The Slave Girl

The Slave Girl is the second episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime.

Plot
While the Slave Trader offers a high level Wolf-man, Naofumi instead buys a cheaper demi-human; the half-raccoon girl from before, Raphtalia, and is contracted with her. Due to her slave crest, she cannot betray him or disobey orders without feeling intense pain. But Raphtalia has reoccurring nightmares of her parents death, killed by a dog monster in the first Wave, and is initially hesitant to kill, but cannot disobey Naofumi's orders. Naofumi trains her to fight on his behalf, learning that because she is listed as a "companion" in his party, he gains XP when she does, allowing the two to begin leveling up; this also allows Naofumi to gain a shield upgrade to craft medicines and potions, which he uses to treat her sickness. As they continue, Naofumi's willingness to feed Raphtalia, let her rest, and not abuse her does he earn her trust, he even goes so far as to buy her a ball to play with. The two leave the capital for the small town of Lute, where Naofumi is unrecognized as the Shield Hero, and he searches for ways to make quick money to get by until the next Wave. Merging rope material into his shield, Naofumi unlocks the "Rope Shield" and "Air Strike Shield" spell. Learning of an abandoned mine overrun by Wave monsters, having valuable ore no one can reach anymore, the two enter to begin collecting ore. They are then attacked by a high-level dog monster that wounds Naofumi, sending Raphtalia into shock, remembering her parents' deaths; so petrified even the slave crest can't force her to fight. Seeing her petrified fear, Naofumi tells her to run while he buys time (just as her parents did before they were killed), and with those words she musters up her courage and slays the beast. Naofumi comforts Raphtalia, promising not to leave her, and while she lost her parents, she agrees to help Naofumi defeat the Waves so other children won't have to go through what she did. Leaving the cave, Naofumi gains a large reward for the ore, and buys dinner for them. Seeing a blank flag on Raphtalia's kid's meal, Naofumi takes it and adds a blood stain to make the Flag of Japan, remembering he may go home someday.