Ch 21-22

Bow and Shield… One attacks, the other defends… Even the way we upgrade things complement themselves… One focuses on increasing your stats by a straight flat amount, and the other one multiplies it… Like a match made in goddamn heaven, isn't it..?

Night fell far faster then he had expected, however Ryou had all but lost himself studying the other heroes Strengthening methods. He used the opportunity to try, and explain the whole thing to Rishia, who surprisingly enough, for someone who never even knew what an RPG was, understood the basics of it.

Ryou had also made one last trip to Castle Town. He needed a way to keep track of everything, he was always an extremely organized person when it came to games, and now it was paying off in real life. The solution? Blank Books, lots of them along with a pen and enough ink to last a decade.

It might be a little nerdy, but if it helped, then it was worth doing… Ryou had decided to camp halfway to Lute Village, having no intention on staying even one more day in Castle Town.

Just because the Church hasn't tried anything, doesn't mean I should give them the opportunity… Ryou pondered, taking a bite of a Usapil Roasted Leg. For monster meat it was pretty good, although that could also be attributed to the seasoning. Being the country girl she was, Rishia could identify all kinds of plants, better than he could even with the support of a passive skill.

Between the two, cooking wasn't that much of a chore, and there was something nice about being able to cook alongside someone. But maybe that was just the two years of loneliness he had lived in the past, showing.

Finishing eating, they cleaned up, and went to bed, tomorrow would be a long day after all. Another thing that stumped Ryou about his partner, had been her insistence on not requiring a tent for herself. He had offered, after all Rishia had the right to her privacy, and the tents weren't all that expensive. However she had stated being fine with the current arrangement. Ryou had asked two more times, just to make sure it wasn't her humbleness speaking, but she stayed firmed in her decision, so the Bow Hero had given up with a shrug. He didn't care much for privacy. never had, and if Rishia didn't care either then it was all good. Maybe deep down, he might also be pleased with the arrangement, not that he would ever admit such a thing neither to the girl or to anyone else for that matter. Once again it was probably the years of loneliness speaking.

In the past, whenever the silence, and memories got to much for him he would visit his little sister, and try to spend the day with her, although with her having classes, and him having his own job it had been hard for both of them to have free time. So he would just hit the bar, and sometimes come home with company, even if such a thing had been very rare to begin with, but at least there was someone else there, even if the feelings were nothing but a facade that would dissolve itself the next morning.

With Rishia… It was nothing of the sort, it was pure company, and thrust. Having someone who had his back, and would stand by him, made the burden on his shoulders just a little bit lighter, and Ryou could allow himself to truly let down his guard. No need for fake pleasantries, no need for manipulations, or plays… He could just be himself and rest, knowing he wasn't alone, not anymore.

Maybe that's exactly why she also didn't want the tent… Ryou considered taking a peek at the sleeping girl besides him, her soft breaths almost inaudible even in the silence of the night. Maybe Rishia also shared those feelings, although seventeen years old, she was still half a country away from her father, and from everything she knew. The green haired girl was just as alone as he was, and very much in the middle of the same war.

"Fueee... Ryou-sama wake up…" Ryou heard the whisper, but it sounded like it was coming from the end of a tunnel, along with something shaking his shoulder slightly.

"Huhhh" He groaned, before opening his eyes, still mostly unfocused, yet it still registered that his in field of vision was filled with green.

"Please look at the egg!" She exclaimed in a higher tone.

Egg… what..? Ryou wondered, his thought process still failing him. Closing his eyes he stretched himself.

"Is it hatching?" The Bow Hero asked, voice heavy with sleep.

"Fueee… I don't know!" He opened his eyes again before furrowing them in confusion .

"Don't know? What do you mean you don't know?" Ryou questioned annoyed, not at her in particular but at having his sleep disturbed.

Isn't it kind of obvious when a egg is hatching? Raising himself halfway he took a peek at the egg, however he quickly came to a complete stop when his eyes found it or whatever it had turned into.

Ryou blinked, then rubbed his eyes with a little more force than necessary.

Yup still there, and I'm actually awake…

"Rishia… What kind of seasoning did you put in the food yesterday..? Because I'm ninety-nine percent sure I'm tripping balls…" Ryou questioned wide eyed, because what he was currently seeing could only be attributed to the effects of hallucinogenics.

"Fuee? T-Tripping on w-what? I-I only put normal s-seasoning herbs…" Her voice sounded confused, an Ryou slapped his face with both of his hands.

What the actual fuck… What kind of egg did that psycho maid gave me? Ryou was having a hard time understanding what he was seeing. The first difference, was that it had changed size, hardly fitting in the glass container. If before it was the size of what he assumed was an ostrich egg, now it was three times as big, and that was the least weird of all the changes. The egg had been pure white before, now it was completely pitch black, like staring into the abyss if not for the strange light formations in all kinds of colors that twisted, and twirled in it.

Peering closer, Ryou watch as one particular light formation, curled on itself, turning into a spiral.

It almost looks like looking at the night sky with galaxies, and stars… It wasn't that far off, it looked like a picture taken from the Hubble, only both in motion, and in three dimensions on an oval shape.

"Okay, you had my curiosity, now you have my full attention… Rishia please tell me you know something about this?" Ryou almost pleaded, but to his disappointment, she shook her head, looking just as lost as he was feeling.

"I know monsters raised by a hero sometimes turned different, at least that's what I heard back in Faubley, but I didn't knew even eggs changed form…" She explained. It had been common knowledge back there at least, there were stories of a hero that raised monsters, that turned different, and much more powerful than normal ones.

That's because they don't as far as I'm aware… His memory of the whole thing was spotty at best, but Ryou could almost swear Filo's egg had remained the same until it hatched.

Actually the only thing truly strange about Filo was how much she grew, and that she could use transformation magic right off the bat… But Filo had been a Filorial Queen, and according to Fitoria, that happened because it was a Hero who raised her, however if what Rishia said rung true, then it wasn't just Filo, but any monster raised by a Hero would turn out different then it should.

But I can't assume the changes are because of it, since I don't know what kind of egg it is to begin with… Ryou concluded, there was still a lot he didn't knew about the way the world worked, foreknowledge could only go so far.

"Rishia, from now on if this thing so much as twitches, I want to know, will take turns watching it, even at night, the moment it hatches I want to be present." Ryou declared. He had no idea what creature would come out of it, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't a filorial, it probably wasn't even anything resembling normal.

"Okay Ryou-sama…" The girl agreed easily, eyes lock on the egg, then she frowned tilting her had to the egg.

"Fuee… T-There's actually another thing that's strange…" Rishia commented lightly.

"What?" Ryou questioned, shifting his gaze towards the girl, who was biting her lip lightly.

"I-I didn't sense it before, b-but its drawing magic into itself…" She explained hesitantly.

Ryou frowned, "Drawing magic? From where?"

Turning to him still confused, her answer only added to the mystery, "F-From everywhere around us…"

Ryou looked around but didn't noticed or sensed anything out of the ordinary, before setting his eyes back on the girl.

"There's magic in the environment?" The Bow Hero asked a slight tone of wonder in his voice.

"Y-Yes, everything has magic, something like the air has small amounts, and something like metal, and gems have more, but normally since its just there you can't sense it…"

Ryou hummed in thought, it actually made some sense, it was like Natural energy from another anime he had watch, everything had energy but it was incredibly hard to sense. The reason Rishia could now sense it was probably because of instead of just being there, it was moving. Turning to look at the strange egg in question Ryou couldn't help but to wonder.

Is it using magic from the ambient as a catalyst to help it grow? Ryou wondered also watching the egg. The light formations twisting slowly, and gently in it, almost in a relax manner, yet he couldn't stop the uneasiness from forming in the pit of his stomach.

Part of me is extremely curious, but I can't help but fell a little uneasy…Just what is this thing?

Lute village looked even more alive now then when he had left. The villagers were hastily trying to bring the small village back to its feet.

After finding the leader of the village, and inquiring him, Ryou went to track down the Shield Hero however he was stopped by his partner on the way.

"Fueee, Ryou-sama look at that! Isn't that..?" Rishia trailed off, and Ryou turned to take a look at what his party member was talking about. It only took a moment to find what she was mentioning, and his eyebrows went up disappearing behind his fringe at the sight.

Is that what I think it is..? The Bow Hero wondered, before turning to a passing villager.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me what that is?" Ryou questioned, bringing the young man to a stop, his eyes widening after realizing who was adressing him, before he recollected himself.

"Yuusha-sama, good morning! As for what that is... That is the body of the Chimera your fellow hero's defeated in the forest." The man explained, and Ryou felt his eyebrow twitch slightly.

I figured it was, so there was truly two of them… However no matter how you look at this…

"I-its much smaller… The other one was a lot bigger, and intimidating!" Rishia exclaimed.

The awe in her voice, broke Ryou of his thoughts, and he turned to his partner with a very pointed raised eyebrow, the Bow Hero raised his index finger in the air, and opened his mouth to speak, then thought about the situation for a second, before lowering his hand, his mouth closing with it.

Sometimes my mind just goes straight into the gutter, doesn't it… You should feel bad Ryou, bad and ashamed, because this is Rishia we are talking about here, she will never understand the possible double meaning those words can have… Ryou concluded with a sigh, before returning to observe the much smaller Chimera, that was only missing its heads, and after a few seconds he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Seriously, that's the boss they fought? Ours was the size of a goddamn truck, and theirs was the size of a lion? I really have to start calling bullshit on this stuff... Even I could have taken this small thing on my own!I" Ryou ranted, ending on a sarcastic tone, before his eyes found the blue sky above.

"It really is smaller…But maybe it was still as strong, s-sometime size doesn't matter…" Rishia came to explained, and Ryou continued to eye the sky for a moment.

"Rishia?" Ryou call her out, his voice sounding tired.

"Y-Yes?" The green haired girl questioned, turning to look at the Bow Hero who's eyes were still locked on the sky.

"Please be quiet for a minute…" Ryou ordered, although it almost sounded like a plea.

"Fueee?!"

After the brief stop to observe the other wave boss orr what was left of it, Ryou finally found Naofumi on the outskirts of the village, seated on the ground, apparently having some kind of debate with Raphtalia. As he approached them, their voices began to reach his ears.

"Naofumi-sama they are not plants, they don't need sun to grow, and I doubt they can hear you…" Raphtalia argued, and Ryou couldn't help but to notice the way her tail waved slowly back, and forth.

"Of course they do. Don't you know that if you leave something in captivity, and in isolation it grows up to be a sociopath?" The Shield Hero explained in a matter-of fact tone, one that made Ryou introduce his palm to his face, especially after seeing the way Raphtalia stiffened slightly.

Nice Naofumi, great job poking it where it hurts... For a guy that can see the bigger picture you can still be surprisingly dense... Ryou concluded mentally, deciding to intervene before the Shield Hero did anymore damage.

"Dude, just what kind of crap were you into back in your world..?" The Bow Hero wondered out loud, gaining the attention of both.

"Haa! Hello Ryou-sama, Rishia-chan!" Raphtalia greeted them, and it was clear whatever previous thoughts she had been having, were gone now. Ryou just waved lazily at her, and Rishia return the greeting with a little bit more enthusiasm.

"Ryou, so you did come…" Naofumi commented lowly, receiving a raised eyebrow in return.

"You sound surprised..." Ryou pointed out.

"Well with the way you left yesterday, I wasn't sure you would keep your word." The Bow Hero shrugged, looking slightly to the side.

"Sorry if I wanted to avoid gather more attention, especially since we were like twenty meters from the Castle. With the way you were shouting, I wouldn't be surprised if Aultcray, and Malty heard you all the way back from the throne room…"

Naofumi almost bristled at the mention of his arch nemesis, "I doubt that the Whore, and the Trash King would have bothered, they were probably too busy laughing at my expense."

Ryou eyed his fellow hero for a moment, a frown morphing in his face, before releasing a breath, "You know… That kind of thinking is one of the causes for the situation you are in right now.."

"Huh?"

At the confusion showing in the Shield Hero's face, Ryou took another moment to collect his thoughts, before voicing them, "Look... I really need to get this thing off my chest… You, Motoyasu, and Ren... You three are complete and utter idiots!"

"What?! Don't put me on the same level as those bastards!" The Shield Hero shot back, however Ryou wasn't having any of that.

"Ohh don't you even start with me! You might have changed. The you right now is not that bad... But the you that came to this world?! That one was a complete moron!" Ryou exclaimed with some heat. This was something he definitely had to address.

"The hell do you mean by that Ryou?" Naofumi was both lost, and slightly pissed at the accusation. Rishia, and Raphtalia just looked at was unfolding with apprehension.

"Look, you said you were summoned when you were reading some book, right?" Ryou asked, prompting a small nod from Naofumi.

"Did you asked to be summoned to this world?" The Shield Hero almost threw his hands in the air, stopping mid movement however he still voiced his feelings.

"Of course not! What kind of stupid question is that!" The Bow Hero however continued his rant.

"A simple one, and that's a no than… So what you're saying is that you were taken from a place to another without consent… I don't know about you, but in my book that sounds like the legal definition of kidnapping, so that's one." Ryou stated raising one finger in the air, after a moment he raised a second one.

"Then the first thing we were asked to do if you remember, was to fight the Waves of Calamity… No matter how pretty it was worded, there was no point in them asking! It was all freaking smoke and mirrors, because we either get summoned to fight them or we will eventually perish along with this world… So we have to fight a war even against our makes it two." Ryou went to continue however he was interrupted by Naofumi who was already reaching the limit of his patience.

"Is there a point to all of this? Did you only come here to rant about the past?" The Shield Hero hissed, and Ryou cut the air in front of him with is hand.

"Ohh no you don't! You people like to do all the ranting, and are always interrupting me, so now its my turn to rant!" Before Naofumi could respond he continued, "I could almost hear your thoughts back then, 'Ohh we were summoned to be heroes, we will be going on adventures, fight monsters, and have our own personal harem of cute girls!" Ryou exclaimed in a high pitch, looking towards the sky with a demure expression before turning serious the next second, "Right?"

"What was I supposed to think in such a setting!" This time the Shield Hero did end up throwing his hands into the air in exasperation.

"Ohh I don't know, maybe be suspicious! The moment I heard that, my instincts went haywire, because you know Naofumi, when something sounds too good to be true you should always be suspicious…"

Taking a deep breath Ryou calmed himself, the last thing on his mind was bashing the Shield Hero. "Look... Between that, and everyone even the King singling you out, you should have start questioning why it was happening..."

—

"I did, I thought it was because I was the Shield Hero, the most useless class…" Naofumi mumbled, his eyes narrowed. It became obvious then that the Shield Hero had also no intentions of starting something.

Taking a seat on the ground, Ryou continued to try and get his point across. " I don't really get why you people came up with this notion that the Shield is useless, because whoever heard of running high-end content in MMORPG's without dedicated Tanks..? Whatever, that's a plausible theory if you go by everyone's opinion I suppose, however as you now know that wasn't the reason at all. You're biggest mistake though, was lowering your guard the moment Malty started rubbing her breasts on your arm…" Ryou took note of the gasp, and side glance that Raphtalia sent her Master.

Naofumi's face changed instantly into a mixture of indignation, and disgust, "That's not… That didn't…"

"Don't bother, I was there, Naofumi, I saw it…" Ryou stated, before continuing, "...In hindsight it was almost beautiful in a really fucked up way, the manner in which you were set up to fall. However you can't deny you might as well have taken a seat on their lap, asking to be spanked…" Ryou watched the Shield Hero deflate, he wasn't stuoid so he knew he had been incredibly naive back then.

Ryou took a quick look at his party member. Rishia looked worried, if a little flushed, and the Bow Hero just sent her a small smile to reassure her.

"Do you know why, I didn't accept any party members back then?" Ryou questioned eyes moving back to Naofumi, his voice breaking him out of his thoughts.

"You said that you liked to do things solo, however I'm starting to think you just didn't trust them…" Naofumi deduced, and Ryou smile grew bigger, nodding.

"That's right, sure that the logical approach back then was to accept help, after all I knew nothing of this world, I was going completely blind, yet who was to tell me that the party members weren't planted spies that would report everything we did to the King? Well you probably would have been better off if you had allowed yourself to stay solo, but Aultcray, and Malty would have found another way to screw you over..." That was the truth of his situation, the Shield Hero had a very big target on his back, being suspicious might not have prevented everything from coming to pass, but it might have soften the blow that would surely come.

"That's the thing that has been tripping me off about you... The way your always talking and interacting with me, it's almost like you never believed the rumors…" The Shield Hero stated, also taking a seat on the ground.

"That's because I didn't, at least not entirely…" Ryou trailed off.

"Huh?" Naofumi blinked a couple of times at the admission, and the Bow Hero scratched his head, deciding to explain his reasoning even if it wasn't the complete truth.

"This is why I call you guys idiots… Look, we started all at level one, and among us you were the most harmless. Malty, even if we didn't knew it back then that she was the princess, presented herself as an adventurer, so no doubt she had experience. The level gap between both of you was probably so large at that point, she could have killed you just by sneezing hard enough, yet you mean to tell me that you supposedly did what you did, and she didn't put up a fight at all?" Ryou explained ending with a slightly incredulous tone before scoffing at the thought, "Sorry but I didn't bought it, even if she had been drunk as a skunk, personal stats were still in play, and she would have been easily able to overpower you with a simple push... So nothing would have happened back there that wasn't consensual…"

Malty being the princess, made it so she at least knew how to defend herself, the same as Melty. Even if she had been level eight or ten, that would still be ten times Naofumi's level, and without having any shield mastered, the Shield Hero was completely harmless at that point.

The Bow Hero heard a small "Mep!" that made him little amused. The sound came from his partner, obviously because of the slightly higher rated topic, however a moment later he turned to her with a suspicious gaze.

Wait… So the moment I mention a whore you immediately jump to the worse possible conclusion, yet when we talk about this stuff you turn into a pure-hearthed maiden? Ryou wondered before shaking his head. He would never understand Rishia's thought process.

Returning his gaze to the Shield Hero, he saw that Naofumi had a grimace on his face as he remembered the entire thing. However a few moments later his eyes narrowed.

"That might be true, but if you reached that conclusion, why didn't you even bother to show up back then?" Ryou observed the growing aggravation in his expression, and released a tired sigh.

"And do what Naofumi? Look, this might be shitty to hear, but I'm not your older brother, neither am I your father, and much less your babysitter. I hardly knew you back then, so I wasn't going to jump into the frying pan for a stranger, and even if I did, nothing would have come out off it... No actually on second thought something would have, I probably would have sunken along with you... I'm not that righteous though, and if you say that you would have done something were our places reversed, then I'll call it bullshit…" Ryou finished, with a far heavy tone, and once again the anger escaped the Shield Hero, finding he couldn't respond to that, not without being an hypocrite, it was also clear right there that Naofumi had mellow out a bit, no doubt the work of the demi-human girl he had with him.

"Besides that, there were other factors that let me reach that conclusion though...The second, was that I met Motoyasu, and Malty on that day… The one with the wolves, and I don't know a lot about rape, or almost rape victims, but I know at least there's some psychological trauma associated with it, yet Malty looked right as rain when I saw her, that was until the incident was mentioned at least, but once again that struck me as suspicious…" Back then he did wonder about it, Motoyasu at least should have been able to see it, but then again that guy only saw what he wanted to see, and no more than that.

"But the final nail in the coffin that put an end to any doubt, was actually because of this one…" Ryou finished pointing at Raphtalia.

"Huhh? Me?" She questioned pointing at herself, and Ryou nodded at her.

"Yes,Raphtalia, I might have an idea of what you went through based on the way your eyes had no light in them back there…" Ryou hated to poke the wound like Naofumi did, and felt especially bad when her tail stopped waving, and her eyes found the ground, nonetheless he continued, "...However imagine my surprise when I return two weeks later, and you weren't acting like a corpse anymore, but instead like a completely normal teenager would… That erased any doubts I had about the whole thing…"

It was a complete mixture of half-truths, and lies, Ryou didn't even knew he could lie that much, but for now it was needed. Naofumi would never look at him in the face, much less work besides him, if he knew the true origins of Ryou's knowledge. For the sake of their survival, and to defeat the waves, it was a necessary evil. Sure most of it came from his memory of the story, however most of these conclusions could easily be reached by anyone with half a brain...

Shit now I'm starting to think like that Psycho Maid… Maybe one day I'll be able to come clean with him, he deserves that much, however it won't be anywhere in the near future...

Taking a look at Naofumi, who could only stand there mouth slightly opened Ryou decided to finish the whole thing on a more positive note. "Naofumi, you're a bastard that's my opinion, and it's never going to change, however I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual, right? That brought a twitch to the Shield Hero's face, before it turned into his customary scowl.

"You got that right…" Ryou chuckle at that before rising off the ground.

"But even being has big of a douche as you are, there was no way the rumors could be true with the way Raphtalia grew up…"Ryou stopped, before his eyes locked on the ground for an instant, "...besides if you were anything like the rumors stated, then you wouldn't have saved my life back then either."

"I already told you, that's because the waves grow stronger if a Hero dies!" He exclaimed heatedly, refusing to meet his eyes, prompting another chuckle from Ryou.

"Trying to save face in front of Raphtalia now, are we?" The Shield Hero huffed to the side, ignoring the fact that everyone was showing their amusement.

"What I wanted to say is, I believe you." Ryou finished, stretching his hand towards the Shield Hero, who looked slightly stunned, before his eyes softened just a fraction, and he took the hand allowing himself to be pulled upwards.

"Whatever…" He murmured, but Ryou knew that at least his words had reached his fellow hero.

"There's one last thing I wanted to warn you about though…" The Bow Hero remembered, his tone slightly more serious, something that the other hero mimicked.

"What?"

"I don't know if you know this, but Melromarc's main religion is the Church of the Three Heroes... I don't think, I need to tell you which one is missing." Ryou watched as Naofumi's face darkened, and he snarled.

"There's even a religion against me?!" Ryou could understand his outrage, after all having the King, The princess, and god knew how many nobles against you, was already bad enough,

"Yeah, suffice to say, that according to their teachings, you might has well be the incarnation of the devil…" Naofumi started pacing around.

"Wonderful! Just wonderful! Next thing I know, I'm being burned in the main square!"

"Well I doubt they will go that far, at least for now. They just see you as an annoyance at best, however if you keep getting stronger, no doubt they will start seeing you as a threat, and that's where all bets will be off." That made the other hero turn around with another snarl, and the glare to match, but Ryou knew it wasn't directed to him, at least not completely.

"Then what should I do?! Should I just take a seat, and twinkle my thumbs?!" Ryou shook his head.

"Of course not! You should focus on getting as strong as you can, to survive the waves, I'm only telling you this to warn you, be careful. That goes triple for the Pope, the leader of their religion…" Naofumi faced returned to his normal scowl at the mention of the head of the religion.

"So their big boss also hates my guts? Well that's nothing new, apparently is a trend in this country right?!" That statement was almost funny, if the situation wasn't so serious.

"Hates you? No… That man absolutely despises you, and he's dangerous, much more than Aultcray or Malty. He is a fanatic, and he isn't above using every means available to get what he wants… That includes erasing everything in his path, even the four Legendary Heroes..." Ryou explained much to the disbelief of the Shield Hero.

"But if the waves get harder with each hero killed, it's just completely insane to even consider such a thing!" Turning to look at the speaker Ryou smiled grimly at the demi-human.

"That's the problem with fanatics, they don't listen to reason or even common sense Raphtalia. To them, their actions are always in the right, no matter what…" That wasn't just common to the Church of the Three Heroes, but everything else.

People will find any reason to justify their actions, no matter how heinous, and find any excuse to escape taking responsibility for them…

"How do you know about all of this Ryou?" Naofumi questioned confused to where the Bow Hero had gained that kind of information.

Ryou crossed his arms over his chest, "I have a few contacts here, and there that told me that much, besides that, I met him before the celebration… I got that vibe from him, especially since I stepped on his toes, and that might have pissed him off a little… He was very subtle, but I got the message, and the threat that came with it..." He ended with a shrug, it hadn't been on purpose, but he doubt the Pope would even care.

"I don't even want to know how you manage that one, especially in just a month. What I know is I'm going to stay clear of Castle Town for a while…" Ryou nodded at that, it would be the best, for both of them.

"On a different note, I also want to apologize to you, and Raphtalia…" Ryou began, making the Demi-human look at him in confusion, and Naofumi in slight suspicion.

"For what?" The Bow Hero lowered his eyes. Even if it had been for the best. He had rationalized it, and beaten himself over it, time and time again, however this too was something he needed to get off his chest.

"During and after the duel, I should have done more, instead I stood in the sidelines like a coward, especially since I owe you both my life." Ryou admitted.

"That's not true!" Raphtalia shouted startling Ryou. She shook her head, making her way to stand right in front of him.

"Ryou-sama you've always been there for us, even when the entire country hates Naofumi-sama…That takes courage, and kindness, and no one can't fault you for not doing more, what you have done for us until now is far more than enough!" She stated, eyes almost shining.

"But…" However the demi-human girl interrupted him.

"I asked Motoyasu-sama, if he was able to extend a hand to a slave on his deathbed, I doubted that he would have done so, I still do… But you did it Ryou-sama…" She stated, and Ryou was at a complete lost to what she was saying.

"Don't you remember? The first time we met at Erhard-sama's store, back there you extended your hand to me, did you not? You were also kind to me, time and time again…" Ryou eyes widen at the memory.

"That day with the wolves too… You could have left us to our fate, yet the first thing you did was pick me up, and get me to safety, you even warned Naofumi-sama…" She placed her hand over her chest, and closed her eyes, a smile forming on her face.

It was my fault they were there in the first place… Ryou thought, however his contemplation were broken by the demi-human who continued.

"...and during the wave... You could have followed the other heroes, yet you choose to help us. I doubt me and Naofumi-sama could have dealt with the Chimera if you, and Rishia-chan weren't there…" She continued slowly, shaking her head, before opening her eyes, her smile growing a little.

"Not only that, you helped Naofumi-sama with his abilities, and I can see that you care, about both of us… You even stopped the princess from interfering with Naofumi-sama's match…" Ryou swallowed in dry. She had seen that particular thing, and he took a look at Naofumi. The Shield Hero was glancing to the side, yet he didn't seemed surprised at that piece of information.

"I heard what you said to Motoyasu-sama, how you got angry on our behalf... You even went as far as sharing the reward with us…" Hearing such heartfelt words touched something inside of him, and Ryou felt his eyes warm a little.

"So thank you Ryou-sama, no... Yumi no Yuusha-sama, for everything you have done until now!" Raphtalia finished bowing at the waist.

Ryou lowered his head, to hide the fact that he was tearing up. However he did caught the proud, and happy smile Rishia had on her face. and for the first time since setting foot on this world, he didn't felt disgust at being addressed by his title.

"Even if he's still a bastard… But don't worry, I fully intent to pay every piece of copper I owe you." A voice interjected off offhandedly.

"Naofumi-sama!" The demi-human turned to her master scandalized.

"Fuee… A-Are you alright Ryou-sama?" Rishia asked peering at him, and Ryou nodded. He definitely felt lighter.

Rubbing his eyes for a last time Ryou couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him ," Hahahaha... Way to ruin the mood there, Naofumi."

"On that note, Naofumi-sama you should also apologize to Ryou-sama!" Naofumi's jaw dropped hearing that.

"What? Why? I haven't done anything wrong!" He defended himself, yet Raphtalia was on a roll.

"Yes you did!" The demi-human turned towards Ryou again, "Ryou-sama, please listen to this! The first thing Naofumi-sama did with the money you gave us, was waste it!" Ryou felt both amused, and relieved. He had an idea on what Naofumi had 'wasted' the money, and he didn't mind it in the slightest.

"Oh shut up! It wasn't a waste, it was investment! Even Ryou thinks so, look he also as an egg on him!" Naofumi stopped taking another look, his eyes narrowing slightly, "That's an egg isn't it?"

Ryou took a look at the egg in Rishia's arms before shrugging, "I think it is…"

"I figured since its inside the same glass container, as the ones I have." Naofumi concluded.

Wait plural? As in more then one..? Ryou wondered before he took a glance to the side, and indeed instead of one, there were two eggs side by side next to a fallen tree trunk bathing in the sunlight.

"You bought two?" Ryou questioned slightly surprised at the change.

"Well yeah, it was a monster lottery, two means twice the chances of getting something good, right?" Naofumi offered.

Well as long as Filo is in there I don't particularly care, although, I wonder how Naofumi will deal with it, if there are two Filos instead of just one… Ryou wondered shaking his head. One Filorial Queen had almost drove Naofumi up the wall, if there were two the Shield Hero might have a mental breakdown in the future.

"Fuee… Ryou-sama is making a weird face again…" Rishia exclaimed, a small hint of exasperation in her voice.

Well whatever... This isn't exactly what I hoped, but maybe that's actually a good thing…

"By the way, I heard something weird about you back in Castle Town." Naofumi stated, eyeing the Bow Hero as if looking for something.

"Something weird?" For some reason Ryou felt a small amount of eeriness at those words.

"Yeah… Something about you going into the woods at night to meet with some prostitute?" Naofumi questioned confused.

The Bow Hero brought his palms up in a effort to hide his face, and then he finally lost it…

Some guards that were guarding the wall of Castle Town, would later swear during a round of beer at the local tavern that night, that they heard something resembling a scream from the distance, but when they went to investigate they found nothing.

After that the two parties shared lunch together, trading some stories. There was also some banter, but that was mostly between Naofumi, and Ryou, but overall, the mood between everyone was one of peace, and comradeship.

Finally after everything was done, it was time to part ways…

"Make sure you stay clear of Castle Town for a while, I'll do the same, the less ammunition you give them to screw you over, the better…" Ryou cautioned. The Shield Hero nodded seriously, intent on doing just that, before turning around.

"Naofumi..." The Shield Hero, turned back, and his eyes widen at the outstretched hand in front of him.

"See you in three months… Don't die out there…" Ryou finished with a grin, The Shield Hero lowered his head slightly, before raising it, with a similar grin on his face, and took the hand into his.

"I'm more worried about you, don't get eaten by a wolf out there..." Naofumi shot back.

Rishia, and Raphtalia just smiled softly at the display of friendship, even if the two heroes would never admit such a thing.

Finally Ryou let go of Naofumi's hand, and raised it towards the sky, "Teleport: Northern Village."

A pillar of blue light, came down from the skies obscuring both him and Rishia, after a moment the pillars vanished along with the Bow Hero, and his partner.

"Raphtalia…" Naofumi uttered tone completely blank.

"Yes Naofumi-sama?" The girl tilted her head to the side.

"Ryou and Rishia, they just teleported, right?" Naofumi questioned, his tone devoid of any emotion.

"I think so, it was in the name of the skill afterall…" She responded after a beet. However the Shield Hero just clenched his teeth, his voice turning slightly angry.

"That bastard knows how to teleport, and he didn't told me about it! I bet he did that on purpose!" He raged, and Raphtalia just let out a giggle.

"Well, I guess you have something to talk about next time we meet, since you're officially friends now…" That made the Shield Hero turn to her in a flash, his face locked in the mightiest of scowls.

"The hell we are!" He roared at her, however the demi-human shook her head, laughing behind her hand.

I still don't know if this is a men's thing or just a hero's thing… Honestly these two...

Side Note - As promised, next is a list of bows that Ryou as unlocked up until this point, along with some descriptions of their abilities since a lot of you requested it, if anyone as any doubts about some of them, feel free to PM me.

[Legendary Small Bow - Equipment Bonus - +3 Attack]

-The base form of the legendary bow.

[Orange Bow - Equipment Bonus - +2 Agility - Requirements - 3 Orange Remains]

-As lower stats then the base form.

[Yellow Bow - Equipment Bonus - +2 Agility - Requirements - 3 Orange Remains]

[Red Bow - Equipment Bonus - +3 Agility - Requirements - 3 Orange Remains]

-Red Balloons are slightly rarer then the other variations, therefore the bonus is also a bit higher.

[Balloon Bow - Equipment Bonus - +2 Attack, +3 Agility, Monster Encyclopedia - Requirements - 10 Remains of each Balloon Variation, Level 20]

-Monster Encyclopedia let's the user track monsters drops, and location as well as some general information on the monster itself (Doesn't show the monsters stats)

[Usapil Leather Bow - Equipment Bonus - +3 Agility - Requirements - 3 Usapil Leather]

[Usapil Meat Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Dismantling Technique - Requirements - 3 Usapil Meat]

-Dismantling Technique, gives the user instinctive knowledge on how to dismantle monsters, higher level lets user dismantle bigger monsters.

[Usapil Bone Bow - Equipment Bonus - Agility Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 5 Usapil Bones]

Small Boost to Agility.

[Woodcutting Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Woodcutting Technique, Serrated Shot - Requirements - Woodcutting Axe]

Serrated Shot, lets the user cut down tree's easily, doesn't do additional damage.

[Drilling Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Mining Technique, Drilling Shot - Requirements - Pickaxe]

Drilling Shot, lets the user mine rocks, and Minerals, doesn't do additional damage.

[Digging Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Digging Technique, Tunneling Shot - Requirements - Shovel]

Tunneling Shot, lets the user dig small holes, doesn't do additional damage.

[Leaf Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Gathering Technique - Requirements - 5 Random Leaves]

Gathering Technique lets the user have an easier time identifying usable items.

[Fishing Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Fishing Technique, Serrated Shot - Requirements - 1 River Fish]

Fishing Technique, better chance to attract fish.

[Rock Bow - Equipment Bonus - +4 Defense - Special Effect - Agility Penalty(Medium) - Requirements - 5 Rocks]

Big boost to defense, in exchange for a very big reduction in agility.

[Green Mush Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Blending Technique - Requirements - 3 Green Mush Remains]

Gives the user a better understanding on how to mix items manually.

[Blue Mush Bow - Equipment Bonus - Apprentice Blending Recipes - Requirements - 3 Blue Mush Remains]

Gives the user knowledge of low level recipes.

[White Mush Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Plant Identification Technique - Requirements - 3 White Mush Remains]

Lets the user scan plants to identify some of their properties.

[Mush Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Blending Technique, +1 Plant Identification Technique, Intermediate Blending Recipes, Plant Encyclopedia - Requirements - 10 Mush Remains from every variation, Level 25]

Plant Encyclopedia, lets the user know what some plants properties are, and where to find them.

[Wolf Meat Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Dismantling Technique - Requirements - 3 Wolf Meat]

[Great Wolf Meat Bow - Equipment Bonus - +2 Dismantling Technique - Requirements - 3 Great Wolf Meat]

[Dire Furry Bow - Equipment Bonus - +6 Agility - Requirements - Dire Wolf Pelt]

[Great Furry Bow - Equipment Bonus - +10 Agility - Special Effect- Fire Resistance Bonus(Small) - Requirements - Great Dire Wolf Pelt]

A small percentage based reduction to fire attacks.

[Wolf Fanged Bow Equipment Bonus - +6 Attack, Attack Speed Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 3 Dire Wolf Teeth]

A small Increase on Attack Speed.

[Great Fanged Bow - Equipment Bonus - +12 Attack, Rapid Shot - Special Effect - Attack Speed Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 3 Great Wolf Teeth]

Rapid Shot - A Skill that repeats the last arrow shot, another additional two times(Can be used in conjunction with other skills, like the fire shot to fire three flaming arrows in quick succession, of with the ramming shot to create three shock waves, however there is a very big SP consumption when done so)

[Spiked Bow - Equipment Bonus - +4 Defense - Special Effect - Spike Counter - Requirements - 3 Porcupines Spikes]

Damages monsters that hit the bow.

[Poison Frog Bow - Equipment Bonus - +4 Agility, Poison Shot, Poison Resistance Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 3 Poison Frog Skin]

Small Resistance against poisons, Poison Shot- Fires an Arrow that will inflict a small damage over time effect.

[Northern Spider Bow - Equipment Bonus - +3 Agility, Gripping Skill - Requirements - 4 Northern Spider Legs]

Allows the user to grip surfaces with his extremities, however the skill must be repeated every time the user comes in contact with a surface.(Henceforth why Ryou had a nice encounter with the ground when he tried to copy Naruto at climbing a tree vertically, because every-time his foot met the tree he had to cast the skill or it wouldn't stick.)

[Chain Bow - Equipment Bonus - +2 Agility, 1 Defense, Chain Arrow - Requirements - 3 Metal Chains]

Chain Arrow - Fires an Arrow with a Chain attached to it, the chain disperses after a few seconds of not being connected to the user, or if the user wishes to disperse it.

[Inter-Dimensional Bee Bow - Equipment Bonus - +6 Agility, Projectile Speed Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 3 Inter-Dimensional Bee Stingers]

A small Increase to the speed the arrows travel.

[Inter-Dimensional Zombie Bow - Equipment Bonus - +3 Attack, Decay Resistance Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 3 Inter-Dimensional Zombie Meat]

Lets perishables in the user's possession last longer

[Inter-Dimensional Bee Bow - Equipment Bonus - +5 Attack, Decay Resistance Bonus(Medium) - Requirements - 3 Inter-Dimensional Giant Zombie Meat]

[Chimeric Meat Bow - Equipment Bonus - +1 Cooking Ability - Requirements - 3 Chimera Meat]

Lets the user have an easier time preparing food, also makes food prepared taste better.

[Chimeric Bone Bow - Equipment Bonus - + 5 Agility, Darkness Resistance Bonus (Small) - Requirements - 3 Chimera Bones]

Small percentage based reduction to Dark attacks.

[Chimeric Leather Bow - Equipment Bonus - +5 Agility, +5 Defense - Requirements - 1 Chimera Leather]

[Chimeric Dragon Bow - Equipment Bonus - +10 Attack, Fire Resistance Bonus(Small), Fire Shot- Special Effect - Fire Damage Bonus(Small - Requirements - 1 Chimera Dragon Head]

Fire Shot - Creates an arrow made completely of flames, detonates in a small dome of fire after a while. The Bow also naturally increases fire based attacks.

[Chimeric Goat Bow - Equipment Bonus - +5 Attack, +5 Defense, Knock-Back Resistance Bonus(Small), Ramming Shot- Special Effect-Knock-Back Effect Bonus(Small) - Requirements - 1 Chimera Goat Head]

Ramming Shot - Creates a pure white ethereal arrow that explodes on contact releasing a shock-wave, while the shock-wave deals no damage its power is affected by the Attack Attribute.(Henceforth why Ryou sent the poor Usapils flying into oblivion Team Rocket Style.). The bow also naturally increases knock-back effects.

[Ballista - Rarity - C - Status - Sealed - Mastery - 0/100 - Equipment Bonus - +5 Attack - Special Effect - Attack Bonus (Medium), Penetration Bonus (Small), Movement Speed Penalty (Great), Attack Speed Penalty (Medium)

The last weapon on the list is a Siege Weapon that Ryou gained access to by using the copy system, this one already shows all the Information pertaining the Strengthening Methods, though this also obviously applies to all previous bows. The Ballista besides the bonuses also as a great Attack power, this of course comes at the expense of greatly reduced mobility, and a decrease on attack speed.

These are all the Bows, Ryou as unlocked up until this point in time, any upgrade that I find meaningful will obvious be shown during the course of the story as it as been done previously, although I will probably start adding every bow Ryou unlocks, at the end of each chapter like I did with this list.

Now without further ado, here are a few snippets from the next Arc just to get the Imagination flowing.

"Fuee… S-Since I j-joined you, I-I always been w-wondering what I c-can become… Whats m-my role on the party… Y-You keep saying t-that we are p-partners...But what e-exactly does that w-word means to y-you...?"

"If home is a place where memories are, or where people are thinking about you then… My home is probably forever out of my reach..."

"That's why I told you to try and make a new home here… It doesn't have to be now, or even the next month… However as your create new memories, you will find that you might just make a home for yourself even if you don't realize it…"

This is Filo all over again isn't it? I already saw this crap happen once…

"Ryou-sama no matter how you look at this its not normal!"

"Fuee… The village is better now, but it wont have cattle anymore if this keeps up..."

"Goddammit Rishia! You said this was a Mithril Mine, but between this eldritch abomination, and the pig thing, I'm starting to think this cave is actually Cthulhu's Nursery!"

"Fuuee! I'm sorry! It was s-suppose to be!"

Wait a minute, Bio-engineered? As in someone made this thing? Who the hell is the crazy bastard that would make a monster that can shot death beams from its mouth?! And how the hell did it end up here? Did that bastard flush it down the toiled when it was small or something?

...Somewhere in Faubley a blond woman sneezed rather violently…

"So, what is a slave trader doing all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere?"

"Monster trader! I'm only an honest monster trader, who only sells monsters, yes?"

"Sure you are…"

"I heard you have acquired quite a unique specimen, yes?"

"How the hell do you even know about it?"

"New travel fast, especially concerning the heroes, and I always need to be on top of them if I am to acquire, let's say the best possible merchandise."

"Shit that's one of the Legendary Heroes, the Yumi-no Yuusha!"

"Hero?! With that ominous feeling, and blood lust around him, there's no way that's a Hero! That's a demon straight from hell!"

"I actually like Naofumi-sama even i-if he's a l-little scary, but he w-would never say I-I'm a wonderful person…"

"Pfff Hahahaha! Yeah Probably not… He would most like just say you're not that bad or something, but I know, deep down under all those layers of nasty, he would acknowledge it!"

"Read the sign!"

How is it… That even a country of distance away, those bastards still find a way to screw with me!

"I-I have been watching you practice, and tried to do the same… I-Its surprisingly easy…"

Easy she says… Do you have any idea how much face planting I did to be able to do this much!

"Fueee… What's wrong?"

"Don't talk with me for a minute Rishia, I'm currently having a crisis involving my worth as a hero…"

"Fueee! Please stop that or I'll fall!"

"If you fall, I'm gonna laugh at you…"

"You, and me both…."

"Fueee! You're both mean!"

Skeleton Warrior, Skeleton Mage, Skeleton Dog, Skeleton Chimera, Skeleton Cerberus… Skeletons, skeletons and more freaking skeletons! Why is everything just a big pile of bones here!

"What happen to her? One moment everything was normal, the other she's releasing enough magical power to flatten a village! We were lucky this place is so sturdy…"

"Ryou, I think you should give up... I don't want to sound like I'm bad mouthing you but your really bad at magic, and I mean really, really bad. Things that come instinctively to a lot of us, took you weeks to learn…"

"It's not my fault you know! I'm ninety percent sure my old world didn't have magic, so I have to work twice as hard to grasp things that just come naturally to you…"

"More like ten times…"

"Fuee… Ryou isn't that bad… Probably…"

That 'probably' at the end just straight up killed me Rishia…

"Fuee... Ryou… Can I… Can I come with you?"

"Yeah sure, there's something that I want to talk to you about anyway…"

"Tsk, no fair I want to go too!"

"Sorry, not today, what I want to talk with Rishia is personal…"

"Ohhhh, I see how it is…"

"No you don't, whatever your thinking is wrong."

"Alright people! Me and Rishia are going to the Dragon Hourglass to get her class up, so you don't leave this room unless you absolutely have too. This place is filled with low-lives and I don't trust them not to try anything weird."

"I don't know what your saying, the biggest low life is about to hit the streets after all!"

"Brat, when I come back, you and me are going to have some words about that shitty attitude of yours…"

"I like this kid…"

"Of course you do, you little weasel!"

"Ryou, jokes aside now… After having heard everyone's story, I can't help but to ask… You're really weak against people in a bad spot, aren't you?"

"…Not… Another… Word…"

This is bordering on harassment isn't it..? This is definitely karma for making fun of Naofumi…

"…we plead that you fight in the coming wave!"

"Errrr... I was already going to do that…"

"Haaa there seems to be a misunderstanding, I don't mean the one in Melromarc, I meant the one that is going to hit our country in three days!"

"…Run that one by me again?"

"I just got an update, something very strong as just entered the battlefield…"

"Something very strong? How much stronger are we talking about here?"

"Much, much stronger than that thingy…"

What could possibly be stronger then a wave bo… Ohh no…No, no, no… Our luck cannot possibly be that shitty!

Teleporting was an interesting if weird experience, after the blue pillar of light came down on him, there was a small moment where everything almost seemed to stop, then Ryou felt a pull on his stomach, and the blue light vanished back into the skies, leaving them in front of the familiar gates of Northern Village. The gates seemed the same, with the addition of two guards on each side, that were looking at them with some degree of curiosity.

Straightening himself, Ryou took in a deep breath. The slightly colder air filled his lungs, along with the fragrance of the pine trees, that while not all that different from the forests around Castle Town, always brought a feeling of nostalgia to the small hero. Last time he had set foot on Northern Village, everything had been erratic, but it still reminded him deeply of his maternal grandmother's village, and that also added to the feeling.

Turning to the side to confirm he hadn't misplaced his partner across time, and space, he saw Rishia crouched on the ground, her hair hiding her face from view. The incubator clutched against her, and Ryou almost feared it would break from the strain his partner seemed to be applying on it.

"You alright there Rishia?" He questioned worriedly, making his way towards the girl, before crouching near her. The girl in question turned to look at him, her face having a little less color than usual. Shaking her head slightly, her eyes widen a little, and one of her hands rose to her mouth, as she gave a dry heave.

"Fuee… I-I think I'm going to be sick…" Her voice came out muffled and strained.

Ryou could only sympathize with her while he reached with his arms, and took the egg back. The last thing he wanted to see was their newest party member getting covered in Rishia's lunch before it was even born. There was no need to traumatize the poor thing so early even if he acknowledged that it would have made a funny story to retell down the line.

"Sorry, but there was no other way unless you wanted to walk…" He admitted, changing to support the egg on one arm, as the other went to her back rubbing it slightly. Unfortunately, she would have to get used to it, because Ryou had no intention of not using such a convenient ability.

"I-It felt like someone grabbed my stomach, and shook it really hard…" She commented, giving another small heave before rising wobbly to her feet.

"Yeah, I felt the same, but it didn't make me sick…" Ryou commented lightly. Rishia seemingly pondered on the subject for a few seconds before adding her two cents.

"It's probably something to do with Ryou-sama being a Hero…" Ryou hummed, considering her words. Naofumi had also been fine riding a carriage with Filo pulling it, while Raphtalia had a bit of trouble. The Shield Hero, however, could also hold his alcohol like a champion, and while Ryou could take a couple of drinks, he had one devastating weakness… Wine… The Bow Hero could down almost any drink no problem, but two glasses of wine would make it very hard for him to synchronize his steps. That, along with the fact that getting drunk on hostile territory was a very bad idea, had been the reason he had stayed away from the beverage in this world.

Taking another look at his partner his lips twitched a little.

"Maybe that's the case, or maybe..." He drawled purposely,"…you just have a sensitive stomach…" He said in a light joking tone. Having spent some time with the girl, he knew how to push her buttons, and it was with some satisfaction that he watched, the normal shy, or apprehensive girl depending on the mood, turn slightly aggravated.

"Fuee, I do not!" She exclaimed, slightly angry at the accusation. Ryou smile grew an inch, taking in her angry stare.

That glare of yours needs a lot of work… Ryou observed. Her look could hardly be described as a glare, however, he also doubted that Rishia would ever be able to pull intimidating in her life, it just wasn't in her blood. The best-case scenario would be the girl intimidating people with her skills, without even meaning too.

Messing with Rishia was becoming his favorite hobby, especially since she just made it so easy.

Keep going like this, and one of these days I'll wake up with a knife between my ribs or smothered by a pillow… It's always the shy ones… Such a sad ending for a Legendary Hero, and somehow I'll still be able to say that it was worth it… Shaking the slightly idiotic thoughts that never failed to come to his mind, Ryou motioned towards the gates with his head.

"Whatever you say Rishia. Come on let's go meet your father…" Ryou said, before turning to move towards the gates. The green-haired girl only released an inaudible huff, before falling in step slightly behind the hero.

"My beautiful daughter you have returned, and so soon too!" The loud voice brought Ryou to a very sudden stop, and he almost turned back to the gates to verify if they were indeed in Northern Village. Halfway through the Ivyred's courtyard, the door of their home had almost been wrenched from its hinges by Lord Almond. Now the Bow Hero could only stand in shock, observing the one-eighty, the man's personality and demeanor had done since last time.

"Fueee! Yes, father! I have so much to tell!" Rishia exclaimed before she was promptly engulfed in a giant hug. Ryou continued to watch, comparing the composed Lord he had met, to this new far more lively version, and he couldn't help but wonder…

Is this anime..?

After letting her go, but still maintaining her within arms reach, with his hands on her shoulders, Almond proceeded to inspect every inch of his daughter from various angles, probably trying to verify if anything was out of place before his eyes widened when he realized Ryou's presence. In record time, the man straightened himself, one hand going behind his back, the other going to his mouth, before releasing two light coughs, and turning to address him.

"Ryou-sama its an honor to see you again, and in good health too…" The man stated going back to the personality that Ryou had associated the noble with, in his mind, much to the Bow Hero's silent amusement.

Trying to save face, are we? A little too late for that isn't it Lord Almond..?

Moving towards the noble Ryou offered his hand in greeting, "Yeah for the most part. It's also good to see you, Lord Almond, you almost seem younger now."

The man took his hand, before coughing again in the other, and looking just a small bit embarrassed, "Well yes… Now that my village is finally stable, even with having much more work, it feels like a huge burden has been taken from my shoulders."

Ryou believed that one hundred percent, especially since the specter of Gentlewood no longer hovered over it. It was clear just by having walked through the village that the inhabitants had a bit more life in them, there were also a few merchants that had set their stalls along the dirt road, something that had also been absent in the past.

The man once again turned to Rishia, and his posture went back to exuberant, along with his voice. "My darling daughter! Even here, I received word of how magnificently you fought, and helped subdue the wave! Come you must tell me everything!" The man shouted, and color rushed to Rishia's face at the praise, and even when she tried to deny it, it fell mostly on deaf hears, as she was ushered inside.

Finally Almond turned to Ryou who was watching the entire thing silently, "Ahh you come to Ryou-sama, I also want to hear tales of your bravery…"

At the request Ryou made his way to follow them, shaking his head slightly at the entire interaction. The Ivyred's were a sight to behold.

From the might Yumi-no Yuusha-sama to an afterthought… Well, I can't blame him, she is his 'darling daughter' after all… Ryou chortled at that one, vowing to use it when the opportunity presented itself.

"So Aultcray is still holding too his hatred with such conviction after all this time…" Almond murmured sadly.

Now an hour later, Rishia had recounted everything that had happened in these two weeks, with Ryou only interjecting when needed, being far too comfortable just listening from his place on the couch. From her meeting Naofumi, and Raphtalia, to the wave, and even the celebration, and the ensuing duel, Rishia had hardly left anything out.

"That's something that has been bothering me since I first set foot on this world… What exactly is Aultcray's beef with Naofumi, or rather the Shield Hero?" Ryou finally interjected. He had ignored it in the beginning because it had nothing to do with him, but now it was truly weighing on his mind.

Almond released a sigh, after taking a sip of his tea, "It's not Naofumi-sama or being the Tate no Yuusha-sama that's the problem, it's what it represents…"

Ryou nodded at the comment, he knew there was a correlation between the Demi-humans worshiping the Shield Hero, and Aultcray's hatred, but he was missing a piece of the puzzle.

"I know that much, it's because Demi-humans worship the Shield Hero, and so he became the focus of Aultcray's hatred, but that's common around Melromarc… The King, however, takes it several levels above that…" Ryou added. Hating Naofumi was in the Shield Hero's own words a trend, but Aultcray took it to the next level, and it seemed completely out of proportions even by national standards.

"The reason behind it was most likely the war with Siltvelt, and maybe what came before that…" Ryou's eyes widen at the new information. The Bow Hero knew there was tension between the two countries, especially with Siltvelt being a country of Demi-humans, but he never considered there had been an outright war.

"Melromarc went to war with Siltvelt?" Ryou asked, leaning forward.

Almond smiled, but it looked sarcastic, before expanding, "Went? Ryou-sama you speak as if the war is over… On the surface that might be the case, but in reality, we are only living in a period of ceasefire…"

That made a lot of sense and explained a few things. Initially, it had only been explained that the summoning of the Heroes had angered the other nations, and so the Queen had moved to quell those fires. Now living in this reality, Ryou had a feeling the situation was a little more serious than that, and that a war could break out if things went south, but he had no idea it was this serious.

"Is the King trying to officially restart the war?" The Bow Hero questioned after a moment. The ceasefire in any shape or form was surely the work of the Queen, and Aultcray had probably opposed that decision, but couldn't do much against the true ruler, so maybe now with the Queen away, and The Four Legendary Heroes on his home turf he was in a very good position to restart the flames of war.

"I honestly don't know, what I do know is that if it was up to him, the war wouldn't have ended until every single Demi-human had been exterminated from the face of the world…" Almond stated, shaking his head.

That confirmed another theory of the Bow Hero, and that was, that the King's hatred had to be personal, there was no way that wasn't the case. However, before he could question it any further Rishia beat him to it.

"Fuee… T -That's horrible, why do s-such a t-thing..?" The green-haired girl asked, her expression morphing into one of slight horror. Ryou could understand her shock, Rishia spent most of her time in Faubley studying were there was no discrimination, and she was close to Raphtalia, so such notion was completely atrocious in her head.

Almond leaned back, his fingers rubbing the sides of his head, before exhaling, " My daughter while our King's actions may be out of proportions, do take into consideration that Siltvelt and the Demi-humans who ruled it at the time were far from being in the right when they started the war… That being said I can only start to guess with the information I have, take into consideration this is mostly rumors from the court… Aultcray is not originally from Melromarc, he came here to fight against the Demi-humans since we were already at war back then… Apparently, his whole family was murdered by them…"

That would surely do it... Ryou thought finally having the answer to that particular mystery. He felt he could connect with the King on some level even if their situation was different, what he could not connect with, was what the King was currently doing.

You can't reason with hatred I know that much, but to condemn an entire race over it… Ryou shook his head. That was taking it to far, especially since Aultcray's actions, might not condemn just Demi-humans, but the entire world, his own family included to oblivion.

"Fuee…T-That's terrible, but most Demi-humans aren't at fault! Some of them weren't even born back then…" Rishia exclaimed. Ryou knew exactly who was on her mind at the moment but he only shook his head. The green-haired girl was too innocent.

"That doesn't matter to him Rishia… If the King is truly blinded by hatred, he won't see anything until its far too late... It's just like I told you, people will only see what they want to see, and Aultcray can probably only see evil when he looks at Demi-humans, and the personification of that evil in his eyes is without a doubt Naofumi..." Ryou finished, leaning back into the coach. Demi-humans were everywhere, even in his own country, but the object of their faith was only one, and that made Naofumi, Aultcray's nemesis, and a far easier target.

I wonder if it ever crossed his mind, that if he had played his cards right with Naofumi, he could have had the Shield Hero on his side, and with a few well-placed words, he could have turned the Hero the Demi-humans adore into their worst enemy, especially with how Naive Naofumi was back then… Ryou considered. Thankfully the King never thought about such a thing, because a world where to Naofumi, Raphtalia was an enemy and evil was one he couldn't even begin to picture.

"The man that I used to know was one full of hatred but he wouldn't go about it in such a roundabout way. The Hero of the Cane... Now that was a truly fearsome man…" Almond commented, with a tone that surprised Ryou since he could detect respect in those words, however it was the content that made his eyebrows rise.

"Hero? Aultcray's a hero?" He questioned in slight disbelief. That couldn't be true, after all, according to what he remembered The King had almost pissed himself when Naofumi threatened him.

Almond looked amused at the look of disbelief on the Bow Hero's face, "Yes... Aultcray Melromarc XIII, Sage King of Melromarc, and Vassal Hero of the Cane! That was what he used to be known as…" Ryou just leaned back again, letting that particular piece of information sink.

Vassal Hero… That's what Glass introduced herself has… That only made the situation even stranger. If Aultcray only possessed half of the strength, Glass could throw around, why be intimidated by Naofumi in the first place? Not only that but just like Almond had said previously, why go about it in such a roundabout way?

However, there was another thing that crossed the Bow Hero's mind.

"Just what are these Vassal Heroes, and how do they differ from us?" Ryou asked. That particular piece of information had never been explained, or maybe it had, but he couldn't recall.

"Fuee… The Vassal Heroes are the heroes closest to us… Or at least that's what it feels like since instead of being summoned with consent, they are chosen among the people to wield a vassal weapon…" His partner explained. Ryou had to wonder if it was the same for Glass, coming to the conclusion that was most likely the case, The woman had always given an honorable and extremely loyal feeling.

Nevertheless, there was something in Rishia's explanation that he couldn't let go.

"What do you mean with consent? I never sign up for this you know!" Ryou retorted, throwing a side glance to his partner, who shrunk a little.

"B-But R-Ryou-sama you did. You said so yourself, that y-you wished for a second c-chance. I think that this counts…"

The look in Ryou's eyes might have turned slightly colder, before crossing his arms with a small frown.

Damn you, and your surprisingly logical arguments! The Bow Hero fumed silently, his mood getting even worse when Almond's chuckles echoed in the room.

The rest of the afternoon passed with small talk between the three, although eventually, Almond had to return to his duties. Rishia had then taken upon herself to dive into the attic in search of her college books, and personal notes. Faubley had a surprisingly competent educational system, and curriculum. Unfortunately, that did little for Ryou who couldn't understand squat of what was in her notes although he had to admit that Rishia had amazing, and precise calligraphy.

I don't understand the language, but even I can tell that her calligraphy is amazing, though how it remains a mystery with how clumsy she is sometimes…

A different approach was then taken, and between the two of them, they began associating Melromarc's Language with both Japanese, and English… The result was the realization that Melomarc's written language had some small similarities with the western alphabet, something that made learning a new language slightly easier for Ryou, what shocked the Bow Hero however was how effortlessly Rishia picked the concepts, and rules behind the languages of his old world.

If she had been born in my world with the right chances, and her intelligence she would have had an amazing future in front of her… That is if she survived high school… Ryou finished with a silent chuckle. People like Rishia either had the luck to find a group of friends that would stick by them from the get-go, or would have a very hard time in school.

...and if she attended the same high school as I did, Ohh boy would she have been swallowed whole… All things considered, that did happen in a way when her counterpart was in Itsuki's party… Ryou stopped his train of thought there. Since Rishia had joined his party, his distaste for the previous Bow Hero had shot too much higher, and almost dangerous levels, and he already had the teen in very low consideration as it was.

Looking back at the chart they had made for the association, Ryou returned to his studies. After all, learning to read, would open up a lot of doors for him.

Now is just a matter of association, and re-formatting my brain…

In the evening after dinner, Ryou had taken the first turn at watching the mysterious egg as agreed, while Rishia retired for the night.

He took the time to delve into the upgrade system, and finally powered up something with it, just to test the waters. The final result…

[Great Fang Bow + 4 - Uncommon - Awaken- Equipment Bonus - + 12 Attack, Rapid Shot - Special Effect - Attack Speed Bonus (Medium), Projectile Speed Bonus (Small), Piercing Bonus (Small) ]

Looking at his upgraded bow, Ryou was left amazed at the increased in stats, and it wasn't even that big of an upgrade, he had been mostly playing around with the system. However Upgrading with Tempering required Ores, and the ones he had managed to collect were very low quality, the same could be said for the souls of monsters, and because of that, he had refused to use the Enhancement's system for now. The other problem was Energy points... those were currency he could use to get stronger, however as with every amount of currency he had a limited amount, and even if he could, in theory, acquire an infinite amount of them, it would still take time. So instead of wasting them on a single weapon all at once, Ryou had decided to use only half of what he had managed to save, especially since they were used in different systems.

The reason behind choosing the Great Fanged Bow, instead of the ones he had gotten from the Chimera was simple.

The Chimeric Dragon Bow is inherently a fire-based weapon, just like the Chimeric Goat Bow is a Crowd Control one, so It's better that I focus on a neutral weapon for now… That had been the thought process, behind that decision, along with the fact that the Great Fanged Bow had served him well, up until now.

Opening his Status Window, Ryou quickly focused his vision on the Passive Skill Tree, bringing up his own Strengthening Method. Eying it for a few moments he brought up the first, obligatory node.

[Agility Attribute Increased by 0.5%]

Selecting the confirmation option, he saw the number of skill points available go down by one. The upgrade was minimal at best, though the percentages did increase down the line, or on specific clusters, and even if he could only reach something like thirty percent overall, it was a point three multiplier to one of his main stats, and that was nothing to scoff at.

Beyond that node, lay two different branches, and analyzing them for a few minutes, he came to a decision. One followed nodes that were attack specific, focused mostly on his attack speed and damage. The other one - the one he had chosen, was a slightly more defensive one, or perhaps versatile was a better way to put it. Bringing up the first node from that specific branch he took a moment to consider his options once more.

[HP increased by 1% / Movement Speed Increased by 1%]

While it's true that a ranged character should focus mostly on damage, this isn't a game and that's truly what matters here… He considered, leaning back on his elbows. Unlike Naofumi, Ryou couldn't tank hits at all, not with his very feeble defense, even armor could only do so much, so in the beginning, he had decided to focus on speed, because not getting hit was also a very good defensive mechanic. While he had been able to get by using that tactic he knew that eventually there would be a need to take a more back-line approach on most occasions, even if he hated the idea of leaving his future party members on the front lines.

There also existed the counter-point to that mentality, and that had been what made him chose a more speed focus approach.

On monsters sure I can get by standing in the back, but I have to be able to deal with stuff on my own… There was also the fact that people like Glass, and L'Arc could easily just avoid his party members and go straight for him. No matter how game-like the world was, there was no such thing as aggro, or at least not on anything more intelligent than the average critter, so being able to dodge, and avoid attacks was still his strategy for staying alive.

Especially since unlike fantasy, here there is no such thing as plot armor…

The other point that made him, chose a slightly more diversified route, had also been the deal breaker on the entire thing. Down that path, the branch intersected with the first cluster where he could find nodes that increased his party members attributes, and that had immeasurable value. Any node that multiplied his stats would be amazing, especially those that affected more than one thing, like the previous one, however one single node that affected anyone besides him would be exponentially more important. He had two and a half members currently, but eventually he would want to add more members, even if finding people he could honestly trust would be a challenge in on itself.

Worst case scenario, I'll just sacrifice all of my remaining sanity and buy a bunch of Filorial eggs, trading what little mental stability I still have, for an army of Filorial Queens might be a good idea… He acknowledged half-halfheartedly repressing a shudder. Ryou had nothing against Filo in general, it was the opposite actually, but she had been a handful, and the idea of multiple ones was in its way a terrifying one.

Turning his attention back to the Passive skill Tree he continued to follow the path to the party member cluster, even if he knew he would be lacking a couple of points to reach it, he did get however a couple of stray nodes for his party, though he very much doubted Rishia would even begin to notice the difference. He bounced the idea of using his Energy Points for skill points a couple of times, before dismissing it. He didn't have that many to even make a noticeable difference, so it was better to save them for later use.

Thankfully the Passive Skill Tree had an option of summarizing the bonus from all nodes currently taken, and that made everything a lot easier to keep track of.

[Max HP Attribute Increased by 12%]

[Max SP Attribute Increased by 8%]

[Max MP Attribute Increased by 6%]

[Agility Attribute Increased By 12.5%]

[Attack Attribute Increased by 9%]

[Magic Attribute Increased by 3%]

[Defense Attribute Increased by 3%]

[Attack Speed Increased by 6%]

[Movement Speed Increased by 11%]

[Potion Efficiency Increased by 4%]

[Party Members HP Increased by 3%]

[Party Members Attack Increased by 1.5%]

Ryou went back to his character profile menu, and with a flick of his wrist, he brought the upgraded bow into existence for a few moments, watching as his stats skyrocketed even more.

All-in-all, I'm more than twice as strong as I was yesterday, as far as numbers go, and that was just based on a very few mild upgrades, unfortunately even those numbers can only get you so far, after all, that was exactly the reason why Naofumi started looking for other ways to increase his strength, but there's still a long way to go before I hit any kind of ceiling… Ryou acknowledged mentally, his eyes on the embers cracking in the fireplace. With a sigh, he banished the bow and leaned back until he was laying down on the wooden floor on top of a blanket Rishia had given him. Northern Village as the name implied was to the north, and far above the sea level, so the temperature was a lot colder, at least at night.

Small noises echoed in the darkness, alerting Ryou that he had company. Turning his head, he found Rishia with a glass of milk in her hand, taking a seat on the couch behind him.

Looking at the girl Ryou took a minute to observe her. She was covered in a white blanket, her eyes half opened, probably from the fact she had just woken up. Her green hair cascaded along her back, some escaping to the front and Ryou not for the first time found himself fascinated by both the length, and the color. Finally, she curled on the couch, pulling her knees to her chest, enshrouding herself in the blanket…

She looks really small, and fragile like that… Although he knew personally that, that description was far from the truth, at least the fragile part was.

The girl in question covered her mouth to try and prevent the yawn, that still manage to escape her, before rubbing her eyes slightly and turning to him.

"Fuee… Ryou-sama it's my turn now…" Her voice was heavy with sleep and came out almost like a mumble that put a smile on his face.

"I know…" However, the Bow hero did not move to raise himself from his spot, far to content receiving the warm from the fire. After a few moments, she shifted in place, before voicing her thoughts once more.

"Ryou-sama you should really go to sleep, it as been a long day, and I know how much you like your rest…"

Yeah, no… Since she was still half asleep, Ryou had been almost inclined to give her a pass, but he quickly decided against it. Calling him lazy was something that could not go unpunished.

Grabbing the blanket under him, Ryou made a ball out of it, and threw it at the half-asleep girl, who raised her arms in defense, releasing a "Mep". As the projectile hit her arms, it was sent upwards before coming down landing on top of her head.

"Get out of here you! You have no room to talk since you can sleep through a stampede even if its happening right next to your head!" Ryou chastised her in jest, watching in amusement as she blinked twice, before grabbing the projectile, and hoarding it against her chest having no intention of giving it back. her lips taking a turn down forming a small pout.

"Fuee… I think Ryou-sama is projecting himself on me for some reason…" She quipped, making Ryou release an amused if ugly snort.

Well, aren't you cheeky all of the sudden… The shy girl was slowly but surely getting a little bolder, and that was actually a good thing.

"On a side note Rishia, when are you going to stop adding the honorific to my name?" Ryou questioned, his eyes going back to the fireplace.

"W-What?" The green-haired stammered not understanding the question.

"The honorific... I understand if you get self-conscious of dropping it in public, but when it's just the two of us, it's fine... I don't care much for it, actually, I would even prefer if you didn't use it at all." During his childhood days, they were a big thing, but after his paternal grandmother passed away, his family had moved to his mother's home country, and Ryou had lost all need to use them.

You kinda get desensitized when your friends greet you as Cunt or Bastard…

"Fuuee! I-I could never! That would be too disrespectful!" She exclaimed in a slighter high pitch.

"Rishia… Naofumi calls me an ass, or bastard every two seconds when I'm in his company… Do you honestly think I'll take offense if you call me without the honorific, especially since your the person that I'm closest to, and my partner?" Ryou couldn't understand that thought process. He hardly cared for what Naofumi called him, so what was up with that? They were close enough to not have that wall between them, at least in his opinion.

"B-But…" Rishia stammered looking slightly flushed and hugging the blanket tighter.

"Come on... Is it really that hard?" If possible the girl shrunk even more, and Ryou wondered if she would suddenly collapse into a singularity at the rate she was going.

"Fuee… Then R-R-Ry-Ryou…-san…" Ryou face-palmed, she had been so close.

Well at least its progress, even if small… Ryou conceded, before exhaling a small annoyed breath.

"Good, now you just need to stop midway...Close your mouth after you say my name…" Ryou instructed, and the poor girl squirmed a little at the request, before focusing and taking a deep breath.

"Fuee… R-R-Ry-Ryou…" The Bow Hero had to make an effort not to laugh at the sight, she had done as instructed if a little extreme, since Rishia now looked like a puffer-fish with how she was holding her breath and was turning an interesting tone of red.

"Good Job knew you had it in you, Rish." Ryou congratulated with a thumbs up.

The Green haired girl's cheeks immediately deflated, her eyes almost popping out with how wide they had become.

"R-R-R-Rish?!" She sputtered, both extremely embarrassed, and confused. Ryou crossed his arms and closed his eyes before launching into an explanation.

"Yup, honestly Rishia is a little bit of a mouthful, so I made use of my amazing wisdom and decided to shorten your name, unless you disapprove?" Said girl just buried her face in the blanket, but shook her head negatively.

"Well, then it's settled! Now with this done, I'm going to turn in for the night, a pillow with my name awaits me…" He rose himself, before stretching, and making his way towards the stairs that led to the second floor where the bedrooms were located.

It wasn't until he was almost halfway through the stairs that her voice reached him again…

"R-Ryou…" He had to hide his smile at hearing it, before turning to look at the top of her head, since she wasn't looking at him.

"Yeah Rish?" He asked doubling over the handrail to get a better look at her.

"Raphtalia-chan, she as a slave seal on her, right?" Rishia questioned in a very low voice.

What's with that question, especially since she already knows that for a fact? He wondered confused.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Ryou asked, noticing the girl, had her face turned towards the fire.

"S-She was freed from it, at t-the castle... So why d-did she decided to get it again? I d-don't think there was any need…" Ryou hummed, collecting his thoughts, his sight also falling towards the fireplace again.

"You're right in thinking there was no need, and I think everything would have worked out even without it. However you're missing the true point behind her decision, and even if I completely disavow the notion of someone owning a person, I can at least acknowledge the reason behind it, and that was the important part, it was her decision in the end…" the corner of his lips when up a little, "…As for the why? Well… There's a saying in my world that summarizes her actions quite well, and it goes more or less like this…' To love someone is to give them the power to hurt you, and trust them not too'."

"L-L-Love?!" Her voice came out in a high pitch.

Ryou released a small chuckle, "Well I don't think those were her exact feelings when Raphtalia made her decision, at least not in the manner your thinking about…" Not yet at least, though she does have her work cut out for her, but when you add the age issue it just becomes kinda weird, even if that's mostly my world's standards talking… "…but the meaning still holds. She freely gave Naofumi the power to hurt her, even kill her, and trusts him enough not to do it." Ryou finished, and both of them fell into silence, deep in thought, only the small crackling of the embers could be heard, until Rishia broke the silence.

"Fuee… S-Since I-I joined you… Since I joined this party, I-I've always been wondering what I can be… What's m-my role in this party… Raphtalia-chan is N-Naofumi-sama's sword, and I-I am your p-partner… That's what you keep saying, b-but what meaning does that word, t-that position holds for you?" She asked in a mumble, and if it wasn't for the silence around him, Ryou doubted he would have understood the question.

"Well…" Ryou began turning his eyes towards the ceiling, "...I suppose, what it means is that I don't want an underling, and hero relationship, but for us to stand on equal grounds… I want someone to watch my back as I watch theirs, and to stand by my side as I stand by theirs… Like walking side by side with me everywhere, not just in battle...Kinda like that, I think..?" He honestly found it difficult to put the whole thing into words, it was the feeling behind it that mattered, so he thought it would be self-explanatory.

"Fuee! I-I'm g-going to get a-another glass of Milk!" Rishia yelped suddenly, jumping away from the couch, and disappearing into the darkness towards the kitchen in an instant.