After leaving Elhart, from whom I had bought a couple more swords and asked to draft some armor sketches for Raftalia, we leisurely headed toward the inn. Passersby cast looks at us — full of disgust, contempt, and judgment.
Akira barely noticed this, as she was busy browsing through Status and reviewing opened shields while we walked. Raftalia met these looks with confusion and took them to heart. To calm the girl a bit, I picked her up, covering the metal parts of her armor with a cloak to make her more comfortable.
Rumors spread quickly here. Although I expected that because of them, trouble would start even sooner. Now, leaving the city was simply necessary. Even though I tried to stay upbeat, this atmosphere began to weigh on me too. And this was only the beginning.
"A Shield Hero-sama, please allow me to accompany you on your journey," a lanky thug with a gangster look, a self-important manner, and a disgusting smile approached Akira.
The girl gave him a puzzled look. My mood dropped, so I didn't deny myself the pleasure of raising it a bit and bringing this creature back down to earth.
Grabbing the guy's face with my free hand, I spun around and threw his body onto the road behind us. Flying about five meters, he crashed onto the cobblestones with screams and a loud thud, then slid a bit further. Hopefully, the rest of his gang would get the message not to mess with us.
My mood improved a bit, and I continued on.
"What was that?" Akira asked.
"Don't mind him," I waved it off. "Just trash."
Strangely, the girl just nodded and returned to Status.
Urrr...
When we were halfway to the inn, Raftalia's stomach growled.
"How much can she eat? We just had breakfast recently," Akira said, finally closing her Status.
"Leave her alone, she's still growing. She needs to eat well and often."
"… Sorry," the girl squeaked, frightened, pressing closer to my shoulder as she looked at the Shield Hero.
"You have nothing to apologize for," I said reproachfully to Akira, who looked a bit guilty.
"There's a food stall over there. Shall we stop?"
"Well, let's try... But be prepared — the rumors have already reached everyone in this town."
"Do you think they'll refuse to serve us because of that?" I shrugged in response. I had a ton of ingredients and spices in my Inventory — enough to feed little Raftalia with appetite for at least three weeks. The only problem was cooking it all, and I tried to save that stock for now, especially since we were still being refused service in the city.
When we approached the vendor, his look promised nothing good. The smile he had while greeting other customers waiting in line disappeared.
"What do you want?"
"Six meat pies, please," Akira asked, trying not to notice the merchant's sour face, with a faint smile.
"Sorry, the meat pies are sold out."
"I see... Then berries pies, please."
"Berries pies are sold out too."
"What do you have then?.." the Shield Hero asked, already a bit boiling, understanding where this was going.
"For you, all the pies are sold out!" the vendor replied rudely. "Don't hold up the line."
"Let's go, Akira," I said, grabbing her by the forearm and pulling her aside. Pulling out a local fruit from the Inventory, something like an apple, I wiped it on my cloak and handed it to Raftalia.
"… Thank you, Master Pluton. Crunch-crunch"
"This is unfair! Why should we suffer because of those bastards? And why did you stay silent? You can attack, unlike me! You didn't hold back with that guy! You threw him halfway across the street!" Akira yelled at me, boiling with anger.
"Justice doesn't exist," I said tiredly, rubbing my eyes. "Look at Raftalia — unlike us, she's still a child. What did she do to deserve all she's gone through? Do you think she wanted to become a slave? An object that others can control at their whim?" With each sentence, my voice took on a rougher, more growling tone. "And there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands like her! Justice is subjective — it only exists for some specific people." Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed down a little. "Try to put yourself in that vendor's place. He probably needs money too — our money — no different from anyone else's. But he refused us because he believes we truly did something unacceptable to him. Something disgusting! It's easier for him to trust the words of the king's lackey and his cronies than actual strangers. Think about how you would treat a rapist... I doubt you'd be any kinder than he was."
After saying this, I looked around. Apparently, I hadn't controlled my voice very well because every passerby had stopped and was looking in our direction. Some shopkeepers even came outside. Most of them had thoughtful looks; some even seemed understanding. Maybe my words would make people reconsider whether these rumors were really true. But I wouldn't count on it too much.
"Tomorrow morning, we leave the city. Do you still have any business here?" I asked as we silently moved a good distance away.
"No, but we'll need to buy medicines," Akira pulled herself out of her detached thoughtful state.
"And Raftalia is still coughing. Do you have any medicine left for her?"
"Don't worry, I already stocked up. The pharmacist charges triple prices. Lucky to meet a wandering trader on the city's outskirts. I bought all the essentials: ointments for insect bites, healing and anti-inflammatory potions, and indigestion pills."
"Do we still have money left?" she asked with a slight smile.
"One hundred thirty-seven silver coins, not counting what you have left for small expenses."
"Wow... By the way, why am I the treasurer, but you keep the money?" she asked playfully raising her eyebrows.
"No idea. Have you managed to use the Inventory?"
"Partially. I learned how to store money and fur balls, but I still can't put any other items in there like you do."
"Oh, then it really doesn't make sense to keep the money with me," I said, handing over all the money to the Shield Hero, keeping only thirty silver coins for small expenses. "And about the Inventory — don't worry much. I think that's a feature only of my Sacred Tool."
So chatting like this, we unnoticedly reached the inn.
The owner stood behind the counter, and something about his expression unsettled me.
"Something wrong?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I have to close the inn for quarantine. I apologize for the inconvenience, but you'll have to move to another inn," he pushed a pouch of money toward me. "Of course, we'll refund the rest of your money."
"All right," I didn't argue, "we'll take our things then..."
"Here are your things," he pulled out a sack from under the counter and placed it on the desk. "I took the liberty to take care of it. You can check."
Akira opened the sack and, after checking everything was there, nodded to me.
"Well, thanks for everything. Take care!" I said as we left.
"Leaving the city?" Akira asked, her face sad.
"Yes," I replied, running a hand through my hair. "Damn, I was hoping to spend at least one more night at the inn. Don't be upset, everything will be fine."
"No, it's okay... It's just unpleasant," she smiled weakly, a bit nervously.
"Think of it as a camping trip," I suggested. "Have you ever been on a hike?"
"No," she shook her head. "There was a trip in high school, but I was sick then and missed it."
"Well, we'll fix that!" I said with an encouraging smile. "And you, Raftalia?"
"No, sir. But I lived in a village, so there was nature everywhere anyway..." The girl grew sad, apparently remembering her parents and hometown.
"Let me tell you a couple of stories that happened to me…"
And so we left the city. I recalled the funniest stories that happened to me, and after ten minutes, the girls in our group were slightly smiling.
I myself didn't notice how a real smile — not one meant to encourage my companions — appeared on my face.
Unnoticed, we reached the meadow with the balls. My feet led me there naturally.
"… And the next morning, I open the rice cooker, and there's rice…" — I made big eyes and turned to the girls listening attentively, holding a short pause to keep the suspense. "It took me longer to figure out why there was rice instead of what my two comrades who misunderstood the word 'fishing' were supposed to snack on yesterday… and where all the maggots went!"
"Eww..." Akira grimaced.
"Boo..."
"So they were so drunk that they confused maggots with rice?" Akira decided to clarify.
"Yep. In moments like that, I'm glad I hardly drink hard liquor. Too bad I can't show you their expressions when they realized it."
Urrr...
"Raftalia, did thinking about maggots make you hungry?" I asked provocatively, pulling out one of the kids' lunches I bought especially for Raftalia and saved for later — rice with vegetables, just so you know...
"What?! No, of course not!" The girl protested and for the first time didn't call me "sir" — "... Master Pluton."
... No, I imagined it! No matter how many times I ask her, it's no use.
My story didn't affect the tanuki's appetite, so putting a spoon in her hand, Akira and I, like two supervisors, taught her to eat carefully.
After waiting for the girl to eat, I clapped my hands, drawing attention.
"All right, since we're here, I want to show you something!" I said excitedly and switched to the Lightning Grimoire (lower). "Don't be afraid!"
Standing up, I stepped a little aside from the girls.
"By the power of the Grimoire, I command: decipher the laws of the universe: Erst Lightning Bolt!"
When I just began to cast the spell, a cursor appeared before my eyes to indicate the target. I also felt that I could control the amount of energy put into it. Deciding to limit myself to the minimum for now, I chose one of the yellow orbs about thirty meters away as the target, and with some childlike delight watched as a meter-long arc of lightning tore from my right hand! It sped toward the target quickly, though much slower than a natural lightning bolt.
Hitting the orb, the spell literally annihilated it, atomizing it, and around the place where it had been, small lightning charges scattered in an explosion about two meters wide.
[Obtained: 1 copper coin]
[Obtained: Skin of a yellow demonic orb]
"F*ck..." I blurted involuntarily.
The feeling is just indescribable. Being a conduit for such power is something incredible.
"Co-ool..."
"F*ck... This is just..." Akira was at a loss for words.
"Yeah."
"But how?"
"I studied it all night, only finished near dawn," I explained.
"Can you read the local language?"
"No. After you left, I managed to open the grimoire," I said and immediately showed it to the Shield Hero. "I can calmly read the text inside, even though I'm not familiar with the language. The Lightning Grimoire is different from the magic books sold in shops. The shop owner said those books have only three to five spells... The Lightning Grimoire has dozens... And it's the same with others."
"Well, that's no surprise! It was obvious from the start that magic is the essence of your Sacred Tool. I envy you, I still need to learn the language to use magic. But I'm happy for you!" the girl said sincerely. "Have you learned any other spells?"
"It's not that simple. The spell I just used is called 'Lightning Arrow.' It took me most of the night to learn it, and in my Status, it still says my understanding of the spell is low. To improve, I need to keep reading the page with it. Each time I reread it, my understanding deepens, and every time there are parts I didn't notice before. Maybe understanding also increases with frequent use. But that's something to find out experimentally."
"I see. Can I try reading your grimoire? Maybe I won't have to learn the language?" Akira asked eagerly.
"Sure! Sorry, I'm a bit slow today," I said, switching to the Support Grimoire, opened it, and turned it so she could comfortably read. "Try."
Akira scanned the text for about a minute, then tried to turn the page, but as soon as she touched it, the grimoire snapped shut with a bang, almost hitting her fingers, and locked itself.
"So? How is it?"
"Nope," the Shield Hero shook her head. "I don't understand anything."
"Too bad, that would simplify a lot."
"… Can I try?" Raftalia tugged my pant leg.
"Sure, why not," I smiled at her. "But don't touch it with your hands."
Opening the grimoire again, I sat down and turned it toward Raftalia.
After a minute, she shook her head negatively at our questioning looks.
Wanting to finish the experiment, I equipped the Dark Grimoire. As far as I remember, Raftalia is predisposed to darkness and light. As expected, nothing came of it. Too bad.
"Now that's settled. How many such spells can you use?"
"Thirteen. But these are weakened versions with minimal energy."
"This?!" She pointed toward the place I had cast the spell. "With minimal energy?! Can you show what it looks like with maximum?"
"Sure, but step back a bit. I don't know if it's safe to stand close while I cast." Waiting until Akira took Raftalia's hand and stepped three meters away, I started to recite the spell.
"By the power of the Grimoire, I command: decipher the laws of the universe: Erst Lightning Bolt."
If the first time I put about twenty units of magic energy into the spell, now I poured all sixty.
A one-and-a-half-meter-thick arc tore from my hand and landed forty meters away among a cluster of three orbs. Destroying the middle one I aimed for, another small explosion followed, and the other orbs disintegrated into atoms. This time, the explosion was even more powerful.
"Something like that," I said, not paying attention to the info about items dropping, trying to hold back the silly smile creeping onto my face.
After demonstrating the spell, we went to look for a campsite—and we found one.
About forty minutes' walk from the city along the forest, we found a picturesque clearing in a small grove. This place suited all our needs. Near the meadow—where I can train Raftalia; away from the forest—where more dangerous monsters roam; and as a bonus, a small creek nearby. Everything needed for comfortable camping. Though for firewood, we'd still have to go to the forest since the beautiful trees in the grove had no dry wood.
When I took out the tent, the Grimoire reacted to it. After discussing it with Akira, we decided to feed it to the Grimoire. We had two anyway, and we'd have to take turns sleeping. Night watches were mandatory... for those who wanted to live. Akira, Raftalia, and I wanted to.
Before feeding the tent, we checked if Akira's shield reacted to it. It did, but since the Shield Hero cannot effectively level up, there wasn't much point in that right now.
In the end, I got the following Grimoire:
Small Travel Grimoire 0/10 E
Equipment bonus: Magic Attack +2 (not mastered)
Equipment bonus: Butchering Technique
Mastery: 0
Cool! I could treat the girls to fresh meat. That's what I told them after sharing the description of the new grimoire.
Training Raftalia's level today was unlikely. Camping isn't just about pitching tents, lighting a fire, and enjoying rest. You have to choose the right spot for the fire to avoid smoke poisoning yourself, dig a pit, surround it with stones—especially if the camp will last more than one day. And many other details. I'm not a professional survivalist, but I know some basics. Even with what I know, we had plenty to do.
By the time we finished setting up, the sun was already dipping below the horizon.