The Replacement of the Sword Hero

Chapter Five: The Rucolu Punch Shield

I woke up early again and ventured out to find a bathhouse. By the time I returned, clean smelling and invigorated, Eclair was eating breakfast in the tavern. I joined her and we dined together on something that looked like eggs and bacon. I was still not accustomed to this world's cuisine but the egg tasted close enough to egg and the bacon, while far stronger in flavour than I was used to was still palatable enough for me to enjoy it.

I met Naofumi in the alley on the way to the slave trader's tent. He was holding Raphtalia's hand and she was sticking close to him.
"Good morning Naofumi." I greeted him.
"Do we really have to do this?" He asked.
"Look how useful one slave has been to you, two will surely make it easier."
"I already have my hands full looking after this one. She gets night terrors." He said.
"Well then the other can help calm her down."

I brushed off his concerns and started walking toward the circus tent.
"Hey wait, -we're not done talking about this." He said, but I had already reached the entrance. Raphtalia had to run in order to keep up. It was so adorable it made me smile.
"Ah, hello there, heroes. I'm so glad you came back to my humble store. Yes sir." The slave trader came forward to greet us. Naofumi clenched his fists tightly and took a deep breath.
"So?" He asked. "Do you have the slave we ordered?"
"I certainly do. Fortunately, a colleague of mine had purchased the slave quite recently, so I was able to procure it immediately." The slave trader nodded and then gave an order to one of his subordinates who disappeared into the back of the tent and returned with a collared slave. They looked to be Raphtalia's age and had dog-like ears poking out of her black and white hair. When she saw Raphtalia she started struggling and cried out to her.

"Raphtalia? They got you too?"
Raphtalia's eyes widened but she didn't speak up. Naofumi rested a hand on her head and she looked down. "Hmmm... So, this is Keel, eh?"
Keel spat out a series of choice words towards him. "You bastards. How dare you! I'll make you pay for everything you've done to Raphtalia. You won't get away with making me your slave!"
The slave trader's subordinate yanked on the chain, silencing Keel.
"She seems to have a rather aggressive personality. Yes sir." Said the slave trader, smiling nervously. "I take it that won't be problem?"
"Part of the point of having a slave is to whip her into shape, isn't it?" Naofumi asked the slave trader. "A bit of an attitude makes that all the more interesting."
Raphtalia looked up at him fearfully and Keel started struggling again at his words.

The slave trader nodded excitedly. "I can tell that you're going places, Shield Hero. Yes sir. Now let's begin the registration." He ordered his subordinate to hold the struggling Keel in place as the ink was prepared. Naofumi added a drop of blood and they applied the registration seal. Keel cried out in pain. She glared at us like we were her oppressors, but as soon as she made eye contact with Raphtalia, she went quiet and endured the pain. Naofumi carefully examined the slave seal and began tampering with his shield's menu.
"All done right? The good are paid for." He said.
"Pleasure doing business with you. Yes sir." The slave trader said.
Naofumi looked down at Keel. "From now on, you're mine!" He declared. "Do your best to stay alive, if you can."
Keel shot an angry stare at him, but Raphtalia stretched out a hand and curled her fingers around Keel's.

"See you next time." Naofumi said to the slave trader. "I'll come back if I need anything else."
"Please come again. Yes sir. I'd be happy to serve you."
Naofumi led Raphtalia and Keel away. I turned to the slave trader expectantly.
"Of course, sir Sword Hero, I wouldn't forget." He said, smiling up at me and reaching into a pocket inside his coat. He withdrew a sheet of paper, written in this world's language and stamped with a wax seal.
"Show this to any slave trader in Zeltoble and they will treat you with a warm welcome, courtesy of Beloukas. Yes sir."
I raised an eyebrow at him. I didn't know his name was Beloukas. As far as I recalled, Naofumi only ever referred to him as 'the slave trader' in the light novels.
"Thank you very much. That concludes our business." I said, turning on my heel.