Motoyasu watches Naofumi closely, the red imprint from his hand still fresh on his left cheek. The Shield Hero has an almost motherly disposition around Raphtalia, which...isn't that far off from what he remembers.

"Maybe this is Father's true nature." It's hard to tell when Motoyasu knows so little about Naofumi, though most things match up with what he remembers…

At least until Naofumi tries to follow Raphtalia into the fitting room.

"What are you doing, Father?!" Motoyasu is surprised to see Naofumi this interested in Raphtalia, when she still looks so young…

"I'm going to help her change, dumbass." Naofumi's tone is as harsh as ever, his mood still likely sour from the sudden embrace that Motoyasu had given him earlier. "What's it look like to you?"

"It's nothing!" Motoyasu smiles away, deciding that this response is the best one to give to the man that will raise Filo-tan.

Naofumi only scowls at him, muttering a few more insults under his breath as he joins Raphtalia in the fitting room.

It takes Raphtalia less than five minutes to change into her new outfit. It isn't anything impressive, though it's at least decent for what Naofumi has in mind.

"This should keep you safe while we're out of town," Naofumi tells Raphtalia as he gently tightens the light armor she now wears. "Let me know if it feels too tight."

Raphtalia doesn't talk much, but she does nod her head before reaching out to cling onto Naofumi's sleeve.

"You want me to carry you again?" Naofumi smiles warmly at Raphtalia as he hooks his hands under her arms and lifts her up. "You're so light…"

Naofumi stops smiling for a moment, his arms gently tightening around Raphtalia in an embrace. He whispers a few things into her ear that Motoyasu doesn't quite catch. Whatever it is, it makes Raphtalia bury her face into Naofumi's chest. She seems so safe and secure…

"He really does care for her." Motoyasu thinks back on his idiotic actions, where he separated the two, if only briefly. He scowls when he thinks about how that crimson swine had him wrapped around her finger. "Never again."

Naofumi goes to pay the weapon shop owner, not even hesitating to pay full price until the owner stops him.

"You should get something for yourself," he tells Naofumi. "Maybe some chainmail? You look like a nice kid, so I'll throw it in for free."

Motoyasu almost swears that he sees Naofumi's green eyes sparkle in awe.

"You mean it?" he asks, waiting for a confirmation. When he gets it, a rare smile forms on his lips. "Thank you."

"You deserve it, for taking in someone so young when you're not that much older yourself." The shop owner laughs.

"I'm twenty…" Naofumi mutters.

"Age means nothing compared to experience." The weapon shop owner reaches out to ruffle Naofumi's hair, earning a warning growl from Raphtalia. "Relax—I don't mean any harm to you or your mom."

There's another growl from Raphtalia, but a light tap to her nose stops her.

"Be nice, Raphtalia—save that behavior for rude strangers." Naofumi gently runs his fingers through Raphtalia's hair in an attempt to calm her. "And Kitamura, if he tries anything funny."

Motoyasu laughs, finding Naofumi's humor a bit too much. "Good one, Father!"

He goes out to pat Naofumi on the shoulder, but a threatening growl from Raphtalia stops him. It's not as threatening of a sound as it would be, had it come from an adult with a deeper voice. Still, it does its job in catching Motoyasu by surprise.

"I suggest you keep your hands to yourself." The shop owner gives him such a stern look.

Meanwhile with Naofumi, he's smiling at Raphtalia as he says, "Good girl."

Maybe Father is still mad at him for waking Raphtalia up…

"Maybe…" It's certainly worth considering.

Raphtalia definitely holds a grudge, from the way she constantly glares at him as they make their way toward the outskirts of town. She shoots down his offer to level her up for Naofumi, which he shoots down as well.

"I'll level up on my own terms," Naofumi tells him. "If it takes me days, then fine! It's better than forcing Raphtalia to fight for me."

Motoyasu furrows his brow. He's never seen Father act so...selfless. Was this the person Father was before that crimson swine betrayed him?

He can't ask Naofumi himself, so he keeps his questions to himself. He keeps most higher-leveled enemies away from Naofumi, who meticulously gathers herbs that are growing in the area. Raphtalia remains safely within sight, playing with a ball that Naofumi had bought her. She stops every once in a while, to catch her breath, coughing loudly each time she does so. Despite this, she continues to play.

She plays and she plays and she plays, until she finally tires herself out. She sleeps next to the basket of filolial eggs, enjoying the warmth that Naofumi's hoodie gives her.

It's late in the afternoon when Naofumi finally returns to their makeshift campsite. He has collected an abundance of medicinal herbs for his shield to absorb. He struggles at first, not knowing how to let his shield absorb the materials. Motoyasu offers to help, but is quickly shut down.

"I can't keep relying on you." Naofumi smirks when he figures it out. "There we go!"

Little by little, Naofumi goes about experimenting with his shield. By the end of the hour, his shield had changed appearance. It was now green in color and appeared to be fashioned out of leaves.

Motoyasu watches as Naofumi begins to combine certain herbs and plants with each other, creating various concoctions. At one point, he stops him from consuming a dubious-looking potion.

"You shouldn't do that to yourself, Father!" Regardless of whatever skills he must have obtained by now, Naofumi is still so vulnerable to try anything risky. Motoyasu pops open the bottle, and downs its contents. It's bitter and strong, but otherwise, harmless…according to his status screen, at least. It doesn't have that much of an effect on him, apart from leaving him feeling somewhat refreshed. "If you need to test out any items, just give them to me, I say!"

Naofumi gives him such an annoyed look before handing him another bottle. "Just tell me what it does so I can reuse the recipe for later if it does anything good."

Eventually, their combined efforts create a medicine with strong healing properties. Naofumi stretches his body out, looking especially pleased with himself for a job well-done.

Growl.

"Oh, are you hungry?" Naofumi's expression softens as he looks at Raphtalia, whose arms are wrapped tightly around her ball.

Raphtalia blushes and, without saying a word, nods her head.

"Okay, c'mere." Naofumi beckons Raphtalia with his hand. "I need you to take this medicine first. This should help with that nasty cough of yours."

It should likely help Raphtalia eat a lot more easily, considering the difficulty she had keeping down a few spoonfuls of porridge. It had nothing to do with the taste, as Motoyasu himself had a chance to try out a bowl himself. Naofumi had made the porridge from scratch, using the ingredients he had bought while they were still in town.

"She likely hasn't gotten a good meal in such a long time, that her stomach can't handle anything more than a spoonful."

It's such a stark contrast to the memory he has of the amount of food he had seen her eat without any difficulty.

Hopefully, that medicine should help ease more food into her stomach. Some of the effects it had on him was diminishing the nausea and uncomfortable fullness he was feeling from consuming so many bitter and rancid medicines. He considers himself lucky that he had full immunity from the negative status effects some of the concoctions had on him. And to think, Naofumi almost tried it on himself…

All those bottles, without anyone else to help...

"Father is a really busy person." Motoyasu nods his head silently. Naofumi took very few breaks in between the medicines he crafted. He was so immersed, that he hadn't noticed that Raphtalia had left to collect more materials for him.

Naofumi had scolded her for doing something so risky, but Motoyasu was quick to come to her defense by proudly proclaiming that he scared most of the enemies off.

"Still...don't do something so scary—not without me, okay?" It almost brought a tear to Motoyasu's eye when he watched how softly Naofumi treated Raphtalia, his hand gently tousling her hair.

There's no doubt about it. This is the person that Motoyasu has to protect from that crimson swine, no matter what.

"For Filo-tan's sake…" Motoyasu grabs the basket containing his and Father's precious filolial eggs. He smiles at the mere sight of them, giving the container an affectionate caress.

"Are you going to help me pack up, or do I need to give you a moment alone?" Naofumi stares at him with such a harsh expression. "That better not be my egg you're touching."

"It's not, I say!" Motoyasu made sure to memorize the differences between the two. Naofumi's egg is slightly smaller than his, and the container had a somewhat duller color.

"You do anything funny to Raphtalia's sibling, and I won't hesitate to throttle you." Father is quite the jokester…

Motoyasu and Naofumi make their way back into town as soon as they had gathered up most of their belongings. Naofumi carries Raphtalia in his arms, looking absolutely pleased with himself that he was able to stop her coughing. She looks a lot healthier, too, now that Motoyasu actually thinks about it. Her skin no longer possesses such a sickly look to it, her face looking rather rosy instead of pale. Her eyes are no longer so dull, and instead, sparkle vibrantly in the light.

A visit to the local baths leaves Raphtalia's hair, ears, and tail looking especially fluffy as a pleasant smell wafts off both her and Naofumi.

"You should've said something if you were going to take a bath yourself." Motoyasu was wondering why Naofumi hadn't waited outside with him.

"I don't need to tell you everything." Naofumi scoffs, looking somewhat annoyed. "If you wanted to take a bath, then take one yourself."

"Let's take one together next time, I say!" Motoyasu gives Naofumi a hearty slap on the back. "I'll even wash your back for you."

It's the perfect bonding experience!

"Ha, fat chance!" One that Naofumi quickly shoots down.

"Oh? Are you shy?" Motoyasu wonders if it has something to do with how scrawny Naofumi looks… Or maybe, it was something more personal. "Hmmm..."

…

…

"What's with that look?" Naofumi scowls.

"You have my sympathy." Motoyasu gives Naofumi a few reassuring pats on the back.

"For what?" Naofumi furrows his brow as he angrily slaps his hand away. "Don't touch me so casually!"

For the sake of his future with Filo-tan, Motoyasu will keep his thoughts to himself. It's not that difficult to see how much of a sore spot it is for Naofumi, after all…

To make up for it, Motoyasu offers to pay for Naofumi and Raphtalia when they head to the tavern for the rest of the evening. He even covers their meals after Naofumi shuts down his suggestion to share a room.

"Paying for our rooms is one thing, but sharing a room? Hell no." Naofumi is especially blunt, his expression only softening as he gently chides Raphtalia for eating her food so fast.

One of Raphtalia's hand holds a toothpick flag, while the other hovers over the portion of chicken and rice she's been served with her kid's meal. Grains of rice stick to her face as she chews the chicken and rice that she had shoved into her mouth just moments earlier, using only her bare hand. She slows down her chewing as Naofumi wipes her mouth with a napkin.

"Is it that good?" Naofumi asks with a warm smile on his face.

"Good!" Raphtalia repeats with her mouth full.

"Then go a little slower—there's no need to rush, okay?" Naofumi reassures her as he picks up the spoon that she's left untouched. "There's more where that came from if you're still hungry."

Raphtalia eats a lot more slowly after that, thanks to Naofumi's efforts as he feeds her himself. He waits until she's finished chewing and swallowing before bringing another spoonful of food into her mouth.

"You're pretty good at this," Motoyasu remarks.

"I used to work part-time at a daycare when I was in high school," Naofumi explains, his gaze never once looking away from Raphtalia. "Sometimes, I had to feed a few of the toddlers. It's nothing new to me, though it certainly helps that Raphtalia is such a good girl!"

A rosy blush colors Raphtalia's cheeks as she chews her food. The color only deepens when Naofumi pats her head.

"Makes sense." Motoyasu can understand why a daycare would want to let Naofumi work with them.

Raphtalia yawns a lot once she finishes her meal, her head bobbing up and down as she tries her hardest to remain awake. Naofumi is finally eating his meal, which has since gotten cold from how he had neglected it while feeding Raphtalia. Despite this, he doesn't complain.

Sadly, this doesn't last, as Motoyasu and Naofumi are soon discovered by the people they had ditched. Not making this any better, is Ren and Itsuki soon entering the tavern not long after.

"You shouldn't leave your own teammates behind!" Itsuki goes about scolding Naofumi, who just shovels food into his mouth as he tunes out the Bow Hero.

"Are you even that surprised?" Ren asks, likely referring to Naofumi's earlier behavior at the castle.

That crimson swine starts saying something, but all that Motoyasu can hear is oinking coming out of her mouth. Whatever it is that she says, it brings attention to Raphtalia.

"Where did you find this child?" Itsuki asks, looking at Naofumi with suspicion. "You didn't…kidnap her, did you?"

How dare he!

"Father bought her fairly!" Motoyasu is quick to come to Naofumi's defense, though based on how quickly he tells him to shut up, it's not what he wanted.

"You bought her?" Ren looks at Naofumi with disgust. "I didn't think you were like that as well…"

The crimson swine speaks again, oinking at the other pigs that converse with her.

"More of a hero than you, bitch," Naofumi mutters under his breath. He scowls as he slaps away a stray hand that tried to touch Raphtalia. He pulls Raphtalia closer to his chest, his arms wrapping around her in an embrace. "If you even lay a HAND on my daughter, I will not hesitate to MAIM you!"

There's a slight growl to Naofumi's voice as he glares at those who look at him in shock. Even Raphtalia is shocked, though…that doesn't stop her from burying her face into Naofumi's chest, obviously comfortable with his touch.

"If you even cared about her, then you would do something about the conditions I found her in!" Naofumi snaps, still obviously angry with how sickly and filthy Raphtalia was before he had bought her. "I'm leaving…"

Naofumi lifts Raphtalia into his arms and stands up from his seat, deciding not to eat the rest of his meal. He makes his way to his room, roughly shoving anyone that got in his way—of which included both the crimson swine and the other pig that accompanied her. Motoyasu almost calls out to Naofumi, as he had left his egg behind, but Itsuki stops him.

"Weren't you the one who said that teaming up wouldn't work?" Itsuki's voice has an accusatory tone to it.

"And it's the truth, I say!" Motoyasu wasn't lying when he said that.

"Then why are you teaming up with someone like him?" Ren asks, his expression just as critical as ever.

"Because Father asked me to help!" Motoyasu proudly proclaims, his hand patting his chest a few times.

"You're willing to help someone who bought a child slave?" Motoyasu isn't at all surprised to hear something like that coming out of Itsuki's mouth.
"Don't try to get all high and mighty with me!" Motoyasu scowls at Itsuki. "If you have an issue with what Father has done, then go take it up Trash. This kingdom doesn't have any laws against slavery."

He wasn't about to let Itsuki talk badly about the man who he had watched craft so many medicines for Raphtalia. The poor girl couldn't even keep down a spoonful of porridge without that medicine…

"Father is the reason that Raphtalia looks so happy." It was the same as back then… "If you even try to separate them, I will not hesitate to stop you."

He made that mistake before and, as a result, got slapped by an older Raphtalia. Never again—not when she looks so happy with Father.

"I'm heading off to my room." Motoyasu is getting tired of hearing those pigs oinking around him. He grabs the basket of filolial eggs, deciding to wait until morning to give Naofumi his egg. "He called it Raphtalia's sibling…"

If he's lucky, then it might just be Filo-tan's egg… If not…

"We'll just have to try harder next time." Motoyasu nods his head.

…

…

Raphtalia doesn't remember when she last felt so safe and warm. She snuggles up closer to Mama, her face burying itself into her chest. Her nose sniffs at the pleasant scent coming off of Mama. It's the same scent she has, since the two of them had bathed together.

It's all so new…but good.

"Good…" she murmurs sleepily, letting out a cute yawn that earns her a gentle squeeze from Mama's arms. Her stomach is pleasantly full, her chest doesn't hurt so much, and the night—the night doesn't seem so scary anymore.

Raphtalia likes this. She likes this a lot…

…

But then she smells something different. It smells too…strong. Too…harsh.

"Bad…" It makes her want to gag.

Slowly, Raphtalia opens her eyes. There's a dim light that she can barely make out…alongside a figure that looms over her and Mama. Almost at once, her heart starts to race. Her body goes deathly still as she watches a hand pull down the blankets covering her and Mama. Panic wells up in her chest as she tries to pretend that she's still asleep, her breathing soon growing erratic. She almost wants to scream…but then she sees that hand grab onto Mama's clothes, and starts tugging at them without any hesitance…

That's when Raphtalia sees red, anger bubbling strongly within her in ways that almost stung. Without any warning whatsoever, she bites down on the hand that dared to touch Mama. She can taste blood in her mouth—but for once, it's not hers.

Her eyes snap open wide when she hears screaming—it's that red-haired woman from earlier. The same one that made Mama angry…

"What's she doing here?!" Raphtalia doesn't know, but that isn't stopping her from keeping Mama safe. She adds more force into her bite, squeezing her eyes shut when she sees that woman raise her other hand in the air. "She's going to hit me!"

Slap!

But the hit never lands. Instead of slapping Raphtalia, the red-haired woman hits Mama instead. The woman's fingernails cut into her skin, leaving an angry trail of red marks.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" Mama pulls her away from the red-haired woman, holding her closely to her chest. "Are you okay?"

"Y-You…!" Raphtalia almost wants to cry when she sees blood dripping down Mama's face. "Y-Youuuu!"

The tears splash down her face, a sob soon leaving her mouth. Raphtalia wasn't hurt, but it still feels like she was.

"That little bitch just bit me!" the red-haired woman screeches, throwing a harsh glare in Raphtalia's direction. "How dare you—!"

"Did you think I was fucking kidding when I said I wouldn't maim you?!" Mama gently pushes Raphtalia aside, her hand reaching out to grab onto the red-haired woman's hair. "You picked the wrong person to mess with, Bitch!"

The red-haired woman struggles against Mama's grip, trying her hardest to pull away. She lets out an especially loud shriek when she finally breaks free, leaving behind a large chunk of her red hair in Mama's hand.

"Y-You…!" Her face contorts into such an unsightly scowl. It reminds Raphtalia of a monster…

Maybe this red-haired woman is a monster—it's likely why Mama isn't hesitating to protect her.

"I lost everything because of your fucking father!" Mama throws aside the chunk of hair in her hand. "If you think that I'm going to let you take away what little I have left of this life I'm trying to salvage, then you are sorely mistaken!"

Mama lunges at the red-haired woman, tackling her roughly onto the floor.

Thud!

Mama's fingers tangle themselves roughly into the woman's crimson-colored locks, her hands soon pulling as strongly and painfully as she can. Another shriek erupts from the woman's mouth as she tries swiping at Mama, her sharp fingernails soon catching onto her clothes.

R-rriii-i-i-ipppp!

The tears in Mama's clothes expose the chainmail that she wore underneath. Mama grins smugly as she puts her face right in front of that woman's. "Bet you tried to steal this, huh?! Is that what you were trying to do?! Well too bad, Princess!"

It surprises Raphtalia to learn that that woman is a princess. How can someone like that be a princess?

"Mama's more of a princess than her!" Raphtalia puffs up her cheeks, her hands balling up into tiny fists as she watches Mama wrestle with the princess.

It goes well at first…but then that princess manages to flip Mama onto her back. And so the tables are turned, as the princess rakes her nails across Mama's face.

"This is what you get for daring to oppose me!" the princess spats, letting out a pained yelp when Mama's fist collides with her cheek. It's enough of a distraction that leaves her open for Mama to kick her off.

Thud!

The princess lands a few feet across from Mama, who finally gets onto her feet. She wipes away the blood covering her face, spitting out afterwards.

"Is that…is that the best you got?" she pants out, obviously exhausted from the struggle.

Raphtalia can see the princess trying something with her hand, but it never gets anywhere as a sharp blade slices through the door. It's the dark-haired young man from earlier, who had made Mama angry.

"What the hell is going on here?!" He scowls at the sight that he sees. "Iwatani, what the fuck?!"

"Thank goodness that you're here!" The princess quickly changes her demeanor, coming off as a crying, helpless mess that crawls up to the young man. "The Shield Hero had that demi-human attack me—look!"

The princess holds up the nasty bite on her hand that Raphtalia had left her.

"That is a fucking lie and you know it, you heinous bitch!" Mama stumbles towards Raphtalia, still dazed from her fight with the princess. "Leave…leave Raphtalia out of this."

"What happened to you?!" The young man ignores the princess as he puts his attention on Mama's physical state.

Seeing a chance, Raphtalia jumps off the bed and rushes over to the young man, tears welling in her eyes as she tells him, "SHE WAS TRYING TO STRIP MAMA!"

She lets out a growl when the princess tries lashing out at her. Thankfully, the young man stops her, having believed her story over the one the princess had fabricated.

"What were you trying to do to Iwatani?!" The young man glares at the princess, who struggles to save face.

It only gets worse for the princess, when the other young man shows up—the one with the brown hair and gold-colored eyes. He almost goes off on Mama, thinking it was her fault, but stops when the dark-haired young man explains the situation.

"I can't believe that you're actually the type to abuse your power." The brown-haired young man gives the princess such a hateful look.

Mama slumps down onto her knees, far too exhausted to do anything else. Seeing her fall, Raphtalia runs to her side, her arms wrapping around the one person who had made her feel like she still had a mother. Mama holds her closely to her chest, trying her hardest to choke back her sobs.

"It's okay, Mama—it's okay," Raphtalia tries to reassure her. "I won't let that princess hurt you."

That's when Mama starts crying… At the same time, that nice weirdo barges into the room, saying something about pigs and oinking. He points at the princess, telling her tricks won't work on him this time.

"Kitamura, you absolute dumbass!" Mama wails out. "This isn't what it looks like…."

"What do you mean, Father?" As usual, that weirdo calls Mama by Father…why? Raphtalia still doesn't know, but at the very least, he isn't that bad of a man. Just…really, really strange.

"Kitamura—take Iwatani out of here!" the brown-haired man tells the nice weirdo. "We'll buy you some time!"

The dark-haired man pushes the nice weirdo towards her and Mama. "Get going—now!"

"Knowing her, she'll likely use her power to put the blame all on Iwatani." The brown-haired man glares at the princess, who continues crying her fake tears.

Raphtalia is confused, a growl soon rumbling in the back of her throat when that nice weirdo walks closer to her and Mama. She stops almost at once when Mama pats her head. It feels so nice…

Then, without any warning, the nice weirdo lifts Mama into his arms, carrying her like one would see a knight carry a princess… If a princess was already holding a child in her arms and the knight had a basket full of two eggs, of course. It's so unreal…like Raphtalia is still dreaming of a better life while she was trapped in that cage.

Except, when she pinches herself, she's still awake. It's all too real. She holds tightly onto Mama as that nice weirdo crashes them through a window, leaving the inn. Anxiety starts to well up in her chest again, as she thinks about the things that can go wrong. The things that can just take all of this away from her…

That's when she feels Mama's hand pet her hair. In a calm and soothing voice, that is the exact opposite of the nice weirdo's, she starts to tell a story—the same one she had been trying to tell Raphtalia earlier, before she had fallen asleep.

"Once upon a time, isolated and trapped within her own home, there was a young girl…" Raphtalia listens closely to the story, wanting to hear all of it this time. A part of her pretends that she is that young girl, as she once had been trapped herself. She clings to the fantasy of a glass slipper used to escape a hellish lifestyle, even if only for a few hours.

In the end, the prince takes the girl away from that home, bringing her into a new life where the two of them could live happily ever after…

No longer does Raphtalia feels so anxious. Instead, she's curious, as she asks, "Are we living happily ever after?"

Mama blinks a few times, surprised with her question. That nice weirdo opens his mouth to say something, but Mama shuts him down with, "She asked me, not you."

It's the last thing that Raphtalia expects, but that doesn't keep her from laughing. She considers this her answer of sorts…because she feels happy.

…

…

Raphtalia falls asleep before Naofumi can give her an answer. There's a moment where he glares at Motoyasu—but for only a moment. He sighs afterwards, his hand bringing Raphtalia closer to his chest.

"You're really good at this." Motoyasu knows that Naofumi used to work at a daycare…but it still surprises him.

"I had a pretty crappy childhood," Naofumi says, his gaze looking ahead as they made their way out of town. "Unlike Raphtalia, there wasn't anyone there to treat me like this. No one to tell me stories… No one to make me feel safe…"

That's right… This was the reason why Naofumi had been living at a love hotel before getting summoned…

"Well…I'll keep you safe!" Motoyasu has long since decided on it. It's what Filo-tan would have wanted, though…Naofumi doesn't seem to be awake anymore. "Huh…"

Must've been tired, considering he had to fight off that crimson swine. Speaking of her, she certainly left a mark on him… As soon as they can, Motoyasu is going to have Naofumi take some of the medicine he had made. Until then, Motoyasu keeps running…

…

They're a lot farther than they were, when they left town to collect materials for Raphtalia's medicine. How far, Motoyasu isn't too sure, but he's certain it's far enough that they're safe…for now.

"Father needs to level up, soon." It concerns Motoyasu that Naofumi is still at level 1, especially now that they're on the run. Hopefully, the eggs that they've bought will hatch soon. Speaking of which, he needs to check up on them.

He takes extra care to not wake Naofumi and Raphtalia when he sets them down onto the ground. He pulls off his cloak and uses it to cover the two, keeping them warm for the time being as he goes to collect some wood to make a fire.

Within minutes, he has a fire burning brightly. It's just strong enough to provide them enough warmth to last them the rest of the night. Soon, the sun starts to rise and it's just as Motoyasu is yawning loudly that Naofumi finally stirs from his sleep.

"Morning, Father!" Motoyasu greets him cheerily before throwing a bottle of medicine in his direction.

Naofumi doesn't respond immediately, letting out an annoyed whine when the bottle hits his head. He manages to catch it soon after, looking at it questioningly until Motoyasu tells him to drink it. Without even asking why, Naofumi does as he is told, downing the bottle's contents. Within seconds, the cuts he sustained from that crimson swine are healed, leaving no scars behind.

"Looking better already!" Motoyasu grins, happy to see how nicely Naofumi has healed.

"Mehhh…" Naofumi rubs the sleep out of his eyes, slowly sitting up with Raphtalia still clinging onto him. He stretches his arms out, stopping only when he notices the cloak that's wrapped around him and Raphtalia. "Why…?"

"So that you two wouldn't be cold." It's not that difficult of a reason, though Father still seems confused with his answer. "O-Ohh!"

Motoyasu turns his attention to the basket he holds in his hands. He felt movement coming from one of the incubators…no—both of them? Ahh, it must be luck!

He moves closer to Naofumi, so that he could get a better look at the eggs as they hatched. The first one to hatch was his, which…turns out to be a male filolial chick with black feathers. It chirps a few times, looking left to right before puffing up its feathers.

"Ahhh!" Father looks absolutely elated, from the way he reaches out to stroke the chick's feathers after opening the incubator.

At least one of them is happy…no matter! While it's not Filo-tan, it's still a filolial!

"I'll name him Kuro," Motoyasu says as he brushes his fingers across the chick's neck.

"Not the most original, but it's fitting." Naofumi's gaze focuses on the egg that belongs to him. His eyes sparkle in awe as he watches the chick that pops out. It's…

It's…

"Filo-tan?" Motoyasu's eyes widen as he stares at the peeping chick. Naofumi's chick is mostly white in color, with pink tips. "Already?!"

Motoyasu was certain that it would take longer to hatch Filo-tan…

"So this is Filo-tan!" Naofumi smiles as he releases the chick from its incubator. "Hello—hey!"

Motoyasu wastes no time snatching the tiny filolial chick, wanting to double check if it is indeed Filo-tan. He almost feels like crying tears of joy…then he notices something that is…off.

"What's with that face?" Naofumi asks him as soon as he takes back his chick. "Are you okay, little guy?"

The chick peeps a few times, taking instantly to Naofumi while Motoyasu inwardly mourns over his bad luck. The chick is a spitting image of Filo-tan, from the feathers, to even the eyes… The only difference that separated the two from each other was one little physical difference…

"It's male…" Everything except the chick's sex matches what Motoyasu remembers about Filo-tan. Truly, it was a case of mistaken identity… "What are the chances…"

"So it's not Filo-tan, is what you're saying?" Naofumi doesn't look too disappointed, from the way he brings the chick closer to his face. "Hello!"

The chick peeps a few times before rubbing his face against Naofumi's cheek.

"I'm gonna call you Lial—say hello to your little brother!" Naofumi introduces the chick to Raphtalia as she slowly wakes up from her sleep.

"Hhhelllo…?" Raphtalia sleepily says before laughing out loud over how quickly the chick jumps onto her head.

Motoyasu watches the scene before him, slowly lamenting his luck that resulted in a male filolial chick named Lial. He sighs, a small smile soon forming across his lips as Kuro jumps into the palm of his hand. Sure, neither of these eggs hatched into Filo-tan…but there's no use in crying over spilt milk.

"Maybe next time," he thinks to himself as he strokes Kuro's feathers.

…

…

…

A/N HEYOOO, Noa back at it again with another chapter! And yeah, shit went in a different direction, thanks to my discord chat. Shout-out to ChibiFoxAI, Benven, NeonNavi, and Lyrecho, for helping out with most of this chapter! Also another shout out to KadeKuro, because they also had a part in this!

In any case, I deliberately faked out Motoyasu, because I thought it would be funny…and also, I am attached to Lial now. By the by, if it still hasn't sunk in, Motoyasu STILL thinks Naofumi is male.

Not the smartest person around, though no one else, save a certain shop owner and Raphtalia, has actually noticed. Speaking of Raphtalia, you have her to thank, as well as the fact that Naofumi decided to wear her chainmail underneath her clothes (think of how Priestess from Goblin Slayer does it—there we go) for the fact that things have deviated in such a way.

For once, Ren decided to give Naofumi the benefit of the doubt…which is how we got here, and helping that out is Itsuki's self-righteous nature. If anyone is worried about them, they're fine—Bitch will just say that they were tricked by the Shield Hero. Same old, same old…

Anyways, new running gag that started up between me and my own discord chat is just how LONG Motoyasu can go before he finds out Naofumi is female. Place your bets, everyone, because even I'm not sure how long this'll last!

By the by, the first thing that made me worry a LOT about Raphtalia when I first saw her eating all that food was the fact that, considering how poorly she was treated, it was unlikely that she'd be able to stomach it all without having some issues. So here I am, at least doing SOMETHING to ease the fucking concerns I have. Just…let me have this one, okay?!

Okay.

This fic has mostly been Naofumi mothers Raphtalia and gives her the childhood she deserves…oh, and Motoyasu is there, making things awkward from time to time. Yeah.

Moving on, let's get these shout-outs out of the way, because you guys have been pretty kind with giving me the validation I crave!

Reviewer #30: hawa-chan

Reviewer #33: gageelliott

Reviewer #40: ItzABlueWulf

Reviewer #44: GlaxeySkyGlim

Reviewer #50: ponyheart07

Reviewer #55: Nova Sudana

Honorable mentions: AnimeA55Kicker (I'm sorry that's not what happened, because Raphtalia played that Reverse Uno card), Kyunlei, Blu3b3rryT3a, ACasualPotato, Qinlongfei (expect more wacky situations to come), Kaiya Azure, Zennishi (who knows, because I sure don't), Meno Melissa (WELCOME TO HELL, WELCOME TO HELL), Silly Thoughts (your review legit made me laugh so hard)

Thank you guys so much for leaving a review! Keep it up, yeah?

That's about all I have for this chapter, so until next time, everyone! KD out! XD