow has range, a sword has speed or power, same as a spear. A shield then probably has supportive capabilities.” he reasoned. The three other heroes stared at him in surprise from his breakdown of their roles, “I’m learning to be a game developer, part of that is shitting on bad game design.”  

Ren didn’t look convinced, “While it does make sense, most shielders in the game I’ve played don’t do much. So I’m going to have to disagree.”

Itsuki gave Matt a sympathetic look, “Sorry, but defense only doesn’t really work on their own.”

Matt slid the shield down his arm and onto his forearm, smirking as he gave it a swing, “I mean it’s not a sword, true, but you can still beat things to death with a shield. Captain America can even throw his like a frisbe and take out nazi’s with it.” he reasoned, recalling all the films where he saw just how useful a shield could be in the right hands.

“I don’t know who this Captain America is, but if he beats up Nazis? He’s a good guy in my book.” Motyasu said with a smirk, Itsuki and Ren both nodding in agreement.

“……wait. Big question. Who won WW2?” Matt quickly asked upon realizing how different their worlds were.

 That night……looking back I’m surprised I got along with any of them. They acted so stuck up to me, so superior, thinking they knew better when they new just as much as I did. I didn’t care though, I just thought if we worked hard we’d be home in no time……but they don’t even see these people as….people. And I’ll admit it’s easier to think that way, think that these people are just a bunch of 1’s and 0’s in a game.

But it’s not true. People have died, people are going to die if the waves keep coming, and they’re only on board as long as they get paid.

They’re not heroes. They’re no better than thugs.

If I could go back I’d call them out on it, tell them that they need to get their shit together. People are counting on us.

After a good night’s rest, Matthew and the other Heroes made their way from their room as back to the throne room as the morning sun shined through the windows of the castle. Matt glanced down at his shield as he walked, he had spent a few hours looking at the status and trying to learn all he could about the shield. From what he managed to gather, the shield was improved through gaining skills, so the task was simple today, get a skill and find out how to get more. That was the goal at least, but practical wise he spent a hour up late thinking about what he needed to get done immediately.

Walking into the Throne room, the doors were opened for them by guards on either side of the doorway. In front of the throne stood a lineup of adventures, each ranging in shape, size, gender, and armaments. There were around a dozen of them, meaning that there was enough for all of them.

“We have gathered the greatest warriors in the land, these brave souls will fight the waves alongside you.” King Aultcray introduced as the heroes walked up to the spots they were in yesterday.

Why am I getting flashbacks to dodgeball in highschool? Matt thought, recalling how teams would pick one player at a timein sequential order. It always made him feel bad for whoever was last. As his eyes looked over the adventures, he went over the small checklist he had made last night, Ok, first and foremost I need someone who can do offense well. Second, someone whose knowledgeable, if I’m going to be here for a while I need as much info as I can get. And third, I need someone who I can get along with. he thought, his eyes passing over a large intimidating knight.

Briefly he stopped on one of the female adventures, she was about as tall as he was if not a little shorter. She had what Matt suppoused was a tunic and skirt, the white of it covering her arms and meeting at her neck while giving a slightly obscene look at her chest. Around her abdomen and biceps were leather pieces of armor that matched the gauntlets she had. She had a short purple skirt wthat had a belt around it, a sword strapped to her side.

What stood out was her hair, it was crimson, not like ginger hair that Matt had seen back home but actual crimson. She saw that he was looking at him and smiled, beign friendly he smiled back before looking at the other beside her. “Our future champions the time has come to begin your journey!” the king announced.

The companions stepped forward towards the heroes in a line, Wait they choose?! Matt thought in surprise as they walked towards him and the other heroes. Ok, I can work with this. No problem, there’s no shortage of people. Just gotta get to know everyone who decides on me. he thought, trying to think positively in the situation. For all he knew the adventurers had been briefed on who the heroes were and chosen according.

However when Matt glanced ove his shoulder, he had to turn around with wide eyes to see that there was no one behind him……at all.

However the other heroes had all gained a full party, Three….five…four….wait that’s twelve!  “Uhh……huh…..” he said simply before looking to the king who seemed to be just as surprised as he was. “….your majesty this is….well it’s a little embarrassing to ask but is this…all the adventures?” he asked hopefully.

The king sighed, “I am loathed to admit it, but even I did not expect this outcome.” he said, causing Matt’s brow to raise in confusion. Loathed to admit it?

“No volunteers, he must have zero charisma.” the advisor said in disappointment.

Matt frowned, “I’m right here.” he said loud enough for the advisor to hear, the man flinching slightly as one of the King’s men bent down and whispered something to him.

“Ah, I’ve been made aware of an unsettling rumor.” he announced with a sigh.

“Something wrong Sir?” Motoyasu asked.

“It would appear that rumors have spread wildly around town is that the so-called Shield Hero is ignorant of this world.” he explained, making Matt’s eyes narrow. How could a rumor spread about him when he was here less than a day?! Not to mention the King’s attitude towards him has been noticeably backhanded for some reason. “Legend tells us that the heroes arrive with a firm understanding of our lands, and our townspeople don’t seem to think he meets the criteria.”

The spear hero leaned over, “Someone must have been eavesdropping on us last night.” he rationalized.

Shit. he thought before taking a breath, “While I admit that I’m not knowledgeable to this world as my fellow heroes, I’m more than willing to learn.” he replied aloud. The crowd on the upper level whispered amongst themselves.

“So he admits it?”

“Not what I expected from the Shield Hero.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

Matt looked over at Ren, who had the most party members out of all of them, part of him wanted to ask if he’d be willing to let one join with him, but that didn’t seem fair to the adventures. “I’m sorry if this information makes any of you hesitant to join me but…….I do understand why I wouldn’t be the first choice. I just want to say that.” he said a little dejectedly.

Ren looked back to his party, well aware of it’s size, “If any of you can’t cut it with me then you’ll be left behind. I’m a loner, and I don’t NEED any of you to do my job.” he said, the group of five seemingly stepping closer to the sword hero.

Did…..did he just use me as a stick? Like a carrot on a stick?? Matt asked in disbelief. “Well your…..loyal.” he said carefully.

Motoysasu rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as Matthew turned to him, “I mean this is unfair, and I’m actually surprised that my party is all girls to be honest.”

Matt gave him a blank stare, ….yeah sure you are. he thought before taking a deep breath, “Ok……you know what? Alright then, I can deal with this. I can figure out the basics on my own, just one problem at a time.” he said aloud, mostly to himself as he closed his eyes and folded his hands together.

Itsuki once again gave the shield hero a look of sympathy, “I know it would be fair if we split them up three a piece but that could wreck everyone’s moral.” he reasoned. Two of his companions nodding in agreement behind him, he wasn’t wrong, the adventures all chose to be here. And just telling them who they went with wasn’t the best way to foster trust.

“No, your right. I know.” Matt assured him, “But hopefully I’ll be able to find some help later-“ he began as a single hand rose up from behind Motoyasu. All eyes turned to her as the girl he noticed from the lineup stepped forward.

“Sir hero.” she began to Motoyasu, “Would you kindly allow me to switch parties with he shield hero?” she offered, giving a soft smile to both the spear and shield users.

Motoyasu blinked in surprise, “Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded happily, “I am!” she assured, surprising Matt. This might be the first thing to go right today, and yet…..it was still strange.

He didn’t notice the way the King flinched from the offer, “Are there any others who would be willing to join Master Daniel’s on his quest?” he asked. The room was deathly silent, he let out a tired sigh, “So be it. Master Matthew, you will have to recruit for your party yourself as you’ve said. Every month we shall provide each hero with funds you require. This one time however, Master Matthew’s will be higher.” he reasoned.

The shield hero was surprised by the show of generosity, “I-thank you!” he sputtered out.

The king bowed his head as a quartet of servants approached the heroes, each of them carrying a bag of funds in their hands, “Here are your initial war chests, accept them with our thanks.” the King said as each hero was handed a sack.

The adventurer walked up beside Matt as he was handed his pouch, “Shield hero receives 800 silver coins while the rest of you each receive 600.” the advisor said, the heroes bowing to the ones who gave them the money as thanks.

After leaving the throne room, Matt made sure do a quick count of the money he had received, he had also learned the name of the young lady who had joined his party, Myne Sophia. Upon entering the town, Matthew was met with sights and sounds he never imagined he’d see in person. Such as the large lizard creature that was pulling a cart of goods instead of a horse, or humans who had animal traits like ears and tails walking the market. “So Myne, how long have you been an adventurer?” he asked his party member as they walked through the market.

The redhead smiled at him as they walked, “I’m embarrassed to say not that long Sir Shield Hero, about a year or so.” she bashfully admitted.

Matthew offered a smile, “Well that’s more experience than I have. And you can call me Matt or Matthew if you wish.” he offered in return, looking down at the shield on his arm. “First thing’s first, we should probably get supplies before heading outside of town. Do you know anywhere we could find some armor and weapons?” he asked. Even with his shield, that could only defend so much of his body, and not to mention he’d never even used one to fight before. So having some extra defense would only help.

Her face brightened up, “Good idea! With all that silver you can probably get some high class armor!” she realized, “I’ll take you to a shop I trust, they should have everything we need.” she assured.

Matt patted the pouch of silver in his pocket, “It doesn’t need to be super expensive, just enough to get the job done.” he said with a shrug. Myne gave him a curious look, so he explained, “If we spend a majority of the money on armor then we might not be able to get something we need later.” he reasoned.

The adventurer nodded in understanding, “Ah, your thrifty then.” she said understandingly.

Matthew barked out a laugh as he followed Myne to the store, “That’s a word for it, another is cheap.” he said with a forlorn expression. Just like mom….

Soon they arrived at a small balcksmith’s shop, it was a ways off from the market and had lower foot traffic, but upon entering the cobblestone building, Matthew was in awe of what ws inside, “This place gets my highest recommendation.” she praised as they etered Immdiately inside two racks of swords stood parallel to one another. Looking at the hand crafted metal, Matthew couldn’t help but be in awe.

He had gone to a few museums in his life for school, they had displayed armaments from different periods in display cases but to see freshly made swords on display was something else. “Wow…..doesn’t matter if they’re out dated, no one ever said a sword can’t look good.” he said as he inspected one of the swords.

Turning to the desk near the back of the store, he saw a large man standing there waiting for them, and by large, he meant LARGE. If the sizes of his muscles were any bigger, Matt thought he could give the Terminator a run for his money. He wore a brown apron with a single strap over his shoulder, a pair of large thick gloves, and a white shirt underneath. He had a sharp beard on his chin, similar to the king’s, and had a bald head, showing a pale scar om the side of his head. “Welcome sir.” he smiled as he recognized the look of interest on the younger man’s face, “So, first time in a weapon’s shop is it? Well you already know how to pick the best one.”

Matt smiled and nodded, “Yeah, well actually my companion here recommended your shop.” he said, gesturing to Myne beside him. Matt watched as the shopkeeper’s face changed from friendliness to confusion upon seeing her.

“You do look familiar Miss, have we met?” he asked.

“Sure! I’ve been in here before, your shop is rather renowned after all.” Matt gave Myne a confused look out the corner of his eye as she walked behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder, she had been the one to recommend this place but the owner didn’t recognize her?

“Aw, sweet of ya to say so. Anyhow whose your companion here with the funny outfit?” he asked, Matthew looked down at the clothes he was brought to the world in. His sneakers didn’t exactly blend in with the rest of the world.

Myne seemed amused by the situation, “You mean you can’t tell sir?” she asked.

The blacksmith stepped closer, leaning over the counter and upon noticing the shield, “No, are you trying to tell me he’s one of those heroes?” he asked in bewilderment. He glanced at his shield, “A shield huh? Guess that must mean you’re the dud.” he said, his tone merely poking fun.

“Hey were I come from? Our country’s mascot uses it to take out armies of bad guys. Don’t knock it till you try it.” Matt jabbed back playfully before stepping forward and holding out his hand, “I’m Matthew Daniels.” he introduced.

The shopkeeper smiled and shook his hand, “Hey if you’re a regular, I won’t give two hoots what you wield.” he replied.

“Smart business plan.” Matt said as he withdrew his hand.

Myne walked up behind him with a smile, “Now that that’s out of the way, do you think you could help Sir Shield Hero with his armor?” she asked politely, her hands resting on the back of Matthew’s shoulders. The hero slightly tensed at the touch, “Our budget is around 250 silver.” she added.

The blacksmith nodded and walked around the counter, leading them to a table with a handful of swords, each of them basic in overall look but were each a different type of saber. “Left to right that’s iron, magic iron, magic steel, and silver iron in ascending order of price.” he said, straightening out the blades.

Matt hummed as he looked over them before turning to the blacksmith, “What do you recommend for a beginner?” he asked, the closest thing he had to a sword were the plastic lightsabers he and his brother used to play with when they where children.

The smith smiled, “Given your shield? I’d go with simple iron or maybe magic iron. They’re reliable, and what most beginners start with.” he advised.

Looking down, Matthew carefully reached for the iron sword and picked it up by the handle, however as soon as he lifted it up from the table, a stinging sensation went through his arm with the sword seemingly sparking out of his hand! “What the-“ Matt exclaimed as he backed away, Myne and the blacksmith equally shocked. I just touched it why would…..wait a second. he slowly realized, “Myne, try picking that one up.” he asked.

The adventurer looked unsure at first but reached down tot eh hilt he just touched and picked it up with ease, “Wait, why did it fly out of your hand earlier?” the redhead asked in confusion.

Matt lifted his right arm where the shield was attached and tapped it, suddenly a message popped up in his eyesight, Rule violation?? Legendary shield, blah, blah-cannot wield an weapon with the intent to attack. Oh damn. “Well according to the shield I’m not able to wield another weapon.” he explained, the blacksmith walking around to look at the small silver shield.

“How does that work then?” he asked, taking out a magnifying glass from his pocket ad inspecting the shield’s glowing gem, a soft green light emanating from the legendary weapon. “At a glance, it’s like any other small shield.” he said before grabbing the sides of it, “Does this thing come off you?” he asked.

“Not that I’ve found yet, so far I know I can move it around my body.” he explained.

The blacksmith hummed in thought, “That’s strange, I can sense a great amount of energy, but my appraisal magic can only tell me so much.” he said in awe before standing up. “Thanks for showing me something interesting anyway. Wanna buy some armor?” he said in a more positive tone.

Matt nodded, “Yeah, that’s actually what I think I need most. The shield may be legendary but it’s the size of a serving plate.” he said, tapping the weapon. “Do you have anything that’s light and flexible?” he asked hopefully.

The blacksmith hummed pleasantly, “Well it seems you put some thought into it, I might have just what your looking for.” he said, walking across the store to where the armor was placed. There was a variety of wears in different shapes and sizes, the blacksmith went to a wooden mannequin where a black quilted armor was draped over it. It’s shoulders where slightly bigger and had a V neck so the wearer could move their head around, it also went

“This is chainmail, it’s got heft to it but it’s easy to move around in. But you’ll usually echange weight for durability, it’ll absorb a sword strike, but you’ll still feel it.” he advised as the young man grabbed the sleeve and felt the armor. “I’ll also throw in some boots and trousers, no offense but those don’t look like they’re made for combat.” he said, gesturing to his jeans an sneakers. “What are those anyway?”

Matt looked down at his shoes, they weren’t exactly made to be killing monsters.

After entering the changing room, he quickly put on the armor and clothing, making sure to put his wallet and phone, which he had the foresight to turn off, into his new set of pants. Once the chain mail was on, he checked his status and saw that his defense, which was standing as his highest stat, had gone up from 20, to 21. So my clothing also effects my status as well. Man maybe the others weren’t too far off with the game analogy. he thought before exiting the changing room.

“How much do you want for it?” Myne asked for him as he steed out, moving his arms around to get a feel for how much movement he had.

The blacksmith leaned his arm against the wall, “Heroes discount. 120 silver.” he offered generously.

Myne tilted her head, “And the buyback price?” she asked as well.

“Hmm, if it’s mostly in new condition, I’d offer you 100 silver.” he decided fairly.

Matthew hummed, ideally he would return the armor once he could afford something better, at least that’s how he did it in most RPG’s. “Which do you think is a better option long term, buying back for better armor, or improving the existing armor?” he asked, some of the games he played had only so many types of armor that the player could have and the only way to stand a chance was to upgrade the armor or just grind.

“Hmmm, I’d say for starting armor it’s best to buyback, but better armor I’d recommend improving.” he advised.

Matthew nodded, “Thanks….oh I’m sorry I didn’t even ask your name.” he apologized.

The blacksmith grinned, “I’m Erhard, nice doing business with ya shield hero.”

The starting monsters that Matthew faced were…..not what he was expecting.

He had expected wolves, or ghosts, maybe even slimes. But instead the first monsters that he and Myne encountered were balloons. Small, orange, balloons. With mouths that bit him.

“When I woke up today, I did not plan on getting EXP by popping balloons.” he said to his companion as he grabbed one of the monsters that lunged at him, throwing it down to the ground before stomping on it with his foot and popping it, earning him a single thing of experience. Earlier he had seen Ren easily dispatching the same type.

Myne approached and knelt down, gathering the pieces of balloon in her hand, “Well how did you plan today to go?” she asked.

“Honestly? Interviews.” he answered as he knelt down beside her, Myne had admittedly done more work than him when it came to slaughtering these helpless balloons. And what he quickly found out was that while he could attack with his shield, it was in fact built for more defensive measures. It was so much so that when the balloons even bit him he didn’t even feel pain.

Myne looked at him in confusion, “What’s an interview?” she asked.

Oh yeah. Job market isn’t exactly like it is back home. He realized as he took one of the pieces of the balloons in her hands and dropped it onto the shield’s center gem. The piece of the monster disintegrated into dust and was absorbed into the shield, a small notification in the corner of his view told him that the piece had been successfully absorbed into the legendary weapon. “Well back in my world you usually meet someone beforehand to see what their qualifications are for a job. For example if you were an archer then you probably wouldn’t need to be in Itsuki’s party.” he explained.

The adventurer let out a small ‘ahh’ of understanding as he ‘fed’ more of the monster remains to his shield, “There’s no limit to what it can absorb. That must be part of the legendary weapon’s power.” she said in awe as another popup appeared in Matt’s vision.

“Yeah, but it looks like it’ll need more raw materials before I can acquire a new skill.” he noticed, seeing that the menu in front of him showed the shield he was using currently was the ‘Small Shiled’ skill. Which didn’t grant him much of anything. Looking at the reaining scraps Myne had, he looked up and asked her, “Are these fragments worth anything?” he asked.

She handed him another scrap, “Yes but at most they’ll probably only fetch one copper a piece.” she estimated.

Matthew hummed, if that was the case he wasn’t sure if it would be more worthwhile to sell the pieces or let the shield absorb it to upgrade. We still have…let’s think, 800 hundred minus 120? That’s 680. Man I wish I could just use my phone’s calculator. he thought. “Well considering how easy Ren took them out, they’ve gotta be weak so not surprising.” he said as he stood up from the ground.

Myne had taken him to the surrounding planes of the town, stretching for what looked like miles was grassland, it looked like something like out of an old western painting. Michigan had a few places like it but you could still see buildings in the distance, here it looked like you could walk for weeks without coming across so much as a long cabin. “Well good is that when I level up I’ll get more skills.”

Myne smiled as she walked around him, “In that case why don’t we call it a night? We should stop back in at the weapons’ shop, if we get some equipment for me, we’ll get even further tomorrow.” she reasoned.

Matthew nodded, but found something odd, “Sure thing, honestly I should have asked if you wanted something before heading out.” he said as she crossed her arms behind her back and flashed him a smile.

“Oh no Sir Shield Hero, your equipment takes priority.” she replied before she began leading him back towards the town with an almost obvious sway to her hips. Matt shook his head, this whole day felt….off to him.

Being in another world aside, the fact that rumors spread about him despite being here less than a day, the King’s seemingly irritated attitude towards him, and even some of what Myne had said was a little weird if he thought about it. No, I’m just being paranoid. I mean it’s weird but maybe if I can talk with the King later and explain, he won’t be so aggravated. he reasoned before following Myne back to town as the sun began setting, bathing the land in orange.

“Gear for the lady then?” Erhard asked as Myne kneeled down to a box of armor pieces and went through it, scavenging for parts of armor. “You’ll certainly be much stronger decked out in some good equipment.” he agreed, Myne looking back and smiling at him in agreement. Erhard looked to the shield hero, his bag with his old clothes slung over his shoulder and tied in a knot, “So how’d the chainmail work out?”

Matt smiled as he shifted his shoulder where his shield was, “It worked fine, but my defense is actually so high already that the balloons we fought didn’t even hurt me when they bit me.” he explained, making the blacksmith’s eyes widen in interest. Matt glanced at Myne as she browsed, “Are there certain requirements that need to be met before you can wear certain armor, or is there no real limit?” he asked.

“Well that depends on the armor, I’ve seen some that’s magically enchanted to only allow people of a certain level to wear it but it’s rare.” he admitted. “Speaking of, don’t ecxpect another discount for what the lady buys.” he added good naturedly. Matthew nodded in understanding, it was a small business and he needed to make money after all.

“Thanks again for that, but before I start haggling anything I need to see what my companion picks out.” he said, knowing firsthand that paying full price for something right off the bat wasn’t always the best thing to do. His first car was proof of that.

Erhard chuckled, “So you at least know how to do business, that’s good. If you tried before you saw the goods, I would have doubled it.” he ‘threatened’.

Matt and he shared a laugh before Myne walked over an laid a set of armor down, inspecting it, Matthew saw it was a fine set of steel plated armor that looked made for a woman, along with a sword. “So how much?” he asked.

Erhard smirked, “480 silver, and that’s with a discount. Best I can offer.” he replied, Matt felt his stomach drop at that. That only left them with 200 silver.

“Um Myne, would you be ok with something less expensive? That only leaves us with 200 silver, and I don’t know how much we’ll need for food and rooms. Unless we stay at the castle, but even then that won’t last us very long.” he explained gently, not wanting to be forceful. Myne had been very informative and helpful, and while he did want to repay her, he also wanted to make sure they didn’t blow through their war funds so quickly.

Myne smiled, “Oh we’ll be fine Shield Hero.” she assured, “The stronger I am, the more loot we can collect from monsters right?” she reasoned as she stepped close to a still not totally convinced shield hero. Her arm wrapped around his and pulled it close to her, her other hand laying on his chest and making the young man’s face warm up at how close she was.

OK, down dude! Down. Doown. he thought to himself as he reached his hand up and scratched his chin. Swallowing he recomposed himself as best he could, “Well….that does make sense. I just want to be safe with our funds.” he said as he lifted his bag unto the table. “Alright I’ll take it.” he decided.

Erhard grinning at him, “Thanks a ton! Gotta say, you got a good nose for deals.” he praised as Matt reached into his coin purse and provided the funds needed.

Myne thanked him graciously as he paid for the goods, however as he set the coin pouch back inside his bag, he saw the fragments of the balloon monsters he fought earlier. “By the way, you wouldn’t happen to take these monster remnants would you?” he asked, pulling out one of the scrapes.

Erhard shook his head, “No I don’t, but there are certain merchants who take those kinds of good off your hands.” he informed them.

After finding an inn to rest for the night in, the hero and his adventurer ordered some food and drink for dinner. Taking a seat at a small table for two beside the staircase leading upstairs, Matt took a bite of the chicken he had gotten, humming in satisfaction at the taste, “This might be better than what I had at the castle.” he commented as he stabbed his fork into one of the bits of meat and ate. His dad was big into cooking, meat especially, and while the inn food was good it still wasn’t as good as his dad’s grilled burgers.

God I’m going to miss fast food while I’m here. he realized.

Across from him Myne sat with the new armor she had gotten from Erhard, and….well she filled it out to say the least. Matt wasn’t stupid or blind, he clearly knew that Myne was beautiful, but his mother had instilled in him that women deserve respect like anyone else and weren’t pictures to stare at. Though it’s kind of hard when that armor doesn’t cover the upper part of her torso……wait why the hell doesn’t it?! he asked himself.

The armor basically covered her entire forearms with steel armor as well as her midsection with fancy black cloth covering her bicep and a white cape that went down to her hips. There was also greaves with this armor so she was offered more protection, along with plates on the sides of her skirt. However the upper portion of her body was…..a little bare, the peek of her cleavage showing that much. “I’m so glad your enjoying your meal.” she said pleasantly as Matt retived a map of the aera Erhard had given them as a bonus for buying his gear.

Setting it down on the table, he saw the capital of Melromarc and the town near the center, “Ok today we hunted in the fields here. Right?’ he asked for confirmation.

Myne nodded, “Yes, and tomorrow we’ll be heading to Laffan village just beyond this map. And past there, we’ll find a dungeon that’s perfect for rookie adventurers.” she informed, Matt cupping his chin and contemplating the information. “We may not make a lot of money, but it’ll give us a chance to level up.”

“In that case we’ll have to be careful with our money then, if we run out we might have to take on more dangerous monsters to get a profit.” he rationalized.

Myne nodded in agreement, “True, but with my new gear and you defending me? it should be a walk in the park!” she said with excited optimism.

Matt smiled, it was a solid plan, and a good start to leveling up. “Thank you, you’ve been a great help Myne. I’m not sure if I’d be well off without you here.” he said graciously.

“No problem.” she replied cheerfully, her eyes going to the glasses of red liquid beside their plates, “By the way sir hero, we have all this wine here, aren’t you going to drink some?” she asked, reaching out and picking up her glass. Matt looked at the glass and grimaced, he didn’t like drinking, not that he had anything against people who did but he just didn’t like the idea of drinking something that could addle him.

So instead he waved a hand, “No thank you, I don’t drink.” he declined politely.

She deflated a little, “Oh that’s too bad, this is a really fantastic vintage.” she commented before taking a drink and spitting her glass down. Lowering it from her lips she gave a pleasant sigh, “After the long day we’ve had I’d love to share it with you.” she said, siding the now empty glass across the table and clicking it against his untouched one with a lidded gaze.

Matt felt his heartbeat increase at the suggestion, Is she…….well she was the only one who joined my party…..so maybe she….no! Wait, she’s had a whole glass of wine. And I don’t know if she’s thinking straight. It’s not right, no. “I’m flattered, but I’ll have to insist, I need to stay sharp after all.” he insisted. It wasn’t like back home, he would probably have a glass out of courtesy if that was the case, but then he could get a ride home with no issue. But here, for all he knew there were people waiting for some drunk to stumble out of a bar and make them their victim.

“Oh well, that’s too bad.” she said in defeat. She chuckled to herself, “That’s a hero for you I suppose.” she admitted with a shrug.

Matt raised an eye, “What do you mean?”

“This country is a matriarchy, no man from here would ever turn down a drink offered by a woman.” she explained, making Matt’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Really? That’s interesting. I hadn’t noticed.” he said, taking a look a round the inn and noticing a few young woman scattered about.

Myne gave him a soft smile, “It’s alright, you’ll learn.” she assured.

Matt smiled back at her, despite the circumstances he was honestly was fascinated by Melromarc and it’s world. Every tidbit of information he learned, he made a mental note of, but today he had enough, he as beginning to get tired and there was abed upstairs with his name on it for the night. Taking the last bite of his food, he pushed the plate forward, “I think I’m turning in, is that ok or is there anything else we need to discuss?” he asked.

Myne raised a hand and waved him off, “No, no. It’s fine, I’ll be up after bit, I’m going to finish up here.” she said, her food not really touched yet. She closed her eyes and tilted her head as Matt stood up and walked past her, “Although drinking alone can get so lonely.” she muttered.

Stopping at the bottom of the staircase, Matt turned to the adventurer, “Myne?” he asked, the redhead looked back at him, “Thank you, for everything. Joining up with me, showing me the basics, it means a lot.” he said honestly. When no one had joined him at first, he was admittedly nervous, he didn’t know where he would begin but with Myne? They already had a plan to prepare for the waves when they came after a day, she was smart, and one person who was smart or clever enough was worth more than a full party.

The young lady smiled, “It’s totally fine, I mean it. I’ll see you in the morning Sir Hero.” she said, bidding him goodnight which Matt returned.

Entering the room for the night, Matt stripped down to the tunic and trousers he had gotten, setting the money he had remaining down on the table looking outside the window, he poured the contents out and recounted the funds he had. Ok room was 30 copper pieces, meal for two was fifteen. But that barely cost us a silver piece so we have 199 pieces of silver left. he thought as he gathered a stack of nine silvers and pocketed them, If we run out before we get paid by the king, this will last us over a week. And by then we can get some cash of our own hopefully. he reasoned before walking over to the bed.

His armor was draped over the chair of his desk and the clothes and wallet were tucked away in the drawer of the cabinet beside the door. Laying down on the bedding, he released a long sigh, the fighting, if he could really call punching and slamming balloons with a shield fighting, was probably the most exercise he had gotten in a while. He was somewhat sore, but nothing a good rest wouldn’t sort out.

This day started out like shit but ended pretty decently. Considering I’m infinite miles away from home? I’ll call that lucky. he thought to himself, staring up at the ceiling, the candlelight beside his bed flickering shadows around the room. He frowned as the thought wormed it’s way into his head, Home…..god, dad is probably freaking out. Evan too. he thought worriedly of his father and brother. His hope was that when they were transported back to their home, the time they spent here would be relative to them, so they were just gone a second.

I’m not sure if dad could take it. Me disappearing like that……..he’s been through enough. I just…..I wish I could send some sort of message. A letter in a bottle would do just…..tell him I’m coming back. he thought with a heavy heart. He loved his family, his brother may have gotten on his nerves like a fly buzzing around his head sometimes but he also was his flesh and blood. And his dad, his father was the ideal man to him, he wasn’t perfect but he was strong as oak in terms of will.

I’ll ask about it next time I see the King. He may not be able to send us home but maybe- he pondered before the echo of a voice penetrated the wall. Two familiar voices of Motoyasu and Itsuki where muffled by the door, Huh, what are the odds? They’re crashing here tonight too. he noticed as he pulled the cover up from the bed and laid down beneath it.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his phone and turned the device on, opening the smartphone’s photos, he found a picture of his family together. They had gone up to Lake Michigan for vacation once a year during the summer. They were all on the shore wearing swimwear and smiling, him, his brother, his dad, and his mom…..

Turning off the phone, he once more put it in his pocket and leaned up to the side table to blow out the candle. Darkness enveloped the room, and sleep quickly took the shield hero.

I wish I never fell asleep.

When Matthew woke up the next morning, it was to the overcast sunlight beaming through his window, getting up from bed, he walked to the window and looked out to the empty roads below. Ugh, what time is it? Eh, never mind. Hopefully the kitchen is open so I can get some food. he thought as he looked down at the desk….only to find the sack of money was gone. “Wait….” he turned to the chair he left his chainmail on last night, it too was gone. “No….nonono!!” he muttered as realization started to dawn on him.

Rushing to the cabinet, he didn’t see the carriages of soldiers unload two dozen knights.

It’s all gone!! All my clothes and gear!!! I’ve been robbed!!!! SONOFVABTCH!!!!!!! He mentally screamed when he didn’t find his clothes that had came with him from his world. Aw damn! That means my wallet is gone too! he realized, rushing out the door to his room and turning to the one beside his and knocking on the door in rapid succession. “Myne?! Are you in there?” he called out. “I uhh…..I got robbed.” he embarrassingly said as he tried to open the door, only to find it locked.

Hey maybe she got robbed to! he realized as a loud set of armor stopped at the end of the hall where a group of knights stopped. Oh….well that’s convenient. “Oh man am I glad to see you guys! Your not going-“ he began before one of them stepped forward with a serious expression.

“Shield hero?” he asked. Matthew nodded, “The king has sent for you. Come with us.”

I wish I never woke up.

But most of all…….I wish I never came here.

Matthew was shoved to the ground of the throne room harshly, as he picked himself up he was shocked to have a number of spears pointed at him, “What the-whats the idea!?” he asked as he looked around he saw the other heroes gathered in the room in front of the throne along with Myne. The peanut gallery from the day prior was there was well, all of them looking solemnly at the redhead, “Myne? What’s going on? Why-“ he began before she shrieked and hid behind Motoyasu in fear. Matthew was shocked, “Wait are you ok? Were you robbed too?” he asked before turning to the King who wore a grimm expression, “Your majesty someone broke into my room and-“

“SILENCE YOU FILTH!!!” the king roared, making Matt recoil in shock, the King let out a sigh of shame, “Myne I’m sorry to ask my dear, but could you repeat your testimony which you told Sir Motoyasu?” he asked.

The young woman looked at the shield hero in disgust, “The shiled hero forced his way into my room, he was stinking drunk! He grabbed me and pinned me down!” she accused.

Matthew recoiled in disgust, “What!!!? No! I didn’t! I didn’t have a single-“ he was stopped as one of the knights surrounding him pointed their spears at his neck.

“He said something like, ‘The night is still young.’ and started tearing my clothes off!” she whimpered loud enough for everyone to hear. Matthew was appalled beyond belief. He would never force himself upon a girl! “I managed to get away and ran down the hall to sir Motayasu! Who happened to be staying at the same in!” she lied.

Motoyasu looked at Matthew in disgust, “IF she hadn’t asked me to wait until dawn and call the knights, I would have gladly cut you down myself!” he spat venomously at the American.

Matt shook his head in denial, “No! I went straight to bed last night! I even heard you and Ituski out in the hall!!” he retorted angrily before realizing something. Instead of the clothing he arrived in, Motoyasu was wearing the chainmail he got yesterday!! “Wait, where did you get that chainmail armor?! That’s mine!” he acused.

The spear hero scoffed, “Are you calling me a thief? Myne gave this armor to me as a special gift when I met her at the inn yesterday.” he explained, placing an arm around the girl who was cowering into his side. Matthew gritted his teeth in anger, she was lying!

The king stood from his throne, “To think the cardinal shield hero would commit the greatest sin in this country!” he snarled in disgust.

The advisor to the king looked grimly at the hero, “In Melromarc even attempted sexual assault on a woman is punishable by death.” he informed.

The king pointed directly at the shield hero, “If you weren’t the shield hero, you’d be executed at once!!” he threatened violently.

Matthew felt the color drain from his face and his heart sink, Executed?! But I didn’t do anything!!! “I swear! I haven’t done anything!!” he pointed at Myne, “If what she says is true then why wait until this morning to tell the knights?! And even then why wouldn’t I have followed her the night before if what she was saying was true?! Where’s your evidence aside from what she says??!” he argued as a knight walked around the circle and kneeled before the king.

“We searched the Shield hero’s room as ordered, we um…” he struggled, “We found this, strewn across his bed.” he said, holding up a piece of torn lingerie he had never seen before.

Myne gasped abhorantly and the crowd of onlookers mimicked her, “You animal!!” Motoyasu snarled out.

The King growled, “The proof seems undeniable!” he barked.

Matthew shook his head, “No! That wasn’t there when I woke up! It must have been planted by someone! Not to mention she said I broke into her room drunk! Why would that be in my room!? Not to mention her door was locked when I woke up this morning when I was looking for her!” he argued.

Itsuki shook his head, “What a terrible shame, I was worried something bad might have happened but hoped you knew better.” he said in disgust, Matt looked at the bow user abhorrently. He was talking down to him like he was some child! He was just a teenager!!

Ren’s cold gaze focused on him, “Guess he thinks a hero can do whatever the hell he wants. And get away it!” he said vilely.

“It’s not true I swear!!!” Matthew shouted, his stomach felt three sizes too small, he felt sick. He never once touched Myne, she was lying!

“This world isn’t some consequence free playground for you! Know your place scoundrel!!” he ordered, making Matt’s anger rise even higher.

He’s a fucking moron!!! All of them are!!! he turned his gaze to Myne as she lowered her hands from her eyes.

And mockly stuck her tongue out at him.

You…..you….you….Anger boiled his blood, ALL of you!!!! You ‘heroes’ who treat this all like a game! You Didn’t even care about anyone until you got rewarded for it!! And you, who lied to my face from the very beginning!! he thought venmonusly as his hands balled into fists, his knuckles turning white with how hard he was clentching them. “Your lying!” he shouted as he stood up, the guards around him closed in, trapping him with their spears and bracing against him as he grabbed the shaft of one for leverage.

She shriked and turned into Motoyasu’s arms, “Shut your mouth you criminal!!” he sneered in disgust.

“Fuck you, you dense moron!! Ren! You saw me in the field the other day! I was wearing that armor Motoyasu got from Myne! How could that be?!” he asked the sword user.

Ren looked at Motoyasu, “He was wearing something similar, but it could be a common armor.” he reasoned. “He’s refusing to admit he’s guilty, and making nonsensical accusations.” he stated coldly.

Itsuki looked hard at the shield hero, “I know what your thinking and your right. He doesn’t deserve a shred of mercy.” he agreed.

“I knew it. It was a mistake to summon all four together at once.”

“Exactly! They shouldn’t have summoned the shield hero at all!”

“But who could have known he’d be such scum?”

Who the fuck cares about the shield!!!?! he looked at the weapon on his forearm, No….it….it is…..it’s all about the shield. Ever since I got here….they’ve treated me like shit!! This country hates me, and I haven’t even done anything! Fuck!!! I didn’t even ask to be brought here!!! Why…why should I care about them then!!? If they hate me then they don’t need to keep me here!

“Then send me back! Send me home if you don’t believe me! Summon another shiled hero! I didn’t ask for this!!” he demanded, they couldn’t kill him because he was the shield hero?

“So your just going to run away as soon as things get though?! You really are scum!!” Ren shot out condemningly.

Itsuki looked at him in disappointment, “After everything you’ve done how can you think of abandoning your job?”

Motoyasu on the other hand looked pleased by the idea, “I say let the coward run on home. Who wants a rapist good ridd-“

Matt’s emerald eyes flared in anger, “SHUT UP!!! SEND ME  BACK HOME NOW!!!” he demanded.

The king heaved a heavy sigh as he sat down, laying a hand on his forehead, “Believe me, I would like nothing more than to kick you out. But legends say no new heroes may be summoned untilall four of the original cardinal heroes meet their end.” he revealed, causing the four heroes to look at him in shock.

“What did you say??”Ren asked in disbelief.

“That’s insane!” Motoyasu protested.

Matt glared at him, “So you mean I’m stuck here?! We all are?! “

The king lowered the hand, “Not yet, but there is one way you may return home. Fight off all the incoming waves.” he revaled. Matt swore he felt his heart stop as the situation dawned on him.

He couldn’t go back home. “But sir, does that mean we’ll have to fight alongside a criminal like him?!” Motoyasu asked.

“That’s what your focused on!? He lied to us! He pulled us here against our will with no way of sending us back home!!!” Matthew screamed in anger, pointing at the King. The anger boiled over, “FINE YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! I’LL DO IT!” he screamed with a forceful push, knocking the knights binding back off their footing.

“Don’t move!” one of the knights shouted as they once again aimed their spears at him.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!!!” Matthew shouted as he swiped his arm, knocking into the spear and the force from the shield blowing all the knights back once more. He stared down the king, “So what’s the call? You gonna bring me out from the dungeon each wave? If so I’m not gonna last long! “

The King’s glare met his with just as much conviction. “There’s no more time before the next wave, so I won’t be imprisoning you. Scum or not, your still a hero, and one of the only beings left who can fight them all off. But news of your deeds has already spread to the people. That is your punishment, you should never expect to live a decent life.” he stated.

The shield hero glowered at him, “Clearly.” he spat out before turning towards the doors to the throne room. As he walked, he felt weight shift in his pocket and the jingle of silver coins. The ones from last night, the ones I stowed away for emergencies. he looked over his shoulder to the king. Fuck it. Reaching into his pocket he retrieved the silver coins, “Shove it up your ass!” he snarled out as he threw the money at the feet of Myne and Motoyasu.

The spear hero looked down at the coin before looking back up to Matt as he walked away, “Hey! Wait one second!” he shouted as he ran over, grabbing him by the wrist.

Matt’s head turned to his with spite, “Let go of me before I break your hand one finger at a time!” he snarled out before yanking his arm free. “I got to get ready for the waves. Without someone trying to backstab me.” he hissed as he made his way out of the throne room.

As the shield hero left the room, none of those in the room noticed the shadow in the rafters watching the trial silently, a cloak and mask watching the fall of the shield hero.

Once the adrenaline died down, Matt finally felt it. Numbness.

The accusations, listening to Myne tell her lies, it made his stomach churn and his eyes burn with tears. But he refused to let them fall, as he made his way through the town, people parted way out of fear, disgust, and anger. Can’t say I blame them……fuck, I’m not a rapist! But….what’s the point? They all think-

“Hey! Shield Bro!” Matt stopped at the voice and turned to see a furious Erhard. Before he could respond, the scruff of his turnic was grabbed and he was dragged into an alley off the main road, his back hit the wall with the behemoth of a blacksmith towering over him with his fist raised back in anger. “So I heard what you did to that girl you where with! I ought to punch you in the face!!” he angrily shouted.

Matt looked down, unable to meet his eyes, “…..so go ahead…..do it.” he muttered out, his throat closing in as he tried to keep it together a little while longer.

The grip on his shirt loosened and silence took over the alley, “Kid….look at me.” His eyes looked up to Edhard, instead of disgust, instead of hate, instead of utter distain, he saw patience. Which quickly morpthed into sadness, “You didn’t do it, did you?” he asked, letting go of the shield hero. He didn’t see frustration or guilt in the green eyes of the hero, instead he saw shame, disgust, and pain.

“No I didn’t…….not like anyone will believe me.” he said lowly, looking out to the street before starting to walk.

“Hold up a second.” Edhard stopped him.

Minutes later they were beside his shop and the building next to it with the blacksmith presenting a green cloak with thick clothing. “Your not going to get far in those clothes.” he noted. Matt took the clothing and inspected it, “Consider it a parting gift.” he said, Matt looked up at the shop owner.

“….how much?’ he asked.

The man sighed, “Doesn’t matter since your broke, but we’ll call it a clearance sale, and say five coppers.” he decided.

Matthew looked down, “I promise I’ll pay you back.” he swore before putting on the new armor.

It wasn’t anything fancy, it had a set of heavy brown pants with a belt holding it in place, his upper body was covered with a pullover like  cloth with a golden trim around the collar that popped up to his chin, as well as a lighter brown vest with short sleeves that added both warmth and another protective layer. However what stood out most was the green cloak that wrapped around his neck like a scarf with a button to hold it in place with it wrapped around him. Walking through town and out towards the fields, the numbness was gone, and just anger took over.

It took a few minutes until he was out in the fields again, the small balloon monsters from yesterday shifting through the grass and lunging at him, one of them biting down on the back of his leg but Matthew not even noticing. Another latched onto his arm, looking down at the enemy creature he snarled before grabbing ahold of it with his empty hand and punching it as hard as he could with his right. It flew into another as it bounced up and shot back at the shield hero who reeled his shield back and slammed it into the creature popping it as a dozen of the small monsters converged on the hero.

“Come on.” he growled out as he kicked one, tuning on his heel and punching another, “Come on!!” one lunged at him which he blocked with the small shield and slammed down onto the ground, popping it as well. “COME ON!!!!”

Rain fell down from the sky as Matthew took cover beneath a tree line, in the distance he could see the town of the kingdom peeking out from over the hilltop. Within a small, hollowed out section of the tree, he found cover from the rain as he fed remains of the monsters to his shield. The hero looked at the status screen in front of him, he was now at level 2. But I had to fight all damn night to do it. he thought sourly. The anger in his chest had died down for now, most of it put into the remains at his feet.

It made the pile he and Myne had gathered look like a small scrap. After feeding enough of the scraps to his shield, he had finally gotten the Balloon Shield Skill. However all it did was improve his attacks against balloons. Ok…..one problem at a time. I got a level up, but now I need some actual money. I can’t camp out every night, at least not without proper supplies. he thought, reaching over his shoulder and rubbing a sore spot from sleeping on the ground. His clothes had kept him warm, but he barely gotten any sleep.

Running a hand over his face, he felt the small hairs around his mouth and cheeks prickle a little, Hygiene isn’t really important. But I need a coin. Edhard told me that there’s people in town who will buy monster remains. It might be my only way of income. he thought as he gathered the remains from his ‘hunt’ earlier. As he stood up and walked through the field, more balloons slid towards him. He gave them a glance but sighed, “Honestly I’m too tired to even do anything about you fuckers. Not like you can hurt me.” he said as one of them leapt and bit down on the side of his shirt.

Matthew continued onward as another but the underside of his left arm. He wished that this was all some horrible dream he would wake up from, but that wasn’t the case.

Getting back into town wasn’t a problem, the kinghts and townspeople alike met him with nothing but contempt but none tried to stop him walking through town. His cloak covering his body, he made his way through the town in search of a trader who would take the balloon scrapes he had. However he came to another hurdle, I can’t read a single fucking thing. he thought irritatedly to himself as he looked at the sign of a shop. He slid the shield out from under his cloak and glared at it, Sure you can translate speech but letters? Noooo, that’s too much for the magic bullshit shield that doesn’t let me use another weapon. he thought spitefully as he leaned against the wall of a building.

His first thought was to ask for help, but that quickly died when he realized that no one would try and help him. So instead he looked out for adventures, if they weren’t heading towards the gate of the town, then they had to be returning for something. Seeing a man with a sword strapped to his side and a few balloon scraps hanging out the back of his pocket was a good a lead as any and tailed the man from a distance until he came to a cubside shop. Hiding behind the corner of the shop, he listened to the merchant, “Let’s see, for these little things? How’s about one copper for every pair sound?” he offered.

Ok so that bitch wasn’t lying about how much they were worth. That’s a first. Matthew thought bitterly, waiting for the adventurer to conclude his business. A slight growl from beneath his cloak made him roll his eyes, as weak as the balloons were, he had to admit they were tenacious. They hadn’t let go even after walking into town, So there’s nowhere monsters won’t go. Good to know. he thought to himself.

When the money finished changing hands, he walked out from the alley and approached the shop, the adventurer turned around and saw him shooting him a hateful look he walked around like Matt had a disease. The merchant turned back to the counter, welcoming him, however he too clenched when he saw who it was.

Regardless, Matt pulled out the gathered ball of twenty balloon scrapes and laid them on the countertop, “How much for these?” he asked.

The merchant, whose balding had was covered with a pomus hat with brown sideburns looked at the goods, “Hmm, orange balloons are they?” he asked. He looked up smugly at the shield hero, “Looks about twenty by my count. How does one copper sound for the entire lot?” he offered like a snake.

Matthew’s eyes narrowed, “I heard you offer the last guy a copper for each pair.” he said bluntly.

The man cupped the side of his face, “Did I now? I don’t recall that.” he asked. Matt felt his fists clench together beneath his cloak, this weasel was trying to cheat him!! “You must understand I’m running a business here.” he replied.

Matt sneered, “Well how much will I get for a live specimen?” he asked, the merchant’s smirk vanished as Matt threw his cloak up and showed the trio of balloons latching onto him. The man yelped in shock before Matt took one of them off and presented it to him, the balloon growling and snapping it’s jaws at the merchant, the man let out a shriek as Matt reached his other hand to his shirt and pulled him close, keeping the balloon just out of reach of his nose.

“Wait! Please! No!” the man yelped as the balloon groaned.

Matt smirked to himself, “Well you’re the one who said that those are worth only one copper. I’m looking for a fair deal here, just like the guy before. Feel me?” he asked with an amused tone at seeing someone finally a little scared of him.

“Ye-Ye-Yes! I Feel you! And I was mistaken, those scrapes are definitely worth two copper a piece!” he agreed, trying to struggle out of the hero’s grasp.

Matt nodded, “See? Fair market trade. And if you keep buying from me I might even give you a discount. Sound good?” he offered.

“YES!!” the man shrieked before Matt finally let him go and dropped the balloon to the ground, only for it to shoot back up under his cloak and latch onto the hero again. “I-I-I’ll be sure to make sure you have a fair price next time sir.” he assured nervously as he handed him the copper pieces he had, which was only eight.

Maybe I could get a silver out of him if…….no, I’m not going to extort people. he decided, shaking his head of the thought. “By the way, I’d advise you to spread the word about my fair deal policy will you?” he asked as he walked away from the stand with a little smirk for the first time since yesterday. The merchant agreeing to his demand as he walked off, I know that was wrong but…..god if it doesn’t feel nice to have at least a little control again. he thought to himself as he passed by another store. He lifted his cloak up at the balloons that were still biting down on him, “See I don’t get why anyone could be sacred of you guys…….In fact! I’m going to call you three Huey, Dewy, and Louie.” he decided jokingly to himself.

Stopping in the street, he noticed that in the window of the store were a number of green herbs. Wait a second. I’ve seen those before. They were out where I was camping last night…….hmm. he pondered, looking down at the copper pieces in his hand. Ok, first thing’s first. I gotta pay back a friend. he decided as he continued on his way.

Later that day when Erhard returned from the back room of his shop with a chest, he nearly set it down on the counter where a neat stack of six copper coins were sitting.

The next day, Matthew spent the remaining two coppers on a satchel he immediately took to the forest outside the kingdom. Setting through the brush, he kept his eyes peeled for the herb he saw in the shop window. After walking around a small pond he found the plants that were identical to the ones he saw at the shop. Bingo! Took me a few hours but finally got you. he thought as he kneeled down in front of the herbs, which were stems with large leaves sprouting out of them.

Plucking one of the leaves off, the shield hero turned it over to inspect, Looks well enough. I mean I’m no flora expert but still, that merchant might buy these. he thought as he grabbed his satchel with his right hand, his shield coming into view. “Hmmm….I wonder….” he trailed off, looking between the plant leaf and his shield before feeding the leaf to the shield through the green gem.

His menu popped up with a notification <New Shields Unlocked>, showing he small shield in the center of a skill tree that branched out into a few other shield types like the Orange small shield he hag gotten from popping balloons, and a new Leaf Shield. Another notification pipped up, <There are shields with available skill unlocks>. “It worked! And…..it looks like that the more I use a shield, I’ll be more proficient and eventually I’ll get a permanent bonus from it!” he said in surprise as he read another notification.

Raising his shield up, he said, “Leaf Shield.” the emerald in the center of the shield glowed, showing a glypth of the symbol which the leaf shield had in the menu before it collased into a bright light and reformed into a news shield. Instead of the small shield he had been using for the past few days, it was now a thinner shield that resembled a plant leaf with a green middle and golden trim. “Ok then, what can you do?” he asked, reaching down and picking one of the herbs from the ground, the shield glowed green which flowed into the herb, making it grow into an even more prime condition.

He spent the rest of the day in the forest picking plants.

Who said foraging didn’t pay? Because they’re wrong! Matt thought to himself as he sat at a bar inside a inn. The owner and customers alike shot him dirty looks as he sat down and ordered some actual food to eat, but he ignored it and instead focused on planning on what to do next. The money he had gotten from the medicine merchant was more than what he planned, with the Leaf Shield’s ability to improve the quality of plants, he now had a way to make money steadily.

While nothing like the funds he had before, it was at the very least more reliable than a monthly pay. Looking down at his foot, he grimaced when he saw that someone spit on the potatos. Moving them aside with his fork he took a cautious bite from the chicken, however it was devoid of any taste, I haven’t really tasted anything since that day….fuck did I get cursed or something? he wondered, he didn’t really even feel hungry, to be honest he still felt somewhat numb at times. But he knew he had to eat in order to keep his strength up and not starve, so despite not feeling the hunger, he ate.

Ok, next problem. Leveling up, I can punch and slam balloons all day but if a real monster shows up? I’m gonna be in trouble, I can defend sure, but if it takes me a hour to put down a monster then it’s just plain not worth the effort. he rationalized. Which meant he needed party members, but with how that went last time? He didn’t want to get screwed over again, and even then-

“Oh great shield hero?’ a sing song voice said behind him, Matt tensed up at the name. Behind him, a trio of men approached, one of then thin with unmangled hair, another dressed presentably but who looked smug, and a third who was large in size with a bowl cut hairstyle. “We’ll be your party.” the lanky one offered.

The large bowl cut chuckled. “Yeah that’s right, thank your lucky stars.” he said in a thick voice, putting a hand on the hero’s shoulder which immediately tensed. Myne had tried the same trick on him before, and he wasn’t going to fall for it again.

Taking the milk he had been given, he gulped it down before answering, “If your serious, then I have some conditions. That good?’ he asked tearsely.

The large one behind him chuckled at his friends, “Sure.”

“First of all, I pay by performance. Understand?” he asked.

“Nope.” the lanky one replied instantly, making the three burst into laughter. Matt had to fight the urge to brain one with his plate, but causing a scene wasn’t going to help. Plus he didn’t want to pay for a plate.

“It means that I pay based on what we get. And as the leader, I keep 40% of what we make.” he explained, making the arrogant smirks vanish from their faces. “And I’ll pay you based on your performance, meaning if you do well? You get paied well. Do nothing, you get jack shit.” he laid out as he stood from the bar, turning around and looking at his ‘applicants’ in the faces.

“That’s not fair! That means if you get a hair up your ass you may not pay us at all!” the lanky one protested.

Matt shrugged, “Trust that I wont.” he said before walking past them to the door out of the inn, the three following behind him, murmuring to themselves until they walked down the street from the inn a ways.

“Fine, just pay us for the equipment and-“ the large one started.

“Buy it yourselves. I’m looking to make a profit, if I invest in you and you just fuck off? That only hurts me.” he coldly replied, turning around the glare at the three. They had no intention of being in a party, that was clear, “If you want my money? Take it yourselves.” he threated with a glare.

The large bowl cut chuckled, “See this could be easy-“ he started as he took a step forward. Matthew’s cloak flew open, in his hand one of the balloons reeled back. “SHIT!!” the large one screamed in fear as the monster was thrown at him. Raising his hand the balloon bit it while Matt charged forward. Swinging his fist with the shield into the side of his face, hearing a loud ‘CRACK!’

Ashe fell to the ground, the lanky one pulled a knife and swiped at the hero, he responded by simply raising his shiled and blocking it, the blow reflected off the shield, knocking him off his feet and onto his ass. “Fuck this! Run!!” The remaining one said, helping the fat one get up from the ground as he held his broken nose and scampered away, the lanky one running after them.

The balloon rolled across the ground to the shield hero who stopped it with his foot, “I can defend but my offense is complete shit. And without good offense I can’t defeat monsters. And then I can’t get EXP. And since I can’t farm, I can’t raise my attack to begin with.” he said to himself in frustration. “I’m trapped in a fucking cycle!” he shouted in anger before kicking the balloon away. Backing up to a wall, the young man leaned back, as the last five minutes just showed he also couldn’t trust party members, easpically now given the rumors spreading about him. There’s my next problem…..so how the fuck do I solve it? he wondered.

“Looks like you could use some help.” a gruff voice from the shadows asked. Matthew turned his head to the source of the voice and saw….a rather peculiar sight. Leaning out from around the corner of an alleyway was a man. He was older than Matthew but short, coming up to around to the shiled hero’s waist standing up straight. He was large as well, his shape almost resembling an egg. However his clothing is what threw Matt off, he wore a suit jacket remenancnt of what a butler would wear, complete with white gloves and purple fur collar. He wore a set of dark spectacles and a top hat, he also had a short but puffy mustache that twirled into tips at the end. Stepping out from the alley, Matthew readied for another confrontation.

“It’s clear you don’t have any. And what luck! I have exactly what you need!” he offered excitedly.

Why do I have the feeling I’m about to be sold a used car? Matthew thought to himself, crossing his arms beneath his cloak, “And what do you think I need?” he asked suspiciously, raising an eye to this man.

“Not party members if that’s what your thinking.” the man denied with a shake of his head, “No, no, what I offer is something far more convenient.” he explained, walking up to the shield hero until he was standing right before him, looking up at the doubtful young man. While he was dubious of him, Matthew couldn’t deny the offer was interesting, it was possible that there were other options than party members as way to gain EXP. Just yesterday he learned his shield had very lucrative uses when the other three heroes told him that it was useless. “Interested?” he asked.

“Depends on what it is your offering.” he replied cautiously.

The man chuckled, “Your every bit the man as the rumors said you were.” he noted in a positive voice.

“So you know who I am then.” Matt noted.

The man adjusted his glasses, “Of course I do, brave Shield Hero Sir.” he responded, Matt’s face reflecting in the lens of his glasses. “If my offer interests you, follow me, and let us discuss it further.” he said, turning around and walking towards the alley he emerged from.

Well……not like I have any other options. Matt thought before following the odd man. Walking through the alleys of the town, the pair soon entered a small square which contained a circus tent in the middle of it. A circus? Well it is a kingdom. What is he going to introduce me to the guy who can swallow swords? Matt thought sarcastically as he followed the man into the tent.

“Right this way.” he led as Matt entered behind him, when his eyes readjusted to the darkness, he found the interior of the tent had dozens, if maybe hundreds of cages.

Cages…..wait, maybe an animal party member? That could actually work, I helped train Copper. Training a hellhound or something could work in the long run. he thought, “So…what exactly are you offering me?” he asked as they passed by some empty cages.

“Can’t you tell? It’s slaves my boy!” he jovially stated.

……what!!!??!

“What?!?!?” he yelped as he thought the same thing.

The man spun around and reached his arms out, “Yes! I run a slave trading business!” he said proudly, behind him a few red eyes opening within the cages behind him. Matt gulped audibly, suffice to say, he ABHORED slavery. The idea of owning another person? Another living human being? An animal was one thing, but a person?! Hell, he had a hard time understanding how anyone could own something like a lemur or tiger!

“Wh-Why?!” he barked out in shock, “Why would I want to own a slave?!” he asked in an accusing tone.

The man’s grin never faltered, “Oh I don’t know, the fact they can neither lie nor betray their master.” he revealed. That clicked things into place for Matt, “We keep all our slaves in line by placing them under the effects of a curse. A strong, seal based curse. If they misbehave, it can take their very life.” he explained. “So what do you say?” he asked.

Matt swallowed it solved the problem he had, but it was WRONG. He wanted to go home, he wanted to stop the waves, but was this really the only way? Seemingly sensing the potential customer’s uneasiness, the Slave trader gestured to follow, “Come now, allow me to show you what I have available.” he said, walking down the isle of cages. Matthew followed if only to see what kind of Slaves they were.

They….weren’t human. Within the cages he saw humanoids with animal like features, or entre creatures that didn’t even resemble humans. “These aren’t humans…” he said to himself in relief.

“Technically they still are.” The slave Trader chimed in, “The creatures that look mostly human, but aren’t, are what we refer to as, ‘Demi-Humans’.” he explained, Matthew recalled seeing some people in town who fit that description. But as he recalled…..they all were working when he saw them. “They’re mostly used as servants or manual labor. Beastmen are Demi-Humans whose appearance lean more towards the animal side. They’re often used as body guards, or gambled on as participants in death matches.”

This world is so fucked up. Matthew thought to himself.

“And since this country practices Human supperemecy-“

Ok this country in particular is SO FUCKED UP.

“-Demi-humans are thought to be closer to monsters. Life can be quite hard for them here, as such, they’re slaves.” he explained.

Matthew felt utter disgust, before he could tell the slave trader to go to hell, he heard a cough. It was small, but violent, turning to the scource of the noise he saw a cage with a tarp covering part of it. Approcahing the cage, he heard the rattle of chains and the cough grow worse. Lifting the tarp up slightly he looked inside.

Within the cage was a little girl, she couldn’t be any older than 10 years old. Around her neck and wrists were cuffs with a chain connecting them together. She was thin, like all the muscle and fat had been drained out of her. She wore a single cloth that clearly belonged to some other creature but managed to cover her like a dirty dress. She had long, LONG brown hair with sides that went over her shoulders and down to her waist. The most noticeable feature were the pair of ears on top of her head that resembled a raccoon’s, along with the fluffy tail that was laying behind her.

She looked up to him, her irises dim pink.

She’s…..she’s just a kid…….fucking hell…..

……he was not going to leave a child here. Turning to the slave trader, he couldn’t believe the next words out of his mouth, “How much for her?” he asked.

The trader walked over with a joyful look, “Ah! You’ve a fine eye, these are some of the cheapest slaves I have. However the mangey half-racoon is sick as a dog, and a few spokes short of a cartwheel, know what I mean?” he asked. Matthew’s teeth grinded against each other, “You see her previous owner loved his torture. Heh, heh, heh, she’s not long for this world.”

That confirmed it then. “No, this one…..she’s what I’m looking for.” he said, the girl looking up at him in fear.

I crossed a line that day…….I still think that now, but I was in such a bad place…..some days I wonder if I hadn’t been accused, I’d have found that place eventually and freed all of them. But even then that shitheel of a king and country think that they’re not people.

But I needed to stop the waves, I needed to level up, I needed someone who could fight. So I got someone who could. But the catch? I had to hate myself for doing it.

Chapter Text

The Slave

Matthew didn’t feel the sting of the knife as he poked the tip of it against his thumb, when the skin was pierced by the blade he lifted it over the tray set upon the table the salve trader, Beloukas, had set out in preparation for the slave crest. The demi-human he had chosen and paid for was sitting on the floor of his carriage with her knees tucked in, watching the two in silent fear as the deal was finalized. The blood dripped out of his thumb and into a small saucer of ink, “Now, then let us begin.” the trader said, taking the saucer and brush from the tray and approaching the slave girl.

She coward as he approached, however a hand on his shoulder stopped him as the hero walked forth and kneeled down in front of the girl, the lowered her head, too scared to look him in the eyes. “Will it hurt?” he asked with concern.

“Only but for a moment, not to worry, there’ll be no permanent damage.” he assured, walking over beside the hero. She looked up at the trader, her hands clasped in front of her chest which he put his hand on, using the bare minimum of force to move her hands and reveal the crest on her skin directly on her pectoral. Dipping the brush in the ink, he raised it to her flesh.

“Wait.” Matthew said, the girl nervously looked at him and froze when she saw his hand offered to her. “If it hurts? Squeeze my hand.” he offered. The girl looked at his empty hand with trepidation, expecting it to strike at her like a snake. But looking at her new owner’s eyes, she didn’t see any malice or foul intent. Timidly she lifted her hand up and closed it around his fingers. When she gripped them, Matt took a breath, “Alright, do it.”

The trader pressed the brush against her crest and swirled around it, the ink glowing purple and smoke burning against her skin. She bit out a scream and squeezed his hand as tight as she could as the burning pain set in. What the fuck am I doing? Matthew asked himself. He was getting a slave! Never something he could even consider, But when I saw her….this kid in a cage……I couldn’t just leave her there.

Within his vision, he saw a notification appear, <Contract: Demi-Human Slave: A Acquired.> flashed in front of him before a status screen of her appeared in his vision under the ‘Contracts’ tab of his status screen. Set as companion? he read.

“There you go, she’s all yours.” Beloukas said with satisfaction as he walked to put the ink away. The slave gasped as she recovered from the crest’s effects, her hadn slipped out of her’s and held the now tender skin on her chest. Reaching under his cloak, he pulled out his pouch of 30 silver, it was a chunk of all his earnings he had gotten from selling herbs and monster remains.

Tossing it to the slave trader, he turned his attention back to the girl and waited until the pain she was in subsided before speaking, “What’s your name?” he gently asked.

The hunched over Demi-Human turned her head to her master, her eyes looking at his saddened expression, “R-Raphtalia.” she said quietly before coughing.

She’s sick, scared, starving, she’s wearing a sheet for clothing, and…..hell where do I even begin? he asked himself. He offered her a hand once again, this time she took it with little hesitation, “Raphtalia, how about we get you some new clothes that fit?” he asked. The girl was taken off guard by the offer, swallowing she nodded obidently before he helped pick her up from the ground and led her out of the carriage of the trader.

“Nice doing business with you! Please come again, we’re always open!” the slave trader called out.

I was wrong, he’s like a car dealer but worse. Matt thought as he led Raphtalia out of the circus tent, notcing that her name had taken the place of “Demi-Human Slave A” in the corner of his vision below his HP, SP, and MP with her own gauges as well. When they exited the tent it was morning, Raphtalia lifting her hand to shield her gaze from the sun as her eyes adjusted. Christ how long was she in there? he wondered to himself, watching as he couldn’t look up from the ground without her eyes starting to burn. “Um…..do you want to hide under my cloak?” he offered, hoping that it would give her at least some protection from the sun.

Looking up at him, she nodded. As he was about to pull the cloak back he realized he already had something under there, “Uh…..so….don’t freak out but I have balloon monsters under here.” he said honestly.

The racoon demi human’s eyes widened in fear and she recoiled away from him, he raised his hands, “It’s ok! It’s ok! They won’t hurt you, they’re too busy chewing on me. See?” he asked, lifting his cloak up to show the trio of balloons that were biting into his left side. Raphtalia looked absolutely terrified at the sight of them.

“W-W-Why do you have monsters?!” she shrieked in fear, her legs shaking, looking like she might fall any second.

Matthew bit his lip, “Well…..to scare people who try and hurt me.” he replied honestly, he pointed to one of them, poking it in the face, “They don’t hurt me, my defense is too high for them to so I kind of let them latch on for when I need them.” he explained. Of course saying it out loud like that made him sound like he was crazy, however the slave girl had stopped shaking as she looked at the monsters, they seemed too interested in her master to really care about her. “This is Huey, Dewy, and Louie.” he introduced, pointing to a certain balloon with each name. “I promise they won’t so much as look at you.” he said, running his empty hand over his chest, “Cross my heart.”

Standing up a little straighter, she slowly walked to his opposite side where the balloons weren’t, just to make sure she felt safe, he slid his shield down his arm and put it over her shoulder, feeling her flitch from his hand he recoiled slightly and instead let it hover over he as they walked, the cloak blocking out the brightness of the new day. Well that could have gone better.

I managed to get her out of there, but she was terrified of me. Given the circumstances I didn’t blame her in the slightest. The trader mentioned the last person who owned her tortured her……when I find out who, I’m going to repay that. No one should do that to a child, doesn’t matter who or what they are. But what made me more pissed was the fact that this country allowed it!

But I didn’t think of that then, all that mattered was getting this girl somewhere safe and sound.

“Ok. So why do you have a little girl with you?” When Matthew entered his store with a small Demi-Human child under his cloak and gave him six silvers for some clothes and a small knife, it obviously raised some questions. Fetching a small set of chainmail armor that would fit her, he handed it to her and Matthew directed her to the changing room.

Matthew’s elbows leaned on the counter as his hands cradled his head, “She’s…….Ok please hear me out before you say anything because it’s pretty messed up.” he admitted. Edhard crossed his arms over his chest and gestured the shield hero to continue. He told the blacksmith everything, meeting the slave trader, thinking that maybe he could get an animal companion, realizing that he was a slaver, and then seeing Raphtalia, “-And I saw this little girl…..this little girl in a cage because she was….she was different…..that’s wrong.” he rationalized before looking up at the blacksmith, “Do you know any way to get rid of a slave crest?” he asked.

The man sighed, “I’m sorry, I don’t. Slavery of Demi-Humans is legal in this country so I doubt anyone here would even know how to remove a slave crest.” he told him, making the hero drop his head in defeat. Edhard reached his hand out and put it on the young man’s shoulder, “But listen, from what you said? I think you did the best thing you could do.” he added, making Matthew look up at him. “And he has a point, if there’s no one who will party with you, then this might be your only choice.” he reasoned.

“But slavery is wrong! Hell, my home world abolished it decades ago!” he exclaimed before his shoulders sagged. Edhard was right though, and he hated it. “Fuck……ok, do you know where I can get her a bath or something?” he asked. There was a lot he needed to do for Raphtalia, clean clothes and a bath were a good start, some food as well, but what worried him was her cough.

The blacksmith hummed, “There’s an inn nearby that has a bathhouse with attendants, they can probably take care of that.” he told him, the hero nodding in thanks.

The changing room’s curtain slid open, they both turned to the slave girl wearing the new clothing, the armor she had resembled what Matthew could call a battle dress, it was red down the center with black on the arms and sides with a bronze trim, the front of the outer layer laced up in the front but hung loosely. Beneath was a dark beige long sleeve chainmail. She wore a thin belt around her shoulder which held the small dagger he had bought for her, instead of her bare feet she now had a pair of laced up boots for a child. “S-Sorry for taking too long.” she apologized, looking down at the wooden floor.

Matthew kneeled down and smiled sadly, “Hey it’s fine. Do they fit alright?” he asked. The slave girl looked up and nodded, she still had the cufflinks on her wrists which he noticed. “You know you don’t need to wear those cuffs if you don’t want to.” he added.

She looked at him oddly before touching the collar around her neck, “I…..I don’t know how to take it off.” she admitted.

Matthew gestured her over, she slowly approached him, gesturing her to turn around she did as she was told, lifting her hair, which was matted in a few places. He winced when he saw the raw skin around her neck from the collar, unlatching the back pin, the metal fell off her and hit the floor of the shop with a clunk. Raphtalia rasied her hands up and felt the skin of her neck, “Better?” he asked.

“Y-Yes sir.” she replied, turning around to look at him with a surprised expression from how concerned he was. She couldn’t imagine why though, ever since she became a slave…..she hadn’t seen any kindness.

Reaching down he picked up the collar from the ground, “What about the ones around your wrists?” he asked, pointing to them. She looked down and raised her hands, before shaking her head, they were almost like bracelets and unlike the collar it didn’t hurt to wear them. “Ok then.” Matthew replied before standing up and presenting the collar to Erhard, “Don’t suppouse you’d take this for smelting would you?” he asked.

Edhard took it from his hand, “It’ll make a fine sword.” he replied with a smirk.

Matthew nodded in gratitude before looking back down at Raphtalia, “Raphtalia, have you ever used a knife before?” he asked. The girl looked down at her waist where the small weapon hung, she looked at him and shook her head.

“N-No sir. I haven’t.” she said fearfully, he raised his hand and she flinched.

“It’s ok. But……look, I…..I need your help.” he began, making her open her eyes and look up at him. “My job is to kill monsters, but I only have a Shield….so I need you to help me kill them.” he said, making her eyes widen as he reached under his cloak and pull out one of the balloons she saw earlier.

“I-I-I-I can’t! It’s a-a-a monster!!” she whimpered out fearfully as she recoiled from the balloon.

Matthew felt the weight in his gut turn to led, “Hey you can do it! I’ve done it before and I just got this lousy shield, you have a knife.” he said encouragingly. The Demi-Human looked down at the knife and pulled it out of it’s sheath, grabbing it tightly by the handle. “That’s good, now stab it. Put all your weight into it.” he advised.

Raphtalia still looked unsure, looking down at the blade with shaky hands, her eyes met his again. “B-B-But don’t you need it?” she asked, this time with more confusion than fear.

He chuckled, “I’ll be honest, this is Louie the 6^th I’m holding right now. The 5^th I accidently popped when I rolled over in my sleep last night.” he admitted. Raphtalia took a deep breath before holding the knife out at him and running froth, plunging it into the balloon with a yell and a pop! She stumbled forward into Matthew who caught her, “See! You did it!” he said happily as he helped the slave stand up, her breathing heavy and the girl herself a little disoriented.

Looking down at the ground she saw the remains of the balloon as a small number popped up showing she gained 15xp, which Matthew saw as well in front of himself, “Wait what? I got experience too?” he asked in confusion.

“Yeah, you set her as a companion right?” Erhard asked, having watched the whole thing. When the shield hero nodded with a still confused look, “Wait, don’t tell me you didn’t make the girl you were with last time a companion.”

Matt’s eyes widened before narrowing in anger, that meant she didn’t even do her damn job and help him get stronger. “Oh that bit-“ he stopped himself when he looked down at Raphtalia who seemed to shrink from the anger in his voice. “-that….mean woman.” he corrected himself, not wanting to scare her.

The demi human noticed his change and tone and let herself relax a little bit before coughing, Matthew dropped down to a knee in concern, “Are you ok?” he asked worriedly. The girl looked up from her coughing fit and nodded, however it didn’t dissuade his worries, in his world one of the deadliest killers of medieval times wasn’t a sword or an arrow but disease. And he didn’t know the first thing about medicine, and the apothecary he sold his herbs to mentioned the medicine was in short supply, with most of his money put into getting Raphtalia he didn’t have enough to get it for her.

Ok, let’s think. We can get some cash by hunting monsters and scavenging, and then I can get her medicine. he reasoned. Standing up, he tilted his head to the door, “Come on Raphtalia, we have some work to do.” he said, making his way to the door.

The slave nodded as she watched him obediently, “R-right!”

Coming to the door, he gave the blacksmith a nod of thanks as he opened the door for the demi human, once again surprising her before exiting the store. As the pair walked down the street, Raphtalia no longer having an issue with the sunlight, Matthew cupped him chin as he thought of their money. Ok I have three silvers left. That can get us a meal or a room in town. Hmm, we might have to camp out tonight. I could get us a meal and- he thought before he heard someone fall.

Stopping and looking across the street, , Raphtalia bumped into him while he saw a pair of demi human children carrying boxes to a cart, “Move it you stinking demis!” the owner said, slapping a riding crop against his hand as one of them tripped over themselves, “Hey! I don’t have all day you moron!” he shouted at the child as the girl rushed over to the boy and apologized.

Oh fuck that. Matt declared to himself. Looking down to Raphtalia who was also watching the scene, he told her, “Stay right here a second ok?” he asked before walking across the street towards the man’s back. Reaching beneath his cloak he took off the small Balloon that was chomping on him before stopping behind the man and dropping it onto his coat and quickly walking away.

“What the-AGHHHH!!!!” the man screamed as the balloon bit into his back through his coat, taking off down the street and leaving the slaves he had been overseeing alone to watch him run away. “Get it off! Knights! Knights!” he yelled down the road as Matt circled back, dropping a few coppers between the slaves.

They both looked up at him and saw him lift a finger up to his lips, smiling at them and telling them to be silent about this.

As the two children nodded, Raphtalia watched the scene unfold in awe, she had never witnessed a human stand up for Demi Humans, much less ones they didn’t own! As she watched her master approach her, she felt something that she hadn’t in a long time. She felt safe. However when her stomach loudly growled, it quickly turned to embarrassment, “Hungry?” Matthew asked.

She looked straight ahead and shook her head in denial, “N-No sir.” she lied.

Matthew pressed his lips into a thin line, “Look, you don’t need to lie.” he said softly, his slave slowly looking up at him and seeing the concerned expression once again. “I’m hungry, so we’re heading somewhere to grab some grub. You can have some too.” he said before turning and walking towards a small pub he had saw on his way to town last night.

She followed behind him though the town until they reached the pub, as he walked inside she saw a sign outside beside the door, ‘We don’t serve demi-humans.’ written on the wood. “Uh, sir?” she asked, Matt stopping and turning to his companion. “Um…well, this place….um..” she struggled, unsure of how to tell her master that he was doing something wrong.

Walking over to her, she looked at the sign which he inspected, “Oh….well….this is a little awkward but….I can’t read.” he said.

Raphtali’s eyes widened as she looked up at her master who was scratching the side of his face with his nails, glancing down at her before looking back to the sign. She folded her hands together in front of her, “Well….it says….they don’t…serve demi humans…” she said in a low voice.

 Matthew glared at the sign as though he expected it to burst into flames before looking at her with a more even and mischievous look, “That’s what the balloons are for.” he said, lifting his cloak to show the last balloon chomping on his side. She looked at it before seeing him flash her a small smile and entering the pub, the demi human following in after him.

As they entered, the server with a plate in his hands called out, “Welcome to the inn!” he said welcomingly before seeing who it was, “Ugh….the shield hero.” he muttered as he walked past, Raphtalia staying close behind him.

‘Isn’t he the rapist?’

‘Shut up! He’ll hear you!’

Matt frowned as he took his seat at a table, Fuck these people, you’ll hate me for being the shield hero but you’ll get behind slavery? he thought, Raphtalia sitting across from him, “Can I get something to eat here?” he asked loudly so the bus boy heard him. As the server approached, Matthew noticed a family at the opposite side of the room at a table with a child, “I’ll have the cheapest lunch set you have, and she’ll have what that kid is having.” he said, pointing over at the family, the order for her surprising Raphtalia and making her lowered ears perk up.

Paying the nine coppers it cost, the bus boy walked away leaving the pair at the table with Raphtalia looking down at the table in awkwardness, “Why sir?’ she asked.

He raised a brow at the question, “Why what?” he asked before realizing what she meant, “Did you want something else?” he asked.

She stood up straight in her chair, shaking her head wildly, “No! I mean…why did you buy me food?” she asked. She had been fed before by only feeding on table scraps, it had been far too long since she had gotten an actual meal. Without knowing that fact she saw the saddened look on her master’s face, before he could answer, their food was brought back and whatever confusion she had left when she saw her food.

Her eyes widened in joy at the sight of the plate, there was meat, rice, apple slices, and some vegetables. All what a growing child needed for nutrition,  There was even a small flag in her rice! Matthew smiled at the sight of his happy companion, “Well? Dig in.” he ushered her gently.

She looked up at him still smiling, “It’s all for me!?” she asked excitedly, her tail wagging behind her, he nodded and she immediately dug in.

Matt couldn’t help but snort as he watched her pick a piece of food with her hands and eat it,  Man, reminds me of cousin Kristy when she was a kid. She ate like a dumptruck. he thought in amusement until Raphtalia apparently ate a little too fast for her own good, some food going down the wrong pipe as she straightened up and pounded her chest. He quickly passed her some water, “Here, drink this.” he said, the girl quickly gulping it down and clearing her wind pipe, “Take it easy, it’s not going anywhere.” he gently said.

She then took the spork utensil of wood, Wait they have sporks here?! and ate at a slower pace, “So, good pick?” he asked as she ate a bite of food, nodding happily at him before taking another bite. Matthew took a bite of his own, still not tasting anything but making sure that he didn’t show it to Raphtalia.

“Ok! Now!” Matthew called out as he blocked a bouncing Balloon with his shield and pushed it back, Raphtalia rushing out from around him and slicing it apart with her knife. In turn gaining both herself and her master more experience, taking a minute to breath, Raphtalia sheathed the knife and hunched over onto her knees, the demi human looked over her shoulder to see him gather the pieces of the monster in his hand before putting them in the satchel on his side. Standing up, he dusted his hands off, “How about we get back to camp?” he offered, she nodded readily.

Today had been spent with the two of them in the forest outside the town slaying balloon monsters, she had done most of the attacking with her master using his shield to defend himself and her while he also killed a few monsters. They had also gained another level due to their hard work, which her master seemed pleased with, walking though the shrubbery the came to a small clearing that Matthew had set up camp at, using the rest of his silver to get a sleeping bag for each of them

In the middle of their camp was a fire with four fish spoked through twigs roasting above the flames. Taking two of them out of the ground, Matthew offered them to Raphtalia, “For me?” she asked.

He nodded, “Yeah, I can’t eat four fishes all by myself.” he said, sitting down near the fire and throwing some more twigs on from a small pile he had gathered when he set it up. Setting the satchel he had down, he reached inside and pulled out some mushrooms they had found and began feeding them to his shield while Raphtalia took a bite of one of the roasted fish. All I’m missing is the camper, my dad, and my brother, and this would be another camping trip to the Ohio river. he thought wistfully, watching as his shield menu popped up with a notification of  new shields.

<Green Mush Shield Unlocked>

<Blue Mush Shield Unlocked>

Blending ability huh? Hmmm……I wonder….. he thought, looking at some of the herbs he had collected. I’m able to improve the quality of plants with my Leaf Shield, and I can blend them together with this one….maybe I can make my own medicine instead of having to buy it? he pondered as his level reached 5.

“Um…Master, sir?” he heard Raphtalia ask, looking up from his menu he saw her looking at him peculiarly. “Who are you? And what I mean by that is who are you really?” she asked, whatever nervousness she had during their first meeting all but gone.

Matthew couldn’t help but smirk, the slave trader had mentioned she wasn’t that bright, but she clearly caught on that he was different. “Well….I’m a hero. The Shield hero in particular.” he said, tapping his knuckle against the small shield. He couldn’t lie to her, she’d find out eventually anyway, not to mention the fact that he needed her to fight for him was pretty odd to begin with. Watching her eyes widen in what he saw as awe, he looked down at his shield and switched it to the leaf shield before taking out a leaf from a herb he picked earlier, the plant improving in quality.

As he worked, Raphtalia remembered how her mother and father first told her about the four cardinal heroes. There was the Sword, The Spear, the Bow, but most importantly there was the Shield Hero, one who was revered by demi-humans for how he treated them well. “The shield hero…..” she muttered in awe before leaning forward, “Please sir! What do I call you?!” she asked like she had to know, Matthew surprised by how invested she sounded.

“My name is Matthew Daniels.” he replied, each time she called him either or made him feel wrong.

“Matthew….Daniels.” she said to herself, memorizing the name

The young man smiled, she didn’t seem scared of him anymore, and considering how frightened she was this morning that already was an improvement. A sudden cough brought her out of her thoughts and Matthew spring into action, handing her a leaf cup with water he blended with herbs together. “Here, drink this medicine, hopefully it’ll help with your cough.” he said, the girl taking the curled leaf and drinking from it.

Her face immediately scrunched up in disgust before letting the formula leak out, “Uwwwggaaaaa!” she moaned out, “It’s bitter!” she complained.

Matthew sighed, his shield told him that the medicine works as a cure, but he couldn’t change the flavor. “Hold your nose closed with your hand. You won’t taste anything.” he advised. The girl hesitantly followed his instructions and pinched her nose closed before drinking the medicine in a single gulp. Matt nodded in approval, reaching into his satchel and pulling out a waterskin pouch with fresh water in it, “Good, here, this will wash it down.” he advised.

Handing her the waterskin, she blanched when she felt the aftertaste on her tongue, taking a sip of the water, she let out parched breath. “Thank you Master Matthwq.” she said gratefully, bowing her head in gratitude before handing the pouch back. Matthew took a swig as well, she looked at the shield on his forearm as he drank in disbelief, she had always wanted to meet the shield hero but she never thought she’d actually see him in person!

Taking a bite of the fish that was roasted, she ate in silence until both her fishes were nothing but bones before tossing them in the fire and letting out a yawn, “Tired?” Matthew asked her, she looked away in embarrassment, she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of the shield hero by saying she was tired.

Looking up at the sky, he saw the sun was beginning to set, standing up he grabbed one of the bedrolls he had bought and unrolled it beside Raphtalia, it was mainly a cushion to sleep on instead of the hard ground, she timidly laid down on it and tucked her tail around herself. Man I wonder what having a tail is like. he pondered as he unclasped his cape and draped it over her, shocking the demi human.

“Master, you don’t need to-“ she began, chagrined that he would use his cloak on her like that.

“It’s fine. I’m going to stay up a little late anyway. You need your rest, especially when your not feeling well.” he advised, bunching up his cloak near her head so she had a makeshift pillow. “I promise we’ll crash at a inn tomorrow. You can sleep in a real bed, get a bath, and get some real food.” he promised, making her eyes widen once again at what he was offering. “Sound good?” he asked.

She nodded, “Yes….yes that does.” she said, laying her head down and closing her eyes, “Goodnight…Matthew.” she murmured as she began to drift into sleep.

The Shield hero let out a breath as she drifted into sleep. “Sweet dreams.” he said before standing up and getting to work.

She had anything but.

Matthew had been busy blending more medicine together with some of the herbs they had gathered when it happened, Raphtalia woke up screaming, “NO!!! NOOOO!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” she screamed, making the shield her jump. She was standing upright, reaching out in a daze as she yelled. Matthew quickly rushed over to her side, “MOMMY! DADDY! NO!!!!” she wailed as Matthew wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

“Raphtaila it’s ok! It’s ok!” he ushered, trying to calm her down, however it was to no avail, she was in between waking and dreaming, his words may have reached her but right now she couldn’t tell what was real and not. Shit what do I do?! he asked himself as her cries continued. He couldn’t just leave her in this state, What did mom and dad do when I had nightmares? Oh shit! Right! he realized as he gently embraced Raphtalia, his arms wrapping around her as her arms tried to enclose around him as well. “ ‘Almost heaven, West Virginaaa, blue ridge moutainss, shanondoa river.’ “ he sung soothingly to the child, her trashing in his arms starting to slow. “ ‘Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze. Country rooaaads, take me hoooome, to the plaaae, I beloooong.’ ” he sang softly.

“Mommy……daddy…..” she muttered in her sleep as Matthew continued to sing, his voice soothing her nightmares. When she finally calmed back down, he gently set her down on the sleeping bag and covered her with his cloak.

What the hell was that?! I’ve had nightmares before too but Christ…..what the hell happened to her? he thought as he took a seat next to the fire, throwing another log on to feed the flames. What am I talking about, I bought her. She’s gotta be terrified of me. She may not know the rumors but she’s been hurt by humans before…..she’s gotta be terrified of me……and I can’t get rid of her, she won’t survive a week on her own in this state. he thought bitterly. And even if I wanted to I can’t because this fucking place practices slavery! Fuck! he bitterly thought, his hand balling into a fist on his pants.

I need to level up. Once I can get my level high enough I can fight without her and then she won’t be in danger. he planned, looking over at the now sleeping demi human. He felt like scum, just like Ren, Itsuki, and even Motoyasu had said. Looking to the fire he saw the fish he had cooked for himself. Reaching over he took them out of the ground and threw them over his shoulder and into the river. He wasn’t hungry anyway.

The apothecary’s shop was thankfully open when Matthew and Raphtalia arrived, however knowing first hand how boring it could be for a child to watch business be done in front of them? Matthew told her she could wait outside while he showed the storeowner the medicine he had spent last night making, “Hmm, very impressive.” the man at the counter said as he inspected the medicine Matt had prepared in small balls of leaves. “How familiar are you with making medicine Sir Hero?” he asked curiously as he set the medicine back down in the basket.

Matthew shook his head, “No actually, this was my first attempt at making it. My companion is sick and I know that it’s expensive to buy so I tried making my own.” he explained, crossing his arms beneath his cloak. “I also recall you saying that medicine is more in demand since the waves hit, would I be right in assuming you’d be willing to pay more for these than herbs?” he asked.

The man, whose white hair was tied off and draped over his shoulder nodded, “I would yes. This here is worth about four silvers.” he estimated.

The hero cupped his chin in contemplation, If that’s the case then I’d probably make more money with medicine than selling monster parts. Which might be better since that means I can upgrade my shield twice as fast. he rationalized as he looked down at the counter where a small bowl was located off to the side. “You wouldn’t happen to have some old tools you don’t use anymore would you?” he asked.

The man hummed in thought, “One moment.” he said before walking off into the backroom, he returned a moment later with a small box of tools, “This was one of the first herbal kits I used, it’s a good place to start for beginners. I can sell you the tools to get a wider variety of potions and medicine once your able to reach them.” he offered. The shielder nodded, accepting the old tools and selling his medicine in exchange for three silvers.

As he exited the store he hefted his newly purchased backpack over his shoulder, he had exchanged the small satchel for a medium sized backpack once he got to town so he could hold both his and Raphtalia’s equipment. Ok then, now that I have a way to make steady money, I can focus on leveling up. he thought as he checked his status. Due to his and Raphtalia’s work, his attack had finally gone up, from 1 to 3. His defense was still his highest and he never expected that to change, but it did tell him that he could at least attack and defend himself once he got high enough.

I could increase my attack with weapons, but I can’t wield anything other than the shield. Maybe there’s another way to increase my attack? he guessed as he approached Raphtalia who was sitting on a barrel, looking down the street watching a few kids playing with a ball. Seeing her tail swing back and forth on the barrel, Matthew smirked, “Hey Raphtalia, do you want a ball too?” he asked.

The demi human turned back and hopped off the barrel, unconvincingly shaking her head, “N-No! Not all! I’d never want a ball.” she denied, her tail however swishing back and forth excitedly.

He couldn’t help but chuckle, “Hey it’s fine, nothing wrong with having something to play with.” he said, walking down the street, his companion turning to watch him before rushing after him as he bought a identical ball like the one the kids had for her with a few coppers. Handing her the ball, she looked at it in surprise before taking it with both hands, “You can play with it when we’re not working. Fair?” he asked.

The girl looked up with a smile, “Yes! Can I play with it now?” she asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

He nodded, “Yeah but only for a little bit, we got some more monsters to slay later.” he advised, she nodded before running off, throwing the ball ahead of her and trying to catch it as it bounced up in the air, he cupped his hands together, “And be careful with it!” he added, not wanting her to loose it, or worse break something with it.

After a fruitful day of slaying balloons and leveling up, Matthew kept his promise to Raphtalia and brought them to an inn so they could stay the night in a pair of warm beds. However halfway through the night, Raphtalia woke him to embarrassingly tell him she had wet the bed from another nightmare. Matthew however simply allowed her to take his bed as he went to get the sheets cleaned, when he returned later she was having another nightmare. However that was quickly mended with another lullaby of ‘Country Road’, the following morning the embarrassed silence she had told him that she still felt bad about it. To help, he had gotten her a treat from a food stand to cheer her up and told her it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

Now, they were back in the forest training. “On your left!” Matt called out as he punted another balloon to the demi human who turned and slashed through it with her knife. Raphtalia lowered the knife and looked around for any other, monsters as Matt stretched his arms out, “Good job. You know I think we might just be ready to head further into the forest.” he said, looking into the thicket.

Since traditionally games worked with the further into dangerous areas a player went, the more higher level monsters appeared, Matthew had been strictly sticking to the outer ring of the forest. Before Raphtalia could comment however, a rustle from the brush got both of their attention, the pair instantly ready for what came out…..though not prepared to see a rabbit hop out with an enemy indicator over it’s head. “……seriously?” Matt asked skeptically.

The rabbit however lunged at the pair, “Shit!” Matt cursed as he stepped between it and Raphtalia, the rabbit biting into his unshielded arm. “Ah! Ok! Ow!!” he yelped, “Raphtalia stab it!” he called out, looking back to see the girl shaking in place.

“I-I-I can’t! It’ll bleed! I’m scared of blood!” she whimpered, Matt looked between her and the Rabbit, it was taking off a small bit of his HP but not enough to be worrying.

Watching Raphtalia shake in place in pure fear made his choice clear. “Alright then.” he growled to himself before raising his shield up and bashing it in the head with it, the Rabbit let go and fell to the ground, stumbling around to try and regain it’s footing before Matthew fell onto it and then slammed his shield down onto it again, he kept bashing it, each hit making a ’Thud’ sound and until it became less solid and more loose, more wet.

When it stopped moving, Matt sat up and took a breath, the rabbit monster laying down in a bloody spot of the grass. “That was……that was a lot more violent than I thought.” he admitted aloud, sitting back before looking at Raphtalia who was looking at the dead monster in fear. “Hey, it’s ok, it’s not gonna hurt you.” he assured.

And then it lunged at his face, “GAH! You little bastard! You were playing dead!!!!” he yelled as he tore it off his face and threw it against a tree.

Raphtalia swallowed, he couldn’t attack, and that’s why she was here. And here she was standing afraid of a rabbit! Her jaw clenched and her blade pointed ahead of herself at the rabbit, “Master!!” she called out, the shielder looked over and saw her ready. Acting quickly he rushed over to the rabbit and held it up as she charged forward, driving her blade into it’s gut, puncturing the creature and spewing blood over the both of them.

Stepping back, it was clear that Raphtalia had been the worse of the pair, she had blood over her hands, her clothing, and some on her hair and face, “I-I’m sorry…..I shouldn’t have been scared.” she apologized, “I….don’t throw me away. Please….” she asked pleadingly.

Matthew frowned before kneeling down to her, “Hey, I’ll never throw you away.” he said, the little girl letting her arms lower and a smile spread across her face. “But……listen Raphtalia, as the Shield hero, I have a job to fight the waves of calamity….meaning fighting monsters like this.” he said, looking over himself and causing the Demi Human to stiffen, “But I promise, I’ll protect you like I just did. You have my word.” he vowed.

Raphtalia stared at him in reverence, he was willing to fight off the waves? If he could do that…..then maybe…..what happened to me won’t happen to anyone else. she thought positively. Staring into her Master’s eyes she nodded, “I…I’ll fight with you!” she decided.

Matthew sighed in relief before looking at the dead rabbit, he considered what to do with it. Might be able to sell it. Get a good price. But maybe it’d be better for the shield? he wondered. Their goal was to get stronger, so they could fight off the incoming waves and save people, he couldn’t attack well for the moment, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get stronger.

Holding the rabbit corpse over the shield, he watched as the shield disassembled it into energy and absorbed it. Sure as he thought, a notification popped up in his view, <Rabbit Shield> <Shield Increases speed +1 when equipped>. “Ok that could come in handy.” he admitted, changing his shield to the Rabbit Shield. this one was white in color and thinner than his other ones, it’s shape resembled a rabbit’s head with the ears going up his forearm to a point and the head acting as the main protection part.

“Wow.” Raphtalia muttered in awe, staring at the new shield with widened eyes. Deciding to test the shield, Matt readied himself by assuming a running position and took off, Raphtalia watched as he rushed into the thicket at twice his normal speed! “Woah!! Master that’s…..Master?” she asked, realizing her owner had dashed off into the forest, only to return later with an alarmed look on his face.

“There’s a lot more rabbits back there.” he said, pointing his thumb over his shoulder to where he came.

Raphtalia raised her knife with determination, “I’m ready!” she said, surprising the shield hero with the conviction she had in her voice. He nodded, changing his shield back into the Small Shield.

After a getting back to the inn they were staying at and washing up  and giving Raphtalia more medicine which she reluctantly took, the next few days were spent leveling up and getting the experience needed until they could completely enter the forest with no issue. With money in their pockets and experience under their belt, the pair paid a visit to Erhard’s shop, opening the door, the blacksmith smiled when he saw them enter the door, “Well look who it is. How’s the training going?” he asked he two as hey approached the counter.

Matt felt Raphtalia move a little closer to him, while she had grown to be more comfortable around him, other people were a little different. However with a nudge, she looked up and saw him smile and not. She turned to the blacksmith and bowed her head, “H-Hello, Mister Edhard, I’m Raphtalia.” she introduced politely as Matthew had taught her.

The man’s laughter rang through his store, “Nice to meet you little miss.” he greeted warmly, the demi human looking up and smiling a little at the friendly name.

“We’re here to get her a new weapon.” he said, tilting his head down to his companion.

The blacksmith hummed, “Well it looks like she’s ready for her first sword.” he said, walking around the counter to a small bin where some short swords were located. Digging one of them out, he lifted it up, “Here we go, reliable iron sword.” he said, handing it to the demi human who gave unsheathed it and held the thicker blade with both hands, giving it an experimental practice swipe with just turning her hips slightly.

Matt smiled at the sight, finding it to be strangely cute, however he refocused his attention to Edhard, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” he began, the shopkeeper standing up from the floor, “Is there anything that could boost my attack that’s not technically a weapon?” he asked curiously.

The blacksmith folded his arms over his chest in contemplation, “Hmmm…..if you mean like an armor that boosts your stats? Yeah there’s armor like that, but it might be out of your price range.” he admitted. Armor such as that was usually worn by professional adventures, “And I’ve never made anything like that, I can make weapons but…” he trailed off.

Matthew nodded in understanding, “Well I might have an idea, but either way I’m gonna need some coin, and quick.” he reasoned. “Do you know anywhere close by we could get some money fast?” he asked. He’d stuck close to the Capital of the Kingdom and it’s town since getting here, and going out further seemed like their best bet for more experience and money.

“Well there’s a village about a day’s walk away called Lute, it might have what your looking for.” he offered up.

And so, after preparing for the journey me and Raphtalia set off to the village. Although neither of us could have been prepared for what he would come across.

“Only two silver?” Matt asked in disappointment to the trader he kneeled in front of in the village of Lute. It was a small village, surrounded by a wooden barrier. Within the village were a number of homes and a few businesses, he had offered a trader one of the pelts of the rabbits he and Raphtalia had killed. Though the price wasn’t what he was hoping for, “Is there a reason why? Is the pelt not good enough?” he asked.

The trader shook his head, “No, it’s fine, I’m just not in the market for it. Someone else might be though.” he offered.

Matt sighed, “Alright…..hey, you know any other way to make money fast around here?” he asked hopefully. He had fed the other rabbit monster remains to his shield and honestly he needed to offload the remains before they started to rot in the backpack. Raphtalia had complained about the smell as she carried the pack with her on the way here and he had to agree.

The trader cupped his chin, “Well….there’s a mine close by that I know the materials inside would probably go for a good price but…..”

“Let me guess, monsters?” he asked, the trader nodded.

“Yeah, after the first wave hit, some dangerous ones took up the place and no one has been there since, it hit the village pretty hard too since a couple people made their living as miners.” he said, looking towards the north. Turning his head, Matthew  saw a small mountain in the distance where he could just make out some structures near it’s base, “Don’t know what those cardinal heroes are doing, if you ask me it isn’t much.” he added as he took the pelt and presented the shield wielder with the silver.

Yeah, that’s a good question actually. Matt thought as he stood up, I haven’t heard a thing about any of the other heroes. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. he admitted to himself. Turning to Raphtalia, he lifted a hand to take the backpack off her hands but she backed away and shook her head.

“It’s ok sir, I can still carry it.” she replied readily.

Matthew frowned but nodded, I wish she wouldn’t call me that. Sir or Master…..it makes me feel…..ugh. he thought, placing a hand over his stomach. He hadn’t eaten since this morning, and while he didn’t feel hungry he felt…..empty. Forget it, just get some money, get stronger….that’s all that matters. Just focus on that…..

Reaching the mines had taken the pair a few hours on foot, outside the entrace to the mining shaft was a small building Matt decided to check out first for anything useful. Upon entering he had found a pickaxe, some rope, and some torches. With no foreseeable use for the rope, he decided to experiment with his Sheild, feeding it the old rope he found. <Rope Shiled Unlocked> read on his display, “A rope shield…..how original.” he drawled out before raising his arm out and changing the small shield to the rope shield, which looked to be a spool of rope in the shape of a shield covering his forearm.

Raphtalia watched in interest as he looked at his new shield in disappointment, “I mean I do get a skill from it but….honestly I’m not sure what I was expecting.” he admitted before raising his hand, “Air Strike Shield.” he commanded, suddenly a green glow emitted from the hero before a few feet in front of him a huge green holographic shield appeared in midair!! “What the-I get that from rope shield?!” he asked in bewilderment, the demi human girl awing the holographic shield as she slowly approached it, taking out her short sword she poked it, a solid metallic sound reverbing off it.

The Air Strike Shield dissipated after a few seconds, in the corner of his vison beneath his health bar he saw a cooldown timer appear. “Hmmm, guess I can’t use it a lot then.” he muttered. While it wasn’t an attack this still had a lot of versatility if he used it right. Picking up one of the pickaxes he found, he fed it to his shield, getting the mining shield. Which Looked like two pickaxes crossed on a steel shield.

A habit Matt had picked up was that he put EVERYTHING he found into his shield, he already had gotten a few new ones that boosted his support such as being able to identify the herbs he picked by looking at them, one that let him see monsters from further away, and even one that was basically a compass. “Ok, we’ll leave the bag here, go in the mine, and see what we can find. We see any monsters, we bail back here, grab our tuff and head back to Lute Village. Sound good?” he asked, planning out their expedition.

Raphtalia smiled and nodded, “Yes Sir!” she answered readily. Matthew nodded before handing her the pickaxe to carry while he grabbed one of the torches. Lighting it with some flint, they entered the mine cavern and began following the cart tracks. Their shadows danced along the walls of the small space a they walked, Matthew doing his best o keep an eye out for any sign of monsters they had been warned about. “Um….sir?” he head Raphtalia ask from behind him, looking over his shoulder to her, he saw the young demi human looking down at the pickaxe in her hands, “What….what would you like me to call you?” she asked.

Matt blinked at her, they had been traveling together for a few days now and she had only called him ‘Master’ or ‘Sir’, despite him telling her his name a few days ago. “You can call me Matthew or Matt for short.” he offered, “But please, don’t call me Master, it’s……weird for me to hear.” he asked.

She gasped, realizing she had basically been calling him nothing BUT master, “Oh! I’m so sorry!” she apologized.

He turned and waved her off, “It’s fine, to be honest I should have said something sooner I just….I didn’t want to….demand anything from you.” he explained carefully.

Raphtalia gave him a confused look, But I’m a slave, why would he- she remembered what her father told her about the shield hero, how he treated demi humans very well. That’s what he meant…..he doesn’t see a slave….he sees me. she realized. As the silence hung in the air, Matt turned and continued forward with Raphtalia taking a moment to catch back up to him. After a few more minutes of walking, they both saw a pale blue light coming from a opening ahead.

Reaching the opening, they found themselves in the heart of the mine, above them crystals illuminated the cavern, like dozens of stars in the sky. The tunnel they took had led them to cliff where the tracks ahead had broken off the track, walking towards the edge, Matt looked down and saw a lake a few feet down from the cliffside with a few plateaus along the cave wall to the right leading down. “Mas-Sir, is this what we’re looking for?” Raphtalia called out.

Turning to the girl he saw her standing by a crystal ore in the wall, he smiled, “Yes it is great job!” he praised, making the girl smile and her tail swing behind her happily. Taking the pickaxe from her, he equipped his new Mining shield and began swinging the tip down onto the base of the crystal. As he swung, Raphtalia looked around for any other crystals to mine, as her sight glided across the ground she noticed something in the dirt. A track in the shape of a dog’s paw, “Come on, I know your about to fall out!” he hissed at the crystal before hitting it once more with the pickaxe, breaking the ore from the wall, “Ha! Yes, come to papa.” he excitedly, picking the crystal up from the ground and examining it. “Man this has gotta be worth something. Hey Raphtalia-“ he began as he turned to his companion, only to stop when he saw her standing in place shaking, pure fear eteched on her face as she looked down the path they came.

Looking down the tunnel he saw why, walking through the shadows was a large creature, easily towering over him, it had the body of a canine but the biggest difference being the two heads that stretched out from the shoulders, it’s neck resembling that of  snake with how long they were. It resembled a Doberman, only wit glowing red eyes and razor sharp teeth, “Oh fuck me….” he muttered as Raphtalia screamed.

The dog took that as it’s cue and ran, “Shit!!” Matt shouted, dropping the ore and grabbing Raphtalia with his arm and picking her up, I can’t outrun a regular dog, let along a monster one! he thought as he turned down the tracks, “Raphtalia hold your breath!” he shouted as he ran as fast as he could and leapt off the cliff, the Dog barely a foot away as they went over the side.

They crashed into the water a second later, Lucky! You’re a lucky fucking idiot Daniels! he thought as he kicked with all his strength until they breathed the water, Raphtalia coughing up some water onto his shoulder she held onto for dear life. If that was shallow you’d have two broken legs and a girl who’d probably be dead! he chastised himself as he swam towards the closest landmass.

However it just so happened to be too steep to climb, “Damn!” he cursed, looking up at the ledge a few feet above and seeing a few parts of the rock that protruded out, “Wait a sec, Rope Shield!” he summoned, his shield transforming into the desired shield and shot a rope up that wrapped around one of the outcropped ledges. Ok it’s not stupid, I’ll admit it. he thought as he began to pull himself up out of the water, “Raphtalia hold on tight.” he told her, unwrapping his arm from around her so that he could use both hands to pull himself up.

“Th-that dog-it…it….” she muttered, clearly still in shock from the monster. “It….it killed my parents.” she said, making Matt stop climbing, looking over at his companion, the terrified look on her face seemingly replaying what she last saw. “During the first wave, monsters attacked our village and it…..it…..it tore them apart and I….” tears gathered in her eyes and spilled freely over her cheeks.

“Raphtalia……..” he whispered sadly, he had assumed she had been born into slavery, but if she had a home that was destroyed by the wave…

He pulled them up the rope until they reached solid ground, setting her down he pulled her into a hug, “I’m so sorry.” he said, feeling her small arms wrap tightly around him as she wept. As her head buried into his shoulder, he heard a disturbance ahead of them. Looking up he saw the monster making it’s way down the plateaus towards them. Thankfully they were hidden by a ledge that was just tall enough to hide them from it’s view. “Is that the monster that killed them?’ he asked. Raphtalia pulling away and looking at it, her shaking resumed but she shook her head.

“N-no, it had three heads. That has two.” she replied, pushing herself closer into Matt as he scanned the area, there were no other tunnels on this level of the mine, and the dog monster was blocking off the only way out of here.

“We have to fight our way through it.” he stated solemnly.

Raphtalia looked at him in distress, “What!? I-I can’t!!” she cried.

Matthew shook his head, “Raphtalia we don’t have a choice, there’s no other way out from here.” he stated, his eyes trained on the dog. It was level 15, he was level 8, and Raphtalia level 9. It wasn’t that much of a gap, he looked to his scared companion, “We can do this.” he said with conviction.

The demi human however wasn’t convicted, “But I can’t! I’m-I’m too scared!!” she admitted.

The shield hero lifted his hands and placed them on her shoulders, “Listen to me……I’m scared too.” he admitted, causing her shaking to lessen and her gaze to enlarge, “But that’s ok. It’d be stupid not to be scared…..but you and me? We’re smart, that thing is a dumb animal. We can beat it.” he said again with just as much determination. This time Raphtalia didn’t refute his claim, “I’m going to get it’s attention, then your going to attack. Got it?” he asked.

Raphtalia was clearly still scared, her tail was curled around itself in a knot and her entire body was shaking. But she nodded in understanding, making Matt smile, “Ok. We got this.” he said, for his benefit as much as her’s.

Climbing over the ledge, he walked towards the dog as it’s heads were turned in different directions, letting out a whistle, both heads turned to him, “Hey Cujo! Yeah you, you flea bitten mutt! Your mother was nothing but a bitch!!” he called out tauntingly as he raised his shield. The two heads snarled before charging at the ready hero, Man I really hope monsters don’t understand humans. Matt thought as he raised his shield to block the maw of one of the heads while the other lunged past his arm and bit into his shoulder, “GAAHH!!!!” Matthew screamed as the fangs dug into his flesh.

Blood spurted out of his wound, leaking down his chest and arm, “Raphtalia now! Kill it!!” he shouted through gritted teeth. But there was no attack, only the snarling of the dog head in front of him and the one on his shoulder biting deeper, “Raphtalia! Come on!!” he shouted before turning his head enough to look behind him, only to see his companion frozen in fear, her hands barely holding the knife. Of course….what was I thinking??! She can’t! She’s petrified!

“Forget it! Run! Run as fast as you can!!” he called out before the dog took another bite into him.

Raphtalia snapped out of her stupor, “What?! No! I can’t!”

Matt closed his eyes in frustration, “Do it! Run! I’ll buy you time to get away! Just go!!” he ordered.

But the demi human girl stayed still, tears gathering in her eyes as she watched the dog bite into her master even harder. No… her master who took her in. No…. Her master who cared for her. No… Her master who took care of her like her parents did. Who protected her. Who was kind to her….who was willing to die for her! “NO!!!” she yelled before charging forward, raising her blade and leaping into the air high above her master’s head and plunging the blade into the head of the dog who was hurting her master.

The Monster reeled back both heads, making Matt stumble back off his foot and sent Raphtalia careening through the air and hitting the ground. Rolling onto her hands and feet, she looked up to see the dog charging at her! “Air Strike Shield!” Matthew called out, summoning the emerald shield in front of the creature and making it ram it’s heads into it. “Rope Shield!” Matthew called out, shooting a rope around the neck of the one that had bit his shield and pulling back, exposing the chest of the being to his companion, “NOW RAPHTALIA!” he shouted.

The girl let out a war cry and she charged forward into the monster, plunging her blade into the hell beast’s heart. With a final roar the creature fell back, Raphtalia’s sword stuck in it’s chest as it fell over dead. Matthew and Raphtalia both breathed heavily as they both gained an enormous amount of XP from the creature, sitting upright Matt clutched his wounded shoulder in pain.

Looking over at Raphtalia he chuckled despite the pain, “Nice going.” he said tersely, wincing at the pain he felt. The shield probably dampened how much it actually hurt, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to move his arm at the moment.

Raphtalia on the other hand once more had tears in her eyes as the events of the past minute or so caught up to her, “Master Matt!!” she yelled in relief, running across the ground as fast as she could before crashing into the hero’s chest, hugging him tightly as much as she could.

“NGH! Easy! Easy! Dog just bit a chunk out of my arm!” he cautioned, wrapping his unwounded arm around the demi-human. A muffled ‘sorry’ came from his chest where her face was buried.

“Promise me you won’t die…..please don’t leave me alone Matt…please.” she begged tearfully, shaking in his grasp as she finally let the fear she had suppressed momentarily take over.

Matt couldn’t help but smile, running his hand up and down her back soothingly, “I promise.” he replied. Feeling her shaking subside, he let outa breath of relief. “We got each other’s back. We protect each other…..got it?” he asked. His response being her nodding her head against his chest. “Good……we’ll feed that big bastard to my shield and call it a day.” he decided.

“Ok…..” Raphtalia whined, still overcome with grief from almost seeing him die.

Matt remained silent, letting her take as long as she needed to get the comfort she wanted.

Matt looked in the mirror of his and Raphtalia’s bathroom in minor disbelief. They had rented a room at the Lute Village Inn so they could rest up for the night, after changing out of his bloody clothes and taking some medicine to stave off an possible infection, they had gotten dinner. After which they went straight to their room, and Matt went to inspect the wound, only to find it was already a scar. A row of teeth marks on his shoulder and some dried blood were the only remnants of his wound. “What the hell?” he asked, gathering some water in his palm and washing the dried blood away.

 Shit, I guess the shield gives me a healing factor…..almost. he thought, looking at the scar. Throwing his shirt on, he exited the bathroom to find Raphtalia sitting on her bed, her legs dangling off the side of it as she looked at him with a embarrassed expression. “Something wrong?” he asked, walking over to his own bed beside her’s.

She shook her head, “No, I….um…..I was wondering…..could I sleep with you in your bed tonight?” she asked, looking down in embarrassment.

Matt however smiled at her welcomingly as he lifted his feet up and slid over, patting the space beside him so she had room, the unsureness vanished from her face and she climbed into bed beside him, huddling into his side with her own pillow. She’s probably still shaken up from earlier still. he reasoned as he draped a hand over her shoulder. “You know……if you want to talk about your mom and dad? I’m always open to listen.”  he offered sympathetically.

Raphtalia lifted her head up and looked at him, she pursed her lips together, “I…..I miss them…..I miss them a lot.” she said simply, trying to convey how she really felt. “I feel….”

Matt looked down sadly at her, “Like…..part of you is missing.” he said, it came out more as a statement than a guess. Raphtalia nodded, “……my mom, she….she passed away two years ago.” he revealed, making the girl’s hand cover her mouth.

“Oh no I’m sorry!” she exclaimed as she sat up, “I didn’t mean to make you think that.” she apologized.

Matt snorted, “Your fine Raphtalia, I’m the one who said it’s ok.” he said, putting the racoon girl at ease, “I’m telling you because when she died……it felt like part of me was gone. And I felt that way for a long time, like I was missing something. And I was, my mom was a big part of my life.” he told her as he sat up in bed. “But after some time, that feeling started to fade away.” he said truthfully.

Raphtalia’s tail curled around her, “Is….is that good? I don’t…..I don’t want to not miss them.”

Matt shook his head, “No I still miss her. I still wish she was here every day. But she’s not…and I feel sad about it from time to time. But…..most of the time I think of how much love we had for each other.” he explained, a bittersweet smile crossing his face as he remembered his mother’s face. He suddenly chuckled, “One time, when I was about your age? She and my dad were painting the kitchen of our house, I was in the room and she knocked over a paint bucket right ontop of my head.” he recalled with a chuckle, making Raphtalia giggle as she imagined the image in her head. “I just….I think of those memories, not the bad ones……and it helps.” he advised.

Raphtalia nodded in understanding before letting out a yawn, with that, Matthew pulled the blanket over the both of them and blew out the candle.

For the first time in a long time, Raphtalia had nothing but pleasant dreams.

Chapter Text

The Wave

Matthew had made few discoveries in the week after he and Raphtalia killed the dog monster in Lute Village’s mine. Like for instance, mining ore was very profitable, the chunk they had sold gave them enough silver afford an entire month at an inn if they wanted to. Another thing he learned was that the shield he had unlocked from feeding the remains of the dog monster to his shield was actually really handy, the Dog shield was able to take an attack and counter for him with two dog heads emerging from the shield and biting whatever hit it. However the biggest thing, and probably most surprising, was that demi-humans aged differently.

“Get back here!” Raphtalia called out as she chased a porcupine monster through the tall grass as Matthew pulled out one of the quills of the beast from his arm. Feeding the quill to his shield, he watched as his companion chased through the tall grass after the little monster.

“Shield Prison!” he cast out, entrapping the monster in a ball of shields that were chained together, keeping it in place as Raphtalia leapt into the air with her sword held high above her head. Dispelling the shield prison, Raphtalia came down with an overhead slash onto the monster, killing it with a single strike.

Grabbing it by it’s tail, Raphtalia turned around and held it up proudly, “I got it!!” she exclaimed, showing off just how much she had changed in the past week.

Instead of the small girl who he had found locked in a cage, Raphtalia had easily grown maybe five feet taller so that the top of her head now went up to his eyes! Her hair was straighter but still reached down to her hips, which  themselves where slightly wider and more mature along with the rest of her body which had also…..grown…proportionately. “Good job Raphtalia.” he complimented, making the demi human smile in appreciation as she walked over.

“What should we do with it? Feed it to your shield or sell it?” she asked, lowering the porcupine to dangle at her side. While her body may have grown, her old clothes didn’t exactly fit her at first, thankfully a talor in Lute had adjusted them for a decent price and had told Matthew the reason behind her sudden transformation.

“Didn’t you know? Demi-Humans grow relative to their level.”

That thought both fascinated and scared Matthew, however, Raphtalia herself managed to explain it better.

Three days ago.

“So….how do you feel?” Matt asked as Raphtalia moved her arms around her new chainmail dress which had been lengthened to accommodate her new body type. She had also been added frills to the skirt for comfort when moving around, and an actual belt that fastened around her waist instead of  one that went over her shoulder so her scabbard hung off her loosely.

She turned to him with a smile, “I feel fine Matthew, the tailor did a good job, and….” he face became a tint red as she recalled how she had to ask that they get new clothes for her that fit from the bathroom of their room at the inn. Her arms folded behind her back and her tail curled in embarrassment, “…and they fit now.”

Matt shook his head, “No, well, I mean I’m happy to hear that, but…..don’t you feel…..weird? I mean you cam up to my hip on your tippy toes a few days ago but now?” he asked, gesturing to her with his hand, making her blush again but smile as well, “I mean when I was a teenager I went through years a puberty! You got it done in a week!” he exclaimed playfully.

His companion perked up, “Wait, does this not happen to demi-humans in your world?”

Matt let out a snort, “Raphtalia there aren’t demi humans in my world to begin with outside of stories in books.” he explained.

That caught her attention, “W-What?! You don’t??” she asked in bewilderment, “So it’s just….humans?” she asked uncertainly. He nodded, clasping his hands together behind his neck. “Oh….well, see, Demi Humans can grow based on their level. I’m level 18 right now so my body has grown so that I can properly fight at this level.” she explained, reaching down to one of the braids of her hair that went over her shoulders and was bound by a golden ring near her waist. “My father actually had it happen to him.” she mentioned.

The shield hero could understand the logic behind that, Raphtalia had shown to be stronger than how normal people where, she could jump up onto a rooftop if she wanted to. So her body needed to grow to accommodate the power she had, “So that’s why when we met you where level 1 instead of 10, you didn’t level up before then.” he reasoned.

She smiled and nodded, “Right! When Demi Humans level up, it’s to the point where their body is at their prime.” she explained. “It’s why if I get to……let’s say level 40, I won’t grow into a 40 year old because that’s not when I’d be in my prime.” she detailed as she walked over to her bed of the room and picked up the ball beside it he had bought for her. Tossing it down she let it bounce up before catching it, however the sight also brought another question to Matt’s mind.

“Ok, physically you’re a few years younger than I am, I get that. But what about mentally?” he asked with some concern.

She looked down at the ball he had given her, “It’s a little strange…..looking back before I leveled up, I saw things differently than I do now. So…..I think my mind changed along with my body.” she tried to explain, the exact feeling not being able to be complied correctly. “Like this ball, when you gave it to me, I thought that you just gave it to me because I wanted it. But now I think you gave it to me because you knew that it’d make me happy.” she said, her eyes darting up and seeing the soft smile of the hero.

Walking over to her, he took the ball from her hands, “That Raphtalia is called “Perspective’, and there’s some people who are older than either of us who really need that.” he informed her lightheartedly, making her smile. “But from what I understand, your body and mind grow to accommodate your level. Your mind so you can understand situations better, react faster, stuff like that.” he reasoned, tossing the ball up with one hand before catching it and quickly passing it to Raphtalia who quickly raised her hands to catch it.

“Does it hurt?” Raphtalia asked in concern as they walked towards the capital’s town on the dirt road, Matthew fingering the new hole in his sleeve. They had taken some time to carve up the porcupine and feed the remains to the shield, unlocking a new <Needle Shield> in the process, before heading out to Edhard’s shop so they could get some upgrades.

He turned to her and flashed her a smile, “Nah, it got through my defenses but it’s already healed.” he assured her, Raphtalia visibly relaxed at the news.

“Good, but you know you need to be more careful.” she replied, another one of the changes Raphtalia went through was that she was much more outspoken than she was…..a week ago. “You should really think about getting some armor.” she recommended.

Matt hummed, “Maybe, but I’d rather you get some new equipment.” he said, looking down at the sword she had as they walked. “You kind of outgrew that one.” he noted.

The demi human’s ears flattened, “I know….I just….don’t like seeing you hurt.” she sheepishly admitted. Matt smiled as he patted her shoulder in appreciation.

“I know, but…..with the wave coming up, we both need to be at our best.” he said seriously to his companion who frowned at the mention of the impending event. It had approximately been one month since Matt was summoned to this world. And the king had informed the heroes that was about as much time there was before the next wave hit. However with no exact date, Matt had been on edge, ready for a horde of monsters to pop into existence at any moment. Raphtalia had told him what she experienced during the wave, how the sky changed color and seemed to open up to monsters raining down.

Raphtalia’s hand gripped her sword tightly, “Well when it does happen, we won’t fail.” she said, making Matt turn to her to see the determined look on the racoon girl’s face.

She’s gone through so much, and she’s ready to go through it again. he thought before he looked down at his own shield. But if she wasn’t my slave, she’d be free to choose otherwise…….instead I’m dragging her into what I need to do. he thought sourly. He was conflicted, on the one hand, Raphtalia’s presence was nothing but a good thing to him, having someone to talk to? Someone he could actually trust? He needed that, especially with the whole Kingdom hating him. But he also hated that he OWNED her, he may have had good intentions when he purchased her, but it was still wrong.

I’ll find a way to free you one day, I swear. he thought to himself as he looked back to her, only to find her looking back at him. “Are you ok Matthew?” she asked. “You look like your thinking about something again.” she noted with a teasing smile.

She had found that Matthew had a tendency to think a lot, which wasn’t a bad thing, but she couldn’t help but find it funny when he would be still for a few minutes, watching the gears turn in his head. She didn’t know much about the other heroes, but she was convinced that Matt must be the one who spent the most time planning. “It’s…nothing, just….thinking of home.” he fibbed.

Raphtalia’s smile faltered for a brief second but returned, “What about?” she asked.

“Right now how much I wish I had my car to drive us back to the capital.” he dryly replied, looking ahead down the long dirt road through the forest.

Raphtalia tilted her head, “A….car?” she asked.

Matt smirked, “Think of a carriage, but there’s nothing pulling it. And it’s made of metal, with a window covering the driver’s top while it wraps around the front in metal.” he vaguely described. However it made the demi human’s eyes widen nonetheless, he didn’t really talk much about his home but when he did, it was something small like central heating, or a shower. Things he took for granted.

“That’s insane! How does it even move if there’s nothing pulling it?” she asked skeptically.

“We have these devices called engines.” he began, “I’m not an expert but the driver has these pedals that control the speed, one for going and one for stopping. If you press down on the accelerator, the car moves. Press the break and it slows down.” he explained simply as he could.

“And you have one!? Wow, you much be very wealthy back in your world.” she commented in awe.

Matt snorted, “No, my dad got it for me from a used car lot. Someone else owned it and I got it at a smaller price.” he explained.

Raphtalia blinked, “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Yeah-wait. What do you mean by that?!” he asked his companion with a offended tone, Raphtalia looking away and smiling to herself.

“Well you always get the cheapest lunch set.” she replied.

Matt bit the inside of his cheek, the reason he did that was because he couldn’t taste anything and didn’t want to waste money…..which he hadn’t told her. “It’s a good lunch set.” he shrugged off. His companion humming, unconvinced by his excuse. “But anyway cars, most people have one and it’s how we get around. Takes a while to learn though.” he admitted, “But we’d already be to town by now. Probably like an hour ago.”

Raphtalia’s ears flattened a little, “R-really….that fast?” she asked a little nervously.

Matt smirked, “Yeah……man I remember the first time I drove I just went out for an hour around town, the speakers playing some good old rock and roll……” he trailed off sadly as he recalled how much fun he had that day. Raphtalia frowned as she noticed the look of longing her companion had, moments like this were when it was clear that Matthew missed his home. And it was moments like this when Raphtalia felt selfish for not wanting him to leave.

“Wow, look at you little miss! You’ve grown into quite the young lady.” Edhard complimented welcomingly to the demi human and her companion. Turning to Matt he held his hand out which the shield hero shook with a smile, “I haven’t seen you two in a while, what have you been up to?” he asked them as Matt stepped back.

Raphtalia smiled proudly, “I finally learned correct table manners thanks to Matthew.” she said, glancing over at him before turning her eyes back to the shopkeeper, “I want to eat my food properly like he does.” she explained. Matt smirked, he honestly did it because while it was correct table manners, he didn’t want her to get sick again from eating with her hands. Times like this, hygiene wasn’t much of a priority.

Which reminds me, I need to get a razor when I get a chance. he thought, his hand brushing over the stubble on his face that had grown out even more since he first arrived.

“Well you’ve really grown up, nothing like the pipsqueak you used to be.” Edhard replied heartedly, making the racoon girl slightly glare at the man and pout.

The shield hero smirked at the two, “Lotta people think so too, it’s why she keeps getting free stuff.” he cheekily added, making his companion turn her glare to him with her cheeks lighting up a little. On the way in to town they stopped by a stall for a snack and the vendor gave her a treat on the house, when she asked why he did that, Matt replied it was probably due to her being a pretty young woman, which made her drop her treat on the ground from shock.

“Excuse me! Aren’t we here to get you armor?” she asked tersely, not wanting to be embarrassed.

Her companion nodded, “Right, and you a new sword.” he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some folded papers, “I actually had some ideas, you think these are manageable?” he asked as he unfolded one of the papers and set on the counter, both Edhard and Raphtalia leaned over to look over the designs.

The racoon girl’s eyes widened at the drawing, while it was basic, figure of the person and the armor he wore along with the notes on the side showed he had put a lot of thought into it. “Matthew, when did you make this?” she asked in astonishment as the blacksmith turned the paper around to him.

“I actually had the idea one night and sketched it down on paper, I’ve been looking over it a few times since but I’m not really sure if what I want is what Edhard here can feasibly do.” he explained, turning to the blacksmith who was cupping his chin in contemplation.

The drawing was a figure wearing a set of steel toed boot and trousers with a belt which contained pouches on them. The top portion was however odd to the blacksmith, around the abdomen were what looked like small plates of armor stitched into the fabric, while a chest plate with chain covered the chest and biceps with vambraces on the arms. “Hmm….what are these plates here for?” he asked, pointing to the abdomen.

“Well I want protection there, but I also need to be mobile. so I can’t have anything too heavy like knights have. I thought stitching plates into the fabric could make it more flexible.” he explained. He didn’t fully understand body armor from back home, but he knew that with his shield his main advantage was being able to defend. If he was too slow however, he couldn’t guarantee to make sure Raphtalia was safe.

“Ok, yeah that may work. In fact I may have something better than chainmail for the chest, it’s called scale mail, it’s better than chainmail but also pricier.” he advised.

Matt inhaled through his teeth, Raphtalia however gave him a serious look, “Matthew, you need to take your protection seriously.” she said, before reaching onto the nearby table and drawing a sword and holding it between he two of them, Matt’s surprised face I the reflection of the blade, “Or you will die.”

Matthew gulped, Is that her threatening me or her looking out for me? he asked himself, nodding at his partner.

She nodded in satisfaction, “Good…..wow this sword seems really sharp!” she noticed as she inspected the sword she picked up.

Edhard grinned proudly, “Yeah, that’s magic iron. Want to try it out?” he offered kindly.

Raphtalia looked over the sword, this one far longer than the one she currently used but nothing abnormal about it. “What kind of discount can you give us?” she asked hopefully.

Edhard waved her off, “Don’t worry about it, anything for you little miss.” he waved off before turning to Matt. “As for your armor, I think I can whip up something special.” he added, making Raphtalia eyes light up in joy of the news.

“Really!?” she asked excitedly.

Edhard nodded, “Yeah, I can probably get it done by tomorrow.” he assured.

Matt smiled in satisfaction, “Thank you, oh! I also have something else in mind.” he said, presenting his other paper to the blacksmith, looking over the design he shrugged his shoulders.

“Oh yeah I can definitely manage this. I’ll have it ready with your armor.” he assured.

Raphtalia took his hand and held it up, her light red eyes looing up into his with joy, “Thank you so much!” she said, bowing her head in gratitude. Edheard gave a hardly laugh before rubbing the top of her head affectionately.

“No problem little miss.”

After paying in advance for the armor and sword, which Matthew insisted upon when Edhard tried to give it to them for free, the pair had decided to get a early dinner after traveling all day. “It was nice of him to give us a discount on this sword wasn’t it?” Raphtalia asked as they walked through the inn’s restruant to a table near the back. “Boss really helps us out doesn’t he?” she asked as they reached the table.

Pulling his seat out, Matt brushed his cape back before sitting down, “It is, but you can’t always expect people to act that way.” he said, thinking about how the trader who dealt with monster parts. When he stopped by, he still gave him the stink eye, in fat everyone still did. Looking across the inn he could see a few of the patrons looking at them with distain. He shot a glare back at one of them, making them quickly turn away.

Raphtalia noticed his look of anger in his eyes and grew quiet. She had noticed that Matthew hadn’t gotten along with many people in town, most of their exchanges would be tense with Matt’s tone shifting to something more controlled. Something he wasn’t with her, “Matt-“ she was cut off by a stomach growling. He looked at her with wide eyes, making her blush, “T-That wasn’t me! I swear!” she denied, shaking her hands in front of her.

“Guess that was me then.” he realized, Raphtalia’s face morphing into concern as he waved over one of the bus boys, “I’ll have the che…” he stopped, glancing at Raphtalia. “…standard lunch set.” he decided, making the demi human smirk. “And she’ll have the children’s lunch set.” he added quickly, making the smirk vanish from her face and stand up, placing her hands on the table as she leaned forward.

“I can order my own food thank you!” she retorted before turning to the startled bus boy, “I’ll have the same standard lunch set!” she declared, the boy stuttering an agreement as Matt shook his head with a smile as she sat back down with a huff. “I’m not a little kid anymore.” she added with a pout.

The hero leaned forward on the table, “I know…..sorry, I just wanted to get a rise out of ya.” he apologized. The demi human uncrossed her arms and laid them on the table, she looked off to the side.

“But you still treat me like it.” she replied sadly, Matt taken aback by her answer. She turned to look at him with a slightly annoyed look, “I….I know you don’t tell me everything that’s going on with you, you never say when your hungry, or when your tired, and it……it’s frustrating.” she admitted. Matt leaned back in his seat, not expecting that she had been frustrated by how he treated her.

He took a deep breath, “I’m sorry.” he said genuinely, “I don’t mean to, I just……you were a child a week ago, and now your…..god you’re a year or so behind me now.” he softly explained. The demi human smiled at him understandingly, “I just…..there’s things that…..that I don’t think you were ready for but now….well, I got to re-evaluate that sorta thinking.” he admitted, looking down at the table. He still hadn’t told her about Myne, or the other heroes, or the trial, or any of it. But he had to tell her, But how the hell do I do that? Hey just so you know, everyone thinks I’m a rapist and hates me, that’s the reason I bought you because I was desperate? he thought to himself.

He felt a warm hand touch his own, his eyes snapped up to his companion smiling at him, “It’s fine Matthew. You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to. Just….” her eyes broke away from his with a flush going across her cheeks. “….I’m not a kid anymore.”

He felt a weight be lifted off his shoulders slightly at her words, “Yeah, I know.” he affirmed. Raphtalia pulled her hand away as their food came back, the two digging into their meals in a pleasant silence. 

After a full night of sleep, Matthew and Raphtalia went to Edhard’s shop the first thing in the morning to get the armor he requested. Standing in the small lot behind the shop, Rahtalia’s eyes were wide in awe of Matthew’s new armor, “Sooo Coool!!!” she squealed in appreciation as she bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly. Matthew felt his face warm up at the paise as he looked himself over, he didn’t particularly feel ‘cool’. The armor was just like he designed it, the scale mail on the torso was more sturdy than his original chain mail armor, but still allowed him to move without constriction, the plates on his abdomen also served their purpose as he could bend down and touch his steel toed boots with no issue.

The trousers he had were black, the boots brown with silver toes where the steel was exposed, around his waist was a belt with pouches where he planned to hold things like medicine, elixirs, and any other useful items he came across such as the flint and steel he used to start fires. The belt and pouches were brown with a golden buckle and buttons on the pouches. The shirt he wore was black as well with the silver on his abdomen sticking out against the darkness, the scale mail was forest green in color, the same as his cape, with the V around his neck lined with white fur for comfort .

The gauntlets he wore were also brown with fur lining on the ends, holding his shield up, Matthew took a few practice swings to test out how far his reach was, “What do you think? I had some parts of a barbarian armor set that I modified to fit, I was thinking of calling it the Rouge Hero set.” Edhard explained proudly.

Matt moved the shield onto his back beneath his cape, “It’s nice, the name is a little on the nose though.” he joked.

“I think you look dashing!” Raphtalia excitedly said as she walked around to look at his new armor.

Edhard snapped his fingers, “Oh right! Nearly forgot, these came out fine.” he said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a set of gloves, however unlike normal leather gloves, these ones had metal spikes protruding out from the knuckles a few inches. Raphtalia gasped in amazement at the sight of the gloves as Matt took them from his friend and slipped them on excitedly. “Where’d you come up with the idea for those things?” Edhard asked curiously, “I know some adventures fight without weapons but I’ve never had someone ask for gloves with spikes.”

Matt slipped them on, anticipating a shock like he gotten when he tried to pick up the sword, only to receive no warning from the shield, much to his relief. “Well remember how last time we were here I asked about how armor can increase stats? Well I figured that if I can’t wield a weapon, I can at least wear something that boosts my attack.” he explained as he raised his fists up into a boxer’s stance. He quickly shot out a series of jabs, Raphtalia watching transfixed by the simple movements, she had fought along with Matthew for weeks now, and he tried every time to at least help take out one of the monsters they fought, but she never saw any form to his fighting until now.

“And I based the gloves of a weapon from my home called brass knuckles.” he added, flexing his fingers and feeling the metal rings beneath the cloth when he flexed his hands. While they couldn’t do nearly as much damage as sword or spear, Matthew also knew that blunt force was more than a valid weapon type to fight with. Lowering his hands he beamed at the blacksmith, “Edhard, I can’t thank you enough.” he said gratefully.

The blacksmith patted him on the shoulder, before he could speak however the cry of a horse from the road drew the three’s attention. Looking out from between Edhard’s shop and the building beside it, the three saw the sides of the street were crammed with people watching as a small battalion of knights made their way down the street. Raphtalia watched as a knight on horseback passed by, “It looks the like whole town is on edge now.” she noticed, seeing how silent the crowd was.

Matt crossed his arms, “Makes sense, the wave is almost here.” he replied, Raphtalia turning to him with a worried look, “If we knew when and were it was going to hit, then maybe we could prepare for it better but….” he trailed off, shaking his head.

“Wait…..you don’t know about the clock?” Edhard asked, both the demi human and her owner gave him a confused look. “Oh man, you know that church you can see from town square? The one with the three towers? There’s an huge hourglass inside, when the last grain falls, the heroes and their parties will be sent to wherever the wave begins. At least that’s what I understand.” he explained.

The information made Matthew’s blood boil, Of fucking course! Christ that bitch couldn’t bother to explain any of the important stuff!! he thought in frustration, his face breaking into a sneer. “No. No one told me about the stupid magic hour glass!!” he hissed out in anger before taking a deep breath. “Ok. Guess that’s where we’re going.” he decided, turning to Raphtalia, the demi human giving him a concerned look before following out of the lot through the alley.

I was anxious for the second wave, I didn’t know if me and Raphtalia were at the right level to deal with it, I didn’t know what kind of monsters we’d be facing, I didn’t know if the other three idiots could do the job, and I didn’t know if where the hell we’d be teleported to once the wave started. Part of me wanted it to just happen before we got to the hourglass so we’d just get it over with already, but there was no such luck. I can’t help but wonder how many times I’ll go through this, this calm before the storm?

Well that’s…..certainly a interesting building. Matthew thought as he and Raphtalia stood outside the church containing the Dragon Hourglass which predicted the arrival of the waves. The church had three towers evenly extruding out from the sides and middle of the structure, what was perplexing as that the building looked like it was stacks of polygons stacked on top of one another, it didn’t look like there was a single flat wall on the entire outer structure.

Looking to Raphtalia, she didn’t seem offput by the structure, the two walked up to the open door of the church and entered. Finding a nun inside between the pews, she looked at Matthew with disgust as he approached her, “Um, excuse me, I was told the dragon hourglass was located here, would you happen to know where it is?” he asked politely.

The woman silently turned and walked towards one of the doors, Matt felt an urge to leave just out of spite but decided against it, Do not disrespect a nun Matthew. he chided himself as he and Raphtalia followed her through the church, the woman of the cloth giving them the silent treatment the entire time. As they entered a cyldrical room, Matthew saw within a chamber guarded by a golden fence was a gigantic hourglass, “Ok they call it dragon because of the size then, that makes sense.” he muttered to himself, hearing the nun sigh in annoyance at him.

Waking to the open gate of the hourglass and up the stairs, he immediately noticed the grains inside it were nearly spilled into the lower flask. Before he ralied it, he felt his arm pulled up with his shield! “What the-“ he began before a beam of light shot out from the shield and onto the hourglass. At the top of his vision, a countdown appeared.

<00:20:10:46>

“T….Twenty hours? That’s…..honestly a lot more than I expected.” Matt admitted in relief, with how his luck turned out he thought it might be within the hour. Ok, I can work with that. I got some time to put supplies together. This isn’t too-

“Is that Matthew I see?” a smug voice that Matt recognized and made his jaw clench, looking over his shoulder he had to fight the urge to sneer at Motoyasu, and more specifically Myne who was standing behind him. The spear wielder had changed into a more sophisticated armor than chain mail, a red cloak covered his shoulders with a tunic that draped over his chest and the sides of his waist with armor covering his legs. Stepping forward he looked over Matthew and gave an amused smirk, “Hey what’s this? Not still fighting with that useless equipment are you?” he asked,

Raphtalia noticed the tense look Matthew had, “Do you know who these people are Matthew?” she asked curiously.

Matt took a deep breath, “Raphtalia this is Motoyasu, the spear hero.” he introduced, trying to hide the annoyance in his voice as he walked down the stairs along with Raphtalia and made sure to move around Motoyasu. As he did he saw that Motoyasu wan’t alone, standing near the wall of the room were Ren and Itsuki, both of them having gotten new armor, “And this is Ren, the sword hero, and Itsuki the bow hero.” he added, turning to Raphtalia who looked at the three of them in surprise. Ren and Itsuku both gave him a even look, while they weren’t as loud as Motoyasu, the expressions reminded Matt how they also condemned his actions despite his claims of innocence.

Stay calm. Don’t cause a scene. he thought in spite of the resurfacing nausea in his gut.

“Hi there.” Matthew turned around with distain as he saw Motoyasu shaking Raphtalia’s hand, who seemed to be unsure of what to make of the spear hero. “Nice to meet you, Raphtalia was it?”

Do not hit him. He’s just getting under your skin, don’t let him. he told himself as he tried his hardest not to show his anger.

“Um…you too…Motoyasu was it?” she asked, trying to be friendly but being a little offput by how friendly the spear hero was being.

Clasping his hands around her’s, he replied with, “Wow your cute.”

Matt cringed outwardly, That……that’s not how flirting works. At all. he thought, feeling more sorry for Raphtalia who seemed just as disturbed y the sudden compliment.

“Sir Motoyasu, why are you complimenting a demi human?” Myne asked in disgust as she walked over to the spear hero.

Before Motoyasu could speak, Matt let out a whistle, “Wow, that’s….flat out racist.” he commented, making both Myne and Motoyasu turn to him, the former with a look of disgust. He glared at her, “Oh I’m sorry, how else is anyone suppoused to take that?” he asked skeptically.

The redhead’s annoyed expression went to Motoyasu, “I just…don’t see why he’s so focused on her all of a sudden.” she pouted, giving the indication she was jealous.

Oh you fucking-I don’t know what your deal with me is but being a fucking racist too? Man I hope your head gets bashed like a watermelon! Matthew thought in disgust.

Motoyasu raised a hand, “Now, now, I’m just saying a girl as adorable as this shouldn’t have to use a sword.” he said before turning again to Raphtalia, “I’d be happy to protect you.” he offered. Myne seeming even more angered by how he complimented Raphtalia, making Matt smirk at the sight.

Raphtalia however pulled her hands out of his forcefully, “I’m sorry, but it’s my sworn duty to fight with Matthew.” she replied hatefully as Matthew approached, seeing that she wasn’t entirely comfortable.

Motoyasu looked at her in bewilderment, “Are you kidding??! But that’s insane! If you stay with him you’ll be-“ he began before Matthew stomped over to him with a fiery glare, smirking at the shield hero the spear wielder replied, “Tell me I’m not right.” he challenged, “Or don’t you have the guts?” he asked, Myne smirking in satisfaction at the sight before her.

Oh you want guts?! “How’s this for guts for pompous, dumbass? Me and Raphtalia have spent the past three weeks grinding our asses off while I haven’t heard jack shit out of you or any of the heroes.” he replied seething. The smirk vanishing from the spear user’s face, he pointed to Raphtalia, “Because of her? We managed to clear a mine that still had monsters in it from the first wave, while you’ve been what? Playing with your spear?” he asked with a smirk.

“I-You-“ he tried to retort.

“How dare you!” Myne exclaimed in outrage, “Sir Motoyasu is a kind, honorable man-“

Matt’s head snapped to her, “Yeah coming from a liar like you? That doesn’t mean much.” he snapped before turning around, “Raphtalia, let’s go. We need to prep for the wave.” he said, stomping away, the demi human taken aback by how hostile things had gotten and quickly went to follow Matthew.

“Come on, you don’t mean to tell me you haven’t heard those rumors going around about him?” Motoyasu called out to the girl.

Raphtalia looked out the corner of her eye at him but turned her attention back to Matthew who was walking away, Rumors? she thought to herself.

As they passed Ren and Itsuki, they each spoke.

“See you when the wave hits.”

“Just stay out of our way.”

As soon as they exited the church, Matthew wanted to hit something, quickly walking across the square to an alleyway across from where the church was before reeling his fist back and punching the wall!! FUCKING ASSHOLES!!! he internally yelled, Raphtalia jumping at the sudden flash of anger. His hand didn’t feel pain but that didn’t mean he didn’t hurt his hand. Drawing it back, he inhaled a deep breath, held it for a moment, and them exhaled. Repeating the calming technique a few more times, he finally turned to Raphtalia.

He expected her to be scared of him, like the first day they met, but instead she was standing by with a worried look. “Matthew…..are you ok?” she asked.

He wanted to lie, say that he was fine but she obviously wouldn’t buy that, and she clearly heard Motoyasu mention the rumors……he couldn’t keep this from her any longer. She’s not a kid…..she deserves the truth. “I……I’ll tell you later.” he decided, this clearly wasn’t the best place to discuss private matters. Raphtalia slowly nodded in understanding before they walked off to get preparations for the oncoming wave.

After dropping by the apothecary for herbs to blend, Matthew went straight to work while Raphtalia went to get some practice with her new sword in by killing some of the balloons outside the town for training. Once it had begun to get dark however, she returned to their room at the inn to see Matthew still working on medicine for the incoming wave. Picking up one of the vials he had filled with the substance, she saw the half dozen vials he had finished. “Don’t you think that’s a little much?” she asked, looking to the supplies they had.

Matt shrugged as he grinded the medicine into past with a bowl and grinder, “Well I’d rather have too much than too little. Besides this hopefully won’t go to us, but anyone whose hurt.” he explained, Raphtalia handing him the vial which he took from her hand before slipping into one of the pouches on his belt he had laid out on the ground. Walking over to the bed, she sat on the end and silently watched as Matthew ground up another herb.

She couldn’t help but think of their meeting at the Dragon Hourglass with the other heroes, the legend told that the four heroes would work together to fight off the waves. But from what she saw, the other heroes however…..it was clear that something happened between Matthew and them. “Um……Matthew…..did something happen? Between you and the other heroes I mean?” she asked tepidly.

Matt stopped as he grabbed a herb, taking a long breath he prepared himself for this. You owe her this. he thought as he set the plant down. “Yeah…..yeah something did.” he admitted. Turning around to look at her, he clasped his hands together in front of himself, “When we were first summoned here, we were told about the waves and our duty to fight them. To help us, we were given party members, or rather they were provided. They choose who to follow and….well none of them followed me.” he explained.

Raphtalia shook her head in bewilderment, “What?! Why??” she asked cirtically.

“Well, the other heroes had a…..familiarity with this world in the form of…..entertainment, I however didn’t. Someone heard us discussing it and spread rumors about how I was ignorant to how the world worked.” he explained carefully, knowing that the concept of a video game would be like….well, like explaining a video game to someone from the past.

Raphtalia’s face scrunched up, “That…..that doesn’t seem like something worth getting so upset over.”

Matt nodded, “Your right. But it didn’t help, one person from Motoyasu’s party joined mine and offered her help. She’s actually the one who introduced me to Edhard.” he said on a positive note. For all the damage Myne had done, he couldn’t deny that without her he wouldn’t have made a friend in the blacksmith, and if that was the case who knew how worse off he would have been. “But by the time the day was over, we settled at an inn, I went to bed early, and when I woke up the next morning, all my belongings were gone.” he detailed.

Raphtalia’s face morphed from surprise to indignant, Someone stole from him?! How dare they!!!!! she thought in anger. But…..that actually explains a few things, like why he’s so careful with money. she added mentally.

“But that wasn’t the worst part.” he began, feeling a lump form in the back of his throat. “Raphtalia……do you…..know what rape is?” he asked uneasily.

The demi human stiffened, “I……I know it’s when….someone forces themselves onto someone else.” she said with her cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment. Her mother had told her once that she should never let someone do anything she didn’t want to do in concerns to her body. And she had overheard her and her father talking about it later when the word came up.

Matthew nodded, somewhat glad he wouldn’t need to explain the concept to her, “When I woke up and went to find my companion, the royal knights were waiting for me. They took me to the castle where my companion and the other heroes were there, and my companion accused me of…..raping her.” he explained shakily. Raptalia’s light red eyes widened in disbelief of the claim, Matt couldn’t look at them and instead found his focus on the floor. “It’s not true, I told them over and over but someone planted evidence that it was. But no matter what I said……no one believes me…..and since they can’t execute me because I’m a hero, everyone treats me like……like they treat me.” he swallowed, feeling the sickening in his gut grow as he recalled the entire experience.

He couldn’t dare look at her, he didn’t have a clue how she would react to all of this, “Raphtalia……if you don’t feel safe with me now that you know…..I’ll understand, I can transfer my ownership to Edhard and you won’t have to be my companion anymore.” he offered. He had to visit the slave trader and ask about the possibility, and he confirmed that he could easily transfer ownership if he wanted, of course that would leave him without a extra hand to deal with the waves but he didn’t want to force her to fight with him if she didn’t want to.

“A-Are you serious!?” Raphtalia asked in shock and disbelief as she stood up from the bed, Matthew looked up and saw he standing before him with a serious expression. “Matthew, you….you’ve done nothing wrong! You didn’t….didn’t rape anyone. You couldn’t!” she exclaimed in denial, shocking the young man.

Sitting down in front of him, she grabbed his hand and held it with both of her’s, “You….you’ve been nothing but kind to me, you’ve never once used the slave crest on me……your….your the shield hero.” she enforced as she looked at his hands. The idea that Matthew could even commit such an act was horrifying, if it hadn’t been for him then she would have been dead by now from the disease she had. He stayed up at night and sang to her when she had nightmares and she was too scared to fall asleep alone.

Matt looked down. “Yeah….and that’s why no one believes me.” he replied coldly, anger burning in his eyes.

“I believe you.” she protested, Matthew looked at the upset demi human’s eyes, eyes that looked into his own with a comfort that he desperately wanted to believe in. He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off, “Matthew. I said earlier I was sworn to you. I meant that, I am your sword. And I will stand by your side for the rest of my life.” she vowed, the sheer determination on her face taking him by surprise.

They stayed like that for minutes, Matt looking, waiting for any falter that he expected, only to witness none. As the minutes ticked by, a weight began lifting off his shoulders, and tears gathered in his eyes, No damnit, not in front of her, you can be emotional later you can’t let her…..she needs you to be strong damnit so be strong. he thought, lifting his free hand to wipe them away as he chastised himself. “Raphtalia…..I want to believe you……but….” he glanced down at her chest, the spot where he knew her slave crest was.

Catching his meaning, the demi human actually giggled, “Matthew. This chest only works when you order me to do something. You’ve NEVER ordered me to do something I wasn’t willing to do.” she gently replied with a soft smile. “So when I say I am your sword? I mean it.” she reaffirmed with a nod.

Matt let her words slowly sink in before he finally gave her a small grateful smile, “I am…..beyond lucky to know you Raphtalia.” he stated, causing the demi human girl’s face to blush modestly. Clasping her hands in his he stood up, helping her stand as well, “Honestly…..I feel a lot better now that you know.” he admitted, pulling his hands away from her’s. “It didn’t feel right keeping that from you and….well I wanted you to hear my side of things before you hear it from someone else.”

The racoon girl smiled up at him, “I’m glad……I thought something has been troubling you but…..I wasn’t sure if it was my place to ask.” she confessed as well.

Matthew snorted a short laugh out, the two of them looking down at the floor, “We need to get better at talking. To each other I mean.” his attacker nodded in agreement while Matt looked at the gear he had made. “Well I think this is all I can make, I’ll keep the rest of the herbs on me to restock our supplies after the wave.” he said, kneeling down to clean up. “You should get some rest…..it’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.”

Raphtalia nodded in understanding and went to the restroom to change for bed, leaving Matt alone. With a second to himself, he released the long, shaky breath he had been holding since Raphtalia asked him about the other heroes. When the air left his lungs, he felt ten pounds lighter. She’s too good for me. he thought, tears leaking down his face as he felt some semblance of relief in the days since he was accused.

The next morning, the town square was filled with adventurers, much more than the small dozen the king had gathered for the Four Cardinal Heroes. Wow, surprise, the King half assed his search for volunteers. Matt thought ryly to himself as he and Raphtalia stood away from everyone else. “Well at least it’s not just the heroes and their companions fighting the waves.” he noted optimistically.

Rapthtalia nodded in agreement, “With all these people, hopefully the casualties won’t be anywhere near as bad as the first wave.” she added in a saddened tone. Looking over he saw his companion looking ahead towards the various adventeres, her entire body was wound like a spring, ready to strike at whatever monster they would be transported to fight. Looking up at the timer, he saw that they had half a minute until the wave began. “Raphtalia?” he asked, his companion turned to him and saw him flash her a confident smile, “I’m honored to fight by your side.” he sai, bowing his head forward as a sign of respect.

The young woman slightly recoiled in surprise from the show of respect, overcoming her shock she bowed in response, “The honor is mime….Sir Shield Hero.”

The two lifted their heads and shared one last smile before the timer ran out at the top of Matt’s vison, a loud bell from the church rang out and the sky turned red. Raphtalia let out a small gasp at the sight, before either of them could comment on the unsettling sight, they were enveloped in a golden light. When their senses came back to them, instead of the town square, they were in the middle of a forest.

Matthew’s head turned on a swivel, trying to find some form of landmark that he might be familiar with, Raphtalia’s gasp caught his attention and saw the Demi Human looking up at the sky with Horror, following her gaze, Matthew’s eyes widened as well, “Oh……wow….” he muttered as he finally laid eyes on the wave. In the sky high above them, energy flowed like a wave of water, with ripples of green, purple, and red and yellow. It’s……weirdly beautiful. he thought. That idea was quickly struck down when black shapes poured out from the waves, the darkness that fell almost blotted out the sky, and every speck was a monster.

And just like that it’s horrifying, like locust swarming Egypt. he thought with a gulp before hearing the sound of boots on the ground. Looking down below them from the cliff they were teleported to, he saw the other heroes and their parties. Aw hell, guess I’m following them-

“Matthew look!” Raptalia exclaimed as she pointed into the distance, following her gaze once again he saw what had her attention. “It’s Lute Village!” she exclaimed, the village they had spent a bulk of their leveling at nestled in the forest in the distance.

“That’s bad.” Matt thought aloud, “If nobody knows where the wave strikes then they may not have-“ he began before his suspicions where confirmed as a flare shot out from the village. The village hadn’t been evacuated, or at the least it wasn’t completely empty, The walls aren’t going to stand a chance against all these monsters! he thought, seeing a massive group of Monsters slowly making their way towards the village.

“We need to help them!” Raphtalia exclaimed, turning to her master expectantly.

Matthew nodded, “Let’s go then!” he exclaimed, jumping off the cliff and sliding down the side with Raphtalia following after him.

They were too slow to reach the village, by the time they rushed the village gates they had already been breached by the wasp and zombie monsters. Slamming the side of his shield into the skull of a zombie knight, toppleing it to the ground, Raphtalia plunged her blade into the face of it before rushing forward and slashing through another of the monsters. As she turned, a trio of hornets flew straight at her, only for Matthew to step in the way of them, his shield raised up and blocking the stinger of one and pushing it into the path of another while the third’s stinger hit the shoulder of his armor.

Raphtalia reacted quickly, moving to their blindside and rushing through the three, slashing at each one as she passed. When the last one of the group fell, she turned to Matthew, “Are you hurt?” she asked with concern, her master stepping on the head of one of the bugs for good measure.

“I’m fine but the village is screwed.” he said, looking around at the destruction, there wasn’t a single structure left untouched by the wave, there were multiple buildings that were on fire, a few ones made of stone had walls that were caved in, and already they had passed a few unfortunate villagers that had been killed before they got here. “Help!!” the two heard someone cry out.

The pair sprinted in the direction of the voice, turning the corner of a street they saw a man huddled on the ground in front of a zombie knight with it’s sword raised over it’s head, “Oh no you don’t!” Matt shouted as he changed his shield to his Rabbit Shield and with enhanced speed took off in front of Raphtalia. Nearing the Zombie as it’s sword swung down, he slid between it’s legs and lifted his shield up to block the sword from the frightened villager.

Raphtalia quickly caught up and slashed her blade cleanly through the head of the zombie, the large monster falling to the ground as Matthew picked himself up and offered a hand to the scared villager. The man, still in shock, slowly took the hand and was lifted up onto his feet, “Are you ok?” he asked.

“Ye-Yes sir hero.” he sputtered out.

Matthew pointed towards the mountains a short ways off, “The village is evacuating to the mine, there’s guards there who will protect you, if you see anyone whose lost or doesn’t know where to go, pass it on. Got it?” he asked, the man nodded before taking off, looking around the area Matthew shook his head. They made the right choice coming here, that much was obvious, but they needed to get these people to safety first before dealing with the monsters. “Raphtalia, help the villagers evacuate!” he commanded.

His companion looked to him unsurely, “What about you?’ she asked with concern, if she was busy with evacuating people, then his fighting capability would be seriously at a disadvantage.

“I’ll run decoy, get the monsters attention. When everyone is evacuated then you can come back me up.” he explained, the demi human nodding in acceptance as the shield hero took off. Once we get them to the mines, I’ll be easier to defend the civilians there where we can bottleneck the monsters than here. he reasoned as he charged through a group of hornets with his shield raised up.

Ahead of him a large group of villaigers were holding back the monsters with farming and mining equipment, as he charged in, he heard shouting, “Look! It’s one of the heroes!”

“Please save us!!!”

Matthew reeled his fist back as he neared the monsters encroaching upon the villagers, landing a hard right hook with his shield on one of the Zombie’s heads and taking it down, “Everyone! Get out of the village and evacuate to the mines! I’m going to distract these monsters!! Go!!!!” he shouted as loud as he could, weaving through the horde of slower zombies like a football player, slamming his shield into any he passed to both get their attention and knock them off balance. “Come on you Walking Dead rejects!” he called out over his shoulder. Looking ahead he saw another villager about to be struck by a zombie, “Air Strike Shield!!” he shouted, the emerald shield appearing horizontally over the villager’s head to block the sword. Rushing forward, Matt leapt onto the shield and kicked the monster in the head before jumping off, “Get to safety!” he called back.

“Mommy!” he heard a small child cry out, looking ahead he saw a small swarm of hornets flying towards a mother protecting her child with her body!

“Shield Prison!” he quickly yelled, the orb of shields forming around the mother and daughter, rushing past, the insect monsters turned their attention to the shield hero and flew after him. “God why did it have to be bees?!” he shouted, turning on his heel and slamming his fist into one of them, killing it and gaining only a sliver of EXP, Well at least I can take care of some of these! He thought, raising his shield to block the stinger of another. Jumping at hit he pinned it beneath his shield and squashed it against the ground, another trying to sting him through the back and through his cape if not for his armor.

Mental note, thank Edhard for the armor. he thought, turning over and putting his elbow into the head of the Bee. Getting up off the ground he saw that the Zombies he had sniped from the civilians before were catching up. “Ok mister hero, how do I get all their attention?” he asked, looking around the village for something that would definitely get the attention of every monster in the area.

His eyes rested on a watchtower in the town square. “Perfect!” he exclaimed before taking off with the Rabbit shield towards the wooden tower. Climbing up the ladder, he saw a group of men with swords surrounded by zombies against a wall, and he climbed faster. Reaching the top, he found a lantern and bell hanging up. Ringing the bell like a madman, he looked out across the town square and saw the group of Zombies that had the adventurers pinned down were turning towards him and making their way to the sound of the bell.

“You know, if this was under different circumstances? I’d honestly be having fun killing Zombies.” he said to himself aloud before looking at the reentrance to the town where the villagers were evacuating from. Ok, civilians are being evacuated, once Raphtalia makes sure they’re safe, we’ll fall back to the mine and wait until the others take care of the Wave, seriously what’s taking them so long?! he thought before the entire tower shook.

Looking down the ladder he climbed, he saw the zombies had finally caught up and where in a massive pile trying to climb up to him. “Ok I’m either going to get swarmed or this whole tower is going to give out.” he said, the tower letting out a moan from the wood with the excess weight on it. Looking at the lantern, he grabbed it from it’s hook and held it up to his ear, there was still oil inside! “This is a bad idea. This is a REALLY bad idea.” he said to himself as he unscrewed the bottom of the lamp and tipped the oil over onto the size, spilling the flammable substance over the side of the tower and the Zombie climbing the ladder.

Emptying the remainder at the edge of the stairs, he switched to his rope shield before reaching for his belt where he kept the flint and stone he used to light fire. Striking the flint against the stone, a spark cast out into the oil, fire erupted from the puddle and spread down over the ladder and into the mass of Zombies below, the tower itself also catching aflame as Matthew backed away to the opposite side of the wooden guard tower. “Yeah this was a bad idea.”

He suddenly ran forward and leapt out from the guard tower, “Air Strike Shield!!” he shouted, the green shield appearing at his feet for him to land on. Knowing that it would only be active for a few seconds he quickly leapt off towards the roof of a building. As soon as his feet touched the shingled roof, it gave in, and the shield hero crashed down into the house through a wooden table. “…..Ow……yeah….just as I planned….” he groaned painfully as he stood up from the wreckage of the table.

Standing up, he made his way outside and watched as the tower he was just in finally fell to the ground, the loud crash kicking up a small plume of dirt and dust that died down quickly, showing that none of the zombies had survived. Leaning against the wall, Matthew used the moment to catch his breath, Ok, I’ll go through town once I’m not winded, do another sweep for villagers-

“Sir hero!” Matt turned to see the man he and Raphtalia had saved earlier run up to him, behind him a few feet away, men wielding makeshift weapons were fighting against the remaining Zombies, “We came back after seeing how courageously your fighting.” he explained, the man turning back to the awestruck hero. “Lute is our home, it’s all we have, and we can’t abandon it. We’ll fight with you if you’ll have us.” he offered.

Matthew stood up from the wall, “Thank you, but right now we need to evacuate the rest of the villagers to the mine. Once we’re done here we’ll-“ he began before a large shadow lumbered over them, turning to face it the two men found themselves standing against a zombie that towered over them, it’s arm with an axe reeled back. As it swung, Matt jumped between it and the villager, his shield blocking the attack but the force knocking them both across the street into a tree.

Matthew felt his teeth rattle from how hard that one hit, getting up from the ground he saw the large zombie looming above them, “Die Monster!” a pitchfork suddenly plunged at it’s arm, the monster lowly turned to the villager who attacked it, the pitchfork being forced aside by it’s movement despite putting his whole weight against the creature. It once more raised it’s axe and slammed it down, and once again Matthew stood and blocked the attack, this time standing his ground despite the strain his arms felt from holding back the blow.

“Matthew!!” a familiar feminine voice called out before a blade tore through the back of the zombie a number of times before it fell to the ground dead with Raphtalia sheathing her sword behind it. “Are you ok?” she asked worriedly as she rushed over, the shield hero was covered with dirt and grime, as well as sporting a few cuts on his face from his stunt with the tower.

He gave her the best assured nod he could, “I’m fine.” he said before looking to the villagers who had stayed behind, while their spirit was admirable, they were way too low leveled to be of much help. “Everyone! Please evacuate to the mines! Get your families, friends, neighbors, anyone, and go!” he ordered.

One of the villagers who were holding off the monsters earlier picked up the man who had been slammed against the tree with Matthew, “Alright, stay safe you two!” he called out, nodding to the others before the group took off towards the mines.

As the group left, Matthew walked over to Raphtalia, his eyes shifting to the other monsters that were standing ready to fight, “Christ this isn’t doing anything, they just keep coming.” he growled out in annoyance as the demi human walked to his side, her hand on the handle of her blade, ready to strike at any monster that dared face them. At this rate bottlenecking them at the mine could be worse than I thought. Think! What do we- Matt began brainstorming before a number of lights fired into the air from around the village, “What the-?!”

The lights all shot up into an arc around the center of the village high in the air, the light gathered together in a ball before popping and the light raining down, You know that almost looks like…..OH SHIT!!!!! “Raphtalia!” he reached out to the companion as she turned, the racoon girl letting out a yelp of surprise as she was pulled in close to Matthew as close as he could while he raised the small shield over both of them, it’s magic barrier skill covering the pair in a faintly blue barrier as the fire artillery reigned down around them.

Matthew’s head bowed down into his cloak beside Raphtalia’s face, before the blushing demi human could ask what was going on, the barrier absorbed the first impact from one of the spells. She coiled closer to him for protection, shutting her eyes as she felt the vibrations of the spells hitting the shield and the barrier surrounding them. It sounded like fireworks going off around them, whizzing by their ears and hitting the ground around them, one strike hit them dead on, making Matthew’s footing falter, however Rapthtalia’s grip kept him steady and made them kneel down together.

When it was over, the pair opened their eyes, looking in the corner of his screen he saw that maneuver cost him about half his magic. Opening his cloak slightly, they both saw that the cost was well worth it. All around them, the village had what was basically hellfire rain down from above, there were homes on fire, some completely destroyed, and small fires all around them. Looking to Raphtalia, his breath tickled her nose when he asked, “You good?”

The demi human nodded numbly, still reeling from being in the middle of that bombardment as well as the fact that she was close enough to her master’s face she could almost feel the growing beard on his face, “Ha! Look at that! We got them all in a single strike.” Matt looked from underneath his cloak to see a platoon of Royal Knights marching into the remains of the village, the one in front, with a light brown mustache, saw the hero and smirked coyly, “Hmm? The shield hero? Your pretty tough.” he noticed.

Matt grit his teeth, “Guess the term Friendly Fire doesn’t apply to the shield hero.” he sardonically bit out. Raphtalita’s eyes widened as she realized what he meant, and then quickly narrowed in rage. As Matthew lifted his head to comment, Raphtalia shot out from underneath his cloak like a bolt of lightly, “HOLY HELL!!!” Matthew exclaimed as his companion lunged her sword at the cocky commander whose life was flashing before his eyes, only to have her sword blocked by one of the knights with his own sword and shield.

“Did you know Sir Matthew was here?! Answer me or I’ll have your head!!” she demanded the knight she was pointing her blade at, the rage within her eyes making the fires around them look like candles by comparison.

Matthew however was probably the most surprised as anyone, I……I know I should be a little concerned, but I also feel……pride. Yes. Pride. he thought as he stood up.

The knight blocking her looked to his comrades, “draw your swords.” he calmly ordered. Raphtalia leapt back, gaining some distance being halfway between Matthew and the knights.

“What’s this?! Are you with the Shield Hero?” one of them asked skeptically.

Raphtalia stood firm with her blade pointed at the knights’ direction, “I am Sir Matthew’s sword, respect him or die!” she responded venomously, Matthew being more and more surprised by how defensive his companion was.

Walking up behind her, one of the knights scoffed, “Damn demi human, how dare you point your blade at the Royal Knights!” he said proudly.

The racoon girls’ grip tightened on the handle of her sword, “What kind of knight neglects the people he’s supposed to defend?!” she shot back with anger.

She felt a hand on her shoulder, glancing over she saw Matthew looking at her with surprise before turning his attention to the knights, “My friend here means what the hell you idiots where thinking letting loose on this village without knowing if it was completely evacuated?!” he asked.

The head knight who Raphtalia had gone for first scoffed, “There’s no civilans here! Only person here is you Shield Hero. Which makes me wonder what your even doing here instead of fighting the wave. Maybe you’re here to see what valuables the villagers left behind?’ he posed, Raphtalia’s eyes silted at the man, she leaned forward ready to strike but Matthew’s hand on her shoulder held her back.

“No, see, I’m here because I wanted to make sure the people got out of here safely. Of course you’d probably realize that if you didn’t drag your feet getting here.” the shiled hero replied before smirking, “But don’t worry, we left some for you.” he said, nodding his head. The Knight’s smirk vanished as he turned around to see himself face to abdomen with one of the Zombies with an axe, leading a group of zombies and hornets that made his men scatter back.

“Hold your ground men!” he called out, looking around as the Zombie swung it’s axe down, only for it to be blocked by the small shield.

Matt looked over his shoulder, “I’m sorry what was that you were saying before? Me? Looting?” he asked sarcastically as Raphtalia leapt onto the hand of the zombie and spring off, cutting through it’s head. Matthew turned back to the knights, “Listen up you primitive screwheads!!!! Me and my friend here are going to buy you time to get your act together! Raphtalia!” he shouted.

“Right!” she understood, charging forward and cutting through one of the zombies as another reared a spear back, only for the tip to be blocked by Matthew who arrived on his companion’s Flank, the demi Human spun around him and sliced through the head of another zombie, raising her blade high she brought It down on another monster who blocked it with it’s sword, only to be slammed in the gut with a shield, knocking it down and allowing Raphtalia to rub by and cut it’s head off.

Sidestepping a spear, she brought her blade up through a ribcage as another large zombie moved in behind her, however before it could attack,  kick to the back of it’s knees made it topple down and the demi human plunged her sword through it’s skull. Moving back to back with Raphtalia, “We can do this, just keep fighting.” he assured, his friend nodding as he blocked a sword. Pushing it back, he dropped down as Raphtalia spun around, cutting it’s head off.

Out the corner of his eye, the shield hero saw the leader of the guards walk off, Typical! Well if you want a job done right-

“Phalanx Position! Support the Shield Hero!!” one of the knights called out, making Matthew snap his head in the direction of the Knights who formed in front of the monsters.

Matt couldn’t help but smile, “About time I got some luck go my way. Raphtalia!” he called out, knocking the demi human from her partial stupor from seeing the knights support them. She nodded before running around the monster’s rear while Matthew cast a Air Strike Shield to help defend the knights. As they cleared the group of monsters, the group of defenders readied for the next wave of monsters. However as soon as they were readied, the wave above their heads began to fade, and the blood red sky flashed blue.

The entire group visibly relaxed, Matthew staring up at the sky in momentary relief before looking ahead to the village entrance where the hornets were buzzing. The wave was over…..but there were still monsters that needed to be killed.

It took the whole day to make sure Lute Village was secure enough for the people to return to without fear of monsters attacking them. The Knights who stayed behind helped without complaint either, I was honestly surprised by it. Meanwhile Raphtalia went around dutifully hunting down and killing any monster she came across, while I tried my best to tend to the wounded. But the longer I went on the more angry I got, not at the villagers, but the Kingdom.

Where were the medics? Where were the healers, the soldiers, anybody who should have come help the people, fuck! Even the other heroes were nowhere to be found! I didn’t realize it at first but it slowly dawned on me, the King was only worried about the capital, about himself.

At least the other heroes managed to beat the wave, and they didn’t need me to do it. Which may not sound flattering, but it at least proved I didn’t need to work with them in order to get back home. My hope was that I could keep doing what I did, defend the people caught up in the waves, that was the point of having a shield anyway right?

…..man I wish that turned out to be the case.

It was sunset when the villagers finally returned to Lute, Matthew had treated everyone he could with the medicine he had, and thankfully it went to good use treating some people who had been hurt before he and Raphtalia arrived….others however weren’t so lucky. Matthew could only watch from a distance as a funeral service was conducted for those whose lives were lost during the wave. As he watched, tired, sore, and disheartened by the loss of life, he noticed the Knights from earlier approaching him. Their leader, an older man with  scar across his face, had his helmet in his hands. “All the villagers are accounted for.” he stated, following the hero’s gaze towards the funeral where the bodies of the dead where covered. “….the ones still with us.” he corrected.

Matt nodded, “Thank you for staying with me and my friend. Without you all, this could have ended much worse.” he said solemnly. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to Raphtalia as she approached. The demi human stared at the knight who was in charge of the men, Matthew thankfully spoke up, “Are you returning to the capital?” he asked.

The man nodded, “Yes, once I’m back I’ll report the damage done to the village. Hopefully aid will arrive in the weeks to come to help these people.” he said briskly. Giving the shield hero a nod, Matthew nodded back, turning to Raphtalia, the Demi Human glared at him, “……your sword skills are impressive……for a novice.” he said.

Raphtalia’s tail stood up in anger behind her, however it slowly eased down as she realized he referred to her as only a novice, and not a ‘demi human scum’ like the other knights had referred to her. As he walked off, Matthew took a deep breath, “Well…..one down…..who knows how many more to go.” he stated.

She nodded, “I killed every monster I could find.” she replied in a voice devoid of emotion, making Matt look at her in concern. With how she acted earlier against the Knights it was clear that her trauma from the first wave was more severe than he thought.

“Sir Shield Hero!” The pair turned around to see a large group of the villagers, including the town’s leader, bowing to the two of them. “We are eternally grateful for what you’ve done.” the leader said gratefully as they raised their heads. “If not for you, then our town would have been lost, and worse, my people killed. Had you not courageously fought.” he praised.

Matthew felt like he was just hit by a car, it had been…..this was the first time he had been praised for his actions from someone other than Raphtalia or Edhard. It was the first time….he felt like a hero. “I…..I…Your welcome.” he finally replied, “But it wasn’t just me, the knights who stayed behind-“

The people collectively recoiled at the mention and the leader spoke, “They explained what happened, they were ordered to lay waste to our village to try and curb the monsters of the wave. However it was you’ve actions that inspired them to take up arms and defend this place.” he explained, Matthew frowning at the information. He understood the reasoning behind it, but this place was where people lived, it wasn’t a warzone where people had been evacuated beforehand.

Looking around, Matthew sighed, “I wish I could have done more.”

The leader bowed, “You have done more than enough Sir Hero.” he assured before walking off with the group to return to repairs to the village.

Sure doesn’t feel like it. he thought before looking at Raphtalia who had a forlorn smile on her face. “What?” he asked.

She shook her head, “Nothing….I just…..I’m glad to see that your finally getting some recognition.” she admitted with a smile before looking at the village. “And…….we made it so that some kids didn’t need to go through what I went through….” she added, her head bowing as she took a shaky breath. Matthew reached his hand out and gently rested it atop her head between her racoon ears, “I killed so many monsters today….” she let out a sniffle.

“Yeah……..and I’m proud of you.” he added encouragingly. The demi human lifted her hand and wiped the tears away, Matthew petting her head in a way that made her tail swing back and forth happily. Yeah…..one down. Bring on the next one. he thought with determination before looking at the Demi Human. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, what the hell was that with the Knights back there?” he asked in an amused tone.

Raphtalia stiffened slightly and looked away with a blush, “Well what do you expect? They attacked you.”

“You threatened to behead them.” he replied dryly.

She turned to him huffingly, “I am your sword Matthew! I’m not going to let anyone speak ill of you!” she defended vehemently. “Especially when they’re stupid enough to believe some baseless rumors!” she exclaimed passionately. Matthew smiled at her, “Now come on, you need to eat, we’ve had long day.” she said as she took his arm and led him towards the aera where food was being handed out.

Unnoticed by him, he failed to see the timer for the wave be reset at the top of his vision.

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