Ch 30-31

The girl's face morphed into one of fear, but Ryou hardly noticed, completely immersed in his thoughts.

Everything else I could take as a natural consequence of my presence, but this? It couldn't be attributed to his presence at all. Raphtalia's childhood friend had either died around the time they had been summoned, or even before that, and yet here she was standing in front of him, looking a little pale, but very much breathing and still among the realm of the living.

"She's of the Weasel subspecies, not particularly valuable, but not bad to look at, I thought it would fit, yes?" Beloukas explained his reasoning.

Ryou ignored the Slave trader, a light cough, however, did grab his attention. Focusing on the girl once more he noted she matched what he remembered, although it wasn't all that much, to begin with.

"Are you merciful enough to extend your hand to a slave on the brink of death?" Once more Raphtalia's voice whispered deep in the confines of his mind, and that became the push he needed.

Ryou crouched near the metal cage, and raised his hands in a pacifying manner, when the girl tried to get as far away from him as she could, even if the effort was mostly in vain since she had already been leaning against the bars on the other side.

"Sorry about that. You just reminded me of someone I knew." He tried in a soft tone. The girl however only pulled the dirty rag, that could hardly be identified as a blanket closer to herself.

That, in hindsight, was one of the worst ways to start a conversation ever… Racking his brain, he tried to come up with something.

"It's your hair!" Ryou exclaimed, and they both winced at the volume, before he continued in a lower tone, "Errr… Its the same color as my little sister."

Not a lie…

She peaked at him from behind the rag, but he could see suspicion and fear clear in her eyes.

"…She… She's dead?" The girl asked, in a voice both so soft and low that if it wasn't for the silence around them he would have missed it.

"Its…" Ryou took in a breath" …its complicated…" He murmured lowly.

She offered a solemn small nod - one that Ryou had trouble identifying the meaning behind but felt grateful nonetheless.

"My name is Ryou, Ryou Takuma…" He racked his head once more before and idea appeared in his head, "…and I'm the Yumi-no Yuusha, what's yours?" Ryou questioned, remembering that the girl had known of the Legendary Heroes.

"Yuusha?" She murmured releasing a small scoff as she hugged the rag closer. "They don't exist…"

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a few moments, then the sinking realization hit him, as well as some degree of sadness.

Your childhood heroes stop being real when you keep asking for them to come and save you, but they never do… He contemplated solemnly.

Taking a breath, he slowly extended his arm sideways, a soft-glowing yellow jewel coming into view. A moment later the glow intensified, brightening the entire area, the light reflecting off her wide-eyes, as his legendary weapon took on its unsealed form.

"I just got summoned a little less than two months ago, so…" He explained softly, a sad smile on his face "…sorry if I'm late."

The demi-human girl's eyes continued to watch the weapon transfixed. Finally, realization seemed to hit her, as her face scrunched up and she buried it in the rag. The small hiccup that followed felt like a dagger had lodged itself in his chest.

With one hand, Ryou opened the cage watching the girl crying into the blanket, and he shuffled a little closer extending his hand forward,

"Hey…It's alright now..."

She raised her head, tears still running down her face, as her puffy eyes went from his sad smile to the extended hand.

When her small hand reached and grabbed his, Ryou felt that for the second time since he had been summoned to this new world, he had done something truly worthy of his title.

Gently guiding her out of the cage, whatever lingering doubts he had were dispelled. He took in the white dress she had on her, instead of the dirty rags that Raphtalia wore with a small degree of suspicion, however, he soon focused on a light-brown appendage waiving slowly behind her.

"So…What's your name?" Ryou asked,

"R-Rifana…" She sniffled, rubbing her eyes with the dirty blanket.

"You're taking her then?" Beloukas asked, rubbing his hands with a grin.

The voice along with the gesture had an immediate effect on the small girl, as she stumbled to get behind him. The Bow Hero face turned into a blank expression, as he turned his attention to the Slave Trader.

"How much?"

"Seventy-Five Silver." The Slave trader announced.

More than twice what he asked for Raphtalia… But I don't have a Psycho Maid stepping on my behalf… Ryou concluded. The corner of his lips twitched as a particularly nasty idea entered his mind.

Opening his inventory, he took out the money, and nodding to himself he let the coins fall onto Belouka's hands.

The Slave Trader counted the money with a grin, yet it quickly turned into a frown as he finished counting.

"There's only seventy silver here…"

Naofumi, I call upon your mighty haggling powers, don't let them fail me now… "Since I'm not planning on branding her, I'm taking out the ceremony cost, yes?" He finished mimicking the Slave Trader tone in jest.

"B-B-But that is not how this goes!" Beloukas bellowed almost despairingly," Where's the violence? The brutality?! The harsh treatment?!"

"Well I paid you, so now she belongs to me, and my first order of business is to free her!" Ryou chirped with a grin and watched with satisfaction as Beloukas fell on his knees, his face etched in horror.

"Nooo! That's completely against what you were supposed to stand for Yuusha-sama!" The slave trader accused, pointing one finger at him.

"Tough, that's what you deserve for listening to asinine rumors." Ryou shot back.

As a whole, he was completely against slavery, and Raphtalia's friends had suffered more than enough with that brand looming over them. He also had his values, and he would stick to them, although there was a small part of him that wanted some payback from all the shots that the Slave Trader had been taking.

Opening his inventory, he brought out an old familiar cloak from it.

"Here take this, it's cold outside Rifana." He instructed handling the slightly torn and worn out cloak to the small-girl, who took it with wide-eyes.

"Hey Slave Trader, do you have any more demi-human children with you?" Ryou asked after a moment, his eyes still on the girl who was enveloping herself in his old-cloak.

"No… like I said my stock is really low. She's a recent acquisition, though I have the Monster Lottery if your interested, yes?" And just like a switch had been flipped, the man returned to normal with his grin back in place.

So, Keel, I think his name was is not here... Still, I have to find out how this happened…

"Come on, let's get out of here Rifana…" He said with a soft smile, extending his hand towards the small girl.

"Ahh Yuusha-sama, what about the Monster Lottery?" Beloukas repeated.

Ryou for his part paused mid-step as thoughts of Filo, and Quartz made their way into his mind. There were positives to adding another powerhouse to his team, however…

Onii-shama I'm hungry…

Onii-shama, I'm going out to hunt…

Onii-shama when is dinner going to be ready?

Onii-shama, I'm going out to hunt again, its time for Quartz's third lunch!

"Yeah, no..." Ryou commented, his shoulders going slightly tense." Unless you have anything that won't eat me out of my hard earn cash, I'll take a hard pass on it."

"The only thing I can think about are herbivore monsters or maybe Dunes. They only eat minerals in the soil but they are hardly battle worthy…" Beloukas proposed.

Dunes..? "The heck are Dunes?" Ryou asked, turning to look at the merchant.

"T-They are like big earthworms, they are kind of cute…" Rifana murmured from his side.

Immediately the image of a familiar worm-like monster crossed his mind, as he scratched his chin in contemplation.

Well, it did try to eat me, but… "Do other worm-like monsters also eat minerals, or is it just these Dunes?" He questioned, suddenly filled with interest.

"Yes, all the ones I know of at least, but Dunes are really the most sought out, yes."

"Is that so…" Ryou drawled slowly. His mind slowly started to come up with a very curious, if interesting picture.

The biggest problem with raising monsters is the cost slash efficiency, but if they only eat minerals then I won't have a problem… The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea seemed. The monster in his head had been made to last, being able to withstand attacks from a hero, and had the offensive capabilities to match.

Actually, if they eat minerals, then can't I have them mining for me too? He realized. That would not only solve all his money problems but would also give him free ores that could be used to power up some of his weapons or to just play around with his new blacksmithing hobby.

Heck, I could start my own mining company… With free labor, and no strikes!

"…If you want strength, then be greedy about it…" Naofumi himself, had at one point said those words, and even if the context where he had utter them had been different, they were still words of wisdom.

I guess that my dream of raising an army of monsters might not be so far into the future as I thought…

"Hey Slave Trader, how long are you going to stay in town?"

Beloukas looked at him inquisitively, his grin widening, "For the rest of the week… Why?"

Ryou' broke into a full-blown almost maniacal grin, "I'll drop by tomorrow. You and I will have some business to discuss…"

The man clenched the front of his coat, "That look on your face Yuusha-sama, I knew you had the right stuff! Its sending shivers down my spine!" He announced gleefully. "I shall eagerly await your return!"

At the man's words, Ryou tried to reign in his thoughts, and facial expression," Yeah you do that…"

Turning to look at the small girl he let his hand rest on top of her head. Just like her friend she winced, but straightened herself a moment later, blinking owlishly when he rubbed her head. "Come on Rifana, let's go."

When they made it out of the building, he realized that night had settled, so he turned and crouch near the demi-human child.

"The place I'm staying is on a neighboring village to this one, but it's still a stretch if we just walk, so get on my back and I'll carry you." He finished, turning to show his back to the girl.

Rifana lowered her head and encircled her small arms around his neck. Shifting slightly, he grabbed her legs, before grinning.

"Grab on or you'll fall." Fair warning given Ryou burst into motion, laughter bubbling inside when the startled girl let out a small shriek.

The gates were left behind, half-a-minute later, leaving only a pair of guards who looked at each other, after a blur passed through, before shrugging already used to the common occurrence.

Thanks to his night vision passive skill, Ryou could perceive what was going on even in the darkness, and he saw a shadow in the middle of the dirt road ahead. A gasp assaulted his ear, confirming that the small girl had also seen their obstacle.

"I-Its a monster!" She cried out.

Ryou tilted his head for a moment recognizing it as one of the sloth monsters that were quickly becoming one of Quartz's favorite snacks.

"Don't worry, its small fry." Came the offhand comment, before Ryou dash forward right into the creature, making his small companion shriek once more.

A clawed paw came down on them, and Ryou went left avoiding the strike before taking to the air, landing with both feet on the creature's head. A moment later he kicked off, sending the monster into the ground.

Landing behind the monster he let go of one of the girl's legs and extended his hand, palm facing the downed monster, that was trying to get back on its feet

"As the source of thee power, and Yumi-no Yuusha, I command thee. Decipher the Laws of Nature and let lightning strike my enemies true. Faust Lightning Strike."

Lightning erupted from his hand easily finding its target. The sloth monster let out a painful screech as lightning bolts danced, and arc all over its body. After three full seconds, Ryou finished the spell and the creature fell once more on the ground twitching, little wisps of smoke coming from it.

"That's that. But I guess even with half-baked magic these monsters are hardly a threat anymore." Ryou commented. Nothing besides what was inside the Northern Cavern was dangerous to him anymore, even with his flimsy defense the lowest of all his stats by far, he had attained such numbers where he could ignore regular attacks, nevertheless, he still evaded them most out of habit.

"S-So Strong!" The girl on his back gushed in awe.

"It wasn't even that strong, to begin with, you know. Stuff like this gets easy after a while." He replied.

Rifana, however, shook her head feverishly, "T-That's not true! I only know one person who could take down a m-monster like this so easily!"

"Really? Because I know a demi-human girl who used to be like you and she could probably deal with something like this with one hand behind her back…" Ryou mentioned casually, and it was as good as an ice breaker for the subject he wanted to breach as any.

"S-She must be very strong…"

There was something in her voice that sounded both like awe with maybe a bit of envy.

"Yup she is… Raphtalia is pretty amazing…" His lip tugged when he felt the small girl stiffen somewhat against his back.

"R-Raphtalia-chan, you know Raphtalia-chan?!" Her voice came out a pitch higher, and her grip tightened around his neck.

"I do, and by that tone so do you…"

The girl ignored his statement, quickly launching her own questions, "I-Is she alright?! Where is she now?!"

"She was doing pretty good for herself last I saw her, she's part of the Shield Hero's party."

He heard a tiny wet laugh, along with a murmur that sounded like 'Of course she is…'.

More trees passed by, the crescent moon barely doing a good job at illuminating the road.

"So how do you know Raphtalia exactly Rifana?" He questioned after a while.

The small weasel-girl shifted a little before answering. "We're friends, childhood friends…"

Ryou hummed, before launching his next question, "So I take it you were also part of Seatto region then, the place that got hit by the first wave."

The girl tightened her grip again but to an almost uncomfortable level, before easing slightly. "Y-Yes… It was horrible… A lot of people lost their lives, like mine and Raphtalia's parents… T-Then when we started the reconstruction, the knights came and sold us to slavery, that was the last time I saw Raphtalia-chan…"

Ryou slowed his pace at that particular piece of information since it came into conflict with what he knew.

I thought that it was that trash Rabier had gotten all of them, that's why I was convinced it had been him ordering the attack, but if it wasn't him, nor Aultcray then who..? Ryou contemplated. It could have been any anti-demi-human noble, there was definitely no shortage of them in Melromarc, or it could have been a higher power.

The Pope? He considered, with a frown. What would the Pope stand to gain from raiding a village that had already been mostly destroyed..?

Ryou's thoughts swirled around the issue before it became clear, as he repeated Rifana's words.

'… the knights came and sold us to slavery…'

Money? Is that it..? He did throw a hissy fit when I took down Gentlewood… It all became clear in Ryou's mind, as he let out a dry chuckle much to the confusion of his company.

Lo and Behold… The national Religion of Melromarc gets its funds from corruption and human trafficking… Why am I even surprised…

"So what your saying is you were sold to different people?"

She took a moment before agreeing, "Yes… The man that I was s-sold wanted a servant, and that was what I did, but when the Slave Trader came he sold me back…" There was a nervous tone in her explanation.

Was it really that simple? Just a whim of fate and she lived? The Bow Hero considered, though the same could have been said for the event that had orphan both him and his sister, just a small decision, that led to a horrible tragedy.

Shaking his head out of those thoughts he took a side peak at the girl. Guess that shines some light on all of this... Even if you will never know you really dodged a bullet there Rifana…

"Your previous owner sounds like the type of guy I would love to introduce my fist too, but then again if I go out of my way to beat up everyone that deserves it, by tomorrow instead of the Yumi no Yuusha, I'll be known as a violent barbarian across the entire continent," Ryou noted with a bit of annoyance.

Throw one or two punches at people and suddenly you're the Hulk of this world, only not green… Is thoughts were interrupted by a sound, one he recognized as a small giggle.

"Well at least you don't have to worry about any of that anymore, contrary to public opinion, I'm a chilled sort of guy so from now on your free to live your life as you want too." He assured the girl, inciting a gasp from her.

"R-Really Master?"

It wasn't the disbelief that did it, it was the title that made Ryou trip in such a marvelous way that his face ate the dirt before he could even react.

"Ahhh Master are you alright?!" The bundle now seated on his back asked in worry.

Ryou for his part raised his upper body supporting it with an elbow and turned his head to get the girl in his sight, his face entirely serious.

"Rifana… Please never, ever call me that again."

It took nearly the entire trip to convince the demi-human girl that it was more than fine to call him by his name. When they reached the Ivyred's home, Ryou quickly found Rishia seated on the front porch with Quartz sleeping with her head against the green-haired girl with a blanket over their shoulders.

Coming to a stop near them, he felt some amusement at the sight, especially since the dragon was snoring with drool falling from her opened mouth, his amusement however quickly gave away to some measure of annoyance when he saw a tiny pool, where the dragon saliva had been accumulating.

What a waste of good money…

"R-Ryou what took you so long?" Rishia asked with a pout, gaining his attention.

He felt like rolling his eyes, but deep down he couldn't help the tender feeling that came with such a simple action.

"Sorry, I got caught up in something." He explained, turning around to show the bundle on his back. Said bundle took a glance before her ears flattened, and she hid her face in his back.

"Who is she?" Rishia asked, moving to take a better look at the girl.

A thud followed, and Ryou cringed as Quartz's skull made contact with the wooden floor, yet even that failed to wake her up.

"Before that, can I ask you to draw a bath for her, and get her something to wear? She really needs it, I'll explain in the meantime…" Ryou asked.

Rishia took another glance at the bundle, whose ears twitched at the word bath, before agreeing.

With Rifana busy in the bath, Ryou went to eat some leftovers from dinner, taking note to leave some for the mentioned girl.

"So... Who is that girl?" Rishia inquired, from her place in front of Ryou.

"Her name is Rifana, and she was a slave I bought in Gentlewood." He explained and waited for the outburst that would follow, however to his surprise there was none.

"T-That was nice of you…"

That statement came with warmth and was accompanied by a small smile much to his confusion.

I was honestly waiting for her to blow a casket at the mention of a slave… Shaking his head, Ryou took a few more bites as he gathered his thoughts.

"She is also one of Raphtalia's childhood friends, so yeah…"

Rishia blinked, then her eyebrows lifted, and her hand rose to her mouth, "Fuee! Really?! She's going to be so happy!"

He grunted in acknowledgment. "As she should, she was the one who made me do it without even being present…" There was disgruntlement in his voice, but without any heat.

"W-What? What do you…" there was a pause as her eyes soften, " Ahh her words back then, you remembered…"

Releasing a sigh he pushed his plate to the side and leaned back to look at the wood ceiling. "I never really forgot Rish… Honestly, those words have been bothering me since then, and when I saw Rifana I couldn't stop myself."

"You did the right thing Ryou… "

Not the right thing… The human thing… Although such a notion is lost on the nobles of this world… He took a glance at the girl in front of him and relaxed just a fraction. Well not all of them…

"R-Ryou I'm done…" A different voice came from the doorway, announcing that they had company.

His eyes roamed the small girl. Now cleaned she did look much better if a little feeble. The sky-blue dress she had on her made her pale skin much more prominent.

"You do look a lot nicer now Rifana." The girl looked down, playing with the hem of her dress, and bobbed her head.

"Fuee! She looks so cute!" With the declaration Rishia was off, clutching the demi-humans girl's hand. The surprise attack had the small girl taking a step back. looking at the new contact with a mix of fear, and disbelief.

Ryou decided to come to the rescue as Rifana appeared to be considering on making a break for it.

"I don't think you were introduced... This is Rishia, she's my party member, and the daughter of this lord's region."

Rifana stared at him, then back at Rishia, and the change was instant as she straightened herself bending at the waist.

"Ahhh its an honor Rishia-sama!" She squeaked.

The girl's posture and knee response had Ryou grimacing for a moment.

No child should be this formal, no doubt those manners were engraved into her…

Rishia quickly let go of the girl's hand as if it burned, her face almost exploding with color. "Fuee! N-No! Just Rishia is fine!" She exclaimed waving her hands in the air.

"Now you know how that feels…" His complaints, however, went unheard as the sound of a stomach grumbling echoed.

The weasel-girl looked utterly mortified, an expression that brought out a small chuckle from Ryou.

"We left some food from dinner for you if you want Rifana-chan!"

…and that if nothing else, broke whatever inhibitions Rifana had around Rishia.

After the demi-human had eaten her fill, Rishia had taken upon herself to set her in before withdrawing for the night, leaving Ryou alone in the kitchen.

Taking a quick sip of his tea, he returned to scribble down some more notes on one of his books. Originally they were to help him keep a record of his upgrades, and pieces of information he had been able to gather from his new world, along with his personal notes on blacksmithing. But the one that he was currently writing had something different in it. Inside those pages was the complete sum of his knowledge, both current, and from what he could remember from the story.

I'm raising a mighty dead flag with this… Ryou mused in cynical amusement.

If he were to give a particular reason to why he was performing his current task, it would be difficult, but his new morbid thoughts were due to him remembering his parents and their fate. It also wasn't something as righteous as for the world's sake. No, it was once again a bout of selfishness from his part. The Bow Hero could see his own progress and fell his strength increasing almost every day, so he couldn't conceive a future where the worst would come to pass.

But if it does, I don't want to leave people out to dry… If the worst came to pass, he would leave Rishia and Quartz in Naofumi's care, there was no one else he could entrust them with, and if he wasn't around to change the outcome of the Spirit Turtle Crisis, then he would leave the Shield Hero with the means to do so.

Even if he will curse me for the remainder of his life, not that I can blame him…

Taking another sip of his tea, he stopped mid-action when he felt a now-familiar presence enter the kitchen.

"This is private property you know?" The Bow Hero commented without taking his eyes from the book, however, he did move his gaze when he heard an amused noise from the person that made her way to the cupboards.

"You've been busy Ryou."

Ryou observed with a raised eyebrow as the Shadow Maid worked her way around the cupboards. "That's also a crime just so you know…"

The maid shrugged, and a few moments later Ryou recognized she was also preparing tea.

"Believe me, I have done far worse things in my line of work…"

He sent her a sharp look as he closed the book, "Yes, I'm quite aware of that fact…"

"Holding grudges is a little petty, I thought we were over this…"

"I'll show you petty…" He grumbled before laying his chin on his palm, watching the maid shifting weirdly until he realized she was moving her hips to a sound.

Is she actually humming a song?! Ryou thought incredulously, and for some reason, he felt creeped out.

"I can never get a read on you… Every time I think I have you figured out, you come up with a way to throw me for a loop."

The woman turned around, a cup of steaming tea in her hand before taking a seat in the chair his partner had been previously occupying.

"Once again it's part of my job…" She said as she blew lightly on the cup.

"I think it as less to do with your job, and more to do with the fact that you just like to mess with me…" He quipped and was awarded a secretive smile before she returned to blowing the steam out of her cup.

"So why have you come all the way to nowhere?" He probed after a second.

"All work and no play makes you a very boring young man."

A very indecent reply came up to his mind but he bit his tongue to stop it from escaping.

She continued blowing on the cup until she was satisfied with the temperature. "That aside, tell me did you like my present?"

Ryou didn't even bat an eye at the subject change already more than used to it, but thankfully that was something he needed to talk about.

"Yes… Although I have to ask. Just what kind of egg did you gave me anyway?"

She stopped sipping, and he saw an eyebrow rising above her mask.

"Wasn't it obvious?"

The Bow Hero scoffed at the tone crossing his arms, "Well I'm sorry if I'm not used to an egg changing both in size, and color out of the blue…"

"What are you talking about?"

The woman looked truly confused, so he expanded on it. "The egg… It changed from white to pitch black with some weird light formations inside of it, not only that but it almost tripled in size too."

She set her cup down, her face changing from confused to serious, "Dragon eggs don't do that, and that's what I gave you, a Dragon egg, although…."

"That pause at the end doesn't exactly fill me with confidence…" He shot back, with half-lidded eyes, and saw as the maid shifted a little in her seat, before coughing in her hand.

"Well, I knew it was a dragon egg when I stole it, just not what kind it was…" She admitted almost looking embarrassed.

Ryou brought his palm to his face and released a breath, "Stole it? Stole it from where precisely?"

"King Aultcray's treasury and before that it was stolen from Q'ten Lo's Heavenly Palace, during the war…"

Quartz, do you also have some kind of misfortune attached to you? Ryou wondered.

"Are you some kind of animal that steals eggs?" He asked in exasperation before shaking his head, "Never mind that. Rishia told me, that country is remarkably isolated, and even traders have trouble getting in there."

"That's about right… I won't tell you how troublesome it was to get there much less infiltrate the palace, although thankfully there's a lot of infighting there so it made my job a bit easier…" The Maid complained lightly, almost huffing.

"You know… If you stole the egg from the palace odds are it wasn't normal, to begin with." He pointed out.

"Ahh well…" She trailed off once more, and Ryou instantly felt the hairs on his arms rising in slight apprehension.

"What?"

"It might or might not have also been viewed as a national treasure…" The maid admitted trying to look smaller then she was.

"…You mean to tell me that your gift to me, was not only stolen from Aultcray of all people but before that it was considered a national treasure from another country..?" The disbelief in his voice could be felt a mile away.

"Yes… It has been kept in stasis with a seal for a long time to stop it from hatching, so it was at best a trophy I think?"

"Why would you even steal something like that in the first place..?" Ryou asked, blinking.

"That's a bit of a funny story, though I didn't find it very funny back then..." She paused for a moment, to gather her thoughts," During the war, before our majesty was married, our king who was still a general at the time wanted to give Mirellia-sama something exceptional, so he asked us to infiltrate Q'ten Lo, and get some trees from there, that are known for their beauty." The maid's lips turned upwards in amusement, "Me and my team were able to get some seeds, but almost immediately we found out that those trees wouldn't survive anywhere outside Q'ten Lo for some reason, so after a lot of hard work, and creeping around our mission turned out to be a massive failure. I then had the idea of taking something else to appease him, and then we came across a dragon egg, that was herald as a National treasure, so I thought that surely the being that would hatch from it would become a wondrous symbol of Melromarc's strength. Well short story, the king didn't seem to share our views on it and tossed the egg in the treasury. As for me and my team… We became very familiar with a mop and with Castle Town barracks for the next few months…"

That's some devotion… To be in the middle of a war and ordering what can be only considered the country special infiltration forces, to go to another country that was allied with your enemy just to steal a gift for his fiance… Ryou admitted with a disbelieving shake of his head. He had been in love before, and knew how to put an effort, but in no way shape or form could he compare himself to the lengths that Aultcray had gone.

Actually, he is nothing if dedicated isn't he? His dedication is out there for everyone to behold, one just has to look at the lengths he goes to make Naofumi's life miserable…

"Okay, I really don't want to know about Aultcray's love-life and attempts to whoo his wife, especially since at the present she probably just wants to slap the shit out of him. So besides that is there anything else you can tell me about the egg?" He asked.

A chuckle erupted from the Shadow Maid's mouth, as she almost spilled the tea, before wiping her mouth, "There isn't much I can tell you. I already gave you all the information I had. It has been kept in stasis for a long, long time… The egg was ancient actually, it might have even pre-date Q'ten Lo's existence entirely, but besides that, I have nothing else to offer." She answered.

So if I wanted to find out more about Quartz, I would have to go there personally, and since the only country they trade with is Siltvelt, it's an exercise doomed to failure without taking Naofumi along, not even counting that we would have to wait for permission from the Heavenly Emperor to step foot in there… Ryou mused, before raising his head slightly.

Wait..? Heavenly Palace… Heavenly Emperor… Heavenly Dragon… Is there a correlation there? He questioned himself. While he still couldn't see much of a link link between Quartz, and the Dragon God that the Aotatsu adored. There could be a connection between them even if it sounded like a stretch.

But I can't go on a ghost hunt for Quartz origins, not when there is so much to do…

"Ryou?" The maid called out, shaking him of his thoughts.

"Sorry." He apologized, "Just thinking about what you said. But on a side note, since it was stolen should I expect someone to give me trouble over it?"

"Pfff… No… They won't notice it is missing for a while, if ever. As I said, there is a lot of infighting so they are quite occupied with National issues, and you think his majesty will notice something like a monster egg missing? Nowadays he won't even notice if his undergarments are missing much less some egg in his vault… Besides, since it already hatched I doubt someone can track it down." She scoffed rejecting the notion with a wave of her hand.

"She did turn different from other dragons thanks to me being a Hero, although apparently, that's a common theme with us…" Ryou explained ending in a murmur.

The woman hummed in thought seemingly coming to a realization, "That makes sense, the Filorials that Naofumi-sama is raising also turned out different and much bigger than normal."

The new information brought a smirk to Ryou's face. So you did end up getting two Filorial Queens… Heh, have fun with that one Naofumi… He could almost picture the look of horror on the Shield Hero's face as two attention-seeking human-looking girls pestered him for everything.

"Does your dragon also uses transformation magic?" She inquired curiously.

"Yeah, Quartz can do it on instinct, among other things…" He replied after a moment. Quartz could also somehow use telepathy and had the astonishing ability to almost devastate entire environments just by feeding.

Not so hot at flying though…

"Interesting name for a dragon…" The maid commented with a small tilt of her head.

"I also think so, Rishia was the one who came up with it…" His partner had a good naming sense going for her.

"She has good taste." She added with a small smile on her face.

"When it comes to naming stuff maybe, though her taste in clothes leaves a lot to be desired as does her taste in man."He scoffed.

"That's very true," She said with a small laugh," …Not so sure about her taste in man though... Anyway, I didn't come here to just swap pleasantries, unfortunately…"

"Figures, so what do you have for me?" Ryou interlaced his fingers in front of his chest expectantly.

"I would like you to go to a village called Ehrenhalf. Its located in the southeast bordering a few of the smaller countries, but it's close to Zetouble and since you are already going there I thought you could solve a small problem for us."

Ryou eyed his company for a second. "You still haven't told me who exactly I'm supposed to meet in Zetouble, and what's with the urgency behind it."

The maid shifted once more, eyes moving to the empty cup, "Even I don't know all the details. Only that Mirellia-sama as a vast interest in you meeting that person, and that there is some urgency to it."

So nothing in concrete then… Well at the very least I can safely assume it won't be detrimental to my health since it's coming directly from the Queen… Ryou reasoned.

"…and what's this little problem you speak off?"

The Shadow took another slow slip, before laying the cup and pushing it to the side, "The village I spoke of is apparently being targeted by a huge flock of Gryphons, already some people have vanished without a trace, including traders."

Gryphons? Well, they have Dragons, and Chocobos so why not…

Taking the Bow Hero silence as a sign to continue, the Shadow did so, "The situation is getting serious enough that the Lord of the region is offering quite the reward, especially since there were sightings of a massive one, most likely a Gryphon King."

Gryphon King? "How strong would you say a Gryphon King is?" He asked drawing some parallels. If a Gryphon King had even half the power of a certain Filorial Queen, he wanted nothing to do with it.

"A Gryphon King is a fearsome creature, but I trust with your power it won't be an issue…" She clarified as a secretive smile bloomed in her face, "…besides, this time I'm sending support to help you if needed."

Ryou raised a brow, "Support? What kind of support?"

"That…" She drawled slowly, "...is a secret!" She exclaimed and laughed when a nasty glare found its way into Ryou's eyes.

"We have been over this you witch…" The Bow Hero almost hissed, "I told you I hated going in blind."

"Who said anything about going in blind? If anything you are quite familiar with them." She finished, and with those words, the maid disappeared before his eyes.

Ryou watched the place she had been standing in before releasing a sigh, "Why do I even bother anymore… Well, I guess we can't stay here permanently, and that does provide us with a route… I do have to deal with Rifana first, along with a few other things."

The next morning Rifana seemed a little more cheerful and was introduced to Almond and Quartz. Both took the demi-human addition in good spirits, or in Quartz's case, she had just sniffled the little girl, before nodding and leaving to go for her second breakfast.

Rifana had also taken a shine at Rishia, something Ryou was thankful for. His partner for her part was happy to have another girl around, one that was much more feminine than Quartz if the discussion during breakfast between them was anything to go by.

After Quartz returned Ryou ordered a full out gathering in the living room.

"Alright now that everyone is here, there are a few things I want to go over…" The Bow Hero started, looking towards the members of his party.

"What is this about?" Rishia asked blinking in confusion, she was missing her practice lessons with the guards so whatever it was it had to be serious.

"The first thing is that we have a new place to go, I have news that there's a village with a Gryphon problem, so that's our next stop, after that we are going to Zetouble."

"Gryphons?" Rifana questioned with a little apprehension.

"Is Zetouble a place with tasty food?" Quartz asked at the same time.

Ryou nodded at the demi-human question and decided to ignore the gluttonous dragon.

"Yes and that leaves me with the next order of business… What do you want to do Rifana?" Ryou questioned.

The demi-human of the group looked confused, eyes furrowing, and then she shook her head.

"I don't understand…"

Shifting from one leg to the other Ryou explained the situation. "Here's the thing, you're free now so you can do whatever you like. If you want to stay here, I'm sure Almond can accommodate you for the time being, and you will be able to live your life in peace… for the most part."

After letting it sink in Ryou proceeded, "You can also, eventually go join Raphtalia if you want, though that will most likely require you to fight in the waves…" She perked up at the first part but shivered when the word waves came out of his mouth.

"Is Raphtalia-chan also fighting the waves..?"

Ryou nodded.

For a few moments, she made no other movement, reflecting on everything, then she made her decision. "I would like to meet Raphtalia, I want to see her again…" Rifana mumbled, raising her head to look at him.

Figures… Ryou scratched his head. "That's fine but it will probably take a while before that happens… I can't exactly go around the country to track Naofumi down, we have the stuff to do and got to get ready for the waves ourselves."

"Naofumi?" The small weasel girl inquired.

"He is the Tate No-Yuusha-sama, Rifana-chan," Rishia interjected from her place on the couch.

"Ahh…" Understanding seemed to cross her face, as her ears dropped slightly.

"She could join our party, at the very least until we come across Naofumi-sama." His partner suggested after a moment.

"You of all people should know this isn't a road trip Rish." Ryou reprimanded lightly.

Besides, I didn't save her just to throw her into the fire again…

The green-haired mage bit her lip, "I know that… But if she joins our party, even if later she decides to do something else, she will be much stronger, and there is nothing wrong with getting stronger."

"Still…" Ryou trailed off. The soonest he could think of meting the Shield Hero would be right before or during the next wave, and that would herald Glass's appearance, and after that things would become a lot more chaotic before they got better. It would be incredibly dangerous to be in his party during that time.

"I… I want to get stronger!" The weasel demi-human squeaked, clenching her fists in front of her.

Ryou released a sigh, before crouching down in front of the girl, and placed one hand on top of her head, "Rifana… This is no joke… You know how ruthless the world out there is, and how horrifying the waves are. As the Yumi-no Yuusha, I won't be allowed to run away from it. There will be times we will have to face those dangers head-on, so think carefully about what you want to do." He advised kindly.

"I…" She paused for a moment, "What happened to me and my family… What happened to Raphtalia and her family… To our village… I don't ever want that to ever happen again!" She exclaimed, as her eyes met his, and he saw something swimming in them, something he had seen before… In Rishia's eyes.

Is this really the right thing to do? She's still a child… Ryou questioned himself. Raphtalia never had a choice, but her friend did, so was allowing her to join them truly the right thing to do?

"Besides, in the legends, what the Yumi-no Yuusha-sama stands for is also something that I think this world needs…"

What the Yumi-no Yuusha-sama stand for? Ryou questioned inwardly, before voicing his thoughts, "What do you mean, by what the Yumi-No Yuusha stands for?"

She looked at him once more with a hint of resolution, "In the legends, the Yumi-no Yuusha-sama is always the one hero with the greatest sense of justice!"

The greatest sense of justice? Ryou wondered, before releasing a snort, followed by breaking in laughter to the confusion of all present.

"Hahahahahahahaha! G-Greatest sense of justice?! I-I'm sorry Rifana, I don't know where you read that, but its the biggest piece of crap I have heard since I arrived in this world…" Ryou finished chortling.

"Fuee… I think you have a good sense of justice Ryou…" His partner interjected with a frown.

Hearing her words made Ryou lose whatever amusement he had been feeling. "No, I don't. I have my sense of justice, but its not strong or weak, its just mine, and out of everyone in this room it might be the most flawed one."

"But with Gentlewood, I think you did enact justice, the good kind…" Rishia asserted.

Good kind of justice..? I'm beginning to see where her obsession with Itsuki came from…

"That's the thing Rish… There's no good kind of justice… There's only your interpretation of it…" Ryou clarified, massaging his forehead, "Listen, in my old world you could travel to many countries and every single one of them had their own system of justice. Some accepted death as a suitable sentence for heinous crimes, some others wouldn't even consider such a thing no matter how awful the crime was. The same applies here in a way. Our beloved king considers making every single demi-humans life, as well as Naofumi's as miserable as possible, his brand of justice. However, if you go to Siltvelt they consider making humans lives as miserable as possible their brand of justice, so which one is right or wrong? To me their both wrong but maybe that's my perspective against that of your world…" He paused for a moment taking in their thoughtful expressions, "But let me give you another example. Every day, I go to Gentlewood Village for my blacksmith lessons, and every day without fail I see people with slaves. Now if I had a strong sense of justice I would bash the face of everyone who owned a slave, but by that logic, I should have joined Motoyasu when he decided to free Raphtalia right?"

"Fuuee! But that's different!" Rishia shouted, and Ryou leaned his head to the side.

"Different how? A big idiot he might be, but he did act according to his world's values, that's why I say my own sense of justice might be the most flawed here because if I ever spring into action, there will always be a part of me that will judge the situation based on the morals and values of a society that's not this one." Ryou explained, and once again his partner was lost for words.

"Also the reason why I instinctively knew that what Rifana said wasn't true, was because one of the first things I did when I came here was letting an innocent person be accused and take the fall for something he did not do. Where's the justice in that? There was none, not on my side at least, I acted on my self-preservation nothing more." Ryou ended, before turning to the small demi-human girl, who was looking down clenching her fists.

"Listen Rifana, I know what you went through was terrible, but whatever justice your trying to achieve is not going to happen anytime soon. I don't know if you want the people responsible punished, or if you want equal rights for you guys, but the truth is that I can't offer either. Perhaps when the waves are over, and we are much stronger, but no-one knows when that will be…"

Small drops start to fall from her eyes, but she shook her head brushing them with her fist, "I… I just want to hold that flag once more… Along with Raphtalia-chan, and Keel-kun…and I thought that maybe if its the Yumi-no Yuusha-sama, the one who is deemed to have the strongest sense of justice then what happened to us, will never happen again…" She revealed as she continued rubbing her eyes, and Ryou felt his own soften.

"Rifana… Let me impart to you with something I told Raphtalia a while ago… Whatever it is that you read in stories pertaining to us heroes is most likely inaccurate, and if you place us on a pedestal, I guarantee you, you will be left disappointed. Heroes in tales are amazing, right? Here though? We are just human and full of flaws." Ryou explained gently, rubbing her head, "I can't promise you that what happened in Seatto will never happen again, that's not realistic, because like I said, I'm not a god, I'm just human and that comes with the flaws we all have. The only thing that I can give you is my word that if that day comes, I will try my best to make sure it never happens again." He vowed. That was the only promise he could give because stating things like as long as I'm around it will never happen wasn't a realist approach.

"I think Rifana-Onee-Shama, should just get stronger…" Quartz added without raising her eyes from the ground, as her legs dangled slowly from her place on the sofa, "…if Rifana-Onee-shama is strong, she can just punch every bad person away, or sneeze on them."

Are you trying to adopt everyone in the world into your family?

"I want to get strong!" The small girl exclaimed once more, before her face morphed in confusion, "I don't know how sneezing will help though…"

"Just ignore that one Rifana." Ryou suggested, before turning to the small dragon, "Quartz, Rifana sneezing on bad guys will only annoy them at best…"

Quartz finally lifted her head, with her lips tugging down, confusion apparent in her face.

Here's to hoping that Raphtalia won't be too pissed about this or I'll definitely be in for a lecture or two… Releasing another sigh, Ryou decided to address the girl once more, "If you truly desire to get stronger, and want to join us for however long that might be then I guess I'll allow it, but I expect you to take this for what it is… and that's something both very dangerous, and serious… And also take whatever expectations you have of me as a hero, and throw them out of the window, especially that greatest sense of justice thing, okay?"

Rifana nodded shyly, but her eyes were shining with determination. A moment later a window materialized in front of the small girl, and with a touch, she became semi-official part of Ryou's party.

"Fuee! Welcome to the party Rifana-chan!" Ryou observed as Rishia fussed over the demi-human girl with enthusiasm.

"I-I'll be in your care from now on!" She exclaimed back.

Our party is getting bigger, it was just me and Rish a couple of weeks ago… Yet, there was another thing he began to consider, as he brought up his party menu. Rifana was currently at level one and for the task, they were going along with everything else coming that wasn't going to be viable.

We should just power level her a bit until I feel confident in her stats at least… He decided mentally. "Well then let's get to work immediately!" He stated with a clap, getting the attention of everyone.

"What will I be doing?" Rifana asked, her face serious.

"Ohh nothing much…" Ryou drawled with a small grin, shifting his attention to the smallest member of his party, "Tell me Quartz are you still hungry?"

"Dummy Onii-shama, Quartz is always hungry." The white-haired girl explained in a matter of fact tone. At one point such a declaration would have filled Ryou with a sense of horror, but at this particular juncture, it was greeted with satisfaction.

"Perfect…" He purred, looking back to Rifana who's anxiety doubled at the almost wicked grin in the hero's face.

A stray arrow flew through the dark, and stuffy atmosphere around him. Yet a moment later Ryou was forced to crouch as a rocky appendage passed over his head. The momentum of the attack forced Ryou's new nemesis slightly off-balance, giving the Bow Hero a chance to release three new arrows in quick succession, each puncturing holes into the four-legged monster. From the holes, cracks extend all over its body and a second later the creature shattered.

A reasoning thud echoed in the tunnel, as another monster's faceless head met the stone ground, bursting into pieces it's body following suit a moment later.

Cleaning his hands of dust, a towering figure frowned as he took in the tunnel, not that he could see much of anything. "This place is a goddamn death trap…"

"Ohh believe me, you have no idea…" Ryou muttered drily.

Another crashing sound followed as yet another monstrosity met a wall, sending part of the ceiling crumbling on top of it.

"Quartz be careful or you'll bring the entire place crashing down on us," Ryou warned.

The small girl looked back towards him, her face blank as she blinked, before leaning to the side effortlessly, as a fist passed near her head. Small hands lashed out grabbing the appendage, and with a heave, the monster much bigger and heavier than the girl was lifted off the ground before smashing in front of her, sending rocks, and Mithril flying everywhere.

Turning to look towards the tunnel, Quartz's eyes that almost shined with a soft golden glow, narrowed slightly.

"Onii-shama… There's more coming."

Ryou for his part couldn't see anything beyond the veil of darkness, passive skills or not, but there was no mistaking the heavy thumbs that came from it.

"Everyone clear the way!" He shouted. a moment later is Great Wolf Bow was gone, giving way to a curved yellow bow, with feathers adorning its limbs.

[Gryphon's Feathered Bow + 6 - Rare - Awakened - Equipment Bonus - + 5 Attack, + 5 Agility, Air Strike Arrow Skill, Air Skills Damage Bonus(Small) - Special Effect - Air Strike Arrow Piercing Bonus(Medium), Air Strike Attack Speed Bonus(Medium), Air Strike Arrow Projectile Speed Bonus(Medium), Air Strike Arrow Barrage]

Leveling his bow with the center of the tunnel, Ryou pulled on a white arrow. An unnatural wind picked up around the hero, that had no place more than a hundred meters below the surface, as the projectile coated itself in a miniature whirlwind.

Red magical particles like droplets gathered around his arrow, giving it an eerie red glow.

"Faust Power!"

Ryou didn't even spare a side glance to his partner at the surprising but not ill-intended support, before releasing the arrow that shot forward in a blur, illuminating the darkness.

His eyes saw the arrow reach the first Mithril Monstrosity, and it might as well have been made of glass for all the resistance that it put. Shattering completly, a second, third and fourth monster quickly following suit, even those not directly in the arrow's path shattered just by the force behind it. Finally, the projectile disappeared from view, continuing its trek down the tunnel, leaving behind only pieces of the opposition.

"Fuee… I think that's the last one for now…" Rishia commented from further behind after a moment.

At the sound of her voice, Ryou looked at his partner with a small exasperated grin.

I appreciate the effort, but that was so overkill it's almost funny… Support Magic, Ryou had discovered, also worked as a multiplier, on top of every other bonus and number he already had going for him. His normal Air Strike Arrow would had been more than enough to deal with the creatures, so for Rishia to add a thirty-three percent increase(or one third from what he had been able to calculate from his numbers) on top of that, could only be described as silly.

Well, then again I guess she was only playing it safe...

His eyes then fell on their newest party member as her two smaller arms hugged the green-haired mid-section tightly. The owner looking at the entire thing with a mix of apprehension, and awe.

"You doing alright there Rifana?"

The girl nodded, in such a way that seemed like her head would fall off, "Y-Yes… But these monsters are much more terrifying than the ones outside…"

"And Quartz can't eat these…" The small girl interjected coming up from behind, before kicking a rock with a small frown, "Onii-shama… These monsters suck…"

"You got that right…" Ryou muttered.

A dismissing sound, came from the other male, "I bet my good arm that everything here is twisted beyond any measure of normalcy…" The man commented as he took a few sniffs of the air, his ears reminiscent of a retriever's rising slightly. "Even I can sense the power of the Dragon Vein here… A Cave overflowing with natural magic… That's never a good mix…"

"But these monsters... I wonder why we didn't encounter them the first time…" Rishia questioned out loud.

Crouching, Ryou picked up a piece of stone, his eyes observing the vestiges of the mythical ore encroached in it. A very soft yellow glow shined from his wrist announcing that his Legendary Weapon was reacting to it.

[Mithril Elemental Bow - Equipment Bonus - +3 Attack, +3 Magic, Bonus to Elemental Attacks(Small)]

"Mithril Elementals huh…" Ryou murmured, before rising to his feet, "...I think I know why they are showing up now. If that big ass worm ate ore, then mithril might have been on the menu, it also explains why it made its nest near the biggest vein."

"Makes sense..." The man allowed, inclining his head, eyes peering further into the tunnel, "... the reason why you didn't encounter them was more than likely because they were hiding from the Alpha Predator in these caves, but now that you killed it, these guys are coming out of the woods."

The Bow Hero opened his inventory and as expected Mithril Ore was once again accumulating there, as a result of having received the drops from the new monsters.

I had to go through hell to get some Mithril, and now it falls from the sky like candy… He huffed in annoyance.

"So kid how much further is it?" The male demi-human asked with a hint of impatience.

"Another ten or so minutes..."

"Good. The sooner we get this done the better, this place is giving me the creeps." The man murmured as he began walking.

Shaking his head, Ryou raised himself, and in a moment he fell in step with the man, the rest of his party following behind with Rifana trying her best to magically merge with Rishia, her eyes going from one side of the rocky tunnel to the other anxiously.

For a minute a blanket of silence fell on the party, and the Hero found his eyes moving towards the new temporary addition to his party as he recalled what let to this last-minute expedition.

Flashback…

"Haa! Yuusha-sama you have returned, you did mention you had further business with me, but I was hoping you would reconsider my Monster Lottery, yes?" The Slave Trader questioned, rubbing his hands, his unnerving standard grin present on his face.

Ten out of ten chances this monster lottery is filled with Filorials, and or with Dragon eggs… Ryou concluded releasing a breath at the man's antics.

"No I haven't, there's another thing that I'm interested in… Actually there's a couple…" Ryou stated.

Beloukas inclined his head in almost disappointment, but motioned them to follow inside the Storehouse nonetheless, "I see… Then please come in, we will talk inside."

Inside the storehouse, the same nauseating smell hit them both. Since it was the second time Ryou had been ready for it, his partner, however, slapped her hand against her mouth and nose.

"R-Ryou… This place…. So there really is a slave business here.." She confined, head going from side to side eying the cages and their prisoners with apprehension.

"Yeah…" He confirmed simply, making his way to the center of the structure, where the Slave Trader was currently waiting for them.

"So tell me Yuusha-sama, how can I offer my services to you today?" Beloukas asked in curiosity.

"Well first I want you to tell me about the Slave Seal, and how do I go about learning to apply it." He asked.

"Fuee! R-Ryou why do you want to learn that?" Rishia questioned nervously.

The Bow Hero sent his partner a side glance, "Well I want to learn how to brand monsters with it, that's all…" He finished moving his attention back to the Slave Trader never noticing the breath of relief that his partner released.

The man inclined his head placing both his hands behind his back, "Yes I figured that was the case from our last conversation, but allow me to correct you on something Yuusha-sama, what you want to learn is the Monster Training Seal, not the Slave Seal."

"So they are different then. I thought it was all the same thing to be honest."

"A common misconception, those not educated in the art of curses also tend to think the same," Beloukas commented as he moved for a wooden shelf near his desk.

Ryou watched as the Slave trader searched the shelf for a few moments, before turning, and depositing an old tome on top of his desk.

His curiosity peaked, Ryou approached the desk as the man skimmed through a few pages, before stopping on one in particular with a now-familiar seal on it.

"This…" He pointed a pudgy finger to the symbol on the page, "...is a basic Monster Trainer Seal..." Beloukas explained, before flipping some more pages marking the previous one with his finger, before stopping on another with a similar seal on it, "...and this is a Slave Seal. Do you notice the difference Yuusha-sama?"

Ryou focused his attention on the seals. At first glance, he could see they were very similar, with three interlaced circles, surrounded by an almost complete circle with small coma-like protrusions around it. It took him a few seconds to spot the difference.

"It's the engravings along the circle, they are different on both seals, and the Slave Seal as more of them, right?" Ryou remarked with curiosity.

"Fuee… Monsters and humans are different and have different levels of intelligence, so for human slaves, a more complex seal is needed… Probably..." Rishia commented from his side.

Beloukas nodded in agreement, "It is as the young lady says, for something like Balloons, or Usapils a basic seal is all that's required, but higher intelligence beings might be able to work around the restrictions, so it's necessary to apply a more complex version, the same applies if the monster in question is strong to begin with." Beloukas explained, closing the book.

"So the reason Quartz's seal disappeared, was because it was of low quality huh?" Ryou concluded out loud.

"Pardon me?"

He turned his attention back to the man, "My dragon, her seal disappeared a little after she hatched."

The man's expression when from happy to serious in record time at the information, "That's not completely due to her intelligence, but mostly because she is a Dragon. Even the weakest of dragons could easily break through anything lower than a High-Level Monster Training Seal with sheer brute magical power, though I would advise you to place a seal on her soon…"

"I'm not going to brand Quartz with a seal. She is very well behaved, and if she steps out of line I guarantee you I don't need a brand that tortures people to reel her in…"

Belokas eyed Ryou in silence for a moment, before releasing a sigh, "I won't pry anymore into it, but for your sake, as well as those around you lets hope she remains that way…"

"As I said I don't need a brand to make sure she behaves and if something does arise from it I'll deal with it myself, my way…" Ryou announced with a tone of finality.

"Very well Yuusha-sama." Beloukas,added in a strangely serious tone, before continuing, " But we ventured off-topic. Tell me for what reason do you wish to learn about curse seals?"

"Well…" Ryou shook his head lightly, "...I want to add more fire-power to my party, the problem is that I'm not too keen on using slaves like Naofumi, and finding party members you can trust is not as easy as it seems, henceforth the best option currently is obviously monsters that I can train and use in battle."

Beloukas nodded in understanding, scratching his chin, "I see, you did show interest in Dunes, but like I said they are hardly battle worthy…"

Pretty sure with the Grow Correction and a few levels I could turn them into something battle-worthy, but that's beside the point… "Right… The problem with using monsters is how much you need to sustain them. Sure I would love to have two or three more dragons in my party, but already I'm receiving complaints from the hunters in Northern Village about the lack of game, and if what I know from Naofumi's Filorial Queens is true, then probably every omnivorous monster will end up eating enough that just a few of them can destroy an entire ecosystem."

The Slave Trader snapped his fingers, "And so came your interest in Dunes, they sustain themselves mostly on minerals, and that would solve your problem, I see, I see..."

"It's not really the Dunes that I'm interested in…" Ryou began throwing another look at his partner, before scratching his neck. He just knew Rishia was going to have objections.

"No?" Beloukas questioned.

Ryou shook his head, "Rifana mentioned that Dunes were like earthworms, and well… During our expedition in the Northern Cavern we fought a worm-like monster, one that was incredibly strong compared to everything else I have faced until now."

"A worm-like monster in the Northern Caverns you say?" The man's grin returned in full force, "I have no knowledge of such a beast. For sure a new specimen!"

"Fueee! Y-You want to turn one of those worms into a pet?!" Rishia shrieked.

"No…" Ryou hesitated for a moment at the outburst, "...well kinda. You have to admit that thing was pretty strong."

"No!" Rishia exclaimed shaking her head vigorously, her braids swinging from side-to-side, "Take the Dunes! They are cute! That monster is too terrifying!"

"Good!" Ryou scoffed at her words, crossing his arms," We need to add some terrifying to this party. Between you, Quartz and now Rifana we have enough cuteness has it is!"

"Fueee…" Rishia face flushed, but there was no hiding her apprehension.

"So you want to brand one of those worms with a seal is that right?" Beloukas asked.

"Yeah, that's the plan…"

"I wouldn't advise it. There is a reason why we sell most of our monsters as eggs, and that's because there is a bonding process between monster and trainer, and it starts as an egg. If you brand an adult monster it will try to rebel against you, and it would take months for it to obey any orders, if it even survived…" Beloukas explained.

The Bow Hero's shoulders dropped at the explanation. His idea had been to try and knock-out a worm, or weaken it enough to brand it, but it seemed like the plan had been doomed to failure.

"Guess that puts an end to my monster army ambitions for now…" Ryou mumbled dejectedly.

"Perhaps not so…" Beloukas commented, as he walked towards the end of the tent, and made a waving gesture into the darkness. A moment later, a tall figure appeared.

Ryou took in the new arrival. The first thing that stood to sight, were the flat dog-like ears, on either side of the man's head, similar to those of a dog. The next was the man's height that surpassed even Erhard's.

"The young lady mentioned it was ferocious, did she not?"

At the Slave Traders' question, Ryou nodded changing his attention back to the smaller man.

The man in question released a nonsensical noise, scratching his chin once more. "Would you say, that it was unnaturally aggressive? Perhaps it even seemed like it held a grudge?"

Ryou and Rishia looked at each other, before nodding.

"Y-Yes, it kept attacking us even when severely wounded…"

"Yup, at one point it even picked a fight with other monsters and after it came back to attack us…" Ryou answered remembering the underground lake full of Mutated-Kraken like monsters with a shudder.

The demi-human man inclined his head in acknowledgment, "It's more than likely that you accidentally stumbled upon its nest by mistake Yuusha."

Ryou did not miss the lack of honorific, nor the small trace of something on the man's voice as he addressed him, but dismissed it.

"Is that so? It didn't seem like a nest at all…" Ryou countered.

The man crossed his arms over his large chest, one that lacked a slave seal, "You said they were worms. Most likely the eggs are hidden in some tunnel, away from sight."

There were a lot of tunnels made by the worm we didn't explore…

"This is Jed." Beloukas finally presented the man, motioning with a hand, "He's one of my best bodyguards, but he is also the one who checks the quality of the merchandise I buy. His nose his second to none, he can even differentiate monster breeds while they are still eggs, just by smelling them!"

Ryou eyed the man for a moment, "So that's the plan huh? We take you with us and you'll find us some eggs?"

"If there's a nest, I'll find it no problem." The man declared seriously.

"If it's indeed a new species, I also want to acquire some for myself. I'll make an amazing amount of profit!" Beloukas announced rubbing his hands in glee.

"I know a few Nobles in Zetouble that would love to get there hands on a monster so ferocious that even a Yuusha is wary of them… They would make a killing in the underground coliseums... No pun intended." The man added finishing with a small grin.

"That's nice and all but those things are no joke. If we come across another one I'm not going to be held responsible for anything that happens."

The man's grin quickly changed into a frowned, "Doubtful… If they work like Dunes then they will try to make their nest as far away from each other as possible to ensure their species survival. Minerals like other resources are limited after all."

Guess if they all made their nest near each other, the small ones would eventually starve to death huh? An interesting piece of trivia there… "Let's hope that's the case, but to be safe I'm getting a few reinforcements."

"Scared Yuusha?" Jed questioned with a hint of condescension.

With half-lidded eyes, Ryou's answer came with a bland tone, "Yeah… Of the fortune your boss will ask of me for compensation if you die…"

The man only scoffed looking to the side.

"I tip my hat to you Yuusha-sama! Thinking on how to avoid paying more than necessary at every opportunity, yes!" Beloukas exclaimed.

Ryou pressed one finger to his ear, and closed his eyes, trying to mute the annoying man. "Quartz, are you there?"

There were a few moments of silence, and then…

"Yes, Onii-shama, Quartz is here."

"Where are you now?" Ryou asked mentally.

"Near the mountain, there are more slow monsters here." The dragon voice echoed in his mind.

"What is he doing now?" Jed asked with a trace of annoyance.

"Ryou is talking with Quartz-chan," Rishia answered.

"With who now?" The demi-human questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Miss, you mean the dragon in your party? How is that possible?" Beloukas asked walking closer to Rishia while rubbing his hands.

The girl in question took a few steps back nervously as she answered, "Fuee... Quartz-chan can use telepathy to communicate."

"Marvelous! I never heard of a dragon with such an ability! You must tell me more!"

"Would all of you pipe down, I can't hear her!" Ryou shout echoed in the warehouse, bringing silence into the building.

"That's good, go to the entrance of the Northern Cave and wait there for us…"

"Okay…. Quartz understands…"

One of these days I have to test the limits of her telepathy, if it even as one... With the link broken, he opened his eyes taking in the group looking at him with wide-eyed.

"What?"

It was the Slave Trader who broke the silence, "Yuusha-sama, you must tell me more about your dragon!" He pleaded, quickly making his way towards the hero, only to be stopped by a palm that appeared inches from his face.

"Yeah maybe later, do you want me to get those eggs or not?" Ryou asked with a trace of annoyance. In his opinion the Slave Trader was like his fellow Heroes, only bearable in small doses and already he was reaching the limit of his patience.

With a motion of his hand, the demi-human waved towards the door of the warehouse, "Lead the way Yuusha."

The mountain range that made up the natural boundary between the Northern Territories and Faubley never ceased to amaze the Bow Hero with its natural beauty. Greystone towered into the heavens, culminating in white peaks that stood above the clouds. Below at their base, there was nothing but green forests, contrasted only by the blue rivers that descend from the mountains.

Finally coming up the base of the mountain directly behind the Northern Village, the great opening of the Northern Cavern came in view, along with a white blob that slowly became more defined.

"I found Onee-shama and Onii-shama," Quartz announced in a soft voice.

"So you did…" Ryou commented with a small smile, petting the dragon on her head. Moving his attention he saw Rifana sprawled on the dragons back, eyes focused on the sky above.

"You okay there Rifana?" Ryou asked slightly worried.

"No… I feel sick..." She moaned.

If I remember correctly Raphtalia had the same problem when riding a carriage, and Quartz does tend to go overboard when hunting…

"You can take a break for a bit, we are walking for the next part."

With a groan the girl rolled off Quartz landing on her back with a dull thud without moving an inch, content on just laying there.

"You okay Rifana-chan?" Rishia asked, coming up to the small demi-human as she sheathed her new-pale blue rapier.

Rishia's new weapon, endearingly named Dawn Bringer was a product of Ryou's blacksmith endeavors, and while the enhancements had to be applied by his temporary mentor, the weapon at is base had much better stats than her previous one. The rapier shined with a small blue glow, and on the handle laid a hexagonal Mascgite crystal - The very same crystal he had collected from the cave, one that not only increased the potency of the girl's spells but also reduced the cost.

That wasn't the only difference on the green-haired girl since she was now doting a new armor made of the same material, also made by Ryou's hand. Unfortunately, the enhancements were also introduced by the blacksmith.

It was something that still irked him. His inability to truly manipulate his own magic. In blacksmithing, as well as other professions, adding magic into ones creations was essential and something that came naturally to most. Ryou, however, was not most people or even born in his current world so the process on how to do it continued to evade him.

His temporary mentor called him a one of a kind prodigy since he had been able to grasp the intricacies of his art in days. Ryou, though, had another name for his so-called prodigious ability.

Cheating… It all came down to his Legendary Weapon, and its ability to turn something that would take years to master, into a mostly mundane chore. After absorbing some old tools from the shop, and mastering the bows that came from it, Ryou's ability in the art of blacksmith had surged, and he knew by instinct how to hammer something, or the process involved, even if he still kept some notes on what worked and what didn't.

Perhaps the reason he felt irritated with his lack of ability as far as manipulating magic went, could be attributed to how easily everything else became, and he tried immediately to reign in those thoughts because such line of thinking could be a very treacherous one.

"No… I think I might be dying…" The weasel demi-human moaned to Rishia, who begun to fan her face with her hand.

Turning away from the drama occurring, Ryou's eyes went for the male demi-human accompanying his party.

Noticing the gaze on his person, the dog demi-human turned to look at the Bow Hero with narrowed eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing, just wondering why you don't seem to like me…" Ryou shrugged, his eyes going to the entrance of the cave.

"Don't like you?" The man questioned confused before his eyes widened a little and he let out a small chuckle, "Sorry. It's not a question of like or dislike, rather its instinct."

"Hmm? Instinct?" Ryou sent him a side glance.

"Yeah…" The man grabbed a small stone, and after a moment launched it into the opening of the cavern, "...it's the fact that you're a Hero, yet you're not holding a shield kind of thing."

Ohhh… "Is that normal? I know that demi-humans love the Shield Hero, but you're the first that I met that seemed to dislike the others."

The demi-human grinned slightly at the Bow Hero's words, "They didn't come from Siltvelt, I bet." The man asserted, "Trust me when you spend your entire childhood praying I don't know how many times per day to the Shield Hero, and spending the rest of it hearing everyone cursing the other three, you develop a little bit of passive-aggressiveness towards them."

"Is that the norm in Siltvelt?" Ryou asked with a tilt of his head. From what he had been able to gather both from the Shadow Maid, and his own studies, Siltvelt didn't hold much love for any other Legendary Hero besides the Shield Hero, however, every demi-human he had met seemed at best indifferent to his status.

Then again, both Rifana and Raphtalia are from Seatto, and Rasha also seemed to be from Melromarc, so it's not like I have lots of experience dealing with Siltvelt Inhabitants…

"With the shit going around concerning the Tate-no Yuusha, you would be lucky if you reached the Capital alive. The more fanatical members there wouldn't hesitate in taking out their frustrations on you."

So basically I would get an even worse welcome then Naofumi did here…

"There was a person that advised me to stay clear from there…" Ryou admitted looking towards his party, where Quartz had joined Rishia in fanning Rifana's face with her hand, her head tilted to the side in confusion.

"That's some solid advice Yuusha and you should definitely heed it."

Ryou nodded, before making himself heard, "Alright everyone let's go!"

Flashback End...

"So this is the place huh?" Jed asked looking around, as he sniffed the air.

Ryou shook himself out of his reverie noticing they had finally arrived

Eying the gallery he saw the vestiges of the battle that had ground was littered with crystals, that still emanated with a pale blue light. Part of the far wall was mostly destroyed and blackened from their combination skill, and there was no missing the hole that the worm had melted with its beam attack, along with the one he had crawled from. There were hardly any remains from the worm, as he had expected, the monsters had probably feasted on its carcass, not even leaving it's bones behind.

"Yeah, so what do you think?" Ryou asked.

The demi-human gave a few more sniffs, before nodding, "You have really bad luck or good depending on how you look at it because this is certainly a nest."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, my nose has never failed me before, just give me a few moments and I'll point you in the right direction." The man announced as he walked away, towards one of the holes.

"Fuee… Your really determined to do this…" Rishia said from his side in a resigned manner.

"Of course I am, we came this far didn't we? Besides even you have to acknowledge those things were pretty strong." Ryou answered.

"That's not what I'm worried about…" Rishia muttered, prompting Ryou to finally look at his partner. Rishia looked at him with a worried glance, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Rish, what's this truly about?" Ryou asked. She never seemed to have a problem with Quartz, so he couldn't understand what was eating at his party member.

"Adding more monsters to our party… Quartz is one thing, she's a dragon… But if people of Melromarc see you, one of the three legendary heroes they worship here deploying them in battle, then…" Rishia explained.

Rifana continued from his side, "The legends always spoke that, the Ken-no Yuusha-sama, Yari-no Yuusha-sama, and Yumi-no Yuusha-sama always had parties of humans. The only hero who made a party composed of Demi-humans and Monsters was the Tate-no Yuusha…"

Ryou's eyes widen a fraction at the information.

In my hype of having an army of monsters, I never consider the implications that it could have…

"You told me that you rejected our Majesty chosen adventurers… If you now appear fighting the wave with a Demi-human, a Dragon, and an army of monsters, what will he think..?" His partner asked lowering her head.

"He probably won't be very happy…" Ryou muttered as he closed his eyes in thought. If he were to appear in the wave with a plethora of monsters rather than humans it would be like a slap in the Old man's face.

...and it isn't just my reputation at stake is it..? For now, the powers that be only seemed to think he sympathized with the Shield Hero, but if he continued with actions that were seemed as heretical by the church, they could turn those actions around to serve their purpose and things could get very complicated for Naofumi very fast.

I can already see it, the church and Malty screaming how the Demon Shield brainwashed me or was manipulated me into siding with him, and do things his way… The thought couldn't even be considered ludicrous, because it had happened when people started seeing the Shield Hero as something other than the demon he had been portrayed as, and already Ryou had laid the foundations for such a thing to happen by publicly defending Naofumi.

"You said the Church was keeping an eye on you, as was the Pope, and he is dangerous… If you keep pushing them then…" Rishia trailed off, her green eyes shining with worry.

"It's true, I never stopped to think what kind of message I would be sending by doing this, but that doesn't mean I should just lower my head, and stop pursuing advantages just because it rubs people the wrong way…" Ryou pointed-out, shifting in place, as a frown took over, "... I have no intention of keeping pussy-footing around just to appease that fanatical cult. Besides Rish do you remember what I told you back then after the duel?"

"...We are both still too weak to pick doing what is right, over what is smart. For now, the only thing we can do is keep our heads low, and get stronger until we have the strength to be able to choose." The words echoed in Rishia's head as the memory reached her, and she nodded hesitantly

"Slowly but surely we are getting strong… Soon enough we will be able to cast off the shackles that the church of the three heroes likes to impose. The time where we will be able to choose what we can do will come sooner rather than later. But, if it makes you feel any better, I'll try to keep them out of sight, and only use them if the situation calls for it, okay?" He tried to reassure her.

I also don't want to give the church more ammunition to fire at Naofumi, at least not before he is ready...

"Fuee… I still don't think this is a good idea, but I guess that's just the kind of person you are..." Rishia mumbled as she sent him a shaky smile.

"Found them, Kid!" A voice echoed from the other side of the chamber, and Ryou saw Jed pointing into a tunnel a few meters above the ground.

Sending one last look to his partner who just waved him off, Ryou hesitated for a moment before making his way to the demi-human.

"In there huh..."

The demi-human nodded, also looking upwards, "Yup that's what my nose is telling me."

In a moment his bow materialized, and Ryou took aim at the entrance of the tunnel, "Chain Arrow!"

The arrow embedded itself in the opening, as a metallic chain dangled from it. Giving it a few pulls to make sure it was secure, Ryou nodded to himself and started climbing.

"Nifty ability…" Jed commented from below.

"Sure is, saved my life a couple of times, and it makes things like this a lot easier…" Ryou commented. In a moment he heaved himself into the entrance of the tunnel before looking down at his party, "Rish, Quartz you stay there with Rifana, while Jed and I go look for those eggs."

Rishia nodded, as her hand fell on the small demi-human girl's shoulder that was looking at him worriedly.

Ryou just sent her a smile, and thumbs up, before turning to the dark tunnel that was soon illuminated by his Bio-Luminescent Bow.

"Kid that thing almost seems like a purse from some woman in Nobility, they have everything in there…" Jed commented with amusement shaking his head.

Haa yes, a woman's purse.. The single most complete pack of daily utensils since the dawn of humanity. You need something, they have it in there, good luck on finding it though… Ryou quipped in his head.

They continued their trek through the tunnel for a couple of moments before another obstacle presented itself.

Kicking a rock Ryou watched it tumbled into the vertical hole, a few seconds passed before a a sound of it hitting the ground was heard.

"Well that's one hell of a drop," Jed commented peering into the hole.

"That? Pfff that's nothing, you should have seen the hole I fell into a while ago…"

"Are all the Yuushas as crazy as you?"

"No…" Ryou responded as he released another chain into the ceiling. Turning around he sent the demi-human a smirk, "...they are worse."

"So our chosen saviors are all touched in the head is that it? Even the Tate-no Yuusha?" The demi-human asked.

Ryou chuckled as he climbed down the chain, "You think that you can summon people to fight demons that spawn from cracks in the sky, along with every other piece of insanity that comes our way and have us be a normal, reasonable bunch?"

"When you put it like that…" Jed allowed as he too grabbed the chain and begun climbing down.

"... And as far as the Shield Hero is concerned…" Ryou grinned, "He's the craziest bastard of us all…"

"Lovely…" The demi-human said dryly.

It took nearly two minutes for Ryou to reach the end of the hole, and as he turned around, the light of his bow reflected off translucent orbs against a wall, stuck together by some kind of black membrane, a scene that the Bow Hero could only compare to a horror movie, but even then he found himself grinning slightly, as he saw a thin, snake-like creature slithering inside a pale transparent egg, one of the hundreds.

"Jackpot…"

Once more darkness was his companion, illuminated by the soft moonlight that pierced through the window, and green curtains. The same light also illuminated the egg. allowing Ryou to watch the creature slowly slithering within - One of the seven, place in an incubator now in his possession. On the outside of the egg, a purple engraving was observable.

It had taken him almost an hour of arguing with Beloukas to be able to get the High-level Monster Training Seals on his monsters for free. The normal price for the service was far from cheap but Ryou had also provided the Slave Trader with eggs that were worth far more, yet the man still wanted to try and have Ryou pay for it.

A capitalist through and through that one…

Rising to his feet, Ryou made his way to his bed and took a seat as he watched the slow rise and fall of the covers, above it only the top half of a head could be seen along with glossy white hair.

With his hand, he gently pushed the hair to the side revealing Quartz's childlike features, her face peaceful. The girl decided that today she would sleep on his bed and when he had asked her about it the girl had only answered she wanted to be close to him. Her words had been spoken blandly as usual from Quartz, but there was no denying the feeling behind it, and Ryou found himself unable to deny her request.

Taking a seat at the bed he sent a side glance to his Status Window, and a moment later his Bow Tree appeared, and with a little searching, two new brackets came into view.

The Slave Bow Series, and the Monster Trainer Bow Series, had been unlocked, from one to three. The bows had been unlocked when he had absorbed the ink to paint the seal.

[Monster Trainer Bow III - Rarity - Common - Awakened - Equipment Bonus - Monster Grow Correction(High), Monster Grow Adjustment (Medium)]

The Grow Corrections were truly an almost game-breaking mechanic, especially when combined with his own skill tree. The investment in points he had been making towards his party members would make it so that very soon they would easily surpass most normal people in the world.

But that had also been what Ryou betted on. That both mechanics would empower, not only his current party but the new additions to it too.

It will take a while before this investment pays off, I'm going to have to carry them around everywhere, and keep them mostly out of sight, but when they're ready with these many Grow Corrections stacking on top of them, they will become much stronger than the original one, and I will have one heck of an artillery line to deploy...

Shaking his head to banish the thoughts of giant worms raining death beams on his enemies, Ryou finished undressing his armor before moving under the covers.

It took only a few seconds for him to released a sight as his eyes went to the newest occupant, who was sleeping unaware of the almost oppressive body heat she emanated.

She really is way to warm...

Two days later…

Ryou couldn't help but whistle in appreciation. As he had expected, the small girl jumped from level one to level twelve on the first day, so he had them repeat the process on the second day too.

Since the monsters on the mine were much higher level then the ones on the outside it was no surprise when Rifana level skyrocket yet again coming to a stop at twenty-one much to his amazement. The small demi-human however probably didn't felt the same if the subtle nasty looks she keep sending him were of any indication, the process had come with severe growing pains, something that made the entire thing a not very pleasant endeavor for Rifana.

Training could come later when she had a solid base, for the moment the Mithril Short Sword he had crafted for her would do the job until they reached Zetoble where they could look for more specialized gear. Until then, he would refrain from having the little girl on the front lines, though at the rate she was growing she wouldn't remain a little girl for much longer. She had gained seven centimeters in three days, and definitely had some more muscle on her arms and legs.

Finally satisfied with their current progress Ryou raised from his position on the couch to begin preparations to leave the village that had grown to be like a second home to him.

The party stood at the gates of Northern Village, and the Bow Hero couldn't help but compare the differences. Unlike last time they now had quite the crowd seeing them off, from the guards to most of the villagers, there were even a few people from Gentlewood Village waving them goodbye.

His attention went to Rishia, who embraced her father, though thankfully there were no tears this time, before picking her backpack and coming to a stop next to him and Quartz who was holding a huge sack on her shoulders, were the eggs currently rested inside their incubators.

"Ryou-sama, once again the best of luck out there, and please keep watching over them…" Almond asked extending his hand to which Ryou clapped his own over, nodding seriously.

"That goes without saying." Ryou declared seriously. That was the one thing he took seriously above all else, the safety of his party.

With one last wave, Ryou extended his hand to the sky before ordering.

"Teleport: Castle Town!" The blue pillar of light came down on them, disappearing a few seconds later leaving no trace of the party.