Chapter Nine: Rewards
I threw my cape around Filo, and we went to the weapon shop.
“Ah yes, our Little-Hero!”
The owner threw his hand in the air at my approach, like he had been waiting for us to stop by.
“Did you find anything?”
“Yup. You just wait a minute.”
He jogged to the door and put up a closed sign before motioning for us to come outside. He led us down the street to the magic shop we had visited a few days earlier.
“Now, now.”
When the owner of the weapon shop poked his head in, the lady at the magic shop could not suppress a smile, and she ran to the door to meet him.
“Would you all come to the back of my shop for a moment?”
“Filo, don’t turn into a bird without my permission, okay?”
“Okay…”
We went into the backroom, which smelled very much like someone had been living there. There was a large workspace laid out.
Apparently that was where she made her spells.
The ceiling must have been about three meters tall. There was a magic square on the ground, and some crystals placed delicately in the center of the room.
“Sorry about the clutter, I was just in the middle of some work.”
“No problem at all. But do you sell clothes here for this girl?”
“I asked around this morning, and I heard that the lady at this magic shop knew what to do.”
“Oh yes, I do.”
The lady took the crystals from their place on the table, and in their place sat a large machine that looked something like an antique sewing machine.
Was it a spindle, like the thing that Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on?
“Is that little girl really a monster?”
“Yes. So when she transforms back into her original form, her clothes rip. Filo, turn back.”
I figured it was safe for her to do it here.
“Okay.”
She nodded, removed the cape, and transformed back into a Filolial.
“Ah yes, now I see. This is the little Filolial you had with you the last time we spoke, is it not?”
The magic shop lady looked up at Filo, as a Filolial queen, and asked in shocked tones.
“Does this work?”
Filo’s voice was still the same as it was when she was a little girl, so it sounded very strange coming from her giant, Filolial body. Granted, I supposed it was an accepted fantasy trope that you could hold conversations with animals like this.
I looked over at Raphtalia.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
That reminded me, Raphtalia was a demi-human. Back when I was still bright-eyed and optimistic about this world, it would have been so exciting to have her as my partner. Thinking of it that way, I could understand the way that Motoyasu had responded to seeing her back when we dueled.
Of course, that was all in the past for me.
“So shall I make some clothes for her?”
“You can make them? Clothes that won’t rip when she transforms?”
“Yes, I can… Though if we are honest, I don’t know if they qualify as ‘clothes.’”
“What do you mean?”
“How do I appear to you, Mr. Hero?”
“A magic shop… I don’t know… a witch?”
“That’s right. So I do know something about transformation.”
It wasn’t like I was starting to understand anything about this world, and I couldn’t be sure if I was even right. But in the manga and games that I have played and read I think I’d come across witches that could turn into animals.
“Having said that, turning into an animal is really more trouble than it is worth, considering the level of magic required and the risk involved. Still, I do from time to time. Trying to find new clothes every time you change is really a bother, you know?”
Okay, so it sounded like witches and wizards were able to transform if they wanted to.
The witch was fingering some wooden sewing tools when she answered.
“It’s fine if you are back at your own house or something. But to transform in a place you aren’t secure, it can be a real disaster.”
“I would think so.”
The main issue seemed to be clothes. You couldn’t just go walking around naked.
“So there are very useful clothes that people wear when they transform. Clothes that survive the transformation and will still be there, no matter the form you take.”
“I see.”
“There are some famous examples among wizards and witches, even among the demi-humans. An example you might know of is the capes that vampires wear.”
Yeah… come to think of it, I’d seen that in an old movie. They could turn into bats and wolves and things like that. I guess they existed in this world too.
“This machine here is designed to produce the thread that we make those clothes from.”
“You don’t say… but how does it work? How does the clothing survive the transformation?”
“The power that makes it look like clothing is very exact.”
Her answer confused me.
“This machine turns magical power into thread. The user can decide on their own timing to turn the thread back into magic, and vice-versa.”
“So you’re saying that when she turns into a human, she can turn her magic power into clothing?”
“Yes, that’s how it works.”
She was right… It wasn’t exactly clothing in the way I understood clothing. When Filo wasn’t a human, it would turn into a magical power that dwelt within her body. Then when she turned into a girl, it would materialize as clothing.
“Okay then. Now, Filo, will you slowly turn that handle for me?”
Filo got a hold on the handle and began to turn it. When she did, a thin thread began to come out of one end the machine. The old lady took it, wrapped it on a dowel, and started spinning the dowel to collect the thread.
“What’s happening? I feel like I’m losing my energy!”
“We are turning some of you magical powers into thread, dear. You’ll feel a little tired. But keep on turning that handle. We don’t have enough yet to make you any clothes.”
“Ugh… But this isn’t fun!”
I guess she really was just a kid. She’d only been alive for a week, come to think of it.
Filo kept slowly turning the handle and looking absentmindedly around the room.
When she was doing so, the jewel that was on top of the machine suddenly broke.
“Oh no. My jewel broke! Without that we won’t be able to make the clothing.”
“What?”
That sounded like a big problem to me.
It would be near impossible to get her to change into clothes whenever she transformed, and besides, the cost of the clothes would be astronomical.
“Isn’t there anything you can do?”
“Well, the material for the jewel can be found in the market… but it isn’t cheap.”
“Ugh…
That was the last thing I wanted to hear.
“Is there any way we could make it?”
“Hm… Let me think.”
She found a map at the back of the bookshelf and unrolled it on the tabletop.
“I believe, in Melromarc, is only place where the jewels may be found. Here in this cave.”
She pointed to the mountainous area in the southwest of the kingdom, and both the guy from the weapon shop and I nodded.
“There is supposed to be a rich vein running through the basement of some ruins here. If you could find it, we’d be able to make the jewel for not much money.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
It would be dangerous, but we didn’t have enough money to think about any other options.
“All right, I’m going with you.”
“Are you sure?”
“How else will you know what is good-enough quality?”
I did have a skill that improved my resource appraisal, but it would still be best to have an actual witch chose the jewel.
If we made a good haul, we could sell the remainders for profit. That was obviously a best-case scenario.
“Okay great. Are you ready to go now?”
“Yes, no problem at all.”
“All right then, let’s go. And quickly.”
We loaded up the carriage with our luggage and had Filo pull it. Then we all set out for the cave in the Southwest of Melromarc.
“Is this the cave?”
I was pointing to what looked like the intimidating entrance to a ruined temple, tucked into the crags of the mountainous region we’d been traversing.
There was a temple built into the ruddy cliffs there… and it felt like it must have contained some powerful items within… that is, if this were an RPG. I caught myself thinking that way again. I’ve spent too much time with games!
“No, that’s not it. According to local tradition, there was once an evil alchemist who made this temple into his home base.”
“You don’t say…”
“There are rumors that the alchemist was deeply involved in research on a dangerous plant. Apparently that plant is still sealed inside. We will not venture in there. There should be a tunnel bored into the side of the mountain that goes under the temple. That’s what we are aiming for.”
We all began to scour the area for the tunnel the witch had described.
“Is this it?”
We moved further down the path to find a giant, fresh crack in the cliff. It was large enough to squeeze inside.
“It could be.”
“Mr. Naofumi, should we go in first and check it out?”
I nodded, and we both looked inside.
The interior appeared to be man-made. It was formed from stone, but formed into concrete and designed shapes.
What’s that? There was an ornate treasure chest sitting at the back of the room. I opened it, but it was empty.
I guess if dungeons were real, this is what they would be like. Of course someone would have been there before you.
“Is it still the alchemist’s hideout?”
“Seems to be.”
Maybe the alchemist had chosen this spot for his hideout for the very jewels that we had come in search of.
There was a stone pillar, something like a gravestone, right next to the treasure box, and it was inscribed with various symbols. I hadn’t studied enough of the language to be able to read it yet.
“Hey, Witch? Can you read this?”
“The letters are very old. ‘To he who would break the seal of the seed. It is my desire that this seed never be released into the world. It will play with the people’s desire to be freed from famine, granting their wish in the worst way imaginable. The seal is not so easily broken.’”
A seed, huh? So that’s what was in this treasure chest. Whatever, it was no concern of mine.
It must have been carried off by some vagrant adventurer at some point —and besides, who had the time to care about this alchemist’s half-baked projects?
“I guess this isn’t the place.”
“I suppose you are correct.”
We left the little room and made another pass of the area, and we finally came across the tunnel we were looking for. We went inside.
But…
“These monster footprints are very fresh.”
The witch whispered to herself shortly after entering the tunnel. Her eyes were locked on the ground. I followed her gaze.
These seemed to be the footprints of some type of large carnivore. Come to think of it, I think I had seen similar footprints somewhere.
They reminded me of… of the footprints from that giant Chimera that had appeared during the last wave.
“You okay?”
“These make me nervous, I’m not sure if we should continue or not.”
“We have to. We don’t have a choice.”
“If the Shield Hero says so, then it must be the truth. Let’s press on.”
“…”
Filo was sniffing at the tracks.
And then…
Ew! She was drooling!
“Let’s go, Filo!”
“Okay!”
Filo nodded at Raphtalia’s shout, and we set off.
I walked in the front, followed by Raphtalia, the witch, and finally Filo.
It felt like a real adventure. I felt my heart leap, just once, at the excitement of the scene.
“Mr. Naofumi, I have only been using you. Give me money.”
I heard Raphtalia’s voice echoing off the walls.
“I pretended to become a slave again to gain your trust, but it was all an act. I could stab you right now, from behind. I’ve wanted to kill you with my own hands.”
I turned around to find Raphtalia wincing.
Filo was shouting, “No, Master! Don’t leave me!”
What was going on?
“The monsters here are saying things to upset us and get us off our guard. Don’t let them fool you.”
“What kind of a monster is that?!”
I think I’d seen a monster like that once, in a game somewhere. There was a cave with an item in it that was supposed to restore trust to a party whose leader had lost faith in his compatriots. But there was a trap set, a trap to cause vicious infighting.
So that voice just now, it couldn’t have been Raphtalia.
Good. Had that been what Raphtalia had really been thinking, I would have been gutted.
“Master! You need me right? You need Filo?”
“I guess.”
“Yay! I believe you.”
“Mr. Naofumi, those words just now were not spoken by me. Let’s press onward.”
We eventually came upon a monster that looked something like a bat, it was called a Voice Gengar, and it had been making those voices. We fought it, and the witch supported us with magic, so it was an easy win.
Filo ran up a wall and flipped off it, swinging her leg into a powerful kick that brought the bat down. She could really fight. I let the shield absorb the Voice Gengar.
Voice Gengar (bat form) Shield: conditions met
Voice Gengar (bat form) Shield: ability locked:
sound wave endurance (small)
Special Effect: Megaphone
Special effect Megaphone? I guess I could tell what that was.
The shield itself wasn’t all that great, though I suppose the monster also wasn’t that strong, so I shouldn’t have expected much.
And yet… why did it specify bat form?
It made me wary, and so I strained my ears against the silence of the tunnel. I could hear voices in the distance.
We had no choice but to keep going.
The tunnel had gotten very dark, so I was holding a torch in one hand. Then, suddenly, I couldn’t see anything.
“Mr. Naofumi! Prepare yourself!”
Simultaneously, with the shout, I felt a sudden pain.
“Raphtalia?!”
“Mr. Naofumi! Are you all right?!”
“Please die!”
“No! No!”
“Calm down, this is the work of the enemy! They’ve used magic to darken this passage!”
Damn! That was one killer attack they had. I honestly felt like I’d been stabbed by Raphtalia. And it actually hurt.
Was the attack strong enough to overcome my defense rating?
Had it been Raphtalia… she was probably strong enough to hurt me. But the wound felt more like a scratch…
“Master! Feed me!”
I heard Filo shouting. Come on now—I was worrying about the scratch I’d gotten, and now Filo was calling out? It was very suspicious. Wasn’t there anything we could do?
“Witch, is there anything you can do?”
“I’m starting a spell right now. Just a moment.”
I didn’t even know if I was speaking to the real witch. What if I believed her, but it was actually the monster talking? This was some cave…
That’s it! I could use the shield I’d just got.
I switched to the Voice Gengar (bat form) Shield, and used the special effect Megaphone.
“Hey!”
My voice boomed and echoed down the call, and I heard some strange rustling in response.
“You scared me!”
“Me too,” chirped Filo.
“I am the source of all power, hear me and understand my reasons. Restore our vision.”
“Fast Anti-Bind!”
In an instant, the dark hallway became suddenly bright enough to see.
I looked at my feet to see a great number of small, rat-like monsters scurrying around my feet.
Then I looked over at Raphtalia and the others, only to find them beaten up pretty badly.
They must have been attacked in the dark. Of course they’d be beat up.
I took some healing medicine from my bag and handed it to Raphtalia.
“Witch, do you know any sort of restorative, healing magic?”
“Unfortunately not. I’m not suited for restorative magic.”
“Oh…”
This wasn’t looking good. They had taken some real damage.
Oh hey, that reminds me. I absorbed the monster we’d just defeated, and I unlocked the Voice Gengar (rat form) Shield. Its special effect was the same as the last one, but its equip bonus was “Blinding Endurance (small).”
Just to be safe, I switched to my Alert Shield. With it equipped, we would be alerted if a monster came within twenty meters of us. I’d wondered how useful a distance like that would be out on the fields, but I now realized that it was a pretty useful distance—if you were indoors, or in a dungeon.
We stumbled on through the tunnel for a while before eventually coming upon a vein of ore that glowed dimly in the shadowy hall.
“Kyukiiii!”
A strange voice suddenly filled the air. It was the monster that owned those footprints back at the entrance, and now it was there, guarding the vein of ore.
It was called a “Nue.” It was so similar to the Chimera.
Nues were like Chimeras in Japanese mythological settings, and they were a type of legendary mythical creature.
It was a monkey’s head on a tanuki’s body, with a tiger’s legs and a snake for a tail.
Come to think of it, it looked a lot like the monster Raphtalia and I ran into when we were hunting for the light metal ore, and just like the monster we saw during the wave. I’m sure it was just a coincidence, but still—it was creeping me out.
During the wave, it had taken the strength of the other three Heroes, plus the support of their parties, to take down that Chimera. Could we take this one here? Just us?
The witch was watching the beast closely. She whispered, “What is a beast from the east doing here?” I guess she meant that the beast was out of its natural habitat.
We could have retreated… That wasn’t a bad idea at all. I slowly turned my eyes to Raphtalia and the others to signal them to… but it was too late.
“I’m going!”
“Okay!”
“Dammit! Don’t just rush in!”
But Raphtalia had already run into battle. This was becoming a problem.
I wanted to keep her from getting hurt, but this girl…
“I’ll support you from behind.”
The witch tilted her staff towards the battle and began to chant.
I ran after Raphtalia and Filo.
“Take that!”
“Hiyaaa!”
“Kyukiiii!”
Raphtalia was madly swinging her sword, catching the Nue on its torso. Filo began to kick at the beast’s face.
But they weren’t getting in anything to approximate a finishing blow. The Nue seemed to be covered in little scratches, but was unfazed. It turned its tiger claws towards Raphtalia and Filo.
I wouldn’t let it hurt them that easily! I was quicker. And in a flash I was there covering them with my shield.
“Think for one second before you go rushing in!”
We could have escaped before the beast had even noticed us. But they ruined our chances of escape…
“I’m sorry. But now we have to take this thing down!”
“I’m hungry…”
“We aren’t very strong yet! If you don’t think about what fights we can actually win, we’re going to end up dead!”
Damn… The Nue’s claws clipped my shoulder, and I was bleeding.
It really hurt. Now I was pissed.
What?! The Nue’s body was suddenly glowing.
“Back off! Hurry!”
“Okay!”
“Master?!”
“I can’t back out!”
The Nue’s body was now covered in crackling blots of electricity, and it was pressing up against me.
This must have been its special attack.
Could I bear it? I honestly didn’t know. But the Nue wasn’t going to let me go.
“No!”
Filo kicked the Nue square in the face, and the beast fell back enough for me to jump away.
Filo’s kicks were impressively strong.
“Kyukiiiiiii!”
The crackling tongues of electricity all began to gather together on the chest of the Nue.
I was glad that I hadn’t been forced to take the brunt of the attack. It seemed like the Nue would be momentarily paralyzed after it lost the attack.
“I am the source of all power. Hear my words and understand them. Burn him!”
“Zweit Fire Place!”
The witch unleashed a blast of fire that covered the Nue.
“Kyukiiiii!”
Did we win?!
I was hoping it would fall, but the Nue only paused its attack before starting back up again.
“Ugh…”
It looked like the thing could run fast, if it wanted.
“Master.”
“What?!”
“Can I make a big noise too? Like you just did?”
“Sure.”
The Voice Gengar Shield had some type of device on the backside of it that would listen to the voice of the user and amplify it.
“Okay, Master! Stop the movement of the monster, like we just did, and then let me make a big noise!”
“What’s the point of that?!”
“The monster is very sensitive to sound.”
Did she know that because of some kind of mutual monster analysis? I could trust her. In monster hunting games, there were monsters that would show their weak point at a loud sound. It might be a good idea after all, to get in a killing blow…
“Witch, you keep up the support magic, and Raphtalia, you protect her and watch out for the party.”
“But Mr. Naofumi!”
“I don’t have the time to protect both of you! Please, just listen to me!”
“All right.”
The Nue was rushing at us. I threw my arms open and stopped its advancement.
Dammit! That little monkey-head still had sharp teeth. It was biting me, and it really hurt!
“Kyukiii!”
I took my shield arm, my right arm, and moved it to block the head. My left arm was getting shredded by the tiger claws.
This was driving me crazy. I was covered in scratches. If I were fighting this thing back in Japan, I’d have been mincemeat long ago. Thank goodness for the Legendary Shield. It was going to drop my defense rating, so I didn’t want to do it, but I went ahead and changed to the Voice Gengar Shield.
“Go!”
I shouted the sign, and Filo began to inhale a huge amount of air.
“Waaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Crap! My eardrums were about to break!
That’s how loud Filo’s call was, and that was from this side of the megaphone.
I heard the sound of heavy stumbling in the distance.
“Kyuki?”
Two powerful streams of blood shot from the Nue’s ears, and the beast fell over.
Now’s our shot!
“Raphtalia! Filo! Witch! Now’s our chance! Give it all you’ve got!”
“Yes!”
“Okay!”
Raphtalia rushed forward and stabbed at the Nue’s chest. And Filo… Filo started gathering her strength, slowly crouching down to the earth. From under her body, her feet were scratching, scratching, and making a terrifying sound.
“I am the source of all power! Hear my words and understand them! Burn them!”
“Zweit Fire Blast!”
Fire balls flew through the air and collided with the fallen Nue. And that was when it happened.
“Hiyaah!”
Ba-Boom! The sound actually exploded and echoed when Filo’s charged kick slammed into the Nue. There was so much power in it that the Nue’s head exploded into little chunks and the body itself flew back and slammed into the wall.
Ew… It was like a gory splatter movie.
“We did it!”
Filo threw both her wings in the air to celebrate our victory, but I personally didn’t feel much like celebrating.
I was exhausted, and in pain. If Raphtalia and Filo had been a little more careful, we wouldn’t have had to fight the thing in the first place, but then… there was no point in complaining.
“Well we’ve won. It seems to have been a child Nue. I think there might have been a rich family somewhere that kept it as a pet, but it escaped and became wild again.
If there were people that would keep something like that as a pet, then this world was worse off than I had imagined.
And did she call this thing a child? I suppose it was a little small…
“Feed me!”
Filo stood over the Nue and made to start eating it. Was she just going to start snapping at the dead thing?!”
“Stop that!”
“But…”
I could unlock new shields with that thing. I couldn’t let her just eat it.
I butchered the Nue and absorbed the various parts, unlocking some excellent shields in the process.
But as for status boosts… the Chimera had been better.
“Okay, let’s rest up for a minute and then get that ore.”
There was a vein of glowing ore right there, and it would be easy enough to pry some out with a pickax.
“Good idea. Let’s take as much as we can carry.
So we took a break and then set to work prying out ore. Once we had it we set off.
Oh, of course I also let the shield absorb a little ore too.
But I hadn’t filled in the tree enough to unlock anything. And I didn’t know what else I needed.
We made our way back to Castle Town, and on the advice of the witch decided to stop by the apothecary to get some treatment.
Luckily the apothecary knew a place that could treat us, and luckily enough it was cheap to get some restorative magic spells cast on us.
Apparently I could use restorative magic too, so I wanted to hurry up and learn some. That was the rest of our day.
The next day we processed the ore we’d gotten into a proper jewel, which the witch installed on the top of the magical spindle. Just like she’d done the day before, Filo slowly and begrudgingly turned the handle.
“It’s boring…” “Just do it. If you finish, then I promise to uphold my end of the
bargain.” Honestly, yesterday had been exhausting, and I wanted to relax that day. “You mean food? Is it gonna be yummy?” “Yeah.” I kept my word. And I had promised to feed her something delicious, so
I would. “Okay then, I’ll do my best!” She went on turning the squeaky wheel. “Oh good! She’s doing such a good job!” “Weapon guy. I made a promise to you too. Do you have any time after
this?” “I put up a sign saying I’d be closed until afternoon, so I have that much
time. You gonna get me something good?” “Something like that. You think you could get me a big sheet of iron?” “Huh? What do you need something like that for?” “To cook something.” “Little-Hero’s gonna cook for us? I don’t know if I should look forward to that or not.”
“Oh, come on.”
He looked disappointed—which annoyed me. Show some gratitude.
“Okay, Raphtalia. Head to the market and get me charcoal, some veggies, and meat. We want enough for five people, but make sure you consider Filo’s appetite.”
“All right.”
I gave her some silver, and she left.
“Yummy food, yummy fooooood!”
Filo was excited now and started turning the spindle wheel faster than before.
That went on for a little while, and then the witch finally asked her to stop.
“That should be enough for now. You can stop.”
“If I keep turning it, will I get more yummy food?”
“No. Stop turning it.”
“Okaaaaay.”
Filo came over to my side, in her giant-bird form.
“Master… yummy food.”
“Not yet, we don’t have your clothes yet.”
“But…”
Filo looked very disappointed. But Raphtalia wasn’t even back yet, so I couldn’t have fed her had I wanted to. I didn’t have the things I needed. She was so innocent and free… really just like a kid.
“When we leave the magic shop, you need to transform into a human.”
“Okay.”
Did she really understand? I wasn’t sure. Is this what it felt like to have kids? Nah…
“I just needed to weave this into cloth, then make the clothes.”
The witch held out the thread for me to see.
“I know someone that can take care of turning this into cloth for us.”
“He’s got an idea, so we’re heading out.”
“All right then, what should I tell the young lady when she returns from shopping?”
“Just tell her to wait for us at the giant gate where you exit the town.”
“Okay.”
The weapon shop owner led the way out, and I followed him.
“I’ll accept payment later on, from the weapon shop!”
“And how much will that be?”
I really wanted to know, that’s why I asked.
“For the magic thread? Well the crystals cost quite a lot, but you helped me out, and provided me with the materials, so this time let’s just call it fair at that.”
“Thanks.”
She probably knew that I couldn’t afford it if she had she asked for 50 pieces silver or something.
So the weapon shop owner and I went to visit a friend of his who said he
could turn the thread into cloth for us.
“This is a very rare material indeed. Yes, this might take some thought. But I can probably have it ready for you by this evening. You should take the day and visit a tailor to get measured. I’ll bring you the cloth once I have it.”
So we went to the tailor.
I couldn’t believe how much time and energy we were spending on getting a set of clothes.
“Ooh! What a cute little girl.”
The tailor shop was run by a young woman who was wrapped in a scarf and constantly fingered her glasses. She was leaning on the counter.
She seemed kind of plain. I don’t know how to describe her. If this were my world, I’d say she looked like the kind of girl who wrote doujinshi or something—kind of quiet and geeky.
“She’s got little wings too, just like an angel. I’ve heard there are winged demi-humans too, but they don’t look so perfect.”
“You think?”
I asked the weapon shop owner what he thought, but he just shrugged.
“Yeah, the winged demi-humans also have other bird-like parts, like their arms and legs. But this girl is just a normal human girl, expect for those little wings.”
“Huh?”
Filo looked up, inquisitively, at the tailor.
“Oh, yeah, she’s actually a monster. She’s just transformed into a human right now. When she turns back into a monster, her clothes rip, you see?”
“Ahhh…. so you’ve come to get some magical clothing made, is that right?”
Her glasses flashed. I was sure of it now. Had this been my world, this girl would have been a total Otaku.
I knew someone like her back home, who sold her own doujinshi at conventions.
She’d lent me some of her participation passes from time to time, and that was how I got to go to some of these conventions and see what they were like. She had been a pretty nice girl.
“She is very pretty, so I think a simple one-piece would work well. If we just add some simple accents that can survive the transformation, that should be enough!”
She unraveled a spiral of measuring tape and set to measuring Filo, who stood there wrapped in my cape.
“I’d love to see her transform!”
“Huh?”
Filo shot me a searching glance. I couldn’t think of a way out of it.
“I’m not sure that this room is large enough.”
The ceiling only looked to be about two meters high, in which case Filo would slam her head against it in her Filolial form.
“Can I do it while I’m sitting?”
“I guess so.”
She sat down and, her eyes on the ceiling, transformed into her original form. The tailor was impressed.
“She’s so different! That’s even better.”
If this girl wasn’t shocked by seeing Filo transform, then I felt like she knew what she was doing. We could trust her.
The tailor measured around Filo’s neck and started jotting notes about the design.
“Okay, we’re all set! I’ll just wait for the fabric to show up!”
“This one knows what she’s doing.”
“Apparently.”
She was the kind of person that couldn’t stop once the flame was lit. She’d have to focus on the project until it was done.
“I think I can have it done by tomorrow.”
“That’s fast. But how much will it cost, all together? Give me the total please.”
“Well, if you are supplying the materials, then… probably 40 pieces of silver.”
“Filo, are you hearing this? That’s 340 pieces of silver I’ve spent on you now. I’m sure you’ll do all you can to help make that money back.”
“Okay!”
Did she really get it?
Filo transformed back into a human, and we left the tailor.
We had finished all of our important errands, so we went to the large gate to meet up with Raphtalia.
“Mr. Naofumi, I’ve bought all the things you requested.”
“Filo cost me 340 pieces of silver so far. Raphtalia was way cheaper.”
“I wish you wouldn’t speak of me as ‘cheap.’”
Sigh… well, there was nothing left to do but to get down to it.
“Old Dude, go get me that sheet metal. Filo, you go with him and help carry the materials back here.”
“Okay!”
“Sure.”
Filo set off after the old guy, and they returned quickly, carrying all the luggage.
Why did she transform into a human to lug that luggage around?
Just as I’d hoped, there was a large metal sheet included in the luggage.
“All right! Let’s get out of town and head to the riverside.”
We walked through the fields until we came to the riverbank.
I set to work arranging stones to hold the sheet of metal. Then I built a fire underneath it.
“Raphtalia, Old Dude, you two watch the fire for me, okay?”
“Um… sure.”
“Okay.”
Whatever he said, the guy made weapons. He should know how to watch a fire.
“What about me?” asked Filo.
“You watch to make sure that we don’t get attacked by balloons.”
If I’d let Filo help with the fire or cooking, her curiosity would get the better of her, and I’d have a nightmare on my hands. It was much better to give her something else to do.
I started chopping the veggies and meat that Raphtalia had purchased.
Then I skewered them on metal prongs.
“Hero-Boy, the fire is looking pretty good.”
“Great.”
Like he said, the metal looked good and hot, so I threw a fatty piece of meat on it to get it good and oiled up. I threw meat and vegetables on the sheet. Then I stuck the skewers around the sheet where they were warmed directly by the flames.
“You’re quite the cook!”
I used the knife and a stick I’d found to flip the meat and vegetables to keep them from burning.
“That should be good enough.”
That’s right, a riverside BBQ. Seemed like a good treat for Filo, if you asked me.
“It’s ready, Filo.”
“Yay!”
Filo was already drooling from the smell, but she waited until I handed her a fork before she lunged at the meat.
“Yummy! It’s so yummy!”
She kept going, eating more and more.
“Hey now, this is for everyone. Don’t eat it all yourself!”
“Fine…”
Her cheeks were stuffed with food when she nodded. Did she really understand?
“Just like that. Raphtalia, Old Guy, dig in!”
“All right.”
“Thanks.”
They held out their plates, and I piled meat and veggies up for them.
“Woah, this is damn good! Who knew that just cooking meat would make it so good.”
“Yes, Mr. Naofumi’s food is often strange, but delicious.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The old guy turned his head in thought.
“I wonder if it’s because of my cooking skill?”
“You mean from the Shield?”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
“What a mysterious and powerful Shield. I’m jealous.”
“I can’t take it off. It’s actually pretty inconvenient.”
And I couldn’t attack at all…
“You must be a lot stronger than you used to be.”
“I wonder.”
We were supposed to travel the world, let the Legendary Weapons absorb different monsters and materials, and get stronger.
To be honest, I still had no idea how much there was out there to see.
I didn’t know how much the shield had to grow to be complete.
But even if I ignored it and just lounged around, the next wave was still coming. I didn’t even know how many times the waves were going to come.
There had already been two. Would they end after the fifth, the tenth… the hundredth?
Whatever the answer, I had to do what I could.
That reminds me. I’ve been wondering about this Curse Series Shield.
When they were about to take Raphtalia from me, the shield was absorbed by something and the Curse Series Shield was unlocked. I looked for it on my skill tree, but hadn’t been able to find it.
I opened the help screen.
Curse Series: should not be touched
That’s all there was written at first. But after I looked around a few times, the words vibrated as if shocked, and changed.
Curse Series: delivers extraordinary power and grief to its holder: should not be touched
I was still unable to find the shield, so I decide to ignore it for the time being.
It must have been the type of weapon that only appeared as an option when you really needed it. It was some kind of conditional shield.
“Master! We ran out of meat.”
“What?!”
Sure enough, there was no more meat. The skewers had all been picked clean too.
Now there were only veggies left.
“Is that it? But I’m still hungry,” cried Filo.
“Sigh… then run into the woods and catch me five Usapils. I’ll cook them up for you.”
“Okay!”
Filo ran, full speed, into the woods.
“That was damn good. Mighty fine meal.”
“If you think so, subtract the cost of that cloth from the bill.”
“If I did that, I’d be in the hole, Hero-Boy.”
So we spent the rest of the day there, cooking veggies and meats by the riverside. The sun started to set.
And Filo had managed to catch ten Usapils.
I, actually, wasn’t able to eat very much at all. I spent all my time butchering Usapils and cooking for everyone else.
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