Lullaby at Dawn

Lullaby at Dawn (暁の子守唄) is the fourth episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime.

Synopsis
A celebration is being held to honor the success of the Heroes in subjugating the Waves. Unfortunately, Motoyasu comes to know of Raphtalia's status as a slave and challenges Naofumi to a duel for her freedom. Although he wants no part in it, Naofumi is forced to participate against his will.

How can the Shield Hero possibly win with defense alone? Will he be able to keep Raphtalia as his comrade? Or will he and Raphtalia part ways forever?

Plot
Following the events of the Second Wave, the Kingdom of Melromarc celebrates. At the royal castle, The Heroes and their companions are being thrown an elaborate victory celebration, where the King personally congratulates them on a job well done. Or more accurately, he congratulates the Bow, Sword, and Spear heroes. Naofumi (who is sitting on his own) curses being there but notes he has no choice if he wants to get his promised payment. With everyone ignoring him, the Shield Hero scrolls through his help menu and learns of a teleporting feature for registered members to the Wave, which he considers could be useful for the Next Wave. Naofumi also spots the Knight Captain bragging to some young noblewomen about defeating a huge monster when in reality he deserted Naofumi and arrived too late to help any of the other heroes. The crowd of noble-people meanwhile discuss the Heroes' success for limiting the casualties to one digit.

Motoyasu, for his part, is surrounded by noble-women, some of whom inquire him about his love life, which is quickly interrupted by a jealous Myne. Motoyasu suddenly spots Raphtalia walking through the crowd and tries to talk to her, but Myne stops him. Unnoticed by Raphtalia or Naofumi, Myne proceeds to whisper something into Motoyasu's ear. Raphtalia, meanwhile, is trying to get Naofumi to eat some of the food but he claims he's not hungry, (not seeing much point in eating delicious food when he can't taste it), and focuses on reading the help menu to fight the next Wave.

Despite Naofumi's objection, Raphtalia brings over some cake and persuades him to try some. Upon seeing this, a seething Motoyasu takes off one of his gloves and throws it at Naofumi's feet - challenging him to a Duel. The entire room falls silent at this, but Naofumi is unprovoked. Motoyasu tells him he knows that Raphtalia is his slave, which he believes is morally wrong and demands Raphtalia's freedom if he wins. Naofumi calls the Spear Hero out on this, stating that it is only Motoyasu's opinion and that slavery is permitted in Melromarc. Motoyasu maintains that since they are people from another world, it is morally wrong for someone, especially a Hero, to take a slave. The other heroes, Ren and Itsuki, are also shocked to learn that Naofumi has a slave as a party member and are disgusted with him.

When Naofumi asks what he will get in return if he wins, Motoyasu answers (after a pause) that he could keep things as it is. Naofumi, however, isn't interested in taking part in a duel where he gets nothing in return for winning. He attempts to leave with Raphtalia, but a guard stops him. A 'disgusted' and definitely not biased (sarcasm) King Aultcary appears... Having overheard everything, he declares Naofumi is rotten to his very core and orders him to take part anyway. When Raphtalia tries to explain that she follows Naofumi of her own free will, she is seized, bound, gagged and dragged away by the Melromarc soldiers. The King reasons that Raphtalia has simply been forced to defend her master by the Slave Crest.

Outraged Naofumi tries to take Raphtalia back by force, only to be surrounded by numerous guards, who draw their swords on him. Left with no choice, Naofumi reluctantly accepts the duel but declares that they better hand Raphtalia back when he wins. Thus prompts Myne to taunt the Shield Hero, reminding Naofumi (and everyone else) that the Shield Hero can't attack, which makes the sneering crowd laugh at Naofumi's expense. With the crowd clearly favoring Motoyasu, and after getting another painful reminder that he can't use any other weapons, Naofumi is escorted to the courtyard where he meets the Spear Hero.

Motoyasu (who is twenty-two levels above Naofumi) proceeds to mock his adversary with the tale about the all-penetrating Spear and the unbreakable Shield and wonders which one is stronger. When Naofumi ignores Motoyasu's offer to surrender gracefully, the later charges. Despite the drawbacks from his weapon, Naofumi quickly proves his metal. He blocks all the incoming strikes with his relative ease using his Light Metal Shield and declares that Motoyasu lost the moment he couldn't penetrate his shield. When the Spear Hero uses his powerful attack, Chaos Spear, it has little effect and when it's cooldown time kicks in (which renders him helpless as he has to wait for the second attack skill) Naofumi takes advantage of the situation and attacks.

Using the Balloon monsters on his person as weapons, and the various Shields he unlocked, Naofumi beats Motoyasu into a corner. The Spear Hero calls him out for using the monster, ordering him to fight fairly, but when he retaliates is suddenly attacked by The Dog Demon Shield. Knocking the Spear Hero down with Air Strike Shield, Naofumi sics several more Balloons on his winded opponent and locks them within the confined metal sphere of a Shield Prison, so that the monsters can devour Motoyasu.

The King, Melromarc's Nobles, and Myne are clearly shocked by The Shield Hero's resilience and ability to hold his own. Although Ren and Itsuki seem genuinely surprised at this unexpected development, several of the nobles call out Naofumi's dirty, underhanded tactics. The atmosphere in the courtyard is suddenly very tense. Things are not going the way they were expecting, and everyone knows that if things carry on like this, then there is the distinct possibility that Motoyasu is going to lose!

Then, as Naofumi readies another attack, standing on the cusp of victory, he is suddenly blown away by Wind magic fired by Myne and Motoyasu (his cooldown time having ended) unleashes a savage attack, Lightning Spear, beating Naofumi down. Drained and clearly exhausted, Motoyasu scornfully declares that he has won. Naofumi tries to call out on the obvious cheating and asked for witness from the audience. No one answers to his claims. All he gets is Motoyasu and the audience calling him a sore loser, whilst Myne and King Aultcray reminding everyone that Naofumi is scum, and not to listen to him.

Declaring the fight in Motoyasu's favor, the King makes his way down to the arena. Myne meanwhile stands alongside the man she betrayed and framed. She gleefully taunts him that now he will have to fight alone again, before laughing cruelly at his misfortune. The King congratulates the Spear Hero on a job well done and declares that his daughter chose her companion wisely; revealing to Naofumi that Myne's real name is Princess Malty Melromarc.

Myne immediately rushes over to join her father, claiming that it is her intention to help save the world. As the Spear Hero is then tended to by a mage, Naofumi stands in the middle of the arena, dwelling upon a cruel revelation. Thanks to Aultcray's last statement, the last piece of the jigsaw slides into place and at long last, everything finally makes sense to the Shield Hero. His eyes wide with shock, Naofumi realizes that he was doomed from the very beginning because the royal family had planned his downfall before he was even summoned!

Myne Sophia, no, Princess Malty Melromarc never had any intention of becoming his companion. She only pretended to join Naofumi, so that she could set him up to fail. Taking advantage of his naivety and kindness, Malty used her time with him to not only get her armor but to see how much the Shield Hero knew about the world and set him back financially. Once this was done, she stole what little Naofumi had in order to guarantee his death. Her accusation was not only meant to help the Princess gain the sympathy of her real chosen hero, but ensure that nobody would want to associate with or help Naofumi. That way, the Shield Hero could never regain what she had taken from him.

The King meanwhile is not the ignorant, justice driven fool that Naofumi thought he was. As Malty's father, he undoubtedly had prior knowledge of his daughters malicious scheme and intentions. Even if, by some slim chance, this was not the case, the King did nothing to help the Shield Hero. No doubt remembering the monarchs dismissive attitude towards him at their first meeting, Naofumi realises that Aultcray, for reasons unknown, hates the Shield Hero. Thus, he refused to investigate the matter properly and allowed Naofumi to suffer unjustly for something that he did not do. This explains why the citizens of Melromarc were willing to believe Myne's accusation. With Aultcray backing her up, nobody would question it or show their support for Naofumi, even if they believed his claims of innocence.

As for this duel with Motoyasu, it was nothing more than another cruel set-up, orchestrated by the crown to make him suffer. All Myne had to do was appeal to Motoyasu's overinflated ego, whispering another lie to him. She undoubtedly said that Naofumi had enslaved Raphtalia against her will and was now using his powers to abuse "the poor girl", knowing full well that the gullible fool would swallow what she said without any proof. In other words, none of this was for Raphtalia's sake. It was just another spiteful move from by the vile King and Princess, who intended to deprive the already broken Naofumi of his one true ally and only form of support!

A dark mist starts to emanate from Naofumi's shield, as the Shield Hero sinks further into depression and anger, reflecting on the unfairness of his situation. He did not come to this world willingly nor ask to be a hero. Those situations were both forced upon him. Neither did he choose to become the Shield Hero. That decision was out of his hands. In short, he has done nothing to warrant any of this unfair treatment.

So why? Why are the King, Princess and their subjects so determined to make him suffer?

As if to add to Naofumi's suffering, after one of Aultcray's ministers declares that Motoyasu has now freed Raphtalia, the callous audience start to openly demean the Shield Hero. Calling him a criminal and scum, the citizens declare that they don't need or want him. One person even demands that Naofumi just be executed. These insults are the final straw for Naofumi and he snaps!

An intense, festering rage takes over him, as he drops to all fours, slamming the ground in frustration a thick black mist surrounding him. He watches on helpless as Raphtalia (seeing her in her child form) has her Slave Crest forcefully removed. Naofumi, under the Shield's influence, hallucinates the child Raphtalia abandoning him like everyone else, by walking away with Myne. Crying out in despair, Naofumi imagines himself trying to toss the Shield away only for the device to automatically re-attach itself to his arm. Having reached his lowest point, The Shield Hero declares venomously that he has had enough.

He desires nothing more than to destroy this unjust world and the foul people within it. As a result of his hallucinations and negative emotion, something called the Curse Series unlock in response to his rage.

Blinded by his emotions and the Shields power, Naofumi doesn't pay any attention to his surroundings. As such, he fails to notice that things are not going the way that his enemies had intended!

With a loud "SMACK", Motoyasu is sent reeling backwards, a big red mark now decorating his left cheek. Far from being grateful to him, the only thing that the newly-freed Raphtalia gives her so-called "savior" is a massive slap to the face. As the citizens of Melromarc (including the King) stare on in shock, Raphtalia denounces Motoyasu as a cheater (in the English dub, she calls him a liar and a cheat). Stunned, Malty demands to know what the heck Raphtalia thinks she is doing, but the tanuki ignores her. Instead, she calls Motoyasu out on his selfishness, making it very clear to him and his allies that she never wanted to freed in the first place.

This leads to a verbal confrontation between the Demi-Human and the Spear Hero. The spectators watch on in complete bewilderment as Motoyasu tries to defend himself, only for Raphtalia to counter each and every one of his feeble excuses with solid facts.

Shaken by Raphtalia's lack of gratitude, Motoyasu states that he had to free her because she was a slave. That meant that Naofumi was abusing and misusing her. This declaration shows that, as Naofumi expected, Motoyasu only ever took Raphtalia's status at face value. He did not investigate Myne's accusations nor speak directly to Raphtalia to confirm the nature of her and Naofumi's relationship. Raphtalia lampshades this, by declaring that Motoyasu clearly doesn't know anything about Naofumi's character. Whilst she might have been a slave, Naofumi never mistreated or misused her. On the contrary, he never forced her to do anything that she didn't want to do and only activated the curse when she wouldn't fight.

Slamming his spear on the ground, Motoyasu states that's the problem; nobody should be forced to fight against their will. Unfortunately for the Spear Hero, this declaration is nothing short of hypocritical. Not only were the Cardinal Heroes summoned to this new world for that very purpose (even if they didn't like fighting), Motoyasu himself just forced Naofumi to participate in a rigged duel. The Shield Hero made it very clear that he did not want to fight, but both the King and the Spear Hero forced his hand. Instead of pointing this out, Raphtalia reminds him that because of the Shields limitations, Naofumi cannot use other weapons; since the sacred weapons literally zap anything NOT like them out of their wielders hands. If he is to stand any hope of surviving the waves and other obstacles, the Shield Hero needs people to fight alongside him.

Desperate, Motoyasu insists that Raphtalia doesn't need to be the one to help Naofumi. He denounces the Shield Hero as a rotten individual, who will only misuse Raphtalia, only to discard her when she is of no further use to him. Again, this is hypocritical on Motoyasu's part since he does not know anything about Naofumi's character. He is basing his assumptions upon what Myne told him. Additionally, it is also thanks partially to Motoyasu that Naofumi cannot find anybody willing to fight alongside him in Melromarc. Raphtalia once again calls Motoyasu out on his lack of knowledge about her relationship with Naofumi. Looking right into the Spear Hero's eyes, Raphtalia makes it clear that from the moment he purchased her, Naofumi treated Raphtalia like an equal. Unlike the citizens of Melromarc who regard Demi-Humans as filth and use them as slaves, Naofumi looked after and protected her and she, in return, protects him.

Taken aback by this statement, Motoyasu's resolve begins to falter. Stunned, he feebly says that this can't be true, since Naofumi is not capable of such kindness. Once again though, the Spear Hero is basing this off of assumptions and rumors rather than solid facts, since he never gave Naofumi a chance to prove himself. Realising that she has cornered him, Raphtalia counters with a lists of all the things that the Shield Hero has done for her. Despite being poor, with limited finances and practically no support, Naofumi took a sickly Demi-Human on death's door under his wing. He saved Raphtalia, feeding her properly, buying her decent clothes and personally making medicine to combat her illness when nobody else in the country even cared about her. Thus, she asks if the Spear Hero is capable of such kindness. When Motoyasu insists that of course he is, Raphtalia shuts hims up by pointing out that if that is true, then why does he not already have a demi-human slave in his party, freed or otherwise?

With this declaration, Raphtalia trounces Motoyasu's argument. For all of his claims about slavery being wrong, since coming to Melromarc, Motoyasu has done nothing to help anybody in Raphtalia's position until now. Despite the Spear Hero boasting about being the real hero, his access to better finances and close ties to the crown, it was NAOFUMI, the outcast hero with no support who rescued the sickly young slave girl. Now in front of Melromarc's aristocracy, high profile adventurers, priest-hood and royal family, Raphtalia, a Demi-Human, the lowest of the low within Melromarc's society has publicly shamed the countries most prestigious hero, making him look like a fool in front of everybody whilst vindicating the supposedly vile hero!

Rattled, Motoyasu tries to argue back, but is interrupted by Malty him. Furious at seeing both her plan to separate the Shield Hero from his companion falling apart in front of her and angered at seeing Motoyasu get humiliated by a demi-human, the Princess of Melromarc orders Raphtalia to shut up. Angered by her insubordination, Malty openly demeans Raphtalia for being a demi-human, which confirms Naofumi's suspicion that she never really cared about the tanuki's wellbeing. Full of rage, the Princess raises her hand aggressively, intending to strike the Shield Hero's defiant companion. Before she can do so, however, a man in the audience notices movement at the edge of the arena, making Malty do a double take.

Two people walk into the arena; Ren and Itsuki. As the confused audience members whisper to one another uncertainly, the clearly vexed Itsuki demands that Myne explain why she illegally interfered with the duel? The Princess feigns ignorance, but Motoyasu is confused by Itsuki's question. Seeing this, Ren, who is now standing behind the astonished Raphtalia, tells Motoyasu quite bluntly that he lost the duel.

To the Spear Hero and everybody else's shock Ren then verifies Naofumi's accusations, making it clear that Motoyasu did not win that fight honorably or with his own strength. One of Motoyasu's companions shot Naofumi in the back with wind magic, causing the Shield Hero to lose his balance and give the Spear Hero his opening. Although he doesn't say who did it, Ren is glaring at Myne as he says this, making it very clear whom he is referring to.

Shocked, Motoyasu turns to his girlfriend. With an "innocent smile" on her face, the Princess of Melromarc tries to claim that the Bow and Sword Heroes are mistaken. She insists that since nobody else said anything it cannot be true. Surely if she or anybody else has done something like that, somebody would have pointed it out. Itsuki shoots this argument down by angrily stating that everybody saw it. The only reason that no one has said anything is because of her father. King Aultcray's declaration at the end of that duel was not just a false proclamation of victory, it was a veiled threat. The King was ordering his subjects to stay quiet about his daughter's intervention or face the consequences. The people in that arena all know what really happened and even though they didn't say anything, their current expressions (of great unease and anxiety) proves as much. Glaring at both father and daughter, Ren expresses his disgust that they, the royal family, would willingly use their authority to debase a sacred duel in such a disrespectful manner.

Caught out, King Aultcray glares off to the side, no longer able to look any of the heroes in the eye. With her lies and intervention exposed, the clearly irate Malty falls silent, her scheme now in ruins. Motoyasu meanwhile stares at his companion in disbelief, his joy and triumph over Naofumi completely undone. In the stands, the citizens of Melromarc whisper to each other anxiously, completely taken aback by the Bow and Sword Heroes actions. For some reason, the High Priest and his officials appear especially concerned by this development. As for Raphtalia, she has nothing more to say to the people that tried to separate her from Naofumi. With her point proven, she storms past Motoyasu and his allies without a word. She does not thank Ren or Itsuki for their assistance, refuses to look at the Princess, Motoyasu or the King and does not demonstrate any semblance of respect for her false saviors stations. Instead, the young woman's concerns lie elsewhere.

Silence falls once again, as Raphtalia cautiously approaches the now barely responsive Shield Hero. Wallowing in despair, Naofumi has not heard Raphtalia defend him, continuing to rage against the world and his Shield. When Raphtalia warily calls out to him, Naofumi refuses to listen to her. Believing that she is about to desert and betray him, like everybody else, Naofumi calls her a "traitor," whilst sarcastically asking if she has come over to gloat, before ordering her to go away.

Tentatively, Raphtalia admits that she has heard the rumors circulating about him. As she feared, this declaration only angers the Shield Hero further. When Raphtalia tries to say that she does not believe he would do such a thing, Naofumi doesn't even listen or give her a chance to finish. He screams in frustration at her (and the rest of the audience) that he did not do it! As far as he is concerned though this declaration does not matter. Nobody believed Naofumi when he said he was innocent; so why would they start to believe him now?

When Raphtalia approaches, Naofumi rebuffs her, even pushing her away when she tries to comfort him. Still despairing at the unfairness of his situation, Naofumi reminds her that she is free, and asks if she is only there just to taunt him. Thanks to the effects of the Curse Series, Naofumi can only see Raphtalia as a child and doesn't realize that she is trying to comfort or express her belief in him. Thinking that this is nothing more than a cruel trick, similar to the one Malty played on him, a despairing Naofumi demands to know what else the citizens of Melromarc are going to take from him?

Having had enough with the unfairness of his situation, Naofumi tries to rip the Shield from his body. Raphtalia, however, places her hand on the Shield and reminds him that the Shield had saved her life and that during the Wave, he did what no one else would - defended many others, despite not being able to fight. When he admits that he is not a nice guy and saw her as nothing more than a useful instrument to start off with, Raphtalia ignores this declaration, declaring he saved her!

When Naofumi tries to argue against this, the tanuki-girl reaches forward and embraces him. Raphtalia then declares it doesn't matter what anyone else says, she knows he is kind and better than anyone else in Melromarc. In a clear declaration of loyalty, Raphtalia tells Naofumi, (and everyone else) that no matter what happens or is said about the Shield Hero - she intends to stand by him, to take his side! She will stand by the man that saved her, and who helped her find meaning and purpose again.

Releasing him from her embrace, Naofumi's warped perception of Raphtalia disappears. As she proclaims to be his sword, who will follow him to the very end, her appearance transforms into that of an adult. Unnoticed by the pair, the power of the Curse Series starts to wane. Then Raphtalia says the words that Naofumi has needed to hear since the trial. She believes in his innocence. This causes Naofumi to become emotional, as he realizes just how much he took his partner and her previous declaration for granted. Finally, the Curse Series is neutralized and the mist that engulfed him clears off. Naofumi is confused to see a now fully grown Raphtalia in front of him and asks who she is, as he always saw her as a child. After answering his question, the tanuki Demi-Human once again promises that even if she might be a burden, she wants to stay with him.

At these words, Naofumi's emotions get the best of him and he breaks down. Finally, after being forced to endure three weeks of ridicule, harassment, and false accusations, he has found somebody that he can truly call his ally. Raphtalia, the Shield Hero's trusted companion has heard the rumours about him and truly believes that he is innocent. At long last, he has found somebody in this cruel new world that he can truly rely upon. As the tears start to pour from Naofumi's eyes, Raphtalia gently embraces him, comforting her beloved hero and saviour.

The focus then shifts back to the instigators of this whole fiasco. From their expressions. it is clear that the villains have not been swayed by Raphtalia's sentiment. On the contrary, King Aultcray glares at the couple coldly, whilst Malty looks on in disbelief. A few seconds later, the King turns his back. He doesn't say anything and does need to; their plan to separate the Shield Hero from his companion has failed. Hundreds of people witnessed the removal of Raphtalia's slave crest, as well as her subsequent heart-felt declarations. Given everything that was said and done, there can be no doubt in anybodies minds now that the tanuki is both genuinely loyal to Naofumi and serves the Shield Hero completely of her own free will.

Knowing that there is nothing anybody can do about it now, especially not with Ren and Itsuki watching, the King simply leaves. He is followed out of the arena by the equally silent and disappointed Malty. In the stands, the people who lied on the King and Princesses behalves take the hint; the spectacle is over. With nothing more to see, they too begin to quietly file out, clearly dissatisfied with the results.

As the arena empties around them, the now completely dejected and humiliated Motoyasu clutches his spear for support. Despite everything that was just said, the Spear Hero still insists that he did nothing wrong. Trying to defend himself with his own principles, Motoyasu remains adamant that Naofumi is the real bad guy here, as he still believes that a hero should not own slaves. He also refuses to accept that a beautiful girl like Raphtalia would willingly work alongside somebody as despicable as Naofumi. Thus, Motoyasu claims that the poor tanuki has been brainwashed into serving Naofumi. Ren and Itsuki call their comrade out on this self-serving declaration, stating quite firmly that is clearly not the case. You only have to look at Naofumi and Raphtalia as they are now to realize that they genuinely care about each other.

Ignoring all of this, Naofumi continues to cry into his companions chest. A narration comment reveals that he fell asleep on Raphtalia's lap and that they stayed in that empty courtyard for the rest of the night.

The next morning, Naofumi wakes up and realizes that Raphtalia was indeed an adult and asks her about it. Raphtalia explains that Demi-Humans share a unique biological quirk with monsters: Demi-Human children rapidly age in proportion to their level, and this is one of the main reasons why they're considered the same as monsters and discriminated against in Melromarc. Raphtalia scrounges together some leftovers of the feast from the kitchen, making sandwiches for the two of them. Naofumi takes one bite and is visibly marveled, realizing that he can taste the food once again. Raphtalia once again reassures Naofumi that they will go through everything together.

Light Novel & Manga Differences
Information to be added later on.

Trivia

 * The levels of Naofumi, Motoyasu, and their party members were shown.
 * The causalities of the waves were revealed to be of in the single digit.
 * Naofumi uses Balloon monsters as his weapons in his fight against Motoyasu.
 * Magic exists in this world as Myne used a spell during the duel.
 * Myne's affinity for magic is revealed to be Wind magic.
 * Demi-Humans age to their primes as they level, because of which they are seen as monsters by Humans.

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