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, falsely claiming that it is her intention to help save the world. The Spear Hero is then tended to by a mage who completely ignores the Shield Hero. Not that Naofumi cares about this, for he has other things on his mind. The moment the King made this proclamation, the Shield Hero hit upon a cruel revelation. With this last, vital piece of information, everything falls into place and finally makes sense to him. His eyes now wide with shock, Naofumi realizes the terrible truth behind his predicament: he had been set up from the very beginning, with his downfall planned before he was even summoned! Myne Sophia, no, Princess Malty Melromarc never had any intention of being his companion. She used Naofumi, deliberately taking advantage of his naivety and kindness. Once she had gotten what she wanted, she took everything from Naofumi in order to leave him with nothing. She not only framed him to turn everybody against him, she did it to win favor with her real chosen hero, Motoyasu.

As for King Aultcray, he is not the ignorant, justice driven fool that Naofumi believed he was. He is Malty's father and was probably aware of his daughters malicious schemes and intentions. Even if he wasn't, instead of stopping her, he deliberately used his power and position to cover Malty's tracks. This explains why there was no real investigation or inquiry into Malty's accusations and why the ordinary people so willingly believed it. Since the accusation came from the monarchy, nobody would question it or willingly show their support for Naofumi, even if they had believed him

This duel with Motoyasu was nothing but another set-up, rigged entirely by the crown. All Myne had to do to kick start things was to appeal to Motoyasu's ego. She no doubt told Motoyasu that Naofumi had enslaved Raphtalia against her will and was using his powers to abuse the poor girl. She knew full well that Motoyasu would believe her and try to save "the poor girl." 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 support!

A dark mist begins to emanate from Naofumi's shield, as the Shield Hero sinks further into depression, reflecting on the unfairness of his situation. He did not come to this world willingly. He did not ask to be a hero, those situations were both forced upon him. Nor has he done anything to warrant such unfair treatment, so why are the people of Melromarc so determined to make him suffer?

As 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, saying they don't need or want him. One person even demands that Naofumi just be executed. Hearing all of these unjustified insults, Naofumi snaps! A deep, 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 but is unable to run away from it, as the Shield automatically re-attaches 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 let this unjust world, and all of the foul people within it, die! As a result of his hallucinations, and negative emotion, something called the Curse Series begins to activate as Naofumi's Shield responds to his rage, unlocking this new, evidently dark series.

Blinded by his emotions and the Shields power, Naofumi does not 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. There is a look of pain on his face and a big red mark on the Spear Hero's left cheek. Far from being grateful, 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 stare on in complete shock, she then labels him a cheater (in the English dub, she called him a liar and a cheat),

Taken aback, Malty demands to know what the hell Raphtalia thinks she is doing? Adopting an aggressive stance, the tanuki calls Motoyasu out on his selfishness, angrily declaring that she never wanted him to free her 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 ever-increasing feeble excuses with solid facts.

Shaken by Raphtalia's lack of gratitude, Motoyasu insists that he had to free her. Raphtalia was a slave, which meant that Naofumi had been abusing and misusing her. This shows that Motoyasu took Raphtalia's status at face value. He did not investigate Myne's accusations against Naofumi nor did he speak to Raphtalia about the nature of hers and Naofumi's relationship. (The idiot doesn't know how the slave crests worked, so he was easily made to dance like a puppet by Myne). Raphtalia lampshades this, declaring that Motoyasu clearly doesn't know anything about Naofumi's character. Whilst she might have been a slave, Naofumi has never once mistreated or misused her. He does not force her to do anything that she doesn't want to and only ever activated the curse when she wouldn't fight.

Slamming his spear firmly on the ground, Motoyasu insists that that is the problem; nobody should be forced to fight against their will. Unfortunately for the Spear Hero, this declaration is completely 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 what was supposed to be a one-sided bout. The Shield Hero had made it very clear that he did not want to fight, but the King and the Spear Hero forced his hand. The Demi-Human immediately counters by reminding The Spear Hero that because of the Shields limitations, Naofumi cannot use any other weapons; since the damn sacred weapons zap anything NOT like it out of their 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 pathetically tries to say that it doesn't need to be Raphtalia. He insists that Naofumi will continue to misuse her until she is of no further use to him before disposing of her. Again, this is hypocritical on Motoyasu's part since he does not know anything about Naofumi's character. He is basing all of this upon what Myne has told him. Additionally, it is also thanks partially to Motoyasu's actions that Naofumi cannot find anybody willing to fight alongside him in Melromarc. Raphtalia once again calls Motoyasu out on his lack of knowledge about hers and Naofumi's relationship. Ever since he purchased her, the Shield Hero has treated Raphtalia like an equal, (unlike the citizens of Melromarc who regard Demi-Humans as filth and use them as slaves). He has looked after and protected her since day one. In return for that, she helps to defend him.

Motoyasu is genuinely taken aback by this and his resolve begins to falter. All he can do is feebly protest that Naofumi is not like that. Once again though, the Spear Hero is basing this off of assumptions rather than solid facts, having never given Naofumi a chance to prove himself. Having cornered him, Raphtalia demands to know whether or not Motoyasu is capable of such kindness? Despite being poor, with limited finances and practically no support, Naofumi took Raphtalia, a sickly Demi-Human on death's door under his wing. He saved her, fed her properly, bought her decent clothes and personally made her medicine to combat her illness when nobody else in the country even cared about her. When she asks if he is capable of such feats, Motoyasu hesitantly insists that yes, of course, he is ... only for Raphtalia to immediately point out that if that was true, why does he not have a slave, freed or otherwise in his party?

With this declaration, Raphtalia completely trounces Motoyasu's argument. For all his claims about slavery being wrong, since coming to Melromarc, The Spear Hero has done nothing to help anybody in Raphtalia's position up until now. Despite all of Motoyasu's boasting about being a 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, priest-hood, and royal family, Raphtalia, a Demi-Human, lowest of the low within Melromarc's society has called out the countries most prestigious hero. Instead of being grateful, she laid the Spear Hero's villainy to bear and all but called him a lying hypocrite right to his face!

Rattled to his core, Motoyasu barely manages to get two words out before Malty interrupts him. Standing next to Motoyasu, the Princess of Melromarc has been watching idly by, as her plan to separate the Shield Hero and his companion disintegrates before her eyes. Furious, Malty yells at Raphtalia to shut up. Openly demeaning Raphtalia for being a Demi-Human, (which proves that she never cared about the tanuki's well-being), Malty raises her hand aggressively, intending to strike the Shield Hero's defiant companion. Before she can, however, somebody in the audience notices movement at the edge of the arena. Myne does a double take as two people march onto the scene. It is Ren and Itsuki. As the Bow and Sword Heroes make their way fowards, the confused audience members whisper to one another anxiously, wondering what is going on?

Standing next to Raphtalia, the clearly vexed Itsuki orders Myne to explain herself, asking why she illegally intervened in the duel? The Princess of Melromarc feigns ignorance, but Motoyasu is taken aback by Itsuki's question. To his and Raphtalia's astonishment, Ren tells the Spear Hero quite bluntly that the duel was his loss and confirms that Naofumi's accusations were true. Motoyasu did not win that battle with his own strength, one of his companions shot Naofumi in the back with wind magic, just as the Shield Hero claimed they did. Although he doesn't name names, Ren is glaring at Myne as he says this, making it very clear whom he is referring to. Shocked, Motoyasu turns to look at Myne in disbelief.

With an "innocent smile" on her face, the Princess tries to convince the Bow and Sword Heroes that they are mistaken. She insists that since nobody said anything it cannot be true. If something like that happened, as they claim, someone would have pointed it out. Provoked, Itsuki shoots this argument down, by making it clear that everybody saw it, himself and Ren included. The reason that nobody else has called Myne out on it is because of her father. King Aultcray's declaration at the end of the duel was not just a false proclamation of Motoyasu's victory, but a threat. The King was telling his subjects to stay quiet or face the consequences. The Bow Hero rounds off his argument by saying that if anybody confronted the audience about it, they would see the truth in their eyes. Glaring at the two royals, Ren expresses his disgust that the leaders of Melromarc would willingly debase a sacred duel in such a disrespectful manner.

Caught out, King Aultcray glares off to the side, unable to look any of the heroes in the eye. Motoyasu and Myne meanwhile fall silent, their joy and triumph now completely undone. At the same time, the citizens of Melromarc whisper to one another anxiously, taken aback by the Bow and Sword Heroes actions, with The High Priest and the other Church officials appearing particularly concerned. Back in the arena, Raphtalia has proved her point, thanks to some unexpected allies. With nothing more to say, the tanuki storms past the confused Motoyasu and his allies. She does not thank Ren or Itsuki, refuses to look at Myne, Motoyasu or Aultcray or demonstrate any semblance of respect for her false saviors stations. Instead, the young womans 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 confesses that she has heard the rumors circulating about him. As she feared, this declaration only angers the Shield Hero even further, so that when Raphtalia tries to say that she does not believe he would do such a thing, Naofumi doesn't even 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 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, Raphtalia appears as a teenager and promises to be Naofumi's sword, who will follow him to the very end. Throughout all of this, the power of the Curse Series wanes, and as Raphtalia said the words that he always wanted to hear, Naofumi becomes emotional, realizing just how much he took his partner and her previous declaration for granted. Finally, the Curse Series gets 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. Hearing this proclamation, Naofumi breaks down. Finally, after being forced to endure three weeks of ridicule, harassment, and false accusations, the Shield Hero has found somebody that he can truly call his ally. Raphtalia, his trusted companion has heard the rumours and truly believes that he is innocent, making her somebody that he can rely on. As tears begin to pour from Naofumi's eyes, Raphtalia reaches forwards and embraces him, comforting the Shield Hero.

The focus shifts back to the instigators of this whole fiasco; King Aultcray and Princess Malty. From their expressions, it is clear that the villains have not been moved by Raphtalia's sentiment in the slightest. On the contrary, the King glares at the couple coldly, whilst Myne looks on with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. A few seconds later, King Aultcray turns his back and begins to walk out. He does not say anything nor does he need to. Hundreds of people witnessed the removal of Raphtalia's slave crest, as well as her subsequent declarations/actions. There can be no doubt 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, especially not with Ren and Itsuki watching, Aultcray simply marches out of the arena, with his and Malty's scheme in ruins. He is followed almost immediately by the equally silent and disappointed Malty. In the stands, the citizens of Melromarc take the hint; the spectacle is over. With nothing more to see, they follow their leaders example and begin to quietly file out, clearly dissatisfied with the results.

As the arena empties around them, Motoyasu clutches his spear for support. Despite everything that Raphtalia said to him, the dejected and humiliated Spear Hero still insists that he did nothing wrong. Selfishly defending himself with his own principles, Motoyasu remains adamant that Naofumi is the real bad guy here, stating that a hero should not own slaves. He also refuses to accept that a beautiful girl like Raphtalia would willingly work alongside a known criminal after what he did. Instead he argues that she must be brainwashed. Unconvinced, Ren and Itsuki call their comrade out on this selfish declaration, stating quite firmly that this is clearly not the case. You only have to look at Naofumi and Raphtalia 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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