Disguised as Siblings

After recomposing myself, I crouch down in front of the scared Raphtalia and put my palm on her head, trying to calm her down. Her terrified eyes are meeting my calm gaze. It's when I start to talk to her.

"Alright. I know that you are scared of fighting, and you never fought before. However, you needn't fear. I will teach you how to fight and will protect you from harm until you can hold yourself in a fight."

I look at her face and find the fear remain there. Sighing, I choose to change my approach.

I raise the Legendary Bow and say, "Look at this bow. This is the Legendary Bow, one of the Legendary Weapons of the Cardinal Heroes. Possessing this makes me one of the Legendary Heroes."

Raphtalia perks up when she hears about the Cardinal Heroes. She alternates her gaze between my face and my bow before timidly speaking, "Mister Ran, you are one of the Cardinal Heroes? The ones in the legend?"

"Yeah, I am the Bow Hero. I came from another world. And I need a companion with potential. And you, Raphtalia, is someone with the talent and potential I need."

"But... but... I don't know how to fight! I am scared of monsters... they... they have..." Raphtalia's eyes dilate as she reminisces the tragedy that has killed her parents and destroyed her village.

I hug her trembling body and rub her back, trying to calm her down. "Now, now, don't worry. Those bad monsters aren't there. I am here to protect you."

I continue saying sweet nothings until she calms down. When she has calmed down, I release her from my embrace and look into her teary eyes.

"Listen carefully, Raphtalia. Those monsters came from the calamity known as the Waves of Destruction, and we, the Legendary Heroes, must fight off these waves to protect this world. I understand your fear and trauma, and I promise I will help you move on as your companion. For now, you are still weak. Thus, I will protect you and won't allow monsters to hurt you. I will teach you how to be strong. It will be hard and scary, but you will become strong and won't be afraid of monsters anymore."

I stop to take a breather and inspect Raphtalia. She is focusing her attention on me. That's good. I am close to getting her to take her first step to put her trauma behind her.

"So, will you grow strong and move on? Or will you do nothing as the waves destroy more families and turn other children like you? Tell me. What do you want, Raphtalia?"

Raphtalia scrunches her face, deep in thought. After a while, she faces me with a cute yet determined face and timidly nods.

"Mister Ran," she begins, "I... I don't want other children to be like me! I will help! Please teach me how to be strong!"

"Atta girl! That's the spirit!"

I pat her head softly. In return, Raphtalia giggles and looks pleased by my compliment and head-pat.

"Well, that was quite a speech you gave there, kiddo!" Erhard suddenly chimes in, pulling our attention to him. He has a sheathed knife in his hand and offers it to Raphtalia. "Here you go, little miss. I know that kiddo will protect you until you can stand on your own, but be careful."

Raphtalia accepts the sheathed knife hesitatingly. She looks at it deeply before gripping it strongly. She then looks up to meet Erhard's eyes and gives him a determined nod.

She says, "I will, Uncle!"

I feel proud of the brave Tanuki girl. Just a couple of hours ago, she was a scared slave trapped in a filthy cage, but now, she appears courageous and awe-inspiring.

Looking at Raphtalia, I feel like I have made a correct decision in buying her despite my less than virtuous intention. I am certain that she will grow up as an amazing young woman who became the Sword of the Shield Hero in the source material.

In this case, she will become my most loyal companion.

"Alright! How much is everything?" I ask Erhard.

He tells me how much I owe him, and I become dozens of pieces of silver less.

The time to leave Erhard's place comes. Before we leave, I hand over the Amulet of Loki to Raphtalia.

I have discreetly added more effects on the Amulet of Loki. Other than falsifying the wearer's status, it allows the user to change his or her appearance with illusion. It also protects the wearer from the scrying spell.

I don't know if this world has something like that, but it's better to be prepared than sorry.

"Please, wears this pendant."

Raphtalia is speechless when her eyes land on the item. "Mister Ran, this is..." She hesitates due to how fancy the necklace seems.

"Well, this is an artifact that will change your appearance and hide your Tanuki ears and tail. Melromarc looks down on demi-humans, and many establishments ban your kind. When you wear that, your appearance will change into a human girl. The Race attribute in your status will also change to match your transformation."

"That's amazing... and dangerous. Where did you get it, kiddo?" Erhard chimes in and inspects the necklace in Raphtalia's hands from his position. He has a sharp, scrutinizing gaze.

"I have some secrets I want to keep, Erhard."

"Fine." Erhard shrugs his shoulders in understanding and drops the topic.

After that, I encourage Raphtalia with a nod.

Raphtalia wears the necklace, and her appearance distorts for a few seconds. The abnormal phenomenon lasts for a moment. Then, Erhard and I see her Raccoon's ears and bushy tail disappearing, her brown hair turning blond, and the color of her eyes changing to sky blue. Her facial structure has changed a bit, and those Q'Ten Lo's Shadows won't know even if they pass by.

"Wow!" Erhard seems impressed. I just nod at Raphtalia's transformation, satisfied by the result.

Raphtalia makes her way to the nearest mirror and inspects her new appearance. She has a shocked look after seeing the change. Hesitatingly, she raises her hands to touch her actual ears and contorts her face in surprise as she feels that they are still there. She checks her tail and finds the same result.

"Mister Ran!" Raphtalia calls me and turns in my direction. However, her eyes open wide when after finding that my appearance has changed.

We have the same hair color and eye color. My present appearance is different from my original appearance or the one I've used to buy Raphtalia.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk..." I wave my index finger playfully. "That's wrong. When we look like these, you must call me Big Brother or Brother, okay?"

"W-Wha...what?! Brother?! What do you mean?!" Raphtalia seems utterly lost.

But, Erhard has caught my ploy. "I see," he says. "So, that's your plan."

"Excuse me! Mister Ran, Uncle, can someone explain to me? I don't understand!" Raphtalia pleads loudly as if she has an existential crisis.

Erhard and I exchange amused gazes. Then, I explain my plan to Raphtalia.

In short, we will act like a pair of siblings. I will call her as Lia Wayne, the shortened version of Raphtalia, and a name shown in her modified status. Meanwhile, my fake name is Bruce Wayne. My new fake name and Raphtalia's fake surname are inspired by Batman.

Raphtalia nods slowly despite her confusion. After that, we bid our farewell to Erhard.

"We'll be off then. See you later, Erhard."

"Bye-bye! And thank you for everything, uncle!"

It seems like Raphtalia has opened up to Erhard. It's good since it's a sign of her recovery.

After leaving Erhard's shop, I bring Raphtalia to a random bar that has caught my attention.

The inn blacklists demi-human, but I don't care since no one can find out Raphtalia's true race unless they touch her head or feel her tail.

I intend to let Raphtalia fill her stomach before I train and power-level her.