Framed

Framed (冤罪) is the second chapter of The Rising of the Shield Hero manga adaptation.

Synopsis
This chapter covers from when Naofumi wakes up on the second day of his adventure and noticing that his equipment as well as his money being gone. Soldiers then burst into the room declaring that Naofumi has been accused of Rape and drag him to the castle.

Naofumi is then brought before the King as well as the other heroes who refuse to allow Naofumi to defend himself from the accusation, leading him to believe that he had been framed. As the King cannot summon new heroes until all the heroes have died, Naofumi’s punishment is to be public acknowledgement of his crime.

From there, the chapter shows the prejudice against Naofumi for the crime that he had been accused of while showing that he cannot hope to continue without the assistance of another as he cannot attack monsters to gain experience. Conveniently, he is approached by the Slave Merchant who leads him to the demi-human named Raphtalia, who Naofumi chooses to purchase.

Summary
Naofumi wakes up in his inn room and noticing that all of his gear and money have been taken from the room. Questioning if he had been robbed, guards burst into the room stating that Naofumi was under arrest under the accusation of rape. Naofumi is then taken to the castle where the King states that he knew that Naofumi would do something the moment that he met Naofumi. Naofumi then notices Myne and questions if she is okay because his stuff had been stolen from him while also telling her to tell everyone what had happened. Motoyasu then steps in, conspicuously wearing chain mail, refusing to let Naofumi pretend that he is innocent of the whole situation while Naofumi wonders where he got it. Myne then explains that Naofumi had pushed her down while crying, confusing Naofumi even more. Everyone looked at Naofumi assuming his guilt for the entire ordeal further cornering Naofumi. It was then that Naofumi had noticed that Myne had a look of mockery directed towards him and everything clicked into place. Naofumi had been framed.

Naofumi flew into a rage as he accused Motoyasu framing him in order to take his money and his equipment, but was quickly countered by the other three heroes. Realizing the futility of his struggle, Naofumi sunk into despair and rage as he had been forced into this whole situation against his will, and questioned why he should suffer in another world like this. The King, however, explains that he cannot get rid of any of the heroes nor can they execute Naofumi as new heroes can only be summoned after all other heroes have died. Naofumi expresses delight in the fact that everyone has to suffer because he can’t be touched as he is the Shield Hero. The King, however, states that everyone will be made to know Naofumi's crimes as his punishment before kicking him out of the castle.

While Naofumi was walking through the town, Naofumi encounters Erhard tries to intimidate Naofumi but loses interest once he notices that Naofumi look and becomes convinced of his innocence. He then gives Naofumi a set of clothes to wear claiming that he was clearing out extra stock as Naofumi is leaving the town. Naofumi is next seen outside the town fighting Balloons while complaining about how inefficient it is for him to fight balloons on his own even when he levels up. Once he finished the fight with the last balloon, he notices some herbs growing at the base of a tree that looks similar to the ones that were placed in the bag by Erhard before he sent Naofumi on his way. The Shield absorbs the plant and unlocks the Leaf Shield as it absorbed the plant that is called a Medical Herb. Naofumi then investigates what he had unlocked by reviewing his skill tree and notices that his stats had permanently gone up and an Equip Bonus had been applied to the shield called Collection Ability 1.

Naofumi attempts to sell the materials that he had collected while out of town, all of the items being higher quality than normal. The merchant reviews the materials and attempts to intimidate Naofumi by refusing the transaction if it is not made severely towards his own favor, irritating Naofumi to the point of him releasing Ballons on the merchant to make the trade a fair trade. After the sale, Naofumi heads to a pub where he is eating the cheapest meal that they offer and while doing so, he is approached by two adventurers pressuring Naofumi to accept them into his team and become threatening when Naofumi does not submit to their “request”. In response, Naofumi releases a balloon to attack the adventurers and leaves the scene shortly after.

As he is walking through an ally, Naofumi expresses annoyance towards the situation as he cannot be harmed by the current monsters, but at the same time, he cannot attack monsters effectively which would reduce the amount of experience he receives as a whole. He is then approached by Beloukas who expresses glee when Naofumi demands that the merchant explain himself. The Beloukas then guides Naofumi to his shop where he explains his wares, slaves. He presents Naofumi with a Beastman while explaining the difference between Demi-Humans and normal humans. Naofumi notices Beloukas' scheme as he notices that he has been looking at one of his most expensive slaves knowing that he cannot afford the slave being shown. Naofumi then explains his demands for a slave and expresses extreme irritation when Beloukas explains that he's heard the rumors and denies them outright. As he is led to the back, Naofumi notices several different slaves, but he encounters a sick, raccoon looking, demi-human that introduces herself as Raphtalia when he demands to know her name. After hearing her circumstances of being sick and having panic attacks, Naofumi decides to buy Raphtalia from the slave trader.

Characters

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

Monsters

 * Balloon

Weapons

 * Legendary Shield
 * Leaf Shield
 * Legendary Spear
 * Legendary Bow
 * Legendary Sword

Locations

 * Melromarc
 * Castle Town