In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, I bought some ready-made food with me, and Raftalia and I headed to the meadows to level up. But unlike the original story, I wasn't going to force her to kill monsters. All that was required from her was simply to stay nearby and gain experience. I would do the monster killing.
It took me a bit more than half an hour to explain everything to her and calm her down.
Meanwhile, Akira stayed at the inn, hitting the books hard. We managed to persuade one of the girls working as a waitress in the nearby tavern, for a small fee, to teach the Shield Hero to read the local language. How I myself will learn to read these scribbles—I have no idea. The local script is not much different from Japanese in its nature: each scribble is a separate word.
We were already approaching the meadow, and Raftalia looked around with interest. It was my turn to start, but first:
[Unlocked: Slave Owner's Grimoire I (not mastered)]
Equipment bonus and skill "Slave Growth Acceleration."
[Unlocked: Slave Owner's Grimoire II (not mastered)]
[Requires level > 5 to equip]
[Unlocked: Slave Owner's Grimoire III (not mastered)]
[Requires level > 10 to equip]
After equipping Slave Owner's Grimoire I, I decided to check its stats:
Slave Owner's Grimoire I 0/5 F
Equipment bonus: Magic Attack +2 (not mastered)
Equipment bonus: Slave Growth Acceleration (low)
Mastery: 0
"Raftalia, do you remember everything?"
"… Yes! Not to stray from you. If I see a monster approaching me" call for your help. If I get hungry — tell you immediately… Ahem… And the rest too… that is… not to endure silently, but to say…
"Good girl! You remembered everything," I squatted down and patted the girl on the head.
When we met the first yellow orb, the little one got a bit nervous and squeezed my hand tighter. The orb noticed us, opened its mouth, and began jumping toward us. And what does that mean? It means it's time to introduce it to the toe of my iron-clad boot.
Puff
With a light pop, the orb burst, splattering some of its slime on my boot. At the edge of my vision, inscriptions flickered:
[Obtained: 1 Copper Coin]
[Obtained: Skin of Yellow Demon Orb]
[Obtained: 1 EXP]
[Raftalia obtained: 1 EXP]
Hmm, they're really weak. Approaching the next yellow orb, I picked it up and, while Raftalia wasn't looking, let it bite me...
Not exactly painless, but quite bearable. Squeezing it in my hand and gaining more experience, coins, and skin, I looked at the bite mark. There were small traces on my skin, but the orb hadn't managed to pierce it.
After six orbs, Raftalia reached level two. Looking at the bored girl trailing behind me like a shadow, I headed to the next victim.
It wasn't only Raftalia who was bored; otherwise, it's hard to explain my next actions...
Actually, no, I was just testing the limits of the body I got! Yes, that's exactly what it was!
Approaching a yellow orb, I let it come close, then tossed it up with the toe of my boot and started kicking it like a soccer ball. One foot, then the other, then alternately.
I had never been good at soccer, but now I performed tricks effortlessly that only people who had spent a lot of time mastering them could do. Unlike a ball, the orb had a pretty nasty mouth on one side, so I had to be careful, which complicated the tricks. But I managed easily.
After a minute, I saw Raftalia looking at me admiringly. Winking at her, I tossed the orb a bit higher and farther away and kicked it with a spin. Unfortunately, the orb had suffered enough and burst. Apparently, while I was juggling it, it lost most of its health.
"Cool, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Raftalia, do you want to ride?"
"… Ride? How?" she tilted her head in curiosity.
"Let me show you," I picked up the tanuki and put her on my shoulder, holding her legs with my hands. "Comfortable? Holding on?"
?… Holding on… M-Master Pluton… Ahem… Maybe not?"
"Drop the "Maybe not." You have an important task now. You'll be my spotter. You sit high, you see far — you'll show me where the orbs are. Can you do that?"
"… I can… That way," the little one said with slight uncertainty.
"Well, then, let's go," I started walking leisurely in the indicated direction. Of course, I could see them myself just fine. But this way I involved her in the hunt, so she wasn't bored anymore. The hunt went faster, since I didn't have to constantly worry about Raftalia.
After ten hours, seven snacks, and countless yellow and orange orbs, Raftalia and I proudly reached level six. I mastered the Slave Owner's Grimoire and halfway learned its improved version. The little tanuki was very tired today despite our breaks and fell asleep right in my arms.
Opening the door to our room, I saw inflamed emerald eyes staring at me, the capillaries burst and red.
After putting Raphtalia to bed, having taken off her shoes beforehand, I whispered so as not to wake the girl and asked Akira:
"How are you doing?"
In response, she made such a sad and suffering face that everything became clear to me without words.
"I see. Don't push yourself too hard, everything will happen in time."
"And how did it go for you? Did you level up?"
"Yeah, it went fine, we took the sixth levels with Raphtalia..."
"What?!... hmmm" Shield Hero began to shout, but I covered her mouth with my palm.
"Don't shout, you'll wake Raphtalia.
Akira stared at me for a minute.
"Maybe there's some way I could level up too? You're smart, come up with something!
"I'm smart?" I was surprised. |Well, thanks for the compliment... But what do you think I've been doing all day?|
"Well, you never explained why you're doing this!" she said, folding her arms across her chest.
"Alright, listen. Raphtalia is a demi-human, and they don't grow like normal humans. When they level up, they start to mature very quickly, in every aspect" both physically and psychologically.
"Well, physically I get that. But psychologically? She'll still be a ten-year-old girl in an adult body!"
"So, magic, summoned heroes, monsters, and all that doesn't bother you… but this seems surprising?"
"Touché," Akira agreed. "So what next? You'll level her up... to what level, by the way?"
"Fifteenth, ideally twentieth."
"I see, and then what?"
"Then she'll be able to level you up. You just take her in your party, you'll have protection, and she'll attack."
"In a party? I thought you could level her up because she's your slave..." she pondered for a moment, then said angrily: "Damn, Main never told me about this... Though, what was I expecting? But..."
Akira looked at Raphtalia and hesitated to ask me something.
"What "but"?"
" Seeing how you treat her, I doubt you'd force her... What if she refuses?"
"That risk exists. But it's very small! Just tiny! Tanukis are born warriors; it's in her blood."
"I see... So that's why you wanted her to be my slave?"
"Partly. There are other reasons too. I would free her from the slave contract right now... "Though it's easier to show. Give me the shield, — when Akira extended her arm with the shield strapped on, I took out the ink remnants I had taken from the slave trader and dripped some onto the stone.
After the ink soaked into the stone, Akira froze, her eyes scanning the text visible only to her.
"So she will level up faster while still listed as a slave?" she asked, reading the shield description.
"No, read more carefully, it's all written there! It increases the growth of stats, not the amount of experience."
"Ah, I see," she muttered, scanning the invisible text to me. "Wow... Got it."
"Any more questions?"
"Nope," she answered and yawned. "Shall we go to sleep?"
"No, you go to sleep, I still need to figure out some grimoires. Since I got the fifth level, my hands keep itching to check what's what."
" Can I sit with you? I'm curious too!"
"Then let's go to the bathroom, so as not to wake Raphtalia."
"Maybe go downstairs?" Akira suggested, a little embarrassed.
"What if she has a panic attack again?"
"You're right, let's go."
We entered the bathroom and closed the door behind us. There wasn't much space, but we managed to fit. Opening the stats of the first grimoire I found from the stack copied at the shop, I started reading its characteristics aloud to Akira:
Fire Grimoire (Lesser) 0/10 D
Fire Magic Enhancement +15%
Fire Magic Cost -5%
Equipment Bonus: Magic Attack +2 (not learned)
Equipment Bonus: MP +20
Mastery: 0
" Cool! Can't wait until I can unlock decent shields."
"We can ask Elhart tomorrow; I don't think he'll refuse, especially if we pay a bit," I suggested. "Still have to pick up my armor anyway."
"I don't get it. What does uncle have to do with it? Can he unlock shields for me?" the girl asked in surprise.
"You can copy them!" I muttered, then realized I had read about copying in some fanfiction. That wasn't in the original story. At least I remembered only reading up to the meeting with Grass during the third wave. After that, no translations or paid ones."
"And you kept quiet?" Akira punched me in the shoulder. "Couldn't you say it earlier?"
"Sorry. It didn't occur to me that you didn't know. I didn't know myself until I touched the stack of magic volumes in the bookstore; that's when it happened."
"Alright. But you'll tell me if there are more things like that?"
"Sure. By the way, there's one more thing I wanted to check. Can you read me your shield's description?"
Small Shield
Equipment Bonus: Defense +2 (learned)
"That's all?"
"Yep..."
Switching the grimoire to the starter, I read its description to Akira.
"So you have some other way to enhance grimoires?"
"Yeah."
"Got it," said the now slightly sad girl thoughtfully, then blinked her eyes rapidly. "It changed! The description changed!"
Small Shield 0/5 F
Equipment Bonus: Defense +2 (learned)
Mastery: 2
"What does that mean?" I asked thoughtfully.
"I don't know, but let's think about it tomorrow. And thanks!" she hugged me in a rush of emotion. "I... I'll go to sleep now. I feel like I'm bothering you... And Raphtalia needs checking. Good night."
"Good night, Akira-chan."
After Shield Hero, objectively speaking, stopped bothering me, I replaced the grimoire. This time with the Lightning grimoire. Its stats were similar to the Fire grimoire, just with bonuses for lightning.
Peeling the grimoire from my belt, I twirled it in my hands inspecting it. It looked like a book decorated with carvings and runes, with a semi-metallic cover. Most of the book's front had a magical pictogram with lightning images around the edges and a crystal in the center. On the right edge, I noticed a mechanism, and when I moved the lever, something clicked. Pulling the cover, I opened the book. Inside were thick pages that looked like made of leather.
But the main thing was that I could calmly read what was written in it. And no, it was clearly a language unfamiliar to me. It didn't resemble the local script either, especially considering the familiar structure — words made of letters, and sentences made of words, just like Russian.
The text glowed faintly with a soft pleasant light.
Sitting directly on the floor, I started reading.
Eight hours later
The door opened, and I met sleepy Akira's eyes.
"Good morning!"
"Good morning! You didn't go to bed?"
"No, got carried away yawn, found something interesting, couldn't stop."
"I see. Yawn Could you please free up the bathroom?"
Entering the room, I found Raphtalia sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"Good morning, Raphtalia!"
"Good morning, Master Pluto. Oh, I fell asleep yesterday, didn't I?"
"Yeah, slept the whole way like a groundhog."
"I'm not a groundhog, I'm a tanuki! Ahem..." the girl replied wrinkling her nose. She now looked about twelve or thirteen. I didn't expect it to take only two days to rouse her. Hard to believe she stopped fearing us in such a short time.
" Alright, you slept like a tanuki. Will you take your medicine?"\
" …Yes," when I gave her the bottle, she stared at it for nearly a minute as if it were her worst enemy, then drank it all in one gulp.
"Good girl!" I praised her and stroked her hair.
I sat on the bed and waited for Akira to free the bathroom. I needed to rinse off with cool water to shake off the drowsiness. Not that I really wanted to sleep, but I felt a slight sluggishness.
"Master, why are you so kind to me? I'm just a slave, right?" the girl's question pulled me out of my thoughts.
"To me, you're not a slave, but a little girl," after I said that, Raphtalia's eyes grew even bigger. "Why do I treat you like this? Because I can."
After all the morning routines, we had breakfast at the tavern opposite the inn and went to the weapon shop to pick up my armor.
Ding-ding
"Good morning, Elhart, is my armor ready?"
"Hi, uncle!" Akira waved her hand.
"Hello, hello," then he noticed Raphtalia holding my hand. "And who's this with you?"
"Raphtalia, this scary-looking uncle is Elhart. Don't mind his looks, he's soft and kind inside."
"Nice to meet you, Elhart-sama," hiding behind me, the girl greeted.
" Elhart, this is Raphtalia, my slave."
"I'm glad to meet you too, little lady," the merchant smiled, then beckoned me. "Pluto, come with me, we need to talk..."
While Raphtalia and Akira browsed the store's assortment — and there was a lot to see — I answered Elhart's questions, mostly about Raphtalia. I didn't hide anything from the merchant and told everything as it was. Probably for the first time, he looked at me with some kind of admiration or something. I didn't understand why. The plan? My attitude toward Raphtalia? That I'm leveling her myself? Who knows, and I didn't ask. I felt uncomfortable under that gaze.
Elhart gave me the armor, and I went to change. It took me over half an hour to figure out all the fastenings, straps, and buckles.
When finished, I inspected myself. I liked the armor, but its price raised questions. Could Akira really have haggled a 90% discount from Elhart?... or maybe she could...
The upper part of the armor consisted of a gambeson so well fitted it literally hugged the body, a steel cuirass for the torso with reinforced chainmail sleeves reaching the steel gauntlets. Below were chainmail leggings, a half-skirt made of metal plates, and thick leather boots with armored plates on the front.
Leaving the fitting room, I sat down a few times and moved side to side. Checked that nothing hindered or restricted my movements. Tightened some straps and tested again. Only after I was sure nothing impeded my movement did I approach the others, who had been watching my maneuvers.
"Thanks, Elhart! The armor feels wonderful, like a second skin. Plus, I see there's room for improvement."
— That's true, plenty of room. There aren't even any enchantments on it."
"Why not?" Shield Hero asked.
"Because even without enchantments, it costs ten times more than what we paid."
"Ahem... I have a small gift for you, "Elhart skillfully changed the subject and took out fingerless gloves covered with steel plates on the outside, with small spikes on the knuckles."
"Decided to check if I could use something like this?"
"Of course, I'm interested in the device of Sacred Weapons."
Putting on the gloves and tightening the strap on my wrist, I didn't get shocked.
Elhart brought the shield and raised it in front of himself, inviting me to strike.
As soon as the spikes on the knuckles hit the shield, I got quite a jolt of electricity.
"Didn't work. Strange, yesterday I kicked demon orbs with my boots all day outside town, and that never happened.
"Maybe it's because the boots weren't made as weapons?" Akira suggested.
"Hmm... I could make boots with hidden weapons or just spikes and blades."
"I'm up for some experiments," I replied to his questioning look. "But we have another matter for you..."
I explained to Uncle about copying weapons. As I expected, he immediately frowned.
"That's like telling me, the shop owner, you plan to steal from me."
"Would you have preferred if we kept quiet and just did it?"
"So that's why no other heroes come to me since they touched all my weapons... "Elhart frowned."
"In their defense, I did something similar at the bookstore... accidentally, but it's a weak excuse."
"I see... Fine, touch what you want," he said sadly.
"You're looking at it wrong, — waiting until he looked at me, I continued."We didn't say it would be free! So you get money just for Akira touching your shields. Say, one silver per shield?"
"Five silver," Elhart perked up.
"Akira..."
"Why Akira right away?" Elhart got nervous seeing Shield Hero's predatory smile. "I agree even to one coin."
After those words, the three of us laughed, only Raphtalia slightly smiling looked at us confused.