The Savior of the Heavenly Fowl

The Savior of the Heavenly Fowl (神鳥の聖人) is the seventh episode of The Rising of the Shield Hero anime.

Synopsis
Naofumi and his team clean up the mess made by the Spear Hero in the Southwest village, which was previously hit by famine but now overtaken by monster plants. They also make a quick visit to a hot spring.

Throughout their travels, both Raphtalia and Filo are having jealousy spat over Naofumi's affection. Will they be able to work together as a team? Or continue their childish jealousy rivalry?

Plot
Following a tip from Hickwaal, Naofumi Iwatani and his team are on their way to the South West Village to sell a large portion of herbicide demanded by them. There, they discover the village overrun by highly aggressive fruit-bearing vines. The village chief explains that Motoyasu Kitamura attempted to solve the town's famine by planting a Bio Plant Seed he got from some alchemist's lair. Naofumi recollects the seeds to be the same ones as those sealed away in the lair at Southwest, which he visited recently.

Even though the Bio Plant produced a large number of edible plants, they rapidly mutated into monsters after Motoyasu was gone, some have even turned parasitic and are infesting the townspeople. A group of adventurers had attempted to uproot the plant but they haven't gotten back yet. After Filo saves the adventurers, she reveals her ability to talk, thus exposing Naofumi as the 'Savior of the Heavenly Fowl'.

After Naofumi has cured the villagers, they request that he finish what the adventurers started: rip the Bio Plant out at the root. After hearing the backstory of the seed from the villagers, Naofumi berates them for not being cautious. Collecting payment for the treatment and advance payment for the monster extermination, Naofumi marches forward, revealing his status as the Shield Hero in the process. Raphtalia and Filo recklessly attack the Bio Plants but they end up tripping one another up, putting Raphtalia in an embarrassing position to which Filo smirks, much to Raphtalia's annoyance.

Realizing that the herbicide will be more effective if he is the one to apply it with the Shield enhancing ability, Naofumi tanks the plants with his vastly superior defenses and pours the herbicide directly on the original Bio Plant's eyeball-shaped "core", killing it in the process. Realizing this mess could easily happen all over again, Naofumi orders his companions to collect as many seeds as possible. Again, Raphatlia and Filo argued about collecting the seeds.

Unlocking various Shields by feeding the seeds and the dead plants to his Legendary weapon, Naofumi acquires the ability to analyze and modify the plants. The next day, after spending the night unsealing the powers of his new Shields, Naofumi makes simple but important changes to the plants, removing their ability to mutate, curbing their breeding rate, while increasing their growth and productivity rates.

Naofumi wanted to trades a large number of his modified seeds, but the villagers who were already broken exchange it for all of the unmodified fruit that they still have, both in the interest of profit and preventing another disaster. Naofumi calls the villagers a tough crowd for this bargain. Going for quick profit, Naofumi brings the modified seeds to Hickwaal, who buys them at a hefty sum. As it so happens, he has another job for Naofumi, he needs delivery to an inn in a nearby town with a Hotspring.

Arriving at the town and delivering the parcel, which makes some money in their pockets, Naofumi discusses the idea with his companions and decides to spend the night with them. Unfortunately, Raphtalia is rapidly growing jealous of Filo's closeness with Naofumi, even in spite of her antics to bond with him and private moments of imagining them together. Filo was constantly clinging to Naofumi, sharing the hot springs with him and also making him brush her hair. Overhearing some girls talking about a rare item named Latium, that can be used to make an accessory that promotes love, Raphtalia's next course of action becomes clear. When all of them calls in the night, she takes the initiative for Latium.

According to Raphtalia's sources, a bird called Gogoku collects the ore, so all Raphtalia has to do is find one of their nests. Filo is soon revealed to be heading the same path as Raphtalia's, though she wants the bird's egg so that she can give it to Naofumi and prove herself as a mate. A race erupts between Raphtalia and Filo for the nest, though Filo's superior stamina and leg strength give her an initial edge, though she ends up going off a cliff because of her playful attitude.

While trying to save Filo, Raphtalia also falls off and they land on a boar-like monster, the Silver Razor Back. It chases them and they manage to escape, they end up bonding in their adventure. While they were attempting to pilfer from the nest, the Silver Razor Back shows up and charges at the nest, destroying the eggs and punting the ore off into the distance. Taking their outrage on the boar, the two girls make it their prisoner back to the town, where they end up selling it to some local villagers.

Using the money they earned, Filo and Raphtalia buy tools for Naofumi to help improve his crafting. After thanking them, Naofumi suggests they clean up in the hot springs. Though they're still treated as children, the two girls agree to continue to pursuit of their master.

The next day, as Naofumi's party prepares to leave, he overhears a merchant's conversation about medicines being sold off at a faster rate in the village to the East. Naofumi decides on their next business venture there. The episode ends with a gruesome view of a dead Dragon whose corpse rots in open air.

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