The Words I Wanted to Hear

The Words I Wanted to Hear (聞きたかった言葉) is the eighth chapter of The Rising of the Shield Hero manga adaptation.

Summary
Following Naofumi's unfair loss to Motoyasu, the Shield Hero tries to convince the audience of Malty's interference but nobody listens. As such, Raphtalia is forcibly purged of the slave tattoo that binds her to Naofumi. However, she reveals that she actually likes being Naofumi's slave, trusts that he didn't commit the crimes he's accused of, and the two leave to reform their slave contract.

Synopsis
In the stands, the audience members cheer ecstatically at Motoyasu's "victory" whilst Raphtalia looks on in horror. Proclaimed the winner by King Aultcray, the Spear Hero turns his back on his defeated adversary and prepares to leave in triumph, only for Naofumi to call him out.

Outraged, the Shield Hero tries to tell Motoyasu about Myne's intervention. Smirking, Motoyasu cheerfully dismisses Naofumi's claim. Desperate the Shield Hero turns to the audience members for support, only for the spectators to turn their noses up at him. A moment later a voice calls out. The same person that caused Naofumi to stumble tells the crowd not to let the "criminal" deceive them. King Aultcray shares this view, dismising Naofumi's accusations over that of his daughter Myne!

As the Princess and Spear Hero start to flirt with one another, Naofumi finally recognizes the full gravity of his situation. King Aultcray and Princess Malty set things up so that he would fail from the very beginning. Malty wanted to get the strongest of the heroes on her side and Aultcray protected her for no other reason than she is his daughter. This duel is nothing more than their latest setup. Malty knew that Motoyasu would not tolerate the idea of a woman suffering under Naofumi, so she deliberately manipulated him, knowing that she could intervene if things did not go their way.

Malty smirks evilly as Raphtalia's slave crest is removed. Whilst this is happening, darkness surrounds Naofumi as he realizes that he was doomed from the moment he landed in Melromarc. As Malty locks arms with Motoyasu, leading him to greet the girl he just "rescued", the Shield imagines everybody laughing at him (including Raphtalia). At long last, he understands what Myne's plan is: the evil Princess wants to remembered as a great hero. To do this, she deliberately framed him with the help of her stupid father. Meanwhile, the rest of Melromarc is just going to sit back and let it happen.

Whilst the Shield Hero is contemplating this, Motoyasu approaches Raphtalia with his arms outstretched. However, a split second before he can embrace her, Raphtalia (who is finally free of her bindings) strikes the Spear Hero hard across the face without a moments hesitation. The impact knocks Motoyasu off his feet. Myne immediately grabs Motoyasu's shoulders and demands to know what the hell Raphtalia thinks she is doing? Her rage however, is nothing compared to the tanuki's. Glaring at the Spear Hero hatefully, the crying Raphtalia tells Motoyasu how dare he do what he just did. Especially when she never even wanted his help to begin with!

Motoyasu tries to argue that he had to save her because she was a slave, but Raphtalia tells him flat out that Naofumi never abused her like he believes. The Shield Hero helped her overcome her fears, which Motoyasu still insists isn't right. When Raphtalia states that Naofumi needs companions as he cannot fight on his own, the Spear Hero states that she doesn't need to be the one to help him. This causes Raphtalia to shout (at everybody) all the good things that Naofumi has done for her, including buying her food, clothing and medicine. Above all else though, the Shield Hero has protected her, never once allowing her to come to harm. Raphtalia then challenges the Spear Hero, asking if he is capable of such kindness? When Motoyasu insists that of course he is, Raphtalia simply asks where are the demi-humans in his party?

Having put the arrogant Spear Hero in his place, Raphtalia, (much to Myne's astonishment) marches past him and his associate. Without a moments hesitation or a second glance, she heads straight over to Naofumi. Although he has remained silent up until this point, the Shield Hero was able to hear what Raphtalia said but chose to ignore it, thinking that everyone was against him. When Raphtalia offers him her hands, Naofumi pushes her back. Recognizing that he is suffering, Raphtalia confesses that she has heard the rumors about him being a rapist. Motoyasu tries to intervene, claiming that the Shield Hero did the same thing to Raphtalia, but the demi-human shouts back that Naofumi did no such thing.

Failing to notice this gesture of support, the Shield Hero refuses to let Raphtalia anywhere near him. He declares that this nation is full of liars and that although he is innocent, nobody believes him. Hearing this, Raphtalia finally recognizes just how broken her companion really is. Realizing what needs to be done, she asks Naofumi to calm down and listen. Stating that she wants him to believe in her, Raphtalia assures the Shield Hero that even if the whole world is against him, she will be on his side. Not believing her the Shield Hero (who can still only see Raphtalia as a small child) tries to back away from the tanuki. A second later however, Raphtalia puts her arms around him and says the words he has been waiting so long to hear, "You didn't do it!"

Upon hearing this, the illusion is shattered and Naofumi can finally see Raphtalia in her adult form. Caught off guard, the Shield Hero does not recognise her as the girl he purchased from the tent all those weeks ago. Raphtalia explains that the change in her appearance is due to being a demi-human. As children their bodies mature with their levels. This is one reason they are discriminated against. Realizing that he is still not fully convinced, Raphtalia states that she is prepared to have the curse reapplied if necessary. Naofumi saved her and she promised to help him in return. She is his sword after all.

It takes Naofumi a few seconds to digest this information. When he does, the Shield Hero is completely overcome. Nobody has said such kind things to him since he was first summoned to this cruel, unjust world. No, he realizes ... that isn't right. Raphtalia has been there for him, she even said as much before the onset of the wave, he just failed to recognise it. Overcome, Naofumi starts crying.

As the Shield Hero's companion lovingly embraces him, the focus shifts back to the villains. The mages stare on in shock (a reaction no doubt shared by the rest of the audience), whilst the King and his daughter look on angrily. Acting like she is a spurned savior, Malty dismisses this new development as "boring". Disgusted and angry, the Princess orders her father to start the reward ceremony, saying that she cannot bare to look at this scene any longer. When Motoyasu objects, Myne, who is already on the way out, makes it clear that she does not care about the Shield Hero or his companion any more (not that she ever did). Telling her father to just pay the wizards, the Princess declares that she and Motoyasu should collect their money and get out of there.

With that, she turns around and prepares to leave ... only to find her path blocked by Ren and Itsuki. Glaring at her coldly, the Bow Hero confronts the Princess, demanding to know what she is going to do about the injustice that Naofumi just suffered?

To the Spear Hero's shock, Ren then declares that he was the real loser of that duel. Myne cringes nervously as the Sword Hero verifies her intervention. Itsuki backs him up, stating that everybody present lied to Motoyasu and is concealing the truth. Although the Bow Hero admits that he does not consider the Shield Hero his friend, he is appalled at the unfair treatment being forced upon Naofumi by Motoyasu and the citizens of Melromarc alike.

Defeated, King Aultcray starts to leave, but tells his mages to give Naofumi some money, much to Myne's chagrin. Ren and Itsuki are both satisfied by this and prepare to follow him. However, they are stopped by Motoyasu. With his triumph now completely undone, the Spear Hero tries to justify his actions. Ignoring everything that was just said to him, Motoyasu remains adamant that he wasn't in the one in the wrong. In act of desperation, he arrogantly insists that Raphtalia has been brainwashed by Naofumi. Ren and Itsuki are not impressed. They give their comrade a cold look, before dismissing him. The pair leave the arena expressing their "amazement" that Motoyasu can say such a thing, in spite of what they just witnessed.

Raphtalia and Naofumi pay no attention to any of this. Instead, the tanuki continues to comfort the Shield Hero, who still crying. Ignoring everybody around them, they remain in that position until the following morning. Naofumi admitted that he cried the entire time.

The next day, the pair leave the castle and head straight to Beloukas' tent. There Raphtalia has her crest reapplied (rending Motoyasu's actions completely pointless). Although Naofumi expresses some doubt, the trader is more interested in the fact that Naofumi was able to raise Raphtalia, who was originally on the brink of death, so well. He states that her new value would be 20 gold pieces, but ups it to 35 upon learning that she is a virgin. Naofumi is shocked at this amount, which offends Raphtalia.

Seeking a distraction, the Shield Hero notices a box of eggs that were not present when he last visited the tent. Admiring his observational skills, Beloukas explains that this is his real business, whilst Raphtalia identifies the objects as monster eggs. The trader explains that this set up is a lottery. Each egg costs 100 silvers and that whilst most of them are standard, hidden amongst them a few rare creatures, including a knight dragon. Naofumi is suspicious, with Raphtalia adding that the price is simply too high. Despite his reservation however, Naofumi does end up buying one of the eggs. Raphtalia is not impressed but soon drops it.

When Naofumi suggests buying some food, Raphtalia produces some pre-prepared sandwiches. She made them from the leftovers at the feast. Unconcerned, Naofumi takes a bite and almost does a double take, when he realizes that he can actually taste its flavor. This is a sign that the trauma Malty originally wrought upon him is beginning to heal. Raphtalia is relieved to hear this and assures him that she will be there for him. Grateful, Naofumi gives his treasured companion a kiss on the cheek. Whilst his situation may not have improved overall, the Shield Hero knows that he will no longer have to face his struggles alone.

As the Shield Hero misinterprets Raphtalia's reaction to his kiss, the two companions fail to notice a crack forming on the egg they have just purchased. Soon enough, Naofumi will have a new addition to his party.

Characters

 * Motoyasu Kitamura
 * Naofumi Iwatani
 * Raphtalia
 * Malty S Melromarc
 * Aultcray Melromarc XXXII
 * Itsuki Kawasumi
 * Ren Amaki

Weapons

 * Legendary Spear
 * Chaos Spear
 * Legendary Shield
 * Pipe Shield
 * Legendary Bow

Locations

 * Melromarc
 * Castle Town

Differences from Light Novel

 * It is implied that Raphtalia smacked Motoyasu a lot harder in the manga than she did in the original book. In the light novel, it is implied that Motoyasu was merely staggered backwards, whereas here, he was knocked completely off balance.
 * In the Light Novel, King Aultcray and Malty did not utter a word following the removal of Raphtalia's crest.
 * The order of events following Raphtalia's speech differs slightly between the two sources.
 * In the Light Novel, Ren and Itsuki immediately called out Malty's interference. This led to a much larger argument between the Spear Hero and his contemporaries. Motoyasu tried to argue that Naofumi should also be disqualified due to his use of monsters in a one on one duel, but Ren and Itsuki silenced these protests by pointing out that the duel was rigged from the beginning and that Naofumi was just being resourceful. The audience left following the Spear Hero's accusation of brainwashing, which did nt please Ren or Itsuki at all.
 * Here Malty demanded that her father immediately begin the reward ceremony, only for Ren and Itsuki to call her out on her actions. This prompted the King to give Naofumi a reward just to placate them.
 * The four heroes did not receive their promised rewards until the following novel, which was an elaborate ceremony held in the throne room. This event was skipped in the manga and there is no indication that either Raphtalia or Naofumi attended the event in question.
 * Similarly, in the Light Novel series Raphtalia did not have her crest reapplied and Naofumi did not purchase Filo's egg until Volume 2.

Trivia
Information to be added later on.