I can't trust anything you say.
Get lost.
Please wait! You have to hear me out!
I don't "have to" listen to a word that comes out of you royals' filthy mouths.
Melty-sama, His Majesty calls for you.
Please come with me.
Very well.
Bye, Filo-chan.
Mel-chan...
Filo.
Melty, I need you to do something for me.
Of course.
Return to the capital
and admonish the king for his unjust treatment of the Shield Hero.
Ordinarily, I would go myself, but...
You can count on me, Mother.
Couldn't you at least have given her a chance to speak?
She's right, kid.
Hey, Master.
Why were you so cold to Mel-chan?
Why?
Tell me why!
Listen, Filo.
You mustn't play with her anymore.
Naofumi-sama...
Speaking as a father would isn't going to help Filo understand.
Why? Why?
Mel-chan hasn't done anything wrong!
Tell me why!
Hey, Master!
Tell me!
Why?
Naofumi-sama...
It's because Mel-san is royalty, isn't it?
I can't trust them. Any of them.
Master...
Quit peeking and just come inside.
You have visitors.
Pardon us.
You again?
What the hell do you want?
Uh, well...
We want to...
Please let us accompany you, at least during the Waves!
We were deeply touched by the way you fought in the last Wave.
Everyone here wants to support your efforts.
Is that why you were looking for me?
Yes!
We'd decided to ask you the next time we saw you here in the capital.
If you just want to fight the Waves,
you can do that without following me.
No, we want to fight with you, Sir Shield Hero!
And what's your reason?
We're all from the village of Lute.
Back then, you saved our families.
So we want to help you in any way we can.
We want to repay you for saving our fellow villagers' lives.
Buy this for 150 silver pieces.
I'll consider your offer if you can cough up the money.
What's the matter?
You can gain my trust by buying this off me.
Naofumi-sama...
One hundred and fifty silver pieces, huh?
What now?
We'll have to arrange it somehow.
We understand.
We'll go gather the money right away.
I can't believe you're pressuring them to buy a leftover accessory for that much.
You never change, kid.
Meanie!
Fix these up, too.
The made-to-order stuff, huh?
Even if I throw in some freebie materials, it'll cost you around this much.
Hey, boss.
I see an asterisk next to their level indicators now.
Know anything about it?
Oh, you guys are ready for class upgrades?
Class upgrades?
It lets you increase your level cap.
Only those recognized by the court even have the option,
but I guess you are a hero, after all.
You choose what path to take when you upgrade your class.
I had a lot of trouble deciding.
Class Upgrade You can do it at the dragon hourglass, huh?
What kind of upgrade do you want, Raphtalia?
I'm fine with whatever you decide.
That won't do.
Decide your future path yourself.
After the Waves are over, I'll go back to my world.
So pick something that'll help you survive without me.
You're going back home?
We'll take a skewer, pops.
Sure.
Are you sure, Master?
Thank you!
Here ya go, miss.
This looks yummy!
Fifteen gold pieces?!
A class upgrade costs fifteen gold pieces per person.
That's too much.
I could get thousands of ten rolls for that much!
Fine.
Raphtalia, you go ahead and upgrade first.
Huh? What about me?
You can do it the next time we come. Be patient.
Fifteen gold pieces, right?
Our apologies. We seem to have made a mistake.
We are forbidden from providing upgrades to the Shield Hero's party.
But they just said...
It's a direct order from His Majesty.
Let's go.
Are you going to sell me?
Never. Don't worry.
If it isn't Sir Hero!
What brings you here today?
Looks like your business is thriving.
It's all thanks to you.
Your traveling trade was very profitable for me as well.
What do you mean?
First and foremost, your filolial queen has gained quite the reputation.
Nobles all across Melromarc
contacted me to ask how they could procure one for themselves.
Secondly, you.
You've helped my business gain a reputation for providing high-quality slaves.
The money hasn't stopped rolling in since!
Anyway, how may I help you today? Would you like another slave?
Or do you need assistance with a filolial experiment?
Can you arrange class upgrades for us?
Class upgrades, is it?
They're refusing to let us do it in this country.
It's a real pain.
I remember you having a slave that was over level 40.
I'm truly sorry to say this, but we don't provide that service.
I see.
However, worry not.
You can simply get it done at another country's dragon hourglass.
There are others?
Indeed. Ordinarily, I would charge for this information,
but since you're the one asking, I'll tell you for free.
If we're talking favorable countries for you to upgrade classes,
there's Mercenary Nation Zeltoble,
Demi-Human Country Siltvelt,
and Shieldfreeden.
I recommend Shieldfreeden.
For a country of demi-humans, it's very welcoming to humans.
How long will it take to get there?
By ship, two weeks.
And by wagon, a month.
That's far.
Yeah.
We won't get there before the Wave.
Then how about making do this time by equipping your filolial queen with a weapon?
A weapon for me?
How do you like these wyvern talons?
What's a wyvern?
How much are they?
In light of your continued patronage,
I'll offer you a special price of five gold pieces.
Four. And throw in reins.
We have a deal!
How you've grown into the kind of man I just love!
You make my spine tingle!
What's with him?
This feels kinda weird.
Getting used to them might take a while.
Oh yeah, Slave Merchant.
Can we test these talons out somewhere?
Well, all the monsters here are merchandise.
Come to think of it,
I have just the job request!
This stench is too much.
Damn that slave merchant.
Why would there be monsters in the capital's sewers?
Someone must've dumped them here after they grew too hard to control.
We're fighting this thing?
Yeah, looks like it.
Raphtalia!
You're done!
This sword is really sharp!
These talons are awesome, too.
Hey...
Are you okay?
Yes.
The parts you bandage heal really fast.
Ten days until the Wave, huh?
I hope you've recovered by then.
Yes.
As long as we don't know where the next Wave will arrive,
we have to prepare for anything and everything.
And given the possibility of casualties in a town or village,
we should stock up on a ton of medicine.
And we should scout out possible combat zones and strategize...
Does it hurt?
Once all the Waves are repelled,
you'll go back to your own world, won't you?
May I...
May I go with you?
Naofumi-sama, I...
Onee-chan's being lovey-dovey with Master.
No fair!
I was not!
You were!
You were trying to kiss him!
I was not!
You were! I saw you!
God, shut up!
We have an early start tomorrow! Go to bed!
You've got it rough, huh?
I'm sorry.
What a sad-looking town.
The lord here must be a scumbag.
That toll told the whole story.
If this town was attacked in the Wave...
Please! Trade us food!
I'd honestly prefer money.
We don't have any.
We have nothing else left.
Are you people not from Melromarc?
N-No. We're refugees from the north.
Some adventurer apparently sent from here
put together a resistance force and started a revolution.
And now we're in this mess.
What was this adventurer like?
We don't really know, but the rumors say he used a bow.
A bow?
Naofumi-sama...
Set up an emergency kitchen.
Right away.
The Wave hits in 27 hours.
I'm hungry.
Okay, let's grab some lunch.
Aren't they...
Ren and Itsuki?
I overthrew a despot in the country to the north.
But when I went to the Guild,
they'd already paid the reward out to someone else.
Same here. Somebody stole a job request from me.
Looks like someone's going around pretending to be us.
Got it.
We've received a Guild request to overthrow a town lord to the north.
What will we do?
From the Guild?
Yes.
From looking into it,
it seems that lord is heavily taxing citizens beyond the court's set limits,
using that revenue to hire mercenaries, and suppressing dissent.
Heavy taxes?
Do they mean that town from earlier?
Here's your food.
That looks yummy!
Time to dig in!
Chew before you swallow, now.
Someone needs to be taught that with great power comes great responsibility.
Master, that's gross!
Sorry.
What's so funny?
Oh, I just didn't know you'd been bitten by a spider.
Bitten by a spider?
It's nothing. Don't worry about it.
It's you, isn't it?
You're the one impersonating us, then stealing our jobs and rewards.
Why would you think it's me?
Because who else would—
Ever considered that it may be because you're trying to be a cool, secret vigilante?
What do you mean?
Were you the "adventurer" who helped the resistance in the north?
Yes.
Do you know what happened to that country after the king was ousted?
Is this everyone from your village?
Yes.
Everyone else died.
After the revolution, our lives did get a lot better.
But not for long.
Then the resistance started hiking up the taxes.
But why?
I don't know too much about it,
but apparently it takes a lot of money to run a country.
Looking back, maybe the previous king was thinking the same thing.
All you did was switch up who was running the place.
It didn't solve anything.
Don't change the subject!
We're talking about impersonating—
How do you explain my case?
Was it about some disease?
If you know, that makes things easier.
Why'd you steal that job?
Did you know that the corpse of that dragon you killed caused an epidemic?
I got rid of that corpse.
That's why the job request was canceled.
No way...
If you think I'm lying, go to that eastern village and see for yourself.
Do you have any idea how many people died because of you two?!
B-Because of me?
Naofumi-sama...
I see. I'm sorry.
You believe him?
He has no reason to lie.
Don't cause any more problems.
I don't believe you, okay?
I embedded that dragon zombie core in your chest plate
and also gave it an auto-repair function. It's one of my best works.
Like it?
Boss...
Just how badly do you want to make me look like a bandit chief?
You look cool, Master!
That suits you very well!
Pardon us.
Oh, thank goodness you're here.
We ran around and somehow scraped up 150 silver pieces.
Use that money to get yourselves better equipment.
You mean you'll accept us?
I can't have you guys dropping like flies.
Thank you so much!
Don't get the wrong idea.
The moment you try to exploit or set me up,
you'll have hell to pay.
Of course!
Thanks for us having us!
We have lots more friends now!
There are less than 24 hours until the Wave.
Let's have a strategy meeting.
Yes, sir!
Not again, kid!
My shop isn't your meeting room!
Melty-sama appears to have made contact with the Shield Hero's party.
If the Shield Hero is the kind of man I hear he is,
reconciliation will take quite some time.
I feel bad for putting Melty through this,
but this, too, is her duty as the future ruler.
Your Majesty?
Continue to keep an eye on them.
As you wish.
The next Wave is coming.
Will the heroes be able to overcome it?