As Gloria and I were travelling between dimensional barriers, we seemed to bump into something. I gained an image in my head for Naofumi Iwatani and then he disappeared. I had no time to wonder what had happened before I seemed to be displaced from my previous spot in Gloria's embrace. I say seemed, because I could still feel her arms around me as I was pulled into something.

As the light faded, I found myself inside some kind of ritual circle with three young men wearing odd clothing... and without Gloria. My anger rose and I summoned the Force and my Chi to fill the room with energy. I gained images for everything, including the king, the mages, their spell book, and the three men near me and their weapons.

“Oh, Four Saint Heroes of Old! Please save our world!” A man dressed as a mage pleaded. He started to explain about time being short and that demons from a dimensional crack threatened to destroy their country of Melromarc. They desperately needed our help to fight off the second wave as they had barely survived the first.

I looked down at the shield thing embedded into my arm and growled as my power squeezed everyone in the room. “You better give me the spell you just used or I'm going to kill you all for taking me away from my eternal love.”

They all cried out in agony and dropped to the floor.

I glared at the man that had spoken. “Show me which spell and then explain it to me.” I said and floated the book over to him.

He struggled to move, so I eased up on my grip on him. He quickly flipped through the pages and stopped at the spell. “Th-this... this one. The ancient binding ritual!”

I read it and my anger receded as he told me what it did. It had plucked me out of whatever instance of time I had been in and brought me here, which was why I had still felt Gloria's arms around me until I materialized. I was technically still there in her arms travelling between dimensions.

When the spell ran its course and the attack waves were defeated, I would be sent back to that same instance of time. The embedded shield would also be removed.

“You are all quite fortunate that this has only inconvenienced me.” I said and let them all go.

They all sighed with relief and slowly climbed to their feet.

The king did not look happy as he sat on his throne once more. “I am this country's king, Aultcray, the thirty-second ruler of Melromarc. Should you heroes save my glorious country, you will be heavily rewarded. Aside from that, I have aid funds prepared for you. Please do your best to save this world from those demonic creatures.”

This wouldn't be the first time I've saved a world from creatures. I thought and smiled, because I actually lost count of how many bug planets I had cleaned before Gloria retired me.

“I would have your names, to be marked in the history books and added to the legends to be told.” The king said and nodded to the guy holding a spear.

“Motoyasu Kitamura, 18 years old.” The tall blond Spear Hero said.

“Itsuki Kawasumi, 17 years old.” The short blond Bow Hero said.

“Ren Amaki, 16 years old.” The average height dark haired Sword Hero said.

I guess I'm stuck raising even more teenagers. I thought with a soft chuckle. The names weren't triggering any memories, though. Perhaps this was another world that I hadn't encountered before?

“Ren, Itsuki, and Motoyasu. All good strong names for future heroes.” The king said, approvingly. He also ignored me completely.

The mage from before slowly approached us again. “Please forgive the intrusion.” He said to me and looked at the others. “Will you please confirm your statuses?”

“Statuses?” I asked.

“You haven't noticed it, yet?” Ren asked. “Don't you see some kind of icon or picture in your field of vision somewhere? Just concentrate on it.”

I 'looked' around my sight area and noticed the little head icon with my face on the far bottom right of my vision. I barely had to concentrate on it and it popped up and nearly filled my entire vision.

____

Name: John Hansen, Accidental Shield Hero Lv1
Equipment (permanent): Small Shield (Legendary Weapon)
__
Attack: 1 Defense: 100 Agility: 10
Hit Points: 10 Magic Points: 10 Special Points: 0
__
Status Conditions: None
Possessions: Clothes worn

Skills: (Highlight to see known skills and levels)
Magic: (Highlight to see spells known and skill level)
Help (Highlight to use)
__

Okay, those numbers completely suck. I thought as the other three spouted off their classes, then they started talking about the similarities to the games they played. After a couple of minutes, the three of them eyed my shield and started giving me derisive looks, just like the king had.

“Open the doors and bring in the volunteers!” One of the mages exclaimed.

The doors opened and a small crowd of people in various outfits and armours entered the throne room.

“Welcome, future heroes!” The king said loudly as the group walked over towards us.

“Who are they?” The Bow Hero asked.

“People who have volunteered to join you on your journeys.” The king said. “You must grow and strengthen your legendary weapons to defeat the waves to come. It is said that when fellow weapon users are near one another, it will cause opposition and impede growth. Henceforth, you will move in separate parties to ensure your success.”

I thought that was complete bull, considering I copied the weapons.

“Now the future heroes will choose who they will follow on the path to glory!” The king exclaimed and the crowd quickly dispersed and stood with their chosen hero.

Five went to the Sword Hero, three went to the Bow Hero, and four went to the Spear Hero.

No one had chosen me.

“What is this?” The king asked, arrogantly. “For something like this to take place, then it seems the Shield Hero has little favor amongst others in these lands.”

A few people started muttering about what else could they expect from a stupid shield and the others quickly agreed.

“Well, the shield is the symbol of the losing team.” Spear Hero said. “All the games I've played were like that. They were great at first, then they were overwhelmed by stronger enemies, because there's almost no way to level up a defensive shield.”

“Yeah, my games were like that, too.” Bow Hero said.

I looked around at their almost accusing faces and started laughing. That made them angrier and that made me laugh even more.

“QUIET!” The king yelled. “Why are you laughing, Shield Hero?”

“I completely believe in the term of peace through overwhelming defense. I'm perfectly fine with making my own way alone.” I said, which surprised them, and I smiled at the king. “Even those with evil in their hearts will be blocked by an overwhelming defense.”

The king gave me a scathing look, as if he had been caught at something. “Since no one has chosen to accompany the Shield Hero on his journey, I ask you all once more. Are any of you willing to go to the Shield Hero's side?”

Several deafening moments of silence later, one of the ones behind the Spear Hero raised her hand.

“I volunteer.” A redheaded woman said as she stepped around the Spear Hero.

“Are you sure?” He asked her and she nodded.

“Someone travelling alone is disheartening to see.” She said and walked over to me. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Shield Hero. You can call me Sofia.”

I held a hand out to her and she took it. I bent over hers to kiss the back of it as I gained 'Hidden First Princess Malty Melromarc' and she had the conditions of 'Traitor' and 'Compulsive Liar'. She also looked surprised at me treating her so well.

“If there are no others, then the funds will be distributed to the Heroes each month. Return here to collect it and to show us all your progress.” The king said.

The other three heroes were given different sized bags and then I was passed one with 800 silver pieces in it. I immediately felt out with the Force and the other bags were smaller because they had gold pieces inside and only a few handfuls of silver. I barely managed to stop my glare at the king for shortchanging me.

“Wonderful!” Sofia said with a fake smile. “With that much, we can buy some decent equipment for ourselves!”

I nodded to her and we left the castle with the others. Since we were under the king's orders to not travel together, Sofia led me to a smaller and less used armory shop. For some reason, I knew this shop was well beneath her normal standards, which meant she was intentionally trying to keep me weak.

We entered and the man behind the counter greeted us. “Welcome! Is this your first time here?”

“Yes, so please be gentle with me.” I said in a soft voice.

Both he and Sofia looked surprised, then the man barked a loud laugh.

“You're a funny one!” He said and clapped his hands. “What are you looking for?”

“Let's see the weapons you have.” I said and he grinned at me as he started piling swords of all kinds onto the counter.

“The prices vary on the metal used and the enchantments.” He said. “What's your price range?”

“About 240 silver.” Sofia said immediately.

“Oh.” The man said and scooped up the weapons he had just put out. “I have some discount things over here.”

I managed to not say anything as the guy handed me a cheaper sword. I grabbed it by the handle and thought about how awful it would be to attack with. The handle sparked and the sword flung itself out of my hand and landed on the floor ten feet away as a popup appeared.

__

Legendary Weapon - Breech of Agreement
A Hero cannot use any other weapon with the intent to fight, other than the Legendary Weapon in his possession.
__

I didn't curse out loud, only because I didn't want to speak strange words in front of witnesses. “It seems I can't use any weapon except my shield to fight.”

The man looked sad. “I suppose you'll be wanting to look at some light armor...”

I nodded and used the Force to feel out everything in the shop, even the things in the back. I ended up buying some nice under-armor and a chainmail shirt with a cloth overlay. I needed to fit in more than I did with my street clothes.

Of course, Sofia bought some very nice things, including a sword and shiny armor pieces, which made her stand out as a real fighter and I looked like a commoner with a shield on my arm. She also used up nearly all of my aid funds, which I suspected she had planned to do from the start.

“Now that we're all armored up, let's go out and fight some creatures!” Sofia exclaimed and led me out of the city towards a clear grass field.

Since this was supposed to be like a game, I checked the Help section of my status and looked for 'party'. It told me how to add someone and share experience, so I chose Sofia and she gasped.

“How did you know how to do that?” Sofia asked, accusingly.

“It says right in the help menu how to form a party.” I said. “Are you going to accept?”

Sofia gave me a bit of a glare, then she made a decision and sighed as she accepted. “Let's just get this day over with.”

I nodded, positive that she had to leave the Spear Hero's party to join mine, and she wasn't happy about that. It should be a lot harder for her to betray a party member. Sofia warned me about the little round orange ball-like creatures when we reached the field and then they started to appear and swarmed us.

Apparently, the shield I wore was hampering my normal abilities a lot more than it should have, because I moved like a duck out of water and couldn't do more than bounce the little bastards around with my attack value so low.

Sofia did all the work and I only gained ten percent of her experience, or one point per creature. It took several hours for her to clear the little area we were in and she had killed over fifty of the things. At only one point per level, it didn't give me anywhere near enough to level up.

We went back to the city to have supper and I saw that prices were very cheap. The two of us ate for one silver and the wine cost another silver... which meant the armor and things Sofia wore could have kept me in local food for about a year. I hid my pissed off state well as we discussed the day and the plans for tomorrow.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Sofia asked, sweetly.

“Thank you.” I said and accepted it. A quick diagnostic spell told me there was a sleeping potion in it. I vanished the potion and took a deep drink of it. “Ah, refreshing.”

“It truly is.” Sofia said with a knowing smirk.

We finished eating and I had another glass of wine, then we went upstairs to sleep. I was very tempted to protest her staying in another room, then shrugged. I just wondered how she was going to betray me if we weren't in the same room.

I undressed and stored my things into my inventory, thanks to the Help screen telling me how to do that. I created copies of my things, just in case, and went to bed. I didn't sleep and only meditated, to try and figure out where I was and what was going on. I thought I recognized those orange ball creatures and I just couldn't remember from where.

I pretended to be asleep when Sofia entered my room after midnight. She took everything I had, including the copied money and my nice clothing.

“You're going to regret ever coming here, Shield Hero.” Sofia whispered and left.

I almost laughed, because I didn't need to wait until later to regret it, since I was stuck here until the spell finished.

In the morning, my room door was kicked open. “Shield Hero! You're under arrest for suspicion of sexual assault!”

“I was wondering how she was going to betray me.” I said as the guards from the castle surrounded me.

“Don't resist or we will attack you!” The guard shouted and they all drew their swords.

“You do realize I only have a shield and I'm in my underwear, right?” I asked and he looked surprised.

“Just... come with us.” He said and motioned to the door.

“In my underwear?” I asked with a chuckle. “Okay.” I said and walked out of the room and down the stairs.

The guards rushed to follow me and the people already up and in the lobby gasped and pointed at me, including the inn owner and the serving girls. The girls blushed at my nearly naked body.

“Cover yourself up, man!” The inn owner exclaimed.

“My party member stole all my things, including my clothes. I have nothing left to wear.” I said and everyone was shocked.

“Keep moving!” The guard behind me shouted.

“You're lucky I'm not embarrassed.” I said and walked out of the inn and into the street. I had similar reactions from the people there, even after the guards followed me and kept me at sword point. I walked proudly through the streets and back to the castle.

The guards there gave me angry looks, so I laughed at them and kept walking.

I entered the throne room and the large gathering of people there gasped and whispered as they pointed at me. “You'd swear they've never seen an almost naked man before.”

No one responded until I reached the middle of the room.

“On your knees, criminal!” One of the guards with a spear said and I was suddenly surrounded by more guards.

“You heard him Sofia, on your knees.” I said and everyone gasped. “What? She stole all my things, including my clothes.” I pointed at the Spear Hero. “That's the armor I bought yesterday.”

“Liar!” The Spear Hero spat. “Sofia gave me this yesterday!”

“Now who's lying? She didn't take it until midnight last night.” I said and Sofia caught her breath. “Yes, you traitor. I was awake and watched you rob me.”

“N-no, I... you raped me!” Sofia said and started up with the fake tears. “You drunkenly threw me down and had your wicked way with me!”

“If I did that, you wouldn't have betrayed me. I'm a fantastic lover.” I said and everyone gasped.

“From the moment I saw you, I knew you would bring nothing but trouble, you fiend!” The king spat. “I wondered when you would show your true colors!”

“I didn't intend for everyone to see me like this, because my skin isn't naturally tanned. It took years on a beach to get like this and it will fade over time.” I said, intentionally misunderstanding what he said.

“I had a feeling that you weren't here for the same reasons as us.” The Bow Hero said.

“You probably just confused yourself for being a higher class than you are.” The Sword Hero said.

I barked a laugh. “Says the stuck-up arrogant asshole that treats everyone like dirt.”

His face went from arrogant to angry.

“I never thought you would be the type to commit a crime.” The Spear Hero said.

“That's because I didn't, you idiot. Sofia did. I just told you.” I said and waved at his clothing. “It's not fitting right, is it? A little loose in the chest area?”

The Spear Hero frowned at me and touched the extra belt he was wearing. “No one's going to believe anything you say, you damn rapist!” He shouted and everyone gasped again.

“Really? What if... say... the things Sofia stole were fakes and will dissolve away in ten seconds? Will people believe me then?” I asked.

“Wh-what?” The Spear Hero looked surprised.

“You see, I didn't trust her, especially because she used most of my money on things for herself. So, when she wasn't looking...” I snapped my fingers and the Spear Hero's armor and clothing faded away, leaving him completely naked and he screamed like a girl. “Would you look at that. Funny, isn't it?”

“G-give them back!” He spat and covered his tiny crotch with a single hand.

“I can't. They're gone.” I said and smiled. “The money she stole is gone, too.”

“No!” Sofia gasped and I chuckled.

“I hope you didn't pay anyone with that money, because they are going to feel ripped off.” I said. “Oh, I've been meaning to ask, what happens to party members that steal from party leaders without leaving the party first?”

“Oh, no.” The Bow Hero whispered.

“Let me check the Help menu.” I said. “Ooo, branded a Thief and a Traitor until all party items are returned? How quaint.”

“NO!” The king and Sofia yelled at the same time.

“What's this? Revealed traitors can't join other parties? That's appropriate.” I said and concentrated on the option to do that.

Everyone stared as most of Sofia's armor and her weapon dropped off of her, then her under-armor slid off like water, leaving her in just her underthings. A moment later, they slid across the floor to me.

“That was neat.” I said and quickly tossed everything into my small inventory and then equipped my real clothing and armor. “So, now what happens?”

Sofia trembled a little and then the words Thief and Traitor floated above her head.

“Nice.” I said. “Good luck trying to redeem yourself.”

“You... you... it's because of you that I'm like this.” Sofia said, her tears real this time. “You made me a traitor and a thief! I did it to get away from you!”

“Yes!” The Spear Hero exclaimed. “This is all the Shield Hero's fault! If he wasn't here, none of it would have happened!”

“I agree. The Shield Hero is the one at fault. It's because of him that my daughter Malty S. Melromarc is branded.” The king looked over the throne room and the people gathered there. “Let it be forever known that it was the Shield Hero that was the cause. Raper of Women and Creator of Traitors! By royal decree, spread the word! This entire nation will know that the Shield Hero is the villain!”

People started clapping and saying harsh things to me... and I ignored it, because his words had struck a chord within me. I knew this plot device. I recognized it, because it was so contrived. An entire nation of people against the hero, now perceived as a villain? I knew this story and I just had to find it.

I entered a meditative state and dove into my Halls of Memories. I went right to Darcy's section and ignored the movies and books. I knew it wasn't something I had ever seen, so I concentrated on our conversations about things besides that. I quickly tracked it down to a heated conversation that Darcy essentially had with herself, because of the differences between anime and manga.

That hadn't been a big thing back in what I thought of as my original world. As a farm boy in Kansas, I did not have a lot of access to Japanese art or literature, so it was all second hand information on Darcy's part. Once I narrowed it down to popular anime, I stumbled across it almost by accident. She had shown me the stacks of manga she had and I had touched them with the Force to copy them for her.

Tate No Yusha No Nariagari had been Americanized into the Rise of the Shield Hero anime, and a bunch of people were upset that in the very first episode that the main character, the hero, had been accused of false rape and then condoned slavery had been introduced. Darcy had ranted about that being the whole point of the story, because the MC had to fight against everyone to help save them.

I felt something poke me and opened my eyes to see the guards were very angry and one had poked me with his spear. “Either back away or I'll make you.”

The guard made a smirking face and pulled the spear back to shove it forward. I caught it with the Force and crushed it, and his hands. He screamed and dropped the mangled weapon to stare at his ruined hands.

“You want me to be the villain, even though I'm not the criminal?” I asked and looked at the guards surrounding me. I crushed all of their weapons and their hands. They all screamed in pain and held their mangled hands against their chests.

“S-STOP!” The king yelled.

“Why? I'm the villain, aren't I? You just declared it so.”

“We don't want to fight you.” The Bow Hero said and held up his bow to aim it at me.

“That's because you can't.” I said with a laugh and he looked surprised. “This world needs all four heroes to save it from the waves, except this idiot king and his daughter have contrived this whole thing to set me up and make me into someone evil.”

“You are!” The Spear Hero spat.

“No, you've never seen evil.” I said and recalled the various villains I had fought against, including dark wizards, Goa'uld, Terminators, deadly creatures in Aliens and Starship Troopers, and Sith lords and their apprentices. “Not even close.”

“You're still responsible.” The Sword Hero said and motioned at the throne room. “It really is because of you that this whole mess happened.”

“No, it's because of whatever grudge the king has against the Shield Hero. I'm just someone that happens to be wearing it right now.” I said and he looked surprised. “That's right, you pompous asshole. If it was you wearing it, you would be where I am right now.”

My comment made him angry and he hefted his sword to aim it at me.

“I want you out of my castle right now!” The king spat. “You are no longer welcome here!”

“Does that mean you are breaking your worthless word to me and will no longer provide compensation to help me fight?” I asked with a knowing smile.

“No! You'll get nothing more from us, you criminal!” The king spat.

“Then you won't be getting anything from me, either.” I responded and everyone gasped.

“You're the hero! You have to fight!” Someone shouted and then they all started shouting at me.

How quickly they changed their tune. I thought. “Nope, I'm the villain, remember?” I said with a laugh and started to walk towards the doors of the throne room. “Villains don't fight to save people, do they?”

That made them all quiet down.

I stopped at the doors and turned to look at everyone. “So, which is it? Am I a hero that you need to fight, or a villain you need to fight?”

No one said a thing.

“You have two minutes to choose. As soon as I walk out these doors, the fate of the entire world will rest on your decision.” I said and gave them a happy smile as it went deathly quiet. “How does it feel to have the weight of everyone in the world on your shoulders? It's not pleasant, is it?”

A lot of the crowd shook their heads.

“You have one minute left to decide. Do you want the world saved or be overrun with demon creatures?” I asked and tapped my foot once for every second. “Thirty seconds.” I warned them and kept tapping. “Ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five...”

“ALL RIGHT!” The king yelled and then almost growled at me. “I rescind my previous declaration.”

“You've said quite a lot today, so please be more specific in your wording.” I said.

The king looked like he was chewing on something sour. “Do not spread the word that the Shield Hero is a criminal.” He spat.

I chuckled. “You left out Raper of Women and Creator of Traitors.”

“I don't want to lie.” The king said with a straight face.

“You did brand the king's daughter!” Someone shouted.

“It's your word against hers!” Someone else exclaimed.

“Hmm, you have a point.” I said and walked over towards Sofia, aka Malty. “I hope you're ready for this, First Princess.”

She let out a squeak and the other heroes stepped in front of her.

“What are you doing?” The Bow Hero asked.

“I was debating on actually committing the crimes I've been accused of.” I said and they all reacted to fight me, even the guards. It was almost funny seeing them cry and try to pick up their weapons.

“You will NOT violate my woman like that!” The Spear Hero spat and let his crotch go to point his spear at me.

“So, you'll help her accuse someone else of rape and have sex with her yourself to simulate it? You're some piece of work.” I said and his face flushed red. “You're not going to deny it?” I asked and he didn't speak. “Don't you want to lie again in front of so many witnesses, so they can see your eyes and how insincere you are?”

He just frowned and held his weapon pointed towards me.

I shook my head at him. “I guess I have to trust you terrible people with keeping your word.” I said and they all glared at me and made angry sounds. “I'm going out into the city to find some people who actually want to fight against the waves and not carry out conspiracies to harm me and my reputation.”

“Don't come back!” Someone shouted.

“If I hear one word of the lies told here today, or one person in the city makes a disparaging comment about me being a rapist or a criminal, I'll come back here and publicly kill the king.” I said and they all made surprised sounds. “I'll drag him out into the street, call everyone in the city to watch, and I'll become the criminal you all accused me of by beheading him.”

“No!” Malty exclaimed.

“Suck out his soul, then?” I asked and she shook her head. “Dismembered limb from limb? Skinned alive? Remove all his bones? Make him spit out all his organs? Freeze him into a statue? Boil his blood until he dies?”

“P-please... please stop.” Someone in the audience pleaded.

“Like I told you, none of you have seen evil.” I said and then smiled wickedly. “Until you piss me off.”

“We... we won't.” The Bow Hero said and lowered his bow. “We won't.”

I looked at the Sword Hero and he shook his head. I glanced at the Spear Hero and he already had a hand over his crotch and the spear at his side. I nodded and walked over to the throne room doors.

“I hope you learned your lesson, children.” I said and waved a hand and ripped the large doors off of their hinges. I crushed them into splinters and tossed them across the room to land at the feet of the startled king and hushed silence. “You might need the Shield Hero to fight to save the world; but, the Shield Hero does not need you alive to do it.”

After a good glare around the room that made a few people shiver, I gave them a happy smile and walked down the hallway to leave. None of the guards stopped me. I ducked into an alcove and put on an invisibility cloak to listen.

“Quickly! Send a messenger to cancel posting the notices on the bulletin boards at the inns across the city!” The king's voice rang out. “Have the guards spread the word to squash the rumors they already started!”

“Your highness, you ask the impossible.” Someone said.

“The life of your king and the future of this nation depends on it! Now go! Go! Go! Go!” The king shouted and dozens of booted feet ran by where I stood.

I felt the shield tremble slightly and the center gem was glowing. I noticed the cloak was almost touching the thing, so I created another one and held it against the large gem... and it was sucked right in. I chuckled at the popup telling me it unlocked the Invisibility Shield. I switched to it and took off the cloak. It wouldn't eat it, so only one of each thing would be accepted.

First things first, though. I expanded the alcove I was in and created a desk, a chair, and a bunch of the manga books that Darcy owned, because I had a lot of reading to do before I stumbled over something else that I could have prevented or changed. I definitely wouldn't have accepted Sofia's offer, which reminded me to remove her from my party.

I checked the Help menu and chuckled when I looked at the 'party' screen, because her name was greyed out. She was locked into limbo until she returned my stolen things, which she couldn't really do, as they had dissolved.

If it was me, I would gather similar or more expensive items and return those, just to see if it would qualify. I suspected it would, since it was part of the magic of the world. The money would be easy to return, too.

I picked up the first book in the series and quickly flipped through it to see what happened next.

Two hours later, I was not a happy man. There was so much for me to do and I was sure that if I didn't act soon, several key players in the story would change. The scale of the time spent by the MC wasn't shown; but, considering how much money he made from scrounging around, it was at least a week.

Raphtalia couldn't wait that long, so I dissolved the few volumes I had read and the table, chair, and cancelled the expansion charm. I also gained back the magic points I had spent. Boy, that was going to be really, really annoying. I would have to level up fast. Like, super-fast. I smiled as I realized exactly how I would do it.

I walked out of the castle, still invisible because of the shield, and went to the area of the city where the slave trader was. I cancelled the shield's power, surprised that it hadn't affected my MP at all, which meant it was probably part of the Legendary status it had. No cost for basic use was going to be pretty handy in the days to come.

I entered the circus tent that was much bigger on the inside, and the short man in the top hat smiled at me. “I've come to browse your wares.”

“I do hope you know what those wares are?” The odd man said and grinned.

“That's why I'm here.” I said and he chuckled.

“Good! Let me show you some of the better choices.” He said and waddled through the curtain and I followed. “Here is one of my finest specimens.”

A smaller curtain was pulled back and a wolfman was revealed inside a cage. He was level 75, which was an awesome difference in our levels... and completely useless to me. His level would stop him from gaining any experience with the local creatures and probably most of them in the countryside.

“He would make a fine guard.” I said and the little man gave me a shocked look. “I'm still level one. Sharing experience would gain me nothing unless we stumble across a dragon or something.”

The little man barked a laugh. “Ah! I had forgotten that. True, true.”

“How much is he?”

“Twenty-five gold.” The little man said and it was my turn to laugh. “He was quite difficult to capture.”

“I have no doubt of that.” I said and pat the man's shoulder. “What's to stop him from tearing me apart and running away?”

“The slave mark. He cannot harm you and can only be released by a counter ritual. If you die, or he arranges your death, he dies as well.”

I gave the snarling wolfman a searching look as I touched him with the Force. “Twenty gold and you show me both the marking and unmarking rituals... on a much easier subject, of course.”

“Deal!” The little man said, happily.

The werewolf snapped at me and spat saliva over the bars of his cage.

“Relax. You'll be out of here by the end of the day.” I promised and he growled. “You have my word.”

“Yes, yes. More to look at, more to see!” The little man said and waddled on.

“He was your most expensive one, wasn't he?” I asked and the little man laughed.

“I knew you would understand. It's in your eyes. Calculating and measuring. So refreshing!” The little man said. “These other creatures would make great attack pets; but, there's not a lot upstairs and they are difficult to train. You don't need pets, I assume?”

“No. I need fighters, preferably as humanoid as possible.”

“Ah, then the beastmen might not be the best choices for you.” The little man said, sadly.

“Perhaps.” I said and looked around. “How much for the lizardman?”

“Only ten gold. He's sluggish in this cooler weather and too active in hotter weather.”

“And he's still ten gold? Are you crazy?” I asked and the little man laughed.

“You're buying more, correct?” He asked and I nodded. “Five gold and I'll include the leash.”

“Done.” I said and pointed. “Is that a rabbit?”

“Ah, yes. A rabbitman to be exact. Five gold, because he can transform into a more humanoid form or stay as a rabbit. Quite fluffy.”

I chuckled. “I'm not going to haggle with an explanation like that. Five it is.”

The little man grinned. “A man of taste and style! Excellent!”

I nodded and followed him through another curtain.

“My more reasonable priced merchandise is in here.”

The sounds they made were almost deafening. “I'll take the dog girl there.” I pointed and the girl looked happy and wagged her tail.

“Good choice. She is very loyal and easily adapts to new homes. Only two gold.” The little man said. “Can I suggest this nice rabbit boy?”

I gave him a look and saw his hand. “That's not battle damage or a previous master's anger, is it?”

“Unfortunately, he was born with it like that.” The little man said. “500 silver.”

I nodded and we walked on. “You have quite the selection here.”

The little man nodded. “Most are quite young and need training, which is why I usually have a low turnover for demi-humans. It takes time and effort and most refuse either training or eating until they realize that they'll die if they don't comply.”

“It's understandable. Most people don't realize the effort it takes to make something from so little.”

“Exactly, my friend.” The little man said. “By the time I do get some to the right age for the most profit, they are bought up by the ringmasters at the Colosseum.”

“Which cuts into your own profits.” I said and he nodded. “How did you get the wolfman?”

“He was severely injured in the Colosseum and cost quite a bit to nurse back to health.”

I pat the man's shoulder again. “Compassion is not a sin, even in a business such as yours.”

The little man chuckled. “It costs more than not caring.”

“It always does, my friend.” I said and pointed to another set of cages with an older male and a younger female holding hands through the bars. “I assume a mated pair?”

The male growled and the female blushed.

“Brother and sister, I'm afraid. White tiger demi-humans. Fiercely loyal and can only go as a pair. If either is moved far from the other, the male becomes quite violent.”

“I'll take both.” I said and the male stopped growling. “Is there anything else?”

“I do have several mole-kids.” The little man said and I burst out laughing. “Not my own, you clown.”

I pat his shoulder several times as an apology. “I'll take them, sight unseen, just for the unintentional laugh you gave me.”

The little man huffed and left to go get them.

I saw the female white tiger smile at me. I winked at her and she blushed again as the male growled. “Relax, your sister's cute and she has a sense of humor, even while being locked in a cage. I think we're going to get along very well.”

The growling increased and I laughed.

“I meant as friends.” I said and the growling lessened. “Despite your experiences, there are some good slave masters.”

“I hope you are one.” The female whispered.

“Unbelievably so.” I said back and she smiled. “Excuse me for a minute. I have one more of you to buy.”

She nodded and I walked over to a half-covered cage and lifted the ratty cloth. The little raccoon girl inside looked terrified as she coughed. I knelt and held out a handful of blueberries to her. She looked shocked for a moment, then grabbed them and shoved them into her mouth.

“I don't think you want her. She's sickly and isn't long for this world.” The little man said. “I found three Lumo and one Kiki.”

I looked to see four kids on leashes. Three of them did resemble moles and the last had a crooked horn on one side of her head and dark skin. “I'll take this one off your hands as well, since I'm clearing out a good portion of your stock anyway.”

“It's your money.” The little man said and led me over to the ritual room.

He performed the binding ritual and the unbinding ritual on one of the mole-kids, giving me both spells, thanks to the Force and my copy ability. I also discreetly copied the slave ink and added it to my shield. I knew how beneficial it was going to be later.

“Was that satisfactory?” The little man asked.

“It was. Thank you for letting me see some of your craft.” I said and gave him a silver coin. “Is there paperwork or anything for me to sign, or do we just exchange money for goods and go our separate ways?”

The little man pocketed the coin and grinned. “Let's get them all bound to you first, then we can handle the money exchange.”

I nodded and he took half an hour to get them all bound to me. Once they were, I paid him with money generated from my jewels that produced the local currency. The slaves I had bought were quite surprised by how much I handed over for them all.

When they were bound, all twelve of them, I nodded to them. “As your master, I am ordering you to be loyal to me, to each other, and to help one another. Please follow me to get full meals. I can't have you looking at each other as potential food.”

The wolfman and lizardman looked guilty.

“I suppose I should order you to not harm or eat each other, to protect the little ones and the fluffy ones.” I said and the two rabbit people looked quite happy. I knelt on one knee to look at the raccoon girl. “What's your name?”

“Ra... Raph... Raphtalia.” She whispered and then coughed.

I smiled warmly at her and then scooped her up into my arms as I stood, which shocked everyone, especially Raphtalia. “I better carry you until you're feeling better.”

“But... but... I'm not worth...”

“You are worth more to me than the wolfman, little one.” I said.

“Hey!” The wolfman spat, then slapped a paw over his muzzle.

“Ha! I knew you could talk.” I said with a smirk and the slave trader laughed.

“My name is Beloukas, Shield Hero.” The little man with the top hat said. “Please come back soon and check out any new wares I may have acquired.”

I thought about what I had read and nodded. “I'll come back some time after the next wave ends.”

The little man nodded back and waved us out of the circus tent.

“Are you really buying us food?” The rabbit-boy asked and I nodded. “I don't like meat.”

“Whatever meals are served, I'll switch the vegetables with the white tigers for you. They get more meat and you get more vegetables.” I said and they looked surprised. “I'm not wholly ignorant of basic food requirements for you.” I glanced at the lizardman. “I do admit that I have no clue what you would prefer to eat, besides some nice lettuce and maybe pieces of fruit.”

“How do you know that?” He asked.

“I read it in a book somewhere.” I said and they gasped.

“You've seen a book?!? A real book?” One of the mole-kids asked.

“I sure have. Hundreds of them.” I said and they all stared at me. “I take it books are rare around here.”

“For everyone except the rich.” The white tiger male said and then snapped his mouth shut. Just like the werewolf, he had been refusing to acknowledge that he understood the language I was speaking.

I couldn't stop my laugh at his embarrassed expression. “I'm not rich yet. I'll need some time to build up some capital.”

“You don't live in a mansion?”

“You're not taking us away from this place?”

“You're not a deviant, are you?”

“I heard human have just as much hair as us. Do you?”

The questions kept coming in rapid fire succession and I kept laughing as I tried to answer them before they forgot what they asked.

“I don't live in a mansion at the moment, since I just arrived here. I will take you away, as soon as the next wave passes. A deviant? It depends on your definition. I've had a lot of women during my travels, nearly a hundred kids, and I've loved them all as much as I could.” I said and they fell silent. “As for my hair, besides what's on my head, I'm clean as a whistle, as the old expression goes.”

“Why?” Raphtalia asked.

“After the first time I lost my skin and most of my flesh in an explosion after a falling star hit me, it healed the long normal way and not accelerated with healing spells. It never grew back.” I said and they all stared at me. “Really, I can't make stuff like that up.”

“It sounds like you did.” One of the mole-kids said.

I laughed. “That's one of the tamest stories I have. You won't believe some of the others.”

“Prove it!” One of the others exclaimed.

“I once went into the space around a planet and let a comet run me over.” I said and they all stopped walking and looked stunned. “Let me guess, you've never heard of anyone going above the sky?”

They all shook their heads several times.

“Boy, have I got some stories for you.” I joked and turned into the first tavern with a food sign I saw. “Wait here a moment.” I said and they stayed where they were. I went inside and saw the man behind the counter. “What are your views on demi-humans eating here?” I asked and then added. “Paying customers!”

The man's face changed from indifference to blank. “As long as they behave and pay, I suppose...”

“Thank you. Is there a menu or do we just eat what you serve?” I asked.

“We have a limited menu.” The man responded.

“I have eleven others besides the cute one in my arms to feed. I hope you have a lot of food ready.” I said.

The man smiled and Raphtalia made an embarrassed sound.

I looked around and pointed to the far corner. “We'll claim that spot and sit where we can stay out of your way.”

“That's considerate of you.” He said.

“I'm not here to disrupt your services while feeding some very hungry people.” I said with a chuckle and went to the door. “Okay, everyone inside and go over to the far left corner. We'll sort out who sits where and what to order in a minute.”

The other people in the tavern watched as the various demi-humans and three beastmen entered with their heads down and piled into the corner to stand there awkwardly.

I walked over to them and made several copies of the chairs and expanded the small square table into a long rectangle one. The entire tavern went quiet as I did such casual magic and we all sat down with the kids against the wall and the larger of us sat with our backs to the rest of the room. They would have to go through the five of us to get to the eight younger ones.

The man behind the counter came over with an odd expression on his face and handed me a piece of paper with the three menu items on it. Meat stew, meat and potatoes, and what was essentially a salad.

“We have a meal just for kids, too.” The man said.

“Excellent. Give us eight kids meals and five each of the meat and potatoes, meat stew, and salads.” I said and the man looked surprised. “Actually, bring out a whole roast as well if you have one.”

The man nodded and just stood there and didn't move.

I held out several gold coins. “Quickly, please.”

The man jumped as if something bit him, grabbed the coins and ran across the room and into the kitchen.

“That was way too much for the food.” The rabbitman said.

“I know.” I said and discreetly injected Raphtalia with a bacta needle. “If we come back here, he'll welcome us with open arms and overfeed us when we order.”

That made the adults smile and the kids chatter about getting real food.

I cast a healing spell on Raphtalia to heal her sickness and she stopped coughing right away. She lifted her head and looked into my eyes, her face clearly showed surprise and a little awe.

“Don't worry, Raphtalia. You're mine now and I'm going to take very good care of you.” I promised.

Raphtalia blushed and looked down.

The food was soon served and I handed the whole roast to the werewolf. He looked surprised, then he grabbed it and started tearing into it as if he had never eaten before. The two white tigers ignored him and started eating the meat and potatoes. I gave two of the salads to the rabbitman, two to the lizard man, and one to the rabbit-boy. They made happy sounds and started munching and crunching right away.

Raphtalia and the other kids stared at their meals for a moment before they started chowing down as well. The sounds of their laughter as they chatted, was music to my ears. Unlike in the original story, they didn't have to wait for a long time to be bought. They also weren't alone.

While they were eating, I discreetly gave the other kids bacta injections like I gave Raphtalia. I would need to wait for a short time before I could cast any more healing magic, though. I definitely needed to level up as soon as possible and I needed to feed a few things into the shield. Privately, of course. I didn't want anyone else to see what I could create.

My eyes roamed over the slaves at the table and I had the odd idea to add their blood to the shield, too. Then again, I was sure that it would let me unlock a few things and it would help them, because they were mine. I quickly checked my party option and saw twelve additions with their own status information and skills and abilities.

The werewolf was definitely the strongest and most experienced with the most fighting skills and abilities. I would definitely need a lot more magic to copy his abilities over into the others. Imagine a rabbitman being a superb fighter with boosted strength and a werewolf with the speed of a rabbit. This was definitely going to be a fun time, despite the dark theme of the story.

A group of four men entered the tavern and they were laughing and loud. They sat at a table and ordered ales.

“It's stupid, is what it is.” One of them said.

“Yeah, who in their right minds goes around telling people to not spread a rumor about the Shield Hero being a rapist?” Another said with a laugh. “How stupid is that?”

“They are obviously trying to cover up for the bastard.” The first said. “Well, he is the weakest of the four heroes with no weapon and only a shield! Of course he has to force himself onto women! They wouldn't look twice at him otherwise! Ha ha!”

I sighed very loudly and stood up, placed Raphtalia on my chair and pet her hair, then walked over to the four men. “I dare you to repeat that vicious lie.”

The man laughed and turned to look at me... and then he looked up... and up... to my full six feet of height. His face paled a little when he noticed the shield on my arm.

“Say it again.” I said in a deadly voice and he shook his head. “The reason they are trying to stop people from spreading rumors, is because the king and his daughter Malty started to spread the false rumor that I was a rapist.”

“He's the king. Whatever he says, goes.” Someone said.

“Yes, which was why I told him that if I hear of anyone in the city saying I was a rapist, I would return to the castle, drag him out into the street, and behead him for all of you to see.” I said and everyone gasped. “Apparently, his efforts to stop his own lies has backfired on him.”

“No! You... you can't! You're a hero!”

“I am just a man with his name slandered, because the king hates the demi-humans and had been at war with them.” I said and everyone went quiet. “You see, the beast people revere the Shield Hero of old because he rescued them when no one else would. He stood up for all living beings and not just the people of Melromarc.”

No one said anything in response.

“He conspired with his daughter to rob me and ruin my name for petty reasons, even though he was the one that summoned me here in the first place.” I said and glared at the men at the table. “The rumors are false; but, how do I prove I didn't do it? I can't, can I? Since you idiots won't trust my word on that, I need to keep my word on my promise.”

“You can't!” A woman shouted.

“Spread the word. In two hours, all city residents will come to the central plaza in front of the castle to witness the death of their king.” I said and walked back over to my table.

The beastmen and demi-humans stared at me as I picked Raphtalia up and sat once more.

“Finish eating, please. We need to get you clothing, armor, and weapons before my appointment at the castle in two hours.” I said and picked up a bowl of stew and drank some and chewed on the contents.

They exchanged looks and quickly started eating again. I gave two of the plates of meat and potatoes to the wolf and one of the bowls of stew. The lizardman had a bowl of stew and sighed at the hot contents.

The white tigers each had a bowl of stew as well, finishing off the meal.

I nodded and stood with Raphtalia in my arms. “Let's go.”

We all walked towards the door and I saw that the four men had already left, as did several other people. I nodded at the tavern owner and led my slaves out of the building and down towards the same armor shop that I had bought my chainmail in.

“I need good quality clothing for several slaves that want to wear it, well fitting armor for those that want it, and weapons for everyone.” I said to the man, who looked very happy.

“I'll handle each fitting personally!” He said and came around the counter. “Call me Erhard and I'll handle the wolfman first. He's the easiest with the least armor pieces needed.”

“Chest, back, upper arms, forearms, thighs, and calves.” I corrected him. “I doubt you have anything for his head.”

“I suppose I could make something.” Erhard said and rubbed his beard covered chin.

“I want all my people protected to the best of your abilities, Erhard.” I said and he and the slaves looked surprised. “Price is no object.”

Erhard looked like he was going to explode with joy. “Yessir! I'll do my best!”

“If you're quick about it, there's a nice tip in it for you.” I said and he nodded. “If you're not done in two hours, I'll leave them here to get to my appointment with the king.”

“Don't leave us behind!” The kids shouted together, as if they had practised it.

“It's not something kids should see.” I warned them.

“He's earned it.” The wolfman said angrily. “Because of his troops, my village was ransacked and only I survived to be sold to the Colosseum.” He rubbed his thigh where there was a long scar and matted hair.

“Us, too.” A mole-kid said. “The soldiers killed our parents and burned the village to the ground.”

Several of the others nodded as well.

“We were captured travelling.” The young female white tiger said. “My brother fought them and was beaten almost to death.”

I reached out and pet the top of her head. “He survived to keep protecting you.”

She smiled at me and nodded.

“All right, I'll take you all, no matter what state of armoring you're in.” I said and they all agreed.

*

The crowd was immense as we walked towards the castle. I used the Force like a wedge and walked forward through them, easily pushing them aside to let myself and my slaves through. None of the crowd complained when they saw it was me and several armored adult beastmen. The guards in front of the castle braced for an attack when I came out of the crowd.

“Move or be moved.” I told them and they didn't move. I waved my hand at them and shoved them off to the side into a big groaning pile. Several of my slaves spat on them as we walked by them.

We entered the castle and the guards tried to fight, to no avail. I shoved them aside and continued on to the throne room. I knew the king would be there, because he was that arrogant to not think he needed to hide. What surprised me was the hundred soldiers between me and the throne with the three heroes and their parties directly in front of the throne.

“You dare come back here?” The king asked.

“Well, your idiot soldiers have been telling everyone to not spread rumors of my raping women. How do you think that is helping to keep my reputation intact?” I asked and he closed his mouth. “Right, it's making it worse, because now they all think you're helping to cover it up.”

“You can't kill him for that!” Malty exclaimed. She was wearing new armor and the Spear Hero had his arm over her shoulders.

“I did say 'any rumors about it'.” I said and she looked angry. “You should be angry at yourself, since you brought this on yourselves to frame me as a criminal.”

“I wanted you ineffectual!” The king said. “You cannot gain influence with people who know your true nature!”

“They know yours and you influence them.” I said and he looked surprised. “They know you're corrupt and accept it, because what are they going to do? Complain to your soldiers about it? They'd be killed for badmouthing you.”

A few of the soldiers nodded slightly in agreement.

“You will not be allowed near the king.” The Spear Hero said.

“Well, considering that's not up to you...” I said and cast Stasis on the room and everyone that wasn't in my party froze stiff. “...I'm just going to ignore you.”

My slaves stared at the immobile solders as we walked through them to get to the throne.

“I'm going to show this city that I keep my word, since you've made me do it.” I said and then I had a really neat thought. “Actually, I think I'll keep my word and keep you alive.”

“What do you mean?” The rabbitman asked me.

I touched the heroes and the king with the Force, updated their images, and then tossed the three heroes, Malty, and the king into Azkaban Prison and created their replacements.

“By the sacred holy relics.” Someone whispered.

“You are going to act as close to the originals as possible, except you're going to be nice, helpful, and humble.” I said.

“So, not like them at all.” Spear Hero said and I chuckled.

“Use the king's death as a revelation. I want you to be the best heroes you can be, so don't use any of the cursed moves from the weapons. Level them up normally. We have a month before the next wave.”

“That should work.” First Princess said.

“You can respond to the same names as the originals, too.” I said and looked at the king. “I'm sorry about this, I really am.”

The king smiled and gripped my shoulder. “My death is going to help this nation more than staying alive will.”

“It really will.” I said and gave him a hug. “I don't think I can make a rejuvenation facility here and recreate you into a younger version. There's a lot of magic in the air and not a single piece of technology.”

“It's all right. Just like the others, I was created for a purpose. I happily choose to fulfill it.”

“Thank you.” I said and created a wand. My MP jumped from 10 to 100. “Dammit, why didn't I think of that before?”

The king chuckled. “You are limited in more ways than physically by the shield.”

I sighed and nodded as I pointed the wand at the party members of the heroes. “Obliviate.”

Their faces went blank and they forgot the last few minutes.

“Let's go.” I said and walked past the soldiers. When I was at the front of them, I obliviated them and ended the Stasis spell.

The king commanded them to not attack and to stand down. The soldiers looked confused as I led everyone out of the castle. The crowd was shocked to see me with the king, the other three heroes, and their party members with a hundred soldiers behind us.

“Are we really going to let this happen?” Someone asked.

“Do you want to try and stop him?” Someone else asked back.

I created a small platform with stairs and I, the three heroes, the king, and Malty went up onto it. “Before I commence with the execution, the king has something to say.”

The king stepped forward and told them exactly what had happened. How he had conspired with his own daughter to ruin the Shield Hero's reputation by claiming he assaulted her. No one noticed that Malty no longer had the Traitor and Thief words floating above her head.

Malty stepped forward as well and admitted her part and that she was truly sorry for what happened and had begged for leniency for both her and her father. Thanks to that, she had been forgiven and her father would receive a quick death and not be tortured, which was the normal penalty for his crimes.

“You'll be vilified if you kill the king of a nation!” Someone shouted.

“I will only stay his execution and commute it to life in prison if none of you believe I've raped a woman.” I said and nearly everyone shouted that they believed me. Nearly. “As you can see, despite being told it was all false, some of you still believe I'm a criminal, especially all of the soldiers.”

The people and the soldiers all looked guilty.

“That is the king's fault and he is willingly going to pay the price for his crimes.” I said. “He was not shackled and he wasn't dragged here. He calmly walked to meet his fate.”

“I humbly accept this punishment.” The king said and knelt. “It is just and fitting for my life to pay for my transgressions against the Shield Hero. I have wronged him and ruined his reputation. Let this cleanse that debt and let it forever be known that the Shield Hero is here to protect all people and not just those I've chosen for him to.”

The crowd hushed as the king closed his eyes and folded his hands in prayer.

I held my hand out to him and cast the cutting charm. It cleanly sliced the king's neck and severed his head. The body fell to the platform and the head rolled off to land on the neck to show that his face was still peaceful, even in death.

“My word is my bond. I gave my word he would die if his lies were spread, and he died. My promise is complete.” I said and created a coffin, then placed the body and the head inside. “Let it be known his crimes are forgiven.”

“Murderer!” Someone shouted.

“Of course I am!” I shouted back and everyone was stunned. “Do you think heroes are saints? We're not! We're normal people! We don't go out into the world to plant roses! We go out to kill! You KNOW this! We HAVE TO KILL to save you all!”

Everyone in the crowd looked guilty.

“We fight to let you live your normal lives! So, go and live them! Let the heroes KILL to save your world and STOP JUDGING WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!”

They all flinched at my yell and I sighed.

“This world is not a nice one. Evil is threatening it from the inside and from the outside. If people don't choose to fight that evil or choose to support the people who do want to fight it, what's the point of having heroes come here in the first place?”

No one answered me.

“For evil to triumph, all it takes if for good people to do nothing.” I said and that got their attention. “I've done bad things. A lot of bad things.” I admitted. “That doesn't mean I'm not a good person or that I'm not worthy, because I am... despite me questioning my own morality.”

Raphtalia walked up onto the stage and tugged on my pant leg. “What's that word mean?”

I scooped her up into my arms and cuddled her. “It's a person's personal judgment of what's right and what's wrong. I know I've done right and I know I've done wrong. The degrees at which I've done them are what I've been questioning.”

“I don't understand.” Raphtalia said.

“Is it right to sleep with more than one woman and treat them as wives, even if they agree and know of the others?” I asked and a lot of the people in the crowd gasped. “I haven't done anything like that here on this world and I'm sure that I can refrain from doing so. It's the ease at which it happened on the last world that I'm having trouble with.”

“Did you love them?” Raphtalia asked.

“I did. Very much.” I said.

“Then what's wrong? If you were all happy...”

“Just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should.” I said. “At least, I try to live by that philosophy. Just because I can kill everyone, that doesn't mean I should.”

“You won't do that.” Raphtalia said and her little hand cupped the side of my face.

“How do you know that?” I asked, almost in a whisper.

“You would have already.” Raphtalia said. “You bought me and healed me and you didn't beat me or yelled at me. That makes you better than everyone else I've ever met.” She said and then blushed. “You also hug me really nice. Bad men don't do that.”

I smiled warmly at her and kissed her forehead. “Thank you, Raphtalia.”

“I think... I think we need to change how we're doing things.” The Spear Hero said and looked at the coffin. “This isn't a game. This is real.” He looked at Malty and took her into a hug. “You're real, the people are real, and the danger we face is real.”

“I agree.” The Bow Hero said. “We need to take this seriously.”

“We also need to stop playing around and to become the heroes we were summoned here to become.” The Sword Hero said and the people in his party nodded.

“We only have a month to do that, so we better get to it.” I said and they nodded. “Help me mount the coffin and let everyone see that the king was willing to give up his life to protect the people.”

The four of us worked together and stood the coffin up at an angle on the platform so that everyone could see the man's peaceful face. I crossed his arms and used sticking charms to hold the head onto the body, the hands to the chest, and the body inside the coffin. I created a glass cover and it was done.

The crowd kind of dispersed after that and I left the courtyard with my slaves to get them outfitted properly. We needed to have everyone protected and then we needed to head out to get some experience. I needed to level and I needed some privacy. My shield was hungry and I had a lot of things to feed it.

*

Erhard had a great time giving the kids padded armor pieces that they could grow into, since he knew that they would do so quickly, thanks to me mentioning us all going out to fight monsters and to level up as fast as possible. Easily expandable accessories like belts and sashes were liberally shared and everything from daggers to short swords were handed out for them to carry.

I stood off to the side and held Raphtalia in my arms, because she was reluctant to leave my presence. When she wasn't being outfitted or trying different weapons, she was cuddled up to my neck. I didn't mind it at all, because not only was she the cutest thing I had ever seen, her body ran a little hotter than a base human and her hugs shared that warmth with me.

The wolfman refused a weapon at first and complained he was useless as a fighter, then reluctantly accepted a very nice steel sword with a piercing enchantment that matched his own ability with his claws. I didn't heal his injury because I didn't want him to fight until it was necessary. Also, he really would try to kill me and run away, even with the slave crest. I barely had to look into his mind to find those thoughts.

The rabbitman reluctantly accepted a weapon, even though he said he couldn't fight. I almost laughed at that, because he was soon going to be sharing a lot of traits with the werewolf, as would the kids. They would still need to be taught the long way first; but, once they had the basics down, giving them the abilities would give them the best of both worlds.

“That's it, my lord.” Erhard said and wiped the sweat from his brow.

I reached a hand out towards him and he shook it. “Excellent work, Erhard. Both I and my new family thank you.”

Raphtalia let out a startled noise, as did the kids. The adults just looked uncomfortable.

“Let's go to the counter and I'll work out how much you owe.” Erhard said and let my hand go.

I followed him and it took him a bit of time to figure it all out. When he got near the end of the list and started to intentionally downgrade his own hands-on work for the fittings, I counted out quite a bit more than what his bill was going to be and plunked it onto the counter.

“We'll be back to get refitted and new armor pieces when the kids are bigger.” I said and Erhard stared at the piles of gold coins, as did the kids and adults with me. “It's late, so I think we need to head to an inn and sleep for the night.”

“No inn will allow me inside.” The werewolf said and the lizardman nodded as well. A few of the kids also looked uncomfortable with the idea.

“Erhard, is there a camping area near the edge of the city?” I asked and that made the kids look excited.

“There's a nice area near the river out the east side of the city before you reach the rookie fields.” Erhard said. “The farmer there should have no problems letting you spend the night.”

“A farmer?” I asked with a big smile. “He won't mind at all. Thank you.”

Erhard nodded and we left the shop. The townspeople stared at my large party that was well armored and weapon covered and not because they were demi-humans and beastmen. They looked deadly.

We left the city proper and I had them all wait by the road as I went to the little farmhouse with Raphtalia still in my arms. She looked happy to not have to let me go, too. I knocked on the door and waited for it to open.

A young woman looked at me with surprise on her face. “Can I help you?”

“I certainly hope so.” I said with a smile. “My party is looking for somewhere safe to rest, possibly down by the river, and I came here to ask permission and to offer compensation for the inconvenience.”

The young woman turned her head to the side. “BILL! GET OUT HERE NOW!”

Raphtalia winced and hugged me tighter. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and she blushed a little.

“Dammit, woman! I was just shaving!” An older man said as he came out into the living room and then came to a stop to stare at me. “Oh, no.”

“Relax.” I said and held a hand up to stop whatever he was going to say. I seemed to be saying 'relax' a lot today. I thought before I spoke. “My party is looking for somewhere safe to rest, possibly down by the river, and I came here to ask permission and to offer compensation for the inconvenience.”

“Marnie, this is the Shield Hero.” Bill said and she gasped. “We don't want no trouble, sir.”

“Neither do we, which is why I am asking politely and I will pay to have privacy.” I said.

He waved his hand. “You can stay by the river for tonight, as long as you leave first thing in the morning.”

“That's fair enough.” I said. “Can I ask what crops you're growing?”

“Corn.” Marnie said before her husband could. “It's not quite working this close to the river, despite the merchant saying it would be fine.”

“How many fields?” I asked.

“Why do you want to know?” Bill asked.

“I was a farmer before I started travelling.” I said. “I can take a look and see what can be done to...”

“We have three fields! You'll pass through one going to the river behind the house!” Marnie exclaimed and then pointed. “The other two are across the road just there!”

I chuckled. “I'll get my people settled and then I'll check them for you.”

“Why?” Bill asked, still wary.

“Because I'm here to help.” I said and his eyes went to the shield. “No, even if I didn't have this thing, I'd still try to help. It's kind of what I do.”

Both he and his wife looked surprised.

“Thanks for the permission. Goodnight.” I said and walked back over to everyone. “The river's out back through the cornfield. I'll set up a place for us to stay and then we can get some rest.”

“I don't need a tent.” The werewolf said and slapped himself on his armored covered chest.

“None of us need a tent.” I said with a chuckle. “Wanting one? Definitely. Heat and warmth, a soft bed, and protection from the elements. It's everything anyone could want for an evening of camping.”

“None of us have bedrolls. Or other clothing to change into. Or any way to clean ourselves.” The rabbitman said.

“Don't worry, I've got everything handled.” I said and waved for them to follow me. We walked by the house and Marnie stared with an open mouth at us. I gave her a little wave and she didn't react, so I chuckled and kept going. It took about ten minutes to get through the field and there was a nice little area for quite a stretch of riverbank there.

“This is a good area.” The lizardman commented and he and the others explored a little.

Marnie was right, though. This was way too close to a large water area for a corn field to prosper. Rice would be best with access to this much water, so I would have to make a few changes to the field after I converted it.

“Do you have to put me down to put up the tent?” Raphtalia asked.

“No, sweetie. I don't even really need a hand free. It just looks better when I wave.” I said and then waved my hand at the spot. “It's also not a tent.”

“It's a castle tower!” Raphtalia gasped when the Rookery appeared.

The others jumped at her words and they turned to see the forty foot tall round stone building.

“Where did that come from?” Several of them asked, shocked.

“It's a wizard home.” I said and went inside and took out my wand as I went up the stairs.

I had to expand the next two floors and changed their rooms into bedrooms, then went to the top floor and expanded that as well. I suspected I would have at least one extra person in the bed with me tonight, if Raphtalia's justified tense hug around my neck was any indication. She was afraid of going to sleep.

I turned to go back down the stairs and stopped walking, because they were all there right behind me. “Do you want to pick your own rooms or should I assign...”

“WE WANT THIS ONE!” All of the youngest kids yelled at the same time.

I laughed. “I'm sorry, this is mine and Raphtalia's.”

Raphtalia let out a squeak of surprise and the white tiger male started growling.

I walked over to him and flicked my finger at his nose. “Get your mind out of the bad places. She's scared and she needs me to hold her. I won't let her spend the night alone ever again.”

He glared at me and rubbed his nose.

“Th-thank you.” Raphtalia whispered.

“There's no need to thank me for taking care of you, sweetie.” I said and kissed her forehead. “Let's go get everyone settled and then we can get changed for bed.”

“Okay.” Raphtalia said and cuddled into my neck.

I carried her down the stairs to the third floor and the three mole-kids wanted one room, so I expanded it and created three large mounds of dirt. They squealed with delight and shoved me out the door and slammed it shut.

“I think they might have liked it.” I joked and Raphtalia giggled.

We went to each room and made it how the occupant wanted it. The rabbitman and rabbit-boy wanted to room together with their own hovel, the lizardman wanted a huge flat rock with a roaring fireplace, and the white tigers wanted a partial forest and nice beds.

The werewolf still said he wanted to stay outside, so I showed him the roof access and he loved it, because it was protective and open at the same time. I left him a bedroll, since he wanted to 'rough it' and not sleep in a cozy bed.

That left the little ogre-horn girl and the dog girl. They didn't want to be left alone in their own rooms, so they came back with me up to the top floor. I gave them bedclothes to change into and they did so quicker than even I had thought, then they jumped onto the bed and gave me the sad puppy-dog look. I could understand it from the dog girl, because she was a dog.

The other girl giving me the same look didn't make sense until I put Raphtalia down and stripped off my clothing to put on a dressing gown. She caught my arm and gave me a very sad look, then she ran her hands over my muscular arms and rubbed her own. She had a lot of extra muscles that kids shouldn't have and I understood. Her race had well defined muscles their whole lives and she wanted to be near me for that reason.

“All right.” I said and dropped the clothing.

She beamed a smile at me and pat the middle of the bed. I chuckled at her offering me the choice spot and laid down on my back, then I was suddenly on the bottom of a pile of animal girls trying to get comfortable. I remained still to let them figure it out for themselves.

A few minutes later, Raphtalia was on her back across my chest and was unconscious. The ogre-horned girl was draped across my stomach face down and snoring loudly, and the dog girl was on her back between my legs, with her head down by my feet and her own legs over my thighs. I would have laughed at them; but, I didn't want to wake them up just after they had just fallen asleep.

I created a blanket and made sure they were covered and warm, then drifted off to sleep myself. It was only a light sleep, because I knew that Raphtalia would be waking up soon and screaming. I had cast silence on the other two girls and would comfort Raphtalia as soon as she woke up without disturbing them.

Sure enough, three hours later in the dead of night, Raphtalia started squirming and whimpering, then she started thrashing around and screaming. I woke her up and held her to my chest, cast a calming spell on her, then whispered to her that I was here now and that nothing was ever going to harm her again. She cried alot and she held onto me tightly for quite some time before she fell asleep again.

I couldn't move from my spot without disturbing them, unless I used the Force. I nodded mentally and cast Sleep on them and lifted them up, slid out of the bed, and lowered them again. I formed clothing over myself and hopped out of the window to softly land on the ground below. I walked over to the corn field and put my hands down onto the ground and converted it into a rice field.

To my surprise, it happened instantly and the changes I had thought of doing to give it better access to the water, were already there. I shook my head at the magic of the world actually helping me to help the world and cast silence on myself as I walked through the field and past the farmhouse.

I went across the road and changed both fields from the pitiful and partially wilted corn into the fields of healthy corn that could be harvested three times a year. I wrote out instructions for both the rice field and the corn fields, used the Force to put it on the kitchen table, and went back to the Rookery. I flew up to my window and slipped back inside and climbed back under the girls.

I decided to sleep until the morning, since I hadn't slept the night before, and I cancelled the silence spells. I would have to wait until tomorrow sometime to start feeding my shield and see what things I could unlock. Unlike the MC of the story, my shield was going to be quite different, especially if I could get it to accept a few special things.

The morning soon arrived and I had to wake the little ones and get dressed myself. The three little girls groaned and complained, because it was so early, so I had to entice them with waffles and syrup. They didn't really know what waffles were, so it was just the thoughts of tasty syrup that got them off of me. I still had to carry Raphtalia, though. She hugged my neck and wouldn't let go.

I took them down into the kitchen on the bottom floor and sat them at the small table before I started to cook breakfast with one hand and the Force. Raphtalia watched, enraptured, as I made the waffle batter and then her mouth drooled as the smell hit her.

“I have to put you down so you can eat, okay?” I said and she nodded several times. I sat her down and gave her the first big fluffy waffle as the next one cooked, I added a scoop of ice cream on top, and I poured syrup over it all.

Raphtalia made whimpering sounds and gave me a longing look. The other two kids were drooling now, too.

“Go ahead. It's really yours.” I said to Raphtalia and she didn't bother with a spoon or a fork as she dug her hands into it and moaned as she ate. I laughed and pet her hair and had another waffle float over on a plate and gave it the same ice cream and syrup treatment for the dog girl. “I'll have yours ready in a minute.” I said to the ogre-horn girl and she looked eager for it as the dog girl lapped at the ice cream.

The smells floated through the tower as I cooked and the other kids slowly came down to see what the smell was. They only stared at the other three kids for a moment before begging for their own waffles. I gave them all the same treatment and I wasn't surprised that they reacted the same way and dove into them.

I put on some heftier meats and things for the adults to eat and to give them a more substantial meal, since they were bigger and required more food to function. Bacon, ham, eggs, hash browns, and salads for those that wanted them.

I soon gave Raphtalia another waffle and ice cream and she gave me an absolutely adorable smile in return. “There's lots, so eat up and enjoy it.”

Raphtalia used the silverware this time and I handed out more waffles to the other kids. By the time the adults were out of bed and in the kitchen, the kids were well fed and quite happy. I fed the adults their proper dietary supplements and they were soon well fed and happy, too. Even the werewolf.

“Now that we're all relaxed, can you tell me your names?” I asked as I sat down and Raphtalia climbed onto my lap and hugged my neck with sticky fingers. “Remind me that we all need syrup-destroying bubble baths after this.”

That made all the kids giggle and the dog girl licked her own face. Or tried to. She wasn't very successful, despite having a longer tongue than a normal girl. She gave the ogre-horned girl a longing look and the other girl sighed, which the dog girl took as permission and attacked her face with a lapping tongue. It made everyone laugh and the ogre-horned girl blushed.

I nodded to the werewolf and he shook his head.

“My people are dead. I refuse to use my old name.” The werewolf said.

“Would you mind if I named you? I can't really talk to you or call to you without some kind of name.” I said and he shrugged. “I once knew a man who was cursed to be a werewolf. He was a good man and I think he would be honored if you used his last name.”

“What is it?” The werewolf asked, warily.

“Lupin.” I said and he looked surprised. “I think it's fitting, don't you?”

The werewolf nodded and crossed his arms, as if relaxing was against his nature.

“You may name me as well.” The lizardman said. “My name isn't pronounceable in common.”

“Hmm... how about... Mander? Short for Salamander?”

The lizardman thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “I will accept that name.”

“I am known as Lept.” The rabbitman said. “When in werebunny form, I can leap twenty feet straight up.”

“That could be handy.” I said and he nodded.

“I'm Wyndia!” The dog girl said and hopped up and down. “Thank you for the food because it was delicious and the bed was soft and I was warm and cozy and you didn't kick me once! I love you!”

I chuckled and the kids giggled while the adults looked amused as she went back to licking the ogre-horned girl's face and hands.

“You know I'm Raphtalia.” Raphtalia whispered.

“I do. I'm just making sure that we all know each other's names.” I said and kissed her cheek. My lips stuck to the skin and I had to tug a little to get them off. “Yes, we definitely need baths.”

Raphtalia blushed and nodded.

“I am Alta.” The young white tiger female said. “That is my brother, Fohl.”

The older white tiger just grunted and didn't speak.

“I'M HOPPS!” The rabbit-boy yelled excitedly and jumped around more than Wyndia did.

“I'm Imiya.” One of the female mole-kids said. “That's Booya and that's Gilya.”

I nodded and looked at the last one of our group.

“I'm... I'm Iris.” The ogre-horn girl said a little shyly as she pushed Wyndia away. “I was warm and cozy last night, too. Thank you for not turning me away.”

I reached over and took her hand. “I don't want you to ever think that I would.” I said and she blushed. “None of you should think that.” I looked at the others. “I may have bought you and you do wear the slave crest; but, that's not what makes you mine. I picked you out of all the others in the slave trader's tent and we are going to grow strong and powerful together. Stronger than any of us would be alone.”

“I am already strong.” The werewolf said.

“You may be a high level; but, you are not strong.” I said and he growled. “Look at where you were. Was that you being strong?”

He stopped growling and sighed.

“Right. With no one to help you, you were easily taken from wherever you had been.” I said and looked at everyone. “You all were captured and became slaves against your will, because you weren't strong.”

“What are you saying?” Alta, the female white tiger, asked in a soft voice.

“From now on, we are all strong together. If anything happens to any of us, the others will be right there to help. That's what will make us strong.” I said and they all looked thoughtful. “I can normally kick ass by myself...”

“And have.” The werewolf said.

“Yes, and I didn't use my shield or anything that the shield has suppressed in me. The spell that brought me here has magically bound me to the shield and to a set of rules and boundaries, cutting me off from most of my abilities. With your help, I want to exceed and possibly break those boundaries.”

“What's in it for us?” Fohl asked.

“Fohl!” Alta admonished her brother.

“It's a fair question.” I said and everyone looked surprised. “I offer you all the same thing.”

Every one of them touched the magical crest tattoo on their upper chests.

“I will help you all exceed and possibly break those boundaries, as well as those imposed upon you.”

“You can just have us released.” The rabbitman said.

“What would be the point of that?” I asked him and he looked shocked. “How would your situation be different from before?”

“It... it wouldn't be.” He said, sadly.

“Exactly.” I said and let Iris' hand go and held my hand up. I cast the Bluebell Flame spell and a palm full of blue flame formed in my hand. “This is us now. Barely a flickering flame.” I said and floated my wand out of the holster using the Force. “This is us when we work together to make ourselves the best we can be.”

The flame engorged into a bonfire and the kids yelled in fright.

“It's okay. This flame won't hurt you.” I said and nodded to Raphtalia. She didn't hesitate and put her hand right inside it.

“It tickles and it's warm.” Raphtalia said.

All of the kids immediately dove forward and put their hands into it.

“It really is warm.” Alta said, her voice full of awe. “Why is it not burning us?”

“It's a flame that's sole purpose is to light up the world.” I said and everyone looked at me. “That's right. I want us to light up the world. I want to show everyone what real heroes can do.”

The werewolf looked defiant. “What if I don't want the world lit up? What if I want it to burn?”

“I can only tell you to not judge an entire world on the people that hurt you.” I said and then chuckled. “Of course, if most of the world has people like those in the castle city, they might not want us to light the world up for them.”

“They want the heroes to save them and they don't want to acknowledge that they needed saving.” Fohl said, wisely.

“Also, the king of Melromarc broke the pact with the other countries by summoning all four heroes here when he should have only summoned one, the Spear Hero.” I said and they all gasped. “Yes, The Shield Hero should have appeared in the demi-human lands, the Sword Hero in the north, and the Bow Hero to the south.”

“One at each of the Dragon Hourglass locations.” Alta said and I gave her a look as I smiled.

“You and I should talk later in private.” I said and her brother growled. “I don't want to bore everyone with talk of the things they all know about already.”

“That's a good idea. Save the serious talk for later.” The lizardman said. “We need to get ready to go fight.”

“We need to clean up first.” I reminded him. “Do you all know how the taps work for cold and hot water in the bathrooms?”

Most of them shook their heads.

“Then a quick lesson on a few household things, then a bath, then we armor up and go have fun in the creature slaughtering fields.” I said and they all nodded.

We went into the closest bathroom for the lessons on water, taps, soap, and scrubbing clean, then we split up to take baths. Well, I tried to split them up. Raphtalia held onto my neck, Wyndia the dog girl followed right behind me, and Iris the ogre-horned girl held my hand and wouldn't let go.

Of course, I couldn't let their first bath experience be a boring one, so I enlarged the tub, had many rubber ducks make an appearance, and added suds galore and covered the bathtub. I laughed when all three kids tore off their nightclothes and leapt through the air to dive into the mounds of suds. They started to play immediately and had a great time getting clean.

I did my best to scrub them while they played, then the splashing began and an epic water fight started with duck troops and three demi-human generals ordering the utter destruction of my dignity and composure. I suffered terrible losses during the battle and the kids lorded it over me as I was finally dragged into the tub and dunked as they claimed victory.

*

“Why are we standing back and not helping?” Fohl asked and his white tiger ears flicked in annoyance.

“They need to level up and fight on their own. If you step in with your higher level, they won't learn anything and they won't gain any experience.” I said. “This is the starter field, remember?”

“Then why aren't you fighting?” He asked.

“I can't yet.” I said and tapped my shield. “I'm only level two and it hasn't really unlocked anything.”

“Are you sure? Usually something becomes available when we level.” The rabbitman said. “I gained my wereform when I was level ten.”

“I suppose I should be adding things to my shield, now that we've started gathering some good monster parts and supplies.” I said and the werewolf held out the large sack he had. I chose a few of the best specimens of the creatures to add them to the shield. Each one gained me a single shield to give bonuses to fighting them. The kids started laughing and they started swinging easier and making deadlier strikes.

“It seems your benefits also benefit your party.” The lizardman said and his eyes went into the sack. “Would you mind if I...”

“Help yourself. There's lots.” I said and he pulled out a large bug-like creature and shoved it into his mouth to start chewing on it. We all ignored the drool as he did so. I glanced at the werewolf and saw his frustrated face, so I nodded. He quickly had a skinned rabbit-like creature in his muzzle and chewed on it in a similar fashion, as if he wanted the flavors to last for as long as possible before he swallowed.

The rabbitman sighed and pointedly looked away. I chuckled and pat his arm as I pointed to several plants near the trees. He gave me an odd look.

“Bring me those and we'll see what they can do for us.” I clarified for him. “No snacking until we find the good stuff.”

That made him smile and he walked over to gather a few plants, one of each, and brought them back. I added them to the shield and unlocked the Harvest Herbs skill, a Healing Shield, and a Find Healing Plants skill. I knew with the Healing Shield active, I could add the plants and water with a few other things to make a compound recipe and create a weak healing potion.

I could also refine both the water and the ingredients first to make a normal healing potion. “All right, start gathering one of every kind of plant you see, because it's time for some serious skill grinding.”

*

“Welcome!” The tavern owner exclaimed when we entered after a hard day of fighting and leveling. “I've kept your spot free for you!”

I chuckled and tossed him a silver coin. “Thank you. Is the menu the same for supper?” I asked and he nodded. “Then a repeat of yesterday's order, please.” I said and handed him two gold coins.

“Right away, sir!” He said and ran into the kitchen.

We all sat down around the table and Raphtalia climbed onto my lap to wait patiently for her kids meal. I kissed her cheek and she blushed a little.

“Me, too!” Wyndia exclaimed and hopped up and down on her chair.

I laughed softly and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She blushed and her dog tail wagged so fast that it made a breeze. I felt a hand on my other side and the ogre-horned girl blushed without looking at me. I leaned down and kissed her cheek, too.

“Don't you dare.” Fohl whispered to his sister and she pouted.

I laughed and blew her a kiss from across the table and she blushed.

“Hey!” Fohl spat and growled.

“He's teasing you on purpose.” The werewolf said. “Being protective of family is fine. Being overprotective is annoying.”

“Exactly. I'm trying to show you that harmless affection is just that. Harmless.” I said to the white tiger male. “I've been involved in situations where affection between species was frowned upon... and in some cases, criminal. It was not a good environment to foster good feelings between different people.”

That made the werewolf and rabbitman nod, which meant they had firsthand experience, too.

“I don't want the kids to grow up thinking that repressing how they feel is normal.” I said and pet Raphtalia's hair. “It's not. We all have feelings. We get scared, we get nervous, we get angry, we get happy, and we get sad... and it's all okay.” I kissed her cheek again. “It's okay.”

Raphtalia nodded and her blush didn't go away until the food was served.

We all ate and had a good time talking about how the day went and how the following days were going to go. We would get the kids and myself up to a good level before moving into the harder fields and then into the edge of the forest. The more difficult creatures would definitely help raise our levels up quickly with us all sharing experience.

That night, I created a clone of each party member and harvested blood, bone, skin, and hair from them and checked for magic stone cores, just to see if they counted as creatures. They didn't have them, so I thanked them and dismissed them. The humans here were wrong about beastmen and demi-humans only being evolved creatures.

*

A week later, I brought everyone back to Erhard and had him update the children's armor and outfits, gave them better weapons more suited to their now bigger sizes, and we left the castle city to head to the nearby town called Ryute Village on his recommendation to level up faster. The village had a lot of work there to do and they were all pretty down on their luck since the mine closed after the first wave.

Since I had a veritable fighting force with me, we went through the village helping everyone fix their things and we helped some of the farmers with their fields. It was nice for the kids to relax and to play a little after a week of hard fighting and skill grinding. I also helped convert a few fields at night to give them better crops and to help feed the villagers.

Two days after we arrived in the village, the mayor approached me and mentioned the creatures that had taken over the mine. I pretended to not know about it and had him explain, then he gave me a few concessions about 'finding' things inside the mine and that no one would mention some ore and things disappearing if I would accept the job.

I let him stand there for several seconds before I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “We don't need to steal to make money, mayor. We're here to help, just like the heroes of old did. We should have the mine cleared in about a week.”

The mayor sighed with relief and an old woman nearby gave me a thumbs up. I returned it and gathered everyone up to head to the mine that was a short distance away from the village. It was dark and gave off an eerie feeling that made the kids nervous.

“Do a quick search around for anything useful while I check out the miner's shack.” I said and we split up and I entered the shack to find a few useful things. I copied a rope, a pickaxe, the map, the mining book there, one of the mining helmets, and a list of ores and gems that had been found inside. Just like in the original story, I unlocked the Air Strike Shield.

I wasn't sure how that worked, considering it didn't correlate to the things I had added to the shield. Of course, this also explained why I couldn't add any technology to the thing. I tried to create a security panel and it wouldn't turn on and the shield wouldn't absorb it, either. I also tried several energy weapons and it was the same thing. It did accept normal guns and grenades, though.

Perhaps it's the power source? I asked myself as I walked out of the shack. Maybe if I can figure out how to change things to be magically powered, it might accept them.

“We have plants!” “And rocks!” “And this lizard!” The mole-kids said as soon as they saw me and ran over to me.

I chuckled and held the shield out for them to add their finds to it. The shield accepted them all. “Thank you. You did great work.”

“Yay!” The kids shouted and ran off again.

“This should be a good experience for them.” The werewolf said.

“Because it's dark and scary or because it's a great levelling opportunity?” I asked.

“Yes.” He responded. “Toughening is needed.”

“I agree.” I said and then sighed. “However, temperament is also needed. Scaring them into becoming stronger won't work if it's too scary and they fear what is to come.”

“Fear lets them survive.”

“Unhealthy fear will kill them inside.” I countered and he gave me a searching look. “We want them to grow strong and to know fear, not be afraid to feel it.”

“You are wise for someone so young.” The werewolf said.

I laughed and pat his back. “Wherever did you get the idea that I was young?”

He looked surprised and I walked away before he could ask me how old I actually was.

“Okay, I think we're ready for this.” I said and everyone gathered together. “We're going in order with me first, then the mole-kids because they have better eyesight underground and can probably smell out ore and gems for us.”

“We can!” The three mole-kids said.

“The mayor said there's a treasure down there that we can have a share of if we find it.” I said and the kids made excited sounds. “There's also a lot of creatures left over from the last wave down there, too.”

The kids stopped speaking and looked afraid.

“It's all right. We're all going to be there to protect you.” I said and nodded at the lizardman, rabbitman, and the werewolf. “Our job is to give you all the best and safest combat possible. None of you will be hurt, I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” Iris, the ogre-horned girl asked.

“You're mine and I always protect what's mine.” I said and she blushed. “The adults will surround you and will keep anything big away from you. In fact, we'll hold the bigger things still for you to have a solid target to attack when the smaller things are dealt with.”

The kids all exchanged looks and a few whispered words.

“Is everyone ready for this?” I asked and a few of the kids shook their heads. “You three can stay near Lupin. He's the strongest and he has my permission to disable anything coming near you.”

“Finally!” The werewolf said and everyone laughed.

“Let them have the killing blow, please.” I said and he nodded. “Okay, let's go.”

*

Thanks to the map and the mole-kids, it only took us three days to clear out all the monsters and to track down the 'boss' of the mines, a large two headed dog. Raphtalia screamed and dropped her short sword as tears burst from her eyes.

“Stasis!” I shouted and everyone froze, including the large dog. I walked over to Raphtalia and she looked terrified. “Sweetie.” I whispered as I released her and she hugged me tightly and cried. I held her for several minutes before I knelt to look into her very wide eyes. “I promised that nothing was ever going to hurt you.”

“But... but...” Raphtalia tried to speak through her tears.

“I know, sweetie. I know.” I said and she sniffled. “I want to help you overcome this, okay?”

“H-how?”

“I want you to take revenge for your parents.” I said and picked up her short sword to hand to her. “That beast killed them and you are going to kill it. In memory of your parents.”

“I'm... I'm afraid!” Raphtalia gasped and cried some more.

“I know you are, sweetie.” I said and hugged and kissed her forehead. “Being afraid is normal. That's a big mean thing and it will kill you if given the chance.”

Raphtalia trembled and looked at me with terror filled eyes.

“However, it will never get that chance. I'm here with you. You are a strong person and with me here... with all of us here... you can do this.” I let her go and motioned towards the frozen two-headed dog. “You can do something that you never thought possible.”

“Wh-what's that?” Raphtalia asked, her voice shaky.

“You can make that thing be afraid of you.” I said and she looked surprised. “A stab here... a little bleeding there... and it will look at you with more fear than you are feeling now. If it knows you can hurt it, it will fear coming near you.”

“R-really?” Raphtalia asked.

“Do you want to try it?” I asked and she nodded. “Then lets go show that nasty creature who's the boss.”

Raphtalia nodded and walked haltingly beside me as we walked over to the large two-headed dog.

“You don't have to do a killing blow right away. He won't learn anything if you do that.” I explained. “A disabling slice here.” I pointed to the paw and she slowly cut the spot. “Good. He's definitely going to feel that.”

Raphtalia nodded.

“Poke him good here, in the side near the back.” I pointed and Raphtalia stabbed forward as she lunged. “Good, that's good. You've learned a lot during the last week, haven't you?”

Raphtalia nodded several times and smiled a little.

“Okay, now that he's really annoyed at you, let's give him a lesson in humility.” I said and brought her around to the front. “Poke his nose, right there.”

Raphtalia did so and I let the stasis go on the dog. It made a whimpering sound and backed off immediately while the second head barked loudly in anger.

“You see? He's afraid of you.” I said and Raphtalia nodded. “A big, bad, scary creature is afraid of a cute little raccoon girl and her pointy sword. Isn't that funny?”

Raphtalia smiled and stood up straighter.

“The thing you need to know is that the bigger something is, the harder it falls when you cut it down.” I said and used the Force to hold the dog still. “It has two hearts and two brains, so you'll need at least two killing strikes to disable it and put it out of its misery. Do you want to try?”

Raphtalia nodded and walked over to it.

“The brains are more difficult to hit while the creature can move, so you need to be careful, all right?” I asked and she nodded. “The best spots to do so is up through the bottom of the jaw, unless you don't care about the blade you use and want to go through the top of the skull.”

Raphtalia carefully aimed and shoved her short sword up into the left head's jaw and it went right up into the thing's brain. She looked shocked that it had gone in so easily.

“Turn the blade in place to do more damage, then pull it out.” I said and she did that. “The heart is deep in the chest, so you need to hit here or here.” I pointed to the front of the dog and the side between the ribs. “The same move would be best to ensure you damage the heart.”

“Okay.” Raphtalia said and chose the front option and there was a lot more resistance to the blade's entrance than the head had. She did the same twisting move and pulled the blade out.

“Excellent! Good work!” I said and pat her head as she smiled happily. “Now do the other head and heart and finish it off.”

Raphtalia did so and her strikes were confident and had more authority than a moment ago. I let it go and it dropped dead to the ground. I released everyone from Stasis and we all received the popup for the creature's death and received a pile of experience, because Raphtalia had defeated the thing all by herself.

“I... I did it.” Raphtalia whispered and looked at the dead creature. “I really did it.”

“Yes, you did.” I said and hugged her. “I'm so very proud of you.”

Raphtalia hugged me back and held on as the other kids swarmed around us and congratulated her.

“Could you always do that?” The wolfman asked me.

“No, I unlocked that spell... it doesn't matter.” I said and let Raphtalia go. “Who else wants to fight a mean old Cerberus?”

“ME!” The other kids shouted.

“You have to listen to Raphtalia as she tells you how to do it.” I said and created another 'frozen' Cerberus for them to fight. “Go ahead, sweetie. Show them how to make it afraid of you.”

Raphtalia smiled warmly at me and nodded, then she did exactly that. She duplicated the lesson almost perfectly and the kids took turns making the various cuts, pokes, and killing blows. When it died, we only got half of the experience because we had levelled up. It was still a lot, though.

“Again!” One of the mole-kids exclaimed.

I created one for each of the kids and they shouted happily and then proceeded to slaughter the things.

“This is a very easy way to level.” The werewolf said.

“Only for a short time. As we go up in levels, it's less and less effective.” I said. “It's a great training experience, though.”

“We will gather the treasure to bring back to the village.” The rabbitman said and he and the lizardman took several sacks from me and filled them with the gold and jewels the dog had amassed during its time in the mines. None of us questioned where it got the gold and jewellery and just assumed it gathered it magically as a 'boss'.

I used the Force to touch all of the loot when they brought the sacks over to me to store into inventory. I created one of each gem and added them to the shield as the kids fought their devil dogs. I also added the different ores of gold, silver, iron, and a few other things like Light ore and Heavy ore. I had no clue why they were named that, since there was no such thing as Light metal and Heavy metal, as far as I knew.

I was sure I didn't really need them in the shield; but, the unlocking mechanism for the shield only became straightforward after unlocking a shield and revealing the appropriate skill tree. As I stood there and switched between all the different shields I had, each one told me what skills it unlocked. It was a weird way to find out what I could do.

When I switched to the Rope Shield that worked like a grapple hook and rope, it told me that was what unlocked the Air Strike Shield. I shook my head at the thing and reverted it back to the basic shield.

“WE DID IT!” The kids yelled almost at the same time as their enemies died and fell to the ground.

I quickly whispered to the adults to applaud and we all did so, making the kids both happy and a little embarrassed. “Bring me over the original, please. I'll check to see if it has a magic stone core and feed parts of the rest to my shield.”

“What about the rest of that?” The werewolf asked as the kids dragged over the large dog that Raphtalia had killed.

“Check to see if they have monster cores, too. If they do, harvest them and we should be able to sell them.” I said and the adults ran over to all the creature copy corpses and tore them apart to get at the magic stones. “Thanks.” I said to the kids and used the Force to pull the magic stone out. I copied it and added it to my shield, then did the same with a bone, some flesh, and fur.

“They did have cores.” The werewolf said and pointed to the rabbitman's sack.

“Great! The townspeople are going to love us even more when we bring them this loot back.”

“Are we really not keeping it all for ourselves?” The rabbitman asked.

“We're keeping a share, as I agreed with the mayor. We'll split it when we reach the village and they see how much we actually found.” I said and the kids nodded. “It's going to make your pay pale in comparison, though.”

“OUR WHAT?!?” The adults yelled.

“Did I forget to mention that?” I asked and they glared at me. “I'm sorry! We've just been so busy that I guess I forgot to tell you.”

“Tell. Us. What?” The werewolf growled.

“You all earn a gold coin a week, even the kids, to be paid every two weeks.” I said and they all stared at me like they had seen a ghost. “You don't think I would let you all risk your lives for free, do you?”

My question was met with disbelieving stares.

“I don't suppose I should mention Hazard Pay and Bonuses for early completion, should I?” I asked and they didn't react at all. “I really do need to work on my delivery of news like that and spread the shocks out. It's no fun if you don't react.”

I stored the sacks of loot and used the Force to skin the animals to take the pelts, then I used a wand to cast cleaning charms on everyone to clean the blood off of them. I held my arms out for Raphtalia and she squealed happily and jumped into my arms.

“I think we're done here. Let's go make the mayor a very happy man about reopening the mine.” I said and they all followed me out of the mine and back to the village.

Someone saw us coming and they ran ahead of us to the mayor and he called everyone in the village together. By the looks on their faces, they expected bad news, since we had only been gone for three days and not for the week that I had guessed. Instead of speaking when we reached the town square, I took out the several large sacks of loot and dropped them in front of the mayor.

He let out a squeal of delight, not unlike the kids when getting ice cream, and dumped out the sacks to show the villagers all of the glittering contents. They let out cheers and yells, then swarmed us to congratulate us and to thank us.

“You don't know what this means for our little village.” The old woman said as she shook my hand and then pat Raphtalia's head.

“I might have some idea.” I said with a knowing smile. “Do you want to tell the mayor that the mine can be reopened or should I?”

The old woman let out a squeak like the mayor's, jumped up to kiss my cheek, and ran over to the mayor. The mayor picked her up and swung her around, then kissed her soundly on the lips.

“Now I'm glad she was the one who did it.” I said and Raphtalia giggled.

The old woman looked shocked when the mayor let her go, then she smiled and shook her head at him. He laughed and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, then resumed counting out the loot and separating it.

Half an hour later, we had one of the sacks with our share of the loot and the eternal thanks of the villagers. The mayor even gave us a plot of land to put the wizard tower on, so we would always have somewhere to stay. I thanked them and we returned to the castle city to sell the loot and for everyone to spend some of their money.

I also decided to check out what the magic cores could be used for at both the apothecary and the magic store. I wasn't surprised to learn that they could be enchanted, as could some of the nicer gems when refined, and used in both armor and weapons to power them with enchantments. Neither knew anyone who could teach me, though.

On the plus side, they both wanted to buy nearly half of the very nice loot we had and for a reasonable price. That made the kids very happy, because they had seen a lot of things that they wanted to buy on the way to both shops. As we went back along the marketplace and the kids started choosing toys, foods, and clothing, a woman's voice rang out.

“Shield Hero! Shield Hero!” She shouted and I turned to see Marnie walking towards me with purpose.

“Good afternoon, Lady Parnhouse.” I said and bowed, which made her blush something fierce.

“I-I-I'm no lady! I'm a farmer's wife!” Marnie exclaimed.

“Are you sure, my lady? Your poise and manner of dress speak otherwise.”

Marnie blushed some more. “You... you...”

I smiled and took her hand to bend over it and I kissed it. “What can the Shield Hero help you with today?”

“You have to come back to the house! My husband is a wreck! What you did to the fields to make them grow overnight has him in fits!” Marnie nearly shouted.

It was like the world paused as everyone stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at us, even the ones with me.

“I would be happy to help a farmer in need. I am the Shield Hero, after all.” I said and turned to the others in my party. “Do you want to keep shopping or come with me and we'll shop in a little while?”

They paid for their things and ran over to me as they tucked their things into their bottomless pouches.

“Later it is.” I said with a chuckle as Raphtalia climbed up my side and then hugged my neck. I offered my other elbow to Marnie. “If I may escort you?”

Marnie blushed and accepted my assistance as she wrapped her arm around mine like a lady would.

“And you said you're not a lady.” I said to her and her blush deepened as we walked with my armored retinue out of the marketplace.

It didn't take us long to get back to the old farmhouse and the farmer really was freaking out about the luscious fields he now had. I had to hold my laugh in as he completely ignored that his wife was on my arm and ranted and raved at me for giving him too much work to handle by himself.

I held out a handful of silver coins to him and he froze. “Hire the teenagers from the other farms, since they would know what they're doing, and maybe even a few from the city that want to do general labour, like pulling carts and things for the harvest.”

Marnie scooped the money out of my hand as she let my arm go and then went to her husband to take his arm in a similar fashion. “Thank you very much for your help, Shield Hero.”

“If I had realized the solution was this simple, I would have just given you some money back at the market.” I said with a smile. “Don't forget that they can be harvested three times a year and the rice field out back is the same.”

“Oh! That's another thing!” The farmer said started ranting again at not knowing what to do, despite the simple instructions I had left him.

So, I stayed there for nearly half an hour to teach him and Marnie how to properly care for and harvest the rice to get the best crop and what to do with it once it was ready for use.

“We're going to be rich!” Marnie exclaimed and hugged her husband. “We can pay off the land with the corn and then everything else is ours! All ours!”

The pair started dancing around and celebrating, which the kids were more than happy to get in on. Soon we were all being dragged into it and Raphtalia was laughing as I swung her around and danced with her. We soon had a big feast, thanks to me creating a bunch of food and drinks for everyone and the party lasted for several hours.

We didn't get back to our shopping until the next day.

We returned to our temporary home back near Ryute Village and started clearing out the surrounding forests of all the larger creatures, to make it safe for the population and the new miners, which they were very grateful for. We had the kids work hard to level up more and I kept adding everything to my shield and not just special items.

I had unlocked hundreds of shields, some of which I upgraded as I used them continuously. It let me use up the shield's abilities and made them all stronger, which in turn made everyone stronger, thanks to their parts being added to the shield. Every little Plus One or Plus Two made a difference when they were all added up.

The funny thing was, most of the powers and things required the shield be hit first, as if it needed to retaliate in order to work, so when I wanted to use an offensive ability, I would strike the shiled from behind and use the ability. It was annoying at first, because I couldn't just activate it and have it work; but, I quickly got used to the added procedure.

Air Strike Shield, Vanguard Shield, Aegis Shield, Dome Shield, Reflective Shield, Absorption Shield, Animal Repelling Shield, Animal Attraction Shield, Plant Growth Shield, Plant Destruction Shield, Weapon Damaging Shield, Weapon Disarming Shield, Artillery Shield, Gun Shield, Health Boost Shield, Strength Boost Shield, Speed Boost Shield, Earth Digging Shield, Shield Prison, and a whole bunch of others were unlocked with all of the compounds and ingredients I had added.

It was a lot to keep track of, especially because I wanted to upgrade them all. I couldn't remember how to unlock that mode, though. I would have to find some time later to read up about it, assuming it was in the books that Darcy had. Upgrading everyone's equipment and my shields to help them, would be a huge benefit to us all and we could all be that much better.

*

Two days before the wave was supposed to hit, I gave everyone a check-up and made sure their images were updated in my head. Of course, I would have to update them again when we visited the city again.

“We need to head to the castle city and get your armor and weapons adjusted before the wave starts.” I said and everyone nodded. “Boy, is Erhard going to be surprised when he sees all of you.”

The 'kids' were all now level 30, the same as Fohl, the older white tiger, and they all had stars by their names. The odd thing was that they had grown up from the eight and ten years old they had been to look like they were twenty years old. Apparently, demi-humans grew in age with their experience levels, so as they went from nothing to level thirty, their bodies adjusted magically to handle the new stats, abilities, and powers.

Surprisingly, Raphtalia, Wyndia, and Iris still slept in my bed like they had when I first bought them nearly a month ago. As in, draped all over me and snoring peacefully. They couldn't sleep anywhere else, unfortunately.

When they grew up to be teenagers a week ago, they had each tried to stay in their own rooms for a night. Raphtalia's nightmares returned, Wyndia whimpered and cried in her sleep, and Iris kept shivering and huddled into a ball as if freezing. So, back to my bed they went and have slept normally ever since.

The looks I regularly received from Fohl were amusing, especially because his older looking sister Alta would give me searching looks, as if assessing my viability as a mate. I would catch her and she would smirk and glance at her brother, which let me know she was teasing him and not really looking at me like that, so I played along.

We left our tower home and were greeted by several villagers, who were very happy to have us right there to protect them if anything happened. We were also a ready-made labour force when something needed to be done, like digging a water trench for a field or repairing the town hall from the last windstorm.

My potions store was also quite popular, because my prices were cheap and the medicine was very effective. I had added some bacta fluid to my shield and it unlocked Massive Healing Shield and gave me a Healing Aura skill, which was wonderful for my party, because they automatically benefited from it. It let them fight for a ridiculously long time and they would heal as they did so.

I did tell the mayor and the villagers that the wave was going to hit near the village and they just laughed and told me that even if it did, they had us there to protect them and they had nothing to worry about.

We made our way back to the city and went to Erhard's armor shop and his mouth dropped open in shock at all of the adults in front of him. We all laughed at his reaction, then I told him they all needed new armor and weapons.

Erhard fainted.

That made us all laugh more and I revived him, told him he only had a day to do it, and he got to work. He even called a friend of his to provide appropriate under-clothing and they worked together to get everyone outfitted properly. After nearly six hours, he and his friend were exhausted and all the kids were now properly armored and armed.

I paid them a pile of gold for their work and we all thanked them, then we left. We had one more place to visit that was essential to our continued growth as both a party and as individuals. The Dragon Hourglass. We went to the city's central square and entered the church.

“The Shield Hero!” A nun exclaimed and backed away from us, then she ran.

“Okay, that was odd.” I said and we all entered the main area. I knew where the hourglass was and led the others to the right room. Seeing a seven meter tall, or over 20 foot tall hourglass that was filled with red sand, sure was something.

“You are not welcome here, murderer.” A man's deep voice said.

I ignored him and used the Force to touch the hourglass. I gained the image for it and smiled, because I had confirmed that it had a few other functions than just marking the time of the next wave.

A man dressed in white and looked like the pope walked over in front of us and had several nuns and priests arrayed behind him. “You will leave peacefully right now or you will be forced to leave by our Holy Grace and Prayers.”

I shifted my eyes from looking at the hourglass to look at him. “Pope Balmus, Leader of the Church of the Three Heroes, I hereby find you guilty of sedition to the crown, theft of Holy Relics, corruption of the Holy Scripture, and brainwashing your followers. How do you plead?”

The man looked genuinely shocked and the people behind him gasped. Instead of answering, he changed his hold on his staff and started to swing it towards me.

“Stasis.” I said and they froze. “Attacking an unarmed man? Really?” I asked and plucked the staff out of his hands. “A fully charged weapon with a morphing ability? Thank you. Don't mind if I do.”

My party members laughed as I shoved the weapon inside my shield and it absorbed it. It morphed and changed into the Holy Relic Shield and they gasped as the relic's powers flowed through me and into them.

“What was that?” Raphtalia asked.

“All Stats Double, Holy Blessing, and MP and SP Gathering.” I said and I could almost feel everyone's shock. “It must have taken years to charge the thing up, and since I absorbed it, it won't ever go away.”

“We'll always have this?” The werewolf asked and his hands glowed as his claws extended. “It takes me months to save enough energy for a single attack like this.”

“If that's true, then I'm going to assume you're all going to unlock a few things with those permanent abilities.” I said and Raphtalia stepped close and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Right, work to do.”

The Force reached out as I searched around for the Holy Water that the church sold for healing purposes. I quickly found three kinds, weak, normal, and blessed. I created each and added them to my shield to unlock better forms of Healing Shields and better compound recipes for medicine.

“Attacking me proves your intentions, so I sentence you to eternal damnation in the deepest and darkest cell in Azkaban.” I said and Pope Balmus disappeared. “With that settled, let's get everyone upgraded to their best growth options and we can wait out the remaining day relaxing.”

Raphtalia gave me a particular look before she kissed my cheek and went to the hourglass with the others.

“She has ideas above her station.” The werewolf whispered to me.

“So do you.” I whispered back and he let out a little yip of surprise. “It's okay, Lupin. I understand.”

“Do you?” He asked, skeptically.

“I know how frustrating it can be to only be allowed to guard when all you want to do is fight.” I said and he gave me a searching look. “I spent a very long time as a personal attendant when what I wanted to do was go out with the hunting parties to kill creatures and protect everyone in the settlement.”

He gave me a pointed look and I chuckled.

“It'll end soon, I promise.” I said and pat his damaged thigh. “You saw what I added to the shield.”

The werewolf nodded once, understanding that I would heal him soon, and stood beside me as we watched the 'kids' all get great upgrades and unlocked new abilities. Apparently, the new shield was already affecting them positively, because they made startled sounds and stared at the popups in front of them.

“You can read it all later. We need to leave before the Stasis wears off.” I reminded them and we all gathered together and I glanced at the priests and nuns. “I suggest you stop the fanaticism, now that the source of your brainwashing is gone.”

They didn't react, because they were still in stasis.

“Being religious is great. Forcing your beliefs on others in the FALSE idea that your religion is better than theirs, is both idiotic and causes more wars than any other reason in history.” I advised them and walked towards the doorway. “Religion is supposed to teach patience, peace and caring for your fellow living beings. It is not supposed to inspire hatred, cause strife, or encourage ignorance.”

“That just perpetuates evil.” The Spear Hero said as he entered the room with his companions.

“It really does.” I said and shook his hand.

The Sword Hero and the Bow Hero entered behind him.

“You seemed to have built quite the party for yourself.” The Sword Hero said.

“Actually, they are all slaves I've asked to fight and forced to help me level up.” I admitted and some of the hero companions gasped. “What? It's not like anyone was going to willingly join my party after what happened with the king.”

“The Queen wasn't as upset as I thought she would be.” The First Princess admitted.

“She returned, then?” I asked and she shook her head.

“She's still in another country trying to undo the harm that the king has perpetuated the last few years.” The First Princess said. “I've appointed a Regent to look after the kingdom until she returns.”

“We all suspect that he knew the waves were coming somehow.” The Spear Hero said.

“He did. The pope has been manipulating things while the queen was away.” I said and they looked surprised. “The main religion is for the Three Heroes and not the Four Heroes. What else did you think was going to happen to the Shield Hero when he appeared here?”

“Well, that's a real kick in the pants.” The Bow Hero said. “I assume you're going to fight in the wave anyway?”

“I wouldn't be here if I was going to hide or shirk my duty.” I said and pat my shield. “We'll see you tomorrow when the hourglass teleports us all to the location.”

They nodded and I led my party out of the room and the church.

“So, what are we going to do for a whole day?” Wyndia asked and her large tail swished lazily.

“I am going home to relax and maybe read a little.” I said. “We've been working our asses off and I'm not going to do a single thing more until I have to.”

Nearly everyone nodded in agreement.

“Let's stop off at the market and grab some food and things.” Raphtalia suggested.

“Good idea. If they have some good choice meats, I'll make up a grill and we can have a picnic.” I said and the werewolf drooled a little. Ever since he tasted the meat after I cooked it using the shield's cooking skills, he refused to eat anything raw anymore.

“That's a great idea!” Wyndia exclaimed and her tail wagged happily as she took Iris' hand and dragged her towards the market. “Let's go! The picnic isn't going to set itself up!”

That made a few of the others laugh, because I had the setups in storage and could put the whole thing out without having to take out each individual thing, like the grills, picnic tables, and tablecloths.

*

“Okay, people! This is it!” I shouted and everyone gathered around me. We were just outside the village near our home and there was only a few minutes left. “Does everyone have their backup weapons?” I asked and they all nodded. “Do you remember where we're all meeting when we get separated?”

“The town hall!”

“Right! Protect the villagers and get them into the shelter as quickly as possible. Once they are, you can have as much fun with the attackers as you want.”

“YES!” The werewolf exclaimed and we all grinned at him.

“Take it easy with the repaired leg and don't push yourself.” I cautioned him and he growled. “I didn't say relax, I'm telling you to not jump twenty feet to kick something.”

He made a sad sound and everyone laughed.

“Tackle them instead.” I suggested and he nodded with a happy expression. “All right, this is our first serious fight together, so I want you all to be careful and aware of those around you. Support each other like we practised and none of us will have to worry about anyone getting overwhelmed or hurt.”

“Yes, Hansen.” They said as one.

“What are you going to do when the fighting starts?” Raphtalia asked.

“I'm going to show those creatures that an overwhelming defense will always win.” I said and grinned.

“You unlocked a new mode, didn't you?” Raphtalia asked and put a hand on her hip, as if she was accusing me of doing something bad.

“I may have added an ancient mythological weapon of immense power to the shield last night.” I said and she looked shocked. “It's taking a while to absorb it.”

“I can imagine.” Raphtalia said. “What does this weapon do?”

“Nothing much.” I said and then mumbled for several seconds.

“Excuse me? I didn't hear that.”

“When it's done being assimilated, it grants the holder super strength, limited flight, storm generation, and lightning manipulation.” I said and they all stared at me. “It also covers the holder with additional magical armor that protects them from most normal attacks.”

“You... you...” Raphtalia seemed at a loss for words.

“Before you yell at me for not adding it sooner, the shield wouldn't even acknowledge it until after I put that holy relic into it and unlocked the power sharing thing. The shield needed for me to be a high enough level to accept it, apparently.” I explained and she closed her mouth. “So, at some point during the battle, don't be surprised if I change a little.”

Raphtalia snorted and then laughed. “A little!”

“Relatively.” I joked and everyone else laughed, too. “Okay, this is it. Ten seconds.”

They all braced and then the counter reached zero... and none of us moved. The other three heroes appeared about twenty feet away with their parties and one of their companions shot off a firework to signal the soldiers where they were.

We all stood there as the bright blue sky cracked open and nothing but white was there. It triggered a startling memory for me and I had to shove it aside as the white space changed into red darkness and swirling blue vortexes appeared and started spitting out creatures of all kinds. Man-sized locusts and wasps, zombies, skeletons, and undead giants rained down on the countryside.

“We'll take care of the town! You go and deal with the boss creature and then hit the army from behind as you drive them here!” I shouted at the three heroes.

“We'll do our best!” The Spear Hero shouted back and they all ran off towards the center of the disturbance.

“Bring back the corpse and any loot drops to show me!” I added and he waved. I looked at my party. “Let's go.”

They nodded and we ran back into the town to get everyone down into the shelter I had built. Not surprisingly, there were a few people like the old lady and a few farmers, that wanted to remain and help protect the village. The farmers were easy to convince that I would fix their fields when they saw the army approached the village and the farmers entered the shelter without protest.

When I touched the old woman to thank her and guide her into the shelter, I gained an image of 'Female Adventurer' and she was level 100 and had a lot of fighting skills and abilities. She also had the ailment 'Old' and 'Recently Sick'.

I smiled at her. “I'm giving you the temporary title of Village Hero.” I said and waved my hand over her to cover her in a copy of Raphtalia's armor and injected her with dozens of bacta needles to restore her to perfect health. I shrunk the armor slightly to fit her smaller and thinner body and then handed her a large broadsword that matched the werewolf's.

“Shield Hero! You're a magic user, too?” The old lady asked, shocked.

“And so much more.” I said. “You're in charge of keeping the shelter protected while we protect the rest of the village.”

The old woman smiled and saluted with a hand over her heart. “You can count on me!”

“I know I can.” I said in a reassuring voice. “Everyone, here they come! I'm casting the shield!”

“Are you sure we can pass through and they can't?” The rabbitman asked.

“Only my party members can, because it's us that maintain the shield.” I said and raised my shield to the sky. “Dome Shield! Aegis Formation! Protego Maxima!”

To everyone's shock, especially the old woman's, a bright blue energy dome appeared and grew, and grew, and grew, until it covered the majority of the village. I took several deep breaths, because that had used up nearly all of my MP and SP. It was quite draining.

“Whew! I definitely need to level up more.” I said and they all gave me pointed looks. “What?”

“You want to become more powerful than shielding an entire village?” Mander the lizardman asked.

“I told you, I want to light up the world.” I said and started to float up into the air.

“Hansen!” Raphtalia gasped.

“It's okay. I know what I'm doing.” I said as the shield finally finished absorbing a copy of my Thunder Hammer and it became the Thunder Storm Shield.

Storm clouds formed inside the protective dome and lightning started to strike randomly from the clouds and struck the shield. I wasn't surprised when they were redirected to each of my party members and they all let out yells... then they grew slightly and started being covered with scaled armor.

“Oh, wow!” Wyndia gasped and her tail wagged, only this time it made a gail force wind and blew down a house. “Oops! I'll rebuild it, I swear!”

That made me laugh. “It's okay, I have a copy of the village in my mind.” I said and pointed to the house and it instantly reformed into a perfect replica. “Now lets go smash some monsters!”

“YEAH!” They all yelled and leapt into the air and flew through the barrier as if it wasn't there.

“No one is going to believe this.” The old woman said in a whisper.

“Our beliefs don't require them to.” I said and flew up into the sky through the barrier as my MP and SP were restored. The shield started glowing white and I smiled. “Lightning Barrage!”

Hundreds of lightning bolts shot out from the shield and hit dozens of undead giants in the head and blew them up. Their large headless corpses shuddered and then fell down onto the masses of undead skeletons and zombies around them.

“Spike Shield! Lightning Mode!” I shouted and unleashed a devastating attack on all of the nearby airborne enemies. The spikes I had gained from a porcupine monster acted like tasers, or in this case, bug zappers, and hundreds of wasps and locusts dropped from the sky and died. I did this several more times to clear the sky of the threat.

I checked everyone's stats and to see how they were doing, only to see them all tearing through the undead horde as if it didn't exist. I chuckled at their happy shouts as they easily killed enemies that were of equal or high level. Even Lupin the werewolf was yipping in joy as he used his massive claws and tore into the chest of an undead giant and ripped it apart, decapitating it almost by accident.

Suddenly, the sky changed and the vortexes faded and the red color dissipated to leave the white sky, then the large crack reformed and the bright blue sky returned as if nothing had happened.

“Don't relax! There's still tons of wave creatures left behind!” I shouted and they all waved and kept fighting.

There was a sudden surge of enemies and I had to use up nearly all of my MP and SP again to help my party to defeat them. The reason for the surge came as the three heroes and their parties appeared and drove the last of the enemy army into our very capable grasp.

I felt a disturbance in the air and then streaks of fire came from off to the right and were headed right for my party and the last of the undead army. I apparated from where I was and right into the path of the attack.

“Vanguard Shield! Reflective Shield! Energy Absorption Extension!” I shouted and three shields appeared. One in the shape of a large tower shield twenty feet across, the second was like a square mirror and merged with the tower shield, and then a large circular area formed around it about thirty feet out from the edge of the first shield.

The main fire barrage hit the center of the shield and bounced right back where it came from. The ones hitting the edges bounced off to the sides, and the ones that missed the center shield hit the absorption circle and dissipated.

Needless to say, there was a lot of screaming, the woods were on fire, and a lot of people were angry.

I cancelled the shields I used and landed in front of my party before I used my wand to cast Aquamenti at the surrounding forest to put out the fires. I stalked over to the head of the guards that had cast the devastating spell and glared at him.

“What the hell were you thinking firing on the heroes, you idiot?!?” I shouted at him.

“Doing my job, murderer.” The head guard said, arrogantly. “I saw the enemy and launched our best spell to take care of the threat.”

“It didn't matter to you that there were people fighting there at all, did it?” I asked.

“They wouldn't be much of a hero if they can't survive a little bit of fire.” The man said, smugly. “Plus, the real heroes were nowhere near you and your pet monsters.”

A sword sliced through the man's face where his mouth was and he looked surprised for a moment, then his head flopped off of his body. To my surprise, his body stayed standing, as if it didn't know what to do without the brain attached. I would learn later that his armor locked him into place.

“Arrogant ass nearly killed my sister.” Fohl said and flicked his blade to remove the blood. “She was right behind you, Shield Hero.”

No one said a thing to him as he went back to stand beside Alta, who looked pleased and took his hand.

“Who's next in charge?” I asked and another man stepped forward. “I want you to report to the Regent exactly what happened here.”

“Wh-what? Don't you want to cover it up? Your party just killed...”

“...an enemy that attacked us.” I said and shared my popup information. “He aimed the spell at my party, automatically making himself... and those of you that didn't object to the spell... our enemies.”

Most of the soldiers paled and took a step back, except for a small group of them. There were a few adventurers mixed in there, too.

“I see a few were against firing into the heroes trying to save you. Good. You'll either be promoted or will form a special guard to accompany us to the next wave.” I said and the few soldiers and magic users looked happy. “Come forward and greet your new comrades in arms.”

“You can't do that!” The new leader of the guards said.

“I'm the Shield Hero. You've seen that I can do a lot of things.” I said and waved him away. “You are dismissed. I'll be sending my own report to the Regent, so if you lie and try to make me out to be the villain here, like the previous king did, you know what will happen to you.”

The man made an odd sound and quickly walked away. The rest of the guards followed him.

I smiled at the six guards and four adventurers that remained. “Having a conscience is a blessing that few with power have. I'm glad to meet more rare people like yourselves.” I said and started shaking hands with the men and kissed the women's hands as I introduced myself.

“Your name's Hansen?” One of the witches asked.

“It's what I go by in public. Those I completely trust know my first name and we only use it in private.” I said and didn't have to look at my party members to know that the women blushed and the men looked both embarrassed and proud. “Let me introduce everyone.”

I did that and we all talked about the things that had happened in the wave as I added a bunch of different things to my shield. The chimera parts, the wasp and locust parts, the undead skeletons and zombie parts, and even some of the giant parts. I even added one of each weapon after repairing them first as well.

The new additions unlocked several shields and gave us all various resistances, which included no rusting and less wear for our weapons and equipment. That was a huge thing in a medieval world with no technology.

“Shield Hero!” The old woman shouted and the group around me parted to admit her, the mayor, and a large portion of the townspeople. “Thank you so much for saving us all.”

“It wasn't just me.” I said and waved at my party and the other heroes and their parties. “Together we stand, apart we fall.”

“Wise words.” The mayor said. “Please accept this token of our gratitude.”

I accepted the piece of paper. “The deed to the land the tower is on?”

“I know I already gave you the land; but, now it's official and no one can tell you that you... and your party... can't live there. You are a part of this village and you've made it the best its ever been.” The mayor said and the townspeople clapped.

“Great, now I have to pay taxes on it!” I joked and everyone laughed.

“You need to get going.” One of the soldiers said. “The Regent is throwing a banquet in honor of the heroes and has appropriate awards for you all.”

“Give him our regrets.” I said and he looked surprised. “We have more undead creatures to fight.”

“What? Where?” The soldiers and villagers all looked around nervously.

“At the other calamity sites, of course.” I said and they looked surprised. “One opens at each site and spews out creatures. The boss only appears where the majority of heroes are gathered, so don't worry about that.”

They sighed in relief.

“Is everyone ready?” I asked as I took out a miniature Dragon Hourglass from inside my armor.

“Can we come along?” The soldier asked.

I glanced at my party and most shrugged. “If you can follow orders and make the protection of each other and our party members a priority, I won't object.”

“We're in, too!” The Spear Hero said and stepped forward to touch the hourglass.

“Us as well.” The Sword Hero said and he and the Bow Hero touched the hourglass.

I held it out to the soldiers and the other adventurers and they touched it, too. “All right, we're going to the closest one to here with the largest amount of creatures still surviving. In three... two... one.” I tapped the hourglass with my wand and we all popped away from where we were to appear in a devastated field with the sounds of battle all around us. “Go! Go go go! Protect everyone!”

My party and the other three heroes with their parties spread out immediately and started attacking the undead creatures around us.

“You new people, stick with me.” I said and they formed a circle around me. “Perfect.” I said and lifted us all up with the Force and brought us up above the battlefield. The guards seemed scared and the adventurers accepted it, especially the witch.

“If this is a spell, please teach it to me.” She pleaded.

I chuckled. “Come by the tower in Ryute Village later and I'll show you a few things you've never seen before.”

The male adventurers chuckled and she blushed as she smacked them.

“Case in point.” I said and storm clouds formed above us and I held up my shield. It was struck dozens of times and charged up. “Lightning Barrage!”

They stared as dozens of undead giants dropped dead from their heads exploding.

I hadn't used up my magic to cast the large protective shield, so I had tons of MP and SP to burn through. “Spike Shield! Lightning Mode!”

“By the sacred saints of old.” One of the guards whispered as hundreds of bugs fell to the ground.

Large energy blasts came from the Spear Hero, a cutting energy wave came from the Sword Hero, and explosions came from the Bow Hero's arrows when they hit. A couple of the adventurers with me shot their spare bows and the witch used several fireball spells to full effect. I praised her and she gave me an odd look before she kept firing.

Getting to watch the battle from above, gave me a unique perspective on how devastating a coordinated attack was on the enemy. It also let me make choice shots to protect my own people and others from being ambushed or overrun. Thankfully, it didn't take long to end the battle and I landed us down beside everyone and the local forces came over to thank us.

“We'd love to stay and chat; but, we have places to go and people to save.” I said and took out the hourglass. “In three... two... one.”

We popped away and appeared in the smoking remains of a wrecked village.

“We're too late.” Raphtalia whispered and tears came to her eyes.

“It's never too late.” I said and took out my wand. “Hominus Revelio!”

The glowing forms of nearly a hundred villagers, adults and children, appeared around us. There were many more bodies than that, however.

“We can see them!” Alta, the white tiger female said and pointed.

I used the Force to feel out for the enemy creatures and they were rampaging through the thick forest just to the south of the village. “Spear, Sword and Bow! The enemy is in that direction in the forest! They won't expect an attack from behind!”

“We'll make them pay!” The Spear Hero said and they charged after the enemy.

“Everyone else, start digging out the glowing people. I'll gather the bodies. They only just passed, so there's a chance they can be revived!”

Everyone stared at me.

“Hurry!” I said and used the Force to pick up every dead body I could see and feel with the Force. I walked over to the edge of town and created a Lazarus Pit building and brought them all inside and tore off their clothing before I slipped them into the bubbling liquid. There were too many to worry about spacing and I just piled them inside and made sure they were dunked.

“Please tell me you're not making soup.” The rabbitman said as he brought in a very damaged woman. “She just died.”

“Perfect!” I said and tore her clothing off and shoved her into the liquid.

“You're not, are you?” He asked and stared as the woman sunk down out of sight.

“It's a resurrection pit.” I said and his mouth dropped open. “I can't even swear you to secrecy, since they will all be back within hours, if not sooner. This world accelerates everything magical.”

“You're serious?” The werewolf asked as he brought in two men with missing limbs. “They are about to die.”

“Not a problem.” I said and waved my wand at the wall to make a large area expand. I populated it with hospital beds and brought both injured men over to put them on the two closest beds. I healed the stumps and then injected them with dozens of bacta needles. “They'll have their limbs back in the morning.”

“I'll tell the others to bring the injured in here.” The rabbitman said and ran out of the building.

“There were probably lots of dead at the other battle.” The werewolf pointed out.

“Dammit, you're right! I'll be right back.” I said and my shield changed to have a Demon Hourglass on the front and I popped away. It took me a few seconds to tell the soldiers and remaining adventurers about the Lazarus Pit, which they didn't believe, until I created it right in front of their eyes. “Strip them to their underwear and shove them in. They'll be fine in a few hours.”

“You're crazy!” A man shouted.

“Of course I am! I'm fighting against a world breaking calamity with a group of liberated slaves! What else would I be to think this is a good idea?”

He closed his mouth and didn't respond.

“What have you got to lose if it doesn't work? Nothing, right?” I asked and used the Force to strip off a dead woman fighter and slipped her body into the bubbling liquid. “It revives them if their souls haven't been stolen or moved on. Since the battle just happened, they should be fine.”

No one moved, so I glared at them.

“If you don't add them right away, there's a higher chance that they won't be revived, so get to work! I'm also a healer and I'll come back after I fight off the last of the creatures to make sure your injured get treated, too.”

I popped away and didn't wait to see if they were going to do it or not. I reappeared at the side of the Lazarus Pit and a bunch of villagers were there waiting to be treated. I quickly dealt with them and added the remaining bodies to the pit.

“The other heroes are returning!” Iris the ogre-horned woman said.

“Great! We have one more stop to make. It shouldn't take long, since the least amount of enemies landed there.” I said and we all gathered up as I took out the small hourglass. “Three... two... one.”

We popped to the last location and there were barely a hundred enemies and only one giant undead. The werewolf tore its head off and the others quickly killed the rest.

“Good work, everyone.” I said and took out the hourglass again and flipped it over. “Anyone that wants to return to Melromarc's Dragon Hourglass, touch this hourglass again. The fighting's over, so there's just clean-up and healing left if you want to skip it.”

“We'll return and fill the Regent in on this development.” The First Princess said and briefly touched the hourglass. The Spear Hero, Sword Hero, and Bow Hero also did so, as did the guards that came with us.

“We need to report in, too. Or resign. It depends on how the Regent took what happened with the head guard.”

“We can always use more adventurers.” One of the adventurers said and touched it as well. “How do we join you guys for the next wave?”

“You just did.” I said and held up the hourglass. “It's set for the next wave.”

“Excellent.” He said and the rest of the adventurers touched it.

“I'll be by to visit later.” The witch said and then they all disappeared.

I put the hourglass away. “Let's go back to that last village. There's a lot to rebuild.”

“Oh, joy.” The werewolf said and we all smirked at him, because he couldn't handle the normal tools for rebuilding things and was essentially just a helper. They all touched my hourglass shield and we popped away to reappear just outside the Lazarus Pit building.

“You are going to explain this.” Raphtalia said in a stern voice.

“It's a magical resurrection pit that I converted and fixed from another world.” I said and she looked surprised. “You shouldn't be surprised by that. I am from another world.”

“But... you...”

“One of my abilities is to copy and recreate things, remember?” I said and created a bouquet of roses. “For you, such an understanding and beautiful young lady.”

Raphtalia's face flushed to a deep red and she accepted the flowers.

“Me, too!” Wyndia exclaimed and started jumping around.

I created a large chew toy and tossed it to her. She let out a loud bark and caught it in her mouth and growled as she chewed on it. That made everyone laugh and I discreetly handed Iris a glowing red rock the size of her palm while they were all distracted. It was a copy of one of the grill's heating stones and she loved feeling the extra warmth it gave her.

“Let's get to work.” I said and went inside to continue healing the villagers and injecting them with bacta to regrow damaged and lost parts.

After half an hour, there was a yell from the pit and someone splashed around.

“Our first customer.” I said and walked over to greet her. “Welcome!”

She spit and sputtered at me as she stood up. “What the hell happened? I was run through with a spear and trampled!”

“But you're all better now.” I said and waved at her body.

She looked down and blushed really hard at seeing she was only wearing panties and a bra, then she lost it and became angry. “YOU STRIPPED ME NAKED?!?”

“Only to your underwear so that you could be properly healed.” I said and held a hand out to her. “I'm a healer. Let me dry you off and I'll give you new clothes.”

She glared at the hand as she took it and then she walked out of the pit. “Make sure you only touch me through the towel. You've had enough thrills from my body today.”

I laughed and snapped my fingers to dry her off instantly, then I waved my hand over her to give her a very expensive outfit like the one Malty wore with armor plates and everything. “How's that?”

She gasped and used her hands to touch everything. “How in the sacred spirits did you do that?”

“Magic.” I said and took her hand again to kiss the back of it. “Please forgive the impropriety needed to return you to health, adventurer. It was necessary, despite the indignity it caused.”

She blushed for a different reason as she became aroused. “I suppose I can forgive you this time.”

“Thank you.” I said and bowed. “What kind of weapon do you use?”

“Longsword with a broad hilt. Why?” She asked.

I created one that had extra durability and blood repelling enchantments that was a copy of one from Erhard's shop. “Here's a gift for trying to defend the villagers from the horde of evil creatures.”

She gasped and took the sword reverently. “You have a storage capability?”

“I do. I'm the Shield Hero.” I said and showed her my left arm. “Do you live here or are you travelling?”

“I used to live here and came back to visit my mother.” She said and then caught her breath. “My mother! She's...”

“Perfectly fine.” I said and led her by the hand into the hospital bed area. “I believe that's her regrowing her arm.”

“MOMMA!” She yelled and the woman turned to look and saw her daughter run over to her.

“Shana! You... you... I thought you were dead!” The woman exclaimed and hugged her with one arm.

“I thought you lost your arm, so I guess we're both wrong.” Shana said and let her go. “I'm so glad that you're okay.”

“Me, too.” The woman said and started crying.

“Shh, it's okay. The Shield Hero is here. He's taking care of everything.”

“I am.” I said and they both looked over at me. “My party is rebuilding the village as we speak. Once I finish checking on everyone, I'm going out to repair the damaged farming fields.”

“You're definitely living up to the legends.” A man's voice said.

“I intend to surpass them.” I said and he looked surprised. “You wouldn't be suffering the Calamity if the previous heroes had been successful.”

“I... I never thought of it like that.” He admitted.

“No one really does.” I said and checked him. “You'll be fine in about fifteen minutes. Rest for an hour or so after that or look around for your family.”

“Thank you.”

“Just know that some might be in the bubbling pit outside and might not appear for a few hours.” I said and he nodded. I went around and checked everyone and told them when they would be fine. When I was done, I left the Lazarus Pit building and ran around to help replace the most devastated buildings with copies from Ryute Village.

After that, I ran around the outskirts to find the fields of crops and changed them from their current versions into the updated and superior crops of my lands. The difference was significant when I was done an hour later. I went back to the center of town and the place only looked like a terrible storm hit it.

“I'm popping over to the other battlefield to check on them.” I told everyone.

“I'll come, too.” Raphtalia said and ran over to me. “Clean me up, please.”

I cast the spells and she hugged me tightly around the neck. “Here we go.”

We popped back into the Lazarus Pit and there was a large gathering outside. Several of the people had torches and a few people were defending three beaten people.

“We just fought off a bunch of dead things! You can't stop us from killing them, too!” One of the angry soldiers shouted as he pointed at the two men and a woman.

“You just confirmed that you're an idiot.” I said and walked over to the group with my arm around Raphtalia, because these people would probably attack her if I let her stand by herself. “You can't kill what's already dead. Since you admitted they're alive, your argument is moot.”

“You! You're that murderer!” The soldier spat.

“Right back at you, asshole.” I said and he looked surprised. “Go ahead and tell me you've never killed anyone while on duty, or under orders, or by accident.” I challenged him and he didn't say anything.

“You worship and consort with the devil!” A woman exclaimed and pointed at Raphtalia.

“Despite her being beautiful and looking like she's about twenty years old, she's a bit too young for me to do things like that with her.” I said.

Raphtalia gasped and blushed.

“You admitted that you want to! With... with... that creature! She's an abomination towards God!”

“Actually, you're wrong. I checked. She doesn't have a creature core. She's as human as you or I, just with a bit extra to make her that much more special.” I said and held her close.

Raphtalia made a cute sound and her blush deepened.

“Blasphemer!” She spat and raised a hand towards us.

I felt magic build up in her and smiled. “I sentence you all to the darkest cells in Azkaban.” I said and they all disappeared. “Perhaps an eon in torment might help them see the error of their ways.”

The soldiers and adventures stared at the empty spot in shock.

“You have to stop doing that.” Raphtalia said and kissed my cheek. “After we make a few more deposits.”

I barked a laugh and the other soldiers and adventurers gave me odd looks. “She appreciated that bad people need to be put away.” I said and a few of them nodded. “Anyway, I'm here to look after your injured. Did you get everyone that died into the pit?”

“No, there were... a few that...” One of the soldiers tried to say.

“I understand. I'm sorry.” I said.

When someone was mulched by being stepped on or partially eaten, there wasn't much left to put into the pit.

I checked the three beaten people and used the Force to pick them up. “Come with me.” I said and walked with my arm still around Raphtalia and we went into the Lazarus Pit building. I did the same thing as the last time and expanded part of the wall and added hospital beds. “Bring any injured here, even old ones. I might as well handle them all now.”

They all stood there and watched as I healed the three people in about ten seconds.

“Right away!” The other soldiers and adventurers said before they left at a run.

When they were gone, Raphtalia pulled me over into a corner. “Did you really mean what you said?”

“Yes, you're a little too young for me to worship you like that.” I said with a warm smile.

“S-stop that. I'm... I'm serious.” Raphtalia said.

“So am I.” I said and cupped the sides of her face with my hands. “You were only ten years old a month ago. Now with the levels you've gained before the wave, you were about twenty. I suspect when we check, you'll see that you've gained quite a few more levels and possibly another class advancement.”

“So... maybe I'm now twenty-five?” Raphtalia asked and looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Let me put it this way.” I said and turned to her fully as I pulled her into my arms. She fit perfectly against my body and her face went bright red as she felt me grow hard for her. “You are the perfect height for me and several of the great loves of my life were your height.”

Raphtalia stopped breathing as she looked deep into my eyes.

“Its only my own morals that are stopping me from taking this any farther than it's already gone.” I said and tried to let her go.

“John, I... I love you.” Raphtalia whispered and held on tightly.

“I know.” I said and gave her a tender kiss. “I just need some time.”

Raphtalia took a deep breath and sighed as she let it out. She nodded and let me go.

“I'm not saying no, Raphtalia.” I whispered and put my arms back around her. “I'm saying we need to wait.”

Raphtalia felt me again and she made a little moan sound. “John...”

“I know you're matured as well.” I said and tapped my temple with a finger. “I know that here. I just need to accept it here.” I said and tapped the spot over my heart.

Raphtalia put her hand over my hand. “I understand.”

I gave her another soft kiss and let her go. “Now I need a cold shower and for someone to smack me in the head.”

Raphtalia giggled and whacked me upside my head and ran out of the room. “You asked for it!”

“I needed the shower first, dammit!” I said and she laughed.

*

Over the next few hours, I healed the people brought into the Lazarus Pit and jumped back and forth between them to help the resurrected out and gave them clothing and weapons. When all the ones from the battlefield were back, they were informed what the locals were going to think about them after being healed.

They decided to go to the other village that seemed to accept the people brought back from the brink of death. I dismissed the Lazarus Pit at the battlefield and gave the soldiers and adventurers a smirk. I bent down and touched the land and converted it into a field of wheat, erasing the battle evidence completely.

“Have a good day, ladies and gentlemen.” I said and popped everyone going with me to the village.

The village was grateful for getting experienced soldiers and adventurers that would be staying with them, not to mention being healed and having their limbs regrown. Once they were all better, I dissolved the Lazarus Pit and my party gathered together.

“Good luck and be good to each other.” I said to the villagers and popped my party to the clock tower in the castle city. We entered the church unmolested and went right to the room with the Dragon Hourglass.

“Over 45 days to the next wave?” The werewolf asked and sighed. “Lots more training for the kids, I guess.”

“Actually, I was thinking we should go for a little trip around the countryside and see if anyone else has been suffering from the calamity and hasn't reported it or something.” I said and they all looked surprised. “Of course, that means only one thing.”

“SHOPPING!” Nearly everyone yelled.

“Shh! This is a church!” I exclaimed and that made them laugh. “Hurry up and check your statuses.”

They all did so and a few of them actually did reach a new class up level, thanks to the shared experience. It was telling that after the first one, each of them had a different level cap to reach for their next advancement. It proved that the system was adaptable and that they weren't all the same or trapped taking the same things as everyone else.

Raphtalia walked over to me and looked very pleased. “How did you know?”

“You're mine.” I said and she blushed as the white tiger growled. “Not like that.” I said and then smiled at Raphtalia. “Not yet, anyway.”

Several gasps came from the women and Raphtalia blushed hard.

“You told him!” Wyndia exclaimed and hugged Raphtalia as she licked her face. “Good for you!”

“Watch the tail!” Rabbit-boy said and jumped out of the way of the strong gale it made.

“Oops!” Wyndia said and tried to still it. “It's hard to control when I'm happy!”

“Let's go to the market and see what new things they have.” I said and we left the church.

“It might be too late to do that today.” Lept the rabbitman said. “It's getting dark.”

“Back to the farm tower?” Someone asked.

“It'll save us some of travel time.” I joked and only a few laughed. The rest groaned.

“Can you port us there if you haven't been there with the Hourglass Shield yet?” Raphtalia asked as she took my arm and held on.

“I doubt it.” I said and checked the popup. “No, it's not on the list.”

“Is that another reason for the sudden trip across the countryside?” The werewolf asked.

“One of many.” I said. “Different monsters, more ingredients, new compound recipes, and I really do think we need to relax.”

“We'll need a map, a carriage, and probably a horse or two.” Iris said. “Maybe directions? Perhaps someone around here knows of other places that need help.”

“That's a great idea.” I praised her and she turned away to hide her blush. “We'll make the rounds to the different businesses while we shop tomorrow.”

“I need to sleep! Sleep sleep sleep!” Wyndia said and hopped around.

“You don't look it.” Imiya the mole-woman said with a smile.

“I swear she's part rabbit. She jumps better than Hopps!” Gilya the other male mole-woman said.

“I do not!” Wyndia exclaimed.

“She does not!” Hopps exclaimed at the same time.

That made a few of the others laugh softly and light conversation was shared until we reached the farmhouse. The fields were partially cleared and I nodded at the tended fields because the farmer was following my directions to keep them healthy.

We went to the tower and entered, each of us going to their rooms or to do their chosen activity until they wanted to go to bed. Even if the kids were only young, they were physically much older. None of us were surprised that the mole-adults wanted to keep the same room, only expanded and their hovels bigger.

I went to the bathroom and had a quick shower to clean up, just because I could, and changed for bed. Raphtalia, Wyndia, and Iris piled into the bathroom and their voices as they chatted were easy to ignore now. I had a month to get used to the chatter and now I could even sleep through it.

I checked my stats and they were quite nice. I was Level 53 already and the MP and SP points I had liberally spent while healing everyone were slowly trickling back. I switched my shield to the Holy Relic Shield to let it come back quicker and closed my eyes to actually go to sleep. You never knew when you would need to have some magic handy.

*

I was having a wonderful dream where Gloria was doing that trick with her tongue. It always gave me a little thrill when she did it and it always made me blow my load very fast as she went down on me. I never tried to hold it back, because I knew she got off on getting me off so easily.

After eons of time making love to each other, getting back into bed with her was like getting into a warm bath. It was comforting and enjoyable on a whole different level than sex with anyone else. After we had been apart for so long, you would think we would have been excited or overjoyed at seeing each other again.

We were, it was just that we were filled with such relief that it overwhelmed our normal reactions. The odds that two inter-dimensional travellers would find each other, only a handful of worlds later, were astronomical. Gratitude was the emotion that had us pretty much assimilate our lives into a relationship as if we weren't apart at all. We were together and that was all that mattered.

My body filled with endorphins and I released my load out into the world without abandon. It felt very good to finally let it go and I shivered and then sighed as the pent-up frustration that I hadn't known I was feeling, was released as well.

I took several deep breaths and slowly opened my eyes, only to see I had been dreaming and I probably made a huge mess in the bed. Or worse, on one of the girls. I had Iris draped across my chest this time, which meant I had been deep asleep to not feel her heavy form as it crawled on top of me. Unable to see, I used the Force to feel down where my penis was.

I sighed with relief because it was clean and still inside my underwear. My morning wood was pretty prominent and I was glad that neither Wyndia nor Raphtalia were laying on it. I felt down further with the Force and 'saw' Wyndia was poised over Raphtalia and licking her face enthusiastically and Raphtalia had her mouth clamped shut and was turning her head from side to side to stop any direct kisses.

“Ladies, it's too early for antics.” I whispered and Raphtalia froze at just the wrong moment, because her mouth opened and Wyndia was right there and lapped at her with her tongue and then kissed her. “I'm sorry about that, Raphtalia. Windy? Can you back off?”

“Yep! Just...” Lap! Lap! Lap! “...making sure...” Lap! Lap! Lap! “...Raphtalia is clean!”

I chuckled and Raphtalia groaned. “To be fair, it's in her nature. Remember her penchant for Iris and syrup?”

“I do.” Iris said and moved slightly, then she slid backwards and rubbed her fairly large and silk covered breasts all over my face as she carefully climbed off of me. She laid down beside me and snuggled in close. “Good early morning.”

That made me chuckle again, because it was still dark out. I put my arm around her, because she really liked sharing body heat under a blanket. “How long did the rock last this time?”

“Almost twenty minutes. Thank you.” Iris said and kissed me cheek.

“My chew toy lasted a lot longer than that!” Wyndia said and laid down between my legs and crossed her arms on my belly and gave me happy puppy dog eyes.

Raphtalia snuggled into my other side and I put my other arm around her.

“Wake me up when you want breakfast.” I said and closed my eyes.

“John! Wake up!” Wyndia exclaimed and I chuckled, which bounced her a little and she giggled.

I opened my eyes and had a plate with a cooked steak appear on my chest.

“Thanks!” Wyndia said and grabbed the meat, then rolled over onto her back, rubbed me into an erection with the move, then she laid on her back and happily chewed on the cooked meat.

“Can... can I...” Raphtalia whispered.

“Of course.” I said and dissolved that plate and created a steak for her.

“Thank you.” Raphtalia whispered and started eating. As soon as she took it, I created another one for Iris and then used Incendio to heat the thing up a lot hotter than it already was.

“Thank you.” Iris said and took hers.

“You're all quite welcome.” I said and closed my eyes again. Just for the hell of it, I used the Force to feel where everyone else was and made a steak or a salad for them to have before breakfast. A chorus of thanks floated through the castle tower and I smiled. I had a great group of people to follow me in this world.

*

“The Regent actually sent for us.” Raphtalia said as we entered the castle.

“He's either going to be angry that we refused his banquet yesterday or praise us for dealing with the entire wave and not just what happened here.” I said. “Or both, since I've never met the man.”

Everyone fell silent as we entered the throne room and the new head of the guards gave me an angry look. I waved at him and he looked even angrier. The gathered people inside made muttering sounds.

“It's about time you showed up.” The Regent said.

“You only sent the notice this morning.” I replied.

“You were supposed to report here immediately after the wave.” He said.

“No one told us that.” I said and he looked over at the new head guard. “He said you were having a feast, not that we were reporting in.”

“I told the old head guard...”

“...who attacked us and could have killed us. Yes, he was an exemplary member of humanity with his reckless view of what constitutes a valuable living being and what counts as 'acceptable losses'.” I said sarcastically.

The Regent glared at me. “The other three heroes are much more respectable.”

“That's because they actually care what you think.” I said and he looked surprised. “Just like with the king, I neither need your approval nor your permission to do what I do.”

“You dare...”

“The king broke ancient law by summoning all four cardinal heroes and I assume that's why the Queen is away as she tries to calm down the other nations.” I said and he closed his mouth. “I'm sorry if you think I'm being confrontational by telling you the truth. I'm not. It's just the truth. How you view it is your own problem.”

The Regent's glare lessened as he sat back on the throne. “I have already sent the three heroes out into the countryside after paying them the promised reward.”

“Excellent. We were just about to go out ourselves and could use money for supplies.” I said as a court page brought over a small bag. “What's this?”

“That is your compensation of 4,000 silver coins, less the cost for the food you ruined at the banquet. I also fined you for the disappointment you caused the nobles gathered here and the embarrassment you caused me.”

“How much is left?” I asked, calmly.

“500 silver coins.” The page said and held the sack out to me.

“So, not only have you ordered me to appear here, you are also insulting me with this farce?” I asked and waved at the sack of coins. “Did you keep the money yourself and claim in the ledger that you paid me?”

The regent didn't say anything in response.

“That means you did. From now on, I'll only report to the Queen herself, since her Regent is as ignorant and corrupted as her dead husband was.” I said and looked at the bag of coins. “Since you're stealing most of it from me anyway, you can keep the rest of your ill-gotten gains.”

Before he could speak, I swiped my hand at the bag and it burst open and I used the Force to propel the coins at deadly speeds. The Regent let out a yell of pain as a dozen coins hit him in the chest and the rest turned perfectly to embed themselves into the throne and the wall behind him. I cast permanent sticking charms on them all and smiled.

“Let it be known that despite the king's sacrifice for this nation, an idiot has continued to insult the Shield Hero.” I said and the man groaned in pain as several magic users and attendants rushed over to him and failed to remove the coins. “They can't be removed. His own actions have cursed him to wear his thievery.”

The crowd gasped and a few of them looked at me fearfully.

“Perhaps in the future, your accounting can be more beneficial towards those that actually earned it?” I asked and started to walk away.

“W-wait.” The Regent said and I paused to look at him. “I will... undo... records.”

“Go ahead. It won't lift your curse.” I said and he looked sad. “I noticed that you didn't offer to pay me my proper reward.”

He didn't say anything.

“I think you need to feel it for a while before it finally sinks in.” I said and used the Force to push the coins in a bit farther.

He groaned and slumped back in his chair. “W-wait...”

I ignored him and walked out of the throne room with my party following. The guards didn't try to stop us, not that they could anyway. We were all much higher levels than them.

“That went well.” Raphtalia said and gave me a pointed look.

“I suspected he was going to do something stupid, remember?”

“So, you had to do something stupid back?” She accused and I chuckled.

“Turnabout is fair play.” I said.

“What does that mean?” She asked.

“What's done to me can be done right back.”

Raphtalia turned her head away immediately, as if from embarrassment.

I took her hand. “It's okay. We don't need the money anyway. Let's go shopping, use Iris' suggestion to visit the shops to ask for information, then we can go find a big wagon and a couple of horses.”

Raphtalia nodded without looking at me.

*

“Welcome, Shield Hero!” An old man said as we entered the Apothocary.

I smiled at him and walked over to the counter with Raphtalia. “Good morning. How are you today?”

“I'm great!” The old man said and puffed on his pipe. “What can I help you with today?”

“We're looking for information on any hardships across the countryside.”

“Fighting the waves isn't enough work, young man?” He asked with a smile.

“We have a month and a half before the next one, so I've decided to try travelling a bit.”

“Well, good luck with that. Passage between towns is regulated.” The old man said. “If you were moving, there wouldn't be a problem.”

“Huh. No one told me that.” I said. I didn't read about it, either.

“You just need a town's mayor to endorse a peddler's permit and you'll be fine.” The old man said, knowingly.

Now that I did read about. I thought and smiled. “I'll look around and see if I can apply for one.”

“You do that.” The old man said and reached under the counter to take out an older book. “In the meantime, why don't you accept this book as thanks.”

“For what?” I asked and picked up the book.

“You saved some of my relatives in Ryute Village.” He said with a smile and puffed on his pipe.

I opened it and couldn't read a word. I used the Force to touch the old man and saw his abilities as I gained an image of him called 'Old Alchemist'. Fortunately, he had 'Read Alchemical Formula' skill and I copied it. Once I could read the thing, I slipped it into my shield. The old man and Raphtalia gasped as my shield changed into a large tome.

“Medium Medicines For All Occasions? Very nice. Thank you.” I said and pat the shield.

“You... you just...” The old man's pipe fell from his mouth.

I caught it and handed it back to him. “Do you have any other books that I could buy or look at?”

The old man stared at the shield. “You're not going to eat them all, are you?”

I chuckled and created a copy of the book and handed it back. “Thanks for the loan.”

The old man put a hand over his heart. “You... you... did you just...”

“More recipe books?” I asked and he nodded.

He left the front area as I used the Force to touch all of the ingredients for sale and then let it flow into the back room and touched everything else. The old man came back carrying a stack of books and put them on the counter. I absorbed them all and copied them once for him.

“You wouldn't happen to be able to make more copies, can you?” He asked, hopefully.

“That depends. How much did those books cost?” I asked and he told me the prices and the difficulty in obtaining them. “Whew, okay. I can make you a few copies for allowing me to copy them.”

“Thank you, Shield Hero.” The old man said and his eyes widened as I made him five more copies of each expensive book and stacked them on the counter. He trembled a little and sat down with a shocked look on his face.

“I hope that's enough compensation for giving me access to them.” I said and he nodded several times.

“I only expected one of each, perhaps two of the thick one.” He whispered and blinked his eyes several times, then he rubbed his eyes to see if the books were going to disappear. He reached out and touched the top one and then he took it and started flipping through it.

“We better go. The others should be done checking the other shops.” I said to Raphtalia and we started to walk towards the door. “Have a good day.” I said to the old man.

“You, too.” The old man said and then he caught his breath and stood. “I almost forgot! You need to head to the magic shop, too!”

“Where is that?” I asked and he gave us directions. “Thank you.”

“No, Shield Hero. Thank you.” The old man said and lovingly caressed the stacks of books.

Raphtalia and I went to the magic shop that we had somehow missed during the several shopping trips we had through the market district. I suspected it might be enchanted to only be seen if you already knew about it, like a modified Notice-Me-Not charm or even a modified Fidelus Charm.

“Welcome, Shield Hero!” The older witch said as we entered the shop.

“The old man at the apothecary told us to come here to see you.” I said and she nodded.

“Yes, I wanted to thank you for saving my granddaughter in Ryute Village.” The older witch said and put several books on the counter. “I want you to have these.”

I looked at them and saw that they were grimoires. “Are you sure that you can afford to just give these away? They look expensive.”

The older witch laughed with a cackle. “They are a little daunting to get through; but, they should give you a good basis on the magic of the world.” She said and pat the books. “I can afford to let these go for free to you as a favor. Once you get through them, if there are any other books you want, I might be convinced to give you a discount.”

“A five finger discount?” I joked as I copied her 'Understanding Grimoires' ability and put the three books into the shield.

The older witch gasped. “Your shield ate them!”

I chuckled and made copies of them to put back on the counter. “It absorbed them, actually.”

“You... you just...”

“I had a similar reaction from the alchemist.” I said and she gave me a pointed look. “Let me tell you about the deal we struck.”

*

Raphtalia laughed as we walked down the street and she hugged my arm. “A whole hour! She fed you books for an hour!”

I laughed as well. Once the older witch knew I could make five copies of a book, she quintupled her store's stock on her most popular books and then hid the more esoteric books in her back room. She had been ecstatic about the whole thing and couldn't stop thanking me. I had to refuse her granddaughter's hand in marriage, though. I didn't even know the girl.

We met up with the rest of the party and started walking out of the market district, then I remembered my promise to a certain slave trader. I led everyone over to the circus tent and entered the front area.

“Ah! Shield Hero! Welcome!” The slave trader said and then his mouth dropped open at the people behind me. “You couldn't have... there's no possible way...”

“It really is them.” I said and his eyes roamed over everyone, especially the werewolf and his healed leg. “Fighting in the second wave against high level monsters really pumped them up.”

“I've never seen demi-human growth happen so quickly.” The little man said. “You have a real talent for this. Perhaps I could offer...”

“I'm sorry, they aren't for sale. I need them all for the battles to come.” I said and he looked sad. “Have you brought in any new stock?”

“Nothing slave based, I'm afraid.” The little man said and then smiled. “Perhaps you could try the Monster Egg Lottery?”

I pretended to think about it.

“Let's try at least one.” Raphtalia said and hugged my arm a little tighter.

I smiled warmly at her. “I can't refuse such a simple request. Let's go have a look.”

“Wonderful!” The little man said and waddled over to a small display with twenty eggs inside. “It's only 200 silver coins for each try and you can find almost anything inside! It's fun and a gamble at the same time!” He said and presented the crate to us. “If you're feeling adventurous, if you buy ten, I'll let you choose from the rare egg selection I have behind the counter.”

I knew which one I wanted and used the Force to cheat. I picked the one with Filo inside. “I'll take that one.”

“Great choice!” The little man did up a container for it on a little bed and a glass case cover. “That will be 200 silver.”

“I think I'll take all 20.” I said and he gasped. “Okay, everyone! Pick one for yourselves.”

“Can I eat it if it's a good one?” The werewolf asked.

“Only if it's not useful in some other capacity.” I said and then whispered. “Second from the top. It's a giant monster sheep. You'll have to raise it to get it fat, though.”

The werewolf grabbed it and hugged it close. “Have your grill ready.”

I chuckled and the others had a great time choosing their own eggs.

The little man had a rough time getting containers for them all and then sat down behind his counter. “That... that's 4,000 silver coins.” He said and took off his hat to wipe at the sweat on his brow.

“The reward would have covered it!” Raphtalia gasped.

“Yes, funny, isn't it?” I asked and handed the man 40 gold coins and 2,000 silver coins. “Can I have two of the special egg draws now?”

The little man hugged the money to his chest and nodded. He put the money under the counter and took out a small box with only eight eggs. “I guarantee that they are at least Great to Giant. They were very difficult to acquire and each is marked specially to let me know where I acquired the egg from.”

I didn't cheat this time and wanted it to be random. “I'll take two and seven.”

The little man smiled and did both up in special containers for me and I walked out of the slave trader's tent with a large crate of eggs packed safely together and the others carried theirs with them. I kept Filo separate, though. I tucked her into an expanded pocket and made sure she was safe.

We bought a very large and nice wagon and two stout horses before we left the city and went back to our home in Ryute Village. We wouldn't leave until I had a talk to the mayor about getting a peddler's license. I could probably fake one; but, why take that chance?

I figured that I might as well get some practice in with the apothecary's recipes and the multitude of ingredients I had copied before we left. As a peddler, I needed things to peddle for a reasonable price.

Over the next two days, I worked hard and added various things to my little potions shop to test how things sold. They sold out just after I added them to my shelves. Apparently, alchemy things were rare and I was selling them at ridiculously low prices, which the villagers loved.

When I approached the mayor for a peddler's license on the third day, he already had it ready and made me promise to make a stock of items before I went on my travels. His son would run the store for me while I was gone. I also said I would deliver things occasionally to keep the shelves stocked well.

The night before we were set to leave, I had another Gloria dream. It was wonderful and went nearly the same way as the last time. When I woke up, it was to see Wyndia tackling Iris, who was laughing and was unable to push the dog woman off. Raphtalia had been draped over my chest this time and when she climbed off of me, she made sure that she rubbed her breasts across my face.

I did not miss the fact that her nipples were poking through her silk nightie, either. The look of longing on her face was quite appealing as well. I puckered my lips and she didn't need any more prompting than that and she gave me several soft and tender kisses. She let out a sound, something between a purr and a moan mixed together, then she slid into my side and hugged me tightly.

I knew I shouldn't encourage her with her actual age being so young; but, she was gorgeous, she had a great personality, she was a great fighter, and she was the perfect height. Even the updated image of her in my head said she had the body of a twenty-five year old, which meant she matched my type perfectly.

I was reminded of Kes and her only being about five years old when she left Voyager, which was over middle age for her species that died when it reached nine years old, and I tried to parse that with the knowledge that if someone had found Raphtalia when she was even younger, they could have accelerated her growth beyond what her young mind could handle.

It gave me a little shiver at the thought. That it could have happened, or might have happened, and there were fully grown demi-humans out there that were only a few years old and had no mental experience with the world. It was a horrible thought and I turned my head to look at Raphtalia.

“I am very sorry for all of the things you went through, Raphtalia.” I whispered to her and she looked deep into my eyes. I let her see my understanding there. “I'm also grateful that you survived it all and I got to meet such a strong woman.”

Raphtalia shook her head. “It's because of you that I'm strong.” She whispered back. “What you said when you bought us all is true. Having people to care about us, watch over us, and keep us safe, has made us all stronger than ever before.”

“It really has.” Iris said and snuggled into my other side. “I never imagined being strong enough to fight the waves head on. I was always told to run and hope that some hero would step in and save us.”

“Now we're those heroes!” Wyndia said and hopped over Iris and landed on me.

“Ooof!” I huffed and she giggled. “You're lucky you didn't hit me down there.”

“I would never hurt you, master. I love you.” Wyndia said and licked my cheek. “You taste delicious.”

I chuckled and the other two girls blushed for some reason. “Grab the blanket and let's get back to sleep. We have a long day of travelling tomorrow... I mean later today.”

Wyndia moved down to grab it and then tossed it over us before she turned around three times and settled down on my lap in as small of a ball as possible.

“That can't be comfortable.” I commented.

“That doesn't matter. I just want to be close to you.” Wyndia's muffled voice said from under the blanket, which made me smile. She had really grown attached to me in such a short time.

“At least uncurl enough to hug my waist or something. I feel bad you're not being held.”

“Okay.” Wyndia's voice said and the large lump under the blanket shifted a bit and I felt her hug my waist before she rested her cheek on my abdomen. “This is much better! Thank you, master!”

I closed my eyes. “You're welcome. Just try to not move too much. I'm a little sensitive in that area.”

“I know, master. I'll take good care of it for you.” Wyndia said and her tongue licked my belly button.

I chuckled at the tickling sensation. “That's not what I meant.”

“I know.” Wyndia responded with a giggle.

“Go to sleep!” Raphtalia and Iris said at the same time, which made Wyndia giggle even more, and a few smacks were exchanged between them.

I closed my eyes and let them fight it out for themselves as I drifted off to sleep.

*

We were barely on the road for a day when we came across a broken down wagon that was being attacked by bandits. We quickly deployed and killed the bandits, rescued the ornately dressed man, and put out the fire on his wagon.

“I am grateful to you and your friends, Shield Hero.” The short plump man said. “I am Hickwaal and I am a travelling merchant like yourself.”

“Really? What do you sell?” I asked and he showed me some of his remaining wares.

“It's a pity that most of my things were destroyed before you showed up.” Hickwaal said with a sigh.

“Hmm.” I said and rubbed my chin. “Why don't you show me some of your trade skills? Perhaps if we work together, we can have you restocked in no time.”

The plump man waved at his wagon. “Most of my materials have burned up, my tools are damaged, and the jewels and metal I have are warped and useless.”

I took out my wand and he gasped. “This might take a few minutes.”

“I'll leave it in your hands, magic user.” Hickwaal said and stepped back. “It's always a pleasure to watch a fellow tradesman.”

It took me about ten minutes to work on the visible things and repair them. Anything burned up, like the cloths and exotic wood pieces, were a complete loss.

“You even fixed the wagon.” Hickwaal said, surprised. “It's too bad you can't restore the mule.”

I checked it and it was old and had moved on already. “No, there's no chance to revive it.”

Hickwaal gave me a surprised look. “You... can you really...”

“Perhaps. I've never tried bringing back an animal before.” I said and then chuckled. “I'm not cruel enough to kill one to try it, either.”

“Ah... that's good.” Hickwaal said, a little warily.

“So, can you show me how to craft and enchant with what I've managed to save for you?” I asked and he nodded. “Great! Let's get your wagon attached to ours and we'll take you where you need to go.”

We spent the next few hours crafting and creating, enchanting and refining, and making a lot of things for the man to sell. It used up both MP and SP points, depending on the gem used and the enchantment being imbued.

By the time we reached the village he was going to, Hickwaal was a very happy man. “I've never had so much fun teaching someone my craft, young man! Thank you for all the help.” He said and shook my hand enthusiastically.

“I've enjoyed learning the local way to enchant things, too. It's similar and vastly different from the way I've done it before, so I thank you as well for letting me experiment with your materials.”

Hickwaal laughed. “You've barely used any and that wonderful shield of yours only ate small samples of everything and then returned it! I can't complain about you being a student at all!”

I laughed as we disconnected the wagon and parked it where he wanted it. “It was nice meeting you, Hickwaal.”

“Same here, Shield Hero. If we ever meet again, I'll be sure to reward you handsomely for your help.”

“You've already given me more of a reward than you can possibly imagine, my friend. Farewell.” I said and copied his skills and abilities. They were definitely going to come in handy.

The short chubby man waved as he went into the village to sell some of his wares and to buy a mule.

“I want mine enchanted first!” Raphtalia said and handed over her sword. “Use the bright red jewel!”

I chuckled and pointed to our wagon. “At least wait until we're out of town.”

Raphtalia clasped her hands together and took a coy pose as she ducked her head and blinked her long eyelashes at me. I sighed in defeat, because she was damn cute looking like that. She let out a squeal of happiness and jumped on me to kiss me, then she climbed into the wagon and dragged me in behind her.

“Hurry! Hurry!” Raphtalia said and shook with anticipation.

“You do realize it's not going to go faster because you're waiting for it, right?”

“Not if you keep talking and not crafting and enchanting!” Raphtalia exclaimed.

I laughed and got to work after telling Lept the rabbitman to take us out of here. Raphtalia snuggled up to me and watched me over my shoulder.

Half an hour later, her glowing blue sword was done and she was breathing heavy as she held it in her hands. It was enchanted to be Eversharp, had Cleave and Strength bonuses, and Agility enhancements.

“It's beautiful.” Raphtalia whispered.

“It matches you.” I said and touched the spot by her eyes and then touched the spot over her heart. “I'm glad you like it.”

“I love it.” Raphtalia whispered and hugged it as she walked over to the expanded area where everyone else sat. She was immediately swarmed and asked about it as they all admired her new sword.

“Mine next, please.” Iris said and handed over her heavy broadsword.

“I know exactly what I'm enchanting this with.” I said and gave her a huge smile.

“Anything you make will be acceptable.” Iris whispered.

“Remember what I said about breaking barriers.” I said and winked at her. “I meant expectations, too.”

Iris blushed and took Raphtalia's place as she snuggled into me and watched over my shoulder.

It took me several tries enchanting a blue sapphire to successfully integrate the older witch's spells for Zweite Fire Place and Blast, then I enchanted the BlueBell Flames into Iris' blade before merging the sapphire into a glowing grill rock and melded both into the hilt.

I had to step back and let the thing settle for several minutes and it glowed bright red. “I don't think I can touch it anymore.”

Iris shivered and gave me a very longing look. “You are amazing, John.”

“I believe it's a blade that suits you.” I said and she didn't move to take it. “Don't you like it?”

“John, look at me.” Iris whispered and I turned my head towards her. She was still pressed to my side and one of her hands gripped my chin as she kissed me passionately. Her tongue was almost burning hot as she fought mine for dominance for several seconds, then she broke the kiss. “I love it.”

The kiss had left me speechless, because she hadn't indicated anything even remotely close to thinking about me romantically.

Iris let me go and stood as she picked up the broadsword. It's bright red glow changed to flames and it flowed up her arm and changed to blue. “It's so warm, just like... its hugging me like you do.”

It was then that I remembered how shy she was and how embarrassed she would be when even a little bit of affection was shown towards her.

I stood up myself and cupped the side of her face. “I'm glad my intention came through successfully.”

“Th-thank you.” Iris said and hugged the blade to her chest and left. She didn't notice the fire flowing all over her and sat down by herself to admire the blade.

Wyndia ran over to me and passed me her two smaller blades. “I don't care what you enchant them with. I just want to hug and kiss you like they did! I love you!”

I chuckled and waved at the seat beside mine and sat down myself. Wyndia barked once as she snuggled into my side and then she watched over my shoulder just as attentively as Raphtalia and Iris had. I gave her paired enchantments, extra swift attacks, and I added a Sonorus charm to the blades so when you clanged them together, it became a very loud sonic attack.

“I LOVE THEM!” Wyndia yelled and shoved me onto my back and licked my face several times.

I opened my mouth to tell her to stop and her tongue dove into it and she lapped happily at me and then kissed me pretty soundly with her tongue working the whole time.

“Thank you!” Wyndia said and hopped off of me, grabbed the dual blades, and ran over to the others.

“I think I'm done enchanting for the night.” I said and a few people laughed. I walked over to the front of the wagon to talk to Lept. “Find us a good spot to put the tower.”

“We're coming up on a nice clearing and there are no homesteads anywhere.” Lept the rabbitman said.

“Great. It's been a long day.” I said and pat his shoulder.

“I heard.” Lept said with a smile. “You need to be more firm with them.”

“I'm a little worried they'll like that too much.” I admitted and he laughed.

We stopped ten minutes later and found a great spot back from the road. I created another tower, a copy of the one back in Ryute Village that was already expanded and changed inside like everyone wanted, and I cast a Notice-Me-Not charm on it and the wagon. Hopps the rabbit-boy fed and watered the horses and we all went inside to clean up after a long day of travelling.

We were soon all settled into bed and it was Wyndia's turn to drape over my chest to sleep. I didn't bother wondering how they decided who slept where, since I assumed that was the whispered conversations and light fights I had witnessed over the last couple of weeks.

I did somehow notice that her breasts were only hand-sized, unlike Raphtalia's which were a nice size and Iris' which were quite large. I shook my head at those thoughts, because I wasn't sure where they came from. I dozed off pretty quickly with the three of them and their body heat comforting me.

*

I was having another Gloria dream and it was just as great as usual and I was about to blow my load once more... then I felt something odd. Her tongue wasn't that long and couldn't wrap around me like that. I tensed and woke from my dream as opened my eyes, only to see the two startled faces of Raphtalia and Iris staring at me.

The shocking part was that Wyndia's face was pressed against my abdomen and my very hard erection was shoved down her throat. She made a loud sucking sound and pulled hard on me, which set me right off.

“OHHHH!” I moaned and blew like a geyser into her mouth and down her throat.

Wyndia sucked on me several more times to get it all and then she slipped me out of her mouth.

“WYNDIA!” I yelled and she jerked and coughed with her hand over her mouth, then she couldn't hold it and coughed as she spit most of it out.

Of course, I automatically reacted and tried to cover my face with my arm... and put the shield in front of the spray. Since it absorbed anything new that I fed to the bright green gem in the center, most of what she spit out landed on the gem and soaked right into the shield.

“Oops.” Wyndia whispered.

I felt something change within me as a new shield was unlocked called 'Cursed Family' and the popup said that I couldn't father any children of my own race. That shocked the hell out of me, because I had a lot of kids over the years and I wondered why not a single one of them had the potential to become travellers like Gloria and myself. It also explained why Gloria and I never had children, despite how often we had slept together.

“John? Please don't be angry! You were just so delicious when Raphtalia and Iris did that to you that I wanted to try it for myself.” Wyndia said and the worried look on her face became more pronounced. “John? John? Are you okay?”

“I... I...” I sat up in bed and shook my head. “No, I... the new shield...”

“We don't feel any different.” Raphtalia said and lightly touched her own chest through her silk nightie.

My eyes locked onto her hands and where they touched to see her nipples pop right out, then I looked into her eyes. “You're first.”

“First? What do you... EEP!” Raphtalia let out as I disappeared and reappeared behind her.

I flipped her over on the bed and lifted her legs up to look at her soaked panties. She blushed as I pulled them off of her and then I dove between her legs. She moaned loudly as I tasted her for the very first time and she was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted in my life.

“Thash shooo good!” I moaned into her warm flesh and she moaned loudly in response. I kept going until she screamed out my name and her whole body shivered as warm liquid gushed out from between her legs.

“That does smell good.” Wyndia said and lapped at some of the mess. “Mmm! More! I want more!”

“Then keep licking.” I said and stood up to show Raphtalia I was hard for her.

“I love you.” Raphtalia said and it showed on her face.

“I love you, too.” I said and rubbed my tip on her burning hot entrance. She moaned and Wyndia licked both her and my tip. She let out happy sounds and neither of them noticed the spells I used to ease Raphtalia's pain for her first time.

I leaned forward and slipped the tip inside of Raphtalia and she let out a startled squeak, then she grabbed onto my shoulders and pulled me in all the way.

“OHHH!” Raphtalia yelled and came very hard.

“I can't lick it up with you in the way.” Wyndia said, sadly.

“Give me a minute.” I said and turned to kiss her soundly on the lips. Her tail wagged so fast that she blew the blanket and the pillows off of the bed. Iris grabbed her tail and held it before it caused any more damage.

I nodded to her and gave her a quick kiss, then I put my full attention on Raphtalia. I started to move in and out of her and she moaned constantly as I did. Her breasts heaved and I groped them to give them a massage and to pinch her nipples a little. She loved it and came again with another scream.

“I'm just getting started.” I said to her.

“I LOVE YOU!” Raphtalia yelled and pulled me down into a deep and passionate kiss.

I kept her in a missionary position for about ten minutes, then I pulled out. She made a very disappointed sound and I kissed her and rolled her onto her side. I spread her legs, which made her make a very embarrassed sound, and then entered her again.

“Thank you!” Wyndia exclaimed and her tongue started licking me, Raphtalia, and then the both of us together.

Iris looked almost lost, until I waved her over. She looked unsure until I pointed to between her legs and then at my tongue. She didn't hesitate, because she had seen how Raphtalia reacted to that, and she pulled off her nightie and panties to straddle my face. I used the Force to play with Wyndia between her legs as well, so we were all locked into feeling absolutely wonderful.

“I'm going again!” Raphtalia shouted and then screamed as she came all over Wyndia's face.

“Me... me too!” Iris shouted and then she screamed my name and came all over my face. She collapsed back against the wall and tried to catch her breath.

“I'm about to blow.” I said and Wyndia let out a very happy sound.

“Give it to me! I didn't get to eat it the last time!” Wyndia begged.

“Sharing... is caring!” I said and started to unload into Raphtalia and then pulled out to spray it into Wyndia's waiting mouth.

“Ohhh!” Raphtalia moaned and seemed to lose all the tension in her body.

“MMM!” Wyndia moaned and sucked it all down and swallowed it all, then she lapped at Raphtalia's still sensitive opening.

“S-s-top... let... let me rest.” Raphtalia whispered and closed her eyes.

I sat up and looked at Iris as I held out my hand to her. “May I have this dance?”

Iris lunged at me and we fell to the bed as she kissed me. She didn't waste any time and plunged herself on top of my still firm erection. I had just cast the spells for her when she buried me deep inside of her. Her muscular body and piping hot insides were almost too much for me to handle. She had some nice muscle control between her legs, because she wasn't moving and she was still getting herself off.

I wasn't going to let that go, so I rolled us over and started pounding into her as hard as she could stand it. It was a lot, because she kept asking me to go faster and harder. I did. She came, and came again, and Wyndia had somehow snuggled herself between my legs and kept licking Iris, me, my balls, and my ass.

I was sure she was doing it on purpose, because I would pucker, she would giggle, and Iris would moan at the extra strong thrust that would result. I was far beyond caring at this point and did Iris until she was mostly filled with my next shot.

Wyndia rolled me off of her and sucked in half of it and then dug her tongue into Iris, who was already asleep and didn't protest at all.

“I think doggy style for you.” I said and Wyndia gasped as I lifted her tail and cast the spells on her, then I shoved myself into her.

“OHHH!” Wyndia yelled and moaned as she came. She soaked the bed and kept licking Iris as I plowed into her from behind. “Thash shooo good!” She said in a repeat of what I said about Raphtalia.

We went at it like horny dogs for quite some time until it was her turn to have me fill her up.

“Do you want it inside or in your mouth?” I whispered in her ear.

“I don't know!” Wyndia exclaimed.

“Both it is.” I said and started shooting inside of her, then pulled out and dribbled it over her back and she rolled over to take the rest of it into her mouth.

Wyndia moaned and came as she swallowed, then she licked me almost lazily. “John, I... I'm not playing. I do love you.”

“I know.” I said and leaned down to kiss her. “Go to sleep and rest.”

“Okay.” Wyndia said as she closed her eyes and immediately went to sleep.

I climbed off of the bed and looked back at the devastation I had caused. Three very happy women had been thoroughly screwed and my erection wasn't going away. It was then that I realized the shield was still active and I switched it for the basic shield. My erection didn't go away, though. That meant it was just like the other shields and the bonuses all carried over.

I used the Force to move the three girls together and I cast cleaning spells on them and covered them with the blanket. I cleaned myself up and went out into the hallway, only to see Alta the white tiger woman standing there, her womanhood dripping like a faucet, and her eyes were wild.

I had forgotten to put up silencing spells. “Your place or mine?”

Alta growled as she tackled me to the floor, tore my clothes off, and had me right there. It was wild, and fierce, and so full of passion that I was sure she was going to hurt herself with how frantic she was to make me orgasm. When I finally went inside of her, my fifth shot of the night, she moaned happily and wrapped her arms around me and kissed me tenderly.

“I've loved you ever since you rescued me.” Alta whispered. “I knew then that you were a good man. The things you've done since then have only proven what I already knew.”

“Your brother...”

“...is jealous that you've done for me what he was unable to do for years.” Alta said and looked into my eyes. “You made me into a woman and one that can tear him apart.”

I chuckled. “That was a lofty goal.”

“It truly was. If I had been a cousin or a friend, he might have been a bit more reckless as he fought the monsters in the woods. As it was...”

“You were family and he wanted to make sure he was around long enough to watch you grow.”

“No, mature. Remember, demi-humans grow differently. I'm actually twenty years old.” Alta said, to my surprise. “Fohl fought in the games back where we came from and grew in both levels and size as he paid for my illness to be treated.”

“What illness?” I asked.

Alta smiled. “That's the thing. After you bought us and fed us, I immediately started feeling better. Fohl was going to plead for you to buy medicines for me until he saw that I was walking normally and he didn't have to carry me anymore.” She said and stroked my cheek. “When you had us fight, he was angry that you had me fight, too.”

I nodded. “He wanted to be right there for you. I warned him that you wouldn't level if he interfered.”

“I'm glad you did, because I am now stronger and healthier than I ever was.” Alta said and then she gave me a kiss. “I can even see once more.”

“You were blind?” I asked and she laughed.

“Not after that first day.” Alta said and sat up. “You have helped us more than even you realize, John.”

“Apparently.” I said and sat up as well. “Do you want me to clean you up?”

“No, I intend to let this feeling stay for as long as possible.” Alta said and held a hand over her womanhood as she stood. “I will see you at breakfast.”

I nodded and watched her walk down the stairs. “That's a very nice ass.”

“Yes, and it's yours whenever you want it.” Alta said and her tail swished with authority. “When my brother's not around! Ha ha!”

I chuckled and stood to clean up and dissolved my torn clothing and reformed a new outfit to walk down the stairs and went outside. The sun was barely breaking over the horizon and I created a rocking chair to sit down on. I stayed there and rocked as I went over seeing the sky breaking open and stark white behind it.

The memory it had brought to mind came back to me and I dove into my Halls of Memories to watch it. It was when I was in the Arrowverse and that purple bastard had erased that reality and pulled me into the white space of un-creation. I checked the image I had of the Monitor and it was flickering between valid and invalid.

I somehow knew that if I created him during one of the waves that he would become valid and could finally answer my questions. I had a lot of them, the main one being, what was going on here and what the endgame was. I had almost a month and a half to worry about that, though. For now, I had to worry about what was on my arm.

I hadn't noticed it switch back to the Cursed Family shield while Alta and I were going at it. It gave me a certain suspicion that I firmly locked into my head, because if it was true, then this whole situation was going to change. Depending on how you looked at it, probably not for the better.

I was resigned to a certain course of action, so I created more volumes of Darcy's books and continued to read. The more I did, the more I knew that this whole thing was contrived. There were too many coincidences, too many chance meetings, to be explained away as random. Even the next little bit while I waited for the third wave to happen, was all because of mistakes that the other three heroes made and the Shield Hero had to fix.

I wasn't going to stand for that, not when I could do something about them beforehand. I dissolved the books and changed my shield to the hourglass symbol and concentrated on the link in my head to the Spear Hero. I activated it and popped into the Spear Hero's room at an inn. He was in bed with First Princess and they looked quite happy together.

Rather than wake either of them up, I copied my memory from reading the books and gave them to him, highlighting his role and what I thought about to change the circumstances. My job done there, I concentrated on the Sword Hero and jumped to him. He was also asleep and had one of the women from his party in his bed.

I hoped that it wasn't because of my new shield and did the same thing to him, giving him a copy of the things he did and how to alter them to not have consequences. Once I was done, I jumped to the Bow Hero. I relaxed when I saw he was alone and started doing the same thing. I gave him the memories and suggestions on what to do and popped back to my rocking chair and sat down.

“Where did you go?” Lupin the werewolf asked me as he walked around the side of the tower.

“I had to visit the other heroes to help them not make mistakes in the weeks to come.” I said and he nodded as he dropped to his haunches. “This next wave is a big one. On a scale much bigger than the last one.”

“I suspected as much. Each wave is releasing more creatures to fight, as if the last wave wasn't enough so more are sent.”

“And stronger.” I said as reached over and started to scratch the top of his head. I had done it without thinking, shrugged, and kept talking. “The average level is going to jump significantly, so we're going to have to work very hard to try and beat it. Even then...”

“We might be overwhelmed.” Lupin said and he didn't mention the scratching or his leg twitching in response. “Even with me healed, I am only one being. I've only levelled to 78 since you've started to let me fight.”

“You'll be a hundred by the end of this wave, I guarantee it.” I said and he looked surprised. “We're fighting to save people, remember? The more monsters coming, the more we have to fight. If this wave is as big as I suspect...”

“Yes, that may be a problem if we have to finish fighting one part of the wave to end the threat of the boss, then have to jump to each new area to fight the others.”

“I might have to start... cheating.” I said and he huffed.

“You haven't already? No slave has ever grown so quickly for anyone. Ever.” Lupin said. “You saw the slave trader's face. He thinks you can make his unscrupulous business very profitable.”

“You know the only reason I keep checking is to see if he has anyone else I can rescue.”

“Are the beasts and pets not worth saving?” Lupin asked.

I sighed and stopped scratching his head to rub my face. “If I bought everything, he would be out of business and wouldn't be in a position to find new stock that I can rescue later.”

“I see.” Lupin said. “The lesser of two evils.”

“Unfortunately.” I said and sat back to look up at the unfamiliar sky and absently scratched behind Lupin's ears again. “You see, I've been in similar situations. When I've done too much or interfered too much, it usually backfired on me. Either the government steps in professionally to do something against me or I screw up everything personally.”

“That sounds very frustrating.”

“You have no idea.” I said with a chuckle. “On one world, there was almost no people left and it was being overrun by mechanical creatures. I tried to help them as much as possible and didn't really hide my abilities. They of course took it the wrong way and turned against me. They sentenced me to life in prison...”

“Idiots!” Lupin spat.

“...and I proved that I was more useful doing my thing trying to save them.” I said with a smile and pet his head instead of scratching it. “I was still in there for a year before I was released. Since they didn't want me acting against their wishes, I left and took a small portion of humanity with me. I started my own colony and worked my ass off for years to end the conflict and achieved peace.”

“Without their help.”

“It would have been better if I didn't have to. Resentment isn't something that just does away.” I said and he nodded. “Do you want to return to your country?”

“Wh-what?”

“You're by yourself here. I haven't seen or heard of anyone else like you. If you want to return to where you came from, I'll take you there.”

“As a slave.” Lupin whispered.

“I'm more of a slave than you are, my friend.” I said and he looked surprised. “I absolutely have to fight. I have to be there, as it's part of the spell that brought me here. I have to end the waves. I have to end the conflict.”

Lupin turned his head up to look at the stars. “You can't go home... and I can.”

“If you want to.” I said and stood up. “The wave isn't for nearly a month and a half. I can jump us to the closest Dragon Hourglass and we can go from there.”

Lupin shifted his gaze to my face. “My slave crest will not be welcome among my race.”

“What slave crest?” I asked and walked inside the tower to get breakfast started.

“IT'S GONE!” Lupin yelled.

I chuckled and went into the kitchen. It took him a few minutes before he entered the kitchen to look at me with an odd expression on his face.

“When did you remove it?” Lupin asked.

I smirked at him as I cooked using my hands and the Force. “When was the last time you noticed it?”

“I... I haven't really... I've been avoiding looking there.” Lupin said, a bit sheepishly.

I did not joke about him acting like his own favorite food. I sure thought about it, though.

“Why can I still feel all the bonuses you grant slaves?”

“Because it grants them to party members, not my slaves.” I said and he looked surprised. “The only thing my Slave Shield does is accelerate growth and gives extra nourishment while giving me a larger portion of experience.”

“No, it... I thought...”

“It also gives them extra defense bonuses because I'm protecting them more.” I said and started dishing out the food onto plates. “I always protect what's mine.”

“Please don't ever remove my crest.” Raphtalia said from the kitchen doorway.

“I don't need a crest to tell me that you're mine.” I walked over to her and gave her a kiss, then led her over to the large table. “However, I will abide by your wishes.”

“Thank you.” Raphtalia said and gave me a look that told me she meant for everything.

“You're so beautiful.” I said and she blushed. I gave her another kiss and walked over to the doorway. I used the Force to push the smell of cooked food throughout the tower and went back to the counter to make the salads.

Lupin sat down across from Raphtalia and looked at his heaping plate of meats and eggs. “I'll stay for now.”

“Are you so easily bought with food and friendship?” I asked with a laugh and put another plate beside him that was covered in bacon and put the big bowls of salads down at the other end of the table.

“Apparently.” Lupin said with a slight smile before he dug into the food.

The others quickly came down and entered the kitchen to eat and I greeted them all. I even discreetly gave kisses to Iris, Wyndia, and Alta. Surprisingly, no one asked them why they were smiling.

“I was thinking we should check out the next village and see what they need in supplies and crops.” I said as I sat down beside Raphtalia and her raccoon tail slunk around my waist.

“While we also pretend to sell them cheap medicine and inexpensive essential products.” Raphtalia added. “They just won't know it's all the best on the market everywhere else.”

“I can't wait to see their faces for the grand opening of the Shield Hero Shop.” Wyndia said, happily.

“They might even have a monster infestation for us to fight!” Hopps exclaimed and everyone laughed, because he was a rabbitman and was eager to go fight monsters that thought he was tasty food.

“I'll keep enchanting your weapons during the day as well.” I said and everyone nodded. With them in agreement for the plans for the day, we all started eating.

*

A week and two villages later, my first chosen egg started to hatch. Luckily, we were stopped for the night and we all gathered around the living room to watch the first creature being born. I sat the closest with Raphtalia beside me, because I wanted Filo to see me first. The shell cracked and started to split apart, then it popped apart and the cute little chick chirped and jumped on me.

“Hello there, Filo.” I said and scratched under her chin. She chirped at me and hopped up to nest in my hair.

“That nest might not work out too well.” Wyndia giggled. “How are you going to sleep with a bird on your head?”

“The same way you do with mine on yours.” I joked and she laughed.

Complete silence fell in the living room and everyone stared at me. The ones I was sleeping with had accusations on their faces and the rest were shocked.

I thought about explaining, then shrugged and kissed Raphtalia in front of everyone. She blushed and looked embarrassed when I stopped. “Sorry, it's the only way.”

Iris was already blushing when I turned towards her. She didn't stop me, though. We kissed softly and tenderly and she made a little moan sound, probably at being turned on in front of everyone. I broke the kiss and Wyndia lunged at me and kissed and licked my mouth and face, which made a few people laugh.

“I'm sorry, Fohl.” Alta said and used a napkin to wipe Wyndia's slobber off of my face and then she kissed me passionately. She broke the kiss and complete silence had come back. “I dare someone to say something about it.”

The three mole-people raised their hands to get our attention, then the three of them started kissing each other. When they stopped kissing, the man looked very happy and both women blushed.

“We were worried about mentioning it or showing that we were together. I'm glad we don't have to hide it anymore.” Booya said.

“I knew I was missing out on something!” Hopps exclaimed. “You all seemed more quiet than usual.”

“Says the guy that nearly shouts everything he says.” Lupin said with a bark of laughter.

“I'd be the one to notice, right?” Hopps said with his own laugh.

“He's right. He would notice less excitement.” I said and Hopps nodded. “I'm sure we'll find someone for you when we reach the demi-human country.”

“Then hop to it!” Hopps exclaimed and everyone laughed.

“I have to feed the new member of my family first.” I said and took out a jar of bean paste. As soon as I took the cover off, Filo was off of my head and had her head buried in the jar. “Or she can feed herself.”

Raphtalia pet her. “She's so cute!”

“For now. She's going to grow fast.” I said and nodded at my slave shield as I added Filo's egg shell to it. “I should grow my hair out a bit, too. She needs a warm nest to sleep in.”

“Ooo, I like!” Wyndia said and buried her face into my longer hair and took several long sniffs.

“Hey, that's Filo's nest.” I joked and she growled a little and bit it as she shook her head slightly. “It's not a chew toy.”

“Yes, it is.” Wyndia said and licked my neck. “You're usually asleep when I do it, though.”

That made a few people chuckle.

“Look! She ate all of that!” Raphtalia said as Filo pulled her head out of the now empty jar.

“Good girl.” I said and picked her up and put her back on my head. I handed her some of my longer hair and she grabbed it in her little beak and then rolled over twice to make it into a blanket.

“Aww! That's so cute!” Imiya, one of the mole-women said.

“I can't wait for my egg to hatch!” Hopps said. “Maybe it'll be a rabbit!”

“Even if it's female, you can't do that.” Lept the rabbitman said pointedly. “Unless it's a variant. Then we'll need to discuss it. That conversation can wait until after she grows up.”

Hopps nodded and they all went back to what they were doing. I decided to stop what I was doing, namely working on new compounds, and called it a night to go to bed. I wasn't surprised when the three girls that shared my bed followed me.

“It's all on you tonight.” I said as I settled down partially against the wall with a pillow behind my back. I needed to stay upright for Filo's nest to stay viable for her.

“That's fine with me.” Raphtalia said and kissed me, then she moved down and started to have some fun playing with me. Iris sat beside me and we started making out while Wyndia lapped between her legs.

*

A few days later, everyone's eggs started to hatch and we stopped for a few days to let them come into the world. Lupin was ecstatic with his baby sheep monster, especially when it would bite his fingers and tried to eat him. He thought it was adorable.

Raphtalia had a scaled bird that looked like a raven. It almost immediately started to copy her words and she loved it. It rode on her shoulder constantly, except at night. I made an owl perch and nest for it and Raphtalia asked me to silence it, so the bird wouldn't copy her moaning or the sounds she made when she had an orgasm. I didn't want her to feel embarrassed, so I agreed.

Wyndia's egg turned out to be a cat-like creature and she wasn't happy with it at all. Luckily, Iris had a baby reptile and Mander had a weird duck-like creature. After a quick triple exchange, all three were now happy owners. Iris adored her cat, Mander snuggled his reptile, and Wyndia loved her duck-like creature because it didn't mind her licking it excessively. Slobber counted as water, apparently.

The others were happy with theirs as well, because it was a mix of different species, just like them. We moved on after that, because my two exotic ones were still gestating. We would have to wait and see what they were going to be.

A week later, Filo become too large to stay on my head. She wasn't happy about that, so I made her a baby carrier and carried her around on my back so she could see everything I was doing. It was too cute to consider annoying, even when I had to put her on my chest at night and she buried her head in my hair to sleep.

The girls didn't mind until she started getting too big to have access to me, so they protested and asked for her to get her own room or be put with the horses. I just laughed, because it would only be another week or so for her to become full grown with the way she ate. I compromised and made a nice pen with a bed beside my bed and it let Filo reach my head so she could sleep.

A week after that, she was eight feet tall and quite happy to eat her weight in food. Over the next few days, no one was surprised when she continued to eat heavily and started to balloon out. I hadn't tried to curb her eating habits at all, because I knew she was storing food for her magical transformation. It would take a long time for her to gather enough MP and SP to trigger the transformation.

So, in a preemptive move for something we would need later, we travelled to the rumoured haunted Alchemist's Cave and I saw that it was already opened. With a smile on my face, we entered the decrepit building and went to the main area where there was a chest. It was already opened and the magical seed was inside of it with a note from the Spear Hero.

“We took care of the maze and the guardian golem. Please fix the magical seed and take it to the nearby village to help end the famine problem they have.” I read and put the note aside. I picked up the large seed that was two handfuls in size. The popup said it was a failed alchemist experiment and would run rampant, just like the inscription on the chest warned.

In the original story, the Spear Hero gave the seed to the mayor of the village and it unleashed a giant man-eating plant that sucked the life force out of anything it touched. I wasn't going to let that happen again, so I had the Spear Hero change what he did here.

“Can you refine it and fix it?” Raphtalia asked as the magic seed glowed.

“I already have.” I said and then added it to the shield. It boosted all of my cooking skills and gave me a skill 'Crop Growth Doubled'. I laughed and told everyone and they were surprised that a single seed could do that.

“I think it combined with all your other bonuses and your Growth Shield.” Raphtalia reasoned. “You've become really powerful with everything you've been feeding it.”

“I still can't figure out how to use enchanted gems to power things.” I said and then pointed off to the side. “I'm hoping that path is going to solve that problem.”

“What's down there?” Iris asked.

“Creatures that hate what your sword is imbued with.” I said with a grin.

“YES!” Iris said and charged forward. “DIE CREATURES!”

The entire tunnel lit up like the fires of hell as the blue and red flames flowed down the tunnel. It roasted all of the bats and rats called Voice Gengar and left none alive. I popped one of each creature into my shield and gained a Megaphone Shield, which was pretty much useless in most cases.

“Great work, Iris.” I said and gave her a kiss.

“Th-thank you.” Iris said and blushed.

“I still don't know how someone so bold can be so shy.” Alta said as we walked down the cleared tunnel.

“You're always confident, so it's difficult for you to understand.” Raphtalia said.

“Yeah! She's cute when she's shy!” Wyndia said and hopped around.

“Wyndia, you're up. Give your dual blades a few clangs.” I said and she let out a happy bark and ran forward.

“Hear my wrath, creatures!” Wyndia said and took a dramatic pose, then she slammed the backs of her blades together several times as she pointed them down the tunnel.

*WHA-WHA-WHA-WHA!*

“AWOOO!” Something howled in pain and we rushed down to near the end of the tunnel and saw a Nue, or a monkey chimera, as it writhed on the ground and had its bloody ears covered with its paws.

“I've got it!” Hopps exclaimed and jumped through the air before he slammed his heavily booted feet down onto the creatures head and mulched it.

“At least it was quick and didn't suffer long.” Raphtalia said. She looked a little sick at the sight.

I added the pieces to my shield and it enhanced my previous Chimera Shield to give it an extra attack. “Let's keep going to look for the crystals.”

We went a bit farther down the tunnel and Iris' sword fire lit the place up.

“Woooow!” Wyndia said as all the glittering crystal reflected the fire's light. “It's so pretty!”

“And useful.” I said and used a cutting spell to take one of the large crystal columns and stored it. I cut off a smaller piece from another and added it into my shield. It changed to a Crystal Shield and it significantly charged up. We all felt the extra energy flow through us.

“Ooo, that's nice.” Iris said and rubbed her fire-covered arm. “My fire just doubled in warmth.”

“I think my claws are glowing and I'm not using my attack.” Lupin said and held up his hands to show that his claws were indeed glowing slightly.

“You know what this means.” I said with a smile.

“More enchanting!” Everyone said as one and they all laughed.

“Yes! Updated armor.” I agreed and they all looked pleased. “Help me gather up some of the smaller ones that we can sell and use for ourselves.”

We spent half an hour gathering up a ton of them and then we left to go to that village to fix their famine problem. I would change the lands as well, just to be sure that the changed seed wasn't the only thing they were going to live on. Even a diet of magical fruit needed some variety, even if it did provide all the nutrients a body needed.

Needless to say, Filo loved the delicious alchemical fruit from the newly full grown trees in the village's new orchard. I copied the land, of course. It would be useful no matter where I went. I also added a freshwater lake near the village where there was nothing but a barren area that no one owned. The people of the village were shocked by both things and thanked us profusely.

“We're helping everyone we find in need.” Raphtalia said placatingly as she and Iris forcefully held off the six women trying to kiss me in thanks. Wyndia just jumped around and barked at them.

We quickly left there and continued on our way. We stopped at the village where a dragon had been rumored to be and found a normal village. The mayor walked over to us and handed me a note from the Sword Hero.

“I've taken care of the dragon and dismembered the corpse. I've seeded the pieces you asked for near the grave marker and left the heart stone for you.” I read and looked at the mayor. “What direction?”

“It's up on the mountain there.” The man said and pointed. “The dragon's meat is pretty tough; but, it's got a nice taste once you get used to it.”

“Would you mind if I take a look at it? I might be able to make it more palatable.” I asked.

“Really? It's right this way. There's a lot of it, so we won't have to worry about food for a while.” The mayor said and brought me to one of their storage buildings. “We've been curing it and cooking some to stop it from rotting.”

“You should smoke what you can't cook immediately.” I suggested and went to each large cut of meat and used my shield to refine it into an edible version. “There you go. You should have no problems with it now.”

The mayor looked skeptical.

I had Raphtalia slice off a piece for me and I made a grill to cook it. The mayor stared at the already hot grill and then his mouth watered as the piece of dragon meat quickly cooked and the smell filled the room.

I created a fork and stabbed the several inches wide piece of meat and handed it to the mayor. “Try it.”

The man gobbled it down and barely chewed it. “It's delicious! You have to cook more of it for us!”

“I can do some when we come back from the mountain.” I said and he shook my hand several times before he ran out of the building and hollered to everyone that there would be a village cookout that afternoon.

“You really are a good cook.” Raphtalia whispered.

“We have to keep Filo in the wagon.” Lupin warned. “If she starts on this meat, she'll eat it all and leave none for the villagers.”

“Agreed.” Everyone said, myself included.

We left the building and went up the mountain to where the dragon grave was marked. I found the container with the dragon pieces inside. A horn, a piece of jawbone with an odd gland on it, a piece of skin and flesh, and a very large crystal. I added all of it to the shield and unlocked the Dragon Heart Shield.

“OHHH!” Iris moaned and a wet spot formed on her pants. That wasn't the shocking part, though. Her crooked horn twisted around and straightened out to become a delicate curve as another one grew out of the other side of her forehead. Her muscles pumped up slightly as well and her breasts increased a cup size.

I expanded her clothing and armor for her and she sighed in relief. I also cast a cleaning spell between her legs and she gave me a kiss as a thank you. She also gave me a significantly pointed look.

“Some bonuses only affect some of you, apparently.” I said and she gave me another kiss. “You need me to handle this right now, don't you?”

“Yes, please. I'm burning down there for you.” Iris said, quite boldly.

“That has to be the dragon's fire gland you absorbed.” Raphtalia guessed. “She's never this forward.”

“She's useless as a fighter until its dealt with.” Lupin the werewolf said.

“Agreed. We'll meet you back at the town.” I said and scooped Iris into my arms, making her moan and hug me tightly, then I flew us up into the air and down the mountain. I created a tower for us and landed on top of it, then took her down the stairs and into our room.

“Hurry!” Iris moaned and I snapped my fingers to make our clothing and armor switch with the air near the floor. She looked down to see me ready and she tackled me to the bed and rode me hard. She was blisteringly hot inside and I had to cast cooling charms on myself to save myself from being boiled.

That just seemed to drive her to greater heights in movements and temperature, because her sex drive was almost out of control as she had her way with me. She kept whispering about how she wanted to make sure she showed me that she burned hotly for me and only for me. I had to admit that was a huge turn-on for me, so I reciprocated when she let me and she burned even hotter when I did so.

When we were done, my skin was a bit red from the intense heat and it took my regeneration several minutes to get me back to normal.

“J-John, I... I'm so sorry.” Iris said and covered her face. “I couldn't control myself and...”

“That's not true. You kept yourself in check a few times when you could have seriously hurt me.” I said and gently moved her hands out of the way to look into her tear-filled eyes. “I'm not sorry at all. In fact, I thought it was a complete turn on that you did what you did to me.”

Iris blinked her eyes and wiped at them. “That... when you...”

“Yes, I had to give as good as I got.” I said with a crooked smile. “You burned a lot hotter when I did, too.”

“I... I did... I thought... your red skin...”

“I burned for you.” I said and she blushed. “How do you feel?”

“Like I could light up the world.” Iris whispered and her skin glowed slightly.

“That's perfect.” I said and stood up, lifted her up to her feet as well, then cleaned us with several spells. “Let's go make another village happy.”

Iris nodded and I switched our clothing back onto ourselves and led her down the stairs and out of the tower. We were met with hundreds of shocked faces of the villagers that held plates with choice pieces of dragon meat on them.

“Dammit, I forgot the silence spell again.” I said and slapped a hand over my face.

Iris blushed deeply and did her best to hide behind me, which was funny, because she was now my height and was almost as muscular.

“At least she's still shy!” Wyndia said loudly as the rest of our party arrived.

“I'm surprised you finished this quickly.” Lupin said.

“Fires usually burn hot and fast when they start.” Raphtalia said and walked over to us.

I gave her a hug and a quick kiss. “It takes time to stoke and keep going, then it provides a warmth that's unrivalled.”

“That's so sweet!” Wyndia said and licked both of our faces.

I gently held her off. “It's time for a barbecue.”

“Yay!” Wyndia said as five large grills appeared in front of us.

“All right, everyone! Form a line in front of each grill.” I said and the people quickly did so and I started adding their meat to the grills. Each wanted it done the way they liked it, so some got theirs back long before others; but, each one got theirs and the girls prepared potatoes and vegetables for the side dishes.

The villagers were surprised by that, especially when we promised to check their fields and we would give them a magic orchard, too. Everyone was eventually served and they sat down and enjoyed their meals, as did my party. The mayor had handed over some nice cuts of meat for us and thanked me for fixing the meat for them. It would last for a very long time now.

While they ate, I went around to the farms and converted them into proper crop fields, made a lake nearby for the villagers, and added an orchard. I returned to the temporary tower and was going to dissolve it, then realized it was getting late in the day. So, I left it and I told everyone we were staying the night and would head back to the castle city in the morning.

“CHIRP!” Filo yelled from the wagon.

I walked over to it and she could barely fit out through the opening. “I'm sorry, Filo. You really are much too big to have in our room now.”

“Chirp?” Filo asked.

“Yes, my dear. You have to stay in the wagon. All alone. By yourself.” I said and her face went sad as I pet her belly feathers. “I can't hug you all night anymore and I know how much you like that.”

Filo scrunched her feather-covered face up and looked about to burst out crying... then she started to glow. With a popping sound and a small flurry of feathers, the ten foot tall large bird disappeared and left a little girl of about ten years old behind. She was four feet tall and had long blonde hair with small white angel wings sticking out of her back.

“M-master! Filo is smaller now! Don't leave me alone!” Filo said as she reached for me and her eyes were filled with tears.

I created a smock for her and knelt to put it on her and hugged her. “I'll never leave you alone, my precious Filo. I only said those things to get you to change for me.”

“R-really?” Filo asked as she hugged my neck.

“Yes, really. I knew you were eating a lot more than a normal filolial bird and you weren't burning off your extra energy to pull the wagon.” I said and picked her up, careful of her wings.

“The horses wouldn't let me help and said I wasn't needed.” Filo said as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

I kissed the tears away from her cheeks and pet her hair. “That's because the horses are more than capable of pulling a nearly weightless carriage.” I said and walked over to my completely stunned party. “I'm going up to bed. Goodnight.”

I was inside the tower and halfway up the stairs before I heard a shout.

“WAAAAIT!” Several voices yelled and several sets of boots ran up the stairs behind me.

“You knew she was going to change?” Raphtalia asked.

“Of course. She's a filolial queen. All queens can change form.” I said.

“I'm a queen?” Filo asked, clearly surprised.

“One is born every generation and I was lucky enough to buy you as my very first egg.” I said to her and continued to walk up the stairs. “One of my old abilities not related to the shield is to assess the abilities of things I touch.”

“That explains so much.” Raphtalia said.

“It really does! That must be how he knew I liked being ridden from behind the best!” Wyndia said, excitedly. “It gets me off the fastest, too!”

There were a few groans from down the stairs.

“Everyone didn't need to know that.” I said and she shrugged.

“It's not like they can't hear me when you do me. You forget the silence spell all the time.” Wyndia said.

I had to laugh at that and nodded. “I'll cast it on the door and the window and make it permanent.”

“Finally!” Lupin the werewolf exclaimed from downstairs and several people laughed.

“His ears are the biggest.” Raphtalia said as we entered our room.

I cast the spell on the door and made it permanent, then did the same to the window. “Filo, please don't change back into bird form tonight, because you will smother us under your other form.”

“I'll try not to.” Filo said, a little embarrassed.

“I'll keep watch.” I said as we all stripped off our armor and underclothes. “If you do change back, I'll have to lift you up and take you back to the wagon.”

“Why can't you make this room bigger?” Filo asked and climbed onto the bed.

“It's already at its limit. If I do any more, it will pop apart and explode.” I said and the four of them stared at me. “What? I stopped before it reached that point.”

“Let's just go to sleep.” Raphtalia said and climbed onto the bed. “I'm not sure how this is going to work.”

“Filo can still sleep on the smaller bed and...”

“NO! I'm too small to reach you like that.” Filo said and hugged my pillow. “I'm cold and miss my feathers.”

Iris smiled. “Then you can snuggle between me and John. I produce a lot of heat.”

“Really?” Filo asked with a huge smile.

“We don't even need a blanket if you don't want one.” Iris assured her and Filo nodded.

So, that's how we went to sleep. I was in the middle with Raphtalia on one side and Iris on the other, with Filo cuddled in between us and Wyndia was draped over our laps. She liked Iris' heat, too.

*

We took a different route back to the castle town and stopped in different places on the way back. We helped those that wanted it and killed every group of bandits we came across and also hunted a bunch of monsters.

During one of the stops, I was going to set up the tower and encountered a group of wild filolials. Filo immediately changed into her big bird form and waddled over to them. There was a startled shout from a female voice and the wild birds ran off.

“Aww, I wanted to talk to them.” Filo said.

The female voice gasped. “YOU CAN TALK?!?”

“Ever since I changed for master.” Filo said.

“Wait, master?” The female voice asked.

I walked over to them and smiled. “That would be me, the Shield Hero.”

The young woman gasped again. “How are you here? I thought you would be training for the waves!”

“We are training for the waves.” I said as the rest of my party gathered around us.

The young woman stared at all the armored demi-humans and beastmen.

“Let me introduce all of my friends to you.” I said and did so as I pointed to each one.

“So... many.” The young woman whispered.

“Now that you know all of our names, what's yours?” I asked and she opened her mouth to answer. “Before you speak, please know that at least three of us can tell when someone is lying.”

Her mouth snapped closed and she looked unsure.

I stepped forward and held a hand out to her. “If it makes things easier for you, my real name is John Hansen.”

She looked at my offered hand and took it like a lady would. “I am Melty Q. Melromarc, Second Princess and first in line for the throne.”

I smiled warmly at her as I bent down to kiss the back of her hand. “It's a distinct pleasure to meet you, your highness.”

Melty blushed and ducked her head slightly.

“Don't be embarrassed, princess. He's a shameless flirt.” Lupin said and everyone nodded.

“I really am.” I admitted. “Filo, why don't you and the princess play for a while? I'll set up the tower and start cooking supper.”

“Really?” Filo asked.

I held out another smock for her and she popped back into the form of a girl and put the smock on.

“WOW!” Melty loudly gasped.

“Master made me change into this! Isn't it cool? I have hands!” Filo said and took Melty's hands. “Let's go and try to find those filolials!”

“Okay!” Melty agreed immediately and the two ran off.

I looked at Lupin and he nodded. He ran off in a different direction and then melted into the trees.

“That's still neat to see.” Raphtalia said. “Are you sure you can't copy it?”

“No, it's a racial trait.” I said and walked over to a good spot to create a tower. “It's not the first time I was unable to copy something.”

Iris stepped close and turned my head so she could kiss me. “Frustration burns inside of you.”

I chuckled. “Yes, you can help me cook.”

Iris smiled and followed me inside the tower with Raphtalia.

“We need to find clothes for Filo to wear that won't explode every time she changes.” Raphtalia said.

“That's why we're going back to the castle town. That older witch in the magic shop should give us an idea of what we need.” I said and she nodded. “It's funny that it's not in any of the books we made for her.”

“Maybe it is a known thing and not written down.” Iris said and started cutting potatoes.

“Yeah, there's a lot of general knowledge floating around that 'everyone knows' and no one ever talks about.” I said as I sliced up some meat for a large stew pot. “It can get annoying sometimes.”

“We can ask around again and see what else the shop owners know.” Raphtalia offered.

“I think it's a moot point this time.” I said and kept working. “We're well past the point where the things we didn't know before would have made a difference.”

“How much time is left?” Iris asked.

I took out the small hourglass and saw the time popup. “Just under a week.” I said and put it away. “We should arrive in time for our class upgrades and then we'll be transported to the next wave's location.”

“It will be a fast trip from here out to reach the castle city, then.” Iris said and I nodded.

We fell silent and kept cooking. I created several large stew pots and we filled them with meat, chopped vegetables, and spices. We had a lot of people to feed and needed a lot of food.

“Any preference for the dessert?” I asked them as I set the pots to simmer.

“Pie.” Iris and Raphtalia said as one.

“An array of pies it is.” I said and they smiled, because I always included a scoop of ice cream on the slices of pie when I served them. I quickly did up a huge batch of the dough and they brought over the many pie plates we had. I made the crusts and then filled each pie with a different fruit.

There were quite a few different ones and I made two of the magical fruit ones especially for Filo. She was a growing girl and needed the extra boost. The oven was soon filled and the smell of cooking food soon brought everyone inside.

“Some of the people in the last village started calling you the Cooking Hero.” Lept the rabbitman said as he sat down at the table.

That made everyone laugh and I did, too. The shield really boosted the flavor of anything I cooked, which was why I almost always made food from the ingredients and didn't just create it. It always tasted better because of the cooking process. I quickly made up several large salad bowls and prepared them exactly like the recipients liked them. I added some salad dressing and Lept and Hopps drooled.

“You should learn to control yourselves better.” Mander the lizardman said, then he started drooling when I created a bug creature and broke it open and spread it over his bowl of salad. “Never mind.”

That made a few of us laugh softly just as Filo dragged Melty in through the doorway and Lupin faded into view behind them and held three fingers up. I nodded at the monsters he killed and he sat down at his spot.

“Filo, I don't want to impose.” Melty said.

“Master cooked for you, too.” Filo said and sat the young woman at the table where she usually sat. “Didn't you, master?”

I nodded and put a bowl of stew in front of Melty and pointed to one of the pots. “That's yours.”

“YAY!” Filo said and everyone covered their bowls and plates. She popped into her bird form and feathers flew all over. She opened her large beak and poured the stew down her gullet. “AHH! Delicious as always, master! Thank you!”

“I keep telling you to call me Hansen.” I said.

“I know, master.” Filo said and changed back with another small burst of feathers.

I handed her another smock and she put it on and sat beside Melty.

“Did I just see her do that?” Melty asked, clearly shocked.

“She gets bored eating normally.” I said and sat down. “There's lots of stew, so don't be shy about asking for more.”

Melty blinked her eyes at me and looked down at her bowl. “No feathers?”

“I covered it for you.” I said and started eating. It really did taste so much better cooking it.

Almost everyone had a second bowl of stew and Melty declined.

“Leaving room for dessert? That's so smart!” Filo said loudly.

“Dessert?” Melty asked.

“It's pie today.” I said and used the Force to open the oven and pulled out all different kinds of pies. I put two aside for Filo and she let out a squeal of delight. Two more small bursts of feathers later, Filo sat beside Melty again and rubbed her stomach.

“That's soooo good!” Filo said, happily.

“You forgot about the ice cream again.” Raphtalia reminded her.

“AWWWW!” Filo howled and teared up.

I put a bowl of ice cream in front of her and handed her a spoon. “The slow way as punishment.”

Filo gave the spoon a wary look, then sighed and accepted the punishment.

I quickly dished up pieces of pie and ice cream for everyone and looked at Melty. “Do you have any favorite fruits?”

Melty looked a little embarrassed. “Mumbleberry.”

“Ah, that's a good one.” I said and went to one of the pies and did up a slice with ice cream for her. “I sneak a piece into Filo's food sometimes to quiet her down.”

Filo scooped more ice cream into her mouth and glared at me. That made a few of the others laugh, so I kissed her cheek and she giggled and kept eating. Once again, nearly everyone wanted a second piece and more ice cream.

“Princess? Would you like some more?” I asked with a huge smile on my face.

Melty mumbled something and looked frustrated.

“What was that? I didn't hear you.” I said and leaned in close.

Melty mumbled again and then crossed her arms and glared at me.

I laughed and did up another piece for her. “I'll give you another, just in case. Please enjoy it.”

Melty held the glare for only a moment, then she dug into the dessert.

Filo gave me a quick hug. “Master? Where is my new friend going to sleep?”

Every spoon fell from everyone's hands, except mine.

“She's staying in your bed, of course.” I said and everyone looked at me with wide eyes. “With you there and a thick blanket, you'll both be plenty warm.”

There was a physical reaction as everyone seemed to relax and a few sighed in relief.

“I'm sure the both of you will enjoy your first sleepover.” I added and both Filo and Melty looked happy.

“Can you read us a story, master?” Filo asked.

I glanced at Raphtalia and she smiled and nodded. “Sure. What one would you like me to read? Or do you want me to pick something else?”

“Umm... what else is there?” Filo asked, curious.

“I do know this one story about a little filolial that played pranks on her friends about the sky falling, then when it actually did come, no one believed her.” I said and Filo looked sad. “She ends up saving the day in the end and everyone forgives her.”

“YES! THAT ONE!” Filo yelled and hugged me tightly.

“Let's get you both changed for bed and you can relax as I tell you all about Filo Little and the Falling Sky.” I said and led her and Melty out of the kitchen.

“He's going to make a great father one day.” Iris commented and then Raphtalia and Wyndia started a muffled conversation with her.

I created a nice nightdress for Melty and showed her the bathroom to get changed. She looked shocked at the modern conveniences and I quickly gave her the same lesson about how to use everything. She looked longingly at the bathtub and I figured she needed one after playing with wild animals all day.

“Why don't you and Filo share a bath? She can show you how to use the sponge and bubble bath.” I said and both of them nodded several times. I quickly filled the tub with a bunch of bubbles and set out few bath toys, which made Melty look excited and Filo was almost jumping out of her skin. “Do you need help to get undressed, princess?”

Melty's face flushed to a bright red and she shook her head several times.

I chuckled and lightly touched her shoulder. “Don't be embarrassed. I only meant to loosen some of the ties and laces for you, so it's not so difficult to remove your pretty dress.”

Melty looked conflicted and Filo took her hand.

“He doesn't even have to look to do it!” Filo said and I nodded.

Melty held Filo's hand tightly and nodded herself.

I walked over to the door of the bathroom and faced the bedroom as I used the Force to untie all the laces and things on her clothing and then did the same for her boots. “Is that enough?”

“I'm already taking them off her!” Filo said.

“Okay, you have half an hour to have fun... I mean bathe and clean up.” I said and Filo giggled. “Then it's story time and bed time.”

“Okay!” Filo said and pushed my back and slammed the door behind me.

Raphtalia laughed softly from the bedroom doorway. “I should have known you would tease the princess with the bathroom.”

“She was only going to change and then she noticed and bathtub.” I said as an explanation just as two very loud laughs came through the bathroom door. “The Mumbleberry just wore off.”

Raphtalia walked over to me and gave me a passionate kiss. “How long?”

“Half an hour.” I said and picked her up as I cast silence on the bathroom door. “Plenty of time.”

Raphtalia blushed and nodded, then we were on the bed and I was inside of her and making her scream my name. Iris and Wyndia were suddenly there and I quickly had to get them off as well, because my plenty of time had turned into hurry up and get it done. They didn't complain.

I tucked them under a blanket when they were sated and cleaned up. I put up a small divider between the two beds and them went to the bathroom. I knocked on the door and a loud squawk of surprise answered me.

“I hope you're almost done.” I said.

“Just a minute!” Filo said.

“Or ten!” Melty almost shouted.

I chuckled and stood there to wait for them to actually wash themselves after playing for half an hour.

The door eventually opened and the two girls stood there wearing their night dresses and guilty faces.

“I'm glad you had fun for your first bath together.” I said with a smile and both girls sighed with relief. “Do you want me to dry you hair?”

“YES!” Filo yelled.

“Yes, please.” Melty said and blushed only slightly.

Both girls had their hair slicked down from the bathwater and Melty looked almost completely different from her princess persona.

“You know, if you had a set of little black wings, you could be Filo's mirror opposite.” I said and waved for them to sit on the smaller bed.

“R-really?” Melty asked, looking pleased.

I closed the bathroom door and created a mirror for them to see each other. “You see? You are both very pretty girls and your hair is the same like this, except that one is light and one is dark. Just the wings are needed.”

Melty's face went red again.

I created a towel and sat behind her as I created another and used the Force to copy my movements for Filo. I dried both of their hair and then created a large hairbrush. Filo let out a shuddering sigh as I carefully brushed her hair. Melty seemed to be fighting herself to not relax.

“I'm sorry. I should have asked if you wanted me to do this.” I said and didn't stop. “I'm just used to doing this for the girls after their baths.”

“It... it's okay.” Melty said. “I just... my mother...”

“Did she do this for you?” I asked, pretty much knowing the answer.

“When I was little, she did. Now, she... she's much too busy.” Melty said.

I put the brush down and slid my arms around her to hug her. “I'm sure she misses doing this for you as much as you miss her doing it, Melty.”

Melty hugged my arms and I felt a couple of tears fall onto my arms.

“Shh, it's okay. We're here now. You're not alone anymore.” I whispered and Melty started crying in earnest as she turned in my arms and hugged me back tightly. Filo leaned over and hugged her, too.

The three of us sat there for some time before Melty calmed down and eased her hold on me to look into my eyes. I gently wiped at her face with a napkin and she gave me a thankful look.

“Please don't tell anyone I did that.” Melty said. “As a princess, I...”

“You're not a princess in this room.” I said and she looked surprised. “Just like Filo isn't a big bird and I'm not the Shield Hero.”

Melty looked down at my arm and saw the shield I usually wore was just a metal bracer. “I didn't even notice it changed.”

“Most people don't.” I said and nodded at the pillows on the bed. “Let's get settled and I can tell you both a bedtime story.”

Melty nodded and I moved back on the bed to recline on the pillow and Filo snuggled into my side as she looked at my face with anticipation. Melty looked doubtful about the situation until Filo pulled her into my other side and she fit right into the space.

“Filo Little was a rambunctious little filolial...” I started and the two girls were enraptured by the story as I told them all about it. I did the various voices of the animals as well, which made Filo giggle a few times when I made chirp sounds and talked gruffly like Lupin. “...and that's how Filo Little saved the other animals.”

“That was a wonderful story.” Melty said and snuggled into my side even more. “You should write it down... or have pictures drawn... or...” Her voice drifted off as she closed her eyes and went right to sleep.

I glanced at Filo and she was already out. I held in my laugh, because they had both held on just long enough to hear the end. “Sleep well, princess and queen.” I whispered and kissed each of the tops of their heads before I closed my eyes and went to sleep myself.

Hushed whispers woke me up the next morning. I kept my eyes closed and listened.

“Filo, what am I going to do?” Melty asked. “I slept with a man that's not my husband. Mother is going to be furious.”

“I don't understand.” Filo said. “I sleep with John all the time.”

Melty sighed. “It's different for you. You're not a princess. Certain things are expected of me and...”

“I'm a queen.” Filo responded.

“Excuse me?”

“I'm a filolial queen. John said so. It's his power to know.” Filo said.

“But... but if he...”

“He knew you were the princess right away.” Filo said. “That's why he warned you about lying. He hates liars because of the king and what he tried to do to him.”

“My father.” Melty said and sighed. “He executed my father publicly. Mother, she's had to work so much harder to stop all out war because of that.”

“That wasn't the real king. Raphtalia said it was a volunteer. The king is really in prison.”

Melty gasped. “No! He... he's still alive?”

“I guess so. I've never seen him. I don't want to go to prison.” Filo said.

“I... I must return to the castle city as soon as possible.” Melty said. “I need to send a message to mother about this.”

“Iris said we're going to be travelling fast and not stopping to help the villagers on the way, because the wave is coming soon.” Filo said. “I'm going to be allowed to fight, too!”

“No! It's too dangerous!” Melty exclaimed.

“It's okay. John won't let me get hurt. He loves me.” Filo said, proudly. “He always protects what's his.”

Melty took a deep breath and let it out. “All right. I'll wait to say anything about... about sharing a bed.”

Filo giggled. “You should see how Raphtalia and the others share his bed!”

I made a snore sound and both girls let out 'eep' sounds in response. I started to move slightly and both girls froze. I took in a dramatic deep breath and let it out as I opened my eyes and feigned sleepiness.

“Good morning.” I said and yawned as I stretched and then put my arms around them. “You're both up early.”

“B-b-bathroom!” Melty exclaimed and hopped off of the bed and ran for it.

“Me, too!” Filo said and quickly followed her.

When the door slammed shut, I silenced it and laughed before I sat up.

“I thought we were being more careful than that.” Raphtalia said with a sigh.

“You pretty much lose all sense of the rest of the world when you're with John.” Iris said.

“So do you!” Wyndia said, excitedly.

“Not you?” Raphtalia asked.

“No, I just don't care about anything else.” Wyndia said and looked at me. “Morning!”

“Good morning.” I said and stood up. I used the Force to make the bed and then cast cleaning charms on myself. I gave each of them a kiss and went to the door. “Any preference for...”

“WAFFLES!” The three of them yelled and I laughed as I cancelled the silence spell on the bathroom door and went downstairs to start cooking breakfast.

Breakfast was always a lively affair, especially on waffle days. It was probably because of the ice cream and syrup. In any case, Melty wasn't blushing when she entered the kitchen with Filo, which was a good sign. She was either going to continue to ignore sharing the bed with me and Filo or had decided to say something about it.

Melty remained quiet during breakfast and while we all packed up and stayed that way, even when we loaded up into the wagon. Everyone just assumed she was coming with us, even though she technically didn't ask. I didn't care about that, though. I knew she had lost her guards and needed someone to protect her. She probably wouldn't say how she lost them, so I didn't ask.

We travelled back across the countryside and only made quick stops along to way to eat and rest at night. Surprisingly, Melty didn't try to shy away from me at all, even when Filo wanted another story night three days later. It ended up the same way, with her exhausted after a fun bath time with Filo and then snuggled into my side all night.

I pretended to be asleep again the next morning and the conversation was only slightly different, with Melty affirming that she would have to tell her mother about the whole thing, including sharing a bed with a man twice her age. I didn't say anything because I wanted to see if the Queen, in all her regalness, would actually object to her daughter being with the Shield Hero.

I suspected she wouldn't mind it at all, considering the rivalry between the demi-human country and Melromarc. The funny thing was, the two nations were almost complete opposites. Melromarc was a human country with demi-human slaves and treated them with hatred and disrespect, while Siltvelt was a demi-human country that had human slaves and treated them with hatred and disrespect.

Ignoring the years of wars and conflicts, the demi-humans practically worshipped the Shield Hero and Melromarc had tried to slander the Shield Hero and make me a villain. That was not going to go over well with them. Not at all. If the queen could appease them by giving me her youngest daughter, she would probably do it to save her country from fighting another years-long war.

I wouldn't accept, of course. Arranged marriages usually didn't work out at all, even if both parties were willing and accepted it, which neither Melty nor I would. She would need to grow up quite a bit more before I even looked at her in a sexual way, let alone as marriage material.

We hit the road again and arrived at the castle city with three days to spare for the next wave. I escorted Melty into the castle and the Regent was there with an angry look on his face.

“If you spout one single word about me kidnapping the princess, I'll have your head mounted on a pike on the front of my wagon.” I said to him and his face paled. With my message received, I knelt to look Melty in the eyes. “Are you sure you want to be left here? When the wave starts, anyone I leave here to guard you will have to leave.”

Melty looked conflicted. “I need to be in the castle for exactly that reason. Its defenses and soldiers will keep me safer than being on my own.”

I lightly touched her shoulder. “I told you, Princess. Now that we're here, you are never alone.”

“You are not a part of the royal family.” The Regent said.

“Family means more than being attached by blood.” I said and nodded to Filo. “You can stay here with the princess until the wave starts.”

“I know how to call for help, too!” Filo said.

I smiled and pet her hair. “Have fun and I'll see you in a couple of days.”

“Okay! Bye!” Filo said as she took Melty's hand and ran into the castle with her.

I gave a pointed look to the Regent. “Not. One. Word.”

The man glared at me and entered the castle with the guards without saying a word.

“I think he hates you almost as much as the king did.” Raphtalia said as we walked across the courtyard towards the clock tower.

“I don't know what it is with people in power. As soon as I show any kind of independence, they take it personally and start working against me. It's starting to get annoying.”

“Considering what you did to the last one, you would think he would know better.” Iris said.

“People like that think they are untouchable until you touch them.” Lupin pointed out.

“I think you're right.” I agreed and we entered the church.

No one stopped us and we went right to the Dragon Hourglass. Everyone that needed class upgrades took them and I was sure that this next wave was going to max out their levels and stats. We had been working hard to level up as much as possible and this wave was going to be long and exhausting... if I let it play out.

I had a couple of days to decide if I was going to end it quickly or let it play out like it had before. The problem was, if I let it play out for as long as it had the last time, the wave was going to be devastating to the population. We could only protect so many people at a time and the calamity opened up near all four Dragon Hourglass locations.

I sighed and Raphtalia came over to give me a hug. “You can guess what I'm thinking, can't you?”

“Yes, and whatever you decide, we are with you.” Raphtalia said and the others nodded.

“Even if people are killed because we're all levelling up?” I asked.

“I think if we don't level up, the next wave might defeat us.” Lupin the werewolf said. “Since I am close to maxing out, I fear that the wave after that will kill us all.”

“I think so, too.” Lept the rabbitman said.

“If we aren't strong enough to help, people are going to die anyway.” Iris said. “You just have to weigh the cost now to the cost later... and possible failure.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. “All right. We'll fight, we'll protect, and we'll get stronger now.”

“We'll always do our best to help you, no matter what.” Raphtalia said.

“That's all I can ever ask of you.” I said and kissed her. “All of you. Thank you.”

“Without you, we could all still be slaves. Or dead.” Lupin said. “We've all seen how being with you is much more beneficial than being without you.”

“Or against you! You can be scary when you fight!” Hopps said, excitedly.

“Scary only for the enemy.” I corrected. “Let's get over to Erhard and have him check your things. He might give me some hints on what to upgrade.”

“Or kidnap you to enchant things for him.” Raphtalia joked and a few of us laughed.

“He's helped us a lot, so I don't mind.” I said and we all left the church. “While you guys are getting outfitted, I'll pop over to the magic shop and see about getting some clothing for Filo.”

“You might have to go get Filo for that.” Iris said.

“Good point. It can wait for a bit. She's probably having a ball with Melty right now.”

“Can you have fun while being dragged around a castle and asked what everything is?” Wyndia asked. “Because I wanna do that.”

I chuckled and gave her a hug as we walked to Erhard's armory shop. “I'll bring you over and switch you out with Filo. Melty might not even notice.”

That made everyone laugh, because the two girls were practically inseparable.

We entered Erhard's shop and he let out several shouts of surprise, then he almost tackled us as he looked over the armor upgrades I had done and the gems and enchantments I had added. It really was some great work and he admired the craftsmanship.

Erhard grabbed my shoulder and shook me slightly as he grinned. “You smarmy little bastard! You've been holding out on me!”

I laughed and shook my head. “I only learned after I left here. I picked up a guy named Hickwaal...”

“Oh! The accessory crafter! He's got several businesses scattered all over.” Erhard said. “He wasn't allowed to open one here in the city because he opened one in Siltvelt.”

“Stupid king.” I said and sighed. “We could have had all this stuff right after I arrived here.”

“Not really. You needed to do a lot of things to get to this point.” Raphtalia said. “If you tried to make any of these wonderful things before you did, they might not have worked as well or they could have been much weaker than they are.”

“She's right.” Erhard said. “My first armor plate was a complete mess. It worked and protected like it's supposed to; but, it looked bad and wouldn't polish up past a basic shine. I had to learn over a dozen techniques before I made my next one and it came out ten times better.”

“It's the little details that makes a piece a masterpiece, isn't it?” I asked and he nodded. “Well, why don't you check out the rest of the armor and weapons to let me know what I can do to fix them, then give me a class or two and teach me some of those techniques you know.”

Erhard grinned at me and clapped my shoulder. “I thought you'd never ask!”