Top of the hill

The sunlight's warmth began to hit Naofumi's back as it rose over the horizon while the light from the sun hit Raphtalia on the face making an annoyed expression, but didn't fight it as she opened up her eyes. The Shield Hero began to stir in his due to the warmth adding on to the blanket's warmth. The campfire was put out with the night's wind leaving charred pieces of wood. Naofumi began to open his eyes as he saw his shadow in front of him with Raphtalia sitting up. He turned towards the tree, not seeing Caboose near them at all, and that's when he sees Caboose and Filo. In the worst position ever.

As Caboose slept sitting up right, Filo had evolved into a bigger filolial, the same ones Naofumi would see inside the kingdom's city, long neck connecting into an oval shaped body while standing on long legs, and having an abundance of feathers a few inches below her beak. Making it look as if she has a beard. The difference between Filo was that her feathers were white, her endpoints of her two cowlicks on her head would turn pink towards the end, and the feathers towards the back of her body would turn pink as well. Filo looked like an ostrich but with hair on her neck and head. Filo slept with her top part of her head touching the ground as the rest of her body balanced on Caboose's helmet.

"Raphtalia, take a look at Caboose and Filo, you may be surprised at what's happening right now." Naofumi said as he slowly got up.

"Whaaaat is it, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked with a whisper. "There shouldn't be anything wro-" her eyes widened seeing Filo's new form and how she was sleeping. "Should we do something?"

"Well, if Caboose was screaming for help. We would but it seems like he is...sleeping comfortably." Naofumi said uncertanailty. "We should go check on Freckles though, and ask about it." he quietly walked to where Freckles was leaning on the tree.

"Hey Freckles, you on?" Naofumi asked.

"Good morning, Naofumi. How can I be of assistance?" Freckles responds as Raphtalia approaches from behind, still watching Caboose and Filo with astonishment.

"It's about Caboose, can he sleep like the way he's sleeping right now at all?" Naofumi questioned.

"Affirmative. Captain Caboose has a strange but strong body. You see when Caboose entered the gate he mentioned during his storytelling, Santa announced that he increased the gravity by a tenfold, but Caboose couldn't even feel the change. It all seemed normal to him, so having a filolial on his head wouldn't have much of an effect on him. He is also able to flip over a warthog weighing 3. 25 tons without hesitation. He may not seem muscular, but he is extremely strong once he shows it." Freckles explained.

'A FUCKING TENFOLD?' A normal human would be turned into a pancake, but Caboose withstood it without even feeling it. What type of human are you Caboose?' Naofumi mentally asked, looking towards Caboose.

The blue armored soldier began to stir, causing the grown filolial to move as well. Using her feet to lift herself up, Filo got off Caboose's head as he got up to stretch from his night's sleep. Having his eyes closed, he didn't see Naofumi and Raphtalia expressions of astonishment. When he stretched his arms upward, he ended up touching Filo's beak, causing him to open his eyes and look up. His eyes met Filo's as they both looked at each other.

"Hey Filo, when did you get taller than me?" Caboose asked, getting a squawk from her. "Ah ok, were you able to sleep well?" getting a nod from her. " Alright then." Caboose moved his head back to look at the others who just stared in disbelief. "Good morning, how did you guys sleep?"

"HOW IS THAT NOT SURPRISING FOR YOU?!" Naofumi said loudly, causing Raphtalia to flinch from his sudden volume change.

"Oh, Filo? Well I mean, we all saw her grow bigger yesterday, so I thought today in the morning she'll change as well." Caboose responded.

"But you said you didn't see a change in her yesterday." Raphtalia said, entering the conversation.

"Did I really?" Caboose pondered as Filo nuzzled her head on top of Caboose's helmet. "Must have forgotten." getting a tired sigh from Naofumi.

'Because of course you did.' Naofumi mentally thought as he walked up to Filo.

Naofumi looked up at her as she "Quu'd" happily at him, getting a small smile from him. He scratched Filo's neck as Caboose went to pick up Freckles from his position and holstered him on his back. Raphtalia moved beside Naofumi to look at the grown filolial.

"So what's the plan now?" Caboose called, looking around the scenery to see if there were any changes in the landscape.

"Well, we could go to the village and get some breakfast if we make it in time." Naofumi stated as he went to stand beside Caboose.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll go get the blanket that Raphtalia lent me for last night." Caboose said leaving Naofumi to look at the scenery.

'This morning came out a bit surprising, but nonetheless it was a nice morning. Wonder what the day has to offer for us.' Naofumi thought.

Meanwhile at the village, the Spear Hero and Myne had just arrived with a group of guards to set up a new order for the village, and the settlers were called to the village's center for the announcement.

Enroute to the village

Both Naofumi and Raphtalia were discussing a few terms that Caboose used during his story telling that she didn't understand at all while Filo and Caboose stayed behind them having their own type of conversation.

"What does 'boner', mean, Naofumi-sama?" Raphtalia asked, causing the Shield Hero to almost trip himself.

"Ummm, d-don't worry about that word. It's very unimportant, people don't use it in their conversations because it has no meaning." Naofumi said, looking away when he answered.

"Oh ok, how about guns? It sounds like some sort of weapon from how Caboose described it." Raphtalia asked, looking back when she mentioned the blue soldier.

"Well you are correct. Freckles is a gun to answer simply. To help you understand, it's like a bow and arrow, but it's much more advanced than it. Instead of arrows, guns use pieces of metal fused with gunpowder to create devastating damage on the opponent, and all it takes to use it is aim and fire. It takes a smaller amount of time to use a gun than a bow. No need to check the wind, unless you're using a gun made for long distances, which will need the person to check the air before firing." Naofumi said.

"I see. So would that mean Caboose can cause major damage to any opponent he comes up against?" Raphtalia asked, looking at Naofumi.

"Well that is a good question, can a gun cause the same amount of damage against magical barriers, and could it be stopped by magical spells or abilities?" Naofumi told himself.

"Hey guys, you think I can ride Filo?" Caboose asked, causing both Naofumi and Raphtalia to stop on their tracks and look behind.

"Why you ask that, Caboose?" Raphtalia asked.

"Oh because Filo was telling me how she can carry me and run around the fields while picking up flowers." Caboose answered.

"Is that really what she said?" Naofumi questioned, looking at the filolial questioning.

Caboose looked at Filo as she did the same. Their eyes met and mentally agreed on what to say to Naofumi. They both looked at Naofumi and…

"Yes". Caboose said, both nodding at the same time, causing Naofumi to sigh.

"Alright then, if Filo says you can ride her, you can ride her then. But first we'll have to make sure that she can hold you." Naofumi said, as both the Shield Hero and demi-raccoon moved towards Caboose.

"First, do you know how to ride a horse?" Naofumi asked.

"Nope,but I have seen how to get on one. Would that count?" Caboose said.

"Sure, why not. Now let's get Filo to bend down to the ground so you could get on her back, but gently sit down. Don't drop on to her. You may break her." Naofumi instructed.

"Ok" Caboose responded.

As Naofumi nodded to Raphtalia, the demi-racoon petted Filo and asked her to lie on her stomach for Caboose to sit on her. The filolial responded with her bending her legs till her stomach touched the ground. Naofumi grabbed Caboose's arms and led him to Filo's side, and instructed how to get on her. Caboose following instructions, lifted his right leg over Filo's back and slowly positioned himself to lower his body. Once his butttocks touched Filo's feathers, the filolial gently and slowly got up from her position to let Caboose get accustomed to riding her. Naofumi and Raphtalia were about to act if the weight was too much for Filo, but instead the filolial was able to withstand Caboose's weight.

"Wow, I am really high up. So this is what it's like to be taller than people." Caboose said looking around him.

"Guess she can hold you, Caboose." Naofumi said.

"How do you feel, Filo?" Raphtalia asked. The filolial answered with a happy 'Quu' as she began to walk forward.

"Come on guys, let's continue our walk to the village." Caboose stated.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be right behind you. You and Filo can run around, just don't forget where we are going." Naofumi stated, getting Caboose all excited

"OK. You heard that Filo, Nenefu is allowing us to run around and to go ahead of them to the village." Caboose said.

'Wait what?' Naofumi mentally said as his eyes widened, hearing what Caboose finished saying.

"ONWARDS FILO." Caboose said loudly as Filo began to run ahead of Naofumi and Raphtalia, leaving both of them with a wide mouth expression.

"Naofumi-sama, I don't like where this is going." Raphtalia said as she stared off into the distance as Caboose and Filo grew smaller.

"I feel the same way Raphtalia. If anything happens, remind me to keep Caboose from riding Filo again." Naofumi said thinking of the damage Caboose can cause while riding Filo.

"I'll keep that in mind then." Raphtalia said. "Should we go after them?"

"Unfortunately, we have to just to keep them from causing a lot of damage in case we could keep it to a minimum." Naofumi answered as he began to run in the direction Filo and Caboose took off. 'I just hope they won't cause any at all.'

At the village

All the civilians had gathered around the village center, as Myne and an still injured Motoyasu got on the wooden stage made for village gatherings and meetings. The guards stood around the civilians to keep them in place incase of an uproar. Myne opened the scroll and raised it infront of her, signifying she was ready to start the announcement.

"Under the order of King Alutcray, this village will now be under the Spear Hero's rule, Motoyasu-sama, for his exploit during the Wave. And to add on, there will now be a toll for each time someone enters and leaves the village as of today. The toll will be 50 silvers to help repair the damage done during the time of the Wave." Myne announced, causing the crowd of villagers to start disagreeing.

"That's absurd, we won't even have enough money to feed ourselves!" a male villager yelled out.

"What does the king think he's doing!?" another villager exclaimed.

"We barely make enough as of what we sell in the kingdom!" a farmer yelled.

"Are you defying the lord's orders?" Myne the crowd.

"Well of course we are. He may be our king, but we won't be able to live well with such a toll on the village!" a female villager declared.

"We'll starve if the toll is placed upon the village!" another villager proclaimed

"Besides, you can't just show up and call yourself our lord! In fact, it was the Shield Hero that saved this village, wouldn't he be our lord instead!?" a villager yelled.

"You dare go against a royal decree by the king?" Myne said as she raised her right arm holding the scroll.

At that moment, the guards surrounding the crowd raised their spears and pointed the head of the spear at them. Seeing the guards reaction, the villagers began to move back away from the spearheads. Things were about to get messy, if it wasn't for the fact that both Myne and Motoyasu saw a white blur off into the distance behind the crowd."

'What is that?' they both mentally asked.

As they both focused on the white blur the guards turned around to look at Myne, confused why she hadn't given the order to attack. As the white blur began to get closer and closer, rapidly. Everyone started to hear yelling, but only two people recognized that voice since they were there in the arena on the day he first appeared.

"It's him." both Motoyasu and Myne said in unison.

Off in the distance, Filo and Caboose were fast approaching the village center since Caboose saw everyone gathered there. And being curious about it, he told the filolial to run straight towards the center. As they got closer, Caboose was able to make out the villagers were in some sort of meeting, or a birthday was going on. He began to tell Filo to slow down, but she kept on running towards the center at a fast speed.

"Filo, we're gonna run over the villagers if you don't stop!" Caboose said loudly, but Filo did not listen to Caboose. "Please pretty please, I'll give you all my food if you stop." Caboose said, closing on the entrance to the village center, but Filo did listen and stomped on the ground to a sudden stop. However, the same can't be said for Caboose, who wasn't holding onto the filolial when she came to a halt, and was sent flying over the arch entrance.

"Eh?" was the only sound that came out of Caboose as he was sent flying in the air.

The whole crowd and guards turned their heads to look at Caboose, who was right above them. The adults were very confused with what was happening, but the children were cheering as the blue armored soldier went flying over their heads. As he got closer to Myne and Motoyasu, they both got out of the way, avoiding getting hit by Caboose's body as he came crashing down on the wooden stage. A small cloud of dust formed where he made impact.

"GUARDS SURROUND HIM!" Myne ordered the men as they surrounded and pointed their spears at the cloud of dust. "Spear Hero, stay where you are. You're still recovering from your injuries. Let me and the guards take care of him." she told Motoyasu, as he stood on the other side of the stage in front of it.

"Well that was fun. Let's try that again." Caboose said to himself, being heard by everyone near him. He walked out of the smoke only to be met with spearheads being pointed at his helmet. "Hey, it wasn't my fault. Tucker did it."

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with the scum of a hero." Myne said with anger.

"Who's that? Never heard of him or her. Is that person a new hero? Are they nice?" Caboose asked.

"Oh don't play dumb with me, blue solider. You know who I refer to." Myne retorted.

"Well, I don't. You see, I'm new here, so I don't really know many people around these parts. And my name is Caboose. Who are you?" Caboose said.

"Well then I am Myne Sophia, the woman who'll ruin your life if you don't cooperate with us." Myne said, getting closer to Caboose as the guards opened a space between themselves to let her through. " Ditch the 'Shield Hero' and join forces with the Spear Hero's party. You'll be respected well amongst the kingdom and treated well if you join up with Motoyasu-sama. If you don't, I'll personally see it that your life here in Melromarc turns into a living hell. So how about it, Caboose?" she finished saying with a smirk.

"Nope." Caboose said with a pop on the 'p'.

"Excuse me?" Myne questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope, I am here to help the Shield Hero on his journey in this world, so that would mean to be on his party til the very end. Besides I wouldn't ditch a friend for nice things like respect and rewards. It's all about being there for someone, and that someone needs my help in this world than just fighting besides him. So if you don't mind, leave me alone, you're very annoying already." Caboose finished causing Myne to build up on her anger.

"Why you little shit!" Myne retorted as she back away. "Take him!"

The guards were about to get on him, but were stopped from the sudden appearance of 5 dark purple hooded individuals appearing behind Caboose. They had taken out their daggers in case the guards had taken Caboose into custody or harmed him. Seeing as they stopped the guards movement, they holstered their daggers back under their cloaks and walked forward, causing the guards to move back.

"I trust you know who we are, Malty-sama." the Shadow behind Caboose said, causing the blue soldier to turn around in surprise.

"It's you. HI. How are you? How long has it been?" Caboose asked excitedly, forgetting about the guards and the distraught Myne behind him.

"Hello new comer, and it's only been 3 days." the Shadow responded.

"Well time does go fast, it's like it was barely yesterday that we met." Caboose said.

"That's because it was 3 days previous that we met. Not much of a gap between our meeting. But we'll talk later, right now I have a mission to accomplish." she said as she averted her gaze unto the stricken Myne.

"How is it possible that he kno…. You were the reason he made it to the throne room that day." Myne said with a distraught voice. 'So she had her Shadows in the arena at the time of the fight between the Shield and Motoyasu-sama. It'll only make sense that they overheard my plan when I spoke with the guards about it as well.' she mentally said.

"This is for you." the Shadow said, handing Myne a scroll.

As Myne began to read through it, the Shield Hero and his companion could be heard running towards the back of the crowd. Filo turned around to see them running towards the entrance of the village center panting from the long distance they had to run. One of the villagers heard their gasps for air and turned around to see who it was. Recognizing the person making the noise, he announced that Naofumi and Raphtalia had returned, getting everyone's attention.

Naofumi looked up to see what was happening, as the crowd began to beg for his help, causing the Shield Hero to get confused at the sudden plea for aid. He turned to Raphtalia who was as confused as he was.

'Ok, think think think. The villagers are asking for my help, Filo is standing right there by the entrance to the center, a good 2-5 minutes just passed by for sure. What could have happened? Wait, where's Caboose?' Naofumi mentally asked.

"SHIELD HERO, FIGHT US FOR THE RIGHT TO RULE THIS VILLAGE!" Myne shouted, causing Naofumi to look up towards the wooden stage, where Myne now stood on.

"What?" Naofumi got even more confused. 'I just got here. What the hell happened as I was gone?'

"Oh hey guys, what took you so long!?" Caboose said loudly enough for Naofumi and Raphtalia to hear him. With seeing the blue soldier on the wooden stage, Naofumi made his answer, even though it was wrong.

"CABOOSE WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?" Naofumi shouted.

"Tucker did it!" Caboose responded.

10 minutes later

"So let me get this straight. While me and Raphtalia ran to get here, that bitch and Spear Hero came to this village to announce a toll and to set a new lord for the village, but with those people that came into the village were able to change that. Yet now I am going to have to fight for the village now. Did I get everything right?" Naofumi said with a frown on his face.

"Yes, but you also forgot how Filo sent me flying and I was surrounded by guards, but yes, everything that you said was correct." Caboose responded.

"I decline then." Naofumi said, causing the village lord to panic.

"Please Shield Hero, if we lose this, the village will fall into the Spear Hero's hands. As the current lord, even I cannot accept further taxation at this time." he said with panic in his tone.

"But why me? Why should I take part in a dragon race?" Naofumi asked. 'It's not like Motoyasu can even race at all. Bastard still got injuries from his fight from Caboose.'

"They've asked for you, and we don't have the right to challenge a Hero." the village lord responded.

"I don't know, Caboose, did you say anything to Myne that would cause her to act like a bitch?" Naofumi asked.

"Well if I think about it, I did call her annoying because she was." Caboose responded. "Oh and there was this scroll as well the Shadow lady handed to her, so maybe that made her mad as well."

"So she's challenging you to take it out on you?" Raphtalia asked.

"Seems like it." Naofumi said.

They started to hear Filo growl, turning their heads to the source for the growling. The filolial was growling at a dragon being held by a guard. The dragon turned its head as well and began to growl at Filo as well.

"It seems like your filolial is up for the race." the village lord said.

"So it is true that filolials and dragons don't get along very well." Raphtalia said, thinking about the rumors between dragons and filolials.

"Please, we beg you. We'll give you a reward for winning." the village lord said with a bow.

"Alright, I'll do it, but I'm not responsible for what happens if I lose, okay?" Naofumi said.

"Thank you, Shield Hero. For accepting the challenge." the village lord thanked with a bow before leaving Naofumi with his party.

When the village lord left, Naofumi let out a tired sigh as he rubbed the back of his. He turned his head to look at Filo, who kept on growling at the dragon. He averted his gaze to Caboose, who went off into the village. As Caboose passed him, he saw Motoyasu walking towards him.

"Hey Naofumi, can I talk to you for a sec?" he asked.

"If you want another duel, you're gonna have to wait. I don't think you can fight in your state. But if you wanna fight so bad, I'll take the easy win then." Naofumi said.

"Oh believe me, I wanna get another duel with you, but it isn't about that." Motoyasu said. "It's about the village. You have stayed here right? Can you tell me about this place?"

"What do you wanna know?" Naofumi said with a slightly confused tone, not knowing that he was gonna ask about the village.

"It's about the expenses, like for the inn and food. How much is it?" Motoyasu asked.

"Oh that, it's one silver a night, food included. It's about the toll isn't it?" Naofumi said.

"Yeah, and the villagers were right. I was basically gonna make them starve to death with the toll that would be placed on the village." Motoyasu responded.

"How much is the toll anyway?" Naofumi asked.

"50 silvers each time someone enters and leaves the village." Motoyasu said.

"What?! You are basically charging a hundred nights' worth of money just to enter and exit the village. How rich do you think these villagers are?" Naofumi said with a tone of disbelief.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for telling me. But this doesn't change anything. We still have unfinished business." Motoyasu said, walking away as Myne came walking towards Naofumi with guards behind her.

'What does she want now.' Naofumi mentally said with a tired sigh. 'I swear. This all started because Caboose called her annoying.'

"Shield Hero, as you know, Motoyasu-sama is still injured, so instead of both heroes racing. It'll be me and your demi-human slave." Myne said, getting Naofumi mad when she used the word 'slave'

"Watch your mouth, royal dog. Or this time, your 'king' won't save you from me this time." Naofumi said with a stern voice.

"Why don't you try, and see where that'll end you up." Myne said with a smirk. Naofumi was about to attack her, but Raphtalia got between them.

"Naofumi-sama! Don't listen to her, she just wants to stir up trouble. Forget her. Don't listen to her. She just wants to cause more harm to you." Raphtalia said, placing both her hands on his chest.

Myne shrugged with a smile and walked away along with her guards following behind her. As she walked away, Naofumi began to slowly calmed down as he looked at Raphtalia keeping her hands on his chest. He gave off a tired sigh before petting Raphtalia's head. She looked up at him with a smile.

"Thanks for holding me back, she definitely wouldn't be walking away with that smirk she had if you didn't stop me." Naofumi said as he walked the opposite direction, towards the area of the race. "Come on, lets see Filo before the race begins."

"Right." Raphtalia said following behind him.

Outside the village

Caboose went looking for the woman that he met at the castle, but couldn't find her. So he went outside of the village where people began to gather around the pathway for the race between the Shield Hero and Spear Hero. He looked towards the tree to the left where he spotted one of the Shadows looking around. He walked towards her as she turned to look at him noticing Caboose walking towards her direction.

"New comer, what is it you need?" the Shadow asked, recognizing the voice being the same one that he was looking for.

"Oh nothing, just that you said that we could talk later. How are you right now?" Caboose said as he stood beside her.

"If you're asking right now, I am on alert to make sure nothing goes. But if you're asking physically, menatlly, and emotionally I am fine." the Shadow responded.

"Ah ok." Caboose said "You know, I never got your name."

"Sorry, but my name stays secret to strangers. Even if it's someone the Queen asked me to keep my eye on." the Shadow said, turning to look at Caboose.

"Really? That's sad." Caboose said.

"It's just part of my mission." the Shadow responded.

"Oh I know." Caboose said as he took off his helmet, revealing his face to the Shadow, who showed no reaction to seeing his facial features, having seen it back at the arena when he first came to Melromarc. "My name is Micheal J. Caboose and your's."

It got quiet between them for a couple of seconds. The Shadow kept on looking at him as he kept his smile plastered on his face, waiting for her to reveal her name. As this went on, the other Shadows that were hidden on top of the tree just stared down at them waiting to see what happened next. Until one of them finally gave in.

"You're never gonna stop asking for my name til I give it to you, right?" the Shadow asked, taking off her hood revealing her raven black hair that reached her shoulder and medium skin tone.

"Yeah." Caboose said, still smiling at her, causing her to sigh.

"My name is Faye Snowfall." the Shadow said, taking off her mask as well. Her eye left eye was a deep hazel, but her right eye was a blind eye, having a scar run above it from her eyebrow to her cheek.

"Wow, you look so pretty." Caboose stated.

"Thanks, it's not often I get that since I am always wearing the mask." Faye thanked Caboose.

"I hope I'm not asking something to offend you, but what happened to your eye and the scar?" Caboose asked.

"Oh, this?" Faye touched where her right eye was. "It was during an ambush against the queen, a group of an assassin cult tried to take the mistress's life during an escort. One lucky bastard was able to get a good cut on me during the fight, but I was able to be the victor at the end of it. The eye was from a disease that only my right eye had when I was born." Faye remembered.

"I see, you must be a really strong woman, and yet you seem like such a nice person." Caboose said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Faye asked.

"Oh, well you see I have met not many women in my life, but the ones I have met are very mean. One of them used me as target practice." Caboose said.

"And why did they do that?" Faye asked.

"They said it was how they trained, and it seemed fun to them as well." Caboose stated.

"I see." Faye said.

"In a few moments, the race shall begin! Please remember to not get in the way while the race is going on." the village lord announced as he stood on the dirt road.

"Well it seems like I would need to go with my party. Would we be able to talk later?" Caboose asked.

"I don't think so, once the race finishes, me and my group will have to return without our mistress for a report on our mission. Why ask?" Faye said as she put back her mask and hood back on.

"Well, we're friends right? I mean we only talked for a few moments, but I'll say with a few words exchanged, a relationship could be established. But if we can't, maybe another day. I'll see you around Faye." Caboose said as he walked away to find his party.

"Friends." Faye said quietly. 'That's one strange man if I had ever met one. But a welcoming one.'

"You know, I think he has never talked with women before, or tried to talk with anyone of the opposite gender. But he is cute." one of the Shadows in the tree said once Caboose was out of earshot"

"I won't disagree with you there, but enough of that. You know your roles, make sure there isn't any cheating. If caught, don't interfere, but mention it at the end of the race if any problems arise." Faye instructed, disappearing into the tree while more villagers came out of the village to see the race.

2 minutes later

Both competitors were on their respective rides as they awaited for the start of the race, Raphtalia on Filo and Myne on Motoyasu's dragon. Before Raphtalia had gotten on Filo, a villager had made a leather turquoise collar and reins for Filo. The collar was around her neck connecting to the reins. The dragon wore the upper part of a helmet covering its forehead, and armor for its underbelly. Along with the dark red leather collar and reins, it had a dark red leather saddle.

The riders prepared beside the village entrance, where Naofumi, Caboose, Motoyasu, and the crowd of villagers cheered their riders on. Raphtalia turned to the Shield Hero and blue soldier. Caboose gave her thumbs up and Naofumi wished her luck.

"Good luck Raphtalia and Filo, do your best!" Naofumi shouted out.

"Yeah, show them who's boss!" Caboose shouted along.

"Thank you, Naofumi-sama and Caboose!" she thanked as she turned to look at Filo. "Let's win this for the village and Naofumi-sama. Ok Filo?" Raphtalia said, rubbing the filolial's side. Filo gave a happy 'Quu' and prepared for the race.

"The race will be along the outskirts of the village, there will be 3 laps! On the third, first one to reach the finish line wins the race!" the village lord announced as both Raphtalia and Myne nodded.

"Oh can I count them off?" Caboose asked with his right hand in the air.

"Of course." the village lord responded as he moved out of the way and Caboose got in position.

"On the count of 1 you may take off. Ready?" Caboose said. Raphtalia put on a face of determination while Myne smirked. "321GO!" Caboose shouted rapidly, causing both competitors to react quickly.

As they both took off, Filo was able to take the lead while the dragon got left behind by a few meters. Along the way due to the filolia's speed, it was picking up dirt creating a cloud of dust, causing Myne to cover her mouth and eyes. They were nearing a turn to reach the first checkpoint when a hole suddenly appeared in front of Filo by a few meters, causing the filolial to lose control and fall over, throwing Raphtalia across the dirt path.

"Raphtalia!" Naofumi shouted.

"That must have hurt. Get up Refa!" Caboose said, wincing the way Raphtalia went across the dirt.

"Hmmph." Myne smirked, getting the lead.

"Good running, Myne!" Motoyasu cheered, as the dragon ran passed by, completing 1 lap.

"Ouuch." Raphtalia groaned as she got up and looked at Myne. She gritted her teeth in pain and anger. " Come on Filo, get up! Let's show that Myne person that we could still win this race!" she shouted as she ran to the filolial, who was getting up with more determination to win the race. Once Raphtalia hopped onto Filo's back, they took off without a second's notice.

"Keep running Raphtalia." Naofumi cheered as Filo passed by, fastly approaching Myne from behind.

It didn't take long for Raphtalia and Filo to gain the lead again, leaving Myne to take the dust cloud Filo picked up again. A good gap was now between them as Myne kept on yelling the dragon to run faster.

"Run faster you reptile! Are you really gonna let that bird beat you in a race?!" Myne shouted, getting an angry growl from the dragon.

Before they neared the same turning point where the hole appeared, a purple glow surrounded Raphtalia and Filo as they began to slow down immensely, giving the dragon the advantage to catch up to the filolial and smack her against using its tail. It didn't make Filo fall over again, but caused Raphtalia to lose her grip, causing her to almost fall off the filolial again. But she was able to hold onto Filo's side before tumbling to the dirt path. She held on for a few moments before thinking up a way to get back on Filo. She slowly lowered her legs to the ground and got a good grip of Filo's feathers. In one solid movement, she bends her legs and shoots them towards the ground as hard as she can. Using the momentum, she lifted herself off Filo's side towards the top of Filo's back and landed on her stomach. Feeling that the demi-racoon was back on her ride, Filo gives a loud, determined growl and begins to run faster than before, giving Raptalia a chance to sit up right. In a few moments, they were able to gain the lead again.

"Go Raphtalia! One more lap to go! You can do this!" Naofumi cheered as the villagers began to cheer for Raphtalia as well.

"Yeah. Go Refa!" Caboose urged on.

Both now on the last lap, they kept on til the end of the finish line. Myne and her dragon were covered in a green glow, causing them to speed up. They gained the lead but Filo was able to catch up. Before she could have taken the lead, Myne guided the dragon to get in front of them, blocking the path. Leading them to where the hole appeared. Quickly thinking up a plan, Raphtalia thought about the situation and the possibilities. Not wanting to lose the chance of winning, she would have to risk it all.

"Filo, I need you to trust me on this, but I need you to jump a few spaces before we reach the hole! We'll jump at the same time to create a better momentum, from there land on the slope beside the dirt road! I know it may be a longshot, but we must give it our all! For Naofumi-sama!" Raphtalia shouted with determination. Filo just gave a quick 'Quu', and prepared herself as she lowered her body, readying herself to jump.

As they reached closer to the hole, Raphtalia moved to Filo's side and prepared for the jump. Once they were a few meters from the hole, Raphtalia shouted.

"NOW!" Raphtalia instructed.

At that moment, time slowed down as Raphtalia and Filo both jumped in unison, leaving the ground using their momentum to fly over the hole. Beside the hole another one appeared, but was left unapproached, as Filo and Raphtalia went flying. Using the chance of being in the air, Raphtalia got back on Filo's back and braced for the landing. Myne just looked at both of them in shock, not believing what was happening beside her. Slowly turning into a scowl seeing that their planned would still keep them on the race without any other obstacles for them to worry about.

In the end, the plan worked in her favor, Filo landed on the slope and began to run along it. Before they reached the end of it, the filolial hopped off the slope and began to pick up speed as it was neck to neck with the dragon. Both opponents nearing the finish line.

"You can do it Raphtalia!" Naofumi shouted.

"You're almost there Refa!" Caboose cheered.

"Hang in there!" a villager next to Caboose shouted.

"Filo, if you win this I'll give you my whole meal for the entire week!" Caboose shouted out loud. Hearing what the blue soldier offered, Filo became 2x faster than she originally went, causing Raphtalia to hold onto the filolial firmer. Filo gained the lead, leaving Myne behind again. Crossing the finish line way before Myne got close to it. Filo won by 2 meters in front of Myne. After crossing the finish line, Filo came to an abrupt stop, sending Raphtalia flying as the filolial did earlier with Caboose.

"RAPHTALIA!" Naofumi exclaimed with an alarmed tone. He was about to take off after her before seeing Caboose ahead of him already.

"I got her!" Caboose said loudly as he ran after Raphtlia.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" Raphtalia exclaimed.

Caboose stopped a few meters in front of the demi-raccoon as she began to descend towards the ground. At the last second, the blue soldier jumped just in time to catch Raphtalia and covered her with his arms as he skidded across the ground hitting a tree. Due to the impact, the tree fell from its trunk and landed beside Caboose and Raphtalia. Dust flew from the ground when the broken tree impacted the ground. Naofumi ran towards them as the villagers followed behind him.

"Hey, are you alright?!" Naofumi yelled as he got closer.

Slowly, Caboose stood from the ground holding Raphtalia in his arms bridal style before putting her back to the ground. At first she almost tripped herself due to her trying to regain her footing from being thrown into the air, but the blue soldier held her still before she fell onto the ground.

"Don't worry Noafume, she's all ok." Caboose said with a thumbs up.

"Owww, my back." Raphtalia said, crouching down while holding her back. "I think landing on Caboose at that speed must have caused it. Your armor is too hard. Ouch" she groaned as she laid herself on the ground.

"It would be a lot better than you hitting the ground. Who knows what you may have broken. Or worse, you may not be talking right now." Naofumi said as the villagers gathered around the 2 male party members and Raphtalia. "Good catch Caboose, if you hadn't made it in time or didn't catch her. She'll be in a worse position."

"Your welcome, I was told I am a good catcher." Caboose stated.

"Yes, thank you very m...much, Caboose. No harm done to me purposely, but nex...next time. I'm going to wear something to cu….cushion my fall for it won't hurt that much. Owwww" Raphtalia said between groans. "Naofumi-sama, I don't think I'll be able to travel-

"Don't worry, I don't think I'll be leaving your side for a while." Naofumi interjected. "Besides, I think we can have Caboose to take care of Filo any way. He promised to feed her his portions for the whole entire week either way." Naofumi said, looking up at Caboose.

"That's right. Don't worry guys, me and Filo will have a good time." Caboose said, causing Naofumi to shudder when he finished.

"I hate to interrupt your conversation, but I just want to thank you for winning the race for us. You don't know how much the village appreciates your sacrifice for beating the Spear Hero's companion." the village lord said. "We are in your debt."

"You are ve..very welcome owww." Raphtalia tried to say but was overcome with pain.

"I think we gotta take you to a medic, Raphtalia." Naofumi said as he reached for her.

"I think that's a bad idea." Caboose said, remembering O'malley.

"What?" Naofumi asked.

"Nothing." Caboose said quickly.

9 minutes later

Naofumi took Raphtalia to the village nurse as the village lord and a couple of other villagers went along with him while Caboose stayed behind with Filo, congratulating her for her win. The filolial seemed to be very happy about the win as well, or the fact she's gonna get to eat Caboose's portions for the rest of the week. She kept on nuzzling her head on Caboose's chest plate and he kept on petting her head.

"You know, I think you're gonna enjoy the time we spend together in our travels. It's like you love me." Caboose said getting a happy 'Quu' from Filo. "You are so cute. I hope you know that."

When he finished saying that Filo looked at him like she was surprised by what he said. For a couple of seconds, she stared at him as he looked back at her. Then she jumped on him in a happy frenzy as she flapped her wings in excitement. Caboose being under her, just gave her a hug. Not noticing that she evolved, nothing much changed but she lost her long neck and became a bigger bird than before.

"You feel so much fluffier that I could sleep with you." Caboose said, still not noticing her change at all.

"They cheated!" Myne shouted, seeing Filo transform. "They didn't say their filolial was this massive tub of lard!"

"But it just transformed. We saw it. Right?" a villager said.

'What's going on out there? It's like there's a tic-tac-toe game going on, and someone was caught cheating.' Caboose mentally said.

"If you're gonna accuse someone of cheating, you might as well accuse yourself, Malty-sama." Faye said.

'Oh it's Faye, Maybe we do have a chance of talking.' Caboose thought.

"It was that criminal and slave of his that cheated!" Myne said.

"Negative, the Shield Hero can only use healing and support magic while his companion can only use light and dark magic. Completely different from the magic we detected from the path. It's clear that the Spear Hero's party who cheated" a Shadow stated, keeping Myne from defending herself.

"F-fine. We shall leave for today!" Myne announced

"Hey, I know you could hear me from down there." Motoyasu called out, seeing that Caboose was below the filolial. "Tell the Shield Hero that next time we meet, I won't lose. He'll be the one to take the fall. Got that?"

Caboose just took out his arm, which only showed his hand,and gave him a thumbs up. The Spear Hero took that as a yes and walked away with Myne and the guards they had brought, which brought a question to mind.

"Hey Myne, why did we bring a lot of guards?" Motoyasu asked.

"No reason." Myne said with a dead tone.

Faye approached Filo, knowing that Caboose was underneath her, but he still could have heard what someone said from the outside. She crouched down where Caboose's hand came out underneath.

"Mister Caboose, me and the rest of the Shadows are leaving for now. We may meet later in the future though,depending what the Queen asks us to do next, and maybe… we can talk some more. I won't lie, you seem like a good person. Maybe we could talk about our lifestyles, but for now. Goodbye." Faye said before ordering to headout.

"You know, I think that was kind of bland. But you'll have to wait till next time we get assigned on a mission like this. Who knows, you two could get closer than you think." a Shadow said, with a playful voice as they made their way to the forest.

"Hmph, if that happens, I know what I'm gonna do once I am released from duty." Faye responded. Once they made it into the forest, they disappeared from sight, leaving a sadden Caboose.

'Don't say goodbye, I may not meet you again if you say that.' Caboose thought, remembering what Carolina said to him once.

As Caboose stayed under Filo, Naofumi was heading their way, having left Raphtalia behind at the village's nurse. The village lord was behind him, having asked the demi-raccoon what she would like since she saved the village from the Spear Hero's ruling and toll. She suggested letting the Shield Hero and party decide the prize, which brings us to Naofumi heading towards Filo and Caboose.

"Hey Filo, have you seen Caboose? I need to ask both of you a question?" Naofumi asked, looking around for the blue armored soldier.

Filo responded with a nod before lifting herself off Caboose and moved beside, revealing him laid out on the floor without a scratch. He immediately popped from the ground and stood up right, leaving Naofumi with a look of disbelief.

"Oook, so look, Raphtalia suggested that we think of what we'll want as a prize for winning the race. Anything you can think of Caboose?" Naofumi asked.

"Hmmm, well I really don't know. Do they have any cookies?" Caboose asked.

"Yeah, no. Something that'll benefit the whole party since Raphtalia suggested that we all decide between ourselves. I thought before about money, but then they'll probably talk about how the Shield Hero took all the rebuilding funds for the village, so that's a no." Naofumi said.

As Naofumi and Caboose thought about a prize, Filo turned her head and saw the carriage that she saw earlier before the race. The white cloth was a bit worn out, but the rest of the carriage was in good condition. Wanting to pull it herself, she walked over to Naofumi and poked his head to get his attention.

"What is it Filo?" Naofummi asked, turning to look at her, which she responded with nodding her head towards the carriage. The Shield Hero turned his head to look at what Filo was motioning towards and saw the carriage. As he looked at it, it reminded what people would use to carry their belongings when traveling back in the medieval times and trading.

"Oh I see, you want the carriage?" Naofumi asked, to which Filo responded by nodding with a smile.

"Of course, the carriage could help you travel faster and easier as well as begin a trading business. If you would like, I could bring you the trader pass, it'll exempt you from tolls across the country, so you can traverse the roads as you wish. That is if you are interested in becoming a traveling trader of course." the village lord stated.

'Sounds like a good idea, traveling trade while killing monsters. Could help with the leveling up as well.' Naofumi thought "What do you think Caboose sounds like a plan?"

"Sure, now we'll be able to go around faster. And have camping trips! Oh boy, I always wanted to do s'mores." Caboose said excitedly.

"We'll take it, but for now leave it there where it is. We aren't gonna go anywhere for awhile. Not until Raphtalia gets better." Naofumi said to the village lord as he nodded and left. "Oh, which reminds me. Her injury isn't too serious. Just a bruise, but she'll have to take things easy for a good 2-4 days. So for now we are gonna stay here at the village."

"Oh ok, it's good to know she wasn't injured too bad. Well, if we have to wait for her to make a full recovery, I'll do my best to take over her roll until she gets better. " Caboose said with a salut.

"That's good to know." Naofumi said as he looked towards the sun, descending over the horizon. "Well I guess it'll be time for us to go get some rest. Let's go take Filo to one of the unused barns. For sure she won't be able to sleep in the inn anymore." Naofumi said.

Caboose was about to take off to the barns Naofumi mentioned, but was stopped by the filolial. Filo looked at Caboose as if she was asking of him. Caboose being the person he is, knew immediately what she was asking for.

"Nefufu, Filo wants me to sleep with her in the barn. I don't think she wants to be alone for the night." Caboose stated.

"Uumm, I don't think I have a say in this, but would you be okay?" Naofumi asked, a bit confused, with Filo wanting Caboose to sleep with her.

"Oh, I would be ok, I'll just need a blanket." Caboose said.

"Alright then, if you say so. Just don't cause any trouble. Ok?" Naofumi said.

"Sure thing." Caboose responded with a thumbs up.

Night time

Caboose was wrapped in the blanket that Naofumi gave to him before he left for the barn he was gonna sleep in with Filo. The night sky was littered with stars as the only noise that was heard came from Filo's breathing who was sleeping with its head laid on his lap. The blue soldier however hasn't slept, but was left thinking. Freckles being laid right next to him was able to tell.

"Captain Caboose, is everything alright? I scanned no enemies in the area, but you seem to be emotionally down from what my indicator says." Freckles asked, but was left unanswered. "It's what Faye the Shadow said, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Caboose said with a sad tone. "Do you think we'll see her again?"

"I don't know, Captain Caboose. I don't know much about how humans go with farewells or reunions. But I do know that you are hurting. Can I be of any assistance?" Freckles offered.

"Can you play the recording?" Caboose asked.

"Are you sure, Captain Caboose?" Freckles asked.

"Please…"Caboose pleaded.

"Affirmative, Captain Caboose."

Caboose slowly and quietly reached to grab Freckles, and positioned him on to a stack of hay that was near him. He faced Freckles upwards where the assault rifle projected light, and a hologram began to form. The figure took the form of a soldier in a light blue, holding a sniper rifle.

"Not this time buddy…." Church's hologram said.

"Thank you Freckles." Caboose said as a single tear fell down his cheek.

To be continued