Raftalia looked at me with fear on her face as I walked toward her.
But that fear wasn't directed at me… When I came closer, she reached her little hands out to me, hope glimmering in her eyes, silently begging for a hug. The fear came from the thought that I might refuse her… That I had changed my attitude toward her… That she'd be rejected… again.
"Raftalia, sweetheart, it's okay. No one's going to hurt you. We dealt with them!"
I knelt down beside the tanuki girl, gently pulled her into a hug, and started stroking her head as she pressed her face against my chest.
"Sorry I called you an idiot. That was just nerves, I didn't mean to hurt you…"
"…Will you… send me back?" she asked between sobs, a couple of minutes later, while I was still trying to comfort her.
"I'll never understand women's logic," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose. Oddly enough, those words worked better than any comforting. She sobbed less, waiting for what came next.
"My golden girl, who told you Akira and I even think of you as a slave? We eat from the same pot, sleep in the same room, and have never denied you anything. Where are you getting these ideas?"
"We've told you so many times—you're not a slave to us," Akira said firmly as she approached and crouched beside Raftalia on the other side. Her wound didn't bother her as much now, and she could already move her arm.
"To me, you've long since become a close friend… maybe even a younger sister. No one is sending you anywhere. You're an important part of our group. Even if you can't fight anymore, Pluton and I will take care of you…"
"But… because of me… Akira-sama…"
"It's nothing," the Shield Heroine waved it off. "I understand. After what happened to you…"
"No! That I can't agree with!" I said, stone-faced, holding the Shield Heroine's judging gaze. This was something that had to be addressed right now—it couldn't wait.
"Raftalia, because of your panic, Akira got hurt. And if things had gone just a little differently, those beasts would've torn all of us apart!" I spoke more sternly now, casting a reproachful look at Akira, who had been ready to let it slide.
But I didn't stop stroking Raftalia's hair, easing the stress of the scolding. I wanted her to understand—I was angry, yes, but I wasn't going to abandon her.
"You were scared, I get it! But why did you rush in at all? And right into a spell?! Do you understand I almost electrocuted you?! I barely managed to stop myself! Do you have any idea how I'd live with that afterward? Would I even be able to live with it?"
"Enough," Akira said gently, placing her hand over mine, which was trembling a little. But from the wide eyes of the tanuki girl, I could tell I had gotten through to her. She realized what she'd almost done.
I felt disgusted with myself for doing it—but it had to be done. If Akira wasn't going to say it, I had to. I could've done it more gently, but after what Akira said, there was no turning back.
"I'm sorry… It won't happen again…" the tanuki muttered, still a little shaken.
"I just needed you to understand… Next time, I might not be there… And I don't want anything to happen to you two! Even if there's a good reason! And I know it's hard to blame you…"
Still stroking her hair, I started to calm down too, and after a couple minutes of silence, I continued:
"Everyone makes mistakes… Like Akira and I are mistake-free? Remember that swarm of killer rabbits?"
"Ha, I can just imagine the legends they'll tell one day: about the first Grimoire Hero… and the great stain on his record—almost beaten to death by oversized fluffy bunnies…" the Shield Heroine chuckled, playing along.
That worked better, and Raftalia even managed a faint smile as she listened to our banter.
"Ahem, how would anyone even find out about that?" I asked in fake horror. "Those paws only felt soft thanks to your shield!"
"Who knows? If the price is right—maybe no one? What do you think, Raftalia?" Akira asked seriously.
Raftalia didn't answer—she just hugged us both tighter.
"I'm glad you've calmed down a little. You stay here, okay? Akira and I will take care of the last pup. Alright?"
"…No… I want to come with you. If I don't face this, I'll never get over my fear… and I'll let you down… I want to leave this behind me… Please let me come…"
Akira and I exchanged glances.
"Alright. Akira, you good?"
"Good as new," the Shield Heroine said, moving her arm to show her shoulder was fine.
"Raftalia, let's do this smart, okay?"
Waiting for the now-calm tanuki to nod, I continued.
"Stick close to Akira—or to me, if it comes to it. And don't rush in blindly. If you feel like you can't handle it, run back to the cave."
"…Understood."
As we entered the grotto, all three of us wore expressions of determination to see this through.
Even lying down, the monster's carcass was over two and a half meters tall.
But when we got close enough to hear the cerberus's ragged breathing, another detail became clear.
"Is it… almost dead?" Akira asked, not letting her guard down, though she did lower her shield a little.
That was why we got so close without luring it to the cave.
"Looks like it."
"…Should I step out of the suppression field so you and Raftalia get the experience?" I asked, sensing the monster was no longer dangerous… if it ever had been.
"No. Don't," Akira replied quickly.
"Raftalia, I'll cover you. Finish it off. This isn't the beast that killed your parents, but maybe this will help you leave your fears behind."
"…Yes."
For half a minute, Raftalia steeled herself. We didn't interfere—and the cerberus didn't seem to mind.
I did start to get the sense we should wrap this up quickly—this was the kind of moment when the monster suddenly comes back to life and tears everyone to shreds.
But I also understood that only by doing this herself could Raftalia truly conquer her fear and move forward.
If I were her age, in her place… I doubt I could've recovered this fast from such trauma and faced it head-on. Maybe it's something in the beastkin nature—not just the physical traits, but instincts and personality as well.
Taking a deep breath, Raftalia gripped her sword tightly and slowly stepped toward the monster's body.
Akira and I were at the ready, prepared to shield her in an instant if anything went wrong.
But the monster didn't react at all—it was on death's door.
"Argh…" Raftalia growled, plunging her sword into the cerberus's side. Only the middle head's eyelids twitched slightly. The creature was still alive, as no loot notification had appeared.
"Mama… Papa… I'll become strong! I'll make sure as few people as possible go through what I did! I won't cry anymore, just like you asked me to!"
She whispered, and with those words, she kept stabbing the unresisting monster again and again.
"Just like I dreamed as a child—I'll become the Shield Heroine's companion… her sword. Mama, Papa… you'll be proud of me, watching from the heavens!"
[Acquired: 7 silver; 28 copper coins]
[Raftalia gained: 1367 EXP]
[Acquired: Young Cerberus Hide]
[Acquired: Young Cerberus Fangs x3]
[Acquired: Young Cerberus Bones x2]
[Acquired: Cerberus Pauldrons]
Only after seeing the messages about loot and EXP did Akira and I finally relax a little.
Raftalia turned toward us—her face spattered with blood, but showing a timid smile. Her eyes held resolve… and relief.
"Well done!" Akira praised her.
"Good job!" I chimed in.
***
After such a tense battle with the three dogs, we decided to rest for a bit before dealing with butchering the carcasses and looking for the ore we needed.
To begin with, Akira finally tested the special effect of the Rope Shield. It turned out she had postponed testing it outside the mine because of me. Besides the incredibly useful "Erst Shield" skill, this shield had a unique effect that couldn't be learned, only used by switching to this specific shield.
It looked like a coil of rope secured with two metal brackets in the shape of a cross. The special effect was that the end of the rope would shoot out from the shield up to seven meters and attach to a target. It functioned somewhat like a grappling hook—but without an actual hook. Very handy in specific situations.
According to Akira, its defense was almost zero, but since her personal defense stats were high, and the shield itself couldn't be damaged even in such an unreliable form, it could still be used for its intended purpose. Though she had other shields more suited for that.
Once Akira figured out the shield, we wandered around the grotto for a while longer. Once we cleared our heads, we decided to examine the items that had dropped from the battle.
For the first time ever, I got actual equipment items from a monster drop—not just resources or potions.
Unfortunately, neither I nor Akira had the "Blacksmith" skill, so we couldn't check their stats.
We'll have to try feeding blacksmith tools to our Sacred Weapons. Their levels and skill branches have increased a lot since the last time we tried that at Elhart's forge behind the shop.
The Two-Headed Dog's Sword looked like a large greatsword with a dark gray blade and a guard stylized with two snarling dog heads. Just in case, I tried picking it up to see if I could use monster-dropped weapons. I wasn't surprised when my grimoire zapped me with a jolt, but it was still worth testing.
If it were a one-hander, I'd have given it to Raphtalia, but the sword was as long as she was tall.
That didn't stop her from trying to swing the massive weapon. She managed a few attempts, but the weight took its toll quickly, and she couldn't hold it up for long. She returned it to me without hesitation. It didn't suit her fighting style at all—she relied on speed and agility.
Next, I pulled out the Cerberus Pauldrons—large, full-metal matte-black shoulder plates shaped like wolf heads with snarling mouths full of sharp teeth. They looked even more aggressive than the sword. The eyes were set with round, ruby-like stones.
I tried them on by simply holding them against my shoulders. To properly attach them to armor, we'd need a blacksmith to add compatible fittings. The ones I had didn't match.
Akira gave me an appraising look, and I asked:
"What do you think?"
"Something's missing…" she murmured thoughtfully, tapping her finger against her lips. — Cerberus had three heads, after all…
She pulled a heavy, full-metal helmet from her inventory, styled the same way, shaped like a wolf's head, and handed it to me.
"This should complete the set," she said with a smile.
"Well… it does look cool," I admitted, turning the helmet over in my hands. "But will I be able to see anything in this thing?"
The helmet didn't even have eye slits. The "eyes" were those same ruby-like stones, just larger than the ones on the pauldrons. I paused briefly, wondering if the item could be cursed, but quickly dismissed the thought. I doubted cursed equipment could drop like this. Still, I wouldn't use it until I knew the stats.
I put the helmet on and was surprised as I looked around. Not only could I see just fine, but my field of vision was completely unaffected. The only difference was everything was tinted red. And I could feel the helmet's weight.
"Cool!" Akira said, leaning in close to my face.
"Whoa… they're glowing," she waved her hand in front of me. "Pluto-sama, can you see anything in there?"
"Yeah, perfectly," I replied, taking off the helmet. "Wanna try?"
"Sure," Raphtalia didn't hesitate. She took off the helmet soon after. "Not comfy for the ears. You try it too."
Akira shrugged and pulled it on. It fit her well. She looked a bit strange with those glowing gem-eyes, but the Shield Heroine pulled it off surprisingly well.
"Oh, neat. Everything's so red!"
"Want to keep it? You were the one who got it first," I offered. "Head protection wouldn't hurt."
"Nah, I'm good," she handed the helmet back. "You're the one who wanted a helmet. I rely on my shield's power. And I wouldn't wear it anyway."
" If you say so. But that shield power didn't help much when that thing bit your shoulder. It could've been your head…" I gestured toward her dented pauldron. "We'll find something better for me once we have more money?"
"Nope, I'm not wearing it," she shook her head. "With our reputation… they'd call you a dog, which isn't far from the truth. But me? They'd call me a bitch—behind my back, or right to my face. So you keep it."
"Well, when you put it like that…" I muttered.
"Doesn't matter how you look at it," Akira smirked, tapping the three wolf heads. "Not denying you're a dog, huh?"
I gave Akira a sheepish look and spread my hands.
Then the three of us laughed together. The laughter helped release the tension built up during the fight.
Jokes helped ease the mood. We had all been on edge. Raphtalia especially, but she had overcome her fear—and that meant a lot. From what Akira had told me, she used to be afraid of blood. They found that out while hunting a pair of bunny-vampires. But unexpectedly, she overcame that fear quickly.
Dealing with the trauma of losing her parents under such horrific circumstances, though—that was much harder. Especially since it happened less than a month ago…
Still, I had to scold her—harsh as it was. In moments like these, people change—often to extremes. I didn't want Raphtalia to become a mindless berserker, blind to fear or the consequences of her actions.
"So? Should we butcher them and try unlocking shields and grimoires?" Akira asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
We got up and started butchering the carcasses. The two-headed dogs were quick work, but the Cerberus took an hour—its tendons were so tough they dulled our knives. Still, we managed it in the end.
Then we sat by the waterfall, had a snack, and tried unlocking the new shields and grimoires. To our surprise, our Sacred Weapons accepted both the two-headed dogs and Cerberus—despite the monsters being much stronger than us.
Probably because they were Wave monsters.
Two-Headed Black Dog Grimoire
0/10 D
Equip Bonus: Magic Attack +2 (locked)
Equip Bonus: Agility +5
Mastery: 0
Agility—that's really good. I expected worse. Holding our breath, Akira and I fed the part of Cerberus's hide that had been mangled by Raphtalia.
Lesser Cerberus Grimoire
0/5 C
Equip Bonus: Magic Attack +5 (locked)
Equip Bonus: Agility +10
Equip Bonus: Blink
Mastery: 0
"Holy crap!" Akira and I exclaimed in unison.
"What did you get?" I asked.
"Fifteen total agility, two new skills, and the Cerberus Shield itself has amazing defense," she replied, scrolling through her Status. "One skill is Signal Shield, warns of danger within a two-meter radius. The other is Hate Reaction—draws monster aggro within ten meters. And the special effect—Dog Bite—activates on counterattacks using the heads on the shield! It's my first offensive shield! What about you?"
"Same bonuses stat-wise, but only one skill. A big one." I grinned. "Blink…"
"You mean…?"
"Yep," I nodded.
"What's Blink?" Raphtalia asked, watching us with interest.
"I'll show you."
I stood up, stepped away from the girls and the walls, and used the skill.
"Blink!" A moment of disorientation, a slight dizziness—and I reappeared ten meters away from where I had been. "Like your Erst Shield, it has a 10-second cooldown, a max range of 10 meters, and costs 50 mana. I don't know about you, but I say we celebrate these new skills when we get back to the inn!"
"I've never had alcohol!" the tanuki said excitedly.
"I don't really like alcohol, but in this case" I agree, "Akira mirrored my grin." Definitely something worth toasting. But first, let's find that ore… That's what we came here for, after all. Wouldn't feel right leaving empty-handed.
Akira totally killed the fun for Raphtalia and me.
Honestly, I'd already forgotten why we came here—other than monster hunting. All because of the scrap of cloth in my pocket. Akira and I agreed not to tell Raphtalia about it—she'd already been through enough today.
…If only we'd gone with him and his party back then…
… The cloth was identical to the material of Valit's pants…