“Really? I mean, right?! Bubba Shield made me his slave and leveled me up.”

Keel looked proud of himself.

“Although he did rush into battle recklessly and end up in the hospital. Next time don’t be so rash.”

“I won’t! I got left behind because of my recklessness. I definitely won’t let it happen again!”

“So there you have it. To put it another way, you’ve all been chosen by the Shield Hero, so why resist? Become a slave . . . Become a hero’s disciple and join me in my quest to rebuild the village!”

“You changed your wording this time, huh?”

“Am I a hero’s disciple, too, Master?”

Maintaining a hierarchy was important. Too many of the people in this world were slackers. I couldn’t ignore the possibility that they actually believed that peace would come even if they just sat back quietly and waited.

“It’s not like I can’t find someone else to help me. But do you really plan on doing nothing? Will you just surrender without a fight and end up back on the slave market again when disaster strikes?”

“Bubba Shield . . . You’ve sold me! I’m sticking with you!”

Keel came over and stood in front of me. I’m not really one to speak, but this kid was always getting swept up in the heat of the moment.

“I’m going to make it our village again!”

“Good answer! What about the rest of you?”

The other kids from Raphtalia’s village exchanged glances with each other.

“Naofumi may sound scary, but he’s actually a very caring person.”

Melty interjected with what seemed to be her idea of a show of support.

“To be honest . . . we won’t be able to take care of you here forever. I think it would be best if you went with Naofumi and learned to take care of yourselves, if possible.”

“Princess Melty . . .”

Eclair nodded as if Melty had said something deeply profound.

“I don’t see why not. Naofumi has taken it upon himself to come help out, so why don’t we all do what we can to work together and rebuild this territory?” added Melty.

“Understood. Friends of Raphtalia, the decision is yours! We’ll do everything we can to assist with the reconstruction, too.”

After Eclair had finished making her declaration, Raphtalia stepped forward and offered her friends her own take.

“I think . . . Instead of just standing by and watching, I think we should take it upon ourselves to get this done. Right?”

Raphtalia looked over in the direction of the village and then pointed at the flag flying on the mansion grounds.

“That flag that we lost back then . . . It’s finally within our reach. I want all of us to take back that place . . . to take back that flag together. So please, work with us to make that happen!”

Raphtalia’s friends seemed to be thinking about her words for a few moments, and then . . .