Episode of Naofumi

Waking up as the sunlight beams onto his face. Naofumi looks over to the bed next to him and notices Raphtalia isn't there. Assuming she's with Sakura, Naofumi exits the room and heads downstairs to the area he parked his cart at. and proceeds to knock on it.

"Sakura, Raphtalia. It's time to get up. We gotta go grinding before-"

Naofumi opened the curtain blocking the inside of the cart and noticed Sakura wasn't there. And even weirder is that Raphtalia isn't there either. 'Did they not come back last night? No, that's impossible, I remember Raphtalia coming inside.' Looked around the cart once more. He notices a note near one of the pillows Sakura uses, and picks it up. Even with her barely legible handwriting, Naofumi was able to understand the message well enough.

Dear Naofumi,

We'll be out for a few days doing some important stuff. If you need some cart movement just call out for Neila and you'll get it.

From: Sakura and Raphtalia

"What the hell Sakura, I had plans. And who the hell is Neila!" Naofumi shouted as he ripped up the barely legible paper.

"We're supposed to be prepping for the waves and they pull a stunt like this. Now, what am I supposed to do?" Naofumi sat down on the cart and thought for a minute, before deciding on what to do.

/~/

Meanwhile, with the girls.

"You want Fitoria to train you?" Fitoria asked.

"Yeah, you were training me before."

"I also desire to be trained… miss… umm… queen?"

"Fitoria is fine. And she was only testing your skills and correcting you where you were failing at. Now if you truly desire a way to get stronger, then Fitoria has a way to help. Although, she would like something in return."

"Well since you broke Sakura's favorite and only sword, I'll say we're about even."

"Right, Fitoria did do that." Snapping her fingers. The two filolial by Fitoria's side immediately dash off into one of the ruins. Several loud crashes can be heard from the outside until both birds return with a black blade.

Sakura couldn't help but marvel at the blade presented to her, almost having a hypnotic effect on the bird, if it wasn't for Raphtalia snapping her out of excitement.

"Fitoria will get this cleaned up for you. Until then she will train you for free."

"Ha, told ya!" Sakura cheered.

"Get your cheers in while you can. Now for your first task." Fitoria summons her carts and opens the door. Raphtalia gets in no issue, but Sakura has to be tossed inside after arguing with Fitoria over who gets to pull it. And with a quick, blinding flash of light, they all vanished.

/~/

Deciding to take this free day to do whatever. He decided to go over to the tavern to grab a quick meal. But as he got over, he saw a crowd of people, (mostly women) crowding around the entrance window, trying to stealthily watch whatever was inside.

Thinking that it was just a bit of a crazy woman. Naofumi pushed past a couple of them who were in the door, but one of them grabbed him by his hood in an attempt to pull him back.

"The hell are you doing? The sword hero is in there."

"Is that so? Here is some payment as thanks." Naofumi allowed a balloon to escape from his torso and directed it towards the woman who grabbed him. Everyone else in the area after seeing the event backed up a bit to not provoke his wrath.

"Anyone else wants to play with the balloons?"

With a collective synchronized head shake from the crowd of women, Naofumi puts back on his hood and enters the Tavern where Ren is indeed sitting in.

'Looks like I found what I'll be doing today then.' Naofumi walks over to the table Ren was at and was about to sit down. But something he noticed made him hesitate a bit. He noticed that while all his other party members were at another table eating their own food. A single girl was actually sitting next to him. The girl was wearing a Kyudo that gave Naofumi a bit of nostalgia. Along with that, she had blue hair in a long messy perm, and a purple thunderbolt engraved onto her shoulder sleeve. But the real eye-catcher was her pair of lizard-like wings, unlike Sakura's who was feathered.

"You've been looking at us for over a minute now, what do you want?" The sword hero asked.

"And it better be worth Lord Ren's time, or I'll remov-."

"No punching people Draco!" Ren reprimanded as he pushed the drake girl back into her seat.

"So what do you need? Quest, autograph? Because if it's the latter I refuse."

"I'm just here to talk," Naofumi replied as he removed his hood. Revealing his face to the tavern.

"Naofumi!?"

"No, I'm Mizuki from the Yakuza. Of course, I'm Naofumi, you idiot."

"So you're here? The rumors said that you'll be in Ryute by now."

"Got an issue with that?"

"Not at all. Actually, I was planning on finding you to talk about something."

"Why? So you can lecture me for-."

"I'm sorry for not believing you."

"Rap... Wait… what?"

"I'm sorry for doubting you during the trial."

"... Is this a prank? Is this a ploy to get me out in the open so someone can assassinate me?"

"No, I'm being serious. The longer I look into this case, the more cracks start to form in Mynes story.

"What are you talking about?"

"Allow me to explain. It was two weeks after the trial."

/~/

"Lord Ren, we're about ready to go." Said a female adventurer.

"That's good. I have one more errand to run, so be ready by the time I return."

"Yes sir!" The group replies.

Leaving his ground from the area. Ren walks through the streets of Melromarc with a hood on his head to avoid suspicion and turns to a specific alleyway after passing the magic shop. Ren felt like the alleyway went on forever as he walked through, but after a minute of walking, he reached a purple tent in the middle.

"So the rumors were true."

The smell of rotten food and wet dog assaults his nose as he enters. The smell of other types of bodily fluids also attacks his sense of smell, forcing Ren to cover his nose to avoid passing out.

Not wanting to turn back now, Ren mustered up all his courage and made his way over to a front desk, where he was a short man in a purple suit.

"My my, a new face enters. Are you here to scout out a purchase!" The man exclaimed.

"Not exactly." Ren removed his hood. Revealing the sword on his hip to the man. The short trader who was originally happy is now beaming with the joy of a child on Christmas.

"Oh my what an occasion, two heroes within the same week. Truly, I have been blessed."

"So Naofumi was here then!" Ren piped up.

"He was. And now I'm ready to offer my grand service to you."

"I'm not here to buy, only a question."

"But sir hero. You aren't even considering a purchase?"

"You just want me to buy something so you can get free advertisement."

"Of course. And by doing that we help each other. I get more business from others, and you get a wonderful and powerful beast that can assist in your travels!"

Ren thought for a moment before taking out his pouch full of silvers, shaking it a bit to temp the trader in front of him. "Then let us make a deal. I'll purchase a monster from you if you tell me everything that happened with Naofumi during his visit. I'll probably spread some word to the other two heroes if I'm satisfied."

"That sir is an offer I can't refuse." Belokaus opened his drawer and took out several papers. As he flips through the papers he acquired over the last few days, he retells the tale of Naofumi making his first visit to a tent.

"So Myne was lying. But why?"

"The princess has been known to do this a lot. It's mostly been kept hidden but I have my ways to get this information." The trader chuckled a bit before opening another drawer.

"MYNES A PRINCESS!"

"The first princess to be specific."

"But why be an adventurer, and why accuse Naofumi? There's more going on than I know."

"These questions I cannot answer, sir hero. But the shield hero's trouble can be traced back to the 3 heroes' church. Ha, I found it." Belokaus pulls out a paper from his desk and hands it over to the sword hero. The paper documents the logs of all the purchases for that day, with Naofumi's name at the bottom.

"This makes it undeniable at this point. I have to tell the others about this."

"Wait. Before you go, want to finish our deal?" The trader asked, pointing towards a table behind him.

/~/

"How the hell did you get a dragon? All I got was a lame bird!" Naofumi exclaimed.

"I used a sword that had an increased luck."

"Since when did those exist!"

"Since forever, have you tried absorbing stuff into your shield?"

"I'm well aware of item absorption."

"Then you can get that from a four-leafed clover. But it doesn't have much use."

"I call bullshit," Naofumi complained, causing the table to go silent. To lighten the mood one more, Ren has Draco go outside to grab something, as he continues the conversation.

"I'm planning on getting information from Motoyasu and Itsuki. Maybe then we can clear your name with all the evidence I found."

"My name is already through the mud. Clearing it now wouldn't do much."

"But it will dissuade others from doing anything."

"I guess that could work. But with how this was done, I'm pretty sure the king won't allow a makeup trial. They both seem to be against me."

"Then we'll find a way to call him out. Anything to make things right."

"Don't bullshit me. You're just doing this just so you don't feel guilty!" Naofumi shouted as he slammed his hands on the table. "If you wanted to make this right, then you would have stood up for me during the trial, and not two weeks afterward because you felt bad!"

Ren hung his head low. He knew what Naofumi said was true and didn't know how to answer.

"You want to be sorry for what you did, listen up. This may sound unbelievable but a bird queen-."

"A bird what?"

"A BIRD QUEEN! Told me that the ways aren't just exclusive to Melromarc."

"But that's impossible. My game didn't give me any information about this."

"Because your game knowledge won't carry you everywhere! Wanna earn my respect back, go to Zeltoble and deal with the waves over there."

"Alright then. After Melromarcs wave I'll portal over there and check the wave timer."

"Hold up, portal, timer?"

"Yes, the portal weapons and wave countdown you get from the dragon hourglass. Did you not attempt to resonate with it?"

"NO! I didn't even know there was a countdown!" Naofumi threw his hands into the air, out of annoyance.

Ren looked at Naofumi, and then at Draco who was carrying an item wrapped in cloth.

"Tell me Naofumi, do you know how to copy shields?"

/~/

"Stupid shield! Why show me this now!" Naofumi complained.

Naofumi had just learned that there were some very useful mechanics his shield had hidden from him, which finally revealed itself after Ren gave him a full crash course on the system. At first, he couldn't believe what Ren told him. But after being able to copy a shield after finally giving him the chance, he found that the sword hero was correct. He then checked his status screen once more. And after a bit of static, a screen labeled power up methods finally appeared.

After learning all this stuff, Naofumi couldn't help but feel furious at the shield on his arm for withholding extremely important information from him. And then he started to question why it was withheld from him in the first place.

Thunder Dragons Shield, UC

Equip effect: Lightning counter, Drake's reflection.

"Not only weapon copying. But even the wave counter would have been useful information from the start. Maybe I can-." Naofumi reached for his cooking knife but got zapped the second his finger touched it.

"Alright, weapons are still no go. I'll figure out this hidden feature stuff later."

Naofumi pushes open the door to the cathedral of the three heroes' church. Several of the church's stained glass windows have light shined through them, giving a radiant vibe in the area that made Naofumi sick.

"Let's get this over with."

Naofumi walked past several terrified priests as he made his way over to the dragon hourglass. He can hear several of them call criminal, rapist, and oddly a devil sometimes, making his unease in the church go up by the 100%

"Halt, what if your business here shields heroes." A priestess called.

"Cool it, sister. I just need some sand from the hourglass to get the wave countdown. I am still a hero who has to defend this place."

"The sand from the hourglass is sacred. And the process of extracting it is a long and dangerous process."

"That's cool, I'll wait. Surely you can do it as quickly as possible, or else the whole country could be destroyed." Naofumi sat on the ground out of defiance, knowing what the sister was saying was bullshit.

"You dare disrespect the holy grounds of the three heroes. I hope God will smite…"

"Urgent message from the sword hero!" An unknown third party yelled. When he ran past Naofumi, it was obvious to guess it was one of Ren's party members.

As the sister reads the letter. She almost rips the entire paper before going into another outburst.

"This can't be from the sword hero, kick him out."

"I say that's quite enough!" Another third party exclaimed.

The sister was immediately shaken by the voice. Even without looking back, she could tell how much trouble she was in.

"P-p-pope?"

"Ripping up the request of a hero, that is considered blasphemy."

"B-but it's a fake. A trick from the shield de…"

"Perhaps you need to look again. It's signed in the hero's tongue with one of his party members specifically delivering the letter. No matter how crazy it is, it is almost treasonous not to abide."

The nun falls to the ground and calls out to a statue of the bow, spear, and sword.

"I'M SORRY FOR MY INSOLENCE!" The nun cried out. Running to the back in embarrassment after her repentance.

"I'm deeply sorry for any trouble sister Ventali has caused. Please, step up to the hourglass so we can assist."

"Finally, it took forever," Naofumi complained. He places some sand inside of the shield and unlocks a new form.

Shield conditions met

Portal shield

Equip effect: Locked, minimum level 40 required.

"Well, that's disappointing." Naofumi checked his level. At the moment it was still at 32. But Naofumi did a double take as soon as he saw Raphtalia and Sakura's level went down to 25. 'What the hell are they doing out there!?'

/~/

Sakura I'm her Filolial form dashes out the way of a giant food trying to stomp them, and then jumps back as a giant cone of fire tries to fall upon them.

Raphtalia, who had been riding on Sakura's back the whole time, chanted some magic and summoned 2 balls of light to throw at the monster chasing them. However, the dragon was unaffected by Raphtalia's magic and continued to chase the raccoon and bird.

"WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE THAN TWO BALLS RAPHTALIA!"

"I'm trying, just keep running. [FAST HOLY!]" Raphtalia shouted, sending another ball of light that did nothing to the drake.

/~/

"Shit, I hope they're okay! I gotta figure out how to track them." Naofumi immediately started to go through his menu before being interrupted by another nun. Um sir, don't you want to register for the hourglass?"

"Huh? Oh, right I forgot about that. I'll work on them later." Naofumi reaches out his shield towards the hourglass, and a beam shoots out into his shield, displaying a timer in his vision.

Countdown Till next wave: 5520 minutes

"Alright, where are the settings to make these hours?"

Countdown Till next wave: 92 hours, 32 minutes, 23 seconds.

"These things need better settings."

"Anything else you need sir?"

"Nothing for now." Naofumi heads to the door of the cathedral and exits the church. Purposely leaving the door open just to be petty. A nun who was by the pope walks over to him and starts to whisper in his ear.

"What now sir?"

"It seems that the sword hero has been brainwashed by the shield. We can't release this to the public, but we need to get rid of them both."

"You're going to use it?"

"Not yet, it still needs more mana before it can become functional. But sending the shadows to do the job should be enough for now."

"I'll mobilize them right away, Pope Balmus."

/~/

"Just like that, the plan works. Now it'll make traveling between countries easier."

"Do you really think the bird queen was telling the truth though?" Ren asked

"It didn't seem like she was lying. The odds of it being a trap is low too since she could easily kill me there."

"She's that strong."

"Right now. Nothing we can do can compare. So let's try to stay on her good side." Naofumi replied. "If you find Itsuki and Motoyasu, try passing on the information to them. It'll probably be more believable if it's from you."

"I guess I would avoid this… bird queen's wrath."

"Please, it's a filolial. That immediately makes her a non-threat!" The dragon exclaimed, transforming into a gigantic lavender dragon with a light bolt charm on her neck.

"I'm going to grind a bit more. I suggest you start preparing to go into battle without armor."

"I don't need to lecture, I already have some per-ordered."

"Alright then." Ren whips the reins on Draco and she starts to fly off. "I'll see you during the wave." And within a flash of lightning, Ren and his party are gone. Making Naofumi question the stupid speed stat of a dragon.

Ultimately after some complaining about his luck and still having a full day ahead of him. Naofumi decides it'll be best to go grab his armor and make his way down to Elharts shop.

/~/

Sakura and Raphtalia sat under a waterfall as they hold up a barrier over their heads. Both of them are struggling to hold it together. Raphtalia, whose barrier is about to shatter, looks over to the bird next to her and notices her confused face.

"Sakura, you okay?"

"Oh totally… Sakura just had a feeling that I've been insulted though."