“Okay, Rishia, you’re in charge of leveling.”

“O . . . okay!”

Teaching the slaves to sell was priority number one. If we didn’t do this, making money would be practically impossible. I was sure people would start talking if we hung a Shield Hero sign on a carriage and traveled around the country for three days or so. I’d been making medicines daily so that we could do this, and I was pretty sure we could heal any illness—no matter how serious—as long as I was there.

“And we’re off!”

“Wai—bubba! I still get motion si—”

I ignored Keel and took off. We spent the day traveling around to several nearby towns, spending around an hour at each. With Filo running at top speed, that was possible. It had been a long time since I’d last been out hawking goods. Many of the same townspeople from before showed up, acting like they had missed me.

“So the saint was actually the Shield Hero!”

“Oh, uh . . . yeah. I figured I wouldn’t get any business if people knew who I really was.”

“Sorry for all you had to go through.”

“No worries.”

They were all just empty apologies, anyway. If I were to now cause a problem instead, there’s no doubt they would all be screaming, “So you were the Shield Demon, after all!” I didn’t go for the whole “customer is god” thing that Japanese people liked to push. The phrase originally came from something some Japanese folk singer said and wasn’t even supposed to mean what people think it does.

“I was given a territory, so I decided to peddle medicines and other goods more extensively to help with the country’s reconstruction and prepare for the coming waves. Your business is appreciated. Just look for the shield sign hanging from the carriage.”

That’s right. There was a sign shaped like a shield hanging on the outside of our carriage right now.

“So you’re doing it for the country and our people, I see!”

Making an impression like this would lead to more customers. It might have been a good idea to have Filo’s underling pull a carriage in filolial queen form, too. Then again, I didn’t want to deal with the racket that would come with it. It might be fine if there was someone else willing to look after the thing, but I’m sure that would never work out.

“You hear that?! Let’s give our business to the Shield Hero!”

“Yeah!”

Word of mouth sure was handy at times like these. Even good rumors spread before you knew it. I had no idea how they knew, but customers were showing up to meet us the moment we arrived at the next town.

“Hey bubba, did I do okay?”

After we finished selling our wares, Keel, looking ridiculously embarrassed, asked for my verdict.

“Yeah. Your smile can’t sell quite like Raphtalia’s can, but several of the customers were grinning because they thought your clumsiness was cute.”