"Father! Father! Father! Father! Father!"
I pounded on the door of the closed-up weapon shop over and over again.
Eventually, the old man behind the counter opened the door with a sour look on his face.
"What's all this about, Shield Anon? I'm already closed for the night."
"That's not the point!"
I showed Filo, wearing a cloak and appearing in human form, to the old man.
"Anon, don't come bragging just because you bought yourself a nice slave."
"That's not it either!"
What does this guy think of me?!
If I met the version of me living in his head, I could kill him without hesitation.
"Maaaster? What's wrong?"
"You, shut up."
"No way!"
Damn it! What the hell is going on?!
The commotion after that just kept on going.
The slave merchant kept pointing at me with his jaw on the floor. His subordinate was so stunned he couldn't even speak.
Raphtalia was speechless too.
And Filo—she actually transformed into human form just to get closer to me.
Before I knew it, I'd hauled Filo all the way to the old man's shop.
"Heckshun!"
*FWOOM! BZZZZZT!*
The sound of her transforming tore the cloak she'd been wearing to shreds.
In an instant, Filo had become the Filolial Queen (tentative).
This bird! That cloak wasn't cheap, you know!
"Wha..."
The old man was struck dumb. He looked up at Filo.
Filo shifted back into human form and grabbed my hand. The tattered remains of the cloak fell from the top of her head, barely holding their shape.
"...Do you get the situation now?"
"Y-yeah."
The old man wore a deeply complicated expression as he led me into the shop.
"So the reason you came to see me is to get gear for the kid?"
"Honestly, her defense is a joke. Do you have anything that won't break even when she transforms?"
I pressed him despite knowing it was a long shot.
"For starters, why does she transform?!"
"Anon, calm down a bit."
He was right. Come to think of it, why is Filo in human form?
She had wings on her back—a leftover, presumably—and with her blonde hair and blue eyes she looked almost like an angel.
And her face was practically drawn from a picture of "cute." Perfectly proportioned.
She looked about ten years old. Roughly the same build Raphtalia used to have.
Grrrrr...
A decidedly old-fashioned stomach rumble.
"Maaaster, I'm hungry."
"Deal with it."
"No way!"
Gah! What is even happening here?
"Well, for now, want to have dinner at my place?"
With that, the old man brought out a pot from the back of the shop. Looked like some kind of soup.
"Don't—"
"Okaaay, time to eat~!"
Filo snatched the pot from the old man and poured the entire contents into her mouth.
"Hmm... the taste could use some work."
She handed the pot back.
The old man was equally dumbstruck, staring at me.
"So, uh... sorry about that."
"...Anon. You're treating me to a meal later."
I was getting the creeping sensation that I was sinking deeper and deeper into a hole.
"Let me think... I feel like I had some clothes made for demi-humans with transformation abilities... Actually, Anon, you should be going to a clothing store, not a weapon shop."
"You want me to walk into some unfamiliar clothing store in the middle of the night with a completely naked girl? A girl who turns into a monster, no less?"
"...Fair point. Hold on a sec."
The old man rummaged around in the back of the shop.
"I'm not sure if they'll fit, and they're pretty out-there pieces, so don't get your hopes up."
"I understand."
In the end, it was quite a while before the old man came back out.
"Sorry. Looking at her size in human form, I don't have anything that'll fit."
"Wha—?!"
This was supposed to be my last hope. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I couldn't even put clothes on this little girl who might go naked at any moment and cuddle up to me like we were best friends.
Not that I had a great reputation to begin with, but my standing—which had actually started improving lately—was going to take a nosedive.
"Maaaster..."
"Don't you transform!"
Even using the Demon Crest, there was no restriction on transforming into a human. I guess a monster becoming human was just that rare.
"No way!"
Gah... what does this kid even want?!
And she refused every single thing I said.
Rebellious phase? She was only a few days old—there's no way she'd already have one.
"Because... if Filo's in her real form, Master won't sleep with me."
Filo squeezed my hand tightly, a beaming smile spread across her face.
"...Why would I need to sleep with you?"
"Because I get lonely."
"Ugh... you've got your hands full, Anon."
I didn't come to this world to be a babysitter, you know...
"Now that I think about it, where's Raphtalia?"
"I finally caught up!"
Raphtalia stumbled into the shop, panting.
"You just took off running all of a sudden... I had to search for you."
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"Ohhh, Raphtalia big sister!"
Filo waved energetically.
"I won't give Master to you, okay!"
"What are you talking about, this child?!"
"I'm not giving him away—I don't belong to either of you. If anything, you two belong to me."
In the slave sense.
"Well, I'll look around for some clothes that might fit her. For now, head back for tonight."
"Yeah, thanks for everything."
"Thanks for the fooood~"
"Sheesh... Anon, you never stop surprising me."
After leaving the weapon shop, we staggered back toward the inn when Raphtalia called out.
"Ah, the slave... the monster merchant was calling for you."
"Hm? Got it."
The slave merchant was waiting for us the moment we returned to the tent and came out to greet us.
"Well, well. That was quite the development. Indeed."
"Yeah."
"So, the reason there are so few sightings of the Filolial Queen has been explained."
"Oh? You figured it out?"
"Yes. In fact, I think the Hero already understands."
What's with this guy and his coy way of talking?
"You don't?"
"...Just say it already."
The slave merchant pointed at Filo, who was back in human form, wearing the tattered cloak over her shoulders.
"The Filolial Queen possesses highly advanced transformation abilities. She had been disguising herself as other Filolials to avoid drawing attention. That is our understanding."
I see... Filolials apparently had a natural habit of disguising themselves so they wouldn't be immediately recognized as the boss of their kind, and she'd used that instinct to transform into a human form.
"My, my. To witness the Filolial Queen in person—something our research has yet to fully document—I am truly in awe of the Hero's monster-raising capabilities. Indeed."
"Huh?"
"To raise a regular Filolial all the way up to a Queen... what kind of raising method could possibly produce a Queen?"
...I figured out the slave merchant's angle. This guy wants to hear from me how to turn Filolials into Queens so he can mass-produce them.
Folials were probably classified as a pretty rare monster type, and she had transformation abilities. If you sold them piecemeal and cheaply, but at a premium... he'd make a fortune.
"It's probably the power of the Legendary Shield," I said. "Something like a growth correction bonus, I'm guessing."
That was the only explanation I could come up with, even if it felt like a stretch.
"Your evasiveness, Hero, sends shivers down my spine. How much money would it take for you to share the details?"
"That's not what I—"
"In that case, I'll gift you another Filolial—please try raising it and—"
"No thanks!"
Any more and my wallet wouldn't survive. I already had to figure out what to do about Filo's clothes—having another mouth to feed wouldn't help matters.
"Hmm... the other possibility I can think of would be, well, that."
"What might that be?"
Ugh... the slave merchant's eyes were lighting up!
Creepy.
"She ate the flesh of a big monster that was taken down by a Wave. So you can't rule out that it had some kind of influence."
I was reaching, and I knew it.
But Filo had been eating Chimera meat, so it wasn't entirely wrong either.
"Hmm... then I suppose there's nothing more to be said."
The slave merchant didn't buy it either, but with me clearly unwilling to talk further, he backed off with a resigned attitude.
"I'll always be willing to part with Filolials, so please, do experiment. Indeed."
"I'd rather not, if possible..."
"If you raise an easy-to-handle one, I'll pay good money."
"Hmm, I'll think about it if I have the money to spare."
With that one sentence, what had been a vague self-awareness of being a cheapskate crystallized into certainty.
"Is our conversation finished?"
"Yeah."
"So, what shall we do now?"
"About what?"
Filo butted into the conversation, a question mark floating above her head.
"About your arrangements."
"I'm sleeping with Maaaster!"
"No, you're not!"
"Aww, that's so unfair! Raphtalia big sister gets to hog Master all to herself!"
"I do not!"
What were these two even going on about...
"Right then. Filo, you'll sleep in the stable attached to the inn."
"No!"
For a bird, she sure rejected that one bluntly.
"I'm sleeping with Maaaster!"
...This was the same as a kid throwing a tantrum to sleep with their parent.
"Fine, fine. Can't be helped."
"Naofumi, what are you doing?!"
"If I say no here, she'll just keep throwing a fit, so I've got to give in to some extent, right?"
"I... suppose so."
Raphtalia muttered, not exactly convinced.
"But she absolutely must not get naked in public."
"Okay!"
Did she actually understand? Well, whatever. All I could do now was pray the weapon shop old man could come up with something tomorrow.
We returned to the inn, paid the owner for the extra lodging, and went back to our room.
There was no room left for studying or potion-crafting anymore—not with Filo having turned human.
"Wow! Soft bed!"
I told Filo to stop bouncing on the bed, then decided to call it an early night.
...It's hot!
Why is it so hot?!
"Nnngh..."
My body wouldn't move the way I wanted it to.
What's going on?
I carefully opened my eyes. My entire field of vision was white.
I was wrapped in feathers.
"Snoo... snoo..."
This bed... is breathing!
Slowly raising my head, I realized I wasn't on a bed at all. I was lying on top of Filo's belly—she had reverted to her true form.
At some point, Filo had gone back to her real shape, tumbled off the bed, and used me as a body pillow while she slept.
"Wake up, you fat bird!"
Who said you could go back to your real form?!
"Nnno..."
Great—she could talk in her real form now too.
"W-what are you doing?!"
Raphtalia looked over at me with sleep-filled eyes and screamed.
"Oh, Raphtalia! Help me!"
Even if I punched her, she wouldn't wake up. My attack power simply wasn't high enough.
"Wake up, Filo!"
"Mumble mumble... Maaaster..."
Filo rolled across the floor.
*Creak... creak... creak...*
An ominous sound came from the floorboards. The wooden floor was reaching its breaking point.
"Wake up!"
But Filo showed no signs of waking despite still clutching me.
"Get up!"
Raphtalia pried open Filo's arms with brute force.
I seized the opening and somehow broke free.
"Hah... what a way to start the morning."
"Mmph?"
Filo sensed that I was no longer in her arms and finally opened her eyes.
She noticed Raphtalia and me glaring at her and tilted her head.
"What's wrong?"
"First of all, go back to human form!"
"Ugh, right when I just woke up?"
Damn it! I didn't want to resort to this, but I had no choice!
I opened the Status Magic interface, selected the monster icon, and checked the box on the prohibitions list that read "Absolute Obedience."
With this, she'd be forced to follow any command.
"Transform into human form!"
The command rang out toward Filo.
"Aww... I wanted to sleep with Master a bit longer..."
Because she disobeyed my order, a Demon Crest materialized on Filo's stomach.
"Huh?"
"If you don't comply, it'll get painful."
The glowing red Demon Crest began to spread across Filo's body.
"No way..."
Something like a geometric pattern rose from Filo's wings and flew toward the Demon Crest.
With a soft *whoosh*, the Demon Crest fell silent.
"Huh?"
I checked the monster icon. For some reason, the prohibition I'd just set had been unchecked.
I tried to check it again, but no matter what I did, it wouldn't change.
What did it mean that my monster wouldn't listen to commands?!
Damn it! I bought her specifically because monsters were supposed to obey!
Slave merchant... I'm coming to your place right now. You'd better wash your neck and wait for me.