by Aneko Yusagi
And yet, Raphtalia was apparently eager to lead the attack.
Naofumi: LV 26
Raphtalia: LV 29
Filo: LV 19
White Usapil Shield: conditions met
Dark Porcupine Shield: conditions met
Usapil Bone Shield: conditions met
Porcupine Bone Shield: conditions met
White Usapil Shield: ability locked:
equip bonus: defense 2
Dark Porcupine Shield: ability locked:
equip bonus: agility 12
Usapil Bone Shield: ability locked:
equip bonus: stamina up (small)
Porcupine Bone Shield: ability locked:
equip bonus: SP up (small)
All the abilities I’d managed to unlock were status boosts.
If there was a more efficient place to level, I could have used a better, more functional shield. But I didn’t know anywhere that would be good for efficient leveling. So all I could do was work in this area to unlock the abilities and boost the stats of the shields I already had.
How many abilities had I unlocked at that point? There were so many it was hard to tell. Even still, I hadn’t used any of the lower level shields, like the Orange Small Shield, since I’d unlocked them. The most useful had probably been the Sharpening Shield, as at least its skill came in handy from time to time.
Anyway, as for the four shields I got today, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t use them once I unlocked their abilities.
When the sun started to go down, we all walked back to Riyute, and I made sure that Filo kept to a leisurely pace.
We’d have to find some way to get Raphtalia used to riding in a carriage. On our way home she had to stop and rest in the trees more than once. That slowed us down even more, and by the time we made it back to Riyute, it was already dark.
“I’m very sorry about this.”
“Don’t worry about it. You’ll get used to it eventually.”
I never got sick. I was starting to think it a little strange. I’d heard that people could get used to riding on things that used to make them sick though, so I was hoping that Raphtalia would get over her sickness relatively quickly. Granted, Filo had a tendency to run off at breakneck speed—and that wasn’t helping.
“Gah!”
A transformation had already started in Filo. Honestly, it had probably started a long time ago, and we just hadn’t noticed it. Or, perhaps, we had noticed it but had ignored it.
The next morning I noticed the transformation, and so had Raphtalia. We were both deep in thought.
“Gaah!”
When we went to the stables to check on Filo the transformation was already complete.
Filo was… really no matter how you looked at it, much bigger than any Filolial I’d seen before.
The average height for Filolials evened out somewhere around two meters and thirty centimeters. They were a lot like ostriches. But Filo was much stockier, and her neck and head were much larger.
And she stood at two meters, eighty centimeters.
When she stood up, her head hit the ceiling of the stables.
“Did I really buy a Filolial egg? I’m starting to wonder if we didn’t end up with something else altogether.”
“Yeah… I’m starting to think the same thing.”
“Gah!”
Filo swallowed something that she’d been chewing on. I looked around and realized that the Chimera meat was all gone. There’d been like two whole cows’ worth of meat, and now it had all vanished without a trace.
Had Filo just finished it off?
“And here I was thinking that his appetite had died off…”
“She’s been eating it the whole time!”
“Gah!”
“Ahahahaha!”
“This is not a laughing matter!”
All right… what should we do? For now, at least, we could just pretend that she was a bigger Filolial than average.
Piki…
There was that weird sound again.
“Did you hear that?!”
“Mr. Naofumi? Could it be that your shield skills have helped her grow this much?”
“It could be. Sure. I did get a maturation adjustment (medium) bonus from that Monster User Shield III.”
“Mr. Naofumi… You have a Slave User Shield too, don’t you?”
“Yeah. It has a similar maturation bonus on it too.”
“You mean… It works on me?”
“Yeah, I unlocked it a long time ago. I can tell it’s having an effect on you.”
“Noooo!”
Raphtalia screamed and ran from the stables.
“Ra…Raphtalia?!”
“I… I’d been thinking that I felt lighter on my feet more than normal these days. That was you? It’s because of you!”
“Hey, calm down!”
“Am I going to get as big as Filo? I don’t want to! I’m scared!”
“You’re not making those weird sounds!”
“You… You’re right. Whew! Good thing! I was so scared.”
Still, I really couldn’t predict what the skill would do to her.
I pictured Raphtalia bulking up and growing huge, and looked over at Filo.
“What are you thinking about?”
“I wonder what’s going on.”
I ignored Raphtalia’s hysterical question and moved the conversation forward.
“Maybe we should go back to the slave trader and see if he can tell us anything?”
“Good idea.”
There was no getting around it. I really didn’t want to leave and go all the way back to Castle Town, but that seemed to be our only option.
“Gah!”
We boarded the carriage and made way for Castle Town, but I worried about Raphtalia the whole time. I didn’t want her getting sick again. On the way we fought a few monsters, and stopped to feed Filo when she protested of hunger. When we finally made it to Castle Town it was just past noon.
“Hey…”
I realized that Filo had changed even more. Her legs were shrinking, until she looked like some giant penguin, or owl.
Still, she happily pulled the carriage, as if it were her favorite thing in the world.
But she wasn’t able to pull it in the same way she had before. Before, the carriage had been tied to the reigns around Filo’s body. But now Filo held the straps in little wings that she could articulate like hands. She pulled the cart with skill.
“Gweh!”
Even her voice was different. Filo was white all over now.
“Huh?”
I climbed down from the carriage and slowly looked Filo over.
Has she… shrunk?
She seemed to be standing at two meters and thirty centimeters now. But her whole body seemed stockier now, like she’d made up for her lost height by expanding horizontally. She made for an imposing presence. She was like… one of those comically fat mascots you see around theme parks.
“Gweh?”
“It’s nothing.”
Was Filo aware of the changes she was going through? It was already hard to tell what kind of monster she was supposed to be.
“Yes, well… I don’t know what to tell you. All I can do is express my own shock. Yes sir.”
The slave trader was mopping the cold sweat from his face as he looked Filo over.
“Gweh?”
Filo was fatter in all directions now. It stood somehow like a mix between a human and an ostrich.
“Ok, so tell me the truth. This thing hatched from the egg we bought from you. What kind of egg was that?”
I stepped closer and leaned in as I asked. I snapped my fingers and Filo readied herself to attack if necessary.
“Gweeeeeeh!”
The slave trader, visibly flustered, flipped through sheet after sheet of documents.
“This is… strange. According to my records, the egg that I sold you was most definitely a Filolial egg.”
“THIS is a Filolial?
”
“Gweeh!”
I threw a big piece of food over to her, and she skillfully snapped it out of the air.
“Well… now…”
That reminded me… I don’t think I’d heard any of those weird sounds from Filo for a little while now.
Did that mean that she had finally fully matured?
“And to think that this creature hatched only a few days ago? She’s grown so fast! I take my hat off to you, Hero.”
“Stop beating around the bush. Tell me the truth. What kind of egg did you sell me?”
“Well… Was this creature always the way she appears now?”
“No.”
I gave him a quick summary of the maturation process we’d observed for the last few days.
“So you mean that the creature seemed to be a normal Filolial for a long time?”
“Yes, only now it’s like she’s become something completely different.”
“Gweh?”
Filo turned her head to the side and struck a pose. It was cute, but I think she might have been a little irritated.
Just whose fault was it that we were here though? Hm?
“Gweh.”
She walked over and rubbed her whole body against mine. Then she opened her wings and hugged me close. It only made sense, since she was a bird, that she’d be warm. But her high body heat was honestly almost sweltering.
“Um…”
Raphtalia knit her eyebrows before leaning in and grabbing my hand.
“Gweh?”
Raphtalia and Filo were now staring at one another.
“Hey, what’s with you two?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Gweh Gweh.”
Both of them shook their heads to the side. What was going on?
“So what is it?”
“Yes, well…”
The slave trader seemed at a loss for words.
Could it be that he didn’t understand how to raise the very monsters that he was selling?
“I need to do some research. May I ask you to leave the monster with me?”
“If you hurt her during this ‘research’ of yours, I’ll see to it that you pay.”
“Gweh?!”
“I understand, but I will need some time. Yes sir.”
“Fine. I’ll leave it up to you. If anything happens, I’ll hold you liable.”
“Gweeeh?!”
As if she was dissatisfied with my answer, Filo flapped her wings angrily. But a servant appeared, clipped a collar around her neck, and led her to a cage. Oddly enough, she didn’t put up a fight at all. Maybe, she didn’t because she could see us there with her.
“All right, we’ll be back tomorrow to pick her up. I sure hope you have an answer for us by then.”
I made my point bluntly, and then Raphtalia and I exited the tent.
“Gweeeh!”
Even after we’d left the tent and were walking down the street, we could still hear Filo’s sharp cries.
That evening, we were settling into our room in the inn when the innkeeper called for us.
“Excuse me, Hero?”
“Hm? What is it?”
“There is someone here to see you.”
“Who could it be? I didn’t have time to ask, as the innkeeper told me the person was waiting for us at the counter. I looked around him to see, and sure enough, there was a man I’d never seen waiting there.
“What do you want?”
“I am, um… I am a monster trainer…”
A monster trainer? Ah, a slave trader. Of course he wouldn’t want to introduce himself that way here, in front of everyone.
“What is it?”
“Um… We would like to return the monster you have left with us, so I’ve come to meet you.”
“What?!”
It had only been a couple of hours since we’d left the tent. What could have happened?
Raphtalia and I made our way to the tent as quickly as we could, and as soon as we were within earshot, we could here Filo’s cries.
“Oh, hello there. You’ll have to pardon me for calling at such an hour as this. Yes sir.”
The slave trader came to meet us at the door. He looked exhausted.
“What is it? I thought we agreed that you’d take her for the night?”
“That was what I’d intended. But your monster has caused us a fair bit of trouble you see…”
“Gweeeeeeeh!”
Filo was rocking the cage, but once she caught sight of us she calmed down a bit.
“Your monster has broken three cages, and sent five of my servants to the hospital with heavy injuries. Three of our other monsters have also sustained heavy injuries. Yes sir.”
“I’m not going to pay you for your troubles.”
“Always thinking of money, even at a time like this. I take my hat off to you, Hero. Yes sir.”
“Anyway, what is it? Did you figure out the problem?”
“No… However, I have heard an eyewitness report of something called the Filolial Master.”
“Master?”
“Specifically it refers to a Filolial that has taken on leader status of a large Filolial flock. It’s a rather famous story among adventurers.”
Apparently the slave trader had thrown his net pretty wide when he tried to figure out what the issue with Filo was.
Wild Filolials formed large flocks and apparently they were controlled by a leader.
This master would only appear before human eyes very rarely. Was he suggesting that this “King of the Filolials” was Filo?
“Huh…”
Guess it was some kind of folklore.
I could have let the monster out and absorbed it into my shield. Then I would know for sure, but it would also kill Filo. I could butcher it and absorb the blood and wings and stuff, but since she was my monster, that would only unlock the Monster User Shield. There was something else I could unlock, but I wasn’t a high enough level, and my skill tree hadn’t progressed enough.
“Gweh?”
If the monster was on your side, its information wasn’t displayed on the status screen, except for deeming it an ally. Now if the monster was an enemy I could have seen its name.
“So what do you call this master thing?”
“Filolial King, or Filolial Queen.”
“Filo’s a girl, so she must be a queen.”
“Yes. And she’s taken a liking to you, and besides, I couldn’t sell her like this if I tried.”
“Sir…”
“Huh? Did you hear that?”
“Hear what? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Um… I…”
Raphtalia covered her mouth and was pointing at Filo’s cage. The slave trader’s assistant was also pointing breathlessly. The slave trader and I followed their gaze to try and see what everyone was so excited about.
“M…Master!”
There was a naked girl with wings there in the cage, bathed in the afterglow of a radiant white light.
Chapter Seven: Transformation
“Hey! Open up in there!”
I was banging on the door to the weapon shop, which had already closed for the day. Eventually the owner slowly opened the door, looking groggy and upset.
“What is it there Little-Hero? I’ve been closed for hours.”
“We don’t have time for that!”
I’d covered Filo with my cape, and I pushed her forward so the owner could see her.
“Little-Hero-Boy, don’t come bragging to me about your new slaves.”
“That’s not it at all!”
What kind of person did he think I was? If I met the guy he seemed to think I was, I’d punch him in the face.
“Master? What’s wrong?”
“You shut up.”
“I don’t wanna!”
What the hell was going on?
Everything went crazy after that. The slave trader kept thrusting his finger at me. His assistant was speechless. Raphtalia too. As for Filo, she wanted
to get closer to me, so she became a girl, and before I knew it I’d taken her with me and was banging on the door of the weapon shop.
Tear! Riiiiiip!
She transformed before our eyes, and the cape was torn to tatters.
She’d turned into the Filolial Queen (tentative name).
That damn bird! You know that cape isn’t free?
“Wh…”
The owner was at a loss for words. He looked up at the giant bird. Filo suddenly turned back into a little girl and held my hand. The cape fluttered down from above and covered her head.
“See what I mean?”
“Oh… Yeah.”
The guy twisted his face in confusion and led us inside.
“So why did you come here? You want equipment for her?”
“Are there any clothes that could survive this transformation? Or hey—why is she transforming in the first place?!”
“C’mon, kid. Settle down.”
That’s right. Why was this happening? Why was Filo suddenly a little girl?
There were small wings on her back, left over from the transformation probably, and she had blue eyes. She looked like a little angel. And her face was so little and cute—she looked like a drawing. She looked to be around ten-years-old. She was a bit smaller than Raphtalia had been when we’d first teamed up.
GRUMBLE… a classic sound of hunger came rumbling from Filo’s new human stomach.
“Master! I’m hungry!”
“You’ll have to wait.”
“I don’t wanna!”
“All right then, you can have some of my dinner.”
The shop owner went to a back room and came back with a pot of soup.
“Now you’ll have to…”
“Yay! Yummy!”
She snatched the pot from him and poured the contents down her throat in one quick movement.
“Hm… Well, it wasn’t the most delicious soup ever…”
She handed the pot back to him, and he accepted it in silence and then shot me a glance.
“Sorry about that.”
“Hey kid, you better buy me some dinner some day.”
She was already costing me a fortune!
