"Talking"
"Thinking"
'Whispering'
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
ESSENCE OF/SECRET TECHNIQUE
...
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
He was once again alerted by this damn shield and noise in his head.
Naofumi:"Apparently, it's an alarm clock shield!"
Luciel:"Great, I have an alarm clock inside my head!"
???:"This is the city guard! Open up at once!"
Naofumi/Luciel:"WHAT!?" He ran over to the door and opened it as quickly as he could, "Is there a problem? We heroes aren't strong enough yet to-" as he opened the door the guard rushed in and grabbed him.
"Shield Hero! Weaponless Hero! You are both under arrest! You will come with us immediately!"
......
Naofumi and luciel were handled very ruffly as they were quite literally drug through the city, through the castle gates, up a lot of stairs and into the throne room. The whole time naofumi demanded to know what he supposedly did, but they refused to even look at him, let alone speak to him, but to his confusion luciel was silent the whole time. As they were brought before the king he was thrown hard to the ground while luciel simply shrugged of the guards. Naofumi tried to get a read on the situation. He looked around. No nobles, not a single one. Even his advisor wasn't present. A lot of knights, even more than he remembered. And then... The 3 other heroes and their parties.
Ren had his arms folded and was staring at both Naofumi and Luciel with disgust, his party all behind him none of them looking the brothers's way themselves.
Itsuki was downright furious. He seemed angry at both of them, but maybe more the situation as a whole. His party was doing their best to calm him down telling him that things will be made right.
Lastly, Motoyasu. He and his team sat near the king. They were all gathered around Malty, doing their best to consul her. As they looked at Malty she was a miserable mess, crying and clinging to Motoyasu as if she'd be swept up if she let go.
Naofumi:"What the hell is going on here!?" he would normally try and leverage conversations for his benefit.
Luciel:"Why the hell are we being treated like this, huh? We demand an explanation!"
Not maliciously. No. He did this for the purpose of letting everyone leave the conversation happily. Now however? Naofumi was quite upset. His goals were not compromise, nor peace. If he was asked in this moment, he say he honestly had no goals at all.
Naofumi:"King, what happened!? They said I did somethi-"
Aultcray:"Silence!" The king boomed. His voice now was far louder than even yesterday. He really had the voice of a king. Even as upset as Naofumi was, he even grew quiet under that voice. "Shield hero. Weaponless hero. You both stand accused of one of the most heinous of crimes." He looked at the brothers with all the contempt he was capable of showing. "Though it may pain you, please recount those events..."
Malty looked up at Naofumi. Her face didn't betray her intention, but it still filled him with an awful feeling he couldn't really describe.
Malty:"Y-yes, if I must." She kept a grip on Motoyasu, but not as support. "It was at the Inn last night. I had retired early for the evening, but I got no sleep... Because of the loud knocking at my door not long after I entered. It was the shield hero."
Naofumi:"What? I retired as soo-"
Aultcray:"The accused will have his turn to speak, silence!" Naofumi was biting at the chance to deny this all.
She continued "I tried to ask what he wanted, but he kept demanding to speak face to face. I thought he was going to try and act on my offer earlier that morning..., but when I opened the door, he was very demanding and smelled of booze. He-he threw me on my bed and when i tried to run, the weaponless hero was standing by the door. I thought he will try to stop the shield hero, but he just tried to grab a hold on me to retain me. and then he-"
Naofumi:"Enough of that crap! Were you even in the same inn as us!?"
Aultcray:"I will not repeat myself, shield hero! Not another word!" For her part, Malty was in tears. Quite the actress, that one. The king paused. "She seems to be unable to continue. This is quite a terrible act you've both done. Did you think your status as heroes meant you could do whatever you pleased?"
Naofumi:"Guess that means I'm allowed to talk? Which inn was it that such a thing happened?"
Itsuki:"All 4 of us went to the same inn, it was the closest to the gate after all..." Itsuki seemed to have none of the enthusiasm he had any other time Naofumi heard him spoke. Was it... cautiousness? Suspicion?
Naofumi:"Itsuki!" he turned to him in desperation. "Tell me it can read minds! Or detect lies!"
Itsuki was now beyond mad. Naofumi was dangerously close to revealing his secret, if he hadn't already.
Itsuki:"Shut up, rapist! I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"
If Itsuki was thinking clearly, he would have seen that Naofumi wanting to use such methods clearly indicated he believed his own innocence, if nothing else. But Itsuki was desperate to keep his secret. So that lead him to throwing Naofumi under the bus. A decision that his pride would not let him back out of later, even with a clearer head.
Naofumi was now called the word in the open, it kept him from thinking things through. He was growing too angry to talk.
Naofumi:"I didn't do it! You saw how exhausted I was! I barely had it in me to eat before sleeping!"
The king picked up on this immediately "So your defense is based on the fact that you were visibly tired, you say?"
Naofumi:"Yes! I fought monsters for hours and overcommitted myself! Ask anyone who was there! I ate in a corner with my brother and we retired almost the moment we made it there! Ask the guards at the city gate! They would know how long we were out there!"
The king pointed to his advisor. He approached the king and they had a short, muted conversation. The advisor left the room in some haste. The king did not speak further. Likely he was waiting on something. As this happened Motoyasu began.
Motoyasu:"I cannot believe scum like you two were summoned here as heroes! You're the lowest of the low. Not only did you do the unthinkable, but now all us heroes will be seen in a stained light! But i guess i couldn't expect less from a yakuza and his brother!"
This stuck a cord with Ren. While he was doing his best to be a passive third-party observer, what Motoyasu said had some weight to it. Naofumi and Luciel's actions could very well cast them all in a negative light and while the opinion of the people mattered little to Ren, it could cause him problems if he misses out on quests and gear due to reputation.
Ren:"Naofumi, Luciel... Do you both realize what you've done? Even if you both were deplorable enough to disregard her when you two acted, everyone is now going to be affected by it. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
Naofumi:"What the hell is wrong with you people!? I already said we didn't do it! Why do you keep talking like we're guilty!?" Naofumi was running out of breath. His peripheral vision was beginning to go and his heart was racing. "This doesn't make any sense!? Princess or not!? That they all just accept it as fact like this!". "You guys aren't thinking this through! If all it takes is an accusation to take me down, then you'll be next! These laws make no sense!"
Aultcray:"Shield Hero!" The king boomed again "Do not insult our laws! I've yet to find you and your brother guilty fool!" Just then the advisor ran back in with a square pane of glass or maybe clear crystal. "Ah thank you" the king took the object. "Earlier I asked you if you defense is based on the fact that you were visibly tired. You then stated that it was due to 'overcommitting to slaying monsters'. You also said that you only bought food, ate it with your brother and immediately went to bed..." The stone gained a faint glow for a brief moment. "What utter lies!"
Naofumi:"No I-"
Aultcray:"We spoke to multiple witnesses that saw the both of you and the inn staff exchanging large amounts of money. Far too much for any service they provide. Perhaps bribing them into tell you which room was hers? Either way you did more than simply eat and retire." He was growing quite angry himself, his kingly demeanor a fleeting memory. "You also say you were oh so tired" he said mockingly. "Yet upon checking your information it shows that you are still level 1 and only have 7 EXP! You've barely done any work at all! And your brother is already at level 3, Status magic is not wrong! It cannot be fabricated!"
Naofumi could genuinely understand why the king was like this, but his facts were incomplete. If he had scanned his stats that meant he should see the truth, if he'd stop to think. "King my a-"
Aultcray:"I will not hear another poorly conceived lie!" He made a gesture with his left hand and with it his knight grabbed Naofumi and pushed him to his knees. Naofumi tried his best to force himself back to his feet while he tried to bring up his low attack stat, but neither his strength nor the volume of his voice could do much, the other knight was trying to make Luciel kneel as well but it appears luciel was too strong for the knight as he kept standing no matter how much force the knight used. They looked up and saw Malty stick out her tongue in a juvenile taunt.
The king Continued "If no one, other than the shield hero or the weaponless hero has anything else to say, I will pass judgement." Itsuki looked like he was about to say something, but faltered. "Very well then. I, King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII do hereby find both the shield hero and the weaponless hero guilty of the aforementioned crimes. The punishment however..."
His advisor took a step forward, "In Melromarc, even an attempt alone would mean the death penalty... under normal circumstances."
The king sighed. "Indeed. You two are beyond stupid to have done what you did, but you were right in thinking that your status of hero would be a bulwark against justice."
Naofumi finally found his footing and with it his voice. In one swift motion he forced himself to stand straight and the shield faintly glowed green, pushing the surrounding guards back.
Naofumi:"Bullshit! The only bulwark against justice here is your damned royal status! I have only 1 in my attack stat! It took me hours to get that EXP! It's right there in your hands! Look at it!"
The king didn't even bother looking at the stone.
Aultcray:"No, Shield hero. You will not force yourself on this court as you did on my daughter! Both You and your brother have already been found guilty. If you weren't useful against the waves, your heads would be adorning a spike! May the news of your crimes and your character be spread far and wide. Let the whole country know what kind of fiends they're be dealing with. That will be your punishments for now. To have this country's people judge you both because I am not yet allowed to. Now leave you devils!"
Luciel:"ENOUGH!" he screamed after being silent the whole trial "I WILL NOT LET YOU DISGRACE MY BROTHER ANY LONGER!" his scream echoed through the room, shocking all the people present
Aultcray:"you dare raise your voice after everything you and your brother did! Count yourself lucky, weaponless hero! I could easily have these guards execute you here and now since you're not one of the four cardinal heroes! And I have more than enough reason to, since the other three heroes explained to me what a Yakuza is, you decided to be a criminal here just as you were in your world!"
Luciel:"you think you're the first to send his goons to try to kill me?" he said as he slowly took of his glasses "because let me tell you, these fucks don't even add to my body count!" he screamed as he shoot them a furious glare and entered his [Beast] stance, wich had him with his arms to his sides, a hunched low stance, his hands in a claw like grip and stomping the ground wich rised a little dust cloud. The [Beast Style] made luciel be covered in a yellow fire-like aura.
His words, along with the force of his stomp and the yellow aura made everyone be a little afraid of the yakuza. Some of the knights stepped back in fear
Motoyasu:"Bastard!" He screamed as he charged at the yakuza with his spear aimed to run him through.
Luciel sidestepped to the side before striking him with a [Charged Combo], he saw that his [Heat Gauge] filled to the 3RD gear and saw a flame icon appear on the top corner of his vision. He concentrated on it and his body moved on its own.
He grabbed motoyasu from his collar before hoisting him up and turn him upsidedown and dive him headfirst to the ground with force. And for a second, large words took the middle of his vision
ESSENCE OF THE BEAST: PILE DIVE
[EXP: 1200]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[5,000,000FP]
[Lightning Fast:2,000,000FP]
[Untouchable:3,000,000FP]
[Enemy Down:2,000,000FP]
[Combo Takedown:3,000,000FP]
[Heat Explosion:5,000,000FP]
[Total FP:20,000,000]
Everyone was shocked by his display of strength and brutality. Motoyasu stood upsidedown for a second before his body fell backwards with his eyes rolled to the back of his head, clearly unconscious.
Luciel:"he lacks a lot of discipline" he said looking at motoyasu's unconscious body with an uninterested look before addressing the king "Let me save you and your congregation time. I don't give a damn what you think of me, your favoritism of the other three is noted, but I'm not going to sit back and allow you to disgrace my brother and framing him of something so horrible. So let me be clear," He looked around the throne room, "We'll do whatever it takes to stop the Waves and save as many lives as possible. ALL lives. So either stand with us, or get the fuck out of the way." He then turned to naofumi"let's get out of here"
Naofumi nodded and followed his brother by behind, the knights that were behind them moved out of the way with scared looks, not wanting the yakuza to what he did to the spear hero to them, They left the castle. They knew exactly where they were going. Naofumi avoided eye-contact with anyone, but everyone else did the same with them, Luciel didn't need to since his glasses covered his eyes.
Naofumi:"There is no way they'd know. We were the first to leave... That bitch already spread the rumors?" He also found that the 20 silver he could not store was gone. "Too bad bitch, you can't get any more than that."
As Naofumi marched along he was thinking too deeply to himself. With nothing but his own cynicism to answer him, he was becoming more bitter by the minute. Silently cursing that bitch, that hasty king, those guards, the 3 other heroes, everyone avoiding now. This whole world. He hated it.
And saving it was the only way to leave it. Bullshit.
He knew his brother said that they would save this world, but he knew that he was more used to this type of things, being a Yakuza and all, but he was always a little soft for a gangster. Through him knocking motoyasu out did cheer him up a bit.
???:"You!" Naofumi and Luciel looked up. It was 2 of the city guard and they were approaching them in an obvious act of aggression.
Naofumi:"Leave us the hell alone. We're busy doing something and then we are leaving this shitty city." They stepped in front of them, each slightly to one of their sides.
Guard1:"Hold it! We heard what you both did!" The taller one said
Naofumi:"You heard what you were told, the truth was never a part of that whole damned mess."
Guard2:"Are you expecting us to believe you two over our king?" the shorter one questioned mockingly
Naofumi closed his eyes:"You can think whatev-"
[Alert! Danger Imminent!]
While Naofumi's eyes were closed the taller one attempted to sucked punch him dead center of his face. But before that happened, Luciel caught his fist with his hand and locked eyes with them. There was a moment of silence between the 4. People moved away from them as everyone include the 3 of them were trying to figure out what they were going to do. After a moment Luciel simply added pressure and started to crush the guard's hand, audible cracks were heard and the guard screamed and fell to his knees, after a short time he let go of his hand. He took of his glasses and gave the guard's a cold glare making them step back a little.
Guard1:"Tsk, leave the devils for now" the taller one said and he led his fellow guard away from the brothers while cradling his injured hand. Luciel just huffed and put his glasses back on.
They stopped at the closest bathrooms to change into their stored armor, just in case something like that happened again. Naofumi began to think only in the negative.
Naofumi:"If it wasn't for Luciel, those 2 could have drawn their weapons and killed me..." Right now, he was weak. Right now, every enemy he had was stronger than him. He found himself scared. Almost too scared to open the door and exit. On the other side of this door was a world that hated him, but... Also, on the other side of this door was everything else too. A chance to clear his name one day, a chance to return to his family and leave this awful place. And above all else, on the other side of this door was his older brother, a brother that has always protected him, and will still do, but now he has the chance to protect him too. He may not have his monstrous strength or his fighting skills, but he was the hero of the shield, and he will do his job, shielding his brother's back. After a quiet moment, he opened the door and continued onward.
......
They approached the large tents that they so deliberately abandoned a day ago.
Naofumi/Luciel:"foolish/this is a mistake". They had no qualms now. They entered the tent and began walking down the same trail they should have followed that man yesterday. They saw creatures of all kinds strung up in various cages. So dangerous looking, some colorful and exotic. As they kept going, they saw the man, short and fat sitting at a desk full of silver and papers.
As the man heard the loud steps, he didn't even look up. He knew who it was.
???:"Even I hate having to do business under these circumstances. I would have much preferred you both parading my good merchandise around as well-regarded heroes".
The brothers stopped a foot from the large ornate desk the man sat at.
Naofumi:"Sorry, no free advertising. We can still do business though."
The small man looked up and met his eyes
???:"I thought your eyes before seemed like those of a worthwhile customer, but this..." The man began to giggle and eventually erupt into laughter. "Haha! A look that says that morals don't matter, only results! That's what I see.~, sad that I can't see your brother's eyes though"
Naofumi was glad the man was not turning them down, but the way the man talks and laughs is more than a little creepy. He needed to know some things first
Naofumi;"I have been told slaves can't betray me. If so, that is good to hear. Mind explaining that?"
The man smiled brightly, explaining his business was something he took pride in.
???:"Ah~ yes. You see slaves have a special crest placed upon them. There are a number of rules or settings you as an owner can choose from. The most common? Don't escape, obey my orders, don't betray me, don't lie to me."
Naofumi was actually liking the idea of a slave even more now, but that made his opinion of himself plummet, he didn't want to know what his brother was thinking about this, the bulging vein on his forehead told him everything.
Naofumi:"These settings sound very useful. What other kind of settings are there?"
The man was now motioning Naofumi to follow him as they began to walk towards his wares.
??:"All kinds. Besides the basics, there are context clauses. For example; you must address me affectionately or you may defend yourself except from me."
Naofumi's rage took over for a moment.
Naofumi:"We didn't do it! I don't want a slave for that!"
???:"Hmm? Truly? Guess I can skip the sex slaves then, but are you both sure?"
His rage was rising, but he could not afford to blow up on this guy just yet. Before he could speak through gritted teeth luciel stomped the ground with force, making a little dust cloud and leaving cracks on the stone floor.
Luciel:"Yes. We are." He said with a tone that said he was about to Burst a vein
???:"Well then, as not to offend you further... what type of slave are you looking for?"
Naofumi:"Cheap, obedient, easy to train into something that can fight."
???:"So a demi-human then?"
Naofumi was not used to that term "A what?"
???:"Apologies, I often forget you heroes come from another world. A demi-human is basically like a human, but they have some animal characteristics. Like tails, ears, fur, and the like."
Naofumi now heard conflicting information. "You mean Fairfolk?"
The small man burst out into laughter
???:"Ha! You know very little of this world, but you know the polite term for demi-human? You are definitely the shield hero."
Naofumi seemed a bit annoyed by this, but said nothing. They came to a stop in front of a massive cage. Inside a mighty beast of sorts was agitated inside. Luciel almost thought he was a monster, but looking in his eyes, luciel saw a great deal of suffering and rage... He felt sympathy for the caged man.
Naofumi:"This is a demi-human?"
???:"No no. This is a beastmen. Beastmen are more animal than man, while demi-human are more man than animal" Luciel took off his glasses and looked right at the beastman's eyes, when the beastmen saw Luciel's eyes he began to calm down a little, he saw that the man felt sympathy for him. The slave trader was curious about this but didn't say anything.
Naofumi and Luciel figured this was a 'truefolk' by that book's standards. Looking at this particular beastmen though... far too strong, costs too damn much.
Naofumi:"This thing on sale or something? When I listed the criteria I was wanting, 'cheap' was at the top. Trying to show off and drive prices?"
???:"New to this world, but not new to business it seems~. Indeed, I had that type of motive. It was also to show you I had higher quality goods as well. To be seen through so easily..." The man began moving again, the brothers followed.
As they walked Naofumi and Luciel looked around at these slaves. Their standard of living was just terrible. Naofumi was beginning to find it hard to stay mad about their own current lot in life.
???:"Here we are. Each of these slaves here are the lowest I have to offer. Though they are so with good reason."
Naofumi began looking over this group. Sickly, starving, some missing limbs. The lowest of the low. He heard his brother give a low growl, this made luciel's memories of that day come back with full force, The sight he saw almost made him puke. As they searched through, they began moving cloth aside and using a light handed to them by the slaver. They moved a cloth from a cage to peer at its contents. They found a young girl around 9, maybe 10. She was part racoon? Tanuki? They couldn't tell. Her withered form and mangy hair made identifying her harder. The thing that really caught his attention were her eyes. Those eyes were those of someone who had long since given up on life and on this world. She probably had a hell of a lot of days worse than the day they just had...
???:"Hmm? That one? I'd caution against that one. She has both a mental and physical illness. She hardly eats."
Naofumi:"So, you would not sell her?" Naofumi asked never breaking eye contact with her.
???:"Of course, I'd be willing to sell her, but she's due to die any day now. I want to be good business partners and selling you a slave that lasts less than a week will give you the impression that I sell low-end goods."
Naofumi looked like he considered this, but "What is your name?" He was already sympathizing with her before that information. Naofumi held no noble intentions, but if he could rescue her while rescuing himself...
Raphtalia:"Raph-" *Cough* "phtalia". She seemed to be slightly more aware of her surroundings now as she eyed Naofumi with fear and caution.
???:"Come, I have a few options over here tha-"
Naofumi:"No. I've decided I want her. What is her price." Raphtalia looked at him with terror. He seemed like an angry person. She felt that this man would be her last owner. This one would finish her, but all she could do is follow orders to her grave.
???:"Well, if you're dead set on her, 50 silver should cover it. I ended up with a two-for-one deal for this one. I ended up gaining both her and another girl just a couple of days ago." the trader explained.
Luciel:"Show me her" he said after being silent for a while
???:"But of course." He noted before pointing his thumb towards another part of the same cage, "She's in the corner over there."
Luciel walked over to remove the rest of the cloth that covered the cage to find another girl quivering in fear. Also wearing a rag, she had much shorter hair but still very unkempt and dirty. Her eyes, still showing at least a bit of life, were different from the other girl. She had platinum blonde hair and yellow eyes, and as for her animal features, she had simple animals ears and a slimmer tail. Seemed she was a weasel in nature.
Luciel:"can you say your name?" He said with the same gentle voice he used with the kids at the orphanage.
Rifana:"Rif-" *Cough* "ana" she seemed to be in the same condition as raphtalia, she seemed as scared of him as raphtalia was of his brother, it didn't help that the light was reflecting from his glasses, probably making him look scarier to the young girl.
Luciel's heart could only handle so much from seeing her condition, pain and fear. He'll save her right now.
Luciel:"I made a decision" he said not looking away from her "I'll take her." He proclaimed, knowing that it'll be tough but he'll save her.
???:"since you're taking that one, I'll make you the same offer as your brother, 50 silver"
Naofumi:"Make it 40 each and we'll be more understanding if they won't work out."
The man's smile was back as he chuckled a bit, "Fair, fair. Come then, let's draw up the paperwork."
......
As they concluded their talks it was decided that they would get a basic seal. No stealing from them, no lying to them, no betrayal of their trust, and obey all orders they give. As the seal was being set on Raphtalia she squealed in pain for a brief moment.
Naofumi:"Hey." He was painted into a corner and forced to use terrible means, but child torture for its own sake? Hell no.
???:"Be at ease sir. The pain is a passing side-effect. Give it a few moments." Sure enough, it faded and Naofumi handed the man his coin.
[Slave: Raphtalia acquired]
Suddenly Naofumi was overcome with pity and sadness "That I now own a person... Just like that? ...What a terrible world this is."
Now it was rifana's turn, she looked completely scared as the slaver dragged her forward
Luciel:"wait" he said before the slaver branded her, he took his glasses and kneeled to her height "listen I'm not gonna lie, this will hurt, so I want you to do something for me, okay?" She was surprised that the scary man that was buying her asked her something "when you feel it hurts, I want you to bite as hard as you can and endure it" maybe it was the gentle tone of his voice, but she nodded and opened her mouth, Luciel took of his left gauntlet, rolled up his sleeve and placed his wrist in her mouth.
Luciel nodded to the slaver to do it, when the slaver put the seal on her chest she gave a muffled scream and bit hard on luciel's wrist, making him bleed. He grunted and closed his eyes.
When the seal was placed on her chest and the pain was gone she opened her mouth and Luciel took his wrist out of her mouth, Luciel examined his wrist and saw that the girl broke through the skin, making him bleed.
Naofumi:"why did you do that? Why not have her bite something else"
Luciel:"simple. I asked her to suffer for me, it's only fair that I share her pain" he said while putting on a bandage that the slaver handed him
Naofumi:"I just realized we didn't get you name. I like to remember my business partners." He said to the slaver
Beloukas:"Ah, with slave in hand you feel pleasantries can be afforded now?" He said in jest. "It's Beloukas."
Naofumi:"Something like that... Mr. Beloukas? I'd like some of that ink."
Luciel:"me as well"
Beloukas:"Sorry the ink is only available for use by licensed slave traders. Legally I can't"
Naofumi:"You misunderstand, my shield gains forms and abilities based on absorbed material. I won't have the ink either, just the effects"
Beloukas:"I see, but what about your brother?"
Luciel:"I can absorb the material myself, I don't get any kind of weapons but I still get the Abilities"
Naofumi:"Oh, that's not illegal then. Which would you like?" He had 4 bottles at his desk.
Naofumi:"4 kinds of ink?"
Beloukas:"3 kinds and a remover"
Naofumi:"A bit of all 4 then"
Beloukas:"I'll settle for 20 silver a piece each of you"
Naofumi:"Come on. Take 10 silver a piece. That's as much as the girls?"
Beloukas:"Would you believe me if I told you the ink on them was worth more than they are?"
Naofumi:"Fine. 20 silver..."
[Slaver Shield]
+1 agi
[Ability: Slave Status Adjustment] Slaves gain 5% more stats upon level up.
.
[Slaver Shield II]
+1 mag
[Ability: Slave Maturation Adjustment] Slaves mature faster. They gain 5% more EXP.
.
[Slaver Shield III]
+1 atk
[Ability: Slave Status Adjustment ll] Slaves gain 10% more stats upon level up.
.
[Freedom Shield]
+ 4 agi
[Ability: Liberation] Remove any form of status, curse, or binding that impedes movement on target.]
With that they turned to the girls. As they approached, the two girls shrank back as if to hope he somehow wouldn't find them. Naofumi walked right up to raphtalia and grabbed her under each arm and picked her up. Holding her to him while Luciel took off his grey jacket and wrapped it around rifana and hold her hand as they walked out of the tent. Naofumi's heart sank when he did that. This girl weighed nothing at all. It made him feel like quite the bastard. He was at least going to have her avoid any physical activity until after a meal. He might even halt leveling until she's received a full night's rest as well. Though he hated to lose time as that meant more time for something to happen to him... Him living had to take priority over her comfort. Luciel felt the same way as naofumi, rifana's hand was incredibly small compared to his, and was really skinny. He hoped that a good meal would fix that.
To Raphtalia, she was very confused. This man seemed so angry almost violently so, but he held her softly. Mixed signals left her wanting to hope, but scared that despair would follow after. Again. She didn't mean to, but now she was crying softly while remembering. It even got her to start another coughing fit. She was afraid her new master was going to quickly lose his patience.
And then a soft hand pat her head. It was warm. This was the same kind of warmth she felt in her father's arms. She felt herself fall easily to sleep in his arms as he carried her off to somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere better.
Rifana was just as confused as her friend, this scary man, who had a strange resemblance to the other one, was holding her hand gently and covered her with his weird clothing, she felt that his hand was hard and calloused but also very warm. Just like her friend she felt mixed signals wanting to have hope but also scared that he would treat her like his last owner, the thought made her want to cry but then she felt his hand squeeze her's lightly, the warmth she felt was similar to the one she felt when her father holded her in his arms. She walked in silence as the man led her somewhere.
......
"Raphtalia..." She heard her name said softly. She was trying to place whose voice that was. "Raphtalia". Now a warm hand accompanied the voice, softly shaking her awake. She relented and awoke. She looked around the room. She was in some type of rented lodging. She looked up to see them, her master, his friend and his friend's master.
Naofumi:"Good, I hope you've had enough sleep we can-"
Raphtalia tried to stand. "I'm sorry master I didn't mean to sleep! It won't happen again."
Naofumi:"Enough!" She froze. "You still haven't eaten anything. Don't burn what little energy you have left."
She remained still and quiet. Unsure of what action to take to please her master. He made no sense. So angry and yet hadn't hit her yet. What can she do to avoid that?
Naofumi:"Hey" he said with the soft voice of before. She met his eyes hoping that wouldn't offend him "We have things to do, so choose."
Raphtalia:"Oh god a choice. Is one good and one's bad? Or if I pick wrong..."
Naofumi:"We need to eat and you absolutely need a bath. Which do you want first?"
Raphtalia:"What?" He had to be tempting her with nice things to snatch them away..., but those soft hands... "Food first master, if *cough* that's okay." Her tail swaying behind her. She decided to say food because the bath was only for her, but the food was presented as if it was for both of them. She has to be as agreeable as possible.
Suddenly her slave crest shocked her "Uggrrhh". Naofumi was alarmed too.
Naofumi:"I see. You said food, but wanted a bath first? Guess lies like that count too?" He opened up his menu and altered the settings. "Sorry about that. You can now tell lies without getting hurt, as long as it is not detrimental to me." He paused. "Bath it is then. I couldn't find kid's clothes so easily, so you have to put those same clothes back on afterward. After the meal, we will get you some better clothes."
Raphtalia couldn't make heads or tails of him and simply nodded and went into the connected bathroom. As she began to undress, she heard his voice. "Try and keep it under 20 minutes, you can indulge later tonight".
She flinched. "Y-yes, master."
Luciel:"and you rifana, what do you want. Eat or bath?"
Seeing how the crest shocked raphtalia after lying she decided to be truthful.
Rifana:"Uhm, I would like to take a bath first too" she said nervously while looking at the ground
Luciel:"I see, go on then, maybe you could help raphtalia. That would save us some time" he said and rifana nodded and went to the bathroom.
As Raphtalia and Rifana took their bath, Luciel sighed heavily and sat on the edge of the bed, took a cigarette from his breast pocket and a red lighter with a golden drawing of his tattoo, it was a gift from his captain when he became lieutenant of the family.
He lighted the cigarette and started smoking
Naofumi saw this became worried, he knew his brother only smoked sometimes and when he was stressed, and he could understand why, he always had a soft spot for children and seeing both raphtalia and rifana in their current state was probably taking an effect on him, but he decided to say nothing and started looking through his shields. Now that [Prophecy Shield] is mastered, the 3 slave shields now take priority, then the 3 coin shields. After that he might choose to get his [Glass Lens Shield] mastered. While it won't gain him stats, he'd be able to use [Inspect] without telegraphing it. Worse comes to worse he could master [Storage Shield]. That plus [Gold Coin Shield] and [Slave Shield lll] would leave him at 4 atk, maybe more if a level up gave him any. He wished for anything to make him less useless.
More annoying to him though is how bad of a deal he made on this armor. That blacksmith told him there were 2 broad categories of armor. Flat bonus and relative bonus. Relative bonus means stats are increased by a percentage, meaning the higher your stats that higher the bonuses. He was told that they are preferred at higher levels and can even be made to be improved instead of replaced. Flat bonuses were just a set amount of bonus stats added to your own. In Naofumi's case, that was a sizable +8 to both defenses. That blacksmith said it'd be a good deal, but with the bonuses from these shields flat bonus from armor seemed like a terrible idea, now he was starting to wish he asked for a normal armor with no bonuses like Luciel.
Naofumi:"This armor will lose a lot of meaning in about a week... and that was 75 silver..."
Raphtalia and rifana exited the bath wearing the rags they had before.
Raphtalia:"M-Master I am done. I tried not to *cough* take too long".
Rifana:"A-And I helped her like you *cough* asked me, master*
They looked at them. Their hair were better, but still not good. All the same, they were a sight better than before.
Naofumi/Luciel:"Should have probably done this sooner". He switched shields and both used [Inspect].
[Name: Raphtalia]
[Race: Half Raccoon / Half Tanuki Fairfolk]
[Class: Undecided]
[Equipment]
[Rags]
[Hp: 37]
[MP: 19]
[SP: 0]
[Atk: 6]
[Mag: 6]
[Def: 4]
[Mdef: 5]
[Agi: 7]
[Level: 1]
.
[Name: Rifana]
[Race: Uhnte Jimna (Weasel) Fairfolk]
[Class: Undecided]
[Equipment]
[Rags]
[Hp: 35]
[MP: 18]
[SP: 0]
[Atk: 5]
[Mag: 5]
[Def: 4]
[Mdef: 5]
[Agi: 9]
[Level: 1]
They saw these low stats, but was not alarmed. Of course, they're this low, though the noticed that rifana had slightly lower stats that raphtalia except for her agility, though they were confused about her race, they never heard of a Uhnte Jimna, they thought that maybe it was a subspecies of weasel. If they can regain their weight, lose those coughs... maybe decent. Add in the slave bonuses after that. Naofumi thought it was acceptable. After all, even as dying little girls they had more atk than him even if he had all his bonuses.
Raphtalia and Rifana noticed the morphing shield.
Raphtalia:"That shield..."
Rifana:"Could it be..."
Naofumi:"Alright Raphtalia, Rifana, now we are going to eat. We need you both healthy with what comes next."
Luciel:"So far, we've been nice to them, but once we are out there, they have to perform."
Raphtalia and Rifana noticed that both their masters had used their name, not 'slave' or 'girl'. They actually liked that.
Raphtalia/Rifana:"But... I wonder what master's name is..."
......
They were now sat in a tavern. The brothers having to coax the girls into the building. As a waiter came over that had a look of disgust on their face. Raphtalia and Rifana thought it was at them due to the 'no serving demi-humans' sign, but the disgust was directed toward Naofumi and Luciel.
"What do you want?" The waiter asked with no politeness at all.
Naofumi:"Two of the cheapest meal for us and... whatever that kid is having for them" he said, pointing to a kid two tables over.
The waiter left without a word. Raphtalia perked up.
Raphtalia:W-why?" She had no idea what their new masters were doing. They made no sense.
Naofumi looked at her like she was stupid. "What? You both wanted it right? That's why you were looking over there."
They both stayed quiet until their food arrived. Naofumi took a bite and had to keep himself from physically recoiling.
Naofumi:"No taste at all. Why? God dammit..." He looked at his brother and saw that he didn't have any problem with his food.
Raphtalia and Rifana simply stared at the small flag atop their food. Admiring it, remembering the bittersweet promise they made.
Naofumi;"Hey, eat. We already bought it, don't let it go to waste." They regained focus. They carefully grabbed the flags and placed it beside their plates. They had no table manners and so just grabbed a hand full of food. As they put it in her mouth, they stopped.
Naofumi:"What, that bad?" Naofumi thought maybe it was bland for them too.
Luciel:"Do you both want something else?"
They looked at them and shook their heads no. They began grabbing at the food like crazy. At one point, needing Naofumi to hand raphtalia water because she was eating too fast.
Naofumi:"Good, make sure you both eat all of it... in fact..." Naofumi looked down at his plate. There was still half a plate, but he couldn't stand it. He had plenty for now. "Take the rest of my plate too, I'm full."
Luciel:"Same for me, you can have my plate too"
Raphtalia and Rifana stopped questioning their generosity. If they were mean later on, then they are mean later on. Right now, they had to eat everything they could. They happily took their plates and cleaned it just as fast as the first ones.
They felt full. They were clean. They weren't hurt... If this sickness goes away, they'd be back to what normal little girls should be. What they were before.
......
As the four of them approached the blacksmith's business Naofumi was nervous. He'd hope the man would hear him out.
Naofumi:"Even if he thought we actually did it, he might still sell to us... but he'll price gouge us." He stood in front of the door a moment, then entered.
???:"Welcome-You!" The blacksmith had an angry look about him as he came out from behind the counter. "You two gotta lot of nerve showing up here!" He was closing the distance.
Naofumi didn't want to fight, but this blacksmith probably hits like a truck.
Naofumi:"How could I get him to talk?"
The shop owner was about three foots of distance before Luciel stood on his way making him stop, Luciel took of his glasses and looked at him in the eye.
Luciel:"We didn't came here looking for trouble but I will not hesitate to fight back if you strike first, so I will only say this once, don't do it. But If you want to die then step up" he said entering his brawler stance and being surrounded by the blue fire like aura.
The blacksmith was surprised by the blue aura, but he saw the look on luciel's eyes, it was the look of someone willing to protect someone with his life, he could see that while Luciel was some levels under him, he would put up a good fight, and probably win. The blacksmith sighed.
???:"I don't want to fight either, I can see that you could beat me up, I only wanted to ask him something" Luciel looked at him for a moment before putting his guard down and stepping aside, but he was looking at the blacksmith with a 'i'm watching you' look.
The shop owner came right up to Naofumi's chest and looked him in the eye. Naofumi was waiting for [Prophecy] to warn him, but it never came.
???:"I'm only going to ask you this once... Did you two do it." The man was peering into Naofumi's very soul. He felt he could hide nothing from the man
Naofumi:"No." He kept his voice low. "We'd never do something like that". He never breaking eye contact.
"..."
After a moment the blacksmith turned around and began making it back to his counter. Naofumi was confused.
???:"That so? A shame you both got accused." He said it so openly.
Naofumi:"Y-you believe me? Just like that!?" The man gave Naofumi a sly smile.
???:"Kid. You've both already told me the truth when I had no way of catching you" Naofumi remembered how honest he was with the man. "Because of you two, I've made quite a bit of coin. Those other three heroes all tried to sneak copies. Only you were honest." Naofumi was surprised that all three of the other heroes figured [Copy] out already.
"Besides..." He said meeting Naofumi's eyes again. "I appraised you while you claimed your innocence. I know it's not perfect or nothing, but I know you two didn't do it kid." Naofumi was now realizing that feeling when their eyes met was the feeling of being under this guy's [Appraisal] "And I saw the look on your brother's eyes, for someone to fight like that, he must really believe your innocence"
Naofumi felt a wave of relief hit him from being believed. His eyes even started to water some.
Raphtalia:"Are you okay, master?" She spoke from behind Naofumi as she and rifana moved to the side, making their presence known.
The blacksmith didn't miss it
???:"Master? Kid did you-"
Naofumi:"Yes." He cut him off. "I have no allies and 1 attack stat and I can't always have my brother doing all the work. I had to buy a slave, I had no other choice. I want to live and I won't apologize for that."
???:"Hmm, but two so young and... was that all you could afford."
Naofumi:"No. I could have afforded much better..." He looked down at Raphtalia and their eyes met again. They weren't much brighter than this morning. "Maybe I chose her because she's even more depressed than me. If she can make it... then that gives me hope for myself... If I can get her to smile, I have no right not to as well?" He didn't really understand himself or his decisions "besides, only one is mine" he said pointing at raphtalia.
???:"Really, the who do belongs the other one?"
Luciel:"Me" he said surprising the blacksmith.
???:"You? But I thought you were really strong, why buy a slave?"
Luciel:"I couldn't just leave her in a place like that" He looked down at Rifana "I could see it in her eyes, after everything she and raphtalia went through she still had hope that someone would save them from that hellhole, just like then" he was referring to the girls he saved from that chinese mafia, while some looked dead inside others still had hope in their eyes that someone would save them, and that one was him.
Luciel:"But we chose them and that's that... By the way, I don't think we actually know your name?" It seemed like the smith found that answer acceptable.
Erhart:"Ha! It's Erhart! So, what can I get you?"
Naofumi:"Not me, them. We need some armor for them and light weapons to use."
Raphtalia and Rifana looked at them with a hint of fear.
Raphtalia:"Why would we need a w-weapon?" She spoke in almost a whisper while rifana nodded shaking.
Luciel:"Because tomorrow we're killing monsters."
If both Raphtalia and Rifana had [Prophecy] about now is when it'd be activating
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