Chapter 96

By midday, I had returned to the main island by boat.

...I hope Raphatalia isn’t angry.

Praying, I walked towards the inn, and there was Filo at the entrance.

Again... I thought, and next to me, Itsuki looked exasperated as he sat down.

"Hey, hey, hey. Why? Why? Hey."

"No... I am..."

"I don’t understand when you say 'I am.' Tell me. Hey, hey, hey."

To my surprise, it wasn’t Raphatalia but Filo who was persistently asking Itsuki questions.

What? I don’t understand the situation at all.

"Ah, Naofumi-san!"

Itsuki noticed me and approached with a clinging momentum, pointing at Filo.

"Please take this child away. She’s been following me and bombarding me with questions."

"But you have to follow when Master is out, right? Besides, tell me the truth, hey, hey, hey, why won’t you tell me?"

Filo was bombarding Itsuki with questions, showing a lot of interest.

I’ve never seen Filo like this before.

"Did Raphatalia tell you to do this?"

"Nope, no. Filo wants to know. And, Onee-chan is angry."

"...I see, that’s why."

Watching Itsuki’s party, I had a feeling.

As the leader of those armors, Itsuki must have been doing something just and right.

"She fought more seriously than the one who left halfway, but no matter what I say, it’s always this."

"Hey, tell me. Hey, hey."

"This bird! How dare you trouble Itsuki-sama."

"Um? Playing with Filo?"

"Stop it. This child is not an easy opponent and is a companion of the hero. No fighting, okay?"

Itsuki warned the armor.

Honestly, the armor would be easily played with by Filo. There’s no way it could win, whether in mobility or attack power.

At worst, it would end up with a dirty fireworks display, being kicked up by Filo.

Itsuki must have understood that much.

"First, what did you do to Raphatalia?"

Despite being warned to ignore her sense of justice, you still made her angry.

However, even after all the warnings, Raphatalia easily broke down.

I’m not saying Raphatalia is wrong, but she does seem to lack a bit of patience.

Still, I won’t soften my stance.

The armors have already boycotted us beautifully.

"Also, try to control your companions. In the end, it was only Reisha who fought seriously."

"No, that’s not true! We just didn’t fit with the Shield Hero’s fighting style!"

"No matter how you put it, it means the same thing. That."

"That’s the same for you! What about your companions?"

...Well, it seems we’re both at fault, so arguing further is pointless.

Honestly, I’m tired from dealing with the armors.

"Let’s just stop deciding who’s at fault. Your companions were also terrible, from my perspective."

"...I understand. If I keep insisting, you might... not stop Filo-san."

That’s unusual for the justice-driven Itsuki.

Filo’s questions must have been really intense.

"Just on hold. I’ll say it at tonight’s meeting."

"Say it. Your companions were also terrible."

The information exchange is taking a rather ominous turn.

I can only hope it doesn’t turn into a shouting match between heroes.

"Hey, hey, you still haven’t told me."

"Filo, give up. No matter how many times you ask, he won’t tell you."

"Mu..."

Really... I didn’t expect Filo to be this curious...

I’m genuinely curious about what happened.

"So? Where is Raphatalia?"

"Over there."

Filo pointed to the same place as before.

Sigh... I really am the one causing problems with every hero, aren’t I?

Just like before, Raphatalia was waiting for me with her tail puffed up.

"I’m back."

"Naofumi-sama!"

Raphatalia ran over as soon as I called out.

"...Something happened, didn’t it?"

"Actually—"

I didn’t really want to hear it, but Raphatalia started talking about the personnel exchange with Itsuki.

Worried, Raphatalia waited for Itsuki.

"Who’s here today?"

"It’s the Bow Hero, Itsuki-sama."

"Oh... the one with the curly hair, right?"

"Yes."

To avoid angering her, I reminded Raphatalia to endure whatever kind of person Itsuki might be.

Itsuki arrived later than Ren but much earlier than Motomu.

The sound of knocking on the door was heard.

"Come in."

"Excuse me."

Knocking politely, Itsuki entered the room.

"I’m Itsuki Kawa澄, the Bow Hero. Please take care of me for the next two days."

"Yes. My name is Raphatalia. Please teach me, Bow Hero-sama."

"Filo."

The introductions were brief.

At this point, Raphatalia, though it might be mean to say, thought Itsuki had the best impression among the heroes in terms of politeness.

It sounds like I’m the bad one.

...Maybe I am. I didn’t act politely because I often got taken advantage of that way.

"Shall we go level up right away?"

"Yes. I’m ready."

"Okay! Let’s go."

And so, Raphatalia set off with Itsuki.

On the way to the hunting ground, Itsuki apparently discussed battle strategies with Raphatalia.

Travel time is often wasted, so it’s a good use of time.

Raphatalia and Filo explained their special skills, their levels, and the areas of the island they had fought in.

Itsuki also said he would gather monsters in one place and use his ultimate skill to defeat them.

At this point, Raphatalia started to trust Itsuki, thinking he might be a hero worthy of respect.

She acknowledged that his strong sense of justice was a bit much but considered it normal for a hero.

It didn’t take long for her to realize this was a big mistake.

"Since Raphatalia-san and the others can go quite deep, let’s hurry there."

"Yes!"

And they proceeded into the island’s interior...

"Found a monster. I’ll draw it in, so fight it!"

"Huh?"

Itsuki drew his bow and shot an arrow at a monster quite far away.

The arrow hit the monster, which then approached them...

"Huh?"

The adventurer who was about to fight the monster looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"Um..."

"What is it? We took the first attack, so it’s our right, isn’t it?"

Itsuki answered both Raphatalia’s and the adventurer’s unspoken questions as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

It’s not against the rules, but it’s a bit questionable.

It’s like stealing a target or luring in a game. Depending on the game, it might be good or bad, but wasn’t Itsuki supposed to come from a console game world?

Maybe it’s best not to think about it. Or maybe he’s learning the differences?

"Um..."

It’s not against the rules, but it still feels wrong. Raphatalia swung her sword at the approaching monster.

It was a weak monster, so she easily defeated it.

Filo also killed the monster Itsuki had drawn in with one hit.

However, Raphatalia was puzzled by the lack of power in Itsuki’s attacks.

He didn’t seem to be using many attacks either.

Incidentally, I didn’t know this, but Itsuki’s bow has an infinite quiver, and arrows appear when he draws it.

Thinking they might be in the way, they continued to move forward.

However, Itsuki kept preemptively attacking monsters that adventurers were about to fight.

"Um, Itsuki-sama... please don’t take monsters that adventurers are fighting."

"What are you talking about? We attacked first, so the right is on our side. The island’s lord said to fight any monsters we see because there are too many."

"But..."

"More monsters are coming. Let’s fight."

Raphatalia sensed something was off.

During this time, she became curious about Itsuki’s low attack power and few attacks.

She asked about Itsuki’s level, which was 75, a high level, and she trusted him.

However, compared to Motomu and Ren, his attack power seemed too low.

This became more evident as they approached the center of the island.

A Karmasquirrelfamilia appeared.

A small, black squirrel-like monster that attacked in groups.

Their group attacks were swift and difficult to handle. Raphatalia and Filo were fighting individually, but these monsters seemed to call for reinforcements.

Not just their own kind, but also powerful high-level Magenta Frogs.

"Itsuki-sama! Hurry... use an area attack."

"I know! Just wait a moment! Arrow Shower!"

Itsuki drew his bow high and shot an arrow.

The arrow split and rained down... but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Karmasquirrelfamilia.

"Take this!"

With low attack power, there was no choice.

Raphatalia used her strength within the limits of Itsuki’s strategy to continue defeating them.

"By the power of Filo, the source of strength, I command you to read the law again and blow away the enemy with a fierce vacuum tornado."

"Zweite Tornado!"

Filo blew away the monsters at the perfect timing.

However, the sheer number was still a disadvantage. If I were there, I would have used Prison to gather them in one place and finish them off with the next spell, Raphatalia thought.

Just as she was about to be attacked by a monster—

"Falcon Strike!"

Itsuki’s attack, the arrow he shot, turned into a flaming bird and passed by, instantly vanishing the monsters attacking Raphatalia.

Furthermore,

"Fire Arrow Shower!"

Flaming arrows rained down, clearing out the monsters.

"Are you okay?"

"Um... yes."

Ignoring the dead monsters, Raphatalia looked at Itsuki.

For a moment, she thought he looked cool, and she felt ashamed of herself.

Why? I think it’s a normal cool moment.

"Thank you."

"I’m glad."

"...Hey."

Filo pecked Itsuki’s back with her beak.

Itsuki turned to see what Filo wanted.

Then, Filo looked at Itsuki curiously and asked,

"Hey, why are you holding back?"