After finishing our meal, we left the shop and headed out to the grasslands.
Along the way, Raphtalia seemed to be in high spirits, humming a little tune.
But the moment we stepped into the grasslands, her eyes went wide with fear and she began to tremble.
"Don't be scared. I'll absolutely protect you from any monsters."
As expected, Raphtalia tilted her head at my words.
"Look, getting bitten by a few small fry doesn't even sting or itch."
I pulled out a few Balloons I'd been hiding under my cloak, and Raphtalia flinched.
"It… doesn't hurt?"
"Not at all."
"I see…"
"Let's go."
"Cough…"
The cough was a bit worrisome, but she'd probably be fine.
We gathered herbs as we walked through the grasslands toward the forest.
Oh, there they are.
Three Red Balloons came flying out of the forest brush.
I kept a close watch to make sure Raphtalia didn't get bitten, then let them latch onto me.
"There, stab it with the knife like I showed you earlier."
"…Okay!"
Raphtalia, somewhat motivated now, drove the knife into a Red Balloon from behind with a burst of energy.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
After that battle, Raphtalia's level rose to 2.
The conditions for the Red Small Shield have been unlocked.
Red Small Shield
Ability not yet unlocked… Equipment Bonus, Defense +4
I immediately transformed my shield.
Raphtalia stared at the shield with wide eyes.
"What… are you, Master?"
She didn't know I was the Shield Hero. Well, she was a demi-human and a slave.
"I'm a Hero. The Shield Hero."
"Hero? Like the legendary ones?"
"You know about them?"
Raphtalia nodded firmly.
"That's right. I was summoned as a Hero. Out of the four of us, I'm the weakest though!"
I clenched my hand until my nails bit into my palm, letting frustration get the better of me.
The faces of those other three floated through my mind, and nothing but killing intent welled up.
Raphtalia looked frightened, so I didn't say any more.
"For now, our job today is to clear monsters out of this forest. I'll hold them down, and you stab them."
"Okay…"
She'd grown a bit more accustomed to things, and Raphtalia nodded obediently.
And so we ventured deeper into the forest, fighting encounter after encounter—me stepping in as a shield to take the brunt of each fight, and Raphtalia finishing them off.
Along the way, we came across a type of enemy other than Balloons for the first time.
Loomush.
It was a white, moving mushroom with sharp-looking eyes, about the size of a person's head.
I gave it a punch on a whim, and it had about the same heft as a Red Balloon.
I had Raphtalia take this one out too.
There were also differently colored variants—Blue Mushroom and Green Mushroom.
The conditions for the Mushroom Shield have been unlocked.
The conditions for the Blue Mushroom Shield have been unlocked.
The conditions for the Green Mushroom Shield have been unlocked.
Mushroom Shield
Ability not yet unlocked… Equipment Bonus, Plant Appraisal +1
Blue Mushroom Shield
Ability not yet unlocked… Equipment Bonus, Basic Crafting Recipe +1
Green Mushroom Shield
Ability not yet unlocked… Equipment Bonus, Apprentice Crafting
None of these were stat bonuses—they all seemed to be skill-type bonuses.
Crafting, huh… That could be useful when selling medicine.
By the end of the day, Raphtalia had reached level 3, and I was at level 5.
In the evening, we walked through the grasslands and made our way to a riverside where we'd camp for the night.
"Cough…"
Raphtalia followed me without a single complaint.
Well, for a while yet we'd need to focus on earning money again.
When we reached the river, I pulled a towel out of my bag and handed it to Raphtalia, then stacked some firewood and got a fire going.
"Go wash up quickly. If you get cold, warm yourself by the fire."
"…Okay."
Raphtalia undressed and waded into the river to wash.
In the meantime, I started fishing and began preparing dinner.
Even so, I kept my eyes on Raphtalia the whole time. Regardless, Balloons spawned around here, so it was best to stay on guard.
I turned to today's haul.
Herbs from the grasslands—a decent amount.
Herbs not found in the grasslands—also a decent amount.
Balloons—several.
Various Mushrooms—several.
Unlocked shields—four types.
Yep. The difference in efficiency was obvious.
Buying a slave had been the right call.
Right. Let me try my hand at this crafting thing.
I pulled up the basic recipes.
There were combinations listed using the herbs I currently had on hand.
For equipment… I could probably make do with a flat rock and some pebbles by the riverside to grind things together. I'd go with recipes that could be made with just a mortar and pestle.
There was probably some technique to it, but the basic recipes didn't cover that.
Grind, grind, grind…
I imitated the combinations I'd seen the shopkeeper using when I bought herbs.
A Heal Pill was produced!
Heal Pill — Quality: Poor → Slightly Poor. A pill that accelerates wound healing; apply it directly to the wound for effect.
An icon like that floated before my eyes.
Alright, success.
The shield was reacting, but I wasn't going to absorb it just yet.
I also tried a few combinations I hadn't seen before.
I failed from time to time, ending up with a lump of black goo, but it was surprisingly fun.
Crackle, crackle, crackle…
I heard the sound of fire popping.
I looked over and saw Raphtalia, freshly washed, warming herself by the campfire.
"Feeling warm now?"
"Yeah. Cough…"
She really did seem to have caught a cold. The slave merchant had mentioned she was sickly.
Come to think of it… among the medicines I'd made, there had been a cold remedy.
Basic Medicine — Quality: Slightly Good. Effective for mild colds.
"Here, drink this."
The "mild" part was a little concerning, but it was better than nothing.
"…It's bitter, so I don't want to… guh…"
Foolishly, Raphtalia tried to refuse, pressing a hand to her chest in distress.
"Drink it."
"Y-yes…"
Trembling, Raphtalia swallowed the medicine I'd given her in one gulp.
"Hah… hah…"
"Good girl. You drank it all."
When I patted her head, Raphtalia stared back at me with that same puzzled expression, her gaze distant.
Oh, the tanuki ears were so fluffy.
When my eyes drifted toward her tail, she seemed to guess what I was thinking. Her cheeks flushed and she hugged her tail tight, refusing to let me touch it.
"Here, dinner's ready."
I handed Raphtalia the grilled fish and went back to crafting.
I'd always enjoyed this kind of delicate work, ever since long ago.
Night had fully fallen, and I continued crafting by the light of the campfire.
Hmm… it seemed like quite a lot of things could be made. Interesting.
Raphtalia had finished her fish and now stared at the fire with droopy, drowsy eyes.
"You can sleep."
At my words, Raphtalia shook her head repeatedly.
Was this that thing? A child throwing a tantrum because they didn't want to sleep… Wait, she was a child.
If I left her alone, she'd fall asleep on her own eventually.
Come to think of it, had the Basic Medicine worked at all? She hadn't been coughing for a while now.
I spent some more time experimenting with crafting, mapping out most of the medicines I could make.
For the ones that came out as shoddy products, I absorbed them into the shield.
The conditions for the Petite Medicine Shield have been unlocked.
The conditions for the Petite Poison Shield have been unlocked.
Petite Medicine Shield
Not yet unlocked… Equipment Bonus, Medicine Effect Up
Petite Poison Shield
Not yet unlocked… Equipment Bonus, Poison Resistance (Small)
Both of these were shields that connected from the Leaf Shield and the Mushroom Shield. Medicine Effect Up—I wasn't entirely sure how that worked.
Whether it meant medicines I used on myself had greater effect, or whether the medicines I crafted would be more potent.
Well, whatever. Either way, today's big haul had been a huge help, no question about it.
"No… help me…"
Raphtalia suddenly cried out in a strange voice.
I looked over and saw that Raphtalia was having a nightmare.
"Nooooooo—!"
My ears rang and I felt my hearing go distant.
This was bad. The noise might attract Balloons.
I rushed over to Raphtalia and covered her mouth.
"Mmmmmmm—!"
But even muffled, her voice was loud enough, and I finally understood what the slave merchant had meant by "problematic."
This was definitely a problem.
"Easy, easy. Calm down."
I picked up the thrashing Raphtalia and tried to soothe her.
"Mommy… Mama…"
Was she calling for her parents? Tears streamed down Raphtalia's face as she reached her hands out, pleading for help.
"It's okay… it's okay."
I stroked her head, doing my best to calm her.
"Don't cry. You have to be strong."
"Uuuh…"
I held Raphtalia tight as she kept sobbing.
"Gwahh!"
Right then, a Balloon that had been drawn by the noise appeared.
"Damn…"
Of all the times.
Still carrying Raphtalia in one arm, I charged toward the Balloon.
"Uraaaaaaah!"
Peck… peck!
"Morning."
It had been a rough night.
By the time I finished cutting down the group of Balloons that had come swarming in, Raphtalia's crying had quieted down—but the moment I stepped even slightly away, she'd start wailing all over again.
And that would bring more Balloons.
I couldn't get any real sleep because of it.
"Mm…"
"You're awake?"
"Hiih!?"
Raphtalia's eyes went wide with surprise, apparently not realizing she'd been sleeping in my arms.
"Hah… I'm exhausted."
There was still a little time before the city gates opened. I could probably catch a nap until then.
Today's task would be comparing the buyback price of the medicines I'd made yesterday against the cost of the herbs I'd picked.
If the herbs were worth more selling raw than as finished medicine, there'd be no point in crafting.
"I'm going to sleep for a bit. For breakfast… is the leftover fish fine?"
Raphtalia nodded.
"Then, goodnight. Wake me if monsters come."
My own eyes were burning, and I was quickly pulled into the world of sleep.
I didn't know what Raphtalia was afraid of. I didn't intend to find out.
It was probably the shock of being sold off by her parents, or maybe she'd been kidnapped.
Either way, I had no obligation to return her. I'd paid a hefty price to buy a slave.
She could hate me all she wanted. I had to survive too.
I had to find a way to get back to my original world.