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Sword for a Hero Ch. 2
🕑 Added 2023-07-15 01:17:31 +0000 UTCSword for a Hero
By: Bubbajack
Editors/Co-Authors: Icysnowsage, First Hassan
Special Consultant: Heliosion
Note: Special thanks go out to my Super Donors Apostle_of_Darkness, Ben wanless CrazymanDK, Jareth Norris, kenni nielsen, Scott Marchant, and Selmephren and all my other patrons as well.
Ch.2:
Mira pushed the door to her room at the inn open just in time for Izuku to barrel in and put the coughing demihuman down on the bed. He touched her head. It was burning up and slick with sweat, “She’s got a fever,” he said to himself, turning to Mira he asked, "Can you create some ice, we need to keep her as cool and comfortable as possible.”
Mira nodded, “Of course,” Grabbing a water skein, she intoned “Erste Chill Touch,” Smashing the now frozen water in the water skein on the table top, she then handed it to the sword hero.
“Heh instant ice pack, nice,” Izuku said, impressed with her ingenuity as he placed it on the sickly tanuki’s head. She let out a pleased sigh much to Izuku’s relief. “That seems to have helped some,” Turning and focusing his full attention on Mira, he asked, “Is there anything I can help with while we wait for Kara and Diana to come back?”
Mira patted him on the head, “It’s alright, don’t fret, you're doing just fine, don’t panic alright?” Seeing him nod, she motioned with a finger and a wrought iron cauldron floated wobbly up into the air. “As for what we can do for the moment, well, we could use some clean rags and if we wipe her down we can get some of that sweat off of her, the poor thing.”
“R-Right,” Izuku agreed, feeling a bit uncomfortable to be wiping the sweat off a girl, sick or not. This was something an adult of the same gender would usually handle. ‘But she doesn’t have anyone else,’ Izuku reminded himself.
Seeing his discomfort, Mira said, “I’ll change her and wipe down her front if you would handle her back?”
“That’s fine,” He replied. “I’ll go get some well water to wipe her down with,”
“Not necessary, Erste Create Water,” Mira said, as she pointed idly at the cauldron which began to fill with clear water. “I have some clean rags in my bag over there if you’d grab some and bring them here please?”
Izuku did as she asked, going to the adventurer pack in the corner. He flushed a bit when he came across her underwear, but ignored it because Raphtailia needed him. He came back with some clean linen rags which Mira dipped in the cool water and proceeded to wipe Raphtailia down. Once she was done, she sat her up, and said, “You can get her back now,”
“Right,” Izuku said as he took a clean rag and rubbed her down with it.
As he was doing that, Raphtalia became lucid. “Who… are you?”
“I’m a friend,” Izuku said quickly, “My name is Izuku and I’m the Sword Hero and I’m doing what I can to help your illness right now. Some of my other party members have gone out searching for ingredients to make a potion so you’ll get better faster. So just rest for now. Your safe Raphtalia. Do you understand?”
“Safe… Yes, thank you… Sword Hero… Master Izuku,” She said weakly before her eyes drifted closed again.
Laying her back down down on the bed and promptly covering her with a sheet, Izuku muttered, “I’m no one’s master,” Seeing the filthy shift she was wearing, Izuku wrinkled his nose, “Can you do something about that Mira, like I dunno, transmute it into something decent for her to wear?”
“Ohoho, you think highly of my skills do you?” Mira said, amused.
“Is that a no?” Izuku asked.
The Sorceress shook her head, her floppy hat swaying around on her head, “I never said that, is it wrong wanting a bit of praise from my cute Sword Hero?”
Izuku smiled and bowed, “You’ve been amazing Mira, I don’t know what I would’ve done to help Raphtalia without you, thank you,”
Mira covered her flushing cheeks with both hands, unused to such earnest praise “Kyaa! You sweet talker, you! But no, in all seriousness we both know you would’ve charged down to merchant street and bulldozed your way into the potions shop if it meant helping that girl.”
“I suppose I can get a bit… overzealous when it comes to helping people who need it," Izuku agreed bashfully as he scratched his cheek with a finger.
Placing her hands on his shoulders she told him, “Trust me Izuku, that is by far and large, not the worst trait a legendary Hero could have,” Mira assured him.
The verdant-haired hero tilted his head up a little bit so he could look into her face, “Thank you, Mira-san,”
She leaned down and kissed his freckled cheek. “Anytime my cute little Sword Hero,”
The door to the room burst open suddenly, and Diana and Kara appeared, with the elf, holding up a full burlap sack. “We’re back… Oh, were we interrupting something?” She asked, looking between the two.
“Ohoho, who knows?” Mira said as she took the bag from the demihuman.
Kara pouted, puffing out her cheeks towards Mira as she said, “No getting ahead all by yourself Mira! Our cute Sword Hero belongs to all of us equally! Remember that!”
“I wouldn’t dream of excluding you or Diana from any potential fun Kara dear, never fear,” The Sorceress said, patting the barbarian on the cheek comfortingly as she reached into the bag and began to pull out various mushrooms and herbs, lighting a fire underneath the floating cauldron before she toss some of them in and let it slowly come to a boil.
“We brought extra to see if Izuku could unlock more forms for his sword with them,” Diana explained.
“A wise idea Diana,” Mira muttered as she focused on brewing the potion, pressing the bag into Izuku’s hands she said, “Feed these plants to that sword of yours and see if anything happens, won’t you?”
Reaching into the bag Izuku pulled out some kind of green moss while saying gratefully, “Right, thanks for thinking of me Kara, Diana,” He fed it to his sword and received the following notification.
[+1 to Defense]
[Unlocked Moss Sword (common) Unlocked! Mastery 0/100]
[Active Ability: Soften Earth
Allows the user to soften earth and any material so it can be used as a cushion or soften a blow.]
He then fed it a mushroom and a random feather they picked up.
[+1 to Attack]
[Unlocked Herbal Mushroom Sword (Common) Unlocked! Mastery 0/100]
[Passive Ability: Poison Resistance]
[ +1 to Agility]
Feather Sword (Common) Unlocked! Mastery 0/100]
Active ability: Clean Sweep
Allows the user to fire out a gust of wind. Thus cleaning the air of particles, dust, toxins, poisons, and even bacteria.]
‘What does it mean by common and mastery?’ He thought, ‘Wait, is there a rarity system for weapons… and Mastery, what is all that about?’ He began to mutter about the possibilities to himself.
“OOh, he’s doing it again,” Kara cooed, “So, cute!” She bounced all the balls of her feet, unknowingly causing all the right parts of her anatomy to jiggle, but she resisted the urge to smother him in her bosom, hard as it was for her. She might not have been the sharpest axe on the weapon rack, but even she could tell she made him nervous with how he held his breath whenever he got close to her. Kara didn’t want that, she would much prefer he be comfortable around her. Comfortable enough to put a baby or seven in her if she had her way.
“Silver for your thoughts?” Diana asked.
“No, it's just there’s a lot about the Legendary Sword I don’t know… speaking of swords, has anyone seen Eclair-sensei?” Izuku politely inquired, curious as to why she hadn’t come up to the room yet.
“She’s guarding the stairs,” Diana informed him, “As you know, demihumans aren’t thought of well in Melomarc so when you bring one into the tavern well… some of the patrons, all of whom were filled with liquid courage I expect, wanted to eject you from the premises.”
Izuku scoffed and shook his head, “The bigotry of people will never cease to amaze me,” he then asked a mite concerned, “Is Eclair alright?”
“Naturally,” Diana replied, “She wouldn’t be much of a knight if she couldn’t even deal with some drunken louts now could she?”
“True,” Izuku agreed. He then asked Mira, “How’s that potion coming along?”
Turning a wooden ladle with a twitch of her finger the Sorceress replied, “Almost done, and I’ve made a large batch too, so whatever Raphtalia doesn’t drink we can keep some for ourselves and sell the rest for a sum.”
“Sounds good,” He agreed. “Once it's ready I want to try feeding my Sword one of those,” He asked.
“Ooh, I wonder what’ll happen if Mr.Sword eats one, will he get healing powers or something?” Kara wondered aloud in excitement.
“We’re about to find out, the potion is done,” Mira said as she conjured up some glass vials and began filling them, fifty in all and sealing them with hot candle wax except for two. Motioning to the Sword Hero she said, “Would you like to do the honors of giving Raphtaila the potion yourself?”
“S-Sure,” He moved over to her bed with the vial in hand propped her up with his free hand before pressing the vial to her lips. She resisted at first, only to stop when she heard Izuku’s voice, “It's okay Raphtalia-chan, it's medicine, it'll make you feel better, just drink it okay?”
The tanuki silently nodded, before slowly gulping down the mixture. Once it was gone she rasped out, “Water?”
“Sure,” Motioning to the pitcher and glass nearby, Diana quickly handed him the drink. “Take slow sips,” He advised.
She did so, her fluffy tail wiggling slightly as she drank. She drained two more glasses before her eyelids got heavy. “Will master be here when I wake up?” She asked.
“Yes,” Izuku promised her, “But you don’t need to call me Master, Izuku will do just fine,” He patted her head before he laid her back down, and covered her up, “Get some rest Raphtalia you need it to get better,”
“G’night Izuku-sama,” She got out before drifting off.
Smiling a bit before turning around he saw Mira, Kara, and Diana, along with Eclair who had slipped in at some point giving him appreciative looks. “What?” he asked.
‘Father material,’ They were all collectively thinking.
Taking the remaining open vial, he poured it into the sphere of the Legendary Sword.
It took on the shape of a green hued sword that looked leaf like in its appearance There was a gem stone near the pommel that shined a soft topaz color, the sword guard looked like a beaker curved and it was filled with a soft glowing potion material. [Herbal Potion Sword Unlocked. (Rare). Mastery 0/300]
[ +5 to Health]
[Passive: Potion Maker]
[This sword produces a high grade potion once a day for the user. Potion can be ‘give’ by poking an ally or saying the command phrase ‘heal’. Potion is not lost when switching swords but does not refill if a different sword is active for more than half a day.]
“Okay, that was unexpected,” Izuku said but he was more concerned about the welfare of the sleeping tanuki than gaining an odd sword. He’d just have to wait and see if she pulled through.
Sword for a Hero
Raphtalia awoke with a yawn. For the first time in a while, she didn’t feel sluggish and achy, her head didn’t feel like it was full of cotton, and she didn’t feel excruciatingly hot. No, in fact she actually felt, dare she say, good for a change. Opening a single red eye, she looked around. She was no longer in the cage, keel was nowhere in sight, and she was laying in a soft down feather bed, covered by a cotton sheet. She looked under it and sighed in relief seeing she was still clothed. ‘How did I end up here though?’ She thought back trying to remember something, anything from her fevered state of mind.
‘I’m the Sword Hero, my name is Izuku… medicine.’ The voice soothing and calm came back to her.
‘That’s right!’ She realized with a start, her eyes popping open, “The Sword Hero, he saved me… Izuku,” She whispered to herself, her ears and tail twitching as she spoke the name.
“He prefers to be called by his first name rather than his title,” A sultry voice replied, causing Raphtalia’s head to snap to a beautiful human woman sitting on a nearby chair. How she hadn’t noticed her earlier, she had no clue.
As if she could read her thoughts, the buxom redhead winked at her and put a finger to her lips before she said, “Trade secret. So, Raphtalia, are you feeling better hon?”
Assuming she had permission to speak since she had been asked a question, she replied, “Y-Yes, I am,” She paused wanting to ask a question of her own, but knowing that doing so could potentially lead to a beating, or worse, her slave seal going off.
As if sensing her curiosity, the woman asked, “You have a question?”
“Y-Yes ma’am, where is Master? Also how am I to address you?” he inquired as politely as she could.
Getting up from her seat the woman came over and Raphtalia braced herself for pain, only to startle a bit when she felt the woman’s hand comb through her hair. “Goodness, your hair is a mess dear. But to answer your question, I’m Mira Ostwitch, one of Izuku’s companions. As to where he is, I was wearing a hole in the floor waiting for you to wake up, so I sent him out with the others to hunt some monsters for awhile,” She leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, “How about we surprise him by getting you all cleaned up by the time he arrives eh?”
“Master was worried about me?” Raphtalia asked in confusion. She was not used to such treatment from her owners. It was absurdly pleasant, don't get her wrong! However, she was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“Worried?” Mira laughed, “Fretting like a mother hen over her chick more like. He actually doubted whether my potion had any effect on you. I almost lumped him with staff for that one before I kicked him out to go and burn off all that excess energy doing something productive.”
Raphatalia chuckled a little bit at the mental image before she thought of the woman, Mira's offer. “Umm, I would very much like to get cleaned up please,”
Mira clapped her hands, “Excellent! Dritte Create Object,” she said before she conjured a bronze bathtub fit for royalty, with the feet of a dragon, the spout at the top being a head, with steaming water pouring from the top. “There we go, feel free to get in.”
Raphtalia nodded and removed the sheet before also removing the white shift she was wearing, folding it up, placing it on the bed, and climbing into the tub. The hot water sent a shiver up her spine, mainly because she couldn’t actually think of the last time she’d had a proper bath. ‘Perhaps it was a few days before Lurolona Village fell to the Waves? That was six months or more ago now?’ She wrapped her arms around her knees and her tail around herself as she tried hard to no avail as she thought about the Cerberus that tore her parents apart, the center head clasping them its jaws at the other two heads tore them to shreds. She was drawn out of her bleak memories by a deluge of warm water being dumped on her head. Looking up she found Mira had stripped as well and she couldn’t help but marvel at her ‘size’. ‘Will I be as big as her when I get older?’ she wondered as she sat down behind her in the tub and began rubbing something in her hair that made it go from a rough tangled mess to soft and fluffy the more she worked it in.
“Good stuff isn’t it?” Mira said as she worked her hands through the knots and tangles in Raphtalia’s hair. “It’s some sort of tincture the elves have been using for centuries to keep their hair looking nice like they do. Diana won’t give me the recipe no matter how much I beg, the spoilsport.” Once she was sure she got all the knots and tangles out, she said, “Eyes and mouth closed. It’s time to rinse.”
Taking a breath and screwing her eyes shut, Raphtalia felt another wave of warm water fall over her, once, then twice more before it finally stopped. Releasing her breath she leaned back and relaxed into Mira, who laughed a little. “There we go, this is nice isn’t it?”
“Mmhm,” Raphtalia replied tiredly. It made the last six months and all the tragedy she had suffered seem almost like a horrible dream. She knew it wasn’t of course, but to suddenly be treated so well after being treated so cruelly, it certainly felt like a dream, and a wonderful one at that.
“Right, let's finish getting you cleaned up and then find you something to wear,” Mira said after several minutes of comfortable silence.
Getting out and toweling off, the Sorceress watched as she changed back into her shift. She tutted, “No, no that’ll never do, Zwitte Create Clothing,” She said while pointing her staff at the Tanuki demihuman.
The magic flowed around Raphtalia uplifting the hem of her shift which she forced down even as it changed shape. When the plume of magic ended, she was now wearing a green and burgundy dress with a cream colored shirt beneath it, with two metal bangles on each wrist. There was even a silt in the back of the dress for her tail to poke through. She spun around happily, a smile on her face, before rushing over and giving Mira a hug, “Thank you so much!”
“Your welcome dear, I’m doing as Izuku asked of me should you wake up while he was out,” Mira informed her, “Not that wouldn’t have done it anyway, but I just thought you should know, that even when he’s not here, that boy is very concerned about your welfare,”
‘Master,’ she thought looking at the door of the room, her tail wiggling with excitement, ‘I can’t wait to meet him! To thank him for everything he’s already done!’
Sword for a Hero
Izuku had been killing Balloons by the score, and with the single-minded focus of a man possessed in order to keep his mind off Raphtalia’s condition. ‘Is she okay? I hope she’s okay. Maybe by the time we get back she’ll be okay,’ The thoughts repeated in his head like a mantra to the point he almost missed the fact he leveled up. “I leveled up again,” He said to no one in particular.
Level Up! Atk +4, Def +1, HP +10, Mp +2, Agi +1
“Good job Izuku!” Kara cheered as she practically danced amongst the balloons, her axe spinning like a dervish around her. Nearby, Diana was sending arrow after arrow down range into more balloons herself.
“Congratulations,” the archer said as she went to collect her spent ammunition. “Your what, level three now?”
A question suddenly popped up in Izuku’s mind. “You know, I never asked what level you all were?”
“I’m level ten,” Kara said.
“Twelve,” Diana replied, “Also you should know that it's considered rude to ask someone their level when not in a party with them.”
He bowed, “Thank you for the warning Diana-san,” He then picked up a piece of the Balloon and fed it to his sword.
[Rubber Sword (Common) Unlocked! Mastery 0/100.
+1 to Defense.
Passive Ability: Lighting Resistance]
The legendary Sword to the shape of a cone of solid rubber with no edge to speak of, and even the handle, guard and pommel were of textured rubber. He gave it a test swing. ‘Huh, it's heavier than it looks,’ Izuku thought, surprised. It wasn’t anything major to someone who was pulling broken down fridges across sand just days ago, but the change in weight was noticeable.
Deciding to test it out he approached a new pack of Balloons making their way towards him.
As they closed in, Izuku swung his weapon like a baseball bat. When it struck, the Balloons were sent flying off into the distance. Yet he gained no EXP. thinking they might have resistance from a weapon crafted from their own dropped material, he switched instead to the Herbal Potion Sword. The verdant blade made short work of the balloons and, once he was finished he received a notification.
[Mastery 10/300]
‘Well that’s interesting,’ He thought. ‘So the more I use a weapon the higher its mastery gets… so what happens when I max it out?’
“He’s doing it again Dia,” Kara cooed with stars in her eyes.
“I know Kar, but it's endearing in its own way,” The Archer replied with a grin on her face.
Sighing to himself he said, “I was muttering to myself again wasn’t I?” Seeing the two beauties nod, he hung his head as he said, “I apologize,”
“Don’t it's fine,” Kara said, balancing her axe on her shoulders.
Diana added, “Endearing like we said,”
“Thank you," Izuku said. They were slowly, oh so slowly, making him feel comfortable about just being himself. “Do you think we should call it a day a little early?”
“Still worried about Raphtalia-chan?” Kara asked knowingly.
The sword Hero nodded, “Yes I’d like to get back and see if she’s okay.”
Diana peered at the sun, “The sun won’t be setting for another hour or so, we’ve still got some time yet.”
Izuku nodded, but said, “I know, but I wanted to trade some of those Balloon husks for a ball. They’re used to make toys for kids right?” Seeing the girls smiling at him endearingly, he asked, “What?”
“You're gonna spoil that girl, Izuku,” Diana said, “Not that she doesn’t deserve it. She was in rough shape when we found her.”
“Yep, but she’s probably all better now, with Mir looking after her.” Kara said optimistically, pumping a fist in jubilation.
As they made their way back towards town, the trio were suddenly bowled over by a strong gust of wind. Rolling to his feet, Izuku found himself staring down a… Qianlong, an Eastern Dragon made out of a dozen interconnected Balloons of Red, Orange and Yellow. Readying his sword and switching to the mushroom Sword again, he asked the other two, “What is that thing?”
“A Balloon Dragon, they are considered the Boss of this Area,” Diana replied succinctly.
“You should back up Izuku, this thing might be a bit much for you to handle,” Kara said as she readied her axe, “Let me handle it.”
But the Hero of the Sword shook his head, “No, this is perfect. I don’t want either of you to interfere alright? I want to try something Mira suggested in passing the other day.” So saying, he activated One For All, and gently spread it all across his body, until he couldn’t handle anymore. “So five percent is all I can handle at the moment huh?” He asked himself as bioelectricity sparked off his body in torrents. “Alright then,” He dashed towards the Ballon Dragon in a burst of speed.
The Balloon Dragon hadn’t been idle as he was powering up though. No, it had been cycling air through its body. Each Balloon that made up its form would swell starting at its tail then making its way to its head. Right when Izuku took off, it released a blast of wind that was equal to a category five hurricane. The blast pulverized the ground where Izuku once stood to dust. Izuku analyzed all of this as he raced towards the beast.
‘It has a charge time for that attack of about seven seconds,’ He noted, ‘I can move fast enough to avoid it even in my current state. What’s more, I bet that attack will lose potency if pieces of its body get cut off,’ Deciding to test his theory, Izuku darted towards the Field Boss in a zigzag pattern, with the intent to both throw off its aim, confuse it, and close in on it. It worked for the most part. For the most part, because instead of shooting in a straight line, the Balloon Dragon shot its breath attack in a sweeping arc, forcing Izuku to leap over the attack. He was airborne and thus vulnerable, but he still had his wits about him. “Clean Sweep!” He called as he held his blade behind him in both hands.
The Legendary Sword immediately switched to the Feather Sword and let out its own powerful gust of wind that sent him rocketing towards the Dragon. As he flew past it, he dragged the length of its sword across its rubbery hide. Its roar of pain almost drowned out the audible Pops that could be heard. Rolling across the ground, and raising to a knee, he saw he had cut the Balloon dragon in half, yet the Dragon didn’t seem unduly upset by that fact. In fact, the lower portion of it seems to be growing another head even as the main head attached itself to the body.
‘Oh wow, so it's kind of like the Greek Lenearian Hydra. So I need to do enough damage to destroy it all in one strike,’ Izuku thought to himself as he prepared for another charge.
The twin heads of the Balloon Dragon, each firing at opposing times now, still couldn’t hit Izuku, and much like how he suspected even though they had more firepower, it was only half the strength of the original beast. So he had two options, he could defeat it via attrition and slowly destroy all the balloons that made up its body and weaken its strength that way, or he could attempt to destroy it all at once with one strong attack. Deciding that one attack was better and more efficient, Izuku pumped more of One For All through his sword arm as he approached the beast. Leaping into the air once again, he activated Clean Sweep as he swung his blade down, sending him rocketing towards the cross section in between the two heads of the dragons…
Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.
The sound of Balloons bursting reached his ears along with a literal bone shattering crunch racing up his right arm. Biting back a cry of pain, Izuku glanced at his dominant arm to see it blackened and a bit of bone sticking out of his forearm. Yet he paid little attention to that, For the twin heads of the Balloon Dragon had connected together one at each end, and while one sucked air in, the other rapidly expelled it and they were currently using this makeshift propulsion to get as far away from the Sword Hero as fast as they could.
‘No they are not getting away!’ Izuku thought to himself, ‘If they get their strength back they could become a danger to people.’ So thinking, he switched the Legendary Sword to his left hand before he took off after them. To their credit, the Balloon Dragon tried to escape, but it was to no avail. For the parsley-haired hero came swooping down like a peregrine falcon out of the sky, the sword of legend his beak and talons as he ripped what remained of the Balloon Dragon into multi-colored tatters. Shifting the Legendary Sword to the Herbal Mushroom Sword he pointed it at his arm and said, “Heal,” with only mild discomfort, Izuku felt his arm fix itself and then he got a couple of notifications.
[Feather Sword Mastery 40/100
Level Up! Atk +4, Def +1, HP +10, Mp +2, Agi +1
Level Up! Atk +4, Def +1, HP +10, Mp +2, Agi +1
Herbal Potion Sword Mastery 25/100
Skill, One for All, has Leveled up!
+2 Hero points! Total 6.
Field Boss defeated! First Time Solo encounter! Allocating Special Reward!
Blood of the Least Wyrm: Grants Minor Fire, Lighting, and Physical (1/8th) Resistance. As a Permanent active effect on your being!]
‘Oh wow! That’s all really useful! Especially Blood of the Least Wyrm,’ Izuku thought, though he was also thrilled to see One For All level up as well.
Kara and Diana came racing towards him with the Barbarian waving jubilantly. “That was amazing, Izuku! You took out a Field Boss all by yourself! It must’ve had at least twice your level, if not level eight or nine!”
“Really it didn’t seem that dangerous?” Izuku noted, “In fact, it seemed rather slow,”
“That’s because you were moving as if you had an Erste Haste spell on you,” Diana told him. “That quirk of yours is no joke,”
Kara nodded along, “Yeah how much of it were you using just then anyway?”
“Um, that was just five percent,” He said a little bashfully.
The two seasoned adventurers shared a shocked look, “That was only five percent?” Daina asked incredulously. Seeing the Sword Hero nod nervously, she said, “Let’s collect the drops and get back, Mira should be informed about this.”
“As long as we can make a couple of stops along the way,” The Hero, ever polite, requested.
“Of course,” Diana agreed, if he was dead set on getting Raphtalia a gift or three, far be it for her to stop him.
Sword For A Hero
Meanwhile, the Shield Hero was going through certain tribulations of his own. He and Keel got along like a house on fire. Once he assured her that Raphtalia was in good hands with Izuku anyway. Both of them had a sense of wanderlust and thrill for adventure, and that was great! No, the problem was… ‘How the hell do I bring up to Keel that she’s actually a girl?’ He thought to himself miserably.
It was something she’d said in passing earlier when she said ‘her banana’ would grow if she leveled up. From behind him, Malty and Guren, a fox girl he’d picked out, both giggled behind their hands at his misfortune.
Stowing away her humor for the moment, Malty addressed Guren, who currently looked about the age of a thirteen year old girl with golden locks trailing down her back and two large fox ears periodically twitching on top of her head at the slightest sound and a tail swaying behind her. She was wearing an elegant black and white dress fit for a noble that just appeared on her when she transformed into her human state. The Therianthrope was a mystery; she was more haughty and proud than even Malty herself, but it was backed up by a subtly restrained air of power one could sense about her. “So Guren, what can you do exactly?”
“If by do you mean specialize in, and thus contribute to this ragtag group, I am good at both Fire and Illusion based magics.” She replied with a bit of an arrogant sniff as she looked up into Malty’s eyes.
“Fire magic, I’m good at it as well,” Malty paid little to no mind to Guren’s additude, she was likely just being defensive from her time in slavery.
“Hmm, well then if you would like, I could make a contract with you. One that could benefit us both. I could become your familiar, and you in turn would supply me with magical energy that would allow me to gain my subsequent tails faster. What say you?”
Malty blinked in confusion, “I’ve never heard of a demihuman being capable of becoming someone’s familiar before.”
“I am… from a rare breed. One that thrives off of magical energy.” Guren replied quickly. “The more we can access, the faster we evolve, the more we evolve the more tails we gain and thus, the more powerful we become. Does that make sense?”
“So you have special leveling conditions outside the norm?” Malty bit her thumb. “That would make you quite powerful indeed,” The Red Princess then asked, “How strong would you get with each tail?”
“I am currently at my base with one tail. If I get a second tail, my power doubles, with each tail that power increases further, should I, by some miracle, achieve the ninth tail, I would have eighty-one times my current stats and more powers besides as each tail comes with its own set of powers,”
Malty’s mouth dropped open by the time she finished. Turning to Naofumi she asked. “Naofumi can you tell me Guren’s base stats right now?”
“Just a sec…” He paused going through item screens before he found the relevant information. Once he did, he nearly shit a brick. “Umm, it says here that all of her stats are at twenty-five hundred.”
“So low,” Guren said, her ears flattening on the side of her head, “How disgraceful,”
“Low? You call that, low?” Malty said with a rictus grin stuck on her face. “You are the strongest person in the party at the moment, by far.”
Guren nodded in understanding, “Ah, well it's low for one of my kind I should say. One of my brethren had the ability to blot out the sky with fire and was compared to the sun in her radiance of power.”
“Just what kind of demihuman are you?” Malty asked, flabbergasted.
“One of a kind,” Guren replied with a coy smirk. “So pact or no?”
Slowly, still processing everything, Malty nodded. “Yes,”
Guren grinned, “Excellent,” She suddenly bit Malty on the hand, hard enough to draw blood, sucked it, and forced some of her own saliva into the wound.
“Ouch! Guren what did you-?!” She stopped when a screen popped up.
[Pact: Kitsune Divine Beast.
Effect: -10 MP per day, +250 to all stats, +10 damage to Fire based spells, +1 sec duration to Illusion Spells]
As she read over the message, Malty’s eyes widened, ‘So for just a tenth of my Mana a day I get all this?! I mean I don’t cast Illusion spells but who cares!’ she giggled giddily.
“Is everything okay Malty?” Naofumi asked when he heard her laughter.
“Oh everything is just perfect,” She then had an idea. “Guren! Could you make a pact with Naofumi as well?!”
Guren looked the Shield Hero over before shaking her head, “No, he and I have no affinity for one another. He can use neither Fire nor Illusionary magics.” She then raised a finger, before running a sharp nail across her bangs shortening her tresses just a bit on either side, “However I am not one to not repay my debts. As thanks for freeing me from that insufferable lardass, feed these to your Shield.”
Naofumi dropped the locks of hair into the gem, and it changed shape to that of a downward facing fox-head, outlined in blue paint like flame designs.
[Kitsune Shield (Rare) Unlocked!
+5 to Defense and +10 to Mana
Passive Effect: Illusion Resistance and Curse Resistance
Active Effect: Kitsune Bi
Kitsune Bi: Shield spews out purple flames that have a chance to hypnotize opponents. The follow up attack to enemies in this state does critical damage. Those who desire your body are more susceptible to this ability.]
“Wow, this is a really good shield, thank you Guren,”
The kitsune, flicked her hair behind her, “Hmph, well of course it is, did you expect anything less when given such valuable materials like my hair?”
“You're not happy he praised you at all, are you?” Malty teased.
“Shut up,” Guren shot back, her cheeks flushing as she turned around, with arms crossed so Naofumi wouldn’t see her face.
“Now, now, let’s all get along,” he said, playing the peacekeeper. ‘I guess I can’t put it off any longer,’ He thought, glancing at Keel. “Keel?”
“Yes Shield Hero-sama?” She said, That was another thing, she addressed him in the highest esteem. It freaked him out a bit.
“Just Naofumi is fine Keel… but there is one thing I’d like to discuss with you,” Seeing her nod eagerly he just decided to come out and say it, “You do know you're a girl right?”
“Eh?! But my old man said that I have a manly spirit! That's what’s required for conquering the sea! So surely my banana will grow once I level up, right?”
Sighing to himself, Naofumi broke the news to her, “No Keel that’s… that’s not how it works. You are either born with… ahem, born with a banana or you aren’t.”
“It’s true,” Guren said sagely, “It won’t grow even if you level up,” she then pointed at Keels chest, “That probably will though, so something to look forward to regardless no?”
“My chest?” Keel said as she patted her chest down. “Well, that’s something, I guess…” She said a bit glumly before she asked, “Do I have to start wearing a dress?”
“Do you want to wear a dress?” Naofumi asked. Seeing Keel shake her head vehemently in the negative, he said, “Then you don’t have to, unless we’re in a formal occasion like the castle. Does that sound fair to you?”
Keel paused for a second then nodded, “Okay, I guess if it's important it's fine. I don’t want to make you or Malty-nee look bad.”
‘Did I just pick up another pseudo-sibling, and this one a wolf-demihuman?’ Malty asked herself. “Thank you for being so understanding Keel. As a reward, we’ll take you to the blacksmith and let you pick out your own gear, how does that sound?”
“Yeah!” Keel threw a fist in the air. “I’m good with a spear, albeit hunting fish, but if I can hunt fish I can hunt monsters right?! Right!” Keel grabbed Guren by the hand and dragged her off, “C’mon Guren let’s go!”
“Let me go you dolt! The Blacksmiths shop isn’t going anywhere!” Guren complained even as Keel dragged her away.
“Couldn’t Guren just stop Keel dead with her stats?” Naofumi said aloud.
Malty nodded, “Yes, but she doesn’t mind all that much. She doesn’t want to let it show is the problem. I can relate.”
“Mmm,” Noafumi replied, “So about your story from the other night?”
“It was all true, at least, the broad strokes were,” Malty said as she walked along with him at a more sedate pace, “I did have a brother, and he did die, to poison from an enemy nation mind you but still. Father did keep me locked up in the castle out of paranoia and fear for my safety for a good long time, then my darling mother sent me away to Fabuley to further my education.”
“Malty, forgive me for prying, but, what happened in Fabuley?” Naofumi asked with concern evident in his tone and eyes as he looked at her.
“Please, not right now Naofumi,” Malty said as she put a hand on his shoulder, “Can we just… enjoy this nice moment, of just the four of us?” She said as she watched Guren continue to be dragged off ‘against her will’ by the ever rambunctious Keel.
“Okay, but whenever you're ready to talk about it, I’ll be here,” He promised her.
“I know you will, that’s what I like about you, so steadfast like a rock or a bulwark. That’s my Shield Hero, ever the dependable one,” She said, offering him a small but sincere smile.
‘I guess Izuku was right,’ Naofumi mused, ‘It’s not all bad being a tank and taking the hits for others,’ He didn’t mind it at all if it meant he could walk down the streets with a smile like this.
Sword For A Hero
The moment Izuku opened the door to Mira’s room he was hit in the chest by a brown blur. Said blur materialized into giddy healthy looking Raphtalia, her tail wagging like a dog as she hugged him around his waist as hard as she could all while repeating, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much Master Izuku!”
Wrapping his already full arms around her, he said, “I’m glad to see your okay Raphtalia, I was worried about you. Also, please just call me Izuku, alright?”
She nodded her red eyes alight with glee. “Yes Izuku!”
“That reminds me, “These are for you,” He handed her a multi-colored rubber ball, and a shortsword.
“For me? Gifts? But I’m just a slave?” Raphtalia said even as she graciously accepted the weapon and toy.
Placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye, Izuku said, “No! You aren’t. You may have to bear that seal as a necessity of the laws of Melomarc, but as far as I’m concerned you are not a slave anymore Raphtalia. You are an official member of this party, understand?”
He watched Raphtalia sniffle before she teared up, dropping her gifts to the ground before she looped her arms around his neck and cried heavily into the crook of his shoulder. Izuku paused, half-panicked wondering if he’d said the wrong thing. ‘Was it something I said? Did I offend her somehow, is she like one of those House Elves from Harry Potter where she’s happy in slavery or something?’
Looking to the girls for guidance, they smiled at him reassuringly, giving him thumbs up and Diana motioned for him to return the hug, which he did, while stroking her head with one hand. After she’d calmed down, her eyes red and puffy, she said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me Izuku-sama. I hope to one day be able to repay this debt.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Izuku denied, “Helping people is just what Heroes do.” He assured her before he reached down and placed her sword and ball back in her hands. “Now starting tomorrow, you and I will be leveling up in the Balloon Fields outside of Castle Town. Well that’s what I thought about doing, but then, I realized something…” He looked at his other party members and accused, “You aren’t gaining any experience at all killing Balloons all day are you?”
Kara had the decency to look embarrassed, “Well no, but Izuku is getting experience even when we kill something so it's fine right? Plus we still get some experience.”
Izuku shook his head, “That’s nothing substantial for any of you though.”
“Izuku, it would be dangerous for both you and Raphtalia if we went further afield where the experience gains would actually mean something to the three of us.” Mira explained, “Besides once one hits level forty they need to go to a special ceremony at the Dragons Hourglass at a church in Melomarc to Class Up.”
That reminded the Sword Hero, “What level are you Mira? I asked Kara and Diana their’s earlier.”
Mira said a little bashfully, “I’m Level Fifteen,”
Upon hearing that, both Izuku and Raphtalia hung their heads, “We’re being carried by very powerful people Raphtalia-chan,”
The Tanuki girl nodded, refusing to raise her head, and spoke in a downcast tone, “Yes, it's quite shameful Izuku-sama,”
Izuku raised his head defiantly, “Then doesn’t it just make more sense to go to a more dangerous area? Raphtalia and I would both level up faster then… That’s only if Raphtalia-chan agrees though.”
Bowing respectfully with her presents in her arms, Raphtalia asked, “Forgive me for asking, but what Level is Izuku-sama?”
“Level Five.” He replied easily.
“I have no levels at all, or armor,” The Tanuki said, “It would be dangerous for both of us to stray far from castletown despite the potential gains Izuku-sama.”
The Sword Hero nodded, “Yes, the plan is to get you armor tomorrow since you weren’t with us today when I bought you the sword,”
Raphtalia sighed in relief, “Well that’s good then,”
“Would you feel more confident going further from Castletown if you had armor?” Izuku asked Raphtalia.
Still getting used to speaking her mind, she nodded, and said, “Somewhat, yes, but…” She paused not knowing if saying this was allowed.
“But?” Izuku prompted her, “Go ahead,”
Nodding and giving a nervous swallow, Raphtalia continued, “The level gap between you and I and the monsters further from town concerns me more than anything?”
Taking her words to heart, the Sword Hero said, “Let’s put it to a vote then. All in favor of hunting bigger prey?” He, along with Kara raised their hands. “All opposed?” Mira, Diana, and Raphtalia raised their hands. “Motion failed, then. We’ll stay in Castletown for now. Also we should probably ask Eclair since she isn’t here right now.”
“Good point,” Mira agreed.
“Also, there’s one other thing I can do to even the odds for Raphtalia and I, should we move from Castletown,” Izuku revealed, “I have the ability to summon other heroes, though I don’t quite get how it works.”
“You can summon other Heroes?” Mira echoed, “What does that mean?”
Explaining how the summoning system worked, some mutters went up, “So you get points for doing heroic deeds and once you get enough, you can summon someone at random?” Mira asked.
“From what I can gather, that’s how it works, yes,” Izuku confirmed. “I could try summoning someone and they could guard us should we leave Castletown.”
Mira ran a hand through her auburn hair, “Well, that’s an idea, I suppose,” She said to Diana, “Go get Eclair and we’ll go over this again properly with everyone here, and all the facts laid out,”
“The Patrons?” Diana questioned, nervously as she glanced at Raphtalia.
Mira scoffed and replied, “I’ll put a barrier up around the door if I have to.”
“Alright, I’ll be right back,”
Moments later she returned with Eclair in tow. Taking a few minutes to get her up to speed, Izuku asked, “What do you think we should do Eclair-sensei?”
Folding her arms, the strawberry blonde knight replied, “I think it would be to our benefit for Izuku to summon another able body, and then depending on their skill decide whether or not to head out from Castletown.”
“Fair,” Izuku agreed, “Let’s try this Summoning skill then… Summon!”
[Free Summon Activating! Remaining Hero Points: 6]
[Going into the records of Loss Worlds! May the Heroes of the Defeated help you lead to a brighter Future! Commence Summon!]
A magic circle appeared on the floor, in the form of swords making a makeshift pentacle, it glowed a bright blinding red before dimming down. Once it did, a silver haired girl with canine features. She was wearing a wolf pelt over her waist, and white wrappings for a bra. Her legs were covered in white fur just past her knees and her feet consisted of paws, and she had a long fluffy tail swaying behind her, and a pair of wolf ears on her head. Her icy blue eyes looked over Izuku with unconcealed wariness. As she asked, “Who are you?”
Bowing politely, the Sword Hero replied, “Midoriya Izuku, I am the summoned Sword Hero of Melomarc, and I was granted the ability to summon others to help fight off the Waves of Calamity. You are the first person I managed to summon using this ability. Might I know your name Miss?”
“Setsuna. You can call me Setsuna,” She said, feeling compelled to give him her name. ‘At least he’s kind, for a human.’ Seeing Raphtalia she asked her, “What is your relationship to this Sword Hero?”
“He’s my Hero!” Raptalia replied immediately. “He rescued me from a slave market, healed my illness, and he’s planning on teaching me how to defend myself starting tomorrow.”
“So you aren’t his slave then? Setsuna asked.
Raphtalia nodded, “No, while I do bear a slave seal due to the laws of the Melomarc Kingdom, Izuku-sama has already assured me my personal freedom through his own words.”
That got a smile out of the ice wolf. “I like you already, Midoriya Izuku, was it?”
Motioning to the chair by the desk, he said, “Yes, would you like to sit down Setsuna-san?”
“Ah, thank you,” Sitting down in the chair, she said, “I have some questions I sure you understand?”
Izuku bobbed his head, “I’m sure, I uh, wasn’t taking you away from anything important was I?”
“No, no, just death,” Setsuna said with a rictus grin on her face.
Izuku went bug-eyed. “What?!”
“Ah, your face!” She giggled a little showing she had a dark sense of humor, “But no, seriously, I had already died to the Waves of Calamity when you summoned me my world’s Heroes had fallen… our world… was gone… I think so anyway,” She said her brow scrunched up as she tried to remember. “Last thing I recall was trying to fight off an army of humanoid tentacle monsters. Then I got grabbed by one, and things got dark.”
“That… I don’t know whether to apologize or say your welcome?” Izuku said after a moment.
“Apology accepted and thank you,” Setsuna replied, covering all her bases with a cheeky smirk.
Mira gave a half-grin. “I think this one’s a keeper Izuku,”
Pointing at her while grinning, Kara accused, “Your just happy you finally have someone to bicker with Mira,”
“As if she doesn’t do that enough already,” Diana said with a dramatic sigh.
“Young Master,” Eclair spoke up, “Since Setsuna is here, perhaps now would be a good time to make preparations for tomorrow?”
Smacking a fist into his palm, Izuku said, “Right! We have two options before us Setsuna-san. Currently we are staying in the Castletown of Melomarc. We can either train in the fields just outside the town hunting Balloons, or we can take the party further out, as Diana, Kara, and Mira are high level and can hunt stronger monsters letting us level faster but it could be dangerous for Raphtalia and I. Speaking of, what level are you?”
Setsuna stared off into space for a moment before she clucked her tongue in annoyance, “Before my death, my level was in the upper seventies. Currently I’m back at level one however.”
“Oh, well then I guess that decides what we’re doing tomorrow,” Izuku said, “Balloon hunting it is,”
“Well, there is another way you can level me up,” Setsuna began.
This piqued Izuku’s curiosity, “Oh, what is it?”
“Sex,” Setsuna stated bluntly. “I’m unsure if this carried over via teleportation or not, but the bodily fluids of a Hero could increase my level cap, without such, I’m permanently stuck at level seven,”
Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Mira all but hissed, “If this is a joke or worse a trick to get yourself into his bed…”
“There’s a line!” Kara all but snarled, the butt of her axe hitting the floor with an audible thump. “And you are not cutting to the front of it!”
“Somethings,” Diana said slowly as she palmed a dagger, “Are better left unsaid,”
“Permission to protect your chastity Young Master?” Eclair said as her hand rested on the hilt of her sword.
Even Raphtalia put herself between the wolf girl and Izuku, her cheeks were puffed out in annoyance, eyes glaring, tail fur standing out straight.
The Sword Hero’s face was crimson red, his brain having short circuited from the information he’d just received. ‘S-Sex?! S-She’s got to be kidding me, r-right?’ Swallowing several times, Izuku stumbled over his question, “A-Are you s-serious Setsuna-san?”
The she-wolf nodded, refusing to show any signs of intimidation, “Yes, I’m quite serious. The bodily fluids of a hero are the only way to raise my level cap. While saliva and blood can work, it's found that semen is the most effective. In my previous world, some Heroes were forced to provide samples to assist others in leveling up. Also sex did not matter. Male heroes were the easiest to capture and ‘extract’ valuable assets.”
Izuku walked backwards until he sat down on the bed with a light thump. ‘Okay there has to be a way to confirm this,’ he thought. ‘Wait a minute!’ He went into his tabs, and sure enough found one labeled “Party”
He clicked on it.
And was promptly bombarded by the stat pages for everyone in the room. ‘Look at all that later, Focus on Setsuna now!’ He thought. He scrolled down until he found her information
Setsuna (---) Lv.1/7
Race: Arctic Wolf Demi-human
Class: Ice Wolf Warrior
Sex: F
Attack: 200
Defense: 75
HP: 100
MP: 225
Agility: 250
Mood: Neutral
Skills:
Ice Claw: Magic skill. Sheaths forearm in ice for increased physical and frost damage.
Scent: Can pick up scents of allies and enemies. Makes it harder for parties to be ambushed, and enemies easier to locate.
Trackless Step: Does not leave a trail regardless of terrain.
Passives:
Ice Immunity: Is immune to frost based spells.
Demerit: Level Cap: Unless ‘Bodily fluids’ are obtained by one of the Hero Class once this person hits their max level as shown above, they cannot level up any further. Dragon Hourglass is not a venue of level cap increasing and does allow a choosing of class to improve stats and a class up.
“Well,” Izuku said after a moment, “She wasn’t lying about the level cap. It’s on her stat page,” He said to Setsuna, “I’m sorry we doubted you, but what you said was pretty out there,”
“It's fine,” Setsuna said, waving him off while holding herself a little as bad memories surfaced, “I hope that when the time comes, laying with me won’t be such a chore. I know in my previous life I was used as a foot soldier and seen as a tool and not a woman,”
He quickly assured her, “You're a beautiful woman Setsuna-san. So please don’t think that,” He told her, “In fact, somehow I’m surrounded by beautiful women… I’m beginning to wonder if I hit my head training on the beach and I’m really just dreaming all this…?” He muttered the last bit to himself but they all heard him anyway.
‘He’s such a smoothtalker!’ all the women thought. Even Raphtalia was flushing a bit. She’d never been called beautiful by anyone who wasn’t her father, and for her hero to do so, well, it was an ego boost a former slave like her needed.
“Izuku!” Kara threw herself on top of him. She just couldn’t get enough of this sweet little cinnamon bun of a Sword Hero.
“Kara-chan! Air!” Izuku managed to get out from in between her mountainous bosom.
“Sorry, I did it again, didn't I, hehehe!”
Master?!” Raphtalia was by his side in seconds pulling his head into her lap. “Stop trying to kill Master with… with your udders Kara!” She said while glaring at the Barbarian.
“Udders?!” Kara said semi-offended. “Well, I’ll have you know Izuku likes these udders, right Izuku?”
“I’d like them a whole lot more if they didn’t nearly kill me everytime they came near my face,” The Sword Hero flatly replied.
“Hmm, maybe I’m using them on the wrong head then?” Kara wondered as she looked at his crotch. In response, Raphtalia’s ball hit her square between the eyes.
“Kara?” Mira said as she caught Raphtalia’s ball. “Down girl. I’m not happy about this level cap situation either, but coming on that blatantly is for whores, and you aren’t one.”
“Fine, sorry, sorry,” The Barbarian said, sulking, if just a little bit.
“Ah, now I see the problem,” Setsuna said knowingly, “He hasn’t rutted with any of you yet!”
“We’re working up to that,” Mira told her, “Izuku…” she looked at him and he silently nodded, “Was not treated well in his original dimension and so we’re taking it a bit slow.”
Setsuna looked between the women who obviously wanted sex and the nervous instead of an eager young boy like one would’ve expected in this situation. “I understand. I’m willing to wait my turn… provided things don’t get too dangerous for me being stuck at level seven of course.”
“I-If it comes to that, we’ll cross that bridge when we have to, Setsuna-san,” Izuku spoke firmly even though his cheeks were almost the same shade of red as Mira’s hair.
That sounded fair to the Arctic Wolf. “Fair enough, I look forward to getting to know you better,” She winked at him, “Who knows, by the time it becomes necessary, you might already fall for me,”
“Or you me,” Izuku shot back, more confidently than he felt.
Setsuna licked her lips hungrily before she smiled in return. ‘Now he’s acting like an Alpha, me likey.’ She replied with, “We’ll see. Anyway, where am I sleeping? Since I think it's a bit late to go out tonight though I do have low light vision.”
“Eclair-sensei do you mind if Setsuna-san bunks with you?” izuku asks, “And Raphtalia can stay with me in my room,”
“Me?! And Izuku, in the same bed?” Raphtalia asked.
“Yeah, is that a problem?” He asked. “I mean you're only eight.”
Raphtalia held up both of her hands, “I’m Ten Izuku-sama! Ten!”
He chuckled a bit, “My mistake Raphtalia-chan,”
The Tanuki puffed her cheeks out, “I’m not some little kid, Izuku-sama! You're barely older than me!”
“I’m Fifteen, that’s five whole years,” He rebutted.
“Yeah but…” Turning to Diana she mouthed, ‘Help me out here?’
“Izuku what Raphtalia is trying to convey to you is that Demihumans mature faster as they level up. By the time Raphtalia hits level twenty she could mature to be about eighteen to twenty years of age.”
“Eh, really, and does this keep happening? Is this compounded with their natural aging? Do demihumans live exceedingly short lives or?”
Diana put a hand over his mouth, “As cute as you're mumbling is, just be quiet, and listen. Demihumans will continue to age as they level until they reach their physical prime. Depending on the demihuman in question, it could happen once or multiple times throughout their lifespan. A dragon demihuman goes through multiple evolutions in their lifetime for example. As just like normal dragons they go from the stages of Wymling, to Young, then Adult, and finally, Ancient,”
Izuku nodded in understanding, and Diana uncovered his mouth. “I wonder if the same thing happens with humans?”
“Not that we know of,” Mira replied with a hearty laugh. “Though with tales of some old witch crones living out in forests and swamps… who really knows for sure?”
Focusing on Raphtalia, he asked, “Do you trust me?”
“More than anyone else in the world Izuku-sama,” the Tanuki affirmed, “It's just… once I get bigger, it’ll be a little awkward.” ‘Because I’m going to miss this,’ went unsaid.
“Another bridge we’ll need to cross when we come to it,” He repeated, “For now let’s get some sleep everyone. We’ve got a full schedule tomorrow. I want to start learning magic from Mira, continue my sword training with Eclair-sensei and get a few levels in with Setsuna and Raphtalia-chan. So, lights out everyone!”
“Night Izuku!”
“Night everyone!”
Ushering Raphtalia into their now shared room, Izuku realized something, “You don’t have anything to sleep in!” Going to the dresser, he pulled out a spare green dyed cotton shirt he bought at Castletown on the first day. “Here, you can wear this to bed tonight, we’ll take you and Setsuna shopping for clothes first thing in the morning.” He promised.
Hugging the shirt, Raphtalia said, “Thank you for everything Izuku-sama, I mean it. If it weren’t for you, I don’t think I’d be alive right now,”
“I’m happy I could help,” Izuku replied honestly as he kept his back to her getting ready for bed himself. He almost fell as Raphtalia hugged his legs. “Raphtalia?”
“I know I’m little now Izuku-sama, but wait for me. Soon, I’m gonna be bigger, and then I’m gonna make you marry me,”
He couldn’t think of anything to do other than pat her head, “Okay Raphtalia… good night.”
The tanuki climbed into bed with her sheathed shortsword in hand. Not for Izuku, but just in case some of the patrons got a bright idea in the middle of the night. She wasn’t weak, she wasn’t a slave anymore… and if she had to, she was more than willing to prove it. She glanced behind her at Izuku who had his back to her and the door and was already breathing peacefully. Glaring at the door to their room for a moment, Raphtalia followed suit. For as her master said, tomorrow was going to be a big day.
(...)
Word Count: 10,200 Number of Pages: 24 Date Completed: 7/9/2023
(...)
AN: Hello my readers and welcome to Chapter two of Sword for a Hero. I was so shocked and amazed by the reception the first chapter got that I put this out as soon as I could. Like seriously, sixty-two reviews as of the time of writing this Author's Note? Nani da fuq? Did I strike gold or something? I haven’t gotten that many since my Fate-Campione crossover days. But I digress, getting all that feedback really helped. I appreciate it, everyone. Now here are the two that also help keep inkblot Bros Productions afloat. Snowy and Hassan
Snowy:
Hassan:
Once again thank you one and all, and till next time, this has been an Inkblot Bros Production Peace!
Comments
Swordcollector45
Well done guys awsome chapter again still the best my hero x shield hero fanfic around keep up the good work guys
Bubbajack
Both Kara and Mira know. It is context clues that I am glad you are paying attention. Only Izuku and Eclair, and now raphtalia don't know the secret.
Zax
Mira said as she took the bag from the demi human. Kara didn't reveal hey demi human status to the party yet right? So would this part still make sense?
Jeffrey Jankoviak
So…Setsuna is Summoned, and Malty had a bad experience in Fabuley. Also, Keel learns that being manly does NOT mean she is a male. Looking forward to the next chapter, whenever it comes.
