Slave Arc/Web Novel Summary

Chapter 8: Fallen Fame
Storming out of the castle, in nothing but his underwear, Naofumi happened to cross the weapons shop. The Owner, having heard the rumors, was boiling with rage and wanted to hit him for the things he had supposedly done. Naofumi knew that reasoning with people in this world would get him nowhere and ultimately decided to just stay standing waiting to get punched. The owner grabbed him by the collar but eventually let him go, deciding he didn't want to hit him. Instead, he tossed him a bag filled with clothes as a parting gift and told him to pay for it later.

After a change of clothes, Naofumi spent the rest of the day in the meadows killing Balloons to distract himself. After hours of fighting, he obtained enough balloon skins to trade them in. By the time he reached the merchant's shop in the Castle Town, it was already evening. Even though the merchant offered 1 bronze for 2 pieces of skin to other customers, he tried to rip off Naofumi by only offering him 1 bronze for 10 pieces. Enraged at this discrimination, he grabbed hold the merchant by the collar and showed him the balloons he was hiding under his cape to intimidate him into compliance.

Naofumi threatened to badmouth the merchant's reputation, knowing that trust played a vital role for a merchant's business. Feared for the loss of his customers, the merchant dejectedly accepted Naofumi's offer and agreed to purchase the skins for a slightly less than market price. As he was leaving, Naofumi let the merchant know, that he could spread "his greatness" by letting the other merchants know not to mess with him. On his way to dinner, Naofumi paid the weapon's owner for the clothes. Ever since the trial, the sense of taste had deserted Naofumi and he ate his meal in silence.

Having no money to afford a room at the inn, he spent the night in the meadows. Upon waking, he noticed he was surrounded by monsters, which he beat up to relieve his stress and also helped earn a bit of "morning cash". While he beat up the monsters, he noticed herbs lying around which could be sold at the pharmacy of the town. He decided to collect the herbs, the shield reacted to them, he let it absorb some of them. This unlocked the Leaf shield which gave him a "collection" boost and helped him collect the herbs with ease. He then spent the rest of the day stuffing his bag with materials which he hoped to sell later. In total, he earned 1 silver and 50 copper that day. A new record.

During dinner, he was approached by a person who wanted to be his companion. After Naofumi stated the terms of their contract, the man withdrew claiming that it was too unfair. People wanted to join him so that they could profit off of him, and ultimately trick him just like Myne did. They'd ask him to pay for their equipment and then run off. He knew about betrayal and deception all too well now. Naofumi scared away the person with a balloon, ate his food, and left the inn.

Without having realized it, the second week had passed since he had been summoned to this world.

Chapter 9: Something Called A Slave
Despite earning a ton of money in the past two weeks, Naofumi was furious as he could hardly go anywhere due to his low attack power. He had tried to venture into the forest but unable to kill a single monster, ultimately decided to give up. Since he could not attack, he couldn't kill, which meant he received no XP which ultimately stopped him from leveling up. It was a pitiful loop Naofumi lamented.

One day, on his way to the meadows, travelling by the back alleys, he was interrupted by a short, plump man who pointed out exactly what the Shield Hero lacked attack power and companions. He offered Naofumi something more valuable than just a "companion", he offered him a slave. Slaves could never disobey their masters or lie to them. It would cost them their life to do so. Naofumi knew that he needed someone to attack for him and decided to tag along with the slave trader and arrived at a circus-like tent where the slaves were kept.

Naofumi felt repulsed by all the filth and rotten atmosphere of the place but followed the trader nonetheless. The trader presented him with his finest slave. A massive, level 75 Beastman covered in fur, fangs, and claws. Seeing Naofumi's confusion, he explained that Melromarc being human supremacist country, kept beastmen and Demi-Humans often as slaves and servants for various purposes. He then explained the working of the slave seal, which could be used to control the slave and its punishment. Convinced, Naofumi demanded the trader to show him slaves which he could actually afford. Naofumi wanted a cheap able-bodied slave. He was presented him with three slaves. The first, a level 5 bunny-eared demi-human with a bent arm, for 25 silver. The second, a level 1 bony girl, with dog-like ears, coughing in fear, for 30 silver. The third, a level 8 lizard man, who radiated a strange, evil aura, for 40 silver.

Enquiring about the girl, Naofumi learned that she was a raccoon species which were considered... inferior. He felt that if he could enslave her, he would feel as if he enslaved Myne. He ultimately decided to purchase the girl.

With the slave ritual complete, the girl was now registered to Naofumi. He set the punishment for betrayal to extreme pain. He could tweak it later but decided to leave it for now. Naofumi handed over 31 Silver, claiming that the slaver would charge him for the ceremony anyway. The slaver chuckled and claimed that he would like to do business again in the future.

Naofumi demanded to know the slave's name, to which the slave only coughed. Since the slave had disobeyed a direct command, the punishment was activated and the slave writhed in pain. He asked for the name once more, this time the slave introduced herself as Raphtalia and the pain subsided.

Holding her hand in his, he took her away from the tent.

Chapter 10: Kid's Lunch
Naofumi took Raphtalia to the weapons shop to purchase gear for her. The owner brought out a small knife and threw in some small clothing as well as a freebie. With the purchase complete, Raphtalia got dressed in her new clothes and equipment. Naofumi explained that they would be fighting together and that he needed her to kill monsters. He pulled out a balloon and ordered her to kill it. Frightened, Raphtalia shrieked and dropped her knife. Pain surged through her body, steeling herself she stabbed the balloon with all her might, popping it. Naofumi finally received XP. He commended Raphtalia and patted her head. She looked at him with a mystified expression but said nothing. Satisfied, Naofumi decided to head out.

On their way to the meadows, Raphtalia's stomach grumbled loudly. Naofumi thought that she would be of no use if she didn't have the strength to fight. He took her to an inn and sat down to order. He noticed she was enviously looking at a kid's meal and so ordered that for her. She looked at Naofumi with clear astonishment.

She asked him why he ordered that lunch for her, to which he simply replied that he felt she wanted to eat it. He also insisted that she would die if she didn't eat properly. When the meal arrived, she hesitantly asked if the meal was really for her. Satisfied by Naofumi's answer, she began to eat it with delight all the while holding the small flag in her hand.

Naofumi realized that he would be eating his meals with a slave from now on.

Chapter 11: Accomplishments of A Slave
After lunch, they went to the meadows to fight some monsters. Naofumi reassured her that he would protect her from the monsters. Her replies were often riddled with fits of cough. He decided he needed to do something about that soon. They fought red balloons, which ultimately unlocked the red balloon shield, giving him a +4-defense boost. Naofumi immediately changed to that shield. Awe-struck, Raphtalia asked who he was. He introduced himself as the Legendary Shield Hero. Venturing further, they came across a mushroom-like monster which gave him several shields. One of them granted him the "Apprentice’s Compounding" bonus.

They returned to the meadow, Naofumi handed Raphtalia a towel and told her to wash and then warm herself by the fire, while he prepared dinner. Realizing how much he was able to accomplish today; he was relieved that he had bought a slave. Realizing that he had an abundance of medicinal herbs, he compounded some medicines. He imitated the pharmacist and made a "Heal Pill", which would hasten a wound's recovery. Raphtalia washed up, bathed in the heat of the campfire coughing all the while. Naofumi assumed she was suffering from a common cold and handed her some medicine, much to her complaints about its taste. Naofumi patted and gave her grilled fish for dinner. He noticed that she hadn't coughed once since she drank the medicine.

Suddenly Raphtalia shrieked in her sleep, Naofumi quickly scooped her up and covered her mouth to avoid attracting monsters. Naofumi tried to comfort her, and slowly she stopped screaming and settled down. But, then a balloon appeared. He held on to Raphtalia and fought off the monsters as leaving her would result in her shrieking again. He couldn't sleep the entire night. Finally, at the break of dawn Raphtalia awoke.

Naofumi exhausted, gave his instructions to Raphtalia and took a nap, waiting for the castle gates to open.

Chapter 12: What's Yours Is Mine
The two go to the pharmacist to sell the medicines. Naofumi handed Raphtalia some medicine as she had started coughing again.

The pharmacist was mildly amused by Naofumi's craftsmanship and purchased the medicine. He informed Naofumi that medicines were being sold at a higher price recently thanks to the waves. He handed Naofumi some old equipment used to compound more advanced medicines.

Leaving the shop, Naofumi saw Raphtalia looking at the children play with a ball made up of balloon skins. He had the merchant make one for her as well. Surprised, she took the ball and laughed with joy for the first time. Naofumi told her that she could play after they completed today's chores.

They ventured further into the forest. After hours of fighting and unlocking shields, Raphtalia announced that she was hungry. They packed up and went back. Seeing as they were making a lot of money lately, Naofumi felt he should treat Raphtalia for her the hard work. He handed her medicine first, then dinner, which she happily accepted.

Seeing as how Raphtalia's crying made it a problem to camp outside, they rent a room for the night. After settling into the room, Naofumi let Raphtalia play with the ball but told her to stay close to the inn. About half an hour later, he heard a lot of commotion from outside and found that Raphtalia, being a demi-human was being bullied by the other kids. They demanded that she hand over the ball to them. Infuriated, Naofumi stepped in and confronted the children. After a bit of bickering and a balloon bite to the ass, the children ran away, cursing Naofumi along the way.

Clinging onto Naofumi's hand, Raphtalia followed him back to the inn, thanking him for saving her.

Chapter 13: Remedy
Raphtalia got hungry pretty soon, so they went out to eat. She was a growing child and so was exceptionally hungry, and they ended up ordering extras. After dinner, returning to the room, Naofumi gave Raphtalia a haircut to clean up her unruly hair. After hesitating for a bit, Raphtalia agreed and was very happy with the end result and bounced with excitement, Naofumi noticed the shield react to the hair, so he let it absorb some, realizing that she might see him, he told her to go to sleep.

Thanks to the tools given by the pharmacist, he crafted a wider range of medicines, which in turn led to a large number of shields being unlocked that night. But all that came to an end, as Raphtalia was about to start crying again. He ultimately decided it would be best to sleep with her to keep her quiet. Upon waking up, he felt oddly cold and damp and noticed Raphtalia cowering in the corner. Apparently, she had wet the bed and was scared that he would scold her. Shocked she felt that way, he went up to her and comforted her and that he wasn't angry with her.

They cleaned up, paid for the extra sheet and went to the weapons shop to buy some spare clothes for her.

She was hungry once again, so they decided to go for breakfast, but not before Naofumi gave her a stronger medicine for her cold.

Chapter 14: Taking A Life
Seeing as her skills were improving, Naofumi moved deeper into the forest. For the first time, they were faced with an animal class monster, a chestnut rabbit. It went straight for Raphtalia but Naofumi stopped it mid-air and held it down, waiting for Raphtalia to strike it. Raphtalia hesitated, saying that it has blood, but Naofumi told her that if she could not fight for him, he'd have to abandon her and get a new slave. Frightened, Raphtalia immediately stabbed the rabbit and got covered in its splattering blood. Trembling, and pale she stood there, the experience forever burned into her mind. They were immediately ambushed by several more rabbits and were forced to fight their way through. Naofumi comforted her and told her that it was his duty to protect the people from the waves, so he needed to get stronger, and he could only get stronger if she got stronger.

Surprised to hear that he was going to fight against the waves, Raphtalia was suddenly very determined and attacked the rabbit with all her might. It was the first time they killed living animals. Naofumi used the materials to unlock a few new shields. Raphtalia silently begged Naofumi to not abandon her. She promised to be his sword, his strength.

By the time evening set, they had set up camp and cooked the rabbit's meat for dinner. Naofumi could not make a proper meal, but thanks to his skills, was able to improve the quality of his food quite a bit. But yet still, he couldn't get a feel of taste, whereas Raphtalia was devouring down the food. Naofumi went back to compounding medicine which he hoped to sell the next day. He gave Raphtalia some more medicine and told her to sleep with the rabbit fur skin for warmth. He commented at how much her mannerism and behavior had changed since the first day he met her. He wished her good night and went back to work. He felt she might throw a tantrum that night as well, but instead, she woke up and requested more food. He passed her the grilled meat he had reserved for breakfast. He gave Raphtalia instructions to wake him up if anything happened and went to sleep.

Raphtalia nodded, half-listening thoroughly enjoying her midnight snack.

Chapter 15: Traits of A Demi-Human
During the next days' adventures, Raphtalia's sword snapped in two. She apologized to which Naofumi claimed that nothing lasts for an eternity and it wasn't her fault the sword broke. The headed back for the town and sold all the loot they had gathered over time and received a grand total of 70 silver for it. But seeing as how much Raphtalia was eating the past few days, he decided he needed a way to compensate for their meals or else they would go bankrupt.

They visited the weapons shop to purchase new gear. Naofumi advised the owner to keep durability in mind when selecting the sword for Raphtalia. Naofumi declined to purchase gear for himself as he was yet to receive any sort of harm from monsters so far. Raphtalia was unconvinced but didn't say anything. The owner decided to throw something in for him anyway.

The owner brought a sword and a hide breastplate for Raphtalia. As soon as she put it on, her stomach grumbled again. Seeing Naofumi visibly irritated, the owner explained that since she was a demi-human she would grow as her level progressed, so she would be constantly hungry. Naofumi went to buy her some food, while the owner gave her a crash course on how to use a sword and a few moves to help her during her adventures.

After paying for the equipment, the owner passed him a whetstone to help maintain the blade or else it would break pretty soon. The shield reacted to it, so Naofumi let it absorb it, much to the despair of the owner. It unlocked a new shield, which gave him a special ability to repair a certain weapon. Intrigued by the ability, and want to test it out, the owner handed Naofumi an old sword and told him to use it to see what the ability does. Naofumi thanked the owner and was about to leave when the owner recommended they go the dungeon near the forest village. The monsters might be slightly different but it would be a good place to level up.

Naofumi thanked him and went on his way. He needed to be as powerful and strong as he could be before the wave arrived.