"Slave Merchant!"
I burst into the Slave Merchant's tent first thing in the morning.
"What brings you here so early, Hero? Here you go."
"Your Demon Crest was defective. Depending on your answer, my dangerous slave and monster are going to go wild right here. Got it?"
"Filo, you must be hungry, so we'll eat later."
"...If you don't behave, I'll make you my breakfast."
The Demon Crest I'd placed on Filo wasn't activating the way I wanted, and on top of that, I couldn't remove it.
"Oh my? And what does that mean, exactly?"
I explained the morning's events to the Slave Merchant. What came after was a nightmare. I had to somehow placate Filo and get her back into human form before coming here.
As for Raphtalia, she'd been on edge the whole time, terrified Filo might do something crazy. She looked exhausted.
"It appears that a standard Demon Crest isn't enough to restrain a Filolial Queen. Here you go."
"So what are you saying?"
"Higher-tier monsters can't be bound by ordinary Demon Crests. The dragon mounts given as tournament prizes are etched with special Demon Crests."
"So you're telling me a regular Demon Crest won't work on her?"
"That's correct."
The Slave Merchant scribbled away in his notebook with a slightly excited air, apparently thrilled by this new information.
"So, can you apply this special Demon Crest for me?"
"Oh no, that falls outside the scope of complimentary service. Here you go."
"Excuse me?"
"It does cost a fair bit of money, so it's rather difficult to provide free of charge. We've already sustained considerable damages on our end as well."
Damn! So he's saying he really can't offer any more freebies.
Well, I did cause an absurd amount of damage, so I suppose I can't blame him...
"How much?"
"Investing in the Hero's future, I'll give you a special deal—two hundred Silver Coins. How does that sound?"
Ughhh... that's steep.
"What if I—"
"For reference, the going rate is eight hundred Silver Coins on the low end. I have high hopes for you, Hero, so I assure you I'm not lying."
I took massive mental damage.
Admitting defeat, I reluctantly handed over two hundred Silver Coins to the Slave Merchant.
"...If you're lying, my dangerous subordinate will have your head."
"Understood, of course."
The Filolial Queen—currently in Filo's form—was looking around curiously. Raphtalia took Filo by the hand, leading her over by one of her large wings.
"Now stay put, Filo."
"Why?"
"If you stay put, I'll give you something yummy to eat later."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Filo's eyes lit up, and she obediently stayed where the Slave Merchant indicated.
Good—if I'm going to have magic applied, now's the time.
I gave the Slave Merchant a look. He nodded and summoned twelve subordinates wearing robes that hid their faces, who surrounded Filo.
They poured some kind of liquid on the ground, and all of them began chanting in unison toward Filo.
The floor glowed brilliantly, and a Magic Circle unfurled around Filo.
"Wha—wha—what's that?!"
Filo crackled with resistance, but it was futile. The Magic Circle began to seep into her.
"It hu—hurts! Stop it!"
Filo, who could feel the pain from the Demon Crest being rewritten, thrashed around violently. Each time she did, the Magic Circle flickered and wavered.
Cries of astonishment rose from the Slave Merchant's subordinates.
"Just to be safe, we had extra personnel on hand to perform the magical binding... but the fact that she can still move under this level of pressure means her future potential is terrifying. Here you go."
Come to think of it, she's still only Level 19. If she hits 70, I can't even imagine how strong she'll be. The Slave Merchant's words made sense.
Eventually, the Magic Circle was completely etched into Filo's abdomen, and everything went quiet.
"It's done. Here you go."
An icon appeared in my field of vision—a new one that seemed to offer more advanced commands than before. Without hesitation, I checked the box for "Obey my commands absolutely."
"Hah... hah..."
Filo walked toward me, panting for breath.
"M-Master, that was cruel... it hurt so much..."
I imagined I must have been smiling evilly as I issued my command.
"First, transform into human form."
"No waaay! It hurt, so I don't wanna! Give me something yummy!"
Filo refused the command with a cheeky tone and demanded food. Her Demon Crest flared.
"No—no! Wait, no, no!"
Filo tried to deflect the magic from the Demon Crest, but this time it bounced back, and the Curse activated.
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Filo rolled on the ground in agony from the Demon Crest.
"If you don't do what I say, it's only going to hurt more."
"It hurts, it hurts! Ugh..."
Reluctantly, Filo transformed into human form. The glow of the Demon Crest subsided.
"Hmm... this time it activated properly. Well done, Slave Merchant."
"Yes, it's a rather powerful crest, so she won't be able to tamper with it easily. Here you go."
I stepped in front of Filo, who was still on the ground, and declared:
"Your base form cost me a hundred Silver Coins. The Demon Crest cost another two hundred. That's a total loss of three hundred Silver Coins. I'm going to get that back by having you follow my orders."
"Ma—Master..."
Filo reached out toward me unsteadily.
It stung my conscience to say this to a child who looked so innocent, but I wasn't about to leave a bratty monster running wild unsupervised.
"Listen to me."
"No—no!"
"Fine, fine. If you really can't bring yourself to obey me, I'll just have that scary man over there take you off my hands right here."
"...!?"
Filo finally realized what her situation was. Her face twisted with terror.
The Slave Merchant was watching me with some complicated expression that was simultaneously troubled and delighted...
"How much will you buy her for?"
"Let's see. She is rather rare, so I'd be willing to purchase her for thirty Gold Coins, damages included. With a heavy-grade Demon Crest engraved on her, she shouldn't be able to cause trouble anymore, and she'd be of use in any number of ways. Here you go."
That Slave Merchant—the guy who'd claimed he'd be in trouble if he were the one bought and sold—jumped at the chance to set a price.
I didn't know his true intentions, but if Filo ended up in his hands, her life would be over.
And Filo—she was looking up at me with an expression of pure terror.
This was tough... my conscience, which I thought had vanished long ago, was coming back to life.
But depending on Filo's attitude, I might genuinely have to choose that kind of future.
I wasn't some kind big brother, nor was I a pet owner who doted on his animal.
"A-ahem. Next time you misbehave, I won't come to pick you up... They'll make you drink bitter medicine, tinker with your body in all sorts of ways... and then you'll probably die, huh...?"
"NOOOOO!"
Filo shouted her refusal at the top of her lungs.
"Master! Please don't hate Filo...!"
She clung to my leg, begging.
Damn... this was getting to me.
But I couldn't back down.
"If you listen to me obediently, I won't hate you. From now on, you follow my instructions. Got it?"
"Y-yeah!"
"Good, good. Then when we sleep at the inn, you absolutely have to stay in human form. That's the first rule."
"Okay!"
Filo broke into a wide grin, and my scant remaining conscience throbbed.
Now then, I still need to visit the Weapon Shop today...
I averted my gaze from Filo and noticed the Slave Merchant beaming with the most delighted smile imaginable.
"Your magnificent villainy gives me chills! You truly are the legendary Shield Hero!"
I felt like his reasons for praising me were a bit off... but complaining seemed like too much effort.
Raphtalia, standing right beside him, was looking at me with an equally complicated expression.
"Naofumi... don't you think that was a bit much?"
"If I don't do this, she won't listen. You were the same way at first, weren't you?"
Raphtalia nodded at my response.
"Now that you mention it, yes, I was."
"There are lines you can forgive when someone's being selfish, and lines you can't."
I deliberately left out the part that it was mainly determined by my own self-interest.
"Candy and Whip—I understand. Here you go."
"Slave Merchant, I wasn't talking to you."
And stop acting like you understand me on your own.
"Sorry for all the trouble."
"If you feel that way, then please do consider the Filolials we've prepared for easy care and train—"
"Well, I've still got places to be today. I'll be on my way."
"I have the utmost respect for a Hero who strives so hard not to be swept up in our pace. Here you go."
And with that, we left the tent.