A Hero's Bond

The Mine Monster

AN: Before I begin, I just want to say, yes, you read the title right. Only it's spelled mine with an 'i' not Myne with a 'y'. Does that make sense? I hope so. Anyway, on with the next chapter. Enjoy😊

After they learned about the mine near Lute Village, Naofumi and Raphtalia set out. Along the way, they encountered a rabbit monster but Raphtalia was afraid of using her sword because she was afraid of the blood. Naofumi helped out along with Spot and they defeated the rabbit. Raphtalia felt disappointed for being useless but Naofumi petted her head and told her to cheer up.

As they were walking down the path towards the village, Raphtalia kept on sulking and pouting and she hugged herself tightly when she remembered the slave owner who kept pushing her and insulting her when she didn't do a job right. Naofumi took notice and said, "Hey Raphtalia, you may have missed that monster, but you'll get another one. All you gotta do is believe in your heart."

Curious, the raccoon girl said, "My heart?"

Naofumi nodded and said, "That's right. Because sometimes our true strength comes from deep inside us. And once we tap into that strength, then everything will be better for us."

Raphtalia became intrigued and suddenly, she heard Naofumi sing something and it made her eyes go wide with amazement as she heard the smooth angelic singing coming from the man walking with her. Hearing the lyrics, Raphtalia noticed that it was about becoming stronger no matter how weak you are. She then thought that if she was strong enough maybe she'll be useful to Naofumi.

Suddenly, Raphtalia felt Naofumi push her away and she fell onto the grass. She then heard Naofumi scream in pain and she looked and saw Naofumi clutching his ankle and a blood was pouring onto his pant leg. Looking further down, Raphtalia saw what it was. Clenched around Naofumi's ankle was a bear trap device and it had a tight grip on him. Spot bit onto the trap and tried to pry it open with his teeth.

Raphtalia realized that the reason Naofumi pushed her away was so she wouldn't get caught in it, so he saved her by sacrificing himself. The raccoon girl ran towards him and asked with a worried look, "Are you okay?"

Naofumi grunted in pain and forced a smile and said, "Ironic, ain't it? I'm a shield and I'm not supposed to get hurt, but this thing hurts like a bitch!"

Raphtalia put on a determined look and said, "Hang on, I'll get you out of there."

Just as she was about to touch it, a voice called out, "Stop! Don't touch that trap!"

The group looked up and saw Stella flying towards them. When she landed, Stella looked at the trap and she said, "This thing is quite troublesome. If you touched it, little miss, it would zap you hard."

Raphtalia looked at the crow girl with pleading eyes and said, "Can you save him, Miss Stella?"

Stella nodded and soon, raised her hand, said an incantation and pretty soon, a magic circle appeared and the trap opened releasing Naofumi's leg. The shield hero slowly stood up but his leg was in too much pain to stand on. Stella offered to wrap it so he would get infected and Naofumi smiled and thanked her. With Stella's assistance, the group arrived in Lute Village in just an hour instead of two days.

As soon as they got a room at an inn, Stella took off Naofumi's boot, rolled up his pant leg and cringed when she saw how deep the jags of the trap went into his skin. She started by cleaning the wound with a solution and as she was working on him, Raphtalia asked, "Miss Stella, what was that bear trap thing?"

Stella let out a sigh and she explained while still working on Naofumi, "It's a trap specifically designed to capture run away demi humans. They're enchanted with a special spell that tells the caster who was caught in it and the Royal Knights head there right away to see who was captured."